Ontario Liberals loathe to axe their own tax.

A headline in the St. Catharines Standard (Aug. 30, 2007) read: “Axing health premium will result in service cuts, Smitherman says”.
Why are we still seeing McGuinty’s health tax being commonly referred to as a “premium”?
Not long ago, the St. Catharines Standard (Feb.16, 2007) wrote: “After 3½ years of broken promises not to raise taxes, to balance the budget, and to close coal fired power plants, McGuinty agreed his own credibility will be an issue leading up to the October election.” The Standard quoted the Liberal premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, saying:

“I don’t expect to get a free ride from my opponents. I raised the health tax. I didn’t do that to raise my popularity. I did that because I needed more money for health care.”

So if Dalton McGuinty himself has openly admitted: “I raised the health tax”, why does his devious health minister, George Smitherman, still pretend that it is something other than what it was – a massive, unprecedented, and unwarranted tax grab by Ontario’s Liberal government?
McGuinty’s flimsy excuse back then that he “needed more money” is now clearly seen in context today as his Liberals have amassed a near $3 billion dollar budget surplus.
The Standard also reported (Aug.30, 2007) that while in Niagara Falls, Smitherman “was careful not to make commitments when questioned about local health issues by reporters.”
In Smitherman’s mind, Ontario’s health care system is theoretically just dandy! This Liberal doesn’t need to be pestered with insignificant local questions which might expose his pretensions and undermine his credibility!
Hopefully, these Liberals will not get a free ride this election, and will pay at the polls.
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