Welcome back to the Inside Ontario blog, where every Monday we recap the top stories from around Ontario.
This week’s top stories: the full-day kindergarten announcement; H1N1 vaccine wait-times; Ottawa’s public transit plan is in doubt; Greyhound’s continued operations in Northwestern Ontario remain uncertain; and new municipal elections laws are proposed.
Premier Dalton McGuinty is moving forward with full-day kindergarten despite the recently announced $24.7-billion deficit. In September, 35,000 full-day kindergarten spaces will be available in areas that demonstrate socio-economic need and have facilities available. The program is expected to be in place across Ontario by 2015 and will cost $1.5-billion annually once fully implemented.
The Toronto Star argued that McGuinty was right to proceed with full-day kindergarten, because it is an important social and economic policy for Ontario. However, the Globe and Mail notes that under the full-day kindergarten plan average kindergarten class sizes will increase to 26 students (there is presently a cap of 23 students per kindergarten class).
Steve Paikin has been following this issue on his blog, where he has discussed the cost of full-day kindergarten and the impact class size has on educational success.
Last season, The Agenda interviewed Charles Pascal, Dalton McGuinty’s Special Advisor on Early Learning, about his report that lays the foundation for Ontario’s full-day kindergarten plan.
While H1N1 vaccination clinics in Toronto, Ottawa, and Windsor were marked by long lines last week, Algoma’s vaccination clinics were averaging 15-minute wait-times. Algoma Public Health uses a phone-based appointment system to avoid unmanageable lineups when coordinating its 1,500 vaccinations per day.
Similarly, the Globe and Mail reports that the Brant County Health Unit’s investment in a web-based flu shot appointment system three years ago is paying dividends during this year’s H1N1 vaccination rush. Brant County Health Unit officials claim that most of their patients spend less than 30-minutes in a vaccination clinic (that includes a 15-minute post-vaccination observation period).
Ottawa’s proposed light-rail corridor is in doubt after Dalton McGuinty expressed concern over the rising cost of the project. The projected cost of Ottawa’s public transit plan has increased from $5-billion to $6.6-billion over the next 20 years. However, it is the 50 per cent increase in cost of a downtown tunnel for light-rail that has some concerned.
The Ottawa Citizen questioned McGuinty’s spending priorities, making reference to the full-day kindergarten announcement and the provincial government’s considerable funding of some Toronto public transit projects.
The Government of Manitoba has reached a deal with Greyhound that will keep bus service running in that province. Greyhound is seeking $15-million in government subsidies to maintain its operations in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. NDP MPP Howard Hampton is urging the Government of Ontario to come to an agreement with Greyhound. He points out that the provincial government already spends $35-million on GO Transit in Southern Ontario and $25-million on trains and buses in Northeastern Ontario.
On Tuesday, the McGuinty Government introduced a bill that could bring sweeping municipal election law reforms to Ontario. The bill would continue to limit individual/corporate campaign contributions to $750 per candidate, but it would implement a $5,000 contribution limit within each municipal election (for those who contribute to multiple candidates in the same municipality). Other major features of this bill include: a photo ID requirement for all voters; required online filing of campaign contributions and expenses for public viewing by all candidates; and maximum penalties for violation of the Election Act increase to $25,000 for individuals and $50,000 for businesses or trade unions.
Calls for municipal election law reform were brought about, in part, by Professor Robert MacDermid’s work on municipal election campaign financing, which has found that in the “905-area” successful candidates receive significantly more corporate contributions (particularly from development companies) than their unsuccessful counterparts.
If you are a fan of provincial politics, be sure to watch on-demand streaming video of Question Period at Queen’s Park at the Question Period Archive on TVO’s Civics 101 microsite. And for a 30-minute highlight reel of last week’s Question Period sessions watch Queen’s Park This Week.
