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2022 43rd Ontario general election (June 2, 2022)

W. K. Lis

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The 43rd Ontario general election will be held on or before June 2, 2022. As of December 2016, Ontario elections are held on the first Thursday in June in the fourth calendar year following the previous general election
 

If I don’t change Ontario’s election law, I’ll resign as premier, Steven Del Duca promises

From link.

Reform or resign.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca is promising major electoral reform — including ranked ballots for voting — if he unseats Progressive Conservative Doug Ford as premier next year.

And Del Duca will tell Liberal delegates at the party’s annual general meeting on Sunday that if he fails to deliver, he will “resign on the spot and give you back the power to choose someone else.”

“No more excuses, no more spin, no more ‘no’ — because our politics here in Ontario desperately needs to change, for all of us,” the Liberal chief is expected to say in his speech, the text of which was obtained by the Star.

“As an important first step, we’ll reform our elections by introducing ranked ballots. Ranked ballots will mean that parties and leaders will have to compete for voters’ second choices, so it won’t make sense anymore for leaders and parties to demonize one another,” the speech says.
“Ranked ballots will reward parties who find common ground, and who speak to voters’ hopes, not their fears. It will make things better for all of us and put power back where it belongs … in the hands of the people,” it continues.

“I’ll ensure that this is how our provincial elections are run, and I will also reinstate a ranked ballot option for municipalities, if they want to use it.”

That pledge comes after Ford scrapped the city of Toronto’s bid to use ranked ballots last October.
Under a ranked-ballot system, voters select candidates in order of preference. Ballots are tallied by counting all the first choices. If a candidate gets more than half the votes, they win.

But if no one has a majority, the candidate with fewest votes is eliminated and the second-choice votes on those ballots are tallied until there’s an outright winner.

Del Duca’s speech acknowledges that the Liberals have a complicated history with promises of electoral reform.

In opposition, Justin Trudeau promised the 2015 federal election would be the last one held under the first-past-the-post winner-take-all system, which enables parties to win majority governments with perhaps 40 per cent support.

But in 2017, Trudeau broke his campaign pledge, claiming no consensus has been found on an alternative voting system.

Former Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty also pledged electoral reform, culminating in a 2007 provincial referendum that saw a complicated mixed-member proportional representation system resoundingly rejected by voters.

“I suspect I know what you’re thinking: other leaders have promised a lot on electoral reform and they haven’t delivered. So I want to make it clear how strongly I feel about my commitment,” says Del Duca’s speech.

That’s why if he doesn’t “deliver electoral reform in my first term,” he would resign.

“We’ll also appoint a citizen’s assembly that will be empowered to review additional potential changes to our electoral system and make recommendations to an all-party committee for consideration and action,” the speech continues.

Del Duca’s address calls for four televised leaders’ debates, and also makes a point of saying constructive things about his rival leaders.

“I’m going to acknowledge that my opponents have some good ideas. (Green Leader) Mike Schreiner recently released a housing plan that includes ideas that should be seriously considered,” the speech says.
 
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From link.
 
Looks like launching a pilot project to analyze the potential for a 4-day work week is one of Del Duca's first proposals:


Don't think it makes sense in the near term.

There are other things that need addressing first.

A 4-day work week is much more expensive to deliver than say, a shift to the European/Australian/NZ standard of 4 weeks paid vacation minimum.

If you think of it the additional time off as requiring an increase in compensation (or holding salary status quo w/more time off)

The impact of 2 weeks paid vacation is 4% of pay.

The impact of a 4 day work week (to hold at current pay) is a 25% pay increase.

Which is to say, I don't see that as likely right now.,
 
^^ Ya, I'm a little confused as well. One part of the article says "the same number of hours over four days" yet, further down, cites a survey that says over half of Canadians support a 4-day/30 hour week (well, duh).

Short of some possible tweaking of labour laws, I'm not exactly clear of the government's role in this. Many employers, including his own government, already have a 4-day/40 hour week. To move to a 30 hour week would have a massive impact on many employers.
 
^^ Ya, I'm a little confused as well. One part of the article says "the same number of hours over four days" yet, further down, cites a survey that says over half of Canadians support a 4-day/30 hour week (well, duh).

Short of some possible tweaking of labour laws, I'm not exactly clear of the government's role in this. Many employers, including his own government, already have a 4-day/40 hour week. To move to a 30 hour week would have a massive impact on many employers.

Most experiments around this show that productivity is boosted, on a per-hour basis, with both a 4-day model and a shorter work day model.

Past experiments tend to show productivity declines after hour six in a shift.

Irrespective of the specific arrangement, staff who are less over-worked, and more well rested, tend to get more done.

A 4 day model could see an 8-hour day (32-hour week), or a 9 hour day (36 hour week).

The problem with days longer than 8 hours is that school and childcare services don't align w/the longer day, and so to make it work opens a much larger can of worms. (does school shift to this model?) (Can kids handle a longer school day to make up for one fewer days per week?)

****

While productivity gains generally make it feasible to consider this model for many salaried office workers, they don't in many other disciplines.

Police/Firefighter/EMS will not gain material productivity/efficiency from this model; and offsetting an altered work with with a 25% boost to labour costs and personnel is neither easy in an absolute sense, nor politically.

Hourly workers in retail, for the most part needed to physically keep a store open and stocked; while there can be some marginal productivity gain in some retail occupations, a slew more are
dependent on uneven customer volumes that dictate minimum availability requirements; as well as minimum safe/operational staffing requirements.

****

For all the reasons above, I don't see it going anywhere politically in the near terms.

I would take a promise to add 1-2 weeks paid vacation much more seriously, and would therefore support same; and it would also only bring us into line with much of the developed world anyway.
 
Are we really about to have an eight-month long provincial election campaign?

I don't believe so. I believe the parties are simply flushing out some extra money they don't feel they'll be able to spend during the regulated period under law.

The current ads should vanish by mid-November I would think (don't know, haven't seen the ad buys).

Then look for things to step up starting early spring, in advance of the writ dropping.
 
Christ, has it really been 3 1/2 years? Hopefully, much like his time on city council, we only see Ford for one term.
 
Most experiments around this show that productivity is boosted, on a per-hour basis, with both a 4-day model and a shorter work day model.

Past experiments tend to show productivity declines after hour six in a shift.

Irrespective of the specific arrangement, staff who are less over-worked, and more well rested, tend to get more done.

A 4 day model could see an 8-hour day (32-hour week), or a 9 hour day (36 hour week).

The problem with days longer than 8 hours is that school and childcare services don't align w/the longer day, and so to make it work opens a much larger can of worms. (does school shift to this model?) (Can kids handle a longer school day to make up for one fewer days per week?)

****

While productivity gains generally make it feasible to consider this model for many salaried office workers, they don't in many other disciplines.

Police/Firefighter/EMS will not gain material productivity/efficiency from this model; and offsetting an altered work with with a 25% boost to labour costs and personnel is neither easy in an absolute sense, nor politically.

Hourly workers in retail, for the most part needed to physically keep a store open and stocked; while there can be some marginal productivity gain in some retail occupations, a slew more are
dependent on uneven customer volumes that dictate minimum availability requirements; as well as minimum safe/operational staffing requirements.

****

For all the reasons above, I don't see it going anywhere politically in the near terms.

I would take a promise to add 1-2 weeks paid vacation much more seriously, and would therefore support same; and it would also only bring us into line with much of the developed world anyway.

I agree; that's why I mentioned that, beyond perhaps some tweaking to labour laws, this is probably a non-starter. Oraganized labour can negotiate employment rules; unorganized labour needs labour standards that don't stand in the way. Given the out-of-pocket costs to employers inherent in increased paid vacation, I don't see any party willing to die on that hill, certainly in the near term.
 

Ontario Liberals Announce Winter Tire Tax Credit

From link.

If elected to government in 2022, Ontario Liberals will save hard-working families $300 per vehicle on the purchase of winter tires. The Ontario Liberal Winter Tire Tax Credit will help strengthen road safety and provide real pocketbook relief by refunding $75 per winter tire (or $300 for a set of four tires) if Ontarians make the responsible decision to install winter tires on their vehicles.

“Combining road safety with making life more affordable is a win-win for the people of Ontario,” said Ontario Liberal Party Leader Steven Del Duca. “The arrival of winter weather gives us the chance to remind people to make the responsible decision to install winter tires, and the Ontario Liberal Winter Tire Tax Credit will give them the financial assistance needed to help make it happen.”

For years, road safety advocates have strongly urged motorists to install winter tires in order to prevent unnecessary collisions, injury and even the tragic loss of life. The Ontario Liberal Winter Tire Tax Credit will help to protect people and save money by reducing health care and first responder costs, and help to reduce auto insurance rates for consumers.

“Ontarians need real solutions that help provide immediate relief in their day-to-day lives,” stated Del Duca. “This tax credit will provide that relief while keeping all road-users safe.”
 

Gah, the worst of political ideas (almost) the Tax Credit.

If something is a very important public safety issue, legislate it.

If its 'nice to have' but an option based on personal preference, leave it alone,

Do not hand out relatively insignificant sums of money, that will be largely accessed by people who don't need it, for doing something they were going to do anyway.

Even before considering the cost of yet one more line on a tax return, one more piece of data-entry etc.......its simply not justifiable.

Its clutter and electioneering masquerading as public policy.
 

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