Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Rick Byers.
Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Rick Byers is optimistic about the new provincial budget.
The Ontario government released the budget late last week and was quickly recognized as the largest in the province’s history.
When Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy release the spending plan, he said that the province’s economy is resilient, but the road ahead continues to be uncertain.
The plan includes taking actions that would be aimed at driving growth while lowering costs, getting key infrastructure projects built faster, and attracting more jobs and investments to help businesses, families, and workers. That would include:
– Launching the new Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, which would provide a 10 percent refundable Corporate Income Tax credit to help local manufacturers lower their costs, invest in workers, innovate, and become more competitive
– Attracting over $16 billion in investments by global automakers and suppliers of EV batteries and battery materials to position Ontario as a global leader on the EV supply chain
– Providing $224 million in 2023-24 for a new capital stream of the Skills Development Fund to Leverage private-sector expertise and expand training centres, including union training halls to provide more accessible, flexible training opportunities for workers
In a media release, Byers says “Our government has a plan to attract investments, build key infrastructure projects, train skilled workers, and make services better for families in Ontario. We are building a strong and resilient economy for generations to come.”
In the same release, Byers shared more highlights for plans to provide better services:
– Providing financial support to more seniors by proposing changes to expand the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) program, starting in July 2024, to see 100,000 additional seniors be eligible for the program and the benefit adjusted annually to inflation
– Investing in supportive housing with an additional $202 million each year in the HOmeslessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program to help those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, struggling with mental health and substance use, those escaping intimate partner violence, and support the community organizations delivering supportive housing
– Helping more Ontario students become doctors by investing an additional $33 million over three years to add 100 undergraduate seats beginning in 2023, as well as 154 postgraduate medical training seats to prioritize Ontario residents trained at home and abroad beginning in 2024 and going forward. Ontario residents will also continue to be prioritized for undergraduate spots at medical schools in the province
– Starting in Fall 2023, expanding the program to allow pharmacists to prescribe over-the-counter medication for more common ailments, including mild to moderate acne, canker sores, diaper dermatitis, yeast infection, pinworms and threadworms and nausea and vomiting related to pregnancy
– Providing an additional $25 million over three years to connect more people to mental health and addiction services, including a five percent increase in the base funding of community-based mental health and addictions services providers funded by the Ministry of Health
The spending outlined in the budget is around $6 billion more than last year’s budget.
The Doug Ford government also says that the province’s fiscal outlook includes a plan to balance the budget by 2024-25, which is three years earlier than what was outlined in last year’s budget.