Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover

$45 billion in support over three years to protect Ontarians, deliver critical programs and tax measures to support those impacted by the virus, and lay the groundwork for a robust long-term economic recovery

Today, our PC government introduced the next phase in our response to COVID-19: Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover, a $45 billion plan with three pillars: Protect, Support and Recover.

First, we are taking steps to protect people from this deadly virus by increasing our health investments to $15.2 billion. Second, we will build on our earlier relief to provide a total of $13.5 billion in direct support for families, workers, and employers, in addition to the $11.3 billion in cash flow support. And third, we are removing barriers to recovery and providing $4.8 billion to protect and create jobs now and in the future.

This plan will help protect all Ontarians, deliver critical programs, and tax measures to support individuals, families and job creators impacted by the virus, and lay the groundwork for a robust long-term economic recovery for the province. Highlights include:

Protect: $15.2 billion to support our frontline healthcare heroes and protect people from COVID-19.

• Increasing average daily direct care from a nurse or personal support worker (PSW) per long-term care resident to four hours a day over a four-year period.
• Making available $4 billion in 2021-22 and a further $2 billion in 2022-23 in dedicated support to protect people’s health, including funding to support hospital beds, address the surgical backlog and purchase additional influenza vaccines.
• Opening the new Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital site with a new emergency room, state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, and operating rooms. This is the first newly built hospital to open in Ontario in 30 years that adds net new capacity to the system.

Support: $13.5 billion in relief to ensure families, seniors, businesses, and workers are supported through the second wave of COVID-19 and beyond.

• Parents will once again receive a payment of $200 per child 12 and under, and $250 per child 21 and under with special needs.
• Proposing the new Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit for the 2021 taxation year — a 25 per cent credit on eligible renovations of up to $10,000 — to help seniors stay in their homes longer by making their homes safer and more accessible.
• Investing an additional $60 million over three years starting in 2020-21 in the Black Youth Action Plan to extend the current program and create a new economic empowerment stream that will support Black youth in achieving social and economic success.
• Investing $100 million over two years for the Community Building Fund to support community tourism, cultural and sport organizations.
• Providing one-time emergency funding of $25 million for Ontario’s arts institutions to help cover operating losses incurred as a result of COVID-19.
• Providing an additional $1.8 billion in the Support for People and Jobs Fund over the next two years.

Recover: $4.8 billion in new supports to build the foundation for a strong recovery fuelled by economic growth.

• $680 million over the next four years in broadband infrastructure to ensure communities across the province are connected.
• Address the job-killing high costs of electricity, saving medium-size and larger industrial and commercial employers about 14 and 16 per cent respectively on their electricity bills.
• Reducing property taxes on job creators and levelling the playing field by lowering high Business Education Tax (BET) rates to a rate of 0.88 per cent.
• Proposing to provide municipalities with the ability to cut property tax for small businesses and a provincial commitment to consider matching these reductions.
• Ending a tax on jobs by proposing to make permanent the Employer Health Tax (EHT) exemption increase from $490,000 to $1 million.
• Committing to provide Ontario residents with support of up to 20 per cent for eligible Ontario tourism expenses to encourage them to safely discover Ontario in 2021.
• Connecting workers in the tourism and hospitality sector and others most affected by the pandemic to training and jobs with an investment of $180.5 million over 3 years.
• Providing $500 million over four years to make government services more reliable, convenient, and accessible through the Ontario Onwards Acceleration Fund.

There are countless examples around the world of jurisdictions who have let their guard down and who are paying a steep price. Our government is determined to avoid those mistakes.