say about Oshawa, "People here have a good grasp on reality. Unemployment is low—around 5%—and business is booming. We all agree on one thing: for us to succeed, industry has to succeed." Provincial MPP In early 1990 there were rumours that Pilkey would seek the nomination for the federal riding of Oshawa after NDP leader Ed Broadbent announced his retirement. In the end local MPP Mike Breaugh sought and won the nomination. In the summer of 1990, Pilkey ran as the NDP candidate in the riding of Oshawa. He easily beat his Liberal and Conservative challengers by taking nearly 61% of the votes. Oshawa council appointed councillor Allan Mason to replace him after he resigned as mayor. The NDP won a majority government in this election under the leadership of Bob Rae, and Pilkey was appointed to cabinet on October 1, 1990, as Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology. Industry, Trade and Technology During his time in this ministry he presided over a time of a general downturn in the economy that saw many plant closings and job layoffs. Pilkey was criticised for failing to establish proper communication between the business community and the government. On July 31, 1991, Pilkey was named Solicitor General and Minister of Correctional Services and replaced by the more experienced Ed Philip. Correctional Services Pilkey was involved in a controversy with the Bell Cairn Training Centre for Prison Guards in Hamilton. He was criticised for reacting too slowly to allegations of sexual assault and intimidation of female prison guards at the facility. As a consequence, his role as Minister of Correctional Services was transferred to David Christopherson on September 24, 1992. The allegations were never proven but the centre was eventually closed in 1993. Solicitor General One of the first issues that Pilkey confronted was the issue of Sunday shopping. While the party had campaigned for the need for a 'common pause day' which Pilkey said was "not up for negotiation", court case decisions and increasing public demand led to a reversal of this policy. In June 1992 Pilkey tabled amendments to the Retail Business Holidays Act to allow shopping seven days a week except on statutory holidays. Another contentious issue was the handling of investigations of police conduct by the Special Investigations Unit. The SIU which was set up by the previous Liberal Peterson government was supposed to handle investigations whenever police officers were