January 2023 Update

Future inflation aid to be targeted

Trudeau said the federal government is anticipating that the first half of 2023 is “likely to be tough,” but should there be further need for economic assistance, the Liberals won’t be moving off of their “targeted” approach. Trudeau defended his decision to focus his latest round of affordability aid– the GST tax credit rebates and dental and rental benefits – as having a “negligible, if any, impact on inflation.”
He indicated any future fiscal help would be similarly focused on those with lower incomes, or specifically impacted sectors.
“Depending on how hard the global challenges hit in Canada and who it hits, we will be able to be there with appropriate and targeted supports for the people who need it most,” Trudeau said.

Too late for public consultation on budget?

Ontario is asking residents for their input on the upcoming budget, and questions in a public survey indicate major themes will be health-care staffing, transportation, jobs and the cost of living.
The provincial government plans to table its budget by March 31, and is now starting the process of public consultations, with a legislative committee travelling the province and an online survey that launched Wednesday.
In Ontario’s most recent fiscal update in November, the province projected a deficit of $12.9 billion in this fiscal year, followed by $8.1 billion the following year and a deficit of just $700 million in 2024-25.
Bethlenfalvy also wrote that he is glad the budget consultations will have an in-person element this year. The legislative committee started hearings in Kenora, Ont., on Monday and is set to travel through eight other communities, before holding a final day of in-person presentations in Toronto on Feb. 14.
But the survey responses may not necessarily be taken into account.
Former Liberal cabinet minister John Milloy wrote in a recent column for iPolitics that the timing – these consultations go to mid-February with a budget expected in late March – leaves him skeptical that they will have much of an impact.
“Anyone who has spent any time in government understands that budgets are planned many months in advance,” he wrote in the column.
Our team would like to thank everyone who has engaged in the #petition to make the HPV vaccine affordable and accessible in Ontario.
We’d also like to thank Change.org for all your help engaging on this issue.
And finally, a thank you to everyone that has been kind and brave sending in their testimonials.
If you’re behind on the story, you can catch up with this CTV News London piece: https://lnkd.in/g6QNYJYx