Again, hospital funding has gone up every single year on our watch. It will go up again this year. It will not go up as dramatically as it has in the past because we're running close to a $25-billion Deficit. My friend opposite believes that that's not particularly relevant; we think that's important.

My friends opposite also know that this is a function of governments everywhere acting in concert to stimulate our economy. We're borrowing money to stimulate our economy, in keeping with the very best advice. They're doing that in the federal government. We're doing it in Ontario. They're doing it in virtually every province and every part of the world. That's an important dimension that we have to take into account as we plan for this year's budget.

Health care funding will go up, hospital budget funding will go up, but it will not go up as dramatically as it has in the past, given our circumstances.

LOCAL HEALTH
INTEGRATION NETWORKS
Mrs. Christine Elliott: My question is for the Premier. What qualifications do you look for in people you appoint to LHINs, Premier, other than donations to the Ontario Liberal Party?

There is a process in place, and I'd ask that my honourable colleague respect that. We asked the auditor to take a look at these kinds of matters. He came in, and he had thorough access to everything. He was thorough in keeping with his practice in taking a look at everything that went on, and he made a number of important conclusions which my colleagues in opposition refuse to accept. He was very clear in terms of what he thought was inappropriate. He said there was a lack of oversight. We have accepted that. We've made changes to ensure that there is in fact greater oversight in place.

The kinds of allegations and insinuations that are being made by my colleague are simply not in keeping with the report put out by the auditor.

Mrs. Christine Elliott: We'll wait and see what the auditor's report has to say.

But the report will also be focusing on the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. The Deficit of the workers' compensation fund has doubled each year since your Liberal friend Steve Mahoney became chair. This year, you and Mahoney have become so arrogant that you didn't even file the report for public accounts. Over 600 agencies, boards and tribunals have filed their annual reports for public accounts, but the WSIB didn't. Premier, what is it that you don't want the public of Ontario to know?

I'm just staying home.

I'm always open to suggestions from the honourable member as to any specific approach that he might bring. What I am aware of is that the member would eliminate the Ontario health premium. That would add another $3 billion to the Deficit. I don't think that would be a prudent approach.

We are going to take a little bit of time. Notwithstanding the member's haste and imprudence, we're going to take a bit of time. We're going to work both internally inside of government and externally and engage Ontarians. We have made it clear that we have three priorities: health care, education and strengthening our economy. If my honourable colleague has any specific suggestions, we would welcome those.

My colleague is against that. We provided significant support to the auto sector to put it on a sound footing. We think that's the appropriate thing to do; my honourable colleague is against that. We're investing heavily in retraining opportunities for families that have been, through no fault of their own, dislocated because of the economic recession. We're helping them; my colleague is against that. That is part of our plan. We continue to pursue that part of our plan and, in due course, we'll also be talking about the best ways to address our Deficit.

I know that we can get a little carried away in here sometimes-it's human nature-but there are no hospitals being closed and I would ask my colleague to acknowledge that. We continue to invest more and more, year over year, in health care. In fact, we're building hospitals and expanding existing hospitals.

But there is an important issue to be made here over and over again. I would ask my colleagues on all sides of the House to accept that we have to make some difficult decisions. We find ourselves at a point in time in our history when we're running a significant Deficit, for all the right reasons. We're investing heavily in infrastructure, we're investing heavily in retraining programs, and we're helping people who are on social assistance and needy families through the Ontario child benefit. We're doing those things for the right reasons. But we are going to have to, together, now make some difficult decisions about those things where we may not be able to invest as quickly as we had originally anticipated and those things we may have to stop doing in order to put in place a plan to eliminate our Deficit.

TAXATION

I'm just staying home.

I'm always open to suggestions from the honourable member as to any specific approach that he might bring. What I am aware of is that the member would eliminate the Ontario health premium. That would add another $3 billion to the Deficit. I don't think that would be a prudent approach.

We are going to take a little bit of time. Notwithstanding the member's haste and imprudence, we're going to take a bit of time. We're going to work both internally inside of government and externally and engage Ontarians. We have made it clear that we have three priorities: health care, education and strengthening our economy. If my honourable colleague has any specific suggestions, we would welcome those.

My colleague is against that. We provided significant support to the auto sector to put it on a sound footing. We think that's the appropriate thing to do; my honourable colleague is against that. We're investing heavily in retraining opportunities for families that have been, through no fault of their own, dislocated because of the economic recession. We're helping them; my colleague is against that. That is part of our plan. We continue to pursue that part of our plan and, in due course, we'll also be talking about the best ways to address our Deficit.

I know that we can get a little carried away in here sometimes-it's human nature-but there are no hospitals being closed and I would ask my colleague to acknowledge that. We continue to invest more and more, year over year, in health care. In fact, we're building hospitals and expanding existing hospitals.

But there is an important issue to be made here over and over again. I would ask my colleagues on all sides of the House to accept that we have to make some difficult decisions. We find ourselves at a point in time in our history when we're running a significant Deficit, for all the right reasons. We're investing heavily in infrastructure, we're investing heavily in retraining programs, and we're helping people who are on social assistance and needy families through the Ontario child benefit. We're doing those things for the right reasons. But we are going to have to, together, now make some difficult decisions about those things where we may not be able to invest as quickly as we had originally anticipated and those things we may have to stop doing in order to put in place a plan to eliminate our Deficit.

TAXATION

I'm just not going to get the positive support that I've been looking for, I guess, Speaker. I'll have to look elsewhere for that.

Again, what did Ontarians expect of us at the outset of the recession? I think they expected us to do the kinds of things that we have done. They've asked us to find a way to support the auto sector; hence the billions of dollars of support we put there. They asked us to provide retraining opportunities for people caught up in the economic dislocation who have lost their jobs though no fault of their own, so we've invested in that as well. Those are the kinds of initiatives that my honourable colleague would not and does not support. Those are the kinds of things that we have done in the face of the recession.

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Now, given the fact that we've made our Deficit public-it is significant; there's no doubt about that-we will begin to work together in an earnest way to find ways to chart a course towards a balanced budget without compromising public services and at the same time making investments in a stronger economy.

We've always brought balance as a government and we will continue to do that. When it comes to the matter of addressing the Deficit, we will continue to hear on a regular basis from the party on the left that we need to spend more, ever more and lots more, and we should pretend that the Deficit is not part of our reality. From the party on the far right, we will continue to hear every day that we need to cut and hack and slash in an unthinking way. What Ontarians want is balance. They want us to recognize our fiscal reality. They want us to protect their public services. They want us to invest in a stronger economy for tomorrow. They want us to protect their health and education. They want us to deliver their public services in a more efficient manner. That's the task that we have before us, that's the task that we really take on and that's the challenge which the Minister of Finance is taking on as he prepares his budget.
HEALTH CARE FUNDING

I look forward, along with my honourable colleague, to the fall economic statement, which will be presented in this House tomorrow. What I can say, though, is that there is a significant Deficit. I think Ontarians anticipate that and understand why we find ourselves in these circumstances.

Ontario has been affected by a powerful global economic recession. We have been part of the international response. Whether you're talking about the OECD or the IMF or even the government of Canada itself, in a concerted effort, we have acted to stimulate the economy, to invest in infrastructure and to create jobs right now, while we need them. That was a huge contributing factor to the size of the Deficit.

We're doing it for the right reasons, which is the same reason why we'll put in a plan to address the Deficit over the long term-because that's also the right thing to do.

I would argue that on our watch we've come a long way when it comes to enhancing transparency and increasing accountability, and I'll just list a few examples of that. One of the first things that we did was to increase the ambit of the freedom-of-information legislation to bring back in OPG and Hydro One, companies that had been excluded by the Conservative government. We then provided new authority to the auditor to take a look at, for the first time, universities, schools and hospitals. We then gave new authority to the auditor-in fact, a mandate-to review government expenditures before we go into an election so there are no surprise Deficits that come out on the other side of an election. Beyond that, we've also taken additional steps, and I'll be pleased to speak to those in the supplementaries.

What I can say is that-and I may have to refer some supplementaries to my colleague the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure-there was a specific plan to build infrastructure-schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and the like, to not only create 300,000 jobs in the short term but also to enhance our economic productivity over the long term.

But there is a strong consensus on Parliament Hill, across the country, in the US, the European Union, India, China and the like, which is that it is very important for us to invest in infrastructure, to stimulate the economy. That necessarily requires that we run a Deficit for the time being. We acknowledge that creates challenges in the long term, but we think it's the best thing for us to do together right now: strengthen this economy, stimulate the economy and create jobs.

The honourable member may pretend that he is not aware that Ontario, like the rest of Canada, like the rest of the world, has been affected by a global recession, but Ontarians understand what has happened to us. They also understand that it's important for us to stimulate the economy. They understand that means that we have to borrow money. We have to run a Deficit. We're being upfront with Ontarians about the Deficit that we're running.

My colleague was a member of a government which surprised all of us with a $5.6-billion Deficit, which none of us were aware of. Ontarians are aware of the Deficit that we're running; they're also aware of our motivation for doing that. We think it's important to stimulate the economy, to create jobs-that meets the needs of our generation at this moment in time. But we are also mindful of our responsibility to the next generation. We'll be speaking more about that through our fall economic statement and our upcoming budget, as to how we're going to deal more specifically with our Deficit, which we've run for the right reasons.

Again, I want to remind my colleague that there is a very broad consensus of the need for us to stimulate the economy, of the need for us to take actions collectively around the world to ensure that a great recession did not become a great depression. I think many would argue that we have, in fact, done the right thing as part of a large, global, collective response to a global challenge. As I say, we are mindful of the dangers associated with running a Deficit, but we chose specifically not to pursue the path recommended by my colleague. We did not make cuts to our schools, we did not make cuts to our hospitals, we did not make cuts to our environmental protections, and we refused to make cuts to our business partners which are looking for us to support them in a time of great challenge. That's the approach that we've brought. Again, we are mindful of the Deficit challenge, and we'll be speaking more about that through our fall economic statement and the budget as well.

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Admittedly, it is an interesting storyline. It has some attraction to it, but it's not founded in reality. We were all affected by a global recession. We participated in a responsible approach to dealing with it. I want to quote the federal Minister of Finance. He said, "Our government will be making a deliberate choice in the budget to run a substantial Deficit. The Deficit will be a temporary tool-one that allows our government to invest in a stimulus plan that injects money into our economy and delivers real benefits to Canadian families and businesses." I could not agree more, and I would recommend to my honourable colleague that he pick up the phone and speak to the federal Minister of Finance so that they're in sync once again on these important issues.
TAXATION

This is an important conversation that we would ask our colleagues to engage in as Ontarians, and more broadly as well. I think Ontarians understand where we find ourselves. We're running a significant Deficit. We've run it for the right reasons: to stimulate our economy as part of a global effort in the face of a global challenge. That was the right thing to do for us, but as I said earlier today, we're also mindful of our obligation to our children and our grandchildren to get ourselves out of this financial challenge. That will call for some difficult decisions.

I'm proud of the fact that in our recent public accounts it registered less than a 0.5% increase in our expenditures in comparison to our original estimates. So we have done a good job at holding the line, but there are more difficult decisions to come, and I'm always open to advice and recommendations from my colleagues opposite.

Again, my colleague offers no suggestions with respect to where the money would come from to help folks who find themselves in difficult times in their retirement. I want to remind my honourable colleague that the economy, we project, will shrink by two and a half per cent this year. I'll remind him that we're running some considerable Deficits, that we're investing thirty-two and a half billion dollars into infrastructure, and that we've found a way to increase funding levels for education, for health care, for post-secondary education and for things like the Ontario child benefit and affordable housing. I would ask him, where would he find the funds necessary to invest in making our retirees more secure at this point in time? I think it's a big challenge; I think we need to come together nationally to solve it.
VIOLENT CRIME
Mrs. Laura Albanese: My question is for the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Two shootings in the span of the last 48 hours have deeply affected the community of York South-Weston. The first incident on Tuesday evening has claimed the life of a 19-year-old man, and from media reports I understand that the victim was shot several times in the back. Yesterday evening, another young man was shot several times in the head and in the leg near a bus shelter, and he is fighting for his life.

Minister, my riding has had a very high incidence of violent crimes in the past year. Gun crime on our streets affects not just those who are involved, but also people who are just going about their everyday life. The community has been working very hard to find solutions. What measures is our government taking to tackle these appalling acts-

As you might imagine, I take issue on a number of scores here.

First of all, none of these tax measures take place for another 15 months. It may be that the leader of the official opposition believes that we're going to be mired in a global recession at that point in time, but I have a different take on that.

As well, we are cutting taxes for Ontarians by $10.6 billion, $2.3 billion of which is permanent. And we're cutting taxes for our businesses by $4.5 billion. This is a dramatic response to an extraordinary set of circumstances.

We recognize that there are difficult choices that we made in this budget-there will be a significant Deficit-but we have to bring an extraordinary and a dramatic response to the circumstances before us. That's why we're cutting taxes for families; that's why we're cutting taxes for businesses. We want to strengthen the economy to ensure we have the capacity to support good-quality public services long into the future.

It's a little confusing, because just a few days ago the leader of the official opposition said, "I think, in theory, our party is supportive of harmonization." Then he went on to say, "In principle, it's something we think should occur."

Just so we're clear on this: Our tax measures, over the course of the next four years, will cost the Ontario treasury $2.3 billion. We are running a Deficit, and a significant Deficit, as part of a comprehensive package to stimulate the economy and to make our economy more competitive for the future. So we're making dramatic tax cuts, not only for businesses but for families. Those are permanent tax cuts. They're the kinds of things that we know, and I'm convinced the leader of the official opposition knows, need to be done so that we can have the capacity to support our public services.

It is true: There are some things that Ontarians will have a hard time forgetting. That $5.6-billion Deficit which was hidden from their view was something that was very disappointing for them.

Fortunately, working together with Ontarians, we have eliminated that Deficit. We have had a number of years of solid economic growth. We have fixed the roof while the sun was shining. Today Ontarians have better schools, better health care, better environmental protections, better supports for our most vulnerable and a stronger economic foundation.

But now we need to do more. I'm in full agreement with that: We need to do more to protect our families from this storm and to strengthen the foundation of the economy so it will support public services going into the future.

TAXATION

Again, Speaker, I appreciate the observations, but I disagree with him. The official opposition has for some time now said that they are very concerned about the size of the Deficit that we are projecting. But I want you to understand some of the demands that they have been putting forward, notwithstanding their concerns about the Deficit.

We've been keeping track of their questions since we returned to the House. They have asked, so far, 25 "spend" questions. They are asking that we spend more on everything from an airport to adult literacy programs, a lumber mill, MRI machines, a bridge, several questions on hospitals and mental health. These are all good issues. They are very debatable and important concerns advanced on behalf of their constituents. But you can't have it both ways. You can't say we have to cut public services and invest in them at the same time.

We intend to run a Deficit. I think we were the first province to announce that. We've been followed by the federal government through its actions. I expect that we'll see Deficits in many of the Canadian provinces, and I'll tell you why we're going to run a Deficit, for a few reasons.

First of all, we've been asked by international organizations like the G20 and the International Monetary Fund, and the Prime Minister himself, to do what we can to stimulate our economy. We will have to borrow money to stimulate the economy in that particular way, more so than we've been doing already. At the same time, we are going to protect the gains we have made in our schools, in our hospitals and in our protections for the environment.

Finally, in addition to helping people today who need help, through our immediate stimulus package we want to begin to build a solid foundation for a future economy at the same time. All of those cost money. We have no choice but to do those things at this point in our history.

I know that my colleague has a different perspective on this than do I, but just by way of interest, I noticed that Alberta had an $8-billion surplus last year. This year they are projecting, so far, a Deficit of over $1 billion. What my honourable colleague fails to recognize is that the world around us has changed, and it's had a profound impact on our economics here in Ontario.

We are going to use this budget to do what we believe Ontarians want us to do. They want us to stimulate the economy. They want us to create jobs in the short term. They want us to build a stronger economy, on a go-forward basis, that is there for us when we emerge from this global economic recession. They want us to protect our gains that we've made in our public services. They want us to help people who are up against it through no fault of their own whatsoever. Our budget will strive to do all of those things.

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It may be that my honourable colleague is the only person in Ontario who thinks that somehow the global economic recession can be sourced here, at Queen's Park. I just don't think anybody else believes that.

He certainly is not in agreement with the priorities that we've brought to bear during our first five years. We have invested significantly, that is true, in nurses, MRI and CT technologists, personal support workers for our long-term-care homes, home care workers, public health unit inspectors, water inspectors, meat inspectors and the like.

I want to quote from the federal Minister of Finance, who said the following: "Our government will be making a deliberate choice in this budget to run a substantial Deficit. The Deficit will be a temporary tool-one that allows our government to invest in a stimulus plan that injects money into our economy and delivers real benefits to Canadian families and businesses." I agree with the federal Minister of Finance.

ONTARIO ECONOMY

I'll be meeting with CAW again this afternoon. I am confident that if I revisit the idea of investing together with our Big Three here in the province of Ontario-they're very supportive of that $200-million investment that we made in GM. Workers at that plant are very supportive of that investment that we made together with GM. So we will continue to find ways to partner with the auto sector, the CAW and the federal government to put our auto sector on a stronger, more sustainable footing.
HOSPITAL FUNDING
Mrs. Joyce Savoline: Through you, Mr. Speaker, to the Minister of Health: Minister, the first word of the LHIN acronym is "local." However, your LHINs are certainly not taking local issues and situations into account when allocating funding. Let me give you an example: the C. difficile outbreak that the province watched unfold from a very comfortable distance and did not contribute financially to-not one red cent.

Minister, why are you abandoning Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital and leaving them with Deficits that are due to your inappropriate levels of funding?

From time to time, we come to stare into the face of the Conservative ideology. They're unhappy with the results of our decisions. We're going to have a modest Deficit. We've chosen to do that rather than gut public services. They're saying that they're unhappy with the Deficit, that we shouldn't have a Deficit, but they're also saying that we should cut taxes dramatically. You can't have it both ways. You can't maintain public services and dramatically cut. We had that experience. They cut their taxes and they left us with Deficits. We've had that experience. They were in power for eight years and they ran five Deficits.

We've tried that; we're not going back there. We're going to look after public services, we're going to run a modest Deficit and we're going to bring reality to bear when-

A couple of things on that score: My honourable colleague belonged to a government which not only saddled Ontarians with a $5.6-billion Deficit, but they were in power for-

Interjections.

They don't like to remember this, but they were in power for eight years, and during that time they ran five Deficits. The price of oil was low, the Canadian dollar was low and the US economy was firing on all eight cylinders. They had the best of times and they ran, out of eight years, five Deficits. I would suggest they don't have the best pulpit from which to sermonize.

We've taken a number of steps forward to deal with poverty, and we look forward to doing more. We will be speaking to that in a more fulsome way in December, when we announce our comprehensive plan to address poverty.

For observers, it's important to understand that we've got the Conservatives saying we shouldn't be running a Deficit, we've got the NDP saying we need to find ways to spend more. There is an element of truth in the position put forward by both sides. Our job on this side is to find a way to reconcile those competing interests. It's to find a way to deal with all those demands, to make advances on the poverty front, to act in a way that is fiscally responsible, to protect health care and education, and we will do that. I'll tell you why I'm so comfortable and more confident with this: It's because we allow ourselves to be continually inspired by the values of Ontarians.

POVERTY

Again, I think a bit of compare and contrast is really helpful here. During their eight years in government, they had the best of times. Throughout, they had a low cost of oil and a low Canadian dollar and a US economy firing on all eight cylinders, but notwithstanding those good eight years, they ran five Deficits, including a $5.6-billion hidden Deficit with which they saddled our government. We took a couple of years to come out from under that, and we managed to balance our budget two years in a row now. So in terms of comparing and contrasting, we've done what we could, we think, in a responsible way and at the same time made significant new investments in public services which families need to be able to count on.

I think we're making some progress here: We had an acknowledgment of their Deficit. But they've only acknowledged half of it, so we'll keep working on that.

What else have we done in order to fix the roof while the sun was shining, you might ask? We have 8,000 more nurses working in Ontario. We've got doctors for 630,000 more Ontarians. We have over 100 hospital construction projects underway and we've got wait times down. Again, good investments, wise investments, made on behalf of Ontario families.

POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION

I'm not going to speak to specific details. I'll allow the Minister of Finance to do that. But what I want to draw to your attention are the mixed signals we're getting from the Conservatives. On the one hand, they're saying that we should shun a Deficit at all costs, and yet this honourable member is now asking that we ensure that we find a way to make investments in certain kinds of programs.

What we want to do, when it comes to new programs-it's very important that we take the time to find a way to defer it or slow that down, if at all possible. When it comes to existing programs, there's going to be less money for next year than we had originally anticipated. I think Ontarians understand why. We're going to have to call upon all of our transfer partners to work with us as we manage our way through this. I'm confident, though, given the temporary nature of this global economic downturn, that we can take the interim steps to preserve our fiscal integrity.

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A couple of things on that score: My honourable colleague belonged to a government which not only saddled Ontarians with a $5.6-billion Deficit, but they were in power for-

Interjections.

They don't like to remember this, but they were in power for eight years, and during that time they ran five Deficits. The price of oil was low, the Canadian dollar was low and the US economy was firing on all eight cylinders. They had the best of times and they ran, out of eight years, five Deficits. I would suggest they don't have the best pulpit from which to sermonize.

We've taken a number of steps forward to deal with poverty, and we look forward to doing more. We will be speaking to that in a more fulsome way in December, when we announce our comprehensive plan to address poverty.

For observers, it's important to understand that we've got the Conservatives saying we shouldn't be running a Deficit, we've got the NDP saying we need to find ways to spend more. There is an element of truth in the position put forward by both sides. Our job on this side is to find a way to reconcile those competing interests. It's to find a way to deal with all those demands, to make advances on the poverty front, to act in a way that is fiscally responsible, to protect health care and education, and we will do that. I'll tell you why I'm so comfortable and more confident with this: It's because we allow ourselves to be continually inspired by the values of Ontarians.

POVERTY

Again, I think a bit of compare and contrast is really helpful here. During their eight years in government, they had the best of times. Throughout, they had a low cost of oil and a low Canadian dollar and a US economy firing on all eight cylinders, but notwithstanding those good eight years, they ran five Deficits, including a $5.6-billion hidden Deficit with which they saddled our government. We took a couple of years to come out from under that, and we managed to balance our budget two years in a row now. So in terms of comparing and contrasting, we've done what we could, we think, in a responsible way and at the same time made significant new investments in public services which families need to be able to count on.

I think we're making some progress here: We had an acknowledgment of their Deficit. But they've only acknowledged half of it, so we'll keep working on that.

What else have we done in order to fix the roof while the sun was shining, you might ask? We have 8,000 more nurses working in Ontario. We've got doctors for 630,000 more Ontarians. We have over 100 hospital construction projects underway and we've got wait times down. Again, good investments, wise investments, made on behalf of Ontario families.

POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION

I'm not going to speak to specific details. I'll allow the Minister of Finance to do that. But what I want to draw to your attention are the mixed signals we're getting from the Conservatives. On the one hand, they're saying that we should shun a Deficit at all costs, and yet this honourable member is now asking that we ensure that we find a way to make investments in certain kinds of programs.

What we want to do, when it comes to new programs-it's very important that we take the time to find a way to defer it or slow that down, if at all possible. When it comes to existing programs, there's going to be less money for next year than we had originally anticipated. I think Ontarians understand why. We're going to have to call upon all of our transfer partners to work with us as we manage our way through this. I'm confident, though, given the temporary nature of this global economic downturn, that we can take the interim steps to preserve our fiscal integrity.

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I'm pleased to take the question, but I'm reminded of another $5.6 billion. That was a Deficit that we inherited, and I know that my honourable colleague opposite was part of a government that ran five Deficits. We worked long and hard to remove ourselves from those difficult circumstances. But I know that my friend would recognize that there are extraordinary global economic challenges that are having an impact on us here in Ontario, as well as much of the rest of the world, and I think above all Ontarians want us to act responsibly in these circumstances. That's what we intend to do. We will do as much as we can to protect their services. At the same time, we'll be asking all of our transfer partners, in particular, to help us manage through this difficult, temporary circumstance.

My friend remembers certain things, and even those things that he remembers, I don't recall, but I do remember a $5.6-billion Deficit. That's shown in the public accounts, so that is real.

My colleague opposite knows that we've also done a number of things to help the competitiveness of Ontario businesses when it comes to the levels of taxation. He's dead wrong when he continues to say somehow that we are the least competitive jurisdiction in all North America, and he knows better than that. We have, in fact, a lower combined corporate tax rate than any US state, and I know that my friend recognizes that.

We've also acted to raise the small business tax exemption. We have reduced the business education tax, and we continue to do that, and we've completely eliminated the capital tax for our manufacturers and others who find themselves in the resource-based industries in Ontario.

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We will continue to work well and hard with the people of Ontario to lay continuing shape to our five-point plan, which is in keeping with their values, their aspirations and their history.

Speaking of history, I think it's worth our while to take a little look back at what we were left with. They had a 60-cent dollar, oil at $30 a barrel, and a US economy that was firing on all eight cylinders. They left us with a $5.6-billion Deficit, dramatically under-resourced public services, and an unemployment rate-

Interjections.

I think it's worthwhile taking a brief look back at their legacy. They had oil at $30 a barrel, they had the dollar at 60 cents, they had a US economy that was firing on all eight cylinders. Their legacy was a $5.5-billion Deficit, cuts to our schools, cuts to our health care, cuts to valuable supports for our most vulnerable. That's their legacy.

We have balanced our budget every year, we've made record levels of investment in our health care and education, we're working together with our business partners and we're cutting business taxes.

There's another important issue that's brought to bear at this time. We're sending $20 billion to the rest of the country. We can't afford to do that, and Ontarians want to know who's going to stand up for them in their hour of need. What about their side?

ONTARIO ECONOMY

I thank the honourable member for his question, delivered in the usual supportive tone that I've become accustomed to here on this side of the House.

We are very much looking forward to presenting our budget shortly in this Legislature. It will be in keeping with the approach we've taken since 2003. You will recall, Speaker, that in 2003 the people of Ontario rejected the Conservative approach. Notwithstanding great economic conditions suited to growth-including a low dollar, low cost of oil and a strong US economy-that wonderful opportunity was squandered, and they were saddled with a $5.5-billion Deficit and dramatic cuts to our public services. Ontarians have rejected that approach in the past. They can count on us to reject that approach today, but rather to build on the foundation we've laid.

We take responsibility for bringing a balanced, thoughtful, prudent approach to a growing economy. We are proud that notwithstanding the fact we've had to contend with a dollar that's at parity with the US dollar or higher, that the price of oil is no longer $30 a barrel as it was back then but $100 a barrel today and the fact that the US economy is struggling today while it was firing on all eight cylinders before, we have eliminated the Deficit, balanced the budget and invested dramatically in our schools and health care. We have smaller classes, higher test scores and higher graduation rates. We've got shorter wait times and more doctors and nurses. And the good entrepreneurial people of Ontario created more than 450,000 net new jobs. Yes, we are proud that we will be able to work with the people of Ontario.

I think a bit of compare and contrast would be helpful here. They had a 60-cent dollar, oil valued at $30 a barrel and a strong US economy. We've got $100-per-barrel oil, we've got a Canadian dollar that is at parity-plus vis-à-vis the US dollar, and we've got a faltering US economy.

They left a $5.5-billion Deficit, they fired nurses, closed hospitals, fired water inspectors and attacked public education. What we've done, under trying economic conditions: We have more doctors, more nurses and more hospitals. We have more schools, more teachers, smaller classes, higher test scores and higher graduation rates. We have an economy that continues to grow-not as quickly as we would like it to grow-and we have 450,000 net new jobs.

No, we will not adopt their approach, and yes, we will adopt the approach that Ontarians want us to continue to pursue.

ONTARIO BUDGET
Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer: I'm shocked to hear the Premier and his blame message, blame for other people as to what the problems are in Ontario. But I can tell you first hand that in my community people are worried about their jobs, and they're worried about their ability to provide for their families, to pay their mortgages and to put food on the table. They've seen plants closing in my community. They've seen thousands of jobs lost, and those jobs belong to their friends, their neighbours and their relatives. There are warnings everywhere that this province is becoming a have-not province and that a recession may be looming, which will simply mean more job loss.

Economists agree that Ontario needs to take action if we're going to create jobs in the future. Lower corporate taxes would create this environment. Will the Premier commit today to lowering corporate taxes in today's budget so that more jobs can be created and retained?

I think it would be helpful to all of us to cast our minds back to the consequences of a dangerous and reckless obsession with tax cuts. Again, that was embraced by the Conservatives when they were in government. They left us with a $5.6-billion Deficit. They closed our hospitals. They declared war on public education. They fired nurses by the thousands. They fired water inspectors.

We're not going to pursue that particular path. Ontarians have said no to that particular approach. We are investing in our schools. We are investing in the skills and education of our people. We are investing in our health care system. We are investing in infrastructure. We are investing in partnerships with the business community. That, again, to my way of thinking at the beginning of the 21st century, is how to grow the Ontario economy.

I just don't recall the Conservatives campaigning on this particular platform. They're obviously taking their leadership cues from elsewhere these days.

The Conservatives don't like to be reminded of this, but the fact of the matter is that when they embraced that dangerous and reckless obsession with tax cuts-and it has some simplicity to it, and a certain degree of elegance: Tax cuts create jobs. But what the Conservatives didn't tell us was that tax cuts resulted in closed hospitals; resulted in poor-quality health care for the people of Ontario; it resulted in a tax to our system of public education; it resulted in a loss of our capacity to monitor the safety of our environment and it resulted in a $5.6-billion Deficit. During the last four years-plus, we have 450,000 net new jobs in the province of Ontario as a result of our economic policy. We intend to keep moving forward.

ONTARIO ECONOMY

I'm pleased to take the question, but this is a bad day for the opposition. We have worked long and hard, starting over four years ago, to, first, begin by tackling a $5.6-billion Deficit which the previous government saddled the people of Ontario with. We then fought an election to ensure that this party could not take $3 billion out of health care for the people of Ontario. And we now find ourselves, as a result of long, hard, painstaking work, in a position where today in this Legislature we're talking about $3 billion in additional support for the people of Ontario and their economy. We're proud of the work we've put into this, we're proud of being able to be here today, and we're proud of the work that Ontarians are doing.

I think that one of the things that is demanded of leadership, particularly in challenging times in challenging sectors, is that you speak to the future with a sense of optimism. I don't hear a word of that coming from the leader of the NDP; not a single word of that.

People out there can despair on their own; our shared responsibility is to give them good reasons to be hopeful. That's why we have finally put ourselves in a position-we got rid of their Deficit. We held off their insistence at cutting $3 billion out of health care. We've come to the floor today with $3 billion by way of new investments, supporting tax competitiveness, new innovation, new supports for our workers. We can't turn this around overnight, but I have an abiding confidence in the people of Ontario, and in our workers, to come together and see ourselves through this difficult period.

We will do our part here in this Legislature. Hopefully, the leader of the NDP will get on board at some point in time and speak about the bright and promising future that's there for all Ontarians. At the same time, it would be nice that we should stand up to the federal government.