Host: Ontario's 2026 budget had plenty of headlines, but there are a number of important stories that didn't make the front page. TVO Today columnist and OnPolli podcast co-host John Michael McGrath joins us to break them down. Host: Hello, how are you?

John Michael McGrath: I'm good, how are you doing? We have some unfinished business because we connected on budget day, but there were some stories that did not necessarily make it past, didn't make it on day one of the headlines. So tell us about ride-share guidelines. There's some stuff about Uber and Lyft that we should know about.

John Michael McGrath: Yeah. So folks may recall that there used to be a Northlander train that went all the way from Toronto into Ontario's far north. That train was decommissioned under the previous Liberal government. The Tories have made bringing it back a priority from almost the very beginning of their time in government. And construction is supposed to be done this year as part of recommissioning, the Northlander train, they are going to introduce standardized rules for ride-share programs like Uber, like Lyft throughout the route of the Northlander. So at the moment, it's municipalities that set the rules for ride-sharing in Ontario. This functionally uploads that to the provincial level, and the province wants to sort of standardize these things in the hopes that it will make it easier for people to get to and from these stations in the north, because these are, at least in some cases, these are not communities with, you know, a robust transit or taxi network. So they're hoping that these ride-sharing services can fill the gap. But in order to make sure that happens, the province is going to step in rather and set standardized rules that will apply across the catchment area, if you want to put it that way. And there's certainly the implication based on what they're saying in the budget, that if these rules are a success, they might actually start using those rules province-wide. Okay, that's going to raise some alarm bells in some city councils, but we'll see how that goes.

Host: Well, let's talk about that expansion. Would they like to expand this pilot like right now when we talk about sort of ride share, we can look at Innisfil for an example. In 2017, they had partnered with the city to sort of make a patch work for their transit for, for people in Innisfil. If they want to go to some major hubs, that's where they would go for transit. Would we be seeing something like that? What are sort of the guidelines when we look at expanding it across the province?

John Michael McGrath: I think what we're primarily looking at from the provincial perspective is harmonizing rules around licensing and probably driver training. I don't think that Queen's Park wants to come into each and every individual community and say, this is how you are going to use Uber, or you are going to use Lyft. But, you know, there is this patchwork that, you know, the province never likes to see a patchwork of rules. If they think that it's impacting how well these systems work and how well they can be run. So, you know, for example, if you've got different licensing rules in Toronto versus Mississauga, these are two cities right next door to each other. The province is going to step in and harmonize those or may step in and harmonize those.

Host: All right. They're also looking to repeal the SkyDome Act. I put that in. I underline it because it seems a little outdated here, aside from the fact that it's now called the Rogers Centre for 20 years, why are they repealing it?

John Michael McGrath: Yeah, it takes some time for law to catch up. So this is actually even more arcane. This is the SkyDome Act bus parking 2002. There was a piece of legislation that specifically refers to a single piece of land on Bremner Boulevard in downtown Toronto, that requires that land be used for bus parking. Now, obviously, land in downtown Toronto is very expensive. It's provincially owned land. We can find better use for that land than bus parking. And the province, I think, is pretty clearly looking to cash in on this. This is a big enough piece of land that it could host a substantial condo tower, for example. And but there's this law on the books from almost a quarter century ago saying that it has to be used for bus parking. So they are repealing that law and giving themselves a bit more flexibility. To be clear, the government hasn't said what they are going to do with this land, but so long as that law is on the books, all they can do is bus parking. They're giving themselves some more options.

Host: I got to ask, there are a few hundred pages in this budget. There are billions of dollars of spending expenditures all over the place. Why does this thing stick out to you?

John Michael McGrath: So first of all, there is this question of like, what's the story with this piece of land? Right? And so, yes, I found myself going back to the archives and looking for old newspaper coverage of what was the dispute? How did the province end up owning this piece of land, and why has it been restricted to bus parking use for a quarter century? And it turns out there's a story, because of course. There's. The City of Toronto had proposed to develop this as a residential piece of land, like a tower or something, and the owners of the then SkyDome opposed it because the piece of land is directly adjacent to the entryway to the underground parking for the SkyDome. And they said, hey, if you put a big condo tower here, it's going to interfere with our loading and unloading at the dome. And they got into a dispute with the city over this, and the province stepped in and basically said, fine, that's it. Nothing but bus parking. 25 years later, they are re-evaluating their priorities.

Host: Okay. Does anyone ever told you you're you're quite the nerd. It's come up once or twice. All right, let's let's.

John Michael McGrath: Move on my wedding day.

Host: I love it. All right, well, speaking of wedding days. I'm sure you had some booze at your wedding. Let's talk a little bit about booze. How are LCBO revenues doing lately? Not so good as what I see, yes.

John Michael McGrath: So this is a part of a trend that has continued for several years and looks like it is going to continue for the future. Now, you know, if you're a normal person, you might not understand why the LCBO reports to the Minister of Finance in the structure of Ontario government. But the government from the government's point of view, alcohol is a money issue, right? Most of all, and we regulate the LCBO primarily as a means of making money for the government. And a bunch of things are going on here. First of all, the government has changed the policies around beer and wine sales very publicly. They have moved beer and wine sales into corner stores, gas stations, these kinds of retail opportunities. In doing so, they have also given these retailers different prices that have had the effect of getting less money out of the LCBO for the public treasury. Separately, but also interestingly, people are drinking less. Particularly, they are drinking less since COVID. People might remember how much self-medication some of us were doing during the pandemic. People are having healthier habits now. And, and also like the biggest sort of demographic lump of the millennials, of which I am at the earliest edge of, is starting to age into less drinking years. And so not only have revenues come down, but it looks like revenues are going to continue going down for the future.

Host: Okay, lastly, let's talk about some tourism. What investments is Ontario making in the sector there?

John Michael McGrath: Right. And part of this also connects to what we were talking about with the Northlander, where the government is really trying to emphasize travel within Ontario. Again, something that started during COVID when people couldn't go internationally as they once might. But two big projects that are in the budget are the tourism plans, if I could put it that way, for Niagara and for Wasaga Beach in Niagara, the government is really hoping to revive some of the struggling casinos in Niagara Falls in particular, but also looking at tourism opportunities throughout Niagara region generally. Of course, the Premier has also had some interest lately in the governance of Niagara region, which we've talked about on the OnPoli podcast. And then in Wasaga Beach. There's a more interesting question there where the province has, I guess you could say, surrendered provincial park land to the local government as part of the efforts, again, to sort of drive more tourism into Wasaga and, you know, certainly that has alarmed certain environmental advocates in terms of, you know, they're worried about whether the ecological integrity of that that land will be preserved. But the local government in Wasaga Beach has been very clear that they they don't want to endanger these lands. They want to be able to plan a bit more comprehensively for this area than they were able to when the land ownership was all fractured between the local municipality and the province and the parks. And they're hoping that this way it'll be a bit more comprehensive.

Host: Okay, John. Michael, we are going to have to leave it there. Really appreciate it. Stories that we will probably follow. Thank you so much for your time.

John Michael McGrath: Thank you so much for having me.

Host: That's John Michael McGrath, our resident nerd.