McGuinty took eight months to release his platform

“Certified Fraud Examiner” okayed McGuinty’s numbers – well, that should have been our first clue

I see the McGuinty Fiberals are out with a 4:30 p.m. (!) release attacking the purported tardiness of John Tory’s platform costing. I guess when the boss is two time zones away lobbing spitballs at Ed Stelmach, things tend to slip a little. (Correction: one time zone away. Sorry. jt)

But even if John Tory weren't to release his costing until election day, it would still be sooner than the Fiberals released theirs prior to the 2003 election. (And by the way, where is Premier Pinocchio’s platform for this election? Oh, that's right, making another set of promises might prompt unpleasant memories for voters.)

Anyhow, the facts are these: In late September 2002, Dalton McGuinty released the first of five platform booklets, on education, which ended up being the second most expensive component of his platform. The most expensive – health – was released in March 2003. The last of the five pieces was released in April 2003.

Not until May of 2003 – eight months after releasing the first portion of his platform – did McGuinty release his costing document, “The Ontario Liberal Financial Plan.” As you may recall, this was the set of numbers endorsed by forensic accountant and “Certified Fraud Examiner” Jack Marmer (dang, we should have read that fine print!), and two economists.

Of course, some may argue that McGuinty released his costing a month after he released the last piece of his platform. A platform that took eight months to roll out. Can you believe some people say this guy lacks leadership?