2007 Ontario Spending Spree Budget
Education
Ontario’s schools have been struggling to balance their budgets. Last week’s announcement of $781 million in operating funding is largely for previously committed spending and will go to the fund the teacher salary increase Dalton negotiated provincially. School boards will continue to struggle to balance their budgets and will have to cut funding to programs.
Dalton McGuinty’s Budget contains no measures to address safety in our schools.
The Budget failed to address the fundamental issues of the funding formula. McGuinty chooses to continue band-aid funding for the French language school boards (an increase of $73.5 million) and elementary specialist teachers ($28 million).
Post-Secondary and Training
Ontario’s skills shortage is at a crisis and, despite a federal transfer of $525 million in resources under the Canada-Ontario Labour Market Development Agreement, Dalton McGuinty, after four years in government, has provided no meaningful results.
Yet again, Dalton McGuinty has re-announced his intention to introduce a provincial nominee program for skilled immigrants. This time he is proposing legislation to allow Ontario to nominate individuals for permanent residence based on its labour market priorities. Having had three years to move this program forward to support our labour market and skills challenges, McGuinty provides little hope to Ontario of seeing meaningful progress on this front.
Research
Dalton McGuinty, the Minister of Research and Innovation, claims to make a “strong commitment” to research and commercialization in Ontario. After two years as Minister, with marginal investments and little leadership, he has stepped up with $1.7 billion over five years to 2009-10 including $80 million in this budget in investments spread across the province.
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