Ms. Lisa MacLeod: A pleasure to join this debate after a very successful blue blitz on Friday, where the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus and candidates travelled the province to talk about this government's plan to raise taxes yet again, if Ontarians are to give them another renewed mandate, which, I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, after our travels in 60 different communities with our leader, Tim Hudak, and I believe 23 members of the Ontario PC caucus-and even more PC candidates, we're hearing-is not going to be the case. They will not be re-elected.

I want to start by reading a quote from Dalton McGuinty on April 4, 2011, from Hansard: "[A] very good predictor of the future is what has happened in the past."

Now let's talk about Dalton McGuinty's record, because it will go a long way to predicting what the future holds if Ontario re-elects Dalton McGuinty again. Before the 2003 election, Dalton McGuinty emphatically denied he would increase taxes.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): I am reminded that we are to be careful with using names. Offices, we can use. Please. Thank you.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Premier McGuinty emphatically denied he would raise taxes. On September 11, 2003, prior to that year's election-and I know that my colleague from Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke will remember this-Premier McGuinty signed a pledge called the taxpayer protection promise. Let me read the pledge into the record. It read, "I, Dalton McGuinty, leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario, promise, if my party is elected as the next government, that I will: Not raise taxes or implement any new taxes without the ... consent of Ontario voters...."

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We all remember those commercials, the ones he ran more than 200 times during the election. We all know that signing that pledge helped get Dalton McGuinty and his Liberal government elected, and we all know what happened next. The minute he got the keys to the Premier's office from Ernie Eves, down the hall from this very chamber, Dalton McGuinty treated his word like it was nothing. His solemn promise to the people of Ontario meant nothing to him.

He brought in, at that time, the health tax. Of course, I wasn't a member of provincial Parliament at that time; John Baird, the current House leader in Parliament, was. At that time, he called Mr. McGuinty and his finance minister of the day a name I'm not able to say in this chamber, because it was the single largest tax grab in the history of Ontario, taking $3 billion a year out of the pockets of Ontario families in the name of health care when not a single penny of that tax goes into health care; it only goes into general revenue.

I have here, in my hands, a chart about how much the health tax costs Ontario families. Those people making $21,000 a year are paying $60 a year in health tax. From $25,000 to $36,000, people are paying $300 a year. At $36,500, people are paying $330. The list goes on. People being paid between $38,500 and $48,000 are being forced to pay $450 in a tax that is not going to health care. Those making $48,100 are forced to pay $475. Those being paid a salary of $48,000 to $72,000 are being forced to pay $600, and those from $72,000 to $200,000 are being asked to pay $750 to the government of Ontario for their sewer fund each year. Those making over $200,600 a year are asked to pay $900. Can you imagine what effect this cost has had on Ontario families who are working hard to play by the rules and are being forced to pay more and more but get less out of this government?

If it weren't bad enough from 2003 to 2007, in the 2007 election campaign, Mr. McGuinty did it again. Before the 2007 election, he promised that he would not lower taxes, but he wouldn't raise them either. I remember those ads. I was, at that point, already elected for a year and a half. I was going into my first re-election campaign, and I remember Dalton McGuinty looking at the television audience in his ads and saying, "I won't raise your taxes either." What did he do? He told his critics, "You're wrong." In fact, when told that his critics wouldn't believe him, he said, "They're wrong. They're wrong. They're wrong." But after that vote, and without warning, he broke his promise again and brought in the $3-billion HST tax grab. The HST on hydro bills is one of the reasons those bills are increasing as we speak.

Let me talk a little bit about the items Mr. McGuinty brought in an 8% increase on-items that Ontario families are forced to pay on; thank you, Mr. McGuinty, for this tax grab. Dry cleaning services; cleaning services; heating and hydro; Internet access fees; home service calls by electricians, plumbers, carpenters; maintenance and repair to furnaces, leaky faucets, bathrooms, toilets, electrical wiring, etc.; landscaping; lawn care; and private snow removal: All have seen an 8% increase in the last year due to Dalton McGuinty's greedy $3-billion HST tax grab.

Taxis, campsites and domestic air, rail and bus travel originating in Ontario have seen an increase. Magazines purchased by subscription thankfully hadn't seen changes but were about to go up, except that thankfully there were protests from that industry. Home renovations saw an 8% increase at the same time the federal government was telling Canadians it was okay to renovate their homes, and kick-started the economy by giving the home renovation tax credit. After that tax credit was gone, not only was it gone, but then this government raised that by 8%, making it that much more unaffordable for the people of Ontario to do home renovations, causing a few things, might I add. It caused people to go out of business, and it also caused some home renovators to go underground. Who knows how much revenue the government of Ontario has lost as a result of that?

We've seen, in recent days, the price of gasoline go up exorbitantly. It's been challenging. For the job that we do in this chamber, to travel around the province and our communities to do the job it has cost me four times this week to fill up my tank. Each and every time I go, I see a $1.359 or $1.279 or $1.254, whatever the number is. This government is so greedy that not only is it taking a gas tax portion, it's now taking an extra 8% that it wasn't less than a year ago.

Real estate commissions, massage therapy services, vitamins, green fees for golf-all have seen an 8% increase as a result of this government's greedy, greedy initiatives to take more from the people who are working to pay their bills. Ballet, karate, trampoline, hockey, soccer lessons etc.-everything has seen an increase. Hockey rink and hall rentals have all gone up. Tickets for live theatre with less than 3,200 seats-that's impacting some of our smaller community theatres. Fitness trainers, hairstylists, barbers-and one other that has seen an 8% increase as a result of this greedy HST tax grab that Mr. Duncan, the finance minister, has brought in, is legal fees. And nicotine replacement products, hunting and fishing licences.

The reality is that things have gotten a lot more expensive since Premier McGuinty has taken office, and this government has decided that it would like to see 8% on 17% more of the items that we purchase. Nothing has gone down in Ontario as they've promised. In fact, things continue to increase. The two biggest ticket items I might add are heat/hydro and, of course, gasoline for our cars.

If bringing in this $3-billion greedy HST tax grab on July 1, 2010, wasn't bad enough, on that very same day this Liberal government snuck through a very, very sneaky eco tax grab that Ontario families are forced to pay on 9,000 different household items. There are, as I said, 9,320 items that the McGuinty Liberals slapped eco taxes on. There were protests in the streets across Ontario, particularly in the city that I represent, the city of Ottawa, starting at the Premier's office itself. Hundreds of people showed up to protest Mr. McGuinty. In fact, I see the member from Ottawa West-Nepean is here. Hundreds showed up to protest him as well because they did not appreciate the secrecy with which this tax was brought in.

My colleagues and I are going to read every single item into the record through the course of this debate to remind Ontario families that the McGuinty Liberals are hard-wired to tax. I'll start by reading the items. This is the entire list; it could fill seven hours, I'm sure, of debate quite easily.

But just to give you an example: a handle of a hammer sledge that's 16 inches, a handle of a hammer sledge that's 36 inches, laser auto level with wall mount system, laser auto level, measuring units, sharpening kits, staple guns, staple gun kits, cutting pipe monarchs for oil, torch kits, butane, plumbers' torch kits, trigger torch kits, quick-fire oxygen cylinders, fuel cell refills, power cutters, tube cutters, digital inspection cameras, air tube lubricants, air compressor lubricants, air compressor oil, drill kits, combination kits for tools-there's literally 9,000 here-rotary tools, screwdriver kits. These are everyday items. Soap is included, caulking, coating, adhesive, epoxy adhesive, laser cordless mouse, camcorders, mice for your computers, optical corded mice, cordless phones: These are literally the items that are covered by this greedy government. Even DVDs are covered by this, you'd be shocked to notice.

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Bluetooth headsets: The minute they told us we shouldn't be talking on our phones in cars, they decided to add an extra tax to Bluetooth headsets. Phones for desks, clock radios, AM-FM radios, LCD TVs, solar lights, solar fixtures, multi-digital meters, tester kits, electrical tools, circuits, cement solvents, lamps, air conditioners, bathroom cleaners, scrub-free soaps-you name it. There have been a whole host of items that this government has added to the list for those who have to pay an additional tax. This government loves to tax so much, it finds innovative and creative ways: not only how to tax but also what to tax.

What's extremely disappointing is that each and every day, we hear from Ontario families who are struggling. As I mentioned, on Friday the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus went to 60 different communities to talk to local community members as well as local members of the media about the various tax grabs this government has brought in place.

In fact, what he has brought in pales in comparison, we believe, to what he will bring in. As you well know, this is a government that has contemplated raising the HST. They opposed the federal government when they lowered the GST. It's also a government that has mused, openly and very publicly, about bringing in a carbon tax. Of course, the parliamentary assistant is going to suggest that that's not going to happen, but they did it before and they will do it again. They have promised several times in the past that they would not raise taxes. They ran ads to say that they would not add taxes or increase taxes, and what did they do? Promise made, promise broken. In 2007: promise made, promise broken.

Interjections.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I hear the transportation minister over there at this point in time, very upset at her government's record. I can tell you, there is change occurring right across Ontario. We've seen it in the city of Toronto, but we've also seen it in her own riding of Don Valley West, where John Carmichael was elected, because Ontarians know and Canadians know that the best way forward is through a Conservative tax relief plan that, in the last federal election, Prime Minister Harper had introduced and what we're going to bring forward in Ontario, through a Progressive Conservative tax relief plan, under our leader Tim Hudak.

But don't just take it from me. I do have some quotes here that I'd like to read into the record. For example, Dan Nall from Brampton writes: "Please do whatever you can to stop this Liberal government from getting re-elected before we are taxed to death."

Dan Nall is not the only person who has written to our caucus members and our leader to speak this way, because of course, as you know, enough is enough. People are tired of this tax, spend and wasteful government that has been re-elected based on the promise of not raising taxes. For example, Bruce Broderick wrote in a Guelph newspaper, "Complacent taxpayers are and will be paying more and more in taxes unless they take a proactive interest in the waste involved in Ontario government policies. I am a disgusted taxpayer."

I think Bruce Broderick's point echoes throughout Ontario, in our various communities, because people are constantly telling us that they're paying more and getting less. That's a common theme with this government.

E.J. Cober from North Lancaster agrees, and he writes, "As soon as Dalton McGuinty was elected Premier of Ontario, he broke all promises with stupid excuses." Speaker, those are E.J.'s words, not mine, but they are certainly shared by the people across Ontario who believe this government is on its last legs, because you cannot continue to tell people you're doing one thing and consistently, consistently, consistently do another and breach their trust.

Jim Murphy from Oakville-my colleague from Oakville may want to hear this-says, "What really concerns us is the continual upward creep of taxes, whether directly or through user fees and hidden taxation."

It doesn't end there. Here's an entire other list of things that cost more for Ontario families thanks to Premier McGuinty: the Toronto land transfer tax; the Toronto vehicle registration fees-and of course we're thankful that Mayor Rob Ford will give Toronto families some relief by getting rid of those, because everyone in this caucus understands that Rob Ford was able to get rid of the gravy train that most of the Ontario Liberal Party is still riding on. The hidden hydro tax is a new tax that Mr. McGuinty has brought in. Higher personal income tax; higher personal corporate tax; higher small business income tax rates; business capital tax; seniors' property rates; eye exams. This is another big one: Chiropractic services have been delisted, and they're more expensive for Ontario families to pay. Physiotherapy services have increased. Tire taxes, even though Mr. McGuinty once said, for example, he was opposed to them; BlackBerrys; iPods; Blu-ray DVD players; LCD TVs-all of those have seen an increase under Dalton McGuinty.

When people talk about our young people not getting out to vote, these are some real reasons why the next generation of voters should be concerned: because he's taxing them before they even start to make incomes. Many of these kids saving their weekly allowance to purchase these items are seeing them taxed beyond belief.

Commercial vehicle operators' registration has gone up. Civil court fees have gone up. Small Claims Court fees have gone up. Family Court fees have gone up. Add that to the fact that HST is now on legal fees and it is now becoming a very big issue for those who want proper legal representation, when you see these very real costs increase in the court system.

Fractional ownership of cottages-basically, pay twice; tobacco; beer; wine; spirits; destination marketing fees; camping unit fees. For those people who are planning to go and enjoy themselves on this May 24 weekend-a traditional beginning-of-the-summer camping trip-I will say it again: camping unit fees; destination marketing fees; beer; wine and spirits. The reality is, all of this has gone up, making this year's family vacation more unaffordable then ever before, particularly when you add in the increase in the price of gas and the take the government is making off of the HST. It is becoming harder to have a family vacation in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario.

Also what has gone up are college and university student centre fees, college and university athletic facility fees, and college and university extended health plan fees. We didn't get the students enough. Mr. McGuinty also has increased the desktop computer fees, laptop fees, rear projection TVs and plasma TVs, CRT TVs-I don't even know what those are, but he has increased those as well.

Computer mice fees; computer keyboard fees; computer disk drive fees; computer personal monitor fees; personal hand-held computer fees; personal digital assistant, non-cell-enabled, fees-fax machine fees have gone up.

It seems like every single aspect of our life in Ontario is now being taxed by Premier McGuinty, and people have had enough. They're asking us, "Can we get to the vote any sooner so that we can throw this guy out?" And while I'm here to say I wish that were true, we cannot do that. We do have an election on October 6, when my colleague from Whitby-Oshawa and my colleague from Halton are going to not only be re-elected but they will be part of a Tim Hudak majority government, and we're going to get to the issue here of finding relief, broad-based relief for the people who pay the bills in this province.

If it weren't bad enough that I left it at fax machine fees, we are now paying computer flatbed scanner fees; typewriter fees; copier fees; scanner fees; pager fees; microphone fees; joystick fees; game pad fees; telephone fees; answering machine fees; digital camera fees; tape camera fees; disc camera fees; film camera fees.

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It doesn't end there: audiovisual equipment fees; modem fees; amplifier fees; tape audio player fees; disk audio player fees; digital audio player fees; tape audio recorder fees; disk audio recorder fees; digital audio recorder fees and equalizer fees; preamplifier fees; speaker fees; tuner fees and turntable fees. If you enjoy music in this province, Dalton McGuinty has found a way to tax you and take more of your hard-earned money while he is at it.

This is a Premier who has found a way to not only tax digital projector fees but also tape recorder fees, video recorder fees, disk recorder fees, digital recorder fees, desktop printer fees, desktop label printer fees, desktop barcode printer fees, desktop card printer fees, portable PC-free photo printer fees, desktop fax machine fees, camera dock printer fees, desktop multi-function machine fees, floor-standing printer fees, point-of-sale receipt printer fees and handheld printer fees.

If there has ever been somebody who has opposed technology by putting so many taxes and fees on them, it's this government here. Premier McGuinty has found a way to make money off the people who pay the bills, who want to embrace technology, but he needs his cut.

You know what Dalton McGuinty has said after each one of these fees and taxes? I think he said, "Ka-ching." I'm surprised he hasn't put a fee on the cash register. Maybe they're obsolete now-I don't know-and Dalton McGuinty doesn't find a need to tax them and put a fee on them.

But I have to say, given his record as we started out here-I believe that his favourite quote is, "[A] very good predictor of the future is what has happened in the past." If you go through not only the eco tax, you go through the HST, and you go through not only the health premium or the health tax but through that other list of 40 or so other taxes and fees he has brought in, the question then becomes, "What is Mr. McGuinty's predictor of the future, given what has happened in the past?"

That's why, on Friday, members of the Ontario PC caucus joined our leader, Tim Hudak, to travel this province to inform Ontario families that, given Dalton McGuinty's past and his behaviour in the past, the best indication of what our future will be like is more taxes.

That's why, last week, we put forward-and I sponsored the motion-a motion calling on this Premier and his finance minister and all those Liberals across the way to reject future tax increases, but they stood in their place and, one by one, every single Liberal stood up and rejected the idea to reject tax increases.

The question I want to know is: Why? Why did they reject our motion calling for no new taxes or no increases in existing taxes? Why, Mr. Speaker? I'll tell you why. I believe that they're trying to keep their options open to yet increase the HST by one or two points or bring in a carbon tax, as senior members of that government have previously been in support of. After they defeated our motion, the finance minister said on Wednesday that a Dalton McGuinty government would not raise or lower taxes. It's as if we've had déjà vu all over again.

I want to use Mr. McGuinty's quote that he said before he was elected: "[A] very good predictor of the future is what has happened in the past." So if they've twice before told us that they weren't going to raise taxes and then, after they were elected, they turned around and they did raise taxes, why should we believe them now, that they're not going to raise taxes? We simply can't. Not only do the people in this chamber not believe them; the public doesn't believe them. Taxpayers, the voters in this province, the Ontario families who are paying the bills, don't believe Mr. Duncan, nor do they believe Premier McGuinty, that they wil not raise or increase or bring in new taxes. That ship has sailed.

Déjà vu: Yes, we've seen it, because it's exactly what Mr. McGuinty said in 2003. And now we see this motion before us, and it doesn't really mean anything because, again, they're not going to follow it.

They broke taxpayer protection laws in this province. They've broken their word to taxpayers. Why should we believe them now? Why should we believe any of the rhetoric in this motion when we know they have lost 300,000 well-paying manufacturing jobs in Ontario? We know, for example, that they've brought our economy from first to worst in economic growth. Our economic growth at one point-it may still be-was lower than the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province.

For the first time since Confederation, Premier McGuinty and his Liberal Party have taken Ontario into the welfare system of Canada. We actually have to accept handout payments from our federal government for the first time in Canadian history.

It took every Premier before Mr. McGuinty to amass a debt of $148 billion, and within seven and a half short years, do you know what Dalton McGuinty did? He doubled it. Every Premier before him could only amass a certain amount, but this guy knows how to tax, he knows how to spend, he knows how to waste money, because we are now in our third consecutive deficit in Ontario. It's the largest in Ontario's history. It started at $28 billion, and it is now around $18 billion. It's basically going nowhere fast. We are rivalling California and Greece in terms of our economic situation. And they're now promising that they're not going to raise our taxes. I don't think anyone believes them.

Mr. Ted Chudleigh: It means they're going up if they promise not to raise them.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: It means they're going up, as my colleague from Halton is saying.

So we now have this motion. Instead of "government motion 74," government motion 74 should be renamed the "Liberals say they won't raise taxes, and they really, really, really, really, really mean it this time" motion. They really mean it this time. But nobody in town believes that they really mean anything anymore.

Mr. Ted Chudleigh: They've got to promise not to break their promises.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: As my colleague from Halton says, they're promising not to break their promises this time.

But this latest promise by Premier McGuinty not to raise taxes, at the same time that he is more likely than ever to break his word-as I've already said, he is not going to run again after the next election. Then again, maybe this is why the finance minister moved the motion, because he'll be the next Liberal leader to break his word about raising taxes.

Aside from knowing that they're going to raise taxes-it's what they do-they have added an incentive this time. Dalton McGuinty, as I said, has led Ontario to an $18-billion deficit. He has not tried in the last seven years to reduce or stop runaway spending. As I said earlier, Rob Ford came in with stopping the gravy train. These guys are still on it. So they're a couple of stops past the stop sign that Rob Ford has put up. But thankfully, I believe that in October the voters of Ontario will send this gravy train out of business.

But you can say one thing for them. After that long list of eco fees, after that long list of taxes, hidden hydro fees and other fees that they brought in, there's one thing this Liberal government is: They are consistent. They are consistent at raising taxes, they are consistent at saying one thing and doing another, and they are consistent in trying to use the same strategy time and time again.

They've grown the debt. They're on track to double it. Our leader, Tim Hudak, likes to point out that it took 23 Premiers 136 years to accumulate, as my colleague from Halton said, Ontario's first $148 billion of debt. These guys have learned in a very short time how to double that. The only way to pay for it, Speaker, is to raise your taxes, those of the families of these wonderful young pages in front of you, and those of the people who visit this chamber or, quite frankly, who send us here to debate on their behalf. They will have single-handedly doubled the debt in eight years in office.

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And now, before the 2011 election, the Liberals and Dalton McGuinty are making promises again, promises they either intend not to keep or promises they can't keep. They are making these promises again-

Interjection.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: If you want to talk about killing jobs, you should look at your own record. You've killed 300,000 manufacturing jobs. The record is there. You've done it to the people of this province, and they will never forgive you.

Let me read that quote again from Dalton McGuinty on April 4, 2011, from Hansard. I'll do a refresher for my colleague opposite. "A very good predictor of the future is what has happened in the past." That is why Ontario families don't want any more pledges or promises this time. They don't want them because they simply do not believe the Premier can keep his promises.

They want a guarantee, and when it comes to taxes there is only one guarantee Dalton McGuinty will give them: He will raise their taxes. He can't help it. It's what he always does.

An Ontario Progressive Conservative government will take a different approach. We will not raise people's taxes. An Ontario PC government will lower taxes across the board to finally give Ontario families the respect they deserve and the relief that they need.

The reality is, the front bench across the way-what they have not put into the debate today is the fact that when they raise people's taxes, that money is not exactly going to the best public services. In fact, what we're seeing is secret sweetheart deals at Samsung, $7 billion-which is a larger contract, by the way, than the F-35s that the federal Department of National Defence is purchasing for Canadian soldiers overseas. A larger sole-source contract is the Samsung agreement.

We also have the $1-billion eHealth-

Interjections.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Stop the clock for a second, please. Members, we are going to be here for a long time; let's have it be a good time. Thank you.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I'm having a great time, Speaker.

The reality is, this is the government who wants to talk about nurses and doctors, yet decided to take $1 billion and put it in the shredder at eHealth.

Interjection.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I hear the Minister of Health over there. She should be ashamed for what occurred under her government's watch. Precious health care dollars intended for those who require MRIs, who need cancer care, who deal with obstetrics-that money went down the tubes. It went through a shredder. That money is no more. That's $1 billion-after telling Ontario families that they had to pay this $3-billion health tax.

This is unacceptable. This is a government that has lost its way, or maybe they never even found their way to begin with. The reality is, they have taken money, they have wasted it, they have asked for more. They've looked at grandmothers, soccer moms, small business owners as a personal ATM of this government. People are now rejecting them, and they're telling us that time and time and time again.

They will never be forgiven for that $1 billion of waste at eHealth. They will never be forgiven, for example, for that $7-billion Samsung secret deal to a foreign multinational corporation which has increased people's hydro rates across this province. They won't be forgiven for things like purchasing cars and vacations with children's aid society money. They won't be forgiven for the $500 million to $1 billion in lost revenue each and every year as a result of their lax approach to contraband tobacco. And they won't be forgiven for promising, time and time again, not to raise people's taxes at election time and then turning around and increasing their taxes, their fees and other mechanisms by which the government raises money.

They're simply not believed anymore. As I stated earlier in this speech, my colleagues and I had an opportunity, through the blue blitz last Friday, to travel to 60 different communities across Ontario to hear from people who were tired of paying these exorbitant rates, fees and taxes only to get little or nothing from them.

I think of Jack Garner from Barrie, who says, "The biggest insult of all to we citizens has to be the additional 8% tax increase the provincial government is going to add on the debt retirement payments we now pay because of the former Ontario Hydro's $38-billion debt. This is tax on tax on tax.... Oh, boy!"

That tax, that debt retirement charge should have been paid off; $7.8 billion should have been paid off this year. This government has still the exact same amount of tax on those hydro bills-a tax on a tax on a tax. If they were so concerned about the price of hydro, they wouldn't have put the HST on the price of hydro, and they wouldn't have put the HST on the price of the stranded debt, that $7.8 billion.

But this government speaks with one voice but clearly does another thing, and that's dishonest. But that is what they have done time and time and time again: They've said one thing, and they have done another.

Interjections.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): I would ask the member to withdraw that last comment.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Thank you, Speaker. I just wish that they would tell the truth, but they are so opposed to the truth that it becomes difficult.

Doug Priest from Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock says, "This province will be crippled if this unprecedented tax grab, cleverly disguised as the harmonized sales tax, comes into effect. It will mostly hurt retired people and people on ... fixed incomes."

Speaker, I know you. I know that in your community, you've heard the same concerns that I have heard from people telling you that their bills are becoming too high, that their income is not moving up. That has been creating a disparity with their pocketbooks.

Interjection.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: The reality is, if you wanted to be responsible, you would start standing up for your constituents, but not one person over there is ready to do that. They only want to toe the party line to the detriment of the people that they represent here in this chamber who have sent them here with a solemn vow that they made in the last election not to raise their taxes. They turned their backs on their constituents, and instead they did just that. That's reality.

Listen to John Pucci, who works with Hockey Northwestern Ontario: "The minor hockey numbers in northwestern Ontario have declined for the last 10 seasons, due to the economy. And I think (the HST) is going to further complicate our recruitment of players in the minor hockey sector."

There's almost nothing more Canadian than playing hockey, and this government is trying to make it less affordable for families out there who are right now trying to make ends meet. Now this government has decided it will add an extra 8% to all things hockey.

Peter Coleman at the National Citizens Coalition said, "We ... believe this is a huge tax grab on consumers at a time when people are struggling to keep their jobs and have very little left over from their paycheque."

Interjection.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: To the member who wants to heckle me and try to shut me down: When I was in his community over the weekend, we heard even from the journalists how tired they are of this McGuinty Liberal government. If I were any of them, I would actually go out into their communities to start talking to the people who have sent them here and actually to respect the people who have sent them here, because the people who have sent them here are telling the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus, "Enough is enough. We cannot afford them anymore. We are paying more. We are getting less. We don't believe them anymore." A simple trip to the grocery store, to Walmart or to a soccer field would do the trick for some of these members who have spent too much time in the bubble at Queen's Park and not enough time on Main Street.

Paul Bailey, president of the Police Pensioners Association of Ontario, says, "From a police perspective ... this is nothing but legalized theft."

Interjection.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Let's read that one again for the member from Ottawa West-Nepean. Paul Bailey, president of the Police Pensioners Association of Ontario, said, "From a police perspective ... this is nothing but legalized theft."

"Nothing but legalized theft": That is how respected members of our community like the Police Pensioners Association of Ontario view their government. That's how they describe Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal government: as legalizing theft. I'd say that's quite shocking.

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We have this motion before us that promises for the third time, after raising taxes about 85 times, that they're not going to raise taxes, and we're supposed to believe them. Many people now just roll their eyes at this Liberal government. They don't believe them. They don't believe for a second that this government wouldn't raise taxes if it were re-elected.

I repeat, for all the banter they have-"You're going to cut nurses; you're going to cut doctors"-no one believes them. They believe that they've wasted a billion dollars on eHealth, they believe that they've wasted $7 billion with Samsung and they believe that they've wasted $500 million to $1 billion with their lax attitude toward contraband tobacco. They just don't think they're good money managers.

And we see that the proof is in the pudding. This is a government that has lost 300,000 well-paying manufacturing jobs. This is a government that has forced Ontario families to take subsidized payments from the federal government through the equalization program. This is a government that has staggered the economic growth of what used to be the economic generator in this nation-from first to worst. This is a government that has doubled the debt. This is a government that has the largest deficit in Ontario's history. This is a government that won't take responsibility for one of its actions.

Three weeks from now, we will leave this place for the final time in this Parliament. We will go into our communities. Many of us will go door-knocking. Some won't be returning.

Mr. Jean-Marc Lalonde: Just go in there and tell them the truth.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: The reality is that if somebody wants to tell the truth, it should be the member from Glengarry-Prescott-Russell. He's had an opportunity for the last eight years to tell the truth, and in fact his government chose not to. They chose to do one thing-

Interjections.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): The member from Glengarry-Prescott-Russell on a point of order.

Mr. Jean-Marc Lalonde: I've been here 16 years now, and I've found out that we are able to lie in this room, we are able to-

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): I would ask the member-he knows that is not a point of order. Would he please be seated?

I would ask the member from Nepean-Carleton to please withdraw her comment.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I'm sorry, Speaker. I was only repeating what he said. I do apologize. On the same point of order, he could also withdraw his comment.

Interjection.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: That's unparliamentary, Speaker.

Interjections.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Stop the clock, please. Minister of Infrastructure, member from Nepean-Carleton, I can stand and we can be here until 2 o'clock in the morning-lots of fun.

Could the member from Nepean-Carleton withdraw the comment? I need to hear a clear withdrawal.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I withdraw.

Again, the question then becomes, "Why should anyone believe what this government has said over the past eight years, given the promises they made and their refusal to keep them?"

I remember first coming to this chamber a little more than five years ago to address, in my maiden speech, some of the challenges our province has faced as a result of this government. At the time, even thinking about the parents of autistic kids who were being taken to court by this government, which had promised at the time that it would make life easier for those children and clearly didn't-in fact, I remember they took them to court. The reality is that this is what this government does. They said anything they wanted to get elected, and then they turned their back on those same families.

Interjections.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I'm getting a rise out of them, but the reality is that the truth hurts. This is what you've done to the province. This is who you are. This is what you've done.

Mr. Kevin Daniel Flynn: You're a loser, Lisa.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): It didn't take long. Order, please.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I think I was just called a loser by the member from Oakville. Listen to this. This is the level of the debate that this Liberal government has dragged us into. They can't face the facts. They have decided that they are going to debase anyone in this institution who decides to speak against them and speak the truth.

Interjections.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Order.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: The reality is that I'm telling him I've been to Oakville, and the folks in Oakville have told me several times. In fact, we had one of our largest nominations in the entire province in the city of Oakville, where Terence Young, our former MPP who is now an MP, won. It was amazing that night: over 800 people there. In Carleton-Mississippi Mills we had 800 people as well. People are fighting for Progressive Conservative nominations in this province because they want change, and the vehicle for change in Ontario today is through Tim Hudak and and the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, because people know that we need broad-based tax relief. We need changes in Ontario. We need to ensure that the people of this province send people to Queen's Park based on a solemn promise and that they deliver back to their communities and they don't turn their backs-

Interjections.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Minister of Education. Minister of Infrastructure.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Speaker, I'm able to speak above them because I can tell you something: I speak with the people of Ontario behind the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus. I have to tell you something: They believe us. They do not believe them. Time and time and time again, this government has let them down, whether that's on taxes, whether that's on scandals, whether that is their treatment of autistic children, which is one thing that became a passion of mine, given the failures of this current McGuinty Liberal government.

We will continue to debate this resolution for as long as we're able to do this before the government invokes further closure on debate on any other matter. I must say that every member of the Progressive Conservative caucus is committed to speaking to this motion because we firmly believe that this government, if elected, will raise taxes.

As I said, my colleague and I participated in something called the blue blitz on Friday. We had a wonderful time. Where were you-in Guelph?

Mr. Ted Arnott: I was actually initially in Chatham, and then I went to Wallaceburg. After that-

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): I would remind the member from Nepean-Carleton to speak to the Chair, please.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: He was in Chatham and Wallaceburg-

Mr. Ted Arnott: Then after that, St. Thomas and Aylmer.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: -and then after that, St. Thomas and Aylmer. So he had a four-city tour, as did I, on Friday. It was amazing, just the level of energy and the commitment by the Progressive Conservative candidates, the support that they're receiving from the people of the province.

Mr. Ted Arnott: Sixty communities.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: The reality is, 60 communities now have said that they want change, and that feels pretty good for the people who now, for eight long years, have suffered under this tax-and-waste government.

We have recruited some really great candidates, who were able to come out and share our message of tax relief.

Mr. Ted Arnott: Monte McNaughton.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Monte McNaughton, for example, in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. We have Rocco Rossi from Eglinton-Lawrence. I think a few of the Liberals over there may know who he is. Kevin Gaudet, a former federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, actually remembers the pledge, that solemn pledge I was telling you about earlier today that Dalton McGuinty himself had signed. He said he would not raise taxes, and then he turned around and he did it. He is one of our candidates. He's a great candidate. He's going to stand up for Ontario families. He's going to join people like Pam Hundal, in Brampton, and Sanjeev Maingi, also in Brampton. In that community, they are so strong. They're working hard. We've been out talking about hydro rate increases. We've been out talking about the local health integration networks, which, by the way, Tim Hudak has committed to scrapping and putting that whole $250 million into front-line health care.

I can tell you something: The wonderful thing is, the money is going to go to where it's intended to go on October 7, when Tim Hudak is Premier, and we've got the team behind him to do just that. We've got people like the member from Whitby-Oshawa, a very strong advocate for children with mental health issues. We also have our member from Kitchener-Waterloo, who was, I think, one of Ontario's best education ministers, and she'll continue to be a strong voice in a Progressive Conservative government when we form the government.

We have the member from Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, near my riding, a very strong voice and a very vocal voice, as is the member for Oxford, for the agricultural community and the rural communities in our province. In fact, that's why one of our key platform commitments to rural communities is something that's very important, that was mentioned with Jim McDonell, our candidate in Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, on the weekend, which is restoring that gas tax money to its rightful place, to every community in Ontario, not just to big cities, like this government does. All those rural municipalities right now in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, Leeds-Grenville, where my colleague Steve Clark is from-

Mr. Ted Arnott: Wellington-Halton Hills.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: -Wellington-Halton Hills-they're all going to now have their fair share, which this government, sadly, took away. Even with the tax dollars that we are sending there, this government has found an inequitable way of distributing that money.

I must say, Speaker, that I am proud to stand up on behalf of Ontario families who have sent me here. As you know, I had an opportunity, throughout the past year and a bit, as revenue critic for the Ontario PC caucus, to travel the province and to speak to stakeholder groups. We've spoken to everyone from hairstylists, to people who do shoe-shining, to people who offer health care services through home care, to others who do snow removal. They all tell me one thing: They just simply can't afford this government anymore.

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We heard from lawyers who told us that they were going to have raise their rates and it was going to become more unaffordable, as I spoke to earlier in this session. We talked to people who are helping families with their mutual funds, those MERs-mutual fund expense ratios-that were going to see an increase as well.

Quite honestly, this group across the way needs to have a frank discussion with itself to see if there's any way that they could actually do what we're talking about, which is broad-based tax relief for people in this province. But they have not. They have found creative ways to bring in taxes.

Let me give you another example. When we talked about the eco fees, these 9,300 different household items that were being hit by the eco tax on same day that the HST was brought in-you will remember that. That was the day that we started to see even household cleaners see a new tax, and-

Mr. Ted Arnott: Grass seed.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Grass seed in the riding of Wellington-Halton Hills went up, and these protests occurred right across Ontario. It was quite remarkable, because people had had enough already. It was really the moment-

Mr. Ted Arnott: I felt sorry for Gerretsen at that press conference.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Yes, exactly. My colleague from Halton Hills said that he felt sorry for the previous Minister of the Environment, Mr. Gerretsen, at that press conference, as did I. I thought it was too bad he'd been sold up the river. But the reality is, it wasn't just a tax grab; it was a sneaky tax grab. It was brought in through the back door; it wasn't even brought in through this chamber. They increased taxes without bringing it to the Ontario Legislature. I've never heard of that being done before, but Mr. McGuinty was so crafty in how he had done it that he figured out a way to raise taxes behind the backs of the Ontario public.

But listen, they won't forget it; I can tell you that. I remember those protests. They happened here in Toronto; I believe they happened in London. They happened right across the province-

Mr. Ted Arnott: Spontaneous.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: And they were spontaneous. They were people who had just had enough already, and there was just one more needle in that haystack. The reality is, it was the straw that broke the camel's back-that's the analogy I was trying to make there, Speaker, but it's so hard when you're being shouted down by the ministers of the crown.

The reality is, we're going to continue to press for tax fairness. We will press on October 6, moving forward for tax relief within our own government. And we're looking forward, I might add, to the next couple of weeks when this chamber rises, for us to actually be in the communities with the people we do represent, to share with them our plan forward that Tim Hudak will be releasing to the public.

We already know some of the key issues we're going to offer. One is to make sure that hydro prices are affordable for Ontario families. This government has taken prices and they've skewed them so badly toward the unaffordable that it is quite sad. I believe that has now become the number one issue that my constituents call us about, how unaffordable that is.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: How are you going to keep the lights on?

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: And I understand: You should pay your bill and keep the lights on. That's a very important thing, Minister. But do you know what the problem is?

Interjection.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Minister of Transportation.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Well, capacity is one thing; affordability is another. I think the reality is that this is a government that doesn't understand how to ensure that there is a consumer ability to pay.

I think that this is a government that's pretty out of touch as well. I feel sorry for them. But the reality is, they're going to continue to talk their talk, they're going to continue to insult their opponents, and they are going to continue to shout us down. But there will be one decision on October 6 that I believe people will make, and it will be for tax fairness.

The problem that my colleagues across the way have is that they continue to promise no new taxes, and then they turn their back on the voter and they implement them. When I look at this motion, government motion 74, this is a government that says that they reject increases or decreases to taxes. This is a government that has never met a tax hike it didn't like. Even if it makes no sense to tax it, they tax it-like the seed, calling it an environmental hazard, apparently. It just goes with some of the bizarre policies.

In fact, last week, I remember standing in this chamber about contraband tobacco, and the Liberal member from Ottawa-Orléans said that Conservatives have never been on the side of children-never. And do you know what was interesting? On Friday, I was in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell with our candidate, talking about taxes, and I got an email from Councillor Bob Monette, who called on the member from Ottawa-Orléans either to apologize to his constituents or to resign. He chose not to. He chose not to apologize, so the councillor there had called on him to resign. And that's a very interesting dynamic in that community, when those things start to occur.

But we're going to continue to press for tax relief. We're going to continue to speak for Ontario families. We're going to continue to hold this government to account for their reckless tax hikes, their reckless mismanagement of tax dollars once they're in their hands, and we're going to continue to ask them the tough questions until we're fortunate to form government and follow the plan we have promised to follow. It's a novel idea: "Promise made, promise kept." I believe the last time that happened in this province was when a man named Mike Harris was Premier, who made promises and he kept them. I can tell you something: He did everything he said he would do.

Interjections.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Order.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: He did everything he said he would do. This government did everything it said it wouldn't. That is quite a legacy: "Everything we said we wouldn't, we did. Every promise we made, we broke."

Interjections.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Minister of Transportation. Minister of Infrastructure.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Can you believe that, Speaker? Even their own members are sitting over there, shaking their heads.

I can tell you something: I am shocked and appalled by the behaviour of some of the members over there in not representing their constituents on the floor of the House when I know they are getting the same calls that we are, when I know that they are getting the same emails-if I even go through this list of folks; let me just go through here.

For example, John Pucci from Hockey Northwestern Ontario, who is from, I believe, Thunder Bay-I think I met with him as he met with Tim Hudak. He's opposed to the HST.

I believe we have another quote here-I've got so many pieces of paper here, Speaker, but I believe I had one here from Barrie. That's a Liberal riding. We had one from Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock. That's a Liberal member-held riding. We're getting emails and phone calls from Liberal constituents saying, "Please stand up to these tax hikes." "Please stand up to this Liberal government because they don't stand up for me," and we're going to continue to do that. There's no doubt about it.

My colleague the member from Parry Sound-Muskoka, who is our finance critic, has been very vocal in opposing this government's reckless tax hikes. He continues to be astonished-I know this from having spoken with him-at the level of taxation that they've brought in to make life unaffordable. He has been a steadfast advocate-and he'll be joining the debate soon-on tax relief for the Ontario family. We're looking forward to bringing forward, when the member from Parry Sound-Muskoka is a minister, broad-based tax relief.

I've already spoken about you, the member from Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, and the great work you're doing as a rural advocate, making sure that all of those gas tax monies are applied fairly and evenly right across Ontario. You've done a tremendous job on that.

So, all this is to say, in the last 39 seconds I have after this hour-long debate, that we're going to continue to press ahead for broad-based tax relief for Ontario families. We're going to stand up here, we will exhaust this debate, and we will never let the people down who have sent us here. We only wish the same would occur on that side of the aisle, where those folks over there on the red team would stand up and stand with their constituents, because they have two weeks left of this Legislature. They can do the right thing. They could have, last week, endorsed our resolution for no new taxes, but they chose not to.

I'm looking forward to-thank you very much, Speaker.