Ontario’s Government for the People continues to create and protect jobs, put more money in people’s pockets and restore accountability and trust
TORONTO — In the first 100 days since being sworn into office, Ontario's Government for the People has taken decisive action to deliver on its commitments to the people of Ontario.
"We were elected to deliver on our Plan for the People of Ontario and every day since June 7th, our focus has been on keeping our promises and delivering real results for you," said Premier Doug Ford. "Today, Ontario families, workers and businesses have more money in their pockets, we've cleaned up a lot of the hydro mess, and we have sent a clear message to the world that Ontario is open for business. While there is a lot of work left to do, we're off to a great start."
Throughout the first hundred days of government, Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet, Ontario's Government for the People, have announced new policies and taken action in key priority areas, including:
Putting more money in people's pockets by freezing driver fees; scrapping the Drive Clean program to save time and reduce vehicle service costs for consumers; issuing the 'Buck-a-Beer' challenge; challenging the constitutionality of the federal government's job-killing carbon tax and joining Saskatchewan's similar court challenge; cancelling and winding down wasteful energy projects to save ratepayers millions; scrapping the province's cap-and-trade carbon tax, saving Ontario families an average of $260 per year; and working toward reducing gas prices by 10 cents per litre.
Cleaning up the hydro mess by overseeing the renewal of Hydro One, including the departure of the previous CEO and Board of Directors, and installing a new Board backed up by real accountability and transparency measures; and working to repeal the Green Energy Act to stop approvals for wasteful energy projects that would add unnecessary costs to electricity bills, as part of the government's commitment to lower hydro bills by 12 per cent.
Creating and protecting jobs by expanding access to natural gas; reducing WSIB premium rates for employers to boost the economy and create more jobs; taking responsibility for subways; increasing GO Train service in the GTHA; beginning work on the promise to build better regional transit across Ontario; creating a provincial forestry strategy; working to reduce barriers to interprovincial trade; travelling to Washington, D.C. to protect Ontario jobs during NAFTA negotiations; calling for federal government support for farm families and steel and automotive workers at risk of being left behind due to federal concessions from the new USMCA; bringing back the Slots-At-Racetrack Program; and sending the message that Ontario is "Open for Business" by bringing quality jobs back to Ontario by lowering taxes, stabilizing hydro bills and cutting job-killing red tape.
Restoring accountability and trust in Ontario's public finances by announcing the results of the Commission of Inquiry, exposing the previous government's real deficit of $15 billion; releasing a line-by-line review of government spending by EY Canada, as a first step to shedding light on past public spending; ending the culture of waste and mismanagement in government, earning a clean audit on the province's books for the first time in three years from Ontario's Auditor General; announcing a select committee to investigate past financial practices; improving the efficiency and effectiveness of municipal governments by reducing the size of Toronto City Council and removing an unnecessary layer of elected regional politicians in York, Peel, Niagara and Muskoka regions; and giving parents a voice on public education through an unprecedented parental consultation on the future of Ontario's education curriculum.
Cutting hospital wait times and ending hallway health care by expanding hospice and palliative care in communities like North Bay to provide quality end-of-life care to patients; making OHIP+ more efficient and cost-effective by focusing benefits on children and youth who do not have existing prescription drug insurance plans; and announcing the creation of 6,000 new long-term care beds and over 1,100 hospital spaces in advance of the upcoming flu season, as part of our commitment to create 15,000 new long-term care beds over the next five years and add $3.8 billion in support for mental health, addictions and housing.
Ontario's Government for the People is also keeping Ontarians safe and protecting communities by announcing a cannabis retail model that will protect children and youth, ensure road safety and fight the illegal market; fighting guns and gangs through a $25 million investment, giving Ontario's men and women in uniform the tools and resources they need to protect families from the menace of guns and gang-related violence; announcing nine new OPP detachments; responding to the forest fire crisis through an additional $100 million to fund fire response efforts; and providing tornado recovery assistance funding to Ottawa. The government also forged a pan-Canadian consensus on the issue of costs associated with illegal border crossings, worked to uphold free speech on publicly funded university and college campuses, got York University students back to class, and committed to building a memorial for veterans of the war in Afghanistan.