In case anyone was wondering about the effectiveness of right to work laws in suppressing unionization, here is a chart of Union coverage by U.S. State (the percentage of all employees that are covered by a collective agreement) as of 2010. Right to work states have an asterisk, and are outlined
Continue readingTag: Ontario
Progressive Proselytizing: The messy divorce of horse racing and slots in Ontario
I play online poker regularly. My wife loves to watch horse racing on TV. Given this, one might think I would be sympathetic to the long running slots-at-racetrack program which sees government run slots available at racetracks around Ontario in a revenue sharing agreement where the racetracks get 20%, or $345 million a
Continue readingTrashy's World: Well, duh…
…of course teens are going to wander off to the nearest fast food joint instead of paying for a cheese-less, whole grain slice of za! That’s what I woulda done. I’m not arguing against the healthy food policy that came into effect this year at Ontario schools. Not at all.
Continue readingTrashy's World: Separate schools: the subject that won’t go away…
… damn right it won’t! There was a good piece on Saturday by Kate Heartfield (one of the better writers at the Shitizen) about the inefficiencies of the publicly-funded separate School Board in Ontario and how its existence discriminates against a huge sector of the provincial population It is especially
Continue readingIlluminated By Street Lamps: Short-term Politicking Plagues Ontario’s 2012 Budget
Budgets don’t get passed during minority governments without negotiation. The government’s public suggestion that the New Democratic Party, the only party willing to consider not blocking the Liberal budget, is headed by someone who has a habit of breaking her word isn’t a good strategy to ensure said government survives
Continue readingTrashy's World: Well, I know of at least one safe seat for the Ontario Grits or NDP…
… if this comes true and Doug Ford runs for the Hudakites if McGuinty calls an election. (5) Trashy, Ottawa, Ontario
Continue readingDriving The Porcelain Bus: Andrea Horwath Asks McGuinty And Hudak To Meet To Work On The Budget This Weekend
You would think that the premier would do this if he was really interested in making things work and doing his job. This shows that Andrea is serious about making parliament work for Ontarians. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is asking both Dalton McGuinty and Tim Hudak to meet this weekend
Continue readingDriving The Porcelain Bus: Ontario Budget Attempts to Privatize Public Transit and other Public Services
From TTC Riders site: Just as we savour our victory in winning back four Light Rail Transit lines for Toronto, an even greater threat is presenting itself—two provincial government initiatives that may foster privatization of our public transit systems. They are: 1) Schedule 28 (The Government Services and Service Providers Act, 2012), which is a
Continue readingDriving The Porcelain Bus: Fact Check On The Ontario Budget Agreements Between The NDP and the Liberals
Premier Dalton McGuinty has been saying that Andrea Horwath and the NDP have reneged on a deal. This is completely false. QUEEN’S PARK — Andrea Horwath and the Ontario NDP have been clear that Bill 55 has serious problems. From the day following the introduction of the budget New Democrats
Continue readingDriving The Porcelain Bus: Statement by NDP Leader Andrea Horwath on the 2012 Budget
http://ontariondp.com/en/statement-by-ndp-leader-andrea-horwath-on-the-2012-budget “Every day since the election, I’ve worked hard to make minority government work. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to achieve. When discussing the Ontario’s Budget with the Premier, I made it clear that I would not rubberstamp the government’s 300 page omnibus bill. I made a commitment
Continue readingCarbon49 - Sustainability for Canadian businesses: Ontarians Want More Sustainable Communities
Eight-nine per cent of Ontarians feel their communities would benefit environmentally and economically by incorporating green alternatives, according to a new survey conducted by Research House. Green product manufacturers and suppliers may look into upcoming community development projects such as public parks and community centres for potential collaboration opportunities. The
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: CEAP Adscam 2.0?
The annoying Canadian Economic Action Plan acronym CEAP appears in the latest Conservative phone calling scandal because a company Dean Del Mastro hired, got CEAP money to develop GeoVote. It’s unclear to me at this moment exactly how the economy would be stimulated by a program that identifies voters geographically
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Labour Market Stalls
Canada’s job market stalled in May. Employment edged up by 7,700, almost all of it part-time. In fact, the number of employees paid by Canadian employers fell by 15,600. Total “employment” rose only because 23,300 more Canadians reported themselves as self-employed. Over the past year, employment has grown slightly less
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Ontario GSA Bill Passes
Ontario passed Bill 13 this week, which forbids school administrators from banning Gay-Straight Alliances. Hooray! The congratulalien has been vindicated! Good job, Ontario.
Continue readingTrashy's World: Crazy shit…
…. or as WK calls him – a Kooky Katholic… Yes. David Warren is at it again! He is the main reason why I don’t subscribe to the Shitizen anymore. I couldn’t sleep knowing that some of my $$’s were going towards his salary! And yet again, he is either
Continue readingcmkl: Live and let live: if you can’t even do that, your religious schools do not deserve my funding
The constitution has some strange artifacts in it. One of them is the guarantee of government funding for Catholic schools in Ontario Alberta and Saskatchewan and the territories. No other religion’s schools enjoy the same status and no such provisions exist for the rest of Canada.
Continue readingPample the Moose: Bill 13’s passage, GSAs and the Catholic Church
Bill 13, Ontario’s anti-bullying legislation, passed third reading in the legislature today. The bill obtained 65 votes in support from the Liberal and NDP members, and 36 votes against from the Conservatives.I’m quite pleased that this legislati…
Continue readingPample the Moose: Bill 13’s passage, GSAs and the Catholic Church
Bill 13, Ontario’s anti-bullying legislation, passed third reading in the legislature today. The bill obtained 65 votes in support from the Liberal and NDP members, and 36 votes against from the Conservatives. I’m quite pleased that this legislation passed in the final form that it assumed, which incorporated amendments giving
Continue readingPample the Moose: Bill 13’s passage, GSAs and the Catholic Church
Bill 13, Ontario’s anti-bullying legislation, passed third reading in the legislature today. The bill obtained 65 votes in support from the Liberal and NDP members, and 36 votes against from the Conservatives. I’m quite pleased that this legislation passed in the final form that it assumed, which incorporated amendments giving
Continue readingTrashy's World: The Ontario anti-bullying bill…
… will be passed today, in spite of the chest-puffing by the Catholic church establishment and their School Trustees. This is a good Bill and deserves to be the law of the land. Now, Mr. McGuinty. Back off your belligerent stance on refusing to discuss bringing into public debate the
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