The removal of the provincial portion of the HST on residential, farm and small business electricity bills as of January 1, 2017, grabbed the headlines, but there are other important commitments that were also made.
The provincial government is attempting to reset the focus to a good news agenda that includes not only lower costs on electricity bills, but will greatly expand child care spaces and continue to build critical infrastructure. $686 million has been committed to Toronto school upgrades, in addition to 29 new schools opening by 2017. The focus is on investment in roads, transit and modern infrastructure as part of a $160 billion spend over the next 12 years. This includes 5,000 kilometers of highways and 750 bridges which will be rebuilt or repaved.
It is also important to note what wasn’t mentioned. This includes the implementation of the Tony Dean Report on the Ontario College of Trades and the release of the Reynolds Report on updating the Construction Lien Act.