Live Chat Archive

 

James____Jim__Christie Josh Jutras James____Jim__Christie Doug_Lewis Josh Jutras James____Jim__Christie Doug_Lewis

Good evening Hi Jim Good evening all Howdy. Good evening to both of you. I'm on iPad Doug so I will see how things are as we start off. Rog. Good reception wherever you are? Yep. Downtown Toronto. Meeting with a couple of key liberals at James____Jim__Christie 1930 so I will stay on as long lon g as I can Hi Jim, watched your address of the SBM, you touched on just about everything, including the sometimes limited participation by members Robert Ferguson on the chat system. You would think that the benefit issue alone would have people signing on in droves.... Thomas Kaudelka Hello all Todd_Provost Evening all. I hear you loud and clear Robert. Our folks are busy and I am trying to get as much on line as possible so people can either participate or read

James____Jim__Christie at their leisure. The benefits issue is a live one despite the fact we are in full election mode right now. The Libs are saying all the right things so far and that will be getting worked on each and every day until the polls are open Todd_Provost Ken, you're still on holidays, dedication! Kenneth_Sexton Hi All. Martin_Bain Hi Ken, how were the V days? Kenneth_Sexton Todd. Insanity..... Doug_Lewis The Shawn T workout, Ken? ;) Martin. Busy doing home stuff. Who the heck plans a Branch meeting Kenneth_Sexton on their holidays? Good evening am going go ingare to throw out some info state the union as far as all theI elections comin g coming and some of on thethe wa ways ys weofwill James____Jim__Christie  be engaging with you in order to make sure you are informed on the issues as they relate to our present and future. Polls are showing a pretty steady move from a PC lead to a migration to the liberals. Ipsos is the only polling company compan y who still has the PC James____Jim__Christie up but the rest of liberal leads from 3 for fo r abacus and forum who  polled the Libs ahead by 7. NDP showing a distant third. This will change as the tv ad campaign takes off Christopher Hoffman Good evening all Kenneth_Sexton Hi Chris. Jim, try this one at your meeting with Libs. All 3 of the major parties Robert Ferguson have had their kick at the can at running the province over the last 30

 

years. Ask them that if elected, what will they the y do (or not do), an any y differently than their predecessors have done or not done? Christopher Hoffman hey Ken welcome home Our communication strategy will commence with this evening and will include a telephone townhall on the 4th of June and by that time James____Jim__Christie you will have access to the electronic magazine by weeks end. The magazine include questions we specifically posed to the three leaders andwill their responses. Todd_Provost Working on the magazine as we speak Good question Robert - goes without saying that Wynne is trying to distance herself from scandal but our real issue has been the premier’s James____Jim__Christie office not having a good enough handle on what is happening in the ministries. Case in point them thinking they could mess with our current members benefit funding without us taking major action. How are we getting the word out o ut to our retirees who as a rule h have ave John Flesher  been a conservative block of voters??? Ironically at a time when the Libs should be very vulnerable (for all the right reasons), the PC leader continues to make apparently poor James____Jim__Christie move after poor move. 100,000 job reduction in the public service is a good example. The PC commercials are out as well as the Liberals but NDP seem Kenneth_Sexton quiet. Maybe Andrea is over her head. Flesh - Doug and I attended the vets Adam on Friday and I updated them entirely on the situation and our upcoming u pcoming strategy. I asked them to put aside their historical political leanings and do what is best for James____Jim__Christie our members which is not a Tim Hudak government. They were most receptive and I had a few hours of good conversation into the evening with the delegates. Ken - the NDP called an election while still in debt from the last one. Therefore no money for big Ad buys. b uys. Not too clever I would su suggest. ggest. were offered more budgetthat than asked for and James____Jim__Christie They still pulled the trigger on in anthe election nothey one even but the pcs wanted and one that I don't believe they have a chance in hell of winning Brett_Alton good evening all James____Jim__Christie Hi scooby Doug_Lewis Hey, Brett. Christopher Hoffman Hello Brett. Brett_Alton Hey Jim. Kenneth_Sexton Hi Brett Brett_Alton Hi guys. What have I missed Those that are in power only onl y concern is remaining in power, and tho those se Robert Ferguson that are not in power only concern con cern is getting into power. Meanwhile

 

nobody gives a care about running the province. Not to mention the immense waste of the public tax dollars d ollars by all parties....  Now to broach the subject of doing something that the OPPA has not had to do in our 60 years of existence. Run a tv ad criticizing Tim James____Jim__Christie Hudak. This will commence through social media and our website and we will start airing two 15 second Ads across the Province on Monday night. Thoughts? Speaking as a retiree, my fear is that someone in government needs to rein in the spending, because my kids and their kids will not be able to continue to pay for my government pension, etc. However, as noted Hudak has foot in mouth disease, and seems too close to being a Tea Dave Osborne Party candidate, no friend of the unions and those wanting to earn a living wage. Unfortunately, there is no party part y in the middle, though Andrea may be trying. Am I hearing that in general, the Liberals are the party of choice, barring local circumstances? Like having Garfield Dunlop in my riding? Robert Ferguson Well put Dave.... I would assume Ken asked a question in regards to election ads. It seems the only ads I can find are PC ones. And I have a hard time not Brett_Alton throwing something at my television when ever Hudak opens his mouth Interesting article last week about the ghosts of leaders past for all John Flesher three parties. Hudak has done a good job of keeping the ghosts of Ipperwash and his wife Deb Hutton out of o f the media! Good points Dave. Tim is certainly not the PC leader we have seen in years past. He makes Mike Harris appear to be a moderate! Ontario  politics have historically been one that has the NDP on the left and the  pics and Libs fighting for the middle. This time there is a clear choice. James____Jim__Christie Two year mandatory wage freezes, blowing up our arbitration system and a defined contribution pension for new police personnel was enough to make me recommend to the board that we pull the trigger (excuse the pun) on the ads. Jim, your right that we have never had to do that before, but the PC's Robert Letts have never had a leader so right wing as this. Good point John. She is known as strong and silent behind the scenes. James____Jim__Christie For everyone else, Tim's wife was mike Harris chief of staff. Very Ver y hard core and not a great fan of our during the Ipperwash situation John Flesher if he turns to just the right angle you can see the strings...:) In Parry Sound-Muskoka, Norm Miller could be caught with his winker hanging out and still win the election. I think we should run Kenneth_Sexton some adds but I believe all we have to do is let Tim Hudak keep talking Agreed Bob - good news is we have been forecasting and preparing James____Jim__Christie for is for over a year and a half and have had the ads in the can for a

 

Brett_Alton

long time. We met with the pcs and some key folks but Tim was clear, we are no different than any other oth er public service employee and will not be treated differently. We shall see how that tactic works It seems every day the polls change chang e from the liberals having the lead to the PCs. Where do they stand today? I am for the OPPA ads... but bu t would want it clear it is a criticism of

Dave Osborne

Hudak, andGarfield the policies he riding espouses... for, asasI said, be to the supporting in my - probably good Iawill friend OPP as there is... I hear ya Brett - the ads are a re Tim specific and although they the y will affect the ridings in some parts of the province the strongholds will be unaffected. Garfield Dunlop, norm Millar, john Yakabuski will all win James____Jim__Christie  by major margins. There are many who are resigned to defeat and the chance of a bright future under un der a more moderate leader with realistic  proposals It is interesting to see in this riding that Frank Klees owned since the Robert Letts mid 90's that he has not been seen a great deal with our new PC canidate Garfield is Dave heto has withthat me we going after leader. James____Jim__Christie When I say that Ibut refer hisnounderstanding unproblem derstanding must do his all we can to protect our future. Latest polls of note have the Libs leading by 7 and 3 respectively. James____Jim__Christie Ipsos continue to show a PC lead but even that is tightening. I can tell you in my area the NDP are strong and will probably win Brett_Alton again even if there is a minimal turnout for the vote. How do our GR folks see Hudak skipping the northern debate having John Flesher on the campaign? Likely why Tim didn't bother to show up for tonight's Northern Doug_Lewis Ontario debate... I will be speaking with some experts who are watching and polling at James____Jim__Christie a riding by riding level. This will assist us in getting involved in a tight race if we feel the polls are trending toward Tim. Same thought, John - wish I could type without looking at m my y Doug_Lewis fingers... ;) I think the ads are a great idea, the other associations may stand u up p David Vittie and take notice as well.. Flesh and Doug - different thoughts but I believe he did not want to James____Jim__Christie tip his hand to the other two and as they have little chance of success up north they have made the calculated decision to give it a miss. There was a suggestion in the paper over the weekend it's calculated Doug_Lewis to let the ladies fight it out while he stays away. Seems klike he fired his cannon too early with the 100,000 job cuts John Flesher and now he's out trying to find .22 shells.........

 

Tim was in Peterborough today and messaged to “Government Union Martin_Bain  bosses" that there will be no $$ for wage increases, " not on my watch" he says. Dave- I will be briefing the TPA and the PAO on Friday an and d in person with the TPA tomorrow. Will be interesting to see where they the y stand on this. If you are going to get involved and invest time and money in James____Jim__Christie  building a political profile for your organization, you need to step up at this most vital time for our future. I hope they the y see it that way. We could use the help in Toronto to ensure the pcs don't break through. I agree the ads need to be put out. At our latest branch meeting the Brett_Alton members (who took the time to attend) questioned who the OPPA is supporting. We have a branch meeting on Thursday and I'm sure the questions Tyler_Holmes will be asked as to who we are supporting. I have been asked plenty of times at detachment level already.  North Bay with Vic Fedelli is a shoe in as well so Tim can avoid Kenneth_Sexton heading that way. He does not have to go North of 7. Hard to believe we are only on ly 15 years past the time when w wee did all we James____Jim__Christie

Brett_Alton

David Vittie James____Jim__Christie

could getaErnie in power and to work same If party pahe rtydoesn't where Hudaktowas juniorEves minister married the with chiefthe of staff. respect us or what our members do then he needs to learn a valuable lesson and more importantly the next PC leader and caucus will not make the same mistake, I told them the association is not about to put all their eggs in one  basket, and they should be able to tell for themselves who should be supported. I have been seeing alot of messaging from the TPA retirees regarding support for the PC party, most of that is based upon past allegiance and dislike for the current premier... Vic is a candidate to replace Tim and he is more right wing that I

would like but let's see what that translates to after Tim is gone, is it a given then that if the PCs lose this election they will be showing Brett_Alton Tim the back door? Tyler -I will be in St. Thomas for the meeting on Tuesday night and quite a few in the coming weeks. Dave - that is consistent and is also a James____Jim__Christie result with how little the TPA are messaging to the membership and vets. In their Defense they do not work for the government but the they y are subject to changes in an arbitration etc. Brett- I've been telling people who I don't think we should support but Tyler_Holmes then the conversation always turns to the Liberals and the scandals etc... Hard to defend unfortunately. Unfortunately a lot of the senior guys in Toronto are Polarized by Christopher Hoffman

what happened withBob Rae andFord the liberal social agenda that hadback gonein onthe in day the City Hence Rob

 

Brett_Alton

I agree Tyler. The liberals did not help themselves there This is the issue Tyler-devil or deep blue sea. The e magazine should assist. We asked the questions and have published the responses James____Jim__Christie unedited. When you see them they will be hard pressed to make an argument for the Hudak camp Tyler_Holmes Can't wait to see them Jim Thankfully we have done a good job in trying to educate our membership over the last several years which seems to have worked with our members more knowledgable about todays PC's under Hudak Tyler, re: scandals, worthy of note that all 3 parties said they'd cancel Doug_Lewis the plants in Oakville and Mississauga. Of course, the NDP and PC doesn't mention this now. Friday I hope to have them to you and the troops Tyler. The key will  be the telephone townhall on the fourth. Would be cool to get at least James____Jim__Christie 100 on the call from across the province so we can share the info prior to the 12th. Robert Ferguson Doug, hence the immense waste of the public tax dollars.......... Yes, but it is the liberals who have pulled the crap with benefit

Christopher Hoffman

Brett_Alton

 premiums that have the members questioning heads or tails when they walk into the voting booth Are Smokey and Sid going to continue their battle through election John Flesher day, Jim or is that labour front going to be split too ? Libs are lucky to be alive given the gas plant and ehealth to name but two. But on a pure police and OPPA specific we will need to see how James____Jim__Christie they react to our assisting them to get out of the benefits mess they have landed us in. This one is a tough one for sure to communicate Doug. That's the frustrating part right. The other parties would have done the same but the average people don't know or care about that. Tyler_Holmes They just go along with what the media prints. Sorry for double posts. On iOS watchin my daughters at gymnastics. We are being forced to choose c hoose the lesser of 3 evils here. Which o one ne will be the best for our memberships future Labour is upset with the NDP for rolling the dice and even NDP stalwart unions like ONA and the new UNIFOR and other unions like James____Jim__Christie OPSEU and CUPE are going to be working specific riding on a "anyone but Hudak" mantra. Our Association colleagues in the US have been dealing with this Todd_Provost dilemma for the past few years, where people's people 's historical political allegiances end up with them voting against their own self-interest Smokey and Sid will never get along - Sid has the luxury of being James____Jim__Christie able to spout off without having an actual local membership. Smokey has to support his troops Martin_Bain

 

Dave Osborne John Flesher

Martin... Don't forget about our kid's future as well... Unfortunately, Tea Party Trickle Down economics is not the answer... Still leaving the lesser of three evils. Osprey newspaper chain did a "10 key ridings" piece. Do we have key ridings that we can target to get the vote out ??? Would those Unions "attacking" Hudak be enough for us to not

release ourago adds Jim? I remember wheninthe t eachers few years it always left a bad taste myteachers mouth. had Not attack sayingadds I a don't support the adds because I truly do but wondered what the fallout could be? I think that we are going to chose the best Candidate for the riding. Kenneth_Sexton Hudak could have good people like Garfield and end up taking this. Someone asked me the other night. What happens if the Liberals get Brett_Alton in again and table their budget a second time and it gets squashed again. I didn't know how to answer that one. Oz - the Libs are hacking and slashing the ops with reckless abandon also. No new money. For collective bargaining in the next few years if James____Jim__Christie they win. They have already slashed the public service by 5% and we Tyler_Holmes

already have the lowest number of civil servants to population ratio in the country PCs intend to gut us anyway an yway if they get in, Tyler - like man many y have Doug_Lewis said, identify the least of the 3 evils. Tyler_Holmes Doug- gotcha. Makes sense. Tyler - you ask the question that has been keeping me awake for months, If we do nothing he will gut us if he wins and if we run the ads and do some media he will gut us anyway. Saying that, we won't James____Jim__Christie  be carpet bombing the airwaves with a million dollars in ads which we will explain after the fact as a measured approach app roach to Tim and not the  party David Vittie Thats a great way to put it Doug. It is safe to assume whichever party wins it will again be a minority government Kenneth_Sexton Ok. What is the lessor of three evils? More than likely but don't rule out a small majority. If I was betting I James____Jim__Christie would say 70% minority and 30%majority. All depends dep ends on who gets out the vote James____Jim__Christie Ken -the Libs. Ken, that's why other unions will be campaigning on the anyone but Doug_Lewis Hudak line. Better to figure out which one has the best chance to defeat the PC locally and flow support to him/her. And what happens if we do such a good job of Anyone but Hudak an Tyler_Holmes the Libs get a majority. How does that affect us? Brett_Alton

 

Getting the vote out will be a big factor for sure, as it was in the last federal election 6 scenarios and only one will hurt us in the short term. NDP minority or majority= we win Liberal minority or majority -= we win PC James____Jim__Christie majority = we lose PC minority = we win because they will not pass a  budget and wynne and horvath (or their leaders) will go to the lg and form a coalition government Have a liberal minority and hope that the PC's have the smarts to dtch Robert Letts Hudak and get a better leader Christopher Hoffman That would be the ideal Bob Lib majority is my best case scenario at the moment Tyler - we have James____Jim__Christie  been working this angle hard enough that I am meeting with their leadership tonight at their request and not ours. Doug. Like I said earlier, you will not see many Libs and NDP around Kenneth_Sexton my area. Many wanted to dump him when he lost in 2011 - another loss and Doug_Lewis he's toast. Bob - who is the new candidate in your riding - anyone with name Thomas Kaudelka

Thomas Kaudelka

cache? Well if they ditch him then he can be one of the people in their next Brett_Alton ads who says he is out of a job and looking for work. You are correct ken and that the same for large parts of rural Ontario. James____Jim__Christie But except for Doug Holliday in ethnic ole the pcs can't get a foothold in Toronto...that's where the seats are. That's one riding, Ken, with a PC already. What we want is no new Doug_Lewis PC ground gained. James____Jim__Christie Holyday the PC canidate is a lady named Jyne Twinney who is a local Robert Letts counselor and no relation to Ray Twinney John Flesher Thomas Kaudelka Brett_Alton Kenneth_Sexton John Flesher Robert Letts

Then he'd need to create 1 million, 1hundred thousand and one jobs, Brett...... gotcha. Interesting comment on Doug Holyday - he got through in large part because of the support of the Ford brothers, whose fortunes have changed drastically of late absolutely Jim and Doug. I hear ya.. Other than the ads, Jim, are we doing anything on electronic media that is election related?? In relation to Doug Holiday considering his name recognition in Etobicoke he barely won, so with any luck that shows how hard it will  be in Toronto for the PC's

 

Did I miss anything new folks- I got a screen freeze..my meeting guests are wondering why we are typing t yping furiously and I have James____Jim__Christie explained because they dropped the ball and tried to mess with our  benefits.. A few heads dropped to the table. Thomas Kaudelka Hopefully Doug_Lewis Nice gotcha, boss! ;) Tyler_Holmes Brett_Alton James____Jim__Christie Bruce Quigg Paul Caccamo

James____Jim__Christie Robert Ferguson James____Jim__Christie Kenneth_Sexton Bruce Quigg James____Jim__Christie John Flesher Doug_Lewis Tyler_Holmes John Flesher Dave Osborne Todd_Provost Martin_Bain Doug_Lewis Thomas Kaudelka

Well played Jim Touche' Jim Flesh - we will be hammering hard on social media and our tv ads will most likely generate a bit of press. Our release will probably be picked up. What happens if the green party wins.......do we all get MM. I just checked electionprediction.org and they show etobicoke as "too close to call" right now. I have found that site to be prett pretty y accurate in the past. I can't stress enough how much we all. Need to push the telephone townhall. It is better sometimes to hear the nuance in the language and not the written word. Nice to see the increased numbers signing on this evening..... Darn Bruce -dropped the ball on that one...geez Jim. Tell them if our Benefits don't work out and their elections we will be looking for 1,000 new employees. emp loyees. Focus Mr President... on the realities as you are. It's a good site Paul. Folks. I have to sign off now and turn it over to Martin and the rest of the board.... Goodnight all. Post the Telephone Townhall link on the Member Discounts page ................ A great idea, Flesh! ;) We have a Member Discount page? Haha Other than the PSB penalties it is the most read and they don't allow free rides........ Jim et al... Thanks for the clarification of my muddification... Appreciated. There will be co-ordinated messaging in the magazine, social media, the Telephone Town Hall, Blast Outs, and direct on our website Hopefully this election and the attacks on benefits and wages will get some more members on the telephone townhall. The more informed we all are, the better. Nice to have you with us, Dave! Any Branch meetings between now and 04 June are pefect opportunities to spread the word on the Town Hall.

 

John Flesher Martin_Bain Doug_Lewis Brett_Alton Josh Jutras Tyler_Holmes Todd_Provost Doug_Lewis Doug_Lewis Christopher Hoffman Brett_Alton Kenneth_Sexton Todd_Provost John Flesher Brett_Alton Thomas Kaudelka  

Any chance of getting a flyer that we can print and post for our "old school" members??? Thanks for attending the chat all. Much appreciated. If 13 Branch can find a speaker phone, they may be able to have the Town Hall on during their meeting June 4th in Little Current. Couldn't miss this one Martin. John - I will create a flyer for the townhall and send out. Take care all. Flesh, the magazine pages are PDF and can be printed out Sounds easy, John - mention it on Wednesday on the conference call. Good night, all. Night All be safe. night Doug see you at thegolf tournament you are in my foursome Thanks all. Good Chat. Thanks for logging on, night all. Thank you Todd and Josh! Excellent! Good night! Will be sleeping on Wednesday so Harold will be covering for me on the call, doug.... good night Take care folks. As always, stay safe