Ontario Premier Mike Harris

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Download Ontario's Plan for Education Reform
Read Bill 160, the Education Quality Improvement Act, 1997
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The Harris Government

"Is democracy in danger in Ontario? That's what the Mike Harris government's critics say. In the early 1990s, when Bob Rae wanted to force every private-sector employer to choose his workforce by racial quota, democracy was apparently in fine shape. But since 1995, democracy has supposedly been battered and bludgeoned. What sins against democracy is the Harris government alleged to have committed? Just read the angry letters and op-eds in the newspapers for a list. It amalgamated the six municipalities of Metro Toronto, even though the mayors of those municipalities objected. It shut down boards of education even though the school trustees objected. It reformed Rae's labor law even though the union bosses objected. Time and time again, the critics charge, the Harris government has tried to reform bloated, incompetent and wasteful functions of government, ruthlessly ignoring the wishes of those who profit from the bloat, incompetence and waste."

"Defenders of the Harris government think of democracy as a political system in which the majority gets to decide, at election time, the great political questions of the day. By that definition, the Harris government is superbly democratic: Ontario is getting what it voted for. But the critics believe in quite a different theory of democracy. To them, it's a system in which between elections, the beneficiaries of government spending quietly use their control of the bureaucracy to make sure nothing happens that displeases them."

"The one sort of person who is never heard in "consultations" - who by definition can never be heard, is the ordinary citizen unrepresented by any lobbying group. That is why we have elections - so citizens, not in groups but as individuals, can choose which political philosophy to give a mandate to. Harris, similarly, has been accused of disregarding the advice of his civil servants, relying instead on the small group of advisors who crafted the original Common Sense Revolution manifesto. There, he is indeed guilty as charged. But that's because the Ontario civil service is the bitterest opponent of Harris' reforms. Harris was elected to cut taxes and reduce government. The bureaucracy wants to enlarge government and raise taxes. How is it "democratic" to substitute the demands of the bureaucracy for the commands of the people?"

"The people who condemn the Harris government's methods are really angry about its policies. The critics believe in more government spending, higher taxes and more privileges for trade unions. That's what the fight is about. And on all those issues, it's important to remember the people spoke in 1995 and spoke in favor of the policies Harris argued for. The many sensible people who continue to favor those policies should not be fooled by bogus accusations from self-interested bureaucrats that a government is somehow betraying democracy when it keeps its promises."

- David Frum

A good budget

"It's about time Ontarians got a little good news. And that was definitely the gist of Finance Minister Ernie Eves' provincial budget on Tuesday. Eves and the Provincial Tories have been doing everything possible to keep the promises they made in the last provincial election and they did it again this week, even a little earlier than they had scheduled. The Tories maintained from day one that their Common Sense Revolution would result in tax cuts, tax cuts and more tax cuts. And it has. Eves announced in the latest budget that Ontarians would see the provincial portion of their income tax reduced to 30.2 per cent on July 1, a 30 per cent decrease in personal income taxes since the Progressive Conservatives took office. And it's sooner than the Tories originally anticipated. And the Tories are looking at helping youth by investing $150 million for the creation of jobs, day-care credits to low income families will double under new guidelines, and small businesses will benefit too, as the province announced that it will cut income tax rates by 50 per cent over the next eight years. They've also included $150 million over the next five years for community safety initiatives and an increase in health care funding to $1.2 billion for this year. They even put aside $1.2 billion for a class size protection fund. All of this and they're still on line to lower the deficit to $4.22 billion and they're still on track to to balance the books by the year 2000. And that might be the best news of all."

"A good budget."  Editorial.  The Mississauga News [Mississauga, ON], 8 May 1998, 6.

 Throne Speech on April 23rd

Classroom spending will increase, while 'educratic' waste will be cut

Ontario may be on the verge of creating model for health care

Job numbers up, Consumer confidence up, Welfare dependency down

Promises Made, Promises Kept

Mid-term assessment on the road to a better Ontario

Bill 160, the Education Quality Improvement Act

Ontario's Plan for Education Reform

The Passage of Bill 160

Bill 160 Myths and Realities

How the OSSTF lies to Ontarians

A Reality Check: The Ontario Harris Government
341,000 Net New Private Sector Jobs

To date, the current Ontario government has cut taxes 30 times, including four installmentsof the planned 30 per cent personal income tax cut.

Once the Legislature approves the final stage of the Ontario personal income tax cut scheduled for 1999, 91 per cent of all taxpayers will see an Ontario tax cut of 30 per cent or more.

Between the September 1995 Throne Speech and March 1998, 341,000 net new private sector jobs have been created in Ontario. The province's unemployment rate now stands at 7.4 per cent, down from 9 per cent a year ago.

Before the government started cutting income taxes, Ontario's personal income tax rate was 58 per cent of Basic Federal Tax. It's now 45 per cent as of January 1, 1998. That means more take home pay to spend or save. That, in turn, is helping boost retail and housing sales, which puts more people to work.

"[Last month's job creation figures] are extremely encouraging and reaffirm that Ontario continues to drive Canada's economy."

- Economic Development, Trade and Tourism Minister Al Palladini (from "Tory Tax Cuts Lead to Strongest Job Gain in Ontario History" in the Spring 1998 issue of PC Perspective)

 Students lose again

"The teachers are at it again and - you guessed it - it's the students who will once again be on the receiving end of their anger. Early in this current school year, teachers walked off the job in protest of the changes of Bill 160, the Education Quality Improvement Act. They forced students to remain at home while they walked picket lines in an illegal strike. They returned to work with very little settled and now they're talking about taking action again. High school teachers in Peel are voting this week on whetheror not to walk off the job in September if a new contract is not reached. The high school teachers have been without a contract for some time. At least this time a strike would be legal. The local union claims the board has breached clauses in their collective agreement by increasing workloads. The board says the changes became necessary because of new government regulations limiting class sizes and reducing preparation time. But once again, it is the students who are being caught in the middle. As it was last time, the students are being used as bargaining chips. The union has advised its teachers not to sign up for any extra-curricular activities for next year "until contract negotiations improve." Those kinds of comments are the exact reasons the teachers, school boards and government are not getting along. The day the students are no longer being used as pawns we'll all be a lot better off - especially the ones who count the most - the students."

"Students lose again."  Editorial.  The Mississauga News [Mississauga, ON], 21 June 1998, 6.
No criminals

"While we seem to do quite nicely in producing our own criminals our federal government is entertaining the idea of accepting eight "refugees" who now occupy cells in an Israeli jail. They include a hijacker and four suspected spies. Granting political asylum to these "refugees" is unthinkable. Unless of course you are our federal government. The Liberals in Ottawa are saying that no decision has been made and that the Canadian government only agreed to look into the situation. We ask, what's to look at? The Canadian government is "reviewing" these refugee cases like they would any other. "If they are a threat to Canadian security, we won't accept them," states our beloved PM. Could they be anything but? Premier Mike Harris has made his feelings known loud and clear, admitting that Ontario won't be rolling out any red carpet for these criminals. And we shouldn't be. We've got enough problems of our own to deal with."

"No criminals."  Editorial.  The Mississauga News [Mississauga, ON], 24 May 1998, 6.

 Federal Liberals fail on Hepatitis C

While the media is always quick to point out when Ontario Premier Mike Harris makes a mistake, we must give him credit when he does the right thing, as he has by compensating those currently suffering from hepatitis C. Harris' statement earlier this week that he would free up $100-$200 million for all those victims who would not have received a dime, it is a profoundly human response to those who suffer. It should be noted that the Ontario Legislature, including the opposition, voted 96-0 in favour of the fiscal support. Those who contracted hepatitis C prior to 1986 did so through no fault of their own. Those afflicted are innocent victims in every sense. And if the pressure wasn't already on Health Minister Allan Rock and the Chretien government, it must be by now.

It's time for the Prime Minister to do the right thing and recall the hepatitis C vote in the Commons.

It's time for the Prime Minister to do the right thing and make it a free vote.

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