Lawyer vies for York Centre seat

[attach]3148[/attach]After a long search for their new York Centre candidate, the Ontario PC party have found their man, committing their party to reduce provincial taxes.

Party leader Tim Hudak recently announced Michael Mostyn’s candidacy for Ontario’s 2011 provincial election.

With hopes of knocking out current [url=http://www.mytowncrier.ca/veteran-mpp-triumphs-in-york-centre.html]Liberal MPP Monte Kwinter[/url], Mostyn, a private lawyer and human rights advocate, says pocketbook issues are their number 1 priority.

“We are looking for tax relief,” Mostyn said. “We are over-taxed and it’s harder and harder with the increased gas and hydro rates for the average family to survive.

“I myself am a father of two under two and there are so many expenses that go into raising a family. It is difficult to manage especially with the mismanagement of the McGuinty party.”

Mostyn, who has run unsuccessfully for York Centre’s federal seat, says he was shocked McGuinty brought in the HST during such a hard time in our economy. It’s a tax that affects everybody in the community, he says.

Cutting taxes won’t affect the province’s core services, such as health and education, he says.

“Services won’t be cut,” Mostyn said. “It’s just making sure that tax dollars are being spent properly on core services.

“If you do need the hospital or a school, the services are there for the people that need them and should always be there.’

Services like health and education keep the economy working, he said, and more focus should be put on these initiatives.

Another major issue is the recent string of scandals in Ontario, he says.

“There were the e-health scandals and other ones that need to stop. These are what are wasting the taxpayers’ cash.”

Mostyn said that for the last eight years, the province has doubled its debt from what it was since confederation in 1867 to 2002 and this affects the growth of the economy.

“We have seen tremendous spending where we saw 70 percent government growth, but only six percent in economic growth,” Mostyn said. “There is a social contract basically saying that if I work hard and play by the rules, I should be able to better myself and support my family … Unfortunately we aren’t seeing that.”

The Liberal government also hasn’t contributed enough to the transit system in Toronto, Mostyn said.

“York Centre is an interesting location where transit needs to connect and I have that issue with myself when I travel to downtown,” he said.

“Working cooperatively with the mayor and expanding the transit system is necessary for Toronto and York Centre to grow.”