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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2014-05-07, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, May 7, 2014 www.clintonnewsrecord.com NowsCl Record PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. Box 39 Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com SUN MEDIA A Quebecor Media Company NEIL CLIFFORD Publisher neil. clifford@su n m ed ia.ca MAX BICKFORD Advertising Manager max. bickford@sunmedia.ca DAWN JOHNSTON Sales Representative clinton.ads@sunmedia.ca CHRISTY MAIR Front Office dinton.classifieds@sunmedia.ca SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2 YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged but that balance of advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. 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On June 12, Ontarians will go to the polls for the third time in seven years after NDP leader Andrea Hor- wath said she would not support the Liberal government budget. Horwath has received praise in some circles for not supporting the budget, while others have asked, "what took you so long:' The Liberals packed the budget with items they believed would win them votes from NDP MPPs, but it appears Horwath went all in and decided to force an election. And while that may not be what many residents want at this time, it was the right decision. The 2011 provincial election and even the resignation of Dalton McGuinty less than a year ago feel like long faded memories. The Liberals have been in power for more than a decade and have left a lasting legacy - the HST, the scan- dals of Ornge, e -Health and cancelled gas plants, full-daykindergarten, the Clean Energy Act, the banning of smoking in workplaces, soaring hydro rates and the "trades tax' They have doubled the provincial debt and yet have held the longest tenure of a Liberal government in Ontario since the 19th century. Although Kathleen Wynne has tried to distance herself from Dalton McGuinty since taking over, she is not a "new kid on the block" and has been part of this Liberal government since the beginning. However, this could be her chance to step out from "Daddy Dalton's" shadow. She was not elected to be the Pre- mier of Ontario, but she has handily won her seat in every election and is very popular amongst Liberals across the province. This is a chance for her to start clean and move on from the past. It appears Horwath's decision to force this election may be backfiring as her popularity numbers have taken a hit in recent polls. These same polls show PC Party Tim Hudak to be the frontrunner for choice of next Premier, but due to the geographics of Ontario, the Liberals' stronghold in Toronto could led them to form another government, albeit a minority. Although the Writ of the election isn't official until today, Horwath, PC leader Tim Hudak and Premier Kath- leen Wynne were all in campaign mode this past weekend. Here in Huron County, the Liber- als nominated their candidate Col- leen Schenk about a month ago and the NDP Partywill elect its candidate later this week, while MPP Lisa Thompson has been readying for Fri- day's announcement for months. Nevertheless, what this 2014 elec- tion comes down to is the willing- ness of Ontarians to actually show some interest in the future of the province. Voter turnouts have fallen to his- toric lows in the last two elections and it may get even worse this time around. The current state of the province had led to voter apathy, where peo- ple claim to be sick of "corruption, scandals and careless spending" of the Liberals but shrug their shoul- ders when given a chance for change. Perhaps many voters see it as a case of "choosing the devil you know over the devil you don't:' Now is not the time for non -com- mitment. Anything less than a majority will be a failure for these three parties and for the people of Ontario, because the Legislature will for the most part look the same as it does now. The Liberals have made their mark on the province - whether you believe it has been for better or for worse. The NDP and Conservatives have to realize that the voters of Ontario do not want to hear about all the past transgressions of the Liberals, they want to know about the future. The Liberals must realize that now is not the time for finger pointing and trying to deflect blame for - it is time to provide a plan for the future, and show voters, such as myself, why we have allowed them to run the show for more than a decade. Because after all, when the cam- paigning, debates, political ads are done and over with, we, the voters, are the ones that have the power to decide the future of this great province. - DF column Big government is never a good thing As unlikely as it seems, I think my grandfather would have liked Lao Tzu. The original John Snobelen was a farmer in southwest Ontario. His generation experienced farming from behind a team of horses. There is not much about the size and function of a modern farm my grandfather would recognize. Back in the day, 50 acres could feed a family. Now huge tractors allow a single family to farm thousands of acres. If the scope and nature of modern farming would sur- prise my grandfather, he would be even more shocked by the changes in his community. Just down the road from his homestead there was a two - room schoolhouse. The church was a few yards in the opposite direction. My grandfather and his neighbours had a direct rela- tionship with those two cor- nerstone community centres. If there was heat in either building it was because they provided the wood. In hundreds of ways my grandfather had daily remind- ers that he was important to the health and well being of his neighbourhood. Today communities are vastly more complex and probably much more efficient. But I'll bet my last dollar that most people don't enjoy the pride a previous genera- tion experienced from the sweat equity they invested in their towns. Which is why I believe my grandfather would have enjoyed the observations of the ancient and mystical Chi- nese philosopher, Lao Tzu. Twenty-six hundred years ago Lao Tzu observed, "When taxes are high, people go hun- gry. When government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit:' The high taxes part is not astounding. It would seem that high taxes have been with us for a long time. But we don't spend much time think- ing about what has been gained and lost in communi- ties as individuals have relinquished control to their governments. Probably huge schools inside of even bigger school boards are vastly more effi- cient than those old school houses. No doubt seniors homes are a welcome addition for a generation that is both too busy and too distant to care for the elderly. In theory, big medical clin- ics provide much better serv- ice than the doctors who vis- ited my grandfather's home. Heck, we've made great improvements. But at what cost? Financially, families are struggling to meet the cost of maintaining and growing the infrastructure a modem com- munity needs. The ever-expanding pro- vincial deficit is a reflection of that struggle. But, for all the ink spilled on the financial deficit, we spend very little time thinking about the spiritual deficit Lao Tzu identified. If government is the answer to every need, who are we? There is no doubt that as governments become bigger and more complex the ability of individuals to have signifi- cant input into things as important as health care and education is reduced. Is that tradeoff worth it? Heck, can we afford it? As the Ontario political par- ties work hard on their cam- paign platforms it might be wise for them to spend a few moments on those questions. Given the financial con- straints, we would be well served by having govern- ments do less, not more things. But there is an even better reason to rethink the size and structure of the public service — people power. Giving parents a greater responsibility for schools would be a great start. Today's politicians might find some wisdom in the rest of Lao Tzu's observation. He advised governments to, "Act for the people's bene- fit, trust them, leave them alone" -John Snobelen