Wynne, Horwath meet Wednesday to talk budget demands

TORONTO – Premier Kathleen Wynne says she believes there’s enough common ground to make a deal with the New Democrats to pass the budget and avoid an election.

She says the political landscape has changed after the Liberals in British Columbia defied abysmal polling numbers to win a majority government Tuesday.

But she says she’s always been optimistic that the May 2 budget addresses enough NDP demands to win their support.

Wynne is meeting with NDP Leader Andrea Horwath today to talk about her post-budget demands, but says she won’t decide whether to implement them until she speaks with her.

The meeting is crucial for the minority Liberals, who need the New Democrats onside to pass the budget since the Progressive Conservatives have rejected it.

Even though the Liberals included measures the NDP demanded in the budget, Horwath says she wants more accountability.

She’s asked for a financial accountability office, modelled on the parliamentary budget office in Ottawa, and ombudsman oversight of the health-care sector, such as hospitals and nursing homes.

Horwath says she also wants the Liberals to put the brakes on plans to allow drivers without passengers to pay a toll to use high-occupancy lanes.

She won’t say whether her party will support the budget if the Liberals don’t agree to her requests, but says she hasn’t drawn a line in the sand yet.

The premier has said Horwath’s extra demands are “a little surprising.”

Wynne is putting pressure on Horwath to make a decision, saying the measures promised in the budget need to be implemented now.

The Progressive Conservatives won’t say whether they’d give the ombudsman the same powers if they form the next government and have rejected the idea of a financial accountability office.