McGuinty Budget leads Ontario down the wrong track, says MPP Arnott
Queen's Park – The 2008-2009 Provincial Budget fails to address the crisis in manufacturing and may result in a deficit, said Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott. Introduced this afternoon by Ontario's Minister of Finance, the Liberal Government's budget is leading Ontario down the wrong track, he said.
“Dalton McGuinty's high-tax policies have caused Ontario, once the economic leader of Confederation, to become the economic laggard of Confederation,” said Mr. Arnott. “The McGuinty Government ignored prudent warnings and is still without an effective plan to support our manufacturing industries.”
In spite of the modest measures announced in this budget, said Mr. Arnott, Ontario's corporate taxes may still be the highest in North America. This, said Mr. Arnott, could mean many more lost jobs on top of the 194,000 manufacturing jobs lost since 2004.
Mr. Arnott also took issue with the insufficient help for municipalities to maintain their infrastructure. “Just a few days ago, municipalities were led to believe that the Government would share its surplus with them for their infrastructure projects,” he said. “Now we see that promise amounts to nothing this year, and the next few years.”
Disappointing to many seniors will be the Government's lack of commitment to Ontario's nursing homes. The budget speech announced approximately one-fifth of what was requested by the Ontario Long Term Care Association for additional staff and supplies.
“I was very disappointed that the Government refused to acknowledge the full extent of the need in long-term care,” said Mr. Arnott. “Our Caucus will continue to stand up for our seniors.”
Buried in the Budget Papers, but omitted in the Minister's speech, is the Ministry of Finance's downgraded growth projection of 1.1 percent for 2008. Just a few days ago, TD Bank predicted a growth rate of .5 percent for this year.
Pointing to the Government's projection of a $600-million surplus and its promised $1.1 billion in year-end savings, Mr. Arnott questioned the Minister's ability to balance the budget.
“The economy is slowing down, their overall spending is out of control, they have no margin for error, and their expectations for year-end savings are inflated,” said Mr. Arnott. “I think it's very likely that they won't be able to balance their budget at the end of 2008-2009. That means a deficit is a real possibility.”
There were no new funding announcements for agriculture, no new ideas to address the shortage of health professionals, and no commitment in the budget speech to fix the problems in student transportation.
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