(QUEEN'S PARK)- MPP Randy Hillier (Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington) expressed his dismay at the vacuous nature of the provincial government's recent Throne Speech.
"We have seen this government break their Throne Speech promises in the past, so I am not optimistic that any merit can be given to the vague references made in this Throne Speech," remarked Hillier.
Hillier recalled past promises for no new taxes that delivered the health tax premium in 2003 and the recent HST, as well as promises for health care reform which brought about the $1 billion eHealth scandal and $300 million LHINS. Promises of over 1 million new jobs have also fallen through, with the McGuinty government losing an additional 141,000 jobs in 2009 alone.
"The McGuinty Liberals cannot be trusted with the provincial purse; spending has increased by 65% under their watch, and they are on course to double the provincial debt in 2 more years. We have seen government size and spending grow faster than the rate of inflation, population growth and the GDP combined, meanwhile taxpayers are being asked to get by with less than ever. This has been especially hard on low income wage earners and seniors on fixed incomes. While Liberal insiders and consultants get rich, McGuinty is sending the rest of Ontario to the poorhouse."
"There really was so little said in the speech Monday," added Hillier, "Even so, the idea of Dalton McGuinty creating a '5-year plan' for Ontario is a scary prospect, given what he's done in the last 6."
The Throne Speech, By the Numbers:
Only 24 words on the deficit, which is now over $24 billion.
No comment on the fact that Ontario has lost 141,000 jobs in the past year
No mention of our forestry sector, despite the closing of 63 timber mills since Dalton McGuinty came to power
No mention of 279,000 well-paying manufacturing jobs lost under Dalton McGuinty
No mention of eHealth, the $1 billion Liberal boondoggle
No promises on how he will fix this, and other, problems
Randy Hillier, MPP Lanark Frontenac Lennox, is a co-founder of the Lanark Landowners Association, which was brought to life to address government imposition on the rights of private property owners, and to address the regressive regulatory impositions that government was bringing down upon farmers and business owners in rural Ontario.
In 2006, Randy resigned as President of the OLA in order to run as a candidate for the Progressive Conservatives. Randy was elected in the 2007 provincial election.
Randy a long-time resident of Lanark County, an electrician by trade and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), continues to co-publish and edit rural Ontario’s successful magazine “The Landowner.”
