Close

Budget back and forth 2:36

Budget back and forth2:36

The budget was the topic of the first exchange during question period.

Budget back and forth 2:36

Ontario's minority Liberal government will table its 2014 budget today. A series of official pre-budget announcements and some unofficial leaks have provided a good snapshot of what may be in Finance Minister Charles Sousa's fiscal plan:

From government announcements:

  • A new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, which will require contributions from employers and workers.
  • $29 billion over 10 years for transit and transportation infrastructure, including $15 billion for massive public transit expansion in Toronto-Hamilton area.
  • $2.5 billion over 10 years in corporate grants to secure new investments and jobs.
  • $1 billion to develop the Ring of Fire mineral deposit in norther Ontario.
  • $269 million over three years to raise wages of licensed child-care workers.
  • $280 million over three years to increase pay for personal support workers in the home-care sector.
  • $1 million to give grants to seniors to help them stay in their homes longer.
  • $50 million a year to help would-be parents pay for in vitro fertilization treatments.

From documents obtained by The Canadian Press from a source outside the government:

  • Increased taxes on high income earners and tobacco.
  • Removal of some corporate tax credits to help pay for the transit plan.
  • A four-cent-a-litre hike in the tax on aviation fuel, phased in over four years, to help fund transit and infrastructure projects.