The MPP for Nipissing is sticking to his guns claiming the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines has seen a cut to the 2017-18 budget. MNDM told Moose News that the 2016-17 budget was given a one-time increase to help with the rehabilitation of abandoned mines. That one-time funding was not added to this year’s budget and gave the impression that the budget was cut from last year. However Vic Fedeli doesn’t buy that MNDM argument. “If this was one-time funding, why did they tout it so much last year,” asked Fedeli. Fedeli told the Moose the MNDM budget has seen repeated cuts over the years. He says in 2014 the ministry’s budget was over $800-million. He says that’s years before the one-time funding in 2016-17 was added. He says now it’s fallen below $800-million. Fedeli says even allowing for last year’s one-time funding doesn’t explain how the budget can be less today compared to three years ago. He says the Ontario budget announced a couple of weeks ago by the Wynne Liberals should show an MNDM budget in excess of $800-million. The Tory finance critic says the fact that it doesn’t should tell people that the Ontario Liberals are consistently eroding the size of the MNDM budget.
