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Tuesday December 12, 2017

December 11, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 12, 2017

Liberals reach deal with the provinces on sharing pot tax revenue

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau has reached a deal with his provincial and territorial counterparts on a formula for sharing pot tax revenue.

December 16, 2016

The agreement gives the provinces at least 70 cents on the dollar, a sizable increase from the 50-50 framework proposal Morneau had announced last month.

Heading into today’s meeting with Morneau in Ottawa, provincial ministers had insisted on a greater share, arguing the provinces and municipalities would shoulder the majority of costs for police enforcement, health care and education programs once marijuana becomes legal in July.

A formal statement confirming the agreement is expected soon.

June 20, 2017

Asked about the deal this afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeated that the objective is to restrict access to young people and to remove profits from criminals.

“That means getting the balance right in terms of both pricing and the ability to properly monitor it in our communities,” he said.

Before the deal was reached, Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa said some provinces felt uneasy about the uncertainty of how the pot legalization program will roll out.

September 9, 2017

“Some provinces get annoyed that we didn’t ask for this, didn’t provide for this, you’re imposing upon the provinces and we have no flexibility,” he said. “So the federal government has to come up with some of that flexibility to provide some support to the provinces and municipalities that are being affected.” (Source: CBC News)

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Saturday September 9, 2017

September 8, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 9, 2017

LCBO to run 150 marijuana stores

Premier Kathleen Wynne is cornering Ontario’s recreational marijuana market by restricting sales to 150 LCBO-run stores.

June 20, 2017

The standalone cannabis outlets, separate from provincially owned liquor stores, and a government-controlled website will be the only place weed can lawfully be sold after Ottawa legalizes it on July 1.

In a move that will close scores of illegal “dispensaries” that now dot Ontario cities, the LCBO will get its product from the medical marijuana producers licenced by Health Canada.

Only those 19 and older will be allowed to purchase or possess marijuana and pot consumption will be limited to private homes.

Smoking weed will continue to be illegal in any public space, including parks, workplaces and motorized vehicles.

Prices will be kept competitive to curb the black market.

November 27, 2015

The government expects a boost in tax revenues.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa, Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, and Health Minister Eric Hoskins unveiled the plan Friday at Queen’s Park after months of work from Ontario’s cannabis secretariat.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which runs the province’s 651 liquor stores, using workers who are members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, will oversee all retail sales and run the online service.

But the branding of the government’s new pot chain will not necessarily include the LCBO’s name.

September 24, 2015

“When it comes to retail distribution, the LCBO has the expertise, the experience and the insight, to ensure careful control of cannabis, to help us discourage illicit market activity and see that illegal dispensaries are shut down,” said Sousa, who has not yet determined how much tax revenue legalized weed will bring in.

Naqvi said the government has “heard people across Ontario are anxious about the federal legalization of cannabis.

“The province is moving forward with a safe and sensible approach to legalization that will ensure we can keep our communities and roads safe, promote public health and harm reduction, and protect Ontario’s young people,” the attorney general said.

There will be 40 LCBO weed stores in place across the province on July 1, 2018, 80 by 2019, and 150 in 2020. (Source: Toronto Star)

Wednesday February 1, 2017

January 31, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 1, 2017

John Tory ‘encouraged’ by Kathleen Wynne’s words on housing

Toronto Mayor John Tory was sounding somewhat mollified on Monday after meeting with Premier Kathleen Wynne, just days after announcing she’s rejecting the city’s request to put tolls on the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway.

Speaking to reporters after the hour-long meeting at Queen’s Park, Wynne hinted at a willingness to boost provincial funding for Toronto’s affordable housing needs.

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Tory said he’d pressed the housing issue during the meeting.

“I stressed again, now more than ever, that the province must immediately come to the table to address our city’s social housing crisis,” Tory told a news conference at City Hall on Monday. “I was certainly very firm, again, that we need that help, that some of the most vulnerable people in our city need that help.”

Based on discussions in Ottawa last week, Tory said he is confident the federal government will put “substantial funding” for housing in its upcoming budget. He wants the province to match that money.

In a separate news conference at Queen’s Park, Wynne referred to her “recognition for the need for increased housing support,” but stopped short of promising money.

“We need a three-way partnership on affordable housing — the municipality, the province and the federal government working together as we move into this budget cycle,” she said.

Tory said he was encouraged by Wynne’s message.

“I found that a significant step forward because I’m not sure that I’ve heard those words said before,” Tory said.

Wynne meets Tory on an almost-monthly basis. Monday’s meeting had been scheduled well in advance of last week’s announcement about tolls.

The pair usually hold a photo opportunity inside Wynne’s office as their meeting wraps up, then a joint news conference. This time, the cameras were not allowed inside, the pair shook hands quickly outside Wynne’s door, then Tory departed for City Hall. It created the appearance of a less-chummy-than-normal get-together. (Source: CBC)

Friday, July 24, 2015

July 23, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, July 24, 2015

Feds can’t avoid $1-billion deficit, budget officer says

The federal Conservatives will fail to accomplish their key promise of balancing Ottawa’s books this year, instead running a $1-billion budget deficit in 2015, the parliamentary budget officer says.

Budget watchdog Jean-Denis Fréchette said Wednesday that the economic picture had changed since the Conservatives’ budget in April, which predicted surpluses in 2015-16 and over the next several years.

“Economic data has since indicated declines in real GDP (gross domestic product) that were not reflected in the government’s assumptions,” Fréchette said.

He noted that the Bank of Canada, in its quarterly forecast last week, had chopped its prediction for economic growth this year from 2 per cent to about 1 per cent.

The worse than expected economic conditions will reduce federal tax revenues, trimming $3.9 billion from Ottawa’s fiscal accounts in 2015, the budget watchdog said. But taking into account the $1 billion set aside as a rainy-day fund by Finance Minister Joe Oliver and factoring in other impacts, Fréchette said the Conservatives will run a $1-billion deficit this year.

With an eye on the Oct. 19 election, opposition parties seized on the report to slam the Conservatives’ handling of the economy. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised for years that 2015 would be the year his government puts an end to a seven-year string of budget deficits.

“That was supposed to be the Conservatives’ hallmark branding, wasn’t it, balanced budget?” NDP leader Thomas Mulcair asked during a campaign-style swing through southern Ontario. “We now know that’s not going to be the case.”

Mulcair said Harper put the economy at risk by relying too much on the oil and gas industry as an engine of growth. “The Conservatives put all of our economic eggs in the resource extraction basket, and now that that sector is having considerable difficulty, it’s affecting everything else in the Canadian economy.” (Source: Toronto Star)

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Posted by Project Democracy on Friday, July 24, 2015

Thursday January 22, 2015

January 21, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 22, 2015

Kathleen Wynne issues infrastructure ‘challenge’ to federal leaders

Premier Kathleen Wynne wants all levels of government to invest about $100 billion a year to close Canada’s infrastructure gap.

With a federal election later this year, Wynne was in Ottawa on Tuesday to urge voters to opt for the party that will invest the money needed to build up the country.

“This isn’t about politics or who gets credit,” the premier told a Canada 2020 luncheon audience.

“I would be happy to put up as many ‘Economic Action Plan’ signs as it takes to help advance the economic strength of this province,” she said, referring to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s familiar blue billboards that spring up wherever Ottawa is spending money on a new project.

“As we enter an election year, I issue a challenge to all the federal parties and their leaders.”

Wynne urged Harper, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to “tell Canadians how you will help to build a stronger economic union across our country.”

“Tell us what you will do to help Canada catch up and ultimately take the lead when it comes to the kind of infrastructure that is essential for our economic competitiveness,” she said.

While Wynne often campaigns with Trudeau, she emphasized she is burying the hatchet with the Harper after more than a year of frosty relations with the Conservative prime minister.

“Two weeks ago, I had a positive and constructive meeting with Prime Minister Harper. We discussed a range of pressing issues, including the progress that is being made under existing infrastructure agreements,” she said. (Source: Toronto Star)