Horwath says northerners deserve a government that makes sense

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said today the ruling Liberals failed Northern Ontario families with yesterday's budget.

Saying she has lost confidence in the party's ability to govern amid mounting scandal and waste, Horwath said the time for change has finally come. The NDP said this morning it would not be supporting the budget.

“The Liberal budget is a mad dash to escape scandal by promising the anything and everything,” said Horwath. “Just last week the Liberals were promising the moon and the stars with a $1 billion commitment to the Ring of Fire, but it turns out that Northern Ontario will have to wait because the Liberal government would rather have a fight with Ottawa than get this project under way.”

Horwath said the province failed to address winter road maintenance issues, a major concern this winter with a handful of contractors fined for failing to deliver adequate service. She said the government also failed to provide a blueprint for the future of the Northlander or invest in northern infrastructure — although the province did promise $26 million for Sudbury's Maley Drive project.

What's more, Horwath said, the budget ignored sky-rocketing hydro rates, a real issue for Northern Ontario resource-based industries, and didn't even mention forestry.

Calling it a last-ditch budget, the NDP leader said her party propped up the Liberals last year based partly on promises the Liberals would work to cut home care wait times and set up a Financial Accountability Office — neither promise materialized, Horwath said.

With the both the NDP and the Tories refusing to support the budget, Ontario is set for a provincial election in June.