NDP Platform - Plan for Affordable Change

8/4/2019 NDP Platform - Plan for Affordable Change

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1 | ONTARIO NDP PLAT

Change that puts you firstONTARIOS NEW DEMOCRATS | PLAN FOR AFFORDABLE CHANGE


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ONTARIO NDP PLATFORM | 2


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This elecon maers

You know the status quo isnt working or you. You knowits time or change. Its your chance to demand the Ontario

you want.

In this election, you can stick with the same tired ideasthat you know arent working, that make your lie moreexpensive, and your province less air

or you can pick change that puts people rst.

When my ather came to Canada rom the ormerCzechoslovakia, it was a dierent time in Ontario. It wasa time when a man like my Dad could land a job that hedhold or most o his lie. My Mother could work part-timecleaning instead o two ull-time jobs. It was a time whensomeone like me, the daughter o an autoworker, could getan education without taking on a mountain o debt.

Every generation wants to improve lie or their amilies.

I know I want to see a world o opportunity open up or

my son. But i were going to do that we need change inOntario.

Although there are some signs o recovery on the horizon,economists are warning o a long period o sluggish growth

People have lost jobs and savings and amilies are eelingthe squeeze, especially middle income amilies. Aterination is taken into account the average worker hasntseen a raise in two decades. Most people are struggling toget by with less.

But some are doing better than ever. I youre one o

Canadas top 100 CEOs you collected more pay by January3rd at 3pm than the average person earns in a year.

You never voted or this, but it keeps happening. Te unaHS made your daily essentials like hydro, gasoline andhome heating more expensive while banks and insurancecompanies got a tax break.

Seniors and their amilies are waiting longer and payingmore to get the care they need while healthcare CEOscollect six-gure salaries.


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Your amily and riends are watching jobs vanish andpaycheques shrink, while our natural resources and publicmoney are shipped away to make prot somewhere else.Tis doesnt make sense. Its the wrong direction or theprovince and its ailing people like you.

We wont get the change we need by sticking to a statusquo that just isnt working.

We need change that puts you and your amily rst.

Tats what our plan will do.

We need change that makes lie more aordable by takingthe unair HS o daily essentials including hydro, homeheating and gasoline while shiting the tax burden ontocorporations that have already gotten generous breaks.

We need change that creates jobs by processing naturalresources in Ontario and by making sure public dollars

support local economies and local companies.

We need change that meets our healthcare challenges bycutting wait times in emergency rooms, or home care andor long-term care.

And we need to live within our means. Your bottom line isour priority.

Tis is the rst o a set o commitments were making to thpeople o Ontario.

Te plan we lay out here isnt the nal word rom us, andit wont x everything overnight, but it will take some keyrst steps down a new path or Ontario.

Our plan takes $7 billion that was being invested incorporate tax giveaways, CEO pay hikes and consultantcontracts and invests that money in the priorities thatyouve told us matter to you: making lie aordable andhelping with household budgets, creating and protectinggood jobs, rewarding job creators, and ensuring healthcaredollars are wisely spent on your needs.

A vote or New Democrats means real change.

It will put an end to the status quo thats let you and youramily alling behind.

Well be putting orward more positive ideas that will mak


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a real dierence. Read them. Pass them along. Let us knowwhat you think and on October 6, vote or change that wilput you and your amily rst.

Sincerely,

Andrea HorwathLeader, Ontarios New Democrats


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1. Makinglife aordable.


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Change that helps people keep moremoney in their pockets.


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Making lie more aordable Change that helps peoplekeep more money in their pockets.

Families tell us theyre eeling squeezed.

Tats no surprise. In 2009 alone, real GDP contractedby 3.6%. Te economic turmoil o job losses, destroyedsavings, and overall pocketbook anxiety has put the squeezeon amilies particularly on middle-income Ontario.

Your wages just arent keeping up with the cost o living.Whether its home heating, gasoline, electricity or groceries,you and your amily are scrambling to make ends meet.

Your government gives corporations a tax break, but yourbudget gets hit with unair taxes on essentials like electricityand home heating, while ees continue to rise on everythingrom healthcare to your childs education.

I Ontarios households are in good nancial shape thenOntarios economy will ollow.

1 | Making life aorda

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Hourlywage($)

Adjustedforinflation;2002dollars;Statistics CanadaSurvey ofEmployment,Payroll,andHours

Average hourly earnings (1991-2010)

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2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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ntarioLongTermEnergy Plan,2010

Government's forecasted electricity bill hikes

Average hourly earnings (1991-2010)

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Making life aordable | 1

Troughout our provinces history, Ontario succeededwhen everyone had a stake in prosperity.

Experts tell us that the real problem in Ontarios economyisnt corporate debt, or even government debt itshousehold debt. I we want Ontario to succeed we needOntarios people to do well.

We need change that makes lie more aordable. Our planhas a number o straightorward, achievable ways thatgovernment can make your lie less expensive. Helpinghousehold budgets helps our economy grow.

Take the HST o daily essenals

Te Harmonized Sales ax hit struggling amilies at theworst possible time. Instead o making lie more aordable

or people struggling with the recession, it made lie moreexpensive. It shited more o the tax burden o largecorporations like banks and insurance companies and ontohousehold budgets.

Te HS takes a big bite out o the average amily budget.Tats hard to cope with, but what hits hardest are newtaxes on your daily household essentials.

Your electricity. Your home heating. Gas or the car. Youcan cut a lot rom your household budget, but everyoneneeds to heat their home, keep the lights on and commuteto work.

Te HS was negotiated behind closed doors without yourinput, your ideas or your permission. Tis backroom dealhas a huge impact on you and your amily but no one askedyou what you thought about it. Weve been listening.

90

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120

130

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Cents

/Litre

Source:GasBuddy.com

Gas prices, May 2010 - June 2011

Gas prices, May 2010 - June 2011


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Scrapping the HS overnight might cause more problemsthan it solves but we can make lie better or people. Wewill take the HS o essentials such as electricity and homeheating. We will start removing the HS rom gasoline byone percentage point a year. Tese are daily essentials that

dont need a new tax.

We will make your lie aordable bytaking the HST o electricity, homeheating, and gasoline.

Te HS deal shited $6 billion o the tax burden ontohousehold budgets. Our plan will give some o thatmoney back to you. Well make temporary input tax creditrestrictions permanent. Tis move will ensure corporationscant write o taxes on box seats and high priced restauranttabs and we can make tax relie or people a priority.

Tis is a simple, achievable step and we are committed

to making it happen. We will take the HS o essentialnecessities and i the Harper government reuses to let ithappen, we will scrap the HS altogether.

Taking the HST o essenals annual savings for a typical household

INDIVIDUALS $130

COUPLES WITH NO CHILDREN $330

COUPLES WITH TWO CHILDREN $375

Source: Calculaons using Stascs Canada Social Policy Simulaon Database and Model

Protecon at the pumps from gas gouging

Teres nothing more annoying than watching gasolineprices suddenly jump just when you need to ll your car. I

an ideal world, we wouldnt rely on our cars but or manyOntario amilies driving is something you simply need todo. Other provinces have brought in measures to protectdrivers rom sudden price spikes at the pump.

Gas price regulation sets a ceiling or gas prices andensures that you know what the price will be all week.Its a practical, eective way to protect drivers rom an

unpleasant surprise at the pump.

We will instruct the Ontario Energy Board to set a gas pric


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ceiling every week and protect you at the pump.

We will tackle price gouging at thepumps by setting a weekly cap on gasprices.

Freeze transit fares and expand transit opons

For thousands o people who cant aord to drive, andthousands more who are hoping to get out o their cars,

public transit is expensive and time-consuming.

Around the world other national and state governmentswork with municipalities to make public transit aordableand reliable but in Ontario the commitment has beenminimal and inconsistent.

We will share the cost o operating transit equally with

municipalities. In exchange or this new commitment, wewill tell municipalities to reeze transit ares at current levelsor our years.


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We will also work with Jack Layton and the ederal NewDemocrat team to push or the expansion o CanadaPension Plan benets.

We will push or an expanded CanadaPension Plan and develop an OntarioRetirement Plan.

We will also invest in new transit projects and upgrades orpublic transit systems.

We will reeze transit ares by providing

municipalities with operating dollarsor transit.

Help people save for rerement

No matter where they work, all Ontarians should be able to

retire with dignity, security and without worry.

But many Ontarians are worried about whether the moneythey need to retire will be there when they need it. We willimprove our current pension system by strengthening thePension Benets Guarantee Fund.

For the two out o three Ontarians who do not have a

workplace pension, we will develop an Ontario RetirementPlan to provide a dened benet pension to people whowant one.


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Get electricity prices under control

In the past eight years, electricity prices have increased by75%, and over the next 5 years theyre expected to increase

another 50%.

Tis isnt an accident. Its a direct result o years o poorplanning, expensive bureaucracy, privatization andderegulation. Te experiment ailed and the result is aconusing mess. When you pay your electricity bill yourenot just paying or power, youre covering over 11,000six-gure salaries at ve dierent hydro agencies and the

cost o over 1,000 large-scale private power contracts. Nowonder Ontario households are paying some o the highestelectricity rates in Canada.

Households in provinces with publicly-owned accountablehydro systems deliver electricity at a lowest cost. Tatsno surprise. By providing electricity at cost, amilies inManitoba and Quebec arent stuck with the bill or private

power contracts, or CEO salaries that are nineteen timeshigher than the average amily makes in a year.

Average m onthly electricity bill (750 kw/h)

$0.00 $20.00 $40.00 $60.00 $80.00 $100.00

Toronto ON

Kenora ON

Vancouver BC

Winnipeg MB

Montreal QC

Source: Manitoba Hydro

We will consolidate Ontarios electricity bureaucracies toeliminate waste and duplication.

Four years ago, the governments own review determinedthat merging some agencies would make sense and protectconsumers. Its time to get to work. Te Ontario PowerAuthority, Hydro One and the Independent Electricity

System Operator spend millions o dollars every yearduplicating work. By merging these organizations intoOntarios publicly-owned generating company we can


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the next our years to ensure uture large-scale generationwill be publicly owned and openly accountable toratepayers like you.

We will end waste in our electricitysystem by merging agencies and cappingCEO pay.

As o today, nuclear power is required to keep Ontarioslights on but the high cost and environmental risk shouldmake us think twice beore we build a new nuclear plant.Every nuclear plant in Ontarios history has come in behinschedule and over budget.

Were still paying the debt retirement charge rom the lasttime we built a new nuclear plant at Darlington. Otherjurisdictions are learning this lesson the hard way. In NewBrunswick, the Point LePreau station is three years behindschedule and $1 billion over budget. Tats over $1,300or every man, woman and child in the province. Sincethe tragic disaster in Japan, people all over the world havebeen raising serious questions about nuclear power. New

reduce costs and protect consumers.

We will put a hard cap on CEO compensation to bring itin line with other jurisdictions and set an example withinthe electricity sector about respecting ratepayers and

keeping bills low.

High priced CEOs One Is Enough!

OPA CEO: $573,027 a year

VSManitoba Hydro CEO: $301,000

a year

Hydro One CEO: $953,844 a year

OPG CEO: $1,325,119 a year

IESO CEO: $601,892 a year

We are committed to building green energy. In Ontario,there will still be a role or small private producers, co-operatives and others who want to sell power back to ourgrid, but large-scale electricity generation must be publicly-owned, publicly accountable and aordable.

Secret contracts with private power producers are not theway we will do business. We will respect the contracts thegovernment has already signed. We will make changes over


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environmental and saety standards will be developed andthat makes an expensive plan even more pricey.

Tere are better ways to generate new power includingconservation, energy efciency, renewable energy and

natural gas cogeneration.We will expand support orenergy saving home retrots and make environmentalchoices more aordable.

We will not proceed with plans to build new nuclearplants and will conduct a comprehensive environmentalassessment that looks at saety and cost beore weproceed with any electricity plan.

We will help amilies save money andgo green with unding to make energyefcient upgrades to their homes.


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How private powercosts you more.

Some generators, especially in northwestern Ontario, have

exploited the fact that transmission lines can only carry so

much power. Thats called congeson.

A few smart operators have gured out how to ancipate

when congeson is likely, and to oer to sell power at anaracve price during that me.

The bid is accepted, but when the me comes to send the

power, theres no room on the transmission line. Nonetheless,

the generator sll receives whats called a constrained o

payment because originally the bid had been booked.

Power importers in the northwest playing the same strategydo even beer than generators. The panel gures they get

paid more than three mes as much as importers elsewhere

in the province by collecng congeson payments.

Money for the extra payments is built into the price paid by

every electricity user in the province.

Overall, the panel says market players in the northwest area

of the province have scooped up 33 per cent of the congesonpayments since 2002, though they account for 4 per cent of

generang capacity and 10 per cent of import capacity.

Toronto Star, March 18, 2011


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2. Creang andprotecng jobs.


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Change that gets people workingto grow our economy.


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2 | Creang and protecng good


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Creating and protecting good jobs Change that getspeople working to grow our economy.

o get Ontarios economy back on track we need to makejobs our priority. Looking at the governments policy, youd

be hard pressed to believe that creating and protecting jobsmattered. In Ontario today, we allow companies to exportour raw resources instead o developing and processingthem here. We send public money abroad to buy goods andproducts that could be made or grown here in Ontario. Wehand out billions o dollars in tax giveaways to corporationseven when they move jobs out o Ontario. Tis doesntmake sense.

Job creaon from 2008 peak

Province

Change in

employment since

2008 peak (%)

Provinces that rejected HST

PEI 3.8

Manitoba 2.3

Saskatchewan 1.2

Provinces that embraced HSTBrish Columbia 0.9

Ontario 0.4

TD Economics Provincial Employment Monitor, June 10, 2011


For people looking or work, or worried about their jobs,Ontario is alling behind. Provinces that rejected the HSand held the line on corporate taxes in the ace o a growindecit are outpacing Ontario in job creation because theyput the ocus where it mattered: helping companies create

jobs to build or the uture. Its people who make ourprovince work, and its people who will make our economygrow.We need change that creates and protects goodjobs.

Stop the no-strings-aached corporate tax

giveaways

Over the last ten years Ontarios most protablecorporations have gotten a big break. Te combinedederal-Ontario corporate tax rate has been reduced rom44 per cent to 25 per cent. Tats over $20 billion worth otax breaks. We were told these tax giveaways would createjobs but the jobs just havent materialized.

Corporate tax rates are just one o the actors businessesconsider when investing. However, study ater study showsthat corporate tax cuts alone wont create jobs. In act,

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Combined Corporate Tax Rates for Selected U.S. States

and Ontario, 2010

Locaon Combined Tax Rate (%)

Michigan 38.2

New York 36.1

Ontario 28.5

Pennsylvania 37.8

Great Lakes Weighted Average 36.6

U.S. Weighted Average 36.1

Source: Ontario government

ater ten years o corporate tax giveaways, job-creatinginvestments have actually declined.

Rather than upgrading equipment or training employees,corporations have been accumulating cash not hiring newworkers.

According to Statistics Canada, Ontarios corporate sectoradded $83 billion to cash holdings over the last decadewhile many o those same companies issued lay-o notices.

We will stop the no-strings-attached corporate taxgiveaway. When compared to the U.S. our realcompetitors when it comes to jobs - were already morethan competitive.

We will ensure our corporate tax rate stays below USlevels but when our corporate tax rate is already muchlower than the US we need to ocus on smarter priorities.

Reward job creators

I we want to create jobs we should reward job creators.

Tat means providing tax relie to the companies thatinvest in Ontario to create good jobs. I your company isbuilding or upgrading your operations to create good jobsin Ontario, you deserve a break on your taxes.We willcreate a 10 per cent tax credit or companies that investin buildings, machinery and equipment in Ontario andensure that manuacturers benet, even when they havehad a bad year. I your company is helping your sta with

training you deserve a break on your taxes.We will createa training tax credit or companies that help their staupgrade their skills and build our economy.



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We will replace corporate tax giveawayswith programs that reward companiesthat create jobs.

Small businesses employs thousands o Ontarians,including many entrepreneurs struggling to get started. Wewill reduce the small business tax rate to 4 per cent.

We will help small businesses by cuttingtheir tax rates.

Buy Ontario to build Ontarios economy

Every year our government spends billions o dollars oour money on everything rom transit cars to computers tomeat and vegetables. It only makes sense to spend as mucho that money as possible here in Ontario.

Yet time and time again, government reuses to do so.Contracts or transit cars are rewarded to companies in

| g p g g

Germany when they could be built in Tunder Bay. Cornis imported or use in our ethanol plants while local armerstruggle to nd a market.

Tese short-sighted decisions cost us all when good jobs

and opportunities or new value-added industry vanish. Ittime or change.We will make it the law that Ontariosmoney is spent here in Ontario to create good jobs.

We will also protect Ontarios interests when it comesto oreign takeovers o our key industries. Communitieslike Hamilton and Sudbury have suered when keyindustries were bought by oreign multinationals with little

commitment to the local economy.

Te London Stock Exchange is hoping to take over theoronto Exchange, a move that will undermine orontosstature as a leading economic centre and hurt domesticplayers in Northern Ontarios mining sector.We willnot approve the oreign takeover o the oronto StockExchange.



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g p g g j |

Ontarios natural resources wont be shipped

away

Ontarios natural resources are owned by all o us. We

need to use our natural resources careully and responsiblyto build Ontarios prosperity and protect them so theyrethere or uture generations. Minerals like copper, nickeland zinc generate great wealth or all Ontarians. We cantallow processing plants to shut down in avor o eventuallyshipping ore to another country. We will amend themining act to say resources that are mined in Ontariomust be processed in Ontario.

We will make sure Ontario tax dollarsand natural resources create jobs here.

Protecng people on the job

As good jobs disappear, more and more people are orcedto work two and sometimes three jobs just to make endsmeet. It can be a real struggle and a lot o people, desperate

to nd any work, nd it hard to walk away rom a job. Itsnot air to people in precarious situations and its not air toemployers who play by the rules and have to compete withemployers who dont.

We will increase Employment Standards enorcement toprotect peoples rights on the job. We will also increasethe minimum wage to $11 this year and index it to thecost o living so that people who work ull-time arenttrapped in poverty.

People who are trying to get back into the workorce aterlosing their job shouldnt be penalized or it. We should be

helping people to get back to work by modernizing socialassistance and rewarding initiative.

We will reduce the clawback o social assistance benetsrom people with disabilities when theyre moving backinto a job. We will also ensure Ontario Works rates keeppace with infation.

In addition, we look orward to ollowing through on therecommendations o the Commission or the Review oSocial Assistance in Ontario which are expected in 2012.


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3. Building healthcarethat works for you.


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Change that makes healthcare

reliable and affordable.


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3 | Building healthcare that works for


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Building healthcare that works or you Change thatmakes healthcare reliable and aordable.

One o the things that unites Canadians is the belie thatthe size o your wallet shouldnt aect the quality o the

medical care you receive.

We invest billions o dollars into our healthcare systemevery year and in return we expect and deserve high-qualitymedical care when we need it.

But too oten that isnt happening and Ontarians are letwaiting or the care they need.

CEOs at our hospitals are getting six-gure raises,consultants take vacations to Japan and bill it to patients,but the rontline care your amily relies on seems to takelonger than ever.

Tere are 10,000 people on the waiting list or home careand wait times or long-term care beds have tripled.

More and more youre being asked to wait too long or payout o pocket or the healthcare you need.

LONGER WAIT LISTS FOR HOME CARE LONG TERM CARE

Year Average wait for a lTC bed

2005 1 month

2011 3 1/2 months (103 days)

Source: Ontario Health Quality Council 2011 Report on Ontarios Health System

Our healthcare system will be acing serious challengesin the years to come. We need to be smart about how weconront these challenges.

Hitting patients with user ees or orcing them to look toprivate healthcare isnt a solution.

We know that these ees only make it harder or you to getthe care you need and, in the long-run, do not save ourprovince money.

Short-sighted cuts to services and ront-line sta wont help

either, and or the same reasons.

We can control health costs. We have to start putting

Building healthcare that works for you | 3


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patients rst. I people can see a doctor or nursepractitioner regularly they can avoid medical complicationsthat are expensive to treat as they worsen.

I seniors receive support to remain in their homes they can

avoid extended stays in hospitals. I we give people a handwhen they want to stay healthy we can avoid the costs thatcome rom poor health.

We need change that ensures health services are therewhen we need them, now and in the uture.

Cut emergency room wait mes in half

Emergency rooms are one o the most important partso our healthcare system. Its where we go when we needimmediate medical attention.

No one should be stuck waiting or 12 hours in anemergency room. But more and more these excruciating

waits are the norm. Emergency rooms have closed in somecommunities and reduced hours in others.

I we rethink the way we provide care and invest smarter,we can cut down on wait times.

We will cut emergency room wait times by hal. We willwork closely with hospitals to address the underlying causes

o backlogs and long wait times. Cutting ER wait times byhal requires smarter investments.

I we enable seniors to live on their own longer, invest inhome care and long-term care and open amily care clinics,we can relieve pressures on hospitals so they can do theirjob better. And you wait less or the care you need.

We will cut emergency room wait timesby hal.


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Ensure dollars are invested in frontline care

We spend billions o dollars every year in our healthcaresystem. We expect that money to be invested providing

medical care to people when they need it.

It just doesnt make sense to give hospital CEOs a six-gurepay hike while were closing emergency rooms, or coveringexpenses or consultant vacations to Japan while nurses arebeing laid-o.

We need to send a clear message that our priority is making

people healthy not wealthy.

We will cap public CEO compensation at twice thePremiers salary.

Tats more than seven times what the average nurse makes.

We will crack down on consulting and consultant

expenses and give the Ombudsman oversight o hospitaland health spending to ensure patients are beingrespected.

Scrap Local Health Integraon Networks

Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) were supposedto bring a community voice to healthcare planning.Instead, these unelected, unaccountable bodies have orcedsignicant changes in local healthcare services without any

meaningul consultation.

An investigation by Ontarios Ombudsman ound the

Salary and benefits of top paid hospital CEO (2000-2010)

500

550

600

650

700

750

800

850

900

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Salary

andb

enefits($

thousands)

Source: Ontario Public S ector Salary Dis closure



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LHINs had even violated the law by holding illegal secretmeetings to hide decision-making rom the public.

We will scrap the LHINs and replace them with eectivelocal decision-making.

Stop forcing paents to pay more

In countries without a public healthcare system peopleoten say they cant aord to get sick. Tats not supposedto happen in Ontario but more and more oten, it does.

Eye exams and chiropractic care were once covered byOHIP, now theyre not. A stay in the hospital adds uppretty quickly once the ees are taken into account.

Te cost o prescriptions keeps rising despite promiseso cost reductions. Tese ees do not save our healthcaresystem money in the long-run because they stop peoplerom seeking medical help early on, when problems would

be cheaper to treat.

An ounce o prevention is worth a pound o cure.

We cant eliminate these costs all at once butwe will starttackling the growing cost o healthcare by eliminatingsome o the most outrageous ees, such as those orambulance service. No one acing a medical emergencyshould be worried about whether they can aord to call an

ambulance.

We will continue looking at other costs and eliminate themas we can.We will also make healthcare costs, especiallydrug costs, a priority in upcoming negotiations arounda new national health accord.

We will tackle growing healthcare costs,starting by eliminating ambulance ees.



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Meeng the health needs of an aging

populaon

Tanks to our healthcare system people are living longer

than ever. Tats a testament to the incredible success opublic healthcare but it also means that our system acesnew challenges challenges we havent been meeting.

Tere are currently 4,558 patients in Ontario hospitals mostly seniors taking up 16 per cent o hospitalbeds, even though they no longer require hospital care.Providing care or these patients cost our healthcare system

$450 a day, compared to as little as $50 a day or homecare. A nursing home bed is $130 a day.

Seniors deserve the right to remain at home, and with alittle more support this could be an option or many. Butinstead o solutions, the problem keeps getting worse.

Tere are 10,000 people on the waiting list or home care

and wait times or long-term care beds have tripled over 5years.

We will eliminate the waiting list or long-term care orthose with complex medical needs. Tere are currently2,650 people in Ontario who are in desperate need o long-term care. Yet, they are oten orced to languish in hospitalbeds while they wait or a permanent nursing home bed.

Tis is a burden on them and a cost our healthcare systemdoesnt need. We will take pressure o o our hospitals andprovide the care that is required by building these newbeds.

We will help those who need healthcare services at homeby unding an additional one million hours o home

care, over our years, and eliminating the waiting list orhome care.

However, we wont just throw money at the problem.Under the existing privatized home care model, as much asthirty percent o home care dollars are spent administeringprivate contracts instead o providing care. Tat moneyneeds to be invested in the women and men who do the

work providing support to people in need, not on privatehealth deals.



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We will conduct a comprehensive review o home carepolicy with a goal o creating a new publicly owned andaccountable home care system that reduces managementand administration costs by 20 percent.

We will provide support to people beore they have medicalproblems by expanding support or seniors at home. Everyyear thousands o seniors end up in hospital because theyencounter difculty with their daily routine. It oten wasnta medical emergency that orced them into the hospital buta minor incident like slipping when they tried to shovel thedriveway.

Every senior that can stay in their home saves our healthsystem $50,000 a year.We will give seniors daily supportsso they can stay in their home longer. Help withshoveling the walk, picking up groceries and preparingmeals can ensure independent living.

We will eliminate the wait or acute

long-term care beds and help seniorslive comortably at home.

3 | Building healthcare that works for Building healthcare that works for you | 3


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Ensure everyone has a family doctor

900,000 Ontarians dont have a amily doctor, leavingcommunities scrambling to deal with this shortage and

people with nowhere to turn when they all ill.

We will address the shortage o doctors by orgivingstudent debt o new doctors who practice in under-serviced communities. Tis will bring 200 new doctors,over our years, to communities in desperate need omore healthcare.

We can also relieve the pressure on amily doctors andemergency rooms by supporting other health proessionals,like nurse practitioners, and the creation o innovativehealthcare clinics.

We will und 50 new amily healthcare clinics thatwill provide round-the-clock healthcare services to anadditional 250,000 people by 2015.

At these clinics you will be able to get an appointment withyour amily doctor or nurse practitioner within 48 hours.



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In the middle o the night, you will get the care you need.

Tese new clinics will be designed to meet the needs olocal communities and help ensure that every Ontarianhas access to high-quality healthcare.

We will make sure healthcare is therewhen you need it with 50 new 24-hour amily care clinics and a newprogram aimed at attracting doctors to

underserviced communities.Fighng obesity and keeping people healthy

Te smartest way to spend health dollars is to not spendthem at all. We can make it easier to make healthy choicesand we can set a good example or kids so they develop

healthy habits that will carry them throughout their lives.

We can start by providing support to new moms, ensuringmandatory physical education in secondary school

classrooms, banning advertising o junk ood aimed atchildren and making calorie labeling on menus in largechain restaurants the law.


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4. Living within

our means.


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Change that sets the right priorities.


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4 | Living within our m

Li i i hi i l h


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Living within our means practical change we candeliver on.

New Democrats realize better than most that i we aregoing to conront the challenges ahead we cant do so under

a massive debt burden.

Economists have studied the ederal Department oFinances scal tables and ound New Democraticgovernments have run ewer decit budgets than any otherparty.

Moreover, theyve run smaller decits as a share o

provincial GDP.

Te decit were currently running was absolutely essentialto protect jobs and get our economy on track.

Now we have to get to work, slowly and responsibly gettingback into balance. It wont be easy but by setting prioritieswe can get there.

Te recent e-Health scandal cost the public purse $1billion. Te government spends about $1 million a day on

consultants.

Public sector CEOs are receiving six gure salaries evenater theyre red or not doing their job.

Its clear that our money can be better spent. Its clear weneed to ocus on Ontarians priorities.

Percentage of years in deficit

All Canadian federal and provincial

governments 1980/81 to 2010/11

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

NDP Liberal Conservative PQ Social Credit

Sources: Finance Canada Fiscal Reference Tables October 2010 RBC Provincial Fiscal TableApril 2011, Statis tics Cana da Provincial and Territorial Economic Accounts Data Tables .

A LAN O AN A O A L CHANG ($ illi )


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A PLAN FOR AN AFFORDABLE CHANGE ($ Millions)

Commitments to date 201213 201314 20142015 20152016

SAVINGS & REVENUES

Restore general corporate tax rate 1365 1650 1750 1850

Make temporary Input Tax Credit restricons permanent - - - 215

Cut consultants by half 125 125 125 125

Hard Cap on execuve salaries & severances 20 20 20 20

Cut waste & free funds for priories with an expenditure

management review250 275 300 325

20% reducon in home care administrave budget - 25 75 100

TOTAL SAVINGS & REVENUES 1760 2095 2270 2635

OUR PRIORITIES

Begin removing the HST from gasoline (1% per year) 125 250 375 500

Take the HST o home heang (natural gas and heang oil) 350 350 350 350

Maintain Ontario Clean Energy Benet; aer expiry

permanently take HST o hydro- - - 200

Set a weekly cap on gas prices and stop gas gouging 2 2 2 2

Freeze transit fares and restore 50% provincial funding for

transit operang costs operang costs90 185 280 375

Replace corporate tax cuts


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p p

With investment tax credit and training tax credit 350 350 350 350

Maintain manufacturer/processor CIT rate - - - -

Cut small business tax rate from 4.5% to 4% 90 90 90 90

Strengthening employment standards enforcement 3 3 3 3

Reduce clawback for ODSP recipients and ensure social

assistance rates keep pace with inaon85 25 25 25

Ban ambulance fees 30 30 30 30

Eliminate wait for acute LTC beds 50 70 90 110

Tackle wait for homecare 20 25 30 35

50 new family health care clinics75

95115 135

Expanded support for seniors and their families to stay at

home25 40 70 90

Supporng new moms 2 3 3 3

Health Promoon plan 2 2 2 2

Forgiving student debt for new doctors in underserviced

communies4 4 4 4

TOTAL PRIORITIES 1303 1524 1819 2304

REMAINING FUNDS 457 571 451 331

W ill l $400 illi

Living within our means | 4


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We will save nearly $400 millionannually by cutting high-pricedconsultants, capping public sector

CEO salaries, and conducting anexpenditure review.

Te plan we lay out here matches the current governmentgoal o achieving a balanced budget by 2017 but we setvery dierent priorities than the current governmentplan. We will not proceed with corporate tax cuts and theharmonized sales tax plan as it currently stands. We willalso conduct an expenditure management review to ndsavings within the current scal ramework. We have set amodest savings goal but have already identied some areaswhere savings can be ound: our cap on CEO salaries willsave $80 million over the next our years, reducing ourreliance on consultants will save an estimated $500 millionover the same time period.

Only by setting dierent priorities can we aord anOntario that puts people rst.


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ONTARIO

NDP Platform - Plan for Affordable Change

Documents

Transcript of NDP Platform - Plan for Affordable Change