Ontario welfare recipients jump in July (a headline we should expect to see under Dalton McGuinty)

BY ANTONELLA ARTUSO ,QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU CHIEF

TORONTO - More than 9,000 Ontarians joined the welfare rolls in July — the largest single-month increase in at least two years.

Sandy Mangat, a spokesman for the ministry of community and social services, said ministry officials know of no specific reason for the bump in cases.

“We think it’s a blip at this point,” Mangat said Tuesday. “We’re going to continue to monitor in the next couple of months and see what happens.”

The July results, the most recent Ontario Works figures available, show that 482,748 people were receiving social assistance that month.

That number is a 1.9% increase over the previous month, when 473,702 Ontarians were on assistance.

The caseloads were higher in all three categories of singles, couples and sole-support families.

The largest-percentage increase was among singles, with 3,763 people added to the list.

There were an additional 3,831 members of sole-support families as well.

Statistics Canada unemployment numbers may shed some light on the sudden increase in welfare cases, revealing that the province lost 22,000 jobs in July.

The unemployment rate actually fell slightly despite the job numbers because so many people dropped out of the labour force, StatsCan says.

See link:

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/08/30/ontario-welfare-recipients-jump-in-july

Joe Ganetakos opens Parkdale-High Park Campaign Office

TORONTO — On Wednesday August 31st at 7PM, Parkdale-High Park Ontario PC candidate Joe Ganetakos will open his campaign/community office. The office is located at 1727 Bloor Street West, just three doors east of Keele on the south side of Bloor, a few steps away from the Keele subway station.

Since his nomination in April, Ganetakos has knocked on more than 7,000 doors as he brings the Ontario PC campaign of change and much needed relief for Parkdale-High Park families after eight years of Liberal tax hikes, expensive energy experiments, wasteful spending and secret deals.

To contact the campaign:

Phone: 416-604-8484

URL: http://votejoe2011.ca/home/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Ganetakos_ONPC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joseph-Ganetakos-for-MPP/178061885559783

Toronto Star: Ontario election fight gets dirty online

The Tories believe the Liberals, or their supporters, started the website www.thetruthabouttim.com, above, after they launched www.truthabouttimhudak.com.
Tanya TalagaQueen's Park Bureau

It may be all smiles for the cameras as Ontario political leaders fight their way toward the Oct. 6 election, but online the fight is nasty.

On Wednesday, the NDP launched a new website to counter social media attacks and rumours they claim are being spread by other parties.

The site, www.stopthesmears.ca, aims to dispel myths such as the NDP have a fleet of 20 orange SUVs on standby for the election and that leader Andrea Horwath is really the incarnation of Mike Harris.

People are tired of whisper campaigns and negative ads, said NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale-High Park). She claims the NDP website will “tackle the smears” and get the facts out.

Party leaders have vowed not to wage a dirty campaign before the Oct. 6 election.

But in the social media universe, the election is running a different course. Fake people espousing partisan views have proliferated on Twitter, there are YouTube videos making fun of certain party leaders, and websites have been created by the political parties to try to make sense of it all.

The profile of @GrandmaHudak presents itself with a picture of an elderly lady in a black bathing suit getting out of a swimming pool. GrandmaHudak states she likes to swim on hot days, dry her clothes on a line and that her opinions are her own and “not those concocted by my grandson’s idiot spin doctors”.

Another fake is @FakeDonnaSkelly, a spoof on PC Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale candidate and former TV news anchor Donna Skelly. A recent tweet from this account shows how the gloves are off: “Thinking about pulling an @andreahorwath and photoshopping 20 pounds off my campaign photo.”

The Tories started www.truthabouttimhudak.com and within 24 hours they believe the Liberals, or their supporters, started up the parallel site www.thetruthabouttim.com. The later site does not advertise who created it but it notes Hudak would “cut $3 billion out of health care” and that he wants to scrap the Liberals’ Green Energy Act.

The Liberals deny they are behind the Hudak site. But they do list www.recklessrookie.com,www.Hazardoushudak.com and www.dirtyndp.ca as theirs.

“We stay focused on our positive plan to keep Ontario moving forward and don’t get distracted by the games of others,” said Christine McMillan, the Ontario Liberal Party’s vice-president of communications.

McMillan says they’ll continue to talk about their “positive plan to keep moving Ontario forward and the risky schemes of the PCs, both at the door and in our communities as well as on websites and in social media.”

However, the social media noise distracts journalists from the real news and it can confuse voters, said Greg Elmer, a Ryerson University media professor.

At its worst, social media in campaigns is a “distraction factory” trying to divert attention from positive policy announcements coming from political opponents, said Elmer.

This won’t be the first time political parties have run at least two campaigns.

There is relatively little mud-slinging on the campaign bus tour as the leaders make shiny happy proposals, he said.

The flip side to that are the online anonymous dirty campaigns. Elmer predicts as the vote gets closer, there will be a proliferation of videos, blog posts, sound files and tweets.

“Often what happens is that we are all focused on what these objects mean — is that really the person we see in the image, is that really the voice of the premier we hear in that crackling, web-based audio recording? What is often displaced is who is circulating these,” he said

Town Crier: 'Game designer takes PC nod"

By Tristan Carter
July 28, 2011

PHOTO COURTESY GEORGE GANETAKOS

EMPOWERMENT: Parkdale-High Park PC candidate George Ganetakos says he’d like to develop a website that would show citizens where their tax dollars actually go.

Joseph Ganetakos is used to games. But there is no playing around when it comes to his political ambitions.

The lead designer for video game development company Ganz, Ganetakos has been nominated as the Conservative candidate for Parkdale-High Park. He will face off against NDP incumbent Cheri DiNovo and Liberal candidate Cortney Pasternak.

Ganetakos has never run for office before but said he is hoping to use his background and experience to help citizens keep track of government spending.

“What I’d love to do is find a way to bring transparency and I mean that in a real way,” he said. “I want you to be able to be empowered to see where your tax dollars go.”

By using his technological expertise, Ganetakos said he wants to champion a website where anyone can go and look at where government funds are allocated.

“Having that on the table would keep us very accountable and keep us always working towards doing the absolute best for you and always being mindful that it’s your money, not ours,” he said.

He also said he realizes not everyone is so tech savvy and that he wants to make it as easy as possible for people to see this information.

“What I’d love to do is make these types of tools really accessible so you don’t have to be a video gamer to understand it,” he said.

Game development can be a highly demanding field and there are many other skills that he learned in that profession that can be applied to politics, according to Ganetakos.

“I’m used to a very fast-paced and results-driven business,” he said. “But I’m also used to an extremely collaborate and iterative team dynamic.

“I love working with people and going towards a common goal together and getting it done.”

Ganetakos’ other stated goals are to attract more businesses to the area and to help local seniors.

“What I hear at the door frequently from our seniors is that they just can’t afford any additional tax strain,” he said. “They’re just really limited because of their fixed incomes.

“I want to make sure that the seniors are respected because they built this place.”

Ganetakos said that much of his agenda would be determined by what the people of Parkdale-High Park want and said he hopes they vote for him on Oct. 6.

“Ultimately I’ll be working for the people,” he said. “If I’m fortunate enough to get in they’ll decide and they’ll talk to me about what they need.”

Elections Ontario offers new ways to vote

Afficianados of politics, and political junkies, will recall that election days and the actual process of balloting were once very different. They are about to change again, and for the better.

Elections Ontario will institute some new processes and formats in 2011, that include more days to vote (29), and more ways to vote (technology, assistive devices and special ballots). And they have created a friendly online way to inform you, please visit: http://www.wemakevotingeasy.ca/en/more-days-more-ways.aspx

There are actually several other changes that have taken place touching on election finance, voting place accessability and so on ..... If you have an enthusiastic interest in all of these, then visit the main Elections Ontario website: http://www.elections.on.ca/en-CA/

We're Off and Running

This week marks the real kick-off of the provincial general election campaign in Parkdale-High Park.

Tonight, our riding association has organized a fundraising event hosted by our candidate Joe Ganetakos, and PC critic for industry and economic development Peter Shurman, MPP (Thornhill) that (casting a glance over advance ticket sales) bodes well for our summer activities. If you aren’t attending, you can still indicate your support by visiting this site: https://secure.ontariopc.com/riding/?id=68

Tomorrow, our first print piece – a summary of the main points of #changebook and a “hello” message from Joe – arrives from our printer.

And on Saturday, we begin our first canvas. If you would like to volunteer for this canvas, or any other activity please leave your contact info at 416-604-8484, email parkdalehighpark.pc@gmail.com , or follow http://www.twitter.com/Ganetakos_ONPC

A PC government will provide tax relief for families

One important step that a PC government would take to provide tax relief for families is to allow all couples to share up to $50,000 of their income for tax purposes.

For a typical family earning $70,000 – one spouse earning $50,000 and another earning $20,000, this plan would provide $476 in savings. For a single earner family earning $70,000 the savings would be nearly $1400.

Under Dalton McGuinty, Ontario families have been hit with more and more new and unexpected taxes, taking more and more out of the family budget. If Dalton McGuinty is re-elected, he will hike taxes again, just like he has done in the past.

QUICK FACTS
1) In 2003 Dalton McGuinty promised not to raise taxes but after the election brought in the largest income tax hike in Ontario history with his so called health tax – that doesn’t even go to health care.
2) In 2007 Dalton McGuinty promised not to raise taxes but after the election brought in the largest sales tax hike in Ontario history with his HST tax grab and sneaky eco-taxes.
3) Under Dalton McGuinty, hydro rates have increased eight times since 2003 by a total of 84 percent, and a whopping 150 percent for families with activated smart meters.
4) Despite promising Ontario families that his expensive energy experiments and Green Energy Act would only raise rates by 1 percent, Dalton McGuinty now admits in last year’s Fall Economic Update that bills will rise 46 percent by 2015.

BACKGROUNDER
How an Ontario PC Government Will Help Families:
- For the past eight years, more new and unexpected taxes and costs have been sprung on families in Ontario. The HST, health tax, eco taxes and skyrocketing hydro bills are just some examples.
- If Dalton McGuinty is re-elected he will raise taxes again, just like he has done twice before. And Ontario families will pay the price.
- A Tim Hudak government will provide tax relief for families and let all couples reduce their taxable income through income sharing.
- An Ontario PC government will change the tax system to allow all couples to share up to $50,000 of their income for Ontario tax purposes. For a typical family earning $70,000 – one spouse earning $50,000 and another earning $20,000, this plan would provide $476 in savings. For a single earner family earning $70,000 the savings would be as much as $1400
- This income sharing plan builds on the Government of Canada’s proposed Family Tax Cut. That plan is scheduled for implementation when the federal budget is balanced. A Tim Hudak government will call on Ottawa to implement their tax relief for families earlier, at the same time as Ontario’s in order for families to receive more tax relief sooner.
- While the federal government’s Family Tax Cut would enable income sharing for couples with dependent children under 18 years of age only, the Ontario PC income sharing plan would apply to all couples in Ontario, regardless of their family size.

What Else An Ontario PC Government Will Do To Help Families:
We will create more opportunities for newcomers to Ontario. We will make Ontario a magnet for the world’s best and brightest by reducing barriers for potential new Canadians. To ease newcomers’ transition we will improve transparency of foreign credential recognition and create a tax credit for employers who sponsor language training.

We will lower income taxes on middle-class families. A PC government will give families tax relief and spur economic growth by lowering income taxes 5% on the first $75,000 of taxable income, putting $258 back in the pocket of taxpayers earning $70,000 per year.

We will provide relief for families from rising hydro costs. A PC government would provide relief for families and seniors facing rising energy costs by removing the HST from home hydro and heating bills, and removing the debt retirement charge from home hydro bills.

We will unplug the mandatory “smart” meters. We will end mandatory so-called time of use pricing. We will stop forcing families to be showered and ready for school and work before 7 a.m. or compelling seniors to do laundry late into the night. The smart meters forced on our homes – at a cost that recently blew by $1 billion – have become nothing but government-sponsored tax machines. We will let you decide whether to use the time-of-use pricing system.