The update report, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), finds that each GTA/905 resident receives $218 less for social services than the average Ontarian which translates into total funding gap of $708.2 million – an increase in the total operating gap for social services of $156.7 million or 33% from 2003/04 to 2005/06.

Further, the report finds that for hospital care, each GTA/905 resident receives $221 less than the average Ontarian for local hospital care which translates into a $944 million annual funding gap. Data in the report shows that the hospital funding gap grew by $348.9 million between 2003/04 and 2007/08 and average of 14.6% each year.

The report, Assessing the Gap in Health and Social Services Funding Between the GTA/905 and the Rest of Ontario: An Update, was prepared by PwC using most recent provincial health care and social services funding information. It concludes that, ”there is still a sizeable gap in both health and social services annual operating funding between the GTA/905 and the rest of Ontario and the gaps are getting wider as population growth continues to outstrip provincial funding”.

“While we certainly welcome commitments to begin providing growth funding for hospitals and health care, these commitments must not only translate into providing adequate and annual growth funding, but in fairness and given the growing needs, similar commitments should also be provided to social services in the GTA/905 and other high growth communities,” said Anne McGuire, Chair of the GTA/905 Healthcare Alliance, a member of the Strong Communities Coalition. “To truly meet the hospital, healthcare and social services needs of our rapidly growing communities and ensure timely access to health care and social services close to home, steps taken towards developing a new provincial funding formula for health care, while promising, need to be extended to social services and most importantly must ensure that the population-needs-based funding forms the foundation of any new provincial funding formula.”

“Building a strong, vibrant and prosperous community is more than just physical infrastructure. Beyond public transit, facilities and roads, residents in high growth communities, like all other Ontarians, need equitable access to local health care and social services and sufficient human services operating funding if they are to thrive and contribute to their communities and the economy,” said Shelley White, CEO of United Way of Peel and a member of the Strong Communities Coalition. “We have to remember that providing local health and social services in GTA/905 communities is an investment that pays dividends many times over.”

The Strong Communities Coalition is an alliance of the United Ways in Peel, York, Durham and Oakville and the GTA/905 Healthcare Alliance with the support of York Region Human Services Planning Coalition and the Peel Fair Share Task Force. The Coalition’s goal is to improve local and timely access to comprehensive and quality health care and social services in the GTA/905 regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York.

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For further information contact:
Paola Arci at (416) 205-1331