• Canadian Taxpayers Federation Vows to hold Premier-elect Dalton McGuinty to his Taxpayer Protection Promise.
• Urges New Government to Quickly Tackle Province's Deficit.

Premier McGuinty's signed pledge

TORONTO: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) Ontario Director John Williamson reacted to yesterday's election of Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty as Ontario's next premier.

"Ontario voters responded to Mr. McGuinty's message and he deserves credit for laying out his fiscal plan and sticking to it," said Mr. Williamson. "Our organization stands ready to hold the new government accountable to its campaign promises, specifically to balance the budget each year of its mandate. Regrettably, Mr. McGuinty will raise corporate taxes by $550-million and not proceed with scheduled personal income tax relief. We are, nonetheless, heartened by his statements to delay new spending promises in order to balance the provincial budget."

Economists are forecasting that the Ontario government will record a $2-to-$4-billion budget deficit this year. "Given the state of the public finances, it is clear Mr. McGuinty will need to quickly tackle the province's growing deficit and put the breaks on any planned spending," noted Williamson. "The first order of business is to lower public expectation and find areas to cut within government."

On September 11, 2003, the CTF secured Mr. McGuinty's signature on a Taxpayer Protection Promise. By publicly signing this document the Liberal leader committed himself, and his party, to abide by the Taxpayer Protection and Balanced Budget Act, and, specifically to "not raise or implement any new taxes without the explicit consent of Ontario voters, and not run deficits."

"The Taxpayer Protection Act is the most important piece of legislation on the books protecting Ontario taxpayers from tax-happy politicians because it gives citizens the power to squash tax hikes they think are excessive," concluded Williamson. "If Mr. McGuinty wants to hike taxes at a future date, he will first need to hold a province-wide referendum. Given the high taxes Ontario voters currently pay, he will need to tackle the budgetary shortfall by reducing government spending. If the Liberal leader decides to propose a second round of tax hikes, he will face a backlash."