Ontario's health tax is hitting low-income earners hardest and is more regressive than a flat tax, Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said Tuesday as he vowed to phase out the tax starting with the province's poorest residents.
Standing before a handful of grocery carts full of food worth $900 — the maximum amount a worker would pay toward the tax — Tory said families could buy a lot more necessities if they had that cash back in their wallets.
A day-care worker earning $25,000 a year pays a higher percentage of her income in health tax than someone making $100,000, Tory added.
"Families across this province work hard to put food on the table and provide a good home for their children," Tory said at a store in a Toronto suburb. "They're willing to pay their taxes so long as they know their money is going to better health care, better education and safer streets."
During the event, Tory was confronted by an angry voter about his decision to change course and offer a free vote in the legislature on his proposal to finance private religious schools.
Tory says while he still supports the idea of fairness and inclusion in the education system, he wants voters to have their say too.
Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty, meanwhile, says the controversy shows poor judgment on Tory's part.
He says what Tory had been planning to do immediately he now plans to do by "stealth."
The Conservatives plan to spend the remaining days of the election campaign talking about issues that matter to voters, Tory said.
Tory had hoped his declaration Monday would depoliticize the issue and allow voters to concentrate on his other promises like eliminating the health tax.
The Conservatives are promising to phase out the tax, starting with the lowest-income earners, and invest $8.5 billion in the health-care system. Tory has also said he would like to expand the role of private providers in the system, as long as patients pay with their health card rather than their credit card.
McGuinty has said his party won't consider phasing out the tax because the province needs that cash to meet increasing health-care needs.
But Tory said even though voters are paying more taxes under the Liberals, the health-care system is still struggling amid a critical shortage of doctors.
Toronto resident Al Balfour, 76, told Tory he's experienced that first-hand. He said he had a mild stroke three weeks ago and had to wait five hours in an emergency room before being seen by a doctor.
Even then, he said he only saw a doctor after he complained vigorously.
"Liberal government: you can shove it where the sun don't shine," Balfour said.
Health Minister George Smitherman said Tory's plan to cut the tax, which generates $2.6 billion annually, will mean closed hospitals and fired nurses.
The health tax already takes income into account, since people earning less than $20,000 don't pay at all while those who earn more pay accordingly, he said.
"We know that low-income people are those most in need of good public services," he said.
The Liberals are the only party saying they will keep the health tax unchanged. The New Democrats have said they would waive the tax for low-income earners if elected Oct. 10.
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Ontario Votes 2007 »
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District Profiles
More Ontario Votes Headlines »
- McGuinty wins massive majority, Tory loses seat
- Dalton McGuinty won a second majority government for the Liberals in Ontario on Wednesday night, a triumph for a party that earlier expressed fears of a drop to minority status.
- Ontario rejects electoral reform in referendum
- Ontario voters have rejected a proposed electoral reform that would have seen some provincial legislators chosen based on a party's share of the popular vote, results showed Thursday.
- Ontario voter turnout a record low
- The percentage of eligible voters casting ballots in Wednesday's Ontario election hit an all-time low despite changes introduced in an effort to boost turnout.
- Ont. Green party scores 8 per cent of vote
- No Green party candidates made it to the Ontario legislature in Wednesday's election, but that defeat was sweetened by a swell in their share of the popular vote, which more than doubled.
- McGuinty only leader not facing leadership questions
- Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty won re-election in Ottawa South and NDP Leader Howard Hampton again won his northern Ontario riding of Kenora-Rainy River. PC Leader John Tory was defeated.
