Dalton McGuinty

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the position that the premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, holds in the political fabric of Ontario as well as within the national political structure. The paper points out that McGuinty has been premier since 2003 and is largely considered to be a moderate fiscal conservative, although he is a political liberal in most other respects. It holds that one of his top priorities upon becoming premier was to attract further international investment into the province as a way to spur economic growth. The paper also points out that another chief objective of McGuinty's leadership has been a balanced budget by 2009. Additionally, the paper notes that McGuinty's politically liberal positions include support of abortion rights for women and unequivocal support for same sex couples, which led to the passage of legislation in Ontario that ensured legal status for such couples. Lastly, the paper addresses the McGuinty administration's focus on the "MoveOntario" project, which targeted a $1.2 billion investment in provincial transportation infrastructure.

Outline:
Overview
Provincial Jurisdiction
Responsibilities Outcome
Municipal Amalgamation

From the Paper:

"The concept of provincial jurisdiction in Ontario was considerably undermined by the Harris Tory government that preceded McGuinty's government. The Tory government began passing in the mid and late 1990s a series of laws which removed substantial powers of jurisdiction from the local municipalities and placed them largely within the jurisprudence of provincial control. Provincial jurisdiction over municipalities was first undermined by the Schedule M within the Savings and Restructuring Act in 1997 which gave the province's minister of municipal affairs the authority to designate a commissioner who could actually restructure municipalities if they could not agree to boundaries or other issues among themselves. This law removed the entire process of municipal compromise from the municipalities themselves and awarded it to the provincial authorities."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Boudreau, Julie Anne. Megacity Saga: Democracy and Citizenship in this Global Age; Black Rose Books: Montreal; 2000.
• Ibbitson, John. Promised land: Inside the Mike Harris Revolution. Toronto: Prentice-Hall; 1997.
• "Ontario Budget 2007." Ministry of Finance (online). Mar. 27, 2007<http://www.ontariobudget.ca/english/
• "Office of the Premier." Ontario (online). Mar.27, 2007<http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/home/default.asp?lang=EN
• Sancton, Andrew. Merger mania: The Assault on Local Government. Montreal and Kingston, McGill-Queen's University Press; 2000.

More papers on Dalton McGuinty:

• Term Paper # 133146 : "Dalton's "Pedagogy Matters" and the Impact of the ISLLC"
• Book Review # 142991 : "Dalton Conley's "Honky"
• Book Review # 103738 : "Pedagogy Matters - Stephanie Dalton"

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