The Globe and Mail: McGuinty should reverse prorogation action

The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Oct. 17 2012, 10:15 PM EDT

The purpose of prorogation is to allow a government to prepare a fresh agenda, to be articulated in a new Speech from the Throne, not to avoid political inconveniences or embarrassments.

Dalton McGuinty, the Premier of Ontario, says he asked the Lieutenant-Governor of the province to prorogue the Legislative Assembly so that he can concentrate on the government’s negotiations with schoolteachers and the implementation of a wage freeze.

It is very safe to say that Mr. McGuinty at the least feels no regret that the prorogation has aborted a potential contempt proceeding against two of his cabinet ministers. Or he may have set out to dampen a growing and justified controversy over the costly political cancellation of two gas plants.

The legislature has been adjourned indefinitely. No date has been set for the culmination of the provincial Liberal leadership campaign. At this rate, there will not be a new premier, or a new session of the legislature, until some weeks or months into 2013. In the meantime, there will be no question periods, holding the government to account, including over the gas plant decision. There will be no public scrutiny of proposed legislation. The passing (or rejection) of new statutes, moreover, is an integral part of the governing process; it is not just a matter of major reforms. Without a legislature, a government can work only through administrative actions.

The two prorogations under the federal Conservative government, in 2008 and 2009 – the first of the two was in the face of a no-confidence motion – are conspicuous examples of this pattern of tactical dispensing with legislatures. So is Premier Christy Clark’s long adjournment in British Columbia, which began in May and is likely to last until February, 2013 – shortly before a dissolution and a general election fixed by law for May.

Mr. McGuinty needs to reverse this arbitrary action and request a new session of Ontario’s Legislative Assembly. What sort of legacy would it be, were his last significant act as Premier to involve the subversion of the democratic rights of Ontarians?

This editorial appeared on page one of the The Globe and Mail's editions on Thursday, Ocotber 18th, 2012

A Visual Comparison of the Terms of Two Premiers ....

Break Traffic Gridlock to Create Jobs and Growth: Tim Hudak

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

TORONTO: Ontario will lead Canada in job creation again, but to get there we need to break traffic gridlock in the economic heart of Canada – the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, PC Leader Tim Hudak said today.

“Our expansion priorities in Toronto will be new subways. World class cities build underground,” Hudak said. “But right we now have too many back seat drives all pointing in different directions.

“This means making one authority accountable for disentangling gridlock and getting the region moving again. It makes sense to give the province’s regional transportation agency, Metrolinx, this responsibility,” Hudak added.

Businesses make decisions about where to locate and when to expand based on the quality of infrastructure necessary to help them compete and succeed. The fact is workers in the Toronto region suffer through the longest commute times in North America. The economic costs of this gridlock are estimated at $6 billion annually in lost productivity. This means lower wages and thousands of jobs lost.

Hudak’s proposals put forward in the latest Ontario PC white paper Paths to Prosperity: An Agenda for Growth, would truly integrate the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area’s rail network by transferring the TTC’s subways and future LRT operations to the province, where they would be joined with the GO rail network for a seamless commuter experience across GO rail, subways and LRTs.

“The province’s GO trains and TTC’s subways are the backbone of the region’s transit system, but the backbone is currently severed,” Hudak said.

Hudak was joined by PC Transportation Critic Frank Klees and a number of Toronto city councilors including Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday, budget chief Mike Del Grande, Denzil Minnan-Wong, and Doug Ford, who support his plan of action to create jobs, growth and break gridlock.

Etobicoke North Councilor Doug Ford said “Tim Hudak is right on for proposing bold new ideas to create jobs and map out a plan to break gridlock, including new subways for Toronto.”

Hudak concluded “Toronto business owners and the city’s economy can’t afford roads ripped up for surface-level transit. That will drive away customers, profits and jobs. Subways on the other hand are once-in-a-generation investments that offer the best return when it comes to speed, quality and value.”

To read Paths to Prosperity: An Agenda for Growth visit: www.ontariopc.com.

Ontario Can Be a Job Creator Again - read Paths to Prosperity: An Agenda for Growth

This morning, I will join Ontario PC Deputy Leader Christine Elliott to release our latest white paper, Paths to Prosperity: An Agenda for Growth – and we wanted you to be the first to know.

I know Ontario will once again lead Canada in job creation.  But with 600,000 unemployed Ontarians, it’s going to take transformative change and bold action to put people back to work.

The current government’s plan has failed, resulting in a record of soaring power rates, increased taxes, a costly and time-consuming regulatory burden and overspending that has the province careening toward a $30-billion deficit.

The PC Job Creation Task Force has spent months consulting with people like you – our grassroots members, small business owners, entrepreneurs and industry leaders.  The result is An Agenda for Growth – our plan to make Ontario the leader in job creation again.  It features 15 bold proposals to grow the economy and create jobs, including:

• Balancing the budget quicker than the current plan, which will take another 5 years and add billions of dollars to our debt
• Creating a level playing field for all to succeed through lower taxes, freer trade, ending corporate welfare and reducing the regulatory burden by at least 33 percent over 3 years
• Strengthening the skilled trades

One particular proposal I wanted to draw your attention to is our idea to break gridlock in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.  Gridlock is costing our economy billions in lost productivity. We need an integrated commuter rail network with a seamless commuter experience across GO rail and TTC subways and LRTs.  That’s why we’re proposing to fully integrate the existing GTHA commuter rail network by transferring TTC subway and future LRTs to Metrolinx.   This proposal would reduce intergovernmental fighting, promote accountability and accelerate transportation decisions.  The result will be less traffic and more jobs.

I would encourage you to read the proposals in An Agenda for Growth and to share your own ideas to create jobs and turn our economy around.

Click here to be the first one to read An Agenda For Growth and send us your feedback.

Sincerely,

Tim Hudak
Leader, Ontario PC Party