We have 600,000 Ontarians out of work and a $411-billion debt looming in the horizon, and yet the Liberals decided to close down parliament to escape another scandal
Closed for Scandal: Legislature shut down, Government on autopilot
QUEEN’S PARK – Shutting the doors to the Legislature does nothing to clean up the Liberals’ made-in-Ontario jobs and debt crisis. Instead, it creates a shameful government ploy to escape accountability for a $1-billion gas plant scandal, Ontario PC Energy Critic Vic Fedeli said today.
“We have 600,000 Ontarians out of work and a $411-billion debt looming in the horizon, and yet the Liberals decided to close down parliament to escape another scandal,” Fedeli said. “For the last two weeks, we’ve had a negligent government set on autopilot mode, leaving reckless overspending to continue unchecked and the debt to accumulate while jobs leave the province.”
The Liberals have made a mockery of this province’s energy sector, causing rates to skyrocket and then making Ontarians pay even more for their disastrous, politically self-serving decisions when they cancelled the gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga, Fedeli continued. “The Liberals can turn their backs on the mess they created, but it’s only going to rot further, with taxpayers paying the price.”
That’s why the Ontario PCs have reaffirmed their willingness to enact pro-growth policies and laws that would encourage job creation and help pay down the debt. “However, you can’t pass legislation without a sitting Legislature,” Fedeli stated. “If the Liberals are actually serious about working with us to enshrine into law new action to rein in reckless overspending and kick-start the economy, they need to start acting like they’re serious.”
Right now, the Liberals are too busy running from the fallout of their seat-saver program to put the needs of Ontarians first and foremost, Fedeli continued. “First McGuinty stepped down, and then Dwight Duncan and Chris Bentley both announced they’re quitting. Seeing how they haven’t bothered to even acknowledge repeated requests from the PCs to get to work, they’ve clearly started their retirement early.”
The Liberals need to stop playing games and provide a date as to when they will recall the Legislature, Fedeli stated. So far, the Liberals have only proven they had no intention of allowing the Finance Committee to investigate the gas plant scandal, and they certainly have no plan for reining in wasteful government spending.
“For Tim Hudak and the Ontario PCs, addressing the province’s jobs and debt crisis is our number one priority,” Fedeli concluded. “Now it’s time for Liberals to step up and immediately recall the House.”
To sign the Ontario PC petition to immediately recall the Legislature, visit: GetBackToWorkLiberals.ca
