The Reviews Keep Rolling In - Ontario Liberal Plan for Care and Opportunity

QUEEN'S PARK, ON, March 28, 2018 /CNW/ - "The Ontario budget's investments in public services show continued momentum towards social justice and the effectiveness of political activism. This budget sets the baseline for the upcoming election. Ontarians need strong public services and investments to address inequality, not the right-wing, backward budget cuts that the conservatives are threatening. The spending announced today shows that the provincial government has heard the calls of Ontario workers who demanded a living wage, labour reform and investments that make public services like child care accessible."? Jerry Dias, National President, UNIFOR.

"RNAO applauds government for funding to hire more RNs in LTC, commitments to expand drug coverage to seniors, and improve mental health services." ? Carol Timmings, President, The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario.

"We are delighted to see that the province is increasing its funding for cardiac procedures, an investment that will help Ontarians have greater access to the care they need. Minimally-invasive cardiac procedures and endovascular treatments are life-saving therapies that can significantly improve patient outcomes, while optimizing the use of healthcare resources. This is indeed a direct contribution to a healthier Ontario." ? Sheila Jarvis, Interim CEO, CorHealth Ontario.

"We thank the government of Ontario for their historical commitment to invest in the health infrastructure of Scarborough's future. This investment will provide the services our community needs to continue growing sustainably and will ensure our hospital continues to meet the needs of Scarborough residents." ? Elizabeth Buller, CEO, Scarborough and Rouge Hospital.

"On behalf of the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA), I would like to thank the Ontario government for today's significant investment in hospital care, which will help ensure that patients have access to the care they need in 2018-19. This funding is a key foundational piece toward ending hallway medicine. Ongoing commitments across the continuum of care must continue in years to come and are absolutely essential to easing overcrowding and ensuring that patients receive the care they need in the most appropriate setting." ? Anthony Dale, President and CEO, Ontario Hospital Association.

"Catholic teachers are very pleased to see the government has responded to our calls to increase the Special Incidence Portion (SIP) of the Special Education Grant. Providing more support for our most vulnerable students is one of the most important investments we can make in education." ? Liz Stuart, President, Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association.

"Expanding resources for student mental health is crucial to ensuring that students get the support they need for better health and academic outcomes. OPSBA welcomed the recent system-wide investment by the province in mental health and addiction supports including $175 million over 5 years to support hiring 180 mental health workers for schools and additional ongoing funding up to $18 million. The Ministry's commitment to provide 400 new mental health workers in secondary schools, embed curriculum changes to support K-12 social emotional learning and enhance training on mental health literacy is much needed for our students."  ? Ontario Public School Boards' Association.

"This commitment to no-fee child care for preschoolers in Ontario - which is the model of choice in many countries will truly be a game-changer both for families and for Canada. Ontario is poised to take a giant leap towards a universally accessible, publicly managed system of early learning and child care... Whether you live in Sioux Lookout, Sarnia or Swansea, Ontario's families and ECEs will benefit."? Laurel Rothman, Interim Coordinator of Public Policy, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care.

"The Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association commends and applauds the provincial government's investment of an additional $2.1 billion into services and strategies to address mental health needs and addiction in Ontario. The Association is particularly pleased to see the increase of $570 million in funding for mental health programs and services targeting youth." ? Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association.

"I believe this is overall a good budget for the City of Toronto... In today's budget, the provincial government reaffirmed its intention to add to the federal transit funding by more than $4 billion, bringing the total pledged by other governments to our network transit plan approved during this term of council to $9 billion, money we did not have at the start of this term for public transportation projects. We also understand from the budget delivered today that the Wynne government intends to start a dialogue about uploading our subway lines... I'm deeply gratified that Premier Wynne listened and, under the plan presented in the budget, transit users in the 416 will soon be able get on GO transit and eventually SmartTrack for a TTC fare. I believe this deal that will let people get on go transit for our TTC fare is a game changer and I will be encouraging the government to implement this as quickly as possible because I believe it serves to offer great relief for some of the transit overcrowding that we've been experiencing in the city of Toronto. ? John Tory, Mayor, City of Toronto.

"The province has announced that boards will receive funding for guidance counsellors for students in grades 7 and 8 at the same rate as high school students... People for Education has been calling for this change for a number of years because students in these grades are facing a number of sometimes challenging transitions ? emotional, social, and the transition to high school.... An increased number of guidance counsellors will help with this... The new funding may also help with ongoing regional discrepancies."  ? Annie Kidder, People for Education.

"This is a first, not only in Canada, but in North America... Increasing public funding through funding the workforce is the way it has to be done to ensure quality". ?Martha Friendly, Founder and Executive Director, Childcare Resource and Research Unit.

SOURCE Liberal Caucus Service Bureau