Ontario NDP makes yet another budget demand

Who is the most powerful politician in all of Ontario?

Is it Premier Kathleen Wynne? Finance Minister Charles Sousa? Toronto Mayor Rob Ford?

Nope. In a minority legislature, it's clearly NDP leader Andrea Horwath whose caucus consists of only 18 (or 17 per cent) out of the 107 members at Queen's Park.

Despite the third party's current lot, the NDP leader seems to be calling all the shots. In an attempt to keep their government alive, the Liberals delivered on all of Horwath's seven budget demands last week.

[ Related: Ontario Liberals release NDP-friendly budget, but will Andrea Horwath take the bait? ]

Now, the NDP have another.

On Wednesday morning, Premier Andrea Horwath...err NDP leader Andrea Horwath demanded that the Liberals create a financial accountability office — an office similar to the Parliamentary Budget Officer in Ottawa.

"This independent commissioner would be a spending and revenue watchdog of the government and it's agencies. We need to ensure that there are no more Ornge, E-Health or gas plant scandals in this province," Horwath told reporters.

"This office will provide analysis on the government estimates and provide independent cost estimates for budgetary proposals, legislation and on the spending proposals of government agencies. Taxpayers have the right to know."

Horwath didn't, however, commit to voting for the Liberal budget if Wynne implemented the Office.

"I think it's pretty clear that we're still in consultation with Ontarians and I've said that we're going to continue getting ideas and suggestions from them," she said.

"Again that's not a process that will last forever but at the very least what Ontarians deserve is for us take seriously the concerns they have.

"And I think that there are other suggestions and ideas that they're bringing forward that we're considering."

In other words, we should all expect more demands from a party currently polling at just 24 per cent.

[ Related: Ontario Liberals put off making the tough decisions in budget ]

In response to Horwath's request, Wynne says that she's been requesting a meeting with the NDP leader for the last three weeks.

"It's a problem if there's a new demand every day," Wynne said according to Globe and Mail reporter Adrian Morrow.

"It would have been very helpful to have heard all the concerns before the budget was written."

Any bets on whether the election-fearing Liberals will cave-in?

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

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