THE MESSAGE:
"Ontario, a place to grow"?
THE BLURB:
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| THE ONTARIO LEGISLATURE IN TORONTO AT QUEEN'S PARK |
CAR INSURANCE
In April, a report by Ontario’s auto insurance adviser found that the province has the most expensive auto insurance premiums in Canada despite also having one of the lowest levels of accidents and fatalities. The average auto insurance premium in Ontario is $1,458, which is almost 55 per cent higher than the average of all other Canadian jurisdictions.
HYDRO
Ontarians pay steeper rates for their power than any other province. Quebec, for example, enjoys rates less than half of those in Ontario. Since 2006, the top rate for power has risen four times as fast as inflation. The price of off-peak power has rocketed up 149 per cent over a decade, mid-peak power has shot up 76 per cent and on-peak is up 71 per cent. By way of comparison, inflation in Ontario over the same period was about 18 per cent. This problem has ballooned the costs for businesses, factories and other industrial enterprises.
A series of policy decisions, such as the unnecessary and costly upgrading of infrastructure and the signing of fixed 20-year deals with private companies to produce electricity, have increased prices over the past decade. Add to these foolish rate exploding actions, the cancelling of two gas-fired power plants for political reasons.
A series of policy decisions, such as the unnecessary and costly upgrading of infrastructure and the signing of fixed 20-year deals with private companies to produce electricity, have increased prices over the past decade. Add to these foolish rate exploding actions, the cancelling of two gas-fired power plants for political reasons.
Ontario wasted $1 billion worth of clean electricity in 2016, according to the province’s professional engineers. Ultimately, the province built more plants than it actually needed. In 2014, according to the Auditor-General, Ontario had the capacity to produce 30,203 megawatts of power; however, the province needed 15,959 on an average day. Even on the busiest day of the year, the province only required 22,774 megawatts.
To add more insult, rural Ontarians find a charge on their monthly bill that includes transmission losses. They actually pay for power that they do not receive.
407 HIGHWAY
In the early 1990’s Ontario was almost bankrupt under Bob Rae’s NDP government which paid for the new road to be built around Toronto. They instituted a toll fee of and it was a great success. It became a cash cow called the 407 ETR.
The Conservative government of Mike Harris foolishly leased this road for 99 years to a Quebec-based company for a substantial amount of money. The Quebec company then sold the road at a profit to Spanish owners, thus assuring that profits from the road would never be taxed in Canada. The toll in 1999 was seven cents a kilometre, and now it is 19.85 cents a kilometre!
As part of this deal, the Ontario government agreed that individual license plate renewal would be denied if there were any outstanding tolls against that plate and its owner. In effect, our government became a collection agency for a privately held, for-profit foreign consortium. In addition, the terms of the deal stated that there would be no statute of limitations on these bills and that they would never go away even if the citizen went bankrupt.
The Spanish company decides on the interest rate on these forever bills and currently it is 26.82 per cent compounded monthly but it varies based on the whims of the Spanish owners.
In 2005 the 407 ETR went to court to reinstate its original deal. The judge ruled in its favor even though this company still showed no accountability and still did not produce evidence of the legitimacy of its charges. The government of Premier Dalton McGuinty should have appealed this decision but did not.
Today the agreement covers any vehicle that is owned by the person who has an offending license plate. So if you own six vehicles and one of them is alleged to have been on their road, your government will not issue any license plates for any of your vehicles until you pay the ‘alleged bill’ at your government license office, whether it is correct or not.
"Everyone experiences pain in life; however, when it turns into suffering, watch out!"-Tony
In the early 1990’s Ontario was almost bankrupt under Bob Rae’s NDP government which paid for the new road to be built around Toronto. They instituted a toll fee of and it was a great success. It became a cash cow called the 407 ETR.
One can drive the 400 mile length of the New York State Thruway (I-90), from Buffalo to New York City , a toll road with fully staffed toll booths, for 2.1 cents per km. There are no accounting fee and no video fees.
Compare this to the cost of driving across the top of Toronto on Hwy 407. The driver pays for all
the camera operations and the billing costs. It all contributes to the exorbitant toll rates we experience when using the route. The highway is patrolled by Ontario police cruisers and aircraft and the Ontario Government acts as the 'enforcer' in collecting any unpaid tolls! (Your licence will not be renewed in the face of any outstanding fees.) As Canadian drivers, it is very expensive to travel this road!
The Conservative government of Mike Harris foolishly leased this road for 99 years to a Quebec-based company for a substantial amount of money. The Quebec company then sold the road at a profit to Spanish owners, thus assuring that profits from the road would never be taxed in Canada. The toll in 1999 was seven cents a kilometre, and now it is 19.85 cents a kilometre!As part of this deal, the Ontario government agreed that individual license plate renewal would be denied if there were any outstanding tolls against that plate and its owner. In effect, our government became a collection agency for a privately held, for-profit foreign consortium. In addition, the terms of the deal stated that there would be no statute of limitations on these bills and that they would never go away even if the citizen went bankrupt.
The Spanish company decides on the interest rate on these forever bills and currently it is 26.82 per cent compounded monthly but it varies based on the whims of the Spanish owners.
And there is a definite problem with who gets billed. In very short order after the sale of the highway, 100,000 citizens who had never been on the road had been incorrectly billed. The MPP’s were deluged with complaints and so the Conservatives under then transportation minister David Turnbull told the Spanish company to fix this problem. Until there was evidence of that happening their collection deal was cancelled.
In 2005 the 407 ETR went to court to reinstate its original deal. The judge ruled in its favor even though this company still showed no accountability and still did not produce evidence of the legitimacy of its charges. The government of Premier Dalton McGuinty should have appealed this decision but did not. Today the agreement covers any vehicle that is owned by the person who has an offending license plate. So if you own six vehicles and one of them is alleged to have been on their road, your government will not issue any license plates for any of your vehicles until you pay the ‘alleged bill’ at your government license office, whether it is correct or not.
THE QUESTION:
THE LEMON:
Is big government going to be the downfall of Democracy?
Awarded to the voters in the City of Toronto for choosing LIBERAL Governments
THE QUOTE:
THE CLIP:
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