Ontario plans to extend Highway 427

Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario, visited the Conair/Cuisinart Consumer Products in Vaughan earlier this week, where she announced the Government of Ontario's commitment to extend Highway 427 to Major Mackenzie Drive, connecting communities and supporting thousands of jobs throughout my former home town of York Region.

The new 6.6 kilometre extension is included in the 2013 Budget. It is being described as part of the government's commitment to make smart infrastructure investments across the province. This extension may very well help create jobs and strengthen the economy throughout the region by helping goods and people to move more efficiently.

Investing in modern infrastructure is part of the government's strategy for job creation and help Ontario create a competitive business environment, while helping people in their everyday lives.

What’s next?

No one will deny Ontario has a great deal of potential. But it is being held back by weeks of paralysis caused by Andrea Horwath, leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party, and her party’s ever-growing list of demands.

The Ontario Legislative Assembly has spent the past two weeks talking about everything except what matters. Ontarians, Torontonians, and residents of York Centre need focus on creating jobs and ending overspending. What is occurring, however – at all levels of government, is a soap opera. Meanwhile, opposition parties are lobbying for another expensive election.

I cannot be the only one fed up with governments addicted to spending with very little to show for it. Let me know what you think in the comments section.

International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

On International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, Canadians across the country should join in renewing a commitment to end all discrimination, while remembering the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community’s long and difficult struggle for equality and acceptance; one that continues to this day.

Here in Canada, the LGBT community has made notable progress in legal rights, dating back to the decriminalisation of homosexuality under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1968, to equality rights enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to the assent of the Civil Marriage Act in 2005. In our schools, gay-straight alliances and similar support groups challenging homophobia are becoming more common, and I am proud to say I presided over one once upon a time. Further, harassment and discrimination are increasingly rejected. From immigration and employment protections to adoption rights, Canada has a record of confronting homophobia.

Nevertheless, the stigma many individuals confront in their daily lives remains very real, both here at home and around the world. In many countries, LGBT individuals are not only deprived of basic dignity but frequently face imprisonment, brutality and even death.

Today is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the significant challenges that remain, but also to stand united in celebrating and advocating for diversity. All Canadians must continue to unequivocally defend LGBT rights as human rights.

World Press Freedom Day OR Liberte de la presse

The recently passed (May 3rd) World Press Freedom Day is a time to honour the vital role played by an independent press and freedom of expression in fostering democracy, both here in Canada and around the world. It is also a day to remember all those who have lost their lives in pursuit of the truth.
 
Unfortunately, censorship, intimidation and politically-motivated arrests continue in many corners of the globe. Journalists must be able to report freely and without fear of repercussions, for when the press is intimidated, we all suffer.
 
World Press Freedom Day is equally an occasion to examine the state of press freedom in our own country, especially as the industry struggles and learns to adapt to the information age. The current federal government has shown unprecedented disdain for the press and freedom of expression, with real consequences for Canadian democracy.
 
For this reason, I would like to ask all Canadians to demand that freedom of expression and freedom of the press be respected here at home and around the world.

Owner of shelter for abused men and children commits suicide after financial ruin, ridicule

I have long been what can be called a quiet supporter of "men's rights". I say quiet support because it is not something I have gone out of my way to advertise. I am going to change that today. I am taking this step because a great Canadian passed away recently.

Earl Silverman, a man who spent twenty years of his life crusading for better access to victim and emergency services for men and boy who are victims of abuse, was a victim of abuse himself at the hands of a former spouse. He dedicated his time, energy, and money towards creating a shelter specifically for male victims fleeing abusive situations.

And three days, Earl took his own life.

For the last three years of his life Earl ran the Men's Alternative Safe House out of his own home, taking in about twenty men and children over that period. Earl spend the entirety of his own savings to keep his shelter running while trying to convince government to allocate funds for his and other projects directed at male victims.

After years of being able to keep the shelter running through his own funds and private donations he was driven to financial ruin and forced to sell his home - by extension closing his life's work.

Three days ago, after selling his house, he walked into his garage and hung himself.

Suicide rates have demonstrated to be a predominantly male problem in Canada. In Canada, one in every five hundred men will end their own life. In Yukon, Quebec, and the Northwest Territories that number rises to one in every four hundred men. And in Nunavut, to one in every one hundred men.

Earl made every effort he could to change this. And in end, he spent so much time working to help others like him, but he could not help himself.

I didn't know Earl personally, but I shared his philosophy of equality for all. Because of his work I will no long be a 'quiet supporter of men's rights.'

Engaging Ontarians on the Budget

This past week, the Ontario Liberal Government announced that they will be presenting the Budget on Thursday, May 2nd. 

Yesterday, the Ontario Liberal Party launched engage.ontarioliberal.ca, a website where you can find out more about what the Budget means for you and your family. 

The Liberal Budget will lay out a shared vision for the way forward, one towards a prosperous and fair Ontario, now and in the future. 

Make sure you're among the first to hear about Ontario's path to balance. Sign up for updates here.

On Earth Day

This previous Monday marked the forty-third annual Earth Day. While the day is intended to celebrate to celebrate Canada’s natural beauty, the day also provides an opportunity to educate, empower and motivate Canadian to achieve solutions that will improve the state of our environment.

Unfortunately, Canadians are currently dealing with a Conservative government that has gutted environmental protections and abdicated any national leadership role in combating climate change.

The current federal government must finally recognize and act on the challenge ahead. Climate change pays no regard to national borders and remains the most pressing environment issue facing the planet. The government must stop its delay tactics and immediately introduce a plan to cut back on Canada’s contribution to global climate change.

On this Earth Day, we must recommit to protecting our natural environment, particularly for the health and well-being of our children and grandchildren. To further ignore Canada’s pressing environmental needs would be a huge disservice to future generations.

It is time for the Government of Canada to take immediate, concrete action on the serious environmental challenges confronting Canada.

They will not make such changes on their own, however. Where there are Canadians that care about the environment; they must demand change. The strongest way to do this is to send the federal government a message by denying them your vote in 2015. Luckily for those in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), two of the government’s leads on the issue of climate change represent constituencies in our region. Given recent statements by both Peter Kent, Minister of the Environment and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Thornhill, and Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources and the MP for Eglinton-Lawrence, it is doubtful they will heed your call.

As recently as this month Oliver stated, “I think that people aren’t as worried as they were before about warming of two degrees...”

For Canadians to convince the federal government that they actually do care, they will need to be loud. Good thing those of us in the GTA don’t have to travel too far to find the Prime Minister’s most senior representatives.