Ms. Lisa MacLeod: What's actually sad is that this government, this Liberal government, will put this on the table today after it has not been discussed for almost an entire year, if it has not been-yes, it has been an entire year. It was introduced on March 22, 2010. Why is it appearing now? Because this government, this Liberal government, wants to inject itself into a federal election. They saw yesterday that their hero, Mr. Ignatieff, couldn't win a federal debate, so we have to bring this up to talk about something to intervene in a federal election.

But let me tell you something. The members on this side of the House, in the official opposition, have been very clear that we support a national securities regulator housed in Toronto. We have been very clear about that. We have been very clear about that since the government agencies committee actually brought in the Ontario Securities Commission to talk about what they're doing and did a review of the entire agency. At that time, we echoed exactly what the federal finance minister, Jim Flaherty, was saying in his budget a few years ago.

Let's not forget that Jim Flaherty is the architect of this idea, who believes that there should be a national securities regulator. He was the first finance minister in this country to actually put that in a budget, and guess what? Not only was the member from Durham at that budget, not only was the member from Whitby-Oshawa at that budget, but I too sat there to watch the finance minister of the day-who, I imagine, in a few weeks will remain Canada's finance minister-bring that to the floor of the House of Commons.

The question here today is not whether people support Toronto as the economic centre of this nation; the question here today is, why did they have to hide the title of their throne speech in this motion? That is the question. They are trying to force people into either voting for something that we don't support, which is their Open Ontario initiative, or to vote against it, to suggest and imply that members of this side of the House don't recognize Toronto as the economic and financial capital of this province and this country. And we do; I want to be very, very clear with you and with the folks who are at home that the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and our caucus, under the leadership of Tim Hudak, supports this notion of a national securities regulator, but also that we support its headquarters here in the province of Ontario.

At the time, I had asked Mr. Wilson, who was a previous head of the OSC, a lot of different questions about how a national securities regulator would actually impact the OSC and where those folks would find jobs, and he was very much in favour at the time. We, of course, now have a new head of the securities regulator, Mr. Wetston. My colleague here from Oxford was there when we brought him in, and I believe he was endorsed by our government agencies committee.

But the reality is that the heart of this resolution, as my colleague from Burlington said, is trickery. They're trying to trick people. And why are they bringing it up over a year later? It can't be that much of a priority for them, other than to get engaged in this federal election, which I think demeans this House. There's no point in trying to intervene in an election which these federal parties are now engaged in.

We can all take our own personal views outside this chamber and into our constituencies, should we so choose, and I often do. I'm a big advocate for that. After all, we are in a democracy. But using this Legislature for a wedge issue like this or a wedge resolution is despicable, and quite frankly, I think it's beneath the government of the day.

They actually had an opportunity a year ago to debate this, which was, I believe, timely. It was not too long after Mr. Flaherty brought forward this resolution into his budget in the Parliament of Canada, and so we ask now why-why, why, why is this being debated in the middle of a federal election?

Are we going to be expecting Dwight Duncan, the finance minister of the day, to do what he said on the day of the election, which is to get involved in the federal election? He'll go out helping his Liberal counterparts. I have no problem with that, but just don't use your budget and don't use this motion to try and divide and conquer Ontarians and Canadians. That's wrong. This government should be well above that and well above reproach. Unfortunately, they aren't.

My colleagues have spoken on this bill, I think, because we are so offended that the government of the day has tried to trick Ontarians and Canadians. They must imagine us all for fools, but I can assure you, we aren't. Of course, on October 6, 2011, we will indeed show them who needs change in this province; I suspect that will come very quickly.

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My colleague Peter Shurman, who is our economic development critic, has spoken quite at length. He's also a member from the GTA, from Thornhill, and he talked about some of the positives that are in favour of Toronto and what the record is. I thought it was really interesting, in reading his speech earlier this morning, some of the things he pointed out.

Toronto is the heart, as we all know, of Canada's financial services sector. It's home to five of Canada's largest domestic banks, 55 foreign bank subsidiaries and branches, and 119 securities firms. Right now, you can count those groups like Manulife and Sun Life among two of the top 10 life insurers worldwide as residents in this city. The TMX Group, commonly known as the Toronto Stock Exchange, has its headquarters here. We also have the operations of seven of the top 10 largest global hedge fund administrators. He also tells us that the city of Toronto is the largest Wi-Fi zone in Canada.

Coming from Ottawa, obviously we like to champion our city, and I'm very proud of that. It's also the home of our nation's capital; the federal seat of Parliament resides in the city that I represent. However, those of us from this province champion not only our nation's capital but also our financial and provincial capital.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that you're engaged in this conversation that is going on beside me, but it's fine. They're actually just whispering what I should be saying; right?

Mr. John O'Toole: No, no.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: No, no?

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: Just trying to be of assistance.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: They're trying to be of assistance.

My colleague from Durham has noted, and I believe the member from Cambridge quite elegantly noted, the importance of Toronto, but also that this government is not being fair with the people in bringing this motion forward. It's so timely for them. If you wanted to get involved in a federal election by using this chamber-which they've already done by using their budget-then this would be a perfect time for it.

I look at what's happening in Peterborough with my friend Dean Del Mastro, and what may happen there on October 6. We're looking forward to change in Ontario and being able to work with the federal government, instead of seeing this particular chamber always pick a fight with our federal government, which will be returned, of course, on May 2.

I just want to talk a little bit more about the mutual fund industry. Of course, they were hard hit, as many of you will know, through the HST. I worked with many of those mutual fund companies that were telling us that this was going to be an extra tax on people who were trying to save for their retirement. The Mackenzie Financial report estimated that the cost of the HST for a $100,000 portfolio would be almost $2,500 over the course of 10 years. On larger portfolios, that would be much more.

Why do I bring that up? Because the mutual fund industry, as I mentioned earlier, is very large here in Toronto. If the government of this day, this Liberal government, chose to actually be supportive of the financial services sector here in Ontario, they would have listened to people from Mackenzie Financial, CI Financial and other groups that were here and spoke on many occasions to the Minister of Finance, but also to committee.

I remember, when the HST was being brought in, that young stockbrokers and young mutual fund agents would be in the galleries up there, because they knew how much this was going to tax not only their own industry but certainly the people they represent. They didn't think it was fair that somebody who was working hard, playing by the rules and saving was going to lose about $2,500 in extra taxes after they had been saving.

So again, if you think this is a government that actually feels compelled to support the Toronto financial sector, you have to think again, and you have to consider what their motivations are for bringing this forward. They're bringing it forward well after they've entrenched the HST into law. It's a $3-billion tax grab that comes from middle-income families, many of whom have been hit with very high hydro rates and high gas prices and a plethora of other increases to the cost of living. That's a motivation. They wanted to hide this bill so that we couldn't talk about it at that particular time.

The other motivation is that they clearly would like to get engaged in the federal government election that is occurring right now. By all accounts, as proud Ontarians, we all know that this is a very important province in the federal election landscape, and of course they want to use and abuse their powers in this chamber to force an outcome.

I can tell you, though, I think that Ontario voters won't be fooled by them; they refuse to be fooled by them, and I think they're going to show up in numbers and disregard these political games my colleagues opposite are playing right now. I'll continue, as do my colleagues in the chamber on the opposition side, to support a national securities regulator, but more than that, support its location in Toronto.

There are a number of outlying issues, and I believe my colleague from Cambridge mentioned them earlier in debate. We were talking about other provinces not exactly being engaged in this process or actually pushing back; they're not completely supportive of a national securities regulator. I think that's when we ought to be assisting, as a chamber, that message.

I guess the question then comes back to the government. You can put forward this little fluffy motion that really doesn't mean anything because, again, it's not binding. If they really supported this, here's what I would do-and this is some free advice to this government. I'm happy to give them free advice. If they were very serious about a national securities regulator and they were serious about housing it in the city of Toronto, this is what I would do: I would pick up the phone and I would call every finance minister in Canada and encourage them to get to the table, to buy into this-that means Quebec, Alberta, the Maritimes and other provinces-to ensure that they know the value of hosting a national securities regulator not only in Canada but specifically right here in the city of Toronto.

I would be investing my efforts and energy to bring those finance ministers from across Canada to this provincial capital, but also to Canada's financial capital, and I would do that with the federal finance minister. But you're not going to find them doing that, because it's just not their style. They would rather put forward this flimsy, four-line motion that means absolutely nothing, with the exception of trying to wedge the opposition against the financial services sector and the folks of Toronto and trying to engage in a political campaign that we're not actually engaged in here in this chamber.

That is what is so offensive to us on this side of the House. If they were serious and they really wanted to support a national securities regulator, there are lots of ways to do it. This motion is not how you do it. In fact, this motion actually speaks against exactly what they want to do because they're using it as a political tool, but that's what they do.

When you have no ideas of your own, what do you do? You fight with Ottawa. I knew that when I was a young person working on Parliament Hill. You would always know that when you're in trouble at home, the provinces would pick a fight with the federal government.

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: Yes, they try that.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Of course, this government does it all the time.

My colleague right here from Oxford is a prime example. As our critic for agriculture, he has been standing up for farmers and he has been working with our federal counterparts. He is responsible for the risk management program in this province that was in the last budget because of hard work and the credibility he has with farmers across this province. At the last minute, this crowd across the way decides they're going to get engaged when they don't have to do a payout. Is that not right?

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: Exactly, exactly. No payout this year, so out comes the announcement.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: They don't have to do a payout, so they decide they're going to minimally support that program. But I can tell you something: The member from Oxford understands how to get things done and the member from Oxford understands-

Interjections.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): I'd like to hear the speaker who has the floor, so we'll have some order, please.

The member for Nepean-Carleton.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker.

Again, as I said, my colleague from Oxford knows how to get things done.

Do you know what the most frustrating thing in this House is? It's when this Legislature will go into a full rant and we'll have a minister opposite completely blow a gasket. Why are they blowing a gasket? Because they're in trouble, and they say, "Call your federal cousins." That's hilarious. Can't they do their job? Can't they actually represent the province? No, they can't because they're so focused on the small stuff, on the little stuff, on the things that aren't going to matter and playing little games.

But I can tell you something: It's about to come to an end. They've got less than six months over there. It's going to be a long, long road, the next six months, for them. I look at my friend from Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock. It's got to be tough for him to know that in another five or six months he'll be retired from this place and we'll be bringing, of course, our friend Laurie Scott back.

I look across the way at some of the other friends who are going to be leaving. The reality is, I wish them well. I hope, when they leave this place, that they'll take with them the fond memories we've all had here.

But I'm looking forward, of course, to continuing this debate to talk about a national securities regulator for Toronto, because as I said, this party clearly supports this. We have been on the record as supporting this. In fact, during those exact debates I was talking about earlier with my colleague from Oxford at government agencies, I believe our leader actually participated in some of those hearings, as our finance critic previously. So it was great.

I hear a lot of talk about Gerry Ritz, and I can tell you-here's a little story, actually. We have some time in the morning. I was talking to Gerry Ritz a couple weeks ago, maybe a month ago, about agriculture. He was very well received in my suburban rural community. And do you know what he said? He said, "Lisa, we need to get that agriculture minister in Ontario to start working with us." Do you know what he said?

Interjections.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): The member for Nepean-Carleton, what we need to do is get back on the subject of the resolution.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Here's the subject, though, because it does play into interprovincial and intergovernmental affairs.

So he says to me, "We need to start working with that agriculture minister of yours." I said, "You know what, Minister Ritz? You're right." And this is what he said. He said, "Yeah, you tell him to give me a call." The federal Minister of Agriculture had no idea who the agriculture minister was in Ontario-two consecutive ministers who were females. But they don't do anything. They're so ineffective they're not picking up the phone.

It goes to the heart of this legislation that's before us. It speaks exactly to this legislation before us. It says they won't work with their federal counterparts, that they'll only complain about them in this Legislature and that they'll try to play partisan political games, but they won't pick up the phone to do what needs to be done. Whether that is calling their federal counterparts or-in this case, they should also be calling not only their federal counterparts but every single finance minister in this country. But they won't do it and they don't do it, and we continue to debate silly little non-binding resolutions here and listen to the Backstreet Boys over in the corner heckle as the legislators here on the opposition side want to be committed to actually seeing a financial services regulator here in the city of Toronto. We could be no more disturbed by this legislation than we are at most things that they do.

But again, I go back to the fact that the Ontario Progressive Conservatives support a national securities regulator in the province of Ontario. We support its location in the city of Toronto. We are going to continue to support that, but we will not support this legislation. We will not allow the Liberal Party of Ontario to put us into a corner. We will not allow them to divide us through wedge politics. We will make sure that when we form government on October 6, 2011, we push this idea forward and that we work with our federal counterparts to ensure it will happen.

In the short moment I have left, I want to continue to support my colleague from Oxford, again, for doing what no one on that side could do, and that is bring forward a risk management strategy. Because here is the heart of things: As somebody who represents a suburban/rural riding, a risk management strategy for Ontario is important, as is the Toronto national securities regulator in this province. I will continue to champion that. I will continue to support my colleague from Oxford.

I've enjoyed this opportunity to debate. Thank you very much.

Debate deemed adjourned.