With Bill 41, the convenience of the bureaucracy and administration of health care gets priority over actual front line service.

Rather than addressing the need for more doctors and front line care, Ontario is going to hire more bureaucrats to manage services and direct patient care in a manner most convenient to the government's administration, regardless of patient wishes and needs. This government's unwillingness to have open and frank discussions with health sector workers, nurses, and physicians on what is and isn’t working is problematic, and has resulted in a bill that is nothing more than an ineffectual game of whack-a-mole.

Please take a moment to complete my survey on Bill 41 which will be delivered to our Premier and Minister of Health (here).

For more information on Bill 41 you can view a recording of my debate in the House on the bills bureaucratic meddling in our health care system (here).

The Upper Canada District School Board has replied to MPP Hillier's October 3rd Open Letter to the Board of Trustees on the student accommodation review process and the potential closure of schools. 

You can view the UCDSB's letter below, followed by a copy of MPP Hillier's reply.

UCDSB Letter:

MPP Hillier's Response:

Jeff McMillan
Chair
Upper Canada District School Board
225 Central Avenue West
Brockville, ON K6V 5X1

Dear Mr. McMillan,

Thank you for your October 12 response to my open letter to the Board of Trustees.

In your response, you request my assistance and support to address the perceived inadequacies of the per-pupil funding model. While a review of the funding model may be justified, from my perspective an examination of the revenue model is more appropriately undertaken after a thorough review and examination of program and operational expenditures. If, after an objective analysis of expenditures, there is a determination that statutory responsibilities cannot be executed under the existing funding formula, then I expect that would trigger a funding review. At this time I have not seen evidence that this has been undertaken. 

I am, however, disappointed that your correspondence made no reference to my specific suggestions and advice, and that they remain unaddressed. In the absence of a response to my concerns, I only see that a revenue hand out is being sought. I trust this was inadvertent and an oversight that will be remedied shortly.

Let me reiterate and emphasize that from my discussions I am left to conclude that the Board appears to have transposed their responsibilities to those of their administrative employees. From my perspective it is imperative that the Board begin to provide direction and vision in the areas I outlined in my open letter, which included:

- It is necessary that the Boards and their respective Review Committees avail themselves of current short and medium term development plans of the affected municipalities. I am aware that a number of municipalities involved have growth and development plans and forecasts that likely are more current than the data that was reviewed.

- There needs to be a careful examination and consideration of the concentration of curriculum into fewer schools that has resulted in the busing of students over long distances to ‘specialized’ schools resulting in, and exasperating, the underutilization and occupancy of rural schools. Greater consideration towards the reallocation of programming to reduce travel and facilitate student retention in community schools need examination.

- The public and separate school board ought to be considering and negotiating space sharing arrangements that would allow small and rural communities to retain a local school within their community. I would add that it is imperative that space sharing agreements with community groups could provide an additional revenue stream for our community schools, including youth and/or seniors programs.

- The boards need to do a better job of ensuring that parents with children in their schools are aware that they have the ability and right to bring their concerns with this and any other education matters directly to the Board; what that process is, when those opportunities are available, and how to go about doing it. Further, they ought to be encouraged and welcomed to do so.

I remain optimistic that these efforts, if undertaken, would alleviate some of the pressures currently being felt by both our school boards and community schools.

Sincerely,

Randy Hillier

October 28, 2016

Collaboration Brings Success to CPDMH

(CARLETON PLACE) Randy Hillier (Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington) announced the investment of $8.7 million towards the revitalization of the Carleton Place District Memorial Hospital's emergency room plus an additional 9000 square feet of additional ER space today, alongside the Minister of Health and Long Term Care Dr. Eric Hoskins, Carleton Place Mayor Louis Antonakos, and Beckwith Township Reeve Richard Kidd.

"This improvement to our hospital has been a long time coming; in fact the idea pre-dates my time in public office," remarked Hillier. "This investment will contribute to the revitalization of our emergency room and will enable our doctors and nurses to build upon the excellent service the hospital already provides." 

MPP Hillier highlighted this investment in the community's hospital as an example of how elected representatives from all levels and political stripes can come together to implement changes that are in the best interest of their community. Despite CPDMH having various development proposals for many years in the Ministry, MPP Hillier referenced an initial meeting earlier this year that triggered moving the project forward.

"We saw a significant change of direction on this project, starting back in February of this year, when Carleton Place Mayor Antonakos and I sat down with the Minister at ROMA, and had a thoughtful and frank discussion about the need for investment in CPDMH," recalled Hillier.  "Continued meetings,  discussions and timelines overcame historical challenges with strong collaboration and only 9 months later, the Ministry has made the significant investment we discussed in February." 

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MPAC SPIKES FARM ASSESSMENTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
21 October 2016 

(PERTH) – MPP Randy Hillier expressed his concern over the significant increases in the property value assessments currently being received by farmers from MPAC. 

“I am being contacted by farmers who have received assessment notices that are almost double previous assessments, and I am hard-pressed to see any justification,” remarked Hillier. “MPAC says these increases are the result of market trends, but I’m not aware of any trends that warrant spikes like we’re seeing.”

“MPAC mailed out farm property assessments on October 11, and you can appeal your assessment,” Hillier added. “But there is a deadline for filing a Request for Reconsideration (RfR), so if you want to appeal, you need to get your RfR application in to MPAC as soon as you can.”

MPAC offers a website, aboutmyproperty.ca, where property owners can create an account and understand how their property was assessed by MPAC, as well as specific information regarding farm properties and market trends in each community.

“I strongly recommend that people examine their assessment closely when they get it, and file an RfR application if they feel their assessment is incorrect,” Hillier advises. “If you miss the filing deadline, you’ll be stuck with the assessment you received.”

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Contact:

Perth Constituency Office 613-267-8239

Queen’s Park 416-325-2244

[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5^th, 2016

Justice Gets a Failing Grade

(QUEENSPARK) Randy Hillier (Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington) pushed the Attorney General and the Liberal Government today on the revelation that, according to a recent Macdonald-Laurier Institute report, Ontario ranks as one of the lowest provinces in the country in terms of “access to justice”. On top of this, MPP Hillier cited the report’s conclusion that 43% of all cases are either stayed or withdrawn before trial.

“Such a large number of cases being stayed or withdrawn is, to me, an indication that there is something very wrong with the system” said Hillier. “This data suggests a failure on behalf of either the courts or law enforcement, and when our justice system receives more money than any other province, these sorts of problems are unacceptable.” 

MPP Hillier made a point of identifying the fact that the abysmal state of Ontario’s justice system enables innocent people to have legal conditions placed on them, lose custody of their children and be put in to hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt due to legal fees, only to have charges against them dropped.

“This government does nothing to provide any sort of remedy for the thousands of innocent people who have had their lives flipped upside down by the justice system only to have their cases withdrawn” proclaimed MPP Hillier. “It’s about time the Attorney General addressed the abhorrent state of our justice system and did more to protect the innocent rather than persecute them”

A full recording of MPP Hillier’s questions to the Liberal Government can be found here

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Contact:

Perth Office 613-267-8239

Queen’s Park 416-325-2244

[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5^th, 2016

Justice Gets a Failing Grade

(QUEENSPARK) Randy Hillier (Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington) pushed the Attorney General and the Liberal Government today on the revelation that, according to a recent Macdonald-Laurier Institute report, Ontario ranks as one of the lowest provinces in the country in terms of “access to justice”. On top of this, MPP Hillier cited the report’s conclusion that 43% of all cases are either stayed or withdrawn before trial.

“Such a large number of cases being stayed or withdrawn is, to me, an indication that there is something very wrong with the system” said Hillier. “This data suggests a failure on behalf of either the courts or law enforcement, and when our justice system receives more money than any other province, these sorts of problems are unacceptable.” 

MPP Hillier made a point of identifying the fact that the abysmal state of Ontario’s justice system enables innocent people to have legal conditions placed on them, lose custody of their children and be put in to hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt due to legal fees, only to have charges against them dropped. 

“This government does nothing to provide any sort of remedy for the thousands of innocent people who have had their lives flipped upside down by the justice system only to have their cases withdrawn” proclaimed MPP Hillier. “It’s about time the Attorney General addressed the abhorrent state of our justice system and did more to protect the innocent rather than persecute them”

A full recording of MPP Hillier’s questions to the Liberal Government can be found here

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Contact:

Perth Office 613-267-8239

Queen’s Park 416-325-2244

[email protected]

Thank you to everyone who listened and called into the Telephone Town Hall on Hydro. If you did'nt get the opportunity to share your thoughts on the town hall, take the survey and let MPP Hillier know how you feel about the current state of Hydro in the province and some of the solutions he's put forward.

Read MPP Hillier's open letter to UCDSB and LDSB regarding the student accommodation review process and elements of his previous discussions with the Board Chair and Director of both Boards.

Bagmen, Pro “Rogues”, Service Cuts, and the Liberal’s 36 Cent “Solution”

With the warm months quickly coming to an end and the legislature back in session, it’s about time for another Scuttlebutt. From long Service Ontario wait times and PSW cuts for seniors, to cash-for-access scandals and ever-increasing hydro prices, it has certainly been a busy few months. Just recently, the Wynne Liberals decided that they needed to “reset” their political agenda and prorogued parliament, only to re-introduce all the same bills as before. The only new addition to this “reset” agenda was a meager 36 cent a day rebate on hydro costs, which you can watch me debate here.

As well, I would also like to take the time to draw your attention to a couple of events taking place in the near future which I sincerely hope you will be able to join me at. 

Ontario's Lubricious Throne Speech
"A Balanced Plan to Screw Up Ontario for Everyone"

(QUEENS PARK) - Today's Speech from the Throne rings in a new session of parliament, justified by the Wynne Liberals as a necessary 'reset' of their legislative priorities.

One should ask how there can be a reset while at the same time a commitment to reintroducing all the legislation that died on the order table with prorogation? Clearly the Premiers words and her actions are at odds with one another once again. Instead, what was presented was a chest thumping agenda of re-announced priorities delivered with lubricious language.

“The Speech from the Throne today was nothing more than lip service to past commitments and re-announcements of existing projects,” MPP Randy Hillier proclaimed. “The only new announcement was the subsidy on the provincial portion of the HST for residential and small business hydro bills with no explanation of how this will affect the Treasury.”

Today’s speech simply parroted the same stale policies from the previous session. In truth what the Premier is attempting to accomplish is a reset of her political fortunes – not the wellbeing of the people of Ontario.

“Keeping with how they have operated in the past, all of these announcements where delivered in oily and slippery language without detail,” Hillier explained. “They didn’t even attempt to explain where exactly they plan to get the money needed for these policies. How do they plan to provide subsidies and balance the budget while meeting the outrageous spending commitments they regurgitated today?”

“These re-announcements of the same old ideas illustrate that this was far from a reset, it’s business as usual in the Legislature and the Liberals will continue to govern with their own self-interest as their priority,” concluded Hillier.

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