Platform tracker: Party promises and policies on issues that mean most to Ontario voters - Action News
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Platform tracker: Party promises and policies on issues that mean most to Ontario voters

Stay updated on the promises and policies of each party as we head into the June 7 Ontario election.

CBC News asked readers what issues are front of mind as election day approaches

Back in May, CBC News asked readers to weigh in on the issue that matters most to them in this election campaign.

We've grouped the responses into five general categories:

Hydro was given its own section based on the volume of readers who said it was front of mind for them.

The details are sourced from each party's platform or campaign materials. Both the Liberals and NDP have released costed platforms, while the Progressive Conservatives have repeatedly said one is coming before election day on June 7. Ontario's Green Party has also published a platform.

New details will be added as the campaign rolls on. If there's an issue you want to know more about, let us know on Twitter.

POCKETBOOK ISSUES

COVID-19 has sparked mass economic upheaval, but Albertans were having trouble paying their bills even before the coronavirus hit. (CBC)
  • Free full-day child care for children aged 2.5 to 4 beginning in 2020.
  • Tax increase on top 17 per cent of earners, or about 1.8 million people. Someone earning $95,000 a year would pay an extra $168. Someone earning $130,000 would see an income tax hike of about $200.
  • About 680,000 would pay slightly less income tax, while the vast majority would see no change.
  • Maintain corporate tax rate at 11.5 per cent.
  • Increase the minimum wage from $14 per hour to $15 per hour next year.
  • Eliminate geographic discrimination in auto insurance rates.
  • Tax hike on cigarettes amounting to $4 per carton.
  • Free licensed child care for families earning less than $40,000 per year, while "most" other families would pay about $12 per day.
  • Increase minimum wage from $14 per hour to $15 per hour next year.
  • Increase the corporate tax rate from 11.5 per cent to 13 per cent.
  • Raise the income tax rate for those earning more than $220,000 by one per cent and two per cent for those making more than $300,000 annually.
  • Implement a three per cent surcharge on luxury cars priced at more than $90,000.
  • Introduce an annual "housing speculation tax"targeted at foreign and domestic real estate speculators who don't pay any other taxes in Ontario.
  • Reduce auto insurance rates by 15 per cent.
  • Empower the Ontario Energy Board to regulate gas prices and prevent gouging on traditionally busy long weekends.
  • Begin implementing a universal basic income to reduce poverty.
  • Increase minimum wage from $14 per hour to $15 per hour next year.
  • Increase the income tax on the top one per cent of earners by one per cent.
  • Reduce payroll taxes for small business.
  • Increase thecorporate tax rate to 12.5 per cent from 11.5 per cent.
  • Implement a tax on vacant properties.

HEALTH CARE

(iStock)
  • $4.1 billion over four years for mental health services with the goal of eventually making them part of OHIP+.
  • Introduce a drug and dental plan for workers without coverage.
  • Extend the existing pharmacare program to seniors.
  • Increased funding for Local Health Integration Networks in rural communities.

EDUCATION

(iStock)
  • Invest $625 million into education funding and $300 million for special education programs.
  • Continue and expand, as scheduled, free college and university tuition for students from low- and middle-income families.
  • Keep the updated sexual education curriculum.
  • Interest-free loans for post-secondary students in need of financial assistance.
  • Re-evaluate special education funding priorities.
  • End standardized testing.
  • Cap class sizes at 22 for Grades 4to 8.
  • Boost funding for high schools in low-income areas.

HYDRO

Power lines are show against a blue sky.
(Chris Seto/CBC)
  • Maintain the 25 per cent rebate on bills under the Fair Hydro Plan, introduced in 2017. Those in rural communities are eligible for rebates of as much as 40 to 50 per cent.
  • Buy back the share of Hydro One sold to private investors to return the utility to public control and end time-of-use billing, cutting hydro bills by up to 30 per cent.
  • Explore eliminating HST from hydro bills with Ottawa.
  • Scrap the Fair Hydro Plan and use "low cost water power from Quebec."
  • Implement a carbon fee-and-dividend program.
  • Close and de-commission nuclear power plants.

TRANSIT

A GO train pulls in to Union Station in Toronto.
A GO train pulls in to Union Station in Toronto. (The Canadian Press )
  • Fund Toronto's downtown relief line and 50 per cent of net transit and paratransit costs across the province, as well as the next phase of the Ottawa LRT and an LRT network in Hamilton.
  • Cap GO Transit fares at $3 for trips of less than 10 km in length.
  • Implement all-day, two-way GO rail service between Waterloo and Toronto.
  • Revive the Northlander train service.
  • Assist in private and public purchases of electric vehicles and greatly expand infrastructure for electric vehicles throughout the province.
  • Phase out internal combustion engines to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.