Session: 38:2
Date: 23-Apr-2007

GOVERNMENT’S RECORD

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): I rise today as the integrity of Premier Dalton McGuinty and his ministers continues to be under fire:

Minister Takhar was reprimanded by the Integrity Commissioner for breaching the Members' Integrity Act, and still sits at the cabinet table;

Minister Chambers, who allows SUVs and fancy vacations to go ahead of the needs of vulnerable children and only acted after she was caught by the Ombudsman, is once again inked into the bad books of the Ombudsman for ignoring the needs of the children of our dedicated military men and women. They say the third time is the charm, so I'm sure Minister Chambers isn't done yet;

Minister Smitherman, who approved a $2-million Adscam on medical wait times that the Ombudsman referred to as misleading and Advertising Standards Canada said made false claims;

Minister Caplan, who covers up a $100-million lottery scandal by pulling in Liberal spin surgeons;

Dalton McGuinty continues to verge on the Ontario Liberal version of the Gomery inquiry, we see Minister Colle has set up a slush fund to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to organizations with Liberal ties. To try to diminish the importance of this situation, Dalton McGuinty refers to $250,000 as "a pittance." Only Dalton McGuinty would refer to hard-working taxpayers' money as a pittance. What's next for Minister Colle? Stay tuned; we'll be finding out.

EARTH DAY

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): I'm pleased to respond to the Minister of the Environment for Earth Day, which was celebrated yesterday by communities all over the world. The significance of this year's Earth Day is paramount. Each of us needs to work towards reducing our individual ecological footprint, but this awareness needs to be accompanied by real leadership, leadership we have not seen from Dalton McGuinty.

The Minister of the Environment encourages people to be environmentally friendly this Earth Day. But based on their record, she has clearly failed to lead by example. Despite Dalton McGuinty's election promise to divert 60% of its garbage, we are lagging badly behind that promise. The Environmental Commissioner says there is a real price to pay for this broken promise, and it's not just about the environment; it's about credibility and leadership, neither of which this present Liberal government has.