Many look to America and are quick to label what they deem to be a grim future, but Ontarians would be better served to worry about their crises at their own doorsteps.
Costs continue rising for those living within our provincial borders. Skyrocketing energy bills have forced some to desperate measures to keep the lights on in their houses and food on the table. Recent carbon emissions taxes imposed on businesses will also inevitably strike at the wallets of Ontarians, as government regulations bog businesses with extra regulations and costs, which are then downloaded to the customer.
This is all done in the name of a government that is there to serve its people, but at times seems more concerned in its public perception of having done so.
Ontario’s housing market is in a similarly desperate state. Like Vancouver and other areas in British Columbia, the Greater Toronto Area is encroaching a housing crisis as low supply and high demand meet. Add the threat of foreign buyers saturating the market and starting bidding wars that rise property prices to exorbitant heights, and the housing bubble swells to massive proportions.
Issues faced by the Ontarian healthcare are almost offensively blatant: long wait times, rising costs of care coupling with an aging population and a serious lack of access to medical specialists. Unfortunately, our government, like most, is slow and resistant to change. This is because of its self-serving nature.
Even all of these daunting issues are overshadowed by the looming provincial debt. Trends show strong indications that Ontario’s tumorous debt will continue to grow by $50 billion – to $350 billion – in the next four years. This is in spite of assurances that the debt situation is not as dire as indicated.
The provincial government has yet to come out with a plan to eliminate the debt that it has recklessly racked up over the years. While they wait, interest on borrowed cash has reached over $11 billion per year – which is more than it spends on all social services provided for adults and all colleges and universities.
What does all this mean for us? With recent approval ratings of 14 per cent for our premier, it is clear that there is a growing public dissatisfaction with the way that the government serves us. For an organization that is supposed to provide services that benefit society, the cost of providing these services, and the inefficiencies within them, is robbing families and individuals from making positive changes in their own lives.
Put politely, these government actions – or lack thereof – could be referred to as lazy and short-sighted. Put less politely, one could go so far as to say that they are not doing their jobs adequately, and that the people in power are more interested in serving themselves than the people who allow them to be in power. There is insurmountable evidence that exists telling them that they are doing a poor job. Yet little changes.
With all the institutional problems that exist, then, it may be daunting to think of what possible solution there could be. Ultimately, we as individuals have no absolute control over anything but our own actions. Common sense dictates, then, that you should let your actions bring on the change you want to see.
The best hope that we have in dealing with a government like our provincial one ultimately lies in how willing we are to be a good citizen. It requires a personal commitment to engage in discussion, articulate what we believe, to let our opinions be heard.
Most importantly, we must be able to carry these opinions forward politically, so that we can be sure that our best interests will be represented.
By Murray Scorsone
Please note that opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page.
