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For immediate release

MANNING SAYS LIBERAL BUDGET "DISHONEST AND COWARDLY"

February 27, 1995 - OTTAWA - Reform Party Leader Preston Manning today
angrily attacked the Liberals as "dishonest and cowardly" for failing to 
balance the budget and launching a tax grab on the middle class. "This budget
fails the character test.  It's cowardly, it's dishonest, it's hypocritical, 
and it doesn't get the job done," said Manning.

"The Liberals had the opportunity to get us out of the debt trap, but they didn't 
have the guts or the integrity to do it.  And every single Canadian will have 
to pay for this government's cowardly and irresponsible failure to balance 
it's budget," said Manning.

"The biggest spending decision the Finance Minister has made, by not cutting 
program spending more quickly, is to increase spending on interest charges 
from $39 billion when they were elected to $51 billion in 1998," said Manning. 
 "These charges are eating into social spending and will eventually destroy 
the heart of Canada's social safety network.  They are also forcing tax 
increases, and destroying job opportunities."

"The Prime Minister and the Finance Minister know that this budget fails to 
do the job, yet they are telling us that it is the solution to our problems.  
They are being completely dishonest about the consequences of this budget," 
said Manning.  "At the end of the day, everyone who doesn't have an MP pension 
will be worse off because of this budget."

Manning said that the Liberal budget and the Reform Party's "Taxpayers' Budget" 
stand in stark contrast:  "The difference between the Liberal budget and 
the Taxpayers' Budget is the difference between bankrupting the country and 
not bankrupting the country.  Reformers want to put Canada on a secure 
financial and social footing.  The Liberals want Canada to go broke more 
slowly."

"There is no light at the end of this budget tunnel, and the tunnel itself is closing in 
on us," said Manning.  "The Liberals haven't answered the question: What 
happens when the next recession hits, and we're still borrowing $25 billion a 
year to pay for our spending excesses?"

"Even if the Liberals achieve their target, all they will achieve is to bring us to the 
$25-30 billion deficit levels that the Conservatives achieved prior to the 
last recession, except that now we're at a much more dangerous level of debt," 
Manning added.

Manning warned that by failing to balance the budget within three years, the Liberals 
are sowing the seeds of economic and social disaster.  "After a couple more 
years of so-called Liberal restraint, Canada will be going deeper in debt, 
interest costs will be much higher, and the prospects for escaping the debt 
trap will be much worse than they are today.  The average Canadian will be 
paying more taxes, paying higher interest rates, and be faced with diminishing 
job opportunities, and will face the insecurity of a crumbling social safety 
net."

For anyone who wishes to compare the Liberal Budget with Reform Party's Taxpayers' 
Budget, visit Reform's Internet World Wide Web site at 
http://www.reform.ca/HoC/budget.

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For more information:
Larry Welsh (613) 992-2815