|
Ontario Hansard - 16-November2009
Ms. Lisa MacLeod: My question is for the Premier. Jason Grier is George Smitherman's former chief of staff and current riding president. Mr. Grier also is the vice-president of a national lobby firm where he bills himself as a specialist in infrastructure, health and energy procurement-all Mr. Smitherman's old files. Over the past three years, Mr. Grier was registered to lobby your government, including Mr. Smitherman.
What is the total amount of taxpayer money that was spent on deals between Mr. Smitherman and his top fundraiser/riding president?
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I would ask the member to rephrase that question and not be specifically drawing a member in and impugning motive.
Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Premier, what is the total amount of taxpayer dollars that were spent between the Minister of Health, Infrastructure and Energy, and Mr. Grier?
Hon. Dalton McGuinty: The honourable member alleges that because there is an individual who works on a riding association that there's somehow something unfortunate with that. There is a lobbyist at Strategy Corp. who is the first VP of the Ontario Conservative Party. There is a senior executive at Edelman who is the CFO and treasurer of the Ontario Conservative Party. There are a number of Conservative riding association presidents who are advocates or lobbyists on particular issues, including funding private religious schools.
We encourage all Ontarians to get involved in the political process, and if that includes serving on a riding association, that's something that we support.
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?
Ms. Lisa MacLeod: In two years those people might have to lobby us, because we'll be in government when your sorry government is thrown out. But we know Mr. Smitherman-we know he had a reputation for handing out sweetheart deals, and he handed Grier's clients over 100 million in taxpayer dollars.
Interjections.
Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I must have gotten their goat, but they didn't hear, I don't think, properly: $100 million went to Mr. Grier's clients. Those clients included Emergis, Merck Frosst, Abbott Laboratories and others. They all received $100 million, total, in contracts when Mr. Smitherman was at the helm. If Mr. Grier knocked on Mr. Smitherman's door, then his loyalties were divided between two people: one, looking out for his clients' interests by getting them government contracts; secondly, looking after Mr. Smitherman's interests as his top fundraiser.
I have a question for the Premier. What have you done about the cozy and suspect deals totalling more than 100 million taxpayer dollars?
1100
Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I'll name the program my colleague is reluctant to name: It's the Gardasil funding program. It's a three-year program funded by the federal government, aimed at vaccinating grade 8 girls against HPV. This is what my friend is complaining about. We're proud of that program. We think it's a benefit to our families that'll particularly benefit the young women, grade 8 girls.
|
