Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Toronto, Ontario put forward a budget today that held few funding surprises, provided some good news for drivers and maintained a tough line for public sector workers.
Here is a breakdown of the budget highlights and how it will affect the average person living in Toronto and the GTHA.
Winners: Drivers
There was one surprise in the budget that contained good news for drivers looking for insurance breaks. Though not the 15 per cent cut Ontarians were originally promised, this year the Liberals want to make insurance companies give mandatory discounts to drivers who use winter tires, though the amount of the discount will be completely up to the insurance company themselves.
Insurance companies will also have to look the other way when a driver gets into a minor fender bender. Currently, even when a customer doesn’t make a claim, a driver’s premium can go up if a crash is reported to a collision center. With this new regulation, an insurance company would be prohibited from increasing a driver’s premium for minor at-fault accidents that meet a pre-determined criteria, (no injuries etc.) The budget isn’t clear on how many free passes a driver gets. Details still need to be ironed out with insurance companies which will likely mean each company will reserve the right to decide how it will be implemented.
The budget also calls for monthly auto insurance interest rates to drop to 1.3 per cent from 3 per cent.
Winners: Suburban commuters
The Liberal government has promised to put in an additional $2.6 billion into their Moving Ontario Forward initiative — one that focuses on building transit projects throughout southern Ontario.
About $31.5 billion will be spent over the next 10 years. This fiscal year alone, $11.9 billion is being spent on improving highways, building rapid transit bus lanes in York Region and Mississauga and constructing the Waterloo Rapid Transit project in southwestern Ontario.
GO Train users will see improvements this year as the province is set on laying the foundation for a Regional Express Rail. The service will introduce 24 new weekday trips as well as new trips on the weekends and evenings. The Liberals have reaffirmed their commitment to seeing 15-minute wait times along core routes throughout the GTHA. The goal is to increase GO service by 50 per cent in the next five years.
Winners: Students
The good news is students in need will be eligible for more financial aid – up to $1,000 over the next four years.
The government is proposing increasing the Ontario student loan limit and debt cap to the rate of inflation each year. This year, a student’s debt will be capped at $7,400 for a two-term academic year. This means that any financial aid given above that, will be forgiven.
The government is also putting some money into apprenticeship programs, to improve training and will give $250 million over the next two years to the Ontario Youth Jobs Strategy
Students will also benefit from the government’s infrastructure spending as some of that money is earmarked for the construction of new schools and fixing up old ones.
Losers: Public-sector employees
The Liberal government continued their tough stance on wage increases for the public sector, saying there are no new funds for pay hikes. In fact, any modest wage increases that will be given, need to be offset through other funds.
Since July 2012, the average wage increase across the public sector has been 0.6 per cent.
Losers: Toronto’s Film/TV industry
The government is cutting the tax credits it provides to Ontario’s film and TV industry. It pointed to the lower value of the Canadian dollar as a sign that the film and TV industry no longer need financial assistance from the province. While the Liberals gave the industry about $335 million last year, the lower dollar gave the industry some lucrative opportunities, the budget said.
“A lower Canadian dollar is making Ontario an increasingly attractive location for productions and is increasing foreign investment in the film and television sector,” it said. “As a result, there is a reduced need for government support of foreign productions.”
