Premier Doug Ford is “a jobs disaster,” and the province’s Fall Economic Statement “fails to deliver for working people and for the north,” Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said.
On this front, the Official Opposition doesn’t share in the enthusiasm Mayor Paul Lefebvre and the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities expressed in response to the statement.
In a media release issued by the Ontario NDP, Stiles lambasts Ford’s Fall Economic Statement as “lacklustre” and failing “to deliver a real plan that families across Northern Ontario urgently need as the cost of living rises, the job crisis worsens, and the housing crisis deepens.”
“Ontario’s unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in a decade, and our jobs are leaving the province faster than ever,” Stiles said in the media release. “By every measure, this government is failing.”
Sudbury NDP MPP Jamie West echoes this sentiment in the media release, noting that Ford “had the opportunity to deliver real hope for the North, with a real jobs plan, lower costs, and investments to strengthen Ontario.”
Instead, he said, “it has only left northern Ontarians with more fear and uncertainty. Without a real plan to strengthen Ontario’s economy, critical northern industries are leaving the province, and thousands are being left without work.”
Nickel Belt NDP MPP France Gélinas said Northern Ontario ”deserves safer roads and reliable winter maintenance, affordable and accessible broadband internet, equitable access to primary health care, and clean, potable water in our schools. Yet, none of these essential priorities are addressed in this Fall Economic Statement.”
In their media release, the Ontario NDP urged the Ford government to prioritize:
- Protecting and creating good jobs by expanding supports for local manufacturing, small businesses, and Ontario’s critical resource sectors.
- Investing in social infrastructure such as housing, health care, education and child care, to attract and retain workers.
- Building economic security by increasing social assistance rates, expanding public pharmacare and mental health care, and investing in municipalities to prevent job loss and homelessness.
Both Mayor Paul Lefebvre and the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities issued their own media releases last week in which they expressed optimism regarding the statement.
The document was released on Thursday, under the title, “A Plan to Protect Ontario,” and pledges to “build a more competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy."
Municipally, the province’s $3.2-million boost in Greater Sudbury’s Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund allowance helped bump next year’s base budget tax levy increase down by approximately 0.86 per cent.
The city has been advocating for more funding from senior levels of government toward tackling homelessness, including the construction and management of transitional housing units.
Last year, the province spent $15,828,000 on homelessness initiatives in Greater Sudbury, including social services and housing. The federal government spent $7,536,000, and the municipality spent $24,122,000.