(Queen’s Park) –Garfield Dunlop, MPP stood up in the house today and demanded the resignation of the Hon. Michael Colle, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration over the slush fund scandal. Furthermore, Mr. Dunlop asked the Minister to have the Auditor General called in to review the gross mismanagement of taxpayers’ dollars.

Mr. Dunlop’s question was based on a letter he received from Orillia Resident and President of the United Seniors Citizens of Ontario, Mrs. Marie Smith and as a result of Saturday’s editorial from the Orillia Packet and Times.

Mr. Dunlop’s question from Hansard is enclosed.

Mr. Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North):
My question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. It concerns the slush fund that he’s running. Today we’re hearing about an organization that managed to get $250,000 from your year-end slush fund. I have here a letter from Mrs. Marie Smith, president of the United Senior Citizens of Ontario, the oldest grassroots organization in Ontario. They represent over 1,000 clubs and 300,000 seniors in our province. They didn’t know about their slush fund and they could have used some help. The process was not fair and was not transparent. The minister picked who got the money, on what basis we really don’t know. The auditor must be called in and the minister must resign. Will the minister call in the Auditor General and will he resign? I would like a yes or no on that, please.

Hon. Mr. Colle:
I want to say again that there are many needs in this province, whether they be in volunteer groups, seniors’ groups or newcomer groups. My ministry has tried to do its part with a lot of other ministries. We’ve tried to invest in programs and in capacity improvement for their buildings. We’ve done that across Ontario. There’s much more to do. That’s why we’re making the process even better so my ministry can at least do more of its part with a direct online application.

There are many, many more deserving groups. I agree with the member: We have to do more and we are trying to do more.

Mr. Dunlop:
Minister, I’m sure President Marie Smith and the United Senior Citizens Of Ontario will be pleased to print your answer in their newsletter and distribute it to the 300,000 members.

Minister, this Saturday, May 5, the editorial in the Orillia Packet and Times read, “At the very least, this brewing scandal should spell the end of Colle’s time as citizenship and immigration minister. His response to the controversy has been unsatisfactory.

“Ontario taxpayers deserve better.”

Minister, will you do what is right and resign your position?

Hon. Mr. Colle:
I want to say that I have a role as minister to try and help volunteer groups. Part of that is, I invest in senior’s organizations all over the province, along with other ministers. As I said, there are many organizations that need more help. We are trying to do our best.

One of my mandates is to ensure that our newcomers who are also seniors get some help. In these investments we’ve made, you’ll see we’ve made investments in seniors’ organizations that also reach out to many newcomers. As much as we emphasize foreign-trained individuals, there are many newcomers who are now grandparents who need support and need these services too, so we’re trying to do that also.

You can’t solve everybody’s problems, but we’re trying to meet the needs. That’s why we’re making the process even better to provide even more services for seniors, whether they’ve been here for many generations or recently arrived.

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For further information contact:

Garfield Dunlop
705-327-4500 (cell)