The provincial budget has been announced by the Liberals with free tuition for students with household incomes of under $50,000 being the most highlighted aspect of the announcement. However MPP for Timmins-James Bay, Gilles Bisson says that will help some families, but not the majority of Ontarians.
Bisson’s biggest concern is still with healthcare. He says almost 60 per cent of Ontario’s spending goes into healthcare, and yet the government is flatlining the budget. He says that’s resulted in everything from surgeries being delayed, to nurses being laid off, to staff shortages. He says a one per cent increase in hospital funding is better than nothing, but it’s nowhere what’s needed to counteract recent cuts.
Bisson also says seniors are going to start paying more for their medication, but asks how are those on a fixed income expected to pay for those increases. He says costs are still going to remain high for many northerners and will continue to rise, not including the cap-and-trade-system. That system could increase gas prices by as much as 4.5 cents more per litre in the future.