Ontario asks online voters to pick projects for budget funding
Ideas to choose from include tree-planting program, speech pathologists in daycares, ban on wasting food

cbc.ca
By Mike Crawley
Feb. 3, 2017

Finance Minister Charles Sousa has the final word on how he'll spend the $135 billion or so in the upcoming provincial budget, but you can still influence how some of it gets allocated.

The province has launched an online vote to decide which of 13 projects suggested by ordinary Ontarians should get funding in the budget.

The ideas include a tree-planting program for primary schools, a secure portal to access your own health data online, and a digital marketplace to link businesses with interns.

The government is promising to spend up to $3 million in total on as many as eight of the projects and says Ontario is the first province to commit to funding ideas from the public as part of its budget process.

The government called for ideas under a number of broad categories, such as fighting climate change, helping students achieve their full potential and making government services faster and easier to use.

More than 400 ideas were submitted. Then, the Premier's Council on Youth Opportunities reviewed them and whittled them down to the shortlist of 13.

Several of the shortlisted ideas are pilot projects, including one to encourage young aboriginal adults to teach on reserves. "This is a long-term program, but the benefits would be amazing," says the online pitch. "If young children on reserves were able to see adults just like them following great career paths and loving their lives it would be priceless."

Another calls for tackling food waste. "I propose we study the possibility of banning supermarkets / food factories from destroying / throwing away unsold food / 'not attractive' food / food close to its expiry date," says its online pitch.

An educator suggests putting speech-language pathologists in child-care centres. "This would lead to identifying children with typical language development, those at risk for delay, and those who are having specific difficulties, in order to address their needs effectively," says that pitch.

The voting lasts until Feb. 23. Sousa is yet to announce a date for tabling the budget, but has indicated it will come after the federal government's.

One of last year's approved projects was to replace traditional lighting on provincial highways with LED lights. A pilot project has been installed on a one-kilometre stretch of Highway 401 near Pearson International Airport.