December 11, 2008
It’s hard to believe – less than two weeks to Christmas. Let me begin by wishing all of you the very best of the holiday season. MERRY CHRISTMAS and rich blessings to you in 2009!
As I travel Ontario and our beloved riding of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale it is wonderful to meet people with a smile on their face and hope in their hearts.
It’s wonderful because things have been rather tough on the economic front of late. What started as a sub-prime mortgage issue in the United States has seemingly blossomed into a full-scale world-wide economic crisis. The world simply isn’t the same as it was even two months ago.
Notwithstanding the challenges we face there’s good news all around us. To the south, our American cousins have boldly elected a young man audacious enough to talk openly of his ‘audacity of hope’ and our potential to face whatever challenges that arise TOGETHER.
He speaks of transformational change and a future that includes not only a greening of America but of a new sense of opportunity for all.
What else is hopeful? As things unfold around the world it is becoming increasingly clear that we Ontarians are a fortunate lot. In fact, there is likely no place on the face of the planet better equipped to deal with the economic challenges than our beloved Ontario.
Ontario produces some 44% of Canada’s wealth. Not only do we live in the best part of the finest country on earth but our people are strong and resilient and amongst the most highly educated in the world. Did you know that Ontario has the highest per capita rate of citizens with a post-secondary education in the western world?
Your Ontario government has pushed steadily forward at the tasks of building a stronger economy and an even more compassionate society.
Major investments in infrastructure renewal, education and health care have set us up well to deal with whatever new challenges we may face.
Today 100,000 more of our young people are attending college and university; 50,000 of our citizens are engaged in apprenticeship training
(a five-fold increase) and 15,000 more students are graduating from high school rather than being a dropout statistic.
Recognizing the importance of education in the early years, 540,000 primary students are now in classes with 20 or fewer students, compared to 160,000 students five years ago.
This government is focused on breaking the cycle of poverty. Its newly announced poverty reduction strategy will reduce the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over 5 years, lifting 90,000 kids out of poverty. This is an ambitious but realistic strategy that will call on everyone to be part of the solution.
As with many of the important issues of the day, we hope the federal government will also play its role in moving this initiative forward.
This holiday season, I sincerely hope that despite these challenging times, you and your family and friends don't cut back on holiday cheer; enjoy each other's company and take the time to give thanks for all that we have here in Ontario. Lend a helping hand to those who are less fortunate, so that we can all enjoy a happy holiday.
On behalf of my family and staff, I wish you all the very best in the new year. Here's to your continued health and happiness in 2009!
Read at the Adas Israel Synagogue to honour the memory of victims of the Holocaust
April 25, 2006
Today, we remember deeply traumatic events that are not mitigated by the passage of time. We remember those who suffered, those who fought, and those who died. We remember that survival or death for so many was, more often than not a matter of chance than of choice. And we remember that there are more than six million untold stories.
Together, today – alone or with others we remember in a multitude of ways –with prayers, candle lighting, the recitation of poetry, singing and testimonials, and in silence – especially silence. Today we are filled with recollection and reflections. Today, we remember pivotal events, events that shaped the climate of terror from which millions never returned. These events are now the words and images that are our lightning rods of remembrance. They stand alone, in endless time, as symbols of oppression and hate –Kristalnacht, the night of broken glass; the Nuremberg Laws, extraordinary measure of unprecedented exclusion; the Warsaw Ghetto, for far too many people the prelude to hell before the real hell – and all the other names, labels, places, and events that burn in resonance in our history books and in our hearts, but our knowledge of which could never actually match what it was like for those who suffered through, first the labelling, and finally, the tyranny.
Today, we remember the rescuers. Some have been identified; in fact some have been declared to be righteous; however, many more are forever unknown, unrecognized and unremembered. The rescuers appeared as if from nowhere and, at the same time somewhere. They came from every race, of both genders, of all ages and from every station of society. They risked their own lives; some failed, many perished, and only a few lived until old age.
Perhaps, they were driven to be rescuers by some unseen hand or by inarticulate emotions. Nevertheless their emotional response did not need to be intellectualized, for it was REAL in and of itself. They were selfless; and they were brave. And, they are forever honoured and remembered as beacons among the others who – not possessing beacons, simply turned their backs.
Today, we salute those that champion remembrance by defending the facts and by proclaiming the truth. The continuing denial of what happened many years ago is the property and the perversion of a small vocal minority who seek to twist history. Sadly, there will always be such individuals. That is why vigilance, must be an ever present part of remembrance – a particularly proactive part of remembrance – a remembrance that must be broadly intergenerational in its scope. Vigilance on behalf of the truth and the vocal championing of the truth will always remain a daunting task.
Today, we salute those that keep the candle burning – those that remind us that remembrance is a profound duty. As each new generation is born there will be the challenge of stimulating how remembrance is renewed. That there is a specific day, to focus on remembrance is obviously important for the fundamental mission of remembrance requires that it be both a daily task and a universal imperative. TOGETHER, we must always challenge each other to willingly and purposefully embrace this noble imperative.
Today, our frustrations and disappointments are mixed with the determination and the optimism that we pursue, in our attempts to make our world safe and our relationships compassionate. We must and we will celebrate our shared humanity as we continue to work together to afford everyone their dignity. For surely that is God’s purpose under the heavens. So – let us be God’s servants as we strive to live together in harmony and peace and, at the same time, promising to always remember.
SHALOM MY FRIENDS, SHALOM
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Is there anything more important and fundamental to our health, safety, security and happiness than our home? All Ontarians need a safe and affordable place to live. And with that fact front and centre in our minds, the McGuinty government has introduced important proposed legislation, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. Our proposed reforms are balanced and fair. They would give tenants more protection while keeping our rental housing market vital and strong.
For the rental housing market to work effectively for both tenants and landlords, it requires balance and fairness. That’s why we have taken the time to get the proposed legislation right. Our government had extensive dialogue and consultation with tenants, landlords, stakeholders and housing experts about changes needed to create more balanced tenant-landlord legislation.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing received approximately 1,200 phone inquiries, more than 5,000 completed questionnaires and 250 written submissions. We also conducted 10 town hall meetings in communities all across the province, including Hamilton. More than 1,500 people attended these informative sessions. In addition, 30 meetings were held with regional stakeholder groups across the province. Now we are acting on what we heard. We are confident that this proposed legislation would increase the availability, affordability and quality of rental housing in this province.
There’s nothing more central to this issue than rent. The proposed Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, would implement a fairer rent system that would benefit both tenants and landlords. Under the proposed legislation, the annual rent increase guideline would be based on a real cost indicator, the Ontario Consumer Price Index.
We want to protect tenants from increases above the rent guideline that are sometimes based on unnecessary capital improvements. Under the proposed legislation, all increases above the annual rent increase guideline would represent a real and necessary investment in a unit and or building. We would further protect tenants whose rents were increased due to capital improvements or higher utility costs by mandating rent reductions for those tenants when these capital items were paid or when landlords’ utility costs go down.
The McGuinty government is also making major changes to the tenant eviction process. Currently, tenants can be evicted without a hearing, if they don’t respond to an eviction application within five days. We think this is unfair. To better protect tenants, we would eliminate the current unfair eviction process and give all tenants an opportunity to attend a hearing that would consider their circumstances. For evictions due to arrears or application based on arrears, tenants would be able to raise any claim and the adjudicator would consider whether to order a remedy for their claim (i.e., rent abatement if there are maintenance problems). Tenants would have their “day in court.”
Better-maintained buildings are another priority for this government. Right now, tenants can have difficulty getting landlords to address maintenance concerns. The new bill would impose stiffer penalties on landlords whose buildings were not properly maintained such as allowing tenants to apply to the new Landlord and Tenant Board to stop all rent increases until maintenance issues were resolved. In serious cases, these penalties could include redirecting rent to the Board, until these issues were resolved.
Also we will protect our investment climate, which is good for our economy, and most importantly, our rental housing supply. We will do this by continuing to allow landlords and tenants to negotiate starting rents on vacant units and to exempt units built after 1991 from rent controls.
The proposed legislation, along with our $365 million investment in Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program, Strong Communities Rent Supplement Program and Ontario’s Rent Bank are part of our strategy to improve the availability, affordability and quality of housing in Ontario, while encouraging a robust and health
This week our youngest daughter, a graduate of WaterdownDistrictHigh School, headed off for her first year of post-secondary studies.
Reflecting on the moment it occurred to me that we have something very important in common - we all want what’s best for our children.
Doing well in life requires both a capacity to think as well as the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills necessary for success. Simply put – a great education system is Ontario’s single most important investment portfolio.
Your provincial government has recognised this reality by investing an additional $2 billion in support of education. This means more teachers, more resources including library books and computers and cleaner, better and safer schools. In fact with the provincial focus now clearly on student success we are seeing a remarkable turnaround.
The province has provided funding to hire 2,375 additional primary school teachers; 1600 new high school teachers and 4800 more Educational Assistants.
Today, 48% of our primary classes have 20 or fewer students. These smaller classes coupled with the work of the new Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat are having a dramatic impact on student achievement.
Province wide reading, writing and math test scores have dramatically improved two years in a row.
One of our biggest challenges is to ensure that more high school students graduate. The reason for action is clear, high school dropouts earn roughly $6500 less per year than graduates – that’s a quarter of a million dollar pay cut over a lifetime. Leaving school also doubles their chance of being unemployed and makes them five times more likely to require income assistance. This is simply not acceptable.
At the high school level, the province’s new ‘Student Success Strategy’ is attempting to reach more students through an increased emphasis on Co-Operative Education as well the new ‘Specialist High-Skill Major’ initiative which encourages students to focus on a career path more closely matching their skills and interests. And 159 special ‘Lighthouse Pilot Projects’ are assisting students who require extra support, guidance or a different learning environment to succeed. Today, more students than ever are benefiting from the knowledge and skills they have gained through real-life work experiences.
While program initiatives are important, the province’s new emphasis on collaboration is critical to overall success. Today, parent groups, educators and students are being encouraged as never before to work with the provincial government in the planning, implementation and evaluation of changes to our public education system.
It seems to be working as test scores are up, dropout rates are tracking down and more students with special needs are getting the extra assistance they require. There is even a sense that peace and stability has returned to our previously beleaguered educational system – a nice switch from the chaos and turmoil of the recent past.
By working together our education system is getting better and that has got to be good news for all of us.
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