Mr Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North): Following the largest tax increase in Ontario's history, Dalton McGuinty is poised to make another community safety blunder by shutting down Project Turnaround, a successful strict discipline program for young offenders, which is located in my riding, by the way.

The move begs several questions: Why would the government eliminate a program that has proven to help troubled youth turn their lives around, and why so when they have been doing it at a 33% lower per diem rate? Why would Dalton McGuinty support a higher rate of reoffence for young offenders? The statistics speak for themselves: Graduates of the Project Turnaround program have a 17% lower rate of reoffence than the average rate for other facilities in our province.

I'd better answer these questions because I already know we can't get a straight answer out of our Liberal friends across the way. The government despises the private sector. When it shows it can be efficient and effective, like in the case of Project Turnaround, instead of admitting that the operator is doing a great job, this government wants to waltz in and close down the shop. That's bad business. But let's not forget how Dalton McGuinty would really look good in the eyes of his union buddy leaders if he rid the corrections system of the private sector operator.

As critic for community safety and correctional services, I believe the closure of Project Turnaround would be another example of just how soft on crime the Liberals really are. I strongly suggest that Dalton McGuinty start working on balancing the province's books instead of using the closure of Project Turnaround to repay his election debts to his union leader buddies.