How I am keeping my 2003 and 2007 election commitments
Solid progress made, more to come

Four years ago, I knocked on people's doors in western Mississauga, and we talked about the things we could do as a community in Ontario. Today, we can talk about what we have done together. See my plan to keep western Mississauga moving forward as well. Let's recap what I campaigned on in 2003:

A new GO Train station at Lisgar -- DONE!

In 2003, I pledged to work on a new GO Train station located in Lisgar to serve the dense, northwest corner of Mississauga. It was the first project I worked on.

• By early 2004, GO Transit had made the Lisgar GO Train station a priority, and I was reading petitions in the Legislative Chamber to keep the heat on the Ministry of Transportation and Highways. They worked;
• In January of 2005, GO and the Ministry of Transportation and Highways announced the new station. Work began on schedule in the spring of 2007. It ran ahead of schedule from the outset;
• The project was complete nine weeks ahead of schedule and the Lisgar GO Train station opened on September 4, 2007;
• The Lisgar GO Train station is also an example of how two different levels of government should work together. Pat Saito worked from the city's side, and I worked from the province's side. A project that had not been able to proceed for 12 years was underway within 15 months.

Capital funding for Credit Valley Hospital -- DONE!

In 2003, people in every neighbourhood talked about the wait times at Credit Valley Hospital. Credit Valley Hospital turned out to be the most challenging and also the most rewarding file of my first term in office.

• After two visits from the Premier and several more from the Minister of Health, we had changed the "downtown attitude" that western Mississauga is comprised primarily of young families who need little health care. In fact, seniors are our fastest-growing demographic.
• After numerous meetings between CVH and the Ministry, we had a deal, and both sides delivered on it. The new Phase II project was announced on August 22, 2005. Not only is it on time and on budget, its scheduled start time has been moved forward twice!
• The project is underway as you read this. The construction cranes and the workers in hard hats return to Credit Valley a full year ahead of schedule in June of 2008;
• Wait times at Credit Valley Hospital are down. Ontario has invested some $10 million at Credit Valley since 2004-05, including the following:
  • Some $337,500 for 450 cataract surgeries;
  • Nearly $1.2 million for 170 hip and knee replacements;
  • $43,800 for 175 CT hours, and 613 CT exams;
  • Nearly $2 million for 7,488 MRI hours, and 11,232 MRI exams;
  • Some $155,023 for 40 cancer surgeries.
• Phase II will add 140 beds to Credit Valley Hospital, and ease pressure on the maternity suite, add complex continuing care facilities and most importantly, relieve stress on the emergency ward.

Access to regulated professions in Ontario -- DONE!

Way back in 2001, our Mississauga West Provincial Liberal Association worked a policy resolution through the Liberal Party policy development process, and the party (and hence the government in 2003) was committed to opening access to Ontario's regulated professionals to those trained or experienced outside Canada. It made (and makes) sense.

• While the ranks of the regulated professions in Ontario grow older, many who have immigrated here find the obstacles preventing them from re-starting their working careers are lengthy, arbitrary and unfair. The result was Bill 124, the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006. It is now law.;
• Mine were the first petition read in the Legislature on the subject. Mississauga was active and engaged, and as one metric of success, Ontario has, for the past two years certified (not trained) more international medical graduates than domestically-trained medical graduates.
• Ontario's doctor shortage is now easing. More than 500,000 additional Ontarians now have a family doctor.

Third track on the Milton GO line -- DONE!

People in western Mississauga would like to receive all-day GO Train service into and out of downtown Toronto. While the buses are regular and reliable, you are still on the highway.

• The impediment to western Mississauga's need for all-day rail service into and out of Toronto is the lack of track capacity on the Milton GO line;
• Canadian Pacific, which owns the line, uses it at virtually full capacity. The proverbial pie needs to be larger. By 2005, GO Transit had established western Mississauga's need as a priority. And so now has Canadian Pacific;
• Ontario funding has been set aside by Infrastructure Ontario;
• GO Transit completed the environmental assessment on the project during the fall of 2006;
• The summer 2007 announcement of the enormous $17.5 billion MoveOntario 2020 project specifically includes funding for capacity expansion on the Milton GO Line. That means the third track;
• The June 2008 announcement of more rapid environmental assessments means the Milton Line third track can get going a full year ahead of schedule. Once construction work gets underway, the project will take three years to complete;
• We need to get the federal government to the table. Our local federal MP is useless. Bonnie Crombie will do better for Ontario and for Mississauga. One way or another, this project will be done, as Ontario, GO Transit and CP Rail have committed to doing it.

Over and above my Election 2003 commitments

Family Medicine Teaching Unit at Credit Valley

The best way to keep young doctors in Mississauga is to teach them medicine locally, and train them locally. This means they are very likely to become part of the Mississauga community, and practice locally. This is now reality. In 2006, Credit Valley Hospital opened its Family Medicine Teaching Unit to accomplish just this, and I have been working with the Faculty of Medine at the University of Toronto, the University of Toronto at Mississauga (Erindale), the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and Credit Valley Hospital to establish a new medical school at Erindale. It's happening. We will have the medical "farm system" in Mississauga to train and keep our best young medical professionals.

Base funding for Credit Valley Hospital up by 40 percent!

Credit Valley Hospital's annual budget is now at $225 million, which is up by more than 40 percent since the 2003 election of your government.

New linear accelerator at CVH one year early

We needed another linear accelerator for cancer radiation treatments, and I worked with the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to get one a full year ahead of schedule. It is now in service. While we waited for it to arrive, the Ministry of Health funded extra hours on the existing three units to help alleviate the wait times.

Better funding for our two school boards

Funding for the Peel District School Board increased by 43 percent. Enrollment increased by 13 percent. Funding for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board increased by 28 percent. Enrollment increased by 3.2 percent. An additional investment, announcd in August 2007, included funds to hire assistant principals, cover transportation shortfalls and address the problems created by growth. The Dufferin-Peel Board has a new Director of Education, and after working with the Supervisor, is able to balance its budget in the current fiscal year.

Capital funds for school repairs

By the end of the Harris-Eves Conservative years, our schools were falling apart. Not any longer. Both the Dufferin-Peel Catholic and Peel Public boards received funding to make repairs to their schools, and bring them up to 21st Century standards. Much of that work is now complete, as your children will tell you if you have any in our schools.

New school construction

Any doubt that the Ontario PC Party was about privatizing schools went away when they froze construction of all new schools soon after 1995. That changed in a hurry after 2003. Five brand-new schools opened in western Mississauga alone between 2003 and the present:

• St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary in Churchill Meadows;
• Stephen Lewis Secondary School in Churchill Meadows;
• Oscar Peterson Public School in Churchill Meadows;
• St. Sebastian Catholic School in central Erin Mills;
• Artesian Drive Public School in central Erin Mills.

Some 26 million school days were lost to labour disputes between 1995 and 2003. Since the election of Ontario's Liberal government: none!

Improved funding for developmentally-challeged children

Funding for Erinoak, western Mississauga's children's treatment centre, has more than doubled for autism, pre-school speech and language, respite and develoopmental services.

A better deal for Mississauga in Peel Region

Mississauga, with about 62 percent of Peel's population, can no longer be out-voted by Brampton and Caledon on Peel Regional Council. John Tory and his party vehemently opposed a better deal for Mississauga on Peel Regional Council in 2005. Our Liberal government also funded 1,397 new child care spaces in Peel Region under Ontario's Best Start program.

The end of GTA Pooling beginning now

The hated GTA Pooling brought in during the Harris-Eves years is now history. Beginning in this year, and for the next six, GTA Pooling, or the Toronto Tax will be phased out, saving the City of Mississauga some $40 million each and every year. This is your money, and now your city can spend it at home, while Ontario uploads social services and other programs.

New police officers in Peel Region

Ontario's Liberal government pledged and met its commitment to hire 1,000 new officers across Ontario. Here in Peel Region, we got nearly 97 of these officers. They are hired, and on the streets looking after us. And for the seventh straight year, Mississauga has been the safest city in Canada!

HOV lanes on Highway 403 and better transportation support

• It may not be a new highway, but the HOV lanes on Highway 403 reduce commuting time by as much as a third, as long as you are a taxi, bus or a car carrying two or more people. It's been proven effective all over the world, and now HOV lanes are easing traffic gridlock in Mississauga;
• Ontario has invested some $121.8 million in Mississauga Transit since 2003;
• We added more than 200 new parking spots at the Streetsville GO Train station;
• Investment by the province is making the Kipling Subway Station a major hub for Mississauga Transit to connect with the TTC.

Action of the environment here in Peel

Ontario invested some $2 million in the Region of Peel to support source protection planning for our drinking water. Action by the Ministry of the Environment is keeping some one billion plastic bags out of Ontario landfills.

Deposit and return on wine and liquor bottles

Instead of cutting the Ministry of the Environment to shreds, Ontario's Liberal government has empowered it. Now you can take back nearly everything you buy at the beer store and the LCBO, even beer bottle caps! What difference does this make? It means nearly 150,000 tonnes of glass waste each year won't make it into landfills, and will be recycled completely.