For immediate release: June 24, 2009.

(Queen’s Park, Toronto) – Today’s Cabinet shuffle demonstrates that Premier McGuinty has no plans to hold his Ministers accountable and is determined to go forward with his wrong-headed plan to increase taxes by harmonizing the PST and GST.

“Not only did the Premier refuse to remove David Caplan from the Ministry of Health after he oversaw the eHealth debacle, McGuinty promoted Harinder Takhar, a Minister who has shown very poor judgment in holding meetings in the office of his company which was being held in trust while he served as a Minister,” said Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling. 

Ontario’s eHealth, an agency created to develop electronic health records, has been plagued with scandals around contracts given to Liberal-friendly consultants without going through a tender process resulting in the resignation of both the Chair and CEO.  To pour salt on taxpayers’ wounds the CEO received a $317,000 golden handshake on her way out. 

“And eHealth isn’t the first scandal David Caplan has presided over,” said Mr. Sterling.  “He was responsible for Ontario Lottery and Gaming when that agency was rocked by insider wins.  How many times will he have to demonstrate his incompetence before the Premier finally realizes he can’t be trusted with taxpayers’ dollars?”

Mr. McGuinty has also shuffled Sandra Pupatello back into the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade less than a year after he moved her from that ministry to a newly created Ministry of International Trade and Investment.

“I want to know what it cost taxpayers to create this Ministry which was so important just last year and only existed for nine months,” said Mr. Sterling.  “Imagine what is cost just to print and re-print all new letterhead and business cards for the Minister, her staff and all the bureaucrats.”

The appointment of John Wilkinson as Minister of Revenue with the mandate to implement the HST only reinforces Mr. McGuinty’s wrong-headed determination to increase taxes by harmonizing the Provincial Sales Tax with the GST next year. 

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For more information, call Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at: (416) 314-7900