Ontario Budget 2006: Budget Highlights

2006 Ontario Budget
Budget Highlights
BUILDING OPPORTUNITY

2006 Budget Builds Opportunity for Ontarians

The McGuinty government's third Budget continues to strengthen Ontario's economic advantage by strengthening its people and investing in their priorities.

Highlights of the 2006 Budget include:

Move Ontario — a new $1.2 billion investment in transit, roads and bridges;
No new taxes or tax increases;
Investing an additional $1.9 billion in health, including increasing the number of Family Health Teams and reducing wait times;
$30 million by 2008–09 to fund the purchase of insulin pumps and related supplies for about 6,500 children with Type 1 diabetes;
$7 million annually to enhance newborn screening and support the creation of a new screening facility at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario;
Expanding breast screening for women between ages 50 and 74;
An additional $218 million in 2006–07 to help at-risk youth and vulnerable adults and families;
Ensuring more postsecondary students qualify for upfront grants by doubling the family income threshold for a family with two children to $75,000;
Covering the full cost of books for 138,000 students — 75 per cent of all student aid recipients;
Increasing funding for school boards in 2006–07 by $424 million to help support smaller JK to Grade 3 class sizes and higher literacy and math scores for Grades 3 and 6;
A projected interim deficit of $1.4 billion for 2005–06, down 75 per cent from the $5.5 billion inherited in 2003–04. The budget will be balanced in 2008–09 at the latest, or a year earlier if the reserve is not required.

Move Ontario: Strengthening Ontario's Transportation Infrastructure

The 2006 Budget invests in Ontario's transportation infrastructure through:

Move Ontario, a new $1.2 billion investment in transit, roads and bridges, including:
- $400 million for municipal roads and bridges — primarily outside the GTA — with emphasis on rural and northern communities;
- $670 million to allow Toronto and York Region to extend the subway to the Vaughan Corporate Centre at Highway 7;
- $95 million to allow Brampton to make dedicated bus lanes available through the Brampton AcceleRide project;
- $65 million to allow Mississauga to develop the Mississauga Transitway, a separate bus right-of-way with 14 stations;
- $7 million for the planning of Phase II of VIVA Transit in York Region;
- $1 million towards an environmental assessment relating to the future of the Scarborough subway.

Other investments include:

Improved border crossings — $300 million in the Windsor Gateway and $323 million in Niagara and Sarnia;
A total of $3.4 billion for highways in southern Ontario and $1.8 billion for highways in northern Ontario.

A Strong Economy

Almost 200,000 net new jobs have been created in Ontario since October 2003. The 2006 Budget builds on Ontario's economic strength through:

The intention to eliminate the capital tax sooner — in 2010 — if the fiscal plan allows, starting with a proposed five per cent rate cut in 2007 — two years earlier than planned;
Investing $1.7 billion in research and commercialization over five years through the new Ministry of Research and Innovation;
The $6.2 billion Reaching Higher investment in postsecondary education;
Creating a $2.1 billion Jobs and Skills Renewal Strategy to expand services for the unemployed, underemployed, new Canadians, the working poor and social assistance recipients;
Support for entertainment and cultural industries, including $49 million in capital support for major cultural agencies, plus proposals to improve tax credits;
Targeting investments to other key sectors, including forestry, mining and agriculture;
Support for municipalities, through Move Ontario, plus $2.4 billion in low-cost, long-term loans, $300 million to support land ambulance services and more than $1.4 billion in gas tax revenues over five years;
The government's comprehensive energy plan, which provides for one of North America's most ambitious building programs for electricity generation, adding 11,000 megawatts of supply and conservation over the next five years;
Support for manufacturing through the Ontario Automotive Investment Strategy and $500 million through the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Strategy.

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More 2006 Ontario Budget Information

General inquiries regarding the 2006 Ontario Budget should be directed to:
Ministry of Finance Information Centre
English and French inquiries:

Toll-free:	1-800-337-7222
Teletypewriter (TTY)	1-800-263-7776

For electronic copies of this document, visit our website at: www.ontariobudget.ca

Printed copies are available free from:
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