STAYING IN TOUCH
Salute to our Olympians
By John O'Toole/The Scugog Standard

The provincial government has decided to give itself a new lease on life by proroguing the House and introducing a new Throne Speech March 8. This marks the beginning of a new Parliamentary session. As expected, the prorogation will be brief, lasting for Friday, plus a weekend. The old session ends the afternoon of March 4. The new one begins Monday, March 8.

A Throne Speech traditionally receives wide media attention and lets a government declare its priorities for the foreseeable future. Many old pieces of legislation that haven’t been passed by March 4 will expire. For example, most private members’ bills will need to be re-introduced. That being said, I expect bills dealing with Ontario pension reforms, full-day kindergartens and new regulations for energy retailers will proceed into the new session without interruption.

In my view, the real reason for the Throne Speech is to divert the focus away from issues such as the eHealth scandal, the $24.7 billion deficit and the Harmonized Sales Tax. In a speech last week, the Ontario Premier revealed Ontarians can expect a five-year plan to get Ontario back on track. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan has acknowledged that the province lost 252,000 manufacturing jobs in the last year. The unemployment rate currently stands at 9.2 per cent. The McGuinty government is often asked about the possibility of so-called ‘Dalton Days’ in which civil servants would take unpaid days off to help rein in spending. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan was quoted last week as saying no decision has been taken on this idea.

Statistics Canada figures confirm that this government’s job crisis began before the global recession touched Ontario. When the McGuinty government took office, there were 1,072,800 manufacturing jobs in Ontario. Today there are only 793,800.

This means more than one out of every four manufacturing workers has been left unemployed.

This government is essentially, attempting to ‘change the channel’ by proroguing the House. As a member of the Official Opposition, I can assure you we will do everything possible to ensure this government can prorogue, but it can’t hide. The concerns over accountability and the economy that dominated the past parliamentary session will follow this government into the new session.

A Salute to Our Olympians
Congratulations to Durham Olympian Matt Morison, of Burketon, who finished 11th in the Parallel Giant Slalom on the weekend. His teammate Jasey Jay Anderson’s victory in the event was one of the crowning moments of the games. However, it was disappointing that fog blocked the visibility for competitors and spectators in this event. Thanks to all Olympians for inspiring us, for bringing Canadians together in celebration and for serving as such outstanding ambassadors for Canada.