Pretty much everything that drives people nuts about Ontario politics is now on display at Queen’s Park.
Four months after being prorogued, the house is back with self interest, double speak and petty partisanship, and the blame goes all around.
First up, the Speech from the Throne that was – in Andrea Horwath’s estimation – “vague in the extreme.” The document, which is to serve as a roadmap for Kathleen Wynne’s new administration is bland in the tradition of throne speeches, but adds the sin of pandering to the opposition.
“The central objectives will be fiscal responsibility, economic growth and increased employment,” read LG David Onley.
But you’ll go cross-eyed looking for any mention of cuts or spending slowdowns to wrestle the nearly $12 billion deficit under control. It’s a classic political game of three card monte – now you see the focus on finance, now you don’t.
There’s talk of tackling traffic gridlock and crumbling infrastructure but no mention of how this will be paid for beyond government being confident people are willing to “participate in a practical discussion.” Asked later the Premier said she had been deliberately vague because she hasn’t yet landed on where the revenue stream would come from. When you hear that kind of talk from politicians, it’s usually time to hold tightly on to your wallet.
With all the pleasant words about reaching out to the opposition, perhaps someone should have bought Tim Hudak a calendar so he’d know it’s no longer the fall of 2012. First order of business for the PC’s, beyond rejecting the Throne Speech and calling for an election, was to resurrect contempt motions that died when the house was prorogued.
Convinced that nothing bad can come from focusing single mindedly on the Oakville and Mississauga power plants, the Tories are getting way down in the weeds, beyond the comprehension or concerns of the people of the province. The PCs argue the Liberals are pulling a fast one with a proposed select committee because it won’t deal with an alleged coverup of the documents relating to the plants.
Do people want to know what moving the plants cost and who gave the orders? Absolutely. Are they as concerned with which documents were released at what time? That is less certain.
The result, despite Energy Critic Vic Fedeli’s assertion otherwise, is that government focus will be forced down into the weeds as well, leaving the real issues confronting Ontario unresolved.
That brings us to the NDP, who have clearly decided it’s time to ring as much as possible from the Wynne minority before precipitating an election.
Andrea Horwath, who for 18 months has carefully avoided demands or ultimatums, switched course and drew a line in the sand. In saying her party will pass the throne speech, she now expects the NDP laundry list of insurance premium cuts, home care guarantees, and cancelling tax ‘loopholes’ to be in the spring budget. Bow to NDP demands or face an election is now the new threat from the left of the house.
The basic premise of Kathleen Wynne’s government is that people don’t want another election. Considering what’s on offer, can you blame them?
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