The Liberal MPP for Huron-Bruce agrees with provincial Finance Minister Dwight Duncan that something is better than nothing when it comes to federal equalization paments.
Carol Mitchell says the 347-million dollars the province will get from Ottawa will help all Ontarians.
Mitchell says uploading is long overdue, especially in areas like social assistance which were downloaded onto municipalities from the former Harris Conservative government in the 1990s
Mitchell says Duncan is right to question his federal counterpart Jim Flaherty on the federal government’s plan to limit growth of the equalization program.
She says the province is in a state of transition especially with the loss of manufacturing jobs and capping transfer payments would place Ontario in difficulty.
Mitchell says it’s too soon to tell just how the extra cash will help Huron-Bruce or how much the riding might get.
Mitchell says the McGuinty government has started discussions with municiaplities and local ridings and that distribution of the funding will be reflected in next year’s provincial budget.
With the payment announcement, Ontaio officially becomes a “have-not” province.
At the same time, Newfoundland and Labrador is not taking a payment this year, to become a “have” province for the first time.
Our province has qualified in past years but this is the first time a payment has been made.
Duncan doesn’t believe Ontario will be a long-term recipient of equalization funds.
