2008 Ontario Budget Invests
in Road, Highway Infrastructure
Focuses on relief for manufacturing:
OTA
(Toronto: March 25, 2008) -- Ontario finance minister,
Dwight Duncan, tried to put the best face on Ontario’s current economic
challenges calling for continued but modest growth, but clearly focusing on tax
measures to assist the beleaguered manufacturing sector, re-training for
displaced manufacturing workers and infrastructure investment for short-term job
creation and long-term competitiveness. And, there are no new tax increases. Of
most interest to the trucking industry, the McGuinty government’s first
budget in its new term in office calls for the following infrastructure
investments:
- Municipal Roads & Bridges -- $1 billion investment in 2007-08 which includes: $400 million for roads and bridges (which the budget papers say are “the backbone of Ontario’s transportation network as they connect communities and provide access to economic opportunities”) in communities outside Toronto; $150 million in the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative, building on the $300 million included in 2007 for municipalities’ priority infrastructure projects, including roads and bridges; and, $16 million to fund 35 projects that help municipalities invest in local roadways designated as Connecting Links.
- Highways and Bridges -- $448 million in new funding over the next five years to accelerate projects to rehabilitate bridges that are part of the provincial highway network. Making progress on commitments included in the ReNew Ontario plan, with overall investments of $927 million in 2008-09 in the Southern Ontario Highways Program and $557 million in the Northern Ontario Highways Program. Improvements to Highway 17 will be addressed with this funding, and include the addition of new passing lanes, intersections and new curbs and illumination.
- Windsor Border – In his budget speech, the finance minister stated: “Perhaps our most important infrastructure undertaking is a new border crossing at Windsor.” The budget reiterated that Ontario will fully fund its share of the costs of the final proposed road link between Highway 401 and the new border crossing. Sufficient funds to cover the costs of the project are built into the government’s 10-year infrastructure plan. The Detroit River International Crossing Study is expected to provide recommendations very soon on a new crossing and access road. “Business and union leaders and others from right across the province want to get on with this project,” said Duncan “...so do we. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2009 and is anticipated to be concluded in 2013.”
OTA president, David Bradley, said “the
investment in roads and highways is always welcome as is the commitment to
moving forward with a second crossing at Windsor. We have heard the commitments
to Windsor in the past, but this time I am more hopeful that the two senior
levels of government will proceed with whatever plan comes out of the bilateral
process.”
The provincial budget also commits the government to a
$1.5 billion, three-year Skills to Jobs Action Plan to get more Ontarians
into well-paying jobs and into long-term training for new job opportunities,
including $355 million over three years for a Second Career Strategy that
will help 20,000 unemployed workers make the transition to new careers and
well-paying jobs in growing areas of the economy and $75 million over the next
three years, rising to $50 million annually by 2011-12, to further expand the
number of apprentices. The goal is to reach 32,500 annually, an increase
of another 25 per cent, by 2011-12. “How much if any of these funds will
flow to the Ontario Truck Driver Apprenticeship Program remains to be seen at
this time,” said Bradley.
The budget also proclaims the government’s goal
to lead all Canadian jurisdictions with its efforts to measure and reduce the
regulatory burden. The budget announcement included “an aggressive
cap-and-trade initiative for government regulations, which means that when new
regulations are enacted, others must be eliminated.” The government says
it will “actively engage the business community and its key leaders to
help improve Ontario’s regulatory regime and deliver meaningful change.
This partnership will address priority areas and sectors, with the goal to make
government services simpler, faster, smarter and more
connected.”
Says Bradley,” I hope that finally this signals
that MTO will receive the funds it needs to replace its antiquated computer
systems so the issuance of licences and permits and can be catch up with the
rest of the planet.”
Finally, the budget says that Ontario will also work
with industry on the “innovation and transformation of key sectors (that)
will be critical to moving to a prosperous low-carbon economy.
The government will continue to take action through its policies and
initiatives on reducing GHG emissions created by buildings, land use,
transportation and industry.” Whether this signals the government is
prepared to work with the trucking industry on its enviroTruck initiative, for
example, remains to be seen.
In addition, OTA is lobbying to revise the
interpretation for fuel tax used to power idling reduction devices on commercial
vehicles under the Fuel Tax Act. Currently, the Ministry of Finance deems fuel
used for such equipment to be for personal use, so tax paid on that fuel is not
refundable. OTA is lobbying Finance with the position that auxiliary
equipment used in trucking, such as idling reduction arguing that in-cab
heaters, APUs, etc., perform a business function. The budget was silent on this
matter but deep in the technical amendments it was stated that “to
maintain the integrity and equity of Ontario’s tax and revenue collection
system, as well as enhance legislative clarity and regulatory flexibility to
preserve policy intent, legislation will be proposed, including amendments to (a
number of acts including the) Fuel Tax Act.
“We did not have unrealistic expectations for
this budget,” said Bradley. “It was clear very early on in the
process that the provincial government seemed to have lost its appetite for
discussing things like PST-MJVT-GST harmonization. There is still a lot of work
to do and OTA will continue to press its case with innovative solutions.
We’re far from done.”
© 1995 -
2008, Ontario Trucking Association
555 Dixon Road, Toronto, Ontario
M9W
1H8
Tel: (416) 249-7401 | Fax: (416) 245-6152
Email:
info@ontruck.org