If the Reform Party of Ontario forms the next government, it would do away with school boards in their current form and turn them over to municipal control, get rid of the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINS), allow for the recall of MPPs by their constituents, and also cut MPP salaries by 20 per cent as part of a big push to reduce government costs....SEE THE 'REFORM ONTARIO IN THE NEWS' BUTTON (top left on this page)

It just make's sense, Common Sense: What a Revolution!... The Reform Party of Ontario
New political options are nothing new in Canada. They have happened before, when the existing parties did not meet the needs of substantial numbers of voters. Today, many Ontarians are concerned with the state of our Democracy, Public Finances, Taxes, law-making and enforcement, as well as the lack of a unifying Vision for Ontario to follow into the years ahead.

Such concerns were at the heart of the former federal Reform movement. Old restrictions on the Reform Party to not become active provincially in Ontario politics no longer exist, and many Reformers are eager to champion populism, democratic reform, and common sense politics, and can do so, as a member of Reform Ontario, to make Ontario truly "a place to Live and a place to Grow".

Our members come from a mix of backgrounds. Reform offers an ideal home for any Ontario voter of any age, cultural background, or gendre, including conservatives, liberals, new democrats, greens, libertarians, and others. If you believe in the Common Sense of the Common People, fiscal responsibility, tax reform, democratic/electoral reform, social reform, justice reform & accountability...Well then, Welcome Home!

Reformers are people who are interested in provincial affairs . These include everyday affairs like health care, education, the economy, industry, labour, energy, the environment and waste, agriculture, natural resources such as our water, forests and minerals, our highways, and of course, our municipalities.

And of course, we care about our people: Young and old, whatever their language, race, culture, or religion may be, healthy or not so healthy, we are all in this Ontario together, trying to make it the best place to live and work in the world!

Today, you can make a difference and make history, by joining the Reform Party of Ontario, Ontario's best hope for a great future.

POLICY DEVELOPMENT - PURPLE BOOK IS NOW OUT:
Reform's Purple Book (policy) is now available online and for use at Reform get-togethers and gatherings. To keep abreast of Reform Ontario's political work, read through the Reform In The News link at the top left of this page regularly, and watch for these Reform meetings and information events around the province:

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN 2010:
Regional Workshops: The first of these for the year was held in Woodstock, Saturday 8 May 2010, 2-4pm. An excellent policy and election readiness discussion ensued.

The second was held 19 June 2010 in Belleville. An excellent policy and election readiness discussion ensued.

A day-long policy workshop is to be held 24 July, in York-Simcoe region. Details TBA. This is a members-only workshop and will develop proposals for the AGM's policy session in October.

Fund-raiser: Is being planned for the Niagara region for August. Details TBA.

Leader's Media Tours: Party leader Brad Harness will continue with his ongoing media tours this year.
25-30 June 2010 - Northern Ontario - Parry Sound, Sudbury, Timmins, New Liskeard, Irosquois Falls, New Liskeard, North Bay, Orillia
September - Eastern Ontario
October - Central Ontario

Candidate & Team Training Workshop: Tentative date is October 2010 (Location: TBA)

Executive Meetings: 23 January 2010 (Milton); 8 May 2010 (Woodstock); 28 August (Niagara); October (TBA)

Annual Policy Meeting: to be held in October 2010 (Location: TBA)

"RUN FOR REFORM" - CANDIDATE SEARCH/NOMINATION PROCESS NOW UNDERWAY: Reform Ontario began its formal process to select candidates for the 2011 general election in May 2009. At present, candidates have been identified for some two dozen ridings. We will be fielding candidates across Ontario for the 2011 election.

Persons interested in either running as a Reform Ontario candidate or nominating someone they know to "Run for Reform" are encouraged to contact the party office at the phone number/email address listed below.

BY-ELECTIONS 2009:
By-elections are tricky things. They are called on short notice and do not allow for adequate planning and preparation. The governing party holds all the cards in by-election contests.

Reform Ontario did not field a candidate in the 17 September 2009 by-election in the Toronto riding of St. Paul's.

Due to the very short timeline between 4 February 2009 election call and the election date announced by Premier Dalton McGuinty, the Reform Party of Ontario executive decided not to field a candidate in the 5 March 2009 by-election. Two very strong local individuals (one from Lindsay and the other from Pontypool) - with impeccable credentials - interested in the Reform Ontario nomination in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock decided that there simply was insufficient time to organize a credible run once the date was announced for only four weeks’ time.
This by-election was caused by the resignation of MPP Laurie Scott to allow her party’s non-resident leader to run for a seat in the Ontario Legislature. Scott was the only Ontario PC MPP to agree to step aside for John Tory, a move that has not been well-received in the riding.
Reform Ontario Leader Brad Harness added that despite requests that he himself run in the byelection, “…Which is something I very much relish…”, he responded that “…I believe the voters of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock deserve election choices based on strong local candidates who know the riding inside and out, and not opportunistic, non-local politicians. I feel deeply that non-resident candidates of all parties should be barred from running in all provincial - and for that matter, federal – elections. Candidates should already be living in the riding at the time they seek the nomination.”

2009-2011 ELECTORAL REFORM AGENDA:
Harness went on to express concerns about the electoral process raised by the two Reform contenders in this riding: “The regulations under the Elections Act and Elections Finance Act (see attached) are crystal clear: If all candidates for this election cannot fundraise until they are an officially registered candidate, it seems ludicrous that candidates are allowed to advertise, open campaign offices, incur campaign expenses, and attend all-candidates’ meetings as if they were official candidates. Waiting until the proper dates under the legislation allows for only 2 weeks proper campaigning until voting day.”

These two anomalies – the non-resident status candidate and the discrepancy between various Elections Ontario rules – are part of an electoral reform measures Reform Ontario is drafting into a private member’s bill which Harness hopes to get introduced into the Ontario Legislature later in 2010. These changes were submitted through the Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario to - and rejected by - the Select Committee of Electoral Reform. Other measures include the elimination of the subsidy for candidate expenses (which presently only helps out the three established parties), the rebate of nearly half of party campaign expenses (again benefiting only the three largest Ontario political parties), and a new measure that would see parties which operate in a deficit situation for more than 13 months lose their Registered Party status until they are back “in the black”.
Harness added, “How do such parties expect voters to elect them to run the province’s finances if they cannot manage their own in a responsible way? The Ontario PC Party was $6-million in debt in Early 2009 and has been for many years, and yet it campaigns as if its coffers are full. It is only the unfair measures from the 1970s such as the election rebates for candidates and parties that allow them to operate like this, using taxpayers’ dollars to fund their political antics”.

Reform Ontario’s changes would level the playing field in Ontario elections and allow for greater participation, democracy, and debate in decision-making.
Reform Ontario’s two nominees for the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock nomination say they will carry on with organizing efforts and seek the party’s nomination for the 2011 general election, expected in October of 2011.

REFORM ONTARIO'S BUSY 2009:
January - Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
February - Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock; Toronto
March - London; Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
April - Lindsay
May - Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock; Ottawa & Gloucester; Whitby
June - Brooklin, Hensall
July - Tweed, Zurich
August - Peterborough,, Melbourne (13-16 Aug 09), Port Perry & Marmora (26-30 Aug 09); Tillsonburg (27 Aug 09)
September - Tavistock (3-5 Sep 09), New Hamburg (10-13 Sep 09), Woodstock (15-17 Sep 09), Glencoe & Parkhill (18-20 Sep 09), Ilderton (25-27 Sep 09)
October - Toronto (7 Oct 09), Walkerton (16-18 Oct 09)
November - Milton (7 Nove 09); Ridgetown, Thamesville, Chatham, Dresden, Wallaceburg, Sarnia & Petrolia (17 Nov 09)
December - Grand Bend, Goderich, Clinton, Wingham, Seaforth, Clinton & Exeter (1 Dec 09)

REFORM ONTARIO'S BUSY 2008:
Reform Leader Brad Harness (read Meet The Reform Party Leader link in the left margin of this page) was busy in 2008 with meetings around Ontario. In January, Harness visited McMaster University in Hamilton to hear from students about the post-secondary education they are receiving in Ontario, and hear ideas for what they think needs to be done to improve things.

February saw Harness at a meeting in Belleville, and March saw him in Mississauga and Ancaster. He was back in Ancaster in April, and again in Belleville in May. On 16 May he was a panelist on the Michael Coren Show in Burlington for the CTS channel, debating issues of the day with Coren and his other guests, the NDP's Syd Ryan and the PC's Steven Gilchrist.

In June, Harness hosted the party's New Ontario Policy Workshop in London. Brad was and is very active in writing Reform Ontario's Purple Book, which neared completion at the end of 2008.

Besides these activities, Brad is also involved in regular media, organizational, and outreach work done in many ridings including Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale, Barrie, Mississauga, Toronto, Durham, Tecumseh, Kitchener-Conestoga, Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, Sudbury, Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington, Sarnia-Lambton, Chatham-Kent-Essex, Oxford, Renfrew-Nippissing-Pembroke, Leeds-Grenville, Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Brantford, Perth-Wellington, London, Peterborough, Kingston, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, and Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound.

In September, Reform Ontario was an exhibitor at this year's International Plowing Match in Teeswater in September in southern Bruce County, where we discussed all of our policy ideas, as well as our new Agricultural Policy, with 2,384 voters still interested in politics despite the fall in overall voter participation at election time. Reform's website (www.NewCanada.ca) has also been regularly updated and has enjoyed a steady stream of curious voters throughout the year.

2008's remaining Reform meetings saw Reform leader Brad Harness in Teeswater(September) and Kitchener(November) and Milton(December). The province's challenging winter weather played havoc with two other meetings (Peterborough in November and Niagara in December), which will be re-scheduled into 2009.

More about the Reform Party of Ontario:
The Reform Party of Ontario is a registered political party that is identifying candidates for the 2011 election, in which it will field approximately 60 candidates. The party is now organizing at the riding level. Riding associations will become active as local membership grows, and as the 2011 election nears.

In the 10 October 2007 general election, Reform ran two test candidates, and tested the party's platform. Reform fielded two candidates in the :

Brad Harness in LAMBTON-KENT-MIDDLESEX

William Cook in BRUCE-GREY-OWEN SOUND

Both were unsuccessful, but given that they only had three weeks to campaign between mandatory media blackout periods, organizers were satisfied that the objectives for 2007 - to register the party, run test candidates, conduct media work and talk with voters, as well as trial the party's platform - were all successfully accomplished, with very positive feedback from voters and the media.

Reform Ontario has a deliberately slim policy agenda (the "keep it simple" approach) as well as a few widely-shared principles all Ontarians, new or not so new, young or not so young, can comfortably embrace and be proud of.

Click here to view our Policy Statement & Policy Development process

How do I get involved?
Contact by phone or email the people listed below. They can provide much more information and if you wish, can sign you up as a member. You can also become a member by clicking on memberships@newcanada.ca .

A representative from your local riding team or a head office organizer will keep in touch after that.

You can get as involved as you like, volunteer with the local candidate's team (handing out literature, selling memberships, and fund-raising), contribute to policy development, vote for your party leadership, help a candidate to get elected, or perhaps be a candidate yourself! You can also share the Reform Ontario vision with those you care about, and ask them to become members.

You can also make a TAX RECEIPTABLE financial contribution to Reform Ontario to assist us in outreach work to expand the party and to prepare for the 2011 election. Click on this link: donations@newcanada.ca

*CANDIDATES: If you are interested in being a candidate in 2011 for Reform, contact Brad Harness at the number below or email info@newcanada.ca

Where does Reform Ontario stand in regards to federal politics?
While Reformers in Ontario were involved with the forerunners of the federal Conservative Party, as well as the Liberal, Green, New Demoractic, and other federal parties, there is no affiliation between those parties and Reform Ontario.

Canada's federal political system speaks to the need for a major overhaul, one that includes the abolition of all political parties. Under such a revised system, all MPs would be Independents, charged solely with representing the majority opinion of their constituents. This model of government, known as Consensual Government, is and has been successfully in practice in our northern territories for decades. It is our view that this ultimate reform of the federal system will finally resolve the matter of inadequate representation and the ongoing childish and unproductive behaviour which spills forth from partisan politics. To that end we believe a new movement is needed, one that will champion the cause of Consensual Government at the federal level.

Ultimately, this same model of Consensual Government is required at the provincial level in Ontario, and Reform Ontario would strive to reach that worthy goal over time, once many other governmental problems have been addressed at Queen's Park.

Who can I contact for more information?
Brad Harness, Party Leader (519) 245-2041

Maria Arruda, Chief Financial Officer (519) 896-2977

Joshua Erikkson, Party President (289) 244-3115

David Chirko, Sudbury

Ivan Sharp, Simcoe-South

Bill Cook, Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound

Maria Arruda, Kitchener-Conestoga

James Revell, Lambton-Kent-Middlesex

Frank Grandenetti, Ottawa West-Nepean

Rod Packwood, Ottawa South

John Vanderspank, Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington

Jacqueline Fennell, Leeds-Grenville

Jim Smith, Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock

Bob Rutledge, Whitby

James Blair, Pickering

Donald Gyde, Prince Edward- Hastings

Kristine Bowler, Durham

John Hankinson, Eglinton-Lawrence

Bill Duncan, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke

Phil Miller, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell

Fred Harness, Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale

Kevin Bratcher, Hamilton Mountain

Gordon Smy, Niagara West-Glanbrook

John Vollmar, Sarnia-Lambton

Alan Kan, Mississauga

James Alock, Scarborough-Guildwood

Sandra Kiyanaga, Barrie

Rita Chapman, Orillia


Reform Party of Ontario's mailing address is:

415 Scott Street East, Strathroy, Ontario N7G 3Y8

General & Media Enquiries: info@newcanada.ca

Memberships cost $10 per year. Cheques must be made payable to NewCanada.ca. Email for details to: memberships@newcanada.ca
Download membership form click here

To make a TAX RECEIPTABLE financial donation please email us for details at: donations@newcanada.ca

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