Green Party of Ontario leader and Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner issued the following statement in response to the government decision to halt a planned beer tax increase:

“Why is this Premier so obsessed with beer prices when there are real issues that he could be addressing? This week the UN climate panel issued its most dire warning about how close we are to the 1.5C tipping point, and yet this government refuses to say a word about its climate plan. Meanwhile, the two-week delay on its overdose prevention site decision is costing lives as the opening of new spaces is halted.

But for Premier Ford, lowering beer bottle prices by a penny is more urgent than either the climate crisis or the mental health and addictions crisis.

And how many new teachers or nurses could have been hired with this beer tax revenue? The average Ontarian won’t notice a one-cent difference on beer, but they will notice the declining state of our hospitals and schools as the Premier follows through with his austerity plans.

This is revenue that could help stem the blow from the government’s upcoming cuts. But instead, the Premier is sacrificing public services so that he can continue campaigning on beer.”

source: media release, GPO