The gloves are off. Premier Kathleen Wynne has launched a blistering attack against Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford, warning he would “take a bulldozer” to the province if elected June 7. In a speech Thursday to the Economic Club — one day after the Liberals’ tabled a voter-friendly budget with billions in new spending and a $6.7 billion deficit — Wynne said “this election will come down to the clearest, starkest choice in this province’s history.”“It’s a choice between care or cuts,” the premier said, noting Ford has vowed to reduce at least 4 per cent of unspecified program spending.“We can go forward with the agenda I’ve outlined or we can go backward with Doug Ford,” she said. Wynne reminded the 250 people at the luncheon that Ford wants to stop the planned increase of the $14-an-hour minimum wage to $15 next Jan. 1. “Doug Ford doesn’t think it is government’s job to stand up for the wellbeing and wages of workers,” the Liberal leader said. “So when Doug Ford talks about cutting corporate taxes to match Donald Trump — as if that kind of race to the bottom is actually going to help our workers — I have to call that out,” she said. The premier said Ford’s proposed cuts could cost 40,000 public servants their jobs, according to one economist’s estimate. With the PC leader promising “the party is over with the taxpayer’s money,” Wynne blasted him for sloganeering. “He wants this campaign to be about soundbites and I can’t stop him from campaigning that way,” she said before launching some bumper-sticker attacks of her own. “Doug Ford wants to take a bulldozer to a province that has worked so hard to get to this place — a place where we can finally say to every child if you get the grades you can go to college or university,” said Wynne. “Where we can f ...
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