March 25, 2021

March 25th is the 84th day of 2021. There are 281 days remaining until the end of the year.

The Ford government released their third budget yesterday and it’s the biggest spending budget in Ontario history.

Locally, with the budget, $24 million is being invested to build a new Children’s Treatment Centre to provide services and programs for youth with physical, communication, and developmental needs. The new building will be double the size and will incorporate a family-friendly design.

The budget entitled “Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy” earmarks $173 billion in spending, but the projected deficit is expected to fall to $33.1 billion. The government is banking on tax revenues going up by some $6 billion as businesses reopen and Ontarians spend their pandemic savings.

There are no new taxes or spending cuts.

The entire budget can be found here.

Our 2021 Budget brings Ontario’s total #COVID19 Action Plan to $51B. It delivers supports for families, workers & small businesses while creating conditions for job creation & long-term prosperity. #OntarioBudget2021

Read more:https://t.co/eEajfckGqY pic.twitter.com/vrtAMmvemf

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) March 24, 2021

Twelve new positive COVID19 cases reported Wednesday by Chatham-Kent Public Health.

There were 8 recoveries, bring the total active cases up four to 108.

There were 1,571 positive cases reported in Ontario. It’s the eighth straight day over 1,500 cases.

Air Canada is going to resume flights from Pearson Airport to some sunny destinations in May. Service had been suspended earlier this year to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Air Canada plans to run one flight per week from Toronto to Barbados starting on May 9th, one flight a week to Jamaica starting on May 5th and one flight per week to Mexico beginning on May 3rd.

The Toronto Blue Jays season begins next week in Texas.

Because of travel restrictions, it’ll be a while before they’re allowed to play back at the ‘dome, their home games, for the time being, will be played in Dunedin.

So since their fans can’t technically be there, the Jays are once again offering the opportunity to purchase a cardboard cut-out that will sit in the crowd and cheer on the home team.

Cutouts went on sale last week and are $80 for the 2021 regular season. A portion of the proceeds from the purchase will benefit the Jays Care Foundation.

Want in? Go here.

Miss going out to the bar for a beer with your buddies? This might help.

Bar Smells is the new limited line of candles released by Miller Lite which aims to “capture the familiar aromas of the bars we miss.”

These limited-edition candles will make your home smell like the bars you may have missed during the pandemic.

Scents include Dive Bar (Must, Tobacco, Pine, Yeast), Game Day Bar (Salted Peanut, Jalapeno, Cracked Leather) and Beer Garden (Green Moss, Warm Pretzel, Cracked Wood, Sunburn).

All profits for the line of Bar Smells candles will go towards supporting the service industry, according to Molson Coors Canada.

You can now pre-order your candle, which will help bring that dive bar scent to your home, at shop.MillerLite.com.

Categorised in: 5 Things You Need To Know

This post was written by Chris McLeod