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NDP Leader Andrea Horwath took a swing at Doug Ford in a trek though London and Sarnia on Wednesday, saying his plan to replace a hike in the minimum wage with a tax cut was a “ripoff.”

“He hasn’t done the math. It’s clear that people will be better off with a $15/hour minimum wage than the tax cut he has proposed. This is about ripping off hard-working Ontarians,” she said in a stop at Innovation Works in downtown London.

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On Monday the PC leader said he would not increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour but would eliminate provincial income taxes on anyone earning minimum wage.

Horwath sidestepped when asked about Premier Kathleen Wynne’s recent comments comparing Ford to U.S. president Donald Trump. But she warned Ford, who is leading in the polls, would gut public services.

“He said he will cut billions and billions from the Ontario budget, I don’t think we can handle more cuts.”

Horwath’s stop in London concentrated on the party’s platform on student loans and university funding.

She met with Western University graduate students Stuart McHenry, who has a $20,000 debt, and Jody Tomchisen who owes $34,000.

Both men told her other students have even larger debts that are stressful and sometimes unmanageable.