Vic Fedeli - Minister of Finance 2019 Budget address in Oakville

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The Oakville Chamber of Commerce hosted Vic Fedeli the Ontario Minister of Finance on Monday May 6, 2019. On his rounds to promote the 2019 budget, Mr. Fedeli was warmly greeted by many Conservative supporters including: Terrence Young the nominated Federal Conservative candidate for Oakville.

The 120 plus people attending included both MPP's Stephen Crawford representing Oakville, and Effie Triantafilopoulos representing Oakville North-Burlington

There are many issues that have arisen around the 2019 budget. Minister Vic Fedeli gave a 40 minute key-note address which was followed by  a 20 minute question and answer period.

As with Premier Ford's talk to the Chamber, the minister focused on cutting red tape so businesses can thrive. He stressed the need to cut taxes for Ontario residents and business, while at the same announcing several significant spending initiatives.

Two of the examples he used for cutting red tape involved the protection of animals (snakes and turtles). Animal protection regulations caused huge project delays combined with large costs for the developers. The first example was finding butler gartersnakes. According to Minister Fedeli, there were 7 snakes holding up the project. According to the government of Ontario's website Ontario.ca, this species of snake has been on the endangered list since 2008.

Part of  his time was spent on the availability of alcohol. He announced that morning residents would be able to start drinking at 9:00 AM. Tailgate parties would be allowed, and alcohol would be available initially in pre-selected corner stores.

A few of the questions asked and the Minister's responses:

  1. Transportation: The government will expand major arterial roads, increase GO Train frequency to 15 minutes on the Lakeshore Line and will be committing $11B
  2. Education: The government will be focusing on skilled trades and e-learning. He expressed that the teachers' union was exploiting the increase of class sizes for their own benefit.
  3. Affordable Housing: The province will be selling excess provincial properties, rezoning properties so home owners can create a suites,  along with supporting developers.
  4. Healthcare: Ontario will eliminate the bloated bureaucracy, increase long-term care beds by 30,000, and provide $90M for dental care for low-income seniors.

Finally, Minister Fedeli promised that under the current provincial there would be "No Tax Increases." Reducing the deficit along with the debt was going to be difficult. It  will be achieved by prudent financial management. He also stressed that new government will aim to balance the budget by finding efficiencies.

Ontario Budget 2019

About Vic Fedeli

Mr. Fedeli was born in North Bay. He was first elected to public office as the Mayor of North Bay in 2003. Since then he has moved up the political ladder. In 2011 he became the MPP for Nippising. He did initially run as a candidate for the Ontario PC Party, but then endorsed Christine Elliot. In 2018 he was sworn in as Ontario's Minister of Finance.