The stage is set for a June election.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa on Thursday unveiled a campaign-style budget that promises an Ontario pension plan and billions in new spending on everything from transit to hospitals.

Sousa’s fiscal blueprint increases taxes on Ontario’s top 2 per cent of income-earners — or 220,000 people making $150,000 and up — and boosts funding for welfare recipients.

But with the stunning refusal of NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, whose party has propped up the minority Liberals for the past two years, to immediately weigh in on the budget, it appears Ontarians may soon head to the polls.

Sousa crafted the $130.4-billion spending plan — with a $12.5-billion deficit — mindful that it could also serve as the Grits’ election platform and should appeal to traditional NDP voters.

“Ontarians know that we need balance. Only this government will keep health care and education strong while building a stronger economy,” the treasurer told the legislature.







“Where expenses can be cut, we will cut them. Where services can be provided more efficiently, we will do so. But what we will not do is sacrifice important public services,” he said in a shot at Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, who has vowed to slash spending if elected.

“The Hudak PCs would deeply cut funding to health care and education to balance the budget earlier. We’ve seen that movie before. Thousands of nurses and teachers were fired.”

Hudak countered that the bloated budget is proof that after more than a decade in office it’s time to send the Liberals packing so a sinking fiscal ship can be righted.

“Ontario finds itself at a crossroads. We need to act now. Ontario can do a hell of a lot better,” the Tory leader said.

But it was the NDP leader’s last-minute decision to not show up for the budget lock-up Thursday that stole the show at Queen’s Park.

Breaking with decades of political tradition, Horwath will wait until Friday morning to pronounce on a budget that contained nothing unexpected because its contents had been leaked or announced in the weeks prior.

Neither Ministry of Finance officials nor aides to Premier Kathleen Wynne were made aware of the NDP chief’s surprise move until minutes before the 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. media lock-up began.

Horwath, who refused to take questions later in the day, had been scheduled to address the more than 150 sequestered journalists.

Hudak accused her of choosing “to duck and run” instead of letting Ontarians know where she stands, an opinion shared by the Liberal treasurer.

“I’m perplexed as to why the leader of the third party would not stand before Ontarians in terms of what it is we’re discussing today,” said Sousa.

Pressure is mounting on Horwath with Wynne giving her an ultimatum of next Thursday to meet to discuss what’s next and most labour leaders urging the NDP to back the Liberals.

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Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, said Horwath is making a mistake if she forces an election.

Ontario Minister of Finance Charles Sousa speaks to gathered media about the budget before tabling it in the legislature.

“I cannot see any reason why we would run away from this budget and run the risk of allowing Mr. Hudak, who tends to be a right-wing ideologue, into the premier’s seat,” said Ryan.

His sentiments were echoed by Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Ontario Nurses Association and Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union. The only major dissenter was Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), who said Horwath should defeat the Grits.

If Horwath opts to join with Hudak in toppling the Liberals — which could happen as early as next week, sparking a June 12 election — the budget will serve as the governing party’s campaign platform.

On Thursday, NDP MPPs abstained when the Tories unsuccessfully tried to pass a quickie non-confidence motion.

Sousa designed his budget to appeal to New Democrats, borrowing one of their key policy platforms as its centrepiece: a new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, similar to the Canada Pension Plan.

The ORPP will force Ontarians to save a portion of their paycheques for their retirement unless they have an employer’s pension plan. With two-thirds of people lacking such an employee benefit, the mandatory scheme will be massive.

To that end, qualifying workers will contribute up to 1.9 per cent of their earnings — to be matched by their employer — paying out up to $25,000 annually for future retirees who have paid into it. That would be on top of the CPP maximum payout of $12,500.

But it would mean an additional $788 deduction for the annual pay for someone making $45,000.

Other measures that could be seen as sops to the NDP are a 1 per cent increase for Ontario Works recipients and people getting Ontario Disability Support Program benefits, which could pay those eligible an additional $30 a month. As well, the Ontario Child Benefit, which helps low-income families, will be increased from $1,210 a year per child to $1,310.

The Liberals believe that $29 billion over 10 years for transportation infrastructure, including public transit, $11 billion for school construction and repair, and an additional $11.4 billion on hospitals over the next decade will be popular with voters.

With files from Richard J. Brennan and Rob Ferguson

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