Election: Arbus on leaders' debate

NEWS RELEASE

JEFF ARBUS NDP CANDIDATE SAULT STE. MARIE

************************* Hampton stands up for working families in debate - NDP

SAULT STE. MARIE – Sault Ste. Marie NDP Candidate Jeff Arbus says Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton stood up for working families at tonight's leaders' debate when he challenged Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty's record of broken promises and offered real, positive ideas to make life better and more affordable for working families in Ontario.

Arbus said the defining moment of the debate occurred when Hampton challenged McGuinty to answer for his regressive health tax.

Hampton recalled that when McGuinty broke his promise not to raise taxes, he hit average families with a 24 percent income tax increase.

“We in the NDP wonder if it is fair to give banks and insurance companies a big tax break when the McGuinty Liberals went after people who are trying to raise their kids on low incomes,” said Arbus. “We think Mr. McGuinty’s health tax was highly unfair.”

Jeff Arbus said that since the campaign began, Dalton McGuinty has tried to duck Howard Hampton’s tough questions about overcrowded classrooms, struggling cities, the crisis in manufacturing jobs, tuition increases, and long emergency wait times and the shortage of family doctors.

“Mr. McGuinty wants to talk about the Harris government or even reach back beyond that. Mr. McGuinty doesn’t want to talk about his repeated failures to keep his promises to the people of Ontario. It’s important to remind working families of the broken McGuinty promises because they are making many new ones,” said Arbus.

Hampton proved in the debate that he is the one leader with vision when he offered practical, doable, commitments that will positively change the day-to-day life of working families.

McGuinty, for his part, tried to blame others for his broken promises, and John Tory spent most of his time on negative attacks.

On the matter of education, Hampton was the only leader to talk about the funding crisis in Ontario's classrooms, the real education issue confronting our schools.

“If we properly funded our schools, parents wouldn’t be forced to sell chocolates to finance their children’s education,” said Arbus. “With proper funding, rural schools wouldn’t be forced to close, and more children would be in the public school system.”

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