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Lowering Your Grocery & Gas Bills; Who’s Offering What This Election

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It’s a vicious circle when the price of gas rises, so does the cost of food and products along with it.

Since there is less than two weeks left until election day on June 2nd, what have the political parties offered to do for Ontario residents to lower the price of groceries and gas?

Progressive Conservative

  • Nothing specifically noted to lower grocery costs in their platform.
  • Gas: proposing a six month relief of gas tax at 5.7 cents/L starting July 1st. (they note that there’s already a 4.73 per cent cut that’s already in place after cancelling the former Liberal’s cap & trade program).
  • Offering a new credit called Low-income Individuals and Families Tax (LIFT) Credit, that is supposed to help individuals and families to have more cash in their pockets in order to pay for groceries.

Liberals

  • Offering to remove the provincial tax (eight per cent) on prepared foods at grocery stores listed for under $20. ex: prepared roast chickens, fruit/veggie trays…etc.
    • The HST would be subsidized by a one per cent surtax on Ontario companies that earn more than a billion dollars, as well as introducing a new tax bracket for Ontarians that earn more than $500,000.
  • Offering to remove the 5.7 cents/L of the gas tax and 5.3 cents/L on the fuel tax.

NDP

  • While there’s no specific plan to cut taxes or add a specific credit, the party does want to create a provincial food strategy that supports local farmers and the agri-food industry via mentorship, financial advice and loan guarantees.
  • Wants to regulate the price of gas through the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), which would benefit drivers as well as businesses shipping products

Green Party

  • Offering to fund the start ups of “community-owned healthy food markets”.
  • Establish purchasing goals for the provincial government for Ontario produced foods.
  • Nothing specifically noted to lower grocery costs in their platform.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list of ways that each political party would reduce your price at the pumps or at the grocery store, it is a starting point to aid in your decision making before heading to the polls on Thurs. June 2nd.

Advance polls are also open, view locations, dates and times here.

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NDP: Rx Birth Control To Be Covered By OHIP If Elected In June

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Another party platform outlined by the Andrea Horwath and the provincial NDP.

Party leader, Andrea Horwath, outlined that if elected to lead the province in June she would make changes within weeks that would allow OHIP to cover all prescription birth control.

In a written release, Horwath said “the change will remove any cost barriers that limit people’s ability to make free choices about their reproductive health…,”. Types of contraceptives that would be included are the emergency Plan B pill, oral contraceptives, patches, injection/shots, IUD’s (intrauterine devices), rings and implants.

Currently tubal ligations (getting tubes tied), vasectomies and some forms of prescription birth control are available through the province’s health care system, and are only for those 25 and under. There are some exceptions for those outside of that age limit.

The provincial election is scheduled for June 2nd.

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ON Liberals Want 4 Day Work Week & Regional Min. Wage

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The plan has been laid out for the provincial Liberal Party.

Leader, Steven Del Duca, has unveiled his party’s platform for the upcoming June 2nd election.

Part of his platform is that there would be a boost to minimum wage to $16/hr, but it would be regional. Meaning if you work in a high cost living area, then the minimum wage would be paid accordingly. i.e. Toronto residents could be getting as much as $22/hr according to advocates.

The provincial NDP is promising $16/hr minimum wage by October this year and raising it to $20 by 2026.

He also wants to layout 10 paid sick days for workers. Del Duca said that his plan is part of “economic dignity”.

A proposal for banning employers for requiring a doctors note and to reimburse employers up to $200 a day for workers that are off on sick leave.

Del Duca also wants Ontario residents to have a “portable benefits package”.

The package would be available for all workers, including self employed and contract individuals.

Other parts of the Provincial Liberals plans include new policies on gig economy workers and a two-year stoppage on corporate taxes for small businesses.

He’s also promising a four-day work-week pilot project.

This whole plan would cost around $1.5billion to implement and maintain.

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Ford Frustrated With AstraZeneca Changes

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Premier Doug Ford is expressing some irritation with the AstraZeneca vaccine guidelines.

After reports that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization plans to approve the vaccine for those aged 65 and up, Ford says that development throws a wrench in the province’s vaccine rollout.

“It’s good news that they can go older than 60, 65, but man, we have everything set up, we’ve got everyone lined up, and all of a sudden, without notice, today now we can move the goalpost again,” he says.

Ford says this means the province has to adjust very quickly.

“We’re going to fulfill the commitment with people that have already registered, but when we get a change of direction from the feds–which is NACI–and they’re changing and moving the goalposts, I can’t begin to tell you the logistics behind it,” Ford says. “It messes everything up, to be very frank with you.”

Ford also claims he doesn’t know when the next shipments of AstraZeneca doses will arrive, but says the province will handle the situation. He says the only thing he needs is more vaccine supply from the federal government.