Another Election is on its way; what do Ontarians have to look forward to?

BY STEVEN KASZAB

Well, the Ontario Election is on. Have you seen the political commercials being marketed to us by The Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic Parties of Ontario? Andrea Horvath and Steven Del Duca attacking Doug Ford’s administration’s response, or lacklustre response to the pandemic. Mike Schreiner of The Greens is close by in this race towards achieving or holding onto power at Queens Park.

There is a group of Ontarians who are thankful to Premier Ford’s safety protocols, and while not liking the suggested controls that closed many sectors of the economy; they feel safer with the Conservatives in power. Their opponents would have done many of the protocols that were administered by the Conservatives. The only real difference between the safety policies of the Conservatives, and those suggested policies of their rivals, is how extreme the closures should have been.

To some people it may appear that Premier Ford did a great deal of fence sitting these past eighteen months. Instead of closing entire sectors as suggested by some of his rivals, Premier Ford made suggestions, asking Ontarians, instead of legally forcing them to carry out direct safety protocol. Did The Premier understand his citizen’s expectations? Did The Premier spend too much time politically behind his medical advisors, telling us he did only what he was told to do? Did the Premier have the courage to make often-unpopular decisions these past eighteen months? Premier Ford’s initial directives were often stepped back, with an ever-present flip flopping of policy directives. Health Minister Elliot took some political pressure onto her shoulders, protecting her leader.

Minister Victor Fedeli made every effort to protect and grow Ontario’s Economy, persuading international corporations to locate in Ontario, building their offices and manufacturing plants. The Conservative way was put on hold until this pandemic would be under control. We wait anxiously.

The Conservatives will make many changes to the way Ontario is managed. Their concerns about the provincial public debt will resurface in the next year. There are real challenges ahead for all Ontarians. Our personal and public debt must be dealt with, managed and reduced substantially, reducing the services Ontarians receive, and the public payroll too. Growing the economy means only one thing to Conservatives, to reduce taxes overall. The Corporation and Business Sectors will appreciate this, but the tax burden must fall onto someone, and that is the middle class of Ontario.

The Liberals under Steven Del Duca leadership are trying to deal with their leader’s lack of popularity. Ontarians do not know Steven Del Duca, and this could hurt the Liberals chances to gain electoral seats next year. Kathleen Wynne will have retired, and therefore Liberal heavy hitters are lacking. Liberal hope for a summer revival can happen, should their leader and his policies connect with voters. Dare I say the Liberals miss the dignified and feisty leadership of Kathleen Wynne?

What to say about The New Democrats chances of electoral victory next year? Andrea has not been able to electrify progressive voters, nor has found the issues necessary to bring the Conservatives down. Maybe it is that the NDP’s policies are old, unimaginative and not thought provoking. Young voters need a leader who is charismatic, energizing and progressive. Is Andrea any of those things?

Mike Schreiner leads a political party that seems to lack political and practical experience. Most Green advertisements attack the Conservative’s attempts to grow the economy through public and private development, and the use of vacated natural lands.

The Green Party has not promoted a sound economic policy that allows the use of our lands. Protect this, put a hold on that. How about using lands, protecting them and developing for the future. All I have seen is the promise of hundreds of thousands of jobs in a sector that cannot even walk, let alone run our economic engine.

Elect a few libertarians perhaps. We will need someone in our government who asks the direct questions like why, where and how much? The Liberals are still dealing with their image as spendthrift managers. The NDP’s image suffers from a leader’s inability to attract voters. New blood is needed in both opposition parties.

Should our Premier screw something up, say something horrible, do something unforgivable, then any of these rivals have a chance to increase their MPP numbers, and perhaps even win the election. I will certainly not hold my breath.