Ontario Budget 2004 HEALTH AND EDUCATION AT CENTRE OF PLAN FOR NEW GENERATION OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

For immediate release:
May 18, 2004

HEALTH AND EDUCATION AT CENTRE OF PLAN
FOR NEW GENERATION OF ECONOMIC GROWTH
Comprehensive Four-year Plan Invests in People's Priorities, Generates Revenues, Cuts Costs

Queen's Park - The McGuinty government today announced its comprehensive, four-year plan to invest in health and education, foster economic growth and balance the budget. The 2004 Budget sets out a responsible, realistic strategy to deal with Ontario's fiscal challenges, while delivering on the change Ontarians want and need, said Finance Minister Greg Sorbara.

The Budget - which, for the first time lays out a comprehensive four-year fiscal plan - sets out a balanced mix of investment, revenue generation, cost-cutting and economic growth.

"Ontarians spoke to us about the need to transform the health care system and the importance of investing in education," Sorbara said as he tabled his first Budget. "They spoke about the importance of having a comprehensive, multi-year plan that lays the foundation for economic sustainability and growth."

Major initiatives announced in today's Budget include:

Transforming Health Care

  • shorter wait times for cancer patients; nine new MRI and CT sites and 9,000 additional cataract surgeries by 2005-06; and by 2007-08, 36,000 additional cardiac services and 2,340 additional joint replacements;
  • 150 new Family Health Teams of doctors, nurse practitioners and other health care providers established across Ontario over the next four years to deliver around-the-clock primary care;
  • by 2007-08, enhancements to home care will provide an additional 95,700 Ontarians annually with care in their homes;
  • an additional $406 million this year for long-term care, opening 3,760 new beds and providing 2,000 more nurses and other staff;
  • $11.3 billion in operating support for hospitals in 2004-05;
  • over $600 million this year to support and reform primary care in Ontario;
  • community health centres to receive an additional $14 million in 2004-05 to enhance primary care delivery at 54 existing centres;
  • double the number of opportunities for international medical graduates;
  • purchasing 12,000 bed lifts for hospitals and long-term care facilities;
  • adding chickenpox, meningitis and pneumonia to the children's free immunization program this year, potentially saving families more than $600 per child; and
  • providing $273 million to public health this year to fight infectious diseases like SARS and West Nile.

"Our investments in primary care will ensure care this year for up to 167,000 Ontarians who can't find a doctor," said Sorbara.

Success for Students

  • by 2007-08, the government's investment in Ontario's schools will increase by $2.1 billion, increasing per-student funding by more than $1,100;
  • smaller class sizes phased in over four years, with a cap of 20 children per class for JK to Grade 3;
  • increasing from 50 per cent to 75 per cent the target rate for students meeting the provincial standard for reading, writing and math by 2007-08;
  • funding training spaces for 1,000 additional teachers in 2005-06;
  • training 4,000 new teacher specialists in literacy and numeracy, bringing the total to 8,000; and
  • more than doubling the number of schools that receive extra support from turnaround teams.

"Our plan will make public education the best education. It will help our students achieve their true potential - and that is the most important thing we can do to ensure Ontario reaches its full potential," said the Minister.

Sorbara also highlighted several key initiatives for municipalities, including delivering on the commitment to make two cents of the existing provincial gas tax available for public transit over three years, increasing the share of public health costs covered by the Province from 50 per cent to 75 per cent by 2007, and investing in improvements to highways, affordable housing and water quality.

In addition, Sorbara announced an additional $25 million for children's mental health programs for 2004-05, growing to $38 million in 2005-06; an additional 4,000 subsidized child care spaces as part of a child care investment of $58 million in 2004-05; for the first time in 11 years, a three per cent increase in basic needs allowance and maximum shelter allowance for recipients of social assistance under the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works; and the Ontario Property Tax Credit for Seniors will be increased by $125.

The government's plan was inspired by the thousands of Ontarians who took part in the most extensive pre-budget consultations ever conducted. Sorbara said the Ontarians who participated in the consultation also stressed the importance of a gradual approach to balancing the budget, in order to preserve vital public services.

"In order to stabilize our fiscal situation and invest in health care and education, we have made two important choices - to increase revenues and to balance the budget over four years," Sorbara said. "It is simply not possible to deliver a balanced budget this year without destabilizing vital public services and the economy itself."

Sorbara said that the additional revenues needed to transform health care are planned to be provided through a proposed income-based Ontario Health Premium. "While we are asking the people of Ontario to pay more, we are guaranteeing that the revenues from the Ontario Health Premium would be invested exclusively in the delivery of health services over the course of our four-year plan," the Finance Minister said. "These investments would produce concrete results, including shorter wait times, more doctors and nurses, and enhanced home care and long-term care."

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