If Radwanski or any other Globe writer had bothered to attend any other the hundreds of public meetings across [Ontario] discussing and rejecting industrial wind turbines, he would have heard vitriol unprecedented in this province. Stories of fraud, bribery and near-extortion were heard at meeting after meeting. The $1.1 billion wasted on moving gas plants to where they aren’t needed is only the tip of the iceberg.
Radwanski, Howlett and the Auditor General get a number of things right and a lot of things badly wrong. The first and largest error is requiring OPG to downsize its workforce with declining electricity production. This is drivel. Nuclear plants require a certain number of skilled trades in them as long as the plant is operational, and that number is fixed.
Cutting the workforce drastically was done in 1994 when Maurice Strong was running the place, and the result was that performance fell off the table within two years. It took more than 10 years to recover from the damage that ill-advised random workforce cutting by Strong had done.
Second, the AG and the Globe parasites moan about salary and compensation. As a utility, OPG has to compete with the private sector to fill these positions. Don’t pay the market scale, and you get the dregs.
Third, the AG and the Globe parasites are whining about union and pension benefits. That may be, but none of this lot sniveled about the Province’s massive giveaways to the teachers unions over the past 10 years.
Long and the short of it is that this is nothing more than a whipping-boy exercise intended to deflect from the government’s troubles over canceled gas plants, and as Kate notes, rural rage over wind turbines.
Kathleen Wynne’s response to OPG and the Auditors Report.
There are some things I want you to know about me
https://twitter.com/Kathleen_Wynne/status/400617102085586944
The only thing that can save Ontario now is if the Toronto media bullying and witch hunt succeeds in driving Rob Ford from office and he decides to run provincially to clean up the liberal’s mess.
It’s an idea whose time has come…
OK, cgh, if you don’t pay premium wages you end up with the dregs. But you end up with slugs when you pay top dollar.
BTW, where can these slugs get better money? Fire them all & replace them with competent & conscientious people who are willing to work for a fraction of what the slugs earn.
Sorry Stan, but I don’t think Rob Ford is the solution. He rode to power in Toronto on the promise of eliminating the “gravy train”, and he won handily because the city was so poorly managed under Miller. But there’s no way he could win a provincial election now that he’s been caught smoking crack. As much as I supported him in the beginning, his continued drunken episodes and now crack smoking have turned me and many other conservatives off. If he can’t control and manage his own life, and continues to show poor decision making in personal matters, why would we choose to trust him with the task of running the province?
Smart people in Ontario know all they need to know about Wynne, she’s part of the McGuinty mess and is continuing to take the province down the path to absolute destruction.
She can run but she can’t hide should be a caption on her running video.
If anyone is paying attention the closures of plants and industries of long standing in this province is enough to start an exodus the likes of which we’ve never dreamed in a province once the economic engine of the country.
DwightDuncan – Dec 11, 2013
OPG should be privatized. Market discipline will be much more effective at addressing the problems than political oversight.
https://twitter.com/DwightDuncan/status/410794650526838784
Proceeds from the disposition of OPG could be applied to the provincial debt or public transit .
https://twitter.com/ScottLuft/status/410817741126246400
Dwight Duncan
2003
McGuinty government stops planned sell-off of OPG Nuclear Inspection Services Division
“We believe there must be strong public oversight to maintain the safety of our nuclear facilities,” said Duncan. “That’s why our government moved quickly to keep its commitment to stop this planned sell-off and protect the public interest.”
http://news.ontario.ca/archive/en/2003/11/06/McGuinty-government-stops-planned-selloff-of-OPG-Nuclear-Inspection-Services-Div.html
2004
“For more than a decade, previous governments have been hamstrung by indecision and ideology,” said Duncan. “They’ve clung to the old Ontario Hydro model, and tried moving to a fully competitive market, and neither has worked. And they’ve done virtually nothing to come to grips with our long-term supply needs.”
http://news.ontario.ca/archive/en/2004/04/15/New-vision-for-electricity-sector-will-mean-new-supply-increased-conservation-st.html
Pete said: “If he can’t control and manage his own life, and continues to show poor decision making in personal matters, why would we choose to trust him with the task of running the province?”
If he showed up drunk every single day and never did anything at all other than smoke dope and chase the secretaries around Queen’s Park, he would still be doing a better job than McGuinty and Wynne.
Why, you ask?
Because if he did -nothing- he would have stopped the active sabotage and flat-out pillage that is destroying this province. If Queens Park ground to a halt and passed zero new legislation for five years it would be an economic miracle here. If they actually cut a few departments the province would explode. The biggest problem would be hiring because everybody with half a brain and one good arm would be working already.
Just so we’re clear where we stand.
“Fire them all & replace them with competent & conscientious people who are willing to work for a fraction of what the slugs earn.”
You don’t understand how a labour market works, do you? There are no such people “willing to work for a fraction…” because they’ve already been hired for better paying jobs elsewhere. Where, you ask? Every underperforming corporation is always looking for CEOs and senior Execs who can do better than the current gang. If not, the shareholders get tired of the losses, and, like happened to Canadian Pacific, fire most of the Board.
I also believe it will take a major change in the Political Class in Ontario Stan. But Rob Ford is not the way. The Ontario Taxpayers outside of Toronto only know Mayor Ford from the media screed which is ongoing.
Unfortunately the one major News Chain which used to present a understanding of the conservative standards and was at least fair is now just another orifice for the liberal/Liberal/progressive message. I recently cancelled a long time paid subscription.
Tim Hudak, full disclosure-I know Mr. Hudak, obviously is personally not part of the Ottawa Liberal Politico group, which started to control Toronto after the Ottawa contingent lost their Federal trough. Tim is also not part of the Ontario Urban Conservative P.C. Political Class.
What happened to Tim Hudak? Tim is a competent politician with an ethical base, recognizing the arena he operates in is the “art of the possible”.
Unfortunately Tim arrived at a conclusion the conservatives will not be able to get elected in Ontario without Toronto’s voters, when John Tory beat Jim Flaherty for leader of the Ontario P.C. Party a few years back.
IF Hudak could now move back to his own basic conservative philosophy and recognize he did become the Conservative Leader after John Tory’s Election Loss and that Rob Ford still maintains the conservative support within Toronto which gave Ford the Mayoralty win, then Tim Hudak will be able to succeed in the next Ontario election.
What Hudak has to do: is stop being afraid of the Toronto liberal/Liberal media. Anything he does will be criticized by this panic driven group of terriers.
What Hudak has to do: is not to quietly stand aside and let the terriers ignore him. This is part of the Liberal strategy.
What Hudak must do: short of using addictive substances, is become controversial in his remarks and actions. The Toronto Center Media continual braying has destroyed their credibility. Ignoring Toronto as being necessary, will not only be a good way to capture Rob Ford’s contingency but: will solidify the outside of Toronto vote.
Opinion? sure is, but it is more than ideal conjecture, it is an experienced person’s opinion who never lost an election. Cheers;
It will be most interesting to see what candidates the Liberal Party will campaign with in rural Ontario ridings. It doesn’t take much imagination to envision a massacre of these __________. It may even involve a real life massacre of same. There is such a chasm between rural and urban it puts the Grand Canyon to shame. Unfortunately the policy of government for the past 2 generations to depopulate the countryside has made the rural regions mostly neutered in the political process.
Sorry Phantom, I have to disagree with you. The provincial government is a very large beast that needs to be reined in, controlled, and tamed. The Liberals have spent 8 years putting their people into key positions. It’s going to take some strong leadership and excellent people management skills to begin to repair the damage that’s been done. My 2ยข