vacuum

Tuesday May 18, 2004

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 18, 2004

Budget Day

Taxpayers are likely to be paying more after Finance Minister Greg Sorbara unveils the Ontario Liberals’ first budget this afternoon. And they can thank a deficit the Liberals say has grown to as much as $8 billion. 

Sorbara will read his budget speech in the Legislature to an attentive audience of groups advocating for more public funding and critics demanding that he hold the line on taxes. Watching from the sidelines is a general public that voted for both those policies in last October’s provincial election.

The Liberals under Premier Dalton McGuinty are expected to move to deliver on a promise to improve public services. And they are expected to reveal the final amount of the deficit they inherited from the former Conservative government as well as what the books will look like for their first fiscal year in office.

Former provincial auditor Erik Peters pegged the shortfall from last year (fiscal 2003-04) at $5.6 billion, although the Liberals have said that when hospital and children’s aid societies’ debt is included, the real deficit for last year is closer to $8 billion. The total provincial budget will exceed $71 billion. (Source: CBC)

 

Wednesday September 10, 2003

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 10, 2003

Clean up Crew Wanted

Washington’s planned U.N. resolution on Iraq is “some way” from meeting France’s priority of “transferring authority to an Iraqi government,” Chirac said.

Both men, speaking at a joint news conference in the eastern German city of Dresden, discussed the U.S. draft for a new U.N. resolution aimed at getting more countries to contribute troops and money to stabilize and rebuild the country.

But the draft insists the U.S. keep control of the military and political process.

France and Germany had been opposed to the war in Iraq but both countries are now willing to help bring stability to the country.

The two leaders said they would study the U.S. proposal “from a very positive point of view.” But Chirac said France may recommend changes to a proposed U.N. resolution.

“It does appear to be really rather far from the main objective, which is that of transferring political responsibility to an Iraqi government as soon as possible,” Chirac said. (Reuters)