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INFORMATION: Public Hearings on Ontario’s 2025 Budget (Pre-budget Consultations) Notice

Posted: January 7, 2025

(January 7, 2025)

On this page, you can find the following information about the Ontario pre-budget consultations:

  1. Information about the pre-budget consultations
  2. List of hearing dates and deadlines to apply for standing
  3. Key messages on the Ford government’s handling of the budget
  4. Facts and figures

The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs will meet to conduct Pre-Budget Consultations.

(For those who know about hearings, scroll down to get to the dates, deadlines and registration link.)

A “Standing Committee” of the Legislature is made up of MPPs from the political parties. There are Standing Committees on Justice, and Social Policy, on Infrastructure and Heritage and so on. This one is on Finance and Economic Affairs. When you send in a written submission or make a verbal presentation before the Committee, you are giving your input to the MPPs on that Committee.

Here is a link giving the list of MPPs on the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. The number of representatives that each political party has on each committee is determined by the proportion of seats in the Legislature held by each party. Thus, when there is a majority government, as is the case now, the party with the majority has the majority of seats on each Committee. The Committees hold hearings (though, the Ford government is not doing that for major pieces of legislation — they really are shockingly undemocratic) and they vote on amendments to legislation. Often, a government will amend legislation based on what it has heard in consultations. I note that the Ford government has not passed any amendments to any of their major health care legislation since they took office, except amendments they have proposed themselves. This is unprecedented. We have won amendments in the public interest to every single major piece of health care legislation going back for decades… up until the Ford government.

In any case, it is important to push them to have to face public input. Media also usually attend the hearings.

All Ontario residents can apply to make a verbal submission before the Committee. Local health coalitions usually do so across the province and the Ontario Health Coalition usually does so in Toronto. You can apply to the nearest hearing and go in person or you can appear by Zoom. Again, if you missed the nearest local hearing already, you can apply elsewhere. They will give you a time limit for the length of your presentation and it is strict. They will cut you off at that time limit. After you present, the MPPs will ask you questions about your input. You do not have to have your submission ready when you apply. You only have to get it in before the deadline.

You can do a written submission and/or a verbal presentation. When you do so, it becomes part of the official record of our province. It will be included in Hansard (which is the transcript of the hearings) and researchers can use it when they study what happened in this period. When we have decent governments, public input is also used to shape public policy.

Note: the deadlines are strict. If you do not apply for standing – that is to make a verbal presentation – before the deadline for that town, you will not be considered. If you do not get in your written submission by the deadline, it will not go into the record.

We will help by providing a sample submission, key messages and facts about health care funding. If you need any help in understanding how the hearings work, we can provide that also, or you can call the Committee Clerk (contact information is below).

The Committee intends to hold public hearings in:

  • Timmins on Tuesday, December 3, 2024
  • Manitoulin Island on Wednesday, December 4, 2024
  • Kenora on Thursday, December 5, 2024
  • Stratford on Monday, December 16, 2024
  • Ottawa on Thursday, January 9, 2025
  • Leamington on Tuesday, January 14, 2025
  • St. Catharines on Wednesday, January 15, 2025
  • Hamilton on Thursday, January 16, 2025
  • Stouffville on Monday, January 27, 2025
  • Mississauga on Tuesday, January 28, 2025
  • Toronto on Wednesday, January 29, 2025
  • Peterborough on Thursday, January 30, 2025.

Interested people who wish to be considered to make an oral presentation to the Committee are required to register by :

  • 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Monday, November 25, 2024 for Timmins and Manitoulin Island;
  • 5:00 p.m. (CST) on Monday, November 25, 2024 for Kenora;
  • 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Friday, December 6, 2024 for Stratford;
  • 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Friday, December 27, 2024 for Ottawa;
  • 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Monday, January 6, 2025 for Leamington, St. Catharines and Hamilton;
  • 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Friday, January 17, 2025 for Stouffville, Mississauga, Toronto and Peterborough;

Those who do not wish to make an oral presentation but wish to comment on the issue may send a written submission by 7:00 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, February 5, 2025.

To register or send a written submission, please visit the following link: ola.org/en/apply-committees.

The Committee will stream live from location when available. For the link to the webcast, and to find times and availability, please visit the Legislative Assembly website at ola.org.

Vanessa Kattar, Clerk
Whitney Block, Room 1405
Toronto, ON M7A 1A2
Telephone: 416-325-3509
Facsimile: 416-325-3505
TTY: 416-325-3538
E-mail: scfea@ola.org
Collect calls will be accepted.
Ces renseignements sont disponibles en français sur demande.

Key messages re. the Ford government’s handling of the budget

Local citizens are angry at Ford government for underfunding, privatizing & destroying our public health care

It is important that people understand that there is a fight on, and it is a necessary fight: — we will either protect our public health care or we will lose it. Those who know what is happening are outraged. Make sure that shows. People will choose between right and wrong if they understand that there is a real threat.

The bigger picture: We have all seen the ads on TV, social media, the radio. The Ford government is spending millions of our public dollars to buy ads telling us how great the economy is. Lest you wonder where the truth lies, according to the Ford government’s own recent economic statement, Ontario’s economic growth is projected to be less than 1% this year (which is not good at all, by their own measure it is very low). At the same time, the public services like health care that are so vital to our economy in many Ontario towns are being dismantled, neglected, and/or privatized.

I just got back from the United States. The stories I heard are hair raising. Make no mistake: we need only to look south of the border to see the crushing costs to everyone from privatized health care. Their entire society is impacted. Businesses pay more, factories, tax payers and people of every age and every economic class pay more — far more than we do — and they have less coverage for it. It is terrible. They suffer the highest costs in the world, denials of care, red tape and crushing deductibles. That is private health care.

At the Health Coalition we are hearing from unprecedented numbers of seniors being charged thousands of dollars for cataract surgery, MRIs, lab tests and more, in private clinics. These charges are illegal. They should never happen under our public medicare laws but Ford has opened the door wide to for-profit health care and is doing nothing to stop them from illegally charging patients. In fact, this government has given giant contracts to some of the worst for-profit companies. Ontario is on the road to American style privatization of health care unless we stop it. That is what is at stake.

Destroying our health care is bad for our economy.

Here are some key messages:

  • As the government travels across the province holding Pre-Budget Hearings, local concerned citizens will gather to send a message to the Ford government regarding their underfunding and privatization of our public health care services. You are speaking as members of your local communities who are angry and upset at the destruction. This is our health care that all of us – you and your neighbours – have paid into and rely upon.
  • Health care in Ontario is in the worst crisis we have ever seen. Services from primary care to home care are in total disarray. Millions have lost their family doctors. Hospitals are in deficit. Even in the worst staffing crisis in our history some local hospitals are actually cutting staff. Local emergency departments had a record number of closures last year, worse even than 2023 and 2022 when the unprecedented closures started.

_________________

The facts and figures on health care funding in Ontario: 

The Ford government claims it has spent more than anyone has in history on health care. Many are confused by this because everywhere we look, our health care is a disaster. This is what is actually happening:

Yes, all governments in developed nations around the world gave extraordinary funding to health care during the pandemic. In Canada, 8 of every 10 cents (80%) of funding that the provinces spent on the pandemic came from extraordinary funding from the federal government. In Ontario, the Ford government underspent its projected health care budget repeatedly through the crisis.

  • In the most recent financial year (2023-24) the Ford government spent almost $1.3 billion less than planned for health care.

Source: Financial Accountability Office of Ontario Expenditure Monitor 2023-24 (Q4) here:  “All sectors spent less than planned, led by ‘other programs’ (-$2,409 million, -6.7 per cent), followed by interest on debt (-$1,828 million, -13.3 per cent), health (-$1,296 million, -1.6 per cent), justice (-$118 million, -1.9 per cent), children, community and social services (-$118 million, -0.6 per cent), postsecondary education (-$108 million, -1.5 per cent) and education (-$87 million, -0.2 per cent).”

  • The Ford government has increased health care funding, yes, but we had a global pandemic so that would entail extraordinary costs no matter what, and:
    • 1) Ford is giving the biggest bump ups to for-profit privateers not public non-profit health care services — including price gouging for-profit staffing agencies and for-profit hospitals/clinics, and;
    • 2) The Ford government has not increased health care funding more than any other government in Ontario’s history. That is simply not true.

All the facts and data are here: https://www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca/index.php/quick-facts-analysis-fact-checker-ford-governments-health-care-funding/ 

  • Ontario funds our health care services at the lowest rate per person in Canada:

We spend $821 less per person than the average of the other provinces. Multiplied by Ontario’s population (2022) of ~ 15 million people this equals a shortfall of $12.3 billion. Imagine if we even came close to the average of the rest of the provinces.

 

  • Ontario funds our public hospitals at the lowest rate in Canada:
We are dead last in Canada by this measure also. Our public hospital funding is $449 per person less than the average of the rest of the provinces. Multiplied by 15 million (Ontario population 2022) this equals $6.7 billion.
  • Ontario is taking billions in public funds to privatize rather than funding our public non-profit health care services so that they can stabilize their staffing.
They have shifted more than $1 billion per year to for-profit hospitals and clinics while leaving our public hospitals with unprecedented service closures and staffing shortages and to for-profit staffing agencies that are destroying the public non-profit health care workforce making the shortages worse. They are taking billions in public money to pay for-profit long-term care chains to build/renovate LTC homes that they will run for the next 30 years for their own profit, even those with the worst records for death and neglect. They are funding for-profit corporations like Shoppers Drug Mart to privatize primary care (access to family medicine) while refusing to fund proposals to expand services in non-profit community-based Community Health Centres. They are privatizing addictions treatment & mental health services, Public Health functions, virtual health, public hospitals, long-term care, primary care and refusing to take action against for-profit clinics that are illegally charging elderly patients thousands of dollars for surgeries and tests. This isn’t about saving money or fixing public health care. It is about giving vast amounts of public money to for-profit corporations that cost more and are destroying our public health care.
For more detailed information please see our recent reports and fact sheets:
Robbing the public to build the private: The Ford government’s hospital privatization scheme – This report show hows the Ford government has made “real dollar” cuts to public health care and public hospitals in the most recent financial year while funding for private for-profit hospitals and clinics was increased by up to and over 300%. It shows that the increase to private for-profit staffing agencies has redirected almost $1 billion away from improving the public hospital and long-term care staff force. It shows that they are now paying private clinics and hospitals far more – up to double – the cost per surgery/test than they are funding public hospitals. It tallies the number of public hospital emergency departments and other vital service closures. All data and sources provided.
MYTH BUSTER: 10 big myths about health care privatization – Including information on how much more the private clinics are being funded than our public hospitals for the same surgeries. This fact sheet gives the ten most common myths the Ford government and private interests use when pushing privatization.

Quick Facts & Analysis: What is the Ford government doing re. health funding & what it means – Including information on real dollar cuts planned for health care,. It shows how in the most recent financial year, while we were suffering through record-breaking hospital emergency department closures, the Ford government held hospital funding to less than the rate of inflation (real dollar cuts) right up until the last few weeks of the financial year, forcing hospitals into deficits and preventing them from hiring staff and stabilizing the workforce. At the same time, they vastly increased funding to for-profit clinics and for-profit staffing agencies. It is the old adage — create a crisis, drive the public hospitals and public health care down —  and use the ensuing crisis as an excuse to privatize.  All data and sources are provided.