COMMENTARY: What are your plans for Doug Ford's rebate cheque?

It’s official now - every Ontario resident who filed a 2023 tax return will be receiving a cheque for $200 in the mail early next year. As well, taxpayers with dependent children will get an additional $200 per child when those cheques roll out.

Premier Doug Ford and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy made the announcement Tuesday, just a day before they were scheduled to deliver the provincial government’s fall economic statement. That statement is expected to also include other ‘good news’ items for families struggling to make ends meet.

The cost of rolling out those $200 cheques is expected to be at least $3-billion. That’s a lot of money to spend, albeit our own money from our 2023 tax returns, just to buy good will from the voting public. 

Is this an attempt to garner favour ahead of an early election call? Ford denied that yesterday.

The next provincial election is scheduled for June 4, 2026. But the rapid pace of announcements from Ford and his ministers over the past few months have led many to believe we’ll be heading to the polls a lot sooner than that. 

In September, the Premier ruled out an early return to polling stations this calendar year but many expect one to be called in early 2025. 

Opposition parties are getting ready for one, too. Just the other day the NDP announced that Jennie Stevens will be their candidate seeking reelection for the St. Catharines riding whenever that next election will take place.

NDP leader Marit Stiles criticized the cheques yesterday for not providing any long-lasting help to Ontarians. 

Provincial Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie, saying she would be donating her $200 cheque to her party, criticized Ford for attempting to bribe Ontarians with their own money. 

And Mike Shriner, leader of the Green Party, offered up that it makes no sense that millionaires such as Galen Weston would be receiving the same cheque as the many Ontario taxpayers who can’t afford a place to live. 

Bribe or not, I think both Stiles and Shriner make excellent arguments. There are homelessness and opioid epidemics across this province. Ontario’s health care system is in a shambles. Cities large and small are dealing with outdated infrastructure unable to handle the ravages of climate change. 

Couldn’t that $3-billion be used for some of those pressing problems?

Me - sure, I could use the $200. But if it is a bribe, I won’t take it. I can can get by without it. After all, I paid my taxes and though I wished I had paid $200 less, the government already has that money from me. They should use it for something that needs to be fixed. 

My plans for the bonus cheque next year? I will donate it to a charity rather than using it for groceries, clothes or gas in my car. 

Locally, Red Roof Retreat or Newark Neighbours could use my $200 cheque. Other Niagara charities such as Gillilan’s Place, Community Crew, the Niagara Peninsula Foundation for Children, the Niagara Geopark or United Way Niagara could also benefit from an extra $200.

I’m not saying everyone has the means to just turn around and donate that money to a needy organization. But I am suggesting that if they do have the means, that’s exactly what they should do. 

And I’m hoping that’s exactly what Galen Weston and the other millionaires who get the cheque do, as well.