Finance Minister Flaherty has already acknowledged that the government is considering the sale of assets in an attempt to reduce or eliminate any deficits. I agree that deficits must be strictly controlled and provide demonstrable direct benefits.
However, the presence in the Harper cabinet of Harrisites; Baird, Clement and Flaherty, all ideologues to the core, raises a large red flag if they are involved in the sale of government assets. Or....for that matter approve the sale of crytical privately owned assets sold into foreign control...
As a group, these men strongly endorsed the privatization Ontario Hydro. The problems Hydro faced at the time were mainly two fold;
1. A lack of transparency as demonstrated by the governments of all three political parties over decades. It was most evident by their interference with the setting of electricity rates and in the building of nuclear generating facilities.
2. Poor management practices in the running of Ontario Hydro. It was broken up and was sold at bargain prices, while leaving the public with a huge “stranded debt” and the new companies being managed by executives who are over-paid and have guaranteed golden-parachutes should all not go as planned.
This trio also endorsed the sale of the bargain priced 407 highway mainly to avert a deficit.
I can not understand or condone the sale of our public highway ( now a toll road) sold to a so called Spanish Consortium. The result was a momentary relief from a deficit while leaving Ontario drivers totally at the mercy of the private sector for longer than any driver at the
time would be driving.
This same group is in a position of influence in the evaluation of the possible sale of Canada’s assets. Potential candidates likely include:- Atomic Energy of Canada, just when nuclear power is about to become the main source for “green” power for years to come; the CN tower, a major communication hub in southern Ontario; Canada Post, surely a significant requirement in any nation; the CBC, for years an essential part of the life of the rural areas of the country. Based on their Ontario track record, I have doubts there will be any sustainable benefits for Canada.
However, the presence in the Harper cabinet of Harrisites; Baird, Clement and Flaherty, all ideologues to the core, raises a large red flag if they are involved in the sale of government assets. Or....for that matter approve the sale of crytical privately owned assets sold into foreign control...
As a group, these men strongly endorsed the privatization Ontario Hydro. The problems Hydro faced at the time were mainly two fold;
1. A lack of transparency as demonstrated by the governments of all three political parties over decades. It was most evident by their interference with the setting of electricity rates and in the building of nuclear generating facilities.
2. Poor management practices in the running of Ontario Hydro. It was broken up and was sold at bargain prices, while leaving the public with a huge “stranded debt” and the new companies being managed by executives who are over-paid and have guaranteed golden-parachutes should all not go as planned.
This trio also endorsed the sale of the bargain priced 407 highway mainly to avert a deficit.
I can not understand or condone the sale of our public highway ( now a toll road) sold to a so called Spanish Consortium. The result was a momentary relief from a deficit while leaving Ontario drivers totally at the mercy of the private sector for longer than any driver at the
time would be driving.
This same group is in a position of influence in the evaluation of the possible sale of Canada’s assets. Potential candidates likely include:- Atomic Energy of Canada, just when nuclear power is about to become the main source for “green” power for years to come; the CN tower, a major communication hub in southern Ontario; Canada Post, surely a significant requirement in any nation; the CBC, for years an essential part of the life of the rural areas of the country. Based on their Ontario track record, I have doubts there will be any sustainable benefits for Canada.
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