August 3, 2011
Liberals "desperate,"
MPP says
by Terry Myers
Ontario's governing Liberals are beginning to show signs of “a certain
desperation” as time ticks down towards this fall's provincial
election, says MPP John Yakabuski.
Provincial voters will go to the polls on October 6, and polls are
showing the Progressive Conservatives under leader Tim Hudak heading
towards a majority government.
In a monthly statement, Yakabuski said he is “not one that gets too
excited about polls.”
“However it sure seems that the Liberals are watching them closely and
not liking what they see. I suppose it's fair to say that as a result,
their actions are betraying their desperation.”
Yakabuski said that in response to the poll results, the Liberals have
launched negative ads towards their opponents and attaching a
“permanent shadow” to Hudak to follow him to his stops throughout the
province.
“Now begins the campaign before the campaign, with the Liberals
blatantly intent on pulling out all the stops in order to get
re-elected, almost as if there’s this sense of entitlement they have,
that they should be the government simply because, well, it’s them,”
Yakabuski said.
“What nonsense, and frankly, as I travel Ontario in my role as
Opposition House Leader, I can tell you that the people of this
province will have none of it.
“They are angry, and what’s more, intent on doing something about that
anger, and they can see early October coming up on their calendars as
an opportunity to do just that.”
Health premiums, the HST, eco fees, and electricity costs are “just
some of the reasons why our cost of living has gone up since the
Liberals took power back in 2003,” Yakabuski said.
“All of this is compounded when living in a riding such as
Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, where incomes tend to be lower on average,
and the price of many things tends to be higher due to the effects of
geography and distance.
“To me, it’s not acceptable. And I know I’m not alone in that
line of thinking.”
However, Liberal Finance Minister Dwight Duncan says the Conservatives
would put the future of the province at risk and his party will “fight
you in the streets” to prevent that happening.
During debate in the provincial legislature, Duncan noted that the
Conservative promise to provide relief on energy bills by removing the
old Ontario Hydro's so-called “stranded debt” would push up the
provincial deficit.
Duncan said the government's approach of continuing to collect the
“debt charge” on hydro bills has been confirmed by the province's
Auditor General.
“You've ignored the Auditor General's report. You refuse to look at
facts,” Duncan said.
“This plan has no credibility. It will raise the deficit and debt.
They will have to cut hospitals; they will have to cut education, Mr.
Speaker.
“We will fight them at every street corner in Ontario. The people of
Ontario will see through the rhetoric over there and listen to people
like the Auditor General.
“They'll do right; they'll vote for a government that will build on our
health care and our education, eliminate our deficit, and bring down
the debt in a (responsible way).”
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