OTTAWA
– Reform Ontario leader Brad
Harness says his party will be running a candidate in the upcoming
Ottawa West-Nepean election
expected this spring.
Harness says the party will bring strong business
experience to the riding and offer voters a clear choice between economic
growth, financial management, and accountable government versus
the big spending, high-taxing approach of all of the other parties and
candidates.
 New political options are nothing
new in Canada. They have happened before, when the existing parties
did not meet the needs of substantial numbers of voters. Today, many
Ontarians are concerned with the state of our Democracy, Public
Finances, Taxes, law-making and enforcement, as well as the lack of
a unifying Vision for Ontario to follow into the years ahead.
Such concerns were at the heart of the former
federal Reform movement. Old restrictions on the Reform Party
to not become active provincially in Ontario politics no longer exist,
and many Reformers are eager to champion populism, democratic
reform, and common sense politics, and can do so, as a member
of Reform Ontario, to
make Ontario truly "a place to Live and a place to Grow".
Our members come from a mix of backgrounds. Reform
offers an ideal home for any Ontario voter of any age, cultural background,
or gendre, including conservatives, liberals, new democrats, greens,
libertarians, and others. If you believe in the Common
Sense of the Common People, fiscal responsibility, tax
reform, democratic/electoral reform, social reform, justice reform &
accountability...Well then, Welcome
Home!
Reformers are people who are interested in provincial
affairs . These include everyday affairs like health care, education,
the economy, industry, labour, energy, the environment and waste, agriculture,
natural resources such as our water, forests and minerals, our highways,
and of course, our municipalities.
And of course, we care about our people: Young and old, whatever their
language, race, culture, or religion may be, healthy or not so healthy,
we are all in this Ontario together, trying to make it the best place
to live and work in the world!
Today, you can make a difference and make history, by joining the Reform
Party of Ontario, Ontario's best hope for a great future.
POLICY DEVELOPMENT - PURPLE
BOOK IS NOW OUT:
Reform's Purple Book (policy) is now available online and for use at
Reform get-togethers and gatherings. To keep abreast of Reform Ontario's
political work, read through the Reform In The News
link at the top left of this page regularly, and watch for these Reform
meetings and information events around the province:
"RUN FOR REFORM" - CANDIDATE SEARCH/NOMINATION
PROCESS NOW UNDERWAY: Reform Ontario began its formal process
to select candidates for the 2011 general election in May 2009. At present,
candidates have been identified for some two dozen ridings. We will
be fielding candidates across Ontario for the 2011 election.
Persons interested in either running as a Reform Ontario candidate
or nominating someone they know to "Run for Reform"
are encouraged to contact the party office at the phone number/email
address listed below.
BY-ELECTIONS 2009:
By-elections are tricky things. They are called on short notice and
do not allow for adequate planning and preparation. The governing party
holds all the cards in by-election contests.
Reform Ontario did not field a candidate in the
17 September 2009 by-election in the Toronto riding of St. Paul's.
Due to the very short timeline between 4 February
2009 election call and the election date announced by Premier Dalton
McGuinty, the Reform Party of Ontario executive decided not to field
a candidate in the 5 March 2009 by-election. Two very strong local individuals
(one from Lindsay and the other from Pontypool) - with impeccable credentials
- interested in the Reform Ontario nomination in Haliburton-Kawartha
Lakes-Brock decided that there simply was insufficient time to organize
a credible run once the date was announced for only four weeks’
time.
This by-election was caused by the resignation of MPP Laurie Scott to
allow her party’s non-resident leader to run for a seat in the
Ontario Legislature. Scott was the only Ontario PC MPP to agree to step
aside for John Tory, a move that has not been well-received in the riding.
Reform Ontario Leader Brad Harness added that despite requests that
he himself run in the byelection, “…Which is something I
very much relish…”, he responded that “…I believe
the voters of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock deserve election choices
based on strong local candidates who know the riding inside and out,
and not opportunistic, non-local politicians. I feel deeply that non-resident
candidates of all parties should be barred from running in all provincial
- and for that matter, federal – elections. Candidates should
already be living in the riding at the time they seek the nomination.”
2009-2011 ELECTORAL REFORM AGENDA:
Harness went on to express concerns about the electoral process raised
by the two Reform contenders in this riding: “The regulations
under the Elections Act and Elections Finance Act (see attached) are
crystal clear: If all candidates for this election cannot fundraise
until they are an officially registered candidate, it seems ludicrous
that candidates are allowed to advertise, open campaign offices, incur
campaign expenses, and attend all-candidates’ meetings as if they
were official candidates. Waiting until the proper dates under the legislation
allows for only 2 weeks proper campaigning until voting day.”
These two anomalies – the non-resident status candidate and the
discrepancy between various Elections Ontario rules – are part
of an electoral reform measures Reform Ontario is drafting into a private
member’s bill which Harness hopes to get introduced into the Ontario
Legislature later in 2010. These changes were submitted through the
Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario to - and rejected by - the Select
Committee of Electoral Reform. Other measures include the elimination
of the subsidy for candidate expenses (which presently only helps out
the three established parties), the rebate of nearly half of party campaign
expenses (again benefiting only the three largest Ontario political
parties), and a new measure that would see parties which operate in
a deficit situation for more than 13 months lose their Registered Party
status until they are back “in the black”.
Harness added, “How do such parties expect voters to elect them
to run the province’s finances if they cannot manage their own
in a responsible way? The Ontario PC Party was $6-million in debt in
Early 2009 and has been for many years, and yet it campaigns as if its
coffers are full. It is only the unfair measures from the 1970s such
as the election rebates for candidates and parties that allow them to
operate like this, using taxpayers’ dollars to fund their political
antics”.
Reform Ontario’s changes would level the
playing field in Ontario elections and allow for greater participation,
democracy, and debate in decision-making.
Reform Ontario’s two nominees for the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
nomination say they will carry on with organizing efforts and seek the
party’s nomination for the 2011 general election, expected in
October of 2011.
January - Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
February - Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock; Toronto
March - London; Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
April - Lindsay
May - Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock; Ottawa & Gloucester; Whitby
June - Brooklin, Hensall
July - Tweed, Zurich
August - Peterborough,, Melbourne (13-16 Aug 09), Port Perry & Marmora
(26-30 Aug 09); Tillsonburg (27 Aug 09)
September - Tavistock (3-5 Sep 09), New Hamburg (10-13 Sep 09), Woodstock
(15-17 Sep 09), Glencoe & Parkhill (18-20 Sep 09), Ilderton (25-27
Sep 09)
October - Toronto (7 Oct 09), Walkerton (16-18 Oct 09)
November - Milton (7 Nove 09); Ridgetown, Thamesville, Chatham, Dresden,
Wallaceburg, Sarnia & Petrolia (17 Nov 09)
December - Grand Bend, Goderich, Clinton, Wingham, Seaforth, Clinton
& Exeter (1 Dec 09)
Reform Leader Brad Harness (read Meet The Reform
Party Leader link in the left margin of this page) was busy
in 2008 with meetings around Ontario. In January, Harness visited McMaster
University in Hamilton to hear from students about the post-secondary
education they are receiving in Ontario, and hear ideas for what they
think needs to be done to improve things.
February saw Harness at a meeting in Belleville, and March saw him in
Mississauga and Ancaster. He was back in Ancaster in April, and again
in Belleville in May. On 16 May he was a panelist on the Michael Coren
Show in Burlington for the CTS channel, debating issues of the day with
Coren and his other guests, the NDP's Syd Ryan and the PC's Steven Gilchrist.
In June, Harness hosted the party's New Ontario Policy Workshop in London.
Brad was and is very active in writing Reform Ontario's Purple Book,
which neared completion at the end of 2008.
Besides these activities, Brad is also involved in regular media, organizational,
and outreach work done in many ridings including Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale,
Barrie, Mississauga, Toronto, Durham, Tecumseh, Kitchener-Conestoga,
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, Sudbury, Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington,
Sarnia-Lambton, Chatham-Kent-Essex, Oxford, Renfrew-Nippissing-Pembroke,
Leeds-Grenville, Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, Sudbury, Sault Ste.
Marie, Brantford, Perth-Wellington, London, Peterborough, Kingston,
Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, and Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound.
In September, Reform Ontario was an exhibitor at this year's International
Plowing Match in Teeswater in September in southern Bruce County, where
we discussed all of our policy ideas, as well as our new Agricultural
Policy, with 2,384 voters still interested in politics despite the fall
in overall voter participation at election time. Reform's website (www.NewCanada.ca)
has also been regularly updated and has enjoyed a steady stream of curious
voters throughout the year.
2008's remaining Reform meetings
saw Reform leader Brad Harness in Teeswater(September)
and Kitchener(November) and Milton(December). The province's challenging
winter weather played havoc with two other meetings (Peterborough in
November and Niagara in December), which will be re-scheduled into 2009.
The Reform Party of Ontario is a registered
political party that is identifying candidates for the
2011 election, in which it will field approximately 60 candidates.
The party is now organizing at the riding level. Riding associations
will become active as local membership grows, and as the 2011 election
nears.
In the 10 October 2007 general election, Reform
ran two test candidates, and tested the party's platform. Reform fielded
two candidates in the :
Brad Harness in LAMBTON-KENT-MIDDLESEX
William Cook in BRUCE-GREY-OWEN SOUND
Both were unsuccessful, but given that they
only had three weeks to campaign between mandatory media blackout periods,
organizers were satisfied that the objectives for 2007 - to register
the party, run test candidates, conduct media work and talk with voters,
as well as trial the party's platform - were all successfully accomplished,
with very positive feedback from voters and the media.
Reform Ontario has a deliberately slim
policy agenda (the "keep it simple" approach) as well as a
few widely-shared principles all Ontarians,
new or not so new, young or not so young, can comfortably embrace and
be proud of.
Click
here to view our Policy Statement & Policy Development process
Contact by phone or email
the people listed below. They can provide much more information and
if you wish, can sign you up as a member. You can also become a member
by clicking on memberships@newcanada.ca
.
A representative from your local riding team or a head office organizer
will keep in touch after that.
You can get as involved as you like, volunteer with the local candidate's
team (handing out literature, selling memberships, and fund-raising),
contribute to policy development, vote for your party leadership, help
a candidate to get elected, or perhaps be a candidate yourself! You
can also share the Reform Ontario vision with those you care about,
and ask them to become members.
You can also make a TAX RECEIPTABLE financial contribution to Reform
Ontario to assist us in outreach work to expand the party and to prepare
for the 2011 election. Click on this link: donations@newcanada.ca
*CANDIDATES: If you are interested in being a candidate in 2011
for Reform, contact Brad Harness at the number below or email info@newcanada.ca
While Reformers in Ontario were involved with the forerunners
of the federal Conservative Party, as well as the Liberal, Green, New
Demoractic, and other federal parties, there is no affiliation between
those parties and Reform Ontario.
Canada's federal political system speaks to the need for a major overhaul,
one that includes the abolition of all political parties. Under such
a revised system, all MPs would be Independents, charged solely with
representing the majority opinion of their constituents. This model
of government, known as Consensual Government, is and has been successfully
in practice in our northern territories for decades. It is our view
that this ultimate reform of the federal system will finally resolve
the matter of inadequate representation and the ongoing childish and
unproductive behaviour which spills forth from partisan politics. To
that end we believe a new movement is needed, one that will champion
the cause of Consensual Government at the federal level.
Ultimately, this same model of Consensual Government is required at
the provincial level in Ontario, and Reform Ontario would strive to
reach that worthy goal over time, once many other governmental problems
have been addressed at Queen's Park.
Brad Harness, Party Leader (519) 245-2041
Maria Arruda, Chief Financial Officer (519) 896-2977
Joshua Erikkson, Party President (289) 244-3115
David Chirko, Sudbury
Bill Cook, Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound
Maria Arruda, Kitchener-Conestoga
James Revell, Lambton-Kent-Middlesex
Anne Robertson, Kingston & the Islands
Frank Grandenetti, Ottawa West-Nepean
Rod Packwood, Ottawa South
John Vanderspank, Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington
Jacqueline Fennell, Leeds-Grenville
Jim Smith, Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
Bob Rutledge, Whitby
Mike D'Agostino, Oshawa
James Blair, Pickering
Greg Ellis, Perth-Wellington
Donald Gyde, Prince Edward- Hastings
Kristine Bowler, Durham
John Hankinson, Eglinton-Lawrence
Bill Duncan, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke
Phil Miller, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell
Fred Harness, Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale
Joseph Gamero, Hamilton Mountain
Gordon Smy, Niagara West-Glanbrook
John Vollmar, Sarnia-Lambton
Nillo Piccinin, Tecumseh
Jim Damianoff, Mississauga-Streetsville
James Alock, Scarborough-Guildwood
Sandra Kiyanaga, Barrie
Bob Chapman, Orillia
Reform Party of Ontario's mailing address is:
415 Scott Street East, Strathroy, Ontario N7G
3Y8
General & Media Enquiries: info@newcanada.ca
Memberships cost $10 per year. Cheques must be made
payable to NewCanada.ca. Email for details to: memberships@newcanada.ca
Download membership form click
here
To make a TAX RECEIPTABLE financial donation please
email us for details at: donations@newcanada.ca
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