Ontario Responds to Federal Fall Economic Statement

“While our government welcomes many of the initiatives included in today’s Fall Economic Statement, we can’t help but notice the absence of support to move transformational projects forward that are critical to Ontario and Canada’s economic success.

Although we welcome funding to support speedier federal reviews, the real opportunity is in eliminating redundant federal review processes in support of Ontario’s robust environmental assessment process. As we continue our work building the road to the Ring of Fire and unleashing the economic potential of critical minerals, the federal government should make a real commitment to be a full partner by working with us to make Ontario and Canada more competitive by streamlining cumbersome review processes. We also expect the federal government, at minimum, to match Ontario’s investments to support critical infrastructure in seizing this opportunity.

The Ontario government is pleased to see the new refundable tax credit equal to 30 per cent of the capital cost of investments in clean energy technology, which will help attract new investments to Ontario.

At a time when Ontario and other provinces are facing historic labour shortages, today’s Fall Economic Statement was a missed opportunity to dramatically increase the number of skilled newcomers who come to Ontario and Canada each year. Ontario urges the federal government to continue working with its provincial partners to enact and expand programs that help fill labour gaps through immigration.

For many Ontarians, finding a home is still too challenging. As our government takes bold action to build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years, including more attainable housing options, we expect the federal government to make real their commitments around their $4 billion housing accelerator fund so we can get more homes built faster.

Finally, faced with the ongoing need of rebuilding health systems that were stretched to their limits, all 13 provinces and territories have unanimously called on the federal government for new and sustainable health care funding through the Canada Health Transfer. Today’s Fall Economic Statement was another missed opportunity by the federal government to properly fund health care across Canada.

In a time of economic uncertainty, Canadians across the country will be looking to federal and provincial governments to address their concerns. Our government will continue to call on the federal government to join us at the table. Together, we can build a stronger Ontario and Canada, ready to face the challenges that lay ahead.”