Hamilton community services tell budget committee of increased demand as Conservatives withhold critical resources

HAMILTON – NDP MPPs were in Hamilton today to hear from local organizations as they brought forward their need for funding and support – something they urgently need as Ford and the Conservatives continue to withhold resources from community services.

“Today we’re in Hamilton, but we’re hearing similar stories that we keep hearing across the province – that Ford and the Conservatives are dropping the ball on providing support to critical services,” said MPP Catherine Fife (Waterloo), Official Opposition Finance critic. “The Conservatives are intent on downloading services while they sit on billions – forcing community organizations to do much more with increasingly less.”

Ford’s corrupt Conservative government is sitting on a massive $5.4-billion contingency fund (based on FAO Q2 expenditures and an additional October 2023 top-up) that could be used right now to help these local organizations serve people in our communities.

“Today we heard from many services, including local libraries who are seeing an increase in people seeking shelter and internet, because they can’t access those basic necessities anywhere else,” said MPP Monique Taylor (Hamilton Mountain), NDP critic for Children, Community, and Social Services. “It’s heartbreaking to see how badly Ford and the Conservatives are letting down our communities by withholding resources and abdicating their responsibility to the people of Hamilton.”

The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs is travelling across Ontario for the next month to hear from organizations and make decisions on what will be included in the 2024 budget.

Highlights

• The Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville Chapter of the Congress of Union Retirees of Canada told committee that Ontario is in the worst healthcare crisis in memory
• The Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction spoke about the heartbreaking challenges people face as they try to survive on stagnant OW and ODSP rates
• Registered Nurses Association of Ontario said that some of their members have been forced to work at a part-time capacity because that’s all they can endure