On Wednesday I presented to the Lanark County Council the findings of a recent Auditor General's report on Conservation Authorities. I provided insight in to the current state of CAs provincially as well as future changes and consultiation. You can watch a recording of my presentation to council in the attached video. You can view the accompanying slideshow above or at this link here.

I’m inviting everyone to my Annual Christmas Hootenanny this Sunday, December 16th at the Grand Hotel from 2-4pm PM in Carleton Place. Join us for some great holiday music with the Bows Brothers where we will serve up some festive treats, take a little time to wish each other well and toast the holiday season! Please RSVP HERE if you plan on attending so we can ensure we have enough food for everyone. Hope to see you there!

Our conservation authorities are ineffective, unaccountable, and constantly expanding beyond their mandate. My office has dealt with numerous issues with CA's providing false technical advice to constituents, major delays in service, and gross misinterpretations of statutory authority, particularly with the Rideau Valley and Mississippi Valley Conservation Authorities.

I have been in contact with the Minister of the Environment to express my concerns and to highlight specific failings and solutions. You can read my letter in full below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15th, 2018

(QUEEN’S PARK) Ontario’s Government for the People is putting more money back in people’s pockets in Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston by introducing one of the most generous tax cuts for low-income workers in a generation – the Low-Income Individuals and Families Tax Credit (LIFT).

Those who earn $30,000 or less would pay zero personal income tax on their 2019 tax returns. It represents up to $850 per person and up to $1,700 per couple in savings.

“This tax cut will leave more money in the pockets of families and taxpayers,” said Hillier. “I’m proud to be part of a government that is putting people, not the government, at the heart of their fiscal plans.”

The Government’s Fall Economic Statement laid out the government's economic plans which have already included $3.2 billion in savings from efficiencies which paved the way for $2.7 billion in tax savings for people and businesses throughout the province. This also allowed the government to shave down the deficit by $500 million, putting the province back on track to fiscal health.

“The future's looking brighter than ever, we are cutting costs without reducing front-line service jobs, addressing the deficit and debt while supporting job growth in high paying industries such as the skilled trades,” explained Hillier.

“We’re bringing back the prosperous Ontario we all know and love, and it’s clear to everyone that Ontario is open for business,” proclaimed Hillier.

You can view Minister Friedli's speech here and view the Fall Economic Statement in full here.

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Contact: Perth Office 613-267- 8239
Queen’s Park 416-325- 2244
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24th, 2018

(QUEEN’S PARK) The Ontario Government has unveiled a bill which, if passed, will take much-needed steps to help Ontario businesses stay competitive and boost their ability to create more, better-paying jobs. Many of the changes the government outlined can be traced back to a number of MPP Hillier’s  Private Members Bills introduced in previous sessions as well as his 2011 White Paper on labour reforms. These include ending card based certification for industries captured in the previous government’s legislation, enabling 1:1 ratios for all apprenticeship positions, and restoring secret ballots for union certifications.

"This has been long overdue, I have been advocating for these changes for a number of years now, and it's great to finally have a government that understands and cares about young people entering the skilled trades," said Hillier. "A number of these changes have long been sought after by both employers and those seeking to enter into the trades,” explained Hillier.

The bill aims to reduce red-tape for all businesses, but has a specific set of reforms aimed at the skilled trades. Many in the industry have been raising the alarm over the lack of new apprentice entering into the skilled trades and how this widening skills gap is keeping Ontario from meeting its economic potential. The bill will now allow for a greater number of apprenticeship positions to open up in shops across the province, providing additional opportunities for women and men across Ontario to gain lifelong, meaningful employment.

Along with giving the skilled trades a much-needed boost, this bill will reverse a raft of hastily thrown together changes the previous government enacted that many in the industry saw as a last-ditch election effort. "I spoke with the different Chambers of Commerce and many businesses throughout my riding when the previous government rolled out their reforms and many admitted they would have to cut jobs just to stay afloat," Hillier explained. "These changes will help businesses stay competitive so they can thrive and create more, better-paying jobs," said Hillier.

“These efforts will help us address the skills gap in the trades, provide a steady supply of good paying jobs and supply employers with a great pool of talented skilled workers to choose from; this is a win for all involved.”

You can view the full bill, including changes to the minimum wage and vacation enhancements, here once published by the Legislature.

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Contact: Perth Office 613-267- 8239
Queen’s Park 416-325- 2244
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3rd, 2018

(QUEEN’S PARK) MPP Randy Hillier (Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston) is pleased to announce the allocation of 82 long-term care beds in the riding as part of the PC government's plan to bring an end to the province’s hallway health care crisis. These are the first new beds for the region in over a decade and come as part of an announced immediate allocation of 6000 new LTC beds province wide.

“I'm very pleased to see our government move quickly to address this very long-standing issue,” proclaimed Hillier. “In my 11 years as an MPP the previous Liberal government didn’t build a single new long-term care bed in the region despite a growing backlog, so it's great to finally see real tangible results and action on an issue that matters and makes a difference for my constituents.”

This move will allow acute care patients to move into more appropriate facilities with the addition of 82 new beds in Almonte and Carleton Place, helping reduce wait times and overcrowding in our hospitals while providing the proper environment for long-term care patients to receive the services they need and deserve.

“It’s clear that this government actually puts actions to its words,” said Hillier. “This is just the first step towards fulfilling our commitment to create thousands of additional long-term care beds across the province and the region. I’m looking forward to announcing additional developments as they unfold.”

The 6000 new beds being allocated province wide represent the first steps towards an announced allocation of 15,000 new long-term care beds to Ontario's health care system over the next five years.

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Contact: Perth Office 613-267- 8239
Queen’s Park 416-325- 2244
[email protected]

Source: InsideOttawaValley.com
by Tara Gesner

After being returned to Queen’s Park for a fourth consecutive time by voters on June 7, Progressive Conservative MPP Randy Hillier kicked off a victory tour of the municipalities in his Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston riding.

On June 12, Hillier made his first stop in Carleton Place, speaking at the start of the policy review meeting.

Mayor Louis Antonakos noted the re-elected MPP wanted to “give us a sense of where we are headed when the new government is formed.”

“Things have changed,” Hillier stressed. “The change that happened last week signals a transformative change in our relationships between the provincial government and our municipal partners.”

“I know we have heard that term often — municipal partners — in the past,” he added. “Over the last decade, however, I do not believe it has actually been a partnership so much.”

Hillier talked about a couple of key priorities he is going to be advancing.

“We have seen over the last decade an imposing of responsibilities on municipalities as well as an imposing of prescriptive processes on how you are to executive those responsibilities ... without proper funding mechanisms, without certainty in funding mechanisms,” he said.

“That is not indicative of a partnership,” the politician continued. “A partnership is not big brother telling little brother what to do and how to do it, and go find your own money to make it happen.”

Hillier believes it is critical this relationship be changed.

“Municipalities should have greater autonomy in their own determinations and decision-making,” he said. “Greater autonomy with respect to funding and executing those responsibilities.”

The other priority is predictability and certainty on the funding relationship between the provincial government and municipalities, especially regarding infrastructure.

“That needs to alter substantially ... from this lottery-type process we have in place now where there is no certainty.”

The re-elected MPP believes it is critical municipal councils work with the government to advocate for these changes.

During the Ontario general election of 2018, Hillier took 52 per cent of the vote, beating out NDP candidate Ramsey Hart, who won 30.5 per cent of the vote, and Liberal and Green contenders Amanda Pulker-Mok and Anita Payne, who won 10.5 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively. Other nominees were John McEwen (Independent) and Steve Gebhardt (Libertarian).

“If you have questions or things you want to advance, my door is always open and my phone is always on,” Hillier told council members.

“On behalf of council and all residents, congratulations on your success,” Antonakos said. “We look forward to working with you.”

Premier-designate Doug Ford takes office on June 29. He will be tasked with compiling a cabinet to form his government.

Antonakos assured council he has already pre-booked a meeting with Hillier and “whoever the new minister of infrastructure might be” to discuss Central Bridge, the main crossing on Bridge Street near the town hall.

Owing to a detailed structural analysis of the bridge, this past December council heard it is too far gone and replacement is recommended. The structure would be constructed in stages and cost millions.

Source: Global News
Randy Hillier elected as MPP for the fourth time in a row for Lanark, Frontenac, Kingston

Join me Tonight (April 23rd) at 7PM for my last constituent telephone town hall before the Provincial election. This will be a great opportunity to share and discuss the issues that matter to you. It's sure to be an informative evening and I'm looking forward to receiving your, and other members of the public's, input on how the Province is doing and how it can be improved. 

A live stream of the town hall will be available a few minutes before the 7PM start time on my Facebook page, as well as here on this page. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 29th 2018

(PERTH) MPP Randy Hillier (Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington) came out strong against Premier Kathleen Wynne’s budget, announced in the Legislature Wednesday.

“This is contemptible,” said Hillier. “We are mortgaging our children and grandchildren’s futures to pay for her re-election. This Premier is putting us further in debt, paying to fix problems she and her predecessor created.”

“Only this government could come up with a plan to have today’s children pay for their own daycare when they become adults- and with interest,” Hillier continued. “Servicing the debt is the third largest expenditure under this government, after health care and education. To compound that, with interest, and ask future generations of workers to foot the bill, is unconscionable.”

“There are admirable proposals,  but tax deductions for families bearing those costs would provide a greater benefit today than amortizing those same children’s futures...plus there’s no guarantee we will ever see them happen; they’ve been promising this daycare program since 2003, and we’ve yet to see it happen.

Most of the budget promises won’t be implemented before 2020, if ever at all, but the deficit and accumulated debt would begin immediately. “Kathleen Wynne has made all of these promises in the past, and then called them ‘stretch goals’ when she failed to deliver,” Hillier recalled.

Ontario’s accumulated debt from 1867 to 2003 (136 years) was $132 billion. Since 2003, in just 15 short years, the Liberals have more than doubled that debt to $312 billion. Wednesday’s budget will drive it past $325 billion.

“We cannot continue on this path,” adds Hillier. “We need to do a better job, and it is clear that is not going to happen under the current administration; it is time for a new plan that respects those paying the bills, and helps those who need help the most.”

“This government has had 15 years to get it right; what we saw yesterday was an admission of guilt, like a promise they wouldn’t hurt us anymore. I am not buying it, and nor should the people of Ontario,” Hillier concluded.

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Contact:

Queen’s Park 416-325-2244

Perth 613-267-8239

[email protected]