The provincial government’s Throne Speech fails to address the needs of local communities, says Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece.
After being sworn in on July 3, Pettapiece attended the Throne Speech, which opened the new legislative session and set out the government’s agenda for the coming years.
“Today’s Throne Speech shows that the government has no plans to rein in its overspending,” Pettapiece said. “Only a day after Ontario’s debt outlook was changed from stable to negative, the government now says it will spend even more.”
While affirming Ontario’s As2 credit rating on July 2, Moody’s Investment Service changed its Ontario debt outlook from stable to negative, citing concerns over the Liberal government’s ability to eliminate a $12.5 billion deficit by 2017-18 as scheduled.
Guelph MPP Liz Sandals, the Liberal education minister said in a press release that her government, “has a plan to open Ontario to new opportunities, new jobs and new growth.
“We’ll make Ontario a North American leader in clean-water technology, expand post-secondary education and create an online university to help Ontarians get the training they need for the good jobs of the future,” she stated.
Pettapiece said the government’s agenda does not address the priorities his constituents have told him are important.
“The Liberals seem to be focused on improving transit and infrastructure in Greater Toronto and Hamilton to the tune of $15 billion with no plan to pay for it. At the same time, they don’t even address rural transit issues,” he said.
In a July 3 press release, Pettapiece stated that since first elected in 2011, he has advocated for GO service to Stratford, improved transit options for local communities, and support for local infrastructure projects including the former Connecting Link program.
However at the outset of the recent election Pettapiece was non-committal about the prospects of a Conservative government restoring Connecting Link funding to municipalities. Asked by the Wellington Advertiser if the issue would be addressed by the Tories during the campaign, Pettapiece said, “It may be… We are going to bring out an election platform that would try to save municipalities money. This is what they are looking for.”
It also laid out the government’s intent to create an Ontario Pension Plan, which Pettapiece said would add to “the financial pressures that many workers and employers already face.”
The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, introduced in the speech, is slated to be available to people who do not already have a workplace pension plan, starting in 2017. Its aim is to double the benefits retirees receive from the Canada Pension Plan.
“It is unacceptable that the government ignored the concerns we’ve heard many times,” said Pettapiece. “This plan does not address energy costs, access to health care services or debt repayment.”
Pettapiece said he looks forward to raising these issues in the legislature, which will continue to sit into the summer.
