The Liberals under Premier Dalton McGuinty are having difficulty appearing easy election winners solely through their own performance, particularly because they have not overcome a reputation for breaking promises.
So they are using every procedural opportunity the legislature provides to remind of the worst aspects of the Conservative government led by premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves.
Among many examples, a Conservative asked McGuinty about the province-wide cost of pay increases given to teachers, which many worry is exorbitant. He retorted, the important issue is peace and stability that have been restored to schools after years of Conservative confrontation ended.
McGuinty claimed this will replace millions of school days ? he was presumably counting every individual student ? lost by the Tories.
The Conservative never got a proper answer, because under legislature rules a premier and ministers can answer questions virtually any way they want providing it is not obscene.
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan was asked why the Liberals still run a deficit after two years in government, when in opposition they promised they
would balance the books.
Duncan snapped back they were misled by the outgoing Conservatives, who claimed they had balanced the budget, but left a deficit of $5.5 billion.
Duncan was asked by a Conservative why the Liberals appointed friends to oversee electricity production, passing over others more knowledgeable. He shot back, ?we?re cleaning up the mess the last government left ? fixing up the mess you created.?
A Conservative asked Duncan for advice for residents struggling to pay bills, particularly because the Liberals increased taxes, and he countered
the Tories left a legacy of mismanagement second only to the NDP government before them.
The minister tried to kill two birds with one stone, but offered no guidance to taxpayers.
When Conservative leader John Tory, who was not an MPP under Harris and Eves, accused the Liberals of secrecy in managing the greenbelt they established around Toronto, Tourism Minister Jim Bradley jeered Harris?s right-wing voice now dominates the Conservative party.
Bradley claimed the once-moderate Tory has joined the speculators, wants to pave land the Liberals would save and is an environmentalist in
Toronto, but supports opponents of land being taken for a greenbelt when he is on their turf.
The most discussed topic in the legislature oddly may be the Conservative government that vanished two years ago.
The Liberals have indicated they are prepared and even eager to use Harris and Eves and what voters disliked most about them against the current
Conservative leader Tory and his party in an election in 2007.
In a tight race this could tip the balance against today?s Conservatives and they need to distance themselves from the former leaders and hope they can rest in peace.
Eric Dowd is a veteran member of the Queen?s Park press gallery.
