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Page 6 January 23, 2017 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com COMMENT u EDITORIAL OBITER By Gabrielle Giroday What a debt The non-profit corporation has hit headlines for all the wrong rea- sons, most notably a $26-million deficit in 2016. This is baff ling because in 2014-2015, LAO said it had a $3.9-mil- lion operating surplus. "LAO will continue to address any fiscal challenges as we have in the past and introduce thoughtful, creative and effective ways to bal- ance the budget while maintaining efficient and effective service to our clients," said the 2014-2015 annual report. Fast-forward to present. Following news of the deficit, Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi has ordered an external review. At the Stepstojustice.ca launch at the Law Society of Upper Cana- da last week, where Naqvi and LAO board of directors chairman John D. McCamus appeared as speakers, it would be hard to discern any friction. McCamus thanked the AG, the deputy AG and "the government of the day, who have been enormously supportive of access to justice in the form of Legal Aid." He noted that, until 3.5 years ago, the eligibility standard for Legal Aid had not changed in 20 years. "The current government came into a financial situation which was very challenging, nonetheless, they were committed to trying to [address] this problem, and they have done so, and it has been mag- nificent," McCamus told the crowd. Naqvi, ever mindful as all cabi- net ministers should be, must be aware he is in a delicate position Recalculating the political GPS BY IAN HARVEY C anadians might be surprised by the political similarities between Ontario, and, say, Mexico. For example, those vacation- ers in Mexico might have noticed local supermarkets and electronics stores pil- ing pallets and putting plywood over their windows — a hint something was simmering. Media reported riots in three or four cities where mobs had stormed megastores and made off with f lat-screen TVs, food, motorcycles and just about anything else they could carry. What was the reason for civic unrest? The imposition of a carbon tax by the federal Mexican government had driven up gas prices by 20 per cent, while elec- tricity and gas prices were also increasing. Mexicans were furious, and they took direct action. Back home in Ontario, Premier Kath- leen Wynne's own carbon tax kicked in Jan. 1. While there were no reports of riots, it's clear anger among voters is pal- pable. The provincial government's own polls suggest the government doesn't grasp the average voter's struggles, and the carbon tax is the final straw, says the CBC. It's an important tipping point be- cause in the next 18 months there's going to be a general election. From now until June 2018, the provincial Liberals will be scrambling to undo much of the damage they have done politically in the last two years. Meanwhile, they will also seek to curry favour from an electorate that has had enough, if the polls are just halfway correct. First up, the provincial Liberals will have to come up with some kind of plan to mitigate soaring hydro bills — a pain on which the carbon tax has piled more mis- ery. It's in the works, and Ontario voters can expect something to address this be- fore the provincial government unveils its budget this spring, if not before. The irony is it may mean that, since the provincial government is strapped for revenues, it may end up borrowing more money to pay for that offset or, worse, divert some of that hated carbon tax to lower those hydro rates. There are other problems, too. The Wynne government has yet to stop the f low of untaxed to- bacco and is unwilling or unable to bring First Nations in Ontario into compliance with existing laws. Meanwhile, eHealth re- mains a boondoggle where, despite the billions of dollars spent, there's little progress in deploying a securely acces- sible digital health record da- tabase. Then there's the sale of Hydro One, which has been cited in a lawsuit brought in December by the Ontario branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (alleging the utility is a ne- farious front for a fundraising scheme for the provincial Liberals. Ontario voters aren't stupid. They're getting more cynical by the day as each malfeasance is exposed. That attitude will doubtlessly be stoked further by the dispositions of charges in the 2015 Sudbury byelection, where a campaign manager and a local fundraiser are accused of offering an in- ducement to a nominee to step aside so a specially recruited, former federal NDP MP could run. Then there's the deliber- ate deletion of emails at the premier's of- fice relating to the cancellation of two gas plants to assure a couple of Liberal seats back in the 2011 general election. The task ahead for Wynne and com- pany is daunting and few would be surprised to see a Hail Mary play over the next six months or more before the June 2018 general election. It might even prompt Wynne's resignation to give the provincial Liberals a fighting chance to get out from under her legacy. Ironically, the Liberals' future sits mostly in the hands of the opposition parties. In two general elections, the To- ries have managed to wrest defeat from the jaws of victory, with ill-advised policy announcements. Another fumble by the Tories and the failure of the NDP to rebrand them- selves as the sensible alternative for those left of centre and centre voters who car- ried Wynne to victory in the last election could well trigger a minority govern- ment. It's a bet Wynne is banking on. The 2018 election campaign started last fall and is about to kick into second gear. While there may not be civic unrest on the scale of that in Mexico, expect the ride to get bumpy. LT uIan Harvey has been a journalist for more than 40 years writing about a di- verse range of issues including legal and political affairs. His email address is ianharvey@rogers.com. with the LAO deficit. Twenty-six million dollars is a significant sum. LAO bills itself as "an independ- ent but publicly funded and publicly accountable non-profit corporation." Lawyers who work for and with LAO — as well as the tax-paying public — should receive fulsome answers as to how the deficit occurred from Naqvi and what will happen next. LT Queen's Park Ian Harvey ©2017 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. 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