I didn't think we had a thread for this. 

Is Trudeau this out of touch or does he just not care?

 

6 minutes ago, Brandon said:

I'm not sure of salaries elsewhere but the amount of money they are paying teachers is insanely high and the cost of the classrooms themselves (technology) has also sky rocketed so maybe this may be some reasons why?  

No higher than anyone else with two - three degrees. 

16 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

No higher than anyone else with two - three degrees. 

For working 10 months of the year it's a much higher salary then average.   I'm related to a few teachers and money is never the issue that they are complaining about.  It's usually about the lack of authority , crappy curriculum ,  and other issues where they cut costs and it heavily impacts the class (i.e. Getting rid of special ed and trying to merge them with regular classes) etc....  

I think in the States teachers make about half as much.   

I also have a relative that does work with creating and updating schools and she said the costs of upgrades have sky rocketed over the last ten years.  Money has to come from somewhere so unless they increase the taxes then they have to make cuts..

 

Unfortunately I assume down the road it will follow path of the States where folks are going to have to start looking at more private schools.  

31 minutes ago, Brandon said:

For working 10 months of the year it's a much higher salary then average.   I'm related to a few teachers and money is never the issue that they are complaining about.  It's usually about the lack of authority , crappy curriculum ,  and other issues where they cut costs and it heavily impacts the class (i.e. Getting rid of special ed and trying to merge them with regular classes) etc....  

I think in the States teachers make about half as much.   

I also have a relative that does work with creating and updating schools and she said the costs of upgrades have sky rocketed over the last ten years.  Money has to come from somewhere so unless they increase the taxes then they have to make cuts..

 

Unfortunately I assume down the road it will follow path of the States where folks are going to have to start looking at more private schools.  

I was not complaining about salary. There is inequality in terms of how cuts are being made in Ontario - which is why I cited the Highschool example.  

And quite Honestly, introducing so much tech at the elementary level was unnecessary in my opinion - kids can learn how to use it when they’re older without any difficulties. 

53 minutes ago, Brandon said:

I think in the States teachers make about half as much.   

Not exactly. They average salary is approx. $60 000 per year in the States, which is about what it is here because new grads make around $50 000. 

American Teachers can also earn money in addition to their salary because they get paid for coaching and other extra-curricular activities. With the exception of being able to earn a couple of  paid days off, all extra curricular activities are uncompensated in Canada. 

22 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

And quite Honestly, introducing so much tech at the elementary level was unnecessary in my opinion - kids can learn how to use it when they’re older without any difficulties. 

Quite honestly, I need my kids to teach me stuff, so the sooner they learn the better. It would be nice if they let me know what the password was to the wifi too. I've completed my chores, so I don't understand the holdup. 

2 hours ago, Mark H. said:

And quite Honestly, introducing so much tech at the elementary level was unnecessary in my opinion - kids can learn how to use it when they’re older without any difficulties. 

I don't know about that,  one of my little ones is in elementary and having a smart board in the class is absolutely beneficial.   I also find the educational software they use these days to be absolutely amazing and fantastic.  From my experiences it seems locally that the money is well spent.

 

32 minutes ago, Brandon said:

I don't know about that,  one of my little ones is in elementary and having a smart board in the class is absolutely beneficial.   I also find the educational software they use these days to be absolutely amazing and fantastic.  From my experiences it seems locally that the money is well spent.

 

Sure - one smartboard connected to one computer or laptop.  I'm referring to having multiple devices in the room. 

So is the opposite of tax and spend, cut and bury your head in the sand?

Ontario cancels program that aimed to plant 50 million trees

"TORONTO - Ontario is cancelling a tree planting program, with those involved warning the move will lead to the loss of jobs and environmental benefits that forests provide.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry told Forests Ontario the day after the Progressive Conservative government delivered its budget this month that the 50 Million Tree Program was being eliminated.

Rob Keen, CEO of Forests Ontario, said since 2008 more than 27 million trees have been planted across Ontario through the program, which saved landowners up to 90 per cent of the costs of large-scale tree planting.

It was started as a carbon sequestration program, Keen said, but planting that many trees also helps clean the air and water, protect shorelines and reduce erosion."

 

"The majority of the funding went to Forests Ontario's planting partners, such as conservation groups, stewardship groups and First Nations, who worked with landowners to get trees planted, Keen said.

The government also recently cut funding for conservation authorities' flood management programs in half."

https://www.cp24.com/news/ontario-cancels-program-that-aimed-to-plant-50-million-trees-1.4394241

1 hour ago, Wideleft said:

Ontario is cancelling a tree planting program,

Don't like to generalize, and Mulroney actually was good on environment, but modern Conservatives are extremely stupid and shortsighted on the environment.

I'm not sure why.

 

 

45 minutes ago, Mark F said:

Don't like to generalize, and Mulroney actually was good on environment, but modern Conservatives are extremely stupid and shortsighted on the environment.

I'm not sure why.

 

 

Because "modern" Conservatives are short-sighted about everything?  More than any other party, they're about the election cycle and that's saying something given Liberal history.

Everyone is short sighted these days. Getting elected again is the goal not long term visions.

23 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Everyone is short sighted these days. Getting elected again is the goal not long term visions.

Which is why no one campaigns on the environment, early childhood education, climate change or anything that takes time but has long term benefits.  It's sad, really.

Some are worse than others and some (Harper (ELA anyone?), Ford, Trump) actively throw wrenches in long term programs once elected.

Kenney got himself elected, now what?

Belot: Albertans have been fooled by a myth about pipelines and the oilsands

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/04/23/opinion/belot-albertans-have-been-fooled-myth-about-pipelines-and-oilsands

34 minutes ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Kenney got himself elected, now what?

Belot: Albertans have been fooled by a myth about pipelines and the oilsands

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/04/23/opinion/belot-albertans-have-been-fooled-myth-about-pipelines-and-oilsands

I don't like this piece. It over simplifies things. The fact of the matter is pipeline capacity is important because it diversifies our markets. Right now we can really only sell to the states, which is a problem when their own domestic production has increased so much. There is demand for Canadian  heavy oil, we just can't get it to market.

Not even mentioning we produce more than just oil sands.

24 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

I don't like this piece. It over simplifies things. The fact of the matter is pipeline capacity is important because it diversifies our markets. Right now we can really only sell to the states, which is a problem when their own domestic production has increased so much. There is demand for Canadian  heavy oil, we just can't get it to market.

Not even mentioning we produce more than just oil sands.

Sure, but this article is focused on the problems the oil sands are facing.  The US has converted their import facilities on the gulf coast into export facilities due to the glut created from fracked oil , so expanding pipeline capacity does not guarantee increased demand for any of our oil products.

5 hours ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Sure, but this article is focused on the problems the oil sands are facing.  The US has converted their import facilities on the gulf coast into export facilities due to the glut created from fracked oil , so expanding pipeline capacity does not guarantee increased demand for any of our oil products.

pipelines to the west coast allow us to sell to Asian markets that would love to buy it, but as it is the pipelines don't go anywhere but the States. That is why pipelines are a big issue. It's all about diversifying where we can ship our oil so that we aren't beholden to what American refineries will pay. 

It's not about shipping more, it's about having more options on who to sell to. American won't pay then ship it to Asia and when Americans want some they gotta pay more for it. 

Like I said, there is global demand for heavy oil, we just don't have the ability to reach the markets effectively to capitalize on it. 

Who funds Ontario Proud?

"The list is a who’s who of developers, anti-union groups and construction agencies — all that have already benefited from Doug Ford’s policies (two sweeping labour law reforms that will make it less safe to work in Ontario, and the promise that Ontario is “open for business” which apparently means gut the Greenbelt.)"

https://medium.com/@noraloreto/who-funds-ontario-proud-76a56ca92de1

Interesting. Whitenationalism is on the rise in Canada. 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadas-new-far-right-a-trove-of-private-chat-room-messages-reveals/

On 2019-04-27 at 5:06 PM, wanna-b-fanboy said:

Interesting. White nationalism is on the rise in Canada. 

 

It's so bad, that our own PM can't tell a Japanese leader from a Chinese leader.  Yikes, talk about embarrassing!  Just wait until the Malaysian leader calls Justin the PM of Great Britain.  

 

On 2019-04-27 at 7:06 PM, wanna-b-fanboy said:

Interesting. Whitenationalism is on the rise in Canada. 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadas-new-far-right-a-trove-of-private-chat-room-messages-reveals/

 

2 hours ago, kelownabomberfan said:

It's so bad, that our own PM can't tell a Japanese leader from a Chinese leader.  Yikes, talk about embarrassing!  Just wait until the Malaysian leader calls Justin the PM of Great Britain.  

 

That is not an example of white nationalism. You are mistaking stupid for racism.

What does our PM making an ass of himself mixing up China with Japan have to do with white nationalism?  Stupid is as stupid does. 

2 hours ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

 

That is not an example of white nationalism. You are mistaking stupid for racism.

yeah I know, it was tongue in cheek.

28 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

What does our PM making an ass of himself mixing up China with Japan have to do with white nationalism?  Stupid is as stupid does. 

3 minutes ago, kelownabomberfan said:

yeah I know, it was tongue in cheek.

Oh- I thought you were calling our Prime Minister a white nationalist. 

34 minutes ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

Oh- I thought you were calling our Prime Minister a white nationalist. 

no I agree with you, he's an idiot, but not a white nationalist.