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The following are quotes from stakeholders immediately following the presentation of the 2006 “Pay More, Get Less” Liberal Budget on March 23, 2006. The sources for quotes are news releases issued by organizations on the evening of March 23, 2006 and media articles of March 24, 2006. Economy Ontario's Finance Minister, Dwight Duncan, yesterday invented a new fiscal concept: the compulsory deficit. Come hell or high water, no matter how many billions in new revenues roll in, the government of Ontario will not under any circumstances abandon its unwavering commitment to operate in the red. Premier Dalton McGuinty has finally found a promise he can keep. Terence Corcoran, columnist, National Post, p. A1 “Budget sticks it to us. With $3 billion in
extra cash, the Liberals blew it all and increased the net provincial
debt … rather than return money to taxpayers’ pockets
he [McGuinty] is keeping our money for an election war chest next
year.” Shop 'til you drop. That's what Finance Minister
Dwight Duncan's first budget was all about. “Give us our @#$! Money! McGuinty thinks he knows how to spend your cash better than you do” Editorial headline, Toronto Sun, p. 25 “Is this deception or incompetence? Obviously
the spending projections for ’06 should not be given much weight.
The government says its spending will increase by less than 2 per
cent this year, but based on its spending record, I do not believe
this target will be met, certainly not in an election year.”
“If the resolve existed to restore Ontario’s
fiscal house, the books could have been balanced in 2005. This is
a tax-and-spend budget from a high tax and high spending government.
Since the Liberals assumed office in 2003, program spending has jumped
over 20 per cent. The deficit will be $1.4-billion in ’05 and
another $1.4-billion in ’06. The government will wait until
next year’s budget before balancing because it will be an election
year. Premier McGuinty’s fiscal record is hurting economic performance.
Over the next two years the province’s growth rate will lag
behind the national average.” “Ontario taxpayers are being fleeced like
never before. Personal income tax revenues are way, way up and the
government will not balance its budget. This is a reckless fiscal
record. The bottom line is Ontario must reduce its spending, balance
the books, and repeal the health tax.” "We are somewhat disappointed that the Liberals
have consistently chosen to increase spending rather than putting
money back into the pockets of Ontarians." “The McGuinty Liberals just keep spending.”
"Ontarians have made conservation the top priority,
and they were looking "The Liberal budget document actually admits
that their energy policies have caused the loss of countless manufacturing
jobs in Ontario. This is the biggest loss of manufacturing jobs since
the 1990's. This budget document has no strategy, no plan or any indication
that the government intends to take any kind of an active role in
dealing with the crisis of the countless loss of jobs and livelihoods
here in this province. We know the government has the money. Why aren't
they using it to handle this job loss crisis?" "Government coffers are overflowing because
of record corporate profits, "The small retailer is particularly damaged
by this tax regime. Already struggling for survival in a world of
big-box stores, a small retailer paying tax of many thousands of dollars
on modest size premises is facing extinction.” "I am surprised they didn't chip away at the
deficit.” “During bad times, you run deficits to stimulate
the economy. During good times, you pay down debt to be ready for
those times when you need money. That might be the primary problem
with the budget Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan released yesterday.
The province produced $83.9 billion in tax revenues last year, about
$2.25 billion more than expected. That's a sign of good economic times.
But what does Mr. Duncan do? He raises the accumulated deficit, or
debt, by $500 million to a whopping $159 billion. That results in
$9.4 billion in interest charges. You can do a lot with $9.4 billion.
And while one budget in one year will come nowhere near eliminating
Ontario's accumulated deficit, someone sometime must start to chip
away at it before an economic downturn occurs, bringing diminished
tax revenues and increased payments. The province would then be in
serious trouble.” “Duncan has set a potentially troubling precedent
for future budgets. He could deliberately underestimate revenues and
overestimate interest payments -- as Paul Martin used to do when he
was federal finance minister -- and cry poor when faced with demands
for more social spending. Then he could spend the resulting windfall
on one-time programs without ever addressing underlying social needs.”
“The question is not how Ontarians will feel
tomorrow. It is whether they will be hungover two or three years after
consuming the premier's effervescent fiscal fermentation. To be sure,
the Liberals' third provincial budget reinforces the positions adopted
by the party after the 2003 election in which they promised everything
-- then found to their horror they could only deliver some.”
"The total amount of tax relief in this budget
is $23 million (for all taxpayers, not just corporations). That's
very small for a province this size."
The subway expansion is a mirage. It relies on the
feds and municipalities each kicking in a third of the cost. And the
city has already said it's not interested. "By the time you divvy it all up there isn't
enough to do anything. On the surface, it doesn't look like it's a
get rich scheme for the county." “Cities in the GTA already have expansive transit
systems and we expected there would be a greater recognition of the
need to expand services in other centres such as Windsor." “How are they justifying giving this to the
TTC? They're the only public transportation service in Ontario that
is still provincially funded. I don't get that." “This [Vaughan subway] project should not
be built at the expense of absolutely critical funding for existing
public transit infrastructure." “There are some worrying aspects to his manoeuvring.
First of all, the subway extension and other transit improvements
are dependent on the municipalities and Ottawa providing matching
funding. What if they don't? Duncan wouldn't answer that question
directly. He just said that he was confident that they would.”
“We know that family members of residents in
long term care homes are going to be deeply disappointed with today's
budget, and the government will likely be hearing from them. They
were looking for government to increase long term care operating "Without targeted funding geared to this effort
(70% of RNs working fulltime), we will not reach this goal and quality
of patient care will suffer." "We're disappointed and, quite frankly, very
frustrated. With the province recording higher-than-anticipated tax
revenues, we expected the government to make good on its commitment
to revolutionize long term care. The fact remains that funding to
provide the level of care needed by residents remains woefully inadequate." "We've seen more and more healthcare dollars
going to hospitals, physicians and prescription drugs, while other
components of the healthcare delivery system, such as physiotherapy,
languish. … Hospitals, physicians and prescription drugs are,
by far, the most expensive components of the healthcare delivery system.
We also have a
'When I close my eyes, it's almost like 10 years
ago. We've got a crisis in labour disputes and the education sector
. . . and at the same time we don't see any action to deal with things
like a child-care program.' 'Whatever financial aid improvements are being made,
they're being undercut heavily by tuition-fee increases.' "Despite the cash injection from the federal
government, the financial plan set out in last year's Ontario Budget
and reiterated this year hasn't increased by even one cent...Unless
those federal dollars are actually added to the training, colleges
and universities budget, then there will be no 'reaching higher.'
Unless, of course, you're talking about the potential 36% increase
in tuition fees." "At a time when 150,000 college students have
been forced out of their classrooms and learning environment due to
a province-wide faculty strike, the government has not announced significant
investments in colleges...This is unacceptable to college students
and their families." "Recent student financial assistance changes
are positive, but they are just band-aids for a severely broken system.
The government needs to implement a long-term, sustainable student
financial aid plan that improves access and reduces graduate debt." "The province could be doing more to help children...Schools
continue to lose librarians and tech programs and thousands of students
continue to wait for special education support. We are not serving
our newcomer students and we are not providing adequate programs for
at risk youth." "Ontario still has the worst student-faculty
ration in all of Canada...University students are being asked to pay
higher tuition with no guarantee of smaller classes. Our students
deserve better." "We are concerned, however, that the education
priorities identified in today's provincial budget announcement do
not include an increased ability for school boards to pay teachers
what they are required to pay. As a result, we expect that a number
of school boards will face serious challenges in balancing their 2006-07
budgets." “General inflation is two per cent, and then
we need funding to continue these new initiatives like reducing class
sizes. I have a pretty big concern about (the budget). (The liberals)
have put in a lot of really great initiatives recently, but my problem
is I have to balance the board's budget." "They're putting post-secondary on auto-pilot
and it needs a firmer hand. We remain concerned about a looming faculty
shortage." “…But would I say education was a top
priority? I wouldn't agree with that.” "At first glance there doesn't seem to be any
money to close the salary gap.” "We're extremely disappointed there's no new
funding for colleges.”
'There's nothing there for the future – nothing
– and the money that's been handed out now is chump change.
They don't want us here. All they want is our land to go build houses
on.' “The big loser is McGuinty – he hasn't
realized that yet, (but) it's going to cost him dearly." "There's a concern and dissatisfaction that
our funding was cut. The commitment to agriculture is not there. They
don't see it as a place they would like to invest. We're not all that
high up on the totem pole, I guess. We were looking for at least the
status quo. It's a considerable cut." “That doesn't sound real good. There are certainly
lots of problems in agriculture right now. It takes a lot of money
to grow a crop.” “Go ahead and challenge Ottawa to step up to
the plate, but don't say how important struggling farming, forestry
and other rural industries are and then do nothing yourself. Critics
believe the provincial government will pull out all the stops in next
year's budget and use the taxpayer windfall from this year to throw
around a few more goodies. Will any of it be focused on rural Ontario?
Don't hold your breath. This government's track record isn't very
good.” "Obviously, we're not a priority to our provincial
government. We are on a breaking point right now. I don't know what
more we can do. You're going to see farmers disappear. They're disappearing
as we speak, even around here." "I know for sure it's not what we would like."
"The bad news is that the government has failed
to address the fiscal imbalance between municipalities and the province."
"One time funding announcements help the symptoms
of downloading - but The Board of Trade was … disappointed that
the unfair provincial property taxes on Toronto businesses (28% higher
than in the 905 region) were not reduced. The McGuinty government's lavish budget spending
on the Toronto area was not lost on Ottawa's top politician. “(Toronto)
got the lion's share. Again.” “It falls way short of what municipalities
were hoping for.” “It sounds like a budget that's really focused
on Toronto and the GTA. Once again the rest of the province is playing
second fiddle to the GTA. It's not a lot of money for the balance
of the province. They're only really starting to scratch the surface.”
“It's seems like Toronto is the big beneficiary.
Agriculture seems to be taking a hit.” “Jokes referring to Toronto as the centre of
the universe have been around for years, but Thursday's budget should
worry Ontario residents outside Cabbagetown that the provincial Liberals
think it's true.” "If you live in Toronto or the GTA, it's like
Christmas Day for you. If you live in northern Ontario, you're doing
very well. But in between? We got almost zip." “Th[is] is the fastest growing region in Ontario, and it demanded a higher order of recognition.” – Doug Craig, Mayor, Cambridge, The Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo Record, p. A4.
"The money to alleviate poverty is there. What's
missing is the political will – that's always been the missing
ingredient for this government. Clearly, poor families are still not
a priority for the current government." "The McGuinty government says it cares about
poor people, but I don't believe them. They're still going to take
the majority of my child benefit away from my family for the sole
reason I am disabled and receive ODSP." "You can't be healthy if you live in poverty.
The two per cent increase announced today will do little to help struggling
families put food on the table." "After three years in power the McGuinty government
owns the welfare system. While a two per cent increase is a welcome
nod, it does nothing to change the system that makes it almost impossibly
difficult to make the leap out of welfare and into a job."
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