By Pepper Parr
March 23, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
A quick summery of the provincial budget
Getting to a balanced budget was the priority.
Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said he was “shocked” the Tories made balancing the books a priority over helping families coping with inflation.
The Doug Ford government has opted for balancing the budget and having a huge surplus they can spend in 2026 when they will ask us to vote them them again.
“They didn’t balance people’s lives,” said Fraser.
“Families are hurting right now. Rents have gone up, gas has gone up, utilities have doubled,” he said.
It will pass, and probably well before we see lower food costs.
As for that drive to build 1.5 million new homes over the next decade — the rationale for Ford’s controversial opening up of 7,400 acres of protected Greenbelt lands to development — have been dealt a setback.
Thanks to rising interest rates and other market factors, the government projects just 80,300 new housing starts this year, far below the 150,000 needed annually to achieve Ford’s target.
For next year, an estimated 79,300 new homes are expected to be built, rising to 82,700 in 2025.
Legislative pages delivering copies of the budget to the Members.
