By Arthur Weinreb
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
It's almost an Ontario legend if indeed there is such a thing. During the 2003 provincial election campaign, Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty looked straight into the cameras and told Ontarians that they wouldn't pay one penny more in taxes under his government than they were paying under the then-PC government. Then, after being elected with a majority in October 2003, the 2004 Budget contained not just a tax increase but the largest tax increase in the history of the province. Many Ontarians who voted Liberal, no doubt because McGuinty promised no tax increases, were forced to ship up to 90,000 more of their pennies off to Queen's Park.
The lie didn't stop there. McGuinty at first denied that his new health tax was even a tax; it was a health care "premium". No one really bought that line except some of the province's unionized employees. Back in the olden days when Ontarians were required to pay health care premiums, the unions had terms in their collective agreements that required the employer (the province) to pay these premiums. Some of the collective agreements never bothered to remove that particular clause after health care premiums were done away with. McGuinty simply chuckled and told them not to be silly; his health care cash grab was a tax and not a premium. Lie after lie after lie.
The election campaign was not the only time that McGuinty made the promise that his government would not increase taxes. In a press release issued yesterday by the official opposition, there were at least 13 times when the premier or Finance Minister Greg Sorbara (aka the real premier) promised not to increase taxes. The most striking statement was the pledge that McGuinty made to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation on September 11, 2003 when he said:
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 any new taxes without the explicit consent of Ontario voters and will not run deficits. I promise to abide by the Taxpayer Protection and Balanced Budget Act.
Then, last weekend while speaking to the converted at a Liberal party meeting, McGuinty promised that if re-elected he will not increase taxes during his second term. Like any person who finds fibbing a relatively easy thing to do, McGuinty rationalized his dishonesty. "I'm in charge, McGuinty said, "I'm not hiding a deficit." So it's okay to lie as long as you're not in charge.
McGuinty loves to bill himself as "the education premier"; no doubt he has a lot of wisdom to impart to the province's students. Okay boys and girls, put down your pencils and your guns and listen up. None of you are in charge; I am. So it's okay to lie as long as you aren't in charge. McGuinty not only repeatedly lied to Ontarians about not raising taxes; he has no remorse about lying; he's even proud of it.
Ontarians like to elect a government that is comprised of a different political party that the one that holds power in Ottawa. With the federal government being Conservative and with no election in sight (or if there was one, it would probably result in another Conservative minority), the Liberals should be poised to gain a second term provincially. Add to this the fact that many Ontarians are still reeling from those big, bad Mike Harris years the Liberals should be looking at a huge victory. Yet the most recent polls show the Liberals running neck and neck with the Progressive Conservatives. Could it be that a lot of Ontarians really do care about truth and honesty? Time will tell.
McGuinty's "I'm telling the truth this time" was reminiscent of David Radler's recent testimony at the Conrad Black trial. Radler had received top billing as the essential prosecution witness against Black and the others, and there he was, telling the court that even though he lied to more U.S. officials than the extra pennies that some Ontarians had to pay Dalton, he was telling the truth then. Conrad and the boys would be going down for sure if only the prosecution could have figured out how to get 16 members of McGuinty's inner circle on the jury.
Forgetting any of the intricacies at the Black trial about non compete clauses and audit committees, Radler, who has never been in trouble with the law before and is now facing 29 months in jail was totally unbelievable when he testified that he didn't know and never asked about how much of the 29 months he would actually serve and under what conditions. And McGuinty is just as unbelievable when he now says he won't increase taxes if elected to a second term. He'll raise taxes again and simply rationalize his lie as he did when he imposed the health tax. It's extremely difficult to understand how any reasonable person could believe either one of them.
Ontarians should not put up with having a premier who is an unrepentant liar. Are people really that gullible that they now believe McRadler when he says he's telling the truth now? It could very well be that they are.
At least David Radler can find solace in the fact if he completes his sentence totally un-rehabilitated, he has a promising future with the Liberal Party of Ontario.
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