SPRINGWATER NEWS September 14th for Sept 17 2009

Queen’s Park Report 

The provincial legislature resumed sitting on Monday September 14 and I am honoured to return to the house as your provincial member, as Critic of Community Safety and Correctional Services and as Chair of The Standing Committee on Estimates.

Under Premier Dalton McGuinty, Ontario’s taxes and government waste have hit new heights and being able to review the spending of all ministries from previous years and carefully reviewing planned spending for coming years will be key in turning the economy around. Leader of the Opposition, Tim Hudak recently outlined the principles and values that will guide him as he leads the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party into this session.  Hudak has pointed to three immediate priorities that our party will focus on, including addressing the culture of waste and mismanagement in the Liberal government, historic deficits, high unemployment and the massive Dalton Sales Tax grab.

A year from now there will an extra 8% added to our daily spending. Dalton McGuinty plans to tax a laundry list of goods and services that families and seniors buy every single day. The planned tax hike will increase the cost of common expenditures like household electricity, gas, coffee, haircuts, internet access and even funeral services. We will do all we can to stop this tax grab!

Other items that I plan to raise in the legislature include my Private Member’s Bill,
Bill 32, Waste Disposal Site 41 in the Township of Tiny Act, 2008. This bill received first reading in March of 2008. I plan to move to kill all approvals for this dump site.

Another issue that I will raise deals with the 3400 high school, college and university students employed by the Ontario Government, who found out with their first pay cheques, that vacation and holiday pay they had been promised is not being paid to them. Ads placed by the Ontario Government in the spring, listed the hourly rate, plus 8.16 per cent in lieu of holidays and vacation pay. Now the McGuinty Government is denying the students the 8.16 per cent which will shortfall students greatly. I am calling on the Dalton McGuinty Government to treat all student employees of the Ontario Government with the fairness they deserve and expect.

I will also be urging the Ontario government to come up with funding for the Orillia Campus of Lakehead University. I was pleased to be among dignitaries on hand recently as the federal government gave Lakehead University’s Orillia Campus, $13 million, towards its phase one construction project. I feel it is time the province came to the table to provide matching funds to help make this university project prosper and create economic wealth in the area.

I look forward to this fall session of the Ontario Legislature that will produce positive steps to strengthen our province.