The $187-billion budget for the province of Ontario includes money for hospitals and long-term care homes, to help seniors stay at home, reductions for electricity costs and financial support for families.
Finance Minister Rod Phillips delivered the budget presentation late yesterday afternoon (Thursday, November 5th) in the Ontario Legislature.
Phillips says the current level of spending is not sustainable or desirable, but necessary with the global pandemic. The fiscal plan shows a record deficit of $38.5 billion for this year. Phillips projects the deficit to decrease to $33.1-billion next year and $28.2-billion the following year.
Phillips says $1.7-billion will be used to create 30,000 new modern long-term care beds. The Province plans to increase the average daily direct care of long-term care residents from a nurse or personal support worker to four hours a day, which will be phased in over the next four years. The Finance Minister says they will recruit and train tens of thousands of new staff over the next couple of years.
The government is spending $2.5 billion more on hospitals this year compared to last year, specifically aimed to offset COVID-19 expenses. Since March, Phillips says roughly 3,100 hospital beds have been added in Ontario. The province is investing an additional $572 million in Ontario’s hospitals to support additional costs of COVID-19, including testing, assessment centres, laboratory and medical equipment, and PPE.
The province announced up to $2,500 on home safety renovations and up to $10,000 to help keep seniors at home longer. Ontario is proposing a new Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit, which would provide a 25% credit on eligible renovations of up to $10,000. Seniors would be eligible regardless of their incomes and whether they owe income tax. Family members who have a senior living with them would also be eligible.
Ontario will once again provide additional support for parents through the support for learners program with $200 for each child under 12 or $250 for a special needs child under 21. Phillips says this means a family with three young children, one of whom with special needs, would receive $1,300 in 2020.
Phillips also spoke about the high cost of electricity in Ontario threatening the economic recovery. The Finance Minister announced that they will reduce costs for commercial and industrial businesses by 14-16% respectively. Phillips says this means that a small gym in Grimsby, Ontario, for example, would be saving about $800 a month or almost $10,000 a year.
For the arts, cultural tourism and sports organizations, $125 million will be available to help offset costs related to COVID-19. Workers in the tourism and hospitality sector and others most affected by the pandemic will also be connected to training and jobs with an investment of $180.5 million over 3 years, including a skilled trades strategy, investments through Employment Ontario for skills training, a redesigned Second Career program, and to help acquire in-demand skills.
Ontario is proposing to provide municipalities with the ability to cut property taxes for small businesses. This would provide as much as $385 million in total municipal and provincial property tax relief by 2022-23, depending on municipal adoption.
$60-million over the next three years will be invested into the Black Youth Action Plan to extend the current program and create a new economic empowerment stream that will support Black youth in achieving social and economic success.
Phillips adds the total commitment to broadband and reliable high-speed internet and cell service in Ontario is $1-billion.
Locally, Milton MPP Parm Gill says the budget shows a commitment to supporting residents financially, as well as through health and safety measures.
MPP Gill adds that it is great to see targeted measures to help healthcare workers, as well as assist families that are struggling financially.
He says that, while Milton is showing to be better off compared to some areas in Ontario, there are still families struggling to earn a living during this pandemic.
Gill says it is frustrating to see the deficit get as high as it is when the goal of the Ford Government is to correct the deficit. Obviously, Gill says, no one could have predicted the pandemic, but people’s health and safety comes first.
You can get more details on the Ontario 2020 Budget online here.
