Ontario Budget Focuses On Protecting Health And The Economy

Includes significant support for tourism businesses

Yesterday, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy released the 2021 provincial budget focused on protecting the health of Ontarians while also protecting the economy. The 2021 Budget is the next phase of Ontario’s response to COVID-19 and is the second Budget the government has delivered during the pandemic.

“You can’t have a healthy economy without healthy people,” said Minister Bethlenfalvy. “For the past year, we have been focused on protecting people from COVID-19. Many challenges lie ahead. But with vaccines being distributed in every corner of the province, hope is on the horizon. We are ready to finish the job we started one year ago.”

The 2021 Budget builds on the government’s record investments in response to the global pandemic, bringing total investments to $16.3 billion to protect people’s health and $23.3 billion to protect our economy. Ontario’s COVID-19 action plan support now totals $51 billion.

“The hard work and sacrifices of people of Parry Sound-Muskoka are helping us reach the day when the pandemic is behind us,” said MPP Norman Miller. “Our government will continue to be there every step of the way to protect people’s health and jobs. Working together, we will unleash the economic growth that is necessary for job creation, prosperity and a stronger province.”

The Budget includes investments to support people and jobs in Parry Sound-Muskoka, including:

• An automatic second round of Ontario Small Business Support Grant payments of between $10,000 and $20,000 to eligible small businesses.
  •           A further investment of $2.8 billion to connect homes, business and communities to broadband.
  •           A third round of payments to support parents through the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit. The payment will be doubled to $400 per child for this round and $500 for each child with special needs.
  •           Supports for the hard hit tourism and hospitality sector.

Protecting People’s Health is the first pillar of the 2021 Budget. It includes measures for defeating COVID-19, fixing long-term care and caring for people.

“Vaccines are the light at the end of the tunnel, and boots are on the ground to get vaccines into arms as they arrive in the province,” said Minister Bethlenfalvy. “We will continue to invest in our health care system today and for the long term, building on record investments since the start of the pandemic to create more hospital beds, build and improve hospitals, increase testing, and fix long-term care.”

Highlights of Ontario’s plan to defeat COVID-19:

• More than $1 billion for the province-wide vaccination plan. Ontario is also making it safer to re-engage with workplaces, businesses and communities with $2.3 billion for testing and contact tracing.
  •           To protect frontline heroes and vulnerable people, Ontario has made available $1.4 billion for PPE, including more than 315 million masks and more than 1.2 billion gloves.
  •           To ensure that every person who requires care in a hospital can access a bed the government is investing an additional $5.1 billion to support hospitals, creating more than 3,100 additional hospital beds. This includes $1.8 billion in 2021–22 to continue providing care for COVID-19 patients, address surgical backlogs and keep pace with patient needs.

Highlights of Ontario’s plan to fix long-term care:

• Ontario is investing an additional $933 million over four years, for a total of $2.6 billion, to build 30,000 new long-term care beds. Ontario is also investing $246 million over the next four years to improve living conditions in existing homes, including ensuring they have air conditioning.
  •           Ontario is investing $4.9 billion over four years to increase the average direct daily care to four hours a day in long-term care and hiring more than 27,000 new long-term care staff, including personal support workers (PSWs) and nurses.

Highlights of Ontario’s plan to care for people:

• To help the thousands of people struggling with mental health and addictions, Ontario is providing additional funding of $175 million in 2021–22 as part of a historic investment of $3.8 billion over 10 years.
  •           To help women and children escaping domestic violence our government is investing $18.5 million to support victims of domestic violence and human trafficking survivors find and maintain safe housing.

Protecting Our Economy is the second pillar of the 2021 Budget. It outlines Ontario’s plan to support families, workers and employers.

“The necessary public health measures have come at a cost for workers, families and business owners, but there is no question that they have saved lives,” said Minister Bethlenfalvy. “We recognize the sacrifices that have been made. We are taking further steps to provide additional relief and support to those who have been most impacted by the pandemic, including providing a third round of direct payments to parents, doubling the Ontario Small Business Support Grant, and helping workers with their training expenses.”

“I want to thank our businesses for their sacrifices during the pandemic, for closing or pivoting to online and for abiding by the public health measures,” said Miller. “I have heard from many business owners, particularly in the tourism and hospitality sector, that they need more support to make it through until public health restrictions can be safely lifted and I have advocated for further supports. I was pleased to see this budget include significant assistance for our hard hit tourism businesses.”

Highlights of Ontario’s support for the Tourism Sector:

• The new Ontario Tourism and Hospitality Small Business Support Grant which will provide an estimated $100 million in one-time payments of $10,000 to $20,000 to eligible small businesses including some businesses that have not been eligible for the Small Business Support Grant like hotels and resorts and summer camps.
  •           The Ontario Tourism Recovery Program, a new $100 million initiative for 2021–22 to help tourism operators and attractions recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
  •           Increasing funding of up to $15 million for the Regional Tourism Organizations in 2021–22 to help stabilize and support the tourism sector’s efforts to attract domestic and international visitors when it is safe to do so.
  •           Setting aside $150 million for a tax credit to encourage residents to explore Ontario when public health experts advise that it is safe to travel.

Highlights of Ontario’s plan to support workers and families:

• The government is proposing a new Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit for 2021 to provide up to $2,000 per recipient for 50 per cent of eligible expenses, for a total of an estimated $260 million in support to about 230,000 people in 2021.
  •           To support parents with the cost of child care the government is proposing a 20 per cent enhancement of the CARE tax credit for 2021. This would increase support from $1,250 to $1,500, on average, providing additional support for more than 300,000 families.