It will take a few days to go over the details, but Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Debbie Amaroso likes a lot of what she has seen in the 2013 Ontario budget, announced in the Legislature Thursday by Finance Minister Charles Sousa.
Whether the Liberal minority government of Premier Kathleen Wynne survives or falls over the budget remains uncertain at this point.
However, speaking to SooToday.com Thursday, Mayor Amaroso said “for me the good news is the provincial gas tax credit we’ve been receiving over the last few years has been dedicated to transit. We have been asking for that funding to be permanent and it hasn’t been up until this point, but now they have made it permanent.”
“For Sault Ste. Marie,” Amaroso said, “that’s about $1.2 million a year for transit. It’s absolutely a good news item.”
The budget contains $35 billion over three years for Ontario infrastructure.
Included in that is $100 million to small, rural municipalities for roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure.
Amaroso said Sault Ste. Marie may be excluded from the budget’s definition of “small and rural,” and may apply more specifically to Sault Ste. Marie’s small community neighbours in Echo Bay and Bruce Mines.
“We’ll need to really look at that. It will at least have a positive impact on our neighbours.”
Amaroso added Sousa made reference to money being allocated to “modern infrastructure.”
Amaroso said upon hearing that term, “my mind went directly to support for our deep water port project.”
Amaroso said she still looks forward to meeting with Transportation Minister Glen Murray in regards to connecting link funding for maintenance of vital commercial roads that run through Sault Ste. Marie.
The province abruptly announced early this year that 75 percent of grant funding the City receives for upkeep of those roads would be cut, replaced by a smaller funding envelope, and placing a bigger burden on Sault taxpayers for maintenance of connecting links.
Another aspect of the budget Mayor Amaroso is pleased with is the announcement of $360 million over three years for the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate, designed to save large, local employers such as Essar Steel Algoma, Tenaris Tubes and Flakeboard millions of dollars in energy costs.
“Energy rates are something that have been huge for the North. This will help keep our industries competitive,” Amaroso said.
The budget also provides $260 million to boost home healthcare services, to enable 46,000 more people province-wide, most of them seniors, stay in their homes longer.
“That was a commitment that was made, and it was certainly supported again through the budget, so I’m excited to hear about that,” Amaroso told us.
The budget also mentions a municipal property assessment review.
“That impacts our municipal budget…that was a highlight for me,” the Mayor said.
Amaroso said she will be watching the government’s uploading of social services.
“That was one of the comments Minister Sousa made. When the government downloaded it they said it would be revenue neutral. It wasn’t. So, we’ll see what ‘uploading’ means and I know our new Commissioner of Social Services (Mike Nadeau) will be looking at that very closely.”
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