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Friday, March 06, 2009
Bye bye, Tory
John Tory's long string of losses as leader of the Ontario PC party may be at an end, not because he's finally won one, but because after losing the by-election last night in a previously safe Tory seat, given up for him to attempt to end the painful 2 year stretch of a leader without a seat, he's rumoured to be stepping down this afternoon.
Though I'm more cynical than most about the likelihood that having a good leader can improve whatever jurisdiction they'd preside over if elected, *cough*Harper*cough* having Dalton McGuinty lead the province without any meaningful debate in the legislature or alternative for voters has been and would continue to be an unmitigated disaster. Now is the Tories' chance to choose a leader who will stand up to ludicrous policies supported by McGuinty's (and previous) Ontario governments.
Let's see a leader willing to argue against Ontario's ridiculous bans - most notably the one on private health insurance in Ontario, (since it's quite literally a matter of life or death) but also the ones that interfere with Ontarians living their day-to-day lives as they please, like the pit bull ban. Someone willing to simplify the tax code and deregulate the province to make it a better place to do business would be good news during an economic downturn. Liberalizing Ontario's liquor laws would have broad support. And finally a candidate could actually stand up for the environment and tackle one of the province's many deficits if they'd be willing to remove subsidies on energy rates.
At best, this could be good for liberty and Ontario's prosperity. At worst, it's just good for public discourse. Either way, saying "goodbye" to Tory is good for Ontario.
Posted by Janet Neilson on March 6, 2009 | Permalink
Comments
Hear, hear.
By staying home in record numbers Ontario Conservatives have clearly stated once more that they were having none of the Bill Davis 80s dance party conservatish garble John Tory has so rigorously been fighting the grass roots of his party over the last 4.5 years to implement.
As for a leader who will stand up against Dalton’s cup and ball routine my vote goes here: http://www.timhudak.ca/facebook-banned
Posted by: Jon | 2009-03-06 10:37:40 AM
John Tory was just another PC who though that he had to act like "liberal lite" to win. Ontario needs real chance. Lets get a real conservative as premier(preferably to the right of Mike Harris). Here are my ideas! One, massively downsize the provincial government(combine ministries, privatize others, downsize all others except law enforcement related). Two, reduce taxes on corporate(based on Jim Flaherty's recommendation) and personal income. Three, reimplement Harris's voucher program. Four, reinstate the bear hunt. Five, pass a concealed carry law. Six, pass a castle doctrine law. Seven, stop all provincial funding for abortion and birth control. Eight, pass a measure making all future tax increases lawful only if passed in a public referendum. Nine, set up a process for public to organize binding referendums for such issues as taxes, native treaty agreements, capital punishment, abortion, etc. Ten, disband the provincial human rights commission to save money. Eleven, cut the size of the provincial legislature in half(from about 103 to 51) to save money. Twelve, allow for expanded private healthcare. Thirteen, allow expansion of nuclear power(guarantee safety but look at making money off the licensing procedure). Fourteen, an immediate 25% decrease in the salary of all Ontario MMPs. Fifteen, get the province out of the liquor business(put all LCBO stores up for sale).These policies could be put together and advertised as the "Contract with Ontario". All PC candidates would have to sign on this contract. They would have to agree that all 15 measures would be implemented within 6 months of taking office.
Posted by: Jim | 2009-03-06 3:55:43 PM
Jim is spot on. What he recommends is also applicable to other provinces.
Posted by: Alain | 2009-03-06 7:29:57 PM
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