Statement on Mandate Letters by NDP Treasury Board and Finance Critic Catherine Fife

“The mandate letters released today are more about a Liberal public relations exercise than giving Ontarians any answers about their plan to cut public services and what public assets are on the chopping block. These mandate letters are heavy on spin and light on substance.

New Democrats will go through these letters with a fine-tooth comb, but let’s be honest, if the Liberals want to be open and transparent they should start with the basics:

• The Liberal Trojan Horse budget has 6 per cent cuts in nearly every ministry. In fact, Bloomberg News says the Liberal budget will mean the “biggest cuts since Harris” (http://bloom.bg/1qzpBt3).  What services will the Liberals be cutting?
• Don Drummond said on TVO’s The Agenda that under 'the Liberal plan by 2017, I wouldn't be at all surprised if that involved the public sector about 100,000 lower' (June 25, 2014). Whose jobs are on the line?
• The Liberal plan calls for $3.15 billion in full or partial asset sales. Which of our shared, public assets are the Liberals planning to sell off?

 As usual, the Liberals want to talk about transparency without being transparent. They just cut and paste from the budget and think they should be applauded for accountability.”