Mar 27, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2009
LIBERAL BUDGET ATTACKS INDIVIDUAL ONTARIANS
(Thornhill) ? Dalton McGuinty?s long overdue 2009 Budget fails Ontario families, Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman (Thornhill) said today.
?The Liberal budget increases taxes for Ontario families and creates the largest deficit in Ontario?s history,? said Shurman. ?Our grandchildren will be struggling to pay off the debt incurred by Mr. McGuinty?s government, meanwhile every Ontarian will have to pay additional taxes for gas, heating fuel, internet and other goods and services that up until now were tax exempt.?
The Liberal budget ushered in a harmonized tax regime that, according to Shurman, comes far too late in the game to revitalize Ontario?s economy.
?Mr. McGuinty doesn?t get it and he never will. He could be accused of locking the doors once the horses have run off, if it wasn?t for the fact that the barn has already burnt down. The time for the tax harmonizing policy has come and gone and he missed the boat. It is now time to help Ontarians get through the economic crisis his mismanagement is prolonging, not to make it more difficult for families to survive in these harsh economic conditions,? Shurman said. ?There is no flashy headline that can deflect from the fact that Dalton McGuinty is raising taxes on the hardest hit Ontarians in the middle of an economic crisis.?
Shurman said that Mr. McGuinty?s legacy will be that of notoriously high deficits, sky rocketing taxes, struggling families and a failing economy. He pointed out that:
? Ontario?s spending will skyrocket past $100 billion just when the province is facing an increasing debt-load;
? The province has lost almost 300,000 manufacturing jobs, with another 135,000 expected to be lost this year, by McGuinty?s own estimates;
? This government went from a $6 billion surplus last year to a $18 billion deficit;
? Ontario?s unemployment rate is the highest it has been in 12 years, and climbing; and
? As of next week, we are officially a ?have-not? province.
?Despite record-high spending and increased taxes, Mr. McGuinty has failed to deliver on projects that are a priority for Thornhill. He has still not provided sufficient healthcare services for York Region and we aren?t any closer to securing the infrastructure investments that would ensure our region?s economic well-being,? Shurman concluded.
-30-
For more information please contact:
Monika Bujalska, Executive Assistant
Office of Peter Shurman, MPP ?Thornhill
Tel: (905) 731-8462
peter.shurman@pc.ola.org