Latest Ontario Budget May Be Enough To Buy New Premier Some Time

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Call it what you want. I call it a survival budget.

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath still taking new Liberal government budget under advisement. Says she wants to hear from you.

On the front page of the May 3 edition of The Toronto Star, the headline on Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne’s first budget since she was sworn in to the province’s top job a mere three months ago reads; “Liberal plan is too loaded for NDP to resist.”

And that appears to be the case. While Tim Hudak and his official Conservative opposition party – declaring that the ‘McGuinty/Wynne Liberals’ have already lost the trust of the Ontario people on a number of fronts, including the controversial spending of almost $600 million to move plans for gas-fired power plants out of Liberal ridings in Oakville and Mississauga – were ready to call an election before the budget was even tabled this May 2, Andrea Horwath say that she and her NDP want to review the details of the budget and get feedback from the public before they decide whether they join the Conservatives in voting Wynne’s government down.

Some are already calling Horwath’s position a “cagey” dodge and Hudak accuses her party of settling out for about a billion dollars in concessions from the Liberals, along with an NDP demand for a 15 per cent cut in auto insurance rate, to prop up a government Hudak insists should see its fate thrown in the hands of voters now.

On the other hand, many Ontario residents may be relieved to the extent that recent polls have shown a majority of people in the province are not interested in facing another election this spring that would cost the treasury another $90-milloin plus that could be used for other services.

Wynne has been repeatedly quoted saying that this first budget under watch is not about pandering to either one of the other parties but in taking a “balanced” approach to beating down a deficit and providing services “in the best interests of Ontarians.”

By many accounts, Wynne, who is far more to the left in her positions than her former boss Dalton McGuinty, is hoping that she is given a chance to show she cares more about issues like public transit, the environment, energy conservation and social services. Whether she will have that chance past this budget and only a few months in office remains to be seen.

At least one major piece of advice from the Niagara At Large front – stop making excuses for the hundreds of millions wasted on moving those gas-fired power plants and possibly even go so far as to say that it was a decision made by Dalton McGuinty and his inner circle, and promise to hold them totally to account, even and up to having them charged with imbezzlement or mismanagement of hundreds of millions of Ontario taxdollars if need be.

What do you think? Do you want an election right now or are you willing to give Wynne more of a chance? Share your views, if you dare to provide your real first and last name with them, below.

Meanwhile, here is a post from Horwath’s office inviting Ontario residents to contact her party, which holds the balance of power to a point where it could trigger an election, to provide feedback on the budget and where we go, as a province, from here.

Horwath to consult Ontarians on the Budget 

Queen’s Park, May 3 – New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath called on Ontarians to have their say on the provincial budget.

“People told us they are tired of being ignored by governments that seem more concerned with themselves than with the people who elected them. We put their issues on the agenda. Now we want to ask them how we achieve results that work for them,” said Horwath.

In the lead up to the budget, New Democrats put forward concrete proposals to protect and create jobs, to make life more affordable, to improve homecare, to close corporate tax loopholes, to help the vulnerable, to balance the books in a balanced way, and to make government more accountable.

“Ontarians are concerned that Ms. Wynne hasn’t learned the lessons of her government’s billion dollar eHealth scandal, or $700 million scandal at Ornge, or half billion dollar gas plant scandal. I’m not asking for more. I’m just asking for it to be done right. People want to see more accountability in the budget,” said Horwath.

Today, Horwath unveiled a website and toll-free number so Ontarians can have their say on:

• How to make the budget more accountable to Ontarians and how to make government more transparent
• Cost saving measures that will balance the budget without jeopardizing services
• Fair and affordable ways to fund transportation and transit
• Firm guarantees to deliver on government commitments
• Reflecting the needs of every region across the province

Ontarians can have their say online at yoursayontario.ca or by telephone at 1-877-341-0244.

 (Niagara At Large invites you to join in the conversation by sharing your views on the content of this post below. For reasons of transparency and promoting civil dialogue, NAL only posts comments from individuals who share their first and last name with their views.)