QUEENS PARK– MPP for Guelph, Mike Schreiner issued a statement on the Ontario Government’s fiscal update:
“This is a critical moment for Ontario.
A safe restart of the economy is the only way to dig out of the financial hole we face.
This requires enough money for the safe reopening of schools, for long term care, for public health and for small business rent relief to avoid bankruptcies.
The government did not deliver these investments today.
I’m worried that the reported $30 billion in pandemic spending is not actually the spending we need. We learned in the FAO report from May that 20% of the Premier’s action plan isn’t even related to COVID-19, including a large portion of healthcare spending that simply maintained pre-COVID service levels.
There will be an understandable focus on the $38 billion deficit.
But Ontario cannot afford to go back to the slash and burn budget cuts that the Government has been offering as a solution to our fiscal issues.
Smart, sustainable investments in a safe reopening is the best way to generate the economic recovery needed to address our fiscal, social and environmental deficits.”