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McGuinty fiddles while Ontario burns Nortel cuts almost 3,000 jobs. Loblaws cuts 1,000. Chrysler cuts 2,000. Ontario experienced negative growth last quarter. Two consecutive quarters of negative growth and we have ourselves an official recession. It's the start of an economic sea change and it's the manufacturing jobs that are heading out to sea. Like The Boss said-- "These jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back." The last time this happened, in the wake of the computer revolution, we here in Ontario were hampered by the albatross of Bob Rae's NDP government. That combination kept us mired in a virtual depression for more than four years. This time around we are guided by the economic machinations of Dalton "Hi-Tax" McGuinty while our economy is under attack from cheap labour outsourced in developing nations and linked to us by high speed internet connections and ultra-low shipping costs. If you seek the evidence-- it is all around you. Nortel cuts jobs and moves them to Mexico. Auto parts jobs are moving to China. Call centres and software programming are locating more and more in India. Why? In a competitive world market our taxes, regulations, high cost health care programs and generous retirement benefits make those operations which employ large numbers of semi-skilled workers simply too expensive to operate here. The last time this happened North America began a shift to knowledge-based jobs and skilled services, such as financial planners for people and business, program- Ted Chudleigh mers to help automate repetitive tasks, and tens of thousands of other niche jobs specific to individual small businesses. In Ontario we were final able to throw off the socialist yoke and reform our economy. That 10-year run is coming to a close as these new challenges gain traction. However, the McGuinty government doesn't see it. They have done nothing to correct the systemic problems in our economy despite being prodded by the Legislature to take action. This time around we have to get out from under choking taxes, aging infrastructure and a punishing regulatory environment first, and then move boldly into the 21st century, if we are to take on the economic forces lined up against us. If we don't it could be another lengthy period of economic malaise before we turn it around. I know we will achieve this modernization: sooner if Ontarians recognize the need or later if they have to be faced with economic devastation to believe it. Government policy does make a difference in how long our economy languishes and how quickly it turns around. --Ted Chudleigh is the MPP for Halton From 1 to 21 in no time at all!