Ontario making life a little easier for families

Ministry of Finance
News Release

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A 10 per cent break in electricity bills, the lowest provincial income tax rate in Canada for the first $37,000 earned, and energy and property tax credits for seniors of more than $1,000 a year are just some of the highlights of the Ontario government’s annual Progress Report for 2011.

The annual report shows the results Ontarians are achieving together.

Family financial relief includes:

 The Ontario Clean Energy Benefit, which takes 10 per cent off monthly electricity bills for over four million residential consumers and over 400,000 small businesses, farms and other consumers.

 Income tax reductions which apply to 93 per cent of Ontario taxpayers, saving the average family $355 a year.

 The Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, giving eligible families up to $900 a year to help with property taxes and the sales tax on energy. Seniors are eligible for up $1,025 annually.

 The Ontario Child Benefit which is providing low income families with up to $1,100 per child every year benefitting over one million children.

New full-day kindergarten programs are also making life easier for working parents by saving them up to $6,500 a year per child on child care and helping their children get the best start in life.

To help children get off to a healthy start, and to keep them healthy as they grow, we now offer five additional free vaccines — including chicken pox — saving families up to $1,400 per child that parents previously had to pay out of their pockets.

And to help Ontarians find new jobs in growing sectors of the economy, nearly 45,000 Ontarians have enrolled in training funded through the Second Career program.

These initiatives are just another way the McGuinty government is working together with Ontario families to build a better future for our children and grandchildren.

QUOTES

“It’s thanks to the hard work of Ontario families that our province is turning the corner out of recession. Families have dug deep and our government wants to do its part to help make life a little easier. Together, we need to keep working towards growth that lasts, and to build the kind of Ontario that’s attracting investments and creating jobs for the future. We’ve got to do whatever it takes to secure an even brighter future for our children and grandchildren.”
— Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance

QUICK FACTS

 First-time homebuyers can also get up to $2,000 back as a rebate on their land transfer tax.

 In June 2011, Ontario created more jobs than the rest of Canada and the U.S. combined

 In the last six months Ontario created more jobs than all the other Canadian provinces combined.

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