MPP Glen Murray E-Newsletter

Ontario Budget Run-Down As many of you are aware, the 2016 Ontario Budget has recently been announced with many exciting and ground breaking projects and programs on the horizon. However, provincial budgets can be dense documents, so this section of the newsletter will be dedicated to sections of the budget that we think will be important to you and worth highlighting. Education  As Ontario transitions towards a more information-based economy, it is becoming imperative that we continue the trend of increasing post-secondary education levels for all adults in Ontario. Unfortunately, for many low and medium income families and individuals the costs of attaining this degree of education is too high. To remedy this, the Ontario government is making the average cost of post-secondary education for students from families making less than $50,000 a year $0 through non-repayable grants. What's more, more than 50% of students from families with incomes of less than $83,000 will receive non-payable grants equally more than the cost of their education. This will be provided through the newly formed Ontario Student Grant (OSG). Families with younger children will still get to experience the benefits of full day kindergarten as well as increased investments in education and educational infrastructure. These investments in education should keep Ontario an innovative, dynamic and prosperous place to live in now and in the future. For more information on education in the 2016 Ontario Budget, feel free to click HERE. Health Care  The Ontario budget continues to work to make high quality health care available to all, as fast as possible. In order to accomplish this, the government is working to expand the scope of practice for doctors, registered nurses, and even pharmacists. This means that any of these skilled individuals will be able to take the lead on your care, and get you the care you want, fast. Other improvements include investing in cancer care, mental health, and infertility care. Access to quality health care is important to families, and communities, and the economy. For more information on health care, click HERE. Climate Change  There is a growing consensus that unchecked climate change will lead to future global disaster, however what is less well known is that climate change is affecting us now and costing us money. Severe weather wreaks havoc on infrastructure and the agricultural industry. This has led to the development of the Cap and Trade Program, which has the dual benefit of lowering emissions as well as being a quantifiable and noteworthy boon for our economy. Although the Cap and Trade system can seem complex, in reality it is quite simple. The system sets a cap on the level of emissions allowed from each organization each year. Those who are currently overproducing will be given time to lower their emissions, but after a period of time they would be forced to buy emissions allowances from companies that are under producing at more environmentally healthy levels. This financial incentive will force companies to begin investing in green-tech and create an entirely new low carbon industry. The Cap, being implemented in 2017, will be lowered each year until 2020 which will help us meet our emissions targets. If you want to watch a great video on Cap and Trade, click HERE. Climate change could be the defining issue of our generation and is imperative that we begin lowering emissions to avoid irreversible damage to our planet. If you want to find out more about climate change and the Ontario Budget, click HERE.

News From Queen's Park Ontario Commits to Ending Violence Against Indigenous Women  The Government of Ontario has recently made a strong commitment to end violence against Indigenous Women. Indigenous Women suffer proportionally much higher rates of violence, which has the effect of destroying families and communities. To remedy this, the Ontario Government is committing $100 million over the next three years to put a stop to this ongoing pattern of violence, with $80 million going directly to help the families of those affected. $15.75 million will go community safety and healing, $2.32 million will go to policing and justice, $1.15 million will go to prevention and awareness, $750,000 will go to improved data and research, and $500,000 will go to leadership and accountability.     Community News MPP Glen Murray Free Winter Skate It's that time of the year again! Until March 16th, come join us Wednesdays at 4:00 PM at Moss Park Arena for the MPP Glen Murray Free Winter Skate. We bring the skates and the ice, so just bring yourself to Moss Park Arena for an hour of winter fun and exercise.