Yesterday, during the third day of a legislative committee’s public hearings into the bill that will change Ontario’s Mining Act, Liberal and Conservative MPPs voted down an NDP motion to extend the September 7 deadline to file amendments. As a result, it will make it impossible to properly consult affected communities. MPPs won’t have the time to make necessary amendments to the bill.

Liberal and Conservative members of a Legislative Assembly sub-committee have teamed up to vote down a Fort Albany First Nations request that would have enabled its participation in public hearings taking place in August.

The ongoing contamination crisis in Attawapiskat is leaving hundreds of children at risk of losing their school year. The NDP are calling on the Province to step in and work with the community to get to the bottom of why children, teachers and community members were left sick from the teardown of a badly-contaminated school site in Attawapiskat. The failure of the Federal government to protect community members from exposures to dust, diesel fumes and other contaminants has led to a crisis in confidence in the community. Given the enormity of the problem, the Province of Ontario must step in to provide independent health and environmental support.

NDP MPP Gilles Bisson says Dalton McGuinty is abdicating his responsibility by allowing decisions about the future of Ontario’s battered economy, including the crucial auto sector, to be made elsewhere.

– NDP MPP Gilles Bisson today called on the McGuinty government to fund Ontario municipalities’ one-third cost share of infrastructure projects to ensure jobs are sustained and created during the current economic downturn.

During today’s Question Period, NDP Transportation Critic Gilles Bisson wanted to know why young drivers are being targeted by the McGuinty Government.

Gilles Bisson (Timmins-James Bay) says a 16-year-old can get a private pilot’s licence and fly multiple passengers in a private plane. However under the new proposed legislation, the McGuinty Liberals are going to restrict the number of passengers allowed in a vehicle driven by a teenager, to just one.