By Jim Cotton - I never thought this day would come , but I am happy it did. Ginny Devine has never looked happier , too . She can finally move on with her life.
I want to touch on Gary Doer's legacy and bring everyone back to reality for a moment. Let's check out the last 10 years. What will Gary Doer be remembered for ?
We remember he was elected on a promise to fix hallway medicine in 6 months with $15 Million. He didn't get it done.
Then there were scandals, such as Hydra House, and the crocus fund ponzi scheme where Manitobans lost millions and Doer sweep it under the rug , refusing to spend a couple million on a inquiry to get to the bottom of the crime.
Under Doer, street gangs took a strong foothold in Winnipeg. We become the car theft and murder capital of Canada.
There was the disastrous tuition freeze that choked our post-secondary institutions of money.
There have been dozens of children who have been murdered while under CFS watch.
Gary Doer started promoting and advertising gambling to Manitobans. Addiction rates have soared under Doer's watch.
Doer has raised taxes by increasing fees on many services, such as adding PST to many services and increasing car registration for example.
Under Gary Doer , Manitoba Hydro has been driven into the ground , by poor decisions and risky practices. We have yet to see the crap hit the fan on that, but we will in 10-20 years. The debt has risen every year since Doer was in power, and he changed accounting methods to cover it up.
Then we have the Photo Radar scam, where Doer refused to refund thousands of illegally issued tickets. And don't forget Rebategate, where Doer and his party defrauded taxpayers and gave the head of Elections Manitoba a massive raise to cover it up.
And don't forget the 18 Emergency rooms he closed in rural Manitoba. There are many promises that have been announced and re announced that he has never completed. Will Gimli ever see a dialysis unit ?
Don't forget Brian Sinclair and the cover-up that followed.
I could go on and on , but when it comes to Gary Doer's legacy, there is more bad then good. I can't remember many good things he has done.
Banned cell phone use while driving is the best thing I think he did , but any monkey could do do that. OK, maybe expanding the Floodway, but he couldn't resist funneling money back to his union cronies when he forced unionization on all the workers. And he didn't even get that done, he ran out of money before all the bridges were replaced.
Just because Gary Doer served 2.5 terms as Premier does not make him great. Even his government press release announcing his resignation today couldn't really point out anything great that he has done.
Gary Doer will be remembered in the future as one of the worst premiers in Manitoba's history.
Posted by ManitobaPost.com at Thursday, August 27, 2009 
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