Prosperous Population

In order to care for our citizens as a resource and enable them to contribute gainfully to our economy, we must ensure that we are supporting a Prosperous Population.

Healthcare

As of mid-2024, 2.5 million Ontarians are without a family doctor, projected to rise to 4 million by 2026. Ontario’s healthcare system is in crisis, why? Instead of strengthening public healthcare, the Ford government is diverting funds to privately-owned clinics and staffing agencies. When OHIP “outsources” surgeries to private clinics, or hires temporary nurses, our public system pays. Research shows that when provinces outsource, wait times are longer and costs are higher, with hip and knee replacements costing taxpayers over double. Moreover, temporary nurses cost up to $300 per hour. Ford has increased funding for private players while simultaneously decreased funding to our public institutions. Why is Ontario’s purse paying for the profits of healthcare investors?

Multiple studies have uncovered that hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been withheld from Ontario’s healthcare system. Doug Ford is stealing our money to fund an inefficient, US-style system. Donna Skelly is part of a government that’s guilty of 1,200+ ER closures and the loss of tens of thousands of nurses. 

Ontario Greens will cancel Highway 413 and redirect $10 billion into healthcare, ensuring everyone has access to primary care within 4 years by recruiting 3,500 new doctors and expanding family health teams. We’ll fix staffing shortages by increasing wages for nurses, doctors, and PSWs. We’ll fully cover mental health and addiction care under OHIP. Expanding access to community health centers and nurse-practitioner-led clinics will provide non-urgent 24/7 care. Greens will fight for a stronger, publicly funded healthcare system.

Education

The number one way to invest in our children’s future is by funding schools and teachers. But the Ford government has done the opposite, slashing education funding and letting our schools fall into decay. The result is bigger classes, fewer teachers and stressed-out kids. Greens will close the funding gap and get back to investing in our kids

Greens will:

  • Immediately increase per-student funding by $1,500 to make up for the $3.1 billion in cuts by the Ford government since 2018
  • Speed up reducing the repair backlog for Ontario public schools and work in consultation with school boards to adopt a Standard of Good Repair.
  • Cap grades 4 to 8 class sizes to at least 24 students and kindergarten to at least 26 students and ensure the class is staffed with a full-time certified teacher and a designated early childhood educator.
  • Immediately double the number of students that can access the Student Nutrition Programs and expand it to be province-wide by 2030 

Housing

We must recognize the differences between Affordable Housing and Housing Affordability. “Affordable Housing” is considered to be publicly-funded options available to low and moderate income households, including rentals, non-profits, and supportive housing. These projects are funded together by municipalities, provincial and federal governments. “Housing Affordability” is a measure of the percentage of income spent on housing. Affordable is if a household spends less than 30% of its pre-tax income on housing. This varies by household and by region.

We have both Affordable Housing and Housing Affordability issues. The biggest barrier to each is increasing demand and stagnant supply. In Ontario, most renters spend over 30 percent of their pre-tax income on rent. 185,000 households are on waitlists for social housing. According to census data, the average pre-tax income in our riding is $46,800, whereas the average home price is $1.2 million (Flamborough) and $862k (Glanbrook). Do you see the disconnect?

To address Affordable Housing, Greens will:

  • Utilize underused public land to build 250,000 affordable non-profit / co-op homes
  • Build 182,000 new community housing rentals

To address Housing Affordability, Greens will: 

  • Mandate 20% affordable units in new housing projects
  • Update planning laws to expand intensification corridors along transit routes. We’ll build homes where it’s most efficient, with a focus on 3-5 storey midrise development
  • Remove development charges on units under 2,000 square feet built within urban boundaries
  • Implement a speculation tax on those owning over two units
  • Implement an anti-flipping tax on quick turnaround sales

Social Assistance

Living with a disability or on social assistance shouldn’t mean living in poverty. But for hundreds of thousands of Ontarians, that is the reality they face. Additionally, many people living with disabilities are unable to access essential services due to accessibility barriers. Ontario Greens have a plan to increase social assistance and make Ontario more accessible.

Greens will:

  • Double Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) rates as a first step to implementing a Basic Income, and tie future increases to inflation. Increase the shelter allowance and stop clawbacks
  • Phase in a Basic Income, with the first step being to at least double Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works (OW) rates and get rid of aggressive and unfair clawbacks, including clawbacks from the Canada Disability Benefit
  • Commit to fulfilling all commitments in the Accessible Ontario Pledge by the AODA Alliance
  • Ensure that new affordable housing stock is accessible, and require affordable housing retrofits to meet the same standards

Cost of Living

People in Ontario are working harder than ever before, but so many are still struggling just to get by. People are getting gouged on the cost of housing, groceries, fuel and more. Big corporations and billionaires are doing better than ever and Dog Ford is propping them up. Greens will put people over big profits to bring down the cost of living.

Greens will:

  • Introduce strict anti-gouging and collusion laws to stop grocery corporations from gouging people on their grocery bills
  • Lower taxes for low and middle income earners and raise taxes on the wealthiest
  • Stop giving hydro rebate cheques to the wealthiest Ontarians and redirect that money to help low and middle income earners pay their bills
  • Increase the minimum wage to $20 and index to inflation each year