adma
Superstar
How big is Doug Ford's cottage compound? ;-)
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2022 43rd Ontario general election (June 2, 2022)
- Thread starter W. K. Lis
- Start date
Towered
Senior Member
Ontario is very big, so I really have no idea what they mean by "central". What would be an ideal location for a significant new park?
Northern Light
Superstar
I know of one very large new park contemplated not too far from Peterborough, tentatively named 'White Duck Provincial Park'; something like ~30,000 acres.
Its creation is part of a treaty settlement w/the Algonquins......
But the province has been slow-walking the park for years, going back to the Wynne government at least.
However, I'm not sure that's what they have in mind..........
They also announced a Humber Headwaters Park 2 years ago, but have yet to create it; but it was only 500 acres, and that doesn't really make sense for camping.
There are lots of other crown land options, (I'm assuming that's what they are contemplating).
****
In respect of central Ontario, there is no one definition, but generally I understand it to be:
- East of Georgian Bay
- North of Barrie
- From the Kawarthas west
- From Parry Sound or Algonquin Park, south.
But what they have in mind........... ?
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Northern Light
Superstar
The Liberals are off in goofy promise territory............they are proposing to remove the provincial HST from prepared foods (fast food, resto meals and supermarket meals to go) that are under $20 in retail price.
Currently, there is an exemption for items under $4 due to a previous bit of Liberal goofiness.
All forms of tax should generally have as few exemptions as possible, this isn't simply good for the treasury, and can in fact be used to offer lower rates.
Its also good for business/individuals as it simplifies administration and understanding of a tax.
IF there were a compelling case for adding exemptions to the HST it would surely be for 'essentials' that virtually everyone purchases, such as Toilet Paper, Toothpaste, Dish or Laundry soap, or Shampoo.
I can live w/o those exemptions for the sake of a simplified tax; but if we had to add exemptions, surely those are better than two Baconator combos...........
Currently, there is an exemption for items under $4 due to a previous bit of Liberal goofiness.
All forms of tax should generally have as few exemptions as possible, this isn't simply good for the treasury, and can in fact be used to offer lower rates.
Its also good for business/individuals as it simplifies administration and understanding of a tax.
IF there were a compelling case for adding exemptions to the HST it would surely be for 'essentials' that virtually everyone purchases, such as Toilet Paper, Toothpaste, Dish or Laundry soap, or Shampoo.
I can live w/o those exemptions for the sake of a simplified tax; but if we had to add exemptions, surely those are better than two Baconator combos...........
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lenaitch
Senior Member
If i had to guess it would be a holding - or part - that is already designated as a provincial park, like QE II Wildlands north of Norland, or Kawartha Highlands west of Apsley. As far as I know both are currently undeveloped.
Northern Light
Superstar
The Writ will official drop on May 4th at which point the governing party can no longer use the resources of government for anything that smacks of campaigning.
The sitting Premier will apparently use every last day he can.
Announcement coming in the AM from the Premier and the PM along with car maker Stellantis, in Windsor.
news.ontario.ca
The sitting Premier will apparently use every last day he can.
Announcement coming in the AM from the Premier and the PM along with car maker Stellantis, in Windsor.
Ontario Newsroom
news.ontario.ca
elcorrerador
Active Member
Buck-a-ride!
Northern Light
Superstar
The Liberals are continuing to go down the goofy promise rabbit hole. Link to the story below
'Buck-a-ride': Ontario Liberals promise to cut transit fares to $1 until 2024
The Ontario Liberals say they will slash transit fares to $1 per ride across the province until 2024 if they are elected in June.
www.cp24.com
From the above:
A modest windfall for Toronto commuters, for those taking GO from the 905, Christmas is every month til 2024.
Saving up to $300 per month for a commuter from Whitby. That's $3,600 per year.
This part is a bit better:
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elcorrerador
Active Member
Encouraging public transit is a great thing. Whether this is financial sustainable is a different story.
Northern Light
Superstar
Yes; but for this kind of money, one could deliver substantially lower cross-boundary fares, a the co-fare agreement for Toronto, and substantially more service, and still have money leftover for other meritorious projects.
I would much rather hear:
1) 15-minute service, 2-way, all-day, every day on GO's Lakeshore corridor, immediately.
2) 30-minute service to Hamilton
3) Weekend service to K-W (hourly); and 15-minute service to Bramalea ASAP
4) 15-minute service to Bradford and Unionville ASAP
5) Investment in Milton corridor to produce at least 30m, 2-way, all-day service w/in 3 years.
6) Toronto gets co-pay fare
7) Regional Cross-boundary fares slashed by at least 50%
The question is what do $1 fares buy you?
In the absence of a lot more service, just crowding. Modest service increases still only net you a small ridership gain.
The money should be spent to achieve historic change, not attract a few votes and add debt w/o achievement.
lenaitch
Senior Member
Gad, I dislike what election campaigns have become. It's all a-chicken-in-every-pot boutique stuff; nothing grand or strategic.The Liberals are continuing to go down the goofy promise rabbit hole. Link to the story below
'Buck-a-ride': Ontario Liberals promise to cut transit fares to $1 until 2024
The Ontario Liberals say they will slash transit fares to $1 per ride across the province until 2024 if they are elected in June.
From the above:
View attachment 397277
A modest windfall for Toronto commuters, for those taking GO from the 905, Christmas is every month til 2024.
Saving up to $300 per month for a commuter from Whitby. That's $3,600 per year.
This part is a bit better:
View attachment 397278
Do the Liberals (or perhaps CP24, I don't know) realize that Ontario Northland doesn't run a transit service, or do they actually mean that a bus ride to Winnipeg or a ride on the Polar Bear Express will be $1?
Northern Light
Superstar
The announcement in Windsor is 3.4B for re-tooling the company's Ontario plants, in both Windsor and Brampton.
They are being re-done to make electric vehicles.
Both are to be 3-shift operations when complete.
The Feds are chipping in 1/2 a billion and the province 'something similar'.
Story from the Windsor Star linked below:
windsorstar.com
They are being re-done to make electric vehicles.
Both are to be 3-shift operations when complete.
The Feds are chipping in 1/2 a billion and the province 'something similar'.
Story from the Windsor Star linked below:
Stellantis announces $3.4-billion investment in Ontario plants
Stellantis ensured the future of its Ontario production plants in Windsor and Brampton by announcing it was investing $3.4 billion to retool the two facilities…
windsorstar.com
ARG1
Senior Member
Its hard to even say this will encourage public transit anyway. The GTHA transit has 3 primary issues: Limited Rapid Transit coverage, infrequent bus service in the 905, overcrowded trains. This doesn't solve any of these problems, and in fact makes 2 of these problems even worse. The GTHA exists in an interesting dichotomy where we have Subway and GO Lines that are overcrowded and have capacity issues, yet we have suburban busses that are barely used because they barely come. For the former, the last thing these routes need is additional riders that pop up before they are physically able to handle them, and they won't be able to handle them if we're wasting our money subsidizing all of these fares. The Subway needs so much work before we can safely add additional capacity, and GO needs to prioritize running more frequent service. Pricing is the least concern of both of these 2 systems. And then we move on to the polar opposite dichotemy, 905 transit agencies especially YRT that just don't run busses. Currently YRT has a fare of $4.25. The reason why people don't use YRT isn't because the fare is too steep though, its because they run busses every 30 mins. Even Viva routes like Viva Orange have headways as low as EVERY 25 MINUTES SATURDAY MORNINGS. While a single bus route might be schedulable even at 30 minutes for most people, the moment people have to transfer, everything goes down hill. Instead of spending money on $1 fares, they should be spending money (if at all), either subsidizing YRT to have frequent service on all of their major arterials like the NDP proposed, or better yet, pressure them to do so themselves.
nfitz
Superstar
I wonder if the $1 pricing is based on detailed city, or just to give them a platform to remind people about the buck-a-beer broken promise.
Cheap beer, cheap transit, no car fees. How are the NDP going to top this?
Perhaps they could promise to solve the homeless problem by seizing any houses over 4,000 square feet, and dividing them into free apartments for the poor.
Northern Light
Superstar
Though this is a budget-related item and one coming from the civil service, I'm still going to place it here, given that it relates closely to a provincial budget used as an election platform.
The Auditor General has given the budget a once-over..........and uhhhhh.....there are some odd problems.
First some links:
Story here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toro...essive-conservative-auditor-general-1.6438355
Direct link to the AG's Report, here: https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/specialreports/specialreports/Pre-Electon-2022_EN.pdf
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So.....in the AG's report, there is a suggestion of somewhat under-estimated corporate tax revenue......somewhere btw 1.5-4B per year too low.
Meh, I'm ok with a bit of prudence..........though that's pushing it.
But of far greater note is the amount the gov't has earmarked in contingencies.......
Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of these. Always better to under promised and over deliver, to come in w/ a lower deficit than expected..........but....but
Total contingencies have gone from 7.5B to more than 19B in just one year.
Huh? If you took the AG's figures and applied them to this years budget as reduced expenses/increased revenues as applicable you would almost balance the budget.
What party in their right mind leaves that much money on the table going into an election? If they know of something coming that will eat that kind of $$$, we should all know..........
otherwise this is one of the strangest things I've heard of politically.
The Auditor General has given the budget a once-over..........and uhhhhh.....there are some odd problems.
First some links:
Story here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toro...essive-conservative-auditor-general-1.6438355
Direct link to the AG's Report, here: https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/specialreports/specialreports/Pre-Electon-2022_EN.pdf
****
So.....in the AG's report, there is a suggestion of somewhat under-estimated corporate tax revenue......somewhere btw 1.5-4B per year too low.
Meh, I'm ok with a bit of prudence..........though that's pushing it.
But of far greater note is the amount the gov't has earmarked in contingencies.......
Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of these. Always better to under promised and over deliver, to come in w/ a lower deficit than expected..........but....but
Total contingencies have gone from 7.5B to more than 19B in just one year.
Huh? If you took the AG's figures and applied them to this years budget as reduced expenses/increased revenues as applicable you would almost balance the budget.
What party in their right mind leaves that much money on the table going into an election? If they know of something coming that will eat that kind of $$$, we should all know..........
otherwise this is one of the strangest things I've heard of politically.