Questions surround McGuinty decision

With the surprising resignation of Premier Dalton McGuinty earlier this week, Ontario’s future appears more unstable than ever before. Many politicians and constituents are highly critical of McGuinty’s shocking decision, however the fact remains that Ontario is a province crippling under debt.

While McGuinty intends on continuing his position as premier until a new leader is found, it still leaves many Ontario citizens confused and angry that McGuinty even bothered running again last year.

But what will perhaps anger Ontarians the most is the fact that in addition to stepping down, McGuinty is requesting the prorogation of the legislature. At a time when the province is facing critical issues, closing the doors on Queen’s Park will do more harm than good.

Whether he cracked under the pressure of our debt crisis or lost his ability to deal with the harsh criticism that surrounded his rampant wage cutting campaigns, it appears McGuinty’s number was simply up. It is difficult to argue against those who believe McGuinty made a mess of the province, and it seemed there was no chance he would be able to clean it up.

The complaints about McGuinty’s tenure at Queen’s Park are plentiful, however his government’s work with post-secondary education was largely commendable.

Programs like the Ontario Tuition Grant — despite the fact it only benefitted about half of the province’s student — and the several investments made in colleges and universities during McGuinty’s time in office showed the government’s support of post-secondary education. And we don’t need to look very far to find a university that has reaped the benefits.

Whether it’s the $72 million the provincial government invested in Laurier’s Global Innovation Exchange building project, or the Liberal program to fund a new satellite university campus in Milton, for which WLU is the frontrunner, McGunity has certainly been a friend to this university.

So while some will be happy to see McGuinty go, it is important to remember the ramifications of a massive shakeup of this kind in provincial politics.

–The Cord Editorial Board