QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario can regain the confidence of investors and credit rating agencies – but only if the government clearly commits to meaningful public sector wage restraint, PC Leader Tim Hudak said today.

“First came a Throne Speech that only entrenched Dalton McGuinty’s legacy of overspending and debt,” Hudak said. “The next day, Premier Wynne left the clear impression she is abandoning a public sector wage freeze before she even tries.”

Both developments send troubling signals to the credit rating agencies now breathing down this government’s neck, Hudak noted: “Investors are also looking for a plan to get our fiscal house in order, starting with the single biggest cost item in the provincial budget – wages.

“So the question remains: How are you going to balance the budget without an immediate, across-the-board public sector wage freeze? If the government won’t answer, we will – with our own Ontario PC legislation.”

It all comes on the heels of a Fraser Institute study, also issued this week, which found Ontario public sector workers make on average 14 per cent more than their private sector counterparts.

“The choices before us are no longer optional – they are required,” Hudak said. “We need a new direction so Ontario can realize its potential. That calls for a new team at Queen’s Park.”