PCs would not make Harris-style cuts, candidate says

Despite calls for two per cent cuts in most departments, an area Progressive Conservative candidate says it would not be a return to the Harris era if his party formed government.

PC candidate Fred Gilbert said cuts would come mainly through attrition. Severe cuts during the Harris era met the needs at the time but times have changed he said.

"I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t think that Tim Hudak was compassionate, that he was understanding of the situation that families are facing and what we’re going to do is what we’re going to do as oppose to what was done previously,” he said.

“This is a new time, a new era and to suggest that this is a government that is going to be the same as a government 12 years ago I think is pushing credibility a bit."

But Thunder Bay-Atikokan Liberal incumbent Bill Mauro doesn’t agree, and points out that PC leader Tim Hudak was in cabinet when Mike Harris was premier in the late 90s.
"I think the best prediction of future behaviour is past behaviour," Mauro said.

While Mauro chose to wait to release most of his party’s plans for the north, expected soon, he said the Liberals are proud of what they’ve done in the region over the past eight years.

"We look forward very much to comparing our record to the records of the other parties," Mauro said.

Mauro said he’s also proud of the over $1 billion in public transit contracts committed by the province that helped Bombardier get over 800 jobs.

"Not all of that money was budgeted some of that money we had to fight for I had to fight for," Mauro said.

Gilbert said there are plenty of people in the region who still need a job and are still feeling the affects of the collapse of the forestry industry.

"There are people who are hurting and need some tax relief," he said.

While the NDP and PCs will remove HST from heat and hydro, Gilbert said his party is the only one that will do it immediately along with the debt retirement charge.

NDP candidate Mary Kozorys and Green candidate Russ Aegard could not be reached for comment.