NDP Poverty critic Michael Prue is outraged the McGuinty Liberals refused to allow members of the public into their so-called public consultations on poverty, which are being held in private.

“I can’t believe that on the first day of these so-called public consultations, not only have the McGuinty Liberals refused members of the public access into the meetings, they were throwing them out. The government’s behaviour is appalling and shameful!” stated Prue.

Hamilton Centre MPP Andrea Horwath says it is “reprehensible” that the McGuinty government has not ordered a stand-alone coroner's inquest into the March 2006 murder of eight-year-old Jared Osidacz, who was killed by his father in Brantford on a court-authorized, unsupervised visit.

The McGuinty Minister responsible for autism appears to be “part of the problem rather than the solution” to growing waiting lists, NDP Children and Youth Services Critic, MPP Andrea Horwath, says.

NDP Leader Howard Hampton today supported calls made by the province-wide “25-in-5” Coalition for real, immediate action from the McGuinty government to reduce poverty.

“The McGuinty government can take immediate steps to reduce poverty, but it needs the political will to do it. That will has been sadly lacking for the last five years,” said Hampton.

NDP Critic for Children and Youth Services, Andrea Horwath, slammed the McGuinty government’s refusal to officially recognize the first ever United Nations World Autism Awareness Day.

The MPP for Hamilton Centre said she was stunned when Liberals denied her request for a formal observation of the historic day in the Ontario Legislature. Horwath wanted each party to have five minutes to publicly address the issue of autism, but was rebuffed.

NDP Leader Howard Hampton today condemned Dalton McGuinty for conceding his failure in the war on poverty on the same day a report shows Ontario has become the child poverty capital of Canada.

“Today’s Campaign 2000 report is a stinging indictment of the McGuinty Liberals’ failure to act on child poverty,” said Hampton. “345,000 children in Ontario don’t have enough to eat, clothes to keep them warm and a safe place to sleep. In response, Dalton McGuinty throws up his hands and said: ‘Ask yourselves, how long has poverty been around for? I think it’s been around for quite a while. We’re not going to get rid of it within a four year mandate.’” (Premier McGuinty Cabinet Scrum, April 2nd 2008).