With much of Ontarios economy struggling, the NDP and Liberals are accusing each other of not telling the truth about the fate of three job-relief funds for the hardest-hit areas of the province.
The dust-up mirrors the early tenor of the campaign, with the ruling Liberals targeting their first election ad not at Tim Hudaks Tories, but at Andrea Horwaths New Democrats.
The Grits threw the first punch, claiming the New Democrats would wipe out three funds serving Northern, Eastern and Southwestern Ontario. The NDP would kill proven job-creation programs like the Eastern Ontario Development Fund, Southwestern Ontario Development Fund and Northern Ontario Heritage Corporation, the Liberals said in a statement.
That campaign claim is false, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Monday.
We never said that . . . I think (the Liberal claim) is irresponsible, Horwath said from Northern Ontario, where she was campaigning.
Under Liberal rule, the province has lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs and unemployment rates remain so high, Premier Kathleen Wynne will do anything to distract voters from her own sorry record, Horwath said.
Theyre just trying to throw mud. They have a dismal record, she said.
The Liberals calling the NDPs plan bogus point to statements made by Horwath when she said an NDP government would give $250-million worth of tax credits to companies that create jobs or invest in their business. That loss of revenue would be offset by cutting from nine economic-development programs that overlap.
That has the Liberal economic development minister, Eric Hoskins, accusing Horwath of cutting successful job programs for unproven tax credits.
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NDP and Liberals accusing each other of not telling the truth about three Ontario job-relief funds