Sunday, February 5, 2023

No products in the cart.

  • About
    • Contributors
    • Disclaimers
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Giving back
    • Mission Statement
    • Past Issues
    • Where to Find
    • Call us at 613-935-3763
  • Advertise With Us!
 
 
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinions
  • Lifestyle
  • Events
  • Columnists
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Not a Merry Christmas for MPP Jim McDonell under the Wynne Liberals

Jason Setnyk by Jason Setnyk
December 23, 2016
in News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
5
SHARES
26
VIEWS

Cornwall Ontario – SDSG MPP Jim McDonell sent out his end of year message to the media. Although he wishes everyone a Merry Christmas, based on the content of his year end message it’s pretty safe to say that MPP Jim McDonell is not having a ‘Merry Christmas’ under the Wynne Liberals.

You might also like

Five Questions with Kashenni:iostha of C.U.R.E.A.

Five Questions with Kendra Richard of Spilt Photography

Cornwall Hospital Enhancing Eating Disorder Awareness with Child and Youth Mental Health Staff

MPP Jim McDonell writes:

Life continues to get more expensive under the Wynne Liberals.

As we look back at 2016, we see a world, a country and a province where things are constantly changing. While our new federal Liberal government is completing its first full year in power, our neighbours to the south are now just on the eve of a new regime taking over. It will be interesting to look back in a year from now to reflect on the anticipated changes the critics are highlighting as the Obama presidency comes to an end.

On the provincial scene, no issue shocked our community more than the release of the Pupil Accommodation Reviews in late September, recommending the closure of up to 20 local schools. This immediately rallied groups from all areas of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry in support of these important community hubs. Letters, petitions, and protests have garnered words of support for our rural schools from the Premier and the Minister of Education, but over the next couple of months, we will see if they are willing to back those words up with appropriate funding and the resolve to look at the funding models needed to support education in rural and Northern Ontario. While nobody suggests that none of the 600 schools slated for closure across the province are untouchable, it clearly shows that there needs to be a public discussion on education in Ontario.

We did see some positive moves in the province. First, we saw the government back off the closures of our local Service Ontario Centres, which are so critical as tough economic times require direct and timely access to provincial programs for more and more people. The cuts to autism services and the closure of provincial demonstration schools rallied parents from all corners of the province, as they saw these life-changing programs being cancelled. After weeks of denying the cuts to parents who literally had cancellation letters in their hands, the government finally reversed course and announced the continuance of these desperately needed programs. And finally, we are seeing positive action on my motion to shorten the 30-business day delay in returning drivers’ licenses after medical clearance, a clear indication that the government could not justify the delay.

As 2016 draws to an end, we continue to hear of the silent cuts to health care, education and other provincial services. Despite the doubling of the fees, taxes and debt, the years of waste, scandal and mismanagement have made life unaffordable and resulted in many companies leaving Ontario, taking their good-paying jobs with them.

The New Year will also bring in the largest change to our tax system since the Second World War with the introduction of the new Cap and Trade tax. As pointed out by the Premier of Saskatchewan, there has been no evaluation of the economic impact of this plan on our economy and its effect on our ability to continue to support the social programs that we so desperately need and deserve. The new tax was slammed by both the Environmental Commissioner and the Financial Accountability Officer in recently released reports, highlighting that this scheme is more focused on raising revenues rather than cutting emissions. Only 20% of the government’s planned emission cuts will occur in Ontario, with California receiving billions of dollars for paper carbon credits generated by their emission reductions. This finding blows a hole in the government’s clean air rhetoric. Ontario will only experience theoretical emission cuts, while our businesses fork out $8 billion within the next 3 years to California and about $2 billion per year thereafter for these credits. The costs will be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices, reduced supply and, potentially, fewer jobs. She estimates that it will increase the cost per household for electricity by an additional 23% by 2020. The increase will be devastating for residents and businesses. That $8 billion equates to 163,000 average Ontario annual salaries, removed from our economy by 2020 and sent to California. Does the government truly believe this won’t shock our agriculture, manufacturing, and services sectors? Should we not instead be working with our huge American neighbour and largest trading partner to introduce a revenue-neutral, broader continental plan, if we really are looking for realistic positive results?

As we welcome in the New Year, I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe, healthy and Happy New Year in 2017. The winter break will allow me to meet with many of you to listen to your issues and concerns so that I can be your voice at Queen’s Park.

MPP Jim McDonell
Member of Provincial Parliament
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry

Author

  • Jason Setnyk
    Jason Setnyk

    Jason Setnyk is a high school teacher, journalist, published and award winning author and photographer. He writes 5 Questions With and interviews.

    View all posts

Tags: Kathleen WynneMPP Jim McDonellPoliticsQueens Park
Next Post

Cornwall Colts win 4th in a row - Liam Lascelle makes 33 saves

 
 
 
 
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube TikTok
Don't miss anything!

Get notified of all our new news by ringing the bell at the bottom left corner!

Content Safety

HERO

theseeker.ca

Trustworthy

Approved by Sur.ly

2022
The Seeker Newspaper is located at 327 Second Street E., Cornwall, ON K6H 1Y8 -- All rights reserved
The Seeker does not accept responsibility for errors, misprints or inaccuracies published within. The opinions and statements of our columnists are not to be presumed as the statements and opinions of The Seeker, and should not substitute professional or medical advice.
ISSN 2562-1750 (Print)

ISSN 2562-1769 (Online)
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinions
  • Lifestyle
  • Events
  • Columnists
  • Videos

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.