Archive for July, 2010
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
News
AJAX – Today Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak met with members of the Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade for a roundtable discussion on how to create jobs in Ajax and Pickering and build the local economy.
Hudak and local business leaders on the Board of Trade shared ideas on how to address the crisis in Ontario’s manufacturing sector, unaffordable hikes to electricity costs, the increased burden of red tape on small businesses, and Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Caucus plans to help businesses create jobs.
Hudak shared his commitment that a future Ontario PC Government will eliminate Dalton McGuinty’s eco tax grab. Thanks to public pressure led by the Ontario PC Caucus, Dalton McGuinty was finally forced to abandon his eco-tax grab for the next 90 days. Hudak warned Dalton McGuinty has no plans to actually scrap this tax and is instead looking for new ways to hide it from Ontario families.
Quotes
“Dalton McGuinty has taken Ajax and Pickering families and businesses for granted. They were burdened with massive layoffs and high unemployment since long before the recession began, yet Dalton McGuinty continues to ignore their struggle to balance the family budget.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
“Small businesses are the engine of Ontario’s economy. It should be the Premier’s top priority to help them create jobs immediately through a competitive tax structure and the reduction of unnecessary red tape and regulation.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
Posted in Ontario | No Comments »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
News
Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak today called on Dalton McGuinty to provide clear answers to the public about how many tax dollars were compromised by potentially criminal activity at three different Government Ministries and what steps he has taken to protect the integrity of the government programs whose officials are under criminal investigation.
To date Dalton McGuinty and his ministers refused to provide answers to legitimate questions about the extent of the potential criminal activity and what steps the government has taken to preserve the public’s confidence in their public servants.
Hudak also highlighted how Dalton McGuinty’s silence is the latest example of how tired, out-of-gas and out-of-touch the McGuinty Government has become.
Quotes
“When a government is tired, out of gas, and out of ideas, it should surprise nobody that they make a lot of mistakes. But after seven years Dalton McGuinty’s excuses are actually an indictment. We are right to expect better.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
“Dalton McGuinty claims he has told us all that he knows. We don’t believe him. Yet media reports identified questionable real estate transactions and staffing changes that could be linked to this criminal probe. Dalton McGuinty was briefed on these facts. If he was not, then his government has even bigger problems.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
Quick Facts
Three remaining questions about the OPP criminal investigation that Dalton McGuinty must answer.
- What steps have been taken internally to protect the integrity of government services at these ministries in the aftermath of this police investigation?
- How many tax dollars were exposed to programs administered by officials currently under police investigation?
- Were any of the officials under investigation responsible for administering spending included in Dalton McGuinty’s $32 billion ’stimulus’ plan?
Posted in Ontario | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
News
Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak met with members of the Indian Trucking Association today to share ideas on how to rebuild Ontario’s export driven economy and improve cross-border trade with the United States – Ontario’s largest trading partner.
Dalton McGuinty has failed to take a strong stand against the thickening of the Canada-US border. Hudak called on McGuinty to instead work closely with neighbouring US states and federal leaders to halt and reverse this slide.
In addition to the Canada-US border, the success of Ontario’s trucking industry is also tied to the success of Ontario’s manufacturing sector. Hudak added an Ontario PC Government would put the economy first and work to create the right business climate for trade and investment through lower taxes and red tape reduction.
Quotes
“Ontario deserves a government that backs up its talk about expanding Canada-US investment and trade with real action. Dalton McGuinty is content to let Ontario sit at the back of the pack, when Ontario should be leading the way.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
“Now, more than ever, Ontario can not afford to lose trading US partners through higher taxes and more red tape. It must be the Premier’s top priority to create the right climate for investment and trade through a competitive tax structure and the reduction of unnecessary red tape.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
Quick Facts
- According to the Ontario Trucking Association, trucks haul 90% of consumer goods and foods and 75% of Ontario’s trade (by value) with the United States.
- Under Dalton McGuinty, Ontario’s trucking industry is experiencing tough times. Truck drivers took 1.5 million fewer cross-border trips in 2009 compared to 2008, and 2.3 fewer trips than in 2007.
- Bankruptcies in Ontario’s trucking industry hit record highs in recent years. In 2007, 157 companies declared bankruptcy, followed by 171 companies in 2008 (an all time high in Ontario). The Ontario Trucking Association estimated this trend continued into 2009.
- To read more about the ideas Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Caucus are bringing forward to create jobs and grow the economy, please visit www.10for2010.ca
Posted in Ontario | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
NEWS
Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak met with members of the Canada India Foundation board today to share ideas on how to rebuild Ontario’s export driven economy and strengthen trade relations with India.
Hudak said an Ontario PC Government would put the economy first and work to create the right business climate for investment through lower taxes and red tape reduction. He also outlined the initiatives he has brought forward to create job opportunities for new Canadians and the trading of knowledge and skills.
In May, Tim Hudak introduced the Newcomers Employment Opportunities Act, 2010 to help Ontario lead again. The Bill includes measures that, if passed, will help new Canadians find employment and create jobs in Ontario.
QUOTES
“India and Canada have been long-time friends and allies and have enjoyed a great commercial relationship for many years. Ontario deserves a government that recognizes the benefits of building this relationship through increased investment and trade.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
“Now, more than ever, Ontario can not afford to fall behind in the global market with higher taxes and more red tape. It must be the Premier’s top priority to create the right climate for investment and trade through a competitive tax structure and the reduction of unnecessary red tape and regulation.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
QUICK FACTS
- Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak serves at the PC Caucus Critic for Citizenship and Immigration.
- Tim Hudak recently introduced a Private Member’s Bill titled the Newcomers Employment Opportunities Act, which, if passed, would: lower the threshold for any immigrant investor who opens a business outside the GTA; encourage better integration through tax incentives to employers who pay for English or French language training to new Canadians; and address the lack of transparency in the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act and Regulated Professions Act preventing newcomers from pursuing careers in their field of training.
- To read more about the ideas Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Caucus are bringing forward to create jobs and grow the economy, please visit www.10for2010.ca.
Posted in Ontario | No Comments »
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
NEWS
TORONTO – Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak visited the Mabuhay Festival in Toronto today to congratulate the Filipino community for a fantastic event and to thank those in attendance for their continued contributions to the Province of Ontario.
Greater Toronto Area is home to the largest Filipino community in Canada, and Toronto’s Mabuhay Festival and Trade Show – organized by the Philippine Independence Day Council – is the largest celebration of Philippine culture in Canada.
In May, Tim Hudak introduced the Newcomers Employment Opportunities Act, 2010 to help Ontario lead again. The purpose of the Bill is to encourage breaking down of barriers to skills recognition that prevents newcomers from participating fully in the economy.
QUOTES
“This celebration of Filipino culture provides Ontario’s Filipino community with the chance to reflect upon and enjoy their rich and distinct heritage. It also gives Ontarians of all backgrounds an opportunity to celebrate the diversity that makes our great province so unique.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
“As I travel the province, and meet families from all different backgrounds, I notice more and more that – as diverse as we are – there is a common thread that binds us. I thank you for continuing to make Ontario a vibrant province and promoting Filipino culture and heritage.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
QUICK FACTS
- Tim Hudak serves at the PC Caucus Critic for Citizenship and Immigration.
- Tim Hudak recently introduced a Private Member’s Bill titled the Newcomers Employment Opportunities Act, which, if passed, would do the following:
- Lower the threshold for any immigrant investor who opens a business outside the GTA;
- Encourages better integration through tax incentives to employers who pay for English or French language training to new Canadians.
- Address the lack of transparency in the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act and Regulated Professions Act preventing newcomers from pursuing careers in their field of training.
Posted in Ontario | No Comments »
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
News
A week after OPP raided government’s offices, Dalton McGuinty must provide Ontario families with clear answers about which ministries and agencies are under investigation, how many tax dollars have been compromised, and whether any Liberal political staff or consultants are involved.
Today Ontario PC Revenue and Government Accountability Critic Lisa MacLeod challenged Dalton McGuinty to confirm whether any of the officials under investigation were responsible for allocating funding under McGuinty’s so-called ’stimulus’ plan.
Given Dalton McGuinty’s historic $20 billion deficit, it is vital that Ontario families be informed whether so-called ’stimulus’ dollars were funneled away from their intended purpose and towards potentially criminal improprieties. To that end, MacLeod also called on the government to confirm whether the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure are included in the current criminal probe.
Quotes
“Every dollar that was spent on potentially unethical or illegal activities by these ministries and agencies was a tax dollar paid by Ontario families. Given Dalton McGuinty’s $20 billion deficit, it is also a dollar that our province cannot afford to lose.”
– Lisa MacLeod, Ontario PC MPP Critic for Revenue and Government Accountability.
“Dalton McGuinty cannot hide behind a criminal investigation. The Premier’s Office knows far more about this probe than they care to let on. If stimulus money was being misallocated as part of alleged criminal activity than it is the responsibility of the government, and not the police, to provide answers to the public about how this money was spent.”
– Lisa MacLeod, Ontario PC MPP Critic for Revenue and Government Accountability.
Quick Facts
Four questions that the McGuinty Government must answer:
- What specific Government Ministries and agencies were raided as part of this criminal probe?
- What steps have been taken internally to protect the integrity of government services at these ministries in the aftermath of this police investigation?
- How many tax dollars were exposed to programs administered by officials currently under police investigation?
- Were any of the officials under investigation responsible for administering spending included in Dalton McGuinty’s $32 billion ’stimulus’ plan?
Posted in Ontario | No Comments »
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
News
Despite an ongoing police investigation involving multiple government ministries and agencies, which continues to jeopardize public confidence in the entire Ontario public service, the McGuinty Liberals appeared to have gone fishin’, with still no comment from senior cabinet ministers on the extent of this criminal probe.
The McGuinty Government’s non-response to the raid and criminal investigation of multiple-ministries, follows on the heels of their slow and stumbling response to outrage over their proposed ‘eco-tax’ scheme. It took nearly three weeks of public criticism before McGuinty’s environment minister finally took responsibility for the eco-tax boondoggle and temporarily climb down from the tax grab.
Despite the significant public questions that remain around Dalton McGuitny’s ‘SuperCorp’ climb-down, G20 secret law, and HST tax-grab, senior McGuinty Liberals cabinet ministers have become a rare sight throughout the summer.
Quotes
“Nobody begrudges a cabinet minister for taking a family vacation, but there is no excuse for Dalton McGuinty to let his entire cabinet check-out at the same time. It is clear nobody is minding the store.”
– Lisa MacLeod, Ontario PC MPP, Nepean – Carleton, and Critic for Revenue and Government Accountabilty.
“The McGuinty Liberals are out-of-gas and out-of-touch. Members of the public deserve answers instead of excuses, but the McGuinty cabinet is still missing in action.”
– Lisa MacLeod, Ontario PC MPP, Nepean – Carleton, and Critic for Revenue and Government Accountabilty.
Quick Facts
Since Dalton McGuinty was last spotted in public, the following events have taken place without comment:
- The OPP raided the offices of at least three ministries to investigate corruption charges.
- The McGuinty Liberals were forced to temporarily back down from their eco-tax grab.
- The McGuinty SuperCorp scheme was declared dead on arrival.
- The McGuinty Government broke their promise on the microFIT program.
- Activists occupied the headquarters of the Ontario Liberal Party.
- The Ombudsman began new investigations into the eco-tax and G20 secret-law.
Posted in Ontario | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
News
Now that the McGuinty Government has temporarily backed down from its plan to impose an eco-tax, they must immediately act to refund consumers who were forced to pay this tax over the past three weeks.
Today, Ontario PC MPP, Lisa MacLeod, called on the McGuinty Government to guarantee that consumers ripped-off by the eco-tax will have their money returned to them through a direct refund from Stewardship Ontario or from the Government itself.
While eco-taxes were collected by Ontario businesses, the revenue raised by these taxes was supposedly directed to covering the cost of programs overseen by the McGuinty Government. To date, neither Stewardship Ontario nor the McGuinty Government has refused to provide any public details around how eco-tax revenues are spent.
Quotes
“John Gerretsen admitting that he shouldn’t have taken this tax in the first place is not good enough. Thousands of Ontario families were ripped off by this tax-grab, and the McGuinty Government must do everything in its power to ensure that these families get their money back.”
– Lisa MacLeod, Ontario PC MPP for Nepean-Carleton and Critic for Revenue and Government Accountability
“The eco-tax was directed, approved, and enforced by the McGuinty Government. It was Dalton McGuinty’s secrecy and mismanagement that led to the tax being collected in such a haphazard and uneven manner. Dalton McGuinty owns responsibility for his eco-tax mess. He should also own responsibility for cleaning it up.”
– Lisa MacLeod, Ontario PC MPP for Nepean-Carleton and Critic for Revenue and Government Accountability
Quick Facts
- The McGuinty Government is responsible for directing Stewardship Ontario to create a list of eco-taxes.
- The McGuinty Government is responsible for approving Stewardship Ontario’s eco-tax plan.
- The McGuinty Government is responsible for permitting Ontario businesses to pass eco-taxes on to consumers in a haphazard an uneven way.
- The McGuinty Government is responsible for overseeing the programs on which eco-taxes are supposedly spent.
Posted in Ontario | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
News
Environment Minister John Gerretsen’s refusal to admit that the eco-tax was a bad idea is proof that Dalton McGuinty will once again try to sneak in his eco-tax plan at a later date.
With Ontario families already paying too much thanks to Dalton McGuinty’s previous tax grabs, Hudak reconfirmed that a PC Government would eliminate the McGuinty eco-tax once and for all.
Hudak also highlighted how, over the past twenty days, the McGuinty Liberal eco-tax has already created chaos and confusion at cash registers throughout Ontario, which is further evidence that the McGuinty Government has fallen completely out-of-touch and run out of gas.
Quotes
“This is what happens when you have a government that is out-of-gas, out-of-touch and asleep at the switch. It is only a matter of time before Dalton McGuinty once again tries to sneak in this eco-tax when he hopes nobody is looking.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
“There is only one way to keep the McGuinty Liberal eco-tax off our receipts and off our store shelves and that is to replace this government. As Premier I will scrap this tax once and for all.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
Quick Facts
The McGuinty Liberal Eco-Tax Blame Game:
- Blame Businesses: “Some retailers have been charging fees greater than the set fee Stewardship Ontario charges businesses. This is unacceptable and must be addressed immediately” (John Gerretsen letter, July 13, 2010).
- Blame Agencies: “Stewardship Ontario is responsible for designing and implementing the Orange Drop program, and for setting and collecting fees from businesses” (John Gerretsen letter, July 13, 2010).
- Blame Previous Governments: “After all, it was the (Mike) Harris-Hudak Conservative government which first introduced and passed the Waste Diversion Act in 2002″ (Press Release, July 14, 2010).
- Finally confess the McGuinty Government was responsible: “I as minister could have done a better job for communicating these changes” (John Gerretsen Press Conference, July 20, 2010).
Posted in Ontario | No Comments »
Monday, July 19th, 2010
News:
The Ontario PC Caucus has obtained correspondence between the CEO of Stewardship Ontario and senior officials in John Gerretsen’s and Dalton McGuinty’s offices, which undermines the latest attempt by the McGuinty Liberals to deflect blame for the eco-tax grab on third parties.
In her letter to John Gerretsen, Stewardship Ontario CEO, and long-time Liberal, Gemma Zecchini, confirms that Gerretsen himself personally approved the Liberal eco-tax scheme and details how the responsibility for enforcing the tax falls on the McGuinty Government alone. Zecchini’s letter also accuses the McGuinty Government of ‘finger-pointing’ in order to assign Stewardship Ontario blame for “problems not of its making and outside of its powers to remedy,” further exposing Liberal attempts to dodge responsibility for the tax.
To date, the McGuinty Liberals have attempted to deflect blame for their eco-tax onto Ontario businesses, Stewardship Ontario, and previous Ontario Governments. While Dalton McGuinty continues to duck and dodge responsibility for his eco-tax, Tim Hudak has committed that an Ontario PC Government will eliminate it.
Quotes:
“Dalton McGuinty has tried to point his finger at Stewardship Ontario. He has tried to point his finger at Ontario businesses struggling to implement this arbitrary and illogical secret tax scheme. He has even tried to point his finger at previous governments. But the facts are clear, McGuinty Liberals alone are responsible for designing, approving, implementing and directing this tax.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
“Ontario families deserve better than six months of eHealth-style stonewalling. No scapegoat, no phony apology, no investigation, and no promise of ‘never again’ will fix this mess. As Premier I will get rid of Dalton McGuinty’s eco-tax.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
Quick Facts:
Quotes from Gemma Zecchini’s letter to John Gerretsen:
- “Stewardship Ontario has no jurisdiction to implement an audit or compliance mechanism as suggested in your letter. At the moment, only the Ontario government under the authority of the Consumer Protection Act may pursue businesses…”
- “We are prepared to work with you and your officials to meet the objectives set out in your letter to us. In order to do so, we will require changes to the Municipal Hazardous and Special Waste program plan that was approved by you on September 22, 2009.”
- “I would respectfully ask that the parties refrain from any finger-pointing or accusations, especially in the media.”
Posted in Ontario | No Comments »
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