Plowing Through the Fact

Patrick Brown claimed: “There’s been 23 schools closed since 2006 in Huron-Bruce”

Fact: Our government has built 3 new schools in Huron-Bruce and renovated 4 others. These include Maitland River Elementary School, Walkerton District Community School, St. Joseph's School, Immaculate Conception CES, Sacred Heart CES, Precious Blood CES, St. Joseph's CES. Under our government, per-pupil funding for students in Huron-Bruce has gone up by 82%.

(Source: https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2016/10/260-new-and-improved-schools-since-2013.html)

Patrick Brown: “[cap and trade] would be a revenue grab away from Ontario”

Fact: Wrong. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been reinvested in programs that fight climate change and save people money. Putting a cap on the pollution businesses can release into the atmosphere also guarantees emission reductions at the cheapest price possible for people and the economy.  Every dollar generated will be deposited in a dedicated account and reinvested into green projects, meaning every dollar goes back into helping families and businesses successfully make the transition to a low-carbon economy.

(Source: https://news.ontario.ca/ene/en/2017/09/ontario-announces-results-of-september-cap-and-trade-program-auction.html)

Fact: Patrick Brown should also know that independent, third-party experts have proven his carbon tax scheme would be more expensive and less effective than our plan.  

(Source: https://www.enviroeconomics.org/single-post/2016/05/17/Impact-Modelling-and-Analysis-of-Ontario%E2%80%99s-Proposed-Cap-and-Trade-Program)

Patrick Brown claimed: “There’s no reason you can’t be a proud progressive conservative and want to watch every single dollar and want to run a competent government and at the same time care passionately about the environment.”

Fact: Whether it’s voting against the Greenbelt Act, Great Lakes Protection Act, Places to Grow Act, the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-Carbon Economy Act or more, the Conservatives have a track record of doing more harm than good for Ontario’s environment.

(Source: http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_all.do?locale=en&parlSessionID=41%3A2&go=go)

Patrick Brown claimed: “We’re going to make sure that we have a dramatic reduction in hydro rates across the board so that you don’t have to worry.”

Fact: Patrick Brown doesn’t have a plan. Worse, his party voted against Ontario’s Fair Hydro Plan, saying “no” to a 25% on average reduction for families, small businesses and farms. Lower-income Ontarians and those living in eligible rural and northern communities will see even greater reductions, as much as 40% - 50%.

 (Source: https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2017/04/03/brown-nixes-plan-for-tory-hydro-policy-on-rates-this-year.html, http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?Date=2017-5-31&Parl=41&Sess=2&locale=en#para862)

Patrick Brown claimed: “it’s the feeling that you don’t have a voice in some of these labour reforms.”

Fact: All-party public consultations for Bill 148 went on a 10-day, 10-city tour across the province, getting feedback from a wide range of stakeholders during over 80 hours of hearings. Any group or individual not able to attend was also encouraged to provide a written submission to the Clerk for the committee’s review. Should the bill pass second reading, there will be another round of public hearings, in addition to two rounds of clause by clause consideration, which allows parties to put forward amendments to the legislation.

(Source: https://news.ontario.ca/mol/en/2017/07/ontario-creating-fair-workplaces-and-better-jobs.html)