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One response to “Real–life Detroit set to receive ten-foot ‘pop culture’ Robocop statue”

1. 

   Toby Barrett

   September 13, 2013

   We must hit the brakes before we become Detroit!

   I think all of us were quite shaken when we saw Detroit file for bankruptcy. We now
   see firsthand what’s in jeopardy if our province continues down the current path.

   In Detroit, you have to wait 58 minutes for police to respond to a crime and people
   are driving down streets where four out of 10 streetlights are broken. And then
   there are the government retirees who are counting on that good pension. Now,
   they’ll only get 10 cents for every dollar they were promised – a $40,000 pension,
   only worth $4,000. I know we’re not there yet, but that’s where we’re headed.

   We need to rein in government spending and get it refocused on the core tasks. We
   need to hit the brakes before we head further down this road to Detroit.

   Right now over half the provincial budget is being spent on salaries, wages,
   benefits and pensions for government workers. That’s why we must start out with a
   legislated pay freeze for all government employees – from firefighters to MPPs – and
   then make the fundamental reforms required Ontario’s systems of public sector
   compensation.

   It’s time to fix the broken arbitration system that forces unaffordable settlements
   on municipal councils and taxpayers. When taxpayers in Scugog open the paper to see
   that local firefighters were awarded a 27 per cent wage increase, they’re left
   wondering – “how are we going to pay for this?”

   Every day, these types of wage increases are forcing municipalities to choose
   between raising taxes or taking fire trucks and police cruisers off the road
   It means ending the underlying assumption that property taxpayers have infinitely
   deep pockets. You and I both know those pockets are now empty. Councils can’t keep
   raising taxes. It also means no more Toronto settlements becoming the benchmarks for
   towns on the other side of the province. Decisions must reflect municipal budgets
   and their local economy.

   As Opposition, we thank the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) board and
   executive staff for helping us and endorsing our arbitration bill. It was an honour
   to receive an endorsement from this organization arising from consultations on the
   Capacity to Pay Act.

   We also thank AMO and the Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO) for
   endorsing our open tendering legislation put forward by MPP Michael Harris. This
   bill would allow municipalities to tender their construction work in a free and
   competitive environment, and not be locked into one union. If you need to fix your
   deck or buy some new furniture, you shop around and get the best deal. It should be
   the same way for our municipal construction projects. It is time to put an end to
   the closed tendering laws that do nothing but drive up the costs for taxpayers.

   Another area that we need to take on is the ticking time bomb of government
   pensions. Estimates put the pension shortfall for government workers as high as $100
   billion. Left unaddressed, taxpayers – most of whom are without a pension – will be
   on the hook to make up the difference between what has been promised and what little
   has been put aside to fund pensions for public servants.

   The simple truth is we cannot keep spending the way we have in the past.
   By MPP Toby Barrett

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