Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty has announced that he will be resigning as the premier of Ontario.
McGuinty made his announcement during a surprise caucus meeting shortly after 6 p.m. on Monday evening.
"After 16 years as leader of the Ontario Liberal party, and after nine years as premier, it's time for renewal," McGuinty said to a room packed with reporters and members of the Liberal caucus. "It's time for the next Liberal premier. It's time for the next set of Liberal ideas to guide our province forward."
McGuinty shared that he asked the party president to convene a leadership convention "at the earliest possible opportunity," the National Post reports. McGuinty, the premier of Canada's most populous province since 2003, will continue to serve as premier until the Liberal party chooses a new leader.
The premier also announced that he is proroguing the provincial legislature in order to "negotiate wage freezes with the province's labour partners," said the National Post. McGuinty also mentioned that he would like to reach out the Opposition in order to get them on the same page with making the wage freeze possible.
"To this end, I met with the Lieutenant Governor earlier today to ask that we prorogue the House so that we can pursue both discussions, both tracks, in a way that is free of the heightened rancour that has sadly, too frequently characterized our legislature of late," said McGuinty.
Along with you all.....Thank
Along with you all.....Thank Goodness he stepped down....HOWEVER I do worry that the OLG will just keep making deals with Tanenbaum, Ceasars & MGM all behind closed doors. Are they required to back off of their plans and dreams, of course at our expense.??? I do feel tho the Auditor General should NOT have PROROGUED the Provincial Government....We will never learn the outcome of his investigation of the OLG... How convenient that none of the scandals will have to report.
I've listened to alot of
I've listened to alot of commentary on McGuinty's resignation. The gas plant cancellations, ORNGE, E-Health and their fight with Ontario teachers have come up quite often ... but I have yet to hear ONE comment on the Liberals cancellation of SARP or their targeted distruction of Ontario's Horse Racing Industry. Regardless of the formidable efforts of many who support the industry, the message doesn't appear to be getting through, or perhaps our major media sources (CBC, CTV etc) just aren't interested in talking about Horse Racing.
Also noticed quite a few negative comments (to the Star online) on Perkins Toronto Star article (great idea but the OLG doesn't have the smarts or the vision to pull it off ... even if they wanted to). If these comments are indicative of what Toronto residents think of Horse Racing .. its sad indeed. Arrogance and Ignorance !
Lynne, you are far too kind.
Lynne, you are far too kind. For whatever reasons, let's be happy that he is gone.
In reply to Lynne, you are far too kind. by murray
I have yet to see in all my
I have yet to see in all my years one of these surprise resignations turn out good for the resignee. Especially in this case where the leadership convention was 2 weeks prior, which leads to suspicions. McLier had to know this but had no other choice. Bad news is Dwight Donut is the fav to be next leader of this sinking ship.
You can feel it. It's just a matter of time before this industry says "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" and does something drastic about it.
All the people involved in
All the people involved in these scandals should be held responsible and punished.Most of the time, these things. with time are forgotten and they go away, look what happened in Quebec, a lot of you don't know or have forgotten what happened, there is still a lot of horsemen's money missing, but no one seems to care anymore. Now to the racing industry,you had best be looking into the OLG, my instincts tell me it is run by some people involved in the underworld of corruption.These people resigning, and there will be more, will still get and have their shares in the casinos if the slots at racetracks program is cancelled,DO NOT LET THEM PROROGUE THE LEGISLATURE, the 31 of march is not that far away.Have a good day
Dalton is now going. Good
Dalton is now going. Good Riddance. Hopefully now there will be a glimmer of chance that the horsepeople will have some recourse in coming out of the mushroom theory.
Federal Politics: McGuinty
Federal Politics: McGuinty will run against Charest and Trudeau.
why didn't he also resign as
why didn't he also resign as ottawa east mp--no, cant have the liberals losing another seat--but the future looks bright for mcguinty--head of hydro--??? head of e-health ?? head of olg??--how about head of ornge--he is leaving with something in his back pocket--yep--all our money gone and hopefully forgotten--
So I wonder what this will
So I wonder what this will mean for horse racing and the slots/casinos across Ontario ? That quite frankly is all I care about at this point.
Really he bailed on Duncan
Really he bailed on Duncan and Godfrey
Although this is a slight win for most of us
Another scandal has placed the SARP further away from the publics focus
Gas plant scandal
Teacher court charges
Doctors and Public Service Workers price freeze
Ornge scandal
EHealth failure
Slots at racetracks
So now the number is
60,001
I have to believe he was
I have to believe he was asked to resign. Hopefully, the gas plant fraud investigation leads to the auditor general and Ombudsman looking into the corruption we believe these guys are involved in with the casinos and bingo.What really gets me is their audaciousness; to think that as a minority government no one was going to question any of this?This is the time to put the heat on the NDP and PC MPPs.Get the whole bunch out of office now. Then put them in jail and make them pay restitution.See how they like the welfare line.
That's the first rat off the
That's the first rat off the ship, now we need Duncan & Godfrey to join him!
Let's hope that there isn't a
Let's hope that there isn't a real family crisis such as an illness of a family member. We may dislike him intensely for what he has done to our industry and our province but I truly hope that he his resignation is due to the political mess rather than personal issues.
In reply to Let's hope that there isn't a by Lynne Magee
With all due respect Lynne,
With all due respect Lynne, my concern is focused on the 60,000 horse folk that may not be able to feed their families come 2014.
I can't forgive McGuilty for this and turn the other cheek.
I have no doubt he would slap the other cheek too if it meant making an extra buck.
He has buried this province and placed the burden of an uncertain future on our children.
The lies finally caught up to
The lies finally caught up to him. What a coward. If I can't have it my way I quit.The bully of all bullies. He sure has left this industry, not to mention the rest of the province in a hell of a mess. The worst leader (even more than Trudeau) this province/country has ever seen.
Hopefully he goes to jail
Hopefully he goes to jail when all is said and done and the rest of his cronies as well, no one is above the law !!!
I don't believe that
I don't believe that McGuinty's resignation will absolve him from any wrong doing. However, it is a concern as to how long his porogue lasts. We have waited so long for the task force to release their full report....now, how long do we have to wait? Certainly will not miss you, Dalton. Am experiencing the strongest feelings of animosity toward you.
In reply to I don't believe that by Chris Puigmarti
How arrogant and egotistical
How arrogant and egotistical and irresponsible is this guy? They just had a leadership convention 2 weeks ago and he should have stepped down then. What a selfless act of him to prorogue parliament to take the heat off. His immoral and unethical behaviour knows no bounds. Irregardless its time for all of Ontario to celebrate his future departure.
Rumours of his reason for
Rumours of his reason for departure continue to swell, but the one I like best is that he has decided to fulfil a dream he had as a young man to become a professional "Bingo Caller".
McGuinty is hopeful of catching on with one of the newly revamped parlours.
"Under the B........."
There wouldn't be any
There wouldn't be any "heightened rancour that has sadly, too frequently characterized our legislature of late," if McGuinty would just answer the simple question put to him.. "When did he first know about the 22,000 pages of evidence not provided to Parliament regarding the Mississauga and Oakville Gas Plants expenditures"??? He is the one who danced all around the question and provided the rhetoric about what his Government has done for the Energy sector over the past 9 years. His Minister of Energy finally came clean and apologized, but not Dalton.... maintains he is still squeaky clean. Well, if that is the case, why did he announce his resignation this evening, out of the blue?? Can't believe anyone would be so gullible as to believe it was "family" reasons. THE ONLY REASON IS THE HEAT IS NOW BEING DIRECTED AT MCGUINTY HIMSELF, and his response is to RUN, RUN, RUN!!!
Finally, it is getting too
Finally, it is getting too hot!! Before anyone is considered for the position, all finances should be checked thoroughly and keep aa watchful eye on who befriends whom. There is still hope - keep the pressure on!!
now that there is blood in
now that there is blood in the water time to rally the troops get in touch with your mpp if this doesn't warrant a non confidence vote not sure what does and putting parliment on hiatus til they find a new leader and/or come up with a good cover up doesn't help our situtation. We need answers now and need to keep all this corruption on the front page up until next election
Good Bye Mr. McGuinty -- pls
Good Bye Mr. McGuinty -- pls take all your co-horts with you.
May this be a positive sign for the horse racing industry of Ontario.
The good news is that Dalton
The good news is that Dalton is on the way out. However, this is only a maneuver to avoid the contempt charges against himself and Chris Bentley. The Liberals are now hoping to buy time to reinvent themselves in the public eye. The BAD news is that with his resignation is the problem of a prorogued legislature. This was done of course so that the Liberals could have time to try to make up with the unions before the next election and to stop the investigation into the gas plant controversy. And of course, that election cannot happen until the legislature is called back - and that is up to the Liberals timetable. It could be another 12 months or more before the legislature is recalled. If this does not happen prior to March 31, 2013 then SARP ends as we know it. The OMFRA report now means nothing (will it even be released now???). I wonder where we go from here? Hopefully Hudak and Horvath can find a manouver to stop the suspension of the legislature, but I don't pin my hopes on that.
In reply to The good news is that Dalton by hamiltnr
Can't see a reversal of
Can't see a reversal of fortune for Harness Racing.
Maybe he will work for the
Maybe he will work for the ORC.
The question of the day !
The question of the day ! Will he be working for OLG or a tannenbaum company???
In reply to The question of the day ! by pvancamp
So the legislature is closed
So the legislature is closed until they find a leader. In the meantime the OLG keeps going forward with destroying the horse industry. Stall tactic till they get the payoff.
I think he will be a
I think he will be a spokesperson for the new upcoming Casino's. The deal has always been done. Conflict of interest=Corruption!! OMG!!
I guess McGuinty believes in
I guess McGuinty believes in the age old saying "When the going get tough, The Tough get out of here as fast as they can." He is leaving this mess for his (honourable colleagues) to clean up & anwser for. I heard one comentator say that Duncan would be considered as a fore runner for the next leader ship. Wouldn't that be a treat for Ontario.( From DUMB TO DUMBER.) I bet McGuinty & Duncan are surprised that their scandals finally caught up to one of them at least and the way our finances are handeled Duncan should have the decency to step down as well. It doesn't matter what his fiscal statement says , we all know that Ontario is in big trouble and the sooner we oust the Liberals the better it will be for all of us.
Good riddance. I have already
Good riddance. I have already sent off an email to David Onley the Lieutenant Governor Of Ontario asking him to disallow McGunity's request to prorogue the Legislature and have him face the consequences of his actions in front of all Ontarians. I urge you to do the same. [email protected] is the email address.
A new leader of a political
A new leader of a political party will not change anything for horse racing. The model was broke and needed fixing. This is the type of issue where the politicians that bring it in are berated and the opposition says they would do somethi dngifferent but when it comes down to it, no matter what party is in power they are going to take a look at the SAR program and change it. There is way too much money involved.
Thank God - probably the
Thank God - probably the worst Premier in Ont history. I just hope that the other three stooges that Murray Brown referred to don't decide to run - that would be Paul 'god help us', Dwight f__ albert, or Larry bum (nice job with the Leafs by the way. I used to live in Caledonia so I know the chances of this government doing the 'right thing'. The only solution for Ont Horse Racing is a class action law suit. That will get breeders the money they deserve. We need a prominent lawyer to volunteer - count me in for support
Oh happy day! Don't let the
Oh happy day! Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Dalton. My 7 year old grandson's response was "He should go to jail". He is so right. Take a few with him for company.
Mc Guilty gone- a good start
Mc Guilty gone- a good start
of course with all the money
of course with all the money stuffed in his back pocket he should be able to get a good lawyer
he is running before he has
he is running before he has to face contempt charges. i hope the NDP and PC leaders do not let him off the hook. he needs to be held accountable for his party's actions whether he is gone or not. what a ______.
One down..... three more to
One down..... three more to go!!
What a ______ ! Involved with
What a ______ !
Involved with the gas scandal and created the mess for the horse racing industry and now when it is looking like he is going to be held responsible for things, he walks away. Disgusting.
In reply to What a ______ ! Involved with by dnew62
AND DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT
AND DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE DERRIERE ON THE WAY OUT.
Farewell to a crook
Farewell to a crook
A new hope...
A new hope...