THUNDER BAY - The provincial government has tabled its second budget since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2021 the focus will be on protecting people’s health and protecting the economy.
But the leader of the opposition at Queen’s Park says the budget does not go far enough to provide the help the people of Ontario need right now.
Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy presented the $186.1 billion 2021 budget at Queen’s Park late Wednesday afternoon, which continues to build on investments made by the government to address the ongoing pandemic. Though the province is expected to see a deficit for the next decade, with plans to balance the budget in 2029.
“You can't have a healthy economy without healthy people,” Bethlenfalvy said. “For the past year, we have been focused on protecting people from COVID-19. Many challenges lie ahead. But with vaccines being distributed in every corner of the province, hope is on the horizon. We are ready to finish the job we started one year ago.”
The 2021 budget brings the total investment into health care to $16.3 billion and the economy to $23.3 billion, making the total investment into the COVID-19 action plan by the province to $51 billion.
There are two pillars in the 2021 budget, including protecting people’s health and protecting the economy.
In an effort to defeat COVID-19, the province is investing more than $1 billion for the province-wide vaccination plan.
An additional $2.3 billion is being made available for testing and contact tracing in workplaces, while another $1.4 billion is earmarked for personal protective equipment, including more than 315 million masks and more than 1.2 billion gloves.
Hospitals are also receiving a substantial financial investment, with an additional $5.1 billion to support hospitals and the creation of more than 3,100 beds.
Of the $5.1 billion, $1.8 billion will be made available in 2021–22 to continue to provide care for COVID-19 patients and address the surgical backlogs.
The province is also investing an additional $933 million over the next four years for long-term care, which has been particularly hard hit during the pandemic.
“What happened in long-term care homes exposed a tragedy decades in the making,” Bethlenfalvy said.“I think we can all agree the tragedy was the result of neglect and underfunding. That stops with us. We are building 30,000 new beds.”
There will also be an investment of $4.9 billion to increase the average direct daily care to four hours in a day and adding more than 27,000 new personal support worker and nursing positions.
The second pillar of the budget focuses on protecting the economy through supporting workers, families, and communities.
“The necessary public health measures have come at a cost for workers, families and business owners, but there is no question that they have saved lives,” Bethlenfalvy said.
“We recognize the sacrifices that have been made. We are taking further steps to provide additional relief and support to those who have been most impacted by the pandemic, including providing a third round of direct payments to parents, doubling the Ontario Small Business Support Grant, and helping workers with their training expenses.”
In an effort to help those most impacted by the pandemic, the provincial government will once again be providing the COVID-19 Child Benefit payment, doubling it to $400 per child and $500 for children with special needs.
A second round of the Ontario Small Business Support Grant will also be made available to businesses forced to close due to lockdowns through an additional $1.7 billion investment for grants of a minimum of $10,000 and up to $20,000.
There is also an investment of $4 billion over the next six years to expand broadband and connectivity across the province.
Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce president, Charla Robinson, said she is pleased with the budget and the supports being made available for small businesses.
“I am pretty pleased to see both the short term and the long-term being addressed in this budget and hopefully this will support the many who need it now,” she said.
Robinson added that investments into the tourism sector, small businesses, and connectivity will also support people in Northern Ontario, and the second round of the Ontario Small Business Support Grant will help business owners who have been forced to close during the lockdown.
“That is going to be vital cash flow for them to pay their rent, to pay their hydro bills,” she said. “This will be a real help. It’s still small dollars, but at this point every dollar certainly will help.”
But the budget is not receiving much applause from leader of the opposition at Queen’s Park, who said it fails to adequately support long-term care, health care, and education.
“The pandemic’s not over,” said NDP leader Andrea Horwath. “The pain continues for people and families. This budget was an opportunity to give people the help they need to get to the other side, and to give folks a future with hope. This budget doesn’t do that.”
Horwath added that the budget is missing paid sick days and cuts $4.8 billion in program spending.
“Now is the time to invest in people. Ontarians deserved a budget that gave them help getting to the other side of the pandemic, and hope for a future they can look forward to,” Horwath said.
“They’re still counting on us, and New Democrats will keep fighting for investments to help people make it to the other side, and build a better future.”
