March 17th marks the return of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from its break. The Assembly has sat for a total of eight days (not including the Election of the Speaker and the Throne Speech). Although the Legislature hasn?t been in session, I have been busy meeting with constituents throughout Thornhill to hear your thoughts on issues of importance to you.
This legislative session promises to be lively. The debate on the Throne Speech is due to continue, and on March 17th I will have the opportunity to give my ?maiden speech? in the Legislature in response to the Throne Speech. Needless to say I am very excited. Soon after debate on the Throne Speech concludes, the McGuinty government will table its 2008 budget.
This budget is being introduced at a time when Ontario?s manufacturing sector continues to decline, petroleum prices skyrocket, and the global economy is at risk of recession. According to a February 26th article in the National Post, Ontario is at risk of becoming a ?have not? province and may be receiving equalization payments from Ottawa in the not-too-distant future. I find this scenario tough to imagine, however, there are a number of leading economists who insist it is very possible. It will be interesting to see what kind of a plan the McGuinty government devises to deal with the challenges ahead of us. Then again, rather than govern, the Premier may be content to point the finger at other levels of government (as he often does).
Readers may recall during a scrum a couple of weeks ago the Health Minister mused about wearing an adult diaper himself in order to determine if that is an appropriate means of care for our seniors. Quite rightly, the Minister was criticized for his cavalier attitude towards the plight of seniors. I assume there will be aspects in the budget that will attempt to address the issue of seniors care. Whether or not it is done in a meaningful way remains to be seen.
I fear what we have in Ontario is a government that is content to develop policies that amount to band-aid solutions for serious issues. What we require is a government that studies the issues facing Ontario, develops policies based on what is needed both now and in the future, and takes meaningful action to implement those policies. I look forward to holding Premier McGuinty and his government to account on your behalf.