Despite the obnoxious debt clock parked outside John Milloy’s office in my local Kitchener-center riding and despite PC Stephen Woodworth’s best efforts at convincing Kitchener residents to vote for Tim Hudak’s “changebook” agenda, Liberals lead by five percentage points in the opinion polls, according to ThreeHundredEight.com.
I’d attribute this to the fact that: John Milloy got the jump on Woodworth with his campaign, opening his office almost two weeks ago and canvassing with his supporters day in and day out, including on weekends, and also to the Provincial Liberal’s sound strategy of progressive investment in the economy and the creation of new jobs.
Milloy is looking for his 3rd consecutive term, having been initially elected as MP back in 2003 and then re-elected in 2007. He is also currently the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities in Ontario.
Mr. Woodworth for some reason seems unprepared this year. He initially started an aggressive mailing campaign sending flyers, brochures and invitations to everything and everyone; I think I’ve counted reading at least eight flyers over the past six months, while I’ve only received about three from John Milloy. And I haven’t really seen him in public either.
But regardless of his whereabouts and regardless of his recruiting and canvassing efforts, the PC action plan he is trying to push is about as solid as thin air. It’s not progressive, because lets face it, the P in Progressive Conservative might as well stand for pre-historic or platitudinous.
However, despite Woodworth’s no show and his weak campaign, the Liberals must always be on their guard during this election. The undecided mob in Kitchener is fickle, people may at any time change their vote on a whim regardless of how small or big a change in our course.
There was an article I read in the Globe and Mail about two days ago that suggested that the Ontario Liberals are taking a page from the federal PCs’ election playbook by promoting steady as she goes policies and consistent performance protecting the economy and health care over the past four years.
And why shouldn’t we promote these things? It is a fact that the HST has helped pay of some of the provincial debt and has allowed the government to direct more funds to improving health care and education in Ontario. It’s also a fact that the recently announced PC tax plan only focuses on tax-cuts for middle-income families and is outmatched by the tax reform the McGuinty Liberals introduced with the HST more than a year ago.
Thus what I think is despite the fact that the PCs may have a relatively sound short-term economic plan, they lack the ability to come up with progressive, forward-moving and long term economic, social and new energy policies that are efficient and inclusive of all Ontarians.
They should know by now that tax cuts geared only towards middle-income families do not always produce new jobs for Ontarians.
However, if the PCs announced that these cuts will extend both to low income and small businesses in the province then they might have something to go on.
So until they become enlightened, their black hole of a platform will hold little sway with Ontarians and as a consequence so will Woodworth and the PC candidates in Kitchener-Center trail behind the Liberals both in opinion polls and in leadership.
