What will Dawn Gallagher Murphy MPP do with the $200 “rebate” she will be getting early next year? 
She thinks the handout is a great idea.
But I am left wondering what our Progressive Conservative MPP is going to do with this unexpected windfall.
I think she should tell us.
Everyone gets the money
The Gallagher Murphy household will be $600 better off with Ford’s “special rebate” which will go to 15M people in Ontario at a cost of $3 Billion.
I can see her celebrating with a couple of bottles of the LCBO’s Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut Champagne.
The $3 billion giveaway will go to everyone, from the worker on minimum wage (currently $17.20 per hour) to Ontario’s army of millionaires and billionaires.
It is a sobering thought that Toronto alone has roughly 106,000 individuals with liquid investable wealth of at least US$1 million last year, putting the city 13th in the global rich list.
Borrowing to pay for handout
The Ford Government is running a deficit which means borrowing money to pay for the “special rebate.”
Dawn Gallagher Murphy’s former boss, Christine Elliott, would not have been amused.
In opposition at Queen’s Park, she spent years scolding the Liberals for spending money they didn’t have:
“Deficit financing is anathema to Conservatives”
because that means
“we are paying more and more in interest payments”
Last week’s Fall Economic Statement shows the projected interest payments in coming years. (See below)
It shows the Province shelling out more in debt interest payments than it spends on, say, post-secondary education.
Debt load highest
In April 2024 the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario reported that Ontario’s net debt per capita was $19,436 in 2022, the highest among the provinces and $9,997 above the rest of Canada average:
“Ontario’s higher relative net debt results from its frequent budget deficits, which have typically been larger than the average budget deficit in the rest of Canada.”
Buying Votes
The rebate is, of course, designed to buy votes in the forthcoming Provincial election, widely expected next year.
If Ford were serious about helping people on lower incomes he could change the tax code and Provincial tax rates. 
A News Release from the Minister of Finance, Peter Bethlenfalvy, tells us:
“Providing a $200 taxpayer rebate early next year, which would give immediate relief for Ontario families in the face of high interest rates and the federal carbon tax. This proposed $200 taxpayer rebate would be sent to all eligible adults in Ontario who have filed their 2023 Income Tax and Benefit Return by December 31, 2024. Eligible families would receive an additional $200 for each child under 18.”
So we are getting the money to offset, amongst other things, the federal carbon tax.
But, whoa!
The CBC reminds us:
“The controversial federal carbon tax is a frequent target for Ford and his ministers, who have repeatedly called for Ottawa to get rid of the levy. A 2023 analysis found a clear majority of Canadian households receive associated rebates that are larger than the carbon taxes they pay, and that scrapping the rebates would have a disproportionate negative impact on lower-income families.”
This is an inconvenient truth for Gallagher Murphy who parrots Ford's attacks on the so-called Carbon Tax at every opportunity.
Worthy cause
I suppose Gallagher Murphy could donate her $200 rebate to Southlake or some other worthy cause. And knowing her, it would have to be done in a blaze of publicity.
$200 could buy eight hours help from a personal support worker whose average wage in Ontario is around $24 per hour.
Or two bottles of Bollinger.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
