Wynne also pointed out that her cabinet has already given itself permission to bring forward legislation that would allow Ontario to get some payback against Buy American measures. ...
Category: Business and Economy
Hydro One privatization could cost more than $150 million
The government’s last share sale was announced Monday, and it could reduce the province’s share of the company to 47.8 per cent. ...
Beer in grocery stores: A political map of Ontario
The company with the most grocery stores selling beer in Ontario is Walmart, with 32 stores, including 27 locations that were announced this week. Second is Sobeys, with 28 supermarkets selling suds. ...
Province prepared to hike gravel-taking fees, minister says
The Aggregate Resources and Mining Modernization bill also amends the province’s Mining Act, creating an administration system to allow for claims to be registered online. ...
Government extends deadline for GTA West highway panel
Progressive Conservative transportation critic Michael Harris says "people are waiting" for the outcome of the review. ...
Fewer job-seekers help push Ontario unemployment rate to lowest level since 2001
However, StatsCan said the drop in the unemployment rate in Ontario was “mostly due to a decline in the number of youth searching for work.” ...
Budget 2017: Ontario injecting $250 million more into its Business Growth Initiative
With funding now totalling $650-million, new-economy projects slated to get financing include “Advanced Research Computing and Big Data Strategy” and the “Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network.” ...
Grits cry foul as Tory ‘reasoned amendment’ delays budget bill debate
Government house leader calls a Conservative bid to place a three-day hold on debating the Stronger, Healthier Ontario Act a "delay tactic." ...
Pollster: Liberals can expect popularity boost after unveiling budget goodies, but will it last?
Pharmacare for young folks, coupled with a wiped-out deficit, spells a "good political budget," says the executive vice-president of Mainstreet Research. ...
Budget 2017: ‘It’s really not that complicated’
Ontario's $141-billion budget will bring the province's finances back into the black for the first time in nearly a decade. ...
Cries of ‘cooking the books’ and ‘electioneering’ from PCs on budget eve
Finance Minister Charles Sousa fired back Thursday's budget will show a "recipe for success," and achieve fiscal balance. ...
Flashback Friday: Ontario’s anti-‘zapper’ law has been used once
The government said in its fall economic update that it would conduct a pilot project in the retail and hospitality industries to test out programs that could sniff out zappers. ...
Eight things you may not have known about ‘Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan’
QP Briefing digs into some of the more obscure parts of the Liberal government's new Fair Housing Plan. ...
‘We’re going to act’ to improve auto insurance system, Finance Minister says
First, the Liberal government plans to hold consultations in the “coming weeks” with stakeholders in the auto insurance industry, Sousa said. ...
Auto insurance rates rise again as Liberal government consults on scathing review
Rates increased 1.24 per cent in the first quarter, which translates into an overall 7-per-cent decline since 2013, which is less than half way to the Liberal promise to cut rates 15 per cent as of August 2015. ...
Leone: Forget the ‘Big Move,’ what about the ‘Big Stay?’
Columnist Rob Leone makes the case for telecommuting as a way to cool the housing market and ease gridlock. ...
![Families are 'pissed' that they can’t win bidding wars, Sousa says [Updated]](http://www.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Sousa_file-3.jpg)
Families are ‘pissed’ that they can’t win bidding wars, Sousa says [Updated]
The Premier said she wants to "calm a bit of the frenzy" surrounding the housing market. She is meeting with Toronto and area mayors to discuss housing affordability Wednesday afternoon. ...
Purchase: Housing costs – a clear and present danger
Columnist Bryne Purchase sees the Liberal government may need to redefine the housing problem to avoid political risks. ...
Opposition asks: Who is the ombudsman at Hydro One?
Hydro One says an interim ombudsman has been filling in. ...
Premier to host mayors at housing affordability meeting
Wynne is meeting with Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area mayors, "given the heightened concerns" around housing affordability ...
Toronto ‘strongly supportive’ of $15 minimum wage: Poll
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is supportive of the $15-an-hour minimum wage. ...
Tory leader demands Liberals tackle housing, rent affordability ‘crisis’
The Tory leader also made recommendations on what the province should do to help temper the market. ...
Ontario aims to benefit from Canadian Free Trade Agreement amid rising U.S. protectionism
“There’s not a part of the country that’s not going to be a net winner out of this,” Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid says of new deal that will take effect on Canada Day. ...
Finance minister seeks housing market summit before provincial budget
Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau has asked for Ontario's finance minister and the mayor of Toronto for a meeting on the hot housing market. ...
Liberals snub NDP attempt to rush rent controls, say they’ll do it themselves – and more
But the Liberals wouldn't commit to making the legislation retroactive. ...
‘No silver bullet’ for skyrocketing real estate prices, Sousa says
Ontario Real Estate Association CEO Tim Hudak urges the government to take steps to increase housing supply. ...
‘Not even a cent’ would come off hydro bills if executive salaries axed: Energy Minister
Glenn Thibeault concedes pay is high "but we are also acknowledging that these people come with some expertise that is very, very important for us to recognize and retain." ...
Cheri DiNovo calls for gender-based lens in spring budget
Finance Minister Charles Sousa says his government already applies gender equality to all policies, beyond “one point and time.” ...
OPG president actually earned more than $2 million last year, document shows
OPG also says there are parts of CEO Jeff Lyash's contract that need to be restructured. ...
‘Particularly egregious’, Wynne says of Toronto landlord who doubled rent
Government will be reforming rent control regulation 'soon,' Premier says. ...
Wynne moving ahead with Toronto’s request to levy hotel tax ‘in the near future’
The Premier could give no specific timeline for when Mayor John Tory will be able to access the new revenue tool. ...
Nearly two-thirds back foreign home buyers’ tax in the GTA: Poll
A new Forum Research poll suggests most Ontario voters would be supportive of taxing foreign homebuyers. ...
Wynne doubles down on bid for exemption to proposed ‘buy American’ policy
Premier Kathleen Wynne said she will look at "other options" if New York state legislators don't give Canadian businesses an exemption, including a standalone bilateral agreement. ...
Twelve-packs of beer in the LCBO now being ‘evaluated’
The LCBO announced a pilot project involving 12-packs of beer back in August 2015. ...
Wynne says housing affordability fix won’t shrink protected Greenbelt
The Premier said her government is working to tackle a “whole range of supply- and demand-side issues" to temper the housing market. ...
Sousa eyes upcoming budget for housing affordability ‘package’
Premier Kathleen Wynne has promised a "comprehensive set of plans" to tackle the rental and real estate markets. ...
Wynne: ‘Comprehensive set of plans’ coming to cool real estate and rental markets
"This is something that has to be addressed," the Premier declared. ...
Ontario left hanging after house-flipping tax hike left out of federal budget
Finance Minister Charles Sousa's pitch to hike capital gains taxes and cool off the housing market didn't show up in yesterday's federal budget. ...
Ontario calling on Ottawa to help slow down housing speculation
Finance Minister Charles Sousa wrote to his federal counterpart to seek changes to capital gains taxes, in the hopes it could cool housing prices. ...
OPG strikes ‘confidential’ deal to buy beleaguered partner out of solar project
The project, a 44-megawatt solar farm on the site of the shuttered Nanticoke coal-fired power plant, represents a new direction for OPG, which produces about half of Ontario’s electricity via nuclear power plants and hyd ...
NDP calls for crackdown on big rent increases in newer buildings
The Liberals, meanwhile, say they're cooking something up to reform rent controls. ...
Purchase: It’s past time for Queen’s Park to act on Toronto house prices
Columnist Bryne Purchase says there's an economic development case to be made for cracking down on skyrocketing real estate prices. ...
Wynne: Provinces want ‘input’ on any NAFTA changes
Premier Wynne is personally leading her government's Trump-era trade committee. ...
Sale of OPG HQ could net province more than $200M
The funds could also reduce the Ontario government's deficit figure. ...
Finance minister ready to take ‘closer look’ at cooling off Ontario’s housing market
Sousa says a foreign buyers' tax is one of the possible measures being looked at. ...
Ontario less attractive to mining companies, anonymous mining execs say
The interim mines minister took issue with the survey, declaring it was "not based on facts." ...
Finance minister touts lower deficit in last economic update prior to 2017 budget
The government has reverted to its original treatment of pension assets, following its dispute with the auditor general. ...
Cooler housing market could be a billion-dollar hit to provincial tax revenue: Budget watchdog
The Financial Accountability Office maps out three scenarios to test the potential impact of a drop in real estate prices. ...
Wynne taking lead on Ontario’s Donald Trump trade strategy
The Premier used a visit to Queen’s Park Wednesday by David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, to announce she will chair a Trump-centric committee of her closest advisers and cabinet ministers. ...
New Ontario-owned section of Highway 407 helps boost traffic for tolling company
A new provincially-owned eastern section of the 407, which opened last June, is helping funnel more cars onto the highway. ...
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