Ontario needs good government now more than ever
Coping with interesting times in Ottawa

Okay. If you haven't been following what has been going on in federal politics, you are either not Canadian, or you have been out-of-country since late November.

Who ever said Canadian politics is dull? No matter how you vote, or who you support, if you are anything but indifferent to your politics, the federal scene ignites your passion. And a few people have been phoning our Mississauga-Streetsville office. A few things to keep in mind:

• I represent the riding at Queen's Park, not Ottawa;
• There is no relationship between the governing party at the provincial level and any party at the federal level. At most, the respective parties are ideological cousins;
• Newly-elected MP Bonnie Crombie will welcome any comments you may have. Her phone number in Ottawa is (613) 943-1762.

Ottawa is in the grip of both a political crisis, and an economic crisis.

Ontarians are working on many files with the federal government, and they are all important. Our Province is the economic engine of the country. Our Province is one of just three provinces that contribute to the Canadian federation. The other two are Alberta and British Columbia. Ontario has contributed $23.5 billion this year. That is 40 percent more than Alberta and B.C. put together!

Ontarians want, and need, certainty, and we need it sooner rather than later. Ontario will work with whoever forms the Government of Canada. The challenges facing our Province, and our Country, are serious. They need the full attention of Canadians, and those leading them.

Democracy can be slow, messy and cumbersome. It requires people to talk to one another, engage in dialogue with the people who sent them to govern, and arrive at a compromise, or a decision. For Ontario, this is the fourth federal government with which the Province has dealt since our Government was formed in the fall of 2003.

Ontarians do not want to see those who govern them play politics at their expense. The times are serious, and the solutions that Ontarians — and Canadians — want and need must also be serious. Ontario has chosen a five-point economic plan of serious measures and prudence with the mandate and the resources of the people of the Province of Ontario. We need to keep working with our federal colleagues, as we do with those who run our City of Mississauga, and keep the needs and priorities of the people who sent us to do our jobs foremost in our working lives.

We wish those who represent us in Ottawa good luck, and good, careful judgment.