A new term coined by MK Braaten.
…firms are starting to flee Ontario faster then suspected leadership candidates are fleeing the Liberal party. Why you may ask? Well, rising costs of business, increases in the value of the Canadian currency, and high corporate tax rates are to blame. Things aren�t looking good, and they�re not getting better anytime soon. Today Michelin tires was the latest victim of Jackonomics.
Which reminds me of something mentioned by a Canadian financial expert that caught my ear (a radio interview) earlier this year – economic growth and job creation in Ontario is no longer centered in Toronto and vicinity. The economy there has stalled. Other regions – the north, etc. are now that province’s engines of growth.
Just keep those stupid TAX and SPEND lib/left idiots in power and West will benifit.
“I completely understand the need for a healthy and vibrant Toronto. This city-state is the sparkplug of the economic engine of Ontario, which itself is the largest generator of wealth and jobs in the nation.”
Garth Turner
http://www.garth.ca/speech-archive/speech-2006-01-30.shtml
Unfortunately, you can’t have “working families” if there aren’t any jobs.
I have no idea where the centers of economic growth are in Ontario, north, south, east or west. One of my buddies whose work near Toronto is related to the pharmaceutical industry is doing very well (though lately he started outsourcing manufacturing to China). Other than that, I hear nothing but complaints from my acquaintances in the business world about how government is literally killing them. It’s the taxes, the regulations, finding out that their politically-connected competitors are getting subsidies, and generally feeling like the tide is running against them. A common refrain that I hear is that they’re working twice as hard to make less money than ever. And they’re laying off their help too, and sometimes they just give up and get a government job.
As far as I can tell every large city in Ontario is run by a coalition of Liberal/NDP socialists, who have strong organizational and family connections with their fellow partisans at the provincial and federal level. It’s rule by gangsters. Every stupid, leftist, anti-business, pro-government policy is echoed and amplified by these cronies, whether it’s Kyoto, bilingualism, or welfare plans of all kinds, from health care to daycare to gaycare.
I can only conclude that the average Ontarian hates and fears the idea of private businesses, private investment, private property, and everything that goes along with it. The older ones pine for those giddy days under Trudeau and Premier Bill Davis when there was no entitlement so loopy that it couldn’t simply be bought and paid for with a government cheque, financed through bigger and bigger government debt. And the younger ones and the immigrants know nothing except this: the government is their Daddy, and money grows on trees.
Coming soon to an economic engine and perennial “have” province near you: a prolonged dunking in an extremely cold bucket of water. And it’s going to suck even worse to be in a “have not” province when that happens. That is, until people snap out of their socialist stupor.
“I can only conclude that the average Ontarian hates and fears the idea of private businesses, private investment, private property, and everything that goes along with it.”
Yes. Here in our autonomous commune, we live in giant barracks and, look after each others kids and generate whatever wealth we have thanks to a dirigiste plenopotentiary committee of comrades. And the Tornto Stock Exchange.
But we really fear private property and private investment…
Mayor Miller doesn’t want the downtown island airport,some millionaire waterfront condo owners complain about the noise. Toronto still exports its garbage to Michigan. Dalton McSquinty plans to shut down the coal fired generators without a clue where he will make up the 25% in lost electricity capacity. Miller and McSquinty think the answer to Toronto’s gang bangers is to build more basketball courts and confiscate legal gun collections. Who would want to set up a business in any fiefdom run by these clowns.
I’m afraid that many Torontonians do fear private property. Why else would Mr. Turner have to go out of his way to assure them that he will keep renters safe from rent increases [1], and he will also keep homeowners safe from interest rate increases and safe from any decline in property values?
The wonderful, “economic engine” of the real estate bubble in Toronto and elsewhere is a manifestation of inflation, which is a function of government increases to the money supply. He cannot keep them safe from inflation *and* keep giving them low interest rates *and* keep making their property value go up forever.
And what kind a buffoon thinks that if real estate prices keep going up forever, that rents must not also go up? Sounds like someone is promising Torontonians that thanks to him, they will be getting huge pieces of cake, and eating them, for the forseeable future.
I’m with Turner as long as he’s talking about tax cuts. But after that he steps into an economic la-la land that is going to give his constituents nothing but pain in the long run.
[1]”Restoring property rights will not allow people to pollute, to ignore rent control laws, to bear firearms, to challenge pay equity, or to override our existing concepts of matrimonial property as defined by Family Law legislation.”
Quebec is looking pretty good compared to Ontario right now. Wait until the power blackouts hit Ontario this summer:
Ontario must spend $40B fixing nuclear plants, $30B more on wind power, report declares
by Heather Sokoloff
Toronto: A provincially appointed body is recommending Ontario refurbish or replace its fleet of 12 nuclear power plants at a cost of $30 billion to $40 billion, according to a report released yesterday.
It also recommends transforming Ontario into a North American leader in the use of wind technology, bringing the total projected cost to about $70 billion.
The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) report warns Ontario will face a massive energy shortage when the government makes good on a promise to phase out Ontario’s four remaining coal plants by 2009. At the same time, existing nuclear plants will also have to be taken out of service if they are not upgraded in about 10 years, leaving Ontario with an energy gap of about 24,000 megawatts by 2025, equivalent to 80 per cent of the province’s current capacity.
http://www.energyprobe.org/energyprobe/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=14333
Ottawa Sun November 17/2005
Growing Hydro debt a shocker
by Alan Findlay
Toronto: Ontario’s electricity ratepayers have shelled out more than $5 billion to pay down the industry’s stranded debt, only to see it go up.
According to figures from a provincial agency’s annual reports, the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation has collected $2.9 billion from the debt retirement charge added to bills since 2002 and another $2.2 billion from a preceding customer-funded “revenue pool residual” dating back to 1999 � a total of $5.1 billion.
The so-called stranded debt inherited from the dismantled Ontario Hydro has grown by $930 million to $20.4 billion.
“The debt retirement charge should be renamed the debt slow-the-increase charge or the Ontario Power Generation party fund,” said Tom Adams, director of Energy Probe.
http://www.energyprobe.org/energyprobe/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=14093
Globe and Mail September 16/2005
Ontario’s energy crunch
by Karen Howlett and Omar El Akkad
Consumers in Ontario should brace for a double whammy of higher electricity and natural gas bills as a hot summer combined with energy shortages begin to hit home.
Consumers are now paying artificially low prices for electricity and natural gas. But that is about to change.
Ontario’s energy regulator announced yesterday that the shortfall between what the province is paying to buy electricity on the open market and what it charges consumers doubled to $228.8-million at the end of August from $113.5-million at the end of July.
This translates into an increase of between $28 and $37 a year for the average household, depending on consumption levels, said Bill Rupert, a managing director at the Ontario Energy Board.
He acknowledged that many observers are expecting higher prices when new rates come into effect next May.
Tom Adams, executive director of Energy Probe, an energy watchdog, criticized the regulator for underestimating electricity costs. This summer’s sweltering heat has driven up consumption levels, forcing the province to import expensive power from the United States on many days to meet soaring demand.
“The bottom line is that the supply outlook is terrible, the demand outlook is up, up, up and the underlying bankruptcy of the power system is more and more evident,” Mr. Adams said.
http://www.energyprobe.org/energyprobe/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=13741
If the libs had a majority in Ottawa, they would be in the back rooms with Ontario planning the raid on Alberta as I type this note.
Thank heavens Harper won it.
The economy can,t pay people 20 dollars an hour to work in factories making garbage bags it,s that simple
It wouldn�t surprise me one bit to see Toronto having difficulty generating economic growth mainly because of the cost of living in Toronto and their promotion of certain kinds of work in Ontario.
Most people I know don�t really remember this but in Clinton�s first presidency there was some discussion on the �Good Job Bad Job� argument (essentially that there were fewer Manufacturing Jobs being created, good jobs, and more Service Industry jobs being created, bad jobs, than in previous decades); which, although Clinton did not believe in it, was a Liberal supported concept. There is a massive flaw with this argument, the problem is that Engineering, Software Development and many other high paying fields are all service industries and were being considered Bad Jobs.
Anyways, back on topic. In Ontario, as Manufacturing jobs are moving offshore more and new (high paying) service industry jobs are being created the government has focused on Subsidizing failing manufacturing firms at the cost of hurting successful service firms. The result is that successful companies that are in the service industry (that pay their employees enough to live in Toronto) are not based in Toronto because the added cost to their business (because of high taxes to subsidize failing manufacturing firms), at the same time with the cost of Labour in developing markets (like China) it is a huge waste of money for a manufacturing firm to base their manufacturing operations in Ontario regardless of the number of subsidies; thus economic growth is stalling.
I wonder if ontairo will become canadas rust belt.
Didn’t Toronto absorb Montreal’s industry after the BQ killed it?
Finally, a use for Toronto. A bad example for the rest of the country.
Interesting.
Canada’s economic centre of gravity has been heading west ever since 1867.
Part of the reluctance of booming British colonies like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to sign up for Confedration was the ghastly thought of being hooked up with losers like Canada East and Canada West (Qu�bec and Ontario!).
Then Montreal became the financial centre of the universe. But – with a little help from the s�paratistes – the money rushed off down the 401 to Toronto.
Now it’s moving up around Lake Superior, no doubt headed for Edmonton and Calgary.
The way we’re going, at some point in the future, Victoria is going to be a boom town!
I’m a little rusty on my economics, but isn’t one of the problems that Ontario manufacturing made up for its relative lack of productivity compared to American firms by our low exchange rate? We could have lower productivity and lower R&D because our dollar was so low.
Now that it’s high, our firms just can’t compete. If they could increase their productivity, it wouldn’t be a problem. But we can’t because our R&D investment is so low and our wages are too high.
I’m not sure what can fix this other than a 10 cent drop in the dollar.
I think, though, that the reason manufacturing jobs are good and service are bad is that many service jobs require education, whereas many manufacturing jobs don’t. Where are unskilled, uneducated workers going to work if the factories close? It isn’t going to be in service industries. That’s another real problem.
Our economy could be in for quite a hit, and I hope that the politicians do take this into account when considering their monetary and tax policies. But McGuinty won’t. There’s the rub.
Sure they’re all not just moving to Alberta?
I did.
Then the Libs can alienate even more “scary” westerners.
Funny how those employed, child rearing, law abiding Christians seem more scary than flag burning, limb severing, nuclear threatening Muslims these days.
WTF?
“….I can only conclude that the average Ontarian hates and fears the idea of private businesses, private investment, private property, and everything that goes along with it….”
Perhaps the average Ontarian would be happier if private businesses & private investment pulled out of Ontario all together & moved out west, or to the US, or to China; and instead work in a government unionized job processing welfare cheques to those Ontarians who will be unemployed.
“… The economy can,t pay people 20 dollars an hour to work in factories making garbage bags it,s that simple…”
Or $75,000 to drive a finished car from the factory to the parking lot outside.
Once AECL gets involved all of Canada ends up paying..
First order for new PM: Chainsaw the deadwood Crowns by Harry Koza
“I’m a big fan of Energy Probe because, while they may be tree-hugging enviro-activists, their often libertarian economics mesh nicely with my own, scary, right-wing hidden agenda, so I read [their new study] with interest.” The Globe and Mail January 27/2006
New Energy Probe study finds AECL subsidies account for 12% of national debt by Harry Koza
Energy Probe has released a new study examining federal subsidies to Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL). According to Probe, since its inception in 1952, subsidies to AECL account for CAD74.5 bln of today”s federal debt. Further, Probe contends that had those subsidies been instead invested in the Canadian economy, their value today would be CAD194.6 bln, roughly equivalent to 11.5% of the market cap of the TSX. In addition, AECL has a morass of contingent liabilities, some of which could confer big future costs on taxpayers. The study”s conclusion is that the ongoing subsidies to AECL are a significant drain on Canada”s national resources, and there is no prospect of taxpayers ever recovering the investment. You can access the entire report at:
http://www.energyprobe.org/energyprobe/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=14554
I GUESS SOMEONE FORGOT TO TELL THOSE STUPID TORONTO VOTING LIBERALS THAT THEIR ENGINES ARE FALTERING AND ACTUALLY ALBERTA IS WHAT MAKES THIS COUNTRY PURR…………
I GUESS SOMEONE FORGOT TO TELL….
Some of us will finally figure out while standing in the un-employment line.
We’ve established that Ontario can’t (or soon won’t be able to) provide basic electricity for their citizens, now water seems to be a problem. From the Ontario government:
“Over the next 15 years, water and wastewater investment needs in Ontario are expected to range from $30 to $40 billion. Based on existing information, PIR�s best forecast of the need is $34 billion. The $34 billion is made up of $25 billion for capital renewal, including the $11 billion in deferred maintenance, and a further $9 billion for growth.
The Ministry projects that, unless the rate of capital investment increases sharply from the levels of therecent past, Ontario will face a gap of roughly $18 billion between what systems need and what they receive in funding over the next 15 years.”
http://www.pir.gov.on.ca/userfiles/page_attachments/Library/4/sum.pdf?N_ID=4
Where the hell do they think they’ll get an extra $34 billion over the next 15 years? The taxpayer?
Anonalogue:
As an ex-Torontonian, I feel you pain. You may want tell Dalton (“Read my lips: no new taxes”) McSquinty that he shouldn�t be too hasty to write off coal plants just yet. Check out the latest coal-fired generation technology in Alberta:
http://www.transalta.com/website2001/tawebsite.nsf/0/D95ADFE84B5BA4C187256FB7005662A0?OpenDocument
Hell, even the Sierra Club is on-side with this.
Additional plants are now on the drawing boards and should come on stream in 2-4 years.
Coal-fired generation.
In Alberta.
I am not making this up.
yep, there’s 800 years of coal in alberta and cleaner methods of using it are on the way.
Coal technology is scary to the “Greenhouse Asses” crowd.
Well, there’s a lot of interesting comments here, but i guess my main reaction is to ask how some exchange-rate driven manufacturing problems in Central Canada have made the moronic policies of the moronic Conservative Party of Canada somehow not-moronic.
p.s. to the dude who said that his business friends said they were being “killed” by the taxes and regulations in Ontario; that’s what they always say. They’re still saying it in g.w.bush’s America. They’ve been saying it for years and years, but for all the “killing” they seem to have a lot of breath left in them to complain.
credibility.
bye.
From the sound of these posts and the lack of energy in the future of Ont, is it possible that Ont is going to meet the Kyoto targets for all of Canada. What a surprise, they thought they could keep on going and AB would supply all the money to buy the credits from China or Russia. Thanks for saving us Albertans billions of dollars.