Ontario’s Finance Minister has put forward a financial plan he believes will help create stronger communities and better opportunities for future generations.
Peter Bethlenfalvy released the 2024 Budget on Tuesday afternoon, while acknowledging the challenging economic times, saying life has rarely been this expensive.
“In the face of global economic uncertainty and high interest rates that continue to put pressure on Ontario families, our government is taking a responsible approach by investing to rebuild Ontario’s economy without raising taxes,” said Minister Bethlenfalvy. “As we invest in key public services and infrastructure, including new roads, highways and the largest public transit expansion in North America, we refuse to offload the costs onto hardworking Ontario families or municipalities at a time when they’re counting on us to keep costs down.”
Highlights of the Province’s actions include:
-Helping to get more homes built by investing $1 billion in the new Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program and quadrupling the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund to a total of $825 million to help municipalities repair and expand the critical infrastructure needed to reach their housing targets.
-Connecting approximately 600,000 people to primary health care with a total additional investment of $546 million over three years.
-Launching a new $200 million Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund to strengthen communities across Ontario by investing in new and upgraded sport, recreation and community facilities.
-Investing $46 million over three years, including for the purchase of four police helicopters, to improve community safety in the Greater Toronto Area by supporting increased patrols and faster response times to major incidents and serious crimes.
-Keeping costs down for people and businesses by proposing to extend the temporary cuts to the gasoline tax rate by 5.7 cents per litre and the fuel (diesel) tax rate by 5.3 cents per litre until December 31, 2024. This would save Ontario households $320 on average since the cuts were first introduced in July 2022. This relief is especially important as the federal carbon tax is set to increase on April 1, 2024.
-Helping workers and job seekers, including apprentices, get the skills they need to advance their careers with an additional $100 million investment in 2024-25 through the Skills Development Fund Training Stream.
-Supporting individuals facing unstable housing conditions and dealing with mental health and addictions challenges by investing an additional $152 million over three years towards various supportive housing initiatives designed to support vulnerable people.
The government is projecting deficits of $9.8 billion in 2024–25 and $4.6 billion in 2025–26, before reaching a surplus of $0.5 billion in 2026–27.
Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition NDP, says Ford’s 2024 Provincial Budget is a missed opportunity for much-needed change.
“If you’re looking for change, Ford’s budget is not for you,” said Stiles. “People are looking for better health care and homes they can afford. Instead, they got an uninspired statement from a government that is out of touch and out of ideas.”
NDP Finance critic, MPP Catherine Fife, says this budget comes at an all-hands-on-deck moment. “This was an opportunity for Ford’s Conservatives to finally deliver real solutions for Ontarians. But Ford’s Conservatives chose to stick to the status quo. Ford is doubling down on their own failed policies”.
Liberal finance critic Stephanie Bowman noted that the Progressive Conservatives have added $100 billion in net debt since coming to power in 2018, and criticized the government for managing to both pile on debt while also underspending on services such as health care.
