Budget Bill Passes — Keeping Chatham-Kent & Lambton-Middlesex on Track

PRESS RELEASE

Budget Bill Passes — Keeping Chatham-Kent

& Lambton-Middlesex on Track

June 20, 2012

WALLACEBURG—Ontario is moving forward with a strong plan to create jobs and grow the economy while building on gains made in health care and education following passage today of the 2012 Budget, Strong Action for Ontario—good news for Chatham-Kent and Lambton-Middlesex families, said Mike Ferguson, past president of the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex provincial Liberal association.

“This 2012 Budget takes strong action and makes the right choices to grow our economy, create jobs and protect the services that matter most to local residents—health care and education,” said Ferguson. The Budget bill passed 52-35, with the NDP abstaining.

In Chatham-Kent and Lambton-Middlesex, today’s passage of the budget ensures:

• Continued funding of local Family Health Teams.

• Increased funding of home care for local seniors and disabled, the greatest increase in budget of any other program this year.

• Continued funding of Full-Day kindergarten at local schools, despite Hudak PC attempts to cancel it.

“We have a responsibility to all Ontarians to ensure the province is on good footing, that we’re creating jobs and protecting the services that matter most to area families — health care and education. This plan is the best way forward,” said Ferguson. “It is a plan for a balanced budget, while maintaining services. The Hudak PCs only want cuts, with no thought to the impact that closed hospitals, schools and family health teams has on a community.”

This government is working hard to keep Ontario moving forward in many areas including:

Education

 

• Enrolling another 70,000 children who will start full-day kindergarten this fall.

• Protecting 20,000 teaching and support jobs — by ensuring smaller class sizes.

• Providing 30% Off Ontario tuition to qualifying college and university students.

• Passing the Accepting Schools Act that makes Ontario’s schools safer and ensures all students have the support they need to grow and reach their full potential.

 

Health care

 

• Creating over 900 new nursing positions to improve front-line care, ensure patients get the right care where and when they need it.

• Continuing to open Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics, including in Chatham-Kent — 23 province-wide currently accepting patients.

• Helping 90,000 more seniors by adding three million more hours of personal support worker care.

• Planning to create two birthing centres to give women more choice on where they can deliver healthy babies.

• Continuing to lower health wait times, going from worst under the Tories to first in Canada.

Economy

 

• Passing the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act to cap the maximum amount most landlords can increase a sitting tenant’s rent during the year to 2.5 per cent.

• Helping seniors to stay in their homes longer by introducing the Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit, thereby keeping long-term care home costs down and helping create jobs and grow the economy.

• Promoting regional strengths and helping promote local economic development through the Attracting Investment and Creating Jobs Act. It would, if passed, create the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund.

• Creating The Jobs and Prosperity Council to generate new ideas and approaches in improving Ontario’s long-term productivity and competitiveness.