2016 Ontario Budget Proves Life is Now Harder
February 25, 2016QUEEN’S PARK – Today’s Budget confirms that life is harder with this government. After 13 years of reckless spending and mismanagement, the Wynne Government is attempting to balance its books on the backs of Ontario’s students, seniors, and families.
“This was an opportunity for the government to show the people of Ontario that they were listening,” said Opposition Leader Patrick Brown. “Unfortunately, life is about to get more expensive for the people of Ontario. Tax revenue is expected to rise by more than $3 billion to pay for scandal, waste, and mismanagement. Ontarians will see $1.9 billion more in personal income tax, $700 million more in corporate taxes, and $500 million in carbon taxes.”
“We continue to have very serious concerns about the credibility of the government’s numbers,” added Brown. “The government’s revenue projections for 2017-18 are $4 billion higher than the Financial Accountability Officer’s best-case scenario he laid out last fall. If this Government is going to balance the budget, there will be more taxes and more cuts in store.”
Over the course of the last week, the Official Opposition laid out three reasonable recommendations the people of Ontario deserved to see represented in the Budget. The three recommendations were a credible plan to make energy affordable in Ontario, ensuring proper management of Ontario’s health care system, and a credible plan to balance the budget. Unfortunately, these recommendations were not represented in Budget 2016.
“We’re not able to support a Budget that makes life more unaffordable, uncompetitive and unsustainable for Ontarians,” said Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli. “It’s clear that the government does not have a credible plan for the province, now or for the future. The people of Ontario deserve better.”