Kathleen Wynne wants all MPPs’ expenses made public

[BornRuff]

No mention of Electrical Safety Authority, Hydro One Networks Inc., Hydro One Remote Communities Inc., Hydro One Telecom Inc., Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation or Ontario Power Generation?

The MOST trouble with expenses?

Prior to the sellout, those FIVE companies were Ontario Hydro - minus nuclear power generating

I could try to piece together your partial thoughts from each post and make a good guess at what you are trying to say, but you could also just say what is on your mind and then this would all be easier.

If I am going to guess, you are saying that you think the most waste happens in these organizations. Is that correct?

Riiight you did :roll:

Do you really think that my comment about becoming a notary to avoid being charged with sexual assault was a serious one?

 

[lone wolf]

Your list failed to include them. Why do you suppose Harris "thought it necessary" to break Ontario Hydro up? Do you remember Elenor Clithero? Darlington? Wessleyville? Pickering? Bruce?

An NP (or any serious student, for that matter) should be capable of doing some research on his own - otherwise you'd just draw MY conclusions.

 

[BornRuff]

Your list failed to include them. Why do you suppose Harris "thought it necessary" to break Ontario Hydro up? Do you remember Elenor Clithero? Darlington? Wessleyville? Pickering? Bruce?

My comments were not meant to be exhaustive of every case of government waste ever. It was a general statement that expenses tend to be a bigger problem in government agencies than within the offices of MPPs themselves.

An NP (or any serious student, for that matter) should be capable of doing some research on his own - otherwise you'd just draw MY conclusions.

Lol, I am not a notary public! It was a joke about the sexual assault laws mentioned in a different thread.

"This is why I went out and became a licensed notary. Now everything is nice and legal with only a few minutes of paperwork. Going all the way to the court house was really a mood killer."

Does that honestly sound like a serious comment in regards to my sex life?

Anyways.......

No amount of research is going to tell me what you are talking about. I am not asking you to teach me anything, I am trying to have a conversation with you.

 

[SLM]

Today's mail came with a message from Hydro One. I'll spare the details. It starts with:

"First and foremost, I would like to apologize to you if you are experiencing billing and customer service issues. As the leader of Hydro One, I am directly accountable for customer service and I promise you that I will focus our resources on not only fixing these problems but on changing our customer service culture"

It goes on to address a lot of bugs in the billing system in need of correction.

Hopefully, Carmine Marcello isn't heading out the door and his promises come to naught....

Ah yes, the generic apology that doesn't specify what will be done or give any sort of real timeline. The only real tell on that is if the Ontario Ombudsman notes a decrease in complaints.

 

[lone wolf]

My comments were not meant to be exhaustive of every case of government waste ever. It was a general statement that expenses tend to be a bigger problem in government agencies than within the offices of MPPs themselves.



Lol, I am not a notary public! It was a joke about the sexual assault laws mentioned in a different thread.

"This is why I went out and became a licensed notary. Now everything is nice and legal with only a few minutes of paperwork. Going all the way to the court house was really a mood killer."

Does that honestly sound like a serious comment in regards to my sex life?

Anyways.......

No amount of research is going to tell me what you are talking about. I am not asking you to teach me anything, I am trying to have a conversation with you.

I have a personal issue with Ontario so its wasteful practices scare the hell out of me. This link saves a LOT of typing: Ontario eh | Ontario eh

Minimum wage drives prices at the grocery store up. In a heavily union-payscale region, the grocer doesn't mind charging what the highest-paid will pay. I've already given up eating anywhere but home, most outside entertainment - including a lot of driving - and sticking to the law with regards to cigarettes.

Car insurance in Ontario is getting beyond my means. Commercially, I have well over 1.5 million accident-free miles beneath my butt. I have a seven-star rating and a driving record I will proudly compare with any in the province - yet I pay more to insure the damned car than I actually do to drive it.

Fortunately, my mortgage is paid off because I pay more for light and heat than those mortgage payments were. Hydro rates that are artificially inflated - while at the same time, subsidized for sale to other jurisdictions - are far from fair and ethical business practice

When I say agenda - I mean I hope to get folk to actually THINK before they cast a ballot. This province didn't go in the hole because of left policies or right policies. It went into hock because of opposition for the sake of opposition, non-co-operation and just plain greed.

As far as how anyone else lives their lives, I really couldn't give a damn. What's right for me isn't the master switch for anyone else. If you're happy ... be it

Ah yes, the generic apology that doesn't specify what will be done or give any sort of real timeline. The only real tell on that is if the Ontario Ombudsman notes a decrease in complaints.

Eureka! That was my thought when I opened the paper....

 

[SLM]

When I say agenda - I mean I hope to get folk to actually THINK before they cast a ballot. This province didn't go in the hole because of left policies or right policies. It went into hock because of opposition for the sake of opposition, non-co-operation and just plain greed.

Right on!

Eureka! That was my thought when I opened the paper....

Got to love those non-specific promises eh? Like "we're doing all we can".....um, like what, exactly?

 

[Liberalman]

Liberals can be trusted

 

[lone wolf]

Excuse my skepticism....

 

[SLM]

Liberals can be trusted

Oh bull ****. No politician can be trusted, that's why we need accountability measures in place.

 

[PoliticalNick]

Oh bull ****. No politician can be trusted,

Yet people still go vote for them. :roll:

Now how about my idea of getting our representatives from a random selection from eligible voters every 2 years instead of wasting money on electing criminals. It would be just like jury duty...mandatory civil service with pay and your old job waiting for you when you're done.

...that's why we need accountability measures in place.

Actually that is why we need a different system that prevents these crooks and corporate controlled peons from running the show.

 

[lone wolf]

Eliminate the party system. Gang mentality doesn't lend itself to co-operative effort.

 

[BornRuff]

Eliminate the party system. Gang mentality doesn't lend itself to co-operative effort.

A decent amount of party discipline is more efficient though. If you look at the US, where there are more people acting with more autonomy, it really lends itself to pork barrel spending. So much wasteful crap is tacked onto bills to try to persuade enough people to vote for it.

 

[lone wolf]

Party discipline is one thing. A Member acting in his/her constituents' best interests is another. Winter road maintenance and the spring bear hunt are the best examples locally. In the North, we have terrible representation

 

[BornRuff]

Party discipline is one thing. A Member acting in his/her constituents' best interests is another. Winter road maintenance and the spring bear hunt are the best examples locally. In the North, we have terrible representation

It can get kind of crazy though. You end up with education reform/bear hunting bills and all of these little add-ons never get the full consideration and scrutiny that they deserve.

Obviously the MPPs are there to represent their constituents, but when every MPP becomes too focused on bringing something back specifically for their riding on every vote you end up with so much waste.

 

[lone wolf]

Agreed, it can get confusing with local stuff. In Sudbury, we have Rick Bartolicci who, in the Harris/Eves years, was adamant in his support for Ontario Northland. Under McGuinty/Wynne, he is in complete agreement with sell/dismember/repurpose (whichever is the flavour of the day) ON is vital to the North. ON is a prime mover in Ring of Fire. ON transported all the gold and silver that made Toronto what it is today - but the South - primarily GTA - is focused on Metrolinx and transit. Here is where the free vote is almost a requirement

 

[BornRuff]

Agreed, it can get confusing with local stuff. In Sudbury, we have Rick Bartolicci who, in the Harris/Eves years, was adamant in his support for Ontario Northland. Under McGuinty/Wynne, he is in complete agreement with sell/dismember/repurpose (whichever is the flavour of the day) ON is vital to the North. ON is a prime mover in Ring of Fire. ON transported all the gold and silver that made Toronto what it is today - but the South - primarily GTA - is focused on Metrolinx and transit. Here is where the free vote is almost a requirement

How would more free votes really change that? You still need to get the votes, and there simply are not all that many votes up in the northern part of the province. You guys are probably better off in a party system where at least if your representative can sway the party they will have enough votes to get something done.

Ontario Northland is a tough one, since ridership isn't growing but the amount of money that it costs us to run it keeps going up.

If the Ring of Fire ever does get sorted out though, there is no reason that they would need government subsidized rail to move all that stuff.

 

[PoliticalNick]

How would more free votes really change that? You still need to get the votes, and there simply are not all that many votes up in the northern part of the province. You guys are probably better off in a party system where at least if your representative can sway the party they will have enough votes to get something done.

Ontario Northland is a tough one, since ridership isn't growing but the amount of money that it costs us to run it keeps going up.

All this talk of a party system being wonderful yet in the constitutions of England, USA and Canada all call for independent representatives.

 

[BornRuff]

All this talk of a party system being wonderful yet in the constitutions of England, USA and Canada all call for independent representatives.

In what way is that phrased? It would be pretty surprising to find out that we have been ignoring the constitution since the dawn of our country.

 

[lone wolf]

How would more free votes really change that? You still need to get the votes, and there simply are not all that many votes up in the northern part of the province. You guys are probably better off in a party system where at least if your representative can sway the party they will have enough votes to get something done.

Ontario Northland is a tough one, since ridership isn't growing but the amount of money that it costs us to run it keeps going up.

If the Ring of Fire ever does get sorted out though, there is no reason that they would need government subsidized rail to move all that stuff.

That's why I say the North has terrible representation - especially along party lines where a goodly part is NDP. Bartolucci's stance against ON stood directly in opposition of Cliffs - who was going to set up smelting operations for Ring chromate in Greater Sudbury - his own riding. I have no doubt support for Ontario jobs exists in other ridings - PC and Liberal.

The Northlander is dead. I don't suppose there is any hope for its resurrection. The line she ran on, logically, should have been transferred to ON upon abandonment by Canadian National. Today it's truncated at Barrie, provincially owned and operated by Metrolinx.

 

[PoliticalNick]

In what way is that phrased?

As I tell everyone...go read the darn thing! All of it. Then read it again with a dictionary to be sure you understand it.

It would be pretty surprising to find out that we have been ignoring the constitution since the dawn of our country.

and I would be surprised if you actually downloaded the PDF and read the document. If you did, and you made sure you understood it, you would realize our govt ignores the constitution on a daily basis on a multitude of issues....but don't take my word for it....GO READ THE F*CKING THING!!!!!

Here, I'll get you started....
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/CONST_E.pdf
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/CONST_E.pdf#page=69