Premier Kathleen Wynne’s minority Liberals will make it unlawful for the province not to have a long-term plan for building new public transit, hospitals, schools, bridges and roads, the Star has learned.

The new Infrastructure Plan Act is a cornerstone of Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s fall economic statement to be delivered in the legislature on Thursday.

“No more ad hoc planning,” said a senior Liberal with knowledge of the initiative.

The source, who would speak only on condition of anonymity, noted the forthcoming legislation would force the current and future governments to implement five- or 10-year infrastructure blueprints to ensure things are not allowed to fall by the wayside or decay.

Surprisingly, Ontario governments of all political stripes have only built infrastructure on an as-needed basis over the years.

This new way of doing business is designed to help the province, cities and towns better tackle the “infrastructure deficit” now estimated at more than $100 billion. An alarming 60 per cent of what needs to be repaired or replaced is more than 50 years old.

“I look forward to explaining to people across the province our plan for those investments in people and in infrastructure,” Wynne told the legislature Wednesday.

“It’s a sharp difference from what the party opposite would like to do, which is cut and slash,” she said, staring at Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak across the aisle in the house.

“I do not believe that is the way forward. I believe that investing in our future is the way that we need to go.”

To underscore the Liberals’ hopes of being seen as job creators in an election expected next spring — and highlighting that 50 per cent of Ontario’s infrastructure deficit is in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area — Sousa’s statement will announce that the second phase of a three-year $35-billion infrastructure investment is underway.

That means the money will finally be flowing for a slew of previously announced projects in and around the GTHA.

These are:

A long-awaited $500-million extension of Hwy. 427 to Major Mackenzie Dr. in Vaughan from its current terminus at Zenway Blvd.

The conversion of 7.5 acres of a parking lot at Ontario Place into a waterfront park and trail.

The next wave of funding for the $4.9-billion, 19-kilometre Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

The continuing of money for the controversial Sheppard LRT.

New facilities at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

A new patient care tower Toronto East General Hospital.

A replacement patient care building and renovation of the main building at the West Park Healthcare Centre.

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Expansion of the King campus of Seneca College.

Improvements to GO Transit parking structures.

While Sousa declined to discuss details of his economic update on Wednesday, sources say the deficit for 2013-14 will remain stubbornly high at $11.7 billion.

The finance minister stressed Ontario is “ahead of the curve” in bouncing back from the recession and promised his plan will be about creating jobs.

“Our priority will always (be) and will continue to be investing. We must protect the interest of our future and we need to make sure we are competitive, and I am taking all the necessary steps to ensure that we balance the books in 2017-18,” he said.

Sousa did say his fall economic statement — which is not a confidence measure, meaning the minority government cannot be toppled over it — would include a jobs plan.

“Every decision that we make in the fall economic statement will be about how we create jobs and promote growth,” he said.

Despite pockets of high unemployment in Ontario, Sousa emphasized more investments are coming to the province than ever before, “and we’ve created more jobs than all of Canada combined here in Ontario.”

He said his economic statement would not feature “massive across-the-board cuts” — as Hudak has urged — because that would hinder economic growth.

“And at the same time we can’t do reckless taxes that are going deter business from investing. So, we’ve got to find that balance,” said the treasurer, in a subtle shot at NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

There will likely be good news for Ontario motorists.

“There are going to be some changes to fees that are going to benefit Ontarians,” said Sousa, referring to a slight reduction in the $35 (plus HST) Drive-Clean fee for testing exhaust emissions.

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