For Immediate Release
March 26, 2008

McGuinty spends surplus, mortgages future
Leaves next generation on hook for poor money management

(Queen's Park, Toronto) - Despite the McGuinty government's bragging about its balanced budgets, yesterday's provincial budget added to the provincial debt and made promises for infrastructure improvements on the backs of future taxpayers.

"This government keeps announcing new buildings, new highways, new infrastructure, but instead of paying for these projects, this government keeps placing mortgages on them," Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling told the Legislature. "This means that future taxpayers - our children and grandchildren - will have to pay off the principal plus the interest on this new debt."

When asked why he didn't use the $5 billion windfall he received from taxpayers to pay off some of the debt the same way that homeowners are advised to use extra money to pay off some of their mortgage, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan ignored the question and simply spewed government rhetoric about investing in infrastructure.

Most Ontarians believe him that their tax dollars are being used to build our hospitals, schools and roads. In fact their money is being used to pay an ever expanding public sector. The government has been borrowing most of the money to fund capital infrastructure. As a result, the Dalton McGuinty government has added $19 billion to the debt since they came to power, $5.5 billion in the last year alone.

"This government is very good at finding things to build, we can only hope future generations are equally good at finding the money to pay off McGuinty's mortgage," said Mr. Sterling.

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For more information, call Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at: (416) 314-7900