April 20, 2010

News

Today, PC Revenue & Government Accountability Critic Lisa MacLeod will introduce the Truth in Government Act, 2010. MacLeod's legislation contains a series of taxpayer protection measures that will expand freedom of information across government, and ensure disclosure of hospitality expenses, job reclassifications and contracts and grants over $10,000 at provincial public sector bodies.

Today, MacLeod was joined by Kevin Gaudet, the federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and Peter Coleman, the President of the National Citizens Coalition to unveil the 5 point plan for truth in government.

The accountability measures in the Truth in Government Act would have prevented recent Liberal scandals, waste and taxpayer abuses at eHealth, Cancer Care Ontario, OLG, WSIB and Dalton McGuinty's LHINs.

"The PC 5 point plan on accountability, when taken together will do more to bring truth in government and restore the public's confidence than any measures introduced by the Liberals.  This act, if passed, will hold anyone spending public money to a higher standard of behaviour."

-- Lisa MacLeod, Ontario PC MPP for Nepean-Carleton and Critic for Revenue and Government Accountability.

"This bill will help shed needed light on government spending. It mirrors some mechanisms already in place at the federal level and only brings Ontario spending up to that level.  Taxpayers should be able to know easily how their taxes are spent by government. This bill helps to accomplish that goal."                  -- Kevin Gaudet, Canadian Taxpayers Federation

"The National Citizens Coalition has always stood for transparency and value for hard working taxpayers. We fully support this bill and hope that it becomes law and brings back honesty and stops the rampant waste and scandal that seems to be the norm under the McGuinty government."

-- Peter Coleman, National Citizens Coalition

1. Expand the scope of Freedom of Information powers to all provincial public sector bodies so taxpayers can access details on how their tax dollars are being spent.  Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner has repeatedly called for this in every annual report since 2004 and the CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association has said expanding FOI powers to cover hospitals "can only help bolster public trust and confidence in hospitals and the broader public service".

2. Full proactive disclosure of all goods or service contracts over $10,000 at all provincial public sector bodies.  This measure would deter government waste and give taxpayers access to whether contracts were delivered on time and on budget.  In all likelihood this would have deterred large consulting contracts at eHealth by Liberal friendly consultants.

3. Full proactive disclosure of travel and hospitality expenses at all provincial public sector bodies.  This measure would expose organizations like the LHINs and would allow public opinion and public scrutiny to serve as a deterrent to waste across government.

4. Full proactive disclosure of grants over $10,000 at all provincial public bodies. Had this measure been in place in 2006 the Liberal slush fund scandal at the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration's office the public would not have needed and Auditor General's Investigation to uncover abuses that included forking over $1 Million to a cricket club that asked for $150,000.

5. Full proactive disclosure of all position reclassifications at all provincial public bodies so the public, the media and third party watch dog groups can monitor what has been to date been a stealth inflation in public sector wages that has tripled the Sunshine List under Dalton McGuinty.

Quick Facts

• A total of $3.6 billion dollars has been wasted during Dalton McGuinty's eHealth, the Windsor Energy Centre, the WSIB, MPAC, OLG, Mike Colle, Cancer Care Ontario, Samsung, Ontario Works, the ODSP, LHINs and HST tax collector scandals.

• Had these accountability and transparency reforms been in place, $20-million worth of Cancer Care Ontario contracts handed out to the Liberal-friendly firm Courtyard Group could have been caught sooner. CCO was only opened to FOI after the eHealth scandal was exposed

• These accountability and transparency reforms would ensure OLG-type expense scandals do not occur at the other 600 Agencies, Boards, and Commissions not covered by Dalton McGuinty