Dalton
McGuinty veers left in 2007 Budget
The
McGuinty Liberal Government’s fear of losing more seats
to the NDP in Toronto has contributed to the content
of their pre-election budget, says Waterloo-Wellington
MPP Ted Arnott.
“Their
loss to the NDP in the by-election in York South-Weston
six weeks ago really rattled them,” said Mr. Arnott,
referring to a seat that had been a Liberal stronghold
for decades. “With this left-leaning budget, they are
clearly trying to stop the bleeding of their support
in Toronto.”
Even
though this is the fourth budget presented by the McGuinty
Liberals since they took office, it is the very first
one that projects a balanced budget.
“Dalton
McGuinty promised not to add to the Provincial Debt.
In breaking that promise, he’s added almost $13 billion
to the Debt,” Mr. Arnott pointed out. “This is a burden
on future generations, which undermines his claim that
his budget is all about helping kids.”
As
well, children’s treatment centres which provide services
to special needs children, did not receive sufficient
funding to eliminate their waiting lists. “We have been
advocating for more funding for KidsAbility, our local
children’s treatment centre for a long time, and the
Government’s response is peanuts considering they’re
spending $22 billion more this year than when they took
office,” Mr. Arnott stated.
As
a Member of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic
Affairs, Mr. Arnott participated in pre-budget public
hearings during the winter months. Having listened to
the people who made presentations, he called for a stronger
commitment to environmental protection, new ideas to
improve health care, a better plan to address gridlock
and provide communities with support on their infrastructure
needs, an effort to address competitiveness issues in
manufacturing and protect jobs, assurances on electricity
supply and distribution, help for farmers, tourist operators,
seniors in nursing homes, and special needs children.
On the whole, the budget failed to adequately address
these priorities.
Almost
two years ago, Mr. Arnott tabled a resolution in the
Legislature calling for public hearings to save manufacturing
jobs. His resolution passed in the House last fall,
and recently the Legislature’s Finance Committee urged
the Minister to initiate these hearings in its pre-budget
recommendations.
“I
was very disappointed that there was no mention of this
in the budget. I intend to continue to raise this important
issue,” he concluded.
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