Mantha’s Notes from the Park: BUDGET 2013
MPP Michael Mantha, Algoma-Mantioulin
When Ontarians elected a minority government in 2011 they sent a clear message they want their politicians to get results. It’s why New Democrats were crystal clear when we put forward our proposals for this budget.
Ontarians deserve some real, achievable change. They want some confidence that government will make achievable promises and keep those promises.
It’s time to start rebuilding trust with Ontarians. Because the reality is that Liberals have seriously damaged that trust.
That’s why New Democrats came to the budget table with a clear plan to address these issues.
We brought a number of proactive plans to the table. We called for a youth employment initiative, changes to support programs like ODSP to make them more fair for recipients, a 5-day home care guarantee, and mandatory cuts to sky-high auto insurance rates. We also called for the government to reign in wasteful spending by capping exorbitant pay to CEOs in the public service.
When I read the budget yesterday I saw a number of those New Democrats proposals “reflected” in the Liberal budget, but Ontarians want to see results in a way that is accountable.
If Ontarians are expected to have faith in their government, they need to see proactive changes to prevent the kind of wasteful spending and embarrassing scandals that have dominated Queen’s Park headlines since the last general election.
Ontarians are concerned that Ms. Wynne hasn’t learned the lessons of her government’s billion dollar eHealth scandal, or $700 million scandal at Ornge, or half billion dollar gas plant scandal.
As always, the North is facing its own unique challenges, which this budget does little to address.
The urgent infrastructure needs of the Ring of Fire remains unaddressed. There is talk of a Pan-Northern transportation plan, but no plan to back it up, and the ONTC divestment continues unabated. While the budget commits to working with stakeholders on the ongoing review of the Mining Tax, there is no progress update on the review which was initiated in the previous budget.
While the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate (NIER) Program has been extended for another three years, we would like to see the program expanded to include medium-sized consumers who would benefit enormously from the program.
In the coming weeks, my colleagues and I want to hear from Northerners and Ontarians about this budget, and what can be done to make it better.
That’s why we’ve launched a new website and toll-free phone line to get feedback. Ontarians should log on to yoursayontario.ca or call us at 1-877-341-0244 to let us know what they think.
We want to look at how to make the budget more accountable to the real needs of Ontarians, while making government more transparent. Ontarians need to know that initiatives like the home care guarantee and auto insurance reductions are not just hollow promises, but real, concrete programs.
The initiatives we proposed initially included a number of cost saving measures that would help balance the budget without jeopardizing service – we would like to see these ideas brought back to the table. Infrastructure funding has been a major issue of debate across the province leading up to the budget introduction. We know Northerners want us to find fair and affordable ways to fund transportation and infrastructure that respects the unique needs of the North, and regions across the province.
Those are our goals as a caucus, and they reflect what we have been hearing so far. As budget debate and negotiation progress over the coming weeks, we’ll be listening to Ontarians who come forward, to ensure we are getting the results they want, as we try to build an accountable, responsible budget that reflects the Ontario we all want to live in.
As always, please feel free to contact my office about these issues, or any other provincial matters. You can reach my constituency office by email at mmantha-co@ndp.on.ca or by phone at 705-461-9710/1-800-831-1899.
Michael Mantha, MPP/député
Algoma-Manitoulin
