Tory Attacks McGuinty Over Taxes
Posted September 11, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was exactly four years ago Tuesday that something happened in Ontario that John Tory vows he’ll never let you forget. That was the day when then-opposition leader Dalton McGuinty signed a very public pledge with the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation, vowing not to raise taxes.
Half a decade later, the health care premium remains in place, which many consider the biggest tax hike in Ontario history. “He’s broken his promises,” the Conservative leader reiterated during a morning appearance on Bay St. “He’s shattered his promises and shattered his credibility at the same time.”
It’s the one area where the PCs believe the Liberals are most vulnerable and like Achilles’ heel, you can expect to see them hammer at that sore spot over and over and over again before the October 10th election date.
For his part, McGuinty refused to put anything in writing this time, but assures all comers he has no intention of repeating the one time-only move he claims was a necessity. And he tried to turn the tables on his tormentor, blaming the previous Tory government for forcing him to raise the levy in the first place.
“The toughest job I ever had to make in my life was to ask Ontarians to invest more in their health care system,” McGuinty relates. “I didn’t know that the Tories were hiding a $5.6 billion dollar deficit.”
And he reminds voters, it’s Tory’s proposal on faith-based schools that’s the real danger. “The question that weighs heavily on the minds of Ontario parents is: ‘Is my child going to get the opportunity he or she needs inside our public education?’ So talk to me about class sizes, talk to me about homework help, talk to me about the enthusiasm of teachers, talk to me about graduation rates, talk to me about the successes we are experiencing inside public education.”
Expect the tax attacks and the slaps in the faith to continue as the election races to the finish line.
