Hudak blasts premier over economy

By Britania Tremblay

Visiting: Progressive Conservative Leader and MPP speaks about his upcoming plans to the Belleville Chamber of Commerce.Tim Hudak has big plans for the province of Ontario.
Progressive Conservative Leader and MPP Hudak was in Belleville on Thursday to talk about his plans for the economy and his stand on Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty’s agenda.
“There is no doubt that here in Belleville that people are becoming more and more engaged when it comes to the province’s economic future, especially since we’ve learned that Ontario is now running a record $25-billion deficit,” said Hudak.
Hudak made light of McGuinty’s plan to put financial and economic literacy in the school curriculum.
“Students who learn about deficit and debt grow up to be successful business people and leaders like those here. And even if they fail those lessons, they can learn to be optimistic that they can grow up to be a Liberal finance minister,” he said.
Hudak blamed the deficit on McGuinty’s spending.
“In the McGuinty government fall economic statement, it clearly states that we have a government living well beyond its means. The provincial deficit stands at a record $24.7 billion. Ontario’s deficit to GDP ratio is now 27 per cent, the highest in the country. That level of deficit is equal to all of the other province’s and territories’ deficits combined,” he said.
Hudak also said that he does not support the Harmonized Sales Tax. He plans to take a different approach by wanting public sector agreements to reflect private sector realities.
HST is a tax that is composed of the GST (goods and services tax) and the 8 per cent provincial tax and applies to the same goods and services that are taxable under GST.
“The vast majority of small business owners are concerned with Dalton McGuinty’s sales tax grab because they know when you suck some $30 billion out of people’s pocketbooks, it’s not going to be good for purchases in a local economy. In a recent study by the Canadian federation of independent business found that 70 per cent of small business’s are concerned with this tax,” he said.
Hudak is also prepared to keep fighting to have the HST legislation scrapped. Even though Hudak doesn’t know what McGuinty has up his sleeve, he is prepared to keep fighting what he calls a tax grab.
Hudak said that it is unacceptable that Belleville families are living in uncertainty while McGuinty and his friends turn a profit.
“The contract binging saw friends of government get rich on millions of dollars in untendered contracts while the Ministry of Health has forced hospitals across the province to balance their books by reducing services. And by bouncing from scandal to scandal has lead Dalton McGuinty to take his eye off the ball to what is really important,” he said.
Hudak says his priorities are getting health care funding on the front line, encouraging job creation and economic activity.
“I believe the government has the responsibility to create a climate for the private sector to create jobs and then get out of the way. And for the government to do that, they need to learn how to live within it’s means. And respect that every dollar is has, is from the people it serves,” he said.