Member of Provincial Parliament
Mississauga-Streetsville Provincial Liberal Association
Riding Association Web Site
All-day two-way GO train service highlight for us
An election platform has to be a blueprint for government. And it has to be an understandable collection of commitments that a government can accomplish in the short-, medium- and sometimes long-term. And that is what I saw when Dalton introduced our Liberal platform on Labour Day. As a document, it is an easy read. See below to download it in full, in summary, or read the costing.
- Ontario Liberal Party web site with platform details and versions in other languages;
- Highlights of the Liberal Plan for Ontario, a quick overview;
- The complete version of the Ontario Liberal Plan;
- The Liberal Platform costing document.
This is a document that is frank and candid with Ontarians. It says, "Look, we are coming out of a nasty recession, and we need to be realistic about what we have, and what we can do." The NDP have nearly triple the number of commitments, and the pathetic and reckless Conservative mess has about five times the number of commitments. Our platform has just 45 new, fully costed commitments to help Ontario families stay on track. And it also the least-cost platform of the three.
The platform speaks to voters as adults. Personally, I think that is an intelligent choice. People here in Lisgar, Meadowvale and Streetsville are smart enough to see through the push-the-hot-buttons sloganeering nonsense that the Conservatives are trying to foist on their right-wing core. And as my own canvassing has shown me all summer long, the true-blue core don't like their content-devoid Conservative platform.
All-day, two-way GO Train service
The biggest Liberal commitment to like if you live in Lisgar, Meadowvale and Streetsville is how the eight-year campaign that Pat Saito and I have waged to get all-day, two-way GO Train service on the Milton Line has gone from an idea through specific studies by GO to a firm commitment in the platform. For students, this means quicker and easier access to downtown university campuses from where we live to where they study. If classes don't start until mid-morning, you get more time at home. If your study day ends in the early afternoon, you can catch a train instead of wending your way back by bus, though it must be said that the bus service is really very good.
If you need to go downtown for an appointment that ends, or starts at mid-day, you too will be able to do so more conveniently, and more of us can leave the car at home while saving the wear and tear on our nerves too. Seniors and shoppers will have more options to go to the threatre or go shopping in Toronto.
As well, and this is the best part, Mississauga has a daily labour shortage of about 50,000 people. That many more people commute into Mississauga than commute out of the city for work. Meadowvale is now home to two major bank office complexes, both of which rely on a lot of people who don't all live in Mississauga, but come here to work. (Okay, some of them come to realize that this is really a very desirable city and do move here, but that is a separate discussion.) All-day, two-way GO Train service means that, for example, a person living in Toronto can take the TTC or subway to Union Station, connect with a westbound morning GO Train, and arrive in Meadowvale without needing to drive to work.
Pat Saito, the Mayor and I have remained active on this file for years, and will continue to work with GO Transit and Metrolinx. Some environmental and engineering work has been completed to date on what GO calls the "Milton Line Capacity Expansion". The work will be completed in phases, with the first phase projected to go as far as Meadowvale (which makes sense for the major employers). Watch our respective web sites in the months to come for progress.