Ontario Budget: Greater Ottawa and Eastern Ontario “Completely Forgotten”

The budget includes several investments for housing, public transport and infrastructure, but most of the measures described in the 265-page document have either already been announced or are not specifically aimed at residents of the capital. federal government and eastern Ontario, notes Geneviève Tellier, full professor at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa.

” The Ottawa and eastern Ontario region has been completely forgotten. »

It feels like it’s the only area that doesn’t have a lotshe says, pointing out that unlike the Southwest region, the suburbs of Toronto or even Sudbury, there is nothing for ottawa.

Less than a week before the start of the election campaign, she said, it’s still surprising.

It’s as if we took it for granted that the region was going to vote for the Liberals, in the end, and that this is not really where there is going to be a fight between Conservatives and New Democrats or that there are hot ridings to fetch.

Housing, public transport and infrastructure

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson had high expectations for the Conservative budget. He hoped for new spending on affordable housing and phase 3 of the capital’s light rail.

On the housing side, the government is reiterating its promises to build new housing by investing, in particular, $3 billion between 2020 and 2022 to combat homelessness. But the budget contains no new program, no new envelope, and therefore no new money.

The same goes for Ottawa’s light rail which, unlike the Toronto subway, was not mentioned once in the budget. Although the government will invest $61.6 billion over the next 10 years in public transit, Ottawa’s share remains unknown.

” It is a budget stingy with comments and details. »

In terms of infrastructure, the regions of Ottawa and Eastern Ontario seem to have received their share of the pie. The government will spend $25.1 billion over 10 years for road widening or repair projects.

In Ottawa, this translates to the westward widening of Highway 17 to four lanes between Arnprior and Renfrew. Money is also earmarked for the repair of five bridges on Highway 417, from Regional Road 174 to Walkley Road.

However, these announcements are not new. They are part of the transportation plan for eastern Ontario, already announced by Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney last week in the township of Alfred-Plantagenet.

Same observation for the injection of 40 billion dollars over 10 years in hospital infrastructures.

The government promises thirty million dollars for the expansion of the Civic campus and the redeployment of the trauma center of the Ottawa Hospital. Except that Premier Doug Ford himself came to make the announcement last month, along with Health Minister Christine Elliott.

Nothing or almost nothing for French speakers

The budget makes very little mention of francophone issues and, in this regard, after the abolition of the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and the whole saga surrounding the financing of the Université de l’Ontario français (UOF), it is one thing surprising, says Geneviève Tellier.

The region is French-speaking. It is one of the most important places where there are Francophone communities in Ontario. It’s surprising not to see more specific projects than that in the budgetshe says.

The Minister of Finance praises the recent modernization of the French Language Services Act which will allow his government improve access to front-line services in French by designating more points of service and promoting the active offer of services so that the user no longer has to look for services.

But without additional money to guarantee the current offer and expand active offermentioned by the Minister in his budget, it will be difficult for the government to properly fulfill this promise, argues Ms. Tellier.

When something is not very well elaborated, it means that it is not a prioritythinks the analyst.