Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said it “falls to this generation to do the right thing, not the easy thing” in rising to meet the challenges posed by a transformed global economic environment.

Addressing the closing luncheon at the Ontario Economic Summit, McGuinty affirmed the provincial government’s commitment to strengthen Ontario’s economy by bolstering education, shoring up health care, stimulating innovation, and implementing the Green Energy Act..

Tackling the politically sensitive topic of a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), the premier said, “It’s easy for opponents to push forward a message that the HST is a tax grab and a waste of money, but I’m appealing to people’s better instincts. We’re in this together, and we have a responsibility for each other.” He cited an independent study that concluded the province’s tax package will create over a million new jobs and attract substantially more capital to Ontario over the next 10 years.

Asked how his government plans to shrink the recently announced $25 billion budget deficit, Premier McGuinty declined to confirm whether he would implement “Dalton days”—a reference to government workers’ mandatory holidays during Premier Bob Rae’s tenure—but acknowledged that putting together the 2010 spring budget will require some difficult choices. People in every sector of the economy will be asked to make sacrifices. “The question is, what are you prepared to do to ensure that your children and grandchildren will enjoy the same opportunities you have?” the premier said.

Written by the Conference Publishers

Tags: What's happening - OES 2009

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