Politicians critical of premiers decision to prorogue legislature

By shutting down the legislature, the Liberal government put its own political interest above the public interest, states Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced on Oct. 15 that he would be stepping down as leader of the Liberal party as soon as a convention could be held to elect a replacement. The premier also prorogued the legislature and stated he would seek to work with public-sector unions in negotiating wage freezes, or to find a compromise with either the opposition PCs or NDP on a legislation solution.

“The Premier has the right to step down whenever he wants,” Pettapiece acknowledged. “Certainly, he deserves our gratitude for so many years of public service.”

“But the premier’s stepping down is no reason to suspend the legislature. My constituents rightly expect that MPPs should be at work at Queen’s Park dealing with critical issues facing Ontario. We can’t afford to ignore the serious problems facing the province until it’s convenient for the Liberals.”

Pettapeice points out in an Oct. 17 press release,  “opposition MPPs had been trying to get to the bottom of the hundreds of millions of dollars wasted on cancelled power plants in Oakville and Mississauga, and the government’s refusal to turn over all the related documents.

“The premier’s timing in shutting down the legislature is irresponsible and extremely disappointing,” said Pettapiece.

Pettapiece contends the manner in which the house was prorogued violates rules of the legislature. The government must, when proroguing the House, announce the approximate date on which the assembly will be reconvened. The Liberal government has not done that, Pettapiece noted.

Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott also stated the Liberal government is doing a disservice to Ontarians by shutting down the legislature while they choose a new leader.

“Ontario has a $14 billion deficit this year and a debt that is growing larger by the day,” said Arnott.  “We have an economy that is stagnating and an unemployment rate that stands at 7.8 per cent.  We have the Ornge air ambulance scandal, the hundreds of millions wasted on the cancellation of the Oakville and Mississauga power plants, and we have the Government’s initial refusal to turn over related documents.

“As elected representatives, right now we should be in the House debating these important issues, and all the others,” he added.

Conservative Leader Tim Hudak also criticized McGuinty’s decision.

“Ontario is facing major challenges,” Hudak said. “By proroguing the house, the critical work that needs to be done to address Ontario’s jobs and debt crisis has been put on hold.”

Provincial New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath is also calling on McGuinty to get MPPs back to work after he prorogued the legislature.

“Last September voters sent 107 MPPs here from all corners of the province to do an important job. Yesterday the McGuinty government decided we should all stop working,” said Horwath. “I believe that when 600,000 people in Ontario are looking for work, we should be doing the job we’re paid to do.”

Horwath noted that by proroguing the house the government put hundreds of pieces of legislation into limbo  and postponed a review of Local Health Integration Networks.