Ontario’s Government for the People Continues Fight to Make Life Easier for Ontarians in Busy Fall Session

Premier Ford Ushers in New Era of Fiscal Responsibility and Respect for Taxpayers

The Voice of Canada News:

Ontario’s Government for the People continues to deliver on its promises to respect the taxpayer and bring back accountability and trust in government.

“We promised the people of Ontario that we would fight to reduce the Province’s deficit, make government more efficient and put money back into the pockets of people and businesses,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Promises made, promises kept. But our work is just beginning. Every day, we will continue to fight to make life easier for hard-working families, while making sure that Ontario is Open for Business.”

Since the legislative assembly resumed its session on September 12, the government has championed legislation intended to:

• Introduce one of the most generous Ontario tax cuts for low-income workers in a generation, the Low-income Individuals and Families (LIFT) Credit
• Eliminate the cap and trade carbon tax to help reduce gas prices and remove a costly burden to businesses
• Remove job-killing burdens with the introduction of the Making Ontario Open for Business Act
• Protect energy consumers and return planning authority to municipalities by repealing the Green Energy Act
• Stand up for veterans and Canadian heroes of all wars by eliminating property taxes for Royal Canadian Legion halls and creating a hotline for military families, and exempting all veterans and active Canadian Armed Forces members who reside in Ontario from having to buy a fishing licence
• Exempt new rental units from rent controls to help encourage more rental housing and reduce housing costs over time, while protecting existing tenants.

The government has also taken action to:

• Push back against the federal government’s job-killing carbon tax plan by beginning legal proceedings to fight its constitutionality
• Reduce the Province’s deficit by $0.5 billion through reduced spending and finding efficiencies
• Save $3.2 billion in program expenses by reducing spending without compromising front-line services
• Keep almost $2.7 billion in the pockets of people and businesses by cancelling cash-grabs introduced by the previous government, like the cap and trade carbon tax
• Release a new made-in-Ontario environment plan to protect our air, land and water, reduce litter and waste, and lower greenhouse gas emissions while helping communities protect themselves against the effects of climate change
• Modernize alcohol sales by letting authorized retailers sell alcohol from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., seven days a week
  Expand access to natural gas for up to 78 new communities through a partnership with the private sector
• Make significant progress to put an end to hallway health care by expanding access to long-term care, reducing the strain on the Province’s health care system and working with front-line health professionals to transform the system
  Stand up for Ontario jobs in Washington, D.C. during NAFTA negotiations
• Introduce the largest GO Train service increase in five years to get people moving and to reduce congestion in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
• Enable police officers to administer naloxone to save lives without fear of unfair repercussions
• Keep Ontarians safe and protect communities by replacing the province’s crumbling Public Safety Radio Network, which frontline and emergency responders rely on during emergencies
• Honour the Canadian heroes of Afghanistan by announcing plans to build a new monument to their service and sacrifice at Queen’s Park
• Bolster support for Ontario’s horse racing industry
• Expose the previous government’s mismanagement of the Province’s finances, revealing the inherited deficit to be $15 billion and announcing a committee of the Legislature to investigate past financial practices
• Restore trust and accountability to the Province’s finances by releasing a line-by-line review of spending
• Reduce financial burdens on businesses by lowering Workplace Safety and Insurance Board premiums
• Protect children and youth, keep communities and roads safe and combat the illegal market through a tightly-regulated cannabis marketplace
• Cut unnecessary red tape for the Ontario Hockey League to protect amateur hockey, and ensure the ongoing success of student athletics
• Support students and their families when making requests to bring their service animals into schools and classrooms across the province, to keep children and students safer and ensure that they are better supported in their learning
• Reduce the regulatory burden for and save taxpayer’s money by eliminating the outdated and ineffective Drive Clean program
• Keep money in the pocketbooks of Ontarians by halting a scheduled beer tax hike
• Reduce barriers to provincial trade.

QUICK FACTS

The LIFT Credit would benefit about 1.1 million people across the province.

The average Ontario household will save about $260 per year thanks to the elimination of the cap-and-trade carbon tax.

The additional $90 million investment to address hallway medicine will create more than 640 new beds and spaces and continue funding beds and spaces already operating in the hospital and community sectors.