https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/canada\/article-ontario-throne-speech-pledges-no-painful-tax-hikes-or-spending-cuts\/<\/a><\/p>\nOntario\u2019s economic recovery will be fuelled by growth and not \u201cpainful tax hikes or spending cuts,\u201d the government said in a Throne Speech on Monday that also pledged the use of \u201clocalized and targeted\u201d public-health restrictions to avoid lockdowns and contain COVID-19.<\/p>\n
A masked Lieutenant-Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell read out the Speech from the Throne, which is meant to lay out the government\u2019s agenda, in an Ontario Legislature left half-empty for pandemic safety. All MPPs, staff and journalists had to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result to enter.<\/p>\n
Premier Doug Ford had prorogued the Legislature to extend its summer break until after the Sept. 20 federal election, making necessary a new Throne Speech, his Progressive Conservative government\u2019s second since its 2018 election.<\/p>\n
The six-page speech was almost entirely devoted to the pandemic, largely outlining actions the government has already taken or pledged to take. Opposition leaders criticized the government for failing to detail any new initiatives to fight COVID-19 or to help Ontario\u2019s economy recover.<\/p>\n
The government did use the speech to warn of \u201csignificant fiscal challenges\u201d ahead, caused by its \u201cunprecedented levels of spending.\u201d (The province\u2019s deficit, largely driven by pandemic spending, came in at $16.4-billion last year \u2013 less than half the record $38.5-billion originally forecast.)<\/p>\n
But the Throne Speech says the government would not resort to \u201cpainful tax hikes or spending cuts\u201d and would instead rely on boosting economic growth. It also pledged to build new roads and highways, and expand public transit to \u201ccommunities across the province.\u201d<\/p>\n
More details on the government\u2019s plans were expected to be revealed in a fall economic statement due within weeks.<\/p>\n
The speech acknowledged that COVID-19 cases may rise as the fall weather drives more people to spend time indoors. But it said health officials are monitoring the burdens on hospitals and their intensive care units and any future public-health restrictions would be \u201clocalized and targeted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ultimate goal, shared by all, is avoiding future lockdowns,\u201d the Lieutenant-Governor told the Legislature.<\/p>\n
The speech reiterated the government\u2019s previous pledges to expand capacity and improve care in the province\u2019s long-term care homes, where more than 3,800 residents and staff died with COVID-19 despite Mr. Ford\u2019s promise of an \u201ciron ring\u201d of protection. The speech also said the government\u2019s new long-term care legislation, coming this fall, would improve \u201caccountability, enforcement and transparency\u201d in the sector.<\/p>\n
\n
\u201cThe days when bad actors could get away with anything less than quality care for our most vulnerable will be over,\u201d the Lieutenant-Governor said in the speech.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
These promises did not satisfy the Ontario Health Coalition, which staged protests across the province, including one in front of Queen\u2019s Park on Monday. Natalie Mehra, the advocacy group\u2019s executive director, said a pledge to hold operators accountable rings hollow from a government that has chosen not to enact powers already on the books to fine long-term care homes up to $100,000 for repeatedly violating existing rules and passed a bill during the pandemic to protect them from negligence lawsuits.<\/p>\n
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath called the Throne Speech \u201cthin gruel\u201d that contained nothing new to help patients, students, workers or businesses. She said she would have pushed to hire thousands of nurses and to decrease class sizes in schools. Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca accused Mr. Ford of being \u201cin hiding for months,\u201d and said he was disappointed to see no movement on talks between Ontario and the federal government on a deal to bring in $10-a-day child care.<\/p>\n
The Throne Speech marked the first day Ontario MPPs had to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test to sit in the Legislature. Mr. Ford had already expelled one MPP from caucus, Rick Nicholls, for refusing to get vaccinated, in August. On Friday, his government demoted another MPP, Lindsey Park, from her role as parliamentary assistant to the Attorney-General for having \u201cmisrepresented\u201d her vaccination status. She remains a member of caucus.<\/p>\n
PC House Leader Paul Calandra told reporters Ms. Park has since received a medical exemption but did so without \u201cproperly communicating\u201d this to him or the House leadership. Ms. Park\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.<\/p>\n
The government said Monday it will be moving a motion on Tuesday to replace Mr. Nicholls as the Legislature\u2019s deputy speaker with PC MPP Bill Walker. Another PC member, Christina Mitas, also received a medical exemption and remains in caucus.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Mr. Ford, who attended the speech but did not appear before reporters on Monday, flew to Timmins, Ont., later that day to meet with front-line workers and business owners, his office said. He is to return to Toronto on Tuesday but is expected to miss the first Question Period of the legislature\u2019s new session.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(October 4, 2021) By: Jeff Gray and Laura Stone, Globe and Mail\u00a0https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/canada\/article-ontario-throne-speech-pledges-no-painful-tax-hikes-or-spending-cuts\/ Ontario\u2019s economic recovery will be fuelled by growth and not \u201cpainful tax hikes or spending cuts,\u201d the government said in a Throne Speech on Monday that also pledged the use of \u201clocalized and targeted\u201d public-health restrictions to avoid lockdowns and contain COVID-19. A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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