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MPP Leardi: 2023 Provincial Budget delivers investments in manufacturing, hospital infrastructure

Writer's picture: ESSEX FREE PRESSESSEX FREE PRESS

by Sylene Argent

Last Thursday, PC Premiere Doug Ford’s provincial government released its 2023 Budget, titled “Building a Strong Ontario.”

The 2022–23 total expense outlook is $202.6 billion, which is $3.9 billion higher than the 2022 Budget, as noted on Ontario.budget.ca.

Ontario’s 2022–23 deficit is projected to be $2.2 billion, which is $17.7 billion lower than the outlook published in the 2022 Budget.

In addition, Ontario is projecting a deficit of $1.3 billion in 2023–24, and is on track to post a surplus of $0.2 billion in 2024–25, three-years earlier than forecasted in the 2022 Budget.

“I think the government has made historic investments in manufacturing; manufacturing is back in Ontario. It is certainly different from what we were experiencing even five-years ago. I think we turned that around 100 percent and I am very proud of that,” Essex MPP Anthony (PC) said.

The Budget highlight notes the Advancing Ontario’s Critical Minerals Strategy, which supports better supply chain connections between industries, supply chain connections between industries, resources, and workers in Northern Ontario and manufacturing in Southern Ontario. This includes Ontario-based electric vehicle and battery manufacturing.

The government is investing an additional $3million in 2023–24 and $3 million in 2024–25 in the Ontario Junior Exploration Program to help more companies search for potential mineral deposits and attract further investments in this growing sector. The government is also continuing work to build the roads to the Ring of Fire, the Budget highlight notes.

Leardi noted Ontario has 380,000 job positions that are vacant and are waiting for people to fill them. Many of those vacancies are in the skilled trades, where people can earn a good salary by doing interesting work, he said.

“People are definitely looking for these opportunities. I think, in our area in Essex County, we have a special appreciation for skilled trades, because we are in tune with the automotive industry and in tune with the machine and tool and die industry,” Leardi said. “We know, instinctively, these are quality jobs and – as we like to say – when you have a skilled trade, you have a job for life.”

There is investment in the 2023 Budget for training young people, especially at the high school level, he said. The budget highlight notes the province will help close to 27,000 students earn credits towards both their Ontario Secondary School Diploma and a postsecondary degree, diploma, certificate, or Certificate of Apprenticeship at the same time through dual credit opportunities.

Included in the Budget is the launching of the new Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, which would provide a 10 percent refundable Corporate Income Tax credit to help local manufacturers lower their costs, invest in workers, innovate, and become more competitive, the budget highlight notes.

The idea of the Ontario Made Tax Credit, Leardi said, is to promote manufacturing in this province, for Ontario and the world.

“We have these historic investments being made all across Southwestern Ontario [including investments locally into Stellantis and LG’s future EV battery plant, Magna in Brampton, and an investment Volkswagen will make in St. Thomas]. We know in Essex County, the supply chain for automotive and manufacturing is all across Southwestern Ontario. When someone makes an investment, for example in St. Thomas, we know that suppliers, manufacturers, tool and die makers in Essex County are going to supply St. Thomas. This is all great for Southwestern Ontario, and especially great for Essex County.”

Affordable housing and homelessness are topics that have been discussed fairly regularly at the Essex County Council table.

The 2023 Budget invests in supportive housing with an additional $202 million each year in the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program.

This additional funding, Leardi said, is aimed to help people stay in their homes. “We don’t want people to slip into homelessness.” It helps fill a gap in need for families in times of uncertainty.

The Budget will also provide financial support to more seniors by proposing changes to expand the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) program, starting in July 2024, to allow another 100,000 seniors to be eligible for the program and the benefit adjusted annually to inflation.


It is hoped that will allow seniors to afford to stay in their homes, he said.


Leardi said the province has done a few things to assist with affordability in the budget. One of those things is to continue to provide gas tax and fuel tax rate cuts until December 31, 2023.

“That is going to save people 10 cents a litre on gas,” Leardi said, adding one of the things contributing to increasing inflation is the federal Carbon Tax. He said when carbon is taxed, the cost of everything is forced to increase. The province, he said, has tried to counter that with the gas tax and fuel rate cuts and in eliminating the licence plate sticker fees.

The budget also includes $13.4 million in 2023–24 as part of the Guns, Gangs, and Violence Reduction Strategy. This additional funding will continue effective gang prevention and intervention strategies.

Leardi said this is an existing program. The additional dollars will help fight gangs and capture illegal guns.

In terms of mental health, the 2023 Budget includes supporting a full continuum of care for first responders experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Injury and other concurrent mental health disorders at Runnymede Healthcare Centre’s First Responders Wellness and Rehabilitation Centre, by advancing the dual-site project towards construction in Toronto and Peel, with an additional investment of $9.6 million to accelerate the project’s development towards its next round of approval, the budget highlight notes.

In addition, it will provide an additional $425 million over three-years to support mental health and addictions services, including a five percent increase in the base funding of community-based mental health and addictions services providers funded by the Ministry of Health.

In terms of healthcare, Leardi said this government is making the largest investment in the history of the province.

“We are investing $55 billion in healthcare infrastructure over the next ten-years. That is a bigger investment than any other government in the history of Ontario. We are going to see that right here in Essex County, which includes progress being made on the new regional hospital, doubling the number of MRIs in the region from two to four, adding a cath lab to the local regional hospital, and financial enhancement to homecare.”

The healthcare investment on an annual basis, he said, is going to go up $15 billion in the next three-years. “That is over and above what the federal government is going to give the province,” Leardi explained.

The Budget will also allow, starting in fall, the expansion of the program to allow pharmacists to prescribe over-the-counter medication for more common ailments.

“That is part of making sure people get healthcare services when and where they need it,” he said.

Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky (NDP) took to social media to state the provincial budget “is a let down for people in Windsor.”

She stated there is nothing to truly address the healthcare staffing crisis, rising cost of housing, increased poverty and food bank use, or mental health and addictions crisis.

“Doug Ford wants us to believe that long wait times for healthcare, skyrocketing housing and grocery costs, and increasing poverty and food bank use is normal, that it’s the best you can get…it’s not. It’s simply the PCs prioritizing what benefits them and their buddies over most Ontarians.”

She added budgets are about priorities. “It’s not just about how much you say you’ll spend, but how you actually spend it and the Conservative’s budget fails the people of Windsor on both fronts.”

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