September 16th, 2021

NDP response to FAO report: Stop withholding COVID-fighting funds

QUEEN'S PARK — Ontario NDP Finance critic Catherine Fife said Wednesday's FAO report for the first quarter of 2021 makes clear that the Ford government continues to withhold critical funding in health care, children and social services and post-secondary education:

"The report shows that the Ford government underdelivered by a total of $2.6 billion in the first quarter of 2021, withholding $1 billion in funding for health care, $531 million in children and social services funding, and $33 million from post-secondary education.

On top of that, Ford hasn’t touched $2.7 billion in COVID-fighting transfer money.

Doug Ford is putting off fighting COVID-19 because he doesn’t want to spend that money. And the rest of us are paying a massive price for his choices.
Our hospitals continue to be overwhelmed and in dire need of government support, not only for the ongoing flood of COVID-19 patients filling our ICUs, but the huge backlog of procedures delayed by COVID and the massive understaffing of critical care providers like nurses. Children and youth, especially those who are particularly vulnerable like kids with autism, have been hit hard by the pandemic, and our colleges and universities need support from the government to keep their doors open and help young people recover from a horrible year — academically and emotionally.
It's irresponsible for the Ford government to withhold COVID-fighting money, promised health care dollars, social services funding and funding to colleges and universities in the midst of a pandemic.”