Bagmen, Pro “Rogues”, Service Cuts, and the Liberal’s 36 Cent “Solution”
With the warm months quickly coming to an end and the legislature back in session, it’s about time for another Scuttlebutt. From long Service Ontario wait times and PSW cuts for seniors, to cash-for-access scandals and ever-increasing hydro prices, it has certainly been a busy few months. Just recently, the Wynne Liberals decided that they needed to “reset” their political agenda and prorogued parliament, only to re-introduce all the same bills as before. The only new addition to this “reset” agenda was a meager 36 cent a day rebate on hydro costs, which you can watch me debate here.
As well, I would also like to take the time to draw your attention to a couple of events taking place in the near future which I sincerely hope you will be able to join me at.
Wednesday Oct 5th, 2016 at 7:00 PM – Telephone Town Hall on Hydro Prices
I will be hosting a telephone town hall on Wednesday the 5th of October to discuss Ontario’s broken hydro system. I will be offering up solutions and taking questions from members of the public. Click here to register
Tuesday Oct 11th (Ottawa) / Thursday Oct 13th (Toronto) at 5:30PM – One Soldier Book Launch
I would like to invite you to attend the launch of the book “One Soldier” which is written by my sons Russell and Dillon, and details Dillon’s story as the first Canadian volunteer to fight ISIS in Iraq with the Kurdish Army. You can RSVP to either the Ottawa or Toronto events here.
ONTARIO’S LUBRICIOUS THRONE SPEECH
I took the Liberals to task earlier this month when they announced that they would be proroguing parliament in order to reset their agenda and have another speech from the throne. As expected their throne speech was nothing more than lubricious lip service to old commitments and the re-introduction of all their old bills.
CHAMPLAIN CCAC CUTS SERVICE FOR SENIORS
As some of you may be aware; I expressed my concern and demanded a reversal of the Champlain CCAC’s decision to cut PSW support for seniors in half. I was disheartened to learn that many seniors will now only be receiving 15 minutes of assisted care, which I believe is hardly a sufficient length of time to provide proper care. This news adds insult to injury after numerous complaints against the Champlain CCAC previous to this development.
CASH-FOR-ACCESS AND BACKROOM BAGMEN
On a number of occasions so far this September I have been able to strike a nerve among the Liberals by bringing up the consequences of Bill 2, formerly Bill 201, aimed at supposedly “fixing” our election finance laws. Unfortunately in its current state Bill 2 has a number of glaring holes.
OMBUDSMAN INVESTIGATION INTO SERVICE ONTARIO
After learning that senior citizens where being subjected to long wait times and poor service when trying to arrange driver’s tests, I sent a letter to the Ombudsman asking for a formal investigation. Individuals who turn are 80+ must take a driver’s reevaluation test every two years which can only be booked over the phone which has caused significant frustration among many elderly drivers. The Ombudsman has since responded to the request by assigning staff to conduct a preliminary review of the situation.
THE AGENDA WITH STEVE PAIKIN
I would like to invite you to tune in to TVO’s “The Agenda With Steve Paikin” , Thursday the 29th at 8:00PM where I will be on an oppositional panel discussing the broken state of our “cash for political access” system.
To keep up to date on all the latest news and announcements from my office please take the time to like my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter. If you have any questions or concerns I can be contacted by email at [email protected] or by phone at 613-267-8239.