The leader of Ontario’s official opposition says the provincial budget doesn’t take any new actions to make everyday families safer or healthier.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath claims the Premier is waving the white flag and throwing in the towel on the fight against the coronavirus.
Horwath says the government is telling people, families and businesses that no help is coming and they are on their own.
She stresses Ontario is on the brink of a health and economic disaster.
Horwath says the fiscal document contains a nearly $100-million cut to planned spending on long term care compared to March projections.
“He’s basically told folks who are living in long-term care or folks who have loved ones in long-term care that they are not going to get any new staff. There’s no money in the budget for new staff for long-term care. So those folks are basically on their own.”
She adds the government has decided to give no new money to public health, stressing the unbelievable move is leaving families at grave risk.
Horwath is also pointing to spending deficiencies in education.
“Classrooms with 30 or more kids that are packed to the gills and he’s basically told them that nothing is going to be changing. So those parents, those kids, those education workers aren’t going to get any more funding to reduce those class sizes.”
Horwath adds the budget has no help for the jobs and small businesses at risk of disappearing and workers aren’t even getting the paid sick days they need to stay home and stop the spread of COVID-19.
Ahead of Thursday’s budget, Horwath and the NDP called for:
-Immediate funding relief for the hospital sector and sustainable, timely ongoing funding
-Hiring an army of public heath staff to bolster testing, contact tracing and labs
-Funding to immediately hire a minimum of 10,000 PSW’s and raise their pay by at least $5 an hour
-Fund a class size cap of 15 for the pandemic, and ongoing funding for class size reduction after the pandemic
-Direct and meaningful financial supports for small businesses and their workers facing lost income
-Paid sick days for all workers
To hear more from NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, visit the Audio link below.
