Support for families was highlighted as a key priority in the just announced 2021-2022 provincial budget.
The financial plan offers a third round of payments to families through the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit, doubling it to $400 per child and $500 for each child with special needs.
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance, Stan Cho, who says there were two pillars of this budget.
Another big ticket item on the budget was funding for broadband connectivity. He adds that Ontario is investing $2.8-billion more to connect homes, businesses and communities to broadband, bringing the province’s total commitment to nearly $4-billion in the last six years.
There is also more than $400-million over the next three years in new initiatives to support Ontario’s tourism, hospitality and culture sectors.
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy says there will be an additional $1.8 billion for hospitals and $650 million more for long-term care this year to address demands placed on both sectors by the pandemic. The province also made more than $1-billion available for a provincewide vaccination plan and $2.3-billion for testing and contact tracing.
The government says it will also offer a second round of grants to small businesses to assist with pandemic expenses and create a new job training tax credit.
The plan shows a $33.1 billion deficit, which will take until 2029 to eliminate.
