17 MAY 2024 · Ugly shirt season has begun! It's the Victoria Day Weekend edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast! Keith Leslie, John Wright and Dave Trafford pay tribute to David Rider for his 14-plus years of service as the Toronto City Hall Bureau Chief for the Toronto Star. David's moving on to take on the role of Senior Political Reporter in the GTA! Well done!! Also, we dig in on some of the head scratching stories to come out of Queen's Park this past week, Including: - The staffing crisis in healthcare, particularly the need for nurses and personal support workers, is a significant concern. And why did the Health Ministry stiff Colin D'Mello's FOI request for the staffing stats but gave them up to Canadian Press without an argument?? (Could it be Ford Nation just doesn't like the Global News QP Bureau Chief? FOR THE RECORD: We love the guy!!) - The province should take the initiative and provide better support and resources, including healthcare and mental health services, for veterans and their families. - AND...the Solicitor General has done NOTHING in response to 57 recommendations from a coroner's inquest into the death of Soleiman Faquiri. He died while in 2016 while he was in custody at the Central East Correctional Centre. The coroner ruled his death was a homicide.

10 MAY 2024 · In this edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast: So many QUESTIONS! The pollsters are at odds over what's weighing on the Ontario Liberals. Is it the lack lustre performance of the Trudeau government? Is it Ford Nation's ability to frame and define OLP leader Bonnie Crombie as the "Queen of the Carbon Tax"? Or is it simply an electorate that just isn't paying ANY attention to the minutiae of the daily grind at Queen's Park? Do the latest email revelations connecting the Greenbelt scandal to another Ford staffer move the needle on Doug Ford's approvals? There are more signs the Toronto Polic Service is facing an intergrity crisis. The Stacy Clarke case lays bear several layers of systemic issues that are reputational problems for Toronto cops. And the Health Minister says there's no need to worry about the family doctor shortage when 2 million Ontarians DON'T have a GP!

3 MAY 2024 · In this edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast: We pick through the entrails of two by-election wins for the Progressive Conservatives. Two things are clear: - There's no "call for change" at Queen's Park. Are we on the verge if the next Big Blue Machine era of politics in Ontario? - If Bonnie Crombie couldn't muster enough attention, support or money to win the race in Milton, what does that say for the future of the Ontario Liberal Party? Oh ya,,,,Go LEAFS!

26 APR 2024 · In this week's edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast: We remember the legendary broadcaster Bob Cole and then dig in on the latest stories coming out of Queen's Park including: The Ford Nation reversal of the week. The fallout from the NOT GUILTY verdict in the trial of Umar Zumeer - accused of murdering Toronto police Det-Constable Jeffery Northrup. And would the premier seriously consider calling an early election?

19 APR 2024 · In this week's edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast: - Happy 3rd birthday to Story Studio Network! - Doug Ford goes on an operatic RANT about gas price hikes and manages to lay it all at the feet of Justin Trudeau and Bonnie Crombie! - All four provincial party leaders want the Speaker to reverse his refusal to allow the keffiyeh to be worn in the legislature.  - The housing file keeps getting more and more complicated and that's driving up the cost of home building. - Vic Fideli doubles down on government insistence that the addition of Long Term Care beds qualify as "new home" builds. - The Transportation Minister may need whiplash therapy. He was forced to make a fast and strenuous about face mere hours after announcing service reductions on the Metrolinx UP Express! - It's hard to imagine we don't have a gambling problem in Ontario when we learn 1.3 million Ontarians bet $63 billion online in fiscal 2023-24.

12 APR 2024 · In this week's edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario politic podcast: We're joined by Tim Hudak, CEO at the Ontario Real Estate Association, tp talk about the housing initiatives annoucned at Queen's Park and in Ottawa this week. Tim says there've been some positive steps taken, such as increasing the amortization period and providing assistance for modular homes and apartment construction. However, he also highlights the gaps and the need for more bold and comprehensive solutions. The discussion touches on topics like the role of municipalities, the impact of land transfer tax, the importance of leveling the playing field for first-time homebuyers, and the need for a balanced approach to housing and employment lands. the competing announcements has everyone "talking housing" but will they do enough for help meet the housing goals by 2031?

5 APR 2024 · In this episode of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast: It's been a busy "media week" for Doug Ford - making almost daily annoucements about government spending plans one week after the 2024 budget was tabled at Queen's Park. But announcements aside, the PCs are spending a good deal of time and political capital defining Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie as the Carbon Tax Queen and re-defining Premier Ford as a guy who listens to the people when his government "gets it wrong" versus a leader who has spent two years of this mandate flip-flopping on key plans and policies of his government. As noted in last week's show, the Ontario government has commited to historically record spending in the latest budget - beating the record spending promises tabled in 2023. Doug Ford's government has commited to more than $420 billion in spending over the last two budgets. The question is, how has that record spending improved life for Ontarians? 

29 MAR 2024 · In this episode of On the Ledge - Your Ontario Politics Podcast, John Wright, Keith Leslie and Dave Trafford tackle the Ontario budget, the rhetorical distraction that is the Carbon Tax, and remembering Roy McMurtry.  - Ford Nation has coughed up another RECORD spending plan and, in so doing, have made it abundantly clear, budgets have become a nearly meaningless exercise. - The rhetoric surrounding the carbon tax at Queen’s Park has completely distracted from the obvious point that the Ford government has done nothing to present an alternative to the the tax. - Why isn’t the government focussed on the need to boost productivity in Ontario?  - The week the nation remembered and celebrated the legacy of Brian Mulroney, former Ontario Attorney General and Chief Justice of Ontario’s Superior Court Roy McMurtry. passed away.  - Dave highlights clips from a sit down interview he did with the Chief Justice when he retired from the bench in 2007.

15 MAR 2024 · In this edition of On the Ledge - Your Ontario Politics Podcast from Story Studio Network: Dave Trafford, John Wright and Keith Leslie get into the tangled debate around the carbon tax, its impact on the economy and everyday life. Will a three cent per litre increase at the gas pump really be noticed? How effective is the carbon tax in addressing climate change? The crowded agenda and competing priorities of the government are also explored.    Also: The Ontario Superior Court has  approved a class action lawsuit against long-term care home operators in Ontario. The lawsuit cites the horror stories and outcomes in private nursing homes during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The provinces and the feds are wilfully ignoring a predictable health crisis.   Takeaways - The carbon tax is a contentious issue that has captured political attention across the country. - There is a need for a comprehensive approach to addressing climate change, rather than relying solely on the carbon tax. - The crowded agenda and competing priorities of the government make it challenging to effectively address climate change. - There is a disconnect between the cost of the carbon tax and its impact on everyday life. The long-term care system in Ontario is facing a class action lawsuit due to the negligence and poor outcomes in private nursing homes. - There is a need for better home care and access to primary care physicians to address the healthcare crisis. - Technology and innovation can play a crucial role in improving healthcare outcomes and providing better care options. - Government leadership and a long-term vision are essential to address the challenges in the healthcare system. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Carbon Tax 03:26 Complexity of Carbon Tax 06:31 Crowded Agenda and Competing Priorities 11:16 Need for a Comprehensive Approach 16:06 Disconnect between Cost and Necessity 19:24 Carbon Capture and Storage 20:50 Alberta's Potential for Carbon Capture 21:50 Long-Term Care and Home Definition 22:14 Horror Stories and Outcomes in Private Nursing Homes 23:09 Mortality Rates and the Need for Home Care 24:36 Decline in Home Care and Access to Primary Care Physicians 26:13 Shortage of General Practitioners and Lack of In-Between Care 27:44 The Need for Federal Vision and Standards in Healthcare 28:42 Aging in Place and the Gradual Transition to Long-Term Care 29:08 Provincial Responsibility and Lack of Long-Term Vision 30:35 The Role of Technology and Innovation in Home Care 31:36 The Urgency of Addressing the Healthcare Crisis 32:07 Lack of Strategy and Willful Ignorance in Healthcare 33:06 The Role of Private Industry and Lack of Government Strategy 34:18 The Need for Relationship and Emotional Contact in Healthcare 39:00 The Importance of Technology and Innovation in Healthcare 40:19 Lack of Strategy and Prioritization in Government 41:11 The Need for Leadership and Legacy in Healthcare 42:28 The Catastrophe Waiting to Happen in Healthcare 43:22 The Destructive Path of Inaction in Healthcare 44:02 The Importance of Experience and Reflection

8 MAR 2024 · In this episode of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast, The Ford government was patting itself on the back this week after announcing a Ring of Fire https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/regional-news/far-north-ring-of-fire/two-first-nations-sign-ring-of-fire-agreement-as-another-launches-court-battle-8398915on next steps to build a road into the environmentally sensitive, mineral rich region of Northern Ontario.  The announcement was long on self-congratulations but short on any commitment to ensure the project doesn't poison the air. The Ring of Fire is located on peatlands that cover an area the size of Germany. The peatlands naturally store carbon extracted from the atmosphere. Disrupting the peat bogs means releasing carbon or - worse - methane into the atmosphere. It's estimated, the peatland around the mine claims stores about 2 gigatons of carbon. Releasing that into the atmosphere would make the site the largest carbon emitter in Canada - three times the emissions coughed up by fossil fuel ignition. Also: Pollster John Wright, veteran Queen's Park watcher Keith Leslie and Dave Trafford, Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network debate whether the Ford government deliberately poked the bear when the Premier insists he wants to appoint "like-minded" provincial judges.  AND: - There are loose canons, then there's newly elected FEDERAL Conservative Party Durham MP Jamil Jivani. He used his victory speech to tear a strip off the Stephen Lecce led provincial education ministry. - Does a leader's "likeability" matter when it comes to politics?