MPP Mantha Responds to Ford Government’s Fall Economic Statement

MPP Michael Mantha (Algoma-Manitoulin) made the following statement after the release of Ontario’s 2024 Fall Economic Statement:

“This is perhaps the most disappointing Fall Economic Statement to date from this government.

It is entirely disconnected from the reality of people in Northern Ontario who are struggling daily to get by. Instead of announcing meaningful investments in healthcare, housing, education, or social services, Ford’s finance minister brought to the Legislature a list of vanity projects. This government has committed to spending $650 million on a luxury spa in downtown Toronto. They’re going to spend billions on unnecessary highway projects in the south like Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass, as well as a commitment to push ahead with an ill-advised plan to tunnel underneath Highway 401.

Meanwhile in the North, thousands of people continue to go without a family doctor. We are stuck waiting years on end for second-rate highway maintenance, the school repair backlog continues to grow, and the number of people who are unable to buy a home gets larger every day.

It is time for Premier Ford and his government to take a reality check. Northerners need a government that delivers on the fundamental services, invests equitably in all corners of the province and focuses on big issues like the healthcare crisis.”

Michael Mantha