Ontario Budget

Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan has tabled his $126-billion budget.

Hospitals will get a 1.5 boost to their base funding while $63.5-million will go to replace federal child care funding.

There is a $310-million increase in post secondary education funding.

Despite a $21.3 billion deficit last year and nearly $20-billion deficit next year, the Liberals won't re-balance the books until 2017-18.

Northern Ontario residents will get some relief from high hydro bills, and companies in the north will be able to access lower electricity rates.

A new, $150-million-a-year program will create a northern industrial electricity rate aimed at reducing hydro prices by 25 per cent for large industrial users.

The budget will also provide low-to middle-income families in the north with an annual energy credit of up to 200 dollars, while singles would get up to 130 dollars.

Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle calls the budget a good one, especially for the north.

It also includes another 10-million dollar increase to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

"We've gone from 60 to 70 to 80 to 90-million," says Gravelle, "and there's a commitment to go to $100 million next year. This is incredibly important to northern Ontario communities and businesses that are able to access the funds."

$770-million will be also spent to fix up highways in northern Ontario.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton was not as warming to the budget.

He says the introduction of lower power rates is good news, but have come too late for many mills now closed.

"If you actually do the numbers all that it will do is ensure that the hydro bills for OSB mill, sawmills and paper mills won't increase over the next three years," says Hampton. "The troubles is that those bills are already too expensive and that why so mills have shutdown."

Hampton says the hydro credit for homeowners won't even cover the cost of the HST when it comes into effect this July.

More than one million Ontario public sector workers got some bad news in the budget --notice of a salary freeze.

The budget imposes an immediate pay freeze on public sector managers, and vows not to fund salary increases for unionized public workers when their contracts expire.