Some big investments locally this year prove that funds can flow from Queen’s Park even when it’s an opposition member trying to secure the cheque, says Sarnia-Lambton’s representative.
“When you’re in opposition, you take the wins you can get,” said Bob Bailey, the area’s MPP, and a Progressive Conservative.
For Bailey, there’s been plenty of wins for Sarnia-Lambton at Queen’s Park this past year.
His list includes the combined $20-million federal and provincial government contribution towards Lambton College’s planned $30-million health education centre, as well as $15 million and $7 million respectively for wastewater treatment projects in Sarnia and Petrolia.
“Those are three things where there was provincial funding, where we partnered with the feds and the local municipalities,” Bailey said. “There’s a number of others, but those are three larger ones that stand out.”
But Bailey was less impressed with Ontario’s performance as a province on energy, pointing to a scathing auditor general’s report that found Ontarians paid $37 billion over market price for electricity between 2006 and 2014.
“And going forward to 2032, we’re going to pay something like $133 billion,” he said, again referring to the report.
He also criticized the provincial government for the Ontario-wide state of affordable housing.
“There’s a waiting list of 168,700 families,” he said.
He’s keeping watch on what’s happening, he said, with the potential federal legalization of recreational marijuana, especially given Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s recent suggestion it would best be sold in Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) stores.
“I’ll keep an open mind as much as I can, but I’m really concerned about that (from a health-care perspective),” he said.
“I want to make sure that if we go this route, all the ‘t’s are crossed and the ‘i’s are dotted,” he said.
His focus for next year, he said, is to work with the private sector and agriculture to position the community to take advantage of emerging industries like bio-chemical, and the market for Marcellus shale gas.
Meanwhile, he said, a new liquid natural gas facility could be on the horizon with the depressed price of natural gas.
“I can’t say who,” he said, but noted it could be “great news for this area.”
He’s also looking forward to working with rookie Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu, he said, while praising past member Pat Davidson.
“It was a pleasure working with her and her office, and I look forward to working with Marilyn Gladu and her staff and her office as we work together to make Sarnia-Lambton an even better place to invest and live in,” he said.
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