I hope that we can begin to cut through all of the words and make some forward moves in 2008. I've spent the first couple of months in office as your MPP getting to know many of you. I want the number to expand dramatically as we head into a new year. 2007 was, for the most part, a year of rhetoric. Since it was an election year, no surprise!
The Liberals spent a lot of time telling everyone how well they'd done. We spent a lot of time saying that we had a different approach. The election came and went in October and we now have the best part of four years to continue our efforts and to get to another crossroads.
My experiences in the period since the election have taken me to hospitals, schools, social clubs, civic recreation venues, municipal political offices and council chambers, hospitals, churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues, among other places. Everywhere I go, I am made welcome. Do all of these people really think Peter Shurman's a great guy? Wouldn't that be nice! But I am well aware that what I'm seeing is respect for the office I hold along with the desire to evoke positive change through that office. I take that seriously.
There are several disturbing and recurring elements to these visits. People in our riding of Thornhill know that in the near 905, more can and must be done. Our health dollars are lower on a per capita basis than they are in the 416 or in other parts of the province. Do we need another hospital in Vaughan, for example? Of course we do...but, as the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. We need to press for that hospital and for a general increase in health funding. Do you know how pressured the York Central Hospital is in terms of addressing the size and scope of our population right now? We have to illuminate the already recognized need for additional family physicians. One of the ways to address the shortage is to expedite the licensing process. We have dozens of qualified doctors from other countries right here in Thornhill but their ability and willingness to practice now and practice anywhere they're sent is being short circuited. I can and will fix that.
Another item we need to underscore is our need for more quality time with our families by getting moms and dads off the roads faster. The way to do this is to accelerate the construction of good public transit. More public transit in more accessible locations means more people using it and fewer cars on the road. That, in turn, lowers greenhouse gas emissions and puts families together for more hours every day. That's why we pay taxes and expect strategic plans for health and for transportation. I could discuss similar planning for the economy and other elements of Ontario life but I'll save those for another blog entry because, right now, the things we need for our kids and for ourselves are waiting for answers and my job is to let you and Dalton McGuinty know that we can't wait any longer. Let's plan to work together to achieve some significant progress on these important issues in 2008.