Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is hurting the poorest people in this province with his policies. Though he wears the Liberal red garbs, he is turning out to be less than liberal in his spending and policies. In his short time as leader he has managed to cut promised funding for public transit, reduce social assistance rates, and has even raised taxes.
Public transit, despite being the best option for reducing greenhouse gases in our air, is also an effective means of transportation for those who cannot afford to own a car. In Toronto, we have one of the most under-funded public transit systems in North America. Mr. McGuinty had promised billions of dollars in funding to expand and improve the TTC, but in his most recent budget, he reneged on this promise, leaving the TTC in a lurch. Projects have been scrapped, delayed, or put on hold, while the provincial government has simply pocketed the $1 billion that the federal government transferred to the province as part of a green initiative. This means the people of Toronto are left taking highly expensive, under-subsidized, unreliable transit on an aging infrastructure. Toronto’s hopes of being turned into a world-class city with efficient, affordable transit has gone the wayside. Three dollars for a trip may not be expensive to some, but to those who have a marginal income, the economics of it just doesn’t make sense. For example, someone working full-time at minimum wage earns approximately $21,320 per year, however will spend three dollars each direction to take them to and from work on the TTC. That adds up to about $1,560 a year just for transportation, or about 7.5 per cent of their total income, before taxes.
Worse-off are those on social assistance. A single person who is unable to work and is on disability is currently allotted a maximum of $1,282 per month. Of that, $578 is earmarked as basic needs, $464 for shelter, and if the recipient has a special dietary need, up to an additional $240 for that. These rates are incredibly low considering the cost of rent, but we must also account for utilities such as electricity or phone bills. Those with special dietary needs, such as people with AIDS or diabetes, are facing the possibility of their special diet supplement being axed. The government has claimed that it is increasing social assistance rates. However, it is only giving a 1% increase on the basic needs allotment, for a total increase of about $70 over the course of a year. This can hardly be justified with such a major cut to the special diet allowance, and will force thousands more to rely on an already strained food bank system.
To add insult to injury, the provincial government has actually raised taxes, and has added more taxes that directly affect the poorest of the province, more so than everyone else. With the recent enactment of the Harmonized Sales Tax, the government has successfully pulled off the biggest tax grab since the Mulroney Conservatives brought about the GST. Further, the whole idea of the “eco-tax” which would have affected more than 10,000 consumer products, left many astonished at the lengths the Ontario government would go to put more money into the public coffers. Everything from sun-block to potting soil would have been affected by this fee which, according to the Toronto Sun, was illegal to charge under the Constitution Act. (Though the eco-tax has been scrapped for now, it might emerge again in the near future, most likely under a different name.)
Though it has become clear that Premier Dalton McGuinty has created some of the harshest conditions for the poor in Ontario, his government still believes that it is making logical, sound decisions for the betterment of the province. However, with the cuts to public transit, cuts to social assistance, and increasing taxes it becomes even clearer that this provincial government will do anything within its power to balance the books, even if it harms Ontario’s poorest citizens. Previously a staunch Liberal supporter, I plan to take a long hard look at the alternatives in the next provincial election.
