Mr. Speaker, today Mike Harris visited Ottawa and spoke to the board of trade. While everyone expected a big announcement, what we got was a profound disappointment. The premier promised to study a ring road, with absolutely no money announced. He might just as well have stayed at home.
The city of Ottawa has the second fastest growing economy in Canada and leads Ontario in economic growth. We need new convention space, better transit facilities, fairer amalgamation funding and more health care equipment. The premier's “don't worry, be happy” speech was particularly disappointing from the standpoint of health care. We still have an MRI crisis in Ottawa with 7,000 people on the waiting list and only 2 MRIs for adults, compared to 17 in Toronto, this after the federal government transferred $189 million to the province for new medical equipment.
When, oh, when will our local Tory MPPs stand up for the needs of the nation's capital?