Welcome to the Inside Ontario blog. Every week this blog will provide you with the top stories about the changing face of Ontario.
In this first post, let's review what happened in Ontario this summer.
This summer Ontario's MPPs debated (and continue to debate) how to best address the alleged inappropriate spending at eHealth Ontario. Government members are arguing that the Auditor General should investigate the matter. The Progressive Conservatives fought for a legislative committee hearing on this topic, but the Liberals used their majority in the committees to block it. Now people are asking, what is the proper role of arm's-length bodies?:
Before eHealth Ontario could fade from the headlines, alleged improper spending by another arm's-length body, Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG), emerged. As a result, Premier Dalton McGuinty is getting tough on the spending practices of all Ontario's arm's-length bodies.
This Ottawa Citizen article shows how many arm's-length bodies there are in Ontario and the difficulties Premier Dalton McGuinty will have monitoring their spending.
David Johnson published a study on the quality of Ontario's elementary schools through the C.D. Howe Institute this summer. The study argues that half of educational success is determined by socio-economic factors and half is determined by school quality. Of course, some dispute the ability of standardized testing to measure educational success.
Check out C.D. Howe's brief on the study and David Johnson’s database.
After months of protest and several arrests, the County of Simcoe voted to postpone the development of Dump Site 41 in Tiny Township. Activists argued that the pristine water of the Allison Aquifer would be jeopardized by the dump site, which is the primary source of drinking water for many Simcoe County residents. The County countered that the dump's engineering ensured the aquifer would not be contaminated.
This Toronto Star article recounts the international attention Tiny Township received.
Many residents of Sudbury and Port Colborne have been facing tough economic times, as more than 3,000 employees of Vale Inco have been on strike since July 13. Vale Inco has been trying to re-open the mine using non-unionized employees and it is easy to see why tensions are running high in Sudbury.
This Sudbury Star article reports on Vale Inco's request that there continues to be no violence on the picket lines.
And fans of Ontario politics should remember to visit the Question Period Archive which is part of TVO's Civics 101 microsite. It provides on demand videos and transcripts of Question Period at Queen’s Park.
