Perth Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece welcomes major investments in rural Ontario outlined in the Fall Economic Statement.
MPP Pettapiece made the comments after Minister of Finance Rod Phillips released the 2019 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: A Plan to Build Ontario Together.
He said the province is investing up to $6.4 million over three years to support new trade opportunities for Ontario farmers. Pettapice said the government has also committed $1.25 million for provincially licensed meat processors, through the Canadian Agriculture Partnership, to focus on food safety improvements.
Pettapiece says initiatives like rural economic development roundtables in January, and the creation of an Ontario Regional Immigration Pilot project will help address the shortage in workers and skilled labour across the riding.
"Our agriculture and agri-food sector supports more than 837,000 jobs across the province,” said Pettapiece. “We are committed to helping the sector grow while safeguarding public confidence in our food system.”
“Our government is committed to balancing the budget in a responsible manner while protecting what matters most,” said Pettapiece. “We will continue to invest in vital frontline services, like education and healthcare. I was pleased to see our government is investing $400 million more in healthcare, and $200 million more in education. This is in addition to the commitments made in Budget 2019.”
“This additional funding has already directly benefit Perth-Wellington,” said Pettapiece. “Last month, our government invested over $1.5 million in hospitals across the riding. We are committed to supporting our rural and small hospitals.”
Across Ontario, the government is investing in an additional $68 million to support small and medium-sized hospitals in 2019. These new investments are on top of the $384 million that was announced in the spring budget.
The Fall Economic Statement also outlined the government’s plan to reduce the small business corporate income tax rate from 3.5 per cent to 3.2 per cent on January 1, 2020.
