We just received this release from our MPP Jim Brownell on the new Ontario Provincial Budget.
2010 ONTARIO BUDGET OPENS ONTARIO TO JOB CREATION AND GROWTH
McGuinty Government’s Balanced Plan Protects Public Services
And Outlines Measures To Eliminate Deficit
With the 2010 Ontario Budget, the McGuinty government is moving forward with its five-year plan to Open Ontario to new jobs and growth, while outlining measures to help eliminate the deficit caused by the global recession.
Expanding on initiatives announced recently in Ontario’s Speech from the Throne, the Budget is proposing investments that will help 20,000 more students go to college or university this
September, create jobs, and boost economic growth in northern Ontario.
Open Ontario builds on progress made over the past six years to support job creation and enhance the programs and services, including education, health care and skills training, that Ontarians value.
The 2010 Budget includes measures to manage expenditures, including compensation restraint and making government programs more efficient. It lays out a realistic and responsible plan to cut the deficit in half in five years, and eliminate it in eight years.
QUOTES
“I am pleased to see our government placing priority on postsecondary education and child care while still being fiscally responsible,”said Jim Brownell, MPP for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry. “I am also pleased to see continued support for Eastern Ontario Development Fund as it focuses on developing businesses and attracting investment to this region.”
“Our government took action to lessen the global recession’s impact on Ontario businesses and families. Working together, we will continue to create jobs in the short term and lay the foundation for long term growth.” Said Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance
QUICK FACTS
Postsecondary Education and Skills Training
· Ontario’s goal is to raise Ontario’s postsecondary attainment rate to 70 per cent. Currently 62 percent of the province’s population has postsecondary education and 70 percent of the jobs in the future will require it.
· Boosted Employment Ontario spending to $1.6 billion in each 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 to help retrain an additional 30,000 unemployed workers through the Second Career Strategy
· Aggressively promoting Ontario postsecondary institutions abroad to encourage the world’s best students to study here, settle here and help Ontario build a stronger economy
Child Care Investments and Full-Day Learning
· Investing $63.5 million a year in child care services. This will help 1,000 childcare workers keep their jobs and help 8,500 children stay in care.
· Investing $245 million over the next two years in capital grants to implement full-day learning
Supporting Families and Reducing Poverty
· Increasing the minimum wage to $10.25 an hour on March 31, 2010
· Providing a new, permanent refundable sales tax credit of up to $260 per person and enhancing property tax relief for low- to middle-income Ontarians
· Increase adult basic-needs allowances and maximum shelter allowances by one per cent for people on the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works
· Review the Special Diet Allowance, providing for a new medically based Nutritional Supplement Plan.
Completing Stimulus Infrastructure Investments
· Record infrastructure investments in 2009-10 and 2010-11 are helping to create and preserve more than 300,000 jobs
Hospital Funding
· Increase Ontario’s hospital service requirement funding by 1.5 per cent
· $100 million in 2010-11 to decrease emergency room wait times.
· Reduce the cost of generic drugs
· Plan to introduce legislation that would make health care professionals and executives more accountable for improving patient care.
Agriculture and Rural Communities
· Since the creation of the Eastern Ontario Development Fund in 2008, the government has approved more than $30 million in funding. This money will help attract investment and help companies in the region invest in new technologies, new equipment and skills training
· The Rural Economic Development Program has invested $91 million in 266 projects, generating over $737 million in new economic activity
· Substantial increase to Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs budget
Managing Responsibly
· Presenting a realistic and responsible plan to cut the deficit in half in five years and eliminate it in eight years
· Forecasting a deficit of $21.3 billion for 2009-10 in the 2010 Budget – an improvement of $3.4 billion from the $24.7 billion deficit forecast published in the Fall 2009 Economic Outlook
· Protecting public services and directing scarce resources to help sustain service delivery by introducing legislation that would:
§ Extend the current salary freeze for Members of Provincial Parliament from one year to three years
§ Freeze the compensation structures of non-bargained political and Legislative Assembly, and non-bargained employees in the Broader Public Sector and the Ontario Public Service for two years
· These measures would help redirect up to $750 million towards sustaining schools, hospitals and other public services
· Freezing internal administration costs at or below 2010-11 levels over the medium term and continuing a comprehensive review of Ontario government programs and services
LEARN MORE
Read background information on the 2010 Ontario Budget:
· Ontario’s Economic Outlook and Fiscal Plan
· Creating Jobs Through New Investments in Postsecondary Education and Northern Ontario
· Managing Responsibly
· Ontario’s Tax Plan for Jobs and Growth
Learn more about the McGuinty government’s investments in education, health and other sectors.
Read highlights of the Budget.
Learn more about the government’s Open Ontario plan.
What do you think about the budget Cornwall? You may post your comments below.
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