This page was exported from The Auroran [ http://www.newspapers-online.com/auroran ]
Export date: Thu Mar 28 10:48:17 2024 / +0000 GMT

Ahead of marathon New Year, PC leader pays tribute to local initiative




By Brock Weir

Just days before the start of the most important year in his political life, Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown was at the Aurora Legion with his two local candidates.
Together with PC candidates Charity McGrath (Newmarket-Aurora) and Michael Parsa (Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill), Mr. Brown met with Ken White, President of the Aurora Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, to offer his congratulations on a local campaign which collected nearly 5,000 Christmas cards for Canadian men and women serving overseas.
“I just want to say what Ken is doing here, and this project to send Christmas cards overseas is beautiful,” said Mr. Brown. “It has to be lonely serving overseas and to know you've got a community back home that is thankful and appreciative of what you're doing…is a great initiative out of Aurora.”
Speaking with Mr. White, Mr. Brown shared his own experiences with the Legion – and found a common connection with the latter's uncle, who headed the Barrie branch for a decade.
“I just think Legions are so important,” said Mr. Brown. “It gives a place for those who served to come, and it is an opportunity for the community to pay their respects for those who devote themselves to protecting our family.”
Mr. Brown's stop in Aurora took place Wednesday, December 20, just over a week until the start of 2018.
Looking ahead to this, the New Year, Mr. Brown told The Auroran that he was looking forward to “getting out around the Province” to tout what he and the Progressive Conservative party are calling “The People's Guarantee” to get Ontario back on track.
“It's a big province and I intend to get to every little inch of the Province to talk about our plan to cut taxes for the middle class, to lower hydro bills, to provide relief on child care, to invest in mental health and bring in the first ever Trust, Integrity and Accountability Act,” he said. “It is all part of the People's Guarantee and I am so committed to ensuring we get it done for the people of Ontario. I have said if we don't achieve our promises in the first mandate of an Ontario PC government, I would resign and I wouldn't seek a second. We're all in to get Ontario back on track.”
Asked whether he has encountered any misconceptions on the campaign trail since “The People's Guarantee” was announced last fall, Mr. Brown took aim at the Premier casting doubt on the Progressive Conservative's pledge to find two pennies of savings for every dollar currently spent by the government.
“I think she is dead wrong [in saying no waste can be found in government],” he said. “I think there is waste in government, whether it is $8 billion in E-Health with nothing to show for it, $2 billion for gas plants, allowing power execs to expense things like raccoon traps and scuba gear, from the 403 being repaved every two years instead of every 15 years, from hundreds of thousands of dollars [spent] on a giant rubber duck, this has been a government that has engaged in a culture of waste and I am going to clean it up.
“I can't believe Kathleen Wynne says with a straight face there is no waste in her government.”
Excerpt: Just days before the start of the most important year in his political life, Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown was at the Aurora Legion with his two local candidates.
Post date: 2018-01-03 16:15:58
Post date GMT: 2018-01-03 21:15:58
Post modified date: 2018-01-10 16:31:44
Post modified date GMT: 2018-01-10 21:31:44
Powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin. HTML saving format developed by gVectors Team www.gVectors.com