On the first anniversary of Doug Downey taking office in Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte, the MPP took a moment to reflect on the last 365 days and what he’ll do during the much-talked-about extended summer break.
On Thursday, the provincial government announced it would be extending its summer break from now until Oct, 28, not the usual Sept. 6 after Labour Day.
With the federal election set for Oct. 21, Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwarth speculated that this was an attempt to not bring any negative attention to Conservative leader Andrew Scheer in his attempt to become prime minister.
Downey says that isn’t the case and the longer break is overdue after the party had worked through many breaks already.
“We passed 20 bills and have completed or started 50 of the 59 election promises that we made," he said. "We started working right away last year and didn’t break through the summer.
"I can tell you only twice in Ontario’s history have they sat even one day in each of July and August before, and we sat for three weeks in each of them," Downey added.
"We worked right through there and then called back for Christmas. We’ve been working non-stop so we’re going to set the break.”
Downey said that the extended break doesn’t mean the government can’t be called back should something need addressing, but for now the break will last until the set Oct. 28 return date.
Another hot issue that Downey and the Ford government are dealing with is their focus on alcohol.
The provincial government recently announced that this summer, many Ontario convenience stores will be selling beer and wine.
While Downey has heard the accusations that the government is focused too much on alcohol and not real issues, the first-term MPP believes this is a real concern for business in the province.
“The issue is really not about beer, it is about a monopoly,” Downey said. “Several people are shocked when they find out that The Beer Store isn’t owned by the government, but rather three multi-national companies who not only control the production and distribution, but also the sale.
"We ran on a campaign to put beer and wine in corner stores and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The extended break will not mean Downey won't be working, as the MPP says he'll be able to get more done locally than he could before.
“It's not going to slow down for me. It’s just going to be here instead of Queen's Park,” he said.
“I’m heavily involved right now in riding pieces that I want to spend more time on. Instead of conference calls with (Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre), I can actually go to RVH and have the conversation face-to-face, and at Georgian College we’re doing some great things."
Being home in the riding also means he can go out and talk to constituents instead of over the phone. Downey says this should help "solve things more immediately.”
Downey said he's still going to take care of day-to-day business, including a project to be announced next week.
"I'm still working hard at the auto insurance reform file,” the MPP said. “We’re in the middle of reform on the mortgage-broker-lender administration act and another you’ll hear about early next week, quite a large one, that I’m taking the lead on. Things are not going to slow down.”
Downey said that Monday will be a 'personal day' for his staff to enjoy some time away, but for himself, the MPP says he has no solid plans while away from Queen's Park.
“I haven’t made plans for the summer. The last flight I took was from Timmins to Sarnia to do budget consultation,” Downey said. “I’m going to spend time with my wife and kids, absolutely, and working out of the Barrie office instead of the Queen’s Park office will help with that.”
