Liberals’ throne speech details left-leaning agenda

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Premier Kathleen Wynne has unveiled a left-leaning agenda that strengthens the social safety net, taxes upper-income earners, and bashes Ottawa for shortchanging Ontario and not boosting pensions.

“My view is that government should be a force for good in people’s lives and it should be active where it is appropriate,” Premier Kathleen Wynne said after Lt.-Gov. David Onley read the speech from the throne in the legislature Thursday.

“Not on everything, but where it’s necessary. The things that people can’t do themselves are where government has to be active and take a critical role.”

The throne speech said “public investments to develop the talent and skills of our people are not a luxury.”

“Your government unconditionally rejects the argument that the only jobs that matter are private-sector jobs,” Onley said Thursday.

That was a slap at former Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak, who lost the June 12 election after promising to slash 100,000 positions over four years from the 1.2 million-strong public service.

Hudak had vowed to create 1 million private-sector jobs over eight years, but voters did not buy into his scheme and handed Wynne’s minority Liberals a majority.

Armed with that mandate “the first female premier elected in the history of our province” is keeping Ontario on a big-government course.

“Public investment in infrastructure is a critical element of your government’s economic plan,” said Onley.

Despite being saddled with a $12.5-billion deficit that alarms credit-rating agencies such as Moody’s, Wynne’s administration will spend more than $130 billion on infrastructure over the next decade, including $15 billion toward Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area transit.

While the government is still planning to balance the books by 2017-18, eliminating the deficit will be done in “a fair and responsible manner.”

On July 14, Finance Minister Charles Sousa will table the same May 1 budget that triggered last month’s election after the Conservatives and New Democrats said they could not support the minority Grits’ fiscal blueprint.

That spending plan will increase income taxes on people earning $150,000 and up annually.

At the same time, the Liberals will introduce within the next 60 days a “new poverty reduction strategy” building upon former premier Dalton McGuinty’s Breaking the Cycle program that helped 47,000 children.

Wynne will continue McGuinty’s long-running crusade to rectify the fiscal imbalance between Ontario and Ottawa, criticizing Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.

Speaking to reporters, she complained about “the $1.2 billion injustice” — that’s the amount the federal Parliamentary Budget Office says the province is owed in transfer payments from the federal government.

Wynne also heaped scorn upon Harper for refusing to improve the Canada Pension Plan, which has led them to launch a new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.

Furthermore, Queen’s Park wants Ottawa’s help developing the Ring of Fire chromite deposit in remote northern Ontario.

Within the next two months, Ontario, which has pledged $1 billion to build roads to the site, will establish a Ring of Fire development corporation to work with mining companies, communities, and First Nations.

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/07/03/liberal_government_throne_speech_details_leftleaning_agenda.html