TORONTO - With the Ontario election campaign now in full swing, competing political parties have kicked into high gear over who will make the province a more affordable place to live. Dalton McGuinty's handiwork has only made it less so, after all.

As a part of this electoral exercise, the governing Liberals are rolling out the same tired old pledge of no new taxes. Which is, of course, one of the more laughable pledges made by Dalton McGuinty's Liberal Party over the last eight years.

In an interview with CBC Radio's Matt Galloway, Liberal Finance Minister Dwight Duncan was asked if he would raise taxes or introduce new fees that felt like taxes.

His response was a clear and absolute "no."

When asked if that was a guarantee, Duncan replied, "absolutely."

When our Premier was similarly asked if a Liberal government would raise taxes, McGuinty replied with a clear "no."

Those who track provincial politics will know that this promise has been made before. It has been broken every single time it is made, which is why it is becoming rather difficult to take such pledges seriously.

It is embarrassing when Mr. McGuinty tries to 'spin' his record on tax increases; his party has lost all credibility on the issue. We know for a fact that the McGuinty Liberals will raise taxes - taxes are the only fiscal instrument they truly rely on.

In 2003, Dalton McGuinty signed a pledge wherein he promised not to raise taxes. Upon re-election, he implemented his draconian health tax of up to $900 per person, publicly demanding a "sacrifice" from Ontario voters who thought they had given him a strict mandate not to raise taxes.

In 2007, Dalton McGuinty famously stated that "we won't have to raise taxes on a go-forward basis." The province collectively breathed a sigh of relief: finally, the "sacrifice" was over!

Then the Premier implemented a massive new sales tax on dozens of items formerly immune from such measures, all under the guise of a 'revenue-neutral' HST. This included painful tax hikes to the costs of home heating and hydro, at a time when the Premier's shoddy energy policy was already harming taxpayers.

All of this has led to a simple truth: Dalton McGuinty is not a leader Ontario can afford. A leader keeps his promises, or at the very least has the good sense not to repeat them when he fails to follow through. Yet, it seems that in every election Dalton McGuinty has marched under a banner of "no new taxes."

It is demonstrably clear that McGuinty has been pandering to certain groups for the past eight years. He is on the side of union bosses, special interests, and environmental groups with no stake in our province. He is not on the side of Ontario taxpayers.

A vote for the McGuinty Liberals is a vote to take more money from your wallet, plain and simple. It has happened time and time again and will undoubtedly happen this time around if he is given the chance. McGuinty has had absolutely no qualms about bringing in massive tax hikes, even tax hikes that fall squarely on the shoulders of Ontario's most vulnerable. Before casting a ballot in this October's election, the question that has to be asked is simple: what comes next?

Going forward, the McGuinty Liberals have no choice but to deal with the massive fiscal deficit they have established in the past several years. What is stopping McGuinty from dealing with that deficit with an HST hike? Or a new, unlooked for, 'fee'?

Liberals, like McGuinty's lieutenant Glen Murray, have mused in the past about implementing a province-wide carbon tax. There was certainly no shortage of Liberal Party activists cheering on Stephane Dion's failed attempt at a "Green Shift" federally. Dalton McGuinty has always  supported such economically disastrous "green" policies. Will he attempt to institute his own carbon tax here in Ontario?

There is simply no trusting this Premier anymore. He's bad for our pocketbook, he's bad for our economy, and he's bad for Ontario. It's long past time he got the boot.