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evandyk said:
Hard to compare the systems directly, but because Doug Ford controls both the executive and the legislature, he is in many ways much more powerful within his domain than the President of the US is within his. He can do many things through "orders-in-council", but if he wants to take some executive action that isn't authorized (like forcing Toronto to remove bike lanes) he can just get his caucus to authorize it.
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I don't think anything outside of fatwas can compare to EO's, though. The capacity for people to jump and say "How high, sir!" without reserve, dispute or questioning when one is issued is flabbergasting to say the least. It's kinda hard to think this sort of thing can even exist in a supposed democracy.

...and thankfully it doesn't exist here.
 
evandyk said:
Hard to compare the systems directly, but because Doug Ford controls both the executive and the legislature, he is in many ways much more powerful within his domain than the President of the US is within his. He can do many things through "orders-in-council", but if he wants to take some executive action that isn't authorized (like forcing Toronto to remove bike lanes) he can just get his caucus to authorize it.
Click to expand...
I agree that it is really hard to compare the two systems. The US Executive (Cabinet) is appointed and sits outside of their legislative system. The President's authority for issuing Executive Orders flows from a vague line in the Constitution. They are basically policy statements on how to apply existing laws, but he doesn't have the authority to make or repeal laws. They are not reviewable by Congress but are by the courts. I don't think much has been done over the years to nail down the length and breadth of EO authority, probably because they've never had a President who has tried to unilaterally govern by them while Congress sits on its hands.

The Premier/PM of a majority parliamentary government has a lot of power, but it still has to be exercised through the legislative process. An Order-in-Council can only be made if there is a statutory authority for it (i.e. a specific statute has to grant the authority, such as appointing a judge). There is very little power inherent in the office of the Premier. He can't sit around with a sharpie giving direction on whatever came to him in a fever dream last night.
 
^...much better than I could say that. So thank you! /bows
 
Coolibop said:
Premier Ford announced today they will make the gas tax cuts permanent in the upcoming budget.

In addition, as expected, removal of tolls on the (provincially owned) 407, East of Brock Rd, as of Jun 1 2025.
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Not a surprise, but irksome just the same. Its just not a good use of precious funds.
 
Coolibop said:
Premier Ford announced today they will make the gas tax cuts permanent in the upcoming budget.

In addition, as expected, removal of tolls on the (provincially owned) 407, East of Brock Rd, as of Jun 1 2025.
Click to expand...
Gas taxes were "user fees" by the province to help build AND maintain the provincial highways. Now even the non-automobile users will be paying for them out of general revenue.
 
Coolibop said:
Premier Ford announced today they will make the gas tax cuts permanent in the upcoming budget.

In addition, as expected, removal of tolls on the (provincially owned) 407, East of Brock Rd, as of Jun 1 2025.
Click to expand...
Helping to create structural deficits, or at the minimum permanently hamstringing the treasury
 
I've skimmed through the budget..........

I'm not encouraged.

2025 Ontario Budget | Table of Contents

2025 Ontario Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario
budget.ontario.ca budget.ontario.ca

The deficit balloons to nearly 15B this year, its projected to drop to just under 8B next year with balance/negligible surplus in 2027-2028.

5B is a one-time 'protect Ontario' fund..... of which I am highly suspicious.

2B is a new 'reserve'.

The rest is largely measures already announced.

There are more measures around lowering the cost of booze which is a big theme............(lower taxes and/or LCBO markups on micro-brew beer, ciders and ready-to-drinks under 7.1% ABV. )

The promised increase in the licensee discount to 15%, though the budget wording suggests this is temporary to the end of 2025 which was not the campaign promise as I recall.

I don't really have a problem w/the above.......but I find the inordinate focus on it a bit much.

I also would have liked to see the discount tied to a higher minimum wage.

****

They are proposing to remove the window film requirement for Cannabis stores......yay!

****

Hospitals appear to be getting a 4% increase in base budget. I'm not clear on if that is sufficient. I'm inclined to think it is not when you consider above-inflation (catch up) wage hikes for nurses, hospital staff and doctors....

I didn't see anything significant for the the research/post-secondary segment.......
 
Northern Light said:
I've skimmed through the budget..........
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On the transit side, I note Sheppard west extension is back on the table... Unsure what dashed line means...
Edit: presumably dahses are projects that are at earlier stages.

2024 budget:
Screenshot_20250515_200526.jpg


And now today's annoucement (2025):
Screenshot_20250515_200548.jpg



I will continue to point out the exclusion of Scarborough/Durham BRT. I get that it's not exactly higher order transit, but this project seems to be ignored more and more in the past couple years - most of it is unfunded and recent meetings have suggested its being shelved with exception of the small federally funded sections.
 
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Northern Light said:
There are more measures around lowering the cost of booze which is a big theme............(lower taxes and/or LCBO markups on micro-brew beer, ciders and ready-to-drinks under 7.1% ABV. )

The promised increase in the licensee discount to 15%, though the budget wording suggests this is temporary to the end of 2025 which was not the campaign promise as I recall.
Click to expand...
Is the goal here to starve the LCBO of it's revenue generating abilities to privatise it?
 
picard102 said:
Is the goal here to starve the LCBO of it's revenue generating abilities to privatise it?
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Possible. They are definitely looking at changes to the wholesale model.

But my sense is that they aren't there yet.

They actually project LCBO profits returning to past highs over the next few years.

But I suspect they'll undermine it some more.

If they hold the monopoly on the hard stuff and push Vintages........ I think they can maintain a profit in 1 - 1.5B range, assuming they still take money from wholesaling.

.
 
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