Premier Doug Ford’s government will unveil a pandemic budget within two weeks

Thestar.com
October 22, 2020

There are two certainties at Queen’s Park.

A provincial budget will be tabled within the next two weeks and that spending blueprint will be awash in red ink thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finance Minister Rod Phillips must introduce his fiscal plan before Sunday, Nov. 15.

Thanks to limitations of the legislative calendar, that means the budget can be unveiled as early as next Monday and as late as Thursday, Nov. 5. (The legislature is not sitting Nov. 9-12 due to the Remembrance Day constituency week.)

In the house on Wednesday, Phillips dropped some hints about the Progressive Conservatives’ forthcoming budget.

Under questioning from Liberal MPP Amanda Simard (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell), he indicated there would be continued support for small businesses ravaged by the pandemic.

Phillips noted the Tories have already acted upon a suggestion from Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca to liberalize alcohol laws to allow licensed restaurants and bars to sell bottles to go.

“We have a broader-based approach to supporting our restaurants, to supporting our small businesses. The leader of the member’s party suggested the delivery of alcohol, support for patios. There are many, many measures, and we will continue to take those measures to support our small businesses,” he told Simard.

“I’ll look to the members across the aisle to support those measures when this government brings them forward in our upcoming budget and when we bring them forward otherwise.”

Simard stressed the Tories must “start respecting small business owners and give them at least some notice to ensure they can prepare, organize and mitigate loss” as the pandemic forces temporary shutdowns.

“We’re now well into the second wave of this pandemic, and still, the government is slow to respond. Delays in decision-making coupled with contradictory and confusing messaging from this government are costing people and businesses big time.”

It is against this backdrop of business turmoil, which has led to shrinking tax revenues, that the finance minister must introduce a road map to guide Ontario through a pandemic-caused recession.

Earlier this year, Phillips warned of a record $38.5 billion deficit.

“We don’t want to see the same level of cuts as the government was pushing in the last budget,” she said, referring to the April 2019 spending plan.

That controversial budget was best known for slashing municipal public health funding, which was later restored after pressure from Toronto Mayor John Tory, and unveiling the defective blue licence plates since abandoned.

Horwath said the government must also address the homelessness crisis, which is most visible in city of Toronto public parks that are now the site of tent encampments.

“We need to put something in the budget to help municipalities with housing people who are now homeless,” the NDP leader said.

“The numbers of homeless people are growing ... not only in these urban centres,” she said.

Indeed, there are currently homeless people camping in Queen’s Park, the city-owned land north of the Ontario legislature.