Ontario Election Notebook: Victoria Day weekend wrap-up (With video)
As many residents throughout the province relaxed and vacationed this Victoria Day weekend, politicians were hard at work on the campaign trail for Ontario's nearing general election.
Over the weekend, the NDP proposed a $60 million annual plan to save schools facing closure; NDP Leader Andrea Horwath found herself in the hot seat over personal expense reports; the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP called for a public inquiry into the cancellation of two Toronto-area gas plants, while the Liberals challenge Tim Hudak's "reckless" energy plan; and the PCs and NDP reveal new campaign ads, while the Liberals deny accusations of being negative with their ads.
If elected, the New Democrats promise $60 million annually would help protect schools on the chopping block in the province, said Horwath at an early morning news conference in Toronto Saturday.
"Both (Progressive) Conservatives and Liberals have left school boards with no choices but to shut down schools and tear them out of the communities and people have been telling me across this province that that's not what they want to see," Horwath said.
The annual funding would help maintain and renovate schools so they could continue to operate, while allowing non-profit and community groups to take advantage of unused space, said Horwath.
PC Deputy Leader Christine Elliott questioned the feasibility of the NDP plan.
"What we need to do is make sure that we can afford all of these things…It isn't a limitless budget," she said. "We can't continue to spend beyond our means. We need to get our debt and our deficit under control before we spend more money."
As Horwath vowed millions to save schools, the Liberals ridiculed the NDP leader's expense reports, accusing her of billing taxpayers for thousands of dollars in personal expense – including muffins, taxi rides and a $0.25 parking fee.
"In another blow to her credibility, Andrea Horwath has been caught billing taxpayers for thousands of dollars in personal expenses all while pretending that she didn't," a release put out by the Liberals Saturday said.
Horwath said the Liberals are "reaching for straws" and trying to drum up a scandal about her expenses.
"I think this Liberal attack was a bit misguided," Horwath said.
Horwath defended her actions saying she is "very frugal" with her expenses, but she spends a lot of time travelling around the province and has no choice to expense items she normally wouldn't. She said she makes sure all her expenses are vetted by the integrity commissioner before submitting them and added all MPPs, including Premier Kathleen Wynne, file expense claims.
Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak is promising a judicial inquiry into the controversial cancellation of two Toronto-area gas plants. He went after the Liberals on a scandal that dominated the last provincial election three years ago and reiterated his pledge to an inquiry Sunday at the site of one of the cancelled plants.
At a cost of what the auditor general has said could be up to $.1.1 billion, the Liberals scrapped the unpopular gas-fired power plant in Mississauga during the 2011 election and another in neighbouring Oakville in October 2010.
New Democrats also repeated their call for a public inquiry into the cancelled gas plants Sunday.
"I still believe there are answers that people need in terms of the coverup as well as the gas plant cancellation decision itself," said Horwath.
But in a release put out Saturday, the Liberals say Hudak has a "reckless agenda," which includes new powers for the Minister of Energy and/or municipalities to cancel projects and retroactively revoke approvals and will cost the province up to $20 billion.
"The Hudak scheme to cancel renewable energy contracts is irresponsible and shows a naive understanding or a malicious approach to both the energy sector and the basic rules of contract law," said Liberal MPP Bob Chiarelli in the release. "It will cost billions, kill thousands of jobs in the energy sector and hurt our economy."
The Liberals argue Hudak has learned nothing from the gas plant cancellation decisions and is irresponsibly exposing the province to costs well over 20 times the Mississauga and Oakville cancellations.
Ontario PCs released a new ad online Saturday that showcases the party with a message of hope. Hudak said he's asking Ontarians to opt for progress over problems.
Hudak took a jab against the Liberals and their negative approach in their ad campaigns.
"In this campaign the Liberals are going negative, we've seen that," said Hudak. "In this campaign you'll see a PC party not saying what's wrong with the other guys, what's wrong with their party — we're going to be talking about what's right with our plan, our vision for Ontario."
Ontario Liberal Party Leader Kathleen Wynne denied the she's running a negative election campaign.
"I believe that it is very important that as we go through an election campaign we make it clear what we stand for and then we make it clear how we're different from anyone else," she said. "That's not personal attack. That is a clear statement of who we are and how we differ."
In Toronto Sunday, New Democrat MPP Taras Natyshak previewed a new ad put out by his party. The ad focuses on ten years of scandal after scandal with the Liberals and the need for a newly elected NDP government.
"From eHealth to the gas plant debacle, the Liberals have shown time and time again they can't be trusted to respect taxpayer dollars," said Natyshak.
The ad features a ticker that counts the tax dollars Liberals have wasted on misspending, said Natyshak.
"What this ad is, is a reminder for Ontarians about the track record, the dismal track record of the Liberals in Ontario," Horwath said Sunday.
The NDP ad ends with a call "to put the Liberals in the penalty box," for years of mismanagement.
Voters head to the polls June 12.
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