Opposition calls to table an early budget in hopes of stimulating the economy and saving jobs were cast aside yesterday by Premier Dalton McGuinty, who said getting the financial plan right is more important than rushing it out the door.
Even though Finance Minister Dwight Duncan had said his budget could be ready by the last week of February or early March, the government is now looking at late March.
“There’s so many pieces that remain in motion with respect to the global economy, how that’s impacting on us here in Canada and in Ontario,” McGuinty said after announcing a $500-million investment in transit along with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
“So for us to take a few more days to better understand the world that we’re going into, I think is the right thing to do.”
The deficit, he added, “will be significant because we want to participate in a global, concerted effort to stimulate the economy.”
The government came under fierce opposition attack yesterday for its handling of the economy, as Opposition Leader Bob Runciman accused the Liberals of mismanaging the file for failing to bring down an early budget.
McGuinty’s recent flip-flops and “erratic behaviour” show he’s not up to the task, he said.
Duncan defended the budget timeline, saying the “numbers are changing as we speak.”
