July 11, 2012

Today, the Standing Committee on Estimates sent a report to the Speaker of the House to rule on whether or not the Minister of Energy, Hon. Chris Bentley, will be found in contempt of the Legislature. Rob Leone, MPP for Cambridge, Michael Harris, MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga and Rick Nicholls, MPP for Chatham-Kent-Essex, cast votes in favour of the report.

This comes a day after the McGuinty government finally revealed a $180 million price tag for scrapping the Mississauga gas plant.

“The Minister continues to shirk his responsibility to the people of Ontario by failing to table documents in this Committee,” Leone said Wednesday. “He has repeatedly gone out of his way to conceal the cost of this government’s gross mishandling of two separate power plants, resulting in $180 million that should have been put towards Health Care and Education.“

A year after building and cancelling a gas-fired power plant in Oakville, the Liberals followed suit in Mississauga, building another plant amid vocal community opposition, and promptly cancelled it days before the October 6th election, when political convenience prevailed.

Harris highlighted the Liberal government’s mismanagement and waste on this file by listing several examples the relocation costs could have been used for.

“The $180 million the Liberal government wasted on its seat-saver program in the last election could have sent more than 27,000 post-secondary students to school for the year,” Harris said. “To put it into perspective, that amount could have covered the tuition of the entire student body at the University of Waterloo for one year.”

The report was sent to the Speaker’s office today where it will be reviewed and ruled upon when the House resumes for the fall session. If found in contempt, the Speaker could issue a warrant for the documents, while the Minister himself could be censured.

Cambridge – Cambridge MPP Rob Leone says residents of Cambridge and North Dumfries should brace themselves for higher energy costs with a smart meter fee and new time-of-use pricing courtesy of Dalton McGuinty’s energy policies.

Residents will be feeling the pinch in paying their hydro bill on two fronts. There will be a fee of between $1.61 and $1.99 that is added to residents’ monthly hydro bills. In addition, new time-of-use rules have kicked in meaning that Cambridge and North Dumfries will be paying more for hydro between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

“This proves what our party has said all along – smart meters are nothing more than tax machines and they have to go,” said Leone. “With these new charges that Dalton McGuinty wants to tack on, smart meters will be adding hundreds of dollars a year to the average hydro bill,” said Leone.

The excessively hot and humid summer is making energy consumption escalate in order to keep residents safe and healthy. However, during the warmest period of the day, hydro consumers are paying the most. Some residents who work later shifts and seniors who are home the majority of the day cannot simply shut off their energy consumption.

“Workers who work afternoon or night shifts are being discriminated against because they cannot use energy when it is cheaper as they are working. Therefore, they are stuck paying a higher bill and cannot do anything about it,” stated Leone.

“Seniors who are trying to stay cool are being forced to shut off the air conditioning because their hydro prices are escalating, but their incomes are fixed, meaning they are running into financial difficulties,” Leone added.

Leone believes there is a better way forward in keeping our energy costs down. Rather than investing billions of dollars into the Green Energy Act, Leone believes that the PC Caucus White Paper on Energy is the best approach to making energy more affordable for people and businesses.

“It’s time for Ontario ratepayers to put their foot down and demand Dalton McGuinty halt his endless string of sneaky tax hikes,” Leone concluded.

For further Information please contact:

Cal MacLellan
Legislative Assistant to Rob Leone, MPP
416-325-8451
cal.maclellan@pc.ola.org

Queen’s Park –Rob Leone, MPP for Cambridge, is pleased to learn that the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) review will hold public hearings in Waterloo Region on July, 9th, 2012.

“This is long overdue” said Leone. “The PC Caucus has been calling for this Committee to travel since the beginning and obviously, with so much aggregate extraction happening in the area, Waterloo Region makes a great location for the hearings.”

“As MPPs reviewing this act, members of the committee have an obligation to hear from municipalities, industry representatives and residents most familiar with aggregates” said Leone. “Residents of my riding of Cambridge and the greater region experience extraction first hand so it was important for us that these hearings be accessible to them.”

After repeated calls from Leone and other PC members, the Standing Committee on General Government which is undertaking the ARA review, passed a motion approving the Committee’s travel schedule. The committee determined that the hearings would take place in Waterloo region, Dufferin-Caledon, Manitoulin Island, and Ottawa.

For information on the time and location of the hearings as they become available, or to find out how to make a deputation before the Standing Committee on General Government on the ARA review, please contact:

Office of Rob Leone, MPP Cambridge
Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario
416-325-8451

As a result of the McGuinty Government’s inaction on the economy, residents of Kitchener-Waterloo are facing the prospect of significant job losses at Research in Motion (RIM).

“There is no action plan for job creation in the budget,” said Ontario PC MPP Rob Leone. “Premier McGuinty’s idea for economic development involves more taxes, more spending and more consulting. Businesses today need immediate action to fix the jobs crisis that Dalton McGuinty created.”

Ontario’s economy is lagging and underperforming. In the past month, credit agencies have not only downgraded the province’s economic outlook, but Moody’s has given the McGuinty Liberals an outright credit downgrade. A mere one percent increase in borrowing costs would result in an additional $500 million needed to service our debt, money that would not be paying for more front-line nurses and doctors.

“I know it is BBQ season in Ontario, but it doesn’t mean that the Government can put more pork on the spit in the form of a slush fund earmarked for Liberal supporters,” said Leone.

As a result of the McGuinty Government’s mismanagement, unemployment has been higher than the national average for 64 months. “It seems that the only people in Ontario that have a job are those in Government who create endless ways to spend money,” added Leone.

“The first step of treating their addiction to economic underperformance is to admit that they have a problem. I just hope that the Premier and the Government can admit that before another Credit downgrade,” concluded Leone.

QUEEN’S PARK — Liberal members of the Standing Committee on Estimates are attempting to obstruct a legislative investigation into the abruptly cancelled power plants in Oakville and Mississauga.

In the run-up to the 2011 provincial election, the Liberal government hastily cancelled two major power plant developments following significant outcry from local residents concerned about the plants’ proximity to residential communities.

“The people of Ontario were told that these power plants were absolutely critical to the province’s future power supply. Obviously, these plants weren’t as important as saving the Liberal seats their development threatened,” said MPP Vic Fedeli, PC Critic for Energy. malawi . “Its clear that the Liberal government cancelled these plants to save Liberal seats without any regard for the consequences.”

The Liberal government has refused to reveal the estimated costs of canceling these two massive power developments. Industry experts anticipate the cancellations will cost Ontario taxpayers over $1 billion in penalties and lawsuits.

“The PC members of the Estimates committee are trying to get to the bottom of this situation. We’ve requested access to public documents but have been met with nothing but obstruction, delays and stonewalling every step of the way,” said MPP Rob Leone. “The Liberal members of the committee have attempted to keep Ontarians in the dark about the impact of these plant cancellations.”

“We have seen cover-up after cover-up at the OLG, eHealth, Hydro One and most recently, the Liberal Government has attempted to cover-up the ongoing scandal that plagues ORNGE and the Health Minister Deb Matthews,” added Leone.

This is just another example of a broader trend that is emerging in Ontario as a result of the McGuinty Liberals disregard for transparency and accountability.

“It is time that the Liberals stop their obstruction and allow the Standing Committee on Estimates to study how much taxpayers’ and ratepayers’ are on the hook as a result of the McGuinty government’s incompetency,” concluded Leone.

CAMBRIDGE — Rob Leone, MPP for Cambridge and North Dumfries is calling on the Liberals and NDP to reconsider their decision not to take the review of the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) to other parts of the province.

“This issue has been a significant concern forNorth Dumfries residents for several years now,” said Leone. “To ensure a meaningful review of the Aggregate Resources Act, the Committee must have the opportunity to hear from people in Cambridge and North Dumfries, as well as other aggregate-producing parts of the province.”

The ARA review received all-party support in the Ontario Legislature on March 22nd. This review is being conducted by the Standing Committee on General Government. As it now stands, there are only two remaining dates scheduled inToronto, May 14th from 2pm to 6pm and May 16th from 4pm to 6pm.

“It is unacceptable for the Liberals and NDP to restrict the hearing of witnesses and presentations to just 4 days – with no travel outside the City of Toronto,” said Leone. “Let’s be reasonable, when was the last time you saw a gravel pit in downtown Toronto?”

“North Dumfries Township represents a significant portion of the province’s aggregates and based on the number of current and future aggregate applications in our community, it makes sense for the Committee to visit North Dumfries,” added Leone.

Ontarians join other Canadians this year to mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada, said Rob Leone, MPP for Cambridge.

To celebrate this achievement a new commemorative medal was created. The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal is not only a way for Canadians to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country, but also provides us with the opportunity to honour individuals who have made significant contributions and achievements in our community.

“I would like to take this opportunity to announce that I am accepting nominations for residents in Cambridge and North Dumfries,” said Leone. “I am looking to honour community members who are community builders, not-for-profit Leaders, business community leaders, sports excellence, and youth leaders.”

To be eligible for this honour, a person must:

•  Be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, but need not necessarily reside in Canada;
• Have made a significant contribution to a particular province, territory, region or community within Canada, or an achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada; and,
• Be alive on February 6th, 2012, the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession to the Throne. The medal can be awarded posthumously, as long as the recipient was alive on that date.

“I will present fourteen medals to community members in Cambridge and North Dumfries who have made exceptional contributions to the province and our community,” added Leone. “Please take the time to nominate one of the many deserving individuals in our community.”

Nominations must be submitted, by noon on April 27th, 2012, to diamondjubilee@robleonempp.com. In 300 words, clearly identify the reason that this individual deserves to be recognized with this honour.