A Commentary by Doug Draper
The idea of cutting both taxes and “wasteful spending,” all in the name of putting more money back in the pockets of “hard-working Ontario families” sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak
No wonder, then, that cuts to taxes and spending has been the mantra of Conservative leader Tim Hudak throughout this provincial election, and on October 6, it may just be enough to get him elected the next premier of Ontario.
Then again, maybe – just maybe – before the October 6 vote, more of us will ask those running in their ridings in this provincial election, particularly their Conservative candidate, what all of these tax and spending cuts are going to amount to. What may it mean in terms of cuts to jobs and to services that we may need or value? What I am driving at is this. It is all well and good to say you want a cut in your taxes and you want to see cuts in government spending, but where is the money going to come from? Or will it have to be taken out of programs like day care, policing, firefighting, road maintenance, libraries, environmental protection, services for seniors and schools?
On a noon-hour phone show on CBC radio this September 16, Hudak was asked for specifics on where he would cut spending and, for the most part, he was pretty non-specific. After mentioning the most notable example of wasteful spending under the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty –the $1 billion in consultant fees flushed down the drain during the eHealth debacle – Hudak went on to say that there are more than 600 agencies, boards and commissions in the province. Asked for a second or third time for specifics on which ones he would cut funding from or eliminate, he said he would put them through a review before deciding where to wield the axe.
It should also be of interest to anyone who believes that some public-sector salaries have gone out of control that during that whole CBC show, Hudak was non-specific on what public sector salaries he would bring under control. There was no specific mention of ballooning salaries for police and teachers during a time of recession and salary freezes or cuts for many others. Perhaps Hudak does not want to risk saying anything that may offend these relatively well-endowed groups, compared to the rest of the hard-working families he claims he wants to help, before the October 6 vote.
That’s politics, but the question I can’t help but ask, and that I believe all you other voters out there should ask, is this. Why doesn’t he have the guts to be more specific about the cuts he knows he is going to have to make if he is going to reduce taxes and beat down the province’s deficit at the same time? After all, Hudak was a loyal lieutenant in the previous Ontario Conservative government of Mike Harris when they were taking the axe to public service bodies across the province. He must have some idea which ones of whatever commissions, boards or agencies left from that period that he’d like to take the axe to now?
The only one we really know about– one Hudak has repeatedly promised to get rid of – is the string of Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) overseeing hospital and other health-related boards across the province, and it appears that most people, regardless of their provincial party ties, are in favor of abolishing them. But what about the rest?
What about the Niagara Escarpment Commission or the network of Conservation Authorities across the province, including our own Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority? What about getting rid of the Ontario Municipal Board? And there are all of those other boards, agencies and commissions to do with home care, seniors care, food banks, affordable housing, public library, transit, and on and on, that could be candidates for cuts too. And anything to do with heritage or the arts (if what is happening in Toronto right now under a Mike Harris-supported city administration is any model) is all but toast.
None of this may matter to voters who want a tax cut until some service that they need gets the knife. That is the way it was back in the 1990s when every group, including teachers and hospital workers, applauded Harris’s tax and spending cuts until it began to hit them. We are watching the same thing happen in Toronto now where countless people who voted for Mayor Rob Ford are now screaming; ‘Hey, wait a minute! I never thought you were going to gut services that affected me.”
What I am leaving those who are thinking about voting Conservative in this provincial election with is this. Be careful what you wish for, because if you are wishing for tax and spending cuts, the day may most certainly come when they pound down on the services you value the most for a job or a better quality of life.
(Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post in the comment boxes below. Remember that we will only post comments by people who share their first and last names.)
Niagara At Large 
I assume in advance a torrent of abuse for my comment below.
But it is simple. And much better, more eloquently expressed than I could say, by the publisher of NAL. Do you want your daycare, libraries, health services, arts councils, homeless shelters, environmental controls, community services to the elderly, heritage preservation societies, nursing home and retirement residences care staff, etc and so on cut?
OK. If you do, and will miss none of this, vote for Hudak and his generalist-tax-cutting ilk. Just don’t get old then, promise.
Watch out for what you wish for.
Whatever stance you take, please do Vote. Take the time. If you have time to read NAL, you have time to vote.
Gail Benjafield
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We will always have the “Ultra” Conservative vote, the people who would feel marginalized if any other party were in power…thus they flock to the polls in droves to make sure it does not happen.
Certain Unionized elements, such as the teachers will vote Liberal to protect what they feel is their safe haven.
The rest? Well certain groups in the middle class and below will vote NDP, then there is the silent majority who never do vote whether just because they are too lazy, unconcerned, disgusted or in many cases truly believe it’s a waste of time.
This is not “NEW” it has being going on for generations “The haves and Have nots”
The Fraser Institute is the “Holy Grail” to people like Harper, Harris, Hudak and this is not about to change for it is through this red neck institution that hope flows eternal …..for the rich
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From a Grimsby perspective, the Hudak campaign is typical propoganda: Expensive ads are everywhere, promising tax cuts. We’re bombarded with this repeated message. But there are absolutely no details to amplify the claims and discuss consequences. Additionally, certain corporate owned “newspapers” aid the PC campaign by printing false information regarding climate issues etc. And what about jobs? Who makes “our” ships? China. Who is cornering the market on solar panels? China. And so it goes…
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I must agree with Doug and the two previous commenters. I personally believe that some cutting of government spending is needed. But it must be done carefully and surgically – not with a chainsaw, the way Harris did it! We must make better use of our spending on health and education – perhaps there can be savings by trimming some fat in the administrative levels – not the front line. Unfortunately, when governments try to reduce spending, they just tell the top civil servants to cut xx% … with no thought or direction of how it is to be done!
And when it comes to tax cuts – most benefit the rich – the ones who contribute the most to the political parties (I sometimes want to use the term parasites in reference to political parties).
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Scaremongering about a hidden agenda of Tory tax cuts has grown tired. I have no doubt that the public sector has to be and should be cut. It seems that Hudak wishes to hide behind a veil of a review process before making his cuts… however, that is reasonable for ‘how is anyone to know the Ontario Government buried secrets of program costs and wasted taxpayers’ dollars?’
We only have to look at the average salaries of our public servants and compare these figures with average household figures for our Niagara communities to know that public sector wages are out of whack with current economic realities. McGuinity has made this gulf between the public and private sector workers that much greater. How many more are now on the Sunshine List?
Furthermore, we only need to look at the fact that there has been untold numbers of scandals arising in our over 600 Ontario government agencies, boards and commissions to know our money should be better monitored. Where there is waste, let’s cut. Maybe the taxpayer can get a break here. Kudos for Hudak saying he’ll review this mess and making the commitment to cut.
My taxes have gone up over the last eight years and I cannot point to how I’m better off for the extra money the Province has taken from me. I can’t see how any of us are better off with our Province having gone from a have to a have-not status. So, I for one am pleased to hear about program reviews, reality checks – and cuts (including the cut to my taxes).
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Doug,
Your Journalism does not seem to be neutral – all politicians like diapers need to be changed often for the same reason. Not one of them will do it right under our current system – McGuinty increased taxes – cut services and lied like hell in 2 different elections to all Ontario citizens – what makes him any better than Hudak ???????
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Teachers were generally not supportive of Harris before or after the election.
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Tax cuts = service cuts. It’s a truth as inevitable as death and, well, taxes.
Every system, every bureaucracy, private and public sector alike, has waste and excess which should be relentlessly weeded out. But we have somehow separated taxes from services, allowing all tax to been seen as bad, and all government as unnecessary waste. Nonsense.
Taxes do not exist as stand-alone entities. Neither do they represent moral absolutes. If you want to reduce taxes, let’s have an adult conversation about what services you would do without.
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I personally don’t care about taxes. I think those that make the biggest fuss about taxes are those that make the most money and could afford to pay more.
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