2018 ONTARIO Budget for General Inquiries Regarding 2018 Ontario Budget: Budget Papers, Please Call

2018 ONTARIO BUDGE 2018 ONTARIO A PLAN FOR CARE AND OPPORTUNITY RX C. Lee RX T THE HONOURABLE CHARLES SOUSA MINISTER OF FINANCE 2018 ONTARIO BUDGET BUDGET PAPERS For general inquiries regarding 2018 Ontario Budget: Budget Papers, please call: Toll-free English and French inquiries: 1-800-337-7222 Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-800-263-7776 For electronic copies of this document, visit our website at www.ontario.ca/budget A printed copy of this publication can be ordered: Online: www.serviceontario.ca/publications By phone: ServiceOntario Contact Centre (Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM) Telephone: 416-326-5300 TTY: 416-325-3408 Toll-free across Canada: 1-800-668-9938 TTY Toll-free across Ontario: 1-800-268-7095 © Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2018 ISBN 978-1-4868-1883-9 (Print) ISBN 978-1-4868-1884-6 (HTML) ISBN 978-1-4868-1885-3 (PDF) Ce document est disponible en français sous le titre : Budget de l’Ontario 2018 – Documents budgétaires Foreword A Plan for Care and Opportunity Ontario’s economy is performing well. This is largely due to the businesses and entrepreneurs who create jobs and to the women and men who get up each morning to go to the plant, or the office, or another place of work to make Ontario a more prosperous province. At the same time, the government has made strategic investments to support growth. Enhanced education, skills and training, new infrastructure, a competitive business environment and support for startups and small businesses are helping create good jobs. On the surface, the numbers tell a positive story: Our economy has outperformed those of all G7 nations since 2014; Our unemployment rate, at 5.5 per cent, is the lowest it has been in almost 20 years; and Last year alone, 500 net new jobs were created, on average, each day in Ontario, and they were mostly full‐time. However, there are two challenges in particular that require focus. First, overall economic growth could ideally be higher. Real gross domestic product growth of approximately two per cent annually is good, but not good enough. We should seek to do better. Second, we must ensure that the benefits of growth are more widely shared. A growing economy that is enjoyed too narrowly is vulnerable. We need to work harder to ensure everyone shares in the prosperity. Many families are increasingly struggling with the costs and availability of high‐quality, affordable child care. There is the cost of elder care assistance and long‐term care as our parents age. As well, many families without extended health benefits experience stress from the costs of prescription drugs and dental care. And there are many families with loved ones struggling with mental illness. Taken together, these costs of care can overwhelm families financially and emotionally. Often, it is particularly stressful for women and mothers who carry the burden disproportionately. There are also new challenges facing our economy, such as an aging population, trade uncertainty with the United States, rising interest rates and increased household debt. And there is the rapid pace of technological change, unlike anything we have seen before. It is now more important than ever that we face these challenges together. Foreword iii During pre‐budget consultations and online budget talks, the message from the people across the province was clear: Manage our government’s finances responsibly, while providing opportunities for our children and security for our seniors. People urged us not to cut programs as that would hurt families or the economy. A number of our existing policies have been aimed at helping meet this challenge. In particular, we have worked hard to extend the circle of opportunity in Ontario. Education is a key example. A newly transformed OSAP is providing greater opportunities for young people to attend college and university. In the current school year, over 225,000 students are receiving free tuition and approximately another 175,000 are receiving more generous grants and loans from OSAP to help cover expenses. We have also championed policies to ease the costs of high‐priced prescription medicines. In January 2018, the government undertook the largest expansion of medicare in a generation with the introduction of OHIP+, providing free prescription medicine for young people under the age of 25. As part of our plan for fair workplaces and better jobs, we increased the minimum wage to $14 per hour on January 1, 2018, ensuring that hundreds of thousands of workers receive a much needed raise. And on January 1, 2019, the minimum wage will increase further to $15 per hour. We also strengthened the rights of part‐time workers, ensured all workers receive paid sick days and stepped up enforcement of employment laws. These policies have had the benefit of supporting both our people and our province’s economic growth. But we know that we must do more. iv Foreword A Plan for Care Providing supports to help families who care for loved ones helps alleviate the emotional and financial burden, and it allows more people to participate in and grow our economy. Even more fundamentally, it recognizes the sacrifices families must make, and the value of the care they provide. We will take appropriatep st eps to hel them, to relieve their burden, to ease stress and to unlock opportunity to keep our economy growing. In making these investments, the government will be running modest deficits starting in 2018–19 at less than one per cent of GDP. The 2018 Budget projects a path to balance building on the Province’s track record of responsible fiscal management. Strengthening Ontario Hospitals Universal health care is one of the greatest expressions of Ontario’s values as a society. It reflects how the people of Ontario choose to care for each other. Hospitals are at the core of that system providing for those, young and old, who have the most urgent or most complex care needs. But we know that a growing and aging population is adding demands on our hospitals. In peak times and during difficult flu seasons, our emergency rooms can become crowded. Waiting can be frustrating. We need to do more. That is why we are investing an additional $822 million in 2018–19 in hospitals to improve wait times and increase the number of critical services and procedures such as MRIs, cancer and cardiac surgeries, organ transplants and other life‐saving supports. This represents a 4.6 per cent increase in investments in our hospitals next year. The government is adding new medical and surgical beds, and adult critical care beds, as well as support to pediatric and psychiatric hospitals. And to ensure the people of Ontario have access to modern, high‐quality health care, when and where they need it, we are investing $19 billion over the next 10 years in approximately 40 major hospital projects, which are underway in every region of this province. Foreword v More Care for Children Access to affordable, quality child care is essential for families. Ontario has already committed to helping 100,000 more children up to age four access licensed child care, increasing the capacity for child care in Ontario. Since the 2017 Budget, Ontario has invested over $200 million to support new subsidies for 16,000 more children and over 11,900 new spaces in schools. In this Budget, the government is going further by implementing free preschool for children aged two‐and‐a‐half until eligible for kindergarten. Beginning in September 2020, free preschool will help reduce costs for families and ease transition to school for children across the province. An average Ontario family with a preschool‐aged child could save over $17,000 during the time their child is enrolled in a licensed preschool program. To help with the costs of infant and toddler care, the Province will provide additional operating funding of more than $160 million over three years, beginning in January 2019. This will help more Ontario families by reducing costs and eliminating fee subsidy waitlists. To help ensure that all children and families have access to a range of high‐quality and affordable child care programs and services, the government has invested a total of $530 million across the province since 2015–16, helping create 1,100 child care rooms and 19,000 child care spaces. Over the next six years, the government will be investing an additional $534 million to build 10,000 more preschool child care spaces in schools and 4,000 in other public spaces in the community. Making investments in early years makes sense for kids, parents and the economy. It gives our children the best start in life, and helps their parents return to the workforce. vi Foreword Better Care for Seniors The number of seniors in our province is expected to grow from 2.4 million today to 4.5 million by 2040. Seniors have unique needs and, along with their families, often struggle with added costs related to health care and well‐being. Many seniors would prefer to stay in their homes and live independently. But that comes with added costs to maintain their living spaces and pay for support. Investments in this area can relieve significant costs while reducing stress for seniors. To help seniors live healthy, independent, active and socially connected lives, we are investing over $1 billion over three years, beginning in 2019–20 in a Seniors’ Healthy Home Program, with the goal of providing up to $750 for every eligible household led by a senior who is 75 years or older, to help offset the costs of maintaining a home.

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