Nomination Speech For MPP Kevin Flynn

Hello Everyone,

I’m Fraser Damoff and it is an honour for me to nominate Kevin Flynn as our Liberal candidate here in Oakville. I am currently a student at Brock University and have worked as an intern for the past two summers in the office of Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn.

Kevin Flynn is more than just your average MPP. I’m sure everyone in this room has a story about Kevin Flynn helping them out at one time or another. For me, my grandfather was at risk of going blind unless he received a new drug that was not covered by the Ontario government. My family approached Kevin for help and without hesitation Kevin got involved and I’m grateful to him for having a part in saving my grandfathers sight.

Kevin Flynn cares about Oakville and its citizens. Kevin Flynn stands up for all of Oakville and is proud to do so.

I think we would all agree that Kevin Flynn is great at what he does because he listens. No matter the issue, or a person’s political affiliation, Kevin is always willing to listen to what you have to say and help you out in whatever way he can.

A perfect example is the recent struggle to stop the power plant from coming to our town. Residents spoke to Kevin and Kevin listened. Kevin then worked tirelessly to stop the power plant. Our MPP, Kevin Flynn is a perfect fit for Oakville. If any other person was our MPP I wonder if they would have risked so much and put so much effort in to stopping the power plant!

Lets not forget that Kevin Flynn also has brought four new schools to Oakville so that Oakville’s youth can learn in state of the art facilities.

And what about our new state of the art hospital that Kevin brought to Oakville to replace the aging Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital.

Kevin is also a big supporter of youth involvement in politics. Kevin Flynn was a major contributor and supporter in establishing an active, engaged and hard working Oakville Young Liberals club.

As well, Kevin Flynn created OPYAC (Oakville Provincial Youth Advisory Council) where students from all over Oakville meet with Kevin to discuss issues of concern to them.

Another reason why Kevin Flynn is a perfect fit for Oakville is because he cares and takes part in our community. All too often politicians get elected and are invisible until the next election. But not Kevin Flynn! He is in our community, meeting and talking to people, and getting the job done.

No one works harder for Oakville than Kevin Flynn. Oakville needs Kevin Flynn. I am pleased to nominate Kevin Flynn as our candidate in the next election.

Ontario's Economy Is Competitive Again!

I am a strong supporter of the new HST. The old tax system was archaic and this tax reform will greatly help the Ontario economy and Canadian economy. What a lot of people do not understand is that 85% of goods won’t have their prices increased after July 1st. The HST will allow businesses to save money which will get passed down to the consumers. I always use the example of an ice cream store. Say there are three ice cream stores in a town and they all have similar prices for their ice cream. Once one ice cream store realizes that they can lower their price of ice cream and still make a profit (as they will not be paying taxes on items they did before) they will do so because it will make their ice cream more attractive to consumers. Once one ice cream store lowers their prices other stores will soon do the same. A small clothing company called Entripy in Oakville said “We realized right away we’re looking to save between $15,000 to $20,000 in our first year [due to the new HST]. That’s immediate savings we can immediately then reinvest in our business…[which] will go to increasing staff”. If you are talking about poverty reduction you should be thrilled about the HST as it will be creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs!

Prime Minister Harper lowered the GST by a couple percent (which did nothing to help the economy or the consumers). However the new HST reform is an innovative one. Premier McGuinty has lowered the income tax rate for Ontarians and also given out installment cheques to help cope with the HST when it first comes in. British Columbia, which is also instituting the HST, is not doing. We must remember that the federal Conservatives and the Provincial Liberals are the ones that came to agreement on this. Liberals and Conservatives coming together to create a more competitive Ontario? Governments working together is something we don’t see enough, yet when it happens all of us criticize them!

P.S. The Ontario Provincial Conservatives have never said they would get rid of the HST if they get elected.

Group or Individual Rights?

Group rights and individual rights are very important political issues. The fact of the matter is, each one can greatly influence government legislation. When a government (like the Harper government) bases its legislation around individual concerns, the legislation can be very threatening to the group. An example being the proposed changes to the National Anthem by the Harper government, because a woman didn’t like that our anthem went “all our sons command”. In this case, an individual concern almost mutated our national anthem but because of the group and the rights of this group we stopped this as we felt it was inappropriate legislation. Certainly, when I found out that my anthem might be changed, I was unhappy to say the least.

On the other hand, the Ontario government is one that bases a majority of its legislation around group rights and not so much on individual rights. As seen with the bringing in of the Harmonized Sales Tax. This tax will benefit a group of people (ie. Ontario Businesses) but this tax will cause prices of goods to rise for a short time period which is an individual concern as we the people will be paying more.

Another example, which is a local issue in my home town of Oakville is the installation of a new power plant. The Ontario government and myself, know this is a necessary decision for the group (Homeowners in the GTA) as there is a demand for more power. However, my individual concern is that “I don't want a power plant in my back yard!”

One can see how by simply having a different perspective of individual rights/concerns and group rights/concerns, the impact on government legislation can be astounding.

Can You Have Your Cake And Eat It Too?

There is no question that the Ontario McGuinty Government is committed to preventing climate change and making Ontario the greenest place to live in North America. However, in the pursuit of a green Ontario, Dalton McGuinty has upset quite a few Ontarians.

Recently, the Ontario government has been trying to have a power plant built on the outskirts of GTA in the town of Oakville. The need is due to growing demand from the GTA, including the Town of Oakville and its neighbouring City of Mississauga. The proposed power plant is going to be the cleanest possible energy producing type of power plant. In the midst of this, the bad news is that Oakville citizens are outraged. After incidents of industrial accidents all over the country and the recent power plant explosion in the United States, the people of Oakville don't want a power plant explosion happening there.

Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and Liberal MPP Kevin Flynn have teamed up to fight the power plant from coming to Oakville. The dispute over the power plant between the Liberal Premier and his MPP has been in the headlines for months. Flynn, who has directly gone against the vision of the government he is apart of is the right thing to do. Flynn stated this past week that “I really think it’s a decency issue. It’s really, ‘Who do you work for at the end of the day?’ It’s for the constituents.” No doubt, the decision to go against the Premier isn't the best move career wise but in the end its about the people, and Flynn has not forgotten the people he is representing.

However, one must also see the situation from the other side. The suburbs are building houses that resemble castles more than suburban homes, no doubt generating large energy bills to match. Houses that big require more energy to light, heat, cool and maintain in general. Are people prepared to reduce their energy needs in order to reduce the need for a new power plant?

In closing, the people and politicians of Oakville and the Provincial government have quite the dilemma on their hands. The power is required but the closeness of the facility to the houses and schools in east Oakville are too close for comfort. Obviously, increased power generation has to come from somewhere - so perhaps people need to look in the mirror and think - you can't have your cake and eat it too!