For
immediate release:
June 18, 2004
Barrett calls
for honesty as Liberals steam-roll Ontarians with tax hikes
Government Passes
Tax-and-Slash Budget Bill in Spite of Public Outcry
(Queen’s Park) – Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant MPP Toby Barrett
delivered a call for honesty and then backed up his words with a vote
against the Liberal broken-promise budget in the Legislature last night.
Barrett concluded
a week of budget debate with references to “Honest Abe” Lincoln
and George Washington of cherry tree fame. Barrett also quoted, “The
Book of Virtues” to members of the Legislature.
“To be honest
is to be real, genuine, authentic and bona fide. To be dishonest is to
be partly feigned, forged, fake or fictitious,” Barrett read. “Honesty
expresses both self-respect and respect for others. Dishonestly fully
respects neither oneself nor others. Honesty imbues lives with openness,
reliability and candour; it expresses a disposition to live in the light.
Dishonesty seeks shade, cover, or concealment. It is a disposition to
live partly in the dark.”
Barrett also referenced
a series of amendments that he and Durham MPP John O’Toole introduced
to the Finance Committee earlier in the week to insert a little accuracy
to the budget deliberations.
“For instance,
we proposed an amendment in section 17 of the act to strike out ‘a
new tax called the Ontario health premium,’ and replace it with
the more accurate ‘a new tax called the Dalton McGuinty broken promise
tax’,” Barrett continued. “We tried again, proposing
to replace the same section with ‘a new tax called the gouge the
middle class tax’; also, ‘a new tax called the Paul Martin
wouldn’t help Ontario tax’; even ‘a new tax called the
Ontario sewer pipe tax.’ - All attempts to insert a little accuracy,
a little honesty and truth in the Budget Measures Act were suppressed
by this particular government.
“We know why
– the Liberal broken promise—broken record—is there
for all taxpayers, for all working families to see,” asserted Barrett.
“It’s plain as the long nose on a wooden boy’s face
- using the words of Jack Nicholson, the Liberals ‘can’t handle
the truth’.”
Following last night’s
debate, the Liberal government marched forward with their reckless agenda
quickly passing the Budget Measures Act, despite opposition from the Progressive
Conservative caucus.
“Since the Liberal
Budget was announced on May 18, I have spoken with hundreds of people
in our community – and heard from many that presented to the Finance
Committee - who are disgusted with this government’s callous attitude
and broken promises,” Barrett said following the vote. “Dalton
McGuinty promised he would not raise taxes, yet modest and middle income
families will start seeing as much as $1,000 per year come off their paychecks
starting on July 1st.”
Following public backlash
over the budget, the Liberal government has seen their popularity plummet
by 16 per cent and Dalton McGuinty’s approval rating has hit rock
bottom at 9 percent. As a result of this hostile response, the government
was forced to cut off debate on the budget bill and abuse their majority
in the Legislature to pass their budget with virtually no public consultation.
During the total of
8-hours of public hearing on the budget, the government heard from groups
such as chiropractors, physiotherapists and taxpayer protection groups
who were unanimous in their condemnation of the Liberal tax hikes and
the de-listing of vital health care services. With respect to the new
health tax, Tasha Kheiriddin, Ontario Director of the Canadian Taxpayer’s
Federation, told the government that “every year families will have
$600 less to spend on rent or mortgage payments, on food, or on the education
of their children. It will essentially reverse all the income tax gains
made by Ontarians since 1999.”
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For more information
please contact MPP Toby Barrett at: 519-428-0446, 416-325-8404 or 1-800-903-8629 |
