QUEEN’S PARK – In Question Period today, Progressive Conservative Finance Critic Tim Hudak slammed Dalton McGuinty and his Finance Minister for trying to hide a new Liberal slush fund behind the skirts of a municipal infrastructure program. Despite claims to the contrary, the new Investing in Ontario Act does not target infrastructure for municipalities but would allow the McGuinty Cabinet to allocate potentially hundreds of millions of dollars behind closed doors to whatever group it chooses.

“This Bill is nothing but a legalized Liberal slush fund trying to evade the scrutiny of the Provincial Auditor,” said Tim Hudak. “In fact, the words municipality and infrastructure are not found anywhere in the Bill.”

During a press conference on March 12 2008, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said his Bill would dedicate a portion of any future provincial surplus to infrastructure for municipalities. However, the Investing in Ontario Act introduced yesterday would allow Cabinet:

• To prescribe by regulation the recipients to whom payments would be made;
• The purposes for which payments would be made;
• The method of and basis for calculating the payments; and
• The amount of the surplus dedicated to debt reduction

Furthermore, the Investing in Ontario Act uses a very broad definition of eligible grant recipients. An eligible grant recipient is defined as: a person or entity, other than an individual, but including a partnership whose members may be individuals, that does not carry on activities for the purpose of gain or profit.

“Last week the Finance Minister said this money would be allotted for municipalities. But the legislation he’s tabled this week allows Cabinet to hand pick a wide variety of grant recipients that suit their political purposes,” said Hudak. “For example, the infamous Ontario Cricket Association that received a $1 million grant in a previous Liberal slush fund is eligible for even more funds under this Legislation. Ontarians deserve better than a government that will raise their taxes and then dole the money out to their friends.”