Wynne defends government’s financial support for businesses
Premier says spending is key economic development strategy
CAMBRIDGE — Just days after announcing the provincial government would invest more than $100 million in the Cambridge and Woodstock Toyota plants, Premier Kathleen Wynne was back in town Monday ahead of the June 7 election and defended her government’s willingness to invest in business.
Wynne made a campaign stop at the Carpenters Union Local 785 Monday afternoon and was asked about PC leader Doug Ford’s plan
announced earlier in the day to end corporate handouts in favour of cutting the corporate income tax rate from 11.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent.
“I don’t think he knows what he’s talking about,” said Wynne, citing her government’s record of investing in business as one of the drivers behind Ontario’s unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent in April — the second-lowest unemployment rate in the country.
“Working in partnership with business is an economic development strategy,” she said.
Her comments came just 10 days after Wynne’s last visit to Cambridge to announce a $110-million government investment in Toyota, which was matched by the federal government and part of an overall investment of $1.4 billion by the company to expand production of the RAV4 sport utility vehicle.
It will create 450 new jobs and 1,000 new co-op placements, and support the already more than 8,000 jobs at the Cambridge and Woodstock plants.
With the Liberals now trailing both the PCs and the NDP in recent polls, the premier also commented on NDP leader Andrea Horwath’s statement that she has no interest in forming a coalition government with the Liberals.
“I know the media are musing about a coalition government but that’s not something we’re talking about or considering,” Wynne said.
A recent Mainstreet Research Poll found 28.4 per cent of decided voters would vote NDP while 22.1 per cent would vote Liberal. About 42 per cent of the 2,534 voters polled said they’d vote Tory.
When asked if local voters could be assured the expansion of twoway, all-day GO service to Toronto wouldn’t become the next Highway 7 — which has seen delays stretch into almost 30 years — Wynne acknowledged the work has been slower than she’d like.
“Both are happening and we’ve made a commitment and they’re in our plan,” she said. Plans to expand Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph began in 1989 and the new four-lane highway is currently targeted to be complete sometime beyond 2021, according to government plans. Two-way, all-day GO service is scheduled to be ready by 2024.
“These are slow negotiations that have to do with sometimes competing interests,” Wynne said.
Cambridge MPP and Minister of Transportation Kathryn McGarry noted they are still negotiating with Canadian National Railway for the rights to about 30 kms of track.
Wynne was scheduled to be in Waterloo Tuesday morning while Horwath is set to make an announcement in Waterloo Tuesday evening. Ford will be at Bingemans on Thursday night.