A local MPP is excited about the provincial budget but an opposition leader calls it a cynical slap in the face for Northern Ontario.
Northern Development minister Michael Gravelle said the province’s budget, released Thursday, is heavily focused on Northern Ontario’s economy. From the Northern Industrial electricity rate program to a $125 million commitment to four-lane highways, Gravelle said it’s difficult to list all of the benefits for Northwestern Ontario because there are so many in the budget.
"This is a very strong commitment by the provincial government to building the economy in Northern Ontario in that sense I could not be more pleased," Gravelle said.
With an electricity rebate up to $200 per year announced for some northern families, Gravelle said individuals and not just industry will benefit.
But NDP leader Andrea Horwath, in Thunder Bay Friday, said the rebate is a "slap in the face" for people who will see increased electricity costs due to HST.
"The credit is a way of trying to reduce the anger in Northern Ontario around Harmonized Sales Tax but it certainly isn’t going to make people’s pocket books a lot better off considering how much of a gouge the HST is going to take out of people," Horwath said.
Gravelle said $45 million over the next three years will be committed to the ring of fire and job training to compliment it. He said thousands of jobs will be needed when mining activity begins. Horwath said although she sees mining potential in the region as a "ray of hope", the commitment from the province doesn’t even "scratch the surface" of what will be needed from people in Northern Ontario in terms of job creation.
"We don’t see anything that provides that hope that the government has a plan to get people back to work," said Horwath.
