Working on the next provincial budget
I hope you are all staying safe and keeping warm! I am excited to be back at Queen’s Park as we work on the next provincial budget to support our economy and the people of Ontario.
I enjoyed spending time with many of you at the Port Union Winterfest in January as it was a great opportunity for the community to come together. I want to thank the organizers and volunteers for putting it together and everyone who came out to enjoy the afternoon.
Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care
I am very proud to announce that the government has released a full plan to tackle the many challenges facing the health-care sector. We recognize that too many people are waiting too long to get an appointment or surgery, having to travel too far to get care, and spending too much time trying to navigate our health-care system.
The plan lays out a broad series of initiatives under three pillars to deliver connected and convenient care in hospital emergency rooms, in community settings like pharmacies, community organizations, and doctors’ offices, in long-term care homes and through care delivered right at home.
You can find out more about this plan at: ontario.ca/page/your-health-plan-connected-and-convenient-care
Supporting our Seniors
The Ontario government is committed to supporting our seniors to live healthy, active and socially connected lives. The government provides various senior assistance programs that look to support our seniors in many different ways. These programs include:
- The Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit is a refundable personal income tax credit to help low-to moderate-income seniors with eligible medical expenses, including expenses that support aging at home.
- The Ontario Electricity Support Program lowers electricity bills for lower-income households.
- The Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) is a provincial program that ensures a guaranteed minimum income for qualifying Ontario senior citizens.
I encourage you to reach out to my constituency office for more information regarding these programs.
Improving Access to Critical Government Services
The Ontario government is making it faster, easier and more convenient for people and businesses to access services through ServiceOntario. You are now able to renew your driver’s license, health card, accessible parking permit and other important documents online.
If you are in need of an in-person appointment, we are also improving the booking system at many of the busiest ServiceOntario locations. These efforts will allow you to save valuable time and focus on more important things.
For more information, I encourage you to go serviceontario.ca.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to my office at 8130 Sheppard Avenue East, Unit 105, by email at vijay.thanigasalam@pc.ola.org, or give us a call at 416-283-8448.