I'm not saying that Peter MacKay is a weasel-faced weasel, but if the shoe fits...he admitted over the weekend that he KNEW about the extra $10 billion that the F-35 fighter jets would cost Canadians 2 YEARS AGO!! His excuse? That the extra 10 bill is the fuel/maintanance/crew costs associated with the planes. So why didn't you tell us, Peter, about the real lifetime costs of these jets when you had the chance instead of insisting it would be $15 billion instead of $25 billion? Your lies and excuses are not good enough for the Auditor General or for the general public. Time to resign maybe?? Yes sir! And by the way, saying that this is how all military spending is reported raises tons of red flags for me. I think an audit of all of our military purchases is needed so that Canadians can finally have an honest picture of what we are spending on the trappings of war.
Some Toronto Star articles based on this story:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1158221--f-35-fighters-peter-mackay-aware-two-years-ago-of-additional-10b-cost
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1158786--prime-minister-harper-s-team-gets-a-good-laugh-over-austerity
I'm not saying it's going to stay like this all season, but it was brilliant to see a full house for the Jays home opener last night. There were so many people walking around in the new/retro awesome Jays jerseys and shirts before the game as well. There is a buzz for the Toronto Blue Jays like there hasn't been in years in this city! That is 2 parts optimism over a solid team on the field and 1 part excellent new team merchandise. Too bad the sellout crowd saw Closer Sergio Santos fall apart in the 9th and cause the team to lose 4-2 to the Boston Red Sox, one of the Jays' biggest rivals. The team needs to win the next 2 games in the series to get off to a good start and to keep the good will and optimism alive among fickel, cynical baseball fans in Toronto.
Here's a short Toronto Star video filmed outside the Dome before the game:
I'm not saying I told you it was a good idea, but a new survey conducted by Environics Research for the (albeit left-wing) Broadbent Institute has found that 64 % of the 2,000 people surveyed are willing to pay at least "slightly higher taxes" in order to battle the growing gap between the rich, middle class and poor in Canada. The study even found that Conservatives were on board: 58 % would pay more to save social programs and 62% of Tories would accept raising corporate taxes back to 19.5%, the 2008 rate, which is much higher than the 15% they pay now.
The income gap is a growing problem that everyone realizes can't be ignored and it appears that Canadians are appealing for the government to step in and do something about it. Harper and Co. may ignore these results from a "Leftist Group", but if other polls show similar numbers (and I am willing to wager they will), then it's time for the provincial and federal governments to give the people what they want: tax fairness to bring this great country closer to the equality of yesteryear.
Here is the Toronto Star's report on the survey:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1158746--poll-challenges-view-that-canadians-oppose-higher-taxes?bn=1
I'm not saying that the provincial budget's fate now being in the hands of the NDP will miraculously fix all the wrongs in the legislation, but I am hopeful that it will push it further left than the Liberals would have taken it. Maybe they will force Premier McGuinty to raise the corporate tax rate, provide more money for education, healthcare and culture or spend more creating social, infrastructure and job programs for Ontarians. NDP leader Andrea Horwath has the ability to make the Premier dance and here's hoping she plays the right tune.
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