Many of the key commitments in the 268-page document had previously been announced by the government of Prime Minister Doug Ford in view of the upcoming election campaign, which will begin on May 4. There is not enough time to approve the budget before the legislature is dissolved next week, so the document serves as a cost-effective platform for computers. Key issues of the record $ 198.6 billion fiscal plan include improving and expanding critical infrastructure, rebuilding the economy in the wake of COVID-19, helping families with rising cost of living, and securing its preparation. province for any further waves of the pandemic. You can read the full budget document at the bottom of this story. The budget was tabled in Queen’s Park by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, who called it “Prime Minister Ford’s vision for Ontario”. “We have to rebuild this economy. We have to increase these jobs,” he told reporters. Asked if the PCs would table the same budget if re-elected on June 2, Bethlenfalvy did not explicitly commit to doing so, but said it was the party’s campaign platform and it was up to the voters to accept it. “We will go through the election, we will listen to the people of Ontario,” he said. While Bethlenfalvy gave his speech on the budget to the Legislature, Ford’s communications director tried to clear up the data on social media. “This is the budget [Ford] will restore if re-elected. “Finish,” Ivana Gelic wrote on Twitter. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy speaks to the media before submitting his Ontario budget to Queen’s Park in Toronto on April 28, 2022. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
The deficit is projected to increase this year
The budget includes significantly revised deficit forecasts, with the government forecasting a possible equilibrium path to 2027/2028, two years earlier than estimated in the 2021 budget. The Treasury Department said the county owed $ 13.5 billion for the fiscal year just ended, more than $ 19 billion lower than the outlook for 2021. While the pandemic caused significant uncertainty in the county’s fiscal outlook, the government consistently overestimated annual deficits throughout her tenure at Queen’s Park. The government forecasts a deficit of $ 19.9 billion for 2022/2023 before falling to $ 12.3 billion in 2023/2024 and $ 7.6 billion by 2025. These forecasts are based on a “scenario”. medium-term growth “, with real results dependent on Ontario’s economic situation in the coming years. Computers say they would plan to spend about nine percent more this year than during the COVID-19 pandemic, and would also have a higher deficit. Expenditure on key sectors would increase, on average, by about five percent per year over the next three years. The Ontario Financial Supervisory Authority said earlier this month that the province could have achieved fiscal balance by 2023/2024, with surpluses by 2025, but the PC government opted instead for spending increases in some key areas. While computers were elected with a promise to curb government spending, Bethlenfalvy said COVID-19 “exposed part of the lack of investment” from previous governments. “I think we have found the right balance, to invest in Ontario, to build things, to find good jobs, to support workers and to rebuild this economy as part of a financially responsible plan,” he said.
$ 158.8 billion capital expenditure plan
The key element of this promised spending is $ 158.8 billion for major infrastructure projects to be spent over the next decade, with a goal of spending $ 20 billion of this total this year and next. The distribution includes:
$ 25.1 billion for highways, including the controversial Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass, a new twin bridge over the Welland Canal, and initial work to widen the 401 freeway eastward to the Pickering Ontario. The budget did not include specific expenditures for individual projects. $ 61.1 billion for public transportation projects, including major subway construction in Toronto and extended service on the GO Transit network. $ 40 billion for hospitals and healthcare facilities, including $ 27 billion in capital grants. Ford and his ministers have made many hospital-related funding announcements in recent weeks, including many projects in Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor, Brampton and Muskoka. $ 21 billion for schools, with $ 14 billion for capital grants. Education Minister Stephen Lecce said this month that $ 500 million would be allocated to 37 school projects in 2022/2023. Ontario’s outstanding school repair costs were estimated at about $ 16.8 billion in September.
The government described its proposed spending as “one of the most ambitious capital projects in the history of the province”. By comparison, in the 2018 election budget, the Ontario Liberals promised a 10-year $ 182 billion capital plan, including $ 79 billion for transit and $ 16 billion for schools. The Progressive Conservative’s spending strategy includes a plan to widen Highway 401, starting at Pickering and heading east. (Patrick Morrell / CBC)
Targeted tax cuts for seniors, low-income workers
As affordability and rising cost of living are expected to be crucial issues in the course of the campaign, the PC budget includes various measures specifically targeted at voters’ pockets. While most of the proposed relief has already been announced, including the abolition of license renewal fees and the reduction of the provincial gas tax by 5.3 cents per liter for six months from July 1, there are two notable proposed tax reliefs. First, it is a promising reinforcement of the LIFT tax credit, so that more employees are entitled to at least a partial deduction from their income tax. Current tax credit is only available to individuals earning up to $ 38,500 or families earning up to $ 68,500 per year, up to $ 850 per person. The enhanced credit will extend the eligibility to individuals earning up to $ 50,000 or families with a combined income of $ 82,500 and offer a discount of up to $ 875. The rate at which the discount will be phased out after a certain income threshold will also be reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent. The proposed changes would mean that 700,000 more workers could benefit from the non-refundable tax deduction, the government said, bringing the total to about 1.7 million Ontario residents. Treasury officials said the current program costs about $ 400 million a year, with the improvement adding an additional $ 320 million. A second budget commitment is the Ontario Seniors Care at Home tax credit, which, according to the government, will help with medical expenses for some residents aged 70 and over for things like walkers, hearing aids, home oxygen and attendant care. . The repayable credit would cover up to 25 percent of medical expenses for eligible seniors, up to a maximum of $ 1,500 per year. Seniors with an income of $ 35,000 or less could claim the full credit, with the amount gradually reduced for those with incomes above this limit. Computers said they would provide about $ 110 million in support to about 200,000 low- and middle-income seniors with an average of about $ 550 per family each year. In her response to the budget, NDP leader Andrea Horwath said the cost-effective measures proposed by the computers were far behind what the Ontarians needed. “After all we have gone through, people need and deserve hope and support,” he said. “What has become clear today is that this government is completely out of touch with the everyday people of Ontario. What has become clear today is that we need change and we need it now,” Horwath said. A measure that is significantly absent from this campaign budget: a 2018 promise by Ford to reduce the middle-income tax by 20%. At the time, computers were said to be in effect until the third year of their term. Liberal leader Steven Del Duca said Ontarians would find the budget disappointing. “This document is completely missing from the kind of ambition I know the people of Ontario have for our province and want to see for the future of our province,” he said.
Short on climate change commitments
Meanwhile, the election budget also envisions government investment in reviewing Ontario’s capacity, including the critical mineral strategy launched in March and efforts to increase the province’s electric vehicle production. In his speech, Bethlenfalvy said that the province’s plan for the production of electric vehicles is partly about achieving “no carbon tax” climate targets. The budget document itself mentions the term “climate change” only once. Earlier this month, the province quietly reviewed its strategy to meet Ontario’s 2030 carbon reduction targets. The new route does not include reductions from the largest absorption of electric vehicles, which accounted for almost 15 percent of the projected emission cuts in the 2018 government plan “Made in Ontario for the Environment”. In a statement, Green Party leader Mike Schreiner described the computer platform as a “1950s Sprawl Budget that takes us back and makes Ontario an expensive, unhealthy countryside that will open the future for our children.” . “We are in a climate emergency and a cost of living crisis. But Doug Ford wants to raise a staggering $ 25 billion on more highways and spreads that will pollute the air, make life even more expensive, lay on top of the farmland that feeds us, and destroy nature that protects us from the floods “, he continued. The government’s pre-election budget includes a promise for a new provincial park, although it did not give specific details …
title: “Doug Ford S Campaign Budget Bets On Big Infrastructure Spending While There Are Deficits Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-12” author: “Jill Dacruz”
Many of the key commitments in the 268-page document had previously been announced by the government of Prime Minister Doug Ford in view of the upcoming election campaign, which will begin on May 4. There is not enough time to approve the budget before the legislature is dissolved next week, so the document serves as a cost-effective platform for computers. Key issues of the record $ 198.6 billion fiscal plan include improving and expanding critical infrastructure, rebuilding the economy in the wake of COVID-19, helping families with rising cost of living, and securing its preparation. province for any further waves of the pandemic. You can read the full budget document at the bottom of this story. The budget was tabled in Queen’s Park by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, who called it “Prime Minister Ford’s vision for Ontario”. “We have to rebuild this economy. We have to increase these jobs,” he told reporters. Asked if the PCs would table the same budget if re-elected on June 2, Bethlenfalvy did not explicitly commit to doing so, but said it was the party’s campaign platform and it was up to the voters to accept it. “We will go through the election, we will listen to the people of Ontario,” he said. While Bethlenfalvy gave his speech on the budget to the Legislature, Ford’s communications director tried to clear up the data on social media. “This is the budget [Ford] will restore if re-elected. “Finish,” Ivana Gelic wrote on Twitter. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy speaks to the media before submitting his Ontario budget to Queen’s Park in Toronto on April 28, 2022. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
The deficit is projected to increase this year
The budget includes significantly revised deficit forecasts, with the government forecasting a possible equilibrium path to 2027/2028, two years earlier than estimated in the 2021 budget. The Treasury Department said the county owed $ 13.5 billion for the fiscal year just ended, more than $ 19 billion lower than the outlook for 2021. While the pandemic caused significant uncertainty in the county’s fiscal outlook, the government consistently overestimated annual deficits throughout her tenure at Queen’s Park. The government forecasts a deficit of $ 19.9 billion for 2022/2023 before falling to $ 12.3 billion in 2023/2024 and $ 7.6 billion by 2025. These forecasts are based on a “scenario”. medium-term growth “, with real results dependent on Ontario’s economic situation in the coming years. Computers say they would plan to spend about nine percent more this year than during the COVID-19 pandemic, and would also have a higher deficit. Expenditure on key sectors would increase, on average, by about five percent per year over the next three years. The Ontario Financial Supervisory Authority said earlier this month that the province could have achieved fiscal balance by 2023/2024, with surpluses by 2025, but the PC government opted instead for spending increases in some key areas. While computers were elected with a promise to curb government spending, Bethlenfalvy said COVID-19 “exposed part of the lack of investment” from previous governments. “I think we have found the right balance, to invest in Ontario, to build things, to find good jobs, to support workers and to rebuild this economy as part of a financially responsible plan,” he said.
$ 158.8 billion capital expenditure plan
The key element of this promised spending is $ 158.8 billion for major infrastructure projects to be spent over the next decade, with a goal of spending $ 20 billion of this total this year and next. The distribution includes:
$ 25.1 billion for highways, including the controversial Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass, a new twin bridge over the Welland Canal, and initial work to widen the 401 freeway eastward to the Pickering Ontario. The budget did not include specific expenditures for individual projects. $ 61.1 billion for public transportation projects, including major subway construction in Toronto and extended service on the GO Transit network. $ 40 billion for hospitals and healthcare facilities, including $ 27 billion in capital grants. Ford and his ministers have made many hospital-related funding announcements in recent weeks, including many projects in Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor, Brampton and Muskoka. $ 21 billion for schools, with $ 14 billion for capital grants. Education Minister Stephen Lecce said this month that $ 500 million would be allocated to 37 school projects in 2022/2023. Ontario’s outstanding school repair costs were estimated at about $ 16.8 billion in September.
The government described its proposed spending as “one of the most ambitious capital projects in the history of the province”. By comparison, in the 2018 election budget, the Ontario Liberals promised a 10-year $ 182 billion capital plan, including $ 79 billion for transit and $ 16 billion for schools. The Progressive Conservative’s spending strategy includes a plan to widen Highway 401, starting at Pickering and heading east. (Patrick Morrell / CBC)
Targeted tax cuts for seniors, low-income workers
As affordability and rising cost of living are expected to be crucial issues in the course of the campaign, the PC budget includes various measures specifically targeted at voters’ pockets. While most of the proposed relief has already been announced, including the abolition of license renewal fees and the reduction of the provincial gas tax by 5.3 cents per liter for six months from July 1, there are two notable proposed tax reliefs. First, it is a promising reinforcement of the LIFT tax credit, so that more employees are entitled to at least a partial deduction from their income tax. Current tax credit is only available to individuals earning up to $ 38,500 or families earning up to $ 68,500 per year, up to $ 850 per person. The enhanced credit will extend the eligibility to individuals earning up to $ 50,000 or families with a combined income of $ 82,500 and offer a discount of up to $ 875. The rate at which the discount will be phased out after a certain income threshold will also be reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent. The proposed changes would mean that 700,000 more workers could benefit from the non-refundable tax deduction, the government said, bringing the total to about 1.7 million Ontario residents. Treasury officials said the current program costs about $ 400 million a year, with the improvement adding an additional $ 320 million. A second budget commitment is the Ontario Seniors Care at Home tax credit, which, according to the government, will help with medical expenses for some residents aged 70 and over for things like walkers, hearing aids, home oxygen and attendant care. . The repayable credit would cover up to 25 percent of medical expenses for eligible seniors, up to a maximum of $ 1,500 per year. Seniors with an income of $ 35,000 or less could claim the full credit, with the amount gradually reduced for those with incomes above this limit. Computers said they would provide about $ 110 million in support to about 200,000 low- and middle-income seniors with an average of about $ 550 per family each year. In her response to the budget, NDP leader Andrea Horwath said the cost-effective measures proposed by the computers were far behind what the Ontarians needed. “After all we have gone through, people need and deserve hope and support,” he said. “What has become clear today is that this government is completely out of touch with the everyday people of Ontario. What has become clear today is that we need change and we need it now,” Horwath said. A measure that is significantly absent from this campaign budget: a 2018 promise by Ford to reduce the middle-income tax by 20%. At the time, computers were said to be in effect until the third year of their term. Liberal leader Steven Del Duca said Ontarians would find the budget disappointing. “This document is completely missing from the kind of ambition I know the people of Ontario have for our province and want to see for the future of our province,” he said.
Short on climate change commitments
Meanwhile, the election budget also envisions government investment in reviewing Ontario’s capacity, including the critical mineral strategy launched in March and efforts to increase the province’s electric vehicle production. In his speech, Bethlenfalvy said that the province’s plan for the production of electric vehicles is partly about achieving “no carbon tax” climate targets. The budget document itself mentions the term “climate change” only once. Earlier this month, the province quietly reviewed its strategy to meet Ontario’s 2030 carbon reduction targets. The new route does not include reductions from the largest absorption of electric vehicles, which accounted for almost 15 percent of the projected emission cuts in the 2018 government plan “Made in Ontario for the Environment”. In a statement, Green Party leader Mike Schreiner described the computer platform as a “1950s Sprawl Budget that takes us back and makes Ontario an expensive, unhealthy countryside that will open the future for our children.” . “We are in a climate emergency and a cost of living crisis. But Doug Ford wants to raise a staggering $ 25 billion on more highways and spreads that will pollute the air, make life even more expensive, lay on top of the farmland that feeds us, and destroy nature that protects us from the floods “, he continued. The government’s pre-election budget includes a promise for a new provincial park, although it did not give specific details …
