Ontario to table next major economic update, including details of booze costs

The Ford government has announced it will table its next major economic blueprint at the end of October, offering insight into the cost of building some of Ontario’s massive infrastructure projects.

In a post on social media Wednesday, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the fall economic statement would be tabled on Oct. 30, calling it the “latest step in our plan to rebuild Ontario.”

The government has announced a series of high-ticket infrastructure items, most recently a plan to tunnel a new expressway below Highway 401, which experts have said would cost tens of billions of dollars.

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Previewing the fall economic statement on Focus Ontario earlier this month, Bethlenfalvy said that, even as interest rates fall, the cost of living in the province remains a problem.

“Their rent costs are still high, their food costs are still high, they worry about their job security and we won’t relent on that front,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of things to try to create the environment for much greater job growth, economic growth, pay cheques.”

The finance minister said that, while preparing his economic update, the cost of living and gridlock were key considerations.

Bethlenfalvy also promised the fall economic statement would offer an insight into the true cost of the government’s plan to move alcohol into convenience stores.

The province has acknowledged a $225 million payment to the Beer Store to break its exclusive contract earlier this year but refused to reveal how much money the LCBO could lose through the change.

The Ontario Liberals have claimed that lost revenue and potential revenue from the deal total more than $1 billion, numbers the finance minister has said are “made up.”

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