QUEEN’S PARK – MPP Jim McDonell joined his PC Caucus colleagues in condemning the spending culture that is crippling the Government of Ontario, following the release of a confidential Treasury Board proposal containing numerous new and increased taxes.

MPP McDonell commented: “The document contains almost 50 new fees that the Government is considering charging every Ontarian. The projected revenue of $270 million will do nothing to address the provincial debt load, and is a blatant disregard for the increasing demand on my constituents’ scarce disposable incomes. Over half a million Ontarians who are still unemployed today will be hit hardest by these ridiculous new fees. This is further evidence that the Government refuses to realize it has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. This is the classic McGuinty-Wynne mentality of cutting essential services, while spending more on costly programs, scandals, and layers of bureaucracy and then demanding that Ontario residents dig into their pockets to pay for it.”

Among the measures proposed in the Liberal documents:

•             a monthly phone bill surcharge of 75 cent,

•             an $85 fee for seniors renewing commercial drivers’ licenses,

•             a $108 validation fee on passenger vehicles,

•             increasing OMB appeals fees to $250

•             reintroduction of photo radar

•             a $5 charge for in-person services at Service Ontario Driver and Vehicle centres

MPP McDonell concluded: “We need to put the interests of Ontarians first, with reforms to address our jobs crisis and the ballooning cost of living due to Liberal policies over the last decade. This Government needs to spend less and stop nickel-and-diming Ontarians for the McGuinty-Wynne legacy of failed policies and amassed debt.”