Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman frets over 2014 budget increases spending by $3.4 billion and the deficit will increase to $12.5 billion for 2014-2015
TORONTO -- Ontario's minority Liberals are giving the New Democrats a week to decide whether they'll support their new budget or force an election.
Premier Kathleen Wynne says she wants to meet with NDP Leader Andrea Horwath by May 8th to discuss whether her party will support the $130-billion dollar blueprint.
If Horwath agrees to support it, Wynne says she wants to determine a plan for passing it before the legislature rises in June.
Meanwhile, Oxford Progressive-Conservative MPP Ernie Hardeman says the deficit increase announced Thursday took him by surprise.
"It was even higher than what we expected. We knew it was going to be high, but $12.5 billion more they're spending and the debt is going to climb this year, going up to $289-billion we're going to owe."
Hardeman when the Liberals took over in 2003, the debt load was 139-billion, saying they've more than doubled the provincial debt over an 11 year span of successive McGuinty-Wynne led Liberal governments.
“People in Oxford and across Ontario have been clear that they are concerned about out of control government spending and being burdened with increasing levels of government debt,” said Hardeman. “However today’s budget actually predicts an increased deficit again next year.”
The minority Liberals promised to hike income tax for high earners. There was also a promise to invest in heavily in infrastructure, leaving many questions to how the province will be able to afford it.
Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa says while it made sense at the time to invest in General Motors to protect an important industry and safeguard good jobs, now's the time for government to get out of GM.
"Owning shares of this company is no longer necessary. By selling Ontario shares of GM, we can re-invest tax payer money into the Trillium Trust that would be dedicated to new infrastructure projects."
Liberals also announced $130-billion dollars in infrastructure funding which includes $29-billion to be used toward transit initiatives.
With the Harper government refusing to bolster the Canada Pension Plan, Ontario's Liberals are creating a provincial pension plan. The idea was put forth in Thursday's provincial budget.
It would apply to people who don't have a workplace pension and require employers and employees to each contribute 1-point-9 per cent of the workers' salary into the fund.
Finance Minister Charles Sousa prefaced his remarks by saying middle class Canadians know the current CPP is not adequate for their retirement...
"They can see the gap between what they have and what they need. We can not live on $12,500 a year, which is the maximum afforded by CPP -- let alone the the 6,800 they receive on average."
Thursday's budget also included a $425 income tax increase for those making between $150-to-$220 thousand a year, and and a $5,500 increase for those earning more than $220-thousand annually.
Liberals are also planning for a new mandatory pension plan which will cost the average resident about $65 a month. "The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan" will require that both employers and their employees contribute to the plan equally up to 1.9%.
The price of a carton of cigarettes will also jump $3.25, resulting from an increase in the provincial tobacco tax.
Measures in yesterday's budget may not materialize, since NDP leader Andrea Horwath -- who can bring down the minority government if her party does not support the budget -- did not show up to listen to the reading Thursday.
Before Thursday's reading, Premier Wynne called it a good budget and hopes her party will be able to get their "partner'' in the legislature to get it passed. Though she warned Liberal MPP's to “get your signs ready” during an impromptu huddle in the lobby of the legislature this week.
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