By Staff
January 1st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
In our business we get media releases from city hall, from the Region, from the provincial government and from the federal government. Plus dozens of commercial organizations who want a mention. Nice to know that they think we matter.
The number coming in daily from the province tells you that something is up – and of course the expected election in less than six months means the media releases get cranked out for just about anything.
There were two media releases today, that are not news but, point out to two changes the province has put in place that make sense in their own right and are examples of good government policy – they were the increase in the minimum wage to $14 an hour and a better deal for the minimum wage workers in terms of the time they can take off for sick days and personal matters.
The hospitality sector has been crying poor over paying the people who take our orders and serve us our food a decent wage. Their hope was that our gratuities would make the job worthwhile.
The other is described as OHIP plus which gives people under 25 all kinds of pharmaceuticals free of charge.
There was a new story of a university student who had to come up with $500 a month to cover the cost of her medications. There is one vote the Liberals can count on.
Both new programs appeal to and were aimed at a demographic that has not been known for its engagement in things political.
Will these two offerings make a difference to the Liberal party’s fortunes? They are said to be behind the Progressive Conservative opposition in the popularity polls.
Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon
With the festive season behind us – expect to see a lot more election advertising and much more from the candidates. In Burlington the sitting MPP Eleanor McMahon, who is also a member of Cabinet and sits on the Treasury Board as well, will be on your doorstep. She is an accomplished campaigner – expect her to hold her seat.
While she should hold her seat she may return to Queen’s Park as a back bencher.
Jane McKenna, Progressive Conservative candidate for Burlington in the June provincial election.
The Progressive Conservatives brought Jane McKenna back after her loss to McMahon in YEAR. McKenna’s campaign is being run by former Member of Parliament Mike Wallace who has his hat in the ring for the job of Mayor.
They might have been better off running Wallace as the candidate for the provincial seat.
Vince Fiorito – Green candidate in the 2014 provincial election – is expected to run as a candidate again.
The New Democrats have yet to name a candidate. Vince Fioroto is reported to have agreed to run as the Green candidate. This time around he might actually campaign in Burlington – last time he spent much of his time in Guelph where the Greens thought they actually had a chance of winning that seat.
Burlington is represented by three people in the provincial legislature – the constituencies are: Burlington, Milton (covers the northern part of Burlington and Oakville North Burlington. Editorial on those constituencies will follow.
The increase in the minimum wage will not necessarily improve the lives of the people it was meant to help. No Frills in the Brant Plaza has already changed their hours of operation. The store has cut 2 hours a day. It will open later and close earlier. Someone has to pay for this increase.
The coffee I bought at a local restaurant was $2.00 on Thursday and $2.30 on Friday.
Business owners will cut the hours of employees and charge the customers more. Please explain how this increase will benefit those working in minimum wage positions. Their hours will be cut and it will cost more to buy everything.
Jane McKenna has my vote. Jane stepped up to the plate and showed Bateman support. More then McMahon did.
The Liberals have done nothing but rob Ontario citizens. Bye Bye Kathleen Wynne and bye bye Eleanor McMahon. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!!
I’m happy for the minimum wage earners who get a decent raise. They will likely spend it all, after taxes of course – they have a very high marginal propensity to consume income, so the multiplier that Hans mentions will be correspondingly high.
Hospitality owners can cry of course, but it is tax deductible for them, and adding twenty cents to a $4 or $5 latte ridiculous price will not stop the buyers. They will not perceptibly spend less.
These are distributional changes in income that will not offset each other because reducing the inequality by itself will boost the marginal rate of spending and aggregate income after the multipliers are factored in.
I’m a senior, and I owe government programs of my day for a lot of opportunities, to get an education, finance it, find a job, not have to worry about health care, and other things that came from living in a liberal minded Canada that I think transcended mere politics and parties.
I have to think back to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his notion that Canada must be a “Just Society”.
I don’t remember having to do without all my life, just the early part of it, and I learned from that, and the government programs I mentioned came along to somewhat ease the need and slowly build some opportunity.
That’s what I want to see continue.
One factor that will have an impact upon the local election will undoubtedly be the closure of Bateman and Pearson High Schools. Eleanor McMahon was missing in action during much of the debate. Her lack of presence and leadership on this file speaks volumes. Moreover, it takes on average 6-8 weeks to get a response to communication from her constituency office on routine communication, and her lack of follow up isn’t great. If she wins locally it will likely be due more to disdain for the local PC candidate than anything Ms. McMahon has done.
I suspect many voters will hold their noses and vote PC if for no other reason than to finally get rid of this corrupt, tired and meddling Liberal government. The Liberal’s financial track record has been a mess, their handling of the hydro file has been comical, and their incessant spending on ridiculous, feel-good advertising programs and other wasteful initiatives (e.g. $1.1. billion on cancelled generating plants; $2 billion on ORNGE; $3 billion on e-Health) amounts to a legacy of mismanagement and incompetence. The potential benefits that may have accrued from increasing the minimum wage will be quickly eradicated by increasing prices and inflation which will effectively wipe out whatever minor benefits may have accrued.
The fact that so many Cabinet Ministers (i.e. Duguid, Murray, Mathews, Sanders) speaks volumes in itself.
All fine and great for those 24 years and younger to now get eligible prescription drugs covered! Minimum wage to get its increase of an extra $2.00 per hour! What ever happened to the SENIOR’S that are on a fixed income to qualify for an increase! Today, Jan. 1st, coffee shops are already ringing in higher prices at their checkouts. This is only going to be a start of “everything” increasing due to a select category of people getting an increase, and others left out in the cold. The Senior’s only have what they have today because they did without all their life. Today no young ones do without, and they get an increase in salary to continue that style of life. Perhaps the Government should put a little thought into making Senior’s lives a little more stylish and up our minimum wage to compensate for these increases. Why are we the forgotten ones???
Re: “The hospitality sector has been crying poor over paying the people who take our orders and serve us our food a decent wage.” – on today’s news there was a lot of whining from business owners about this issue. Maybe they have forgotten that wages are a tax deductible business expense and that the impact of the increase will be mitigated significantly by that. In addition, the economic “multiplier” of the extra income will probably stimulate the economy and increase incomes for most businesses.