Wynne shows sudden concern for taxpayer

If Premier Kathleen Wynne has learned anything from her government’s costly Green Energy Plan, it’s that the good people of Ontario will accommodate a certain amount of questionable spending, but when it becomes excessive and starts affecting their personal budgets, it’s time to back off.

And so, Wynne is backing off from a plea from the Association of Ontario Municipalities to hike Ontario’s portion of the HST by one percentage point to raise an estimated $2.5 billion a year for municipal infrastructure projects.

“That’s not something that I’ll consider,” she said in an interview Tuesday, at the AMO’s annual conference. “We’re right now trying to help people get ahead ... People are having a hard time making ends meet, so this is not something that we would consider.”

For years the Liberals have introduced budget deficits and have added billions to the province’s debt. Public money has been squandered for political convenience and ambition. The premier once said Queen’s Park needed more “revenue tools”. There was no talk of spending restraint, and no apparent concern for the taxpayer and their ability to pay more.

Wynne’s newfound concern comes courtesy of the Green Energy Plan. Her government has spent billions subsidizing wind and solar energy projects, and that expense helped create a political crisis as Ontarians struggled to pay rising electricity bills.

It’s only in recent months that the Liberals have provided some relief from utility bills, but only by shifting the full burden of the energy’s total production cost to future consumers. Still, it’s been a lesson for Wynne.

It’s not entirely her or her government’s fault that Ontario’s municipalities are struggling to pay for basic infrastructure construction and upgrades. This problem is decades old. Twenty years ago, the Mike Harris government shifted responsibility for many provincial highways and various public services to local municipalities. As a response, smaller municipalities merged to find shared savings and efficiencies. The province also provided additional financial support, but it’s never been enough.

Ironically, Wynne’s Liberals are planning to spend $190 billion in provincial infrastructure during the next 13 years, but are counting on billions of dollars in federal assistance. On Tuesday, she suggested some of those federal dollars might be used to help AMO’s members finance their local projects.

Whatever the case, the HST is one revenue tool Wynne is not willing to deploy.