If you love high taxes and love Toronto, then you will have loved Ontario's latest budget.

Since being elected in 2003, Premier Dalton McGuinty has delivered three budgets - each has been in deficit. He has broken key campaign commitments by raising taxes in the form of a so-called health premium - the largest tax hike in Ontario's history - ramping up program spending by more than 20 per cent, and adding billions to Ontario's debt, which stands at $147-billion and costs $9.4-billion a year in interest payments. That amounts to an astounding $26-million a day.

To add insult to injury, the province's 2006 budget shows that not all regions of the province are created equal. Mr. McGuinty appears to have staked his re-election on the City of Toronto and the GTA, giving them a feast of new goodies, while the rest of Ontario is left to divvy up the crumbs and pay their tax bills.

At the end of the 2005 fiscal year, the government collected $3-billion in unanticipated revenues. With a stroke of the pen the Liberals could have eliminated the $1.4-billion annual deficit. Instead, Mayor David Miller's eternally fiscally incompetent City of Toronto came out the big budget winner.

While Mayor Miller would have preferred a cheque for $400-million to cover Toronto's budget shortfall - most taxpayers call this a deficit - he instead received a $200-million onetime payment for "subway operations." This should keep the mayor happy for awhile because more money will permit him to again delay solving his city's spending problems, most notably escalating labour costs.

A 1996 "sunshine" law made it mandatory for the disclosure of salaries over $100,000. In just one year, the number of city employees in Toronto making $100,000 or more per year increased by 45 per cent. As of April 1st (April Fools Day, Ha-ha) the City of Toronto had 732 employees earning $100,000 or more. Last year the number was 502.

At a time when the City of Toronto comes crying poor to Queen's Park with cap in hand, it is ludicrous that Mayor Miller's budget shortfall is based on appeasing special interests. The City of Toronto's modus operandi is all too familiar: Spend more money than it takes in, ramp up spending and taxes year over year, remain ideologically-opposed to exploring ways to reduce costs - like controlling wages - and demand handouts from other levels of government. The result Another 3% property tax increase this year.

Toronto came out on top in other ways on budget day. Of the $1.2-billion in new funding for public transit and infrastructure projects, $838-million of it is dedicated for so-called "priority projects" in the GTA, the bulk of which is devoted to transit expansion in the York region. The rest of the province will split the remaining 30 per cent of the money.

With eyes squarely on re-election in 2007, the McGuinty Liberals are focused on the Toronto urban vote. This is evident given the boost of money to the GTA, while the agriculture budget is slashed by $215-million - roughly the same amount given to Toronto for yet another bailout.

Taxpayers deserve better. Instead, the premier ignores real problems such as balancing the books and a weakening economy while using the province's finances for electioneering.

The Ontario Liberals should take note of what their federal cousins recently learned. When political parties focus exclusively on maintaining power and ignore the priorities of citizens, voters become cynical and opt for change. The provincial opposition should also take note of this and offer solutions to Ontario's escalating fiscal problems. It's common sense, really.