Columns » Opinion

CHRISTINE’S CHRONICLES: 2019 Budget and Around the Riding with Christine

May 9, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Christine Elliott, MPP
Newmarket-Aurora

Since my last Chronicle, I had the pleasure to be part of several key events in Aurora and met with constituents to discuss what matters most to the families in our community. Some highlights include:

Visiting Job Skills office to learn how they are supporting potential employees to the employers through a number of programs,

Meeting Mayor Tom Mrakas, Town of Aurora, to discuss the latest provincial grant awarded to the Town under the municipal modernization of service delivery program,

Visiting the Newmarket Food Pantry to see all the great work that’s being done to support the community,

Celebrating the grand opening of the Mindful Project Mental Health Exhibit at Old Town Hall in Newmarket that includes display of art that promotes positive conversations to help change social attitudes towards mental health and wellness,

Attending the York Curling Club Night of Champions and celebrating a $150,000 grant awarded to the club by the Ontario Trillium Foundation to help replace the roof,

Participating in a roundtable discussion with Raymond Cho, Minister of Seniors and Accessibility, and the Aurora Seniors Association to learn more about how we can better support seniors in Aurora,

Meeting with The Salvation Army to learn more about the great support services they provide to Aurora community, and

Meeting with the Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters to hear their concerns about Lyme disease. 

At Queen’s Park, our government has been hard at work to deliver our first provincial budget. We called this budget, Protecting What Matters Most. Every step of the way, we have put people at the centre of our decisions. It’s a plan that protects what matters most – our world-class public health care and education systems, like Southlake Regional Hospital, York Region District School Board and York Region Catholic School Board.

It’s also a plan that puts Ontario back on the path to balance in a reasonable and responsible manner. To date, we have reduced the deficit we inherited from the previous government by $3.3 billion, going from a $15 billion deficit to $11.7 billion for the 2018-19 fiscal year. Our government is also projecting a modest surplus by 2023-24, as we work to balance the budget in five years.

As you’ve likely heard, our government has said time and again that Ontario is open for business and open for jobs. That’s why in this budget we are providing $26 billion over six years in much-needed relief to Ontario families, individuals and businesses, through tax relief and consumer-friendly measures such as:

Eliminating over $3 billion in tax increases planned or imposed by the previous government;

Helping families with child care expenses through the new Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) tax credit, totalling over $2 billion; 

Introducing the Ontario Job Creation Investment Incentive resulting in almost $4 billion in corporate income tax relief, delivering early on the government’s commitment to cut corporate taxes;

Cancelling the cap-and-trade carbon tax amounting to over $10 billion; and

Relief of over $2 billion through the implementation of the Low-income Individuals and Families Tax (LIFT) Credit.

As the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, I also want to talk about our plans to invest in and modernize Ontario’s public health care system. We are taking a comprehensive approach to ending hallway health care. As part of our provincial budget, this year our government will invest $384 million in additional hospital operational funding, $174 million in more mental health and addiction services, $72 million to support more long-term care beds, nurses and personal support care, and $267 million in additional home and community care funding, which will let Ontario’s seniors live at home longer.

Finally, the Ontario legislature voted on The People’s Health Care Act (Bill 74). I am proud and excited that our Bill passed. This landmark legislation takes a comprehensive approach to modernizing Ontario’s public health care system by focusing on improving the patient experience and on better connected care, which will help reduce wait times and end hallway health care. This Bill is a key component of the government’s plan to build a modern, sustainable and integrated health care system.

I am proud of these accomplishments but there is still a lot of work to be done. Our government is working hard to address the challenges facing our province and our health care system. We will continue to listen to the people who plan and work on the front lines of our health care system. Together, we will create a health care system that works for the people of Ontario.

Please contact my community office at 905-853-9889 and let us know how we can assist you.



         

Facebooktwittermail


Readers Comments (0)


You must be logged in to post a comment.

Page Reader Press Enter to Read Page Content Out Loud Press Enter to Pause or Restart Reading Page Content Out Loud Press Enter to Stop Reading Page Content Out Loud Screen Reader Support
Open