For Submission
December 13, 2006

SCOTT WANTS CHAMBERS TO TELL THE REAL STORY
Children and Youth Services Best Start Program Should be Reviewed by Auditor General

(Queen’s Park, Toronto) In light of the abuse of hard-working taxpayers money by the McGuinty Liberals, Laurie Scott MPP for Haliburton-Victoria-Brock is asking that the Minister of Children and Youth Services come clean and fully explain why she has personally refused to provide day care spaces to the service area of Kawartha Lakes-Haliburton under the Best Start program.

“Ms. Chambers, in her capacity as Minister of Children and Youth Services, has the authority to decide what communities are to receive Best Start spaces,” said Scott. “She also has the discretion to determine who does not. Unfortunately, she has clearly decided to overlook the needs of families and children in Kawartha Lakes-Haliburton by not allowing one single Best Start program space.”

“The only way to get to the bottom of this is for the Auditor General to see how the Best Start funding has been determined and why Kawartha Lakes-Haliburton is the only area in the entire province of Ontario to be refused by this Minister,” said Scott. “If the Minister has the courage to make her decisions public, she will see that this is done and stop breaking promises.”

When asked yesterday in the Legislature by MPP Lisa MacLeod on the Best Start program as well as her Ministry’s wasteful spending practices, Chambers said the information provided was ill-advised and non-factual, despite that fact the information was taken directly from the report provided by the Auditor General.

“This Minister has allowed out-of-control waste of taxpayer dollars for $50,000 vehicles, gym memberships, fancy dinners and trips to the Caribbean to go ahead of caring for our most vulnerable children,” added Scott. “She will say anything to hide behind the truth, event if it means questioning the information, which Ontario’s Auditor General has put forward.”

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For Further Information Contact:
Laurie Scott, MPP
705-324-6654
1-800-424-2490