The Member of Provincial Parliament for Perth-Wellington is touting the benefits of his government's 2023 spring budget. Matthew Rae said the spending plan includes major investments in health care, housing, mental health, and agricultural communities.
Matthew Rae added the budget also proposes expansion of the Guaranteed Annual Income System to 100,000 more seniors by in July 2024.
“We are supporting our senior citizens,” Rae said. “They have built this province, and it is only right that we provide the resources and care they need in their golden years.”
And he pointed out healthcare investments include $200 million in 2023-24, to extend supports to address immediate health care staffing shortages, as well as to grow the workforce. He said the learn and stay grant will expand to eligible postsecondary students who enroll in programs in Southwestern Ontario. That money would support people studying nursing, medical laboratory technologist/medical laboratory sciences programs, if they work in underserved communities in the region where they studied after graduation.
“The province continues to support our rural healthcare system,” Rae said. “The extension and expansion of programs like the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant are integral to communities such as ours.”
Mental health and addictions services will receive $425 million over three years, including a five per cent increase in the base funding of community-based mental health and addictions services providers funded by the Ministry of Health.
$25 million will be spent over three years to attract more skilled workers, including in-demand professionals in the skilled trades, to the province.
“I have heard from many businesses and organizations that they cannot find new employees,” Rae said. “With one of the lowest unemployment rates in Ontario, employers in Perth and Wellington Counties can benefit greatly from this investment.”