Ventriloquism in Vaughan

Patrick Brown claimed: “But if there is an area I’m willing to spend a little bit more on it’s on infrastructure”

Fact: Quite a phony commitment made by Patrick Brown given his record on infrastructure… Just this past May, Brown voted against a budget that included over $190 billion in investments for infrastructure projects across the province. This includes funding for projects like the Groves Memorial Community Hospital in Wellington County, a new secondary school in Niagara Region, and the recently announced expansion of Highway 26 in Collingwood. Unlike Brown, we will continue to make record infrastructure investments in communities province-wide.

(Source: https://www.ontario.ca/page/building-ontario)

Patrick Brown claimed: “I hear stories of businesses in Windsor or in Kingston getting letters from, you know, adjacent U.S. states about inviting them to come over. We’re being poached”

Fact: More people are moving to Ontario than ever before and we’re leading the country in Foreign Direct Investment

(Source: FDI Intelligence, https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/01/11/ontario-saw-almost-16000-people-move-from-alberta-last-year.html)

Patrick Brown claimed: “When it’s more expensive to operate in Ontario, we’re going to bleed investment”

Fact: Ontario’s unemployment rate has dropped to 5.7% and is at its lowest level in 16 years

(Source: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/subjects/Labour?HPA=1)

 Fact: Site Selection — a magazine of corporate expansion and economic development — found that Ontario is the most competitive province in Canada. They gave their Canadian Competitiveness Award to the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Growth.

(Source: http://siteselection.com/press/releases/160901-site-selection-canada-and-utilities-rankings.html)

Patrick Brown claimed: “After the next election, hydro rates are going to skyrocket 61 percent”

Fact: Ontario’s Fair Hydro Plan is lowering electricity rates by 25% on average for families, small businesses and farms across the province. As part of this plan, rate increases will also be held to the rate of inflation for four years. It’s also incredible that given this narrative, Patrick Brown decided to vote against the Fair Hydro Plan.

(Source: https://news.ontario.ca/mei/en/2017/05/ontario-passes-legislation-to-lower-electricity-bills-by-25-per-cent.html)

Patrick Brown claimed: “Kitchener two-way, all-way GO service, promise made, promise broken. GO service to Niagara, promise made, promise broken.”

Fact: We continue to keep our transportation commitments by making constant progress on every one of these critical transportation projects. Whether it’s improving GO service for students and families in Niagara, adding more infrastructure or GO service in Kitchener, or moving forward on the Vaughan Subway extension (opening in December of this year) we’re delivering more transportation options to Ontarians in every corner of this province.

Fact: the Mayor of Pelham, a town in Niagara Region, already called Brown out for his misinformation on Niagara transit.  The Mayor recently said, “This is a blatant lie by Mr. Brown. The province has not broken their promise about expanding GO rail to Niagara.”

(Source: https://twitter.com/mayordavepelham)

Patrick Brown claimed: “There was a bridge in Pickering where they gave a company a contract to build a bridge—who had never built a bridge—they built part of the bridge upside down”

Fact: For the umpteenth time, the Pickering Bridge was not built upside down and the company was terminated for their delays and overall poor performance.

(Source: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/12/04/pickering-pedestrian-bridge-ran-into-trouble-early-on.html, Ministry of Transportation)

Patrick Brown claimed: “When Amazon was looking at a data centre in Ottawa, they went to Quebec last year. You know why?—they said cost of hydro”

Fact: Actually, Amazon recently expanded their operations in Ontario. Their new high-tech distribution centre in Brampton started with 700 full-time employees and added another 200 this summer. This follows their decision last year to move into a downtown Toronto office big enough for 800 employees. These are sizable, long-term investments and a clear recognition by Amazon that Ontario is a good place to do business.

 (Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2017/07/23/automation-nation-amazons-brampton-facility-putting-robotics-to-the-ultimate-test)

Patrick Brown claimed: “the GTA and the Hamilton corridor gridlock is suffocating”

Fact: That’s why we’ve invested over $31 billion through our Moving Ontario Forward plan which is tackling gridlock and building more transit and transportation options for Ontarians province-wide. Whether it’s $13.5 billion in GO Regional Express Rail, $1 billion for the Hamilton LRT or investing in the expansions of Highways 410 and 407, we’re committed to making your commute faster than ever before – something the PCs have voted against time and time again.

 (Source: https://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/2016/bk2.html)