Friend (with Benefits) Zone by Laura Brown

The more she seeks to appease the NDP, the higher the demands will go. This puts Premier Wynne in a bit of a bind. “That’s pretty much what I’m saying,” she said. But on Tuesday, after saying she expected the Liberals should be able to agree to all of her demands - what she called “real deliverables” - she was asked if she was, in fact, drawing a line in the sand. Last spring, the NDP leader would repeatedly stress that she didn’t want to draw a line in the sand in budget negotiations, and she would refuse to characterize any of her demands at the time as the take-it-or-leave-it kind. Horwath’s attitude on Tuesday suggested she no longer wants to appear too conciliatory. As National Post’s Scott Stinson noted, the NDP leader has become decidedly more flinty: Compared with her approach to the 2012 budget, Dalton McGuinty’s last as premier, Ms. But, as McGuinty learned, when you appease the left, the demands just escalate. Maybe in the Dalton days, when Horwath was relatively new to her job, a list like that might have worked.

So Wynne offered to end a health tax exemption for businesses that get too successful, more focus on youth unemployment, “respect” for collective bargaining, and less punitive wage rules for people on social assistance. But NDP leader Andrea Horwath seemed more promising, as long as Wynne made it worth her while. She probably knew the feint to the PCs was a waste, as Tory leader Tim Hudak has decided the best form of co-operation is no co-operation.

In it she included some goodies for the Progressive Conservatives (controlled spending! A balanced budget - some day!) and for the NDP. Hudak said his party won’t support the Throne Speech, full stop - the NDP has shifted noticeably toward a more confrontational tone. Horwath to deal with on the spring budget - Mr. This would prove the rare instance in which the received political wisdom appears to have been absolutely correct.īut the surprise twist is that, while the reaction from party leaders after Tuesday’s Speech from the Throne made clear that Ms. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

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Friend (with Benefits) Zone by Laura Brown