NEW ONTARIO BUSINESS INVESTMENT REPORTS ALARMING

QUEEN’S PARK –Two reports are warning of declining business investment in Ontario, and signal that Wynne government policies are having a negative impact on our economy, Ontario PC Finance Critic and Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli said today.

The Financial Accountability Officer today states that total investment by Ontario business and public sector institutions is expected to decline by 0.1 per cent this year after two strong consecutive increases.

Further, the FAO warns private investment specifically is to decline by 0.7 per cent in 2016 after double-digit gains the past two years, with an 8 per cent drop projected for the hard-hit manufacturing sector.  He also states that private investment has yet to recover to levels recorded prior to the 2008-09 recession.

“This is especially concerning given the red tape and skyrocketing hydro rates this government has implemented in Ontario,” said Fedeli.  “Under this Liberal Government we’ve seen over 350,000 good paying manufacturing jobs leave the province. With today’s news it appears Ontario continues to head in the wrong direction.”  

As well, foreign direct investment in Ontario has fallen off sharply in the past year.  The annual report from fDi Intelligence shows Ontario has dropped to fourth in North America this past year, from $7 billion in such investment to $4 billion.  As such, Ontario’s market share has been cut in half from 12 per cent in 2015 to just 6 per cent this year.

“Clearly this government is not creating the right environment for job creation and investment in Ontario, and a new direction is needed to rectify this,” concluded Fedeli.