The provincial government unveiled their 2023 budget Thursday afternoon. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy unveiled the $204.7 billion budget dubbed “Building A Strong Ontario,” amid economic uncertainty at home and across the globe. In his opening remarks, Bethlenfalvy said the plan has today and tomorrow in mind.
Bethlenfalvy said the Conservatives will have a budget surplus in two years.
About 40% of the budget surrounds health care spending, while social services is at 9.5%. Not included is additional municipal funding to cover their expected loss in tax revenue from Bill 23. The health sector takes the largest chunk of provincial spending at just under 40%, with 17% dedicated to education.
From the web page of Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson…..
The government’s plan is taking significant actions to drive growth by lowering costs, getting key infrastructure projects built faster, and attracting more jobs and investment to help businesses, families and workers. Highlights include:
- Improving access to veterinary care across Ontario, our government is investing $14.7 million to launch a new Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program with the University of Guelph and Lakehead University. This new program will allow an increase of enrolment by 20 new students per year.
- Investing $900,000 over three years to launch the new Veterinary Incentive Program that will provide student loan assistance of up to $50,000 to recently graduated veterinarians that relocate to underserviced areas and practice livestock medicine to address critical skill and labour shortages.
- Investing $9.5 million over the next three years to improve soil data mapping and soil evaluation and monitoring, and to support key commitments under the Grow Ontario Strategy.
- Supporting refurbishments at Bruce Power.
- Launching the new Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, which would provide a 10 per cent 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.
By working for workers, keeping costs down and providing better services, everyone will have an opportunity to take part in and benefit from Ontario’s plan. Highlights include:
- 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.
- Helping more Ontario students becoming 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 in pregnancy.
- Providing an additional $425 million over three years to connect more people to mental health and addictions services, including a five per cent increase in the base funding of community-based mental health and addictions services providers funded by the Ministry of Health.
written by: G. Deme