Provincial Advocacy

Ontario Budget 2023

Budget 2023’s piecemeal approach doesn’t meet the moment

Ontario’s Minister of Finance has tabled another “Building Ontario” budget for the province, investing heavily in the Premier’s usual approach – building/manufacturing, training people to build/manufacture, and making it easier to build/manufacture – all while our systems of care continue to deteriorate.

ONN is deeply disappointed that the provincial government is not paying attention to nonprofits ringing the alarm on how the lack of supports and investments are hurting people and communities. 

With projections of $204.4B in revenue, $204.7B in expenses, and $1B hived off in reserve, the province anticipates a shrinking $1.3B deficit in fiscal 2023-2024. 

Budget 2023 Projected Fiscal Summary

Budget 2023 is a familiar blueprint from this government: $184.4B infrastructure expenditure over the next 10 years, $215M for the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit this year, and piecemeal investments for some to stabilize but not enough to combat inflation driven cost increases and demand for programs and services. Critical funding envelopes saw a meager 4-6 per cent increase with nominal increases in base funding and in some cases decreases, leaving support stagnant. 

The moment Ontarians are in – pandemic fallout, affordability crisis, and antiquated care systems – demands a stronger and cohesive vision, with a budget to match. Without any action, the erosion of Ontario’s critical social infrastructure – like minor soccer leagues, summer festivals, family services, and meaningful progress on equity – will only accelerate. Accelerate to a point where we won’t have them at all. 

We all understand that vibrant, healthy, supported communities make good economic sense. But vibrant, healthy, supported communities are not possible without a strong and sustainable nonprofit sector.

Gains for the sector and the communities we serve

• New Emergency Management Preparedness Grant to support community organizations, Emergency Response Fund to provide immediate and urgent relief for municipalities, First Nations and communities, and a comprehensive emergency preparedness program created in coordination with emergency management partners. This is part of a $110 million funding envelope over three years to Emergency Management Ontario.  
• Increasing funding to $569 million in 2023–24, $300 million of which will support contract rate increases to stabilize the home and community care workforce. 
• 5 per cent base funding increase for the mental health and addictions subsector, part of  $425 million over three years funding envelope to increase access to services across the province. 
• $202 million each year in the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program.  
• $3 million for the Black Youth Action Plan
• 23 new hospice beds. 
• Development loans and loan guarantees to select non-profit long-term care homes.
• $15 million over three years for the Racialized and Indigenous Supports for Entrepreneurs (RAISE) Grant Program that includes support for Indigenous, Black and other racialized people to help address systemic racism. 
• $1.4 billion over three years to annually index to inflation the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and the maximum monthly amount for the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities Program, starting in July 2023.
• $25.1 million in 2023–24 to support the identification, investigation, protection and commemoration of Residential School burial sites across the province. 
• Temporarily doubling the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) payments for eligible seniors until December 2023 and expanding it for an additional 100,000 seniors.

What’s missing and concerning?

• Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport base funding decreased by $ 2.8 million while allocation for the Ontario Cultural Media Tax Credits increased. However, there have been no cuts to the Ontario Trillium Foundation and Minister Lumsden confirmed that the Ontario Arts Council funding will remain the same.
• A new provincial park was announced but no support for labour shortages because of low pay which is shuttering programs in the sports and recreation subsector. 
• No new provincial funding for child care, no launch of a child care workforce strategy, nor any increase to the Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) Tax Credit. While recently released provincial budgets in Manitoba, the Yukon, New Brunswick, and BC added their own money to raise child care workforce wages to $25 an hour. 
• No extension or replacement of the time-limited pandemic paid sick leave. Permanent paid sick days are needed in Ontario’s employment standards legislation to ensure workers have paid days off when sick. This also comes at the same time COVID, cold, and flu care clinics across Ontario are slated to close over the next month.
• No money for municipalities “to be made whole again” after Bill 23 slashed budgets.
• Nothing for women and the SILGBTQ community.
• No direct investments into the Francophonie communities despite the province’s increasing interest in welcoming more Francophone immigrant skilled workers into the province.
• Economic predictions for new housing are not only not predicting growth but also a significant drop in the number of new homes built (from 96,100 in 2022 to 80,300 in 2023 and between 79,000 and 83,000 in each of the subsequent years to 2027). If these numbers hold up, then Ontario won’t even be a third of the way to its 2030 goal of 1.5 million new homes by 2027. We would need to see an average of about 270,000 homes a year between 2027 and 2030 (inclusive). That would be more than a 3x increase over the 2020-2027 average. Additionally, the government acknowledges the need to coordinate with all levels of government and all sectors, including the nonprofit sector (84).
• Supports to help staff healthcare facilities continue to miss the mark as they do not seek to remedy the root cause of staffing shortages which is low wages and burnout. The government still plans to fight to uphold Bill 124 its wage freeze bill.
• There are no significant efforts to combat climate change. Instead the province has chosen to invest in smaller, more focused initiatives. Multimedia journalist publication The Narwhal reacts with no reaction because there was nothing of substance on climate change and the environment in the budget.
• Besides the underwhelming 5 per cent increase to ODSP, the government continues to invest in employment programs for people with disabilities rather than robust direct support. Unfortunately, numerous attempts at this approach outside of Ontario show it does not work for everyone.
• Most of the time Indigenous peoples are mentioned in the context of the North, and more specifically the Ring of Fire and broadband. With regard to the Ring of Fire, almost $1 billion of funding is claimed for various purposes, but the actual amount of new money named as dedicated specifically to Indigenous communities is for road construction. Similarly, the Government claims it’s spending $4 billion on a high speed internet strategy of which $11 million (0.0275%) is specifically named for Indigenous communities. For context, self-identified Indigenous people account for about 15.6% of Northern Ontario population. 
• In 2021, Six Nations of the Grand River Chief Mark Hill requested $10 Million from Ottawa to help fund a broad archeological search, forensic examination, as well as psychological and spiritual supports needed to “help the community grapple with the emotional fallout.” of investigating residential school burial grounds. The additional $25.1 million in 2023–24 may not be enough to fund the excavation of the twelve or more sites mentioned in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, especially alongside a 97 per cent decrease in funding for Indigenous Affairs in this budget compared to last year.

Despite investment in the Racialized and Indigenous Supports for Entrepreneurs (RAISE) Grant Program, there are no further efforts to advance economic reconciliation, including supporting Indigenous procurement and economic development.

Subsector breakdown

Child care 

• Re-announced the $213 million grant program (mix of federal and provincial funding) for new and existing operators to help offset the costs of expanding or creating spaces such as purchasing equipment or renovating facilities. 
• Explained that child care expenses were lower than expected due to the timing of Ontario signing and implementing the Canada Wide Early Learning Licensed Child care agreement.

Climate change and the environment

• $14 million in 2023–24 to expand the Greenlands Conservation Partnership.
• $9.5 million over the next three years to improve soil data mapping and soil evaluation and monitoring.
• Launching the voluntary Clean Energy Credit (CEC) Registry that incentivizes businesses to meet sustainability goals and demonstrate that their electricity has been sourced from clean resources.
• Ontario ‘s energy grid is 90 per cent emissions free, this indicates an increase in emissions as, in 2021 an Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) study found Ontario’s energy grid was 94 per cent emissions free.

Economic Development

• $184.4 billion infrastructure expenditure over the next 10 years, including $20.6 billion in 2023–24:
  • $70.5 billion for public transit
  • $48 billion for hospital infrastructure
  • $27.9 billion for highways
  • $22 billion for schools and childcare spaces
  • $8 billion in other health infrastructure
  • $5.4 billion in the Postsecondary Education infrastructure
• $400 million in 2023 to the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) to support job creation and drive economic growth with funding for roads, bridges, water and wastewater projects.
• Centralizing procurement by enhancing the rules and making significant investments in government adoption of Ontario-made solutions. Entrepreneurs and local businesses looking to scale up will have more opportunity to participate in government procurement.
• $2 million in 2023–24 to Futurpreneur Canada to help businesses led by people aged 18 to 39 with mentorship programs and loan capital worth up to $20,000. The investment is supposed to help address some of the unique economic barriers facing youth, women, racialized and Indigenous entrepreneurs.
• Building Transit‐Oriented Communities at 8 future stations along the new Ontario Line and Yonge North Subway Extension, creating over 73,000 new jobs and approximately 48,000 new residential units. The planned 38‐acre East Harbour Transit Hub site will include the creation of a major employment centre, new residential and commercial space, community amenities and parkland, as well as affordable housing.  

Housing 

• Aiming to build 1.5 million homes by 2031.
• $202 million each year in the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program.  
• Estimated impact of red tape reduction and the two new housing Acts on reducing the cost of non‐profit development in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to build a single‐family home is $116,900.
• $24 million over 3 years to clear backlog at Ontario Land Tribunal and LTB.
• Calling on the federal government for Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) relief on new housing.

Sports and Recreation 

• Opening a new, full‐service, provincial park – possibly in the Minister of Finance’s riding (Township of Uxbridge), that will offer four‐season facilities and recreational activities including swimming, hiking, cross‐country skiing, and add 250 new campsites to the Ontario Parks system. 
• Overall budget decrease for the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Sport by 9 per cent. Base funding  decreased by $2.8 million while allocation for the Ontario Cultural Media Tax Credits increased.

Employment, training, and skills development

• $75 million over the next three years to the Skills Development Fund. 
• $224 million in 2023–24 in a new capital stream of the Skills Development Fund to expand brick‐and‐mortar training centres, operated by construction unions, Indigenous centres, business and industry associations. 
• $5 million to launch a second round of the Ontario Micro‐credentials Challenge Fund.
• $3.3 million over the next three years, beginning in 2023–24, to expand access to dual credit opportunities in health care‐related courses for an additional 1,400 secondary students. 
• Expanding the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant to add more health care professionals in underserved and growing communities.
• Not replacing time‐limited pandemic measure paid COVID‐19 leave, a program designed to support people who needed to take time off work to isolate or get vaccinated.

Immigration 

• $25 million over three years in the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program to welcome more skilled workers to the province.

Health

• Increasing funding to $569 million in 2023–24, $300 million of which will support contract rate increases to stabilize the home and community care workforce. This funding will also expand home care services and improve the quality of care.
• $425 million over three years, which includes a 5 per cent base funding increase for the mental health and addictions subsector, to:
  • Increase access to mental health programs that are community-led and a broad range of addictions services across Ontario;
  • Provide access to mental health and addictions services, primary care, and social and community supports to youth aged 12 to 25 through Youth Wellness Hubs;
  • Support for children and youth suffering from eating disorders;
  • Identify the data and digital health needs of service providers to deliver better care for clients;
  • Maintain supportive housing and services for people living with mental health and addictions challenges as they transition from hospital to the community; 
  • Work with Indigenous partners and communities to maintain co-developed programs and services that support Indigenous people’s access to high-quality, culturally appropriate care.
• 23 new hospice beds to the 500 beds already available across the province. 
• $60 million over two years to create up to 18 new primary care teams and expand existing ones (about $200,000 per team, per year).
• $72 million in 2023–24 to private clinics. 
• $80 million over the next three years to further expand enrollment for nursing programs.
• $1.2 million to the Ontario Personal Support Workers Association to help with recruitment efforts by promoting the personal support worker profession in the long‐term care sector. 
• $200 million in 2023-24 to address immediate health care workforce shortages and to grow it:
  • Offering 6,000 health care students training opportunities to work in hospitals providing care and gaining practical experience 
  • Supporting up to 3,150 internationally educated nurses to become accredited nurses in Ontario through the Supervised Practice Experience Partnership Program. 

Long-Term Care

• Development loans and loan guarantees to select non‐municipal non-profit long-term care homes

What was in the budget for various communities?

Anti-Racism and Equity

• $15 million over three years for the Racialized and Indigenous Supports for Entrepreneurs (RAISE) Grant Program that includes support for Indigenous, Black and other racialized people to help address systemic racism. 

Accessibility / People with disabilities

• $1.4 billion over three years to annually index to inflation the core allowances for the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and the maximum monthly amount for the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities Program, starting in July 2023.
• $3.5 million over three years to continue to support the Abilities Centre in Whitby, a community hub that delivers a range of inclusive programming to promote health, community relationships, and skills development for individuals with disabilities. 

Black Communities

• $3 million for the Black Youth Action Plan

Francophone communities

• 2 new joint French schools with the Catholic School board and 1 new French public elementary school in Ottawa that will serve 475 students and include 49 licensed child care spaces. 

Indigenous Communities and Reconciliation

• $25.1 million in 2023–24 to support the identification, investigation, protection and commemoration of Residential School burial sites across the province. Funding will provide resources for community coordinators, researchers and technical expertise, ongoing engagement with survivors, mental health supports, archival analysis, and the deployment and interpretation of ground-scanning technologies.
• $5 million in annual funding for Winter Roads Program enhancements to provide seasonal connections to all‐season roads for remote First Nation communities in the Far North.
• $10.9 million to bring improved internet access to several towns and First Nation communities across Northern Ontario (part of $4 billion in spending for increasing access to high speed internet).
• Rehabilitation and expansion of the water treatment system in Alderville First Nation. Upgrades include installing a high-capacity communal treatment plant with back-up power and an underground reservoir for water storage.
• Re-announced Ring of Fire infrastructure investments such as all‐season roads, broadband connectivity and community supports for the Ring of Fire region. 

Rural / Northern Communities

• $4 billion to ensure every community across the province has access to high‐speed internet by the end of 2025.

Seniors

• Temporarily doubling the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) payments for eligible seniors until December 2023 and expanding program eligibility for additional 100,000 seniors starting in July 2024.
• Proposed to adjust the benefit annually to inflation
• $1 million over 3 years to The Seniors Safety Line a seniors abuse helpline, part of the Assaulted Women’s Helpline.
• $174 million over two years, starting in 2024–25, to continue the Community Paramedicine for Long‐Term Care Program which leverages the skills of paramedics to provide additional care for seniors in the comfort of their own homes.

Youth

• $170 million over three years to the Youth Leaving Care program to support the success of youth leaving provincial care. Also expanding program eligibility, which currently ends at 21 years old, to include those up to 23 years old.