With the 2010 Ontario Budget, the McGuinty government is moving forward with its five-year plan to Open Ontario to news jobs and growth while outlining measures to help eliminate the deficit caused by the global recession.
Expanding on initiatives announced recently in Ontario’s Speech from the Throne, the Budget is proposing investments that will help 20,000 more students go to college or university this September, and create jobs and boost economic growth in northern Ontario.
Open Ontario builds on progress made over the past six years to support job creation and enhance the programs and services including education, health care, and skills training, that Ontarians value.
The 2010 Budget also includes measures to manage expenditures, including compensation restraint and making government programs more efficient. It lays out a realistic and responsible plan to cut the deficit in half in five years, and eliminate it in eight years.
QUOTES
“Our government remains committed to opening Ontario to new jobs and growth. I’m happy to see a Budget that lays out a plan to eliminate the deficit caused by the global recession without compromising the progress we have made in our schools, hospitals, and other public services,”
said Sandra Pupatello, MPP for Windsor West.
QUICK FACTS
Highlights of the Budget include:
Investments in Postsecondary Education
- $310 million in new funding so that 20,000 more students will go to college and university this September. This is in addition to providing $155 million in 2009-10 to fully support enrolment growth at colleges and universities
- Aggressively promoting Ontario postsecondary institutions abroad to encourage the world’s best students to study here, settle here, and help Ontario build a stronger economy
Investments in Jobs and Growth
- Creating one-stop access for all Ontarians to Employment Ontario
- Helping an additional 30,000 unemployed workers get training through the Second Career Strategy, bringing the total number of participants to nearly 60,000 since the program began in June 2008
- Investing, for the second year in a row, an additional $39 million in Summer Jobs programs, supporting nearly 110,000 jobs and services for students this summer
- Completing infrastructure investments in roads, bridges, transit, energy retrofits and other stimulus projects that will create and support more than 300,000 jobs
Full-Day Learning
- Introducing full-day learning in our schools this September, benefiting up to 35,000 four- and five-year olds in nearly 600 schools
Child Care Investments
- $63.5 million annually to maintain 8,500 child care spaces in Ontario, including 271 child care spaces in Windsor
Managing Responsibly
- Presenting a realistic and responsible plan to cut the deficit in half in five years and eliminate it in eight years
- Helping eliminate the deficit by introducing legislation that would extend the freeze on MPP pay from one year to three years
LEARN MORE
Read background information on the 2010 Ontario Budget.
Learn more about the government’s Open Ontario plan.
MEDIA INQUIRIES
Marion Fantetti
Office of Sandra Pupatello, MPP
Windsor West
(519) 977-7191