(Queen’s Park) – Ontario Progressive Conservative Rural Affairs Critic Randy Hillier (Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington) today said the McGuinty Liberals have spent their years in office governing for urban Ontario and leaving rural Ontario out in the cold. He called on the people of rural Ontario to join a new grassroots initiative called Partners with Rural Ontario (PRO) to ensure their voices are heard at Queen's Park.
"For five years, the voice of rural Ontario has been drowned out in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario," said Hillier. "From shutting down our schools, to closing down our rural businesses they are chasing young people out of the province to find work elsewhere, this Liberal government's policies are leading to the demise of rural Ontario."
Hillier will Chair the PRO team, which is made up of five Progressive Conservative MPPs. They will meet in and with the people of rural Ontario to discuss and find solutions to the priorities that matter most. The team will be holding town hall meetings across the province beginning in Belleville in early December.
"What this government has done wrong, we will undo. We will meet with rural & small town Ontario and actually listen to their concerns, respect their knowledge and judgement-not ignore them," said Hillier. "Our rural communities are the heartland of this province. We won't let this Liberal government tear them down without a fight."
