SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
March 29, 2023 09:00AM
  • Mar/29/23 10:30:00 a.m.

Thank you to the member opposite for that question.

I don’t know—you look at the budget. Look at the numbers. I’m a numbers guy. The increase in the budget to $204.7 billion includes a $6-billion increase to health care spending next year. That’s an 8.1% increase. That’s an increase. I don’t know.

Secondly, education, which includes child care funding, it includes funding for catch-up, it includes funding for mental health, it includes funding for literacy and a whole range of things—more funding per pupil, as the Minister of Education highlighted. It’s going up $2.3 billion; that’s 7.1%. I’m looking at numbers.

Maybe their world looks at numbers very differently, but I’m looking at the facts.

In fact, you mentioned homelessness. Thank you for raising that very important point.

What did we do last week? We increased funding for homelessness by $202 million—a record increase for people who need a hand up.

We’re not going to let down the people coming to this province, nor are we going to let down the people in this province.

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  • Mar/29/23 10:40:00 a.m.

Only NDP math could come to that conclusion.

The base programs have increased from $175 billion to $190 billion. Do you know why, Mr. Speaker? Because we are investing in the people of Ontario. We are investing over $15 billion of new funding, new money over the next three years for health care.

Why don’t you go talk to the OMA? Go talk to the OHA. Go talk to the CMHA. Look it up. These are organizations that deliver acute care, mental health care, home and community care, long-term care. They all said thank you to the government.

We’re hitting the priorities that the people of Ontario need and want.

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