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With both Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Finance minister warning that cuts will be coming in the March budget, the NDP will be conducting what they’re calling “pre–budget conversations” between now and Feb. 12. The government, on the other hand, is planning to “use...modern technology, including virtual town halls,” to hear Ontarians’ views on what they’d like to see the budget focus on.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said all three parties should hear from everyday citizens when setting their priorities for the upcoming budget as in a minority parliament all will have to work together to meet the challenges facing Ontario. “In a minority parliament it’s even more important for politicians of all stripes to close our mouths and open our ears,” Horwath said in a press release. “Our province is facing tough times and we have difficult choices to make in the upcoming budget. It’s time to hear from the people who elected us.”
Joined by NDP Finance critic Michael Prue (Beaches–East York MPP), Horwath said they plan to visit various communities across the province to discuss ideas New Democrats have already put forward—namely taking the HST off home heating bills and replacing corporate tax giveaways with smart tax investments that reward companies creating jobs. They also want to hear more about solutions to help people find good jobs, improve health care and make life more affordable, she added.
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, however, plans to use modern technology (i.e. the internet) to “reach a broader audience in communities throughout the province,” according to his ministry website. “In particular, the Minister of Finance is interested in hearing Ontarians’ views regarding what more the government can do to create jobs and improve services for people, while eliminating the deficit.”
McGuinty and Duncan have already warned ministers to steel themselves for cutbacks this March and over the next few years as they fight to eliminate their $16 billion budget deficit by 2017–18. Reports indicate some ministries could see cuts of up to 30 percent over the next few years. Only health and education will see continued growth.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, for a government that came to power on a platform of restoring the Conservative cuts of the mid 1990s, McGuinty and Duncan are trying to portray the cuts to come in a more upbeat way. “This is the year of transformation—of delivering public services more efficiently and more productively,” Duncan said following that cabinet meeting. “You don’t relish those things. But when you look at what we can do and what we can achieve over time, if we do this right we’ll yield enormous benefits to the Ontario economy.”
But before Duncan presents his budget, former TD economist Don Drummond is scheduled to release his commissioned report on what the government should do to not only increase revenue but deliver services more efficiently, to borrow the more feel–good language being used. Drummond has already warned to expect slower economic growth, which has already prompted McGuinty to quietly scale back projected spending increases, and to keep a cap on overall spending of one percent that will certainly mean cuts for many ministries. McGuinty has ruled out tax increases. “We will not raise taxes. Instead, we will find ways, through reform, to deliver government services more efficiently.”
In a speech to the Canadian Club Tuesday, McGuinty said, “Tackling the deficit is simply an essential step in building the strong economy (that) supports good jobs and quality public services. It’s not going away on its own. Borrowing money to help Ontarians through a terrible recession is one thing, but living beyond our means...(is) quite another thing. That would be wrong for our children and for us.” With Moody’s Investors’ Service recently placing Ontario on credit watch, he stressed the need to keep “our borrowing costs down.”
In what should be music to the ears of Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, McGuinty warned public sector workers, which includes doctors who will be negotiating this year, to reduce their demands. “Because half the province’s budget is spent on wages it is simply not possible to reduce spending without addressing salary expenditures.” He told reporters following the speech that he believes he has the credibility, built up through years of goodwill with public servants, to avert labour strife.
“The foundation of respect and collaboration and measurable progress that we have laid during the first eight years puts me in a good position,” he said. “So when I go to my teachers and I go to my doctors and I go to my nurses and everybody else in the public sector and I say: ‘Listen folks, we need to do this’…I’m hoping that they’ll receive that with an open mind.”
Hudak, who has not scheduled any consultation dates, instead spent much of last week traveling to businesses preaching a mandatory public sector wage freeze as part of his three–step process to reform the public sector. The next steps are to fix Ontario’s broken public sector salary arbitration system—something many municipalities have been pushing for in light of ever increasing police salary increases—and making unions compete for government contracts with the private sector. “Reining in public sector salaries with a $16 billion deficit is the right thing to do,” Hudak said. “But at the root of the problem are the arbitrators who enable these unsustainable pay increases in the first place. So too is a public sector union monopoly on government labour.”
At the same time, Hudak’s Finance critic Peter Shurman (Thornhill MPP) said McGuinty and Duncan would be “complete hypocrites” if they freeze or cancel planned further tax cuts—something senior Liberal aides have suggested is on the table as a way of winning NDP support. “We fully expect McGuinty and Duncan to hide behind Don Drummond’s report as an excuse to increase taxes on Ontario job creators,” Shurman said in a press release. “This government must honour its campaign commitment, honour its Throne Speech commitment and honour its word, to reduce business taxes.”
The irony in Shurman’s release was almost too much for this columnist. Shurman, who admittedly wasn’t part of the Conservative caucus in 1995 when Mike Harris came to power, obviously wants us or himself to forget it was Drummond who once championed Harris’ 30 percent tax cut plan as being able to create over 800,000 jobs. When did he become the enemy? One also wonders how a freeze in further cuts is an “increase”—must be that Conservative math I’ve never been good at. But, more importantly, how do the Conservatives plan to reduce the deficit if we’re going to keep giving up thousands in revenue? Simply mandating a pay freeze and introducing competition is not going to do it.
It’s for this reason the NDP caucus deserve credit for being willing to travel the province to hear from the very people who fund the government’s budget. That’s not to say there aren’t some holes in their plan. The first being the closest hearings are in Toronto West or Scarborough. Even though Horwath hails from Hamilton, once again it seems the province ends before the Burlington Skyway. One hopes Horwath or one of the other NDP MPPs from the area—this would be a prime opportunity for recently elected Hamilton Mountain MPP Monique Taylor to showcase herself—will add a date in the area. The second being their insistence on talking about taking the HST off home heating. Since the private member’s bill to do this has effectively been held up by the Liberals it seems kind of pointless to debate it further.
But why is Duncan foregoing personal interaction in favour of less personal “modern technology” that requires people to register ahead and leaves the door wide open for the Liberals not to invite some people. And even if they’re invited, how much will people get to say in a virtual town hall with plenty of other people and a limited time frame? As Horwath stated, Ontarians should be setting the agenda for the budget, not the other way around. “Ontario families are hurting and they want to be heard. They want to talk about good–paying jobs and health care and the NDP is ready to have a conversation about the spring budget. We’re ready to listen.” Why aren’t the others? V
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