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The province has designated Billy Bishop Airport a "special economic zone", and will seize control of the land.
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NDP Leader Marit Stiles seeked unanimous consent at the beginning of Question Period this morning that would have compelled the government to reverse the OSAP cuts. But unanimous consent was not granted.
 
Meanwhile...

Government of Canada extends financial supports for post-secondary students ​

From https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2026/03/government-of-canada-extends-financial-supports-for-post-secondary-students.html
Post-secondary education is one of Canada’s most important long-term investments. Ensuring that Canadians can gain the skills and qualifications they need to get good jobs, in high-demand sectors, is key to creating a more competitive workforce.

Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario reaffirmed the government’s commitment to affordability and lowering costs for Canadians by extending temporary increases to the Canada Student Financial Assistance grants and loans for the 2026-27 academic year.

Maintaining the 40% increase to grants for full-time students, part-time students, students with disabilities and students with dependants, and the Canada Student Loan limit increase from $210 to $300 per week of study will continue to help make post-secondary education affordable for students.

During the 2026-2027 academic year, approximately 571,000 Canadian students are expected to benefit from the 40% increase to non-repayable grants. Additionally, 422,000 students could benefit from the weekly loan limit increase, which provides students interest-free loans from the Government of Canada.

Through these measures, the Government of Canada is investing close to $1.2 billion in financial aid to keep post-secondary education accessible and help students make high-quality investments in their development and succ
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www.ctvnews.ca

Ontarians oppose Ford government freedom of information changes, poll finds

A poll commissioned by Ontario’s largest public sector union shows widespread disapproval of the Ford government’s recent changes to freedom-of-information (FOI) laws.
www.ctvnews.ca www.ctvnews.ca

Ontarians oppose Ford government freedom of information changes, poll finds

A poll commissioned by Ontario’s largest public sector union shows widespread disapproval of the Ford government’s recent changes to freedom-of-information (FOI) laws.

Abacus Data surveyed 1,000 Ontarians between March 20 and 23, a week after the provincial government announced records of the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, and their offices will no longer be subject to public disclosure.

The poll found 60 per cent of those asked oppose the FOI changes, while 24 per cent support them. Another 16 per cent are unsure.

Among Progressive Conservative voters, only one in three endorsed the overhaul, while 53 per cent of party voters said MPPs should vote against the proposal.

There is strong disapproval of making the FOI changes retroactive – effectively ending a lengthy legal battle to access Doug Ford’s cellphone records. Seventy-three percent of those asked don’t believe the move should be allowed.

“It is rare to find such agreement among people in such a vast province, among different age groups, and among different political ideologies,” CUPE President Fred Hahn told CTV News Toronto in an interview.

“I think this demonstrates that the Premier is out touch with the people of Ontario. I hope that seeing these results, he might take this information to heart.”

Ford has dismissed the criticism, arguing the changes bring Ontario in line with other provinces and the federal government.

He also said it is also about protecting his phone records. The premier contends releasing them would reveal the personal and health information of residents who send him text messages, but that type of information is already protected.

Respondents to the Abacus poll are sceptical of the government’s rationale that the changes were done to update a law that has been around since the 1980s.

A majority of Ontarians (64 per cent) believe the new restrictions are more about reducing accountability than modernizing the system.

The poll has a margin of error of +/-3.09 percent 19 times out of 20.
 
Pre-budget announcement by the Ford gov't than in conjunction with the Feds, sales tax will now be waived on all new home purchases (not limited to first time buyers), and the relief extended, in full to $1.5M purchases, and phased out above that.

Ontario Newsroom

news.ontario.ca news.ontario.ca

From the above:

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****

Three Words:


1) Dumb

2 and 3) Moral Hazard

Absurd. This is literally going to cost the treasuring billions to give a $130,000 subsidy to someone who can otherwise afford a 1.5M residence.

For simplicity's sake if every beneficiary got the max, this would help 17,000 upper middle income and wealthy people buy a home.

For the same money, we could cash-finance 3,000 new rent-geared-to-income units, 2,000 for singles, 1,000 for families and and house 5,000 people who are currently in shelters.

Instead, we're going to go further in to debt, to help the already affluent and housed.
 
evandyk said:
"already affluent and housed" aka the target voters in suburban ridings who decide Ontario elections.
Click to expand...

True, but even from a crassly political calculation, you're looking at no more than 50,000 beneficiaries in all likelihood, in a province of over 15M.

Divide that by the number of ridings in Ontario and you're at 400 households per riding (or less), how many of those households are swing voters for whom one option is Conservative? How many of those live in swing ridings in which the Conservatives contend?

That's a lot of money per vote that matters.
 
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