“…you have to admit (Hudak’s ideas) are carefully thought out and contribute coherently to a multi-layered vision of what a newly prosperous Ontario would look like.”
- Luisa D’Amato, The Waterloo Region Record, July 27, 2012

ORLEANS – Ontario can again achieve its full potential as a magnet for job creation and investment, but only with urgent action to stop nine straight years of government overspending and a laser-like focus on job creation, PC Leader Tim Hudak said today.

“This government has taken a tough economy and made it worse – and only the Ontario PC Caucus has the new ideas to balance the budget and get our economic fundamentals right,” Hudak said. “Without a bold new path, we face a debt that’s set to triple by 2017, deterring investment and driving away even more jobs.”

Hudak made the comments following his latest For Jobs and Our Economy tour stop at Robertson Rental of Orleans, which specializes in construction equipment.

“Over the last 10 months, the Ontario PC Caucus have introduced a range of ideas to kick-start economic growth and job creation,” Hudak said, citing a legislated public-sector wage freeze, lower taxes for businesses, treating energy as a cornerstone of economic growth and modernizing our 1940s-era labour laws for the 21st century.

“By contrast, this government continues doubling down on the same failed policies that have the province careening toward a $30 billion deficit,” Hudak noted. These include canceling job-creating tax relief, continuing with costly energy policies that are driving up electricity rates and driving away businesses, and voting against the Ontario PCs’ mandatory public-sector wage freeze legislation that would save $2-billion annually, among others.

“This government’s reckless overspending has put the things we value – like dependable health care and excellence in education – at risk,” Hudak stressed. “Right now, a one per cent jump in interest rates would cost $500 million. Every one of these dollars we spend on escalating debt interest payments is one less dollar we can spend on roads, MRI scans or school textbooks. It’s simply not sustainable.” High debt loads also deter job creation, because they tell investors we can’t afford the things that make us an attractive place to do business, like low taxes and solid infrastructure, Hudak added.

As evidence, new Statistics Canada data shows that Ontario has now lagged Canada in job creation for 67 consecutive months, Hudak said. “But it doesn’t have to be this way. Ontario can do better, and my team will continue to bring forward positive ideas for as long it takes to ensure Ontarians can find good-paying jobs again.”