For Submission
December 6, 2006

Auditor’s Report - Liberal Government Waste Out of Control

This past Tuesday, Dec 5th the Auditor General of Ontario released his annual report of the Provincial Government.

Unfortunately for hardworking and vulnerable people in Ontario, this week’s report confirms the PC Caucus’ repeated and legitimate concerns of severe McGuinty Liberal waste of taxpayer dollars.

The Provincial Auditor made mention of numerous examples of inefficiencies as well as many specific cases of serious mismanagement and abuse of taxpayer dollars by this government.

The Minister of Children and Youth Services, Mary Anne Chambers, presides over a ministry that has received a scathing report. This includes Children’s Aid Societies abusing taxpayer dollars for purchases of Sport Utility Vehicles valued at $53,000 and $59,000. (To put this in perspective, 6 children could be provided foster care for a full year for $60,000.) Another individual was provided a society owned vehicle, while at the same time receiving a tax-free car allowance of $600 per month. The Auditor also discovered that $2000 gym memberships and personal trainer fees were being paid for, along with trips to Argentina, St. Lucia, St. Martin and China.

This is happening while children in need, the most vulnerable in our society, are being left in the cold with nowhere else to go. The Minister is allowing staff to enjoy taxpayers money to pay for trips and expensive cars as opposed to the safety, security and care for kids.

This is a woeful tale from a Liberal Government that promised to respect taxpayer’s money. Children and hardworking families in our communities and throughout Ontario are suffering as a result.

It’s also important to note this is the very same Minster who determined that the City of Kawartha Lakes be the only jurisdiction in Ontario to not receive one single space under the Best Start early learning and child care services Day Care program.

The Auditor’s report also indicates that the Liberal Minister of Health is using a bogus system in order to misdirect Ontarians about wait times for health services. The wait times stated by the Ministry are referred in the report as “misleading” and should be taken “with a grain of salt.”

The McGuinty Liberals have broken their promise to reduce wait times for health care and are trying to cover that up with misleading numbers.

Both Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation, agencies which the Minister of Energy oversees for the generation and transmission of electricity, have countless cases of misuse and wasteful spending. Examples include 40 leather jackets valued at $8000, wine purchases, expensive dinners, theatre tickets and compact discs.

The concern that John Tory and myself have is that no-one in the McGuinty Liberal caucus seems to care the taxpayer is footing the bill for extravagant wine and cheese parties, tropical travel and other dubious billings.

Ontario’s Provincial Auditor stated, “I’d certainly say that we’re very concerned about questionable use of public money.” This is taxpayer’s money, provided by hard-working Ontario families.

I couldn’t agree more.

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