The latest scuttlebut with a dash of prorogation.

This past week at Queen's Park was certainly eventful. On Monday night, Premier Dalton McGuinty decided to resign and to prorogue the Legislature.

While his resignation is good news for Ontario, hiding from scrutiny by proroguing parliament is an abuse and contempt of democracy. The consequence of prorogation is that all bills die. That means all ten of my Private Members Bills, including Bill 16, have died on the Order Table. Rest assured, I will not give up the fight, and I will continue to work to have this unjust law repealed.

Since there are no legal tools to compel the legislature back to work, that leaves public pressure as our only means to end this abuse of parliament.That's why two days later, on Wednesday, I launched the website getontariobacktowork.com and a petition to the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario to recall the Legislature. We have serious problems here in Ontario. It is my intention to deliver the petition in person to the Lieutenant Governor and need as many signatures as possible to send a clear message.

We need our politicians to get back to Queen's Park and do their jobs.

While the legislature has been idled, I've spoken out loudly and clearly in the media. You can read and listen to my comments here. It was also a great evening at the grand reopening of the Perth Hotel and also at the celebration of the Southern Frontenac Community Services Grace Center this week. Last Saturday, my wife Jane and I helped out the Lanark Animal Welfare Shelter in raising over $5000. LAWS is a no-kill animal shelter who have also renounced their affiliation with the OSPCA.

During the last week of the Legislature I spoke to two bills. The first was the creation of a new government agency to oversee our electricity system; you can see what I had to say about this new proposal here. I also spoke to a Private Members Bill to allow Legislators to have some level of oversight on the Childrens Aid Societies who often stonewall demands for transparency, you can view my arguments here.

On Wednesday, October 24, Tim Hudak will be in Ottawa at the Riverside Dr. RA center at 5:00 pm for a Town Hall. Although previous commitments prevent me from attending, make sure you don't pass up this opportunity to be involved and voice your thoughts and hear directly from Tim Hudak.

Best regards,

Randy Hillier, MPP
Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington