In the 4 months since they were elected, the Liberal government of Ontario has started backing away from almost all of their promises to rebuild public services, using the excuse of the provincial deficit. In the pre-budget presentation on February 10, 2004, CUPE argued that Premier McGuinty's budget has to tackle the structural deficit by increasing revenues through closing corporate tax loopholes, a modest increase in taxes and deficit spending. Rebuilding public services, not privatization and P3's, is the way to rebuild strong communities. CUPE recommended budget priorities for each of the sectors in which CUPE members work: schools, universities, social services, health care, long-term care and municipal government. CUPE Ontario challenged Premier McGuinty's government to join us in a campaign to rebuild strong communities.
