TORONTO - Premier Dalton McGuinty admitted Friday it was a mistake for Ontario's legislative assembly to start buying provincial flags that were made in China, but defended the decision to buy Asian-made shirts for Ontario Provincial Police uniforms.
"I think that's over the line," McGuinty said after it was discovered the Ontario flags that politicians give out to their constituents had been outsourced to China to save money.
"When you talk about the flag, there's nothing nearer and dearer to the soul of our province than the flag. I think we should be finding people in Ontario to make those flags for us."
The government always wants to find savings, especially in the current economic crisis, said McGuinty, and it also is an exporting province, so he doesn't have a problem with the police shirts being made overseas.
"There are opportunities where it's sensible for us to buy Canadian, to buy Ontarian," he said.
"But we don't want to pursue it to its illogical end where we become so protectionist we signal to the world we only want to buy from ourselves."
No one is advocating that, said New Democrat Peter Kormos.
"Those other so-called partners in trade deals don't export their jobs, they protect them," he said.
Kormos, who first raised the issue of the made-in-China flags, said he suspected there were many other examples of the Liberal government buying products overseas that could be, and often are, made in Ontario.
"Mr. McGuinty and the Liberals have a serious cross-border shopping addiction," he said.
"They don't seem to understand that every product that is outsourced is jobs lost here in Ontario. They're not only not providing a solution for the lost jobs, they're creating job losses with their out-of-country shopping practices."
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario - "as iconic an Ontario institution as one could ever find" - is selling customers glossy new tote bags that also bear a made-in-China label, Kormos complained.
"One has to question all those junkets to China by Mr. McGuinty and his ministers," said the veteran New Democrat.
"Is this the result of those junkets, jobs exported to China? Because I'm not aware of any of our products being exported to China in any great number."
The Community Safety Ministry would not say how many police shirts are ordered from China each year or how much the government spends on them.
The controversy over the foreign purchases by the government follows a recent move by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. to buy 22 Mercedes-Benz cars to give away to help promote casinos.
Even the government admitted it was a serious mistake for the OLG to buy foreign-made cars when provincial and federal taxpayers were being asked to fork over billions of dollars to prop up the domestic car industry.
McGuinty said Friday he expects the government procurement office is reviewing its policies to make sure it buys Ontarian whenever possible.
"I'm convinced that everybody in government is going to be reviewing their purchasing policies to see what we might do so that we can lend a hand to our economy."
/>
Premier Dalton McGuinty admitted Friday it was a mistake for Ontario's legislative assembly to start buying provincial flags that were made in China, but defended the decision to buy Asian-made shirts for Ontario Provincial Police uniforms.
"I think that's over the line," McGuinty said after it was discovered the Ontario flags that politicians give out to their constituents had been outsourced to China to save money.
"When you talk about the flag, there's nothing nearer and dearer to the soul of our province than the flag. I think we should be finding people in Ontario to make those flags for us."
The government always wants to find savings, especially in the current economic crisis, said McGuinty, and it also is an exporting province, so he doesn't have a problem with the police shirts being made overseas.
"There are opportunities where it's sensible for us to buy Canadian, to buy Ontarian," he said.
"But we don't want to pursue it to its illogical end where we become so protectionist we signal to the world we only want to buy from ourselves."
No one is advocating that, said New Democrat Peter Kormos.
"Those other so-called partners in trade deals don't export their jobs, they protect them," he said.
Kormos, who first raised the issue of the made-in-China flags, said he suspected there were many other examples of the Liberal government buying products overseas that could be, and often are, made in Ontario.
"Mr. McGuinty and the Liberals have a serious cross-border shopping addiction," he said.
"They don't seem to understand that every product that is outsourced is jobs lost here in Ontario. They're not only not providing a solution for the lost jobs, they're creating job losses with their out-of-country shopping practices."
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario - "as iconic an Ontario institution as one could ever find" - is selling customers glossy new tote bags that also bear a made-in-China label, Kormos complained.
"One has to question all those junkets to China by Mr. McGuinty and his ministers," said the veteran New Democrat.
"Is this the result of those junkets, jobs exported to China? Because I'm not aware of any of our products being exported to China in any great number."
The Community Safety Ministry would not say how many police shirts are ordered from China each year or how much the government spends on them.
The controversy over the foreign purchases by the government follows a recent move by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. to buy 22 Mercedes-Benz cars to give away to help promote casinos.
Even the government admitted it was a serious mistake for the OLG to buy foreign-made cars when provincial and federal taxpayers were being asked to fork over billions of dollars to prop up the domestic car industry.
McGuinty said Friday he expects the government procurement office is reviewing its policies to make sure it buys Ontarian whenever possible.
"I'm convinced that everybody in government is going to be reviewing their purchasing policies to see what we might do so that we can lend a hand to our economy."
