With leaders' debate looming, Liberals try to tackle mounting debt in campaign platform

Ontario's Liberal leader is promising to introduce legislation that would lower the province's debt, suggesting her party is the only one with a feasible financial plan.

Kathleen Wynne says the legislation would require 100 per cent of unspent dollars to go towardreducing debt when the province beats its fiscal projections something she says her party has done every year for the past four years.

The party released its official platform today after weeks of campaigning on the 2018 budget that was released in March.

Wynne's government has been attacked by both the Tories and the New Democrats for growing the province's debt in years past.

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In March, Ontario's publicly held debt for 2018-19 was projected at $337.4 billion, up from $285.4 billion in 2014-15.

But Wynne notes that Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford has yet to release a fiscal plan, and alleges NDPLeader Andrea Horwath's plan is full of errors.

Meantime, Horwath is criticizing Wynne for what she describes as "mud-slinging" throughout the campaign.

"I don't think that people want to watch mud be slung by the parties," she said. "The Conservative party and the Liberal party should think about the fact that when you throw mud, you lose ground."

But at a campaign event in Toronto, Wynne said Horwath has to be prepared to stand up to scrutiny.

"I can tell you from lived experience: being taken seriously means that you've got to answer tough questions," she said.

The three major parties are now preparing for the final leaders debate tomorrow, with less than two weeks to go until voting day on June 7th.