By Caribbean News Global 
TORONTO, Canada — The Ontario government is set to release its 2020 budget on Thursday, November 5, 2020, with a focus on protecting the health and safety of the people during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing much-needed supports to families, workers, and employers, and laying the foundation for future growth, renewal and economic recovery, as announced by premier Doug Ford, Rod Phillips, minister of finance, and Christine Elliott, deputy premier and minister of health, Monday.
“To start us down the road to recovery, we need a healthy workforce. That is why we have put the health and safety of every Ontarian first during this pandemic,” said premier Ford. “Getting people back to work, creating more jobs and attracting investment are also important priorities for our government. The upcoming budget will strike a balance that will focus on continuing to protect everyone’s health and safety, while creating the right conditions for our economic recovery.”
The budget will build on Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19, which was updated this summer to make available a projected $30 billion in response to the global pandemic.
“The next phase of Ontario’s Action Plan will make available every necessary resource to continue to protect people’s health during the second wave of COVID-19 and beyond,” said minister Phillips. “It will also expand the support our government has provided to those still facing financial hardship due to the pandemic, including families, workers, vulnerable people, seniors and employers.”
Since releasing Ontario’s Action Plan in March, Ontario businesses, families, and workers have benefited from initiatives put forward by the government:
- Providing relief to over 63,000 small business tenants through the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program (CECRA).
- More than 19,000 emergency supplies leads have been converted into more than $880 million in purchases of critical supplies and equipment to support staff on the front lines, including 148 million masks, 439 million gloves, and 29 million gowns through the Ontario Together portal.
- Providing $75 million for 194,000 seniors by doubling the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) payment from April to September 2020.
- Building domestic capacity to manufacture 10,000 ventilators through an innovative partnership between O-Two Medical Technologies and Linamar and producing 50 million N95 masks annually beginning in early 2021 through a joint federal-provincial investment in a new 3 million facility in Brockville.
- Saving businesses over $330 million by reducing red tape and the elimination of unnecessary paperwork.
- Helping students with six months of Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) loan and accrual relief.
The government has also committed to providing small businesses in modified Stage 2 areas with up to $300 million to cover costs associated with property taxes, electricity, and natural gas bills.
“The budget I will be introducing on Thursday, November 5 will provide a three-year outlook that will build on our government’s $30 billion response to COVID-19,” added minister Phillips. “We will get back on the traditional budget calendar with another multi-year update by the end of March 2021 that will outline a plan to return Ontario to a fiscally sustainable path.”
