Costs of Ontario’s New Open For Business Signs Released
The costs of Ontario’s new ‘Open For Business’ signs were revealed by the Ford government late last week.
“In total, this exercise is estimated to cost $106,700, which is a necessary cost to show the world that Ontario is Open for Business,” Ford’s spokesman Simon Jefferies said in a statement.
“Of the 18 locations where signs will be upgraded, three locations are missing four signs and must be replaced. The cost of replacing the four missing signs is estimated to be $32,000, and the estimated cost of upgrading 21 existing signs is $74,700,” the statement elaborated.
At an event in Sarnia, Ontario, on Friday, near the Blue Water Bridge border crossing, the first of the new signs was unveiled by Doug Ford and several members of his cabinet, fulfilling an election promise.
“In 2017, over 32 million cars and trucks used Ontario’s international border crossings,” said John Yakabuski, Minister of Transportation. “The signs are a great way to show everyone entering the province that we’re committed to attracting business and investment, boosting prosperity and creating jobs for the people of Ontario.”
The signs don’t come with their shortage of critics, however, as statements made by other party leaders have shown in past weeks.
Green Party leader Mike Schreiner has referred to the new signs as “goofy” and NDP leader Andrea Horwath has said she doubts the signs “are going to make one heck of a difference for anybody.”
The Ontario NDP also took to Twitter today, pointing out that, “At Doug Ford’s reduced minimum wage, it would take someone 3.5 years to earn that much.”
Doug Ford sees the road ahead quite differently, saying on Friday, “We want to make it easy for businesses to invest in Ontario. That means keeping regulations that work and make sense for Ontarians, and getting rid of ones that don’t,” said Ford. “Our government has been clear since day one — we are making Ontario open for business. We will bring quality jobs back to Ontario and help all families get ahead.”
