- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor
Unprecedented.
Premier Kathleen Wynne today acknowledged that she would not be forming a government following Thursday's provincial election. She made it clear that a vote for a local Liberal candidate was not a vote for her as Premier nor for a Liberal government. However, she urged voters not to give either the PCs or the NDP the "blank cheque" of a majority government.
Liberal candidate Francesca Dobbyn has stated emphatically that the possibility of a Doug Ford-led government was a big motivator to accept the Liberal candidacy in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound. Today she reiterated that in her statement:
"The imminence of a Doug Ford government should instill an even greater urgency in our rural communities to put in place a representative who has YOUR best interests at heart, not their party's agenda. In the face of almost certain service cuts that Toronto won't feel nearly as hard as we will here in Grey Bruce, we need a strong, creative leader with a proven track record of solving difficult issues."
In the same statement Dobbyn warned of the NDP's "anti-nuclear agenda" - something NDP candidate Karen Gventer says is a mis-characterization.
"The NDP commits to ensuring that any nuclear refurbishment has a full environmental assessment and has a full cost accounting, to be confident there wouldn't be huge cost overruns, " says Gventer.
She also contrasted labour relations the province could expect under an NDP government with the lengthy teachers' strikes of the Harris era. "Negotiations will be done in good faith. When both sides have confidence and trust in each other, it is easier to reach agreements."
Green Party leader Mike Schreiner responded to Wynne's announcement with what appeared to be her first official good-bye. "I want to thank Kathleen Wynne, who has worked hard for Ontarians for the past 5 years as Premier. I thank her for her public service. She is right; an NDP or PC government needs to be held accountable," which he says could best be done with "a progressive minority government with at least one Green MPP." Schreiner is running in Guelph to be Ontario's first Green MPP.
PC leader Doug Ford and BGOS incumbent Bill Walker remain focused on the campaign. As of this writing the Owen Sound Hub has not received a response on the Premier's announcement from either office.
