2003-09-08

Why doesn't Eves know how much his promises will cost?

We know that Eves likes to play fast and loose with the numbers. He showed his contempt for our Provinicial Parliament with his Magna Budget. He insults our intelligence with his claims of a balanced budget when in fact he has to sell off our provincial assets to get his cash flow to balance. Today he admitted that he doesn't know how much his pre-election spending binge is actually going to cost us.

When he finally came up with a number, it was laughably low. Expert opinions I have read say that Eves' spree will cost a minimum of $2 billion and possibly as much as $6 billion. Even the lowest figure is three times what Eves is claiming. It's bad enough that he is trying to bribe the voters with our own money. He should not be trying to mislead us as to the real cost of his promises. After all, we'll all have to pay for them if the Tories win the election.

Unlike the Tories, the NDP has had its platform fully costed. Moreover, an independent firm has audited our platform and certified that, based on reasonable economic assumptions, it will produce modest surpluses in each of the next four years. I challenge Eves to do the same with his promises.

Gary Dale, Provincial NDP Candidate
Scarborough East