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Can John Tory save us from Dalton's mutant trillium?

NEWS RELEASE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF ONTARIO ************************** Tory launches campaign to save trillium Calls on McGuinty Liberals to repay taxpayers $219,000, asks auditor to investigate (Queen’s Park) - Progressive Conservative Pa
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NEWS RELEASE

PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF ONTARIO

************************** Tory launches campaign to save trillium

Calls on McGuinty Liberals to repay taxpayers $219,000, asks auditor to investigate

(Queen’s Park) - Progressive Conservative Party Leader John Tory today launched a bid to save the Ontario government's historic symbol from attempts by the McGuinty Liberals to change it for their own partisan purposes.

"Instead of focusing on keeping his campaign promises, Dalton McGuinty is playing around with Ontario’s symbol," said Tory. "This is a partisan-based waste of taxpayers money. I have heard loud and clear from Ontarians and today we're calling on the McGuinty Liberals to scrap this change."

Tory launched www.savethetrillium.ca at a Queen’s Park news conference today to give Ontarians an opportunity to send Dalton McGuinty a message about his secretive change to the Trillium, Ontario's symbol for more than 40 years.

The new symbol looks very similar to parts of the Ontario Liberal Party logo.

"The Ontario Liberal Party should pay back taxpayers the $219,000 of government money spent on this new trillium," said Tory. "There is no rhyme or reason for the change to the symbol. It will cost taxpayers tens of millions and it seems like nothing more than a make work project, handing over yet another contract to their favourite advertising agency."

Tory said: "What we have here is the tried and true traditional Trillium being replaced by the partisan poison ivy look-alike and I think they should put a stop to it."

The new symbol was drawn for $219,000 by Liberal advertising agency Bensimon-Byrne, the same company who created Dalton McGuinty's infamous "I won't raise your taxes" campaign ads in the last election. Since the Liberals came to power, Bensimon-Byrne has compiled an amazing record of winning so-called competitions for McGuinty Liberal government work, including:

- over $9 million in Ministry of Health contracts - $2.835 million for an Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. contract with a monthly retainer more than double what they were receiving before the Liberals were elected

- $2.5 million for a Ministry of Citizenship contract for 2004-08

"The Auditor General should fully investigate the cozy relationship between the McGuinty Liberals and Bensimon-Byrne," said Tory. "Dalton McGuinty's election-time ad agency has received over $14 million in new contracts since the election that we know about. That's not what Dalton McGuinty said he would do with the money when he brought in the largest tax increase in Ontario's history."

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