Morrison liked much in provincial budget
By Bill Rea

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan seemed pretty impressed with the provincial budget he brought down last week, but Dufferin - Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones was not as enthused.

Mayor Marolyn Morrison, on the other hand, was pretty pleased with what she saw as benefits for Caledon.

"I think there was some good news for Caledon," she declared.

She was particularly pleased with the allocation of $400 million to municipalities for roads and bridges. "Town of Caledon has a huge road network," she observed.

Details are still to come on how much the Town will be getting from this allocation, so the mayor was unable to offer much in the way of speculation, but she was confident it will be substantial.

"Hopefully, we can do a little more work than we anticipated," she said.

Morrison also noted the budget calls for a $30 million allocation for broadband expansion and another $30 million, over four years, for rural economic development. "We're hoping we can plug into that also," she remarked.

The mayor also liked the plans for grants to seniors to help them stay in their homes. It's to start at $250, but it will be up to $500 by 2010. She said that will go nicely with the $200 in property tax relief the Town already offers to seniors. "You're starting to see some real relief for seniors who are eligible," she commented.

Morrison also liked plans to change the way people can get action if they think the assessments on their properties are too high. In the past, the burden was on the owner to demonstrate there should be changes, but the plan now is to the have the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) prove the assessment is proper. Morrison called that move "positive."

The mayor said the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) is to be commended for lobbying for a number of these plans. Morrison sits on the AMO board.

"They have been constantly on these things," she remarked. "It's finally starting to be heard."

"Our economy today remains as strong and resilient as Ontarians themselves and it outperformed expectations this year," Duncan declared in his address to the legislature last Tuesday.

He also acknowledged "a number of challenges that are creating uncertainty," including "a slowing U.S. economy, rising oil prices and a higher-thananticipated Canadian dollar are reducing growth forecasts and creating greater uncertainty here in Ontario."

But he said this was the Liberal government's third balanced budget in a row.

But all of that didn't impress Jones.

"I have concerns that what we have is a budget that is not reflective of the reality that Ontario is facing and going to be facing," she remarked.

She was concerned there could be a recession in the near future, but the government is still spending. "I think it spells some not very pleasant times ahead," she commented.

There were a couple of positive points to the budget, as far as Jones was concerned. She liked what's been proposed in the area of retraining, although she pointed out it will only apply to 20,000 people, and no specifics have been announced yet.

In all, Jones maintained the budget missed an opportunity to support Ontario's hard working families and manufacturers.

"The Liberal Budget does not provide enough support to boost Ontario's manufacturing sector to sustain and create jobs," she stated. "The Liberals failed to respond to calls to accelerate plans to eliminate the capital tax or to reduce corporate income to levels competitive with other jurisdictions."

"This is not a partisan issue as lower corporate tax rates have been implemented by Tories in Alberta, the Liberals in British Columbia and the NDP in Saskatchewan and Manitoba to create jobs and attract investment," she added.

Jones was also surprised that the budget contained so many re-announcements and one-time funding commitments.

She also said the impact of the budget on this area was not known. "We will have to wait for future announcements on infrastructure and transit, and there is nothing new for hard working families."

There's also been controversy lately, with federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty holding a news conference to call on the government to make more cuts to business taxes, to the indignation of Duncan and Premier Dalton Mcguinty.

But Jones didn't have much trouble with Flaherty weighing in on the discussions.

"I think there's a little bit of tit-for-tat going on there," she remarked, pointing out the that during daily Question Period, ministers are responding to stories of woe with "Blame the feds."

"I wish they would both stop doing it," she commented, adding she would like to see them sit down and talk it through.

Dufferin - Caledon MP David Tilson didn't have much trouble with Flaherty getting involved either, pointing out it's really a case of two different philosophies being discussed.

Tilson said the manufacturing sector is in trouble, for a number of reasons. Duncan is responding by giving money to certain firms, like Ford. "If you give to one, you had better give to them all," he argued.

The other side of the debate includes creating an environment that will encourage investment in the province.

"I don't think Mr. Duncan's philosophy is the answer," Tilson commented.

He added Ontario has the highest taxes in the country, and Flaherty has suggested they be lowered to encourage investment.

Tilson also defended Flaherty's and the feds' right to be critical. "Every premier that I ever saw in the Province of Ontario had no problem criticizing the federal government," he observed.

Peel Region officials were welcoming the investments toward reducing poverty they found in the budget.

Regional Chair Emil Kolb commended investments in poverty supports, infrastructure, skills training and emergency room wait time reductions announced in the budget.

"Investments in people are what Peel needs now," Kolb commented. "We are encouraged that the Ontario budget includes a plan for investing in supports that help reduce the Region's and the community's initiatives to reduce poverty."

Peel will share in the province's new funding for school nutrition programs, dental care for low-income earners and social housing repairs. As well, Peel's most vulnerable residents will get further help with increased funding for Ontario 211, the telephone hotline that helps access social service programs.