ONTARIO 2021 BUDGET PROTECTS EVERYONE

The Government of Ontario has delivered the 2021 Budget. It is the next phase of Ontario’s response to COVID-19 and is the second budget our government has released during the pandemic. Our primary focus is, and always has been, to protect every person and every job we possibly can.

Budget 2021 includes renewed investments to Milton and builds on our record investment in response to the global pandemic, bringing the total investment of our COVID-19 action plan to $51 billion.

Ontario has made more than $1 billion available for a provincewide vaccination plan, allowing for

67,563 doses to be administered in Milton, and across Halton Region, as of March 26. Mass-vaccinations sites are continuing to vaccinate priority populations as quickly as possible once vaccines are received from the Federal Government.

Thank you to all our Public Health professionals, nurses, and hospital workers for your heroic work.

For families in Milton, our Government is offering a new, third round of support payments for parents. The payment will be doubled to $400 per child and $500 for each child with special needs, representing a total investment of $1.8 billion since last March.

Students and schools have been provided with more than $1.6 billion in critical supports to protect against the spread of COVID-19. Milton school boards have received over $55 million to ensure the continuity of learning is safe for students and teachers alike.

Increased investments like this follows a trend of continued strong actions being taken since 2018 with over $163 million being given for six new schools in Milton.

As we all know, those needing long-term continues to grow. To make sure spaces are available, Milton has received a total of 416 new long-term care spaces. Long-term care homes in Milton have also received over $2.1 million to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect those most vulnerable and the staff who have been working tirelessly to keep them safe.

With this new budget, I am proud our government will continue to be there every step of the way to help our families, students, and seniors in Milton.