Christmas is a time for reflection on the past year
By MPP Toby Barrett

Christmas is a time for celebration and it’s also a time for reflection and renewed hope. Let’s look at some of the highlights and lowlights of 2009.

Beyond good food and festivities with family and friends, last Christmas saw the launch of a Caledonia petition calling for a public inquiry into policing. And I launched one for a sales tax holiday on vehicle sales.

On into the new year – building on the Caledonia petition – I introduced legislation calling for a public inquiry “into the administration of justice, law enforcement and the ownership of land within the former Haldimand Tract and nearby areas.” Predictably the McGuinty majority voted this one down.

Last February, when U.S. auto sales fell to the lowest level in 28 years I stressed to the province’s Finance Minister that a vehicle sales tax holiday was needed. Then in March, U.S. Steel announced the shutting down of close to 2,000 steelworker jobs at the Hilton and Lake Erie Works. Since steel makes up to 65 per cent of the weight of a car or truck, I felt that my proposal made sense for both steel and auto.

And although both petitions garnered thousands of signatures locally there was virtually no response from the McGuinty government.

The McGuinty Liberals also remained silent last winter as 2,000 tobacco farmers gathered in Delhi to receive the Federal government’s terms for their demise – a demise brought on, in part, by the unholy alliance of McGuinty’s ‘war on tobacco’ and the illegal trade. Despite receiving $157 million from a tobacco-related civil settlement agreement, Mr. McGuinty offered farmers nothing, forcing those 2,000 farmers to meet once again to talk about a class action lawsuit.

Hogs, beef and many horticulture commodities continued to fare badly as well in 2009 – underlining the need for a risk management program.

And when we thought things couldn’t get worse, the McGuinty government announced an $18 billion deficit in its Spring budget. Even more dumbfounding than the record shortfall was that McGuinty was raking in $27 billion in increased revenues – a 41 per cent increase since 2003. Ontario was also receiving $3.4 billion in additional transfers from the Harper government. But instead of saving some of this new tax revenue for a rainy day, this government had spent every penny, saddling the province with another seven years of projected deficits.

In April, for the first time ever, Ontario officially went on the dole, as a have-not province, to accept welfare from the federal government.

Again the McGuinty government did nothing and the year grew darker as the Liberals introduced the idea of a new tax – the HST. From the onset the HST was plain and simple another tax grab that will pinch the wallet of everyone every time they buy something. And don’t forget we are paying upwards of $900 a year for McGuinty’s so-called health tax.

By June of 2009, evidence of improper tendering of contracts and misspending began to surface in Freedom of Information requests from the Official Opposition.

As you can see there were a great number of mistakes made in the first half of 2009 and we’ll see how the second half shaped up next week – to be continued.

From my family and staff, to you and yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas.