Hi, Toby here.
As you may know, we have been door-knocking and collecting signatures on a petition to pressure Dalton McGuinty to restore the MTO license bureau to Caledonia.
Our campaign has achieved a partial success.
I received a phone call from the Ministry of Transportation, indicating a new office will be open on an interim basis until a permanent arrangement can be made through Service Ontario.
Thanks to everyone who signed the petition, or who took me up on the suggestion to phone the Minister of Transportation. This shows that Caledonia won't be silenced by the McGuinty government - and persistence pays off.
For the time being, the Ministry of Transportation indicated it might take a while to go through the process of finding a suitable partner and location for the MTO office. Because of this, I am slightly changing my tactics. We must ensure the Ministry of Transportation follows through on opening the temporary office, and we must ensure Caledonia never loses its license renewal services again. I've changed the petition to reflect the changing reality - and we are again taking it door to door in Caledonia.
Please find my news release below.
Thanks for your time,
~Toby
For immediate release:
May 9, 2007
Success in Barrett's campaign for MTO office in Caledonia Government intends to open 'interim' MTO office until permanent arrangements can be made with Service Ontario
Caledonia-MPP Toby Barrett has been successful in pressuring the Ontario Government to move toward re-opening the license bureau in Caledonia.
"Over the past 15 months, Caledonia has suffered an unprecedented burden from the direct and indirect impacts of the occupation," Barrett said. "When a community is in crisis, it's no time for government to pack up and leave town, and that's exactly what they tried to do when they chose not to re-open the MTO office.
"When I got that first phone call complaining about the recently closed MTO office in Caledonia, I sprang into action. I launched a petition, and took it door to door collecting signatures," Barrett explained. "I'm sure we got the Minister's attention when I emailed her phone number to over 400 people, and encouraged them to phone in support of a new office."
Recently an employee in the Ministry of Transportation phoned Barrett's office to inform him of the government's plan to open an interim office in Caledonia until a permanent arrangement can be made with Service Ontario. The new office will be opened once the province finds a suitable location and partner.
"The bottom line is this is a start," Barrett concluded. "The office isn't open yet, and we're still working on pressuring government to back track on its decision to leave Delhi without its license bureau."
Barrett spent the lunch hour serving customers at the Caledonia McDonalds as part of 'McHappy Day.' He then spent the afternoon knocking on doors in Caledonia with his newest petition urging the McGuinty government to permanently re-open the MTO office.