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May 19, 2004

In yet another wonderful display of campaign testimonials coming back to haunt overzealous politicians, Dalton McGuinty's Liberals sat quietly and uncomfortably in their seats at Queen's Park as the 2004 Ontario budget was delivered yesterday.  Paramount to this subdued mood was the inescapable commercials the Liberals ran during the Ontario election seven months ago, where after being backed into a corner by the Tories, McGuinty looked longingly into the camera and pronounced:

"I won't raise your taxes, but I won't cut them either."

He then proceeded to sign the Taxpayer Protection and Balanced Budget Act, which reads:

"I, Dalton McGuinty, leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario, promise, if my party is elected as the next government, that I will not raise taxes or implement new taxes without the explicit consent of Ontario voters, and not run deficits. I promise to abide by the Taxpayer Protection and Balanced Budget Act."

Annual deficits, by the way, are expected until at least 2007, just in time for another election.

The content of McGuinty's broken promises are substantial, as his government introduced annual health premiums between $300 and $900 (depending on one's earning bracket) that will generate $9 billion for health over the next four years.  They also raised sin taxes on alcohol and cigarettes and delisted some health services like chiropractic treatment, physiotherapy and optometry exams.  In total, yesterday's budget represents the largest tax hikes Ontario has experienced in almost a decade.

Assuming that the financial forecasting that the Conservatives had released during the campaign was entirely different than what was discovered upon taking office, then yes, the Liberals would have had to make adjustments to their fiscal planning.

However, the Liberals were also very aware that the financial situation they were going to take over was far from rosy, and that specifics of what the province and the government was capable of carrying out would only become clear upon gaining possession over the books.

Meaning the pledge not to raise taxes was short-sighted, politically advantageous, and consciously carried out.

The CBC aired a worrisome yet provoking documentary on the falling rates of voter participation in Canada's democratic process last night.  Now while people use complaints about the political system and media induced cynicism about politicians as crutches to justify their own civic shortcomings and self-serving tendencies, demonstrations of deceit like the one just perpetrated by Dalton McGuinty doesn't help matters.

How hard is it to hold one's tongue when the speaker knows full well that the forthcoming words will not be fulfilled?  Well, after examining the examples of the leader of our country, the leader of the country's largest province, and a whole slew of other high-profile public figures, it seems to be a very difficult proposition indeed.

What a truly disheartening state of affairs when a man's or woman's word automatically carries less legitimacy upon reaching public office.

Comments? jonathan@tdhstrategies.com