Waterdown hosts first 2019 Ontario budget consultation

Health care, jobs, alcohol legislation discussed at local session

The first in the Ontario Ministry of Finance’s series of budget consultations in advance of the 2019 budget was held at the Waterdown Legion on Wednesday, and saw Hamilton-area stakeholders share their hopes to improve health care and create jobs.

The event was hosted by Barrie-Springwater-Oro Medonte MPP Doug Downey, the parliamentary assistant to the minister of finance. He said the government is coming at the budget in the context of a $14.5-billion deficit.

“Our government is looking for ways to cut red tape, improve the way we deliver programs, save taxpayers money and put money back in their pockets,” he said at the start of the consultation. “We are focused on a number of priorities … in terms of accountability and this is part of that — engaging with people on the ground.”

Downey said the consultations are very much in the context of the deficit, which, during November’s fall economic statement, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli said would require everyone across the province to make sacrifices.

“We still have a sizeable $14.5-billion deficit — so we have financial constraints,” Downey said in an interview. “But not everything people tell us is directly financial — sometimes it’s structural, it’s ways we can do things differently.”

“It encourages people to give us their ideas in the context of where we are financially.”

While the Waterdown consultation was the first, Downey said the Ministry of Finance will hold numerous consultations all across the province.

“We mapped out across the province where we wanted to be,” he said, adding it’s just the way the schedule worked out that Waterdown was first. “Hamilton is the fourth-largest city — so a pretty important place — pretty dynamic, a lot of uniqueness to it.”

Although 36 organizations were registered to take part in the consultation, only 25 presented during the consultation.

Several groups made presentations about how funding their agency would improve health care in the province — including Jeff Neven, executive director of the Hamilton-based Christian charity Indwell.

He said Indwell, whose focus is building affordable housing, would like to get 4,000 affordable housing units built across the province over the next decade.

Neven said the proposal would help end hallway health care by keeping people off the streets — in addition to creating jobs in the construction industry.

Meanwhile, Vanessa Rankin of the Ontario Association of Social Workers said adding permanent social workers in hospitals could improve the mental health of Ontarians.

“Preventing avoidable admissions is vital to cutting hospital wait times and ending hallway health care,” she said, adding permanent social workers can redirect patients that don’t need to be admitted.

Presentations from Hamilton’s Collective Arts Brewing and Ayr’s Willibald Farm Distillery asked the province to make it easier for small cider and spirit producers to sell their products. The recommendations included abolishing a requirement that cider producers have a five-acre orchard attached to their premises to sell from their front door, as well as allowing greater distribution, shelf space and reduced tax rates.

“Ontario craft distillers have a rich history and we want to make sure it continues,” said Willibald’s Cam Formica.

Meanwhile, representatives from the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Theatre Aquarius and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra also highlighted the importance of the arts to Hamilton’s economy.

As well, multiple credit unions, including Kelly Harris of FirstOntario Credit Union, asked the province to modernize the province’s Credit Union Act to level the playing field between banks and credit unions.

Downey said the ministry is also receiving submissions in writing and through email. Once the consultations have been completed on Feb. 8, the information will be dissected by the ministry and distilled into themes.

“Over time I think we’ll see themes,” he said. “Then you look at the kinds of asks and you look at what’s possible.

“In light of the government priorities, we’re pretty focused on jobs, hallway health care and putting money back in people’s pockets.”