About the Starlink contract…

Today, I received a question about the contract signed by the Ford government to provide Internet services to Northern Ontario. The question and my answer is provided below.

The QUESTION

Hello Gene,

I posed this same question to Lori Scott, and has she has not yet answered after a couple of weeks, I figured that I would ask the same of every candidate in her riding.

Late last year, Ontario signed a contract with Starlink to provide internet in Northern Ontario. However, the owner of Starlink, Elon Musk, was more recently seen giving nazi salutes openly in public. I believe this to be contrary to our values as a province.

If you were elected, would you work towards ending this contract to send a clear message that the Ontario government opposes the white nationalist movement?

Thank you for your time

My ANSWER

Thank you for your question.

As a former business professional, business owner and board member who worked primarily in the Information Technology sector, I have always evaluated products and services on their merits. If elected, I would do the same. I would ignore politicized messaging like the claim about Elon Musk because it is irrelevant to the business case. Notwithstanding the opinions expressed by many people about the “salute” incident, the only consideration about the Starlink contract should be: “Is it the best choice available to serve the needs of the Ontario residents for whom it is intended”. All other considerations are unnecessary distractions.

Your reference to “the white nationalist movement” is curious since you offered no proof than one exists. Also, you said “Elon Musk was recently seen giving nazi salutes openly in public”. Did he ever claim to be a Nazi sympathizer to your knowledge? Do you have proof he is one? While I have heard this claim elsewhere, I chalked it up to attempts by his detractors to discredit him for an innocent arm gesture that had nothing to do with nazis.

May I ask which group or organization do you represent?

Regards

Gene Balfour
INDEPENDENT for LESS GOVERNMENT

Lori Scott

Our sitting Conservative MPP for the riding of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, Lori Scott, was unlikely to have been involved in Ford’s decision regarding Starlink for Northern Ontario. It’s not her jurisdiction and, besides, the Lori I know would likely have the same opinion about the “nazi salute” incident as me.

The Conservatives, likely with Lori’s involvement, have undertaken investments to bring Internet services to Eastern Ontario and likely chose to contract with the service providers based on merit over other partisan, ideological considerations.

I am hoping that Lori, if she is re-elected, will take to heart my major political and economic concerns about too much government and act accordingly over the next four years.