Ontario’s 2016 Budget For Low-Income Families

Tuition fees in Ontario have been the highest in country – at an average of $6,160 yearly for an arts and science degree at university, $2,768 annually for college students – and are considered a barrier to post-secondary education.

University and college is already far cheaper in Canada than the U.S.

“As the design of these new federal investments is finalized, it is critical that the federal government work together with the provinces and territories to ensure that programs are predictable, support jobs and economic growth”, Ontario’s budget says.

“Instead of tackling the deficit head on by reducing or freezing program spending, the government continues to expand spending”, continued Van Geyn. “We can turn our back and let the low-carbon economy go by, it will cost us even more, or we can embrace it and find innovations in the system to enable us to succeed and compete”.

“We’re a big believer in education, so we think that’s good move, making it cheaper for lower-income families to send their kids to school”, Boyce said.

But the government is reluctant to acknowledge that revenue from the partial sale of Hydro One and $1.9 billion expected from a new carbon pricing system are major factors to getting into the black. In 2005, a report recommending an overhaul of Ontario’s education system, released by former premier Bob Rae, noted 36 per cent of parents in the lowest income quartile had children in higher education, compared with 57 per cent in the highest quartile. This has been the second consecutive year of the program; between December 8 to January 31, 1,732 ideas were submitted, 53,402 votes were cast and 4,340 comments were made.

However, concerns do remain over the impending additional costs both of the province’s planned cap and trade program and the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. The increased revenue will NOT be put into a dedicated account to combat climate change.

To offset the fuel increase, the government also announced it’s scrapping the $30 Drive Clean emission testing fees for vechicles seven years and older, although its not yet clear whether the change will cover commercial trucks.

While Ontarian’s will be paying more for some items, there are also savings to be had. The government is projecting a deficit of $4.3 billion in 2016-17.

The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) is pleased to report that the 2016 Ontario budget makes room for horse racing.

She welcomed the $333 million for services for kids with autism, saying it was long overdue. Opposition parties quickly attacked the higher annual drug deductible, which will rise to $170 from $100 with co-payments increasing to $7.11 per prescription for seniors above a low-income threshold.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said this budget will hurt seniors.