Promises Made, Promises Kept for Dufferin-Caledon

As we mark our first year in Government, it is an important time to reflect on our successes and our next steps. We were elected to be a government that works for the people and to put their interests first.

Our government made five core promises to Ontarians: restoring trust, accountability, and transparency; putting money back in people’s pockets; cleaning up the hydro mess; ending hallway healthcare; and making Ontario open for business and open for jobs.

We can proudly say that over the past year, we have kept our promises. In our first budget, our government has laid out a path to balance within five years. In addition, we are focused on protecting frontline workers and are investing in core public services like healthcare and education, to protect what matters most.

Among our promises kept, we are investing in a number of significant priorities for Dufferin-Caledon, with better mental health supports, improved public safety and investments in healthcare and infrastructure.

As part of the whole-of-government approach to fixing our fractured mental-health care system, three Dufferin-Caledon organizations are receiving funding to provide families and patients with access to the care they need. Investing in mental health and addictions services is part of our plan to create a modern, sustainable, and patient-centred public health care system. In Dufferin-Caledon, Salvation Army Hope Acres in Mulmur is receiving $180,000 and Dufferin Child and Family Services is receiving up to $90,000 to continue delivering community addictions services. The Canadian Mental Health Association Peel Dufferin is receiving $2,375,700 from Ontario’s Government to fund opioids additions treatment and services and peer support services. Our government is also investing in Mobile Crisis Teams that will assist local police services to connect people to the mental health services they need. This is part of the province-wide mental health strategy that will improve safety for the people of Ontario and better support frontline workers.

Your government is moving forward quickly to address challenges facing the health care system as it develops a long-term transformational health care strategy to end hallway health care. As this important work continues, this funding will allow hospitals to address urgent issues, including upgrades or replacements of roofs, windows, heating and air conditioning systems, fire alarms and back-up generators. In Dufferin-Caledon, Headwaters Health Care Centre will receive $692,181 in funding through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund to ensure reliable, quality health care for our community.

Over the past year, our government has also improved the safety and accessibility of transportation in Dufferin-Caledon. Caledon is receiving $500,000 from the province through the Community Transportation Grant Program, to help support services within and between our communities, making it easier for residents to get around. We also increased fines across the province to ensure drivers obey the speed limits when driving in the left lane. This improves the safety of roadways across Dufferin-Caledon, including on Highways 9 and 10 on the four lane sections, by enforcing that the left-lane is the passing lane. Additionally, we have increased the fine for distracted driving, as 833 people were charged with distracted driving in Dufferin-Caledon alone last year.

Several projects from Dufferin-Caledon have been nominated for provincial funding. The first is in Grand Valley and proposes replacing Bridge 11 on Concession Road 2-3, as well as a proposal to reconstruct the 20th Sideroad in Amaranth. Another provincial project will provide 16 Dufferin-Caledon athletes with a combined $77,442 from the Quest for Gold Program to support their training in a variety of sports, some of which include basketball, soccer, sledge hockey, equestrian, lacrosse, and cycling. Theatre Orangeville is also receiving funding for their show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, taking place on August 22-25, 2019 through Celebrate Ontario.

As Solicitor General, I introduced my first piece of legislation that passed in March 2019, to restore respect for police officers and streamline police oversight. This new policing legislation fixed the previous government’s Bill 175, which treated police with suspicion and scorn. By treating police fairly, the Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, 2019 ensures that the police, the government, and the people of Ontario remain partners in creating a more secure province.

We have truly accomplished a great deal in Dufferin-Caledon and across the province. However, our work is far from over and we look forward to continuing to turn Ontario around for the people.

If you have any questions, please call my office at 1-800-265-1603 or visit my website at www.sylviajonesmpp.ca.

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