What Conservative Election Debates?!?

With a big election issue, like tax cuts and the service cuts that will inevitably follow, it is wise to ask three things: Are they realistic? Are they practical? And are they measurable? Unfortunately, as we have seen in the Toronto mayoral race where Rob Ford promised to provide a balanced budget by "stopping the gravy train" it didn't make any sense whatsoever. Now Toronto is tens of millions of dollars in debt and facing severe service cuts. These could affect, daycare, libraries, policing, and snow removal. The list goes on and on.

Tim Hudak of the Ontario Conservatives is promising to "cut the excesses" to balance our provincial budget by simply "eliminating efficiencies". How credible is this? He has promised not to cut education or health care, which is 70% of the total spending.

How is he going to perform this incredible balancing act? Our teachers want to know. Wouldn't it make sense to talk to us, since we are actually in the classrooms providing our province's educational services? Duh.

Both the Liberals and the NDP are in constant dialogue with all the the teacher associations in Ontario. They have been since before 2003. Even when we disagree, as is inevitable, we still meet to talk, because it is our students and schools that are at stake in any decisions that are made. This did not happen with the Harris Conservative government from 1995-2003. Unfortunately it is not and has not been happening for the last two years or so since Tim Hudak became Conservative leader.

This is not fear mongering on behalf of our teachers. Do the math. His numbers do not add up. Most frightening of all, he refuses to even discuss what he plans to do or how he plans to do it, outside of the most glibberish of glittering generalities to be found in his so called "Changebook" platform.

OECTA has provided it's members with a frank update on the situation in it's September 29th "Speak For Children" update. You should receive an email copy from your staff rep, or local unit office, depending on how you forward these missives in your OECTA unit.

 A lot of our teachers, and indeed concerned parents and community members as well, are feeling very frustrated. The reality of the situation is that most of the Conservative candidates are even refusing to attend the local riding debates to answer any questions with the election less than a week away.

Wake up Ontario before it is too late! The well being of our excellent education system is at stake. Be prepared to take a big bite of the Tory apple should the Hudak Conservatives win next week's Ontario Provincial election! It's happened in 1995 to 2003, and now it could happen again. Get involved. Help out an education friendly candidate today. Call your local OECTA unit office for more information. It's still not too late to do your part!

OECTA Endorsements + Catholic School Funding

All Ontario English Catholic Teacher's Association Toronto Secondary Unit [OECTA TSU] members should have received the election edition of our unit's "Highlights" newsletter. It includes the list of provincial election candidates OECTA has endorsed. OECTA reviewed each candidate and party platform on education in helping decide who made the list. You can trust these are all education friendly picks.


The newsletter has highlighted the fact that Conservative Party leader Tim Hudak refused to meet with our teachers for the past two years while developing his education platform for the election. I have discussed this too, in a blog earlier this month. Anyway, it should come as no surprise for our teachers who were around between 1995-2003 considering the Conservative party's track record during the Harris years. Neither Tim Hudak nor any other Conservative candidates have made the list. However rest assured fair due process was followed in screening all the candidates when asking OECTA's big election question, "Who Speaks For Children?"

We can't help it that Tim Hudak's Conservative Party refuses to meet with us as Catholic teachers to discuss their education policy. OECTA would be remiss if you weren't advised accordingly. It's a good idea to look over TSU Highlight's election issue carefully and think for yourself about what it says.


So that's Highlights for you. Look it over. It's highly recommend. Now for some unofficial election scuttlebutt of my own dear readers.


Your teacher's union knows you are no dummy. We are all teachers. We can think critically. These endorsements are recommendations. Just that. Nobody at OECTA who I met during my eleven years with your TSU, or your Provincial PAC for that matter, can or would even want to force you to vote this way or that. Any such "union thuggery" claims are pure baloney. As always you will hopefully look over the list, consider the information, and ask yourself "Who Speaks For Children?" best. OECTA has provided us as members with these endorsements in good faith as a Catholic educational advocacy group. Recommendations have been made but of course we can and will think for ourselves. It's disingenuous to claim otherwise.


You have probably heard some critics taking potshots at OECTA's one time $60 election fee increase passed at our Annual General Meeting [AGM] this spring. Was the vote conducted fairly? I know for a fact, as a member of our TSU executive that a members support for the motion or lack thereof, was not an issue in approving the applications among those who volunteered to attend during their March Break as your rep. I also know, having been at the AGM,  that 2/3's of the conference supported the motion. Also that amongst the 1/3 who didn't, most weren't actually against funding the "Who Speaks For Children?" campaign . They wanted to use up our strike fund for it first. In the end, after a very long and thorough debate a clear majority seemed to realize that would leave us in a very precarious situation should the Conservatives win this fall's Ontario provincial election.


One can only wish more members had read the pre-AGM materials that were sent out by OECTA before the spring AGM. If they had disagreed with the motion, which was clearly presented there they should've volunteered to come to speak up back then and vote accordingly. That's what our resolutions meeting and the spring AGM are for. The information, forum and procedures were all made readily available for us at school if you looked so that everyone could have their say!


You should know that it is no secret former Harris Education Minister and Tax Cut Axeman John Snobelen was working the Hudak backrooms in the lead up to this fall's election. He was telling all and sundry that the Harris Conservatives only made two mistakes when they won in 1995. They didn't go fast and hard enough in creating an education crisis.


If you will remember, Ontario's teachers became the scapegoats used to gut school funding in all the boards across the province so the new Conservative government could cut services to pay for it's promised tax cuts. Premier Harris even went on t.v. during the evenings to put us down as lazy, incompetent and overpaid. That might sound crazy if you weren't teaching then but please believe me, it is not something you as a teacher would ever want to experience at home, in your community, or the next day at school.


Of course OECTA wants to speak out now during the election so this doesn't happen again. As an educational advocacy group made up of teachers, our involvement in the election process should be no more suspect or of a surprise to anybody, least of all Tim Hudak. Concerned professional, corporate, business, citizen and developer groups do this all the time. We are just upfront about it. Issue advocacy is a very common part of our political process. That's been the case under all of the last three consecutive Liberal, Conservative and NDP governments. It can even be traced a lot further back than that, both at home here in Ontario and abroad.


I would like to further address some other misconceptions about our our teacher's union role at both the professional and contractual level. That will take a future post. Suffice to say, how could our Catholic teacher's union support Hudak's education plan for our members when you weren't even consulted about it? So of course he is going to complain when OECTA speaks out now and hope enough voters are naive enough to believe him. Pure political trickery, but then divisive politics is the name of his game. Some folk will say and do anything just so long as they win! We know that, unfortunately sometimes even at TSU.


Rather than belabour the consultation issue further, let me just change track a bit and say, "Thank God Catholic school funding hasn't become a big election issue -yet!".


Officially, the Liberals, Conservatives and the NDP have all told OECTA that they support public funding for our Catholic schools. The Green Party is running against Catholic school funding but so far haven't gotten very far with it. However, we know the Conservatives have in the past supported an ill thought out faith based schooling plan that would not have been good for our Catholic school funding model. They also supported Charter Schools, which defacto would mean we could end up privatized, rather than being publically funded.


Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty has always been firm in his funding support for us. However at the Young Liberal meetings there have been motions presented in the past to eliminate Catholic school funding. Nothing came of this but the situation warrants watching.


NDP leader Andrea Horwath has assured us the NDP supports Catholic school funding. However her opponent in the last leadership race, MPP Michael Prue, doesn't. You will notice in the Highlights list that OECTA is not endorsing Prue this year. I doubt it's a coincidence. NDP Education critic Rosario Marchese has apparently seen the light and reversed his stand. Since he's also done a lot of positive things for education in general, I'd suppose thats why he remains on the list. Still please note; there is at least one motion made at every NDP policy convention calling, so far unsuccessfully, for the elimination of public funding for our Catholic schools.


Let me give you an interesting tip. Some homework if you will. There are local candidate debates currently going on in every riding. It would be wise to consider asking all the candidates the following question at your local debate so you can further help decide for yourself which is best for our Catholic schools. I would suggest you ask them all a very simple but direct question:


Do you support continued public funding for the Catholic schools?


I've heard through the election grapevine that not all the election candidates have been sticking to their party platform in supporting us during the riding debates. This remains a rumour for now but I would suggest that it is pressing and persistent enough to warrant your immediate concern. At the grassroot's Catholic community level it's well worth asking every candidate this question at each and every riding debate across the province, even the candidates we've endorsed. If anyone refuses to attend the debate I'd be suspicious of that too.


If I heard a candidate say they didn't support Catholic school funding, or waiver or duck the issue at my local riding debate, I would certainly advise my family, friends, parish and school community asap. A quick phone call to your local OECTA unit office would also be very helpful too. All of our members should know, along with the candidate's party leader. Any rogue candidates who are against us can then be quickly identified and taken to task. Anything less could prove dangerously foolish, regardless of their party affiliation!


Most political pundits, both pro and con, realize that sooner or later Catholic school funding will become an election issue. If it doesn't explode this fall, then it most likely will at some point during the next two provincial elections should the current trends persist. True, the denominational rights of our Catholic schools are constitutional, dating to Confederation in 1867, and are included in the British North American Act which created the Dominion of Canada, as we referred to our new country back then. However, that does not mean the government is bound by law to fund us all the way through secondary school. This has only been done incrementally over the past century or so, not being fully extended right through secondary school until 1985. Conservative Premier Bill Davis rattled a lot of chains when he did so just before retiring from office. The rancor was quite aweful.


By the way, I don't think you can consider OECTA to be anti-Conservative. Bill Davis was made an honourary OECTA member. Moreover, every year the current Conservative leader is invited to our OECTA AGM. Every year they decline, except for former party leader John Tory who attended dinner to honour our teachers. Of course he was too "red" for most Conservatives, including Tim Hudak, and is gone today.


Those same chains that were being rattled during Conservative Premier Bill Davis final days are still being rattled today. If anything they are only growing louder, so please keep your ears peeled! It's our Catholic community that will lose out if enough popular and political support is created to cut public funding for our Catholic schools. Maybe others will argue it's a great way to pay for tax cuts, or that it wouldn't be approved if Confederation had happened today. Who knows?


Let's be prepared. Our publically funded Ontario Catholic schools remain quite unique, even across Canada now, and certainly abroad. Few of us would argue that it's better to be safe than sorry. Please look over Highlights and my blogs. Consider "Who Speaks For Children?" We need to take a strong stand for our profession, our students and our schools by electing an educational friendly government come October 6th. It's also very important that they will support our Catholic Schools in particular, during the difficult years ahead.

Hudak and Harris: Tim is him? Let's not find out the hard way! Once was enough! See my further election blogs below, of check my archives, below this column, for other interesting stuff...

Tuesday's Ontario Election Debate?

[Post script: Was I right or wrong? You decide. The t.v./ newspaper straw votes, analysis and focus will once again decide public opinion, at least for anyone who wasn't watching or have much grasp on politics or media, I fear. I'm surprised they aren't yet all over Hudak's "foreigners" remarks. I didn't think he'd start tossing that position around again. It's a pity if the public and the media don't catch this. Also if McGuinty and Horwath don't run with it and try score a post debate homerun at Hudak's expense.]

How will Tuesday's 6:30 pm Ontario Election Debate go? Will it make or break any of the three party leaders? Premier Dalton McGuinty of the Liberals? Opposition Leader Tim Hudak of the Conservatives? Andrea Horwath of the NDP? Here's my best guesstimate:

Tim Hudak is not known as a great public speaker or debater except perhaps when he is amongst the party faithful. Let's see if he can mellow the mad white guy act tonight. Andrea Horwath is quite personable and has a sunny disposition. It is to her long term advantage to make that impression well known if she is to continue to shine in Jack Layton's glow, if not in this election then in the years ahead. Dalton McGuinty enters the debate with an advantage, this is his fourth election campaign. Both Tim and Andrea are rookies, it's only their first. That's very important!

Dalton needs to come across as steady, confident, and managerial. Sparing any curve balls that catch him off base he should be safe. If he can strip off enough voters from the NDP, who might feel safer in the Liberal rather than the NDP tent should they fear a possible Conservative election win, he could hit a home run. It wouldn't be unprecedented but is by no means for certain. NDP voters could stay the course hoping for an NDP balance of power in a Liberal or Conservative minority government too. Expect Andrea and Tim to go at Dalton like there's no tomorrow! Dalton must come off as unruffled. It could just come down to a question of style.

The front covers of the Wednesday Toronto Sun and National Post will declare that Hudak won the debate, regardless of how it goes. The Sun will declare a landslide win for Tim. The t.v. ratings will not be high but one would hope they will beat the Law and Order SVU reruns come 7pm. Likewise election day voter turnout will still be headed for an all time low. So it goes in an election weary Ontario without any defining issues on the frontburner. Basically either the Liberals or the Conservatives will still be able to win, barring any unexpected knock out punches, simply depending upon who can get out the most voters on election day.

Come To This Monday's Rally For Toronto!

Please find below the Toronto York Labour Council [ TYLC] poster and write up for this Monday's 5:30 PM rally at city hall. Mayor Ford's promised tax cuts are now resulting in huge service cuts for the City Of Toronto. Conservative Party Leader Tim Hudak is a self tilted "tax fighter" too. Let's make sure voters know what that really means. Please come out Monday.

Share my blogspot link to this flyer, and pass on http://tsu3rdvp.blogspot.com/

The TYLC speaks:

There will be thousands showing up on Monday, September 26th to speak out for city services. Labour Council President John Cartwright is speaking at over a dozen union meetings urging members to link the fight for good jobs at the city with the need to stop the Conservatives from taking Queen's Park. The latest news is about massive job cuts at the TTC, along with gutting the environmental work of the city. And don't forget selling off city assets like the Zoo, Homes for the Aged and threats to cut subsidies for 2,000 childcare spaces.

Please see my Ontario Provincial Blogs below about our "Who Speaks For Children?" Campaign:

Some Notes On The Ontario Election Snoozefest

Getting bored with election news? Alas, having survived the Harris-Hudak years I would be remiss if I did not post a few blogs to warn my OECTA readers about this years Ontario Provincial election on Oct 6. I realize election talk can grow tedious, especially half way through an election. There hasn't been a real lot of reader interest even here. Still let me toss you some tasty inside tidbits from the teacher election grapevine, as well as a few of my own personal projections to maybe help spice things up a bit.

The fear inside Tim Hudak's Conservative "tax fighter" election war room is that he is currently dead in the water at the half way mark to election day. He'd planned to copy Rob Ford's Toronto Mayorial campaign. Now the wheels are falling off that election vehicle as the service cut implications of Ford's tax cuts have suddenly become so readily apparent here in Toronto. Figure out the math. Without big Toronto gains Hudak's unlikely to get enough seats to win.

Ford always was and still is a political wild card, especially now for Tim Hudak's provincial Conservatives. Still who'd have guessed he'd decide on his own to be so gung-ho in trying to implement his big service cuts at the worst possible time for his buddy Tim? Not the Conservatives. You know the saying, "You can fool some of the people some of the time..."  Well the infamous Ford Nation Uprising during this fall's provincial election is suddenly nowhere to be seen as Rob tanks at the polls. The reality factor has settled in as voters face huge service cuts across the city to pay for Ford's promised tax cuts in last fall's municipal election.

So what's next for Tim??? My bet? He'll fall back on the tired old "Broken Promises" chant from yesteryear. Atta boy Timmy, can you light our wicks with that one again?!?! Or will you just keep beating away with the same losing "tax fighter" swagger using Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty as your own personal punching bag? Will you find out that the negative attack ad swing has finally run out of steam in election weary Ontario as a sure vote winner? Gone the way of the Dodo bird and the naivity of the Ford Nation? Zzzzz. Yawn.

One can only hope! Of course a lot can still happen. There's two weeks between now and election day October 6th. That can be a few life times in politics. So if you are getting involved in our OECTA "Who Speaks For Children?" election effort, now is the time to step up the effort. Please don't figure it's game over, that we've spoken out for our students, saved our profession and schools and then head back home! The battle isn't over!

True Hudak's large lead in the polls has been reduced to a dead heat. Unless he can come up with a strong rescue "Plan B" this late in the election game, the punsters pretty well agree that if you translate the current  polls into a seat count, we will be looking at a minority Liberal win.

Andrea Horwath's NDP has no doubt taken a bounce in the polls amongst voters who don't know the difference between the Federal and the Provincial NDP but Jack Layton she isn't. Not yet anyway. I've met her on a few occasions and would bet in the long term she could be a real firecracker. For now Andrea is still a rookie and hasn't really caught fire. That's pretty much to be expected. As with Hudak, she hasn't had to take her party campaign out on the election road trail as party leader until now. She's more of a political party leader rookie in finding her feet than Tim who at least sat in Premier Harris' cabinet.

But let's say she creates a few Liberal and NDP vote splits. Or maybe she even wins a few more NDP seats from the Liberals. Either way the NDP could still allow the Conservatives to come down the middle either flipping more Liberal ridings in their favour, or reducing the overall Liberal seat counts in their favour at Queen's Park when the legislature resumes. It is for this reason that OECTA is not recommending it's members vote against any sitting Liberal or NDP incumbents, even if their Liberal or NDP opponents are also education friendly candidates.

Unfortunately for the NDP their election platform is not on the front political burner yet beyond their own hardcore party ranks. At best, in a minority Liberal scenario with a Conservative opposition, the NDP could still see themselves yielding a lot more influence, and getting a lot more much needed media attention. It could be fun to see Andrea hold Dalton's feet to the fire when he leans a little too right of centre for their tastes. Then again don't expect him to be around past two more years anyway.

It's no secret Dalton McGuinty has promised wife Terry that ten years as premier will be it. She's been pretty good about all this, living and teaching in Toronto for the past eight years, but enough is enough and it's about time for the loving twosome to move on. Another election win let's him wrap up business, resign on top, and allow for a leadership race, party renewal and a new face for the party. Possibly a win win win situation for everyone but the Conservatives and the NDP if you will. Could give the tired old Libs a lot more sizzle!

McGuinty's personal talk ads about health and education have helped offset his tendency to seem kind of distant and forced. I remember working with a Liberal focus group some time ago when Dalton had to enter an informal setting for a meet and greet, to make small talk, drink beer and connect. He was like the proverbial deer in front of your car headlights, frozen stiff. Back before his 2003 election win he was really wobbly, like a tin soldier wound up but tight and sent marching into a room. He's come a long way in the public relations department. Though still low key as an election road warrior he can project a competent if not spectacular managerial image and the province is doing well in the current economic crisis. Unless he is thrown off his game between now and election day Dalton might even be able to just keep it bland and score a majority, albeit a reduced one, by just staying the course. Like Bill Davis', or maybe more so like with Steven Harper 's cakewalk as of late.

So far this election has been a real snoozefest. Few would argue that. Conservative voters are known to invariably vote conservative or not vote at all. Hudak's tax fighter stance will appeal to his core supporters but not otherwise pick up much momentum or a whole lot more votes with Ford run amok. Now he's very vulnerable to being exposed on the ominous service cuts downside of tax cuts by both the Liberals and the NDP. Unless the provincial NDP can keep rekindling and move beyond Jack Layton's Federal NDP glow, they look like a possible spoiler at best by stripping away a few more Liberal seats.

Depending on their success at that I'd guess at a minority or majority Liberal government depending how many voters either party can actually get out to vote on election day. Truth be told that's what usually wins or loses an election. Without much voter interest both parties have a big job to do. I'd be cautious and bet my money on a Liberal minority but unless Andrea or Tim can come up with a quick game changer Dalton could now possibly pull a majority win hat trick come Oct 6th through sheer default. The next two weeks will certainly either have to suddenly become real exciting or a total sleep walk to provincial election day. Let's try to stay politically awake and active to see what happens next!

More election blogs below, and a lot of other stuff, especially in the July and August archives...

On Oct.6th Speak Out + Vote For Education!

How will you vote in the Oct 6 Ontario Provincial Election? Will you get involved by helping a pro-education friendly Liberal or NDP incumbent hold onto their riding? Or help elect one of their candidates in an open riding, if you live in one of these this election year? Consider this: Conservative party leader Tim Hudak's so called education platform was written without any consultation with our Catholic Teachers!

Our Catholic Teacher's union is an active well respected educational advocacy lobby group at Queens Park. We have an excellent record of supporting educational friendly MPP’s. We helped defeat the Conservative Harris-Hudak “Tory” government in 2003! Newer teachers might not know how bad the situation was back then compared to today.

Before 2003, education budgets were being slashed to pay for “tax cuts” and balance the Ontario provincial budget, on the backs of our students and schools! Schools were closed and programs cut. “Boot Camps” were set up for zero tolerance student “disciplinary purposes”. Support services were cut leaving our really troubled students without help!

Our teaching profession was under attack too! Premier Harris frequently denigrated us as being lazy, incompetent and overpaid! Told us to teach 7 out of 8 periods. Take useless ministry “upgrading” courses, 15 every 5 years, at our own cost. Teacher evaluations were punitive! We lacked a majority vote on the newly founded College of Teachers regulatory board. TECT teachers were even locked out of school during contract talks. OECTA faced decertification! On and on went the hostile Tory attacks on our profession, students and schools, but we fought back. That’s all behind us, for now. Or is it?

In 2003 OECTA began strategically endorsing education friendly politicians from both the Liberal and the NDP parties, supporting incumbents, and the party candidate who could best defeat a Tory at election time. As successful teacher educational advocates, our OECTA teachers' association is always consulted on education matters by both party's. Queens Park knows that you demand support for our Catholic school system! Unlike before our teachers aren’t “outside” of a hostile legislature. We have a definite “in” way to make sure our concerns are heard.

But now we stand to lose that all in this fall's 2011 provincial election! We can’t lose our hard earned gains through apathy, and the attending default it brings. The risk is too great and too real! Conservative Party leader Tim Hudak's attack ads feature prominently on t.v. these days, while the polls bounce back and forth suggesting his Harris Redux version of the Ontario Conservative party might well get elected again on Oct 6!

Have you seen his wife in the ads? Did you know he and his wife Deb Hutton were key figures in the Harris government? That she helped with the early drafts of the so called "Common Sense Revolution" that slashed school, medical and social services across the province? The happy housewife you see cuddling baby Hudak in his "just plain folk" t.v. ads is a cruel, deceitful rue! Hubby Tim has even claimed that slashing teacher’s salaries will help balance the Ontario budget deficit in the provincial legislature! What is he whispering in Lil' Miller Hudak's ear in those corny ads? If you don't think huge education cuts can happen again like during the Harris-Hudak years, look at what a mess Rob Ford's Toronto is! As the saying goes, if Hudak is elected Oct 6th, "You haven't seen nothin' yet!"

As Catholic teachers we cannot risk coming full circle back to the devastating attacks on our teachers, students and schools, should the Conservatives get elected on Oct 6! Please visit OECTA's http://www.speakforchildren.ca/" website for more information on how you can help! Volunteer to get involved with a Liberal or NDP riding association now as they take a clear pro-education election stance. Toronto members can contact your TSU office for more information.

OECTA will be providing a list of endorsed incumbents and candidates soon for your consideration, so we don't risk splitting the Liberal-NDP vote and inadvertantly letting the Conservatives win. That's what happened when Harris was elected in 1995. Think about this, for yourself. Keeping in mind the well being of our profession, our students and our schools. We have one of the highest ranked education systems in the world. Let's keep it that way. As Catholic teachers, we have and still can make a difference!      

Who Is The Real "Tax" Man + What Does He Want? Have You Seen This Tim Hudak Ad?

For more Ontario election info, commentary, and views, please continue reading the posts below;