Conservative Leader Tim Hudak Outlines ‘Key Policy Proposals’ For Rescuing Ontario From Status As A ‘Have-Not Province’

A Foreward by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Speaking at the annual summit of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario this November 2, Ontario’s Tory opposition leader Tim Hudak outlined plans for ‘turning the province around’ should he become the next premier.

In the next provincial election, said Hudak, Ontario will have a clear choice between Dalton McGuinty, whose policies, he went on to argue, are out of touch with families and businesses across the province.

“I firmly believe that economic growth and job creation relies on restoring consumer confidence and reducing the tax burden families face so they can start spending again,” added Hudak, “A PC Government will deliver a plan to govern that will give families real tax relief, so they have the ability to get household budgets back in order.”

“Ontario’s best days are yet to come,” the Fort Erie native and contender for the province’s top crown said. “We have a dedicated workforce, strong entrepreneurs, and vast and valuable resources. We just need the right kind of decisions and the strong leadership to move our province forward.”
 
As a service to our readers, Niagara At Large is including below the full text of Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak’s address to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s annual Economic Summit.

Since our launch last December, NAL has made it a practice to post ‘for-the-record’ texts of speeches, media releases and parliamentary hansard questions and comments by members of all political parties on matters of possible interest to our readers. NAL strives to do so without prejudice or preference for one political party over another. We leave it to you, our readers, to digest these texts and share your comments with us in the spirit of building this site as a virtual ‘town hall’ on matters of concern to us.
Address by Conservative Leader Tim Hudak – Ontario Chamber of Commerce: Economic Summit
November 2, 2010

I want to commend you and the Institute of Chartered Accountants as a founding partner of this annual Economic Summit – now in its seventh year.

The Ontario Chamber remains a valued source of advice to me as the MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook and as leader of the Ontario PC Party. It’s clear we share many of the same priorities when it comes to encouraging economic development. Many of those priorities are featured topics at this year’s summit, such as – using transportation infrastructure as a ‘gateway to growth’ and the importance of ‘smart regulation’. These are topics I too will get into a little later.

But first, I want to thank you for having me back again this year. For those of you who are in from out of town, I hope you get a chance to go out and enjoy all the region has to offer. If you’re looking for a good place to eat, go for a wine tasting, or see the sights, I’ve got you covered better than Google Maps!

Today, Ontario has slipped from the front of the pack. We are faced with historic deficits and debt. And tomorrow marks the somber second anniversary of Ontario becoming a have not province. But I firmly believe our province’s best days still lie ahead.

Friends, I want to lead our province, because I believe in Ontario’s tremendous potential, both in its land and its people. In fact, it was this potential, this hope, which brought my grandparents to Ontario from then Czechoslovakia just prior to World War II.

But as a father of a young daughter who just turned three, I worry about the path we are on today.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think Dalton McGuinty means well, and I think his heart is in the right place. But after seven years in office, he’s become out-of-touch with what’s happening on the ground and in households today. And, quite simply, he and I come at the challenges Ontario is facing from completely different directions. And with this in mind, I want to share with you four ways a future PC government will move Ontario forward, and take us down an entirely different path than we are on today.

First, we will put our faith in the private sector to be Ontario’s engine of economic development.

While Ontario’s GDP grew by a total 8.8 percent over the last seven years, government spending has increased by 70 percent – a rate nearly eight times as fast. The public sector has grown by over 268,000 positions. That kind of spending means Dalton McGuinty is on course to single-handedly double Ontario’s debt by 2012.

Folks, a struggling private sector cannot support the bloating of the public sector.
To help reign in spending, I am calling for a mandatory Sunset Review process that forces all ministries, agencies, boards, and commissions to justify their existence and continued value to the public. This process will force government to pursue savings and better measure the quality of service delivery.

I have also been clear that a future PC Government will take a different approach to public sector agreements that have ballooned way out of line with taxpayers’ ability to pay. And when it comes to helping the private sector, I believe government should create the right conditions for job creation – and then get out of the way.

We absolutely must reduce the growing creep of government regulation that costs money, costs time and kills jobs. One option that I like, and I’d appreciate your feedback on, has already worked for businesses in British Columbia. B.C. appointed a minister specifically responsible for reducing the paper burden.

Every ministry in their government was asked to count all of their regulatory requirements and set a target of a 33 percent reduction over three years. And because they had someone accountable, and because it was measurable, they actually exceeded that goal by reducing their overall red tape burden by over 40 percent. It helped small businesses succeed. It helped not-for-profits. It helped municipalities to move their projects forward. And it’s an approach that is sorely needed here.

Second, we will treat energy policy as economic policy.

We must put consumers first, both families and business, and respect that they pay the bills. Electricity prices have risen dramatically. Over the last seven years, the average family hydro bill has increased by 75 percent. Within five years, bills are expected to rise another $732 per family per year. The cost of energy is one of the principal expenses in the cost of doing business, and by extension, one of the top factors that any business must consider before investing in Ontario.

I believe if we want a strong and growing economy, we must treat energy policy as economic policy. And stop treating it like a social program. The government must start working with the industry and consumers to develop a long-term plan and see it through.

While I believe renewables have a place in Ontario’s future supply mix, we cannot continue to pursue green energy policies that unnecessarily drive up the cost for consumers and have punitive results on the broader economy.

Nuclear facilities supplied more than 50 per cent of our electricity last year and given the 10-year lead time for a nuclear facility, we cannot afford to wait any longer – and a PC Government will move forward with new nuclear in the province of Ontario.

A balanced supply mix has always been our strength. And we will work with you to make the pragmatic decisions to ensure a diverse supply mix to fuel Ontario’s economic growth.

Third, we will develop a comprehensive long-term infrastructure plan that will enable job creation, help move people and their goods to market. If there’s one sector in need of long-term planning as much as energy – it’s infrastructure.

I understand the McGuinty government is seeking advice from your organization and others on a new 10-year infrastructure plan. Folks, it takes 10 years just to plan a single Olympic Games. Keeping Ontario ahead of the curve on economic development and trade requires much more long-term and far sighted infrastructure planning.

Building the Mid-Peninsula Highway is an example of this right here and now in the Niagara region. Or extending the 407 eastbound to the 115/35. I was proud to serve in the previous PC government, which advanced the mid-peninsula corridor
project and got it under way. But after seven years of dithering and delaying, the McGuinty government decided this summer to shelve plans for the highway for at least 20 years. In 2030, we’ll study it again. I see the mid-pen corridor for what it really is: the biggest investment we could make for job creation in Niagara and Hamilton in a generation, allowing.

That’s why, if I am given the honour of becoming the next Premier, I am committed to making the mid-peninsula corridor a priority – and I will get the job done.

Instead of trying to be all things to all people, the government that I will lead will ensure spending is focused on basics, like frontline health care – and investing in the infrastructure that will facilitate job creation.

We will also recognize that for rural and northern Ontario – roads are the public transit. We will work to find a better balance between new roads and bridges with new vehicles for urban communities.

And with your help, I will also develop a prudent long-term plan for infrastructure based on decades, not years, and you can count on us to stick to priorities.
And fourth and finally, we will give hard working everyday families the break they deserve.

I firmly believe that economic growth and job creation relies on restoring consumer confidence and reducing the tax burden families face so they can start spending again.
A PC Government will deliver a plan to govern that will give families real tax relief, so they have the ability to get household budgets back in order.

Because a family that’s worried about putting food on the table, paying the hydro bill, or paying for rising auto insurance premiums, is not thinking about – paying down debt, putting money away for retirement, taking that vacation to create new family memories to cherish, or spending money on items that enhance our quality of life. The reality is, the tax burden forced upon family budgets by Dalton McGuinty has been stifling, the latest crunch being the HST. The economic reality is that the HST takes money out of the pockets of consumers at precisely the time we want them to be spending.

From filling up your car with gas, to the heat for your home, to routine expenses like haircuts, the HST hits families hard. It’s clear, Ontario families need relief.

That’s why our PC Caucus recently launched the biggest political survey in the history of our province. It’s called HaveYourSayOntario.ca, and it has already been visited by over 3,000 people.

We are asking you to tell us what kind of tax relief is going to help your family the most, which government services we need to focus on, and what are the best ways government can stimulate job creation.
I encourage all of you to take it. The website, again, is HaveYourSayOntario.ca.
Ladies and gentlemen, the ideas I have outlined are just four of the different choices a PC government would make as we go down a very different path than the one we’re on here today.

These ideas are practical, affordable, and a good start.  In the months ahead, as we get ready for the October 2011 election campaign, we will bring forward a full plan to govern that will put families first, get government focused on the services we care about and need, and make private-sector job creation, more jobs, a priority.

I will continue to travel the province. I will continue to listen to my best advisors – which are everyday families and hard working business owners. Together we will restore Ontario’s leadership in Confederation and foster the opportunities of tomorrow.

I firmly believe that Ontario’s best days are to come. We have a dedicated workforce and strong, driven entrepreneurs. We have vast and valuable resources that are the envy of the world. And we’re on the doorstep to 135 million consumers across the border in the United States. We just need the right kind of decisions and the strong leadership to move our province forward.

I believe Ontario can once again be the economic powerhouse of our great country. I believe we can give the next generation all the opportunities we had to succeed and more.

Friends, working together, Ontario can lead again. Thank you very much.

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