What to do about . . . Ontario?

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Table 5

So anything that looks good and is automatically a waste of money? You must lead a sad life.

If it was an Excel chart, half the people wouldnt be able to read it, and the other half wouldn't even bother.

Easy there, Graphic Designer.

[CaptainCrunch]

I think with all the Oil revenue coming in to Alberta, Our premier should negotiate a cross provincial exchange program.


Quebec, we'll give you money, but you have to provide us a hot french stripper for every guy, and a Hells Angels quality assured quantity of cocaine for everyone that wants it.

Ontario send us your ummmm ok, here's a dollar go away.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I think with all the Oil revenue coming in to Alberta, Our premier should negotiate a cross provincial exchange program.


Quebec, we'll give you money, but you have to provide us a hot french stripper for every guy, and a Hells Angels quality assured quantity of cocaine for everyone that wants it.

Ontario send us your ummmm ok, here's a dollar go away.

For the past several weeks, there have been several Alberta companies advertising on the radio here trying to recruit people from Ontario, which is good (as long as they aren't just taking the professionals). This province just has too many people and without drastic social changes, we can't continue to support them until the economy turns around.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

For the past several weeks, there have been several Alberta companies advertising on the radio here trying to recruit people from Ontario, which is good (as long as they aren't just taking the professionals). This province just has too many people and without drastic social changes, we can't continue to support them until the economy turns around.

We'd be willing to take lets say a million people from Ontario to work in our suger mines and do our domestic chores.

We'll supply them with housing, basic cable and all of the canola oil that they can drink.

Seriously as much as Alberta companies are probably recruiting professionals, I would think that the lions share is based around skilled and unskilled laborers. This province always seems to be screaming for trades and untrained labor.

[Cowperson]

The ability and willingness of people to migrate to where jobs are is essential to any modern economy.

What's new these days is that most families have two income earners and one of them might not be mobile because the available situation on the other side of the country might not be as lucrative for the second person as where they are now.

So, unlike the Grapes of Wrath, where huge portions of the population migrated west, the population these days is, in fact, less mobile.

This is an issue in the USA as well.

Two income families, however, are more resilient in a recessionary environment than was the case in the 1930's and the great recessions of the early 1980's, when most households were still single incomes and the suffering in the population seemed to be greater.

Cowperson

[troutman]

Great. More Leaf fans at the Dome.

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by troutman

Great. More Leaf fans at the Dome.

Once they realize the value of hard work they will be forced to cheer for King Jarome and not The Dion anymore.

[Jets4Life]

Implement user fees on Health Care if they have not done so. $50 a month x 12 months x 13,000,000 people = $7.8 billion

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

Implement user fees on Health Care if they have not done so. $50 a month x 12 months x 13,000,000 people = $7.8 billion

Already done through payroll deductions to the tune of $2.8 Billion per year.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Reaper

Easy there, Graphic Designer.

Which one is he?

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Which one is he?

The one who is away from his desk.

[Chingas]

Nm

[Bleeding Red]

One issue I have with all the "reign in the spending" austerity talk is that no one (especially at the government levels) will define government services or responsibilities.

It is becoming clear the government (all levels; Federal, Provincial, Regional, Municipal) can no longer be all things to all people all the time. The populace can't have everything and expect RBC or IBM or Coke or Exxon to foot the whole bill to eternity.

The city government needs to make sure the roads are safe and the garbage is picked up and that we have a good police/paramedic/firefighter force, so why are they in the theater business to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars?

My Regional Government also runs a police force as well as transit. Why they want to be in the Ski hill business is beyond me.

Why is any government in the broadcast business? I understand the sweeping mandate of the CBC, but they could clearly do it better for less. However, in Ontario we have Television Ontario (TVO). It has a mandate to offer educational programming to youth and pre-schoolers. It is funded out of the Ministry of Education! Canadian Broadcasting rules are no better than Bill 101 in QC.

Politicians need to start with themselves, to show that they bleed too, and then cut the low hanging fruit (do you want to keep a fringe local theater group going, or do you want to keep a shelter open?).

$100,000 here, a million there, eventually it will add up to real money.

(rant over)

[Azure]

Absolutely agreed.

And that is what pisses me off. At least Ontario had a review done over what they SHOULD do, and from all accounts it is pretty detailed. Alberta is making no attempt to review or even find out where they can find a measly $800 million in savings. No attempt to find out how they can cut back enough so that they stop spending the money they get from natural resource royalties. Its absolutely ridiculous.

As much as someone like Slava can say that the $800 million dollar deficit that the Alberta government has is nothing, considering the budget is $40 billion, I can take it the other way and say if its nothing, why are they spending it? Are you telling me that the Alberta government can't cut 5% from their budget every year? If the Federal Government, which is MUCH bigger and much more complex can find places to cut spending, the provincial governments can too.

A lot of provinces have this problem, and whenever someone talks about cutting spending, the morons come around in full force and talk about who is going to pay for roads, police and firefighters. As if ANY of us have ever said the government shouldn't spend the money it needs to make sure those services are provided to the public.

[pylon]

I really don't like where this is potentially headed.

NEP 2.0?

[Knut]

Originally Posted by pylon

I really don't like where this is potentially headed.

NEP 2.0?

So the Government of Ontario is going to start stealing Alberta's oil money ?

[Azure]

Aren't they already?

[TurnedTheCorner]

I vote for letting Ontario burn. It seems - I dunno, poetic? Something.

[Sylvanfan]

At least the people in Ontario are paying more than $7 a day for government regulated day care.

Anyone I ever met from Ontario hates anywhere in Alberta and can't wait to move back. I suppose some younger folks could migrate out this way, work here for few years than relocate back home where they want to live.

Not only is it tough for a dual income family to move because both workers seek new jobs. Chances are they are home owners, and it's not the best time to sell the house. So that impacts worker mobility probably moreso than both of than the job switch. Doesn't home ownership tend to be higher in areas that are not as affluent economically?