Norm Miller to Liberals: “Listen to the people of Ontario”
(Queen’s Park) Today during Question Period in the Ontario Legislature, Parry Sound–Muskoka MPP Norm Miller accused the McGuinty government of misrepresenting the public consultations the government claims have been taking place on the controversial new harmonized sales tax.
Citing the example of Coco Paving Inc., a company that hosted one of the so-called consultations about two weeks ago, MPP Miller revealed that the company’s CEO is not only a past president of the Windsor West Liberal Riding Association, but also a substantial donor to the Ontario Liberal Party. This is not the first time Coco Paving has helped the Liberals hold “public consultations”—an event took place in Sudbury that, according to Northern Ontario Business, was nothing more than a press conference. Mr. Miller also asked the Liberals why they refuse to hold real, open, public hearings across the province.
The Premier deferred the question to the Minister of Finance, who confirmed the CEO’s close association with the Liberals, and continued to maintain that the HST is the right plan for Ontario. To this, Mr. Miller challenged: “If it’s the right plan for Ontario, why don’t you proudly go around the province and listen to the people of Ontario?”
View this video online at: www.youtube.com/user/normmillermpp
Full Hansard Transcript:
Mr. Norm Miller: My question is for the Premier. Two weeks ago, a company by the name of Coco Paving played host to tour stop for your so-called HST consultations. Jenny Coco, the CEO of Coco Paving is a past president of the Windsor West Liberal Riding Association and also a big donor to the McGuinty Liberals. Premier, how many other so-called consultations were setup by big Liberal donors?
Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Finance.
Hon. Dwight Duncan: That is in fact the case and in fact, Ms. Coco was the past president of the Windsor West Federal Liberal Association, that’s absolutely correct. Like a number of other businesspeople and like people like Jim Flaherty who have been speaking out in public in favour of the harmonized sales tax, this government will continue to advocate on behalf of the tax reform package we brought forward. It will create some 600,000 new jobs and it is the right plan for Ontario. It is the right plan. It is the right plan going forward to strengthen this economy so that people in Ontario can find work as we come out of this recession and we can grow a better and stronger, more prosperous economy for the future.
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?
Mr. Norm Miller: To the Premier: If it’s the right plan for Ontario, why don’t you proudly go around the province and listen to the people of Ontario? Premier, this is not the first time Coco Paving helped you orchestrate so-called consultations. You did the same thing in Sudbury. But according to Northern Ontario Business, what you call consultation was nothing more than “a press conference in Sudbury.”
Premier, will you give up these sham consultations and commit to holding real public hearings on the HST?
Hon. Dwight Duncan: The Ontario Road Builders’ Association, I can assure you, have a lot of conservative representatives in them, including Ms. Coco, and that’s who sponsored that forum.
I did find some interesting quotes here that I thought I would share with the House in terms of other people. Here’s what the member for Carleton–Mississippi Mills said, and this is in Hansard: “The Ontario government should harmonize its provincial sales tax with the federal goods and services tax.” And here’s what the same member said in standing committee: “I think that a good statement would be that the committee now agrees with the Conservative position in a minority report two years ago, that we combine the GST and the PST.”
You can cast aspersions against Ontario road builders, people who create jobs, who act fairly. You shouldn’t do that. We are having a debate—
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you. New question.
