As we bid farewell to Winter and welcome Spring, I’m pleased to announce that the Ontario Legislature has been hard at work for our province and I have been hard at work for YOU.
We have had some huge announcements about new industry coming to this province.
We recently announced a new Battery Plant to St. Thomas, in addition to the one last July in Lennox & Addington. New jobs, equal new prosperity for all of us. There has been tremendous growth of industry in the province, and we’re seeing new revenues that can be used to support programs that all Ontarians need.
On this note, we are working to prepare our youth for the future, increasing the support for skilled trades and apprenticeships. We have added more students in colleges and universities in the sectors we need them, especially healthcare. We are even paying tuition for nurses and PSWs with a commitment to work in our underserviced rural areas.
With this budget we have added more dollars to stabilize the health care system. We have worked with the ONA to allow health care professionals that are licensed in other jurisdictions to come to Ontario to work. We have hired thousands of nurses, PSWs and allied healthcare staff. We have increased funding for home care, so that seniors can safely stay in their own homes for longer. We have also added more dollars to help address homelessness, in partnership with our municipal partners.
Local to home, I have had the privilege of being part of announcements in funding for a new MRI at one of our local hospitals, as well as new funding for emergency and transitional housing in several communities across the riding. We have new funding for Hastings Hospice, and for Lennox and Addington Family and Children’s services.
And most recently, last Monday we were able to announce $5.5 million from MNRF to help local municipalities clean up from the major windstorms last year. This included funds for Tweed, Madoc Township, Limerick, Marmora and Lake, and Addington Highlands. These funds will help to remove the downed wood from our creeks and rivers to help prevent flooding in the spring thaw and remove the downed wood from our forest floors to help reduce the risk of forest fires.
And on top of it all, we are doing this while balancing the budget as early as next year.
My Constituency offices are open Monday-Friday and I welcome you to call or stop in. Our Madoc office has been undergoing some new renovations to serve you better! Please reach out if you have questions or need assistance on any provincial matter. We are here to serve you and are happy for any feedback or concerns you may have. We will always try our best to help resolve the issue or if unable, we will make the province aware of it.
I can’t wait to see what else we will get done before June.
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