mentalfloss

He has the potential to redeem himself, but will rely on NDP support as well to keep Hudak at bay. Seems like the perfect mix to me.

I agree. This was clearly an attempt to grab some votes in that area. As someone who will be voting Liberal because I do support the move toward alternative energy resolutions, this is a very big black mark for the party.

They had to cancel this in February because they wanted to complete some studies on the health effects of wind power.

Yes, it's worth it. Electricity prices will be going up anyway because we need to upgrade our infrastructure. This deal will actually help mitigate that rise in the future.

That's the kind of ad hominem rhetoric that turns voters off. It's not working out that well for the PCs right now.

Ontarian Debate Viewers Say McGuinty Narrowly Wins Debate (33%), Horwath (29%) Bests Hudak (25%) While McGuinty Continues to be Person Who Sounds and Acts Most Like a Premier, Impressions of Horwath Skyrocket, Seen as Leader with Best Policies, Most Likeable http://ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5350#.ToL00tGga3V.twitter New EKOS poll also puts McGuinty ahead of Hudak now: Lib: 34.9% PC: 31.4% NDP: 24.7% Green: 7.6% http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_general_election,_2011

Ontarian Debate Viewers Say McGuinty Narrowly Wins Debate (33%), Horwath (29%) Bests Hudak (25%) While McGuinty Continues to be Person Who Sounds and Acts Most Like a Premier, Impressions of Horwath Skyrocket, Seen as Leader with Best Policies, Most Likeable http://ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5350#.ToL00tGga3V.twitter New EKOS poll also puts McGuinty ahead of Hudak now: Lib: 34.9% PC: 31.4% NDP: 24.7% Green: 7.6% http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_general_election,_2011

Massive poll finds minority looming A Forum Research survey of 40,750 people — one of the largest polling samples in Canadian political history — has the two parties separated by only 107 respondents, each holding 35 per cent. (14,064 said they will vote Liberal, while 13,957 selected the Conservatives.) Meanwhile, the New Democrats were at 23 per cent and the Green Party at 5 per cent. Because of the large number of voters surveyed Forum was also able to provide riding-by-riding results. If those numbers were to be repeated on Oct. 6, the Liberals and Tories would be tied at 47 seats with the NDP only holding 13 seats in the 107-member Legislature. However, the results for at least 28 ridings are within the margin of error, so seat predictions are not nearly as reliable as the total sample. Even so, none of the parties appears likely at this point to be able to win the 54 seats needed for a majority government, which leaves Ontario poised for its first minority government since 1985. After that vote, the Liberals and NDP signed an accord that toppled the Tories, who had been in power for 42 years. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1059053--massive-poll-finds-minority-looming?bn=1

Time to create original threads?

*sniff sniff* Smells like ideology in here. Must be the socialists.

And so, the Ford era in Toronto ended that day. Weeping taxpayers paid their due respects to a nation (a Ford nation) that persevered through the good times and the bad times of his 10 month term.

This is the first time I've seen someone quote Rumsfeld without the hysterical fit of laughter afterward.

So, Ford Nation took a huge nosedive today.. Massive poll shows Toronto is united against Ford’s proposed cuts One of the biggest polls ever conducted in Toronto shows residents from every corner of the city are overwhelmingly against Mayor Rob Ford’s cuts. From Doug Ford’s ward in Etobicoke to budget chief Mike Del Grande’s in Scarborough, the results will serve as a sobering warning to councillors within the Ford voting bloc. A Forum Research telephone survey of nearly 13,000 people reveals that more than three-quarters of Torontonians want their local councillor to protect services rather than comply with the mayor’s wishes. And only 27 per cent of residents say they would vote for Rob Ford if an election was held tomorrow. More significantly, because of the poll’s size, Forum was able to provide the first authoritative assessment of support on a ward-by-ward level. Forum’s poll, which was paid for by CUPE Local 79, one of two major unions at city hall, questioned 12,848 Toronto residents on Tuesday using a random dial, push-button response, phoning system. The margin of error is plus or minus 0.9 per cent, 19 out 20 times. Some of the strongest opposition to the current direction at city hall is in the wards of executive committee members. For example, in Cesar Palacio’s Davenport region, 81.2 per cent of residents want him to fight Ford on cuts. In Willowdale, 82.9 per cent of David Shiner’s constituents are against cutting services. With a “mushy middle” of councillors emboldened by Ford’s sinking approval, losing even a handful of those previously locked-down votes could tip the scales at council against Ford. “He’s asking these councillors to put their careers on the line,” said Forum president Lorne Bozinoff. “These councillors are potentially exposing themselves and their careers to challenge in three years from someone who comes along and says: ‘Vote for me, I’ll restore those cutbacks.’” As for Ford’s low approval rating, Bozinoff said one theory is that the mayor is embarking on typical political strategy: get the controversial stuff out of the way fast, allowing enough time for the numbers to rebound by the next election. “But in this case, his numbers are already low and we’re just talking about cutting services,” he said. “This is not likely to improve for him when he actually carries out some of this stuff. . . I think if the cutbacks are really of the magnitude (being discussed) it could hit him even harder.” Ford was elected by a landslide last October and — bolstered by the popularity of his “Stop the Gravy Train” message — the mayor has enjoyed a slim but solid majority on council. A number of councillors within the Ford fold, most of who have been rewarded with high-profile positions on committees or boards, have quietly grumbled over the administration’s constant vote-whipping, intimidation tactics and procedural trickery. Despite the unrest, Ford’s uncompromising leadership style had been able to keep his supporters in check. Even mushy middle councillors have so far sided with Ford on controversial votes. But as anger continues to swell over the Pride snub, KPMG consultants, Margaret Atwood fiasco, waterfront power grab and most recently, proposed cuts to libraries, daycares and Riverdale Farm, some councillors have felt emboldened to speak out. Most recently, Councillor Jaye Robinson (Ward 25 Don Valley West), a member of Ford’s executive, publicly announced she would not support the administration’s waterfront plan. TTC chair Karen Stintz has been distancing herself from the administration in the past few months and was one of the first to speak out against library cuts. On Thursday, she revealed she would also vote against the mayor on his waterfront plans. The show of defiance has had many at city hall questioning Stintz’s political future. But if the Forum poll is any indication, Stintz had already sensed the changing political winds. George Smitherman edged out Ford in Stinz’s Eglinton-Lawrence ward last October. Today, 52.4 per cent of residents say their opinion of the mayor has worsened since the election, 76.6 per cent want Stintz to fight service cuts and 65.4 per cent said they would not elect Ford for a second term. The Questions Respondents were asked the following questions: How has your opinion of Mayor Ford changed since the election? Improved: 17%; Hasn’t changed: 29%; Grown worse: 54%. If an election was held tomorrow, would you vote for Rob Ford for mayor? Yes: 27%; No: 60%; Don’t know: 13%. How much do you agree that your councillor should vote in the interests of protecting city services in your community, even if it conflicts with the wishes of Mayor Ford? Overall agree: 77% (59% say they “strongly agree” and 18% say they “agree”. Overall disagree: 14% (“strongly disagree, 5%; disagree 9%). Don’t know: 9%. Note: the Star combined “agree” and “strongly agree” answers for the purposes of this article. http://www.thestar.com/news/torontocouncil/article/1054837--massive-poll-shows-toronto-is-united-against-ford-s-proposed-cuts?bn=1

Ontario's manufacturing sector went down as jobs in Alberta's resource collection sector went up. This will only get worse as we continue to suck the oil from the ground and begin to send to the U.S. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_disease

http://media.metronews.topscms.com/images/ac/c3/bc5d1725438eb1cc9ab793d035ac.jpg

Latest Nanos poll shows the gap between Libs and Conservatives is now even closer! Libs just went up by almost 2% and Tories are hovering around the the 35% mark.. Liberals 31.9 PC 35.4 NDP 22.8 Green 4.1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_general_election,_2011#Opinion_polls

McGuinty promises 30 per cent tuition cut, as Liberal platform unveiled Dalton McGuinty is hoping a 30 per cent cut in college and university tuition fees will win the Liberals a passing grade from voters. The Liberal leader unveiled his long-awaited platform – including 45 new promises at a cost of $1.5 billion annually -- for the Oct. 6 election with a massive new pledge worth up to $1,600 a year for full-time university students. “We're taking the next step ... to make sure postsecondary education remains accessible and affordable to the middle class,” said the Liberal platform, entitled “Forward. Together.” “So we're going to support all middle-class Ontario families with a 30 per cent across-the-board post-secondary tuition grant.” The new measure, which would be directly applied by the universities and colleges when they send out tuition bills, would cost the treasury $423 million annually. Existing tuition breaks for low income students would remain in place, party officials said. It would be available only to students from families with a gross household income of $160,000 a year -- about 86 per cent of the 90,000 students currently enrolled -- and takes effect Jan. 1. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1049355--mcguinty-promises-30-per-cent-tuition-cut-as-liberal-platform-unveiled?bn=1

Hudak isn't promising any earlier, unfortunately. And what's worse is that tax cuts will make it even longer. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-mathematically-challenged-tim-hudak/article2069593/ "Mr. Hudak, who visits Ottawa on Thursday, promises to spend more on health and education, which together take about three-quarters of all government program spending. He can do nothing about rising payments on the debt. So he's left with the threadbare promise to cut spending on what remains by 2 per cent yearly, saying this can be done by not filling public-sector vacancies as they arise. This is bad math, cleverly disguised. Even if possible – and the reductions aren't possible without cutting or scaling back whole programs – the reductions would be smaller than Mr. Hudak would need to balance a budget to whose deficit he'll add by a series of tax cuts and new spending commitments. As in, $35-billion for new infrastructure, mostly on roads. As in, $6-billion for health care. As in, $2-billion for education. As in, income splitting and a tax cut of 5 per cent on the first $75,000 of taxable income. As in, handing over some provincial tax revenue to the municipalities."

Mulcair would be the logical choice, but if they pick Topp they're screwed.

In other news, conservatives continually worried about a dead guy tell everyone else to "let it go already."

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dKIX09CE3Z0/TlIP6y-AlGI/AAAAAAAACRg/2xodIdQ-jCc/s1600/2011-08-18_hudak_hare_tortoise.png

Wow.. I never thought this forum could get this low.