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2022 43rd Ontario general election (June 2, 2022)

It's ambitious enough to catch attention without being pie-in-the-sky. The timing is great, coming just before the budget, and before the Liberals release their platform.

The NDP would also restore the Mississauga City Centre loop in the Hurontario LRT. If they got rid of the new name for that transit project, it'd be even better.

MMP is probably the best model for a representative parliamentary government, and it's a counter to Del Duca talking about ranked ballots (which are my choice for municipal elections). My second choice would be a second run-off election for each riding where a candidate fails to get a majority. Both ideas would help give Greens an opportunity to get a little more representation and protect against blow-out losses.
 
In, at this point, what can only be described as a campaign promise, the Ford government is announcing it will move the WSIB HQ to London, Ontario.

This is a very odd move in my opinion.

It will likely irk/displace many existing staff.
The jobs, if they shift to central London are unlikely to get the Tory's a pick-up seat wise.
Moreover, London's unemployed are disproportionately former blue-collar workers displaced from Manufacturing and unlikely to get new jobs w/the WSIB.

Bit of a head-scratcher to me.

Any savings in annual rent is likely to be offset by the one-time relo costs for at least the first few years.

Ontario Newsroom

news.ontario.ca news.ontario.ca
 
Northern Light said:
In, at this point, what can only be described as a campaign promise, the Ford government is announcing it will move the WSIB HQ to London, Ontario.

This is a very odd move in my opinion.

It will likely irk/displace many existing staff.
The jobs, if they shift to central London are unlikely to get the Tory's a pick-up seat wise.
Moreover, London's unemployed are disproportionately former blue-collar workers displaced from Manufacturing and unlikely to get new jobs w/the WSIB.

Bit of a head-scratcher to me.

Any savings in annual rent is likely to be offset by the one-time relo costs for at least the first few years.

Ontario Newsroom

news.ontario.ca news.ontario.ca
Click to expand...

Back when it was Workers Compensation Board, its headquarters were a non-descript office complex off the 400 between Wilson and Sheppard (it is now a non-descript townhouse complex). At the time, I think they had actual programming there. WSIB is now a beancounting agency whose purpose is no different than any for-profit insurance company - pay out as little as one can, and outsource as much as possible.

London has some of that beancounting going on with back offices for TD (the old Canada Trust headquarters) and insurance, but I agree, it doesn't make a lot of sense. Most of the blue-collar jobs will end up at the new Amazon warehouses planned, including on the old St. Thomas Ford property.
 
Ah....an article from The Star shows the play here is likely a one-time windfall from selling the Toronto HQ

www.thestar.com

Province announces WSIB headquarters will move from Toronto’s Front Street to London, Ont.

Real estate sources say the tower at Front and Simcoe streets could be sold for as much as $600 million if it hits the market.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

1650987433466.png


As also noted above, relo'ing the HQ requires a statutory amendment.

Easy enough to do for a majority gov't; but it certainly won't pass pre-election.
 
Is that three properties anywhere or just in Ontario? If I owned a home in Toronto and a cottage in Quebec and a ski chalet in Whistler, would I be taxed? (I don't own those, this is purely hypothetical!)
 
PinkLucy said:
Is that three properties anywhere or just in Ontario? If I owned a home in Toronto and a cottage in Quebec and a ski chalet in Whistler, would I be taxed? (I don't own those, this is purely hypothetical!)
Click to expand...

I'm under the impression this would be in Ontario..........

That said, I await the platform so I can look over the text myself!
 
ShonTron said:
Back when it was Workers Compensation Board, its headquarters were a non-descript office complex off the 400 between Wilson and Sheppard (it is now a non-descript townhouse complex). At the time, I think they had actual programming there. WSIB is now a beancounting agency whose purpose is no different than any for-profit insurance company - pay out as little as one can, and outsource as much as possible.

London has some of that beancounting going on with back offices for TD (the old Canada Trust headquarters) and insurance, but I agree, it doesn't make a lot of sense. Most of the blue-collar jobs will end up at the new Amazon warehouses planned, including on the old St. Thomas Ford property.
Click to expand...
To the best of my recollection, the site alongside the 400 was their hospital/rehab facility; although there was no doubt some administrative facilities there. My cousin spend a couple of years there after an industrial accident.

Their main head office, up until the early '70s was at 90 Harbour St. (which my former employer then took over). I don't know if they moved directly from there to its current location.
JasonParis said:
We have capital cities for a reason. I guess Bob Rae and Doug Ford now have something in common.
Click to expand...
There is argument that elected officials and their immediate band of fart-catchers should inhabit a 'capital' or seat of government, but I don't see the necessity for the entirety of public service. The greater the concentration, the greater the potential for disconnect from the public and the more the bureaucracy becomes a self-licking ice cream cone. Even discounting those who actually have to be scattered about to do their jobs, there is really no need for all 60,000+ members of the Ontario civil service to be within sight of the CN tower, considering the province spans two time zones.

Many governments have have initiated various degrees of de-centralization. There was a flurry under Rae but, given the length of planning time required, much of it was initiated under Peterson. I was part of the early '90s relocation that reflected several ministries. I used to know the stats surrounding how many moved, how many shifted to other ministries (government employment rules) and how many just left; although I do recall the last category was quite small.
 
Bit's of tomorrow's budget have been leaked to The Star tonight.

This goes here, instead of the provincial gov't thread, because this budget is clearly an election platform and nothing more.

www.thestar.com

Doug Ford would cut taxes for people earning less than $50,000

In a pre-election budget, Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives will propose cutting income taxes for those earning less than $50,000 a year, the Star has learned.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

The key item is modify the current low income tax credit to raise the threshold of tax-free income for low-income earners to 50k per year from the current $38,500.

From the article:

“We are expanding eligibility in tomorrow’s budget to include an additional 700,000 people,” a senior government official, speaking confidentially in order to discuss the budget, said Wednesday.

“(It’s) making it more generous so that (overall) approximately 1.1 million people will see on average $300 more in tax relief,” the official said.

Its not that is a bad thing, per se; but that's remarkably little help, less that most people pay at the dentist to get a single filling; and it also won't give one extra penny to a person with less than 38k in annual income.
I have to give this one a thumbs down.

Additional items:

Sources say Bethlenfalvy’s budget would centre on the “pillars of rebuilding the economy (after the two-year pandemic), working for workers, building highways, keeping costs low for families, and a plan to stay open” in the event of other COVID-19 waves.
 
Just waiting on the Budget docs to go live on the provincial site, I will then link and provide my analysis.

But while waiting..........I saw this tweet from reporter Colin D'Mello which struck me as odd...

1651176625693.png


Soooo; you changed the law so that you could use the budget as an election platform........and then your stand is that your platform isn't binding on you?

Oookkkkayy then.
 
Ok, Budget Docs are up; advance warning, I will edit this post to add content as I read through things, rather than do this as 20 different posts.

The overall link first, so you can read for yourself:

2022 Ontario Budget | Table of Contents

2022 Ontario Budget: Ontario’s Plan to Build
budget.ontario.ca budget.ontario.ca

Reading the Transportation Capital Investment section first, and looking for things we might not have known.....I see:

1651176892188.png


Otherwise, vague hype for future investments to improve GO Service to London; and Niagara.

Restating a commitment to Sheppard subway, without much in the way of specifics.

At tail end of the infrastructure section is this:


1651177083065.png


No name, no size, no location..................uhhh, no credit! LOL

*****

Assorted investments in hospitals. Most, but not all, previously announced:

1651177258286.png


1651177321755.png


1651177358615.png


1651177403420.png


* every province west of Ontario already covers take-home cancer drugs for patients; its really a net savings, since no ethical doctor would allow their patient to go without, the alternative is usually in-patient care at vastly greater cost.

No advisory table is required, just emulate the programs already in place in the west.

*****

Fiscal outlook.........

Deficits at least through 2024-25, with the number pegged at 7.6B that year.

New tax credits for seniors for medically-related costs to staying at home:

1651177911181.png


************

So far I don't see alot else there, there.

I will dig further.

But my overall take so far is that they've pre-announced too much; the budget/platform feels anti-climatic; a real lack of concrete promises in terms of timing and dollars.
 
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From The Star, we get a bit more detail on the new Provincial Park, but we still don't have a name, location or area:

A new provincial park is in the works for central Ontario that could have about 250 new campsites, including some for cars and those in the backcountry. Cabin accommodations may also be built on site. The park would offer year-round activities such as hiking, swimming, cross-country skiing and skating. Ontario currently has 340 provincial parks, and this would be the first new one in 40 years. Budget and exact location have not yet been determined. In 2019, Ontario’s parks recorded more than 10 million visits.

From: https://www.thestar.com/politics/pr...arios-largest-spending-budget-in-history.html

From the same article we get this:

The province is looking at allowing changes to the City of Toronto Act to allow the TTC to maintain and even operate transit systems outside of the city’s borders, to allow for better integration of regional transit.
 
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