Elections, Get the facts

Dear Editor;

It is natural for the party in power to garner most of the attention of the media and the letter writers and in the case of the Ontario liberals, who have (amongst a litany of mistakes) done deep and significant damage to rural healthcare, manufacturing jobs and foisted the ill conceived green energy act on the citizens of Ontario, they should expect no less consideration.

Now that an election year is upon us in Ontario it is not likely to be very long before the campaign noise gets very loud. In the early part of this year I have noted what to me should be a concern for anyone that can remember the Harris years in Ontario; I get a sense that people are entirely focused on any alternative to McGuinty. Just as a reminder, the Harris years embodied, to name but a few items, the destruction of vast public services, the sell off of public institutions, attacks on worker rights on an almost daily basis, attacks on the poor, appalling funding cuts to education, the attempted destruction of universal and public healthcare and a variety of manufactured crisis.

I am no fan of the McGuinty liberals, but remain steadfastly concerned that the Hudak conservatives are in all likelihood a through back to the Harris years (Wisconsin mean anything to anyone?). I can't offer a political suggestion that answers all concerns, but in what will be the ever increasing noise level of a campaign year please don't ever forget that at least as many of the McGuinty disasters were empowered by the travesty that was the Harris tories as they were of their own making and design. When at long last we make the trip to the ballot box be the person who understands what the parties stand for and be the one who has asked about energy, hospitals, jobs, pensions, schools, worker rights, etc.. By the way, not bad advice if the federal election heads our way in the next while.


In Solidarity
Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce Labour Council
http://www.greybrucelabour.com/