As you may know, the Honourable Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance is currently consulting with Ontarians about their vision for the 2010 Ontario Budget. I want to hear from you, so I am hosting a Pre-Budget Consultation in Ottawa Centre:

When: February 27, 2010

Time: 10 a.m. to noon

Where: Churchill Senior’s Centre, 345 Richmond Road

The purpose of this consultations is to start a discussion in our community about the priorities and concerns of Ontarians. There are three discussion questions that are guiding this process:

1. What processes should the government put in place to enable it to move out of deficit?

2. What steps should the government take to streamline and provide better public services to Ontarians?

3. Government priorities are job creation, health care, education, strong fiscal management and economic growth. How should the government balance this multitude of priorities? Given the considerable fiscal challenges, what should be the core priorities of the 2010 Budget?

Public consultations are essential in the budget process – they capture your views, ideas and suggestions for the future of Ontario. All the feedback received during this session will be put into a report and sent to Minister Duncan for his consideration during the budget process. If you are interested in attending the event, please RSVP to my office.

If you are unable to attend the event you can still participate by sending me your views via email, or by visiting my website and submitting your feedback there.

The economic downturn has changed the way the world does business. The status quo is no longer good enough and we need to keep up. We have an opportunity now to harness these changes and be the first out of the gates in a new world economy. To do this, we will need your help. We need your ideas, your creativity and your vision for the future.

I look forward to having this discussion with you.