Budget hangover: Highlights and reaction
Plus: LIUNA comes for Del Duca, Hillier in hot water, Question Period goes out with a bang, leaders hit the hustings
ABOVE THE FOLD
AND THEY’RE OFF — The PCs fired the campaign starter pistol yesterday, tabling their budget and pitch to voters ahead of June 2: “Ontario’s Plan to Build.”
What a difference four years makes. After sweeping a majority at Queen’s Park promising to cut the gravy in 2018, Premier DOUG FORD is staring down re-election and boasting a record $198.6-billion fiscal plan — the biggest in provincial history by a long shot.
Caveat: To get the goodies, Ontarians would have to give the Ford Tories a second mandate — but even still, Finance Minister PETER BETHLENFALVY wouldn’t commit to reintroducing it after the vote.
Bethlenfalvy was evasive when pressed to give a yes-or-no answer to that question, saying: “The people of Ontario will vote on this budget” and “it will be up to them if they want to pass this budget.”
Later on, his spokeswoman EMILY HOGEVEEN said the same document would be rev…