Thunder Bay Liberal MPP Michael Gravelle says there are several alarming announcements in the provincial budget that will impact northerners.
He points to many cuts to ministries.
“The budget for the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines has been cut by about $250 million, the budget for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has been cut by $109 million and the budget for the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs has been cut in half, all of these cuts are a concern.”
The Liberal MPP says the devil is in the details and there wasn’t much substance to some of the PC announcements.
Thunder Bay’s NDP MPP Judith Monteith-Farrell says the government is taking things away from students.
“Funding for schools is going to be less than the rate of inflation so that means really a cut in services and programming for our schools. Our universities and colleges are also facing serious deep cuts.”
Meanwhile, there are some initiatives in the provincial budget the Chamber of the Commerce is pleased to see.
President Charla Robinson says the Ford Government provided a sort of corporate tax cut.
“Match what the federal government is doing with regards to capital investment write-offs. Allowing businesses to write-off their investment costs more quickly than previously has been allowed, which means that it reduces the amount of tax that they paid.”
The chamber president is also interested in the government’s new digital program for apprenticeships.
