Dear Premier Harris, I trust that this open letter finds you well. I write to you today to express the CTF's major concerns on two fronts: first, the state of the provinces' finances and second, the potential for abuse of taxpayer funds and conflict of interest in having leadership aspirants continue to sit in Cabinet.

On November 6th, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty stated, during his Economic Outlook that:

"This government will not surrender the hard-won gains that have restored Ontario to prosperity - Ontario is better prepared than ever to weather a period of economic uncertainty."

Indeed, Mr. Flaherty noted that $300 million of the $1 billion contingency fund would be used to balance the budget for the current 2001-2002 fiscal year.

Then Mr. Flaherty stated:

"Next spring we plan to table Ontario's fourth consecutive balanced budget."

This was great news for Ontario taxpayers. And Mr. Flaherty went further by stating that "government is the servant of the people, and the people have the right to know how their money is being spent - we have the fundamentals in place for long-term growth and we will not stray form this path. The people of Ontario can have confidence in the long-term future of the economy." Please remember this phrase, we'll return to it in a moment.

So it was with great surprise that Ontarians opened their major daily newspapers this past Monday to find Management Board Chairman Dave Tsbouchi musing about a projected $5 billion deficit for next year.

Mr. Premier, what happened over the space of 13 days (from November 6th to the 19th) to cause to move from a $700 million surplus to a $5 billion deficit. Was Minister Flaherty misleading Ontarians about "their right to know" the true state of the provinces' finances Is Mr. Tsbouchi engaging in some leadership jostling since he is supporting Mr. Eves Ontario taxpayers deserve better!

If this is a leadership positioning exercise, you should exert your leadership and put a stop to it right away. If we truly are in the midst of a financial crisis, then Mr. Flaherty should come clean with Ontarians. Either way, we deserve better.

Which brings us to our second concern. In a one-member, one-vote system, it is virtually impossible for a sitting Cabinet Minister to effectively act as a steward of public resources and programs and run to be leader of the party at the same time. Something will suffer and our fear is that the responsibility to govern will become secondary in the pursuit of partisan affairs.

Indeed, in Saskatchewan most recently we uncovered, through Freedom of Information, the misuse of government offices and aircraft for partisan gain as various ministers of the crown sought the NDP leadership. This is why we have called on sitting Cabinet Ministers to resign their portfolios - not their seats, but their portfolios - should they wish to become leader.

Your government talks the talk about respect for hard-earned taxpayer dollars, it is now time to walk the walk and ask all leadership aspirants who hold Cabinet posts to relinquish their posts. If they do not, then you must exercise your prerogative to remove them. Especially in light of the peak-a-boo, now you see it, now you don't deficit game currently underway around the Cabinet table, you should act in a quick and resolute manner.

Mr. Premier, all can agree that your tenure in the Premier's Office has been one of firm action on important files. In the context of the current deficit shenanigans and leadership race, firm and quick action is required. Yes indeed, Ontario taxpayers deserve better!