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12 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 12, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Byers joins Tory on campaign trail By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Rick Byers may not be able to officially call himself Oakville's Progressive Conservative candidate for this fall's provincial election until next week, but it didn't stop him from campaigning with party leader John Tory, who was in town Wednesday. Byers, who expects to be acclaimed at his party's Oakville nomination meeting Jan. 17, was joined by Progressive Conservative (PC) Party Leader John Tory at Sunrise Senior Living to meet and greet some seniors, to introduce himself and to hear some of their concerns and issues. "We just wanted to kick things off," Byers said, just before Tory's arrival. "The Oct. 4 election is nine-and-a-half months from now, so we're getting ready. The reason I want to get nominated early is to be part of the process as we develop our platform." Byers, a Toronto native who has lived in Oakville for 16 years along with his wife and three boys, was also a candidate for the Federal Conservatives in the 2004 election. The BMO Capital Markets managing director told seniors he was running for three reasons: the Liberal government's "broken promises," a concern for quality of life in Oakville in areas such as healthcare, transportation and air quality, and finally, Tory himself. "John Tory is a good friend of mine," Byers told The Oakville Beaver, noting they've been friends for years through the Conservative Party. "He is tailor-made for Oakville, not only for his great achievements, but he's also a great LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER POPPING IN FOR A VISIT: Oakville provincial Conservative candidate hopeful Rick Byers looks on as Ontario Conservative Party Leader John Tory chats with Ilse Paju during a visit Wednesday with seniors at Sunrise Seniors Residence. guy. I'm really excited to work with him over the next nine and a half months (on the campaign trail)." Tory, who took a while to begin his speech after meeting with nearly all of the approximately 50 seniors gathered in the front sunroom, had similar things to say of Byers. "Can I tell you how proud I am and how happy I am to have someone of Rick Byers' quality, integrity and track record as our candidate in Oakville," said Tory. "Oakville deserves a strong representative who will speak up for this community on issues like healthcare, gridlock and the economy where the McGuinty Liberals have made great promises, but have not acted." While the Leader of the Opposition noted the detailed PC platform isn't yet on paper, he highlighted the need to better-spend taxpayers' money and said Dalton McGuinty's Liberals were "wasting money" that could be "redirect- ed" into things like healthcare, lessening gridlock and more care for seniors. It's "treating the money with respect," he said. Tory highlighted the need for honest government that doesn't make promises it can't keep. "Good government for people with results, and to restore faith in politics and in politicians," he said. "That's what I'd like to do." Among questions seniors asked were when the new hospital slated for north Oakville would be delivered. Byers said one of the first things he plans to do is to meet with those on the board in charge of delivering that hospital so he can be "completely up to speed with plans." "Is there a way we can bring that hospital earlier?" he said. "That's something I'm going to look into." In response to a question about baby boomers and increased care that will be necessary in the future, Tory said planning ­ an idea he admitted "is not very sexy" ­ is key. "There's very little planning that goes on in government," he said, adding not only do the needs of an aging baby boomer population need to be addressed, but so too does Ontario's growing population. More jobs, doctors, roads and hospital beds are some of the things Tory said the government needs to be working on now ­ but he noted that's not happening. "I'm not promising I can perform miracles, nor can Rick," said Tory. "But we'll be honest and straightforward with you." -- Krissie Rutherford can be reached at krutherford@oakvillebeaver.com. the phone book h as of f ic i a l ly e v olv e d . directories have changed. so should your directory advertising. Business Memberships Starting From $36/month For more information on how can help grow your business, call 310-GOLD or email: sales@goldbook.ca brought to you by: John Polidoro Plumbway, Plumbing and Drain Cleaning Gold Club Member Directory Commercials Talking Directory Character Free Website & Update Service Rewards Points & Newspaper Offers Print Directory 00:00:20