From Feb. 6 to 15, be sure to enjoy music, art, sports and activities for all ages. February also brings us Heritage Week and Black History Month. On the political side, the Ontario Legislature resumes on Feb. 16.

A strong focus of the upcoming session for myself and the Ontario NDP will be to advocate for a socially fair budget that promotes a greater prosperity more equally shared. Government decisions can have an incredible influence on people living on low incomes, and in the best cases, change their lives dramatically for the better.

We can all see that Hamilton is one of the hardest-hit cities in Ontario for poverty and precarious work. Less than half of Hamilton’s workers enjoy the benefits of a stable full-time job. We need help to alleviate poverty here, and we need the provincial government to pay attention to this and take it seriously.

Twenty thousand Hamiltonians – including six thousand children – rely on food banks every month. 73 per cent of them are actually in receipt of social assistance, but the rates are not sufficient to pay rent and food for most families. Six thousand children depending on food banks is a scandal. That’s the equivalent of over 260 full elementary school classes. No child should be at risk of hunger here.

We have an acute shortage of affordable housing units in Hamilton, and each year the shortfall grows by hundreds. Inadequate and unaffordable housing is one of the deepest roots of poverty and ill health. Unfortunately, we’ve seen very little progress on housing in Hamilton from the provincial government. I’ve written about this problem before, but the municipal and federal governments both invest more in Hamilton housing than does the province. This needs to change urgently. Affordable housing has to become a focal point for government action in the next two years.

There have been multiple demonstrations calling for an end to austerity, an end to healthcare and education cuts, renewed investment in affordable housing, and a livable wage. It is time for the government to heed these calls and implement a socially just economic policy.

In the U.S. Steel saga, the court of appeal has opened the possibility of releasing the secret agreement between U.S. Steel and the federal government. It is my strong hope that the workers, the pensioners, and the municipal and provincial governments are successful in finally gaining access to this deal, which could have material consequences for so many Hamiltonians. I was astounded to learn at the court hearings that even the judge presiding over the CCAA process had not been able to view the agreement. Our laws are in desperate need of a shake-up to rebalance the stakes between workers, pensioners and corporate creditors. I will continue to advocate for fair treatment of the workers and pensioners of U.S. Steel, and for government action to protect one of Hamilton’s major industries.

I am very worried about the Liberal plan to hold a fire sale of public assets like Hydro One. We are all familiar with the debacle that was Highway 407, sold off at perhaps a quarter of its true value. The revenue generated by our shared public assets helps to pay for our schools and hospitals. Closing schools and daycares, laying off nurses, and selling off our electricity system to the highest bidder do nothing to help middle class and struggling Ontarians. It is no surprise that these asset sales are going hand-in-hand with planned cuts to education and healthcare funding.

On a happier note, I would like to thank the Insurance Bureau of Canada for their generous donation to Hamilton Food Share and St. Matthew’s House. It will help a lot of struggling families this spring.

I have been privileged recently to have met with many of the Canadian athletes who will be competing at this summer’s Pan Am and Parapan Am Games. I encourage you to offer them your wholehearted support, and to attend some of the many events if you can. I am very troubled by the hope-and-pray nature of some of the traffic management plans during the Games, especially those in and around Toronto. Hamilton-Toronto commuters may face challenging times, and I would advise any of you who can to make plans to carpool, take transit, or change your commute time well in advance of the Games. Happily, the City of Hamilton appears to have a good traffic plan in place, and with the inevitable exception of the stadium area, there should be only minimal disruption in our city.

In November, the Ministry of Community and Social Services rolled out new software called SAMS. Unfortunately, SAMS has been plagued with problems and many Ontarians who rely on social services such as ODSP and OW are not receiving the support they need.  Since November, families have been underpaid. Cheques have been too late to pay the rent. Staff are overwhelmed and exhausted. This is a disgraceful state of affairs after spending a quarter of a billion dollars. If you are a support recipient and have had difficulties with these programs, please call my office and my staff will assist you..

Deb Deller, Clerk

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Dear Ms Deller,

Would you please process the following question and include it on the Order Paper.

Enquiry of the Minister of Finance

Would the Minister of Finance please provide a list of individuals and organisations with whom he consulted before including the Tax on aviation fuel as set out in Bill 14, Building Opportunity and Securing Our Future Act (Budget Measures), 2014.

Thank-you for your attention to this request.

Paul Miller, MPP Hamilton East – Stoney Creek

_____________________________________

This Question is on the Order Paper as follows:

36. Mr. Miller (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek) — Enquiry of the Ministry — Would the Minister of Finance please provide a list of individuals and organizations with whom he consulted before including the Tax on aviation fuel as set out in Bill 14, Building Opportunity and Securing Our Future Act (Budget Measures), 2014. July 23, 2014.

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The games are in full swing! No not those Games, the ones that will begin in just eleven short months —- the same old political games that were so fatiguing before the June election.

One of the very disheartening things of the last parliament was the complete inability of the Wynne Liberals to actually answer the questions they were asked during Question Period in the Legislature. And now, if anything, they’re worse!

I’ve asked questions of the Government these last few weeks about the missed opening of the Hamilton Stadium and the responses from the Minister responsible for Infrastructure Ontario have been nothing short of offensive to Hamiltonians. I pressed him – “This isn’t just a venue waiting for the games to happen in 2015. The Hamilton stadium has tenants pre and post Pan/Parapan Games, ready to use the building now. Why did the Liberals fail to make the timely completion of the Hamilton stadium a priority?”

The Minister’s response – “It is unfortunate that the Ticats organization and fans will not be able to utilize that stadium for their first few games….”. He suggested that the new stadium, when it’s finally available will be so wonderful that it will erase the problems caused for Ticats fans who had planned to attend the opening and subsequent summer games.

Not everyone is able to adjust their schedules to accommodate the failure of this Minister to ensure the timely completion of this Pan/Parapan Am Games venue with a pre and post Games tenant already in place.

The failure of the Liberal government to ensure that the Hamilton Stadium was completed on time shows me their inability to focus, to schedule, to establish priorities, to stick to them and to deliver to Hamilton the promises made. The fancy smoke and mirrors wording that the Minister uses for the financial arrangements – alternative financing procurement – is simply public, private partnerships and they can work. But, this government has to learn that even with this financial arrangement they can’t wash their hands of the mess at the Stadium, it was their failure they didn’t ensure that it was finished on time.

The Tiger-cats apparently will receive about a million dollars each game that is not played in the Stadium, but what about ticket holders who weren’t able to get into the game in a smaller venue, how will they be compensated.

And the Minister says that Ontarians won’t be on the hook for the million dollar penalties, but I have little faith that the foreign-led consortium hired by this government to construct the Stadium signed a contract taking on that obligation and then didn’t bring the Stadium in on time.

It’s a sad start to what should be a joyous summer getting the kinks out of the new Stadium so that the Tiger-cats season and the Pan/Parapan Am Games have the best facilities possible.

I’ll keep a close watch on this!.

The paramount purpose of the Act is to promote the best interests, protection and well-being of child performers in the live and the recorded entertainment industries.  I know that you’ll find it hard to believe, but the current laws do not provide hard rules about hours and conditions of work for child performers.

Thankfully this issue has been at the forefront of efforts by both ACTRA and EQUITY.  ACTRA represents performers in the recorded entertainment industry; so films and commercials and EQUITY represents performers on stage, so live performances.  Both have worked very hard to bring in stronger protection for children in the entertainment industry.  Their contracts have child protection clauses and they produced a Guideline for child performers.

Because performances on stage have a completely different set of work hours from those in the recorded industry, we divided Bill 71 into sections to specifically address both working environments.  The definitions in the Bill make it very clear who is responsible for the child performer’s health and safety, schooling while at work, breaks, healthy food and age appropriate hours of work.  It also clarifies responsibility for adult supervision and has provisions for who can act as a chaperone for child performers.

Child performers and their parent/guardian will be provided with health and safety information, including appropriate help should the child be performing with a script that is explicit in language, morals and content, such as war scenes or loss of loved ones.  The disclosure of the full terms of employment will be required directly to the parent/ guardian.  Should something change during the course of the child’s engagement for a performance, the parent/guardian and child must be fully informed as soon as possible.

The employer must ensure that a tutor is available to teach the child performer following the curriculum prescribed in the Education Act, in the language taught in the child’s school, for a minimum and maximum number of hours each day, with limited class sizes and in a well-lit, ventilated, appropriate space.  If the child performer is too young for school, age-appropriate toys, rest places and play areas must be provided.

Bill 71 also provides income protection.  Monies earned by the child performer, after a set amount, must be held in trust and the trust must be wholly in the child performer’s name.

Should Bill 71 pass second reading on Thursday, 6 June, it will be sent to a Standing Committee of the Legislature for public hearings.  After that it is reported back to the Legislature.  The Government is responsible for bringing the Bill before the Legislature for third reading and Royal Assent.  The Regulations to the Bill will be prepared after that process.

I look forward to seeing you at our Annual Seniors’ Fair on Wednesday, 12 June at the Stoney Creek Legion, Branch 622 from 11:00 – 2:00..

The 3^rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment received its new Regimental colour from their Colonel-in-Chief, HRH Prince Phillip, who travelled to Queen’s Park in a very short Canadian trip, just to present these colours.  HRH has been the Colonel in Chief for the 3^rd Battalion since 1953.

But that was just the beginning of the week-end’s commemorations of the 200^th anniversary of the War of 1812 Battle of Fort York.  Not only was the significant role of First Nations honoured with an early morning sunrise ceremony, but another fourteen hundred Canadian military, including the Royal Canadian Regiment, marched from Queen’s Park to Fort York.  What an amazing parade and what a wonderful feeling of pride, not only for participants, but those who watched either on the parade route or at Fort York.

And what that does is set the stage for our own Hamilton commemoration of the War of 1812, the Battle of Stoney Creek – the only conflict that took place in the Hamilton Region.  In a few short weeks, on Friday, May 31^st, at 1:00 p.m. we’ll begin our own ceremonies with the celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the opening of the 100 foot (30.480 metres) tall Battlefield Monument.  The monument commemorates a century of peace between the British and Americans – now two centuries of peace among the British, Canadians and the U.S.

Then on Friday evening at 7:00 there will be the Smith’s Knoll Memorial Parade and Service and the Battlefield Cemetery at Smith’s Knoll Re-Dedication.

The next day, Saturday, June 1^st, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and then on Sunday, June 2^nd, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., we begin the re-enactments of the June 6^th, 1813 Battle of Stoney Creek, one of the most significant events in Canada’s history.  Festivities include games, food, demonstrations, musical entertainment, fireworks and, of course, the re-enactments.

It is my honour and pleasure to be one of the re-enactors again this year – as a British Captain in the 8^th Regiment.  To be able to represent the heroic acts performed by our British soldiers and First Nations is indeed humbling, especially when we consider the significance of the Battle of Stoney Creek.

The cost of attending the full week-end of these events is $10.00 (much less than a $1.00 an hour) for adults and $5.00 (much less than 50 cents an hour) for youth, a really good deal for the number of activities that can be enjoyed over two days.  I encourage you to go to www.battlefieldhouse.ca to find out even more about this amazing week-end of commemoration and to be taken back and immersed in the life of a fighting soldier 200 years ago..

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has firmly set out five priorities; these are doable, in good time providing relief for everyday Ontarians. She has been clear; we need a balanced approach to balancing our books.

Our five budget priorities are:

1.  End corporate tax loop holes:

Ontario will lose more than a billion dollars annually as corporations write off HST costs on things like dining, company cars and entertainment.  Let’s say “no” to this free ride on every other Ontarian’s dime.

2.  First Start Youth ‘On-the-job Training’ Program:

While youth face double the unemployment rate, other Ontarians find themselves stuck in part-time positions, with no security, benefits or the chance at full-time employment. We need to work with employers to create jobs that will train our young people for long-term careers.

Our NDP plan would provide 16-26 year olds entry to long-term employment opportunities. A maximum $7,800 government wage subsidy would be provided per job that would last no less than 4-6 months, include on-the-job-training, skills development, be at least 30 hours per week and $12 per hour.  We will move young people into sustained jobs while expecting private sector employers to retain them in these jobs past the minimum period.

3.  Opening doors-to-employment:

Those on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program face barriers to securing jobs.  We must encourage employment by allowing recipients to keep the first $200 they earn each month while progressively re-entering the full-time work force.

4.  15% cut to auto insurance rates:

Ontario has the highest rates in Canada and premiums continue to rise as insurance company profits increase.

This government has been very slow to support Ontario’s safe drivers who need a break on their auto insurance.  For two years drivers have been told lower rates are coming – but, instead they’ve been hit with higher bills.

Industry figures show government policy changes allowed insurance companies to earn $2 billion extra in 2011 alone – while at the same time premiums went up 5%.

A 15% reduction would take average premiums down to $1,279 from $1,505 – a savings of $226 for an average Ontario driver.

5.   A 5 day home care guarantee for seniors:

According to Ontario’s Auditor General, some Ontarians wait as long as 6 months for home care services, the assistance that will help them to stay in their homes. Currently, about 6,100 Ontarians are on the home care wait list. A home care guarantee will ensure seniors get the home health care service they need within 5 days.

Ontarians want a balanced approach to balancing the budget, they are frustrated at seeing their money wasted on expensive scandals like ORNGE, e-health and the gas plants fiasco, while they fall further behind. The NDP wants a government commitment to find savings, including a hard cap on public sector senior executive salaries, while protecting the quality of our services..

It was with some positive anticipation that we finally returned to the Legislative business of this Province on February 19^th.    After a four-month period where the former Premier prorogued the Legislature to avoid in-depth investigation into the closure of two gas-plants for political purposes, I had high hopes for new co-operation in the Legislature.

Sadly, my hopes were rather quickly dashed during the regular “Question Period” when opposition MPPs have the opportunity to ask specific questions of the government.  Responses to our well thought-out questions about a myriad of issues, fell almost immediately into the same blame-game rhetoric.  Rather than answer our questions, responses have paraded out the actions of previous governments.  Rather than show how the actions of former governments, which they say are so objectionable, have been changed during the Liberals’ nine-year reign, they just point fingers.  This was one of the big problems during the prior Premier’s time in office.  There were seldom concrete answers to questions in “Question Period” and this Premier and her Ministers seem to have fallen right back into the same old, same old.

To be fair, my question last week about the excessive insurance rates being charged to Hamilton’s taxi drivers, did elicit a more positive response from the Minister of Finance, who has committed to look into the situation.  Sadly, this is unique, in an otherwise flood of pro-forma non-answers; as one colleague said, it’s not called “Answer Period”.

When we got back to the same old, same old, it really did feel like déjà vu with the Premier’s bombshell announcement of yet more gas plant documents being found.  This is the second time that the McGuinty/Wynne Liberals have guaranteed that all associated documents have been fully disclosed, just to announce that, oh oops, we’ve found more.  Really, how can anyone have even an iota of trust for these governments in the face of this kind of on-going revelations.

Our Leader, Andrea Horwath has called on this government to establish a public inquiry into the entire decision-making process to move these two gas plants for what appears to be the sole purpose of ensuring that the Liberal encumbents in these ridings would be re-elected – the so-called ‘seat saver’ programme.   A public inquiry would move the investigation process out of political hands and into the hands of an independent review, thereby, providing a greater opportunity for full disclosure and unbiased recommendations/sanctions. The use of public money for such partisan reasons offends the very basics of how government should work and the on-going secrecy about these decisions creates such mistrust that I fear it could be a long time before the people of Ontario will fully trust their government.

I will continue my efforts on your behalf to hold this government accountable..

I want to congratulate MPP Kathleen Wynne who was elected by her Liberal Party as their new Leader, therefore becoming the Premier-designate of Ontario.

I know that many of us are looking forward to Ms Wynne’s Throne Speech setting out her platform as the new Liberal Party Leader; as well, as she stated, reaching out to our Leader MPP Andrea Horwath and PC Leader MPP Tim Hudak.  As we have said ever since the 2011 election, Ontarians sent MPPs to work in a minority government and Andrea has been very clear that she and our Party have every intention of doing just that.

The dysfunction at Queen’s Park over the last fifteen months has created a contentious environment.  We look forward to Premier-designate Wynne clearing up some the problems created by her predecessor by finally striking Standing Committees of the Legislature with balanced membership from all three parties; by actually working with the opposition to find a balance in the issues that we each believe are paramount to everyday Ontarians; and to raising the bar in the Legislature; we must work towards the collegial atmosphere that was once a hallmark of Queen’s Park.

During the period when outgoing Premier McGuinty unnecessarily prorogued the Legislature, the NDP have been very busy in our constituencies; we have consulted with Ontarians through group meetings, individual meetings and through web-based programmes, to learn what is expected of our Government and how we can work to ensure that we make progress on these issues.  In ongoing efforts to be very clear about what Ontarians have told us during these consultations, Andrea made announcements this week:

• A home care guarantee that will ensure seniors receive home care service within 5 days;
• Giving the Financial Services Commission a mandate to reduce auto insurance rates by 15 per cent;
• A commitment to find savings within the current fiscal framework while protecting the quality services Ontarians rely on.

In January, Andrea also called on the Premier-designate to work with us to end corporate tax loopholes; to develop a First Start Incentive Programme to help get youth back to work; to develop better on-the-job training for youth; to help those on social assistance transition to the work place by removing barriers to employment.

These issues have been raised by the many Ontarians who participated in our consultations and are some of the issues that will get Ontario moving forward in a positive, creative way.

As always, if you have provincial issues and need help, please contact my office at 905-545-0114 and we’ll do the best we can to find a resolution.

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