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Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette answers questions from the media Wednesday at the Halton Region building in Oakville where he and (from left) Regional Chair Gary Carr, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and Burlington Mayor Cam Jackson, along with Milton Mayor Gord Krantz, announced they would be going to Queen's Park yesterday to voice their displeasure with the provincial government's contentious Places To Grow growth plan Photo by Liesa Kortmann Province `distracted' media during politicians' appeal-- MPP Continued from pg. 1 Chudleigh said there was only one news camera at the press conference, but that was not unusual because he said the media could be watching and listening from elsewhere in the Queen's Park building. He said the provincial Liberals were doing "everything they could to distract them (the media) from the (Halton) press release." That same morning the Liberals were making an announcement about a hospital in Oakville, and Premier Dalton McGuinty made an announcement at Queen's Park when the mayors and chair were speaking, said Chudleigh. Carr said press coverage was not the only purpose of the event at Queen's Park. He said the conference is televised at Queen's Park to all the MPPs and staff, and they're also hoping to target any candidates in the fall provincial election. Carr also said they are asking the provincial opposition to ask questions on their behalf in the legislature. They are also trying to engage the public to tell them why they should care about the provincial growth plan and the impact it could have on their wallets, not to mention social and health implications. "We're going to be saying to the public, here are the facts and we want them to very clearly articulate that to all the local candidates (in this fall's provincial election)," said Carr at the region Wednesday. Carr said they were hoping for some "financial consideration" in the upcoming provincial budget. "If you say, you pay," was Milton Mayor Krantz's message to the Province. Jackson said if the Province was going to dictate "inside our urban boundaries, our population and growth levels, the pace of growth they have a moral obligation to become our financial partners." Burton said the region motion delivers a friendly and helpful message to the Province, but later said Places to Grow should be called "Places to Sprawl" because it identifies areas for greenfield development. --With files from Melanie Hennessey, special