Is Dalton McGuinty Representative of All Ontarians?
Though much has been said lately about equalization, the sad truth is that the economy of Ontario is indeed suffering as a result of a high dollar, high oil prices and being too closely tied to the economic whims in the U.S.
While some of the articles and commentary on this site over the past few days may have made light of the problems in Ontario that doesn't make those problems any less real.
In fact the economy right across Canada is being hit hard.
Newfoundland and Labrador is no exception, with impacts to the fishing and forestry industries topping the list.
Thanks to revenues from a growing oil industry some parts of Canada are better able to offset the impact of the current downturn. But while the overall economic numbers in places like Alberta or Newfoundland and Labrador may look good from 50,000 feet up, the true impact to towns, families and individuals who are losing their jobs, outside the oil industry, are no less real.
Oil or no oil people are being hurt.
But...
"Have" or "Have Not", it remains a fact that someone losing their job in Ontario has a much better chance of finding another one than someone living in Newfoundland and Labrador, or nearly anywhere else for that matter. This is why all the doomsday rhetoric by the national media and government of Ontario has perhaps rubbed people down east the wrong way. It may also be why sympathy from Atlantic Canada, which has struggled for so long, isn't always easy to come by.
Even an Ontario that is "Have Not" is still far better off financially than a Newfoundland and Labrador approaching "Have" status.
I personally believe the people of Newfoundland and Labrador should take the high road and not rub salt in the wounds of the Ontario people. But it isn't the people of Ontario that have made so many stupid remarks over the past week. It is the politicians, pundits and spin doctors. It is those people, not the average Ontarian, who have been the target of most of the "Uppity" remarks from these parts and rightfully so.
I don't believe for a minute that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador wish any ill will on the people of Ontario but those crying foul in their morning Starbucks are a different story.
So, while I wish the people of Ontario all the best in bringing their economy back around to the "good old days" (as long as it isn't at the economic expnense of Newfoundland and Labrador) I can't resist taking one last shot (for now) at Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty.
Dalton McGuinty’s Top Ten Thoughts on Equalization.
10. “Sure, the ten provinces should be equal as long as Ontario is more equal.”
9. “Equalization makes Ontarians send all their tax money to Ottawa…uh…Ontario.”
8. “Newfoundland and Labrador is about to do what!!!“
7. “How much is bus fare to Fort McMurray these days?“
6. “Hmmm…maybe I could start drilling for oil under the CN Tower.”
5. “No really, Newfoundland and Labrador is about to do what!!!”
4. “How can I get more federal dollars WITHOUT calling it equalization?”
3. “I wonder how much a barrel of used motor oil is worth?”
2. “Come on Newfoundland and Labrador isn’t really coming off equalization is it?”
1. “F#&K Danny Williams!!!!”
6 comments:
There must be some specific reason for all of the chatter in the National Media last week over the province of Newfoundland and Labrador gaining `Have` status while comparing us with Ontario going into `Have Not status, than what met the eyes and ears. What was the reason, really? Does anybody know?
Why wasn’t any to do raised over Saskatchewan's same fortune? Why only Newfoundland and Labrador? It appears to me that our province is always the one which has to be used when some place has to be ridiculed to bring out the goodness in another province.
The fact that Newfoundland and Labrador's resources have been used for the betterment of the other provinces is the prime reason that we have such a poor economy here and never gets told. When we were forced to give us everything for the other provinces to survive, what did they think that we were going to survive on here ine Newfoundland and Labrador?
I can’t believe it because Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have been wallowing in chronic unemployment from a lack of industry here for 60 years, despite its abundant natural resources and no economist used his/her head to say, "well boys we been raping the province of Newfoundland and Labrador of its resources for nearly 60 years, maybe it is time that we had done something about that".
Why didn’t Mike Duffy and Craig Oliver of CTV News Network use some of their news programs to talk about that and lambaste the provinces which were receiving our raw resources while creating a welfare ghetto out of Newfoundland and Labrador?
Not a word was spoken by them other than to ridicule the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and its people whenever there was a word spoken at all. Why? The only reason that I can see is that they wanted all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to leave our beautiful province and migrate to the provinces that were the beneficiary of our resources. It would have been quite a bit cheaper than having to bring in immigrants and train them in all aspects of Canadian living.
Despite what you say Myles, Ontario will still be much better off after it rises from the dust of a hard recession, if it happens, than the province of Newfoundland and Labrador will be after experiencing that same recession.
The manufacturing infrastructure will still be present in Ontario and so will the Cadillac Transportation grid which runs North and South, East and West and which stops at Nova Scotia. The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has very little existing Manufacturing infrastructure and the transportation grid is perforated with 90 miles of Ocean. We do not have a Railway since we traded that for our rural road system which they call the trans Canada Highway.
For one thing if a recession hits Ontario, it will surely hit our province as well. Every place in North America and many other locales will be hurt by the Elephant, known as the United States, should it be hit long and hard by a recession, no place will be immune.
We also are quite aware that the province of Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy today is solely propelled by the production of Oil and we know which economic engine consumes that oil. It is, of course, the United States and any reccession which occurs in the United States will affect the whole globe because of the Global Free Trade movement.
A quick look at the unemployment figures just released proves the point that Ontario (heading toward have not) is still far better off than NL (heading toward Have status).
How is this equal in any way?
National Unemployment rate: 6.1 per cent (last month 6.0)
-Ontario 6.3 (last month 6.4)
-NL 13.2 (last month 12.6)
Notice that while Ontario's unemployment rate fell, NL's rose. Yeah, things are so bad in Ontario these days.
"It appears to me that our province is always the one which has to be used when some place has to be ridiculed to bring out the goodness in another province."
Anon,May 08, 2008 7:03 PM,that has to be the biggest understatement
of the year.
OH,and just to "Bark" somemore Patriot.You want to know how hard hit poor Ontario was last year.They only took 150,000 Newfoundlander's and Labradorian's from thier homes and family's last year.They had to tell the rest of them to go to Alberta to leave thier family's and friends.Now is that hard done by or what !!!
Anon of May 09, 2008 10:41 AM:-
You are so right.
When Premier Williams has his scrums with the likes of Mike Duffy and Craig Oliver, why doesn't he make that point?
As far as I know the province of Newfoundland and Labrador has never had a positive employment number in this province in 60 years that can even come near Ontario’s, again despite our great natural resources and a small population base of just over 500,000 to support, plus with a great geography which is located on the Trans Atlantic Trading routes.
When Mike Duffy and Craig Oliver asked the Premier if the province of Newfoundland and Labrador is going to share its Oil Royalties with Ontario now that its is going into "Have Not" status, the Premier should have retorted:- Why didn't Ontario share its riches with our province when the province of Newfoundland and Labrador had "Have Not" status for 60 years? And will Ontario share part of the Ottawa economy which is paid by tax payers dollars with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, which includes Newfoundland and Labrador's tax payers remittances and taxes from the province's resources, and will Ontario send to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador some of the redundant Manufacturing infrastructure which it has no use for now, but which is possible the province of Newfoundland and Labrador could find a use for to create industries out of its natural resources? Also will the province of Ontario insist that Ottawa put the same dollars into the Newfoundland and Labrador transportation grid that it has put into Ontario's and the rest of Canada? That would be a great help to Newfoundland and Labrador if Ontario starting touting the deficiencies that exist with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador compared to the other provinces. Yes Ontario should demand that the province of Newfoundland and Labrador should be given equal status by fixing all the problems that were created by the economic structure of Canada.
Premier Williams gave those spin doctors a free ride. Why does he do it? The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has contributed its life blood to Canada, and it was forced into doing so because of the structure of the Canadian economy that was created by our Federal Government.
Fire needs to be fought with Fire! We know full well what these two Ontario Loving/Newfoundland and Labrador bashing Media Questioners are up to and that is ridiculing Premier Williams and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and its people. That 60 year practise needs to be halted and it is only the people of this province who can do that by demanding Premier Williams to have his voice be heard loud and clear that we are not going to be on the receiving end of abuse any longer..
Anon from 11:00am.
I agree with your sentiments but I think your math may be a little off. Should your post have read 150,000 or perhaps 15,000?
It must be a typo.
Good points though.
May 09, 2008 12:46 PM,yes,anon.Sorry ,my "SARCASIAM" got the better of me there.I was trying to place emphasis on the drastic number of people that have had to leave or have been forced out because of the employment situation in the province.
I like to call them " Displaced " Newfoundlander's and Labradorian's
I would like to respond to a comment posted by anon,May 09, 2008 11:53 AM.In regards to this statement.
" When Mike Duffy and Craig Oliver asked the Premier if the province of Newfoundland and Labrador is going to share its Oil Royalties with Ontario now that its is going into "Have Not" status "
I would just like to point out the fact that WE ALREADT ARE SHARING OUR RESOURCES.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2007/11/15/hibernia-decade.html
And,to rub salt into the wounds of thease so called unbiased opinoins coming from the media that is not picking a side ,why didn't they point out the fact that Newfoundland and Labrador has shared thier resource's to the point of "4.8 BILLION" dollarsto the federal governemnt ,while Newfoundland and Labtrador who owns the resource only recieved 1.2 billion.But,of course they don't see what they have recieved ,they see a lazy crowd of welfare recipients bitching about thier welfare cheque.
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