Liberals End Session 3 Wks. Early To Concentrate On Getting Your Vote

How would you like to get out of work three weeks early, take the whole summer off and still not have to report back to work until October? That is, if you still have a job by then. Welcome to Queen’s Park, where the lights are about to be turned off in the Legislature and no one will be home. What could possibly be the reason for this early exodus?

You are.

The Liberals are facing a pre-set election date of October 10th and are taking the time to prorogue early to get ready to court your vote.

That presents something of a problem for the incumbents, who are facing the voters constantly being reminded by the opposition about broken promises and goals unmet. During the last campaign in 2003, then Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty appeared in TV ads that pledged, “I won’t cut your taxes, but I won’t raise them, either.” It was just one of many vows his party would wind up breaking, including introducing an unpopular health care tax that’s still on the books. It earned the party the nickname the Fiberals, but McGuinty insists the huge deficit inspired by the previous Tory regime left him no choice.

He claims that hole has been filled now and has actually gone so far as to promise – again – that he won’t raise taxes if voters put him back in power. The Conservatives, under new leader John Tory, have vowed to eliminate the hated health tax if they’re elected.

Critics have also observed that by leaving early, the Grits are departing with a lot of business still undone. McGuinty disagrees. “We’ve completed our agenda not leaving a single government bill on the paper,” he defends. “We’ve done that. I’m pleased with the fact that we’ve been able to do that and there’s lots more work to be done later this week.”

More than 100 bills die with the adjournment, including one dealing with motorists talking on cell phones while driving. But that’s not all that’s raising eyebrows. The adjournment comes exactly one day before the Immigration Minister was to appear before a committee, answering questions about a $30 million grant program that flowed to community groups with Liberal ties. Critics believe by shutting everything down early, they’ll avoid all that bad publicity and take away a huge stone their opponents can throw at them. But NDP leader Howard Hampton doesn’t think you’ll be fooled. “I think trust is going to play a very big role in this election,” he predicts.

Key issues during the coming campaign are expected to include smog and the environment, taxes, education, perceived government corruption and the 25 percent pay hike MPPs voted themselves just before Christmas. “All members received a pretty healthy pay increase not too many months ago, and now we’re cutting the session short,” notes Tory MPP Bob Runciman. “I think it’s to avoid daily scrutiny.”

And what do those paying that inflated salary have to say about the ‘gone fishing’ sign coming up so soon at Queen’s Park? “I think that’s terrible,” grumps Pam Catton. “Don’t they have work to do?” Yes – and it involves getting you to vote them back into office. Which is why you can expect a long, hot summer for politicians – and even a hotter fall.