Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, January 24, 2014
Wynne calls byelections in Thornhill, Niagara Falls
Voters in Thornhill and Niagara Falls are heading to the polls for Feb. 13 byelections.
Premier Kathleen Wynne made it official Wednesday by calling the votes to fill vacancies in the two seats left by the retirement of Progressive Conservative Peter Shurman and Liberal Kim Craitor.
Wynne met Wednesday with reporters at the Queens Quay LCBO store where she touted Ontario’s wine industry, which is largely based in Niagara.
On Monday, the Liberals pledged $26.2 million for the Niagara Health System to help build a new hospital and two urgent-care centres.
That followed on last month’s $75-million, five-year wine strategy, which should help Niagara’s many wineries and grape growers.
At the LCBO event the Premier was asked by a reporter if these efforts were enough to secure that Liberal seat in the byelection.
She said both efforts have been in the works for “many many months.’’
Wynne said: “we are the government that has said we would build a hospital, work with that community to build a hospital.”
The Premier criticized the NDP and Conservatives for not being consistent on the hospital issue in Niagara.
Vying to succeed Craitor in Niagara Falls are Liberal Joyce Morocco, a city councillor and Tory Bart Maves, a regional councillor who was MPP from 1995 until 2003.
The NDP candidate is expected to be city councillor Wayne Gates.
In Thornhill, represented by Shurman from 2007 to 2013, the Liberal candidate is Vaughan councillor Sandra Yeung Racco, whose husband, Mario Racco, was the former Grit MPP. (Source: Toronto Star)
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LETTER OF THE MOMENT
Hamilton Spectator Letter to the Editor
How about lampooning Liberals, for a change?
How typical of the Hamilton Spectator editorial cartoon to lampoon Tim Hudak’s proposed plan to create a million jobs in Ontario. Whether it will work or not remains to be seen, but at least it’s a plan to create private sector jobs.
How typical of the Spectator not to attack Kathleen Wynne and the provincial Liberals, who over the past 10 years have overseen the departure of hundreds of thousands of private sector jobs from this once great province. Not only do the Liberals not have a plan to create jobs, they don’t even have a plan to stop the ongoing bleeding. Let’s not bother to attack the Liberals for their big government, big hydro, tax-and-spend, mismanagement approach to everything. Way to go Spectator, you only seem capable of denouncing anything Conservative.
How about an editorial cartoon about Health Minister Deb Matthews reannouncement of a previously announced hospital spend in Niagara, just before they’re set to announce byelections in that area? No vote-buying or funny business going on there — yeah right!
Cameron Stringer, Hamilton
