Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson was more than a little pleased with the budget presented by his Liberal Party on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s been a good day,” he said. “The economy is turning the corner.”
Wilkinson said the United States has now regained 14% of the jobs it lost during the massive recession of the past three years, and Ontario has regained 91% of the jobs it lost. Even better, he said, “85 % of those jobs are full time.”
He used the words “prudent” and “prudence” several times to describe Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s budget. The plan is to keep the current spending in important areas such as health and education, while reducing the deficit.
The government projected a deficit of $16.3-billion in 2011-12, which Wilkinson noted is far better than the $19-billion many expected. He said those better projections come from “getting people back to work.”
He added tax cuts have aided business and he said all along he felt the best way to get Ontario on the rebound is to have jobs on this side of the border. He said Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio had the same economic problems, but Ontario is rebounding much faster due to provincial tax policies that encourage business.
The government plans to find savings through various measures to save about $1.4-billion over the next three years.
Wilkinson said it will cut health-care costs by extending best practices to all hospitals. Instead of just one or two using a program to cut costs, all hospitals will be aware of ways others are saving money.
The government plans to trim 1,500 Ontario Public Service positions by early 2014. Those cuts are in addition to the elimination of 3,400 full-time positions that were announced in the 2009 budget.
Wilkinson said a lot of those jobs will be eliminated through attrition, but the government has not ruled out layoffs. He said what is important is the government has been moving into new technology much like business is doing.
That technology makes employees more productive, so those cuts can be made without affecting services.
“That’s one area we can find savings,” he said.
He said Duncan’s budget also created a commission to reform Ontario’s public services. It will be led by economist Don Drummond and will look for efficiencies and report to the finance minister ahead of the next budget.
The government will also create than 60,000 new spaces in post-secondary institutions by 2015-16, at a total cost of $309-million.
Wilkinson said that will enable many young people to obtain higher education, whether it be a degree, certificate, or trade, and those will all lead to good jobs. He said 63% of Ontario people have post secondary education, but it needs to reach 70% so Ontario can compete better with the rest of the world.
He said there is nothing in the budget for lowering tuition costs, and he knows they are high because two of his children are in school, but he said the province has capped loans at $7,000 a year and brought back grants for those who need financial assistance. It has also reduced the debt repayment schedule so graduates have time to find a job before the interest kicks in on student debt.
He said that the University of Waterloo is building a campus in his riding, in Stratford, and there will be other school expansions due to the government policy.
The province also hopes to save money by closing outdated jails, which, Wilkinson said, are so old they contain about half the population they were designed for.
Those are in Owen Sound, Walkerton and Sarnia, as well as partially closing the Toronto West Detention Centre and replacing them with newer, more efficient jails that have a much higher staff-to-inmate ratio.
The budget also cancelled construction of the Toronto West Courthouse, saving $181-million over three years.
Wilkinson was very pleased the province will expand the health ministry’s screening program for breast cancer, at a cost of $15-million. That will allow about 90,000 more screenings over the next three years, targeting women between the ages of 30 and 49 who are deemed at high risk for the disease due to genetic reasons or medical or family history.
Currently women under the age of 50 can get a mammogram only with a referral from their doctor or nurse practitioner.
Wilkinson said the earlier women get tested, the faster medical technology can detect problems, and early diagnosis is tremendously important. He also noted Ontario now has the lowest waiting times for medical care in Canada.
There will also be more funding for mental health and addictions treatment, with a focus on children and youth. Funding will grow to $93-million annually by 2013-14.
The province will spend about $44-million over three years for literacy and basic skills programs.
Wilkinson said in the Wellington part of his riding, almost every school provides all day kindergarten, and he hopes that will spread to the Perth side of the riding with the new funding, because the earlier children get started learning, the better they will do.
More new spending will include $22.5-million for this year’s summer jobs strategy, aimed at helping about 100,000 students find jobs.
He said when the economy has been battered, the last sector to recover is the one that provides student with jobs, so the Liberals have extended the incentive program for another year.
He conclude his party made some tough choices over the past few years, but now those choices are starting to pay benefits.
“We’ve cut the tax cost of new investment in half,” he said. He refused to say everything would be coming up rosy, because outside factors can always change things. He cited, the Middle East, North Africa, and Japan as three recent areas of concern, and said that is why Duncan’s budget is “prudent.”
Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott scoffed at nearly every assertion made by Wilkinson, Duncan, and Premier Dalton McGuinty.
“I don’t know who would believe them anymore,” Arnott said on Tuesday. He added the Liberal government has “a huge credibility problem,” citing past promises not to cut taxes, which were followed in short time by significant tax increases like the health tax and the HST.
“I think this will prove to be the final budget of the McGuinty government,” Arnott said. “Dalton McGuinty is prepared to say anything to get people’s support … but very few people are listening anymore.”
Arnott took the Liberals to task for a budget speech that was the first he’s ever seen in two decades at Queen’s Park that spent so much time attacking another party (his).
He called the speech “unprecedented and reprehensible,” and noted the Liberals have repeatedly claimed the Progressive Conservative party plans to cut health care funding.
“It’s a ridiculous claim,” Arnott said, adding he thinks health care spending will go up every year for as long as he’s alive.
Arnott was baffled at how the Liberals can boast about a budget that will effectively double the provincial debt by next year.
“To see them congratulate themselves for a $16.3-billion deficit was almost beyond belief,” he said.
Claims of a balanced budget are “a fantasy,” Arnott added. He explained the 2011 budget calls for just a 1% increase in annual growth for services until 2014, but the Liberals have a track record of average increases of 6 to 8%.
