How big is your deficit? This Ontario election, no one seems to care—and that’s a decisive positive to emerge from a campaign that’s too often been submerged in the politics of personality. There is more and more light sneaking through the widening cracks in Canada’s austerity consensus. Hopefully, it will
Continue readingTag: PCPO
BigCityLib Strikes Back: Doug Ford Shouldn’t Let Andrew Lawton Run For PCPO Nomination in London
Andrew Lawton is running for the Ontario PC party’s nomination in London West. Doug Ford should not let him. For many reasons, but this one is my favorite. Back in 2010 Andrew and some buddies wanted to bring alt-right notable Mark Steyn to London (Ontario). First to the University of Western
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Brown Out In Ontario PC Leadership Race And Recap Thus Far
Patrick Brown decided today that he was ending his candidacy for the Ontario PC Leadership race due to death threats and harassment his family received, and also due to his mother apparently being hospitalized because she can’t handle the stress of her son’s public life. This abrupt end to Brown
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Patrick Brown’s Piss Poor Prospects
Kid’s already got issues. A PCPO exodus has already started: I’ve been a member of the Ontario PCs more or less continuously since about 1972 and have voted for them in every general election, and in the odd by-election, since then. But I must admit that the selection to lead
Continue readingTrashy's World: PCPO leadership race
I’m obviously NOT a supporter of Ontario’s PC Party, but rooting for Patrick Brown over Christine Elliott. The wise voters in our province have time and time again rejected the social conservatism that has been the hallmark of leaders like Hudak and Brown. Elliott would be a far greater barrier
Continue readingEh Types: No Doug, No Problem
If at first you don’t succeed, try something you’re even less qualified for? Not exactly conventional wisdom, but very little of that applies when talking about the Fords. For example, holding a press conference to announce you’re not running for office. Doug Ford announced earlier he will not seek to
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: What can the results of the last Ontario PC leadership race tell us about the current one? That Elliott could be hard to beat
Long-time readers will remember when I did some fairly in-depth coverage of the 2009 Ontario PC leadership race. I was reading over some blog posts from that era, bit of a trip down memory lane. I kind of forgot Hudak’s big selling point to grassroots conservatives was pledging to eliminate Human Rights
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: What can the results of the last Ontario PC leadership race tell us about the current one? That Elliott could be hard to beat
Long-time readers will remember when I did some fairly in-depth coverage of the 2009 Ontario PC leadership race. I was reading over some blog posts from that era, bit of a trip down memory lane. I kind of forgot Hudak’s big selling point to g…
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: What can the results of the last Ontario PC leadership race tell us about the current one? That Elliott could be hard to beat
Long-time readers will remember when I did some fairly in-depth coverage of the 2009 Ontario PC leadership race. I was reading over some blog posts from that era, bit of a trip down memory lane. I kind of forgot Hudak’s big selling point to grassroots conservatives was pledging to eliminate Human Rights
Continue readingDefending Public Healthcare: Why the PCs think Mike Harris is a big-government union-lover
Many used to contrast the hard right policies of the former Mike Harris Progressive Conservative government with the milder PC policies of Bill Davis and the Big Blue Machine. But Tim Hudak’s PCs go much further. Here’s two examples:[1] The PCs say they will cut spending on programs by $7.6
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: Thornhill PC candidate supports subway taxes, undercuts Hudak’s policy
After trying and failing to land a star candidate, Tim Hudak has settled for former Conservative riding association president Gila Martow as his candidate in Thornhill to replace his Finance spokesperson Peter Shurman, who resigned after billing you $20 grand to pay for a second home while living 150 kilometers outside
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: Hudak celebrates Franco-Ontarien Day by appointing a Francophone Affairs critic…who doesn’t speak French
I’m not going to pretend that my French is great, but I’m also not a Francophone affairs critic for the Official Opposition.
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: Hudak Finance critic bills you for second home
If Hudak wants to lower the deficit, his own Finance critic not billing you 20 grand for a rental home while he spends his time in Niagara-on-the-Lake, 150 km from his riding of Thornhill might be a better idea than firing thousands of teachers and nurses. Last year, Tory finance
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: "I’m not one to hide what I do"
Nick Kouvalis in today’s Globe and Mail, responding to the suggestion that he might be working behind the scenes to undermine Tim Hudak’s leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives: Mr. Kouvalis vehemently denies allegations that he’s involved in such an effort now. “I’m not one to hide what I do,”
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: Hudak Conservatives fined $85,000 for "rule breaking robocalls"
I hear he knows a guy who knows a guy though
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Hudak Caught: PCPO Made Ilegal Robocalls
OTTAWA – The CRTC will soon announce it is fining both Alberta’s Wildrose Party and the Ontario Progressive Conservatives for automated polling calls that failed to identify the pollster. The hapless PCPO leader has some explaining to do—$85,000s worth. And, perhaps not surprisingly, RackNine is involved again. They are these
Continue readingDefending Public Healthcare: Will PCs give Liberals a blank cheque?
Tim Hudak’s concerns about the proposed Liberal public sector bargaining legislation are numerous. The legislation fails to impose an immediate pay freeze on workers. (“It’s not a wage freeze, it just kicks the problem down the road until 2015 and then maybe gets around to freezing wages at a higher level.”) It exempts municipal
Continue readingDefending Public Healthcare: Hudak keeps open option of alliance with Liberals
Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak has kept his powder dry and has reframed from personally criticizing the Liberals’ proposed public sector labour legislation. Or even commenting on it. Instead, he sent out Monte McNaughton, who faulted the proposed legislation in all sorts of ways: the legislation “is clearly lacking
Continue readingDefending Public Healthcare: PC plan a threat to small town Ontario?
The Progressive Conservatives (PCs) plan to turn health care funding responsibilities over to 30 to 40 hospitals. These “hub” hospitals would be licensed to move money from one provider in the area to another. This will leave the other 120 or so hospitals beholden to the hub hospitals for funding.
Continue readingDefending Public Healthcare: PCs swear they’ll get restructuring right this time
The new Progressive Conservative policy paper, Paths to Prosperity: Patient-Centred Healthcare, isn’t just another far right rant like we’ve heard from Tim Hudak in recent weeks. It does make a few reasonable points: · The Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) lack expertise and provide little value · The health care ‘system’
Continue reading