The Ontario Liberals published its fully-costed platform, called A Place to Grow, for the ongoing provincial election..“Governing is about making the difficult choices — and too often, the Ford Conservatives have made the wrong ones,” said Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca in a Monday press release. .“Ontario can be a place to grow if we make the right choices.” .The press release said the Liberals will help families by eliminating the harmonized sales tax on prepared meals and setting a regional living wage starting at $16 per hour. The Liberals said they will improve senior care across Ontario by guaranteeing home care for those who need it and ending for-profit long-term care. .Under the Liberal plan, every worker will have access to benefits and 10 paid sick days and Ontario will build to a four-day work week. The press release said the Liberals will improve education by spending $10 billion to build and repair schools and create an optional Grade 13. .The Liberals said it will promote sustainability by reducing transit fares to $1 per ride across Ontario and cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030. The party said it would improve communities by increasing disability and social assistance rates and banning handguns. .This plan will lead to Ontario having a balanced budget by 2026-2027, according to the press release. .The Liberals said their plan relies on revenue forecasts from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAOO), which were confirmed by the auditor general in the pre-election report. To ensure the forecasts are realistic, FAOO said it would conduct an in-depth fiscal review within 100 days of taking office. .The Liberal plan reallocates parts of contingency funds, which the auditor general described as “overly cautious and higher than usual.” These funds will be used to help Ontario recover from COVID-19. .“We know so many in Ontario are hurting right now,” said Del Duca. .“We’re ready to undo the damage the Ford Conservatives have inflicted over the past four years and begin healing.” .The Ontario NDP released its platform for the election in April, which included billions more in spending on services..Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the last few years have been “tough.” .“But it really doesn’t have to be this way,” said Horwath..“Ontario is the greatest place in the world to live, and together we can start to fix the things that have been broken — the things that matter most to everyday people.”
