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Ontario Hansard - 17-November2009
The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Julia Munro): The member for Nepean-Carleton has given notice of dissatisfaction with the answer to a question given today by the Minister of Finance. The member has up to five minutes to debate the matter and the parliamentary assistant, the member for Pickering-Scarborough East, may reply for up to five minutes. The member for Nepean-Carleton.
Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I'm actually astonished. The moment you said we were rising on the adjournment proceedings, 45 Liberals walked out of the chamber. I must say that this is appalling. Not only did they just subvert democracy by pushing away the ability for us to bring forward-
Interjections.
Mr. Bob Delaney: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.
The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Julia Munro): No, there can't be a point of order during this period. I would just remind the member, though, not to refer to the presence or absence of members.
Ms. Lisa MacLeod: In a few minutes we'll try and get a response out of someone from the Liberal government-it is not clear-on why they're trying to block public hearings in Cornwall, Kingston, Thunder Bay, North Bay, London and several communities like Strathroy, Sarnia, Thornhill and others right across the province for those hundreds of thousands of Ontarians who are opposed to the harmonized sales tax.
What is happening to democracy in this chamber is astounding. Not only did we just see a Liberal government block the ability of the official opposition to bring two of the key characters in the eHealth billion-dollar scandal before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts; the reality is we're not able to get the answers we deserve, nor are Ontarians able to come to this chamber or to their own community centres to speak to Ontario legislators about their concerns over a $3-billion tax grab that is going to add 8% more to their home heating, to their maintenance fees, to their snow removal, to their Christmas tree, for heaven's sake-
Interjection: To kids' sports.
Ms. Lisa MacLeod: -to children's sports, and to so many other items right across this province.
It used to be said that there were two things certain in life: death and taxes. Now we have three: death, taxes, and death and taxes, thanks to Mr. McGuinty, Mr. Duncan and Mr. Wilkinson.
We will stand in opposition to that $3-billion tax grab on Ontarians at the worst possible time: at a time when Ontarians are out of work; at a time when we are accepting welfare payments for the first time ever as a partner in Confederation; at a time when 300,000 Ontarians are out of well-paying manufacturing jobs, because of them. And what do they have to show for it? A $25-billion deficit. That's why they don't want to go to Cornwall, to Kingston, to Thunder Bay, to Sarnia, to North Bay, to London, to Brampton. That's why they don't want to go to community centres right across this province: They don't want to hear the truth.
Instead, what they're going to do is try to ram this HST through this Ontario Legislature before Christmas. They're going to try to pass into law, through the back door-
Mr. Peter Shurman: Merry Christmas.
Ms. Lisa MacLeod: -a $3-billion tax grab, and as my colleague Peter Shurman just said, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas-8% more. And what they won't do is bring this to their constituents.
As we all know on this side of the House-not only the Progressive Conservative caucus, but our friends and colleagues in the New Democrats-the reality is that Ontarians don't want this. They're e-mailing us.
I can tell you another thing: The people of Nepean-Carleton are no different from the people of Ottawa South, Ottawa West-Nepean, Ottawa-Orléans, Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry. Those people don't have a true voice in the Ontario Legislature. Those people have a Liberal MPP who is listening to Dwight Duncan force this through the Legislature. So those folks are coming to Nepean-Carleton; they're going to Carleton-Mississippi Mills; they're going to the leader of the official opposition and asking him to continue to apply public pressure. And it has worked so far. We saw this with the transition rules on prepaid funerals; we saw this with the exemptions for Tim Hortons coffee and newspapers. But what we haven't seen is them standing up on behalf of their constituents and asking the finance minister and the Premier to come to their hometowns to explain to the people of this province why they want to put a $3-billion tax grab under their Christmas tree this year.
I look forward to hearing why they will not travel this province over a prolonged period of time.
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