By MPP Toby Barrett As we near the holiday season, a recent report indicating cell-phones and tablets are topping many Christmas wish lists took me back to my most recent speech in the Ontario Legislature just before Mr. McGuinty pulled the plug. The evening of October 15th, the Wireless Services Agreements Act was being debated … Continue reading “A Christmas call for cell-phone shock protection”
Category: Column Articles
By MPP Toby Barrett All working people should have a fair and equal chance at a pension – however this is not the case in Ontario. I think of my neighbour who works very hard and pays a lot of taxes to government – but he doesn’t have a pension. Why is he asked to … Continue reading “Let’s work on fair pension plans for all”
By MPP Toby Barrett Reliable and affordable energy, free from political interference, is fundamental to a thriving economy. And it starts by treating energy as an economic policy, not a social program. It’s not the role of government to micro-manage the day-to-day technical decisions in any sector of the economy. Government’s responsibility is to promote … Continue reading “Energy is economic policy, not a social program”
By MPP Toby Barrett Over the past year since being re-elected as your MPP, we’ve seen some surprising and unprecedented developments within our provincial government – the Premier’s decision to shut down parliament tops the list. And while we in Opposition push for a return of the Ontario Legislature, we continue to work on plans … Continue reading “Cut spending, taxes; boost trade, the trades”
By MPP Toby Barrett Imagine if 7,500 to 13,000 horses had to be put down. As sickening as the thought is, the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel interim report has recommended provision be made for the humane dispatch and disposal of that many horses if nothing changes to assist the horse racing industry. The sad … Continue reading “Thousands of horses and 60,000 jobs are at risk”
By MPP Toby Barrett Last week I had an opportunity to tour the Canadian War Museum – a mammoth exhibition of battle since earliest times. The photos and exhibits tell a story of fear and courage, sacrifice and survival, humanity, brutality, violence, and hatred. Early combat was limited to the distance you could throw a … Continue reading “The hope and horror of war – we will remember”
By MPP Toby Barrett We’ve been waiting four years for recommendations on how to fix Ontario’s broken social services system. Last week the Ontario Social Service Review Commission marked the end of two years of input, meetings, deliberations and discussion papers, by presenting its final report, Brighter Prospects: Transforming Social Assistance in Ontario. The report … Continue reading “Time to fix a broken social services system”
By MPP Toby Barrett On the evening of Monday, October 15th Premier McGuinty announced the indefinite termination of Ontario parliamentary proceedings, committee hearings and a plethora of legislation. He then announced he was going to quit. In and of itself, a premier resigning – especially after nine years – is to be expected at some … Continue reading “When a premier packs it in, prorogues parliament”
By MPP Toby Barrett as gotten itself into a difficult situation. Too many people have lost their jobs, our province has lost its leading position in the country, and government has lost its ability to balance its books. We face a critical choice. Either we implement sensible policies that create jobs and prosperity or we … Continue reading “What kind of tax break would you like to see?”
By MPP Toby Barrett In the coming weeks, I look forward to joining the ‘Helping Ontarians Enter Skilled Trades Tour’ – designed to address the reality where we suffer from both high unemployment and a shortage of skilled workers. The work being done by those in the skilled trades – our electricians, welders, plumbers, carpenters … Continue reading “Open up our skilled trades to create more jobs”