An aerial shot of Walton Street, the main street in downtown Port Hope. Small business was a major focus on the 2021 Ontario budget.
The show:
The provincial budget delivered earlier this week appears to have two goals. The first is continuing to address the fiscal demands of the pandemic. The second is to provide ongoing support to people and the economy in the hopes of creating a path to a post-pandemic world. The result is a record-setting $38.5 billion deficit for 2020 and an additional $33 billion deficit for this coming year.
In interviews earlier this week, Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini talked about the details of the budget. He pointed to the additional funding already invested in Northumberland Hills Hospital and Campbellford Memorial Hospital. Piccini expects more money to be coming to help cover costs incurred due to the pandemic. There are also additional funds to help get people vaccinated.
He also says the budget allows for more money to be spent on long-term care benefitting the Golden Plough Lodge and the recent announcement regarding a new facility in Cobourg owned by OMNI Health Care. Besides the continuing investments in small businesses, the budget allotted $2.8 billion for improved broadband service in rural areas.
In this interview with Consider This Northumberland Port Hope and District Chamber of Commerce CEO Brenda Whitehead will help parse the impact of the budget on the local business. She will take all those numbers and promises to see how they will apply to the local economy.
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