A Veiled Attempt To Keep Caledonia On The Front Pages

I don't disagree with Christine McHale. Her listing of broken promises by the fiberals is accurate but you will excuse me if I have the feeling that the icing on the cake for Christine is keeping her husband's "15 minutes in the spotlight" shining brightly.

50 Ways to Anger Voters
by Christine McHale - April 1, 2007

Yes it is April Fool's Day. If you haven’t yet been the victim of a prank, try this one on for size.

Ontario Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, David Ramsay, was quoted as saying, "I'm proud of the way we've handled it….", referring to the ongoing native occupation of Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia.

Surely Mr. Ramsay, you must be joking? It is after all April Fool's Day so of course you are joking, aren't you?

To the residents of Caledonia and even to the Six Nations people, this is no joke. David Ramsay is proud of the way he's handled the situation. I never thought I would see the day when a politician is proud that residents have had to put up with blocked highways, blocked railways, burning bridges, destruction of a hydro generating station, digging up of a main highway, and of course numerous sleepless nights and worrisome days wondering what's next. Is David Ramsay proud of how the OPP botched the raid on April 20, 2006 and how, since then, there have been countless instances of two-tier justice courtesy of the OPP. Well, to be fair, the OPP aren't under David Ramsay's proud watch, so perhaps Monty Kwinter is proud of the OPP performance?

So now that the first way to anger voters has been established, let's look at more ways Dalton McGuinty has angered voters:

1. "I won't raise your taxes." - Remember the famous election clip on TV when McGuinty looked straight into the camera and made this oh so proud statement? Yes, McGuinty pledged no new tax hikes, yet in June of 2004, Finance Minister Greg Sorbara introduced, with great pride no doubt, the $2.4 billion health levy.

2. Promise to balance the budget (2004) every year, which was part of McGuinty's election platform. - Funny how, in the 2007 budget, the proud plan is now to balance the books by 2009 – but what if the Liberals don't with the election in 2007? Oh well, too bad!

3. Roll back tolls on the Hwy 407. - Good one, especially since the Liberals have been stuck in court while tolls keep going up.

4. Provide fund for medically necessary healthcare services, while at the same time making us pay for eye exams, physiotherapy and to see a chiropractor. - I guess if we're blind we won't see what they're doing to us; if we take longer to recover from injury we'll be too busy with the pain to worry about what they're doing and yes, if the back goes out, well, we may just no bother to go out and vote on election day.

More