Ontario Hansard - 24-November2004
LESLIE M. FROST CENTRE

Ms Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): I rise today to ask a question of the Acting Premier, who is also the Chair of Management Board and the minister responsible for the Ontario Realty Corp. You promised the working group that is trying to help save the Frost Centre that the Ontario Realty Corp would not be moving or selling anything that is still at the Frost Centre. Last night, one of my constituents was driving by the Frost Centre and was surprised to see a couple of workmen who identified themselves as being with the ORC. These workmen were removing the Frost Centre sign.

What kind of signal are you sending to the working group? What sort of signal are you sending to the people who have been trying to keep the Frost programs alive? Minister, will you keep your word? Will you put the sign back up?

Hon Gerry Phillips (Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet): That's a good question. I would just say to the residents of Haliburton -- and I'm there many weekends, so I have to handle this very carefully -- that the policy of the ORC is that when a building is declared surplus, they take the sign down and store it. So they're following policy. I don't fault them, but in this particular case, I don't think it's a good idea. I'm not faulting the ORC, but I think the sign should stay up. They were following policy, but this is a unique circumstance. I'm going up there, perhaps this weekend, so I want to make sure the sign is back up.

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Ms Scott: Thank you, Minister. I'm sure that you will drive by when you travel up there this weekend.

The sign has tremendous symbolic significance. It has long remained up there, and it has weathered many a winter. Could you please tell us when the sign will go back up?

Mr Bill Murdoch (Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound): Bring your hammer.

Hon Mr Phillips: There is a community group of terrific volunteers working on this, trying to finding what's called a financially viable, locally driven solution, and I'm anxious to see that happen.

I assume that those workpeople kept the nails and that we can get it back up fairly quickly -- certainly by the weekend, I would hope.

I'm not faulting our officials for doing it; they were following policy. But in this case I think there's a unique relationship with this facility. I'll even bring my hammer up there, if need be, for the weekend.

Mr Norman W. Sterling (Lanark-Carleton): On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I'd like to say to the Chair of Management Board that the golf course at Blairhampton is closed at this time of year.

Mr Gilles Bisson (Timmins-James Bay): To the minister: I'm sure that all our sign crews have nothing to do right now, so you can put them to work.