Budget lacked credibility

Last Thursday, the Liberal government brought forward its 2014-15 budget.
By now I’m sure you’ve heard that I have lost confidence in this Liberal government given the many scandals, wasted money, and their inability to follow through on many promises.
Since being elected, I have heard from people who are concerned about the costs associated with making ends meet, like the price of hydro, auto insurance, gasoline, and property taxes.
People from across the northwest have told me they are looking for a government that puts their needs first, and helps alleviate the financial pressures they face.
I’ve also heard, time and time again, that the prices of essential services continues to climb yet their own paycheques and pensions are not keeping pace—making it more and more difficult to live.
People are being forced to tighten their belts and make due with less, and they expect the same from their provincial government.
It was hearing this same message, time and time again, from many voices across the region that prompted me to reject this budget and this particular Liberal government.
Despite its many promises, the budget failed to include a meaningful reduction of many essential services. It also came with a price tag that would have increased the amount of our deficit—the amount we would increase our debt by this year alone—by $2.5 billion over last year’s budget.
Not only is this move financially reckless, as it calls into question the Liberal’s ability to deliver on their promise to balance the books by 2017, but leaves us wondering who will pay for this increase in debt?
The answer, we all know, is us, our children, and (some say) our grandchildren. And that is not looking after the best interests of people who already are taxed out.
Just as important as the budget document itself is the context within which it was written. The present Liberal government has been mired in scandal, is under more than one OPP investigation, and has been caught repeatedly wasting people’s hard-earned money.
They have become out of touch and entitled. And they have failed to deliver on the promises they made to us in last year’s budget.
In exchange for my support for the 2013 budget, the Liberals essentially promised three things: to create a Financial Accountability Office that will oversee the spending decisions made by government in real-time, to reduce auto insurance premiums by 15 percent, and to increase access to home care across the province.
Well, one year later, the Liberals still have not fulfilled these three promises.
How can they be trusted to fulfil the 70 new promises contained in this budget?
This budget, and the Liberals who proposed it, lack credibility. Serving in this great province is a privilege—not a right—and all representatives need to remember why they are at Queen’s Park and what the people of this province sent them to do.
When governments lose touch, they need to be replaced.