Hudak's Conservatives Vote Against Tougher Rules for Lobbyists and
Consultants

QUEEN'S PARK, ON, Dec. 2 /CNW/ - Tim Hudak and the Ontario Conservatives put the interests of their high-priced Conservative lobbyist friends over taxpayers today, voting against a ban on taxpayer dollars being used to hire lobbyists to ask for more government money.

"Tim Hudak has a lot of antics, but his actions speak louder.  He's putting the interest of high-priced Conservative lobbyists ahead of taxpayers.  That's the Conservative way," said Liberal MPP Dwight Duncan.

The Conservatives have tried to block accountability and transparency at every turn.  Conservatives opposed:

• Banning taxpayer funded lobbyists: they voted against stopping taxpayer dollars from being wasted on lobbyists asking for more taxpayer dollars
• Increasing transparency and accountability: they voted against requiring expenses to be posted online for Ministers, their staff, and the executives at public agencies like hospitals, hydro companies, and local health integration networks
• Banning partisan advertising: they wasted $250 million of taxpayer money on partisan self-promotion, and voted against legislation to stop it
• Independent auditing of the books before an election: after hiding a $5.6 Billion deficit from Ontarians, they voted against requiring the Auditor to sign off on the books before an election

Conservatives have a long record of trying to reward their friends and then trying to hide it.  In 1999, the Harris-Hudak Conservatives removed agencies like Hydro One from freedom of information requirements, and then funnelled millions of taxpayer dollars through untendered contracts to Conservative insiders like Tom Long, Leslie Noble and Jaime Watt.

"Tim Hudak just doesn't get it.  He should be standing up for hard-working families instead of protecting his friends at the trough," said Duncan.

For further information:

Andrew Teliszewsky
[email protected] 
416-325-3670