Want of Confidence Vote by SDSG MPP Jim McDonell

Things are revving up at Queen’s Park as the committee investigations into the billion dollar power plant relocations and the ORNGE air ambulance scandals continue.  At the Justice Committee, Liberal Ministers and staffers continue to have selective amnesia during their sworn testimony, requiring letters and emails to prompt their memories.  One Liberal staff member couldn’t remember a $721 million offer made to Trans-Canada that they subsequently turned down for the Oakville relocation until an email with his name on it was produced.  Similarly, Premier Wynne could not recall a cancellation meeting she attended until the attendance record was produced highlighting that she had signed in as the chair-person.  Expert witnesses have pegged the relocation cost of this power plant at over $800 million, even though the Wynne Liberals are still sticking to their original estimate of $40 million.  The Auditor-General is expected to report back to the Legislature in September on the cancellation costs of the Oakville power plant.  Earlier this month, he identified that the taxpayers are on the hook for $275 million to move the Mississauga Plant, 50% higher than the Wynne government had acknowledged.

Since getting elected in October 2011, I have witnessed the continuous obstruction by the McGuinty-Wynne government to hide the truth from the people of Ontario.  Instead of focusing on the more than half a million people of this province who don’t have a job, they have turned all their attention to saving their own.  The gas plant scandal is the latest and most blatant example of the wasteful spending by this government.  Investigations into the ORGNE air ambulance and E-health scandals are being treated with the same callous disregard for the people’s basic right to open and transparent government.  At a time when we are seeing cuts to health care and to programs designed to help our most vulnerable, they are wasting billions of dollars.   It is for this reason that the Ontario PC caucus has introduced a non-confidence motion against this government.  Unfortunately, for the debate to occur, all three parties must agree to accept the motion.  We believe that this government and its unelected Premier have lost the confidence of the people to lead Ontario back to prosperity.  For far too long, Premier Wynne, former Premier McGuinty, and the Liberals have put their party ahead of the people of Ontario.  Their legislation, designed to secure large donations and the large Toronto vote at the expense of the taxpayer, is bankrupting our province.  Their policies have resulted in the highest energy rates in North America, the highest WSIB rates and property taxes in Canada, and unnecessary red tape that has resulted in our manufacturing companies either cancelling expansion projects here and closing their plants or moving them to another province or neighbouring state.  Enough is enough.  It’s time to put the people of Ontario first.