Moving forward together

Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty released his 2007 election platform today titled “Moving Forward Together.” A platform that focuses on Ontario families and the public services they depend on.

Nipissing Provincial Liberal Candidate Monique Smith says the platform has new ideas to keep Ontario moving forward. Full details contained in the news release below.

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“Ontario Liberals have launched the next major step in their plan to move Ontario forward by strengthening the public services families count on”, said Nipissing Provincial Liberal Candidate Monique Smith.

“Over the past four years Ontario Liberals have made real progress for our families. This is the plan that will continue to move Ontario forward, that builds on progress made and offers new ideas to help our families get ahead,” said Smith.

“This election, and this platform, is about strengthening our families and our future, about building opportunity for all of our people,” said Premier Dalton McGuinty as he released Moving Forward Together.

“It’s a plan to keep our publicly funded schools, our publicly funded health care, and an economy that depends on strong public services all moving forward, so families can keep moving forward.”

The platform builds on our commitment to Northern Ontario by increasing funding for the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund to $100 million per year, to reflect the key role northern communities play in creating Ontario’s prosperity.

“It is clear that the Ontario Liberals understand the importance of Northern Ontario,” Smith said. “This proposed increase to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund will boost the economy by helping to create and expand businesses, creating employment opportunities here in Nipissing and across the North.”

The platform builds on smaller classes and higher test scores in publicly funded schools by increasing funding and providing new after-school homework help for high school students who need it.

It builds on the 340,000 more jobs that were created over the past four years, by introducing a Next Generation Jobs Fund that will help build a greener economy and the new jobs that will come with it.

The platform builds on the progress underway in publicly funded health care – including more doctors and nurses and new hospitals – by tackling shorter wait times in emergency rooms, and further expanding access to family physicians.

And to keep our families moving forward, the Ontario Liberals will provide a Caregiver Credit to help with the cost of caring for an aging parent at home, a new grant for seniors who want to stay in their own homes but need help with their property taxes, and a tax credit available, for the first time, to all first-time homebuyers.

Just like in the 2003 Ontario Liberal plan, support for publicly funded education is the main plank of the 2007 platform, because Dalton McGuinty believes our schools are the key to building a strong economy and a strong society.

“The choice is clear – we can keep moving forward with a positive plan that builds on the progress we’ve made together, or back to a failed Conservative approach that resulted in cuts and chaos,” said Smith.

The full platform can be found at www.ontarioliberal.ca.

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