Where Ontario political parties stand on key issues in this election

Elections can be daunting. Most voters do not pay attention to day-to-day events in the Legislature. Also, in many cases, there is too much information to identify the signal from the noise.

The pandemic dominated the Ford government’s latest mission, but now there are other pressing issues to address — including the environment, affordability and housing, and healthcare. This is what the four major parties, the Progressive Conservatives, the Liberals, the NDPs, and the Greens, have to say about them.

environment

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sounded an alarm Extreme weather, extinction of animal species, and melting of ice caps are expected unless countries significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move into a green economy. So, at the state level, what will the next Ontario government do about it?

Progressive conservatives: When Ford premiered in 2018, he Former Liberal Government Climate Program— Comprehensive strategy for incorporating cap-and-trade, cycling, walking infrastructure, electric vehicles, agriculture and scientific research. In the 2022 election, Ford focuses on what he calls clean electricity. Low carbon hydrogen strategyNatural Gas Expansion Program to Invest in Electric Vehicles (Natural Gas Still Greenhouse gas), And the development of voluntary clean energy credits.

Ford’s budget also focuses on building or attracting industries related to clean energy conversion.To do that Important mineral strategyReleased in March, it focused on the mining of electric vehicle parts and invested $ 29 million in exploration and innovation funding in addition to the large amount of funding promised for the relevant infrastructure.

New Democrat: In addition to its commitment to zero emissions by 2050, the NDP government plans to create one million jobs to support the transition to a green economy. The party will also introduce a new cap-and-trade system that will see large companies pay what they call their fair share for their massive contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Planning. Party leader Andrea Horwarth is also working to improve the state’s disaster relief program to help people affected by natural disasters, including: Recent storms in Ontario..

Liberal: One of the key elements of the Liberal Party’s environmental strategy is to introduce a $ 1 annual ticket for the entire state, followed by a $ 40 monthly ticket. According to the party, this will reduce the number of cars on the road by 400,000 every day. In addition, Liberal plans to cut carbon pollution in half by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050 if elected.

Greens: Green party climate program The transition from a fossil fuel economy to a green economy is presented with three key priorities. Reducing greenhouse gases by investing in public transport and clean, renewable energy resources. Restoration of water and nature, including working with indigenous partners for the conservation and protection of wetlands, forests and watersheds. And by investing in new green workforce training to ensure that no one is left behind, we move into a healthy, affordable and resilient economy.

Affordable and housing

Home prices in Ontario, especially Toronto, were already soaring before the pandemic. However, after the COVID-19 hit, people sought a larger space, Soaring prices Entering the market has become more difficult.This is also the cause Rent soars without raising wagesFor those with bonds and precarious employment conditions, it is difficult to improve housing conditions.And this all comes In record inflation Nationwide. Here are the promises made by the parties regarding housing and affordability:

Progressive conservatives: Conservative plans to increase housing supply will be zero in the process of housing construction. The party has proposed accelerating approval and reducing bureaucratic formalism. Ford is also proposing a $ 19.2 million investment to reduce the unprocessed portion of the Ontario Land Court, which decides on issues related to land use planning, environmental functions, and land valuation.

In March of this year, Ontario and the federal government also announced an agreement on a new early learning and childcare system across Canada.Ford government promised to reach average $ 10 a day childcare by September 2025— A transaction made in partnership with the federal government. The Ontario 2019 Budget introduced the Ontario Child Care Tax Credit. This is a refund tax that allows families with a household income of less than $ 150,000 to claim up to 75% of their childcare costs, regardless of care options. (This credit can be used in combination with a new childcare contract.)

New Democrat: Day care at $ 10 a day is a solid deal, but New Democrats say they will speed up the process if elected so that ontarians who need access to the program can do it faster. In addition, fees related to preschool and after-school care will be reduced.

To address the state’s housing crisis, NDP plans to build 250,000 more affordable homes dedicated to those in need. This works in tandem with the pledge to diversify housing stock to include duplex, triplex and town homes. The NDP also promises that the rent of the new tenant will be the same as the amount paid by the previous tenant in order to reduce the number of landlords and refurbishments that will significantly increase the rent of the landlord when the tenant moves out.

Liberal: The Liberal Party plans to save $ 10,000 a year for parents per child by leveraging the already agreed $ 10 / day plan. An estimate of over $ 7,300 provided by the federal government in 2021. The party also plans to raise the minimum wage to $ 16 an hour, which is 50 cents higher than the PC proposes.

In terms of housing, Stephen Del Duca’s liberal plans to build 1.5 million new homes, including 138,000 “very affordable” homes, of which 78,000 are new social and community homes and 38,000 are supportive homes. 22,000 are assigned to indigenous peoples). These homes include semi-detached homes, triplets, town homes and increase population density without towers. The party also said the plan would help create 150,000 jobs a year. In the case of lessors, they regain rent management and also “Residential first “approachThis will see non-residential soon receive access to permanent housing.

Greens: The Greens promise to build 182,000 permanently affordable community homes. About 60,000 of them will be permanent support housing. To build these homes, the party has forced zoning inclusion (a policy that requires a certain number of new homes that are affordable for low-income earners) and a seed fund (a small amount for businesses or nonprofits). Subsidies) promise co-operative housing. For volatile housing, Greens has taken a housing-first approach, more specifically with the federal government on a national housing strategy to renew 260,000 community home rentals over the next decade. doing. The party will also partner with nonprofits to use public land for affordable rent and homeownership options. And they are proposing to increase the funding of the landlord and tenant committee to enhance the security and protection of the lessor.

The Green Party platform, in collaboration with the federal government, promises to ensure universal access to high-quality $ 10 a day childcare and provide childcare workers with a minimum wage of $ 25 per hour. increase. They also confirm their commitment to apply gender-based analysis to all government laws and programming. This requires all policies and programs to assess the potential positive and negative impacts on people based on gender, race, class, immigration status, and more. ..

Health care

Ontario Healthcare System Before COVID-19, it was already in an unstable state. Now our doctors, nurses and other medical professionals Burn out And we are in desperate need of support. Public health is the foundation of Canada’s identity, but without proper support for the system, it begins to collapse. Here are some suggestions from the parties regarding medical care:

Progressive conservatives: To improve emergency medical services, PCs are investing $ 7 million in 2022-23 to support dedicated off-road nursing programs. This investment will fund additional healthcare providers to help rescue ambulance patients drop into the emergency department so that rescuers can answer other emergency calls.

The new funding will also support the recruitment of up to 60 front-line healthcare providers to improve the off-road of ambulance patients in the emergency department. In 2021, a dedicated off-road nursing program increased ambulance availability by approximately 500,000 hours. This investment will also support the expansion of the program to other communities and regions, including Guelph and Sucent. Marie and Muskoka area.

New Democrat: Leverage NDP Liberal Party-NDP Confidence and Cooperation Agreement Promote affordable dental insurance in Ontario. The party also aims to hire 30,000 new nurses and speed up the approval of the qualifications of 15,000 internationally trained nurses. They also hire 10,000 personal support workers and give them salary increases.And the party works to abolish Building 124, This limits wage increases for public sector workers, including nurses. This is a profession that was admired in the early days of the pandemic, but otherwise had little benefit.

Liberal: The Liberal Party also says they repeatl Building 124.. In addition, they employ 100,000 health care workers and seek to hire internationally trained health professionals. To combat wait times, Delduca and his team created 3,000 new hospital beds, giving Ontario people access to prescription drug coverage and all the drugs in the Ontario prescription collection. I would like to be able to cover this with a private benefit system.

Greens: The Greens take a proactive approach to healthcare. This includes partnering with the federal government to implement and address universal Pharmacare policies. Social determinants of health. The latter includes increased access to Family health teamIncreased funding and increased funding, including primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare professionals providing primary care to the community Access to midwives.. For hospitals, Greens plans to increase hospital-based operating capital by at least 5 percent annually year-over-year.

Like the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party, the Greens are proposing to abolish Bill 124 to increase support for health care workers. It also promises to ensure that healthcare professionals get fair wages through collective bargaining. To reach this, Greens offers a minimum wage of $ 35 per hour for nurses and $ 25 per hour for personalized workers.

The Greens have also promised to increase access to publicly funded mental health care. This includes making mental health spending 10% of Ontario’s health budget, covering OHIP-based mental health and addiction care, providing immediate basic funding for community mental health programs, and early. Includes increasing access to family health teams and walk-in clinics for intervention.