NEWS

Days before the 2010 Budget, Dalton McGuinty has been caught sneaking in a new $53 million hidden hydro tax.

The McGuinty Liberals have secretly signed an obscure regulation under the so-called ‘Green Energy Act’ that will apply a brand new charge to every hydro bill in Ontario.  This charge will be applied in a similar fashion to the existing Hydro Debt Retirement Charge that all families are forced to pay.  Suspiciously, the McGuinty Government pulled all references to this tax increase from government websites mere hours after the details of this tax increase first surfaced.

The new Liberal hidden hydro tax will be applied to bills along with Dalton McGuinty’s $3 billion HST tax grab which will drive up hydro bills by an additional 8%.

QUOTES

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

QUICK FACTS

• In their so-called ‘Green Energy Act’, the McGuinty Liberals amended section 26.1 of the Ontario Energy Board Act to give themselves the power to force energy utilities to collect tax revenue on behalf of the government.

• On March 12, 2010, with no advance notification or public warning, the McGuinty Liberals used this power to force energy utilities to collect in $53,695,310 in new taxes.  The regulation appeared online on March 17, only to mysteriously vanish on March 18.

News

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak held a groundbreaking electronic town hall to receive input from Ontario voters in advance of the 2010 Ontario Budget.

Tonight, 1,400 Ontarians joined the call with Hudak to share their ideas on how to create jobs in Ontario. Callers were also polled on important issues like the HST, LHINs, taxes and government priorities.

Hudak is the first political leader in Canada to use Teleforum electronic town hall technology, which allows individuals to connect with a large number of people at the same time through a telephone town hall meeting.

The electronic town hall is the latest example of how Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Caucus are using cutting edge technology to connect with more Ontario families. Earlier this month, Hudak became the first Canadian political leader to offer his own iPhone App.

Quotes

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Quick Facts

• During the electronic town hall, Hudak asked a series of questions and callers voted in real time on their phones. The results showed:
  • Participants were most concerned about job creation and lowering the tax burden on Ontario families;
  • 93% of participants were opposed to the HST and 95% did not support Dalton McGuinty’s severance to HST tax collectors; and
  • 71% of participants thought that the dollars spent on LHINs would be better invested elsewhere in the healthcare system.
• Tim Hudak pioneered the use of Teleforum during the Ontario PC Leadership campaign. He is the first Canadian political leader to use this technology.

News

Dalton McGuinty has been caught trying to sneak a new energy tax onto to the hydro bills of Ontario families.

The public was not given advance warning or information on the McGuinty Government’s new $53 million hydro tax. The McGuinty Liberals were so intent on keeping this new tax secret that they actually pulled the regulation governing this tax grab from all government websites mere hours after the public began asking questions.

The new Liberal hidden hydro tax will be applied directly to hydro bills. It will be applied in addition to Dalton McGuinty’s $3 billion HST tax grab which will drive up hydro bills by an additional 8%.

Quotes

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Quick Facts

In the fine-print of their so-called ‘Green Energy Act’, the McGuinty Liberals amended section 26.1 of the Ontario Energy Board Act to give themselves the power to force energy utilities to collect tax revenue on behalf of the government.

On March 12, 2010, with no advance notification or public warning, the McGuinty Liberals used this power to introduce a regulation that will force energy utilities to collect in $53,695,310 in new taxes. The regulation appeared online on March 17, only to mysteriously vanish on March 18.

Dalton McGuinty’s Hidden Hydro Tax is the fifth separate tax, charge, or price increase that is being imposed on Ontario families. The McGuinty Liberals are also forcing Ontario families to pay more through the Provincial Benefits Tax, the Ontario Hydro Debt Retirement Charge, the Special Samsung Tax, as well as increased base energy prices from their so-called ‘Smart Meters’. On July 1, the McGuinty Liberals will also begin collecting the 13% HST on every hydro bill.

Minister of Energy Brad Duguid has admitted that the size of the Liberal Hidden Hydro Tax is not fixed and could easily be increased next year.

NEWS

Days before the 2010 Budget, Dalton McGuinty has been caught sneaking in a new $53 million hidden hydro tax.

The McGuinty Liberals have secretly signed an obscure regulation under the so-called ‘Green Energy Act’ that will apply a brand new charge to every hydro bill in Ontario.  This charge will be applied in a similar fashion to the existing Hydro Debt Retirement Charge that all families are forced to pay.  Suspiciously, the McGuinty Government pulled all references to this tax increase from government websites mere hours after the details of this tax increase first surfaced.

The new Liberal hidden hydro tax will be applied to bills along with Dalton McGuinty’s $3 billion HST tax grab which will drive up hydro bills by an additional 8%.

QUOTES

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

QUICK FACTS

• In their so-called ‘Green Energy Act’, the McGuinty Liberals amended section 26.1 of the Ontario Energy Board Act to give themselves the power to force energy utilities to collect tax revenue on behalf of the government.

• On March 12, 2010, with no advance notification or public warning, the McGuinty Liberals used this power to force energy utilities to collect in $53,695,310 in new taxes.  The regulation appeared online on March 17, only to mysteriously vanish on March 18.

News

SARNIA – Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak and Sarnia – Lambton MPP Bob Bailey today called for Dalton McGuinty’s broken LHIN model to be replaced by a system that focuses on patients, seniors, families and front line care.

Hudak and Bailey made their call after meeting with local Sarnia senior Adrien McCabe. Ms. McCabe’s husband passed away in 2008 from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Mr. McCabe had previously been denied a diagnostic biopsy at a London Hospital due to a bureaucratic rule blocking the treatment of patients from outside the Southwest LHIN.

Hudak repeated his call for the LHIN system to be replaced by one that is more sensitive to the needs of patients, seniors and families while directing resources away from bureaucracy and towards improved frontline care.

Quotes

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Bob Bailey, Ontario PC MPP for Sarnia – Lambton

Quick Facts

• Dalton McGuinty created a new layer of bureaucracy with his so-called “Local Health Integration Networks” (LHINs). Since 2006-2007, more than $176 million health care dollars have been diverted away from Ontario families and directed towards salaries and administration at these boards.
• In 2006, 40 Liberal appointees to these local health boards made it on the Sunshine List. Between 2006 and 2009, total executive salaries at local health boards increased by 213%. 95 health board executives appeared on the 2008 Sunshine List with 15 executives making more than $200,000. The average salary of a local health board CEO is more than $261,000.

News

WALLACEBURG – The Ontario PC Caucus has uncovered previously secret documents confirming that the McGuinty Liberal appointees on the Erie – St. Clair Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) were engaged in handing out the same kinds of untendered contracts that produced the infamous Liberal eHealth scandal.

In total, Dalton McGuinty’s Erie – St. Clair regional health bureaucracy diverted more than $650,000 from frontline patient care and into the pockets of well connected consultants and insiders. This untendered contract spree is made all the more outrageous when compared to the ongoing controversy surrounding the possible closure of the emergency room at the Sydenham District Hospital.

In addition to Liberal-friendly consultants, the McGuinty Government appointees on these regional health bureaucracies are also getting rich off of Ontario’s health care dollars. Between 2006 and 2009, total executive salaries at the LHINS increased by 213%. Today the average salary of a LHIN CEO is more than $261,000.

Quotes

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Quick Facts

One untendered contract with Keeler and Associates paid $650 per day to oversee other LHIN contracts.

The firm Black Stone Partners received a $19,000 untendered contract from the Erie – St. Clair LHIN to create a “value based culture” at the LHIN. Black Stone quickly demonstrated this ‘value based’ culture by overbilling twice the amount of the initial contract – more than $38,000 in all.

A Liberal-friendly consultant billed the patients and families $45 for a book entitled “Stop Rising Health Care Costs”.

NEWS

BARRIE – Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak today addressed the Barrie & District Association of Realtors and expressed his belief that any economic recovery plan must include making the dream of home ownership more affordable for Ontario families.

In his remarks, Hudak discussed how Dalton McGuinty’s $3 billion HST tax grab will drive up the costs associated with buying or selling a home. In particular, the HST will be fully applied to closing costs as well as to the value of properties worth more than $400,000.

Hudak also used his remarks to explain how an Ontario PC Government could be counted on to govern differently than the McGuinty Liberal Government. In particular, Hudak highlighted how he would favour targeted tax relief over corporate welfare schemes, immediately act to reduce Ontario’s red tape burden, treat energy policy as an economic policy and put in place a plan to cap Dalton McGuinty’s out-of-control spending.

QUOTES

– Ontario PC Party Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Party Leader Tim Hudak

QUICK FACTS

• Under Dalton McGuinty, the Barrie Census Metropolitan area has seen a 69% decline in new housing starts over the past year.

• According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, red tape and regulation cost Ontario businesses $11 billion per year.

• It took 23 Ontario Premiers 136 years to amass $148 billion of debt. Dalton McGuinty is on course to single handedly double that debt total by 2012-2013.

• The HST will slap an additional $1,500 in new taxes onto the closing costs of the average re-sale transaction.

News

There are two major problems with Dalton McGuinty’s Speeches from the Throne. On one hand, they are always filled with major promises that he never acts on. On the other hand, they fail to include the major policies that he does act on.

This is particularly true for Dalton McGuinty’s tax increases. Dalton McGuinty’s 2003 Throne Speech failed to inform Ontario families of his plans to impose a massive $15 billion so-called ‘health’ tax. McGuinty’s 2005 Throne Speech failed to mention his plans to provide mammoth new land transfer and car tax powers to David Miller and the City of Toronto. And McGuinty’s 2007 Throne Speech failed to mention his plans to slap families and seniors with the largest sales tax increase in Ontario history – the $3 billion HST tax grab.

Ontario families, seniors, small businesses and taxpayers, will have to wait and see what tax increase was conveniently excluded from the Throne Speech this time around.

Quotes

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Quick Facts

• Items Dalton McGuinty neglected to mention in his past Speeches from the Throne include:
• The $15,000,000,000 so called “Health” Tax (2004),
• The creation of a massive new $350,000,000 LHINs bureaucracy (2005)
• The $4,000,0000,000 bailout (2009)
• The $3,000,000,000 HST tax grab (2009)
• The $1,000,000,000 sweetheart subsidy for the foreign based Samsung conglomerate

“I want to extend my prayers and condolences – and those of our entire caucus – to the families of the two fallen police officers – Peel Regional Police Officer Artem “James” Ochakovsky and OPP Constable Vu Pham.

“James Ochakovsky was tragically killed in the line of duty last week and was laid to rest this afternoon. Tragically yesterday, OPP Constable Vu Pham, a 37-year-old father of three was also shot and killed in the line of duty.

“On behalf of the Ontario PC Caucus, I’d like to extend our deepest sympathies to the families and colleagues of these officers.

“While these tragedies have brought grief and sorrow, their families can take solace in knowing that these men are heroes and made the ultimate sacrifice while keeping our neighborhoods and streets safe from harm.

“We are forever in their debt.”

News

QUEEN’S PARK – Instead of using his latest Speech from the Throne to change course and finally provide a long-term plan for new leadership, spending restraint and job creation, Dalton McGuinty has chosen a “Same-old-same-old” Throne Speech that will ensure Ontario remains saddled with one of the worst jobs, tax and debt records in all of Canada.

The 2010 Speech from the Throne follows in a long line of broken-promise riddled Liberal Throne Speeches, election platforms and budgets that have contributed to Ontario’s economic decline. Dalton McGuinty has previously been caught breaking commitments to not raise taxes, maintain balance budgets, to hire nurses, close coal plants and create long-term-care beds.

Of equal concern to Ontario families is what is missing in the Speech from the Throne. Dalton McGuinty’s last Throne Speech failed to include any mention of the signature policy initiatives of the last two years, including the decision to waste hundreds of millions of dollars on Liberal-friendly consultants in the eHealth scandal, or the decision to impose a massive $3 billion HST tax grab on Ontario seniors, families and small businesses.

Quotes

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Quick Facts

On the economy they said:

• Your government is working with business and labour to attract, retain, and create good, high-paying jobs for Ontario families and communities” (Speech from the Throne – November 29, 2007)

On the economy they did:

• 279,000 well-paying manufacturing jobs lost under Dalton McGuinty
• 140,000 jobs lost during 2009
• Unemployment rate at 9.2%, with over 600,000 people unemployed
• Standard of living fell behind Saskatchewan’s last year
• Have-not province (November 2008)

On post-secondary education they said:

• “To ensure it is more affordable, your government will deliver a new textbook and technology grant of $300 for university and college students to help them get started each year at school.” (Speech from the Throne – November 29, 2007)

On post-secondary education they did:

• The Liberals cut this program by $100 million in 2009 and changed the criteria
• Now only students receiving OSAP qualify for a $150 textbook and technology grant (instead of the $300 promised for all students)

On education they said:

• “Your new government will work with schools to make real improvements in children’s reading, writing, and math skills.” (Speech from the Throne – November 29, 2007)

On education they did:

• Despite $5 billion in extra funding, 33% of children in Grades 3 and 6 failed to reach the provincial standard in reading, writing, and math, last year

On the financial sector they said:

• “Your new government will celebrate the hard-working entrepreneurs who create jobs and attract investment, and support their endeavours here at home and abroad.” (Speech from the Throne – November 29, 2007)

On the financial sector they did:

• Venture capital financing in Ontario has plunged from $1.5 billion in 2000 to $236 million in 2007. In 2008, it was down to $88 million. As of the 3rd quarter of 2009, only $24 million was invested in Ontario venture-capital-backed companies – a multi-decade low for the province
• The McGuinty Government’s Ontario Venture Capital Fund has proven an utter failure, with only 3 committed projects for 2009 and none of the monies deployed

On healthcare they said:

• “And excellent health care, available to all, keeps our people healthy, and that makes our workforce more productive.” (Speech from the Throne – October 12, 2005)

On healthcare they did:

• On November 27, 2009, Deb Matthews told the Legislature, “There has been a dramatic increase in out-of-country health care provided and covered through OHIP”

On Northern jobs they said:

• “Your government will work with manufacturers to support new and advanced technologies, and with the forestry industry through initiatives like the forest sector prosperity fund” (Speech from the Throne – November 29, 2007)

On Northern jobs they did:

• 45,000 Northern jobs lost under McGuinty (StatsCan data) / 62 mills closed (Ontario Forest Industries Association)

On nurses they said:

• The Liberals promised to hire 9,000 more nurses (Speech from the Throne, November 29, 2007)

On nurses they did:

• They have since admitted they will not achieve this goal by 2011

On coal plants they said:

• “Your government will replace coal-fired electricity generation with cleaner forms of energy, with the last coal-fired plant slated to close in early 2009.” (Speech from the Throne, October 12, 2005)

On coal plants they did:

• This promise was made in 2005 with the original date of 2009. In 2007, they pushed the deadline to 2014. In 2009, they moved the deadline to late-2010

On long-term care beds they said:

• Build 35,000 long-term care beds (Speech from the Throne, November 29, 2007)

On long-term care beds they did

• There has not been a single shovel put in the ground or ribbon cut

On the education formula they said:

• The Liberals promised the funding formula would be reviewed by 2010 (Speech from the Throne, November 29, 2007)

On the education formula they did:

• It is now 2010 and the funding formula has not been reviewed

On consultants they said:

• “Ontarians want the government to spend their tax dollars wisely, so this government made a commitment to reduce what the Provincial Auditor has called an over reliance on highly paid consultants.” (Speech from the Throne, November 20, 2003)

On consultants they did:

• In October 2009, the Auditor General released a special report entitled Ontario’s Electronic Health Records (EHR) Initiative that said by 2008 eHealth was engaging 300+ consultants with less than 30 full-time employees