The Minister of Northern Development and Mines admits it’s going to take some time to recover financially from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Greg Rickford says the government will be faced with some difficult decisions once life returns to normal.
“The word Tsunami comes to mind. I mean this is going to have a significant economic impact. This is the largest budget the province of Ontario has ever had.”
However, Rickford says the government will continue to support Ontarians no matter what the cost.
“We want to make sure that we get good advice from our medical health officers and proceed with an abundance of caution, but make sure that all the critical goods that people need during these times are available.”
The Kenora-Rainy River MPP notes they were on track to balance the budget in 2023, but concedes that won’t be possible now.
Rickford stresses they are facing a stock market that is all over the place, millions of families moving into self-isolation and thousands of job losses.
He believes it will be a considerable length of time before life returns to normal.
