Legislature approves McGuinty government's Plan for Change
Budget bill passes, paves way for historic investment in health and education
TORONTO, June 17 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government is moving forward with
the Plan for Change its historic four-year plan to invest in health and
education, boost economic growth and balance the budget with the passing of
its first budget bill in the Ontario Legislature today, Finance Minister Greg
Sorbara said.
"By passing our first budget bill, we are starting to make improvements
in our health care system and public education in this province," Sorbara
said. "Our Plan for Change will reverse the social and economic deficits in
which we find ourselves with renewed investment in health care, public
education and in supports for our communities and commitment to seniors and
the most vulnerable in our society."
The budget bill is the first step in the government's four-year plan to:
- Transform health care, with additional investments in community-based
care, long-term care, mental health and home care;
- Provide for historic investments in education - an additional
$2.1 billion over the next four years, increasing per-student funding
by more than $1,100 by 2007-08;
- Strengthen communities, with investments in public transit and
initiatives to address gridlock, public health and the need to
rebuild infrastructure throughout the province;
- Assist low- and moderate-income senior families with a proposed
$125 enrichment to the property tax credit;
- Increase, for the first time in 11 years, support for those who
receive benefits from the Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability
Support Program - a three-per-cent increase, amounting to
$106 million annually; and
- Begin the process of bringing the province back to fiscal good
health.
The government's plan for better health care includes:
- 8,000 more full-time jobs for nurses;
- Home care for over 95,000 additional Ontarians;
- Long-term care beds for more than 3,700 people;
- Nine new MRI and CT scan sites;
- The delivery of 150 family health teams: doctors, nurses and nurse
practitioners working together to provide primary care for the
one million Ontarians who can't find a family doctor;
- Increased resources for public health - so that province can be
better prepared for the next threat than it was for SARS; and,
- Free vaccinations for children for chicken pox, meningitis and
pneumonia - vaccinations that were costing families more than
$600 per child.
"This legislation shows that our government is willing to make some
difficult choices, but intelligent, informed choices, to deliver the results
Ontarians want and need in health care and public education," Sorbara said.
"We look forward to continuing to present the House with details of our four-
year plan for the province."
