From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   How big is that ?!   
      
   Countries aspire to being able to do this . . .  it's the talk of the U.S.   
   presidential candidates . . .  And here's Kathleen Wynne making it a reality   
   for low-income students.   
      
   A glass of (slightly-more-expensive) wine - to Kathleen Wynne !!   
   ______________________________   
   — Canadian Press | Feb 25, 2016   
      
   Students get boost, smokers, drinkers feel pinch from Ontario budget   
      
      
   Toronto — University and college will soon be free for low-income students   
   in Ontario, but prices are going up on wine, tobacco, gasoline and heating for   
   most homeowners.   
      
   The Liberal government says it’s on track to eliminate a $5.7-billion   
   deficit in the next budget largely thanks to managing program spending and   
   fighting the underground economy, but it is hesitant to acknowledge that the   
   partial privatization of Hydro    
   One and a new carbon pricing system are major factors contributing to that   
   goal.   
      
   The showcase pledge in the government’s 2016-17 budget — its ninth   
   consecutive in the red — is to introduce an Ontario Student Grant that would   
   entirely pay for average college or university tuition for students from   
   families with incomes of $50,   
   000 or less.              ヽ(´▽`)/     
      
   Under the new program, half of students from families with incomes of $83,000   
   will qualify for non-repayable grants for tuition and no student will receive   
   less than they can currently receive.   
      
   The new grant combines existing programs, and Finance Minister Charles Sousa   
   said he hopes the new one will come at no additional cost to government.   
      
   Taxes on cigarettes are rising $3 per carton and wine prices will also rise.    
   The minimum price for a bottle will increase to $7.95 over the next three   
   years.   
      
   There will also be a series of increases in the Liquor Control Board of   
   Ontario’s markup on wine, starting with a two percentage point hike in June   
   — about 10 cents a bottle — followed by another two points in 2017 and   
   2018, and a one-point hike in    
   2019.   
      
   There will also be annual increases of about 10 cents in the tax on   
   international-blend wines sold in privately owned wine stores, increasing from   
   16.1 cents to 20.1 cents over four years.   
      
   As the government’s new cap-and-trade program — designed to lower   
   Ontario’s greenhouse gas emissions — comes into effect next year, the   
   price of gasoline is expected to rise 4.3 cents a litre and residential   
   natural gas bills will increase $5.   
      
   The opposition leaders said the budget makes life less affordable for   
   Ontarians, but Sousa defended increased costs from cap and trade.   
      
   “We can all of us have a choice,” he said.  “We can turn our back and   
   let the low-carbon economy go by, it will cost us even more, or we can embrace   
   it and find innovations in the system to enable us to succeed and compete.”   
      
   The carbon-pricing scheme is now projected to generate $1.9 billion in revenue   
   next year, up from $1.3 billion estimated a few months ago, based on a price   
   of about $18 per tonne.   
      
   The cap is expected to decline 4.17 per cent each year to 2020, putting   
   increasing pressure on industry to meet emissions targets, and, critics say,   
   increasing costs to consumers.   
      
   Revenue from cap and trade will be dedicated to green initiatives, the   
   government says, but the Opposition believes it will be used to fund the   
   Liberals’ political whims.   
      
   “My worry is that we’re going to see the government taking advantage of   
   the good will the public has on wanting to combat climate change as simply a   
   revenue grab,” said Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown.   
      
   The deficit is projected to shrink to $4.3 billion in this fiscal year.   
      
   The debt, however, continues to swell to over $308 billion this year   
   representing about $22,000 per Ontarian.   And despite low interest rates,   
   spending on interest on the debt — $11.8 billion this year and growing to   
   $13.1 billion in 2018-19 — is    
   growing twice as quickly as any program spending area.   
      
   Program spending is growing at an average annual rate of 1.9 per cent over the   
   next few years.   
      
   The $30 fee for Drive Clean vehicle emissions tests will be eliminated, but   
   not the tests themselves, as motorists have urged.   
      
   In health care, hospital funding is increasing by $345 million, $130 million   
   will be spent on cancer-care services and an additional $75 million is being   
   earmarked for community-based residential hospices and palliative care.   
      
   The Tories say the increase to hospital funding is not enough to make up for   
   new patient growth or inflation, let alone making up for four years of frozen   
   hospital budgets.   
      
   As well, the government says it will spend $333 million over five years on   
   autism services, including expanding early intervention services.   
      
   But starting Aug. 1, the threshold to qualify for the low-income seniors’   
   benefit is rising, the annual deductible under the Ontario Drug Benefit is   
   nearly doubling, from $100 to $170, and the prescription co-payment is rising   
   one dollar.   
      
   NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said this budget will hurt seniors.   
      
   “There’s been no consultation, no warning and for seniors budgeting on   
   fixed incomes, which most are, this is a huge new cost,” she said.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)