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.

NDP MPP Michael Prue is calling on the McGuinty government to overhaul a “shockingly” broken youth addictions system by replacing it with a 5-point plan developed by an advocacy group.

“With only 38 beds in Ontario for youth addiction patients, families are left to their own devices in a situation where community support is vital. A lack of beds leads many parents to fund these costs out of pocket, creating a two-tier system,” said Prue.

NDP MPP Michael Prue blasted Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s assertion that Ontario’s social assistance rates will not increase until the Fall due to a “computer system”.

“All Ontarians ought to be outraged by this blame game. The Minister is callously using the crutch of a faulty computer system to explain why social assistance recipients have to wait several months to get a measly two per cent increase in their benefits. Minister Duncan should be ashamed of himself,” fumed Prue.

NDP Finance critic Michael Prue is outraged that the McGuinty Liberals voted down a widely-supported set of proposed budget priorities, including a jobs stimulus plan, fair funding for municipalities and an anti-poverty strategy.

The Assessment Review Board’s recent decision to allow the property assessment appeal of six of Toronto’s largest office towers is yet another glaring example of a faulty property assessment system that badly needs fixing, says NDP Property Tax and Assessment Task Force Chair Michael Prue.

Beaches-East York NDP MPP Michael Prue today announced that he is lobbying NDP Leader Howard Hampton and his colleagues in the NDP caucus to be named the NDP’s new natural resources critic.

“Unlike the new minister of natural resources, I actually have some experience with the North. I mean, I go fishing with Gilles Bisson every year in Northern Ontario. I even put my own worm on the hook. I wouldn’t even need to hire a high-priced handler to do that,” Prue said.