Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty embarrasses Ontario provincial election candidate Dalton McGuinty with early tax credit

The Conservatives are accusing Dalton McGuinty of making desperate political gambits after the Liberals announced that they were rolling out a tax credit earlier than planned. While the Liberals responded that they’re simply attempting to kick-start an economy in need of help, there are hints of desperation in the move (for example, the $150 million price tag that comes with implementing the tax credit early). But at this point in the election cycle it seems that McGuinty is basically damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.
The Globe and Mail has more:
They Liberals said Thursday they would move the eligibility date for a proposed tax credit forward so seniors can fix their homes to make them easier to live in. The new date for the credit—which is worth up to $1,500—is now Oct. 1 instead of January 2013.
Moving the program forward is expected to cost them $150-million.
The program is contingent on re-election, so anyone who took advantage of the program in its early days would be risking absorbing the full cost of their renovations if anther party won.
We won’t deny that this all seems a little bit desperate. The move is an expensive one, and McGuinty has already shown signs that he may be starting to panic. But as the incumbent, McGuinty is in an awkward position. If the tax credit remained on schedule for 2013, Hudak would likely hammer him for moving too slowly. But by expediting the process, the PC leader gets to take the Liberal leader to task for panicked policy decisions. In other words, it appears anything McGuinty does as the premier at this point will probably be bad for what McGuinty’s trying to do as an election candidate.
But if Hudak is frustrated that McGuinty has the luxury of being able to unveil shiny new tax credits during a campaign, perhaps he’d be better off considering this: while he may not have the benefit of pointing to his successes as premier, he also doesn’t have to defend everything he’s done for the past eight years.
• Liberals vow to accelerate seniors’ home renovation program [Toronto Star]
• McGuinty ‘panicked’: Hudak [Toronto Sun]
• Hudak slams McGuinty’s ‘panicked’ early tax credit roll-out [Globe and Mail]
I was disabled by my former employer.
My life , my dreams collapsed, but I want to voice my confidence in McGuinty himself .
He is the only genuine , credible with real compassion for average Ontarian . He is the only Leader in coming elections that we can count on!
If Ontarians want to see continuity of Ontario’s recovery and success, then there is only one choice in elections and that is one more term for proven Premier- McGuinty!
Regards,
Andrew
Hey disabled guy!…………did you fall on your head?
“He is the only genuine , credible with real compassion for average Ontarian”!
This guy is worse than Mike Harris!!!!….give me a friggin’ break!
What Province do you live in?………..not Ontario…try and tell the over 550,000 unemployed workers that this guy is compassionate………..try and tell the people who are on fixed incomes and have lost their spouse how they will be able to afford to heat their homes, let alone hold onto them……………oh, and BTW…I’m disabled buddy and the Province of Ontario has never answered one letter, asking for assistance or helped my situation with one red cent!………..this guy is the worst destroyer of our once great province in history………..now shake that head……..not too hard but shake it!~
Well, I agree on some points like “over 550,000 unemployed workers ” , but this is not McGuinty’s fault.
Global economy is crashed.
Non of other candidates can fix this.
Increased Taxes are paying for many programs McGuinty introduced.
Nothing is free.
I agree.
WSiB is criminal and with Injured Workers PROTESTS we do have a chance to change this criminal situation. Best wishes to you with your recovery.