Finance Minister Charles Sousa has announced Ontario’s fall economic statement, promising tax cuts for small businesses to ease the way to an increased minimum wage.

The government’s plan includes $500-million in new investments aimed at easing the transition.

The corporate tax rate for small businesses will fall from 4.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent effective January 1st, 2018.

That’s the same day the province will be increasing its minimum wage for workers to 14 dollars an hour.

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli says the $500-million is a drop in the bucket.

“It’s going to cost business $12-billion for this change. So throwing $500-million is only going to cost business eleven and a half billion dollars,” he says.

The province’s minimum wage will go up to $15 an hour by January 1st, 2019.

Fedeli says his party, if elected, will be upping the minimum wage to $15 an hour over 4 years, at 25 cents a year.

He also disagrees with the finance minister that the government will be able to balance the books.

“All the legislative officers tell us that this is absolutely patently untrue. In fact, not only is the budget not balanced it will not be in balance for the next 5 years according to the Financial Accountability Officer,” he says.

(With files from The Canadian Press)

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