Willowdale Monthly Letter- October 2024

October 31, 2024

Dear Willowdale Friends,

Happy Halloween!

Amidst the cool autumn air and changing of the leaves, a lot has been happening at Queen’s Park that directly affects our community. 
Below provides a small sample of what our government has been doing to keep costs low for you and make everyday life easier.

FALL ECONOMIC STATEMENT

Earlier this week, our government released Ontario’s 2024 Fall Economic Statement. As the outlook demonstrates, our government continues to take a fiscally responsible approach towards building the critical infrastructure our growing communities need, reducing gridlock, and making life more affordable by keeping taxes low and putting more money back in your pocket.
Highlights from the 2024 Fall Economic Statement include:

•    REBATE: Providing a $200 taxpayer rebate early next year, which will give immediate relief for Ontario families in the face of high interest rates and the federal carbon tax. The rebate will be sent to all eligible adults in Ontario who have filed their 2023 Income Tax and Benefit Return by December 31, 2024. Eligible families will receive an additional $200 for each child under 18.

•    RELIEF AT THE PUMPS: Extending the gas tax and fuel tax rate cuts so that the rate of tax on gasoline and fuel (diesel) will remain at 9 cents per litre until June 30, 2025. This would save Ontario households $380, on average, over the three years since July 2022. This relief is especially important as the federal carbon tax is set to increase again on April 1, 2025.

•    PRIMARY CARE: Connecting an estimated 1.36 million people to primary care by investing approximately $88 million over three years starting in 2026 to expand Learn and Stay grants for 1,360 eligible undergraduate students that commit to practise family medicine with a full roster of patients once they graduate.

•    HELPING FAMILIES GROW: Expanding access for families who are seeking fertility treatment. Beginning in 2025–26, our government will invest an additional $150 million over two years to expand the Ontario Fertility Program (OFP). This funding will nearly triple the number of individuals who are able to receive a government-funded in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle, increasing the capacity of fertility clinics and reducing waitlists in hospitals and community settings. 

TRANSPORTATION, HEALTH CARE, AND FIGHTING CRIME

In addition to putting forward the measures laid out in the Fall Economic Statement, our government has been hard at work tabling legislation that matters to you, while making significant progress on key infrastructure projects and introducing new funding for important initiatives.

TRANSPORTATION

Construction Now Underway Along the Entire Ontario Line

Our government has officially begun work along all parts of the Ontario Line subway, marking a significant milestone in the province’s plan to bring nearly 230,000 people within walking distance of fast and convenient public transit.

Once complete, the Ontario Line will have 15 stations, running from Exhibition Place through the downtown core and connecting to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road. The line will offer more than 40 connections to other subway, bus, streetcar and regional train services, reducing daily car trips by at least 28,000.

In all, we are investing nearly $70 billion in the largest transit expansion in North America, and the Ontario Line sits at its core.

Fighting Gridlock and Making Life Easier for Drivers

Our government is making life easier for drivers by introducing legislation that will require municipalities to receive approval from the province before installing new bike lanes that would result in the removal of lanes for traffic. Municipalities would be required to demonstrate that the proposed bike lanes won’t have a negative impact on vehicle traffic.

Ontario is also moving forward with plans to make life more convenient for drivers by increasing the speed limit to 110 km/h, where it is safe to do so, on all 400-series highways. This builds on the safe and successful increase of speed limits on more than one-third of provincial 400-series highways to date.

In addition, to help make Ontario roads safer and prevent accidents and damages that can occur from potholes, our government is consulting with municipalities to develop a potholes prevention and repair fund to open in the 2025 construction season.

HEALTH CARE

Connecting One Million More Women to Life-Saving Breast Cancer Screening

Women aged 40 and over can now self-refer for publicly funded mammograms through the Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP). Lowering the age of self-referral from 50 to 40 will give an additional one million women the option to connect to important screening services to detect and treat breast cancer sooner.

Research has shown regular screening with mammography can help detect breast cancer before it has the chance to spread.
Women can easily self-refer for mammograms through any OBSP site or by calling 1-800-668-9304 without needing a referral from a primary care provider.

FIGHTING CRIME

Ontario Calls for Immediate Federal Action on Bail Reform

While the provincial government has taken significant steps to combat auto theft and reform bail, including investing $29 million earlier this year to appoint new judges and hire new Crown prosecutors and staff to reduce the backlog of criminal cases in the courts, the province’s ability to take further action to address serious crime and repeat offenders is limited by the federal Criminal Code.

That’s why Ontario has called on the federal government to immediately amend the Criminal Code to introduce concrete changes that will tighten bail legislation to protect public safety and keep repeat and violent offenders off the streets.

Strengthening Supports to Combat Hate and Create Safer Communities

Our government is investing $12.75 million this year to help address the rise of hate incidents and keep communities safe across the province. This is part of our government’s $25.5 million investment over two years in the new Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant to help faith-based and cultural organizations implement measures to ensure their community spaces remain safe and secure.

Since 2021, we have invested a total of $86 million to support over 2,000 faith-based and cultural communities.

CONNECT

I want to hear from you.

If you’re a resident of Willowdale and have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office.
We’re here for you.

Enjoy the Halloween treats!

Stan Cho
MPP for Willowdale