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•T he IFP• H alton H ills, Thursday, June 6, 2013 7 ! !! ! • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 Truck Accesso• T• Trucruck Ak Accesso We handle all insurance work. Visit our showroom COMMENT Province is on the wrong track On May 29, the Ontario Legislature voted on the Wynne government's bud- get motion. With its passage, the possi- bility of a spring election evaporated. The decision each MPP faced that day was relatively straightforward, if not necessarily simple or without po- tential consequences. The fundamental question each of us had to ask ourselves was this: Do I sup- port the overall budgetary policy of the government? Provincial government spending is budgeted to go up this year, in spite of the Liberals' rhetoric about holding the line. The defi cit projection is up. The provin- cial debt is going way up. The latest budget builds on an irresponsible pattern of waste of taxpayers' money during the past 10 years. Scandals like eHealth were followed by the Liberals' cynical decisions to cancel the Oakville and Mississauga gas plants, and then deliberately understate the costs, in order to save Liberal seats. Since I do not support the overall budgetary policy of the current govern- ment, I voted against it. The budget mo- tion carried by a vote of 65-36. Every Liberal MPP present voted for the motion. They had made up their minds to vote for it before they had heard or read the budget speech. Every New Democrat MPP present voted for it. They had announced their decision to support the budget motion the previous week. Every Progressive Conservative MPP voted against it. Tim Hudak had previ- ously signaled that unless the budget represented dramatic change from the McGuinty legacy, it was unlikely that we would vote for it. We knew that our opposition to the budget motion might potentially lead to a spring election. But we also know the Province is on the wrong track. Ontario needs to take a new direction, encouraging job cre- ation, eliminating wasteful spending, and paying down the debt. It appears this can only happen after an election, under new leadership, with a new agenda. • • • Last week in the Legislature was a particularly busy one. We responded to the Metrolinx rec- ommendations of higher taxes and fees to pay for Toronto's transit needs, saying they should look for savings fi rst. On Monday we welcomed the Ontario Cattlemen's Asso- ciation to Queen's Park. On Thursday, the annual Queen's Park Farmers' Market was held. As one of the assistant speakers, I presided over de- bates in the Legislature on Monday, Tuesday, and briefl y on Thursday. I also spoke in the House, raising a number of local and provincial issues: • Asking for approval for a new Holy Cross School in Georgetown; • Congratulating The Oppose Bel- wood Wind Farm Association upon re- ceiving the Environmental Excellence Award from the Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce, and again, urg- ing the government to place a morato- rium on new wind farms until ongoing health studies are concluded; • Complaining about the govern- ment's cancellation of the Connecting Link program, which for years helped municipalities with the cost of main- taining provincial highways through built-up communities; • Demanding a review of the govern- ment's planned cuts to physiotherapy services for seniors in nursing homes; • Inquiring about coverage for Esbri- et during Question Period, a new medi- cation that shows promise for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fi brosis. --Ted Arnott is the MPP for Welling- ton-Halton Hills (1-800-265-2366). His website is www.tedarnottmpp.com. The way we were An early view of Rex Heslop's subdivision in east Georgetown shows some of the 2,000 homes that were built on what was formerly farmland. The photo also shows (bottom right) the Delrex Plaza (now Georgetown Market Place) which opened on July 22, 1959. The relo- cation of several new companies to the area and construction of Hwy. 401 sparked develop- ment of the Delrex subdivision and Armstrong Avenue industrial area. -- Information taken from John McDonald's book Halton Sketches Revisited Georgetown development 'Not many girls can say they rode to the prom in a tractor.' --Tanner Tardie, see story pg. 3 From our readers 'Quote unquote' TED ARNOTT CHEEKY CHIPMUNK "Letting the grass get a little tall, aren't you?" This chipmunk didn't seem too impresssed with local amateur photographer Mari- nus (Rein) Pater's lawn care recently. Got a photo you want to share? Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca.