Greg Sorbara is the new Minister of Finance for Ontario. His appointment to the key post in Ontario’s new Liberal government had been expected.

One of his firs duties will be to act on the freeze of auto insurance premiums announced by the Ontario government.

Sorbara will sit on three committees. The Priorities and Planning Board will identify strategic priorities, confirm the legislative agenda, set direction for policy committees and ensure integration of decision-making throughout government. The Management Board of Cabinet will aim to ensure consistency in operating and capital spending, make decisions regarding government procurement and setspolicy direction in the government’s capacity as an employer. Sorbara will also sit on the Economic Affairs committee.

Sorbara was first elected MPP for York North in 1985 and re-elected for the new riding of York Centre in 1987 and 1990. In the previous Liberal government, he held a series of senior cabinet posts including the double portfolios of Minister of Colleges and Universities/Minister of Skills Development and Minister of Labour/Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues. He later served as Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations.

He is a partner in The Sorbara Group, an Ontario-based land development and property management company. He served as a director of the United Way of York Region from 1998 to 2001 and has been a member of the board of the York University Alumni Association for several years. In November 1999, he was elected president of the Ontario Liberal Party, and he also served as the party’s campaign chair. He was elected MPP for the riding of Vaughan-King-Aurora in a June 2001 by-election and was re-elected in the 2003 general election.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts from York University’s Glendon College and a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Sorbara will be aided by Mike Colle, who has been named Parliamentary Assistant to the Finance Minister . Colle has served as opposition critic for transportation, consumer and municipal affairs and Greater Toronto Area issues.

Prior to being elected an MPP, he was a cityand Metropolitan Toronto councillor and a chairman and commissioner of the Toronto Transit Commission.

Before entering public life, Colle was a high school history teacher for 18 years in Toronto. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1995 and was re-elected in 1999 and 2003. He will also sit on the Community Affairs committee.