Ontario displeased with what's in and out of the fed's budget

torontosun.com
March 20, 2019
Antonella Artuso

The Ontario government is disappointed in a federal budget that will increase the cost of gas and home heating by following through on a plan to implement carbon pricing as of April 1, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli says.

The finance minister also lamented what he said wasn’t in the budget -- a plan to get rid of U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel, and more funding to cover $220 million in provincial costs for refugee supports.

“We also asked the federal government to allow single events sports wagering,” Fedeli said. “And we are disappointed that this has gone unaddressed. Consumers have long asked to be able to bet on single events and we will continue to advocate for implementing this change in a responsible way.”

Fedeli’s ire was mainly focused on the “carbon tax” plan of the federal government which he said will add 4.4 cents per litre to the price of gasoline on its way to 11.1 cents per litre increase by 2020.

The federal government says its budget will lower Canadians’ energy costs through measures to increase efficiency in buildings and by bringing in a new incentive to buy electric battery or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles priced at less than $45,000.

The Justin Trudeau government also announced new relief for some sectors from “carbon pollution” pricing.

Fedeli said the overall impact will still leave some people forced to choose between heating or eating, and he vowed his government would continue to fight the “job-killing” federal plan.

Toronto Mayor John Tory said he would have liked to have seen a multi-decade commitment in the federal budget to the transit fund.

“One of the problems this city had over previous decades under other mayors and councils was that we did one project at a time and never looked 20, 30 years down the road,” Tory said. “I don’t intend to leave this office when I go without plans in place to take us way out into the future … to make sure this city has the transit it needs to relieve traffic congestion but also to protect the environment and build up the economy.”

The mayor said he remains confident that the federal government will provide funding to cover the cost to the city of settling asylum seekers, although that money was not obvious in the budget.