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Mar. 11, 2004. 01:00 AM
McGuinty finding march of time not so promising
IAN URQUHART
In politics, what a difference a year can make.
At the annual Liberal fundraiser in Toronto a year ago, Dalton McGuinty, then the leader of the Opposition, chastised Ernie Eves, then the premier, for making promises he couldn't keep.
"You can't be all things to all people," said McGuinty. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep. Ernie Eves doesn't seem to understand that."
In the next breath, McGuinty then proceeded to promise 50,000 new spaces in colleges and universities, a tuition freeze, double the number of apprenticeships, a program for high-school drop-outs, a share of the gasoline tax for cities, and 20,000 affordable housing units.
And he promised no increase in personal taxes and a balanced budget. McGuinty said the Liberals could pay for these promises by rooting out "waste" in government, cancelling government ads, scrapping contracts with consultants, eliminating the private school tax credit, and rolling back corporate tax cuts.
"I can keep my promises because I've made tough choices," he said confidently.
Flash forward to this year's Liberal fundraiser — held last night at Toronto's convention centre.
Now that he is in office, government doesn't look so easy to McGuinty.
He has rolled back the corporate tax cuts, cancelled the private school tax credit, and started paring government ads and consultant contracts.
But far from giving him the money to keep his promises, this has made barely a dent in the $5.6 billion deficit he inherited from Eves.
McGuinty noted last night that that deficit is actually understated because it does not include some $2.2 billion in deficits arising from hospitals, children's aid societies, and other public agencies for which the provincial government is responsible.
"All in all, we're in a pretty deep hole," he told his well-heeled audience of 3,100, who had paid $750 each for the privilege.
"Climbing out of this hole is restricting our ability to invest in the future."
For "invest in the future," substitute "keep our promises"
McGuinty repeated some of his campaign promises last night, but he was careful not to quantify them or to say when they would be kept.
Instead, he devoted most of his speech to outlining the problems the government faces as it attempts to rein in spending, especially on the health-care front.
"For the past five years, health-care costs have been rising twice as fast as other provincial spending," he noted with alarm. "That's about an average of 8 per cent a year.
"The fact is we are spending more than ever before. But we're just not getting the results we deserve for our investment."
As a result, he said, hospitals will be reined in with "performance agreements" that will ensure the money is properly spent.
There were also veiled references in the speech to the government's plans to slap tolls on new highways and raise rates on water and electricity.
Even the education sector — McGuinty's highest priority for government spending — did not emerge unscathed.
"We gladly support public education, but we're not going to throw money at it and hope that somehow some of it sticks," he said.
All in all, it was a very sobering speech — for which McGuinty made no apologies.
"I believe leadership should be straightforward, ambitious — and demanding," he said.
Demanding, as in telling people they can't have their cake (increased spending on health care, education, cities, and housing) and eat it, too (no increase in personal taxes).
Too bad he didn't think of that last year, before he made all those promises he is now finding difficult, if not impossible, to keep.
Additional articles by Ian Urquhart
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Mar. 11, 2004. 01:00 AM
McGuinty finding march of time not so promising
IAN URQUHART
In politics, what a difference a year can make.
At the annual Liberal fundraiser in Toronto a year ago, Dalton McGuinty, then the leader of the Opposition, chastised Ernie Eves, then the premier, for making promises he couldn't keep.
"You can't be all things to all people," said McGuinty. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep. Ernie Eves doesn't seem to understand that."
In the next breath, McGuinty then proceeded to promise 50,000 new spaces in colleges and universities, a tuition freeze, double the number of apprenticeships, a program for high-school drop-outs, a share of the gasoline tax for cities, and 20,000 affordable housing units.
And he promised no increase in personal taxes and a balanced budget. McGuinty said the Liberals could pay for these promises by rooting out "waste" in government, cancelling government ads, scrapping contracts with consultants, eliminating the private school tax credit, and rolling back corporate tax cuts.
"I can keep my promises because I've made tough choices," he said confidently.
Flash forward to this year's Liberal fundraiser — held last night at Toronto's convention centre.
Now that he is in office, government doesn't look so easy to McGuinty.
He has rolled back the corporate tax cuts, cancelled the private school tax credit, and started paring government ads and consultant contracts.
But far from giving him the money to keep his promises, this has made barely a dent in the $5.6 billion deficit he inherited from Eves.
McGuinty noted last night that that deficit is actually understated because it does not include some $2.2 billion in deficits arising from hospitals, children's aid societies, and other public agencies for which the provincial government is responsible.
"All in all, we're in a pretty deep hole," he told his well-heeled audience of 3,100, who had paid $750 each for the privilege.
"Climbing out of this hole is restricting our ability to invest in the future."
For "invest in the future," substitute "keep our promises"
McGuinty repeated some of his campaign promises last night, but he was careful not to quantify them or to say when they would be kept.
Instead, he devoted most of his speech to outlining the problems the government faces as it attempts to rein in spending, especially on the health-care front.
"For the past five years, health-care costs have been rising twice as fast as other provincial spending," he noted with alarm. "That's about an average of 8 per cent a year.
"The fact is we are spending more than ever before. But we're just not getting the results we deserve for our investment."
As a result, he said, hospitals will be reined in with "performance agreements" that will ensure the money is properly spent.
There were also veiled references in the speech to the government's plans to slap tolls on new highways and raise rates on water and electricity.
Even the education sector — McGuinty's highest priority for government spending — did not emerge unscathed.
"We gladly support public education, but we're not going to throw money at it and hope that somehow some of it sticks," he said.
All in all, it was a very sobering speech — for which McGuinty made no apologies.
"I believe leadership should be straightforward, ambitious — and demanding," he said.
Demanding, as in telling people they can't have their cake (increased spending on health care, education, cities, and housing) and eat it, too (no increase in personal taxes).
Too bad he didn't think of that last year, before he made all those promises he is now finding difficult, if not impossible, to keep.
Additional articles by Ian Urquhart
› Get 50% off home delivery of the Toronto Star.
FAQs| Site Map| Privacy Policy| Webmaster| Subscribe| My Subscription
Home| GTA| Business| Waymoresports| A&E| Life
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Distribution, transmission or republication of any material from www.thestar.com is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. For information please contact us using our webmaster form. www.thestar.com online since 1996.
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