November 4, 2014

Mr. Yvan Baker
Parliamentary Assistant to the President of the Treasury Board
Room 1619A, First Floor, Whitney Block
99 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, ON  M7A 1W3

Dear Mr. Baker:

It is an honour and a pleasure to have you as my Parliamentary Assistant. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Treasury Board Secretariat and to outline some of the important work that lies ahead of us.

As you know, our government has a plan to invest in the talent and skills of our people, build modern infrastructure, support a dynamic and innovative business climate, and provide better retirement security to people across the province. At the heart of this plan are partnerships with businesses, people and communities, which will help our government grow the economy, create jobs and implement solutions that have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.

This balanced and comprehensive plan is underpinned by a focus on fiscal prudence. The mandate letter I received last month from Premier Wynne reinforced our government’s commitment to balance the budget by 2017-18 and to pursue increased openness, accountability and modernization.

Parliamentary Assistants play a key role in delivering these priorities and have a responsibility to put our government’s plan into action. You will work closely with me, in my capacity as President of the Treasury Board, and Treasury Board members, to transform and modernize public sector service delivery while protecting vital public services. You will support our government’s efforts to drive efficiencies and reduce costs to achieve our commitment to eliminate the deficit by 2017-18.

As Parliamentary Assistant to the President of the Treasury Board, your specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Assisting me in the design, implementation and communication of the government’s program review that will embrace proven approaches to transform the delivery of public services to improve outcomes, while reducing costs that are not essential to delivering services.
  • Working with me and other ministers and their respective ministries to review and, where appropriate, act on the recommendations of the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services.
  • Supporting legislation, including the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, as it moves through the legislative process and if passed, assisting in its implementation.
  • Working with me to increase the opportunity for the public, as part of our commitment to open government, to have better access to, learn about and participate in government with the goal of being the most open and transparent government in the country.
  • Assisting me in the ongoing operation of Treasury Board, including the results-based planning process, and ensuring that decision making is supported by evidence-based policy and a focus on outcomes.

I am confident that together, working in collaboration with our partners in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, we can deliver on our commitment to the people we are privileged to represent and serve. I look forward to working with you to deliver our ministry’s mandate, build Ontario up — and help achieve a brighter future for every person in this province.

Sincerely,

Original signed by

Deb Matthews
Deputy Premier
President of the Treasury Board
Minister Responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy