Ford unveils anti-climate, anti-affordability budget update that fails Ontario families

November 4, 2021

TORONTO — Mike Schreiner released the following statement in response to the Fall Economic Statement

QUEEN’S PARK — Mike Schreiner released the following statement in response to the Fall Economic Statement:

“Doug Ford thinks the road to recovery from COVID-19 should pave over farmland, supercharge sprawl and pump more climate pollution into the air.

We’re in a climate emergency, but Doug Ford has his head buried in the concrete. The entire 200 page budget update mentions climate change just four times but highways 58 times.

Doug Ford needs to stop relying on outdated ideas and instead focus on building a better and more livable future for Ontarians.

Families want $10 a day childcare, yet Ford has failed to make a deal for Ontario. Workers need a living wage and improved working conditions for nurses, yet Ford offers them crumbs.

Ontario needs to invest in a green and caring recovery.

That means building affordable communities that protect nature and ensure everyone has an affordable place to call home.

We need a recovery that puts people and planet first. Let’s seize the potential of the green economy to create new careers and good, clean jobs.

We need a recovery that cares for the nurses and healthcare heroes that care for us, by improving working conditions and pay.

As we look to get ahead of the pandemic once and for all, Ford is pandering to anti-vaxxers instead of listening to the Science Table and healthcare leaders, rejecting science-based calls for mandatory vaccines for education and healthcare workers.

And Ford’s budget update ignores Ontarians on ODSP and social assistance, and the ever-growing backlog for youth mental health and autism services.

We can build a better Ontario. An Ontario that is greener and more caring, and that creates a livable future for everyone.

But this government would rather disregard the real needs of Ontarians and put forward a budget update of the past.”

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