Toronto: Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) Ontario Director John Williamson reacted today to Progressive Conservative leader Ernie Eves' election manifesto. "On the whole, the Eves platform is a very good follow-up to the reform themes found in past Conservative campaign documents, namely the '95 Common Sense Revolution and the '99 Blueprint document," Mr. Williamson said today.

"There are some very high-quality ideas in the new document, most notably the proposal to expand the Taxpayer Protection Act to prevent municipal politicians from raising property taxes without permission of local voters," said Williamson. "This is an excellent policy that will be welcome news for Ontario taxpayers. It will make local politicians justify future tax hikes and will put a check on tax-happy politicians. If this plan goes ahead it will finally be possible for citizens to fight City Hall."

Given the Opposition Liberal commitment to abiding by the original Taxpayer Protection Act, Mr. Williamson is encouraging Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty to extend the law to municipal property taxes. "We going to see exactly how strong the Liberal commitment to protect taxpayers really is," noted Williamson.

Other innovative policy promises in the Ontario Conservative plan, entitled The Road Ahead, include:
 

• Introducing a $500 mortgage interest tax deduction to help homeowners and future homeowners;
   
• Guaranteeing healthcare waiting times do not exceed medically recommended limits;
   
• Appointing auditors to scrutinize the spending of school boards, hospitals, and municipalities.
   
• Rooting out $700-million in government waste, and paying down the debt by $5-billion;
   
• Ending all labour disruptions during the regular school year, and giving union members a vote on how union bosses spend their dues on political campaigns;
   
• Taking control of immigration policy, and preventing illegal immigrants from receiving benefits;
   
• Banning welfare recipients from sponsoring immigrants;
   
• Instructing law enforcement agencies not to waste time and resources enforcing Ottawa's $2-billion gun registry programme;
   
• Providing a tax credit for families caring for disabled children and/or elderly parents at home; and
   
• Implementing a progressive plan to remove homeless people from the streets.

"After a troubling start, Mr. Eves has put tax relief back on the front-burner," noted Williamson. "He has made good on this pledge to provide a tax relief schedule in his platform by promising, if re-elected, to give homeowners an annual rebate on the interest they pay on a mortgage. The deduction will be phased in over 5 years and will allow taxpayers to deduct up to $5,000 in mortgage interest payments from their incomes. This might not be the biggest tax cut, and we would have preferred to see more broad-based tax relief that would benefit all income earners, but taxpayers will like it nonetheless."

"Unfortunately, the biggest regret is that the Tories will keep subsidizing hydro rates until 2006. Without serious reforms, taxpayers will be footing the bill for hundreds of millions of dollars," Williamson concluded.