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VW battery plant not the wise deal PC and Liberal governments claim

21 April 2023

Ontario's PC Premier Ford stood at the Railway Museum in St. Thomas today along with Liberal Prime Minister Trudeau and a host of federal and provincial ministers and Volkswagen officials to unveil the finances used to snag VW's first (and huge) electrical vehicle battery plant outside of Europe.

The feds revealed they will put up to $13-billion into the deal (same as what US President Biden offered VW) in a shift towards green industries.  He also said Canada will provide a grant of 10% of the $7-billion construction cost of the huge factory on the eastern edge of the southwestern Ontario small city of St. Thomas.  That 1,200-acre site requires expropriating Class 1 farmland to assemble enough land in a single package.  Premier Ford revealed his government will be giving VW $500-million towards the cost of this project, which will create 3,000 jobs.  He claimed another 30,000 spinoff jobs will be created.

So in total, for $13-billion + $700-million + $500-million... those 3,000 jobs will cost we the taxpayers $4.7-million each!

As we all know, governments at all levels have a horrible track record of picking new business winners.

Consensus Ontario has a better thought: Ask Ontarians and ask Canadians if they support the use of government money at both levels in this way? If 'yes' then we are all set. If 'No' than pull that tax money out of the deal and see if it still happens.  Unlikely it would go ahead. VW is seeking free money.  Don't forget how the company lied about its pollution testing results a few years ago on its diesel and gasoline fuelled vehicles.

"And those 3,000 jobs?  Just think about the labour shortage we are facing, necessitating bringing in 500,000 foreign workers this year and every year moving forward.  That influx is causing housing shortages and driving up housing costs for everyone, pushing up inflation.  Why make that worse?", says Brad Harness, Leader of Consensus Ontario.

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Only party-less politics will ensure that sleaze has no place at Queen's Park!

17 February 2023

What would Ontario's PC MPPs think about their boss’s conflict of interest? What about ‘Cash for Time with the Premier’?

     All of you should call Mr. Ford and express your own views on how appropriate it was to have property developers, many being those who shortly thereafter bought up land that was later removed by Premier Ford from the protective Green Belt and is now open for housing development. These same developers have reportedly donated cash to the PC Party before and after the BBQ event for Ford’s daughter. At that event they handed over cash gifts for Ford’s soon-to-be-married daughter.

     Ford says, “Hey, those guests were my buddies...” He refuses to provide names. Regardless, it doesn’t make it any better if they are Mr. Ford’s friends handing over cash to rub elbows with the premier. It’s wrong.

Ford countered that “I know the difference of what we should and shouldn’t do.” I don’t think he does. Does he?

This sort of ‘Sleaze’ was the style of the Ontario Liberal governments of Wynne, McGuinty, and Peterson. The PCs were always going to do it right, do it better, by not doing it at all. 

     Premier Ford says the Ontario Integrity Commissioner cleared the event “1,000 per cent.” The Commissioner did not conduct an inquiry, but gave a ruling based on the information Premier Ford provided to his office. And that happened long afterwards, when the media caught wind of what had happened. 

     If this sort of thing is deemed alright, then Ontario’s ethics system has broken down. It’s not okay for cash to be solicited for the Premier’s or his family members, especially from people likely to have business interests in Ontario government decisions. It’s difficult to determine how many of the guests have business with the government, or who solicited which invitees for how much cash – since Mr. Ford insists it is a private, personal, family matter.   

      "Nope, Doug, its not," says Consensus Ontario Leader Brad Harness.

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Not-withstanding clause wrong approach to deal with unions

2 November 2022

  This week came news that the Doug Ford PC Government is using a sledge-hammer in its negotiations with education unions.  The inside support workers represented by CUPE have been told they will be legislated back to work if they walk of the job this Friday.  CUPE counters that their members have the constitutional right to strike in their labour negations with the province.   In order to legislate, the Ford government will invoke the Not-Withstanding Clause, something that was never intended for this use when it was created in 1982.

  Regardless of the state of negotiations and the extent of the union demands, their workers do have the right to strike.  The province should allow them to and drags on.  Yes, it will inconvenience parents, we know that.

  Clearly Ford is throwing down a gauntlet to threaten the other four education unions presently in negotiations with the Education Ministry.

  We all know parents and school employees to not want a strike.  We all know that school workers feel they are in the driver's seat to gain more at this point in time, after the two years of the Covid pandemic.

  Responsibility is what is needed. The government needs the union members to exercise their rights - and the union members must recognize that once they do that, it is time to accept the government's offered improvements to their compensation and work hours.

  The concept of province-wide employment negotiations is part of what is causing this problem. Ontario should allow school boards to handle all labour matters.

  "All education workers are already well paid - like politicians.  It is wrong to make the children - who by law must attend classes until they graduate - to pay the price of yet another disrupted school year.  If education workers are truly "in it for the children" then they need to prove that is so," says Consensus Ontario Leader Brad Harness.

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Consensus Ontario begins recruiting members, candidates across province

15 September 2022

With this spring's provincial election behind it, CONSENSUS ONTARIO is now launching a recruiting drive for new members.  The party, registered in May 2022, is now looking to bring in new members from all parts of the province.  Those new members will, it is hoped, provide additional volunteers and donors for the party as it looks towards the remainder of the year.  Also, candidate recruitment for the 2026 election has begun.

The party board of directors will hold its annual general meeting in October, and finalize executive positions.  Brad Harness will stay on as party leader; Ron Patava will remain Party President; and, Mel Moniz remains as CFO.

Regional Directors/Organizers will be appointed for Northern, Eastern, Western & Central Ontario, as well as Eastern and Western GTA plus Toronto.

The party is adding directors for communications, election readiness, policy, memberships, candidate recruitment & fund-raising.

The party will begin setting up a Youth Wing by establishing clubs at universities and through work with local high school students.

Finally, the party has started work on developing its Strategic Plan to govern its operations over the next several years.

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Consensus Ontario leader Brad Harness calls for level political playing field

13 June 2022

     The 2 June 2022 Ontario general election has come and gone, and what we can say with certainty is that an unmotivated electorate decided to stay home rather than vote.  Ontario saw a 43% voter turnout, the worst in its history (since 1867).

    “I worry what that low voter turnout says - about how many Ontarians feel their say doesn't matter anymore.  So they tune out.  Yes, if you don't vote, you shouldn't complain about what the government does, but I say let us focus on the underlying cause of this awful voter turnout: Party politics.  The Ford PC government was returned with an even larger majority than in 2018 by only 17% of the electorate voting for them.  That is hardly strong support by taxpayers.  They have simply given up!, " says Brad Harness, Consensus Ontario Leader.

    "The PCs ran a low-key campaign and threw around billions in taxpayer money to buy votes.  The LIberals and NDP normally do that sort of thing, as the PC campaign's negative advertising underlined.  What almost all voters do not know is that the Big 3 parties and the Greens receive millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, while the 22 other parties get zero dollars in subsidies.  Furthermore, the Big 3 plus the Greens will get nearly half of their election expenses rebated to them by Ontario voters, so they have it ready to spend in the next election.  And the other 22 parties, and the Independent who was elected, will get not a penny.  hardly a level, fair playing field, is it?"

    "If you are offended by this then help us fight to fix these injustices - a level playing field for all!  Join Consensus Ontario now through our website and learn how a party-less form of government, called "Consensus Government", is based on what the people of the province want, and not what political parties want."

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