TORONTO - Job losses are the biggest concern for people in Ontario and the government should use this month's budget to cut spending and provide tax relief to boost employment, the opposition parties said Monday.
Progressive Conservative critic Norm Miller said that even though the provincial government promised more than $32 billion over two years as stimulus to create jobs, Ontario lost a net 141,600 jobs in 2009.
"The government has done a great job of creating public sector jobs at eight times the rate of private sector jobs, but has done a very poor job (in the private sector)," Miller said.
"Despite promising one million new jobs through the various plans they've actually lost jobs."
He's urging selective tax relief, such as a tax holiday on the land transfer tax to increase construction of new homes, and a holiday on some payroll taxes like the employer health tax, to improve the jobs outlook.
The Progressive Conservatives also said the government should cap program spending at the levels promised in the 2009 budget, and look at all ministries to see where it can trim some fat.
"The government shouldn't be taking on expensive new programs until they fund some of the basics and they deal with some of the waste that we have out there," Miller said.
But he also said the Liberals must prioritize things such health care -- a sector people are very concerned about.
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan is expected to release this year's budget around March 25, a date he said may change if there's something in the budget the province didn't anticipate.
While he remains tight-lipped about the details, Duncan said there are signs of economic growth and a bit more optimism going into the budget this year than the last.
But he warned against reading too much into positive indicators.
"There are some green shoots, there's no question, but we still have a very large deficit that has to be addressed, we still have employment numbers lagging growth in the economy," said Duncan.
"There are still challenges going forward," he added, saying he was "very nervous" about the U.S. economy, as well as world debt markets.
"Some numbers are optimistic but when your unemployment rate is as high as ours is, I think we've got a lot of work to do," Duncan said.
Premier Dalton McGuinty set out some of the government's priorities last week, saying an upcoming throne speech will focus on establishing a five-year plan to cash in on a growing demand for water and clean water technology.
It will also focus on attracting more foreign students to the province, developing a huge chromite deposit in the northwest known as the Ring of Fire, and trying to make Toronto one of the world's elite financial centres.
Neither McGuinty nor Duncan have said what they plan to do to deal with the record $24.7-billion deficit or discussed the 13 per cent harmonized sales tax -- a move both opposition parties decry but have not committed to overhaul if they were to take power in the 2011 election.
NDP finance critic Peter Tabuns said the real focus of this month's budget should be on unemployment, noting people are still struggling and tapping out benefits like employment insurance.
"The biggest issue is making sure that life is affordable for people, that they have jobs, and it's critical for the government to continue defending people in that area in a way that keeps the wolf from the door," Tabuns said.
"If you are going to give tax cuts they should be very targeted and used to create employment."
His comments came as a Royal Bank consumer outlook released Monday found that 30 per cent of Ontarians are experiencing job anxiety -- a four-month high and the highest level in the country.
