TORONTO, Ont. – Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said her party will let the minority Liberal government’s budget pass, but not without a few more changes.

At a news conference Monday, Horwath said the NDP will not go along four sections dealing with changes to the labour arbitration system.

She also said her party will support 55 Conservative amendments and 84 Liberal amendments made to the budget.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has yet to respond to the NDP’s latest compromise proposal.

Horwath said she won’t be bullied by the premier.

“I’ve made considerable changes to what we had initially intended on doing. I think that’s a reasonable thing to do. But, I am not someone who responds to ultimatums by simply snapping to attention and doing what Mr. McGuinty says I have to do,” Horwarth said.

The Liberals only need one New Democrat or Conservative vote to pass the budget and avoid defeat.

Horwath also said her party hasn’t decided yet whether to abstain which would allow the Liberals to out-vote the Conservatives.

On Sunday, McGuinty stepped back from his threats on Friday to go to the polls over changes the opposition parties made to the budget at committee Thursday.

He also softened his tone after calling Horwath “disingenuous” for breaking earlier agreements not to block the budget’s passage.

“The budget must remain intact,” McGuinty wrote to Horwath Sunday. “You need only ensure your caucus lives up to the agreements you have already made.”

On Friday, McGuinty said he would call an election if the portions of the budget that were removed at committee by the NDP and Conservatives were not restored before Wednesday’s final vote by the legislature.

But in Sunday’s letter, McGuinty said those sections would be brought back in the fall as a separate bill. He urged Horwath to honour her promise not to block passage of the budget legislation.

“The budget bill must remain intact not only to fulfill our agreements, but more importantly, to provide the tools required to eliminate the deficit, grow the economy and create jobs,” he wrote.

Horwath said she was pleased McGuinty had changed his tone and was no longer threatening a snap election.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan issued a statement Monday saying the Liberals will not allow any more major amendments and if the NDP and Tories alter the intent of the budget, he will ask the premier to consider all options.

Last week, McGuinty accused Horwath of turning her back on a deal to vote for the budget in exchange for a tax on incomes over $500,000 and other earlier changes.

The Liberals need only one New Democrat or Tory vote to pass the budget and avoid the defeat of the minority government, but the NDP could also abstain and allow the Liberals to out vote the Conservatives.

Conservative Leader Tim Hudak opposed the Liberal budget, proposed by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, as soon as it was introduced on March 27.

Meanwhile, in a new Forum Research poll, 44 per cent of respondents said if Ontarians go to the polls this summer, they will point the finger of blame directly at McGuinty.