Liberal-NDP Majority Government Budget 2

Lest we forget: (from previous thread)

Liberals Bury "Unprecedented Power Shift" In Ontario Budget

At a press conference on Monday, CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn and lawyer Steven Shrybman cited that, in their legal opinion, an act buried in the Ontario Liberal government's mammoth budget bill makes sweeping changes that open the door to privatizing almost any crown corporation or government service, and will lead to more back-room deals. Hahn, president of the The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, unveiled this legal opinion written by Shrybman, a partner at Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP practicing in public interest and international trade law, on Schedule 28 of the budget legislation, Bill 55.

On Monday, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath referenced this legal opinion during Question Period as Premier Dalton McGuinty tabled a motion to limit clause-by-clause debate on the budget to 13 hours. McGuinty reiterated on Monday his desire to implement the entire bill and the New Democrats try to get more time to debate the budget's controversial proposals to outsource some services to the private sector.

"This morning, we got a real example of why exactly we need to look carefully at the government's omnibus 300-page bill," said Horwath.

McGuinty stated that while the government has looked into privatization of assets like Hydro One and the LCBO, "There will be no fire sales." Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told reporters that CUPE's legal opinion is "full of holes."

- snip -

CUPE Ontario is calling on all three parties to remove this disastrous Act from the budget bill immediately.

"The Liberals are taking a page from Stephen Harper's playbook. They're attacking the foundations of our democracy, and hiding the legislation in a huge budget omnibus bill," said Hahn. "We believe the public has a right to know what its government is doing, and has a right to have a say in how services are delivered. Schedule 28 takes the last requirements for accountability and transparency and throws them out the window. That's something that should be seriously debated in the house."

 and:

Environmental laws are too important to be changed without public debate

excerpt:

Recently, Ontario's current Environment Commissioner has sounded the alarm about the Liberal government's decision to change many laws protecting the provincial environment, as part of the omnibus budget bill presented to the legislature this spring by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan. This approach is eerily similar to federal Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's budget bill that proposes gutting federal environmental assessments and protections as well.

By including important changes to many of Ontario's environmental laws in the provincial budget bill, the McGuinty government is effectively bypassing the public consultations and transparency required by the Environmental Bill of Rights.

Digging down into the details, the bill includes significant changes without public consultation to seven environmental laws, including to the Endangered Species Act, the Crown Forest Sustainability Act and the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act. The Liberals claim these changes are necessary to save money but are not intended to undermine environmental protection. However, closer inspection reveals otherwise.

The proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act would mean that industries could harm endangered species without considering alternatives, and that logging companies could be exempt from the current requirement to prepare forest management plans or adhere to sustainable harvest limits. These exemptions could give private companies the permission to do as they wish on public land without regard for wildlife and other values.