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.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a speech to Ukraine's parliament, where he called the war-torn country's fight against Russia's invasion a battle 'for the future of us all.' This comes after Trudeau announced Canada will be spending $500 million to help Ukraine's military fight Russia's invasion.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says a public inquiry into foreign interference 'has never been off the table,' following the sudden resignation of special rapporteur David Johnston.
Fires across the country are burning millions of hectares of land but what does that really look like? CTVNews.ca compared the blazes to some cities and lakes in the country showing just how big they have gotten.
Ahead of the release of her interim report on progress as Canada's special interlocutor on unmarked graves at former residential schools, Kimberly Murray says lawmakers at all levels of government shouldn’t be waiting for her findings to act.
A Ukrainian-Canadian teenager is on an emotional journey to capture the destruction of the Russian invasion, including of his childhood home, on camera.
A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Preventative Medicine Reports by a group of international researchers has found that post-secondary students with unhealthy eating habits can go on to suffer from disease and mental health issues for years to come.
Foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston has resigned, CTV News has confirmed. In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Johnston cited the intense politicization of his appointment and work, as the reason for his coming departure.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed Friday that alleges that he described a Pentagon 'plan of attack' and shared a classified map related to a military operation.
The next 48 hours will be crucial in Quebec's wildfire fight in northern and western parts of the province, with rain forecast for Monday but warmer, humid temperatures expected until then.
Three of the province's nine Cree communities are threatened by wildfires, including Waswanipi and Mistissini. But only Oujé-Bougoumou, about 500 kilometres north of Montreal, has been evacuated completely.
There is a divide at the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake that seems bound to complicate the process of cleaning up a toxic dump that has the potential to hurt the wider environment north of Montreal.
Police have reopened a section of Highway 401 westbound between Woodstock and Cambridge after a crash involving a transport truck and an Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) vehicle resulted in a closure closure.
The Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy (WRIDS) is sounding the alarm after a significant number of drug overdose and poisonings were reported over the last few days.
Ottawa police say four men were located on Clarence Street with gunshot wounds at approximately 1:30 a.m. Two of the men suffered life-threatening injuries.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a speech to Ukraine's parliament, where he called the war-torn country's fight against Russia's invasion a battle 'for the future of us all.' This comes after Trudeau announced Canada will be spending $500 million to help Ukraine's military fight Russia's invasion.
Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon says the fraud hotline has been receiving approximately five to 10 reports a day over the past year linked to bus operator "compliance nature", and it is overwhelming her office.
Three men found guilty in the shooting death of a local woman, a mother opens up after her teenage daughter’s body was recovered by police, and a man was charged with the murder of his estranged wife. Here’s a look at the top stories on ctvnewswindsor.ca this week.
Stevenson Memorial Hospital (SMH) in Alliston is warning residents about fraudulent activity within the community regarding an advertising opportunity.
Police say a woman in central Nova Scotia has been fined nearly $29,000 for having an unsupervised outdoor fire in the midst of a provincewide fire ban.
Nova Scotia says it has identified more details about the records stolen in a file transfer service cyber attack, impacting teachers, students and health care workers' records.
WINNIPEG -- Zach Collaros was glad Blue Bombers fans were able to cheer just as much at the end of the game as they did early on in Winnipeg's 42-31 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.
The Moby Dick restaurant has been serving up its famous fish and chips on the White Rock promenade since it was founded by the Mueller family in 1975. But one local city councillor clearly isn’t a fan.
Authorities in West Vancouver say it's lucky more people were not harmed when a driver crashed his car through the entrance of a Whole Foods Friday, coming to a stop in the busy produce section.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a speech to Ukraine's parliament, where he called the war-torn country's fight against Russia's invasion a battle 'for the future of us all.' This comes after Trudeau announced Canada will be spending $500 million to help Ukraine's military fight Russia's invasion.
Ahead of the release of her interim report on progress as Canada's special interlocutor on unmarked graves at former residential schools, Kimberly Murray says lawmakers at all levels of government shouldn’t be waiting for her findings to act.
