The Early Bird Misses the Facts - Facts Still Matter in Ontario – December 5, 2017

Patrick Brown claimed: “I support a value for money audit on every aspect and everything the government spends taxpayer dollars on”

Fact: We already know that on page 76 of Patrick Brown’s campaign document, he outlines $12.275 billion in cuts to programs and services that will hurt Ontario families. These cuts will directly impact healthcare and education, and cut funding towards repairing schools, hospitals, and social housing.

 (Source: https://www.ontariopc.ca/peoplesguarantee)

Patrick Brown claimed: “I want to help Toronto build subways….”

Fact: Over his two years as leader, Patrick Brown voted unanimously against the 2017 and 2016 Budgets – both of which contained critical funding for the Scarborough Subway and planning money for major Toronto subway projects like the Downtown Relief Line and the Yonge North Subway Extension.

(Source: http://www.ontla.on.ca/pas/house-proceedings/house-documents.xhtml?locale=en)

Patrick Brown claimed: “The Auditor General says because we don't measure performance and outcomes and infrastructure contracts we're spending 25-per-cent more than we need to…”

Fact: Last year’s Infrastructure Track Record report - done by independent organization Turner and Townsend - found that Infrastructure Ontario completed an extremely high percentage of projects on budget, and that the “high percentage of projects complete on-budget indicates that IO takes a proper due diligence process.”

(Source: Infrastructure Ontario Alternative Financing and Procurement Track Record Report, 2016)

Patrick Brown claimed: “On the northern telecommunication system, ONTERA, they paid consultants more on how to sell that government asset than they actually got for the sale”

Fact: Deloitte and Touche said the sale of ONTERA resulted in an approximate positive financial impact of $96 million.

(Source: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:0gOfyqBUIqEJ:www.infrastructureontario.ca/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx%3Fid%3D2147492955+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca) 

Patrick Brown claimed: “Well we're already in a deficit”

Fact: The budget is balanced. It was confirmed by Fitch, National Bank, Paul Boothe and the Independent Financial Accountability Officer.

(Source: https://www.fitchratings.com/site/pr/1025397, https://www.nbc.ca/content/dam/bnc/en/rates-and-analysis/economic-analysis/ontario-budget.pdf, http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/how-exactly-did-ontario-liberals-balance-the-budget/, http://www.fao-on.org/en/Blog/Publications/EFO_Spring_2017_876023)

Patrick Brown claimed: “So there is something happening...it's middle class tax relief”

Fact: This is Patrick Brown's signature promise, and it is patently false. There isn’t a single person in Ontario who will actually see a 22.5% reduction in their personal income tax. That's because Patrick Brown is not factoring in the fact that we have a progressive income tax system, which has multiple income brackets. All Patrick Brown is talking about is a 22.5% cut in the rate of one bracket.

And he's also not factoring in the increased costs because of his new, more expensive carbon tax. So when you look at what he's putting forward, it’s only about half of the equation, and it’s deceptive.

(Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/frequently-asked-questions-individuals/canadian-income-tax-rates-individuals-current-previous-years.html)