Ontario Hansard - 06-December2006

CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETIES

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): Yesterday was a sad day in this Legislature and a sad day for Ontario's most vulnerable children. It was a day when this Liberal government was exposed for its gross mismanagement and waste of taxpayers' money. Unfortunately, waste and overspending is not new to the McGuinty Liberals. What makes the latest revelation most disturbing is the fact that it is the province's children who have been targeted.

The McGuinty Liberals have proven to the hard-working people of Ontario that they cannot be trusted with their tax dollars. When it comes to the McGuinty Liberals, it is no longer, "Watch the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves"; it has sadly become, "Wash off responsibility by breaking promises and saying anything to get elected, and let the kids take care of themselves." Here is some of what the Ministry of Children and Youth Services is making taxpayers responsible for: $50,000 in luxury cars, all-inclusive vacations, needless trips and junkets to places like China and Argentina, double-dipping for expenses, $2,000-a-year gym memberships and expensive personal trainers. This is what was discovered when reviewing only four of the 53 children's aid societies. In each one of these cases, the McGuinty Liberal government spent lavishly on themselves rather than being responsible and committing to the care of our most vulnerable people in society, our children.

Even with these shocking revelations, the Liberals still don't get it. In the response to the auditor's findings, the ministry made no mention of gross mismanagement and wasteful spending. Instead, they attempted to pass off responsibility. Someone must be held responsible for these outrageous actions. That starts and ends with the irresponsible and regrettable lack of action of the Minister of Children and Youth Services.