Love the headline... "McGuinty Flip-Flops"

Guess who posted the headline? The Toronto Star, of all places!

McGuinty flip-flops on senior rebates
Sep 28, 2007 11:35 AM
Robert Benzie
Queen's Park Bureau Chief

Four years after describing a Progressive Conservative $480-a-year property tax rebate for seniors as "some gimmick or bogus promise," Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty is now touting a $500 annual grant for elderly homeowners.

This morning, McGuinty visited Dante Mario Guevara, 72, and his wife, Maria Abruzese-Guevara, 56, in their 1,500 sq. ft. Woodbridge condominium to hail his scheme.

Emphasizing how important it is to help seniors remain in their homes, he said people older than 65 who own their own homes would qualify for the grant if their income is less than $50,000.

Those earning less than $35,000 would qualify for the maximum grant of $500. "Everything we do today is only possible because of what our seniors have done before us and for us," said McGuinty, adding there's a societal "shared responsibility" to help the elderly.

While that's the Liberal policy for the Oct. 10 election, he was singing a different tune in the 2003 vote when he attacked then Tory premier Ernie Eves for his attempt to woo seniors.

"When it comes to our seniors, we're not putting out some gimmick or bogus promise," McGuinty said on Sept. 15, 2003, blasting Eves' promise to rebate seniors the education portion of their property taxes - a move that meant about $480 annually and would have cost $400 million a year to implement.

The latest Liberal plan will cost the treasury $250 million a year.

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory is promising a 5 per cent cap on annual assessment increases to protect homeowners.

NDP Leader Howard Hampton pledges to freeze assessments on primary residences until they're sold.