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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Ontario budget deal prevents election
Tuesday's Ontario budget vote was by no means spectacular. But it was the best possible outcome for a province in which no one has the appetite for a second election in less than a year.
Through the budget changes the Liberals traded for NDP abstention from the vote, Ontarians now know Dalton McGuinty's government and Andrea Horwath's NDP are willing and able to put co-operation for the good of the province ahead of partisanship and political strategy. That bodes well for the future of this minority government -- and of the province.
Politically, the downside of the budget exercise is the clear, noncooperative position taken by Tim Hudak and the Conservatives, who insisted from the moment the budget was tabled that they would defeat it. Having done that, they spent several weeks on the outside, noses pressed to the glass, watching McGuinty and Horwath hammer out a deal that included that the NDP would not vote against it. One might say the Conservatives took the safe route or one might note they virtually disappeared in the hubbub. Either way, the lack of contribution is notable.
With regard to the budget itself, we have argued in the past it may not be a great idea to use specific tax measures to target specific needs. Even in that context, the extra levy on the wealthy is not unreasonable. It is significant enough to generate much-needed revenue but not so significant that it will drive higher-wage earners out of the province. The commitment to use that extra revenue for deficit reduction has common-sense appeal.
The revised budget adds $242 million in funding for child care, $20 million for northern and rural hospitals and boosts welfare and disability benefits by one per cent. The modest increases for social assistance don't improve rates adequately -- they remain about five per cent behind a decade ago after factoring in increased costs of living. But even such a minimal rise in benefits indicates the government and the NDP have at least listened to concerns raised by groups such as the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction.
Once we put aside the political posturing and get past efforts at melodrama, this budget is, on balance, a positive outcome. The experience should provide a solid foundation for this minority government to move forward and work well with the NDP. Hudak, though, really must get past knee-jerk ideology and take a seat at the table, lest he be completely left behind.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 26, 2012 A15
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