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March 7, 2023

43rd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2023-Mar-07 vol. A (PDF)

L050A - Tue 7 Mar 2023 / Mar 7 mar 2023

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Tuesday 7 March 2023 Mardi 7 mars 2023

Orders of the Day

Building More Mines Act, 2023 / Loi de 2023 visant l’aménagement de davantage de mines

Members’ Statements

Muslim Welfare Canada

Tenant protection

Deputy Chief Julie Craddock

Northern health services

Coldest Night of the Year

Missing persons

Trillium Health Partners Foundation

Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal

Bruce Power

Engineers

House sittings

Introduction of Visitors

Question Period

Government accountability

Health care

Education funding

Life sciences sector

Hospital services

Agri-food industry

Health care

Land use planning

Red tape reduction

Condominium legislation

Autism treatment

Mental health and addiction services

Elder abuse

Gender-based violence

Health care

Women’s entrepreneurship

Canada Winter Games

Visitor

Introduction of Visitors

Introduction of Government Bills

Queen’s Park Restoration Act, 2023 / Loi de 2023 sur la restauration de Queen’s Park

Introduction of Bills

Respecting Workers in Health Care and in Related Fields Act, 2023 / Loi de 2023 sur le respect dû aux travailleurs du domaine de la santé et de domaines connexes

Petitions

Social assistance

Adoption disclosure

Transportation infrastructure

Social assistance

Orders of the Day

Building More Mines Act, 2023 / Loi de 2023 visant l’aménagement de davantage de mines

The House met at 0900.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Building More Mines Act, 2023 / Loi de 2023 visant l’aménagement de davantage de mines

Mr. Pirie moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 71,

An Act to amend the Mining Act / Projet de loi 71, Loi modifiant la

Loi sur les mines.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Would the minister care to lead off the debate.

Hon. George Pirie: It is a privilege to rise for second reading of our government’s proposed Building More Mines Act, 2023. I want to indicate that I’ll be sharing the government’s leadoff time with the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Mines. The PA will be touching on the importance of Indigenous partnerships to the future of Ontario’s mining sector and the progress to date in developing the Ring of Fire.

Before I begin, I’d like to take a moment to thank the mining industry leaders and other partners who have provided my ministry and me with invaluable feedback on the opportunities and challenges they’ve encountered in the sector under the previous governments. The feedback has informed the Building More Mines Act, Mr. Speaker.

Through the minister’s mining industry council—MMIC—meetings and other discussions, they provide us with actionable ideas on how to improve the Mining Act and move the industry forward. The main theme that continually came up in our discussions was improving inefficiencies in the processes. That is what this act is all about. It’s about making the ministry more efficient. It cannot take 15 years to build a mine. It’s simply unacceptable when we have the knowledge, the skilled labour force and the innovative solutions to address the issues.

In the early 1960s, the mineral deposits at Kidd Creek were found and three years later the mine was up and running and producing valuable minerals. The sudden influx of people and the economic activity allowed the surrounding communities to experience an economic boom in a very short period of time. Today, Mr. Speaker, it takes 15 years to do the very same thing. The mines get built slower, the economic benefits move slower and the processes take longer now than they ever have. How is that possible, when today we know more and our technology is better? It has everything to do with our outdated and unnecessarily restrictive regulations.

Previous governments sat idly by and let this problem fester. We are here to fix the 15 years of Liberal negligence, and it starts with updating the Mining Act to match the reality of the current state of the mining industry. This is so that the exploration and mining sector can continue to do what it does best: making the mineral discoveries and building the mines of the future.

Our government remains focused on creating the conditions to help attract investment and optimize competitive advantages in the sector. This includes creating the most logical legislative and regulatory environment possible. We are doing all of this without compromising our world-class environmental standards or Indigenous duty to consult.

Mr. Speaker, an important distinction to make is that governments don’t build mines—companies do.

As Ontario’s Minister of Mines, I’m extremely passionate about the mining industry and the critical role mining plays in Ontario’s economic prosperity. Mining has long been a driver of growth for Ontario. We remember the days when the ONR was being driven from North Bay to Cochrane to access the agriculture belts in there. They found silver and cobalt, and that kicked off the whole thing. That led to the gold discoveries in Porcupine and it led to the gold discoveries in Kirkland Lake and silver discoveries in Elk Lake. It also led to the base metal discoveries, as well, in the Horne mine in northern Quebec.

Mining remains a cornerstone for our economy today—and will for many years to come. I come from a mining town, and I’ve seen first-hand how the industry can build up communities. I was born and raised in South Porcupine, at the historic Dome-Ex property—actually, the mine site village of Dome and Dome-Ex on the Dome property. I was raised in a house in the shadow of a mine. I have mined all my life. My family has been in mining for over 100 years.

My father was born in 1920 in a house behind the mill, and obviously, my grandparents were there before my father was born. Seven kids were raised in that house, and my father was able to provide for us because of his career in mining. My father’s work inspired my career, and I have worked in the mining industry for the bulk of my career.

My father was 16 years old—he was the eldest in his family—when he finished grade 13—at 16 years old. So, in 1936, he started to work at the Dome mine. Why? Because there were no other jobs. It was in the middle of the Depression. And that’s what he did for the rest of his career, absent the time he spent in the Second World War. And as I said, we raised seven kids because my father worked in mining.

That’s what this act is all about: giving more people the opportunity to have a rewarding career in mining or the associated industries. The member from Sudbury knows all about this: He landed a career in a smelter that helped him buy a house and start a family, something all Ontarians have been asking for. Mining provided for that future.

As I’ve said before, I have worked in the mining industry for many years, my whole career, and I have witnessed a lot of changes and challenges first-hand. In my time in the industry, I met some of the best and brightest people the world of mining has to offer—people who never stopped innovating and coming up with solutions to challenges that they faced.

It’s no coincidence that the technology that has been driving progress in the mining industry is because we have such a high percentage of highly paid professionals that are leading this industry. It’s no accident that the intake water from Musselwhite mine is cleaner than the discharge water. It’s no accident, with the Côté Lake mine, there is no discharge water. That mine took 17 years to permit, to get across the line so you could start building this mine, and there is absolutely no discharge water out of that facility. It’s a remarkable achievement, and it’s done through the technology and the skill and the ability of the mining people.

Despite these challenges, Ontario remains a world-class mining jurisdiction and is always among the top 10 jurisdictions in the world for mineral exploration spending. But we can do better. We must do better.

The industry contributes nearly $13 billion annually to Ontario’s GDP and provides 75,000 jobs associated with mineral processing and mining supply and services. Ontario’s mining sector has one of the highest proportions of Indigenous workers of all industries in the province. Indigenous employment accounts for 11% of direct mining jobs in Ontario.

One of the things I did in my career with Placer Dome was help develop the Musselwhite mine. With those agreements—and they were very progressive IBAs that were signed with five First Nations and they ended up being revenue-sharing agreements that I led that directly related to increased prosperity with the communities surrounding that mine because of the activity in that mine. That’s what activity in that sector can do.

As you all know, I worked with Wahgoshig Resources Inc. That’s the commercial entity for WFN. WFN is the Indigenous community on the south shore of Lake Abitibi. You start off with relatively passive economic involvement and by the time we had finished, the Wahgoshig First Nation was a participant in the real economy by building a 100%-owned diamond drilling company, owned by the Indigenous people, by capitalizing on the economic opportunities in their traditional territory. That’s what we did working together with First Nations.

About 25% of direct mining jobs in Canada are in Ontario and around two thirds of these direct mining jobs are in northern Ontario.

Ontario’s statistics are equally impressive when it comes to mineral exploration. In 2021, Ontario was second in Canada for mineral exploration expenditures, totalling $878 million, roughly 24% of all mineral exploration expenditures in Canada. As of March 1, 2023, there are approximately 366,000 active mining claims in good standing in Ontario. In 2021, Ontario was Canada’s third-largest mineral producer, producing $11.1 billion worth of minerals—20% of Canada’s total mineral production.

Ontario is one of the leading world producers of gold, nickel and platinum group elements. In 2021, Ontario produced approximately $3.1 billion worth of critical minerals with 10 of those 36 operating mines in Ontario producing critical minerals. That same year, platinum group elements and copper had the highest critical mineral production values, at least $1.2 billion and $1 billion respectively. That’s what mining does to the economy and for the economy for Ontario.

Ontario produces approximately two fifths of Canada’s gold production, one third of Canada’s nickel production, one quarter of Canada’s copper production and two thirds of Canada’s platinum group metals production.

Some of the world’s largest mining companies operate in Ontario, such as Glencore, Vale, Newmont and Barrick. These companies benefit from a range of provincial support programs, including programs to help manage the energy costs associated with mineral production.

Through tax incentives and targeted business supports, we help companies across all phases of the mining sequence leverage opportunities to invest in and promote their mineral and mining projects.

There are currently 36 active mining operations in Ontario, the majority of which are in northern Ontario, and there are more new mine construction projects and mine expansions under way as we speak. There are many fantastic projects in various stages of development. Under our government, we want to help pave the way so that more critical mineral mines get to production that much sooner—mines like Vale’s Copper Cliff south mine project that I visited with the Premier this past October.

Phase 1 of the Copper Cliff complex south mine project reunites the south side of Copper Cliff mine with the north side and creates a new supply hub for low-carbon critical minerals, helping anchor Sudbury as a homegrown and sustainable supply chain for electric vehicles and the batteries that power them.

Did I tell you, Speaker, that that project cost was brought in at almost $1 billion—over $900 million to do this right here in Sudbury and all the benefits that are accrued to Sudbury because of those mines? And they’re doing it cleanly, all with EVs, no diesel. They’re committed to the environment that their employees work in.

The re-opened mine will provide employment for more than 250 workers, boosting the local economy. These numbers are impressive, Mr. Speaker, but there is more that needs to be done. We need to continue to support the growth of the mining industry, because the future of our world depends on it. While the mining sector has weathered the recent unprecedented economic challenges better than most, it is not immune to external forces. Ontario must act now—and perhaps I should start saying “Madam Speaker,” not “Mr. Speaker”—

Hon. Lisa M. Thompson: Yes.

Hon. George Pirie: I apologize for that—because the demand for critical minerals needed in strategic sectors such as electric vehicles, telecommunications, national defence and battery storage is growing exponentially.

As I said last night, tonight is our time. We’ve got the minerals in northern Ontario that can be married to the manufacturing and production in southern Ontario. We’re in the heart of the EV revolution that is happening in Ontario right now. Our communities are poised in the north, associated with the mining projects to flourish.

Madam Speaker, when Minister Fedeli was here the other day, he talked about the hollowing-out of the manufacturing sector in southern Ontario. I’ll tell you, the forestry and mining sector was also hollowed out in those years as well. The forestry sector was decimated. I had four value-added projects in Timmins; they’re gone now. The member opposite knows, in fact, that two survived in his riding. The rest, including pulp-and-paper mills and chipboard facilities, are all gone. They lost the employees, and with that, our population in the north declined.

Southern Ontario was expanding; northern Ontario’s population was declining in every single major sector. It’s time to change that, because now is our opportunity.

These minerals have specific industrial, technological and strategic applications. They do not have many viable alternatives, meaning if a critical mineral is not available, there aren’t many other minerals that can be used in its place. Where are we getting those critical minerals right now? Where are we getting the rare earths? They’re coming from Russia and they’re coming from China and they’re coming from the Congo. That’s what we can do; we can secure the supply chain right here in Ontario.

There are 33 minerals in Ontario’s critical minerals list, including nickel, cobalt and lithium. Foreign countries that do not share Ontario’s world-class labour, human rights, environmental and health and safety standards like Russia and China have a stranglehold on the markets for many of these minerals. Our allies are looking for stable suppliers of responsibly sourced critical minerals from jurisdictions with standards that mirror or exceed our own. It is up to us to do what Canadians and Ontarians have always done and rise to the occasion and show the world that those leaders come from here, and we can be that jurisdiction.

Ontario is blessed with some of the most mineral-rich deposits in the world, including critical minerals like nickel, cobalt and lithium used in manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles, smart phones, pharmaceuticals and advanced manufacturing technologies. Ontario’s vast mineral wealth, along with its competitive business climate, highly skilled workforce and incentives for innovation position it to become the leading global supplier of responsibly sourced minerals.

We know the world wants Ontario’s critical minerals and we are one of the first governments to pave the way for this exciting sector by investing in exploration and innovation through our Critical Minerals Strategy and cutting unnecessary red tape so companies can build more mines.

As part of our strategy, we have made significant strategic investments in our Ontario Junior Exploration Program to find the mines of the future. And we’ve also invested in our Critical Minerals Innovation Fund to identify and help fund innovation in the sector. Ontario has a responsibility to help build the critical minerals supply chain, and to do so, we need to create the conditions for companies to build mines more efficiently. We will do this while maintaining our world-class environmental protections and meeting duty-to-consult obligations to accomplish this goal.

Here in this province, we have the mineral resources and the industry experience and skilled workforce to supply and manufacture the innovative technologies of tomorrow. We believe the mining industry’s best days are still ahead, and we’re creating the conditions for an unprecedented era of prosperity for the north, Indigenous communities and all of Ontario.

Through our government’s actions, outlined in strategies such as Driving Prosperity, the government’s 10-year plan to transform Ontario’s automotive supply chain to build the cars of the future, including fully electric battery vehicles, and Ontario’s Critical Minerals Strategy, our comprehensive five-year blueprint to strengthen Ontario’s position as a global leader in supplying critical minerals, we are working to build an integrated supply chain by connecting the critical minerals producers in the north, including the projects in the Ring of Fire, with the manufacturing might in the south.

Our first-ever Critical Minerals Strategy, which we released last year, is helping us create opportunities in Ontario’s mining sector, while supporting the transition to the green technologies of the future. The commitments in this strategy will see us boost the resiliency of our supply chains, expand innovation and increase our exploration capacity.

Ontario’s minerals are already part of the global integrated supply chain and are used in many, many projects worldwide. Our government has already taken several actions to help boost our supply chains for these critical minerals and implement the goals in the strategy since its release. We’ve invested in expanding geoscience information related to critical minerals through the Ontario geological survey. We’ve made strategic investments in critical minerals projects through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp.

I’ve already said we’ve supported early critical minerals exploration through the Ontario Junior Exploration Program. Last month, I joined Premier Ford in Sault Ste. Marie to announce our government has invested $5.8 million to help junior mining companies explore for critical minerals through the program. In total, we are investing $12 million over four years for critical minerals exploration in the Ontario Junior Exploration Program. Since the launch of the program in 2021, 32 companies have received funding for exploration of minerals such as nickel, copper, cobalt and lithium. These companies have invested an additional $12.8 million in these projects.

Last November, we launched the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund. The CMIF is a $5-million fund that supports the critical minerals sector by funding research, development and commercialization of projects to stimulate investment in Ontario’s critical minerals supply chain. Just yesterday, I was at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference and convention to announce the successful projects receiving funding. These innovative projects range from mining and mineral processing to the recovering and recycling of minerals, and they’re happening right here in Ontario.

Even with these accomplishments, we are just getting started, Madam Speaker. In this ever-changing global landscape, we need more responsibly sourced critical minerals to fuel the innovations and technologies of tomorrow. However, there are barriers we need to address before we can truly accomplish our goals, because there can be no integrated supply chain without an updated act to make the mining sector more efficient.

That’s what this is, Speaker. This is what we are accomplishing today. We are listening to the experts and delivering the efficiencies that will allow us to secure the supply chain for critical minerals, to help the entire mining sector there. We are providing flexibility and reducing costs for companies, so they can do what they do best: build mines. This is all part of our government’s plan to build the integrated supply chain, connecting critical minerals producers in the north with the manufacturers in the south.

The Building More Mines Act, if passed, will help us accomplish these goals to help our entire provincial economy and enter into an unprecedented era of prosperity, making Ontario the place to invest and to do business. I want to assure all of you: Ontario stands ready to do its part. We are optimistic that all members of the House will support this bill, because the future of this province depends on a stronger mining sector.

With that, Madam Speaker, I want to include the parliamentary assistant, so I’ll conclude my remarks and turn it over to PA Leardi.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): I recognize the parliamentary assistant and member for Essex to continue.

Mr. Anthony Leardi: The topic of this morning’s debate is the Building More Mines Act, and, as part of this debate, we’re going to be talking about, necessarily, the Ring of Fire and also about Ontario’s Critical Minerals Strategy. As an introduction to my remarks, I’m going to be telling a little story, and, as always, my stories are directly related to the topic of debate, although, as members of this assembly might have already observed, sometimes you have to wait until the relevance of the story is revealed, and that might not come until the end of the speech.

As most of my stories go, this one starts on the second concession of Anderdon township, where I grew up. When I grew up, my dad had an old beat-up pickup truck, like everybody else’s dad in town. That old beat-up pickup truck, it had an old beat-up radio, and that old beat-up radio, it never got but one radio station, and it was a country music radio station at that.

That was perfectly fine by my dad, because country music was the only music he ever listened to, but, for us young people growing up in Anderdon township, that wasn’t quite right, because Anderdon township is located right next to the state of Michigan. You can walk out my back door even today and walk a kilometre down the middle sideroad and you will stand right at the edge of the Detroit River. Look across the Detroit River, and you can see the front doors of the houses of the people who live in Michigan. That’s how close we live.

That means we’re only half an hour from downtown Detroit, and, of course, being that close to Detroit, we get the world’s greatest radio stations, and that means we get the world’s best music, which is, of course, as we all know, Motown.

So we grew up listening to Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder. We didn’t listen to country music all that much. When I got into my dad’s old pickup truck and that old radio came on and the country music came out, normally I wasn’t too happy, but—and this is where the story takes a dramatic turn—one day, the music came out, and it was great music. The song that was on the radio was a love song, and the singer sang about falling in love, and he was falling into a ring of fire, and he went down, down, down and the flames got higher. This was the intensity of the love he was experiencing.

My dad told me that the singer of that song was the great Johnny Cash, and he said Johnny Cash was the greatest country music singer who had ever lived. I have no reason to doubt that.

I thought to myself, I wondered as a young person, would I ever fall into that ring of fire? As a matter of fact, I did. I met a girl from River Canard, and her name was Jacqueline, and we got married. Today is March 7, 2023, and Jacqueline and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. Of course, she’s celebrating in Essex county and I’m celebrating here with you, and that’s because I was elected to this august Legislature.

I was elected last year, and, shortly after that, Her Excellency the Lieutenant Governor of the province of Ontario saw fit to appoint me as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Mines. I imagined that the Lieutenant Governor, in her wisdom, must have seen something in me that I didn’t see in myself, because, after being appointed parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Mines, I immediately fell in love with mines and mining and everything associated with it.

I had the opportunity to go to Sudbury, and I went into the Creighton mine. I went down, down, down into the Creighton mine, 8,400 feet below the surface of the earth. That’s very deep. If you took the CN Tower, and you put four CN Towers together and you fastened them together and drove them into the crust of the earth, the Creighton mine would be deeper still. Down at the bottom of the Creighton mine, it was hot. It was so hot that they have to pump the winter cold air from the surface down to the bottom just to make it passably tolerable for people to work down there.

While I was at the bottom of the Creighton mine, I had a little time to think, and I thought to myself, mining is not an activity for which humans are built. The human body is not naturally adapted to the activity of mining. That means that mining really, in truth, is an activity that is dependent upon the ingenuity of the human mind, because when you think about it, mining is all about ingenuity. For example, if you want to find minerals, they don’t grow on trees. You have to go and look for them, and finding them, locating them, takes ingenuity.

That’s why we have something called the Ontario geological survey. It was established in 1891. Back then, when you wanted to do a geological survey, you loaded up your mule or your donkey, you provided yourself with a tent and some food provisions, you made sure you brought a rifle and some ammunition, and then you went into the bush. You fought against the blackflies, you fought against the cold, you fought against the hunger and you surveyed.

The process is different today. We have a lot more technology, a lot more information. It’s a lot easier to do that today. You can stake a claim electronically—you can do it online—but you still need to know how to spot the hallmarks of a good deposit, and that takes ingenuity. It’s not easy to find what we’re looking for.

Let me provide you with a quote from the Ontario Mining Association: “Although the addition of even one mine can bring substantial benefits to society, the wins do not come quickly or easily. It takes a great deal of will, effort and time to discover a viable ore deposit and bring it into production. There is no way of predicting where profitable ore deposits will be found. Each prospector and investor may fervently hope for the next ‘big find,’ but only one in 10 mineral exploration projects are taken to the drill stage, and one in 1,000 drill projects unearth viable mineral deposits; ultimately, less than one in 10,000 projects become mines.”

That’s pretty remarkable. When you’re looking for minerals, you’re looking for a needle in a haystack. And then, once you find it, you have to figure out a way to bring it to the surface, and that takes ingenuity. And then, when you bring it to the surface, you have to separate what you don’t want from what you want, and that takes ingenuity. And then, once you have separated the minerals you want, you have to find a way of transforming those minerals into something that’s useful or beautiful, and that takes ingenuity. And so, in the end, the mining process is a transformative process. It is a process of transforming that which is in the earth into something which is beautiful and useful.

So let’s talk about the beautiful things that we make out of the minerals that we mine here in the province of Ontario. Let’s talk about the top 10. I’ll start with what I call the king, which is gold. Of course, we all know gold is transformed into jewellery. But gold also makes microchips. Palladium makes dental fillings. Platinum goes into catalytic converters, which convert harmful emissions into less harmful waste products.

Copper: Copper is my favourite mineral. It’s a great conductor. It’s used in wiring. In fact, it’s so valuable that sometimes thieves will break into a construction site just to steal the copper wiring and then sell it in the underground economy. Copper also has fascinating antimicrobial properties. Copper can kill 99% or more of micro-organisms within two hours of contact. That’s why sometimes you will see some fancy old doorknobs in this Legislature and they’re covered with copper.

Zinc is a metal protector.

Diamonds: Marilyn Monroe sang that diamonds were a girl’s best friend, but diamonds are among the hardest minerals on earth. They are used in industrial saws that cut concrete.

Nickel goes into mobile phones.

Cobalt goes into rechargeable battery electrodes.

Silver goes into solar cells.

And uranium is used to produce nuclear power. In this province, we derive 60% of our electricity from nuclear power. As the Minister of Energy says often, it is clean, it is reliable, it is affordable, and it is green.

Madame la Présidente, j’ai mentionné Sudbury il y a quelques instants, alors parlons de Sudbury. Au moins 27 % de tous les employés miniers en Ontario résident dans la région de Sudbury. Dans la seule région de Sudbury, l’exploitation minière représentait 3,3 milliards de dollars de produits intérieurs bruts en 2019. Que serait Sudbury sans l’exploitation minière? Et que serait l’exploitation minière sans Sudbury?

Le secteur minier de l’Ontario produit plus de 10 milliards de dollars de minéraux à l’année. Est-ce qu’il y a un autre endroit où on pourrait produire un résultat semblable? Oui, il existe une telle place. Elle s’appelle le Cercle de feu.

Le Cercle de feu couvre environ 5 000 kilomètres de superficie. On y trouve des minéraux critiques, y inclus les minéraux suivants : la chromite, le cobalt, le nickel, le cuivre et le platine. La Chambre de commerce de l’Ontario estime que le Cercle de feu apportera environ 9,4 milliards de dollars au produit intérieur brut une fois que les mines seront mises en production.

Mais pour avoir accès au Cercle de feu, il faut des autoroutes toutes-saisons. C’est pour ça que nous proposons de créer un corridor nord-sud reliant le Cercle de feu au réseau provincial.

Présentement, la Première Nation de Marten Falls et la Première Nation de Webequie dirigent des évaluations environnementales. Ce sont des co-promoteurs du projet de planification et de développement du Cercle de feu.

Yes, mining is a transformative process. It transforms objects, but it also transforms lives. According to the Ontario Mining Association, mining directly employs 29,000 people in Ontario. These are people like heavy equipment operators, mining engineers, drilling operators, electricians, geologists, chemists, millwrights. Mining pay exceeds the average pay of an industrial worker by about 70% a week. In an average year, people in mining in Ontario will get paid about $3.7 billion in salaries and in various forms of compensation. It shouldn’t escape anyone’s attention that the mining industry employs a lot of skilled trades.

In January 2023, the Ministry of Mines industry council noted that “The Ministry of Labour’s Skills Development Fund is a crowning achievement of this government.” As the Minister of Labour likes to say, “When you have a skilled trade, you have a job for life.” Yes, mining transforms people’s lives.

Indigenous employment accounts for approximately 11% of mineral exploration and mining jobs in Ontario. I know of no other industry which employs a participation rate among First Nations or Indigenous people of 11%. Mining transforms people’s lives.

The province of Ontario maintains resource revenue-sharing agreements with 35 First Nations and organizations. Since 2018, Indigenous partners, including First Nations governments and organizations, have received over $93 million in payments under the resource revenue-sharing agreements. These payments have had positive effects for education, for economic projects and the advancement of health.

Ontario maintains an Aboriginal Participation Fund. The fund allows First Nations people to have meaningful participation and consultations when it comes to mining. This is important because Ontario has a duty to consult when it comes to treaties governing the relationship between the government and First Nations—because mining transforms people’s lives.

But Madam Speaker, mining will not transform people’s lives if we don’t actually do it. We have to actually mine, and that has become increasingly difficult over the years. As I mentioned before, when you’re looking for a mineral strike, it’s like trying to look for a needle in a haystack. And when you finally find that needle, then there comes years of planning. Again, according to the Ontario Mining Association, “It typically takes 10 to 15 years of consultation, exploration, data analysis, planning and financing to bring a mine in to production.” Think about that: 15 years.

I invite every member of this Legislature to think back: Where were you 15 years ago? I think some of you were still in grade school.

What goes on in 15 years? There’s a lot of consulting. The mining company has to consult with First Nations. The mining company has to consult with other people involved. Then they have to develop a plan. We refer to this sometimes as a closure plan or a rehabilitation plan. What’s that? It’s a plan that sets out in detail what is going to happen after you shut down the mine. You have to pretty much restore the site to its original pristine condition, because mines don’t last forever. They might last 20 years or 40 years—even 100 years—but they don’t last forever.

Under the existing legislation, a company must file a closure plan upfront even before it starts to mine. Now, that’s a trick. Imagine trying to put together a closure plan for something that’s going to happen 60 or 70 or a 100 years into the future. Technology will change, and let me give you an example. Yesterday, I had the good fortune of attending the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference. I was shown a special mineral—maybe it’s not special to others, but special to me. This mineral can capture carbon out of the air and then solidify it and store it in a solid form. This opens up huge possibilities for mining.

But how do you predict what the mine is going to look like in 100 years, or even in the next 10 years? It’s very hard to predict the future. That’s why it’s very hard to develop a closure plan right off the hop and file it before you even start mining. Some people would say a phased-in approach makes a lot more sense.

Before you open a mine you have to file something called a financial security. That means you have to put up money. Now, imagine that: You have to put up money to provide for something that is closing the mine 100 years in advance and put that upfront before you start mining, before you start making a profit, before you even risk losing everything you’ve invested. That’s what a financial security is.

That brings me to the idea of financing a mine. You have to go to the market to raise money to finance your mining activity. Where do you go? Well, what’s the number one place in the world to go for mining financing? It’s not London, England. It’s not New York, New York. It’s not Tokyo, Japan. It’s Toronto, Ontario. It’s the home of the Raptors, home of the Blue Jays and home of Ford Fest.

It’s also the home of the Toronto Stock Exchange, and that’s where billions of dollars is invested in mining. Dean McPherson, the head of business development for Global Mining at the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, comments that mining is back. Toronto is the mining capital of the world. More mining listings are listed in Toronto than anywhere else in the world—more than London, more than New York, more than everywhere else. In the last five years, 40% of the capital raised by mining companies was done on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Indeed, mining is back.

Mining is back in Ontario for a lot of good reasons. Nature and this world’s Creator blessed this beautiful province with some of the most wonderful minerals that the world wants: copper, zinc, lithium and countless other minerals that I can’t even pronounce but that the Minister of Mines can roll off his tongue the way somebody might recite a simple nursery rhyme.

Mining is back in Ontario because we have a great Minister of Mines, who just told us about his own history. Mining is in his blood. His father was a miner, born in the shadow of a mine. This is another reason why mining is back in Ontario.

Mining is back in Ontario because we have clean, reliable, affordable energy. It’s green energy. If you’re looking for green minerals to produce a green economy, you can’t mine for those minerals using dirty fuel. You have to use clean fuel. It’s been said over and over and over again by miners and mining investors.

Mining is back because we have an awesome Minister of Economic Development, who is landing billions and billions of dollars in investment for Ontario’s manufacturing economy. I can’t tell you how excited people in Essex county are about the electric vehicles that we are going to be producing in our area. I can’t tell you, Madam Speaker, how excited other members of this assembly are—especially the member from Windsor–Tecumseh, who has an EV battery plant being constructed as we speak in his riding—because we know what’s going to happen.

It’s going to mean jobs, good jobs, interesting jobs, jobs that pay well, jobs that will provide a pension, jobs that will provide benefits, jobs you can buy a house with, jobs you can raise a family on.

But that can be in jeopardy. That will be in jeopardy if we have to wait 15 years to open a mine. That means 15 years of people waiting to get a good job, 15 years of First Nations communities waiting to participate in a resource revenue-sharing agreement, 15 years of lost economic advancement, 15 years of waiting. Well, 15 years of waiting is much too long.

Even the federal government has to concede that 15 years of waiting is much too long. The federal government has proposed environmental regulations towards zero-emission vehicles: “The regulations will require that at least 20% of new vehicles sold in Canada will be zero emission by 2026, at least 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2035.”

If we need critical minerals to make electric vehicles, we can’t wait 15 years. We can’t wait 15 years, because we’ll miss all those federal targets. We must do better. As the Minister of Mines often says, “You must mine to be green.” That’s why this proposed legislation is so important. This legislation will allow us to move faster when building a mine, while at the same time preserving Ontario’s excellent environmental record.

Madame la Présidente, ce projet de loi va conférer certains pouvoirs et fonctions au ministère. Cela donnera au ministère le pouvoir de faire ouvrir les mines plus vite. Parce que tout le monde le sait : cela ne devrait pas prendre 15 ans pour faire ouvrir une mine.

Nous allons moderniser les plans de fermetures. Actuellement, les plans de fermetures ne permettent pas les modifications qui peuvent servir comme améliorations positives à la terre. Nous allons permettre que les modifications à la terre peuvent, en réalité, devenir des modifications positives, et devraient être préservées au lieu d’être rasées. Je parle, par exemple, au sujet des autoroutes. L’état du terrain doit être comparable ou supérieur à son état avant la récupération, selon la décision du ministère.

Nous allons moderniser les plans de fermetures en ce qui concerne les « personnes compétentes ». Actuellement, tous les plans de fermetures doivent être approuvés par le ministère. Par contre, nous proposons que les plans de fermetures ou les modifications à un plan de fermeture peuvent être approuvés par une personne compétente.

Parce que tout le monde le sait : cela ne devrait pas prendre 15 ans pour faire ouvrir une mine. Everyone knows instinctively that it should not take 15 years to open a mine.

And that brings me back to the second concession of Anderdon township. You see, my dad didn’t just own the old, beat-up pickup truck. No, he didn’t. He also owned a Pontiac Buick, and that Pontiac Buick was a sweet car. It had a long wheelbase; it had a really smooth drive. And we knew—because we had purchased it from a dealership in Toronto—that this particular Pontiac Buick had participated in the motorcade when Pope John Paul II had made his historic visit to Canada. The Pope didn’t ride in this car, but it did go in his motorcade. So we called it the popemobile anyway.

My dad left the old, beat-up pickup truck outside, and it suffered the wind and the rain and the snow and all of the elements, even sun. But we kept the Pontiac Buick parked inside the garage because we didn’t want to get it damaged by the snow and the elements. We used that Pontiac Buick when we went out as a family. So when we went to, for example, visit friends or relatives or go to a wedding, we took the Pontiac Buick, the popemobile. That was the family car.

My dad had a third car—not just one, not just two, but three—and the third car was a Ford Mustang. That Mustang was for us teenagers, the kids. We used that Mustang when we had to do errands for our parents or when we had to go to work, or sometimes we would take it when we went out.

So the truth of the matter is that my dad owned and maintained three cars and paid the insurance on them because he could do that. He could do that because he had a good job. He had a job that was interesting. It paid well. It gave him a pension, and it gave him benefits.

That’s what this legislation today is really about—it’s about providing good jobs, mining jobs, which are interesting, which take skills, which pay well and provide a pension and benefits.

When we create mining jobs, you know what that means: It means people are going to buy cars like—well, they won’t buy cars like my dad’s, because my dad’s cars were carbon-fuelled cars. They’re going to buy electric vehicles. That’s something new.

That’s what this legislation is all about—it’s providing critical minerals to build electric vehicles. It’s about getting the critical minerals that we need to build the electric vehicles to make a greener economy. We’re going to get those minerals out of northern Ontario, and we’re not going to do it the old-fashioned way. We’re not just going to dig it and ship it. That’s the old-fashioned way. We’re not going to do that anymore.

What we’re going to do now is, we’re going to mine the critical minerals right here in Ontario, in places like Sudbury, in places like Timmins. We’re going to mine them, and then we’re going to process them right here in Ontario. We’re not going to ship them out to be processed. We’re going to do it right here. Once they’re processed here in Ontario, we’re going to put those minerals into batteries here in Ontario. Then we’re going to take those batteries and we’re going to put them into electric vehicles. Minerals to processing to batteries to vehicles—a perfect domestic supply chain right here in Ontario, from start to finish.

That’s going to mean jobs for people in Essex county. It’s going to mean jobs for people in Windsor and Tecumseh. It’s going to mean jobs, because we have an EV plant going up right next door to us, in the county of Essex. As I said before, the construction of that plant is continuing as we speak, thanks in great part to the wonderful work of the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, who has brought literally billions in automotive investment to this province.

It’s also going to mean jobs in Brampton. Magna International—again, thanks to the hard work of the Minister of Economic Development and Trade—is putting over $471 million of automotive investment into Brampton and the province of Ontario. That’s going to mean jobs for the people of Brampton, and the people of Brampton are going to buy those beautiful new electric vehicles and drive them on an awesome new highway called Highway 413, and that’s going to be something special.

It’s going to mean a lot of spinoff jobs. It’s going to mean jobs for the people who maintain those cars. It’s going to mean jobs for the people who design those cars, jobs for people who sell those cars, jobs for people who provide parts for those cars. It means jobs for people who build, supply and maintain vehicles.

Yes, manufacturing is coming back to Ontario, and it’s because of the great advancements made not only by the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, but also the Minister of Mines, who has poured his heart and soul into the development of the mining industry in the province of Ontario. Mining is in his blood, and we want mining to be something that everyone feels is special and powerful and good for all of Ontario, north and south.

Yes, manufacturing and mining, they go hand in hand; north and south, they go hand in hand—a perfect domestic supply chain. Madame la Présidente, manufacturing is back. Mining is back.

But you know what? You don’t have to own three cars to be satisfied. You don’t even have to even own two cars. You could own a popemobile or you could choose not to own a popemobile. You might only want to have one car, because when you have a good job, and it’s stable, and it gives you interesting work and good pay and a pension and benefits, that makes you feel comfortable and secure in life. And when you’re comfortable and when you’re secure and you know your family is comfortable and secure, sometimes all you want to do is get into your old, beat-up pickup truck, drive down a lonely concession road, turn on your old, beat-up radio—

Hon. Lisa M. Thompson: And listen to some Johnny Cash?

Mr. Anthony Leardi: —and listen to some Johnny Cash.

And that is why, madame la Présidente, je voterai pour ce projet de loi. That is why I will be voting for this bill.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): We’ll now move to questions.

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: I’d like to thank the Minister of Mines and the member from Essex for their presentation.

The minister discussed diamond drilling and working with Indigenous peoples and working together,

whereas the member from Essex talked about consultations. I hope that the minister or the parliamentary assistant will assure the House that when building more mines, such as this bill is titled, that there will be free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous partners on each new site.

My question for the member from Essex is, could you please define free, prior and informed consent for the House?

Mr. Anthony Leardi: I thank the member from London North Centre for that question, and I will assist the member by indicating that

section 2 of the Mining Act does not in any way, shape or form get changed by the proposed legislation.

Section 2 of the Mining Act states, “The purpose of this act is to encourage prospecting, registration of mining claims and exploration for the development of mineral resources, in a manner consistent with the recognition and affirmation of existing Aboriginal and treaty rights in

section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, including the duty to consult, and to minimize the impact of these activities on public health and safety and the environment.” That completely preserves

section 2 of the Mining Act, which, as I said, is not altered in any way, shape or form by this proposed legislation.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): The member for Markham-Unionville.

Mr. Billy Pang: We don’t have too many 15 years in our whole lives. It’s just not acceptable to take 15 years to build a mine. Why is it so important that qualified professionals certify all aspects of a closure plan, through you, Speaker, to the member?

Mr. Anthony Leardi: I thank the member from Markham–Unionville for that question. He asked me a question about competent professionals or qualified professionals. Indeed, in the province of Ontario, we rely on qualified professionals to do practically everything. It doesn’t matter what endeavour of economic pursuit you’re engaged in, qualified professionals are constantly, constantly, constantly certifying and approving and reviewing.

So as the member for Markham–Unionville said, we can’t wait 15 years to open a mine. We can’t lose 15 years of economic development. We can’t lose 15 years of resource revenue-sharing with our First Nations. We can’t lose 15 years’ worth of jobs, and that’s why we have to have this provision to have competent professionals move these things forward so that we can get ourselves moving towards economic advancement.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Next question?

Ms. Catherine Fife: My question is to the member from Essex. We all know that mines require infrastructure and roads, the Ring of Fire requires a road. The member from Essex talked about willing partners, yet the Neskantaga First Nation Chief Wayne Moonias has said, “We intend to defend our rights, our homeland, our river system even if it costs our lives.” The chief also went on to say that his community will prevent the building of a road to the Ring of Fire even if it means a direct confrontation with authorities. Indigenous opposition now includes talks of lawsuits and possible resistance.

So things are not going well on that part of the mining agenda. Can the member from Essex tell the Legislature how dangerous it is to engage in selective consultation with First Nations across this province?

Mr. Anthony Leardi: Well, first of all, I want to give credit to the First Nations of Marten Falls and First Nations of Webequie, who are partnering with the provincial government and leading, actually, the environmental assessment for the access roads that those two First Nations communities are engaged in. Yesterday, the Minister of Mines announced that the environmental assessment terms have been approved, and so those are moving forward.

Again, I want to remind all members of this Legislature, all 124 members, that the Mining Act specifically refers to duty to consult and affirms and recognizes existing Aboriginal treaty rights, and those are utterly 100% unaltered by this proposed legislation.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Next question?

Mr. Will Bouma: I appreciate the opportunity to engage with my friend from Essex. It’s so exciting to see this development happen. I was just at an announcement a few weeks ago in my riding, where Six Nations of the Grand River will be heading up an incredible battery project in order to store electricity and put it back on the grid in order to save money and where it can pay itself out. It’s an incredible partnership between Indigenous people and other companies in order to make this.

So we’re seeing the ability for resource extraction in the north in order to have a positive benefit. We need more of that. But I was curious if the member could speak directly to—because it seems to be a lot of the questions today are on exactly what this act will be able to accomplish for our northern and Indigenous communities.

Mr. Anthony Leardi: I thank the member from Brantford–Brant for that question. I want to highlight a few remarkable things that mining does: The first thing that we should all know about mining is that mining is good for First Nations people and Indigenous people, that it is a routine observation that among mining activity, Indigenous people have a participation rate in the employment of approximately 11%, which probably exceeds any other industry or activity in the province of Ontario, and that’s awesome, and that First Nations governments and organizations have received over $93 million in payments under resource revenue-sharing agreements just in the last five years alone.

So, imagine, if they get that in five years, what could be paid out and received over 15 years, but also imagine if we don’t get the mines up and running, imagine how much will be lost—millions and millions of dollars of resource revenue-sharing lost.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): We’ll move to the next question.

Mr. Vincent Ke: Thank you, my colleagues—a wonderful, wonderful presentation.

Speaker, we know that the world wants Ontario’s critical minerals, and we are the first government to pave the way for this exciting sector by investing in exploration and innovation through our Critical Minerals Strategy and cutting unnecessary red tape so companies can build more mines.

Speaker, my question to my colleague is, why is it so important that qualified professionals certify all aspects of a closure plan?

Mr. Anthony Leardi: I thank the member from Don Valley North for that question.

First of all, a competent professional such as my good friend from Windsor–Tecumseh, who is a qualified engineer—he might not be interested in this type of work, but a competent professional such as that member would be required to certify a closure plan, because we want the plans certified; we want them reviewed by competent professionals, and we want them to be, essentially, validated. This has to be done.

I thank again the member for that question because he highlights an important thing. Nothing in the environmental legislation of the province of Ontario is changed by this proposed legislation. In fact, it requires competent professionals, qualified professionals to certify that a closure plan is, in fact, in accord and compliant with Ontario’s environmental—

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Thank you.

Last question?

Mr. John Vanthof: Thank you to the member from Essex for his remarks. In his remarks, he talked about financial security and closure plans. Timiskaming–Cochrane has got a long history of mining, a long history—before financial security and closure plans—of unclosed mines, of holes in the ground, of places where the government had to step in—mines that have never been claimed. And since financial security and closure plans, people have gained confidence in the mining companies that are in Timiskaming–Cochrane now, like Alamos Gold and Agnico Eagle. People have confidence.

Is the member seeming to say that financial security for closure of mines isn’t a good thing?

Mr. Anthony Leardi: I say financial security for the closure of mines is a great thing and that’s why it’s still required under the proposed legislation.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): There’s no more time for questions. We’ll move to members’ statements.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

Members’ Statements

Muslim Welfare Canada

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: I want to dedicate my member’s statement today to the leaders and volunteers at Muslim Welfare Canada. A few weeks ago, I joined the volunteers at Muslim Welfare Canada and Essentials First Canada to prepare hygiene kits for earthquake victims in Türkiye and Syria. It was truly a humbling experience to join the volunteers who took off time from their weekend to assemble these kits.

Madam Speaker, this was one of the many examples of Muslim Welfare Canada’s great work they have been doing for the last 30 years. Muslim Welfare Canada was established in 1993 by Major Abbas and Sarwar Jahan Begum. This organization began as a small halal food bank in Scarborough, Ontario, under the banner of the Muslim Welfare Centre of Toronto. Today, Muslim Welfare Canada is involved in the fight against poverty and homelessness. It focuses on providing food, health care services, culturally sensitive shelter for women and their children, and healthy nutrition to school-aged children and seniors.

Madam Speaker, one of their most notable projects—it’s one of my favourite projects by Muslim Welfare Canada—is their annual fill-a-backpack event.

Muslim Welfare Canada not only supports the communities locally but also focuses on projects internationally by promoting literacy through free schools, access to clean water and providing relief assistance. Muslim Welfare Canada’s dedication to supporting Canadians and beyond is a true example that we can make a difference when we come together.

Tenant protection

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Speaker, as you know, there are many parts to the housing crisis that people face in this province. I want to talk this morning about the soaring rents that people are facing and the crushing burdens that it places on them. Landlords right now can reset the rents at whatever the market will bear when a person leaves a unit, and that means that they do set those rents as high as they possibly can. What’s the impact? It means that young people can’t move out of their parents’ homes when they want to.

It means that parents who have a new baby can’t afford to rent a new unit, because the new units will be far more expensive than the one they’re in. It means that there is a huge incentive for landlords to push out tenants so they can put in place huge rent increases.

Speaker, I call on the government to bring in real rent control, to bring in a system so that rent levels are retained at the point they were set for when a tenant was there and are not increased when someone moves out. The province needs this. People need this. The government needs to act.

Deputy Chief Julie Craddock

Mr. Robert Bailey: It’s an honour to rise today to share with this Ontario Legislature some exciting news from Sarnia–Lambton. Yesterday, the Sarnia Police Service held a special swearing-in ceremony to welcome their new deputy chief of police, Julie Craddock. Deputy Chief Craddock joins the Sarnia police after establishing an impressive record with the Halton Regional Police Service.

She began her career in 1994 with the OPP and joined the Halton police in 1995, where she worked in criminal investigations, traffic, recruiting, community mobilization and front-line operations, rising from the rank of constable to inspector. She is also the very first female and Indigenous deputy chief in the Sarnia police force’s history.

I am extremely confident that Deputy Chief Craddock’s strong leadership skills and fresh outlook will help to build on the ongoing work of the entire Sarnia Police Service to protect and serve this community. While my legislative responsibilities prevented me from attending yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony, I wanted to take this opportunity to officially welcome Deputy Chief Craddock to the Sarnia Police Service and the wonderful Sarnia–Lambton community. Best wishes for a great future in your new role.

Northern health services

Mr. John Vanthof: As we all know, a shortage of doctors and shortage of access to primary care is a problem throughout the province, and nowhere more so than in northeastern Ontario. But there are solutions, and solutions that I wish the government would look at a bit more closely and that we’re dealing with right now.

In the town of Cochrane, there’s a family health team that has the funding for, I believe, five doctors, but they can’t find five doctors. They have one. They would love to be able to switch that to some nurse practitioner funding, while just a few miles away in the town of Iroquois Falls, a nurse practitioner couldn’t get funding or approval through OHIP, so she’s actually operating a private, nurse practitioner practise mostly for the Mennonite community. She really wants to be part of the system. There is funding not very far away. And yet, we’re failing on both sides.

We’re training more doctors. Great, but that’s going to take a while. We’re looking at doctors from other areas. That’s also going to take a while to bring them to the north. Let’s look at what we have, what we can work with and look for solutions.

Coldest Night of the Year

Mr. Will Bouma: Two Saturdays ago, on the 25th of February, I was able to participate in Brantford’s Coldest Night of the Year walk fundraiser. The Coldest Night of the Year is a family-friendly walk to raise money for local charities serving people experiencing hurt, hunger and homelessness. In my riding of Brantford–Brant, 181 walkers on 31 teams got together and walked for either two or five kilometres.

The Coldest Night of the Year was in support of Why Not Youth Centre in Brantford. At Why Not Youth Centre, they believe that every young person is important and deserves all the help they can get to overcome their challenges and to meet their goals. Nearly every teen who comes through their door is struggling in some way, be it with homelessness, mobility, bullying or unsafe living conditions. Their team of youth workers are dedicated to working with our local vulnerable youth to make sure that no one goes unseen or unheard or falls through the cracks in the system.

This is why Why Not matters so much—because the only thing that can help change the lives of young people heading towards poverty, homelessness and total defeat is real, positive, supportive relationships. And that’s exactly what they do at Why Not. Some people see things and say, “Why?” They dream of things that never were and say, “Why not?”

Missing persons

Miss Monique Taylor: I want to take this opportunity to tell you more about the private member’s bill that I introduced yesterday, because I think it’s really important.

After the tragic death of Draven Graham last year, I knew something needed to be done. Draven was an 11-year-old boy with autism who passed away in Lindsay, Ontario, after leaving his home.

My sincerest condolences are with the Graham family during this difficult time. The memory of Draven will live on through his loved ones and all who knew him.

Something needed to be done. It was clear that there was a gap that needed to be addressed.

This new bill, if passed, would open up the Missing Persons Act, 2018, and amend it to include a vulnerable persons alert.

It is a scary experience when a loved one goes missing, especially someone who is vulnerable, because they may not realize the entirety of the situation they are in and could end up in a dangerous position.

I work really closely with families who have children with autism, and they told me what this bill would mean to them.

This morning, I was joined by the vice-president of the Ontario Autism Coalition, Tony Stravato, and several other families who are supporting this bill, because they know how important it is to have additional protections in place.

This alert would not just extend to children, it would extend to adults, as well. Shirley Love, a senior with dementia, passed away in Hamilton in December after she left her home, not dressed for the weather. Someone in her circumstances would be covered under the new alert.

The vulnerable persons alert would, if passed, provide police forces with an additional tool to help find people.

This bill is one more way that we can protect the ones we love and we know are in a dangerous situation. I hope that every member of this House will support this legislation.

Trillium Health Partners Foundation

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: Last week, I had the privilege to join the Premier and the Minister of Health at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga to celebrate a record-breaking, historic donation of $75 million to the Trillium Health Partners Foundation from Mississauga’s Orlando Corp., Canada’s largest privately owned real estate developer and landowner. I want to thank my friend Chairman Carlo Fidani, a great Italian Canadian community leader, for making the single-largest corporate donation to a hospital in Canadian history.

The $75 million will support the complete reconstruction and expansion of the Mississauga Hospital in Mississauga–Lakeshore, which will become the largest and most advanced hospital in Canada. It includes $10 million to help build a new, urgently needed, two-floor mental health in-patient unit and $15 million for Trillium’s Institute for Better Health, to drive health research and innovation, to create a better and stronger health care system for everyone.

I want to thank my friend Raman Dua, the founder of Save Max Real Estate, for providing a patient’s view of what this donation will mean.

As the Premier said, our friend Hazel McCallion, Trillium’s honorary guardian, was smiling down on us.

Speaker, Orlando Corp. will match every dollar donated to the foundation at trilliumgiving.ca over the next 10 years. This will double the impact of their contribution, up to $150 million.

I ask all members to join me in recognizing Orlando Corp. and their incredible support for the Trillium Health Partners and the Mississauga Hospital.

Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal

Ms. Stephanie Bowman: On the eve of International Women’s Day, I would like to highlight just a few of the amazing women from my riding of Don Valley West who play a vital role in our community and serve as an inspiration to those around them, including myself. These are just some of the recent winners of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee award.

Shakhlo Sharipova is the founder of the autism support network in Thorncliffe Park and recently also won the Agnes Macphail Award. Shakhlo is an important advocate for children and their families seeking support.

Lisa Grogan-Green is the co-chair of the Go Green Youth Centre, an innovative, sustainable, biodiverse recreational space for the Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park communities.

Susan Scandiffio, a long-time community volunteer, recognized that about half of the households in the Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park neighbourhoods sat at or below the poverty line, even before COVID hit. So, during COVID, Susan helped found a food bank with the Neighbourhood Organization, which helps address food insecurity for some of these families and now serves over 2,200 households.

I want to thank all the incredible women in Don Valley West who work tirelessly to improve our community every day and I want to recognize and thank all the Queen’s Jubilee award recipients for their dedication to serving the community.

Bruce Power

Mr. Rick Byers: Ontario is fortunate to have one of the cleanest electricity grids in the world, over 90% emissions-free, and there’s one reason why: Our nuclear sector provided the emissions-free electricity to phase out coal-fired generation in Ontario, one of the largest greenhouse gas reductions ever. In fact, Bruce Power provided 70% of that electricity.

Last week, Bruce Power began their second refurbishment on unit 3, which is part of the Life-Extension Program that will allow the Bruce site to continue providing clean, reliable, affordable energy through 2064, over 40 years from today.

Bruce Power supports good jobs—22,000 indirect and direct jobs—employing some of the best-paying and highest-skilled workers in Ontario. Bruce Power’s head office is in my colleague Lisa Thompson’s riding of Huron–Bruce, but the refurbishment program has meant suppliers like BWXT and Makwa-Cahill are setting up shop in my riding of Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound, greatly supporting the local economy.

In addition, Bruce Power and its partners, including the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, are commercially producing life-saving medical isotopes like lutetium-177 on a scale never seen before thanks to their innovative new isotope delivery system.

Clean energy to help reach our climate goals, good jobs that support Ontario and innovations to help advance global health care. Thank you, Bruce Power and all your workers, for the great job.

Engineers

Mr. Vincent Ke: We know that it has been difficult for internationally trained professionals, such as professional engineers, to become licensed in Ontario. Ontario is committed to reducing red tape to increase the province’s competitiveness, strengthen supply chains and make it easier to interact with services.

The licensing and regulating body for professional engineering is introducing changes to its licence application process that will make applying for an engineering licence more efficient, transparent and fair. Speaker, starting May 15, 2023, PEO’s application process will ensure new applicants receive a registration decision within six months. It will also launch an improved online application system on July 1, 2023. The new application rules for obtaining a PEO licence comply with new requirements set by the provincial government under the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act.

This change is welcome news for those seeking a licence through the PEO. It is also great news for our province as we seek to attract and retain skilled talent that we count on to help build and grow Ontario.

Speaker, by removing unnecessary burdens and barriers, Ontario leads the way to innovation, flexibility and progress.

House sittings

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I beg to inform the House that, pursuant to standing order 9(g), the Clerk has received written notice from the government House leader indicating that a temporary change in the weekly meeting

schedule of the House is required, and therefore, the afternoon routine on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, shall commence at 1 p.m.

Introduction of Visitors

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): We have with us in the Speaker’s gallery today the consul general of the Republic of Bulgaria in Toronto, Ms. Velislava Panova. Please join me in warmly welcoming her to the Legislature.

Mr. Andrew Dowie: I would like to welcome the family of one of our great pages, Adam Penner from my riding of Windsor–Tecumseh. Adam is serving as a page captain today, and today Adam is joined by his dad Garth; his mom Bridget; his sister Sarah; and his grandmother Liz. Welcome to Queen’s Park, Penner family, and thank you for being here to support Adam as he supports us in the Legislature.

Hon. Doug Downey: It is my pleasure to welcome to the Legislature members of AAAA Sanitation in the members’ gallery: Brent Bunker, co-owner and operator; and Kimberly Dakin. Welcome to Queen’s Park. We’re thrilled to have you here.

Ms. Marit Stiles: I’m very pleased to welcome to the members’ gallery today my in-laws, Dr. Antony Berger and Dr. Carol Harris. Thank you so much for joining us here.

Mr. Ric Bresee: I’m very happy today to introduce members of the Greater Napanee Pride committee. We have in the House Chris Beauchesne, Nina Irvine, Jeff Irvine, Austin Lloyd and Tiffany Lloyd. Welcome to your House.

Mr. Joel Harden: On my way up here, I ran into the autism advocates again. I want to welcome to the building, especially Michau, right over here. You’re without tire, my friend. Good to see you.

Mr. Mike Schreiner: I’d like to welcome John Taylor and his team from the Ontario Mutuals to Queen’s Park today. They will be hosting a reception for everyone. You’re all welcome in room 228 and 230 over the noon hour.

Mrs. Nina Tangri: It is my privilege to introduce members of Innovative Medicines Canada—Susan Baker, Berkeley Vincent, Nadia Yee, Kiersten Combs, Frank Stramaglia—who are visiting Queen’s Park today. Innovative medicine companies employ thousands of Ontarians, many of whom work in all of our ridings and develop life-saving medicines and treatments that patients rely on. IMC will be meeting with MPPs over the course of the day and they are hosting a reception in 230 this evening from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Ms. Laura Smith: I want to welcome our newest Thornhill OLIP intern, Ms. Sharon Lee.

Ms. Laurie Scott: I’d like to introduce my friend Amanda Meek who’s here today with Eli Lilly Canada. Welcome.

Hon. David Piccini: I’d like to welcome to the Legislature a friend of mine, Tina Beaudry-Mellor. She was the Minister of Advanced Education with the government of Saskatchewan and now is a pioneer for women in cyber security working at Deloitte. Welcome to Queen’s Park, Tina.

Ms. Patrice Barnes: I am pleased to welcome Women’s Brain Health Initiative president, Lynn Posluns, and the executive director, Joanne Korten, to the Legislature today. Today, they are having their advocacy day at Queen’s Park, so MPPs, please look out and meet with them. They will also be having a reception tonight at 5 p.m. in room 228.

Question Period

Government accountability

Ms. Marit Stiles: Good morning. This question is for the Premier. Journalists at the Toronto Star are investigating a controversial government program that caused many Ontarians to unnecessarily lose their driver’s licences and their livelihoods. Public servants prepared detailed answers to reporters’ questions, but according to records uncovered by freedom of information, the Offices of the Premier and of the Minister of Transportation blocked them from going out. Those 35 questions should have had 35 answers, but your government muzzled staff on every answer.

So my question to the Premier: Why did the Premier and the transportation minister try to keep this information from the public?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply for the government, the Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: I thank for Leader of the Opposition for her question. Ontario’s roads are among the safest anywhere in North America, and mandatory reporting for physicians and optometrists has been in place in this province since 1968. The Ministry of Transportation oversees a rigorous process that adheres to national medical standards, and Ontario’s program is closely aligned with that of other provinces.

Multiple statements were provided to the reporter, including an in-depth briefing with subject matter experts from the Ministry of Transportation on the driver medical reporting program. The goal of the program is to protect the public from individuals who have a medical condition that makes it unsafe for them to drive. We are continuing to review all programs within the Ministry of Transportation to make sure that our roads remain the safest in North America.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Again, it was 35 questions—not one answer, and every indication that this government muzzled civil servants.

This is not the first time this government has interfered in the work of the independent public service. In fact, just last month, the Premier and this same minister were caught withholding important information about public transportation projects from the public.

Speaker, I agree with Democracy Watch. This is the kind of dangerous, undemocratic secrecy that covers up wrongdoing and abuse and prevents problems from being solved.

So again, back to the Premier: What exactly was his office trying to hide?

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: I’m happy to repeat the response that I gave previously. Multiple statements were give to the reporter in question, including an in-depth briefing by Ministry of Transportation officials on the program itself to answer their questions directly.

With respect to the building of the largest public transit infrastructure program anywhere in North America, Metrolinx has been working closely with community groups and with affected stakeholders. Over 100 meetings were held with city of Toronto officials since the beginning of the program, since city council itself voted in favour of our subway program. Over 30 meetings were held with the specific member of the opposition to discuss their concerns about issues that are affecting their community members. We’re going to continue to work closely with the city and with members—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you.

The final supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Nothing to see here, eh? Nothing to see.

More than 280,000 Ontarians had their licences revoked for apparently medical reasons over 10 years. Ontarians deserve a government that they can trust. They deserve a government that’s straight-up with them, but instead, they are getting this pattern of secretive behaviour: questionable deals with insider developers on the greenbelt, secret mandate letters, mysterious contingency funds, sneaky ministerial zoning orders, and now, they’re squashing information and the facts about this licensing program.

If the Premier had nothing to hide, why won’t he be transparent with the people of this province?

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: Mr. Speaker, I hate to disappoint the Leader of the Opposition, who clearly wants to construct a narrative that has nothing to do with the facts themselves.

In 2020, our government conducted a study in conjunction with the University of South Wales and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. That study looked at the medical reporting program in Ontario over a 10-year period and found that our program was effective and it saved lives across the province, Mr. Speaker. That is the purpose of the program.

As I have said, we have met, we have provided multiple statements to the reporter in question, including an in-depth briefing that that reporter participated in to pose his questions directly to subject matter experts. We’re going to continue to evaluate the program to make sure that it meets the needs of Ontarians and keeps our roads as safe as they’ve been—among the safest anywhere in North America.

Health care

Ms. Marit Stiles: There have been no answers from the government—no transparency. Thank goodness we have some accountability, because this morning, the Patient Ombudsman released their annual report. They received more than 3,000 complaints last year with one common theme: a lack of staffing and a lack of access to care.

Hospitals are struggling under this government’s staffing crisis, and, worse, the ombudsman is warning that this government’s expensive, ideological push toward two-tier health care is only going to prolong the issue.

My question is to the Premier. Will you stop taking nurses to court, get the lights back on in public operating rooms and get Ontarians the health care they need?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.

The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health to reply.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: First of all, I’d like to thank the Patient Ombudsman. Since the Office of the Patient Ombudsman has been in existence, they’ve been a valuable tool to assess where we need to make improvements.

There is no doubt that the investments that we have made in terms of the Learn and Stay program at colleges and universities to allow nurses, lab technicians and paramedics in northern Ontario to be able to have their tuition and books covered are making a difference in terms of ensuring that we have sufficient health human resources.

I have to point out a very successful partnership that we have with the College of Nurses of Ontario, where in the summer we directed them to ensure that individuals who are internationally educated had their applications assessed and ultimately approved and licensed in the province of Ontario. Historic—7,000 new nurses in the province of Ontario are practising today that wouldn’t have been there without that work.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: But more are leaving every day, right? More are leaving every day, so you can’t keep up. Anybody who has had any experiences in the health care system over the last few years knows this.

Speaker, it gets worse. Yesterday, we heard from experts in the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health at public accounts committee. They acknowledged that the lights are off in public hospital operating rooms while this government hands million-dollar contracts to for-profit clinics.

As our health critic asked multiple times yesterday, I want to also ask the Premier: Why are you denying public hospitals the opportunity you’re giving to for-profit companies for additional surgeries and diagnostic imaging?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): And the Premier to reply.

Hon. Doug Ford: Mr. Speaker, I will give the sheer facts: since 2018, over 60,000—60,000—nurses and 8,000 new doctors registered here in Ontario, more than ever in the history of our province—and I want to thank the college of nurses for bringing on 12,000 new nurses last year. As they said—not us—that was a record. But even better, Mr. Speaker, we have 30,000 nurses in our colleges and universities being trained to get into the field. That’s what we’re doing.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The final supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Again, it feels like the Twilight Zone in here. I don’t know where this Premier is and who he’s talking to, but he isn’t talking to Ontarians. He’s not talking to Ontarians. This is not the reality of what’s happening out there.

The thing is, Speaker, this government’s plan, this two-tier plan, is unnecessary, it’s time-consuming and it’s totally wasteful. We already have the infrastructure we need to shorten the wait times. But because of this government’s staffing crisis, one third of Ontario’s operating rooms aren’t running at full capacity.

Speaker, to the Premier again: Will this government fund public hospitals to properly use existing OR space instead of giving those funds to for-profit clinics?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Speaker, with the greatest of respect, we have and we are. Since the pandemic, $8 million has been available to hospitals across Ontario to ensure that they can ramp up ORs when they have capacity—$8 million. And last year alone, we offered hospitals the opportunity to expand their ORs by over $300 million. We’ve made those expansions, and our hospital partners have truly stepped up.

But we are not stopping there because this is not an either-or, this is an and. We can also expand our community surgical, and we’ve done that in Windsor, in Kitchener–Waterloo and in Ottawa through the expansion of existing infrastructure in community care that is now allowing more people access to cataract surgery. We’re getting the work done.

Education funding

Ms. Chandra Pasma: While our kids are struggling without adequate supports, teachers and education workers are burning out from working short-staffed and our school boards are so underfunded that they’re talking about closing schools, this government is not even spending the funds they promised to. The Financial Accountability Office reported last week that the government has underspent on schools by $432 million so far this year. Just think how many schools $432 million could keep open, or how many EAs that could pay for.

Why is this government failing to invest in our kids?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Education.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: We are investing an additional $680 million this school year alone because we are committed to helping kids catch up after a global pandemic that has set so many children back in this province and around the world.

When it comes to mental health, we’ve increased funding by 400%—$90 million; for special education, that funding is up to the highest levels in the history of Ontario at $3.2 billion—$90 million more. When it comes to building schools, we have a $14-billion capital commitment over the next decade to build, modernize and renew our publicly funded schools after a decade of darkness under the former Liberal government.

We are going to continue to invest in each and every budget to get these kids back on track.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Ms. Chandra Pasma: You’re not actually investing if the money doesn’t actually get out the door.

Let’s put this underfunding in concrete terms, Speaker. The Toronto District School Board is in a precarious financial situation because, like many school boards, they were forced to pay $70 million out of their own reserves for the government’s COVID measures. You heard that right—despite the government having billions in unspent COVID relief funds, they made underfunded local school boards foot the bill.

Now, with their reserves depleted and not enough funding from this government, the TDSB is looking at cutting 485.5 staff positions in order to balance their budget—485 teachers, EAs, child and youth workers, ECEs and custodians gone when kids are already not getting the help they need.

Will the Minister of Education commit today to repaying school boards for their COVID expenditures and giving them the resources they need to provide kids with more supports, not less?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Mr. Speaker, if the members of the opposition were so committed to increased staffing in schools, they would not have opposed 7,000 additional staff hired in the province by this Progressive Conservative government—that is your record. Systematically opposing investments in publicly funded schools to hire more psychologists, more psychotherapists, more educators, EAs and ECEs—that is the record of the NDP and the Liberal Party.

Under this party, under our Premier, we are investing in more staffing, in more resources, in a tutoring program that never existed in this country, the largest ever—$175 million to allow hundreds of thousands of kids get small group tutoring. We expanded investments because we know we need to lift the standards when it comes to reading, writing and math, getting back to the basics, helping these kids succeed.

We will continue in every single year to increase the investments in our children.

Life sciences sector

Mrs. Robin Martin: My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Ontario is home to the largest life sciences sector in Canada, which employs thousands of workers in high-skilled jobs. But with competition growing south of the border and in other parts of the world, we need to remain competitive if we’re going to continue attracting these important and critical investments.

Speaker, will the minister please tell us how the government plans to promote the province as a place where global companies and entrepreneurs choose to invest, and ensure that services offered and products made here in Ontario benefit Ontario?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Last week, we were thrilled to welcome Novartis as they opened a brand new office in downtown Toronto. There are now more than 150 Ontario employees working for Novartis, including 50 in that brand new state-of-the-art office in the MaRS building. This investment from Novartis is creating more well-paying, high-skill jobs while strengthening Ontario’s world-class life sciences sector.

This comes on the heels of last week’s announcement from AstraZeneca, who are creating 500 well-paying jobs at their Canadian R&D hub in Mississauga. These back-to-back investments in Ontario are a vote of confidence for our thriving life sciences sector, and it is a strong signal to the rest of the world that Ontario is the best place to invest and grow.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): And the supplementary question?

Mrs. Robin Martin: Thank you to the minister for his answer. There is no doubt that Ontario’s booming life sciences sector has contributed to the province’s economic prosperity, but in order to continue attracting game-changing investments, Ontario needs to demonstrate that it is able to compete with other jurisdictions and show that we are open for business.

Speaker, will the minister please share how this government is ensuring that Ontario is a top-tier global jurisdiction for life sciences innovation?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Under the previous government, Ontario was unable to compete for investments in the life sciences sector, leaving our hands tied and us reliant on other jurisdictions for critical medicine. That is why we released the province’s first life sciences strategy in more than a decade, and it includes a $15-million Life Sciences Innovation Fund, with other important commitments to the industry.

Speaker, we have attracted nearly $3 billion in life sciences investments in just the last 24 months. That put 70,000 skilled employees working in more than 1,900 life sciences firms, because Ontario has the formula for success and everything global companies need to survive and to thrive.

Hospital services

M me France Gélinas: Ma question est pour le premier ministre.

Speaker, since the government took power, they have talked a whole lot about the overcrowding problem in our hospitals. Unfortunately, last week in Collingwood, a 32-year-old father was seriously injured at work. It took almost eight long hours until they were able to find a hospital with a vacant ICU bed to meet his needs.

What does the government have to say to families who are victims of the overcrowding problem they promised to fix five years ago?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: You know, when I heard about that story—devastating news for the family and the friends of that individual. But I want to be clear: That was not as a result of hospital capacity issues. That was a result of someone who was going to a hospital that needed a much higher level of care.

Now, if we look at the investments that our government is making: over 50 new capital projects in our hospital systems; new hospitals in Brampton; new hospitals in Windsor, in Ottawa, in Niagara—we are investing to ensure that hospitals have the expansion plans. We have done that through, again, 50 different capital builds that are now approved in the province of Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

M me France Gélinas: Speaker, the health care crisis in our hospitals is real. The overcrowding crisis in our hospitals is real. It has a direct impact on the quality and the timeliness of care that is available to people. This time, the consequences are a dead worker, a young widow and a fatherless two-year-old son.

How many more families will be broken before the government addresses the health care worker crisis in our overcrowded hospitals?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Again, Speaker, I reinforce how devastating that news is to that family, those friends, that community, but I also want to offer some hope to the people of Ontario, that we have 50 new hospital builds that are happening in the province of Ontario. Whether those are brand new facilities, expansions or additions, it speaks to the fact that we, as a government, are making that commitment and ensuring that when people need care, it is available in their own community.

For that individual and that family—absolutely devastating, without a doubt, but the care that was needed and necessary for that individual was in another hospital and they were being taken there, of course, by Ornge, when, unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries.

Agri-food industry

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Ontario’s agri-food sector is vital to the economic success of our province, yet high cost of inputs, supply chain challenges, inflation, geopolitics and volatility in the markets continue to impact Ontario farmers and the important work they do. For our farmers to succeed, they need to know that the government will supply them with the investments they need to improve their productivity, competitiveness and resilience.

Our farmers and agri-food partners expect governments of all stripes and all levels to work together to ensure that Ontario remains a leader in food production and food security. Speaker, could the minister please explain what measures this government is taking to support this crucial sector?

Hon. Lisa M. Thompson: Thank you to the member from Niagara West for his question. I want to assure everyone listening today that the Ontario agri-food sector continues to be a number one priority for our government.

I’m very pleased to share that we created, through a federal-provincial-territorial initiative in the fall of 2021 in Guelph, a Guelph statement that provided the framework for a negotiation to realize greater investments through a federal-provincial partnership.

And the member from Niagara West just witnessed, last week, a historic signing whereby Minister Bibeau, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and myself, signed a $1.77-billion agreement to deliver for Ontario’s agri-food sector—programs like the suite of business risk management, stewardship initiatives and investment in strategic priorities, will be realized because of this historic agreement. The future is bright for Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: My thanks to the minister. I was very thankful to be able to be a signatory witness to this historic agreement, and it’s significant that this agreement was signed in Niagara, one of the most productive and diverse growing regions in the entire country.

I’m proud of the contributions that farmers in Niagara and across the rest of this province make to our great province. I know that we all see and value their hard work and sacrifice.

I know this agreement represents a positive measure to support growers and farm families in my riding and in so many ridings across this great province, but our farmers know, and our government knows, that more can always be done.

Ontario has many different agri-food partners and many different producers. Each of these various agricultural groups has unique needs, concerns and face different challenges. Speaker, how will this new agreement benefit and support our various sector partners—could the minister tell this House?

Hon. Lisa M. Thompson: This agreement that we signed last week represents a 25% increase over and above the last partnership that we had with the federal government. It will continue to see farmers and our agri-food sector grow forward. It complements the strategy that we introduced last fall and, more importantly, it complements initiatives already in place. For instance, we have a ministry advisory committee known as the soil action group that informs how we move forward to ensure that farmers have the tools and best practices available to them to see yield increases year over year.

Moreover, we’re introducing initiatives to support innovation and research so our processors, in tandem with the good work of our Ontario farmers, are processing more food, not only to satisfy Ontario demand but demand across Canada and around the world.

The future is bright. I am so very proud of how our commodity organizations are working with our government here in Ontario to make sure—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much.

The next question.

Health care

Mr. Peter Tabuns: To the Minister of Health: Last week, I talked to Ms. Gulnar Visanji, who is constituent of mine. She called me because she suffers debilitating spinal pain and her pain specialist said, “You need surgery.” She tells me she has not been able to even get on a waiting list with an orthopedic surgeon. Surgeons tell her they have waiting lists two years long and there’s no point in taking her name.

Why won’t the minister help her and others to avoid this kind of unnecessary suffering?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: I’m happy to work with the member opposite on the specific case file that he’s referencing, but it’s passing strange that, as we are talking about Bill 60 and the expansion of community surgical and diagnostic in community, you are asking a question that would actually assist—by allowing us to expand community and surgical units in community, it will ensure that there is more space and more capacity for the very challenging surgeries that the member opposite speaks of.

I am happy to help the individual he has referenced, but I would also like you to seriously take a look at Bill 60 and explain to that constituent why you are opposing it.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mr. Peter Tabuns: The minister knows that if she actually put the money into the hospitals as they are now and opened up OR times, people would be getting the surgery they need now.

Ms. Visanji takes powerful painkillers to deal with her pain. She’s frightened she might become addicted to them. She can’t get the surgery she needs right now, and what the minister says is she’s going to have to wait for this bill to pass. That doesn’t help her today.

I’ll give you her phone number. Will you commit to talking to her personally, helping to address her problem or explaining why she has to suffer needlessly?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Again, I will ask the member opposite why they are concerned about Bill 60 when we are, in fact, allowing that expansion to happen. Respectfully, we have already done that expansion in our publicly funded hospitals by ensuring, in the last number of years, over $800 million available to hospitals to make sure that they can expand their OR capacity.

But you know what, Speaker? It’s not really about the money. It’s ensuring that those individuals who are on those wait-lists get access to surgery quickly so that they can go back to their families, back to the community, back to their jobs. We are improving the patient experience by expanding clinical and surgical diagnostic in community. I would hope that the member opposite would support those initiatives.

Land use planning

Mr. Mike Schreiner: My question is to the Premier. Over $9.6 billion: That is the direct economic benefit of Ontario’s greenbelt. Farming, recreation and tourism create over 177,700 jobs in Ontario’s greenbelt, generating rural economic activity and community prosperity. Greenbelt lands contribute $3.2 billion of ecosystem services such as flood protection. Those jobs, that GDP and those benefits are at risk because of the Premier’s scheme to open the greenbelt for development. All of that harm makes absolutely no sense, because the government’s own housing task force has clearly stated that greenbelt farmlands and green space aren’t needed to build housing.

Why is the Premier risking jobs and prosperity by breaking his promise not to open the greenbelt for development?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Hon. Steve Clark: In 2005, a typical Ontario home sold for $263,000; last year, the average Ontario home sold for $932,000, more than a threefold increase in 17 years. A young family, even those making a decent income, simply can’t afford to buy a home that meets their needs and their budget. Our government is committed to fixing that. The Housing Affordability Task Force laid out a road map. The government has made some changes that incents getting affordable housing, non-profit housing and attainable housing in the ground. We’re going to continue to build off that.

But if the member opposite thinks $932,000 is an acceptable status quo to support, he’s living in a dream world.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question?

Mr. Mike Schreiner: Speaker, with all due respect to the minister, the housing affordability crisis has gotten worse in the last five years under this government’s watch. I want to build more homes and affordable communities. That’s why I’ve introduced Bill 44 and Bill 45 to get rid of exclusionary zoning and to build homes that people can actually afford in communities they can actually afford to live in.

The Housing Affordability Task Force has put forward 55 recommendations. The government has failed to follow many of them. As a matter of fact, they are absolutely contradicting one of the most explicit ones, which was to not open the greenbelt for development.

Experienced planners have shown that we already have enough land approved for development to build two million homes—two million homes—in communities where people can afford to live.

Sprawl is hugely expensive, so can this Premier explain why the government is creating so much risk and harm, opening the greenbelt for development, making life less affordable for people?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the Premier.

Hon. Doug Ford: Again, I just want to set the facts—the member from Guelph has the least amount of housing starts in the entire province. He’s not for affordable housing. He is not for affordable housing, or he’d be pushing it. As a matter of fact, who was against housing at the University of Guelph? He shot it down. The council shot it down—right on the property of the University of Guelph.

Guess what, Mr. Speaker? I spoke to a parent, and their kids have to pay $2,500 outside the University of Guelph because there’s not enough rental, not enough housing. We have a housing crisis.

I’d like to ask the member from Guelph, where are you going to house the 300,000 people who are showing up every single year? He doesn’t have a solution. He wants to complain, but I never heard him say a word when the Liberals changed the greenbelt 17 times—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. I remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The House will come to order.

Start the clock. The next question.

Red tape reduction

M me Dawn Gallagher Murphy: My question is for the Minister of Red Tape Reduction. Our government is taking the lead on making Ontario better for people and businesses by removing unnecessary, redundant and outdated regulations. Recently, we debated the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act. It’s an important package that proposes 28 changes to improve Ontario’s competitiveness, build stronger supply chains and develop a more resilient agricultural sector.

One of the proposed changes in the act is to allow Ontario to begin the process of permitting carbon capture and storage activities in a phased and responsible manner. This is an important step in helping critical industries transition to a low-carbon economy, creating, supporting and sustaining jobs across Ontario.

Speaker, can the Minister of Red Tape Reduction share some of the economic benefits of moving forward with this important initiative?

Hon. Parm Gill: I want to thank the member from Newmarket–Aurora for that important question. As part of the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act, our government is proposing amendments to the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act to end the provision of carbon capture and storage activities here in the province of Ontario. We know there is massive economic potential in adopting carbon capture and storage and other low-carbon technologies. We also know that some of the other provinces are already taking advantage of the carbon capture and storage technology, which has helped create thousands of new jobs.

This technology is good for the economy. It is good for the environment. We need to make sure we are not leaving Ontario businesses behind and that we’re doing everything we can to support them and make sure that they are competitive on the world stage.

On this side of the House, we will always say yes to good Ontario jobs.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question?

M me Dawn Gallagher Murphy: Thank you to the minister for that excellent answer. I’m excited about the potential of carbon capture and storage right here in Ontario. We know that reducing red tape is an important step in unlocking Ontario’s economic potential.

Last month, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business released its annual Provincial Red Tape Report Card, where they grade each province on their efforts to reduce red tape and regulatory burdens over the last year. Ontario was recognized as a leader in our country in prioritizing red tape reduction, with special recognition in the creation of a stand-alone ministry.

While this is encouraging news, we all know that more needs to be done to ensure that we are lifting burdens and removing barriers when it comes to red tape. Speaker, can the minister please share how government is saving people and businesses time and money by reducing red tape?

Hon. Parm Gill: I want to thank my colleague for that excellent question once again.

This year, Mr. Speaker, Ontario received the highest ever placement in the 13-year history of the CFIB Red Tape Report Card, being recognized with the Golden Scissors Award “one to watch” for regulatory modernization, permitting and licensing. It’s fair to say that our work to reduce red tape is being noticed across the country. Thanks to our ongoing efforts to reduce red tape, it is saving businesses and consumers time and millions of dollars in savings—altogether over half a billion dollars in compliance costs.

Mr. Speaker, make no mistake, under this government, under the leadership of our Premier, Ontario will always show strong leadership when it comes to reducing red tape and continue to make Ontario more competitive.

Condominium legislation

Ms. Jessica Bell: My question is to the Premier. Shudeshna and her neighbours have problems with their condo. They called because their units have not had heat for weeks this winter, and they’re unsafe, because the building is being broken into and their property manager refuses to improve security. They’re also concerned because there is no effective regulator, agency or tribunal that can step in and help them. I believe this has got to change.

Premier, this is my question: Can you strengthen and improve the condo tribunal, so Ontario condo residents have a place to go when they face issues like these?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery.

Hon. Kaleed Rasheed: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. Our government takes matters of consumer protection in the condo sector very seriously, and I will never stop taking necessary action to protect Ontarians across the province.

My ministry actually did welcome the Auditor General’s feedback on Ontario’s condo sector, and has already begun consulting on ways to actively improve and expand the condo authority tribunal and its powers. I had a very fruitful conversation with the member opposite in regard to the tribunal.

We are never stopping our efforts to improve protections for all Ontarians and ensure they have a safe and secure place they all call home.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question: the member for London North Centre.

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: Speaker, back to the Premier: The condo tribunal is not doing nearly enough to protect residents. The Minister of Government Services and Consumer Protection already has the fixes in front of him—they need to be implemented. The condo tribunal is not doing nearly enough to protect residents.

My constituent Charlene told me that the board president where she lives unilaterally fired the construction company mid-project and hired his own cousin. Now, residents have to pay enormous payments for the lawsuit, the lien and pay again for construction. They’re worried that they’re going to be paying more in condo fees than their mortgage. Some are moving out or relying on friends to help with groceries.

Premier, will you listen to condo residents like Charlene and strengthen the condo tribunal so that Ontarians have protections?

Hon. Kaleed Rasheed: Mr. Speaker, actually we are listening to the residents and we are listening to stakeholders across the province when it comes to the Condominium Tribunal Authority.

It is this government, actually, that is making condo boards fairer and more transparent and improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ontarians who call a condo a home. We will continue to work with the condo sector, implement the changes suggested by the Auditor General and ensure that condo owners across the province are provided with the treatment they expect and deserve, and we will continue to work with our stakeholders and work with the recommendations that were provided to us by the Auditor General to make sure that Ontarians deserve and feel good when they are making the biggest purchase of their lives.

Autism treatment

Mr. Adil Shamji: My question is for the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. One of the most important jobs of government is to preserve and protect the well-being of its citizens, particularly its most vulnerable. On this fundamental task, there’s near-universal agreement that this government has failed over and over and over again.

My perspective on our health care system is of course well known. But I’m equally stunned at the manner in which the Ontario Autism Program has essentially collapsed. Consider this: There are well over 60,000 children waiting for services on the OAP. The OAP wait-list has more than doubled since 2018, and the government has fallen so far behind on its commitments that it has thrown up its hands and stopped reporting on statistics anymore. Families are spending tens of thousands of dollars to access services, selling their assets and putting their lives on hold.

Without bringing up hollow promises, can the minister explain to the autism community and Ontarians how the Ontario Autism Program has become such a failure under this government’s leadership?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member opposite for the opportunity to clarify the facts. When we formed government, it was very clear that the previous Liberal government had failed to deliver the program needed to support thousands of children and had the fraction of the children that were ever going to receive any support under that previous program. It’s why our government immediately doubled the funding to the Ontario Autism Program. It’s why our government has five times as many children enrolled and receiving supports than the previous Liberal government.

And that’s why we have created AccessOAP, with care coordinators who help people navigate through the system, a comprehensive system that we heard from people—they wanted occupational therapy, speech therapy, mental health supports, and we added those in. We’ve been listening to the autism community. That’s why we created a program designed by the autism community—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you.

The supplementary?

Mr. Adil Shamji: Mr. Speaker, this government has a very consistent pattern: Promise lots of money only for it to never materialize.

The minister can try to revise history as she wants, but the reality is that MCCSS is failing to meet its own required operating standard—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m going to caution the member on his use of language. He can continue his question and conclude it.

Mr. Adil Shamji: MCCSS is failing to meet its own required operating standard, and as per the last FAO report, has underspent by nearly half a billion dollars. In August, only 888 children with autism were registered in core therapies. Many more children can’t even get a diagnosis, meaning they can’t even join a waiting list. And my LA just texted me a few minutes ago saying we got another message from a constituent about how OAP is harming children.

My question: How will the minister resurrect the Ontario Autism Program that has withered on the vine under this government?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: That’s pretty stunning. That is a stunning commentary from the member opposite, who obviously is lacking information or facts of exactly what we’re doing. We have expanded the diagnostic hubs. We have created capacity at children’s treatment centres that the previous Liberal government never bothered to do because it never provided the funding or the capacity to deliver the services that we are now catching up on because the previous Liberal government never did it, and they were supported by the NDP.

They said no, budget after budget, to the largest expenditure in Ontario history for children with autism. They said no to the children’s treatment centres across Ontario. They said no to the Ontario process for AccessOAP to provide care navigation to children’s families who were vulnerable and needed support. You said no, no, no. We said yes, yes, yes.

Mental health and addiction services

Mr. Dave Smith: My question is to the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. Every year, more than one million Ontarians experience a mental health or addiction issue. This can have a serious impact on their quality of life and that of everyone around them.

Last year, one person died every week from an opioid poisoning in the city of Peterborough. Unfortunately, services have been unequal and inconsistent, with too many gaps in the system. As a result, those who need help are too often unable to find it.

Other provinces such as Alberta are seeing success by investing in a recovery-oriented system of care. Can the associate minister please explain how our Ontario government is approaching treatment and recovery programs for the people of Ontario?

Hon. Michael A. Tibollo: I’d like to thank the member for that question. I know he’s been a tireless advocate for the people of Peterborough–Kawartha on this issue, and I want to thank him as well for his work.

Alberta is certainly seeing success with their program, and I applaud them for it. We will always look for successful models wherever they can be found and make sure we incorporate what we know will work here in the province of Ontario.

The goal of our government is to provide people with substance use issues treatment and recovery so that they can live a drug-free life. To meet these unique needs, our approach is to make unprecedented investments in building a continuum of care that provides low-barrier access to critical treatment and recovery facilities. We are also ensuring that naloxone, drug testing facilities, harm reduction and consumption and treatment sites are available across the province.

Mr. Speaker, we have a model where we have supports for individuals, and it’s being funded—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much.

The supplementary question?

Mr. Dave Smith: Thank you to the minister for the response. The sad reality is that Ontarians are struggling to find the help they need when experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge. Our government made a commitment to do something about it. I know the minister recognizes that there is no linear path for anyone who needs supports, and he’s spoken repeatedly about the continuum of care.

In Peterborough, we’re listening and collaborating with various partners to build a system that meets the needs of the people where they need it and when they need it. Can the associate minister please elaborate on how our government is providing services to support my community?

Hon. Michael A. Tibollo: As I was saying, our investments through the Roadmap to Wellness, the Addictions Recovery Fund, youth wellness hubs, mobile crisis intervention teams—we’re building a continuum of care. Particularly in Peterborough–Kawartha, we’ve established the Opioid Response Hub in downtown. We’re piloting an innovative non-residential recovery program, Right to Heal, significantly expanding withdrawal management services and just recently drove two new mobile mental health clinics off the parking lot. Perhaps most importantly, we’re working with community health providers to add 12 new addiction treatment beds in Peterborough through the Addictions Recovery Fund.

But let’s be clear: This isn’t the end of our work. It’s just the beginning, not only in Peterborough but across the province of Ontario. This government is going to continue working for the people of the province of Ontario by expanding and improving our continuum of care.

Elder abuse

MPP Lise Vaugeois: Some 60,000 older Canadians are the victims of neglect, financial, psychological, physical and institutional abuse. Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario works very hard to help older Canadians escape abuse. However, they have not received a funding increase in the 20 years of their existence, so they’re working on a shoestring. They’ve got a lot of volunteers. They are so burnt out.

Will the Premier ensure that the Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario organization receives an increase in their annual grant to at least match the rate of inflation?

Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: I’d like to thank the member opposite for such an important question. Social isolation is enemy number one for our seniors. That is why our government has invested in programs to make sure seniors stay fit, healthy and connected in their communities. To combat social isolation and to fight against ageism, we have invested over $22 million into more than 1,500 seniors community grants.

Seniors are the backbone of this province, and we will continue to make Ontario a place where seniors thrive.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): And the supplementary question?

MPP Lise Vaugeois: During COVID, when so many seniors experienced extreme isolation, rates of abuse increased by 250%, yet the government chose this time to actually cut Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario’s funding. They went from a budget of $900,000—which is not a lot, considering that they’re supposed to cover the entire province—down to $800,000. That’s a very significant cut, and that was during COVID, when seniors were isolated and really needed the help.

Will the government live up to its obligations to older Ontarians and increase funding for the important work of preventing elder abuse?

Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: Thank you again for the question. The pandemic has put significant strain on the lives of seniors in Ontario. That is why we have invested $59 million since 2018 to fund nearly 300 seniors active living centres across the province. They deliver activities, programs that keep seniors active and socially connected. Through our senior fairs, we are helping seniors connect to local organizations and each other, all across Ontario. These are a few of the ways we are fighting social isolation and helping seniors stay healthy, active and socially connected.

Gender-based violence

Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos: My question is for the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Sadly, gender-based violence and domestic violence continue to endanger the safety of many women in our province. No woman should be subjected to violence in any form. Everyone deserves the right to be supported and feel safe in their homes and in their communities. It is crucial that those affected by violence and exploitation receive the supports they need while offenders are held accountable through the justice system.

I know that our government is breaking down barriers so women who have experienced violence can receive the help they need, no matter where they are in the province. Responding to this issue must remain a priority. Speaker, can the minister describe our government’s ongoing commitment to end violence against women?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member from Oakville North–Burlington for that important question.

Everyone has the right to live in safety and with dignity, free from intimidation and the threat of violence. It’s that simple. We’re building on that ongoing work to support women and survivors of gender-based violence and connect them to needed services and supports, with $8 million in additional funding over the next four years for dedicated provincial crisis lines to help more women get the help they need when and where they need it most.

This investment is in co-operation with the federal government as part of the National Action Plan to End