Building Critical Infrastructure in Brantford-Brant While Keeping Costs Low for Ontarians and Retaining a Path to Balance
NEWS March 26, 2024
TORONTO — Will Bouma, MPP for Brantford-Brant, is pleased with the fiscally responsible budget that was delivered on March 26th, by Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy. The 2024 budget addresses the economic uncertainty facing Ontario, and the rest of the world, due to high interest rates and global instability. Despite these challenges, Ontario is continuing to deliver on its Plan to Build by continuing to build more homes, investing in critical infrastructure and healthcare, and attracting better jobs with bigger paycheques. These massive projects will be carried out while keeping costs down for families and businesses and without raising taxes.
“The 2024 budget is an essential continuation of our government’s plan to build Ontario and make it the best place to live and work in Canada,” said MPP Bouma. “This budget puts families and businesses first and ensures that the world-class healthcare and education systems in Brantford-Brant are protected for years to come without burdening everyday Ontarians with extra costs.”
With the delivery of the 2024 budget, Ontario is announcing $965 million in funding for 2024-25 to allow more people access to convenient healthcare, marking an average 4% increase in base hospital operations. An additional $50 billion will be invested over the next 10 years in health infrastructure, including $36 billion in capital grants. These investments will connect 600,000 more people to primary healthcare providers, new and expanded interprofessional primary care teams with a total additional investment of $546 million over the next three years.
Another key item in the budget is funding to support Ontarians living with mental health and addictions. The province has announced $152 million in funding over next three years that will go towards supportive housing initiatives designed to provide a positive living environment, essential to maintaining health and integral to recovery.
Furthermore, MPP Bouma is honoured to represent a government that prioritizes the health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities, as evidenced by the budget’s $94 million investment over the next three years into programs that provide culturally responsive care for aboriginal communities.
To accommodate the province’s rapid growth, Ontario is investing $190 billion dollars over the next 10 years to build highways, homes, transit, and high-speed internet in rural communities. These investments will keep Ontarians connected to each other both in-person and online. Part of these investments will go towards rehabilitating Highway 403 between Highway 401 and West Quarter Townline Road, as well as the resurfacing of Highway 24 from Powerline Road to Glen Morris Road, both in the County of Brant.
In tandem with these investments, Ontario has announced a 1-billion-dollar investment into the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program and quadrupling the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund to a total of $825 million to help municipalities repair and expand the critical infrastructure necessary to reach their housing targets.
These incredible investments are being made without increasing the tax on Ontarians. In fact, the government is proposing to extend the temporary cuts to the gasoline tax by 5.7 cents per litre as part of the 2024 budget. An extension that is especially important considering the federal government’s intention to raise the carbon tax on April 1st, 2024.
“We refuse to offload the costs onto hardworking Ontario families or municipalities at a time when they’re counting on us to keep costs down,” said Minister Bethlenfalvy.
-30-
For more information call (519) 759-0361 or email will.bouma@pc.ola.org