Provincial Election

[timtune]

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There is no escape from vote-buying. They ALL do it.

As for the TTC platform edge doors ... on this particular situation, I get where she is coming from. Not the price tag, but the idea. I worked in industrial risk assessment and mitigation for 23 years up until retiring. If we applied our standard risk assessment methodology to an open train platform edge, it would not pass. Severity of foreseeable injury "High and possibly fatal". Frequency of exposure "High frequency to constant". Avoidance "possible under some circumstances" (though if someone falls off the edge just as the train approaches, that isn't going to be one of those circumstances). The moment there is a foreseeable "fatal" the recommended course of action is "Hazard elimination". What's there now (a painted line!) is an "Awareness means", which is only permissible for the most trivial of negligible risks.

The automated shuttle-train at Pearson airport, between the terminals and the Viscount parking lot/garage, is operated by a private company, and was built much more recently ... and has automated doors on the platform to stop someone falling off.

Pretty sure most subways wouldn't pass Ontario building code. Anywhere else that drop from the platform to tracks is enough to require railings. (Insurance agency wanted a railing on my front porch - OBC to the rescue - I just added more dirt to the flowerbed in front to sneak past the height restriction)

 

[mimico_polak]

I agree with Brian's point about the risk of open edges. Knowing what a complete crapfest transit construction projects are and then the maintenance nightmare after (I think problems with the doors would greatly increase transit downtime), I think it is not a great solution. As an interim measure, I don't see a reason that 90% of the platform edge shouldn't have a fixed guard rail. No moving parts, durable and cheap. Leave gaps where the doors are. But no, the only solution ttc considers are a painted line or floor to ceiling glass and automated doors.

The hard barriers are easy. All you need is the train to stop in a specific spot.

Still have a risk of jumpers, but pushers have way less options to push someone onto the tracks.

Maybe a tenth of the cost.

Maintenance of automatic doors is a nightmare when a transit agency can barely keep things going as is. Multiple failure points.

Hard no from me.

 

[nobbie48]

No government is free of scandal. Doug gets points for coming across as approachable and folksy. Once they learn to fake it they have it made.

FIFY

 

[nobbie48]

I think a case can be made for healthcare and education. Those are sticky points with long wait times and limited resources.

I expect the opposition will hit him hard here. However, I don’t think any party has the political will to identify funding waste and make changes.


For example, complaints against an educator results in months paid time off during the investigation. Lots of lawyers and administrators are getting paid for work unrelated to classroom education. Law enforcement deems the complaint a nothing burger in 48 hrs but, the investigation continues. Two teachers getting paid and funds allocated to the investigation. How many of these incidents that happen because of BS that takes up time and money?

Leave that alone and just hire more educators.

That green space thing was a boondoggle and didn’t look good for Doug.

I know a lot of cons in my circle fully support Doug. But, I think he may lose support from the liberal votes he earned from the last election and bring back a liberal government.

Doug does resonate well with the people and mic. But, he’s got a tough record to defend.

The system is screwed up. If you're using metric tools to work in SAE machinery there will be screw ups, regardless of who has their hands on the wrenches. Also, there are too many special interest groups trying to bend the rules to suit their agendas.

 

[nobbie48]

There seem to be some newly formed not for profits from public sector unions that are putting out a lot of attack ads. Then there are also union attack ads. I guess the narrative is that "Everybody hates Doug". Something called "Ontario Forward" seems to be one of the sources.

Everyone has a special interest group that gets butt hurt and needs to point out their perceived importance.

 

[Scuba Steve]

I am not a huge fan of Doug but he seems miles ahead of anyone else. The liberals need a slap go back to the middle socially progressive but not over the top and fiscally responsible.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[nobbie48]

On the NDP is nuts front, Stiles says that truck 407 tolls disappear on day one if she wins and she will negotiate to remove all tolls from 407. That is certainly possible but when you are trying to negotiate with a very profitable monopoly, the only way they concede is if you pay more than the future value of their expected profits and with no limit on how much they can increase tolls and 70 years left, that is a hell of a lot of billions. Of course Stiles made zero effort to determine cost or funding for her quackery. Continued NDP tradition of looney tunes ideas that sound good but are completely non-viable when reality is part of the picture.

Stiles promises she’d axe Hwy. 407 tolls if elected

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles is promising to open negotiations with the owners of Hwy. 407 to try remove all tolls for drivers if her party is elected in the upcoming provincial election.

www.cp24.com

IIRC the contract says the government can't do anything that would affect profit from the 407.

So what card does Stiles hold in her hand for negotiations? A Joker?

The 407 says we will make XXX million a year in fees for the rest of the contract 90 ish years. Give us that up front and you can have the road back. Pony up or piss off.

Fords tunneling under the 401 is the same. Execution is mind boggling.

The only possible option would be a federal "Trans Canada" route as I don't think the feds signed any non-competition clause. What's the next order up from trillion-dollar debt.

 

[nobbie48]

I would like to gently remind everybody that Stiles is simply stealing Doug's idea. He reaffirmed his own desire to buy back the 407 earlier this month... on top of the tunnelling under the 401 idea, which would potentially be one of the most expensive infrastructure projects this world has yet seen.

Ford doubles down on plans to buy back Hwy. 407

Doug Ford signaled that he wants to go forward with a proposed plan to build a tunnel under Highway 401 and buy back the 407.

kitchener.citynews.ca

Tunneling from Milton to highway 115 with dozens of pop-up access points. How log to build the Eglington fiasco? Multiply by what number?

How many zeroooooooooooooooooooooos on the cheque?

What is the world's most expensive construction project in today's dollars? Some massive dam or???

 

[nobbie48]

DOFO is doing a better job than Wynne - 1000x better. We're not losing private sector employment, we're not expanding Ontario's public sector at double the private sector rate to groom employment numbers.

Wynne had 160K nurses in Ontario with a 1-for-1 replacement plan. DOFO hit 180K nurses by opening funding and cutting the influence of unions on nursing college enrollment. We're not there yet - remember there's a 4-year lag between adding a nursing spot at university and that nurse hitting the workforce. With 12K nurses in training, we're now exceeding the attrition rate for the first time in decades.

Despite massive increases in health care spending, and aging population and the decade-long lag time for training new doctors continue to make this challenging. They haven't made headway into wait times or family doctor coverage.

Breaking the Beer Store ended in a $100M settlement. The province collects nearly $1B in taxes on beer sales before the change, they will collect between 5 and 6% more each year making the payback on the deal less than 2 years. That doesn't include the benefits to small Ontario breweries capitalizing on market access to a much higher degree than multinational brewers. Another BIG win for Ontario.

While budgets have been an issue, it's hard to factor in pandemic spending. Massive amounts were spent to hold up the economy, then another monstrous amount on LTC, schools, and public building air handling - pandemic spending ended 2023 budget year. 2024 Ontario deficit is a manageable 2.2B, 2025 has a projected surplus.

Missteps? Yup - there are a few, but there will always be a few. I guess the good news is the media's been thru his trash like a pack of hounds and found nothing.

The weakness of every party is in education. Not the three R's but the reality of where all the free stuff comes from. Free Medicare, free education, free $200 checks, etc. IT ISN'T FREE.

Until everyone understands the reality and complies all the candidates can do is lie to get elected and then juggle the numbers to continue the Ponzi Scheme.

 

[nobbie48]

Even if she won, she'd waste time and money on the negotiations and then either have to bankrupt the province to keep her word or shake her fist and say it isn't possible and the evil corporations have screwed us with the help of the cons issuing the lease. I personally believe that was one of the largest con screwups. Very short term gain in exchange for a century of pain.

EDIT:
While I don't expect MS to have a final number, it's simple enough to calculate a best case number and then show how you are going to fund it. Even the best case number is too big to pay. If gov't could figure out a way to make it less valuable or take it back by force it would be cheaper. That could be as simple as prioritizing traffic on government controlled roads and leaving 407 ramps red for 10 minute cycles. People stop taking the 407 as you lose all the time you gained waiting at lights, trips and revenue drop and therefore value drops.

Affecting profit is a no-no.

 

[nobbie48]

This guy REALLY hates Doug Ford

Where is he wrong?

Driving along King Steet in the curb lane, rush hour (No parking or stopping) and a woman was stopped while she waited for her hubby to go into a store for a few minutes. What's the problem? She was only taking up 100 square feet of road.

Same logic. To hell with the rest of the planet that is stuck behind me.

I have no problems with the bicycle concept but show me the whole picture, not the rainbows and unicorn ones. Don't give me the BS about it sorting itself out. That crap goes with budgets sorting themselves out.

 

[nobbie48]

He's wrong in that his piece selectively omits the core issues that critics present:

• Contribute to traffic congestion by reducing road space for cars - remember 70% of commuters are in autos.
• Underutilized/over-provisioned, why are they designed to handle thousands of bikes/hr when PBH is in the hundreds?
• Disproportionate benefit - 1.2% of commuters use bicycles, 70% use autos, a very large benefit to a very small group of users.
• Loss of parking spaces, which can negatively affect local businesses, and congest adjacent residential streets.
• Activist infiltration - Public consultation (what little was done) and what little has been considered suggests activists have seized control of decision-making

I like that cyclists are passionate about building a sustainable, bike-friendly city. I'm not sure that such a small group deserves the amount of resources and the capacity to interrupt 70% of the population to achieve their goals.

Bicycle cities can work if they are built as bicycle cities. If bike traffic even grew by 10% the infrastructure could have serious problems. Where do we park the bikes at work? What about snow days, rain days, cold days?

What about the obese or physically challenged?

The answer is public transit but it won't be cheap.

 

[nobbie48]

I still need a physical sticker for my sled. Anyone care to explain that reasoning?

Explain reasoning in a political thread?

 

[nobbie48]

On that front, I believe parties are the root of the evil. If I elected the local candidate that I believe will best represent me and then those elected representatives select a leader from within, I think that's better. No more majority/minority, voting along party lines or criminal conspiracies to burn as much money as possible. On each bill, each member votes on what's best for their constituents.

Good concept but what about regionalism? If a new 407 is good for Toronto, why should Sudbury have to help pay for it?

What does Sudbury get in exchange?

Does a more efficient Toronto somehow make Sudbury a better place in some spin off way?

Try to explain that to a guy impressed by buck-a-beer.

Plebiscites theoretically are the best if you want to have thousands of mini elections a year, all influenced by internet divas.

 

[nobbie48]

Wife got her cheque for two hundred yesterday and laughed , that should buy us lunch on Friday at the airport on our way to Malta. Because her and her friends need the two hundred you get for passing Go . Idiots .


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Wife and I got ours. While I think the idea is stupid, the only thing more stupid is me not cashing it and leaving it on the table for someone else to squander it on bridges to nowhere. At least I will be supporting local wineries and eateries.

 

[nobbie48]

Wynne cancels the gas plants to buy votes, which ends up costing a bit over $1billion. There are RCMP investigations, people are fired and she, quite rightly, gets the boot.

Ford directly bribes every citizen of Ontario to the tune of well over $3billion ($200 each x 15.8million citizens + admin and postage costs) and we're all OK with it????? And he just happens to call an early election just as the checks start rolling in. Then there's the $250 million that he spent cancelling the alcohol contracts early for absolutely no good reason. And let's not forget the cancelling of the licence renewal fees (~$1Billion in lost revenue EACH YEAR), plus the licence plate fee refunds that nobody asked for (over $2.2Billion).

By my reckoning the Ford government has so far spent at least $10 Billion of our money on projects that do nothing more than make him look like he's looking out for the average Joe by giving us each $5-600. I'd gladly forgo a $200 check if it meant that the government would spend that $3 billion building and staffing new medical imaging centers, or hiring new family doctors, or repaving our **** roads, or anything else that a government is supposed to do with our money. But no, Doug had to use my hard earned money to make himself look good.

I don't know what the alternative to Sugar Daddy Doug is. The liberals are a mess with no real plan or direction and the NDP are utter loons. The Greens have some solid ideas but also some social policies that make the NDP look restrained. I think that like many people in this thread, I'll just be holding my nose and voting for Dougy unless the liberals can pull their collective heads out of their own ***** in the next few weeks.

And that is a real damn shame.

I like the concept of the Greens but see their platform like the plastic recycling system where, after all the special bins and labeling is dealt with most of the stuff just ends up in landfill. Sorry but they're the air deodorizer in the outhouse. It doesn't change a thing but it smells a bit better.

 

[timtune]

The 407 says we will make XXX million a year in fees for the rest of the contract 90 ish years. Give us that up front and you can have the road back. Pony up or piss off.

Any chance of using eminent domain?

 

[nobbie48]

There is no escape from vote-buying. They ALL do it.

As for the TTC platform edge doors ... on this particular situation, I get where she is coming from. Not the price tag, but the idea. I worked in industrial risk assessment and mitigation for 23 years up until retiring. If we applied our standard risk assessment methodology to an open train platform edge, it would not pass. Severity of foreseeable injury "High and possibly fatal". Frequency of exposure "High frequency to constant". Avoidance "possible under some circumstances" (though if someone falls off the edge just as the train approaches, that isn't going to be one of those circumstances). The moment there is a foreseeable "fatal" the recommended course of action is "Hazard elimination". What's there now (a painted line!) is an "Awareness means", which is only permissible for the most trivial of negligible risks.

The automated shuttle-train at Pearson airport, between the terminals and the Viscount parking lot/garage, is operated by a private company, and was built much more recently ... and has automated doors on the platform to stop someone falling off.

Safety harnesses everyone and clip on your lanyard.

What do railings and gates do to efficiency compared to the present free-for-all. Riders per hour.

BP you are absolutely right. In an industrial situation it would be railings or lanyards.

Of course, on construction sites high heels are banned and other PPE is mandatory. How nanny state are we going to get.

I'm going to take a bath. Is the lifeguard on duty?

 

[GreyGhost]

Any chance of using eminent domain?

That's a US term. We call it expropriation and the answer is not really. Province already owns the land. If 407corp owned the land, then maybe it could get expropriated but if province had sold it to 407corp and then tried to expropriation it back, I don't think courts would look fondly on that play.

 

[nobbie48]

Any chance of using eminent domain?

Good thought but doesn't it include realistic compensation?

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