Mike Schreiner - Leader of the Green Party of Ontario - is a highly regarded businessman and entrepreneur, and advocate for Ontario independent business and sustainable communities, as well as a tireless promoter of local food and the farmers who produce it.

Yesterday’s Provincial Throne Speech was filled with supposedly new ideas for the future of Ontario, but leaves Ontarians with many unanswered questions.

If Premier McGuinty wants Ontario to be open in the future, who does he want it to be open to?  Will he continue the pattern of only being open to multinational corporations at the expense of Ontario’s small businesses, to high-priced consultants under sole sourced contracts and to closed door tax deals with Jim Flaherty that don’t work for Ontario?

I believe the Green Party of Ontario makes an important contribution to political debate in Ontario.

In the 2007 Ontario general election, over 350,000 Ontarians agreed by voting Green. The GPO has momentum with strong showings in by-elections last week.

Yet the political will of so many Ontarians is being stifled. The Green Party learned late last week that we will be denied access to the media scrum area of Queen’s Park.  There will also be no space for the GPO leader during the Throne Speech later today.

Last night’s convincing third place finish in Leeds-Grenville prompted the Brockville Recorder and Times to declare that “a strong showing by Green Party standard-bearer Neil Kudrinko in Thursday's by-election has apparently solidified his party's status as the riding's third party.”   In Ottawa West-Nepean, the GPO made gains to come within thirty-five votes of finishing third.

It’s time for a fresh approach at Queen’s Park.  An approach that is fair, transparent and consistent.

This week’s controversy surrounding the reappointments of Ombudsman André Marin and Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller highlight a disturbing trend toward ad hoc, short-term, closed door decision making by the McGuinty Liberals. 

Why has the government waited until the last minute to announce that Marin and Miller will not be reappointed?   Is it to silence two public servants who are doing their jobs holding the government to account?

Ontario’s cities and towns are leading the way on innovative food and farming policy – while the provincial government remains silent. This was again highlighted this week by Toronto’s visionary food strategy report and Markham’s bold Foodbelt proposal to protect farmland from development.