It’s traditional at this time of the year to look back on the previous twelve months and to look ahead at the year to come. As I reflect on the year 2013 in Manitoba provincial politics it is hard not to think of it as a year that was tough on our province’s taxpayers.
Over the last year we have seen the price of just about everything increase. This isn’t simply the result of inflation or price changes in the things that we purchase, but it is the direct result of decisions made by the provincial NDP government. The decision by the NDP to raise the provincial sales tax in 2013 from 7% to 8% increased the cost of most things that Manitobans buy. It was a move that has been seen by Manitobans as unnecessary and that broke an election promise by Premier Greg Selinger.
While the PST increase was the most talked about tax increase it was not the only cost increase that Manitobans saw in 2013. Once again there were increases to Manitoba Hydro rates and the cost of insuring vehicles. For Hydro, this is just one of annual increases that are projected to happen over the next decade and are a direct result of the NDP government forcing Manitoba Hydro to spend billions of dollars on capital projects and to build a new transmission line on the longest route imaginable.
The combination of the PST increase and increased Hydro and MPI costs are leaving Manitobans feeling financially squeezed. Already one of the highest taxed provinces in Canada, Manitoba is becoming less competitive with each tax and fee increase. And each of these tax increases is directly attributable to the out of control spending by Greg Selinger and the NDP government.
Will this trend continue in 2014? If past behavior is any indication, unfortunately, it likely will. As we look ahead to the New Year, it is critical that the NDP gets its spending under-control and starts managing the provincial finances effectively. While the federal Conservative government is on track to balance the national budget, Manitoba’s NDP has already missed one projected date to balance the books and is making noise that it may miss another in 2016. Having already doubled the provincial debt since coming into office the NDP are leaving our province and its next generation a difficult debt burden to deal with.
2013 was a difficult year from Manitoba taxpayers on almost all fronts. 2014 needs to be the year that the NDP government stops asking for more from Manitobans and starts looking within at the decisions that it is making that are wasteful and inefficient.
