Government Under Fire for OPP pay raise

The governing Liberals are under fire for agreeing to a 5-percent pay hike for the OPP while demanding a wage freeze from public sector workers.

Municipal leaders across the region have called the increase`irresponsible'' and putting towns and cities, which have to pay for policing, in a tight spot.

Premier Dalton McGuinty is insisting his plan to curb salaries is still on track.

Last spring's budget called for a 2-year freeze on wages for more than a million public sector workers to help fight a record Provincial deficit of about 20-billion dollars.