A decade ago, the government of Ontario replaced our LCBO with a much bigger building. It does a roaring business, particularly in the summer. These days, there's a long picket line outside the building. Almost a decade ago, Doug Ford rode to power, promising a "buck a beer" and wider access to booze. He also made it clear that he was convinced that profit made the world go around.
That's what makes what's going on so strange. The LCBO is very profitable. Linda McQuaig writes:
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), a crown corporation, has been doing a fine job selling alcohol — not exactly a risky enterprise requiring a lot of innovation — through its 677 outlets across the province.
And since it is publicly owned, its healthy annual profit — $2.5 billion in 2023 — goes into the public treasury, where it pays for things like health care and education.
Those profits have been invested in healthcare and education. But Ford has been cutting off revenue streams to the province's treasury. Ontarians no longer pay to renew their license plates. And Ford wants to cancel the contract with Ontario's Beer Stores at a cost of 225 million dollars:
Like so much this premier does, the basic animating force appears to be a zealous desire to privatize, to hand over ever more of our province to private interests, to further cannibalize Ontario’s strong tradition of public services and public enterprises that have served the province well.
Ford is following the path of former Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris, whose needless privatizations produced some disasters for Ontario.
Harris’ privatization of Highway 407 has cost us billions, his water-testing privatization was a factor in seven water-contamination deaths in Walkerton, and his privatization of long-term care homes worsened the COVID crisis, with death rates four times higher in private homes than in public ones.
Both men claimed to be good businessmen. Right.
Image: Niagara At Large
6 comments:
I am sure Doug is a great businessman. Just like Jack Welch, the Chair of General Electric who did so well that he nearly destroyed GE. The amazing thing is that the family label company is still in business. I believe Doug was the general manager for years.
Doug, clearly, feels that anything the Government does is evil and believes "anything" can be done better by the private sector. Wait til you read about his plan to privatize the OPP and open the policing contract to competitive bidding. I imagine both G4S and the Wagner Group will be bidding.
Wherever there is a large pool of money, real or perceived, the vultures will circle. The problem in Ontario, as elsewhere, is that the premier and his cronies work for the vultures, not the people who elected him.
Doug has deep prejudices, jrk. However, critical thinking is outside his skill set.
Precisely, Toby.
Given the continued success of the Ford fraud, Lil'PP, tRump etc etc, I'd say "critical thinking is " as rare as the albino giraffe.
I agree, PoV.
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