A Strong Economy

* Providing an additional 17 tax cuts for seniors, businesses and wage-earners;
* Introducing legislation to allow seniors to retire at a time of their choosing;
* Providing a special benefit to meet the unique needs of children who require a helping hand;
* Increasing Ontario Disability Support Program payments to better help people with disabilities lead happier, more productive and dignified lives;
* Introducing a comprehensive approach to Ontario?s energy sector, including increasing supply, creating an integrated conservation plan and ensuring that pricing is stable; and
* Announcing a comprehensive rural strategy aimed at addressing the concerns raised by people in rural communities.

Quality Health Care

* Pledging to help hospitals deal with SARS-related backlogs, compensate workers and protect and promote our economy;
* Engaging Ontario?s health professionals in developing guaranteed wait times for such items as general surgery, cataract procedures, cancer treatment, and MRIs;
* Launching an aggressive nurse recruitment and retention program, as well as breaking down barriers faced by nurse practitioners to expand their numbers and the range of services they are able to provide;
* Improving access to doctors by increasing the number of international medical graduates training to practice in Ontario by 20 percent;
* Providing free tuition for current and future medical school students who agree to practice in under-serviced areas or join Family Health Networks;
* Investing nearly $6.5 million to support the Electronic Child Health Network North;
* Investing $1 billion in a new Cancer Research Institute of Ontario; and
* Committing to an additional 20 MRIs and five new CT scanners.

Excellence in Education

* Creating more than 135,000 new post-secondary student places – the largest capital investment in Ontario universities and colleges since the 1960s;
* Providing $1.6 billion for special education for 2002-03 to make sure these children have the help they need to learn and succeed;
* Allowing athletes, musicians, artists and trades people to act as expert instructors or volunteers;
* Giving parents more choice to enroll their children in any available school within their board. Schools will still give first placement priority to students who live nearby;
* Providing tools and resources to ensure the phonics method of teaching is available to all schools and encourage higher achievement in math by offering elementary school teachers scholarships to become math specialists;
* Increasing annual investment in colleges and universities and demanding better accountability for results; and
* Encouraging young people to seek rewarding and exciting careers in the skilled trades.

Good Government

* Introducing legislation to provide Quality Auditors for health, education and municipal services to ensure that high-quality, effective services are delivered and that funding is used for its intended purpose;
* Requiring unions to operate on principles of democracy, transparency and accountability; and
* Committing to finding new ways to improve and modernize our democratic institutions, such as the consultation process that resulted in the Throne Speech.

Safe and Strong Communities

* Working with Smart Growth panel leaders and citizens to carry out their vision of orderly local development;
* Introducing legislation that would impose lifetime license suspension upon a second drunk driving conviction and direct vehicle seizure in appropriate cases; and
* Providing a $1 billion capital injection to help kick-start the Ontario Opportunity Bonds program to help fund municipal infrastructure investments.

Contacts:
Garfield Dunlop
(705) 327-4500 (cell)
(705) 326-3246 (Orillia office)

Julie Kwiecinski
(416) 325-6176