After its formation in late 2008 the Ginger Project held a series of public meetings with the intent of creating a Democratic Socialist electoral agenda for the province of Ontario.Out of these meetings flowed a whole series of ideas and policy statements many of which found their way into the Ginger Platform. They were a collaborative effort, and thus no names are attached directly to these resolutions. Now that the Ginger Project is giving way to the formation of a new socialist party (name to be determined), these have to be looked at again. We have therefore, where possible, broken down the existing platform into a series of resolutions for proposal for inclusion in the platform of the new party.These resolutions are as follows:A Resolution on the Creation of a Minimum Living Wage:Be it hereby resolved that a socialist government would create in Ontario a Minimum Living Wage for all Ontarians and would further create an Ontario Living Standards Act that will seek to do for income what the Canada Health Act has done for medical care.A Resolution on Worker’s Rights:Whereas a search for true social equity and equality must also include a true commitment to the defense of worker’s rights;Be it hereby resolved that a socialist government would strictly enforce all labour laws and would expand the numbers of public service workers whose function is to enforce these said laws. Be it further resolved that it would reintroduce anti-scab legislation and ban the use of replacement workers during strikes. Be it further resolved that it would ban the use of back-to-work legislation and would oppose it in all instances while in opposition;Be it further resolved that it would reverse all legislation designating workers other than police, fire fighters and paramedics as “essential services”. A Resolution on PayDay Loan Agencies:Whereas while not seeking to prevent those who need short term loans from access to them it is clear that the gouging of workers by PayDay loan agencies with interest rates that amount to usury must end;Be it therefore resolved that Payday Loan Agencies must be properly regulated and the interest rates that these agencies charge must be comparable to that levied by banks on loans to businesses and individuals.A Resolution on Vacation Time:Be it resolved that a socialist government would introduce a legally mandated third week of vacation time for all workers in Ontario and therefore increase the amount paid by employers to employees for vacation time from 4% of their yearly salary to 6%of their yearly salary.A Resolution on a 35 Hour Work Week:Be it resolved that a Socialist Government in Ontario would introduce a 35 hour work week in the province of Ontario.A Resolution on the Minimum Wage:Be it hereby resolved that a socialist government will introduce an immediate increase of the minimum wage to $15 an hour in Ontario and will have it indexed to increase every year at the rate of inflation.A Resolution on Making EI Fair for Workers Again:Whereas the Employment Insurance programme was originally intended as a benefit to be paid out in times of need to workers who had lost their jobs, and workers supplied the premiums to the system and they were to benefit from it when required;and whereas instead, due to changes made by Liberal and Tory governments to help subsidize their handouts to their corporate friends through tax cuts and bailouts while still maintaining a balanced budget, the EI fund has become a cash cow for the federal government that pays out less in benefits than it takes in from workers.;and whereas further, the fund especially penalizes Ontario’s workers as Ontario pays 38% of all of the fund’s premiums but receives only 29% of benefits, only 37% of Ontario’s unemployed are even eligible for benefits while the self-employed, the casual worker and many part-time workers are entirely excluded as are the long-term unemployed, and whereas we continue to be regarded as a low unemployment area despite having an unemployment rate higher than the national average;Be it therefore resolved that a socialist government would advocate making EI a provincial jurisdiction again, as is the province’s right, if the federal government refused to stop financing its corporate agenda with worker’s money; Be it further resolved that it would force or create itself a revenue neutral fund that pays out to workers when they are in need what they have paid into it. Be it further resolved that it would expand eligibility and the length of coverage and it would pledge, in times of prosperity, to never use the funds of EI for any other purpose, but rather to sit on any surpluses and the interest they generate so as to maintain the fund when the economy goes through a downturn or slump.A Resolution on Taxes:Whereas a socialist party believes that it is through taxes that we fund the programmes that benefit the working and middle class;And whereas the responsibility for taxes should fall progressively on those who can most afford to pay and who have benefited most from our society’s grotesque income inequality;And whereas consumption taxes unduly burden those who can least afford them;Be it therefore resolved that a socialist government would, in its first budget, reverse all of the personal and corporate tax cuts that have been introduced in Ontario since 1995, to be phased in over a period of four years.Be it further resolved that it would repeal the HST and would then progressively eliminate the PST by a gradual reduction of one percentage point per year until it was eliminated.A Resolution Regarding Tuition Fees:Whereas an entire generation benefited from relatively inexpensive university education and then slammed the door on the children of others by continuing to gratify themselves at the expense of those who came next;and whereas we favour a commitment to promote social mobility and equality;Be it therefore resolved that a socialist government would immediately reverse all tuition fee increases since the year 1995;Be it further resolved that it would eliminate these fees entirely by the end of its first mandate.A Resolution Regarding Early Childhood Education:Be it hereby resolved that a socialist government would introduce an early childhood education system based on the one in France, that would allow parents to receive free full-day education for their children starting from the age of two.A Resolution Regarding Healthcare:Whereas a socialist government must work to provide accessible, comprehensive healthcare coverage for all Ontarians;and whereas since the cuts of the 1995 Federal Budget (and additional cuts by successive provincial governments) Ontarians have seen a reduction in healthcare services covered, hospital closures and privatizations that have led to increased costs for services;and whereas while acknowledging the impact that budget cuts have had on the healthcare system, we as socialists must also recognize, that an effective healthcare system must not simply be measured by how much money is spent, but by the actual health and welfare of it’s population;and whereas for a publicly funded healthcare system to be effective, it must pool it’s resources to serve the needs of the population effectively, particularly the working class, visible minorities and with individuals who do not have private, comprehensive healthcare coverage.Be it therefore resolved that a socialist government should advocate the following reforms in healthcare:End the funding of private “boutique” clinics for MRIs, CT scans, and other services.Establish long-term strategic plans for health-care funding based on population demographic trends.Increase investment in IT to provide electronic health records for all Ontarians.No longer utilize the P3 business model for the construction of new hospitals.Ensure full transparency in bidding process where private sector is used in short-term projects.Increase the number of spaces within Medical schools in Ontario.Provide incentives to graduating medical students to work within remote areas of Ontario.Increase the number of chronic disease beds to 1993 levels.Increase investment in preventative medicine and chronic disease management.Where the private sector is utilized for government projects such as construction, consulting or other services, the bidding process must be completely accessible to the public.Ensure that the provincial government implements no policies that violate the Canada Health ActA Resolution Concerning the Recreation of POSO:Whereas many socialists feel that the banking sector is in urgent need of reform, and some would even go so far as to favour the nationalization of some or all of the Big Banks;and whereas this, however, is a constitutionally federal matter and cannot be done, in part or whole, by a provincial government;Be it therefore resolved that a Socialist government in Ontario would recreate the publicly owned Province of Ontario Savings Office (POSO), which was a government owned savings bank that offered higher interest rates than commercial banks on a variety of savings accounts;Be it further resolved that POSO, would also be allowed to advertise, which it was not in the past, and to offer limited, low-risk loans and to, as it once did, offer lower interest loans to the government of Ontario itself as its deposits went into Ontario’s consolidated revenue fund.A Resolution regarding Legal Reform:Whereas the legal system in Ontario is great need of reform, especially in administrative areas, ad as a province we are grossly underspending and the result is that the system is overburdened and in danger of falling apart;and whereas fixing these problems is of tremendous importance to ensure the proper protection of the rights of those before the courts and to avoid miscarriages of justice, which undermine the system’s credibility;Be it therefore resolved that a Socialist government would:1)Hire more judges, clerks etc. Courts are currently extremely overburdened, especially in the suburbs. Often in our criminal courts it takes over a year to get a trial date in even the simplest case. Trials are being thrown out because they take so long, and thereby end up violating the rights of the accused. There are equally grave problems in the family courts. This results in many cases of injustice as people take deals that they shouldn’t because they can’t wait any longer, people spend too long in prison waiting for trial or too long without spousal support, etc. 2)Fund legal aid better: The underfunding in this area is an absolute disgrace. Without access to proper legal representation for all there is only justice for the rich. The very poor alone qualify for legal aid and even then only in certain areas of the law. There is a huge segment of the population, primarily the middle and working classes who can neither get aid nor afford proper legal assistance. This must end.3)Fund prisons better. Poor conditions in our prisons and jails are neither morally right nor in the interests of prison guards. Further, many in jails have only been accused of crimes, not convicted. Forcing them to live in substandard conditions when they may never be found guilty of anything is unacceptable.4)Synchronize court rules. There are different procedures in different courts across the province. This results in delay and extra costs as most lawyers represent clients in many different courts.If you have any further reolutions to propose, please email them to info@thegingerproject.org
