equality

Tell me how you personally know there were corrupt accountants. I don't want to hear your opinion. I want proof that backs up your statements. Referendums cost money. If one had been held, would you not complain about the cost to hold one.

I just thought you should know: In the states it cost anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 dolars to have a vaginal birth, and if you have a C-section it costs anywhere from 25,000 to 35,000. Is the health premium really that bad?

It's pathetically obvious that your need to back your party regardless of the obvious over-rides your ability to be objective. Step out of your mold, and think independently! I personally will vote for the party that will cause the least amount of chaos in the future. If you can, and your loved ones can, afford private health care go for it. Are you thinking about sending your children to faith based schools? Go for it. I thought I should point out that all teachers and health care workers pay taxes too. Sometimes they pay more taxes than other people--imagine that! They pay more taxes than other people because they are paid based on their amount of education they have. Imagine that--an educated health care or education system. Sometimes teachers and health care providers pay more in taxes than the many people who complain about them. Imagine that!!!!

I'd appreciate if you'd explain your definition of "doublespeak", and when you're done with that, could you tell me how there has been no improvements with health care compared to the former government.

Where are you getting your information? I know for a fact that in Alberta teachers are being accredited after only two weeks of "teacher's college" Wow, high school and then two weeks to be able to do the job. In Quebec we have bill 101-only speak french-- I'll add please. Do yourself a favour and don't be ignorant enough to compare Ontario to other provinces (with there own rules). By the way, come on into my classroom of students (with two weeks of internet intellegence and teach my class). I'd personally love to see that. You are hanging on to B.S. to justify why you don't want to vote for a government that will destroy education. The beauty of education (or getting informed) is you learn something--go ahead and learn something!!!!

I'm just curious, are you conservative because you were raised this way, or are you conservative because you stand to gain in some way, finacially, from this government if elected? I find more times than not that a lot of peop le think they are going to benefit from this government because they have an exagerated view of were they stand in society. Get real and rememeber some day you will age and need health care. Do you have the funds to pay for it? If this government should see itself to be conservative, you'll need lots of funds to pay for your health care when you age. You can spew what you want, but that's reality. Reality, it's a great place--look into it!!!!@

First, did you see the debate? You are correct about your choice of adjectives; you just have the wrong political party leader. Take your pick between Hampton, the inventer of truths, and Tory, the manipulator of truths. Then get real and get informed. Are you certain McGuinty's party has not done anything for education or health care? I wonder: do you actually work in the field of education or health care? I don't waste my time commenting on things I do not know anything about. Too many people have ideas about things they in fact no little about. Based on your posting, I suspect you have some ideas about things you really don't know anything about. Save your opinion unless it's informed.

Vote Green Party!!!! LOL

How was private school? I wouldn't know, and I can assure you my children will never know. I mean the family has to eat and have housing. I have to save my pennies for pizza day at the local public school. LOL

Saddly, I believe you are very right! Eventually, Ontarians will be required to pay more and more of their medical bills out of their pockets. This does have to do with some abuses of the system. I've heard of many examples of abuse by none other than some of our very own neighbors. Demands for unecessary test, etc. The doctors hands are tied with respect to declining patient requests. This is an issue all of its own. To bad the politians wouldn't discuss this issue or offer solutions.

When was the last time you saw a multicultural hockey team or football team? Read between the lines. Who plays Cricket? If you're concerned about responsible spending, then how come you don't mention the mess created by good old Harris and the gang? Memories are really short among some Ontarians these days. I remember in 1996 when my toddler was sent home twice from the same emergency room the same night. By morning she was so sick she couldn't move. When I called a family member, who worked for health care at the time, I was instructed to go to the hospital a third time and refuse to leave until my daughter was given appropriate care. I was told to threaten a law suit if she wasn't cared for and something grave happened. When I went to the hospital, the same people who had been waiting 12 hours earlier were there. There were hospital beds everywhere along the halls with people in them. When we arrived at the hospital, her temp. was taken and it was 104. She was stripped nude to let the air bring her temp down and given a heavy dose of tylenol. We still waited hours. I would have waited days. She had pneumonia. She could have died. The cutbacks led to hospitals being run as though people and health didn't matter only saving money mattered. I was still sent home with and told to expose her to cold mist. I called my family member who told me how to set her room up like the oxygen tents are set up in the hospitals. At that time in my life, I was 4 hours away from everyone I knew. I believe those phone calls saved my daughters life--not the Harris Hospital. That's one of my run in with the medical profession from that era. Many people can share the same stories. I had a baby a year ago. The hospitals are running smoother. The system is far from perfect, but hiring 800 nurses will help as oppose to building a number of faith based schools with public dollars.

I like the idea of a poll, but I wish you had also included other.

I agree with you completely!

I took for granted that you were aware that Catholic schools are not Chartered schools and not PRIVATELY funded. If you agree to pay into the Catholic school board, you delegate a portion of your taxes to the Catholic schools; otherwise, you remain as someone who funds the public school board. Publically funded schools are built and funded based on student enrollment. If a new block of houses are built, and all of the residence who live in these houses have delegated a portion of their house taxes to the Catholic board, then a new Catholic elementary school is built in the area; however, if all of the new residence are not paying into the Catholic board then a public elementary school is built. The issue is both school boards are funded publically. The government then gives additional funding based on enrollment, high risk, special education etc. Catholic schools do not receive more or less than public schools. When I mentioned the Jim Crow laws, I was not referring to education. I was in fact referring to what the laws did to the citizens of the United States. These laws were a clever way by a bunch of racists to segregate a group of people by making it appear that they were as free as their white counterparts. They were allowed to do the worse paying jobs, take a back seat to whites, etc. Sure their money was still good, but they were never treated as equals. By the way, I'm an independent thinker. I don't need McGuinty to teach me the meaning of the word segregation. I can also see that John Tory and his party is offering Charted schools as a manipulative way to get votes from a group of people in society who usually don't vote for PCs. As for your analogy about restaurants, restaurants do not reflect all sectors of society. In businesses, outside of culturally authentic restaurants, there exists a diversity of people working along side each other. Workplace course are taught under the PC curriculum. These courses are suppose to prepare people for the work force. Teaching staffs are often a group of diverse people from all kinds of origins, and many of my close friends come from many walks off life with many differing views on religion, homosexuality, marriage, etc. For the record, I have been teaching for 9 years. I have taught in three different school boards. Durham (the school board from hell once the PC devils were done) Peel (Brampton and Mississauga) and Upper Grand. (the PCs left a trail of crap all across Ontario schools: Public and Catholic alike) I have taught rural students and city students. I have taught in classrooms with White anglo-saxons, Sikhs, Hindus, Muslems, Catholics, and Jews all together. I have taught summer school and night school all over south western Ontario. MY CLASSROOM IS DIVERSITY! Because no religion of any kind is tolerated in the classroom, all students treat each other with dignity, and they spend more time learning the curriculum than waisting their time on religious intolerance. If any children from any of these groups were to leave my classroom, a great learning opportunity for everyone in the classroom would be lost. I actually went to a Catholic school when I was growing up. The Catholics in my community were the minority. The majority of the community was not tolerant of the Catholics. Our seperate schools did very little to help us as children fit in with our peers who carried the belief systems of their parents. ( you know that belief I'm referring too; the belief that they were paying for our schools with their tax dollars). Plus, there existed intolerance. Funny there existed two Catholic elementary schools and at least a dozen public ones. If students leave the public sector to go to faith based schools, they very well could face more racism and discrimation than ever before because now the opportunity for everyone to be culturally diverse would not exist. I don't teach at a Catholic school. The diversity among my students should have made that clear. I love Canadian food: sushi, curry based dishes, somosas, french fries, perogies, etc. I haven't tried any Native dishes (I'll refer to those dishes as original Canadian food, but I did live in northern Ontario and fished and ski-dooed with all kinds of Native and French Canadians)

I'm under the impression Chartered schools are private schools. Faith based or not, these schools are not under the same scrutiny that the public and Catholic schools face. The public and Catholic schools face this scrutiny because we the tax payers pay for them. If people want Chartered schools, go for it. Just don't touch one red cent of my tax dollar to pay for it. By the way, I have a choice: I can sign a piece of paper that allows my tax dollars to go to the public school board or the Catholic school board. I'm not special; all Ontarians have this option. I don't believe this option is what is planned for the Chartered schools. If I know the " good ole" Cons, there will be a tax credit for parents. The "good ole" tax breaks for those who really need them. I'm middle class, but I can't afford to send my children to private schools, but that might be due to the students loans that I still pay after 8 years.

I don't really understand this comment. Perhaps more consequences or discipline for negative behaviour should occur at home. To my knowledge students have the same consequences in a public school and a Catholic school for negative behaviour. For instance, if a student is found with drugs, he or she takes a 21 day holiday if you know what I mean. This is the case in both systems.

Indeed "several hundred thousand Catholics" have their own schools. Just so you're aware, they in fact pay for those schools with their tax dollars going to that system over the public system. At the same time, people with children in the public system have their taxes go to the public schools and not the separate school board. Catholic and public schools receive funding based on numbers. If all schools were standardized under one board, the same amount of money would be needed to run the schools. We still have the same number of kids needing an education. Furthermore, one of the earliest examples of a school system was that of orphanages ran by Catholic nuns and priests, so there is a lengthy history backing up the Catholic school system. There is a separate school board in Ontario, but the seperate board must follow the same curriculum as the public school board. What is being proposed under the direction of the Cons is "Chartered schooling". (In other words, faith based schools with no checks and balances in respect to what faith based view points are being promoted inside the schools). Currently some privately ran faith schools exist. These schools are not paid for with public dollars, and what is taught at these schools may challenge what is taught under the Ontario curriculum. 12 years ago the Conservatives pushed radical curriculum changes. That curriculum, including some revisions, is still in place today. Will the very curriculum they promoted be reinforced in faith base schools especially if that curriculum challenges religious views (Creationism vs. Evolution)? Chartered schools will not exist as the current separate school system exists. These will be schools that are considered private receiving actual tax subsidies or tax credits for parents. Parents with children in the separate and public system do not receive tax credits. Currently, all of our tax dollars go to both systems; in exchange, a standardized, equal and fair education for every student across Ontario has been put in place. Why should more money come out of an education system that is already suffering financially to pay for a private system of education of any kind? At Catholic and Public schools, there is a strict code of human rights in place. No faith based viewpoints trump human rights. (Contrary to what you believe) In publicly funded schools, there is no singular faith embraced ; this is done to promote equality among the students. There is a world religions course offered, but students are not forced to take it. Some faiths maintain misogynist view points and zero tolerance for other religious viewpoints. Not all Christians believe the same things. Some Christians believe in having multiple wives. Some Christians do not believe in giving or receiving blood transplants. Some Christians believe that homosexuality is evil. Not all Christians believe the same things. Muslims and Jews have their own faith that is not Christian based. You mentioned the girls at your neighboring Catholic school as being foul mouthed, etc. First of all, what are the boys doing? You neglected to mention their behaviour. Second of all, I don’t see how this helps the argument for Chartered schools. I too have a Catholic high-school close to my house. There are about 1000 students who attend. I do see some troubled characters (girls and boys alike) Maybe 20 kids total. Further down the street, there is a public high school. 1800 students. Maybe 40 troubled characters running about. As for paddling students, that is a form of corporal punishment that is not permitted in school due to the fact that it infringes on human rights. There's that human rights issue popping up again. If parents want to discipline their children with spankings, they have some freedom under the law to do so, but I do not want someone else deciding my child should get a spanking for "taking a short cut through someone's yard." Convicted criminals are not treated this way. Again, I don’t see how this supports an argument for Chartered schools. Are these schools planning to discipline their students with spankings? I am tired of seeing the education system get hammered by the Cons every time they come to power. There has been peace in the system in the last four years, and this has lead to teaching and the students being the priority. I do not support breaching anyone's human rights. In the current education system, human rights matter. I have seen students suffer at the hands of theocratic teaching in their homes, and in the current system things can be done to protect and help them. A Chartered school may not have the same accountability with respect to human rights. Good ole “Accountability” that was a former Tory term with respect to teachers in the classroom. Perhaps, which is what I suspect, the Tory’s are not actually interested in schools at all; they just want votes. In southern Ontario, there exist a huge immigration population, and many immigrants might feel more comfortable sending their children to schools that support their theocratic beliefs, etc. Unfortunately, this also creates segregation among Ontarians. This could have terrible consequences for everyone in the years to come. I do not want to see any more faith based schools. The very idea of it promotes segregation and adds to problems that Ontarians and the rest of Canada have been working hard to abolish such as racism, discrimination and prejudice. I was hoping that in time, the system could move in the direction of no faith based schools and have students take a world religious course that could help enlighten everyone to the unique and wonderful difference among people regarding their beliefs.

Just so you know, there are unaccredited teachers in the Catholic board teaching. I'm not really sure how segregated schools promote diversity. Please explain. "The Jim Crow laws" in the states promoted seperate but egual laws among blacks and whites. In otehr words blacks were given substandard rights while the whites ran the show.

What has caused the layoffs? I am aware of the layoffs. I'm just not aware of what's caused them. Please let me know

Who is going to pay for children who can't afford to pay for private schools? This, I might add, is the majority of Ontarians.

Are you serious? I have to wonder when a majority of hospital beds are being used by elderly folk who have no where else to go. I'm not using the beds and none of my family members are using those beds. Should we continue to pay? Of course we continue to pay collectively for what helps everyone. Poorly educated people do not benefit society. When people have not learned to read and write, they can be easily influence to do things without questioning the outcome. Perhaps if we do agree to take your contributions out of the system, along with others who feel as you do, then some of the poorly educated might decide to cut paying for health care when given the opportunity.