As we can see by the overall Ontario Budget it’s all about the future of Ontario. Whenever a budget is brought forth it always has to have an explanation as to the reasoning behind it. This year’s budget is based on the four part plan which is going to revolve around…
Talent and skill investment
Infrastructure build up
A dynamic business environment
Retirement security
Then of course the budget has to address the deficit. According to the forecast it is believed it will be around $10.9 billion for the 2014-15 year. The goal is that this will be eliminated by 2017-18.
So there is the Birdseye view of what we are in store for.
The infrastructure is the main focus:
Overall this truly is important to all of us. Just as we need to keep up with the repairs and renovations on our homes, the province has got to do the same. It seems that this is the year they have decided to go full force with this, as it is being touted as the largest investment in our history. Keep in mind however that the $130. billion being dedicated to this is being spread over a ten year period.
To understand the impact of this you need to look a little closer at the overall plan, as to how it will relate to your specific area. For example, about $16 billion will be allocated to transit projects in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.
Then outside of this area for transportation and major infrastructure projects about $15. billon is being allocated for this.
As we have seen lately Toronto’s mayor John Tory has been really hyped up on the building of the transit infrastructure, but the budget didn’t seem to focus specifically on his exact mandate.
While of course a good majority of these allocated funds always comes out of the taxpayer’s pockets the budget seems to indicate that it will be unlocking some of the value in the assets the province owns and reinvesting the proceeds back into the province focusing on the outlined infrastructure. This is believed to be a significant way of boosting the economy and creating jobs.
Bottom line is the overall budget contained no major spending cuts and no tax increases, which are always the major focus on any budget. However, the mandate to balance the books at the same time is a major feat, and something is going to be the brunt of this. Basically what it means is the government has to halt spending across the board. Expenses have to be cut. This means the public service sector may have their backs up against the wall. Teachers, doctors and public service unions are the groups that are going to be the most wary about all of this as they are the ones that most likely would be affected with spending cuts and freezes.
As an average tax payer we will just have to watch and see as usual as to how all of this will unfold.
