News:

TORONTO — On Saturday May 1st, 2010, life is going to get more expensive for Ontario families when they begin paying for the McGuinty Government’s latest electricity rate hike and the very first Ontario consumers begin paying the HST.

On May 1st, Ontario electricity rates are set to increase by 12%. This rate increase, when combined with the HST and other hidden fees, will cost Ontario families an additional $350 per year.

Also on May 1st, Dalton McGuinty’s $3 billion HST tax grab takes effect for all goods and services purchased today, but not delivered until after July 1st. Homes purchased with delayed closing times, annual gym memberships, landscaping contracts, and late summer airline tickets are all examples of services that go up in price starting tomorrow.

Quotes:

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Quick Facts:

• According to the Ontario Energy Board, the estimated bill impact of the McGuinty Government’s latest electricity rate hike is about $91.20 per year (based on 800 kWh/month use) when compared to the prices that Ontario families currently pay. (Source: Ontario Energy Board Backgrounder, April 15, 2010)
• Dalton McGuinty’s tax fee and rate hikes will increase the annual electricity bill for a typical household to over $2,000 by the end of next year – a $350 increase over last year.
• Under Dalton McGuinty’s $3 billion HST tax grab plan, Ontario families will begin paying the HST on any good and service purchased after May 1st, but not delivered until after July 1st. This includes annual membership fees, long-term professional service contracts, and home purchases with closing times after July 1st.

News:

The Ontario PC Caucus today brought forward a motion that would protect families worried about Dalton McGuinty’s plan to build industrial wind farms in their community without any local input, consultation or control. Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Caucus have also raised these concerns in Question Period this week.

Through his sweeping so-called ‘Green Energy Act,’ Dalton McGuinty is overriding local concerns by placing wind farms in communities without their consent. Families in communities across Ontario are concerned about the health and environmental impacts.

When the Ontario PC Caucus introduced a motion that would once again give local municipalities the final say over whether or not they want to host giant industrial wind farms, the McGuinty Liberal MPPs in attendance unanimously voted the motion down, with many MPPs dodging the vote altogether.

Quotes:

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– John Yakabuski, Ontario PC MPP for Renfrew – Nipissing – Pembroke and critic for Energy.

Quick Facts:

• Schedule A of the Green Energy Act empowers the McGuinty Government to overrule municipal by-laws and local concerns when locating industrial wind farms.

• Municipalities across Ontario have passed resolutions expressing significant concerns regarding the economic and environmental impact of industrial wind turbine technology being forced on them through the ‘Green Energy Act’.

• A crowd of 500 concerned Ontario citizens participated in a Queen’s Park rally against Dalton McGuinty’s industrial wind farms.

• See the attached appendix for the list of Liberal MPPs who voted against giving local communities a say on Dalton McGuinty’s industrial wind farms.

News:

LONDON – While the London Health Services Centre struggles to balance its budget, resulting in the layoffs of cancer care nurses and looming additional cuts to frontline health care, the number of South West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) bureaucrats getting paid $100,000 or more per year has tripled.

Today, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak visited Victoria Hospital where he called for the money being wasted on salaries for top executives at the South West LHIN to be invested in frontline health care for London families and seniors.

Since its creation in 2006, the number of South West LHIN officials getting paid over $100,000 has tripled from two to six. During that time, $12.2 million health care dollars have been diverted from frontline care to pay for administrative costs at the South West LHIN.

In February, London Health Sciences Centre issued 34 layoff notices and St. Joseph’s Health Care issued 29 layoff notices in response to having to find $33 million and $17 million in savings respectively. According to the Ontario Nurses Association, 21 nursing positions at London Health Sciences and 55 nursing positions at St. Joseph’s Health Care have already been cut.

Quotes:

–Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

–Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Quick Facts:

• Since 2006, $12.2 million has been diverted from front line care to pay for administrative costs at the South West LHIN, including the LHIN’s CEO who was paid $217,000 last year.
• In 2006, only two employees at the Southwest LHIN made six figure salaries and their total compensation totaled $316,000. Today, six LHIN executives are making $885,000.

News:

Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Caucus will introduce a motion in the Ontario Legislature tomorrow calling on the McGuinty Government restore planning authority to Ontario municipalities so that no industrial wind farm can be imposed on a community that does not want one.

Dalton McGuinty’s so-called ‘Green Energy Act’ allows the Toronto based energy bureaucrats at the Ontario Power Authority to arbitrarily place industrial wind farms anywhere in Ontario regardless of the views of the democratically elected local governments.

Municipalities across Ontario have expressed economic and environmental concerns about the wind farms that are being forced upon them under Dalton McGuinty’s so-called ‘Green Energy Act’.

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak is calling on all Liberal Government members to support the motion and give back municipal governments’ ability to decide what is best for their own community.

Quotes:

“Dalton McGuinty’s so-called ‘Green Energy’ scheme will force Ontario families to pay more for industrial wind farms over which they have no control. This has little to do with the environment and everything to do with rewarding Dalton McGuinty’s friends at Samsung.”

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

“If Dalton McGuinty’s plan for placing industrial wind farms in the backyards of Ontario communities was as popular as he pretends it is, he should not be afraid of supporting our PC motion and, once again, allowing Ontario municipalities to have their say.”

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Quick Facts:

News

TORONTO – In a major address to the Toronto Board of Trade, Tim Hudak today explained why both the City and Province must replace old ideas with new leadership to compete for the jobs and opportunities of the future.

In his speech, Hudak shared his commitment to building on Toronto’s natural strengths as a global financial centre by supporting a single national securities regulator headquartered in the City, and explained how the ideas contained in the Ontario PC ‘10 for 2010′ plan and Truth in Government Act are necessary to help stop Toronto and Ontario’s relative decline.

Hudak also addressed the rising cost of living burden facing Ontario families and discussed the kind of partner that the City’s next Mayor can expect from a future Ontario PC Government.

Quotes

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Leader, Tim Hudak

Quick Facts

The McGuinty Government’s City of Toronto Act has increased the price of an average Toronto home by $3,000, while forcing a two-car Toronto family to pay $120 more per year.

According to the Toronto Board of Trade’s Scorecard 2010 rankings of competing jurisdictions, Toronto room for improvement can be seen in how it ranks 21 out of 23 on unemployment, 14 out of 23 on GDP growth, 18 out of 24 on the size of IPOs, and 11 out of 12 on venture capital investment.

News

PETERBOROUGH –Peterborough seniors and families have learned the details of the Central East Local Health Integration Network’s (LHIN) plan to cut $26 million in frontline health care.

The LHIN-ordered peer review recommends cutting 71 beds and 151 full-time employees at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre – a facility that services 300,000 people in Peterborough and surrounding communities.

While local patients, seniors and families face drastic cuts to their frontline health services, the salaries and benefits for senior Central East LHIN employees continues to grow. The number of Central East LHIN senior staff on the Sunshine List (a list of highly paid government employees making over $100,000) has tripled since the LHIN was created in 2006. Those nine employees earned a combined $1.3 million in 2009 including the LHIN CEO who made $222,000.

Quotes

–Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

–Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Quick Facts

• Since 2006, $11.3 million has been diverted from frontline care to administration at the Central East LHIN. Province-wide, over $176 million has gone to these regional health bureaucracies.
• The amount of Central East LHIN staff on the Sunshine List (a list of highly paid government employees making over $100,000) has tripled since the LHIN was created in 2006. Those nine employees earned a combined $1.3 million in 2009.
• The Chairman of the Peterborough Health Coalition, which hosted an April 7th ‘Save Our Hospital’ meeting, said the Central East LHIN has refused to hold a public meeting as part of the review process.

QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak today issued the following statement on Israel’s 62nd Independence Day.

“Today we join Ontario’s Israeli and Jewish communities in celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day.

“Ontario is the proud home of Canada’s largest Jewish population. The Ontario PC Party has always stood with the Jewish community to support a free and independent Jewish state and we remain steadfast friends and allies.

“I will forever treasure the memories and experiences I gained from visiting Israel some years ago, as a Member of Provincial Parliament.

“I was also proud to support my PC Caucus colleague, Peter Shurman, MPP, in his successful efforts to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week in the Ontario Legislature. Actions such as that are counterintuitive to the goals of peace and prosperity that we all share.

“As Ontario PC Leader, I extend my warmest wishes to Ontario’s Jewish community for a happy Yom Ha’atzmaut, as you celebrate the many accomplishments of Israel and its people with your family and friends.”

News
In the aftermath of yesterday’s decision by Dalton McGuinty to impose his latest in a series of rate and tax hikes that will push hydro bills up $350 more a year, Ontario PC Energy Critic, John Yakabuski called for an urgent Sunset Review process to guarantee that the money that Ontario families are forced to fork over will not go to waste at agencies, boards and commissions, such as the Ontario Power Authority (OPA).

The OPA, conceived five-years ago as a transitional, virtual organization with 15 employees, swollen into an organization of close to 300 employees, and has since effectively become another bloated, expensive arm of the government.

As part of Tim Hudak’s ’10 for 2010’ Plan, all government agencies, boards and commissions would be required to regularly obtain the specific consent of the Ontario Legislature in order to continue receiving public funds. The mandatory Sunset Review process would force all ministries, agencies, boards, and commissions to justify their existence and continued value to the public.

Quotes

– Ontario PC Energy Critic John Yakabuski, MPP

– Ontario PC Energy Critic John Yakabuski, MPP

Quick Facts

• In 2005, 6 people at the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) made more than $100,000 per year. By 2009 that number had bloated to 75 people totaling almost $12 million in salaries. Since 2005, the OPA has spent more than $56,000,000 on “Professional and Consulting Fees” alone.
• The OPA was originally set up in 2004 as a transitional, virtual agency. Today, while hydro bills skyrocket, the OPA has become a bloated, energy bureaucracy. At a speech on January 26, 2005, Jan Carr, CEO of the OPA, said:
• “…the OPA could be considered a transitional organization.”
• “It is, in fact, a virtual utility.”
• “…the OPA will decline in size and importance…”

News

QUEEN’S PARK – Dalton McGuinty is now planning to increase electricity prices for the fourth time since 2008 and the second time in four weeks. The Ontario Energy Board itself estimates that this latest McGuinty hydro price increase will single-handedly drive up a typical family’s energy bill more than $90 a year.

When this latest hydro-bill cash grab is combined with the higher prices that Ontario seniors and families are already paying due to the sweetheart Samsung deal, the so-called ‘smart meter’ plan, and the debt retirement charge, the average family’s hydro bill is expected to increase by over $350 per year.

The McGuinty Liberals next planned price increase involves sneaking a $53 million hidden hydro tax on to Ontario hydro bills. And on July 1st, every Ontario family will see their hydro prices shoot up by an additional 8% when Dalton McGuinty’s $3 billion HST kicks in. The HST alone will further drive up hydro bills by at least $8 a month.

Quotes

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– John Yakabuski, Ontario PC MPP for Renfrew – Nipissing – Pembroke and Critic for Energy

Quick Facts

• On April 15, 2010, the Ontario Energy Board announced that tiered pricing paid by Ontario families will increase to 6.5 cents per kWh (from 5.8 cents) and 7.5 cents per kWh (from 6.7 cents) above 600 kWh. This represents a 75% increase in electricity rates since Dalton McGuinty became premier.
• According to the Ontario Energy Board, the estimated bill impact of this latest rate hike is about $7.60/month (based on 800 kWh/month use) when compared to the prices that Ontario families currently pay (Source: Ontario Energy Board Backgrounder, April 15, 2010).
• This is just the latest in a long string of hydro tax and rate increases presided over by Dalton McGuinty. Other examples include:
• the $8 a month HST hydro tax grab;
• the $38 a year loss of small-volume discount;
• the $5 a month “Smart Meter” program fees;
• the $53 million dollar secret backdoor energy tax;
• the $5 a month so-called “green” subsidy;
• the bill for the $437 million Samsung deal;
• the $2.75 a month OPG rate increases; and
• the bill for $1.6 billion in Hydro One transmission expenses.

News

GUELPH – The Ontario PC Caucus has uncovered documents confirming that McGuinty Liberal senior executives and appointees of the Waterloo – Wellington 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 Waterloo – Wellington regional health bureaucracy diverted more than $750,000 from frontline patient care and into the pockets of well connected consultants and insiders. This untendered contract spree is made all the more outrageous by the fact that three of the untendered contracts were handed out after Dalton McGuinty’s June 17, 2009 promise to ban this practice.

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%. During this time, the salary of the Waterloo-Wellington LHIN CEO has shot up from $223,000 to $290,000.

The Ontario PC Caucus is introducing stringent, new transparency and accountability measures including legislation that will guarantee proactive disclosure of contracts for goods and services over $10,000. Such a rule – had it been in place, would have helped prevent the untendered contract spree.

Quotes

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

Quick Facts

The Waterloo – Wellington LHIN handed out $750,000 in untendered contracts (three contracts were handed out after Dalton McGuinty’s June 17, 2009 promise to ban this practice throughout all government agencies).
One of the untendered contracts was handed out for projects including LHIN Christmas message photos, New Years cards photos, designing holiday cards and translating letters to be sent to George Smitherman.

In just four years, the number of LHIN appointees making more than $100,000 per year has increased from 40 to 114 — a 185% increase. This includes 19 employees who are making more than $200,000 per year.

• In 2006, three employees at the Waterloo – Wellington LHIN made six figure salaries and their total compensation was $504,000. Today, nine LHIN executives are making $1.3 million. During this time, the salary of the LHIN CEO has shot up from $223,000 to $290,000.
• On April 13, 2010 Tim Hudak released details of the Ontario PC plan to improve transparency and accountability of the government. In particular the Ontario PC plan calls for:
  • Expanding Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to apply to all provincial public bodies
  • Full proactive disclosure of contracts over $10,000 in value to apply to all provincial public bodies
  • Full proactive disclosure of all travel and hospitality expenses to apply to all provincial public bodies