Ontario NDP to support provincial budget

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath has announced that she will support the governing Liberal Party’s budget for 2013-14, which includes plans to reduce auto insurance rates in the province by an average of 15%.

Following the tabling of the budget earlier this month, Horwath said she and her party would be talking with Ontarians before deciding whether to support the budget and avoid an election.

Background: Industry response to Ontario budget mainly positive, while political opposition remains

The Liberals’ budget did include several plans originally set out by the NDP as priorities in the lead-up to budget day, including the 15% cut to auto insurance rates.

“We will pass this Budget based on the commitments this government has made and we will keep working hard to ensure promises are kept,” Horwath said in a statement Tuesday.

“We’ve worked hard to deliver results,” he said. “It’s not everything we wanted. It’s not everything people have told us they need. But we’re proud to deliver results that will make people’s lives better and government more accountable.”

This wasn’t easy & the budget doesn’t cover everything people need, but we fought hard for results that will help Ontarians. #onpoli

— Andrea Horwath (@andreahorwath) May 21, 2013

It’s still unclear what the timeline will be for the 15% goal to be reached. The NDP had originally proposed that the cuts be made within a year.

Ontario PC Party leader Tim Hudak has said his party will not vote in favour of the budget bill and that the 15% cut idea is “bumper sticker politics” unsupported by a real plan.