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Originally Posted by sdm
Wait a second, tories were in power yes, however if your memory is short who equally pushed the tories (who at any time could be voted out) to increase programs and such. The NDP can share the blame.
Bottomline, Dexter is misleading when he says he had no idea. Just days before the government was voted out they tabled the budget, which i may add they submitted (NDP).
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Not so much. The PCs were in power for almost a decade, and almost half of that was as a majority government. Even after becoming a minority government, they wouldn't fall unless the issue being voted on is a confidence motion... so no, they couldn't be 'voted out at any time'. Budgets are, by default, confidence moments, but this is where compromise comes into play. The budget is still drawn up by the sitting government, not the opposition parties - it is still their
responsibility to ensure that the provinces finances are sound. If they have to concede a point for the sake of compromise, then they should understand that they may well have to cut from somewhere else. The last government didn't seem to grasp this and made many poor fiscal decisions.
The PCs were still in the driver's seat, and still have to be accountable for bad decision making.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Empire
The NDP gov brought down the Tories because they said they couldn't balance the budget. What part of that didn't Dexter understand? When he says it is a surprise to find out the books are in bad shape IT"S A LIE.
Dexter knew full well that balancing the budget was impossible, that tax hikes would be necessary and programs would have to cut. He chose to get elected by preying on a very gullible electorate. The s^%* hasn't hit the fan yet. This province is hanging on by a thread and it is up to Stevie Harper how bad he wants to punish this province for voting in a majority NDP gov for all the wrong reasons. If the feds choose to cut back on federal transfer payments then Mr. Dexter will have to jack up the HST by more than 2% points and we will still be going in the hole.
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I'll agree that Dexter is guilty of over-promising, but how many politicians aren't? And even if he hadn't made those promises, he was likely going to get elected. We've had 10 years of Tory governments, and people wanted a change. The Liberals were too weak this time around. And I still can't understand why you think the federal government is justified in 'punishing' the province just because it didn't elect a Conservative government. How in the hell is that justifiable? It sounds like a system more at home in Iran than Canada. The federal government is responsible to all Canadians. You don't win votes or respect by poking people in the eye, but that's exactly what you're saying should happen.