Category : Ontario

Ontarians welcome and settle new immigrants and integrate them into Ontario’s economy.

Ontario welcomes 57 per cent of all immigrants to Canada, but we get only 34 per cent of the federal funding. Newcomers to Ontario deserve the same support from the federal government as they would receive in any other province.

The federal government invests $3,806 in an immigrant who lands in Quebec, but only $819 in one who lands in Ontario.

With populations ageing and skills shortages growing, countries around the globe are in a race to attract the best and brightest the world has to offer. We want to make Ontario the place to be. It’s time to narrow the gap in immigration settlement funding.
Immigrants make up 27 per cent of Ontario’s population.

We invest around $109 million per year on helping immigrants get settled, providing language training and helping them find a job.
We’re investing $9.5 million in 2004-05 to smooth the transition for internationally trained professionals, growing to $12.5 million annually.
In 2004-05, our $4.1 million Newcomer Settlement program funded 79 community agencies to provide services for more than 100,000 newcomers.

By 2017, the number of people whose mother tongue is neither English nor French will be almost one quarter of the population.

Schools in the Greater Toronto Area include students from about 175 countries. Those students speak about 80 different languages.
We invest more than $50 million each year on English-as-a-second language (ESL) classes for adults.
We’ve increased funding for ESL in our schools by $64 million so that ESL can be offered to children over a longer period of time.

More than 3,000 internationally trained people this year are participating in more than 35 different bridge training projects.

The CARE for Nurses bridge training project has more than doubled the success rate for internationally trained nurses writing the licensing exam.
More than 80 per cent of internationally trained pharmacists now pass their qualifying exam on the first try.

Ontario is Canada’s economic engine. To keep that engine running smoothly, we need to invest in it.

Ensuring our future growth and prosperity depends on getting our fair share of investment in roads, highways and bridges. Continuous transportation investment is key to Ontario’s competitiveness, economic performance and quality of life.

Canada is one of the few modern jurisdictions without a strong, sustainable commitment by the national government to investment in transportation infrastructure.

It’s estimated that over the next 30 years, more than $100 billion will be required to maintain existing infrastructure and prepare for future growth in Ontario. Infrastructure funding must be allocated fairly.
Ontario maintains over 16,500 kilometres of highway.

In 2004-05, the Ontario government will invest over $1.2 billion in highway infrastructure.
Since 2003, we’ve invested $1.39 billion in highway infrastructure.

Ontario has more than 360 kilometres of connecting links — parts of municipal roads that connect to provincial highways.

We invest about $15 million every year to help fund repairs and improvements to these links.

There are 83 transit systems across 110 communities throughout Ontario.

In 2004-05, we have provided $78 million in gas tax funding to transit systems across Ontario.
We have committed $385 million to improving GO Transit service.
We are investing $350 million in transit in the City of Toronto, plus another $140 million this year to strengthen the TTC.
We are investing $200 million to support Ottawa’s O-Train.
We have committed $1 million to light rapid transit studies in Waterloo.
We have dedicated $50 million for bus rapid transit in York.

There are more than 250,000 lakes in Ontario.

In 2004-05, the Ontario government will invest $257 million in clean water projects, including $222 million for municipal water and wastewater infrastructure.
In 2004-05, we will invest $15.5 million for upgrades to drinking water systems in Ontario Parks.
We will commit $7 million for watershed-based source protection and other water quality measures.

Ontario has over 4.5 million people living in rural communities across the province.

In 2004-05, we will invest $364 million in northern infrastructure, including $244 million to renew and expand northern highways.
In 2004-05, we’re investing $161 million for the Ontario Small Town and Rural Development Infrastructure program, which addresses the health and safety needs of rural communities, small cities and towns.
Over the next five years, we will commit $298 million to rural infrastructure through the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund program.

In order to keep Ontario strong, we need to invest in our people. We need to give them the training they need to contribute to our economy. To do this, we need the same level of support for training programs that the federal government gives other provinces.

The federal government spends $1,143 per unemployed Ontarian on labour market programs, compared to $1,827 per unemployed Canadian living in the rest of Canada.

If all unemployed Ontarians received the same in EI regular benefits as people living in the rest of Canada, they would have received an extra $1 billion. Unemployed Ontarians deserve the same support from the federal government provided to unemployed people in the rest of the country.
Ontario has the largest apprenticeship system in Canada.

We recently announced new investments of $37 million in our apprenticeship system.
We’ve introduced an apprenticeship training tax credit of 25 to 30 per cent for small business employers.
We’ve established 1,500 annual scholarships of $1,000 each for youth who have left school, but require upgrading to meet the registration standards for apprenticeship — along with $2,000 signing bonuses for employers who hire and train them.

460,000 people in Ontario are unemployed.

More Ontarians have jobs today than under the very best years of the previous government — but there is more to do.
The 2004 Ontario Budget provided new investments of $9.5 million in 2004-05, growing to $12.5 million annually by 2005-06, to remove barriers to employment faced by immigrants and create opportunities for internationally trained professionals to contribute to Ontario’s growth.

Recent immigrants have an unemployment rate of 30 per cent.

We invested $9.5 million in 2004-05 to smooth the transition for internationally trained professionals, growing to $12.5 million annually.
Our $5-million Apprenticeship Innovation Fund keeps our curriculum and standards up-to-date and is helping internationally trained people become certified in Ontario so they can enter the job market faster.

To understand how this gap affects Ontario, let’s examine the facts.
The federal government invests $3,806 in an immigrant who lands in Quebec, but only $819 in one who lands in Ontario. We welcome 57 per cent of all immigrants to Canada, but we get only 34 per cent of the federal funding. The federal Minister of Finance says it’s unfair. It’s time for Ontario to get its fair share. It’s time to narrow the gap in immigration settlement funding.
Continuous transportation investment is key to Ontario’s competitiveness, economic performance and quality of life. Canada is one of the few modern jurisdictions without a strong, sustainable national government commitment to investment in transportation infrastructure. Infrastructure funding must be allocated fairly
In 2004-05, the federal government provided $1,143 per unemployed person in Ontario versus $1,827 per unemployed person in the rest of Canada (excluding Ontario). If the federal government made available $1,827 of training support per unemployed person in Ontario, there would be $314 million more for training in Ontario. By investing in training and building the best-educated, most highly skilled workforce, we invest in our future prosperity
If the federal government gave Ontario as much money as it gives the eight equalization-receiving provinces in health and social transfers, we would have close to $1 billion more to spend on these critical services this fiscal year.

Ontarians have a strong sense of their responsibility to Canada. We want to continue to support our fellow Canadians. We’re proud our economy helps fund training in Sydney Mines and St. John’s, surgeries in Montreal and Regina, and post-secondary education in Whitehorse.

To ensure our future prosperity and that of all Canadians, we need to invest in our people, in their education and skills, their health and infrastructure.

We need to narrow the gap not because Ontario wants to weaken its ties to Canada, but because Ontario must be strong enough to serve Canada.