Ontario’s deficit dropped to about $2.2 billion for this fiscal year and is projected to continue to dip, reaching a surplus of $200 million in 2024-2025.
Pharmacy prescriptions:
Ontario pharmacists will soon be able to prescribe more medications on top of the 13 ailments already allowed.
Starting in the fall, the expanded prescribing power will include medications that treat moderate acne, canker sores, diaper dermatitis, yeast infections, pinworms and theadworms, and nausea and vomiting related to pregnancy.
New provincial park:
Last year Ontario pledged to create a new provincial park. The commitment was mentioned again in the 2023 budget, with officials saying it will add 250 new campsites to the Ontario Parks system.
No details about where this park would be located were provided, however the budget does say that it will offer “four-season facilities” and provide space for swimming, hiking and cross-country skiing.
Protected area in Uxbridge
Very few details have been provided about this project but the province says it is exploring the creation of a new “protected area” in Uxbridge.
Tax credit for manufacturers
Canadian-controlled private corporations will now be eligible for a 10 per cent refundable tax credit of up to $2 million a year for buildings, machinery and equipment—at a cost of $780 million.
Health care staffing shortages
Ontario is investing about $200 million to address staffing shortages in healthcare on top of an $80 million commitment over three years to expand nursing education in universities and colleges.
Just over $41 million will be put towards hiring health-care workers, including 200 medical supervisors and retaining mid-to-late career nurses.
Investing in private clinics
Ontario will put an additional $72 million into OHIP-covered surgeries being performed at community surgical and diagnostic centres.
No more sickdays
As previously reported, Ontario did not extend the temporary three-day pandemic sick leave program, which is set to expire on March 31.
No more detailed COVID costs
The government has removed details of time-limited COVID-19-specific funding from the budget.
It is, however, pledging $113 million over three years for emergency readiness.
Help for seniors
The Ontario government is expanding the Guaranteed Annual Income System to allow 100,000 more seniors to become eligible as of July 2024.
There is also a $1-million investment over three years to expand the province-wide helpline dedicated to elder abuse.
The province has said it will accelerate about $569 million towards home care over the next fiscal year.
More investments in skilled workers
The province is spending $224 million to build and upgrade training centres in Ontario as well as adding $75 million to the Skills Development Fund over the next three years.
No big money for municipalities
There is no big money for cities struggling amid shortfalls as a result of the pandemic and the elimination of development fees by the provincial government.
The PCs have pledged to add an additional $202 million each year to the Homeless Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program—including $48 million for Toronto.
At the moment, wildfires are burning across six provinces and one territory in Canada — and they’re still spreading in what’s being called an unprecedented fire season. While firefighters work tirelessly to battle the merciless flames and prevent further destruction, scientists say the wildfires are linked to climate change and that this will be the new normal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he raised concerns about reports that LGBTQ2S+ rights and democracy are under threat in Poland during a Friday visit with its prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, in Toronto.
Air Canada says travellers should be prepared for further flight disruptions as it works to return service to normal following a technical malfunction Thursday.
As more Canadians pass their family cottages down to the next generation, 'major shifts' in the ownership of recreational homes will occur, according to Re/Max. But amid concerns around the cost of housing, some may be wondering whether they can afford to keep that family cottage. Here's what younger generations need to know about inheriting a recreational property and the market today.
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as 'utterly disgusting' anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021.
Pierre Poilievre is off to Manitoba to rally Conservative supporters ahead of a byelection that Maxime Bernier is hoping will send him back to Parliament. The far-right People's Party of Canada leader lost his Quebec seat in the 2019 federal vote and lost again in the 2021 election.
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is committed to keeping David Johnston in place as Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference, despite a majority of MPs voting in favour of his stepping down from the gig.
Planning to pass time in Montreal's many parks this summer? Check yourself for ticks, warns one woman who recently contracted Lyme disease. Jasmine Rochereul, 23, says she spent much of last summer sprawled in city parks, where she believes she picked up the tick-borne illness.
A local addiction treatment facility is expanding and moving operations to the Mission Services building on York Street. Quintin Warner House staff say the move will mean improved programs for more clients.
There will be a lot of music, revelry and fun in downtown Sudbury on Friday evening as the Downtown Sudbury Business Improvement Association launches its 'Ultimate Summer Kick-Off' Party. For many, it also marks the unofficial start to patio season.
A popular beach in Bracebridge is open to the public two days after sewing needles were found in the water, but a second beach has since closed over safety concerns.
Gatineau police arrested an 18-year-old man in connection to the investigation into a hidden camera discovered in the washroom at an elementary school.
Residents turning up the air conditioners on the hottest June 1 in Ottawa history likely caused hydro systems to overload, knocking out power to customers in the west end, Hydro Ottawa says.
The defence has completed its closing summations in an ongoing Windsor murder trial involving the shooting death of 20-year-old Madisen Gingras in April of 2020.
Police charged three men, believed to be members of a street gang, with the attempted murder of a 65-year-old man who was shot 13 times while walking his dog in Schomberg in February.
A dozen sheriffs and Calgary Police officers roamed Calgary's core for three months, but the provincial pilot program is officially over as of this week.
A Calgary father and son face a lengthy list of criminal charges after being arrested in connection with the sexual exploitation, assault and extortion of multiple teen girls.
A bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth that was toppled and damaged by protesters two years ago was put back in its place Friday on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature after a lengthy set of repairs.
