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Fedeli Highlights Successful Year of Building Ontario Together

NORTH BAY — This year, the Government of Ontario continued to deliver on its plan to make the province the best place to do business and create jobs, build critical infrastructure like roads, bridges and subways, and invest in health care and education – all while reducing the deficit and making life more affordable for the people of Ontario.

“Our government has been working around the clock to make Ontario a place where you can keep more of your paycheque, afford a good home and build a better life,” said Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli.  “This year, we put more money back in people’s pockets, reduced the deficit, and made significant investments in frontline services and community infrastructure projects that the people of Ontario depend on every day.”

The government has followed through on its plan to build Ontario together with policies and investments in six priority areas, including:

Making Life More Affordable: Government actions taken to date would provide a total $3 billion in relief for Ontario individuals and families in 2020, with low-income workers receiving up to $850 a year through Ontario’s low-income tax credit and 300,000 families receiving an average $1,250 a year in relief from child care expenses through Ontario’s child care tax credit.

Preparing People for Jobs: Workers in the skilled trades benefited from a streamlined and modernized apprenticeship system and a $18.3 million investment in 84 pre-apprenticeship training programs that will introduce 1,600 people to the trades.

Creating a More Competitive Business Environment: To help businesses grow, invest and create jobs, the government has cut red tape and fulfilled its commitment to cut Ontario’s small business tax rate by 8.7 per cent, which will provide up to $1,500 in tax relief annually to over 275,000 small businesses. Since June 2018, 271,600 new jobs have been created in Ontario.

Building Healthier and Safer Communities: The government has invested an additional $1.9 billion over the last year to end hallway health care and invested $174 million in mental health supports as part of a $3.8 billion commitment over the next decade. The government has also invested in Ontario’s frontline police officers, prosecutors and justice partners to fight gun violence and the gangs that prey on people and communities across the province.

Connecting People to Places: The Province continues to improve transportation services in the North.  The government is exploring transfer of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) to the Ministry of Transportation, and will explore options to enhance ONTC intercommunity bus services.  Also, under the Rural and Northern component of the Investing in Infrastructure Program, the province has nominated 149 projects for cost-sharing with the federal government to leverage the full $250 million in committed federal funding.

Making Government Smarter: To date, the government has saved taxpayers $153 million through year-end expenditure management, discretionary spending controls and targeted measures to curb year-end spending known as March Madness.

These accomplishments are saving people money, making it easier for businesses to grow and hire more workers, helping to alleviate hospital wait times, and improving the lives of people across the province.

“We’re proud of what we have accomplished as part of our Plan to Build Ontario Together – lowering taxes, cutting red tape to make our economy more competitive, and making historic investments in transportation and transit infrastructure,” Fedeli said. “We look forward to continuing our work as we build a more prosperous province in 2020 together.”