Those who live in Toronto can enjoy a taste of Greece by visiting Greek Town.  A walk along Danforth Ave can cause weight gain in a matter of minutes.  The Danforth is the place to go if your palate desires Greek cuisine, washed down with some Ouzo, and for good measure, broken plates.  For those who live in Toronto, and would like full Greek experience, they should visit Queens Park.

The Drummond report was released last week, and based on his recommendations one has to wonder if the governing Liberals didn’t take their cue from the Greek Government. The Drummond Report, all 543 pages of the government commissioned report, clearly states that if Ontario does not take the necessary steps to get its fiscal house in order, Ontario is in a world of hurt. Ontario could be heading for $30 billion deficit, and a debt to GDP ratio above 50%. So how did we get into this financial mess in the first place? Cue the European political methodology, entitlements and buying votes. If your sole purpose is to get reelected, and you disregard the public purse, you end up with the mess that residents of Ontario now find them in. A quote from the Globe and Mail captured it accurately, “to avoid financial disaster, the province needs to cut public spending to an extent that will dwarf what happened during the Mike Harris era”. Residents of Ontario remembered what happened during the Harris era, massive demonstrations by the labour movement and demagoguery by those on the left. Never mind the cuts made during the Harris era that were necessary, nope, it’s all about getting reelected and letting the next guy figure it out. The problem for the Ontario Liberals they are the next guy’s. Frankly, that’s a problem for the taxpayers in Ontario as well.

The governing Liberals introduced subsidized daycare, pardon me, that’s called full day kindergarten. Their record on health care has been a disaster; see the billion dollar E-Health boondoggle. In Ontario close to 14,000 non-teaching jobs have been created since 2003 in, not to mention P.E. Days galore. Taxes and levies have been increased on a regular basis. The Liberals gave the city of Toronto the right to add a separate land transfer tax on every real estate purchase in Toronto. The list goes on and on. Yet the government who created the problem is now being asked to fix it? Being a tax payer in Ontario, I don’t have enough money left over to place a wager, but if I was a betting man I would put my money on inaction. As long as there’s apathy among the voters, and the only voices heard are those of special interests, nothing will get done. But what gives me some sense of hope is that recently the voters in Ontario have protested at the ballot box. It was Ontario that gave the Federal Conservatives a majority government. There was a changing of the guard at Toronto Socialist City Hall. By the time the last Provincial Election was held voters in Ontario were suffering from voter fatigue. Here’s hoping the voters of Ontario have adequately recovered, and they demand action.

The voters in Ontario could learn a lesson from our friends out west. The voters of Alberta take a pragmatic approach to politics. When they’re flush with tax dollars they allow their politicians to spend. If being fiscally prudent is required voters in Alberta will hold their politicians feet to the fire, and insist that they enjoy experience. The voters of B.C. are from being described as right of centre but they will protest with their ballots. We here Ontario don’t have far to look for lessons in political accountability, and we’re getting better at it. But the time has come for Ontario voters step up even more.

Ontario’s struggles often elicit chuckles and snide remarks from other parts of the country. Our smugness, arrogance and centre of the universe mentally aside, an economically unhealthy Ontario impacts Canada’s prosperity. We here in Ontario have a responsibility to force our politicians to Wright this mighty ship. People of Ontario deserve it, as does the rest of the country.

Until next time.

Cheers