Law Times

Page 6 August 8, 2016 • LAw times www.lawtimesnews.com More to the story than a headline W e love headlines. They're short, they tell the story, they're easy to repeat, they get attention and they don't even have to be true, just catchy. Which brings us to the good-news headline Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne managed to pop out recently: Ontario leads G7 in growth. In a province starved of good eco- nomic news, beset by looming carbon taxes and mired in debt, it sure grabbed attention, albeit brief ly. "Ontario posted higher real GDP growth in the first quarter of 2016 than Canada, the U.S. and all other G7 coun- tries," the accompanying news release breathlessly reported. "The province's real GDP grew by 0.8 per cent in the quarter, or a 3.0 per cent annualized rate." The Liberals claimed their econom- ic plan was behind all this. And why wouldn't they? It's politics, and with Wynne's personal approval rating with Ontario voters down to an abysmal 18 per cent, you cling to straws. Hold the presses, though. First, it isn't true. There are several American states outperforming Ontario, as the opposi- tion parties were quick to point out. Also, manufacturing, which grew 1.2 per cent, is reaping the benefit of a low Canadian dollar. That headline wasn't an accident. In media management, you want to get out in front of a bad headline with a strategy to lead the sto- ry according to your agenda. Here's why the Liberals pushed it: The other headline that day — Ontario's debt to hit $350 billion by 2020 — wasn't nearly as sunny. It hit $300 billion at the end of July and, despite promises of a balanced bud- get by 2017-18, will keep ris- ing. That's a problem. It's up 90 per cent from 2009 alone and we're now borrowing, essentially, to finance that debt at $1 billion a month. As Ontario Financial Accountability Officer Stephen LeClair points out, the average interest rate on the current debt is about 3.6 per cent. A jump of just a sin- gle percentage point would push the cost of servicing that debt by $350 million, to $11.7 billion or more. That's more than we spend on any- thing after health care and education and, as LeClair notes, the debt burden is smothering other program spending. That's an awful lot of money that could be building GTA subways and LRTs, but, more importantly, it's a huge risk waiting to bite the province in the treasury. "The Province's debt burden is one of the highest among provincial govern- ments in Canada," the FAO noted in an annual report released last month. "[The] interest rate risk is the most important risk as- sociated with the Province's debt." The Liberals are still bor- rowing $160 billion over 12 years for infrastructure and transit projects and, despite revenue tools such as carbon taxes and other levies, they will still come up short. This is not a manufactured crisis. It is a crisis driven by an absence of po- litical leadership. Even the federal Parlia- mentary Budget Officer is alarmed when looking at federal and provincial debts across Canada: "Sub-national debt is un- sustainable. The consolidation does not need to be made immediately. However, the longer this adjustment is delayed, the greater the required adjustment." Ontario's response, predictably, will be more taxes, both directly and indi- rectly. Media is reporting the carbon tax will be added to natural gas and gasoline and then the total will be subject to HST, effectively a tax upon a tax. Hydro cus- tomers will see the carbon levy added to their "delivery fee," which in turn will be subject to HST. There are more headlines in the pipe- line: The Toronto Automobile Dealer's Association is riled about reports the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Hous- ing is looking at giving all local govern- ments the power to impose a vehicle reg- istration tax, similar to the tax Toronto axed during Mayor Rob Ford's regime and is now considering re-implementing. Realtors also fear the extension of the local and transfer tax across Ontario, while health lobbyists are pushing for a sugar tax, which would hit pop sales. It's a politically astute strategy; em- powering local municipalities to raise tax revenues takes the pressure off Queen's Park to fund local needs. More taxes, however, only mask the issue. Report after report and consultant after consultant have warned the Liberals to reign in spending and cut their costs, but nothing changes. Is there a tax this government hasn't considered? Anything and everything is possible for a regime slapping a tax on the baby's bathwater and your Saturday night BBQ, but the probability is that the Liberals will never be held accountable and it will be someone else's problem two years from now. LT uIan Harvey has been a journalist for more than 35 years writing about a diverse range of issues including legal and political affairs. His e-mail address is ianharvey@rogers.com. COMMENT ©2016 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Law Times disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, com - pleteness or currency of the contents of this pub- lication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. LT.editor@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $199.00 + HST per year in Canada for print and online (HST Reg. #R121351134), $199 + HST per year for online only. Single copies are $5.00. Circulation inquiries, postal returns and address changes should include a copy of the mailing label(s) and should be sent to Law Times One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto ON, M1T 3V4. Return postage guaranteed. 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Marakah argued his text messages were inappropriately obtained and should have been excluded. The court disagreed, ruling Marakah did not have a "reasonable expectation of privacy." But the battle over privacy and texting is likely not over yet, and it will possibly head to the Supreme Court of Can- ada. The ruling in R. v. Marakah, 2016 ONCA 542 includes many nuggets of wisdom. "It has never been the case that privacy rights are absolute. Not ev- erything we wish to keep confidential is protected under s. 8 of the Charter. In my view, the manner in which one elects to communicate must affect the degree of privacy protection one can reasonable ex- pect," wrote Justice James MacPherson, with Justice Jean MacFarland agreeing. Section 8, explains the ruling, guarantees "the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure." As any person who's experienced a panicky feeling when they've misplaced their phone can attest, no text message should be consid- ered private. The act of texting is the act of making the private internal workings of one's thoughts public to another, and creating a record that extends beyond one's control. Justice Harry LaForme respect- fully dissented with his colleagues on the Court of Appeal. "If the expression of an idea does not eliminate a reasonable expectation of privacy in the case of oral communications, there is no rational reason why it should in the case of text messaging," he says. "Therefore, the fact that the recipient of a text message may disseminate it does not preclude the sender maintaining a reasonable expectation of pri- vacy." In a viral age, LaForme's position may seem un- tenable to most. LT Queen's Park Ian Harvey

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