No concrete plan to balance the books and no tax relief for middle-class families
There’s one bright spot in Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s budget. He announced plans to cut taxes for low-income Ontarians, saving over one million taxpayers up to $850 next year. This will serve as much-needed relief for taxpayers who badly need it in the wake of record-high inflation and soaring living costs. But that’s where the…
Continuing intensive breeding bird survey involves thousands of volunteers, hundreds of thousands of bits of data
Every spring, I get excited as the birds start to return to Ontario from South and Central America. Life is emerging everywhere. Even though nature sometimes seems to conspire against them with cold snaps following sunny days, birds persist. Fire, rain, wind, predators, agricultural and industrial activities, cars, cats and inadvertent human disturbance all work…
Ontarians need relief, and they need it urgently
Affordability is the elephant in the room as Ontario approaches this June’s provincial election, and it’s time for Ontario’s politicians to address it before they get trampled. All three of Ontario’s major political parties plan to speak to the issue of affordability in their platforms. The Ford government has been busy eliminating user fees for…
Ontarians need urgent action, not vague future promises
When Ontario Premier Doug Ford finally announced his intention to deliver on gas tax relief after four years of delays, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation supported the move. Make no mistake; a gas tax cut is good news for Ontario taxpayers. As gas prices soar and Ontarians face the highest inflation levels in 30 years, relief…
Should in-person learning be an essential service? Can parents and guardians be included in decisions?
Sometimes it takes a crisis to make things clear. Consider the last two years of rolling pandemic school closures. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Ontario’s government education systems largely failed to serve more than two million students well. Calls for wholesale reform to Ontario education have begun and include revamping all kindergarten-to-Grade-12 curricula and a…
Canada rations care with wait times, limited investment in technology, and by using family doctors as “gatekeepers” to service
Doctors frustrate governments. They think too little about how much health care costs and too much about their patients who need help. The government of Ontario and the Ontario Medical Association arrived at a mediated Proposed Physicians Services Agreement (PPSA) this month. Doctors started to vote on it yesterday, with voting ending on March 27.…
That way, parents will be able to afford the kind of care that best meets their needs
We’ve all seen the headlines about Ontario being the only province not to sign on to the federal childcare plan. The Liberal Party of Ontario drew attention to this again recently, announcing that if it formed a government in June after the next provincial election, the province would send families a retroactive payment of $2,750…
Inflation rates haven’t been this high since Seinfeld first debuted on television
Would your family be better off with an extra $2,000 in your bank account this year? As Canada continues to face its highest inflation rates in over 30 years, not a single Ontarian would answer no. If Ontario Premier Doug Ford had kept his promises from the election platform he ran on four years ago,…
Alberta has reduced its gas taxes by 13 cents a litre
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is sitting on his hands while Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is delivering relief for taxpayers. Earlier this week, Kenney announced his government would cut provincial gas taxes by 13 cents per litre in the face of skyrocketing oil prices. For a family filling up their minivan, Kenney’s tax cut means nearly…
A win for taxpayers, but it just isn’t enough
License plate stickers in Ontario are destined for the ash heap of history, thanks to the Ford government’s commitment to repeal those pesky annual fees. Families are facing rampant inflation and soaring living costs. Premier Doug Ford’s announcement will save the typical two-car family $240 a year. It’s a good first step, and now the…
If Ford is tempted to embark on a spending spree this spring, he should think twice
After 15 years of governments pursuing high spending, run-away deficits, and no meaningful tax relief, it’s time for Ontario Premier Doug Ford to think big. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy will present the Ford government’s pre-election budget next month, which gives his team a chance to set the spending tone as the province heads to a…
Taxes make up a third of the price at the pumps
The collective blood pressure of Ontario taxpayers surged recently as gas prices hit record levels across the province. In large part, hardworking taxpayers can blame the federal government for soaring costs. For the first time ever, gas prices in Ontario crossed the $1.50 per litre threshold. A family that took their minivan and sedan to…
In the 70s, bald eagles, like many raptors, were devastated due to exposure to pesticides
The majestic bald eagle never fails to arouse awe in observers fortunate enough to spot it. In the 19th and 20th centuries, it variously was considered common to rare in North America, depending primarily on where you lived. They historically nested in 45 of the 48 contiguous United States but have declined dramatically since. One…
A slap in the face to hardworking taxpayers across the province
Ontario has been experiencing a tale of two pandemics. One is a fairy tale for bureaucrats, and the other is a grim story for the rest of us. Bureaucrats working for the province and its major cities have been getting raises, while average Ontarians saw hour reductions, pay cuts, lost jobs, and shuttered small businesses.…
Since COVID-19 touched down, Ottawa has dished out $511 billion!
When governments subsidize something, you can expect more of it. With the federal government covering the cost of keeping workers and businesses afloat during provincial lockdowns, it’s no surprise that provincial politicians are biased toward new restrictions. Since COVID-19 touched down, Ottawa has dished out $511 billion through direct subsidies, tax deferrals and low-interest loans.…