A Release from the Ontario Premier’s Office
(Niagara At Large is posting the following release from the office of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty for our readers’ information.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
NAL does so with just a few preliminary points we wish to make here.
There is no heading in this release for environmental protection issues covered in this provincial omnibus budget legislation for reasons that may have to do with the fact that the legislation pulls more of the teeth out of an already weak ‘Endangered Species Act’ in this province at the pleasure of the mining industry and other developers. The legislation also gives discretionary power to the provincial cabinet to ignore the Fish and Conservation Act if it feels that act’s protection clauses are standing in the way of favoured development projects.
On the education file, you will note in the premier’s media release that the budget is “protecting 20,000 teaching and support jobs by ensuring smaller class sizes and the full introduction of full-day kindergarten.”
Perhaps NAL is missing something, but shouldn’t the focus be on students and on funding a school system that is both affordable and of the highest quality possible – not on creating make-work programs for teachers when; a) the experts who developed the full-day kindergarten program for the province said early childhood educators are perfectly capable of staffing that program without all-day supervision from teachers, and; b) there is every reason to believe that a gifted teacher that can engage students can work that magic whether there is 22 students in the class or 28. A poor teacher probably couldn’t make it work if class sizes were reduced to 10.
Teachers’ positions have disappeared recently because we are going through a period where there are fewer children in the population entering the schooling system. But is it the responsible of the provincial government to create make-work projects for teachers whose positions might otherwise be deemed surplus?
At any rate these questions, and others involving the strengthening of a provincial arbitration system that all but rubber stamps three-per-cent-plus raises each year for police, firefighters, teachers and other public servants belonging to powerful unions that put themselves before other taxpayers in communities across this region and province struggling to cover the cost these ever-greater salary and benefit offerings, are ones we should all be asking.
Now here is the media release from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s office.)
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
Budget Bill Passes — Keeping Ontario On Track
McGuinty Government Moving Forward to Create Jobs, Strengthen Economy
NEWS, June 20, 2012
Ontario is in a strong position to create jobs and grow the economy with the passage of the 2012 Budget. It takes strong action to eliminate Ontario’s deficit by 2017-18 while protecting health care and education.
This government is working hard to keep Ontario moving forward in many areas including:
Education
- Passing the Accepting Schools Act that makes Ontario’s schools safer and ensures all students have the support they need to grow and reach their full potential.
- Giving 120,000 children the best start possible in full-day kindergarten this fall.
- Protecting 20,000 teaching and support jobs by ensuring smaller class sizes and the full introduction of full-day kindergarten.
- Providing 30% Off Ontario tuition to qualifying college and university students.
Health Care
- Creating over 900 nursing positions to improve front-line care, ensuring patients get the right care where and when they need it.
- Continuing to open Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics — 24 currently accepting patients.
- Helping 90,000 more seniors by adding three million more hours of personal support worker care.
- Planning to create two birthing centres to give women more choice on where they can deliver healthy babies.
Economy
- Passing the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act to cap the maximum amount most landlords can increase a tenant’s rent during the year to 2.5 per cent, starting in 2013.
- Helping seniors stay in their homes longer with the proposed Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit, thereby keeping long-term care home costs down and helping create jobs and grow the economy.
- Promoting regional strengths and helping promote local economic development through the Attracting Investment and Creating Jobs Act. It would, if passed, create the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund and make the Eastern Ontario Development Fund permanent.
- Creating the Jobs and Prosperity Council to generate new ideas and approaches in improving Ontario’s long-term productivity and competitiveness.
Providing the right climate to attract investment is part of the McGuinty government’s plan to create a vibrant economy. A strong economy creates jobs for Ontarians and protects the services that matter most to Ontario families — health care and education.
QUOTES
“Our Budget is the best way forward — making the right choices we need to grow Ontario’s economy and protect the gains we’ve made.”
— Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
QUICK FACTS
- The Accepting Schools Act clearly lays out protections and supports for all students and makes clear that homophobic bullying is not okay.
- The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act means tenants will benefit from more predictable and stable rents.
- Ontario’s economy is projected to grow at 1.7 per cent in 2012, 2.2 per cent in 2013 and 2.4 per cent in 2014.
- In 2011, full-time employment increased by 123,400 jobs in Ontario.
LEARN MORE
Click on – Read highlights of the 2012 Ontario Budget.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views below, remembering that we only post comments from individuals who are also willing to share first and last names.)
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