(Queen's Park) – Simcoe North MPP Garfield Dunlop announced today that despite times of global uncertainty, the Eves government is taking steps in its 2003 Budget to keep Ontario"s economy and job growth strong. Delivered at 4 pm today by Finance Minister Janet Ecker, Budget 2003 is the government"s fifth consecutive balanced budget.

"At a time when provinces and states across Canada and the U.S. are facing deficits, we must remain cautious," said Dunlop. "But we must also continue to focus on balancing budgets, lowering taxes, cutting waste and investing your tax dollars wisely in priorities such as health care, education and strong communities."

Cutting taxes to create jobs and stimulate the economy is high on the Eves government"s priority list in the 2003 Budget. Knowing that tax cuts are the key to opportunity and prosperity, the Eves government is following through on its promise to cut both personal and business taxes.

"We are completing the additional 20 percent reduction in personal income taxes to leave more money in the pockets of hardworking Ontarians," said Dunlop. "For a typical two-income family of four making $60,000, the new personal income tax cuts announced in the budget mean a tax reduction of over $2,100 this year, rising to more than $2,500 next year."

By investing almost $2 billion additional dollars in health care, the Eves government continues its commitment to our publicly funded health care system – a system that is universally accessible to all Ontarians with an OHIP card.

"In this year's budget, the Eves government continues to address what Ontarians want most from their health care system – more doctors and nurses, shorter waiting lists, increased access to diagnostic testing, better support for mental health, and a stronger focus on keeping people well," said Dunlop. "It also includes an historic commitment of $1 billion to establish a new Cancer Research Institute of Ontario."

The budget recognizes that education is a top priority of Ontarians, and the Eves government will spend a record $15.3 billion as it follows through on its promise of stable, multi-year base funding for Ontario"s schools.

"The people of Ontario have told us that they want each of our students to achieve their full potential," said Dunlop. "We listened to Dr. Rozanski's recommendations and acted quickly to commit $875 million in new funding to better support special education, teacher salaries, transportation and textbooks. Over the next three years, we will provide an additional $1.1 billion to implement the rest of Dr. Rozanski's recommendations."

In preparation for the double cohort, the Eves government will also create 20,000 new student spaces, for a total of 135,000 new places, in Ontario"s colleges and universities.

The budget also accommodates the need for more skilled workers throughout the province. The Eves government will invest $90 million in our high schools over the next four years to renew technological equipment, train teachers and develop partnerships with employers and colleges. The government also plans to create a new refundable Apprenticeship Tax Credit for employers.

"I was honoured to be recognized on page 12 of the Budget Speech for the report I released last year on technical and vocational training," said Dunlop. "In this report, I emphasized that the need for skilled workers starts right in our high schools. In addition, I have been a strong advocate of the proposed Apprenticeship Tax Credit which would encourage businesses to hire and train more skilled workers."

Contact:
Garfield Dunlop
(705) 327-4500 (cell)