Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles on Monday made the new allowance for healthcare and housing in the 2023 budget the focus of her talking points during Question Period at Queen’s Park.
“Last week’s budget has nothing for affordable housing,” said Stiles
She also said that Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister and Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones are ignoring recommendations from their housing affordability task force.
“Their budget completely missed the moment and failed Ontarians,” said Stiles.
Catherine Fife, the NDP Finance and Treasury Board critic, also made affordable housing her main taking point during Question Period on Monday.
“People in Ontario are hurting,” she said.
“There was no sense of urgency in the 2023 budget,” said Fife, when discussing the need for affordable housing.
“Why didn’t this government listen to the people of this province?”
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the Progressive Conservative government has listened to Ontarians and that, before the 2023 fiscal forecast was rolled out, last month “they said thank you for the 2022 budget.”
“Budget 23 is a historic investment in the people of Ontario,” said Bethlenfalvy, putting emphasis on how the government cut taxes for businesses and raised the minimum wage last year.
Fife also put a focal point on health care and the staffing shortages that hospitals and health centres across the province are facing.
“You can’t bring new nurses into a broken system,” Fife said.
Commenting on the cuts to education and healthcare in the new budget.
“Will this government be amenable to fixing this budget?” said Fife.
Stiles also questioned Jones on how the Ford government is ending the program that provides health care for those without insurance.
In a memo sent to Ontario hospitals and health providers, the government said this funding would end on March 31.
“Starting April 1, 2023, hospitals should return to pre-pandemic billing practices for uninsured patients,” the memo reads.
This comes as a deal with Ontario optometrists changes coverage for eye exams under OHIP, reducing the number of exams that are covered for seniors to once every 18 months up from every 12 months.
Jones responded by asking the opposition to take false information down from their website and saying that they’re sufficient health centres across the province for those without insurance and again urged the opposition to “take the statement on their website down.”
Jones was then asked by the Speaker of the House to withdraw after again asking the NDP to retract their press release about the care being removed.