For Immediate Release
August 21, 2008

PC MPPs STORM OUT OF HEALTH TAX REVIEW SHAM
MPPs walk out after Liberals shoot down all attempts
to make report accurate

Queen’s Park –Ontario Progressive Conservative MPPs today stormed out of the Committee reviewing the Liberal Health Tax after it became clear that the Liberal MPPs were determined to write a sham Report. The Liberal majority voted to ignore each and every one of the suggestions that taxpayers presented to the Finance Committee during the public hearings.

PC Finance Critic Tim Hudak (Niagara West-Glanbrook) and MPP Toby Barrett (Haldimand-Norfolk) walked out after the Liberal majority rejected all of the PC Party’s amendments to accurately reflect what the Finance Committee heard during public hearings.

“We could not dignify this sham of a review by participating in the hearings any longer,” charged Hudak. “It was bad enough that the Premier showed contempt for Ontario taxpayers by saying he wouldn’t change the tax, no matter what the Committee recommended. But the Committee’s report should at least honestly reflect what we heard from Ontarians. The whipped Liberal vote ensured that the real recommendations would never see the light of day.”

“There wasn’t a single person who stood in front of this Committee during the public hearings who wanted to keep this tax in its present form,” said Barrett. “Ontario’s families and seniors are drowning in high taxes, but this arrogant Liberal government would rather save face than listen to the people they should be representing.”

All of the PC Party amendments to the Ontario Health Premium Report were shot down, including:

	The acknowledgment that Dalton McGuinty prejudged the outcome of the review by declaring that he wouldn’t revoke it;
	That the Health Tax is a key broken promise of the McGuinty government;
	That the McGuinty government had to break another promise to Ontarians to hold a referendum before enacting the tax;
	That the tax is regressive and hits low income working families and seniors the hardest;
	That not a single presentation to the committee during public hearings was in favour of the tax in its present form; and
	That the revenue from the so-called Health Tax flows directly to the general revenue fund, not to health care.

“Dalton McGuinty’s signature broken promise has been feeding the Liberals’ addiction to spending for too long,” said PC Finance Critic Tim Hudak. “This farce of a review process has made it clear that the Liberals have no idea the hardship their high taxes and runaway spending are having on Ontario families.”

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For more information please contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or 1-800-903-8629