assumed the position as leader of the opposition. Official opposition In August 2009, shortly after taking power, Hudak criticized the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) after a string of controversies. The government had forced the resignation of several board members and, according to Canadian broadcaster CTV, Hudak "suggested the government was trying to pre-empt another eHealth-like scandal, and promised his party would "shine the light" on any Liberal misspending." Following Hudak's opposition, Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan fired the corporation's CEO, Kelly McDougald, "for cause". The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) also reported that a freedom-of-information request by Hudak's Tories was behind the shakeup. According to Hudak, the Liberals "knew it would be coming up in the opening session of the legislature, [so they] put it out today to head off the scandal.... But you're not going to stop the scandalous spending until [Premier Dalton] McGuinty sets the tone by firing one of his ministers." On September 10, 2009, Hudak delivered his first major speech as Party leader to the Economic Club of Canada. In his speech, Hudak attacked the Liberals for unnecessary spending at eHealth and OLG, as well as giving a $263-million grant to a video game developer. On October 19, 2009, Hudak launched a petition to support the new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital (WLMH) in West Niagara. The petition called on the McGuinty government as well as the Minister of Health to stop the Hamilton-Niagara-Haldimand-Brant Local Health Integration Network from delaying the construction of the new hospital. In the midst of the fall 2009 legislative session, Hudak launched one of his first major platform pieces, the PC Caucus Small Business Jobs Plan, which he stated was essential to Ontario's economic recovery. Also during the fall of 2009, Hudak and his party ramped up their opposition to the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The HST, came into effect July 1, 2010, blended the previous eight per cent provincial sales tax with the five per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST). By the end of 2009, polls indicated that under Hudak's leadership, the Ontario PC Party jumped from a distant second to a double-digit lead. The Party’s first year under Hudak’s leadership wrapped up with the Conservative’s Northern Ontario Jobs plan, a plan to restore jobs and economic growth to Ontario’s vast north. "The big picture here is that [when] developing economies like China and India grow, and the American