McGuinty Lie re Taxation
Dalton McGuinty has raised the bar for promise breaking: Not only has he branded himself and the Liberal party as chronic liars, he has now set a court precedent which gives politicians carte blanche to lie to get elected.
The following is excerpted from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation web site
September 11, 2003:
Ontario Liberal and Conservative Party Leaders Endorse Taxpayers' Agenda
"By signing this CTF document Premier Ernie Eves and Opposition Leader Dalton McGuinty have re-committed themselves, and their parties, to abide by the Taxpayer Protection and Balanced Budget Act, and, specifically, “not raise or implement any new taxes without the explicit consent of Ontario voters, and not run deficits."
John Williamson, Canadian Taxpayers Federation
full news release
Pledge (pdf format: 134 KB)
May 18, 2004:
Liberal Budget includes multi-billion dollar tax increases, including a punitive "Ontario Health Tax"
“The McGuinty promise not to raise taxes was a lie. Their deficit numbers were a lie. Their pledge to eliminate waste was a lie. This government is completely unworthy of the people’s trust,”
Tasha Kheiriddin, CTF Ontario Director.
full news release
December 16, 2004:
Court ruling: Politicians can lie
The CTF was asking the court to determine whether the Ontario Health Tax violated the province’s Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA) because it wasn’t subject to a referendum.
In the judgment, Justice Paul Rouleau held that nothing in the Taxpayer Protection Act prevents the Legislature from exempting future legislation, such as taxation bills, from referenda. He also writes that “it is not the role of the courts … to intervene to enforce … promises and pledges. Rather, the remedy is for the electorate to consider and weigh the record of each candidate and party at the time of voting and in the intervening period to trust that the power entrusted to minister will be ‘exercised from time to time as occasion may require in the public interest.’”
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