Calls mount to change Ontario licence plate sticker refund after big cheques issued
Calls are mounting to change Ontario’s licence plate sticker refund program in the wake of a CTV News investigation that showed millions in licence sticker refunds went to people with apparently deep pockets — including one $38,000 cheque.
Most Ontario drivers received less than $1,000 — but thousands of cheques worth millions of dollars went to drivers who had registered more than five cars, the investigation showed — a sign that the government should rethink the rebate and the cancelled fees going forward, said Green Party leader Mike Schriener.
“It’s outrageous at a time when we’re in a climate emergency that the government would be spending millions disproportionately subsidizing wealthy drivers,” said Green Party leader Mike Schreiner, pointing out that he voted against the subsidy when it was proposed.
“It was an election ploy all along, costing the treasury $2.4 billion that would be better spent on health-care … I have argued all along this money would be better spent making sure we could keep our emergency rooms open rather than a handout to the wealthy,” he said.
The government has defended the program, saying more than 99 per cent of the cheques went to people receiving less than $1,200.
“The purpose of the program was to deal with the rising cost of living that so many of us are dealing with,” said Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney at a press conference in Hamilton on Friday.
“The vast majority of Ontarians received a refund of under $1,200. Obviously, there are rare cases of people who have a large number of cars, but we are very pleased that we’ve been able to put so much money back in people’s pockets to help them when they need it most.”
The program, part of a suite designed to help Ontarians after a COVID-19 pandemic and enacted by the P-C government before the 2022 election, provided small cheques adding up to more than $2 billion.
While rates change by location and by type of vehicle, a typical passenger vehicle in Southern Ontario would have cost $120 each year to register. The refund covered two years of fees.
Just under 7 million drivers got $1,100 or less. When divided into $100 increments, the biggest group – 1.87 million people – got between $200 and $300.
But about 21,000 people were refunded more than $1,200 – the equivalent of registering about five cars – for a total of $32 million in that category, the data shows.
This still doesn’t come close to the highest refunds, which were in the tens of thousands of dollars. One person received $16,020.50, another received $19,096.50, and the largest refund was $38,779.50 — the equivalent of about 160 cars.
Ontario Liberal MPP Stephen Blais told CTV News he was surprised to see cheques that big.
“I was taken aback by some of the numbers,” he said. “In our home we got $700-800. We probably paid bills and went out for dinner. I don’t think it had an enormous impact on kick-starting the economy. It’s questionable whether that kind of intervention in the economy was needed in the first place. The billions it cost could have been better spent supporting our kids in schools or in emergency rooms.”
A map of where the funds ended up painted a picture of money heading largely to the vote-rich car-driving suburbs in Southern Ontario that propelled the Ford government to a majority. Northern Ontario gets less, in part because the typical passenger vehicle licence fee there would be about $60.
University of Toronto geography professor Matti Siemiatycki told CTV News that the refund policy fits in with the cancellation of some tolls and a gas tax cut — while avoiding benefits for non-drivers such as subsidized transit passes — as a sign that the benefits did filter through to people likely to be supporters.
“These policies have been so targeted at drivers and motorists as key parts of the electoral base of this government and critical to their coalition,” he said.
It would have been simple to find a way to design this program and avoid paying large cheques to people with many vehicles, he said.
“You could have the payouts decrease based on the number of vehicles you have,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Sask. police seize 1.5M pieces of evidence, lay 60 more charges in child exploitation case
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
'Inappropriate' behaviour shuts down Dublin to New York City portal
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
Oilers starting Calvin Pickard in goal for Game 4 vs. Canucks
The Edmonton Oilers will start Calvin Pickard in net Tuesday for Game 4 of their playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker rails against Pride month, working women in commencement speech
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.
King Charles III unveils his first official portrait since his coronation
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
Full List Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Alberta announces the 4 health agencies that will replace AHS later this year
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
Biden administration moving ahead on US$1 billion arms package for Israel, AP sources say
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.