Madam Speaker, I rise today with a great amount of pride and pleasure to speak on the budget and what it means for the province of Ontario. In particular, on this day we recognize the tremendous contribution that women have made and continue to make to our country, and the improvements we have seen throughout the years.
Because of our new budget, Ontario will continue to receive support through major federal transfers in 2010-11. Federal support for provinces is at an all-time high and will continue to grow. For Ontario, this will total $18.8 billion in 2010-11, an increase of over $800 million from last year and a $6.9 billion increase from 2005-06.
This type of long-term support will help ensure that Ontario has the resources required to provide essential public services. Some examples include the $972 million provided through the equalization program, and the $9.1 billion through the Canada health transfer, an increase of $243 million from last year.
In my riding, we have seen hospital upon hospital facing challenges in managing their budgets and really having to look at how they care for patients. People have asked me what the federal government is doing to help hospitals meet their budgets. Of course, the $243 million will go a long way to doing just that.
Moreover, $4.3 billion will be provided through the Canada social transfer, representing an increase of $1.2 billion since 2005-06.
There is $151 million for Ontario in the community development trust and the police officers recruitment fund, and $196 million for labour market training.
Budget 2010 also benefits businesses and communities in Ontario by providing $11 million per year in ongoing funding for the 61 community futures organizations. Innovative small and medium size businesses in Ontario will benefit from the new small and medium size enterprise innovation commercialization program.
Budget 2010 provides $8 million per year to clean up the Great Lakes, a key objective of the action plan on clean water by the government.
Businesses in Ontario will benefit from the $497 million to be invested in the Canadian Space Agency over the next five years.
Ontario will continue to benefit from the economic action plan, which will continue to provide support to create and protect jobs, as well as assist those who are in need. Over $4 billion will go to help unemployed Canadians to find new and better jobs, including five extra weeks of regular employment insurance benefits and greater access to regular EI benefits for long tenured workers. The temporary extension of our work-sharing agreements for a maximum 78 weeks will go a long way toward helping those looking for work, as well as struggling businesses.
We have frozen employment insurance premiums at $1.73 per $100 of insured earnings,
We have dedicated $1 billion to enhancing employment insurance training programs and $500 million to the strategic training and transfer fund.
There is $6.6 million dedicated to enhance the federal victims of crime strategy, including access to EI sick benefits for those who have lost a family member due to a crime.
Also, $95 million will be provided over the next two years as additional support for the registered disability savings plan to allow it more flexibility when making contributions.
Ontario will benefit further from the new resources provided to encourage innovation and commercialization. These include $32 million per year for the federal research granting councils to support advanced research and improved commercialization; $8 million per year to support the indirect costs of federally sponsored research at post-secondary institutions; and $15 million per year for the college and community innovation program, doubling support from last year.
A new Canadian post-doctoral fellowship program will also be created, aimed at attracting the best young researchers to Canada.
Ontario will benefit from $135 million over two years to sustain the regional innovation clusters of the National Research Council.
Farmers and the agricultural industry will continue to be able to rely on this government. Our government continues to receive and evaluate proposals to the agricultural flexibility fund. To date, $219 million has been committed to multi-year initiatives. A total of $10 million is expected to be spent in 2009-10 and $52 million has been committed to 2010-11.
Since 2009, over 1,600 loans totaling $84 million have been granted under the new Canadian Agricultural Loans Act.
Canada-wide, budget 2010 will invest $19 billion of new stimulus funding to create jobs and secure our economic recovery. This will happen because of cuts to personal income tax totaling $32 billion. This includes adjustments to the federal tax brackets, enhancing the working income tax benefit, higher child benefits for parents and lower taxes for low and middle income seniors. Retraining and work support totalling $4 billion will enhance EI benefits and training opportunities to transition workers toward future employment.
Research and development funds totaling $1.9 billion will help attract talent, strengthen research capacity, improve commercialization, accelerate private sector investment and expand market access and competitiveness to build a strong economy for tomorrow.
Infrastructure investments totalling $7.7 billion will help create jobs, modernize infrastructure, support home ownership, stimulate the housing sector and improve housing right across this great country.
Targeted support to industries and communities totalling $2.2 billion will create and maintain jobs in agriculture, forestry, small business, tourism and culture.
I am proud of budget 2010, our jobs and growth budget. I believe it takes the right steps for Ontario and the rest of Canada to ensure a steady economic recovery, job growth and support for those in need.