Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy
The PC government has brought forward the budget it first laid out before the June election.
It’s basically the same document with a few tweaks.
The government has identified an increase of $1.1 billion resulting from higher than expected tax revenue.
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy says it will be applied to reducing the deficit, now pegged at $18.8 billion.
“It’s the prudent thing to do given the economic uncertainty, given the investments that we’re making to protect people, to build our critical infrastructure, support human resources, to support workers and make sure they have the skills and training for the infrastructure that we’re building,” says Bethlenfalvy.
There is also a 5% increase to Ontario Disability Support Program rates. Further increases will be done based on inflation. The current rate is nearing 9%.
The increase amounts to an increase of $58 a month.
Bethlenfalvy side-stepped reporters’ questions afterwards that asked if could live on the amount of money that ODSP recipients get, amounting to about $1,200 each month.
“The question is what can we do for the people of Ontario that are the most vulnerable. This is a step in the right direction, and this is a direction of adjusting it to inflation, in addition to the multiple programs and services that we have to support the most vulnerable,” says the Finance Minister.
Parents with school-aged children will be getting some money.
The province is setting aside $225 million, which Bethlenfalvy says will help parents get tutoring support for children who struggled because of online learning over the last two years.
It is on top of $175 million earmarked for school boards for similar purposes announced earlier this year.
“This is in addition to that, so that parents who know their children best can provide the tutoring type support and in the areas that they need,” says Bethlenfalvy.
Details of how the province will roll out the money are to be revealed at a later date.
Debate on the budget is taking place today. (Wednesday)
Meantime, the opposition is expressing its disappointment with the provincial government’s budget.
NDP Finance Critic Catherine Fife says it does little to help Ontarians struggling with the high cost of living.
“Budget 2022-2023 does not keep up with inflation, and this is one of the pressing issues that Ontarians are facing,” says Fife.
NDP interim leader Peter Tabuns says it fails to offer relief to the punishing costs of inflation or help the health care system.
“By ignoring what’s happened in the long months since then and re-tabling the same budget, the Doug Ford government is going to send our healthcare crisis into an even faster spiral. He’s going to force families to cut even more from their household budgets to deal with inflation,” says Tabuns.
Tabuns says he would have preferred a stronger rewrite to reflect the inflationary pressures people are facing.
Fife expects the budget to pass quickly through the legislature with little debate.
The Liberals also see nothing new in the budget to help Ontarians struggling financially.
Finance Critic Stephanie Bowman says there is too much assumption on growth when some experts feel were heading into a recession.
“There is a need to prepare now for how an economic slowdown could affect Ontarians. That means preparing for transitioning workers to new jobs, helping those who may need temporary support,” says Bowman.
Bowman feels the PCs could have taken some extra time to adjust the budget rather than trying to push ahead with the document in day one.
