Mr Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North): I rise today to address this government's preoccupation with attempting to, as a Liberal staffer put it in the Toronto Star, demonize the former government.

I understand that the Liberals have spent some 12 and a half years in opposition, but somebody needs to inform them that opposition tactics don't work when you actually are in government. You need to stop making excuses and get on with the job that the people elected you to do.

Thus far, the Liberal government has achieved the following successes: You've broken your promise on the Oak Ridges moraine; you've broken your promise to not raise taxes, with the largest tax increase in Ontario's history; you've broken your promise to not run a deficit, which obviously you're not going to keep; you've broken your promise to not add to the debt -- another one; you've broken your promise on hiring private consultants, by hiring an expensive consultant to do some creative accounting for you; and you've broken your promise on the hydro rate cap.

The truth is, this government took office with six months left in this fiscal year. They have plenty of time to turn this supposed deficit into a surplus, but they have yet to take any real action whatsoever. The people of Ontario elected you to make the tough decisions to get the job done. So far, you've proven that the only job you can really do is break promises.

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