"Designing a refundable tax credit in Ontario linked to food purchased from stores indicators from the Ontario Consumer Price Index (O-CPI) and phased in similarly to the Ontario Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) Tax Credit requires a structured approach that balances inflation responsiveness, income sensitivity, and administrative feasibility.

The NDP’s Monthly Grocery Rebate would be delivered to Ontarians on a monthly basis. The baseline credit/benefit is tied to the cost of a basket of essential food items, how much each family spent on the basket of essential food items annually before Ford became Premier, and how much that price has increased since. The amount is increased given changes to the price of the basket of essential food items in grocery stores. The rebate is non-taxable and recipients are identified based on 2024 tax filings.

This design ensures the credit adapts to rising food costs while targeting low-to-moderate-income families. By borrowing some successful elements from Ontario’s existing refundable credits (e.g., the CARE Tax Credit’s phase-in structure and the Trillium Benefit’s inflation adjustments), it balances equity, efficiency, and simplicity.

Eligibility Criteria

Residency: Recipients must be Ontario residents as of December 31 of the tax year.

Income Threshold: Introduce a phased-in structure where the credit amount decreases as household income rises.

• Full credit for family households with adjusted net income ≤ $65,000; full credit for individuals with adjusted net income ≤$50,000.

• Partial credit phased out by 3.5% of family household income exceeding $65,000, and reaching zero at $100,000 (final phase-out credit = 51%)

• Partial credit phased out by 3.5% of individual income exceeding $50,000, and reaching zero at $65,000 (final phase-out credit = 51%)

Base Credit: Provides $40 per adult in each household.

Family Size Adjustments: Provide additional amounts per dependent (eg $20 base credit per child under 18) to reflect higher food costs for larger households."

— ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"We will create an office for a provincial Consumer Watchdog that will be a one stop shop for consumer complaints. A core challenge of consumer protection in Ontario that enforcement requires the individual to pursue legal action, or the Government of Ontario to impose a fine on those who violate it. You shouldn't need a lawyer to stop corporations from gouging you with deceptive pricing. The Consumer Watchdog would hold the power to investigate businesses or other entities on consumer protection laws or practices. They could release public reports similar to the Auditor General or the Ombudsman of Ontario, and to level fines or other penalties against businesses found to be in violation of consumer protection legislation." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"We will establish a Corporate Crime and Competition Bureau to enforce competition laws and prevent coordinated price hikes among Ontario grocers. The Bureau would focus on actively monitoring large corporations and conspiracies that would otherwise be nearly impossible to detect at the consumer level." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"Ontario needs a centralized referral system that covers the entire province and its specialties. From pediatrics to adult care, wait times vary greatly for diagnostic imaging, surgical and specialist access. A centralized referral system would connect patients to care faster. The Ford government promised this in their Your Health plan but have not delivered." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"We will accelerate the approval of team-based primary care proposals from Community Health Centres, Nurse Practitioner Led Clinics, and Indigenous Primary Care Organizations that have submitted applications but still await review and funding." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"We will unlock more time for doctors to spend with patients by cutting the administrative burden and connecting doctors to a support team." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"Patients Ahead of Paperwork: Family doctors are spending up to 20 hours a week, the equivalent of more than two days of full-time work, on the paperwork burden — filling out lengthy forms, writing unnecessary sick notes for employers — time that eats away at the amount of time doctors can spend with patients. Taking paperwork off of doctors’ desks will allow them to see an avg of 20 more patients a day.

• The Ontario Medical Association estimates that 40-50% of their time can be freed up when doctors are connected to team-based care. By reducing the amount of time doctors spend on administrative work, we can unlock thousands of hours for doctors to spend with patients and significantly increase the number of patients that each doctor can roster.

• We will streamline time-consuming administrative tasks and reduce the number of forms that are required to be filled out by a doctor

• We will invest in a surge of additional healthcare staff so that doctors can spend their time being doctors." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"We will add 3,500 doctors to the primary care system over four years. We will increase residency spots in medical schools and clear barriers for the 13,000 internationally trained and ready-to-practice doctors in Ontario who are ready to enter the healthcare workforce." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"We will pay community health workers fairly to make sure the sector does not fall behind. We will increase residency seats and licensing opportunities for internationally trained doctors and healthcare workers already here in Ontario who are not yet able to practice.

• We will add 3,500 doctors to the primary care system by increasing residency spots in medical schools and incentivizing new graduates to stay in primary care by connecting them to an interdisciplinary team.

• We will clear barriers for the 13,000 internationally trained and ready-to-practice doctors to enter the healthcare workforce." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"Ontario needs a centralized referral system that covers the entire province and its specialties. From pediatrics to adult care, wait times vary greatly for diagnostic imaging, surgical and specialist access. A centralized referral system would connect patients to care faster. The Ford government promised this in their Your Health plan but have not delivered." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"Stop the practice of “negation,” where your family doctor has to pay when you receive care from a walk-in clinic, and patients can face “deregistration” and lose their doctor as a result." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"Make sure workers in the community health sector are paid fairly. Ontario needs to invest in a base budget increase of 5% or $33.7 million annually for community-governed comprehensive primary health care organizations. Members have only seen a 6% increase over 27 years." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"We will bring in safe nurse-patient ratios for better care and end the reliance on for-profit private nursing agencies that are costing hospitals hundreds of millions of dollars." — On Your Side: The Ontario NDP Plan for Southwest Ontario & Niagara, retrieved 2025-02-20

"We will establish a Northern Command Centre to support recruitment, gather data on system capacity, and quickly identify emerging workforce issues." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20

"We will increase funding to locum programs and opportunities for educational and targeted skills development in northern Ontario, building local knowledge and a skillset suited for the unique challenges of medicine in remote communities." — ontariondp.ca, retrieved 2025-02-20