QUEEN’S PARK – The NDP and Liberals have joined forces to pass a budget designed to put their own political interests ahead of the interests of the people of Ontario, Cambridge MPP Rob Leone said today.

“By voting for the Liberal budget today, the NDP are propping up a scandal plagued government,” Leone said. “Budget votes are confidence votes, and with the Privacy Commissioner now saying the government has broken the law by deleting pertinent e-mails, and with the OPP now investigating potential criminal behaviour in the government; the NDP vote for the budget will only keep the Liberals in power.”

The 2013-2014 budget presented by the McGuinty-Wynne Liberals and backed by Andrea Horwath’s NDP adds about $20 billion dollars of new debt to Ontario’s books.

“Just like the decision to spend a billion dollars to save Liberal seats when they cancelled two gas plants, Premier Wynne is spending a billion dollars to buy NDP support to save her own job.”

The vote comes as no surprise to those who have followed the Legislature closely over the course of the past three months. After Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Caucus had their ideas shot down without debate, Horwath and Premier Wynne wasted no time ensuring Ontario families would pick up the tab on new spending.

“Spending is up, not down; the deficit is up, not down; and the debt is up, not down,” added Leone.

He was also quick to point out that despite railing against scandals like ORNGE, eHealth and the Mississauga and Oakville gas plants, the NDP has let Kathleen Wynne off the hook when it mattered most.

“Andrea Horwath, Catherine Fife and the rest of the NDP have lost all credibility when it comes to accountability,” concluded Leone. “They had an opportunity to allow voters to pass judgment on this corrupt Liberal government and chart a new path for Ontario. Instead they chose to avoid accountability themselves.”

For further information, contact Cal MacLellan (416) 325-8451 cal.maclellan@pc.ola.org