Our Member of Parliament, Michael Chong, deserves enormous credit for the passage of his Private Member’s Bill, the Reform Act.
While many Private Member’s Bills contain good ideas, very few are passed into law. Chong’s thoughtful and dedicated perseverance on this important initiative, over a two-year period, was supported by Canadians across the country and across the political spectrum.
The Reform Act gives Members of Parliament greater authority to speak their minds freely and represent their constituents’ views in Ottawa. The ability to “speak truth to power” is not always easy, but it is an essential prerequisite of a healthy democracy. The Reform Act will help to restore Canadians’ faith in our parliamentary institutions.
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Stantec Architecture has been selected to lead the planning, design and compliance aspects of the new Groves Memorial Community Hospital in Centre Wellington.
Once these requirements are met, Groves and Infrastructure Ontario are expected to issue a request for qualifications to design, build and finance the hospital project.
This is good news for our riding, and represents another step forward towards our vision of a new, state-of-the-art hospital for the 21st century.
For more than a decade, I have advocated at Queen’s Park for a new Groves hospital. Working with successive Township of Centre Wellington and County of Wellington councils, hospital officials, and health ministers, we are making progress.
I want to again thank everyone involved at Groves, whether they be staff, volunteers or supporters.
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The approvals process for new pits and quarries in Ontario continues to be a source of great controversy.
I spoke in the Legislative Assembly on June 1, calling attention to this issue. In my statement to the House, I urged the provincial government to stop dragging its heels on updating the rules on aggregates. My remarks followed up a comprehensive, four-page letter that I wrote to the Minister of Natural Resources on April 22.
As a general principle, I believe that we need to strike the right balance between our ongoing need for aggregate resource extraction and our concomitant need to protect our environment.
I also believe that the approvals process must be open, transparent and scientifically-based. It should ensure that interested people have a meaningful opportunity to have their concerns heard. The adjudication of disputes should be independent, impartial and not cost-prohibitive.
The Standing Committee on General Government, an all-party committee of the Legislature, reviewed the Aggregate Resources Act two years ago. After extensive public hearings, the committee made numerous recommendations.
We are still awaiting the Minister’s firm commitment on when he will take decisive action to update the process.
MPP Ted Arnott can be reached at 1-800-265-2366. His website is www.tedarnottmpp.com.