THUNDER BAY – The early report card for Dalton McGuinty’s blended sales tax or HST are offering failing grades. During July, instead of creating 5,000 jobs as the McGuinty Liberals promised, Ontario lost 36,000 jobs. At the same time, pressure on prices in the province has caused the inflation rate to climb 2.9%.
Naturally, the opposition parties are jumping on the McGuinty Liberals over the poor showing for the HST in Ontario. To be fair to McGuinty, it is likely still early in the game to see if his tax scheme will actually boost Ontario’s economy. However like many of the Premier’s schemes, once the promises are made, Dalton dashes off to the next promise.
On the 70th Anniversary of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s famous speech on the Battle of Britain, one can contrast how much has changed over the past seventy years in politics.
“Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few”.
Churchill’s word echo through the ages. They still stand tall as prime examples of using the power of words to rally a nation and a world to fight for freedom.
Can you think of a single statement that Dalton McGuinty has made over his seven years in office that you think people will still be remembering in 70 years?
Perhaps, had Dalton McGuinty been the leader of Great Britain, and came to power during the darkest days of World War Two, chances are the Premier might have tried putting some positive spin on the efforts, and then surrendered.
That may sound especially harsh, but over the past seven years, Ontario has gone from a position of leadership in Canada to a have-not province. We have seen thousands of good paying manufacturing jobs vanish.
There have been industries closing down, and rural Ontario impacted very hard.
Instead of rallying the people of Ontario, the Premier seems more comfortable keeping his distance from conflict and from people.
Instead of saying to the people of Ontario, “We have tough choices, and are going to all have to tighten our belts and work hard together…”, Premier McGuinty still seems to view the world through rose-coloured glasses.
“I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
Those are the words that Prime Minister Winston Churchill used the day he took on the responsibility of office, and of leading Britain through World War Two.
It is doubtful that seventy years from now, people will gather at Queen’s Park to remember and revere in anything that Dalton McGuinty has said.
The results are showing in Ontario’s economic report card, showing lost jobs, lost opportunities, broken promises, and the cronyism that has resulted in the many financial scandals of the McGuinty era.
Perhaps over the coming year, that the McGuinty Liberals plans start to show the kinds of results that Dalton McGuinty has promised.
Otherwise, the quote might be “Never before in the field of democratic elections, have so many Liberals disappointed so many voters, and been voted out of office by such a massive margin”.
James Murray