| Waterloo-Wellington
MPP Ted Arnott
Appointed Parliamentary Assistant to the Deputy Premier
and Minister of Education
Waterloo-Wellington
MPP Ted Arnott has been appointed Parliamentary Assistant
to the Deputy Premier and Minister of Education. He
moves to that job from his former position as Parliamentary
Assistant to the Minister of Environment.
“It
is an honour to have this opportunity to continue to
work with Elizabeth Witmer. I look forward to new challenges
and responsibilities,” Mr. Arnott said.
Parliamentary
assistants focus on duties assigned by their minister
or the premier. Their responsibilities may include carrying
bills through the House or its committees on behalf
of their ministers, deliberating with MPPs from all
sides of the House, leading ministry consultations with
the public, taking responsibility for specific programs
or policies and making announcements or speeches for
the minister.
Before
receiving his posting at the Ministry of the Environment
on March 5, 2001, Mr. Arnott served as Parliamentary
Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development and
Trade. He also serves on the Standing Committee of the
Legislative Assembly and is a member of the Cabinet
Policy Committee on Health and Social Services.
-30-
Ted
Arnott's Biography.
Ted
Arnott was 27 when he was first elected to the Ontario
Legislature in 1990. He was re-elected in 1995 and again
in 1999 for a third consecutive term to represent the
newly formed riding of Waterloo-Wellington.
Mr.
Arnott, described as a moderate conservative, is a vocal
advocate for the people of Waterloo-Wellington. He stands
up for his riding’s interests and values.
On
April 25, 2002 he was appointed Parliamentary Assistant
to the Deputy Premier and Minister of Education and
he also serves on the Standing Committee of the Legislative
Assembly and is a member of the Cabinet Policy Committee
on Health and Social Services.
Previously,
he was Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Environment
and before that to the Minister of Economic Development
and Trade.
When the Grand River Conservation Authority informed
Ted Arnott that three out of four gates on the Conestogo
Dam were broken, the repair bill would come in at about
$1.2 million, and that the province should share the
cost of repairs – he agreed. He advocated that the province
should be a major partner in covering the cost even
though there was no government program available.
He
made his case in discussions with Premier Harris and
Cabinet ministers and in five speeches to the Legislature
by explaining the important role the Dam plays. The
Conesotogo Dam, located in Mapleton Township, contributes
to water supply and prevents flooding by controlling
water flow into the Grand River. For example, during
a dry period in August 2001, the Conestogo Dam was responsible
for 60 per cent of the water in the river through the
City of Kitchener.
On
March 20, 2002 the Provincial Government agreed to provide
$600,000 to the Grand River Conservation Authority to
cover approximately half of the repair bill for the
Conestogo Dam.
Ted
Arnott strongly supports Ontario’s Promise, a program
to help create a better future for Ontario’s young people
with the help of positive role models. He joined Premier
Harris, the Minister Responsible for Children Margaret
Marland, and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell for
the launch of the program in Toronto on November 3,
2000.
In
an open letter to the Minister of the Environment sent
in July 2000 Ted Arnott called on the Government to
commit $500 million for the construction of water and
sewer infrastructure. He also suggested that the Province
undertake a study to determine whether responsibility
for drinking water should be shifted to counties or
upper-tier governments because tough new regulations
mean that more resources and scientific training are
needed to operate water works.
On
October 10, 2000 he brought the issue to the Legislature
during Question Period with the Minister of Municipal
Affairs and Housing. The Minister, in response, indicated
that the province would push for the federal government
to match Ontario’s $240 million commitment. Although
an agreement was announced on October 20, 2000 that
would see $750 million for infrastructure projects when
federal, provincial and municipal contributions are
combined, Mr. Arnott continues to call on the Provincial
Government to double it’s original commitment.
In
June, 2000 Ted Arnott made the case within Caucus for
a reasonable compromise in order to put an end to the
standoff between the Government of Ontario and the teacher’s
federations in which many of Ontario’s schools were
not providing extra-curricular activities. The Government
decided not to enact the provision of Bill 74, the Education
Accountability Act, which would have made extra-curricular
activities a mandatory duty for teachers.
After
Conestoga College had been turned down under a Provincial
capital funding
program
in February, 2000, Ted Arnott worked with the President
of the College, John Tibbits, and other local MPPs to
reopen their application. Following an effective campaign
by the representatives of the College and with the direction
of the Minister of Finance, the Government of Ontario
approved a $14.2 million expansion project on May 18,
2000. This provincial funding was allocated for 71 new
classrooms and eight new laboratories to help the College
expand its enrollment in programs such as Multi-media
Communications, Health Sciences and Police, Fire and
Emergency Services.
Mr.
Arnott helped initiate the campaign to convince the
federal government to restore the funds they had cut
to the transfer program which supports health care in
Ontario. Federal cuts to transfers for Ontario amounted
to $2.8 billion dollars annually. After raising the
issue within Caucus, Ted introduced a Private Member’s
Resolution in December 1999 aimed at restoring the funds
that were cut and restoring the integrity of fiscal
federalism. At that time, the federal government refused
to acknowledge that there was such a shortfall in funding.
His
resolution called upon the Government of Canada to fully
restore the Canada Health and Social Transfer to 1994-95
levels, and work to establish a fair funding approach
which ensures that these cash transfers increase to
keep pace with future cost pressures faced by provincial
governments in their delivery of health services, post
secondary education and social services. All of the
provincial governments in Canada adopted this position
in February, 2000 and in April, 2000, members of all
three political parties at the Ontario Legislature supported
and passed Mr. Arnott’s resolution. On September 11,
2000, two months before the recent federal election,
the Government of Canada reached an agreement with the
provinces in the spirit of restoring funds that were
cut to the transfer program. Premier Harris recognized
Mr. Arnott’s work on this initiative on April 3, 2000
in the Legislature when a Government resolution similar
to Mr. Arnott’s was introduced.
In
recognition of the outstanding and invaluable services
that volunteer firefighters provide to rural communities,
Mr. Arnott introduced a Private Member’s Bill on October
29, 1998 to address the need for proper compensation,
in the event of injury, for our volunteer firefighters.
Soon afterwards, his Bill was adopted in Government
Legislation. The Government’s legislation, Bill 92,
identical in content to Mr. Arnott’s Private Member’s
Bill, was designed to ensure that volunteer firefighters
have the compensation they deserve and the return-to-work
provisions they need if injured in the line of duty.
It passed Final Reading in the provincial Legislature
on December 14th, 1998.
On
April 30, 1998, the Legislature debated and passed Mr.
Arnott’s Private Member’s
Resolution
highlighting the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children program.
This program enables the Government to provide crucially
important support and services that are needed most
in the early years to improve the quality of life for
children and ensure that they reach their full potential.
Following the passage of Mr. Arnott’s resolution the
Province committed to increasing the funding for the
program by five-fold from its original budget of $10
million to $50 million by the year 2000-2001. This funding
commitment increased seven-fold to $70.5 million as
of 2001-2002.
Believing
that it is the duty of today’s legislators to do what
is best for our future generations, Ted Arnott introduced
a Private Member’s Resolution aimed at eliminating Ontario’s
debt. His resolution, which was debated and passed on
October 9, 1997 with support from all three parties,
called for the Government to adopt a 25-year plan to
pay down the provincial debt with five-year interim
targets. The Government has acknowledged that debt retirement
is an important issue and has made a commitment to pay
down $5 billion of the Provincial debt during this term
of office. Mr. Arnott continues to raise this issue.
A
local fire chief approached Ted Arnott with a safety
issue that was especially significant for volunteer
firefighters. He recommended that firefighters should
be able to place a flashing green light on their personal
vehicles so that they would be able to respond to an
emergency call quickly and safely.
Mr.
Arnott introduced Private Member’s legislation on behalf
of volunteer firefighters and on December 8, 1994 the
Legislative Assembly passed his bill which amended the
Highway Traffic Act so that firefighters may identify
their personal vehicles with a flashing green light
when responding to an emergency. Passage of a Private
Member’s bill into law is rare even for MPPs who serve
in government. Mr. Arnott’s bill passed while he was
in opposition.
Born
in 1963, Mr. Arnott was raised in Arthur. The only son
of Warren Arnott and the late Jessie Arnott, he has
four sisters. He is a graduate of Arthur District High
School and Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo where
he obtained a B.A. in Political Science and a Diploma
in Business Administration.
He
is a former Big Brother and continues to serve the organization
as an honourary member of the Board of the Arthur Big
Brothers. He attends St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
in Fergus. Mr. Arnott married Lisa McCabe on December
22, 1990. Mrs. Arnott is a part-time teacher-librarian
at James McQueen Public School in Fergus. They have
three sons and live in the Fergus area.
|
