“This legislation was created for Dalton McGuinty’s friends in the environmental lobby,” said Randy Hillier, PC Party Critic for Northern Development. “We learned that last year, when the World Wildlife Fund admitted that they were the only group consulted on its creation.”

The McGuinty Liberals passed a motion ramming Bill 191 through the legislature with minimal debate, and allowing for only four days of consultation. Aboriginal groups across northern Ontario have decried the committee process as contrived, and boycotted the hearings. This latest move by the committee ensures that there will be no consultation by the committee.

“I made sure that the government was aware that Aboriginal groups would not be able to meet on the days they’ve scheduled, and the government chose to ignore this,” said Hillier. “The McGuinty liberals wanted to sweep this under the carpet and in the end have completely silenced Northerners. It’s unacceptable.”

The McGuinty Liberals have ensured that Northerners will not have a say in the legislation, which calls for approximately 250,000 KM2 of land north of the 51st parallel to be cut off from any development. This area is approximately the size of the entire United Kingdom.

“This is not the Dalton McGuinty which people elected,” said Hillier. “He’s become so cozy with his downtown Toronto special interest groups that he no longer cares or respects the concerns of people in other parts of the province. His contempt for true & honest consultation is as vast as his empty & broken promises.”

Today in Question Period, Randy Hillier, the PC Party Critic for Northern Development, Mines and Forestry called for the Liberal government to abandon Bill 191, the legislation that calls for a halt to development on 50% of the land north of the 51st parallel.

“It is not acceptable that the people of the north cannot share in the fruits of economic development because Dalton McGuinty’s environmentalist friends don’t want them to,” said Hillier. “Northerners deserve the right to develop their land, just like all people across our great nation. It’s time to end the colonial administration of the North by Queen’s Park.”

Bill 191 seeks to cut 225,000 square kilometres from any form of economic development. The legislation completely contradicts the government’s claim that they will support Northern Ontario, and puts into jeopardy the development of the Ring of Fire.

“It’s time for the government to own up to, and end, their contradictions,” stated Hillier. “A PC Government will fight for Northern Ontario, not ‘manage its decline’ as this liberal government is doing. We’ve offered up 10 solutions for 2010, a series of 10 smart and practical policies that will staunch the bleeding economy and help us back onto the right track. Getting rid of Bill 191 is among them.”

“Throughout his time as Premier, Dalton McGuinty has taken apart Ontario’s northern industries. Piece by piece, one by one, he has reduced this province’s forestry sector to a shell of what it once was,” said Hillier. “Grant Forest Products is just the latest domino to fall.”

Specifically, Mr. Hillier wants the government to examine the company’s Crown forest tenure, so that Ontario assets such as sawmills are not cut out of the equation.

“We used to have a strong Canadian company which used our natural resources sustainably and created jobs for the people of Ontario,” stated Hillier. “Now that company, those jobs, may be gone. What is this government’s plan? Where do those workers go? Instead of answers, we just get his plan to send taxpayer dollars to Korea.”

“The McGuinty government is asleep at the wheel and has an impaired view of the North,” he concluded.