The message of Charles Sousa’s first budget as Finance Minister: Go ahead, we dare you.
Playing for time, Sousa has crafted a budget designed to appease NDP leader Andrea Horwath and make it near impossible for her to vote against the bill and pull down Kathleen Wynne’s administration.
Each one of the NDP leader’s requests has been addressed in some way.
A 15 per cent cut in auto insurance premiums? Done.
But it’s an overall average reduction without a firm timeline.
Money for a five day home care guarantee? You got it.
Sure, it’s a target not a guarantee, but why quibble over semantics when we’re such good lefty pals?
You think something should be done about youth unemployment? We do too! And instead of the paltry $195 million over two years you asked for, we’ll throw an extra $100 million, because, hey, we really like you. Oh, and young people too.
It all adds up to $900 million in new spending over five years.
But the Liberals go to great pains to point out the roadmap to fiscal balance in 2017/18 is still on. Just because Sousa delivered what is essentially an NDP budget, doesn’t mean the GPS is pointing the province in the wrong direction say the Liberals.
The one nugget in the budget Horwath can take issue with is the trial balloon over turning HOV lanes into toll lanes for those who would like to use them solo. The NDP has come out strongly against tolls or taxes but the budget has no details about the cost or when or how it would be implemented.
The stench of the gas plants and the basement dwelling poll numbers for the Liberals have many in the NDP caucus clamouring for an election. Why let Kathleen Wynne, who enjoys strong personal poll numbers, to continue to mow the NDP grass?
But how would the NDP campaign against this budget? Could an NDP candidate on a door step work up some righteous indignation over the difference between a target and a guarantee?
If the hawks in the NDP prevail and Ontario goes to the polls, expect the Liberals to play the jilted lover, crying ‘we gave them everything they wanted and still they walked out.’
That will only play into Tim Hudak’s hands.
That is not lost on the NDP’s traditional union power base, who fear the PC leader more than they loathe the Liberals.
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