One scenario would see Ontario's GDP go into a contractionary phase for the first time since the Great Recession. ...
Category: Business and Economy
Liberal spending plan requires severe cutbacks and still balloons the debt, fiscal watchdog warns
"The government’s fiscal plan shifts the burden of paying for the budget’s new spending programs from current taxpayers to younger Ontarians," David West, the FAO's chief economist, reports. ...
LiUNA workers rally against budget bill change, chant ‘We want Doug’
The labour law changes are part of the omnibus budget bill being debated by MPPs. ...
Tories slam Liberals for incurring ‘negative’ outlook from key credit-rating agency
Moody's wags its finger over projected budget imbalances due to higher-than-expected government spending plan. ...
Canadians have high anxiety over marijuana legalization, poll finds
The 38-per-cent support for legalization is down from 60 per cent two years ago. ...
Doug Ford’s proposal to exempt low-income Ontarians from provincial taxes ‘surprisingly progressive’ but complex: Economist Mike Moffatt
'If this is replacing the tax cut in the People's Guarantee, it's a surprisingly progressive approach,' the Ivey Business School economist says. ...
Finance Minister: Federal budget shows collaboration with Ontario, but some things are missing
Charles Sousa says he's glad the feds are following Ontario's lead on issues such as pharmacare. ...
Government introduces legislation that responds to “Buy American” policies
The bill tabled Tuesday 'would give Ontario the flexibility to choose whether and how to respond to discriminatory procurement actions against U.S. states.' ...
All three Tory leadership candidates are now firmly anti-carbon tax
Mulroney and Elliott both shifted to a stronger critique of carbon pricing Thursday morning. ...
Chamber of Commerce issues warning about lack of confidence in Ontario economy
The chief concern of businesses is with high input costs, according to the organization's 2018 economic report. ...
Sousa says 2018 budget won’t see net revenue from pot sales
There won't be enough pot revenue to cover the costs of setting up shops in municipalities, finance minister says. ...
What cities, businesses and unions want for the 2018 budget
OPSEU president Smokey Thomas gets floral in his metaphors on the insidious creep of privatization, spreading its seed across sectors. ...
High household debt makes Ontarians vulnerable to rate hikes, fiscal watchdog warns
The FAO released a commentary Tuesday on the increase in household debt fuelled by low interest rates and high residential mortgages. ...
Finance minister promises ‘advanced and open’ spring budget ahead of election
Last year, the budget wasn't delivered until April 27. In 2016, it landed early, on Feb. 25. ...
The Funding Portal – Week of January 8
Who got funding from the government over the holidays. ...
Ontario’s fiscal watchdog warns of deficits ahead
The FAO report is of particular concern for the opposition Tories, who have already released a platform with a spending and revenue plan based on the government's accounting and economic forecasts. ...
Liberal government unveils Ontario Fair Auto Insurance Plan
The government plans to rein in physician and lawyer costs in the auto insurance system. ...
Ontario job gains skyrocket in November to 43,000-plus
Unemployment drops to lowest level since 2000, while net new jobs hit biggest single-month spike since global recession. ...
Parties spar over deficit spending and cuts in Progressive Conservative platform
The PC platform outlines plans to cancel the government's Climate Change Action Plan spending and to replace the cap-and-trade system with a carbon tax. ...
Minimum wage law passes, flanked by sweeping labour reform
Changes made in committee give concessions to both workers and employers. ...
Ticketmaster ‘at war’ with bots, but sees friendly fire in a bill to combat them
Ontario has pledged to get tough on digital scalpers with a new law that would ban ticket bots and cap the resale price of tickets at 50 per cent above their face value. ...
Minimum wage hike a guaranteed issue in spring election, with positions staked out and potshots fired
NDP ad attacking PC plan to phase in the wage bump over four years arrives 24 hours after Tory announcement. ...
Progressive Conservatives vow to push back $15-an-hour minimum wage to 2022
The PCs are promising to keep the minimum wage lower than the government has promised, if they win the 2018 election. ...
Ontario small business corporate income tax cut announced in fall economic statement
A rate to 3.5 per cent from 4.5 per cent comes as update forecasts Ontario's real GDP growth at 2.8 per cent in 2017, higher than the 2.3 per cent forecast in the 2017-18 budget as well as an increase in revenue. ...
Wynne acknowledges “malaise” among those not feeling Ontario’s prosperity
At economic forum, premier slams Donald Trump for not understanding his own NAFTA demands. ...
Horwath presses for more paid leave, vacation and protections for workers
The NDP Leader unveiled a dozen demands she plans to make around labour legislation in committee next Tuesday. ...
In brief: An autumn economic teaser and union outrage over colleges
A collection of briefs on the news of the day. ...
Municipalities to decide how close pot shops can be to schools
Finance minister says location rules will vary by city, but province needs bigger slice of federal tax pie for pot launch. ...
Job numbers keep perking up, but northern Ontario suffers
New Fraser Institute report shows net job losses across the north and other regions, a fact buried by growth in Toronto and Ottawa. ...
Abolish provincial business property tax, C.D. Howe report urges
The think-tank says the levy is "arbitrary," “harmful” to businesses and shrinks the tax base. ...
Ontario’s financial watchdog warns of fiscal burden on younger citizens
Ontario needs to make big changes to keep the weight of the province's fiscal burden from crashing down on a generation of young Ontarians, the FAO says. ...
Ed Clark sells Ontario’s pitch for Amazon
Province being sold as a region that is committed to investing in tech talent. ...
U.S. targets auto sector in NAFTA negotiations: report
Sources say the U.S. has tabled a proposal that would require vehicles to contain 50 per cent American content in order to avoid duties. ...
Milloy: Tackling income inequality – how Ontario Liberals got it right and federal Liberals got it wrong
In politics, you're always in trouble when your opponent's story starts to resemble a Hallmark movie plot, columnist John Milloy observes. ...
Ontario finance minister launches consultations for his election-year budget
Finance Minister Charles Sousa says an announcement of new support for businesses is coming in short order. ...
In brief: Job numbers and a hospital tower celebration
A collection of briefs on the news of the day. ...
In brief: A new poll, a polished man, mental health, aerospace and 14 years of Liberal rule
A collection of briefs on the news of the day. ...
In brief: Wettlaufer probe, grocery store beer and an MPP donation
A collection of briefs on the news of the day. ...
Hutton: How much do you want for that bag of weed, minister?
If marijuana is to be a legal product, then the private sector should be able to sell it, columnist Deb Hutton writes. ...
Governors visit Ontario legislature, criticize bluster, rhetoric and distractions of Washington during trade talks
The two governors criticized the “bluster,” “rhetoric,” and “distraction,” coming out of Washington as the U.S. and Canada negotiate their trade relationship. ...
Heard: Premier talks NAFTA, health care in U.S. lecture
The premier also told the audience about her government's recent domestic priorities, including increasing the minimum wage and preparing to give free prescription drugs to all Ontarians under age 25. ...
FAO projects Ontario will lose 50,000 jobs from minimum wage boost
Increasing the wage to $15 an hour is "an inefficient policy tool for reducing overall poverty," the Financial Accountability Office asserts. ...
Heard: Ontario piles on 31,000 more jobs in August
Province forecasts job numbers to spike by 94,000 in 2017. ...
Brad Duguid will not run for re-election in 2018
An MPP since 2003, the economic development minister's decision will leave a void in the cabinet and his riding, Scarborough Centre. ...
Province to roll out 40 stand-alone pot shops next year
Pot and booze will not be sold at the same location, although the LCBO will oversee the reefer rollout. ...
Ontario’s deficit drops to $1 billion, though fiscal watchdogs have a bone to pick
Auditor general says government "significantly understated" its deficit. ...
Ontario’s debt reduction plan unlikely, financial watchdog finds
The Financial Accountability Office has found it's unlikely the government will meet its target for reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to its pre-recession level by 2029-30. ...
Heard: Ontario far outpaces other provinces in consumer debt growth
Report finds province's consumer debt grew more than 5 per cent, towering over the next-closest candidate, New Brunswick. ...
Tory MPP says Liberal policies kill manufacturing jobs
Monte McNaughton blames energy, tax costs for layoffs at Cambridge aeronautics plant but company cites reduced demand alone. ...
Seen: Toronto mayor asks Ontario finance minister to rethink property tax model
John Tory raised the matter as small businesses grapple with a spike in property taxes that has forced some stores on Yonge Street to shutter. ...
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