10.23.2015 03:14 PM

Kathleen Wynne seriously kicks ass

Proof:

And that’s just today, folks. 

Totally, totally awesome. Kicks ass. 

Happy voter, here. 

21 Comments

  1. Jeremy says:

    Agreed wholeheartedly.
    Are ETFO actually saying in that article that they will resume negotiations on Nov 1? Why not immediately. Why wait? Methinks they’re looking for a fight. And KW isn’t one is want to go up against.

  2. joshua says:

    Good to try and reign in public spending although ~$290,433,250,000.00 with ~$21,293 per ?person/taxpayer? of provincial debt and climbing I suspect more and more cuts are coming. I wonder if the same practice of dealing secret payments to teachers unions also occurs for doctors and nurses unions. If its really a part of a process then I would expect other unions to do it. Regardless if its part of the practice or not it should be open and transparent, things done in secret whether for good or bad get tainted by perception.

  3. Percy Grainger says:

    These secret payments directly to the teacher’s unions are outrageous. The unions are the bargaining agents for their members, and the members have the right to know and consent to their agent’s being paid from the other side. If the unions are being paid directly by the government, then they have dual loyalty. Those who pay the piper call the tune!

    The whole thing stinks. The teachers’ unions strike, or not strike, or work to rule, or not work to rule, depending on how they — not their members — are paid. The teachers are left in the dark about the process, and wonder whether the secret commissions extend to individual members of the union executives. The unions are negotiating for commissions for themselves, not salaries/benefits/working conditions for their members.

    In fact, I think it’s criminal. Section 426 of the Criminal Code makes it an indictable offence to for an agent to corruptly accept a payment from a third party in relation to the agent’s work. Corruptly means without the knowledge of the principal (i.e., the union membership in this case). It’s equally a crime to offer such a secret commission. This is a kickback scheme, pure and simple, involving millions of dollars, stretching back to 2003. How is this tolerable?

  4. ottawacon says:

    Not so sure about that first one. It seems like escalating purely for political expediency. Having been caught in at least a questionable transaction if not outright duplicity yesterday, it would appear motivated by a need to take a tough line they did not see as necessary on Monday. It is not as if the report cards mentioned as problematic are coming up next week, the province sat idle when they were not issued last year. Suddenly they are a problem that warrants sabre-rattling? If, as I expect, there is a full strike in early November, I think the Liberals will wear it.

  5. Kevin says:

    The secret payments to teacher unions all these years are almost beyond belief. How does this kind of spending fly under the radar in a democracy for so long. Direct payments to unions who in turn do third party ads for the government? Say something Warren. You can’t be such a homer as to stay silent on this.

  6. michael c says:

    I don’t buy it. Whether the union is part of the problem or not, we have had a government for a long while now that demonizes and penalizes teachers for its own ends. When that ends, when respect for one of our most important professions increases, when children’s education means something more to the Ministry than how much it costs, and when curriculum becomes something other than a political tool, I’ll give them more credit. But, for now, and ever since that manipulative and heavily scripted telephone “town hall” your fellow, Dalton McGuinty, held, I have no basis for trusting anything this government says about teachers or their unions.

  7. louish says:

    Kicks ass ??? Get real , the Lib government has been throwing money at the teachers for a decade with zero regard for the taxpayer , payoffs for support clear and simple.. So now she says enough and says “maybe” she will take action.. Action should have been taken long ago , drop the maybe and take action Monday morning…. A wild bear is our buddy till you quit feeding him , then he will tear your freaking arm off ..The PS union bears are all about themselves and have every reason to expect the Libs would keep feeding them , because they have feasted well on Liberal offerings for well over a decade.

  8. Dave Kurgan says:

    Wait a minute an end to random police carding? Hmm, why did this not happen under the Conservatives in Ontario when this was occuring. I mean it sounds like the type of thing the small dead animals crowd likes. Oh well, let’s see what happens a week or so later when they complain about it not coming back.

  9. JH says:

    So please explain this to me. The employer pays union expenses for negotiating costs? Or since I don’t live in Ontario have I got this wrong? That’s what our host seems to be saying and I want to be sure I understand correctly. Help!

  10. Steve T says:

    Wow! Didn’t expect this from her, but like you, I think it’s excellent.

  11. George says:

    Warren, I’m a little surprised you’re commending her for the ultimatum to the teachers.

    You know I’m a fan – your (usual) objectivity is what brings me back daily…but I have a hard time believing this ultimatum isn’t a ploy to deflect attention from what appears to be extremely poor stewardship of the public purse, apparently to “clear things up” so she could help JT with the federal election. That reeks of bribery, considering the support she gets from the teacher’s unions… I can almost imagine…”here’s a million – by the way, don’t forget to donate next election!”

    If it is a ploy, it’s clever (most people just read headlines). It sounds like something a creative PR firm might come up with, then reinforce through various channels. Hmm. Just thinking out loud. Sometimes my imagination runs wild.

    On the carding, it’s the right call. Too many of my visible-minority friends have been stopped for no reason, especially when out and about in their BMWs or Mercedes. It’s as if the cops see them and think “how did he afford that?” Shameful.

    Anyhow keep up the good work – you’re entitled to have the wrong opinion from time-to-time. (as it pertains to the ultimatum)

  12. Kaiser Helmets 'n Motorbikes says:

    Kicks Taxpayer Ass is more like it.

    At some point in the future the Ontario Liberals will be defeated. They are morally bankrupt, and we are approaching fiscal bankruptcy. “Something’s Gotta’ Give”.

    Taking money from family doctors and paying it directly into the coffers of Teacher’s Unions, who then turn around and run ‘ABC’ attack ads is “almost” as dangerous to our democracy as overpaid Cop Union Bosses using OPP squad cars and guns in political advertisements.

    Warren, I realize these people are your friends, but my god, this all must give you pause?

  13. Jon Evan says:

    Is there something in the water you drink in Ontario that makes you so fond of Wynne? I just don’t get it.
    The Ontario debt makes me remember Sask. in 1993 when Romanow came to power to a bankrupt province whose bonds no one would buy! Fortunately, at that time federal bonds were still saleable and Mulroney had to bail out Sask.!
    But, with JT continuing federal deficit plans maybe in four years when Ontario is bankrupt federal bonds will not be saleable and Ontario types will finally awaken to Wynne “kick ass” economy and find their Ontario bonds are junk!

  14. e.a.f. says:

    Wynne has done the right thing by assisting in the costs of collective bargaining. If collective bargaining is to be a useful and cooperative process, the “winner” ought to be the process, not the party with the most money. Wynne has once again demonstrated why she is a good leader. Sometimes being a good leader who cares about processes and people, means the government has to spend money on something else besides tax breaks for corporations and the “elite”.

    Too bad B.C.’s premier couldn’t be more like Wynne. Oh, well……….if voters in Ontario don’t like Wynne, some of us in B.C. would gladly trade “the queen of the photo ops” for a real Premier.

  15. Joe says:

    From where I am sitting this looks like either a carefully crafted ploy or a cruelly plunged shiv between an allies’ shoulder blades.

  16. Mike says:

    The Provincial Government started interfering in Teacher Bargaining in 2004. Under the law then the employers were the school boards and the Province had no role in bargaining. At the conclusion of their interference a Memorandum of Understanding was signed that imposed conditions on all contracts. To offset the role of the province in bargaining which cost Unions money to participate in that wasn’t necessary under the law the province paid some of the expenses of those negotiations – some not all. This continued in the 2008 and 2012 rounds of bargaining as the Province continued to violate the labour law. They then passed a new law introducing central and local bargaining which at least made the province a party to the negotiations under the law – however it also made OPSBA (in the public non-denominational realm) a bargaining party – which they hadn’t been previously. This meant all parties incurred increased costs – OSSTF has 45+ days of bargaining with OPSBA and the Province. The offsetting payment to help cover some expenses does not cover the costs incurred. So relax everyone. It isn’t some conspiracy between the province and the teacher unions.

    • Percy Grainger says:

      I don’t know whether there is a “conspiracy”, but these payments put the teachers’ unions in a very awkward conflict-of-interest position. One has to be pretty naive to believe that the Government of Ontario is reimbursing the unions for their negotiation expenses out of a spirit of selfless goodwill. Surely the government expected something in return. What could it have been except concessions on their members’ bargaining demands? We may never know, since the negotiations were held behind closed doors. Did the union members know in advance that their unions would be accepting direct payments from the Government? Apparently not. In that case, the unions have been double-dealing with help from the Government, and that is not anything to relax about.

      • Mike says:

        The terms of the payment were in the agreement members voted on…..so presumably they read what they were voting on and knew about it – I certainly did…just like I knew about the payments in 2004, 2008, and 2012….OPSBA – the employer got over 4 million in payments for the negotiations this year – surely the government didn’t “expect something in return” from both sides? Some times the truth is just the truth….the government helped pay for some of the costs of negotiations.

        • Michael Teper says:

          Well that is a new set of facts that would of course change everything! If the payments were disclosed to the union membership in every case going back to 2008 the there would be no secrecy and no criminality. That would, of course, also make the Globe and Mail Canada’s lousiest newspaper and Adrian Morrow Canada’s lousiest journalist, for writing a story that portrayed the payments as being “secret” when in fact they were known by 100,000 teachers across Ontario (essentially public knowledge) for years. If the facts about these payments were that widely known for so long, why is this a big news item today?

  17. de udder guy says:

    Difficult to read without giggling. Carding has been going on a long time and she is “kick ass” now? She has had the opportunity for a long time. Nada. Threats to the union are only posturing, because if we were much closer to an election in this have not province she would be delivering the pizza to their homes, not just buying it.

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