Today, the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario released a bombshell report that gave us a grim snapshot of Ontario’s future. The report confirms that the Ford government’s 2025 budget does not allocate sufficient funding to maintain current service levels in health care, education, long-term care, colleges, and universities.
The FAO reviewed spending plans for five ministries—Health, Education, Long-Term Care, Children, Community and Social Services, and Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security—which together account for 72% of the province’s total spending.
If you think services in Ontario are bad today, this finance watchdog report is sounding the alarm: the Conservatives are looking at making it a whole lot worse. Here's my take on each.
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Health care
Health care spending growth will be slashed to less than 1%, far lower than inflation and the increased demand we're facing as our population ages. This funding plan is a recipe for emergency room closures, longer wait times for surgeries, burned-out staff, and declining health care quality.
When it comes to health care, Ontarians are getting a raw deal compared to residents in other provinces. We are second to last compared to all the provinces when it comes to health care funding, and we are dead last when it comes to funding for hospitals.
- Education
The education budget will only grow at a lower rate than inflation, which simply isn't enough to keep up with the growing numbers of kids in schools, and those who need a school place. This means classrooms themselves will be also be seeing cuts. The drop in per student education spending alone will mean larger class sizes, less staff and more threats of violence and disruption in schools, and at the end of it all lower education outcomes for our kids.
Parents should be furious. I am.
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Child services, OW and ODSP
The Ministry of Child, Community and Social Services is getting a $500M funding cut. This will result in a drop in services for kids and adults with autism, and children who are most at risk of abuse and violence. There is also simply not enough funding available to cover the projected increase in Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Benefit (ODSP) payments. In other words, the Conservatives are cutting funding to the most vulnerable Ontarians, at a time when Ontario has never been more unaffordable and unemployment is increasing fast.
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Colleges and Universities
Ontario’s colleges and universities will be also be seeing significant cuts to their budgets. The Conservatives are abandoning students, teachers, and researchers at a time of high youth unemployment, where education and training for workers should be a priority. Ontario is dead last by a long shot in providing funding to colleges and universities, and Ontario students pay some of the highest tuition fees in the country. Students in Ontario are our future; we should be investing in them, not leaving them behind.
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What happens next?
We expect the Fall Economic Statement – Ontario’s mini budget – to be released on November 6th. We’ll be raising these issues and calling for Ontario to invest wisely in the services that benefit everyone and our economy.
Jessica Bell, MPP for University-Rosedale