Ontario NDP 2018 Platform: Quick Reference Guide

Key Priorities: “Five changes for the better”

  1. Provide drug and dental coverage for all Ontarians
  2. End hallway medicine and fix seniors care
  3. Cut hydro bills 30% by bringing Hydro One back into public hands
  4. Convert student loans into grants and create co-op jobs
  5. Protect middle class families by having the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations pay their fair share

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Economic Policy

[one_third]Corporate Taxes

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Increasing the corporate tax rate on profits to 13% from 11.5% (1% increase in 2019-20, .5% 2021-22)
  • Businesses with payrolls over $3 million will no longer qualify for small business exemptions

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Income taxes

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Increase in the personal tax rate from 13.16% to 14.16% on taxable income over $220,000

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Job Growth

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Invest $57 million annually from the Jobs and Prosperity Fund to create opportunities in the skilled trades
  • Establish a stream within the Jobs and Prosperity Fund to promote manufacturing research and development

[/two_third_last]

Healthcare Policy

[one_third]Pharmacare and Dental Care

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Universal pharmacare, beginning with 125 `essential` medicines
  • Dental coverage for all Ontarians by requiring all employers to provide dental benefits to workers and their families through a monthly payroll deduction

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Hospital Funding and Community Care

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Will increase hospital funding by 5.3% immediately
  • Open 2,000 new hospital beds
  • Invest $19 billion over 10 years to hospital capital expansion
  • Build 35 new Community Health Centres by 2025 and invest $30 million in community care
  • Double Ontario’s investment in the First Nations Health Action Plan, providing $209 million per year beginning in 2019

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Seniors’ Care

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Open 15,000 more long-term care beds over five years, bringing the total to 40,000 by 2028
  • Extend hands-on care daily minimum to four hours per patient
  • Increase home care funding by $300 million

[/two_third_last]

Education Policy

[one_third]Skills Development

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Create a fund within the Jobs and Prosperity Fund for opportunities for mid-career education
  • Open 27,000 new work-integrated-learning opportunities such as co-ops or paid internships for students

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Post-Secondary Education

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Students who qualify for OSAP will receive a non-repayable grant instead of a loan
  • Forgive any student loan interest owed or paid to the province by any student or past student with outstanding debt to the province
  • Invest in more tenure track positions at post-secondary educational institutions and allowing more contract educators to become full-time professors and instructors

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Primary Education

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Cap kindergarten classroom capacity at 26 students
  • Implement a moratorium on school closings

[/two_third_last]

Infrastructure & Transit

[one_third]Transit

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Provincial government will fund 50% of net transit and paratransit operating costs around Ontario.
  • Provide two-way all-day GO rail service between Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto
  • Year-round GO service from Niagara to Toronto
  • Build Toronto’s downtown relief line ASAP
  • Build a new LRT line through Hamilton

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Infrastructure

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Will invest $180 billion in infrastructure over the next 10 years, focused on public projects
  • Invest $16 billion to repair public schools
  • Invest in capital needed to ensure communities have sustainable access to clean water

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Affordable Housing

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Overhaul Inclusionary Zoning regulations to increase the number of affordable homes and rental properties required
  • Implement a new housing anti-speculation tax to both domestic and foreign speculators who do not pay taxes in Ontario

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Northern Transportation

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Restore Ontario Northlander`s passenger service and support Huron Central and Algoma Central Rail Lines

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Broadband

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • 10-year $1 billion fund for bringing broadband service to rural and Northern Ontario

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Municipal Investment

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Restore funding for the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, increasing to $550 Million

[/two_third_last]

Natural Resources & Energy

[one_third]Hydro & Energy

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Cut hydro bills by 30%
  • Return Hydro One to public ownership
  • A $100 million investment on natural gas expansion to reduce dependence on high-carbon diesel and heating oil
  • Exempt First Nations communities from electricity delivery charges and connect remote communities to Ontario’s grid

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Agriculture

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Protect supply management and Ontario’s Production Insurance Program

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Forestry

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Dedicate $1 billion to a Provincial Forestry Strategy in the Ring of Fire

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Mining

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Provincial share of mining taxes will be transferred to First Nations leadership

[/two_third_last]

Environment

[one_third]Carbon Pricing

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • 25% of cap-and-trade revenues will support lower-income, rural, northern, and trade-exposed industries
  • Maintain cap-and-trade system agreement with California and Quebec

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Renewables

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Solar, water, and wind will be at the heart of the electricity grid through responsible integration

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Retrofitting

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Invest in a $50 million interest-free on-bill home retrofitting program to help Ontarians consume less electricity

[/two_third_last]

Labour Policy

[one_third]Wages

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Support minimum wage increase to $15/hour and index future increases to inflation

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Employee Benefits

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Require employers to provide at least three weeks paid vacation to every full-time employee
  • Transfer pharmacare costs from small-businesses to the province, saving approximately $1.9 billion annually

[/two_third_last]

[one_third]

Pensions

[/one_third]

[two_third_last]

  • Increase the Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund guaranteed amount to $3,000 per month

[/two_third_last]

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