Ontario budget still faces uncertainty

Talk again of a provincial election as Liberals struggle to get budget bill passed
Charlene Close, Rogers Communications

Just when you thought your summer would be free of any election talk.

Ontario finance minister Dwight Duncan has warned the opposition could trigger an election if it doesn't stop stalling the minority government's budget bill in the legislature.

The Conservatives have been delaying passage of the budget bill and finance minister Dwight Duncan is pleading with the NDP to help bring that to an end.

"If it's defeated, then we have an election. So we do need to get a pass," Duncan said.

But NDP house leader Gilles Bisson says don't blame his party for what's going on.

"This is a 350-page bill, 69 acts being changed, I think the public and the democracy has a right to come before the committee and tell us what they have to say," Bisson said.

Duncan said key NDP demands like a tax on the rich and stopping a planned corporate tax cut won't be implemented in time if things continue as is.

Conservative finance critic Peter Shurman said the bottom line is that the Liberals have a minority government and have to learn to play well with others.

"The finance minister and the premier are going to have to realize that they're not royalty. The premier is the premier, he's not the king," Shurman said.

With only eight days left in the session until the summer break, Duncan said the government is prepared to sit until midnight and over the summer to get the budget passed.