by a landslide in the 1999 provincial election for the redistributed constituency of Windsor West, while the Progressive Conservatives were re-elected to a second consecutive majority government. Pupatello remained a member of the opposition frontbench, serving over the next four years as Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Official Opposition Critic for Health and Long-Term Care. She was a vocal critic of the Mike Harris and Ernie Eves governments, frequently criticizing cutbacks to child care and other programs. In 1997, she introduced a Private Member's Resolution intended to stop cutbacks to hospital funding. She later criticized the Progressive Conservative government's plans to introduce a private MRI clinic, arguing that it posed a long-term threat to public health-care. In government The Liberal Party won a majority government in the 2003 provincial election, and Pupatello was again re-elected in Windsor West with a significant majority. On October 23, 2003, she was appointed to cabinet as Minister of Community and Social Services with responsibility for Women's Issues. There was some speculation that she would be appointed Deputy Premier as well, but this position was instead left vacant until George Smitherman's appointment in 2006. Pupatello was spoken of as a possible candidate for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party when Dalton McGuinty was to retire in 2006. Minister of Community and Social Services Pupatello's most important responsibility in the Community and Social Services portfolio was overseeing Ontario's welfare and disability assistance system. Shortly after taking office, she announced that her government would remove a lifetime ban on welfare recipients who are caught cheating on their applications. Pupatello described the rule as counterproductive, in that many welfare officials were reluctant to bring forward charges out of concern for the extreme punitive consequences. She also announced that her government would take greater steps to find parents who are delinquent with child support payments. In March 2004, Pupatello announced $2 million to assist low-income Ontarians with increased hydro bills. In June, she announced $10 million to help Ontarians with physical disabilities modify their houses and cars. Pupatello introduced a 3% social assistance rate increase in 2004, the first such increase after twelve years of freezes. Mechanical difficulties with computers purchased by the Mike Harris government subsequently delayed its implementation, and the province implemented lump-sum payments instead. Later in 2004, Pupatello announced that her government would eliminate a rule requiring welfare recipients to liquidate their education savings