The latest conspiracy theory being propagated by extremists in the NDP is the idea that Ontario is hoarding vaccines. You might have heard the allegation from NDP Oshawa MPP Jennifer French that "there are vaccine doses sitting in freezers." Nothing could be further from the truth. The accusation was so wrong and so inflammatory that Ontario's Chief Coroner Dr. Dirk Huyer specifically addressed it at a news conference on Thursday. Dr. Huyer confirmed that while vaccines are, in fact, stored in freezers, they are immediately allocated to a vaccination destination (like a vaccine clinic or a pharmacy). The goal is to get them out the door as fast as possible. City of Toronto health officials also went public to state emphatically, "We do not stockpile vaccine." Now, of course, we are talking about vaccines. They are not like a six pack of beer that you throw in a cooler in the trunk of your car. Vaccines must be stored at a specifically cold temperature until they are administered to a patient. So technically, yes, vaccines are stored in "freezers." But the point is that they are delivered as soon as possible to a clinic or pharmacy. They don't sit around and there is no hoarding. So the NDP conspiracy theory being advanced by Jennifer French is false. As of March 31, 2021 Ontario had adminstered over 2 million doses of vaccine. That number could have been much higher but 800,000 doses promised by the federal government never arrived. By April 9, 2021 Ontario had administered over 3 million doses of vaccine. For an intelligent explanation of how vaccines are distributed through Ontario's supply chain, you can read or watch this interview with Dr. Isaac Bogoch of Ontario's Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force. However, if conspiracy theories are more your thing, you can read NDP Oshawa MPP Jennifer French's news release on her website.
The NDP laid out their pre-budget wish list on March 18, 2021. You can read the NDP budget priorities by going to the NDP website. Among the NDP budget requests were hospital improvements for Scarborough and a new hospital for Brampton. This was how it was presented in an NDP online slideshow: And this is how it was presented on the official NDP website. What about the new hospital project for Windsor and Essex County? Well, you won't find that in the NDP budget slideshow or the online budget proposal. The NDP has 3 MPPs in the Windsor-Essex region. Did they forget about us?
Do you remember the over-the-top fanfare that accompanied the appointment of Canada's now ex-Governor General Julie Payette? Here are some examples. Some people were so in love with this appointment that they gushed about Ms. Payette's admittedly impressive accomplishments. For example, here is the unabashed love-article from a now probably-slightly-embarrassed news reporter: Well the gushing and the fanfare are over. Madame Payette is resigning after 3 years of controversy. A workplace investigation is so damning of her behaviour that she is leaving the post at least 2 years earlier than anticipated. Instead of being a "role model for Canadian Girls," she has been identified as the chief problem in a toxic workplace. And let's face it, the Governor-General's office is a pretty cushy place to work. You'd have to be pretty poisonous to poison that cushy workplace. Do you know what the Governor-General does? Aside from her ceremonial duties, her real-life functions are to either approve or deny the Prime Minister's requests to prorogue parliament, and to approve or deny the Prime Minister's requests for an election. The Governor-General is the nation's democratic gatekeeper. And for that role, it would be very useful to have a background in law (preferably constitutional law) and/or parliamentary history. I invite you now to scroll through the many impressive accomplishments of Julie Payette. Which one of those would prepare her for the role of our nation's democratic gatekeeper?I don't know about you, but choosing a flag-bearing, scuba-diving, astronaut-engineer for Governor-General makes about as much sense as choosing a black-facing, dictatorship-loving, drama teacher for Prime Minister.Trudeau didn't choose Payette because she was qualified for the job (she was not). Trudeau chose Payette because, like him, she was a symbol. Here's the sad part: Justin Trudeau could have chosen among many, many qualified women who have the legal and/or historical background to understand the role of Governor-General and to execute those duties professionally and responsibly. I could name five qualified women right here in Essex County. Instead, he chose a symbol. Yep, many qualified women got passed over for this role because Justin Trudeau preferred symbolism over substance. Symbolism over substance: that defines Justin Trudeau.
If you start from the corner of Hwy 401 and County Road 103, and head north, you will arrive at the lovely Village of Newbury, Ontario, population 439. Newbury is "a full service community in the Heart of Skunks Misery," (as they proudly proclaim on the village website). Newbury also happens to be the home of the famous McNaughton Home Hardware. McNaughton's offers not only the same goods and services as any other Home Hardware, but it's also a kind of commerical general store with an LCBO, food sales, and more. It is a local, family-owned business like so many in Ontario. The store was formerly owned by the family of provincial Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton but they sold it in 2016. The sale was quite an event, as you can imagine for a community of 439 people. It was reported far and wide. To this day, if you Google "NcNaughton Home Hardware sold," you will get numerous hits celebrating the sale of the store. Below is a sample from the London Free Press of August 2, 2016. That's Monte McNaughton on the far left of the photo. You can do a quick online search for the McNaughton Home Hardware on the Village of Newbury website. The website shows that the store sits in the M1 zone of town which permits "commercial use." That's why the store has been selling everything from liquor, to food, to hardware literally for years. It's pretty simple, really. They have the zoning for it, so they can do it. You can easily verify that online by reading the Village of Newbury zoning by-law. The store has coolers and sells frozen food (not eggs or milk), in addition to their usual fare. Of course, that's logical, because they are zoned for "commercial use." Now here is where things get a bit political for the Village of Newbury. Some people who aren't from Newbury, don't know Newbury, and maybe have never shopped in Newbury, think it's not fair for NcNaughton Home Hardware (not owned by Monte McNaughton) to sell eggs and milk (even though they are not selling eggs or milk). For example, here is a tweet from former Essex NDP MP Tracey Ramsey, posted on January 4, 2021. She accuses Monte McNaughton of skirting rules to sell eggs and milk (even though they are not selling eggs or milk). She also accuses Monte McNaughton of "abusing power" and accuses him of being "privileged." Of course, the accusations made by Tracey Ramsey are silly. If she bothered to look up the zoning by-law (which is easily available online) she would realize that the store is zoned for selling food. And if she bothered to do even a short internet search, she would realize that McNaughton Home Hardware (not owned by Monte McNaughton) has been selling food for years. She might even learn that McNaughton Home Hardware isn't owned by Monte McNaughton. But I suppose Ms. Ramsey can be forgiven. After all, she was relying on information provided by some guy named Mike Radan. And who is Mike Radan? Well, it turns out that Mike Radan is the twice-defeated, unsuccessful Liberal candidate in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. That’s the same riding Mr. McNaughton represents. Mike Radan lost two elections in a row to Mr. McNaughton. Below are the official election results from Elections Ontario. Maybe Mr. Radan has a chip on his shoulder? And maybe I'm being too easy on Ms. Ramsey. After all, I verified all this information on the internet from the comfort of my own home. She could have done that. For example, the whole history of the store is available right on their website, which verifies that the owner is actually Graham Young (not Monte McNaughton). Or you could just call them (like I did) at 1-800-265-4259. The staff is very friendly.
You would think that Ms. Ramsey, being a former MP herself, would be a bit wiser than to throw around false accusations without first doing a little homework. Accusing a public figure of skirting the rules and "abusing power" is pretty inflamatory, and perhaps even slanderous. But in my experience of politics there are different kinds of politicians. There are the ones who do their homework. And then there are the Tracey Ramseys. Anyways, I'm sure looking forward to visiting Newbury, Ontario after the lockdown is lifted. I'm going to buy eggs and milk (but not at McNaughton's). And I might even get a ladder and a bottle of wine. Newbury, Ontario sounds like my kind of town. Take a look at the statistics below. These are the latest statistics about Ontario schools. They come from the Ontario Ministry of Education website which reports daily. As of December 2, 2020, there were a total of 5,024 reported cases of Covid-19 in Ontario schools since the start of the school year. The total provincial student population is approxmately 2 million. So that's 5,024 out of 2,000,000 or approximately 0.2%. It's so small, it's hard to express in words. 0.2% is less than one percent. It's actually one-fifth of one percent. In other words, 99.8% of Ontario school students have not tested positive for Covid-19. The total number of schools currently closed in Ontario is 6 out of 4,828. So that's 0.1% of all schools. That's one-tenth of one percent. In other words, 99.9% of all Ontario schools are still open.
Much of the credit for this success must be given to teachers. They are the ones who bear the responsibility of enforcing classroom rules on a day-to-day basis. Getting school-aged children to routinely observe rules is an important skill in ordinary times, and it's doubly-important now. Let's compare this success to the crazy predictions made by some people only a few months ago. For example, the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party called Ontario's back-to-school plan "half baked" and said it would be "nothing short of a catastrophe." He was totally wrong. Not to be outdone, local NDP Chicken Littles continue to cry "the sky is falling." In their latest press release, they announce, "alarm bells are ringing loud and clear." This is nothing new. They opposed the Ontario back-to-school plan back in September and are still opposing it. Why? The statistics are in. 99.8% of Ontario students have not tested positive for Covid-19. 99.9% of Ontario schools remain open. Ontario's back-to-school plan was and is a success. We don’t want this success to end. Let’s all remain vigilant. Let’s keep reminding our school-aged children to follow the rules and stay safe. Stay home if you're sick. Wash hands, wear masks, and keep physically distant. Let's keep this success going. Let’s imagine you work for the government. Now let’s imagine a charity gave you a $41,000 vacation. Now let’s imagine that very same charity asked you for a $50 million government contract. Remember, you just received a $41,000 vacation from this charity. And now they are asking you for $50 million. What do you do?
You are probably thinking that was easy. Well, easy for you. Not so easy for Bill Morneau, Canada’s multi-millionaire Minister of Finance. You see, Mr. Morneau got a $41,000 vacation from a charity called WE. Now let me stop right there. You’re probably thinking: what kind of “charity” goes around giving away $41,000 vacations, and especially to multi-millionaires? Kind of strange, eh? And then Mr. Morneau voted to give that very same charity a government contract for $50 million. Unfortunately, Mr. Morneau, with his many years of corporate governance experience and specialized ministerial training, forgot to declare a “conflict of interest.” In other words, he’s not as smart as you are. Now I suppose you could be forgiven if you suspected something unethical here. Like some kind of quid pro quo like, “you give me free stuff and I will funnel taxpayers money to you.” But wait, there’s more! The Prime Minister’s mother (Margaret Trudeau) was also getting money from the very same “charity.” The charity paid Margaret over $300,000 to give speeches. Let me stop there. You’re probably thinking: what kind of “charity” goes around paying over $300,000 just for speeches? Kind of strange, eh? And then multi-millionaire Mr. Trudeau voted to give that same charity a government contract for $50 million. Unfortunately, Mr. Trudeau, with his many years of government experience and specialized government training, forgot to declare a “conflict of interest.” In other words, he’s not as smart as you are. Now I suppose you could be forgiven if you suspected something unethical here. Like some kind of quid pro quo like, “you give my mother lots of money and I will funnel taxpayers money to you.” But wait, there’s more! Let’s imagine you gave away a big $50 million contract to a “charity” that gave you a free $41,000 vacation. What would your boss do to you? You’d get fired. Yep. Fired. Now it just might interest you to know that Mr. Trudeau is Mr. Morneau’s boss. And you and I probably agree that Mr. Morneau deserves to be fired. Except that Mr. Trudeau is kind of guilty of doing (or failing to do) exactly what Mr. Morneau did (or failed to do). That is, they both gave away a big $50 million government contract in situations where they were both in what seems to be a very obvious conflict of interest. So who’s going to fire who? Now I suppose you could be forgiven if you suspected something unethical here. Like some kind of quid pro quo like, “I will turn a blind eye to your indiscretions if you turn a blind eye to mine.” But all of that would be quite cynical of us. It would be cynical for taxpayers to believe that the two highest-ranking multi-millionaire elected officials in the federal government specifically concocted a scheme whereby they would funnel taxpayers money to a “charity” that would then use the money to reward politicians and family members. That would be cynical. But then again, it seems to be very easy just to declare “conflict of interest” and let someone else make the decision. After all, go back to the beginning of this article. Did you get the answer right to the question? If you did, wasn't it easy? Easy for you. Not so easy for others. It's getting harder and harder to pin down the self-contradicting NDP on migrant farm workers. In a news release just 3 months ago, on March 20, 2020, the federal NDP called for:
The federal and provincial governments followed up and did exactly what everyone agreed to: providing guarantees that migrant workers could arrive in Ontario and also providing loans and grants to farmers (not workers) for Covid-19 related expenses. You would think that would make everyone happy right? Wrong. Fast forward to June 2, 2020. The federal NDP issues a new press release. This one contradicts their views from only three months ago. Now the NDP are saying:
Well if Covid-19 cases among migrant farm workers are "alarming and disturbing," why did the federal NDP want to get these migrant farm workers into Ontario so fast back in March? Why didn't the NDP call for strict border controls and screening measures for migrant farm workers? And if migrant farm workers are subjected to "abuses and inhuman treatment," then why did the federal NDP support giving loans and grants to the very same farmers who are (allegedly) guilty of these things? Hmmm? And as if to make my point, here is a press release from Essex MPP Taras Natyshak. Essentially Natyshak contradicts the federal NDP and says:
Huh? So let's get this straight, the federal NDP gets exactly what it wants and then the provincial NDP complains about it. They contradict each other. But they both say that local Essex County farmers exploit migrant farm workers. Here is a June 12, 2020 news report where Natyshak is said to make that nasty allegation. What's funny is that the federal NDP contradiction was issued on June 2, 2020 and it took Natyshak another 10 days to come up with his own written version on June 12, 2020. Why didn't he just cut and paste the federal NDP contradiction? That would have saved him lots of time. Here's what's not funny: the NDP accusation that Essex County farmers are exploiters. If the allegations of "inhuman treatment" are true, then why would the federal NDP support giving money to farmers? And if the allegations of exploitation are true, then where does that leave MPP Taras Natyshak, in favour of giving money to Essex County farmers, or against it? Here's the truth of it: the NDP want to portray themselves as the protector of workers; and simultaneosly want to portray themselves as the friend to farmers. So they get caught in this contradictory problem of being both for and against Essex County farmers. And that's why it's getting harder and harder to pin down the self-contradicting NDP on migrant farm workers. If you live in Essex County, you know that thousands of migrant farm workers (or "temporary foreign workers") come to Canada from other countries. In any given year there are about 24,000 to 35,000 migrant farm workers in Ontario. These migrant farm workers often do strenuous work on Essex County farms. Yesterday, Essex MPP Taras Natyshak released a public statement regarding migrant farm workers. Natyshak says that 2 migrant farm workers have died from Covid-19 and action must be taken "before more lives are lost." Sounds alarming, doesn't it? At least Natyshak makes it sound that way. The provincial government has allocated money to farms for the purchase of protective equipment for workers. Natyshak criticizes it saying, "cutting cheques to farmers" is a "disastrous plan." Really? The farm is the employer and the employer provides the protective equipment. It is the employer who provides the protective equipment in every single industry in Ontario. How is this "disastrous?" Would Natyshak prefer giving the money to the migrant farm workers and then force them to go out and find protective equipment on their own? Natyshak says migrant farm workers should get "guaranteed paid sick days." But Natyshak doesn't seem to realize that migrant farm workers get the same pay and benefits as anyone else. According to Employment and Social Development Canada: "You must provide temporary foreign workers with the same wages and benefits as those provided to Canadian and permanent resident employees working in the same occupation." Yep. That's the law. You can look it up on the Government of Canada website under Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program Wages, working conditions and occupations. Farm work is physically demanding. Farm owners have a difficult time attracting Canadians to farm labour jobs. As a result, Canada has been importing farm workers for decades. Farm workers from other countries love coming to Canada because the pay is exponentially higher and the work is easier than in their home countries. But Natyshak doesn't seem to understand that. In reality, the farm worker program provides the agricultural industry with desperately needed labour, and the workers with better wages and conditions than they get back home. That's right. Farm workers are better off in Canada than they are in their countries of origin. It's certainly sad that 2 farm workers have died in the current epidemic. But Natyshak's alarmism is exactly that: alarmism. Natyshak seems to be misinformed about even the basic rules around foreign workers. The program for temporary foreign workers is a success. So if you ate today, thank a farmer and thank a migrant farm worker. You should be used to it by now. Prime Minister Trudeau emerges from his taxpayer-funded mansion, like a daily groundhog, to announce billions of dollars in deficit spending. After taking a few soft-ball questions, he retreats back into his taxpayer-funded mansion to continue with day 52 or 57 or 63 of his 14-day quarantine. He may emerge again tomorrow, if he does not see his own shadow. Are you a millenial? Are you in your 20s? Then all of this should make you cringe. Let me explain why. As of today, your personal share of the federal debt stands at about $34,000. That doesn't include provincial debt, municipal debt, and the debts of various government corporations. It also doesn't include long-term government liabilities (like pensions for civil servants). And, yes, you are going to pay the interest on all that debt. You are either going to pay it through taxes, or through some other mechanism that robs you of any chance to get ahead in life. All other taxpayers will pay for it, too. But millenials will pay the most, because they are just entering the workforce now, and will inherit most of the debt. Here's a tool that will help illustrate this problem. It's called What's My Tax Burden? It is produced by Generation Screwed. Don't treat it as an exact calculation. Treat it as a tool which explains why the millenial generation just can't seem to get ahead. And that's why you should cringe every time your groundhog Prime Minster emerges from his taxpayer-funded mansion to annouce more debt. He is essentially piling the debt on the shoulders of your generation, and making it harder and harder for you and your generation to get ahead in life.
Amherstburg's part-time Mayor was paid a total of $84,203.33 in 2019. This included $71,113.94 for serving as Mayor of Amherstburg, and compensation for representing Amherstburg at Essex Power. The Mayor of Amherstburg was paid an additional $13,089.39 for sitting on Essex County Council, bringing his total compensation package to $84,203.33. That's very good pay for a part-time job. As we know, the Mayor of Amherstburg missed many meetings in 2019 due to an undisclosed illness. But he still managed to spend $6,561.90 on public receptions, and $1,530.30 on training and conferences. |
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