By MPP Toby Barrett Few will argue we have a doctor shortage in Ontario, including right here in Haldimand-Norfolk. Some will say it’s a crisis as thousands rely on walk-in clinics and emergency rooms for primary care. Family physicians establish, in most cases, close relationships with their patients close to home. They are in a … Continue reading “What’s the cure for Ontario’s doctor gap?”
Category: Column Articles
By MPP Toby Barrett Promise made — promise broken. The Ontario government has failed to follow through on a commitment to cut the provincial auto insurance rates. In the 2013 budget, we were told auto insurance premiums would be reduced by 15 per cent over two years. That would have equaled an annual savings of … Continue reading “Where’s the 15% cut to auto insurance premiums?”
By MPP Toby Barrett The Phragmites invasion was identified as the number one concern facing the Long Point area at this summer’s Long Point Biosphere symposium on ecosystem stresses. In the pond adjacent to my house, a few Phragmites plants appeared about 20 years ago. Those few stalks then turned into a patch covering 15 … Continue reading “When are we going to get serious about Phragmites?”
By MPP Toby Barrett When I was elected in 1995, the Long Point area was the only area identified as an endemic area for deer ticks in southern Ontario. Lyme disease wasn’t on most people’s radar. That has changed – and not for the better! Bill 27, the Provincial Framework and Action Plan concerning Emerging … Continue reading “Lyme/vector-borne disease bill passes into law”
By MPP Toby Barrett Despite all the advances in technology, farmers are still at the whim of Mother Nature. Crop insurance that has been available for something like 90 commercially-grown crops will now be available to livestock and additional agricultural products. New legislation titled the Agriculture Insurance Act passed in late May, amending the former … Continue reading “New law expands crop insurance to cover livestock”
By MPP Toby Barrett The Ontario government has allowed the illegal tobacco industry to flourish. It is believed contraband tobacco activity in Ontario sits somewhere around 33 per cent and in some areas the numbers are estimated to be closer to 50 per cent. Many argue the illegal industry in Ontario is the worst of … Continue reading “Stop turning a blind eye to illegal tobacco trade”
By MPP Toby Barrett As of July 1, regulation is in place banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticide on 80 per cent of Ontario’s corn and soybean acreage – an action that has dominated farm meetings over the past year. Neonicotinoids are the most commonly used type insecticide in the United States, Europe and Australia … Continue reading “There can be a way forward on neonics after July 1”
By MPP Toby Barrett If the recent Dunnville Mudcat Parade was any indication, the coming summer and fall will be great for festivals. A record crowd lined the streets for over two hours of floats and bands. The honorary parade marshal was local boy and captain of industry Vic Powell. We in Haldimand or Norfolk … Continue reading “Here’s some summer events well worth attending”
By MPP Toby Barrett “I’m worried about electricity prices in Ontario.” – Magna CEO Don Walker For well over a century, Ontario and its manufacturing industries have been blessed with inexpensive electrical energy. It was May 1906 that an Act was passed creating the Hydro Electric Power Commission to distribute power and regulate private utilities. … Continue reading “Whatever happened to cheap ‘power for the people’?”
By MPP Toby Barrett This week’s column — dedicated to the difficult task of trying to highlight my first 20 years as your MPP — is my 1,025th report on the comings and goings at Queen’s Park and in the riding. To say the past 7,300 days have been interesting would be an understatement. On … Continue reading “A report on the first 20 years as your MPP”