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October 28, 2021

42nd Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2021-Oct-28 vol. A (PDF)

L012A - Thu 28 Oct 2021 / Jeu 28 oct 2021

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Thursday 28 October 2021 Jeudi 28 octobre 2021

Orders of the Day

Throne speech debate

Members’ Statements

Michael Ray

Immigrants’ skills

Road safety

Dave Barrow

Winter highway maintenance

Islamic Heritage Month

Oxi Day

Long-term care

Brain Cancer Awareness Day

Member’s conduct

Visitors

COVID-19 deaths

Question Period

Long-term care

Long-term care

Long-term care

Northern economy

Government investments

COVID-19 immunization

Economic development

Optometry services

Land use planning / Electric vehicles

Long-term care

Mental health and addiction services

Broadband infrastructure / Small business

Tenant protection

COVID-19 immunization

Business of the House

Introduction of Bills

Loi de 2021 sur la communauté franco-ontarienne / Franco-Ontarian Community Act, 2021

Providing More Care, Protecting Seniors, and Building More Beds Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 visant à offrir davantage de soins, à protéger les personnes âgées et à ouvrir plus de lits

Remembrance Week Amendment Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 modifiant la

Loi sur la semaine du Souvenir

Change of Name Amendment Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 modifiant la

Loi sur le changement de nom

Petitions

COVID-19 response

Affordable housing

Optometry services

Optometry services

Optometry services

Optometry services

Optometry services

Optometry services

Animal protection

Health care

Affordable housing

Abuse awareness and prevention

Orders of the Day

Supporting People and Businesses Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 visant à soutenir la population et les entreprises

The House met at 0900.

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

Prayers/Prières.

Orders of the Day

Throne speech debate

Resuming the debate adjourned on October 27, 2021, on the motion for an address in reply to the speech of Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the opening of the session.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I understand that when we last debated this government order, the associate minister had the floor. Further debate?

Hon. Jane McKenna: On October 4, Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor delivered our government’s throne speech to open the fall session of this 42nd Parliament. For the benefit of those watching at home, the throne speech opens every new session of Parliament. This speech introduces the government’s direction and goals and outlines how it will work to achieve them. During these unique pandemic times, our throne speech reaffirmed our commitment to do everything we can to defeat COVID-19 and to support Ontarians so that we can put this pandemic behind us. Everyone in this place knows the importance of having a plan. Whether you run a small business or have a family, planning sets the foundation.

The last 19 months have been some of the most difficult in modern life. Families were separated, and many people grieved friends and family members who lost their lives to COVID-19. Jobs were lost and businesses closed. Important life milestones were put on hold. The pandemic has and continues to challenge us in ways previously unimaginable. It has impacted every aspect of our way of life. We also know that the global pandemic has not been equal. It has significantly impacted some people much more than others.

Speaker, our government has taken extraordinary measures, guided by the science and evidence, to slow the spread of this virus and keep Ontarians healthy and safe. Our approaches included some of the highest vaccine thresholds for easing restrictions. We have maintained effective public health measures, like indoor masking, while implementing vaccine policies to protect our most vulnerable in retirement homes, hospitals, home and community care, schools and post-secondary institutions, among others.

Ontario led the country in being the first to declare a provincial state of emergency due to COVID-19. Premier Ford showed strong leadership by being the first government in Canada to release modelling data that guided the government’s decision-making. Ontario led the country in being one of the first to outline a plan to re-open our economy, and we’re leading North America with among the highest vaccination rates. In fact, yesterday’s numbers show that 88% of Ontarians 12 and older have received one dose and 84% are now fully vaccinated.

We know that some Ontarians continue to have questions about getting the shot. That’s okay. As a parent, the key life lessons I taught my five kids were to always be compassionate, be respectful and be thankful for what you have. Medical experts tell us that it’s important to speak with compassion when having conversations with others who may have hesitancy about getting the COVID vaccine.

We also know, unfortunately, that vaccine hesitancy can spread almost as fast as COVID-19. One story with misinformation can circulate online or through the media very quickly, and we’ve seen that over and over again.

We’ve also heard from people who were vaccine-hesitant that conversations with their friends, family members and doctors, as well as seeing those close to them get vaccinated without experiencing any serious side effects, were the reasons that they changed their minds.

Speaker, as more and more people step forward to get their vaccines, it moves us further into a phase when we can leave the pandemic behind. Each dose brings more certainty that the days of widespread closures and lockdowns are behind us. Each dose allows us to more confidently plan for our future. It is thanks to the collective efforts of all Ontarians that we’re making progress on this steady road to safely and carefully eliminate the remaining restrictions and fully reopen Ontario’s economy. Ontario makes up 39% of Canada’s population and, as of yesterday, just 15% of all active COVID-19 cases in Canada.

Despite what opposition parties want people to believe, Ontario is managing the spread of COVID-19 during the fourth wave better than British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec.

Throughout the pandemic, our government has been laser-focused on keeping Ontarians healthy and safe.

On July 13, 2020, our government House leader, the member for Markham–Stouffville, introduced a motion to appoint a Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight. The purpose of this committee was to receive oral reports from the Premier on any extensions of emergency orders by the Lieutenant Governor in Council related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rationale for those extensions. To date, the committee has met 15 times. I want to acknowledge the outstanding work of Ontario’s Solicitor General, who has presented and answered questions from committee members at each of those 15 meetings.

Committee members have also heard from and questioned the Minister of Health, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, and the head of Ontario’s science table, Dr. Brown, among others.

Speaker, our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, recognizes that the official opposition plays an important role in holding government to account. That’s why, unlike other governments, Ontario’s Legislature has sat in person through the entire pandemic, and it’s why the Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight was put forward by our government.

Our battle against the first, second, third and, now, fourth waves of this terrible virus has proven that when Ontarians work together, we can accomplish almost anything. The Ontario science advisory table emphasized this when they recently released data showing that Ontario has flattened the fourth wave. Nationally, the Delta-driven fourth wave also appears to be levelling off, although people who are unvaccinated continue to experience severe outcomes from COVID-19 infections at elevated rates.

As we enter the winter season, we may see a rise in cases as people head indoors, but as we’ve heard from Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, this is not cause for panic. Thanks to the protection offered by Ontario’s world-leading vaccine coverage, people who are vaccinated are at a much lower risk of more severe health outcomes. As temperatures get cooler, Ontario’s top doctor and public health officials will continuously monitor hospitalizations and intensive care units, as these indicators drive decision-making.

We also recognize that we cannot live under these exceptional measures forever. That’s why last week our government outlined plans to incrementally lift all remaining public health measures, including the provincial requirement for proof of vaccination and wearing face coverings in indoor public settings, by March 28, 2022. This plan to safely reopen Ontario and manage COVID-19 for the long term was developed in consultation with Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and will be guided by the ongoing assessment of key public health and health care indicators.

Speaker, at one time or another, all of us in this place have talked about ending hallway health care. The Ontario Liberals promised to end hallway health care in 2003, 2007, and again in 2011. In 2014, the Del Duca-Wynne Liberals said they were going to “do their best” to end hallway health care and failed miserably.

The Ontario PC Party was elected in 2018 on a promise of ending hallway health care and rebuilding our province’s neglected long-term-care system. After the election, we got right to work on plans to transform Ontario’s health system by breaking down administrative silos and transitioning our health system to one that’s more patient-centred. And then the pandemic hit.

The pandemic exposed the failure of successive governments, both provincial and federal, to provide adequate funding for our hospitals. The clear consequence was a health system ill-equipped to handle a crisis. Since then, we have invested billions of dollars to add over 3,100 hospital beds and build and redevelop hospitals across this province. And since hospitals are more than bricks and mortar, we’ve also made sure that qualified nurses and doctors are by patients’ sides when they need care.

Due to strong action by our Minister of Health and our government, Ontario now has one of the highest rates, per capita, of intensive care beds in Canada. As a result, Ontario is now much better positioned to respond to our current and any future health crisis. We are making record investments in our health care system, including more than $16 billion since the start of the pandemic, to protect people’s health.

We are supporting the ongoing COVID-19 response with more than $3.7 billion over two years for Ontario’s comprehensive testing strategy. This includes $2.3 billion this year to ensure timely access to testing, to target testing to vulnerable communities, to expand the capacity to process tests efficiently and effectively, and to protect people disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Regardless of where you are in this great country where we live, the coronavirus has brought all Canadians together with the shared goal of beating COVID-19.

One of the many things Canadians take tremendous pride in is our health care system. Across our great country, our publicly funded medicare system provides health services where and when we need them. But our national health care system has been stretched to the limit.

When Canada’s health care system was created in 1957, it was a 50-50 cost-sharing partnership with the federal government. I want to say that again—it was 50-50—so everybody understands where we are today. This partnership continued until 1976, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau broke the 50-50 partnership. Funding decreases continued for several decades. From 1985 to 1995, six federal budgets scaled back or completely froze health transfers to the provinces for health care.

While our government will never stop in its pursuit of fixing long-term care or building much-needed hospital beds, these efforts will only benefit from the federal government paying its fair share.

That’s why Ontario has joined with every other province and territory in calling on the federal government to increase the Canada Health Transfer to 35%, up from 22%. That’s why Premier Ford, together with other provincial and territorial leaders, is calling on Ottawa to increase the Canada Health Transfer from 22% to 35% of provincial and territorial health care funding. This gap represents billions of dollars in lost funding that Ontario could use to accelerate progress in delivering better care for our most vulnerable citizens.

Imagine what we could do together if the federal government stepped up and once again became an equal funding partner, Speaker.

Getting older is unavoidable; it’s inevitable. In fact, last year, for the first time in history, Canada became home to more people over the age of 65 than those under 15. Baby boomers now make up 25% of the population, up from 18% 20 years ago. This demographic shift certainly wasn’t a surprise. We knew that baby boomers were getting older.

Today, Ontario’s 626 long-term-care homes currently provide care and support for more than 115,000 people and their families every year. But for decades, long-term-care homes have been neglected right across the country. Between 2003 and 2018, the previous Liberal government added just 616 long-term-care beds in the entire province, not nearly enough to keep up with the demand. Speaker, Thunder Bay added more hotel rooms during those same 15 years.

Not only did the previous Liberal government fail to create new long-term-care beds, they also stood by as nearly 300 of our long-term-care homes became antiquated and required redevelopment. That’s more than 30,000 beds that we need to bring up to today’s standards. Sadly, due to this lack of planning by the previous government, by January 2018, there were over 32,000 seniors on the waiting list for a long-term-care bed in Ontario.

Right across the country, COVID-19 brought into focus the long-standing vulnerabilities of Canada’s and Ontario’s long-term-care sector. It uncovered unimaginable horrors that were the result of decades of underfunding and neglect. That’s why our government is investing $2.6 billion to build 30,000 new and modern long-term-care-home beds over the next 10 years and thousands more are being upgraded to 21st century design standards. Right now in Ontario there are more than 20,000 new and 15,000 upgraded beds under development. This is more than 60% of our goal.

But more beds aren’t enough on their own. Between 2009 and 2019, the average total amount of care provided to residents increased by only 22 minutes. That’s why our government is investing nearly $5 billion over four years to hire more than 27,000 long-term-care staff, including nurses and personal support workers. This will allow us to provide our long-term-care-home residents with four hours of direct care each day.

Speaker, our government is leading the nation. We are the first province in Canada to commit to providing four hours of daily care to residents in long-term-care homes. Meeting this commitment will take time, as we need to recruit and train thousands of personal support workers and nurses. Our government is acting on the advice received from the long-term-care commission, the Auditor General and everyday Ontarians who have seen first-hand the problems in long-term care.

On Tuesday, the provincial government announced that we’re spending $20 million this year to hire 193 new inspections staff and to launch a proactive inspection program in Ontario’s long-term-care homes. This new spending will double the number of long-term-care inspectors in Ontario by the fall of 2022, with a ratio of one inspector for every two homes. This record number of inspectors will enable us to proactively visit each home every year while continuing inspections on a complaints basis. Speaker, this investment will give Ontarians the best long-term-care inspection regime in Canada.

We’re also making significant progress in addressing the shortage of personal support workers in our hospitals, long-term-care facilities, seniors’ residences and home care by adding 16,200 more PSWs to our health care system over the next six months.

But no province can solve these problems alone. Ontario currently funds $76,000 a year, and growing, for every resident in long-term care. Unfortunately, the federal government’s last proposal would provide just $2,500 for each resident. Obviously, that’s not enough. We owe Ontario seniors so much, and our government will continue to provide them with the supports they need to age and live with dignity.

Speaker, our government is also committed to protecting and preserving the environment for the benefit of people today and in the future. The Progressive Conservative Party has a long history of protecting the environment, as demonstrated by my colleague the honourable member for York–Simcoe, whose father, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, led majority governments that were arguably the most environmentally progressive in Canada’s history. He was even honoured as Canada’s greenest Prime Minister.

Speaker, in my riding of Burlington, I’ve implemented a free drop-off at my community office for rechargeable batteries, single-use batteries and cellphones. So far, we’ve collected 300 pounds of batteries and nearly 5,000 litres of household and aerosol paints.

And earlier this year, our Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks announced the transfer of Ontario’s Blue Box Program to the producers of plastics and other packaging. Under the PC government of Bill Davis, some of the first curbside recycling programs were introduced by Ontario’s municipalities. Thanks to these and other programs, our province has achieved a 62% recycling rate.

When it comes to recycling, here’s what we know:

(1) The volume of packaging waste and the amount of litter in our communities has increased.

(2) What goes in our blue box for recycling depends on where in Ontario you live. Things you can recycle in one municipality are landfill just down the road.

(3) We know that recycling costs have skyrocketed and waste diversion rates have flatlined.

We recognized that Ontario’s Blue Box Program needed to be improved. We needed a new approach to better meet today’s waste diversion and recycling needs. We needed to take strong action to move Ontario into a modern era of better recycling, and to showcase the province as a global leader in environmental stewardship. That’s why the Ontario Waste Management Association called for the implementation of a new blue box system that ensures the corporations who produce packaging are fully responsible for recycling of materials.

I mentioned in the lead-off to my comments this morning the importance of having a plan. Someone once said that it’s important to always plan ahead because it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark. Throughout the pandemic, our government has never hesitated to spend what is necessary to protect lives and support family and businesses. But unprecedented levels of spending have created new fiscal challenges. That’s why our government remains steadfast in our commitment to an economic and fiscal recovery that is fueled by economic growth, not painful tax hikes or spending cuts.

We will create the conditions for long-term economic growth by building roads and highways; building and expanding transit to communities across this province; and building an economy that makes Ontario the best place in the world to do business, work and raise a family, no matter where you live in this province.

Speaker, the Ontario election is 217 days from today and the campaign ads have already started. The NDP leader would have you believe that if elected to government, they would spend more—more on health care and more on education, among other things. But the NDP’s record doesn’t match their rhetoric.

During their only time in government, the Ontario NDP boasted that they helped “hospitals, schools, municipalities, colleges and universities ... adjust to a 1% increase in funding—a big shift after years of increases averaging over 8%.” The NDP bragged that they capped base funding for hospitals, schools and municipalities for two years “to reduce the spending trend lines in these sectors....” The Ontario NDP celebrated using their words: “We have cut program spending for two consecutive years, something that no Ontario government has achieved for more than 50 years.”

Speaker, that’s not all. Ontario’s first and only NDP government implemented a wage freeze for all public sector workers. They went even further. The NDP cut 6,000 teaching positions in what the NDP finance minister described as a “major and permanent cost efficiency.”

Isn’t it ironic that today’s NDP opposes any government’s attempt to manage spending, yet during the NDP’s only term in government they cut health care and education, implemented a public sector wage freeze, cut 6,000 teachers and forced nurses, educators and public servants to take twelve unpaid days off every year for three straight years?

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Questions?

Mr. Percy Hatfield: Early on in her presentation, my friend from Burlington talked about the leadership of Premier Ford. I’ve been watching television lately—a lot of television political ads. The Premier is on there saying, “I say yes to everything; I’m the yes man.” Nothing wrong with that, but we’re in a province where the vaccination rate is okay—it could be better.

My question under the leadership portion is, why hasn’t the government spent money on ads encouraging the unvaccinated to become vaccinated and really push that as opposed to “I’m the yes man?” I would like to see the government spend money on meaningful things to improve the lives of everyone in Ontario, meaning get more people vaccinated so we can get rid of this COVID thing, instead of “I’m the yes man.” Could the member comment on that, please?

Hon. Jane McKenna: Thank you so much to the member across. I first of all want to say that everyone, including I’m sure you people on that side, constantly reinforce, as I said in my speech, to everyone to get the vaccine. But as I said, there are exemptions for people.

As we are today, we’re 88% of 12 and over vaccinated and 84% with second doses. We’re the highest rate across North America. We’ve done a fabulous job over here, and I know the member across can also attest to the Minister of Health how many times she stands up in this House, how many times she’s out talking in the papers, saying “please get vaccinated.” She’s done a phenomenal job, along with everybody in this House, making sure that we do the right thing to make sure that people get vaccinated.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Questions?

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: I was talking to John Tom in my riding. He owns Superior Home Care. He was talking about the care economy, which complements a big part of the file the minister has.

Could you tell us how this throne speech is going to help us recover from COVID and really embrace the care economy in both hiring more people, investing in health care, recognizing international credentials but also helping women in the workforce?

Hon. Jane McKenna: Thank you so much to the member from Barrie–Innisfil.

As you know, when we did the throne speech, we talked about what’s facing us right now in Ontario and how we have to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us. We also recognize that when you’re talking about jobs, and obviously—with the CARE, that I was in Durham and Toronto, was a fabulous announcement that we put there for anti-human trafficking.

I just want to say that we had some very critical, challenging times left by the Liberals in our health care system.

As you know, we’ve invested in hospital ICU capacities. We now have one of the highest rates of intensive care beds in Canada.

And you look at all the things we’ve been doing with long-term care—I’ll wait till the next question and talk about all that.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Question?

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: There are a few things that are missing out of the throne speech. But I want to ask about the vaccine hesitancy that the member raised earlier. I have a constituent in London–Fanshawe who has a serious phobia to needles. It is a real thing. I don’t know if anyone has come across that. There are articles about this actual phobia. People are physically opposed and mentally stressed to get the vaccine. He has been advocating for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which is one shot, and he said he can handle that.

We’ve been advocating with the Minister of Health to get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. It is now something that has been approved. Other provinces have it.

Can you provide any information on where the Ministry of Health is on accessing the Johnson and Johnson vaccine so that I can give comfort to my constituent that he can get vaccinated and protected, as well, from COVID-19?

Hon. Jane McKenna: Thank you so much for that question.

As you know, that’s Health Canada. To be quite honest with you—we all have our constituency offices—I have a wonderful constituent who’s calling on that exact question to me constantly. I do reassure him that all the other vaccines are very safe, but I know he wants to wait for the Johnson and Johnson because it’s one shot. Again, we have to wait for Health Canada to be able to okay that, moving forward. So I do respect what your constituent is saying, because I’ve been asked that exact same question. We are looking forward to the federal government coming forward.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Question?

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: We talk a lot about health care, but a lot of it is reliant on funding. Time and time again, Premier Ford, along with many other Premiers, has asked for more health care transfers.

Back in the day of Kathleen Wynne, we know that she did not use the full health care transfers that she received from the federal government. In fact, she only used 1.2%, when she was given over 5% of health care transfers.

Can the member talk about some of the advocacy we’re doing at our level in order to get more health care funds so that we can improve our health care system in Ontario?

Hon. Jane McKenna: Thank you so much again to the member for Barrie–Innisfil. It’s wonderful that you say that, because I get asked this all the time when we talk about health care. Obviously, this crisis put us in a terrible position, but people don’t understand, like I said in my speech, that it used to be 50-50 with the federal government and us; it’s now 22%—so trying to understand how we’re going to be doing the exact same things when, over years and years, as I mentioned in my speech, it just depleted down to 22%.

Our Premier, as you know, with other provinces and territories, has gone to the Prime Minister and said again and again, “At least put it up to 35%.” We cannot possibly function after this pandemic at 22%, considering that it has depleted so much over time, as I’ve said, from 50-50. I do tell people that all the time who actually call me, because I don’t think people understand where it was and where it has gone to.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Question?

Ms. Sandy Shaw: The member talked a lot about the environment, recycling and litter day, which is important, but, really, it’s the CO 2 emissions that are the existential threat to us around the world. People are meeting in Glasgow to address this concern.

Your government’s plans to increase gas-fired plants, fracking; to build Highway 413 through the greenbelt, through farmland; the MZOs that you are using to pave over farmlands and all of the things that are carbon sinks—that’s taking us in the wrong direction.

What I want to know directly from the member is, what is the number that your government plans to reduce CO 2 emissions in the province of Ontario—and where is your plan?

Hon. Jane McKenna: Maybe you weren’t here for my speech, because I didn’t say all that.

We have said this time and time again: Before any other province, even the federal government, we’re going to hit our Paris accord numbers. So we’re grateful, on this side, for all the work we’ve done with climate change. I didn’t say numerous things that we’ve done here. Obviously, the PA to environment has done a phenomenal job herself, with her day with picking up litter. I mentioned to you the things that I’ve done in my office. Maybe you’ve done them in your own office as well.

But again, there isn’t any other province or the federal government that is going to hit their Paris accord. We are, and we will.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Further questions?

Mr. Jim McDonell: I know, this month, the government announced the 2022 funding allocations for the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, the province’s main assistance program to grant municipalities help with their funding. I know that when I was mayor, we were receiving those announcements sometimes in April, and it made budgeting for the year very difficult; of course, the year was a quarter over by the time we had heard. So maybe you could just tell us why it’s important that these announcements are being made in November versus being held—and that was a commitment we made to AMO.

It was one of their main asks not only to our government but the previous government. I know that from 2012 to 2015, the former government also reduced the total OMPF funding, the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, by $100 million—

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Response.

Mr. Jim McDonell: —so huge cuts.

Hon. Jane McKenna: Thank you so much for your leadership when you were mayor as well. I know we have a couple of previous mayors—obviously, with the minister from Leeds-Grenville as well, right?

I want to thank you very much for that question, because I know my mayor, Marianne Meed Ward, was so grateful for all that we’ve done at AMO, standing up and listening to what they have to say. She was thrilled about November, because it gives them an opportunity to look at their budgets and what they’re doing moving forward, as opposed to getting things at the last minute.

I can say this: I have been three and a half years in this seat. I’ve never been more proud to be part of this government, because the people of Ontario—even Smokey Thomas made a comment yesterday, saying that the government is on the right track, and I think Doris Grinspun was the same. We all work together for the best outcomes for the people of Ontario, and that’s our job sitting in this chamber, to be able to do that.

Again, thank you for bringing that up, because I know my mayor has, and she’s very grateful for that coming out in November so she knows where she’s going with her monies and our—

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Thank you. Further debate?

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: I would be remiss if I didn’t take the time in addressing the throne speech to really thank the people of Thunder Bay–Atikokan, because they are amazing and have really worked so hard to work through the pandemic and work together as a community. It has been a real honour to represent them.

I was very unhappy when the government was prorogued, because I had a bill waiting to get into committee that both parties had approved at second reading, about improving the Northern Health Travel Grant, and that bill then was made null and void when the government was prorogued. That bill was very important to the people of northern Ontario, because they deserve equitable access to health care, like anyone in Ontario, and they shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket and be financially penalized with an outdated Northern Health Travel Grant system.

The government did do one small improvement: They made direct deposits. That’s the big improvement, but no increases, no better access to services. And actually, during the pandemic, they stopped the appeal processes, so people who were wanting to appeal the decision to deny their grants were actually stopped for one year. Again, I’m disappointed about that and wanted to put that on the record.

Health care in northern Ontario is something that I hear about at the doors all the time. We hear a lot of talk about wanting to develop our forestry industries, our mining industries in northern Ontario, which are so, so important to the economy of Ontario. We hear the numbers, we hear the job creation, but we can’t have that kind of development if we don’t have people and workers who are able to live and thrive in northern Ontario.

Sometimes, the workers who want to come and live in northern Ontario, to come to those jobs and to do that development, realize that they cannot get the health care they need and so will decide not to come to or stay in northern Ontario, and that is an issue.

I was very pleased to see the Ontario Medical Association address this this week, but I didn’t see it in the throne speech. I didn’t see anything about northern Ontario in the throne speech that would improve health care, which is something that many, many people have brought to the attention of the government.

The Ontario Medical Association had some recommendations. There are 12 of them, actually. They put a lot of effort into surveys, into discussions with their membership—the doctors, health care providers across the north—to get an idea of what needs to be done.

They recommend “that patients have equitable access to care in their own communities.” Whatever we can do to make sure that people get care where they live is important. It’s also a right under the Canada Health Act.

“

(02) Reviewing and updating incentives and supports for physicians and allied health-care workers to practise in northern Ontario and other communities that are chronically underserviced.” We have communities that have lost their one doctor that they had, and it often takes months for them to find a replacement. What is cited by the doctors who are leaving is the mental health stress of being the only health professional in a community where you’re often isolated by weather, by transportation restraints, by the lack of Internet or by the lack of other health professionals to support you, or where you’re on call 24 hours a day. So those things are very important.

“Focusing on education, training, innovation and opportunities for collaborative care to address physician (health-provider) shortages in remote communities.” We have the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, with campuses in Thunder Bay and Sudbury. They have been asking to double the amount of seats. The new president has asked that the seats be doubled so that we train doctors in the north—they’re more likely to stay in northern Ontario—and that we also train people at those schools who have family in northern Ontario.

That is an important aspect, to make sure that the post-secondary institutions that really need our support have the support to train professionals who will stay in northern Ontario.

Number 4 is “creating resourced opportunities for specialist and subspecialist trainees to undertake electives and core rotations in the north.” Many of our specialists are people who are locums, who live in southern Ontario and may come to live part-time in our communities. But if we had specialists who were being trained and rotated into our small hospitals, we feel and the OMA feels there would be a better chance that those people would choose to live in northern Ontario. Why would you choose to live in northern Ontario? Because it is the most beautiful place, I would argue, in Canada, and it has affordable housing. It has clean air. It is amazing.

“

(05) Giving medical students and residents the skills and opportunities they need to be confident in choosing rural and remote practices.” A person who has lived in an urban setting or in southern Ontario is sometimes intimidated by the north. There are specialized—higher rates of diabetes, higher rates of cardiovascular disease. There are accidents. So, many of them, when they are given the opportunity to come to rural and northern Ontario, feel that they can handle that. But, again, you’re very isolated, and so they don’t have that community next door that they can send someone to.

“Focusing on innovative culturally sensitive education and training opportunities addressing physician and other health-provider shortages in rural and remote communities.” The cultural component of dealing with Indigenous communities’ lack of resources, no roads—I mean, that’s a huge thing—and airports that might be available part-time during the day: That is important.

It’s also important that we have doctors who are culturally sensitive to the realities of northern Ontario and Indigenous communities, who work in partnership, that we encourage Indigenous youth to take on these types of employment, and that we have those much-needed health care resources in northern Ontario and in Indigenous communities.

“Focusing on the profound and disproportionate impact of the opioid crisis and mental health issues in northern Ontario”: Last weekend, I walked with hundreds of families—it was a five-kilometre walk—to raise awareness about the opioid crisis in our community and the shocking amount of overdoses and deaths of young people. In that walk, I walked beside mothers who had pictures of their children on their chests.

It was something—I would walk with them, and I said that I can’t believe how incredibly brave they were, that they were out there and trying desperately to get someone to listen to the need for detox beds, for treatment and for decriminalization so that people who are in trouble with the law who are addicted actually get help and not get worse. There was a mother who lost her son in a jail. There was something that was incredibly heartbreaking: a little girl who lost her mother, and she is now being raised by her grandmother—the story of that mother who went out one night and just happened upon some bad drugs.

We have on our radio the public health officers announcing that there’s a load of bad drugs in the community and that people need to not use alone. We have harm reduction, but it’s not sufficient. We have an app that was developed, Lifeguard, where people who are using can immediately call for help. Our paramedics see this on a daily basis, and it is a crisis across northern Ontario. That was the story from my community, but I know it’s very much across northern Ontario.

We need “more social workers, mental health and addiction care providers and resources for children’s mental health.” Right before the pandemic, I did a press conference with children’s health providers in our community and across northern Ontario and within Indigenous communities, and the shocking wait for care for children’s mental health was years. You would have a child who would be in crisis and would not be able to access care unless their parent shipped them away to southern Ontario.

We’re talking about 10-year-olds, 11-year-olds, and they have to go and live in southern Ontario in a facility away from their families in order to access mental health supports. That’s just not right. The OMA agrees with that.

“Enhancing Internet connectivity”: Well, we all talk about that in this House, and I think we’ve agreed, but it’s so, so important that that be put top of mind and also not a long-term kind of plan, because that virtual care piece that the Minister of Health has spoken about in this House is something that is wonderful if you can access it. But people cannot even access the Internet to provide—like, when all the apps are out and during COVID, the frustration from people when they had inadequate Internet is something we all know needs to be addressed, but needs to be addressed yesterday.

In remote First Nations, there are many elders, especially, but more and more young people who choose to speak their Indigenous languages. It is such a strong and vital component of their culture, and they feel it’s so important that they are able to express themselves.

Many people who are later in life, who maybe are in the throes of dementia or just an aging process, go back to their original language. And so this access to language and linguistically appropriate health care is something that should be a right in our society.

And this is something that some people don’t understand; I understand it. But it’s a call for “a collaborative partnership with Indigenous Services Canada and Health Canada to address issues of safe drinking water and adequacy of health care facilities and resources in Indigenous communities.” We’ve heard in this House many times, the jurisdiction—this is a federal government problem when it comes to Indigenous people, that that’s where the money should come from.

What the OMA is saying, and I think it’s so vital, is that it’s all our problem and that we need to work collaboratively across government lines—that includes First Nations government—to ensure that we have the basic needs of health in Indigenous communities, things like clean drinking water.

A friend of mine, she says, “Water is life.” Water is a symbol in Indigenous culture. It is a strong symbol. But that people cannot even drink from their taps or even bathe in the water that they have in their community in this day and age is not something that any of us should ignore. No person in Ontario should ignore that. The OMA sees it as a vital piece. So they, as our health care professionals in Ontario, are recognizing that this is an essential piece that needs to be addressed by all of us.

And then number 12 is: “Using a harm-reduction, anti-oppressive lens, addressing the education gaps in Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous communities, as health is directly affected by education.” When I was speaking with family members and with people walking, many of them said that education was the key, that we need better education at a very young age to talk about what drug abuse is, what addiction is, why it occurs; to talk about the trauma; to talk about real-life experiences that people that live with addiction have.

Children are exposed to so many things in our society. This is something that is a crisis in our society. People are dying. We need to ensure that we have a future generation that doesn’t suffer through this, that is educated, that knows this is something that they hear not only at home from their parents, but also from their teachers, and it’s done on a science basis; that they understand the science of addiction and why they should not be using drugs.

We’re kidding ourselves if we think that our children are not being exposed to drugs at school. They are. They’re in our schoolyards, in our high schools, in our colleges and universities. People are preying on the young people in our communities, and we’re seeing the tragedy that’s occurring.

So I commend the Ontario Medical Association. I look forward to having further discussions with them. But I didn’t see that in our throne speech. I think that that really is so important, that we address the needs of health care in northern Ontario. I will continue to say that and to advocate for that for my time in this House, and I have through the years.

What I’d like to also address, in my brief time I have left, is two things. One is vaccinations for people who are older, the third vaccination. I have many seniors in my riding who are over 80, and they’re saying, “What about me? I live in my home,” or, “I live with my family. I would really like to be secure that I can get a vaccine.” The other thing is home care. Many, many people are saying, “Why are home care workers not required to have a vaccine?” I could go on and on about home care, but my time is up. But those are two things I wanted to bring to the attention of the government.

Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Questions?

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: Thank you to the member for her speech. I’m sure she’s up to answering some very interesting questions. One of the questions that I’d like to ask her—this does include northern Ontario, so it’s a question that certainly is something you would be quite interested in.

Ontario led the nation in investments to safely reopen schools by making $1.3 billion in resources available to school boards. Further to these historic supports, the Ontario government provided an additional $381 million through the federal Safe Return to Class Fund, including investments of $50 million for HEPA filters and other immediate measures to optimize air quality and ventilation.

Why did the members opposite say no to protecting students and vote against this important initiative to protect Ontario students?

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: Thank you for the question. What I know about the preparation for education in our community was that at the end of August, teachers, principals and school boards were unclear about what help they were going to get from the government. So in our school boards in our area, if that was the case, I just have to say that if you were giving away money, they weren’t aware of it.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Question?

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: Thank you to the member from Thunder Bay–Atikokan for her presentation. She mentioned some things that obviously weren’t in the throne speech. I want to talk about one of the things she started mentioning at the last item, which was home care.

Recently, I met with OCASI, and they said that they had a Campaign Research survey, and the results indicated that if someone was on a waiting list for a long-term-care facility, but they could have additional supports provided to them to keep them at home or living with a family member, 91% of seniors said that they would prefer to stay at home. On that result alone and what seniors are asking for, can the member speak to why home care was left out of the throne speech?

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: Home care is such an important piece. Recently, I was able to meet with the Finnish ambassador. They have an excellent reputation for providing great care for their seniors. I said, “What’s the secret to your success?” And they said it is to maintain people in their homes as long as possible, providing that they felt that that was a more economical way of approaching it.

So in the throne speech, I think it was a missed opportunity. If we would have been able to see some commitment to home care and to actually refurbishing and fixing people’s homes—I know that many seniors do not have the income to do that, and so that would have been a good step.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Question?

Hon. Jane McKenna: I just wanted to talk about what was just said there, to put it on the record that home care spending was about 6% of our health care budget. We revised the legislation to take in the home care act, so it’s part of the health care system now. I just want to be clear with that, because we’ve been very clear, saying that we all had to get out of our silos and all work together. We’ve said this numerous times. Getting people from hospitals, whether they go home or into long-term care—we’ve worked extremely hard to make sure that happens. We did realize that the health care budget was only 6% of that, so that has been changed.

I guess my question is, do you not agree that we’ve all done a good job making sure that what you’re talking about right now—that people get out of the hospitals and they are able to stay in their homes by doing what we’ve done?

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: My experience has been, when I talk to people who are struggling with home care, that they are calling my office because they are frustrated because there’s no accountability. It’s a private system. We do have the community care access, former LHINs, sort of overseeing it, but it is a bureaucratic nightmare. If you have a concern, you are unable to get any kind of effective redress for that. So families feel that it needs to be more accountable, it needs to be out of the hands of these private caregiver organizations who only answer to the community care access and do not answer to the person receiving the care.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Further questions?

Ms. Jessica Bell: Thank you to the member for Thunder Bay–Atikokan for her thoughtful and caring remarks about how the lack of high-quality health care is impacting her constituents in Thunder Bay.

The whole purpose of a throne speech is to set the plan, the vision, for what this government wants to achieve in this upcoming session. From your perspective, when it comes to addressing the health care issues you face in your riding, what are some measures that you would have liked to have seen in this throne speech to address the health care shortages you’re seeing?

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: In the throne speech, I would have liked to have seen—and it has been recommended by many, many organizations throughout the years. It’s not for lack of studying the northern Ontario health problem. It has been studied to death. What we need is commitment and investment in education and a proper plan of action with real goals and guidelines, not something with long-term stretch goals. We needed this help yesterday, and it’s only getting worse. So what I’d like to have seen is that in the throne speech.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Question?

Hon. Jane McKenna: I just want to go back to what you were saying there, because I do know that the Ontario health teams have done a phenomenal job. I think they’re now covering 72% of the province with integrated care, hospital, long-term care and home care.

When I look at the throne speech, and obviously I was here with everybody else who is here right now, it’s to focus on the priorities facing Ontario right now. I’m just curious: Did you not feel, when we were talking about investing in hospitals, the ICU capacity—we now have one of the highest rates of intensive care beds in Canada. That’s phenomenal. I would think you would agree with that, but I’ll get you to answer that. And long-term care: We’ve talked about it and here’s another announcement out here today about expanding careers and growth opportunities for PSWs and nurses in long-term care.

It’s $100 million. Then the next day we’re out here talking again about the 193 doubling of inspectors in long-term-care homes.

So I guess my question is, when you look at the throne speech, do you not recognize that it was about capitalizing what we needed to do to fix where we are and what we’ve done in this—

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Thank you.

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: It’s been over a year since we received the report from the military. In Thunder Bay what happened was, when things were really bad here we didn’t really get the impact on long-term care until December and January. What we see is a lot of announcements, but why haven’t we passed legislation to ensure that families can access their loved ones? Why didn’t we pass the four hours of long-term care last year? It could have been done immediately. Why didn’t we do that sooner?

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): We don’t have enough time for another question and response. Further debate?

Mr. Jeremy Roberts: It’s a real pleasure to rise today to speak on our government’s record and on our speech from the throne that was delivered earlier this month. When I look back on our three years in government I’m incredibly proud that when we took office we started immediately dealing with some of the fiscal situation that this province was facing—getting our deficit down—because we on this side of the aisle understand that being in a strong fiscal position allows us to deal with emerging crises.

Unfortunately, Speaker, that’s just what we’ve seen. We’ve seen an emerging crisis, the likes of which we hadn’t seen in Ontario, in Canada, or around the world for generations, through the COVID-19 pandemic. And because of the responsible decisions that our government made, we were able to react to that crisis and we were able to start making investments, to shore up our health system and make sure that Ontarians could get through the COVID-19 pandemic.

What I’d like to speak about a little bit today is our government’s record of support for the Ottawa region, where I am proud to serve as a member of provincial Parliament for the wonderful riding of Ottawa West–Nepean. There have been significant investments over the past three years, particularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, to support health care throughout Ottawa, to support education throughout Ottawa and to support the creation of long-term, high-paying jobs throughout the Ottawa region.

I’m going to start by speaking a little bit on the health care front, because obviously this is an area that has been so vital and top of mind for Ontarians. During the COVID-19 pandemic I had the opportunity to attend, along with my colleagues in the Ottawa region, an event with Premier Ford at the Ottawa Hospital, the civic campus. I’ll speak a little bit about the civic redevelopment a little later. I was there with Premier Ford and we got the chance to announce that Ottawa was receiving 254 more hospital beds—surge beds—to help get us through the COVID-19 pandemic.

That included 56 more beds for the hospital in my riding, the Queensway Carleton Hospital, which has been doing phenomenal work throughout the pandemic and beyond. I was pleased to be able, two weeks ago, to host a pancake breakfast along with the member for Nepean to thank all of those health care heroes at the Queensway Carleton Hospital.

On top of those surge beds we also provided funding for hospital surge funding to support those hospitals in getting through this difficult time when their resources have been stretched. In total, our government has invested $778 million for hospital surge funding, and that included significant investments just this year in Ottawa.

In Ottawa, the Montfort Hospital in the east end of our city, which supports our vibrant francophone community, received an additional $5.6 million in surge funding this year. That’s a 2% increase in their funding from previous years. The Ottawa Hospital received $16.8 million more this year in surge funding. The Ottawa heart institute, the best centre for heart health in Canada—arguably, one of the best in North America—received $16.5 million more just this year. The Queensway Carleton Hospital in my riding received $3.4 million more. CHEO received $3.5 million more.

And the Royal Ottawa hospital for mental health received $2.2 million more. Those are dollars that are going to work right away in our health care system, supporting the good work that all of the folks are doing at our hospitals—again, tremendous investment across the province, but particularly in Ottawa.

Speaker, one of my top priorities when I got elected was to help support the expansion of good, reliable mental health services across the city of Ottawa—and one of those key pieces of expanding that service was that we needed to renovate and repair the Queensway Carleton Hospital’s mental health unit, which services folks in the west end of Ottawa and a little bit beyond, up the valley. So I got to work after getting elected, speaking with the Minister of Health, speaking with the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

I’m incredibly proud that last March I was able to go to the Queensway Carleton Hospital and announce that our government had provided the $10 million in funding to renovate and expand the Queensway Carleton mental health unit, which is going to be a real game changer for folks seeking mental health support in the west end of Ottawa. Construction is well under way on that project, and I can’t wait to go and tour the new unit once it’s up and going.

There are also other investments happening in health care. In my riding, we saw funding to completely renovate and overhaul the Carlington Community Health Centre. Just the other day, I had the chance, with Cam MacLeod, the executive director of the Carlington Community Health Centre, to tour the new facility. Renovations are almost complete. This transformation that has happened in my riding is quite incredible. They took an old schoolhouse from the early 1900s and have totally transformed it, top to bottom, to serve the community and to make sure that those health needs are right there.

There’s a brand new building right there that is offering affordable housing for seniors and others in the community who need it, and then connected to that affordable housing centre is a community health centre that is offering mental health supports, maternity supports, daycare supports—the list goes on—at this fabulous new facility. So I’m incredibly proud that our government got that done and that that renovation is nearly complete, and that it’s going to be serving folks across Ottawa West–Nepean.

We also have a couple of other major health care projects under way. One of them folks in this chamber have heard me speak about a little bit before, and that’s the CHEO 1Door4Care project.

Speaker, as you know, CHEO has been a part of my life for many years. When I was born, I had a cleft palate, and the doctors told my parents that I would probably never be able to speak, but now, as my parents say, they can’t shut me up. So CHEO provided phenomenal support to me as I was growing up. Beyond that, they were there for my family when my brother needed them, when going through challenges with his autism, his special needs, as well as his epilepsy.

One of the things that has always struck me is that for families with children with special needs, when they enter a crisis moment, sometimes they don’t know where to turn. For us, where we turned was the CHEO emergency department, when we were in a crisis with my brother. We went there and, thankfully, we were able to access some support—but that was really on a whim. We needed a place in Ottawa that could provide dedicated support to children with special needs, mental health and rehabilitative care needs.

CHEO came forward to me during the election and said, “Jeremy, what we’d like to do is build a facility at CHEO called 1Door4Care so that families with children with special needs and mental health needs know exactly where to go. There is one door that they can go to at CHEO.”

So I got to work right after getting elected, meeting with all of the different players—the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Infrastructure—talking to them, lobbying them, saying we need to get this facility built in Ottawa. And Speaker, I’m proud to report that last year in our budget, budget 2021, our government fully funded the construction of this brand new facility.

CHEO 1Door4Care is going to be a more-than-$300-million project for Ottawa, the largest infrastructure project since the LRT in Ottawa. It’s going to be a 200,000-square-foot building on the CHEO campus that will support over 40,000 families with kids with special needs, mental health needs and rehabilitative care needs right across eastern Ontario.

It will consolidate seven disparate facilities that are spread out across the city—providing an inadequate level of care, if we’re being honest—as well as completely revamp an existing building at CHEO that was built in the 1970s and no longer serves the needs of our community. I am so excited to see this project built. This would have been a game-changer for my family, and it’s going to be a game-changer for families in years to come in Ottawa.

On top of this, there is of course the new Ottawa Hospital which is going to be built in Ottawa. It’s going to completely redevelop the civic campus in Ottawa.

Speaker, there’s an interesting irony with the new Ottawa Hospital. The last civic campus was built in 1918, after the Spanish influenza, because the city desperately needed some new health care infrastructure. That old civic campus was built with lessons learned and internalized throughout that pandemic. Now, Speaker, to bookend it, we have our new Ottawa Hospital that is going to be coming online in a couple of years.

That’s going to internalize the lessons that we’ve learned through COVID-19 and make sure that things like people-flow management and making sure that there are single-bed rooms throughout the hospital—all of these important pieces are coming together in this new state-of-the-art facility that’s going to include three research towers, a tremendous amount of new beds, including transitory care beds, and is going to totally revitalize the health care system in Ottawa. Our Carling Avenue is going to become Ottawa’s version of University Avenue.

I expect that very soon we’ll be going toe to toe with the folks down here in Toronto in terms of the best health care system in Ontario. So, tremendous, tremendous good news.

Speaker, I recognize I’m running low on time, but I’d like to pivot a little bit and also speak about long-term care, because, of course, making sure that we are getting our long-term-care system on track is a key priority of this government, and across Ottawa, we have seen some significant investment. Our government has committed to over 500 new long-term-care beds across the Ottawa region. That’s on top of existing beds that are also being upgraded—but 500 new beds, Speaker.

When you look back at the previous government that only built 611 new beds across seven years, this is remarkable that we have 500 under way in Ottawa already. Of those 500 new beds, I’m incredibly proud that around 200 of them will be going right in my riding in a partnership with the Perley and Rideau memorial veterans’ hospital to build a long-term-care facility for folks in the west end.

We’ve also seen our government provide funding to ensure that air conditioning is provided to folks in long-term care. I had the chance recently to visit all of the long-term-care facilities in my riding and see first-hand those air conditioning units that have been installed into individual rooms, to make sure that our seniors are experiencing the comfort that any of us would expect if we were accessing that service. So I’m very pleased to see those upgrades have happened in Ottawa West–Nepean thanks to funding from our government.

We also saw surge funding for prevention and containment across the long-term-care sector—

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): I regret to interrupt the member—

Mr. Jeremy Roberts: I could go on, but thank you so much for indulging me to speak on this.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Thank you.

Debate deemed adjourned.

Members’ Statements

Michael Ray

Mr. Percy Hatfield: We lost a dear friend in early October. Mike Ray was a former member here; in fact, a former presiding officer back in the days of the Peterson government. Mike was a lawyer. He taught at the law school and ran Legal Assistance of Windsor, a free clinic for those most in need of legal services. He served on Windsor city council for seven years. In fact, as a reporter, I was covering council the night some of his Liberal friends came in in the middle of the meeting to tell him Bernie Newman was retiring and they wanted Mike to run for the nomination. He was starting late.

As a well-connected party insider, he had been signing up members, supposedly in support of Bernie, but Mike Ray won the Liberal nomination and the election.

Back in those days, there was a Speaker, a Deputy Speaker and a single Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole House. Mike was the Deputy Chair and, when he stepped down, he was replaced by two people, a First and Second Deputy Chair, and it wasn’t until 2004, as you know, that we added the Third Deputy Chair.

Mike Ray was a gentleman of the old school, always in a suit and tie. After Queen’s Park, he ran the regional Family Responsibility Office and served on the board at Windsor Regional Hospital. He was also appointed a director of the Windsor Port Authority for nine years, he was on the Windsor Police Service board and a director at the YQG Windsor International Airport Authority.

He always put his community first. He was a principled advocate and fought hard for the issues he believed in. I know of no one who didn’t respect Mike Ray. He was a mentor. Condolences to Joyce and his family from all of us here in Ontario’s provincial Parliament.

Immigrants’ skills

Mr. Sheref Sabawy: Mr. Speaker, I hope you bear with me for an extra few seconds, because I’m talking about a subject which is very dear to my heart.

Just last week, the Minister of Labour announced changes that would make it easier for immigrants to get integrated into the Ontario workforce in professions that match their area of expertise. I myself was one of those immigrants. For many months, I had to work night shifts at Tim Hortons to make ends meet. I lived that challenge myself. While I managed to get back to my profession, I witnessed countless other immigrants giving up and abandoning their professions. I don’t want anyone to go through that disappointment.

This is a well-known issue, at least since I landed in Canada—14 years of various government promises after promises with no real action to change it. These are lost opportunities not only for the new immigrants and their families, but for Ontario as well. That’s why we are proposing this legislation. It is a win-win-win situation—yes, three wins.

It’s a win for the immigrants to establish their careers and find employment to integrate into the Canadian workforce faster than ever before, it’s also a win for employers who are filling the need for jobs with skilled workers and expanding their businesses, and it’s a win for our government as we create a successful environment for new Canadians and grow our economy.

We are building a better Ontario for the people.

Road safety

Ms. Jessica Bell: Last week, a young woman, Nadia Mozumder, was hit by a van as she crossed Danforth Avenue, by a driver who was later charged with careless driving. At her funeral, Nadia’s father said, “I lost my everything.” I want to recognize the lives of people who have died on our roads, including Miguel Escanan, John Offutt and Dalia Chako—people who have died on roads in University–Rosedale, including Bloor and Avenue. These people didn’t have to die.

Do you know what happens to people who are charged with breaking a road rule when they kill and injure someone? Very little. They are charged, and then usually when they get to court, they have the option to plead down and walk away with a fine—a few hundred dollars for a life. The vast majority of these people never get to take a driver re-education course, they never have to hear impact statements, and the vast majority of them are never convicted.

As legislators, we have a responsibility to ensure tragedies like this never happen again. We can change the rules to make our roads safer, to bring in tougher penalties like the vulnerable road users law, to redesign our roads and our sidewalks and our intersections by bringing in a provincial Vision Zero plan and to enforce speed limits by expanding the use of safety cameras.

We cannot bring these people back, but we can stop these tragedies from happening again so cyclists, seniors, transit users and pedestrians can walk our roads and streets safely and without fear. It is our job to make that happen here at Queen’s Park, and I urge us to do so.

Dave Barrow

Mrs. Daisy Wai: I rise this morning to pay tribute to former mayor of Richmond Hill Dave Barrow. He served Richmond Hill since 1978 and as our mayor for 15 years.

Mayor Barrow, thank you for all you have done for Richmond Hill. Under your leadership, the town of Richmond Hill has widely developed and is recognized as the city of Richmond Hill. The cultural plan and strategic plan you developed have laid the foundation for future growth.

I have been living in Richmond Hill for almost 30 years. It is a great place to raise my family and start my business. I was honoured serving with former mayor Barrow on the police services board when he was the chair. It is the best board I’ve ever served on. We also served on the Mackenzie Health board, where he always sought quality of health care for Richmond Hill. He was a role model for me when I served as chair for the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce, as he was the board chair, not only once, but twice.

Mayor Barrow, thank you for all you have done and all your contributions to the city of Richmond Hill.

Winter highway maintenance

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: With winter weather already arriving across much of the north, many of us are turning our attention to winter road safety. In northern Ontario, roads are often the lifeblood of our communities. Highways 11 and 17 are critically important infrastructure. They are often the only way we can get in and out of our cities and towns. People rely on them to get to work, doctor’s appointments, to go to school and to ship goods all over our country. However, every year, like clockwork, winter weather brings an increase in accidents and fatalities.

Injuries and fatalities are twice more likely to occur on a northern highway than on a highway in southern Ontario, per capita. Many believe, myself included, that this situation could have been prevented if the province improved winter road conditions in northern Ontario. My caucus colleagues and I are fighting for the north, and we believe that northerners should have the same safe roads that southern Ontario residents expect. We believe that the pavement on Highways 11 and 17 should be bare of snow within eight hours of the end of snowfall.

It just isn’t right that our infrastructure needs don’t seem important to this government. Where is the investment, and where are the increased safety standards?

Islamic Heritage Month

Mr. John Fraser: October is Islamic Heritage Month here in Ontario. That was made possible in 2016 by the member from London–Fanshawe. It was also co-signed by the members from Scarborough North and Etobicoke North, so it was an initiative that was supported by all three parties in this Legislature. Since then, it has given Ontario’s many Muslim faith communities a chance to celebrate and to share with all Ontarians their culture and traditions.

For the last few years, COVID-19 has made it hard for us to come together in the ways that we’re used to. Many faith communities have done a lot to try to overcome that, virtually. It’s been hard to celebrate with families. It’s been a really challenging time.

I would like to say, in particular, a word of special thanks this Islamic Heritage Month to the Muslim faith communities in my riding of Ottawa South: the AMA Mosque of Mercy on Hunt Club Road; the Assalam Mosque on St. Laurent; the Ali Masjid mosque on Walkley; also the Ismaili community centre on Conroy Road. Thank you for all that you do to build community in Ottawa South, whether it’s through opening your doors to the broader community, making sure families in need are supported, that youth have a place to go, or supporting our community’s efforts to combat COVID-19. Thank you.

Now, as Islamic Heritage Month draws to a close, I think it’s also important to acknowledge there’s a lot more work to do to fight Islamophobia. I just want to say to the Muslim communities in Ontario that every member of this Legislature stands with you in that battle and will continue to fight with you to ensure that hate has no place here in Ontario.

Oxi Day

Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos: Today is a special day for people of Hellenic descent in Ontario and for Hellenes across the world. Today is Oxi Day.

The significance of Oxi Day dates back to 1940 and the Second World War. Nazi Germany had been conquering Europe one country at a time. Their Italian allies attacked Greece, with the Nazis joining their attack soon after. On October 28, 1940, they demanded surrender from Prime Minister Metaxas. Metaxas’s response? “Oxi,” “No.”

The refusal of Greece to submit to fascism is considered by many to be a turning point in the war. Greece’s resistance delayed Hitler’s attack on Russia, leaving his soldiers fighting in the bitter Russian winter. The pivotal moment in history prompted Winston Churchill to state, “Hence, we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks.” It’s an inspiration to Greeks and to others around the world fighting for freedom and human rights today.

Today, we remember the brave men and women in 1940 and people like them in many nations since then who said “oxi” and who say no to tyranny and oppression.

Long-term care

Ms. Sandy Shaw: Speaker, everyone in Ontario knows that profiteering in long-term-care homes is wrong. Everyone in Ontario believes in their hearts that putting profits over the care of our seniors is wrong—everyone, apparently, except the Premier, because he’s now rewarding for-profit care homes, homes with the deadliest records.

These corporations are getting very lucrative multi-million-dollar, 30-year contracts—homes like Orchard Villa, where 78 people died and the Canadian Armed Forces witnessed these horrors; Sienna homes, where 471 people died across the province while at the same time paying $16 million in dividends to their shareholders and taking more taxpayer dollars to build more beds so they will continue to profit. In fact, the FAO says that six billion taxpayer dollars will go to private long-term-care homes in the province. But the Premier continues to do what he has always done: reward his corporate buddies, putting the interests of large, for-profit corporations first.

Speaker, this profiteering has to stop. It’s time we put our mothers, our grandmothers, our grandfathers, our fathers first. We believe, and we insist, that this government needs to act now. We need to take the profits out of long-term-care homes. Protect our seniors first.

Brain Cancer Awareness Day

Mr. Bill Walker: I rise today to recognize that October 24 was Brain Cancer Awareness Day.

This is something that hits very close to home for me. On May 8, 2015, my son Zach had brain tumour surgery. It’s a day my wife, Michaela, and I will never forget. We are eternally grateful to Dr. MacDougall and his team at University Hospital, London for their skill, dedication and care.

I also want to thank the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada for all their work on the Hats for Hope campaign to raise awareness of brain cancer in Canada. I encourage everybody to visit hatsforhope.ca to get your toque and help raise funds to help those who are fighting this deadly disease.

Early detection, innovative treatment, more research and isotopes are vital to defeating brain cancer. I’m very proud to say that four of Bruce Power’s reactors produce cobalt-60, an isotope that is used to treat brain cancer. I commend Bruce Power for their continued commitment to the production of this life-saving isotope as, every day, 27 Canadians are diagnosed with a brain tumour.

I also want to thank James Scongack of the Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council for his hard work and leadership to raise awareness of the role isotopes play in helping to treat this deadly disease.

Mr. Speaker, I will introduce a PMB entitled Championing Ontario-made Medical Isotopes on November 2 in this House to applaud OPG, Bruce Power, McMaster University and the nuclear industry for their continued innovation and leadership around the world and to ensure we remain the leading isotope supplier in the world.

It is critically important for us to show our support and let all those who are fighting brain cancer know they are not alone. We’re with them, we support them, and we will continue the fight with them.

Member’s conduct

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I understand the government House leader has a point of order he wishes to raise.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to move a motion without notice respecting the member for Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston, and that the question of the motion be put immediately without debate or amendment.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The government House leader is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion without notice respecting the member for Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston, and that the question on the motion be put immediately without debate or amendment. Agreed? Agreed.

I recognize the government House leader.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Mr. Calandra has moved that this House expresses its disapproval of—

Mr. John Fraser: Dispense.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Dispense? Dispense.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

Motion agreed to.

Visitors

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m very pleased to inform the House that page Sujay Surya, from the riding of Oakville North–Burlington, is today’s page captain. We have with us today at Queen’s Park his mother, Shubha Narasimhan, and his father, Nanda Suryanarayana.

Welcome to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. We’re delighted to have you here.

COVID-19 deaths

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I understand the member for Brampton Centre has a point of order.

Ms. Sara Singh: Speaker, I seek unanimous consent for the House to observe a moment of silence for the 39 Ontarians who have succumbed to COVID-19 over the past week.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to observe a moment of silence for the 39 Ontarians who have succumbed to COVID-19 over the past week. Agreed? Agreed.

Members will please rise.

The House observed a moment’s silence.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much. Members will take their seats.

Question Period

Long-term care

Ms. Sara Singh: My question is to the Premier. Speaker, despite all we’ve learned in this pandemic about for-profit care, this government continues to hand lucrative, multi-million-dollar contracts over to the worst operators in the private long-term-care sector. Families across Ontario experienced those horror stories that came from those homes in the pandemic. Seniors pleaded for support, residents died from neglect, and workers weren’t given personal protective equipment.

No one in this province recommends giving these for-profit providers more contracts when they couldn’t even deliver quality care to residents.

So to the Premier: Why is the Minister of Long-Term Care handing over more lucrative contracts to the worst players in private, for-profit long-term care after they failed to protect our vulnerable seniors?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of Long-Term Care.

Hon. Rod Phillips: I thank the member for her question. I always am pleased with the chance to talk about our government’s plan to fix long-term care.

There are three principles in that plan. The first is making sure that we build 30,000 net new beds. By the way, we’re also going to be redeveloping about 30,000 beds to make sure there are enough beds, something the previous government didn’t do.

The second is to make sure that seniors receive four hours of care. That requires working to hire 27,000 new staff to support those seniors and create the highest level of care of any place in the country.

And third, our plan will make sure that there is accountability, that there is enforcement and that there is transparency. Later today, Mr. Speaker, I’ll introduce legislation that will enact a new act around long-term care to make sure that that is in place.

Earlier this week, I announced the doubling of the number of inspectors and the increase in the power of those inspectors and the creation of an investigations team within that inspectorate, to ensure that while we are building more beds, while we are providing more staff, we are also making sure that there is the accountability and oversight that our seniors deserve.

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

Ms. Sara Singh: Speaker, Rykka Care owns both Eatonville Care Centre and Hawthorne Place Care. These for-profit homes saw 93 residents lose their lives in the pandemic. All of this is well-documented in years of critical incident reports that both the Liberals and Conservatives ignored from these homes.

At Hawthorne Place, for example, there were six inspections, uncovering serious problems in the two years preceding the pandemic. This government and the one before it didn’t issue Rykka a single penalty. Instead, what they’ve done is offer them more multi-million-dollar contracts.

Why, just like the Liberals before them, would this Premier and this Minister of Long-Term Care ignore these scathing reports for years and continue to reward their buddies in the for-profit long-term-care sector?

Hon. Rod Phillips: Mr. Speaker, the member well knows that there were issues across the long-term-care sector, across all types of operators, during the pandemic. And the member knows that we have introduced changes, like doubling the number of inspectors, increasing the power of those inspectors.

But when the member—and the NDP have a plan. It’s a plan to spend billions of dollars paying for the expropriation of private assets. It’s a plan to stop over 100 projects. They’d be stopping projects like the one that Rob Burton, the mayor of Oakville, talked about. Rob Burton said his heart was overflowing with gratitude and that for 15 years he’d been asking Ontario to deal with the deficit of long-term-care beds, and now, “in one fell swoop ... are you delivering.” That’s 640 beds that the member would stop from being developed. She would have to phone Mayor Burton and tell him that, I suppose.

Mayor Bevilacqua in Vaughan said that 256 beds are welcome. These are beds that are in Vaughan. Those are beds that are provided by private operators.

In North Bay-Nipissing, the member would have to call Elaine, the president of the residents’ council of Waters Edge community, who said to the Minister of Economic Development, the Premier and I, “We are very excited to see this new building.”

Mr. Speaker, residents want these homes; communities want these homes. We’ll be—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. And the final supplementary.

Ms. Sara Singh: I think it’s important to point out that doubling inspectors is important. But what’s even more important is actually looking at those reports, acting on what those inspectors find and holding people accountable—something this government has failed to do.

When the military stepped into these two Rykka-operated homes last spring, what they found was appalling. A high-ranking official from the armed forces said that the seniors cried in agony for help for hours. The military said that the staff were scared they would get in trouble for using proper PPE because “it cost money.”

Families are speaking out, and they are asking how this government can grant more money to this company. Well, Speaker, we all know the Liberals never fixed these for-profit homes, and coincidentally, actually, the CEO of Rykka was a big donor to the Liberal Party’s coffers. And we know that the Conservatives have also accepted big-money donations from these folks.

When will this government do the right thing and start saying no to their buddies and start saying yes to protecting seniors and people with disabilities?

Hon. Rod Phillips: Mr. Speaker, I find it hard to understand how the NDP feel they’re saying yes to seniors by cancelling over 100 projects that are building beds for seniors.

Something important is going to happen tomorrow in Ontario—and this is happening almost every day across Ontario. In London, the new Elmwood Place will be opening, with an additional 50 beds for 120 residents. The mayor will be there. The community will be there. But the NDP would say no to those residents; they’d say no to those beds.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow I’ll be in Ottawa for the groundbreaking of 256 new beds in Stittsville, just outside Ottawa. The mayor will be there. The community will be there. They’re welcoming those new beds. The NDP’s plan would stop those beds in their tracks. We’re not going to let that happen.

Long-term care

Ms. Sara Singh: My next question is also for the Premier. As we’ve shown time and time again, the for-profit model does not work in Ontario. It doesn’t work for seniors and people with disabilities who live in these long-term-care homes. It has led to substandard care, a terrible rate of deaths throughout the pandemic, and profits being ripped out of the system that could have been deployed to ensure better care for residents. That’s why last week it was so shocking to see the long-term-care minister continue to reward the for-profit providers with even more contracts.

Why is the government saying yes to big developers and their buddies in for-profit companies and no to better care for seniors and people with disabilities?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Long-Term Care.

Hon. Rod Phillips: I’m happy to have this conversation all day long. We have a plan to fix long-term care. Generations of neglect have caused the system to be as it was, and we’ve all talked about the tragedy of what happened during the pandemic. We are a government that is here to fix it. We are a government that is saying yes to seniors. That means building new beds. That means adding new staff.

The members on the other side talked about four hours of care; we are delivering four hours of care, starting next month, with $270 million to hire 4,000 new staff. We are delivering across the province.

I talked before about 611 net new beds that were delivered by the previous government, sometimes supported by the opposition. Zero of those beds were in Brampton—zero. We are delivering a total of 611 beds just in Brampton alone.

Mr. Speaker, we acknowledge the need for accountability, and we acknowledge the need for enforcement. That’s why we’re doubling inspectors, and that’s why we’re increasing their powers. And that’s why the new law we’ll put in place will protect seniors and make sure that they not only have the quality beds and level of care but—

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

Ms. Sara Singh: Speaker, the government is clearly too busy listening to their insider friends and buddies in the for-profit long-term-care sector to actually make the improvements needed in long-term care.

Yesterday, the non-profit group AdvantAge released a statement that all Ontarians should know about. They called on the government to move all new beds away from the for-profit delivery model. Lisa Levin, the CEO of AdvantAge Ontario, said, “The government is heading in the wrong direction.” Levin said that not-for-profit homes actually provide better care for residents, and we agree.

Instead of always saying yes to their buddies—why would the government ignore the advice of experts in the not-for-profit sector, which has had better outcomes for residents in their homes?

Hon. Rod Phillips: Mr. Speaker, I know the member opposite understands the roles that the various advocates play. I have met extensively with them and appreciate their perspectives.

She quoted Lisa Levin, and let me do that as well—when she was talking about the historic $4.9 billion in funding. She said it was “a watershed moment for long-term care in Ontario.... It is putting dollars exactly where they need to be—increasing front-line staff to improve care for residents.”

We have a direct and positive impact on the quality of life and enjoyment of seniors living in their homes. More staff means more care. That’s what truly matters, and that’s what this government is committed to.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

The final supplementary.

Ms. Sara Singh: In her statement, Lisa said a number of other things. She believes this is not what taxpayers in this country want to see. “We don’t believe taxpayers want this. As Canadians, not-for-profit care most closely aligns with our belief in public health care.”

We know that the Conservatives don’t believe in or champion, frankly, universal public health care, but there is no reason why we have to continue with their plans for more privatization throughout our health care systems. Instead of funnelling billions into the hands of Conservative buddies and their shareholders, those funds could actually be better spent on deinstitutionalizing care in Ontario and creating livable spaces that feel like home.

Given the horrendous conditions in for-profit homes, why would this government hand out billions in contracts to for-profit companies instead of investing in community-based care and not-for-profit homes?

Hon. Rod Phillips: Just to be fair to Lisa Levin, Mr. Speaker, I’m pretty sure that last bit was the member, not Lisa Levin, because it reflects the NDP’s ideological perspective, which is that everything should be run by government, that there should be no private sector, that we should spend billions and billions of dollars to pay through the expropriation of the very corporate and business interests that they so decry instead of spending billions of dollars supporting the health of our seniors.

Mr. Speaker, we do believe that not every good idea originated out of a bureaucrat. We think that the broader society, including the private sector, including not-for-profits, including municipal homes, have an important role to play. That’s why we will continue to support all of them in our goal to fix long-term care, deliver the care that’s needed, deliver the homes that are needed and deliver the protections and accountability that are needed for long-term care in our communities.

Long-term care

Ms. Jennifer K. French: My question is to the Minister of Long-Term Care. People are terrified that a for-profit long-term-care home like Southbridge’s Orchard Villa in Pickering, a building where nearly 80 people died of COVID, could be awarded a 30-year licence extension—30 years of public money locked in—and 89 new beds. Thirty years is a generation of seniors. A lot of folks in their fifties, sixties and seventies will be stuck with this profit-driven bad deal during their golden years, and that includes a lot of folks in this room.

Devastated families continue to come to Queen’s Park to beg and plead for long-term-care supports, resources and justice. There is no justice in rewarding a Southbridge home like Orchard Villa. So my question to you is: Does a home like Orchard Villa deserve a 30-year free pass and licence extension, and is it the official policy of this government to reward bad actors and turn its back on grieving families?

Hon. Rod Phillips: This government has been listening to families. This government has been listening to residents. This government has been listening to members of labour unions and leaders of labour unions when it comes to how we approach homes.

For the home that the member mentioned, that licence is currently under review by the independent director that looks at that. The government has also listened to some of the concerns from families about the fact of whether that process should be looked at constructively so that there can be an opportunity for appeal, but I’ll speak more about that later today.

Mr. Speaker, we are making sure that beds are being built. We are making sure that there’s accountability. In the region of Durham, where the member comes from, of the 611 net new beds that were built, less than 100 of them were built there. We have plans to build 1,097 beds in Durham, including in Oshawa, and upgrade 703 beds. That’s what we’re about: getting something done, protecting seniors, delivering quality care.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Ms. Jennifer K. French: Minister, people have no faith in this government or its intentions where long-term care is concerned. Families of Orchard Villa report that things are just as bad as they ever were, and we all know what the Canadian Armed Forces reported. The horrors that happened behind those walls, and many others, must not be rewarded.

Speaker, this minister was interviewed recently on radio, and when asked specifically about Orchard Villa and public calls for action casually told the public on the air that hopefully people will see “the new building.” What new building? The new building awarded along with a 30-year licence for a for-profit, historically problematic long-term-care home? Has the minister already made the decision and is this, as seems clear by his own words, a done deal? Will Orchard Villa be rewarded with a 30-year licence renewal, a free pass and a shiny, new, expanded building with 89 new beds in the wake of such a terrible, ongoing nightmare?

Hon. Rod Phillips: Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to make any assumptions, but I might assume, and the member might correct me, that she may or may not have been to Orchard Villa. I have; myself and the Minister of Finance, whose riding it is, visited Orchard Villa at 6:30 one morning. One of the things about my unannounced visits is that I do them at different times of day because you learn more when you travel with an inspector then.

I know the member is a compassionate person, but what she may not appreciate is that with rhetoric like that and with talk like that, the people who hear that as well are the staff working there, the staff that are working hard to protect those residents—the staff that are there at 6:30 and 7 o’clock in the morning, there at 6:30 and 7 o’clock at night.

Mr. Speaker, we’re not going to throw them under the bus. We’re not going to throw residents or families under the bus. We’re going to make sure that they are protected. We’re going to make sure that the rules are in place to make sure that there is accountability, and we’re going to make sure that the facilities are new and state of the art.

Northern economy

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The next question, the member for Perth–Wellington.

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: Thank you, Speaker. I get so deep into what—when the Minister of Long-Term Care speaks. I’m sorry, sir.

Mr. Speaker, the most recent job numbers were quite encouraging, with unemployment numbers declining. We know that our economy is recovering, but some areas of our province were hit harder than others. Doing business in the north poses a whole set of different challenges that don’t exist in southern parts of the province. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our government made a commitment to supporting businesses in the north and the rural communities that depend on them.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry please tell us what these businesses can expect from the most recent round of NORP investments?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To respond, the member for Kitchener–Conestoga and parliamentary assistant.

Mr. Mike Harris: Thank you to the member for Perth–Wellington for the question. It’s an important question. The north has been long forgotten by the previous Liberal government. It’s time that our government actually stands up and recognizes them.

It’s true: Doing business in the north is unique and it comes with its own set of challenges. Shipping issues, exacerbated by high fuel prices, added costs for business owners during a pandemic that affected us all. That’s why our government responded quickly to these concerns by creating the Northern Ontario Recovery Program. Dozens of businesses across the north in Timmins, Kiiwetinoong, Mushkegowuk–James Bay, Nipissing, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay have all been successful in applying for the NORP. They have been able to make critical upgrades to their businesses that help keep customers safe.

More recently, our government announced that $840,000 would be going to help 43 businesses adapt to COVID-19 public health guidelines in the Parry Sound region. These are exactly the types of investments we need to make, and I’ll be happy to talk a little bit more about those in the supplementary.

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

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: It’s great to hear that the program has been such a success and that these funds will be going to help so many businesses across the north. For too long the previous Liberal government said no to the north: no to jobs in the north, no to investment in the north and no to economic prosperity in the north. It’s refreshing to see a government that says yes to northern Ontario.

With that being said, Mr. Speaker, could the minister please tell us more about what types of businesses were eligible to receive assistance from the Northern Ontario Recovery Program?

Mr. Mike Harris: I will say, companies from a variety of sectors, including the tourism, food service and retail sectors, applied for the NORP for assistance with projects such as building renovations and new constructions; customer and employee safety installations; equipment purchases, including PPE; marketing for new business initiatives; and restructuring of business operations. I’ll give you a couple of examples.

Zak’s in Sundridge: They will be using the $25,000 they received from the NORP to purchase personal protective equipment, develop a fully functional custom website and email marketing program, and renovate the staff kitchens and washrooms. Or how about The Cutter’s Edge, a retailer of custom wood furnishings, home decor and fashion items in Burk’s Falls? They will be using $25,000 from the NORP to help restructure their business operations and develop new marketing strategies. The list goes on.

Our government is committed to making sure we continue to make these investments in the north. I’m really looking forward to a government that will stand up for the north, unlike the Liberals have done for 15 years.

Government investments

Mr. Peter Tabuns: My question is to the Premier. The Premier is quoted in today’s Toronto Star about the millions he gave to the company Facedrive: “We look deeply into anything we invest in.”

Apparently, that’s not what happened, Speaker, because this Premier wasted $2.5 million on Facedrive’s contact tracing beeper bracelets that don’t actually do anything. The company bought these bands off the shelf from an online store in China and former company staff tell the media they don’t even really work. No one is using the products, no one is buying them and the company’s stock has plummeted.

The grant didn’t help create any jobs and it only helped the corporate executives at Facedrive sell off their stocks for millions in profits and buy things like mansions. Why hasn’t the Premier torn up this contract with Facedrive and demanded that Ontarians get their money back?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Think of where we were almost two years ago, in the depths of the pandemic. Ontario, we learned, made no PPE of our own—almost none—so the government launched the Ontario Together Fund to help companies retool their operations, produce the critical supplies that we need and develop technology-driven solutions. Like all submissions, this proposal was assessed by ministry officials using internal and external experts, independent experts, third-party institutions and, in this case, additionally two university professors provided their expertise to assess the proposal.

In order to ensure value for money, we do have safeguards against the company’s performance. That includes a holdback of funding, which we did, covenants around project completion, and a requirement to have an independent auditor confirm that the investment was made in accordance to the agreement. If a company falls short in any of these areas, the ministry can and will take appropriate action to safeguard—

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

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Again to the Premier: Facedrive’s stock has fallen while the company’s executives cashed out—but not before they dumped thousands of dollars into Conservative Party coffers.

The grant this government claimed—and claims—was vigorously evaluated didn’t create any jobs in Ontario. The technology doesn’t work and no companies are apparently using those beeping devices anymore.

There is no excuse for this government wasting millions of dollars in a grant to their buddies while Ontarians lack the services they need in education, health care and more.

So, Speaker, to the Premier: Will he do the right thing? Will he call up his buddies at Facedrive and demand that they pay back the millions they got for this lucrative contract that didn’t create a single job in Ontario?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: From day one, our government has been focused on keeping the people of Ontario safe. That’s why we introduced programs to lower the hurdles for domestic companies to do this research and support our response to the pandemic.

The Ontario Together Fund program supported 45 projects in Ontario and leveraged more than $187 million in private sector investments. That allowed us to reduce our dependence on unreliable supply chains.

In the beginning of the pandemic, like I said, very little PPE was made here. Now more than 74% of what the government purchases is domestically produced, mostly here in Ontario. It’s unfortunate the member opposite and their party said no—no to the additional $50,000,000 we put in the Ontario Together Fund. They said no to those medical diagnostic companies in Mississauga and no to PPE producers in Kitchener and Scarborough. Our government will continue to provide those resources.

COVID-19 immunization

Mr. Roman Baber: My question is to the Minister of Labour. Every day the minister claims to stand up for all Ontario workers, but he is not standing up for thousands of Ontario workers who are losing their jobs daily because of their lawful choice not to take medication. Now, although the government did not mandate vaccines anywhere but long-term care, instead they have employers and institutions do the work for them. We’re learning of health care workers being let go in Toronto, London, Windsor and Ottawa. According to the education minister, as many as 50,000 education workers may be at risk.

The minister’s song and dance about how proud he is of Ontarians, and that we’re all in this together, is becoming tiresome. Will the Minister of Labour acknowledge the human catastrophe unfolding under his watch, and will he lift a finger to protect hundreds of Ontario workers from termination? Yes or no?

Hon. Monte McNaughton: We’re going to continue to protect the health and well-being of all of the people in this province. I’m proud of the legislation our government tabled this week. Premier Ford and our government tabled legislation called the Working for Workers Act. We’re taking a number of steps to ensure that workers in this province have bigger paycheques, more take-home pay, more worker protections in workplaces. Our goal, always, is to continue to spread opportunity so people out there can get jobs with pensions and benefits.

A number of components in our legislation include cracking down on those bad actors in the temporary help agency sector; recognizing foreign credentials for those immigrants who are here in Ontario—only 25% of them are working in fields that they studied and have experience in. We want them to have meaningful jobs and fill the labour shortage.

Mr. Speaker, I’m happy to talk more about components of our bill in the supplementary.

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

Mr. Roman Baber: What bigger paycheques? People are losing their paycheques. What pensions and benefits? People are losing pensions and benefits because they’re being fired for cause.

It’s astonishing that the Minister of Labour has no mercy, no compassion to even acknowledge the human catastrophe caused by him and his government. Thousands of Ontarians who have done nothing wrong but to refuse to take medication are being fired for cause.

At the start of the pandemic, Chiara Elliott was working as a PSW at the London Health Sciences Centre and training to become a nurse. She worked in the COVID-19 ward at the height of the fear. She contracted COVID-19 and was sick for a month. She went back to the COVID-19 ward, and last April, she accomplished her dream of becoming a nurse. Last Friday, she was terminated for failing to vaccinate. This is despite testing negative three times a week and having a high antibody count, which is good enough for the government caucus but not good enough for LHSC.

She is a single mother, and because she was dismissed for cause, she is not eligible for EI. Chiara cared for hundreds if not thousands of the minister’s own constituents.

What does the Minister of Labour have to say to Chiara? And I hope that he speaks directly into the camera.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

Hon. Monte McNaughton: I’m proud of the people in this province. In fact, about 88% of eligible people have had a single dose, and we’re at about 84% double-vaccinated, here in Ontario. The people of Ontario have done an incredible job in battling this global pandemic.

To the member opposite: Ontario is in a much better place than most other provinces and many jurisdictions around the world.

Mr. Speaker, we’re going to continue working for workers. We’re going to continue to ensure that they have bigger paycheques to support themselves and, most importantly, have a better standard of living for their families. We’re bringing in workplace protections, things that the former Liberal government, with the support of the NDP, did not take any action on. We’re going to continue to spread opportunity more widely and fairly to help people get into jobs with pensions and benefits, like the skilled trades. We’ll work for workers every single day.

Economic development

Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos: Speaker, for years, the NDP-Liberal coalition made Ontario a hostile environment in which to do business. Ontario’s economy was built on the strength of industries like our natural resources, manufacturing, farming, and food processing. But the Liberals’ hydro mess, high taxes and failure to support our businesses and manufacturing community meant that Ontario could not compete for global jobs and investment. Unfortunately, communities like my riding of Oakville North–Burlington, which is well positioned for attracting investment, were neglected by the previous Liberal government.

Can the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade tell the House how our government is working to make Ontario investment-ready?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Thank you to the member from Oakville North–Burlington for the question.

From day one, our government has made Ontario open for business, open for investment and open for jobs. That’s why our government is launching the Site Readiness Program, to help municipalities and landowners prepare industrial sites for investments that will drive growth to the region and create jobs.

One of the missing pieces in the province’s land inventory was the diversity of industrial sites to meet the need of a variety of industries. The launch of our Site Readiness Program will offer municipalities and industrial landowners across the province more flexibility to bring their sites online more quickly. This means that communities across Ontario will better be able to compete globally and provide more options to attract investments to the province.

Speaker, we encourage all local mayors and their partners to join us as we unleash Ontario.

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

Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos: We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way we do business. Site selectors and investors are working under shorter timelines and increased pressure. They are relying on new tools, data and digital resources such as websites, maps, drone video and reports for more of their site selection work than ever before. And site selectors and investors require immediate access to comprehensive site details to confirm the feasibility of a location.

Speaker, can the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade explain how property owners in my community of Oakville North–Burlington and across Ontario will benefit from the Site Readiness Program?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Our government recognizes that the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the way we do business. The new Site Readiness Program responds to this new reality, and it provides site selection consultants and investors worldwide the information they need to quickly recognize a site’s strengths and potentials. It will help communities make their properties investment-ready more quickly. It will expand Ontario’s industrial land inventory and support a wider range of investment opportunities.

Our Site Readiness Program will build on the success of our two existing industrial land development programs. We’ve had a very successful Job Site Challenge, which identifies mega sites for Ontario for all of the great projects that are looking to come to Ontario. And the other is the Investment Ready: Certified Site Program, and that provides provincial certification and market support for sites once there’s due diligence done.

Speaker, with all these programs in place, we’re ready to market Ontario as the best place in the world to do business.

Optometry services

Ms. Suze Morrison: My question is for the Premier. My office has been flooded with emails and calls from constituents who are angry that they’re being denied access to essential vision care. Yesterday, I heard from Jennifer, who is an Indigenous parent in my riding. Jennifer’s 14-year-old daughter, Autumn, has had headaches and burning eyes for almost two months now. Jennifer is concerned that her daughter has developed an eye issue.

But when she called her local optometrist to make an appointment, she was shocked to learn that no one under the age of 20 or over the age of 65 is able to visit an optometrist here in Ontario right now. She was told that if Autumn needed eye care, the only option would be to take her to the emergency room.

Jennifer wants to know why her daughter has to suffer because this government is refusing to negotiate a fair deal with optometrists.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the member for Eglinton–Lawrence, the parliamentary assistant.

Mrs. Robin Martin: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. I feel very much for Jennifer and her daughter, Autumn. I can tell you that we’re certainly extremely disappointed that, at the urging of the Ontario optometrists’ association, optometrists have chosen to withhold publicly funded services to children and seniors. It’s due to the fact that the OAO has selected a mediator, refused to meet the mediator’s conditions and has refused to come back to the table for negotiations, although there is a standing invitation to do so.

It’s especially concerning because optometrists keep telling members of the public that they are ready to negotiate, but they do not come back to the table. The current impasse lies squarely at the feet of the Ontario optometrists’ association.

We are more than anxious to get them to come back to the table to negotiate a fair deal. We’ve put an offer on the table. We’ve made an upfront good-faith payment of $39 million, and we’re really hoping that they will come back so we can make sure that residents get the care that they deserve.

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

Ms. Suze Morrison: Calls to my office from people unable to make an appointment with their optometrist are becoming more desperate. It has now been almost two months since seniors and kids in our province have been unable to access necessary vision care.

The previous Liberal government badly underfunded vision care for kids and seniors, letting this problem spiral out of control, but now, this government is refusing to pay for a fair plan with optometrists. They simply don’t want to spend the money to ensure that children and seniors in this province have access to essential vision care.

When will this government get back to the table and negotiate in good faith with the optometrists?

Mrs. Robin Martin: Thank you again to the member opposite. We are at the table, ready, willing and able to negotiate every day. There is a standing invitation, as I said, from the mediator, who was chosen by the Ontario optometrists’ association, and we are all ready to negotiate any time they will come back to the table. We encourage everybody out there to encourage optometrists to come back to the table. That is the place that a deal will happen.

But I can tell you that this government is acting in good faith. We’ve already put a fair and reasonable offer on the table, including an immediate compensation increase of 8.48%, retroactive to April 1, to catch up increases that physicians had over the last 10 years or so since optometrists last had an agreement; also, a one-time payment of $39 million which has already gone into the accounts of optometrists, again, to catch up; future fee increases to align with physician increases; and an immediate working group to go over their other concerns and continue to negotiate.

We are ready, willing and able. We hope they will come back to the table immediately so that people like that Jennifer and Autumn can get the care that they deserve.

Land use planning / Electric vehicles

M me Lucille Collard: My question is for the Premier. In 2017, an expert panel suggested that Highway 413 not be built. This project would destroy large sections of nature and farmland. When you build more infrastructure for cars, you encourage more people to drive. To fight the climate crisis, we should be encouraging people to choose greener transportation methods, yet instead of investing in public transit, the government plans to build a brand new highway.

My question is, does the government have a plan to reduce Ontario’s reliance on cars, and, if so, how does building a $6-billion highway play a

part in this plan?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Associate Minister of Transportation to respond.

Hon. Stan Cho: I appreciate the question because it gives me an opportunity to address several important issues that the member raises, not least of which is protecting our environment, which is why I’m proud that our government has expanded the greenbelt, unlike her government that changed it 17 times. We’re also building historic transit, $28.5 billion towards that, to make sure, when possible, people who don’t want to drive have the options to be able to get from point A to point B.

Speaker, though, when it comes to highways, today’s population of Ontario is nearly 15 million people. In 30 years, 15 million people will be the population of the greater Golden Horseshoe alone. That’s a lot more people in this province and a lot more people who have no choice but to drive. That’s why our great Minister of Economic Development is investing into the electrification of vehicles. That’s hugely important.

But also important, Speaker: We need to make sure these cars are moving, not idling. That actually contributes to 35% of greenhouse gas emissions from cars on the road. We’re going to invest in the growing population here in Ontario and make sure we invest in highways and transit across the entire province.

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

M me Lucille Collard: Mr. Speaker, this government claims to support electric car manufacturing and intends to make Ontario a hub for this industry, and that’s great. Unfortunately, the government’s past actions do not support this, as in 2018 they cancelled the rebate program which offered up to $14,000 to those who purchased electric cars. This puts us behind other jurisdictions such as BC, Quebec and the United States, where governments are encouraging consumers to buy electric. The government is also not taking action to improve electric car infrastructure, having gone as far as to rip existing charging stations out of the ground.

If the government wants Ontario to be a hub for electric car manufacturing, what is the plan to make electric cars accessible to consumers and convenient to use?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. When you think about where we were only a few years ago in the province of Ontario, with automakers questioning their own success or viability—or existence—here in Ontario, we lowered the cost of doing business for them and other businesses by $7 billion a year. That brought Ford, General Motors and Stellantis to the table. They have made commitments and we have backed those commitments, starting with Ford at $295 million. Our investments in the electric vehicle—you will see them outlined in the near future, but it began with $295 million.

Our investments will be on the supply side, Speaker. We’re looking at battery manufacturers. We’re working with our critical minerals. We are going to make Ontario the electric vehicle hub of North America.

Long-term care

Mr. Jim McDonell: My question is to the Minister of Long-Term Care. Ensuring the health and safety of our residents in long-term care has been our government’s top priority. We know that long-term-care residents have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and when our government took office in 2018, the inspections backlog had grown to over 8,000 files. This backlog of complaints and critical incidents included allegations of sexual assault, physical abuse and negligence. This is something that our government cannot stand for.

To the minister: After decades of neglect, what investments are our government making to ensure that the days when bad actors could get away with anything less than quality care for our long-term-care residents are over?

Hon. Rod Phillips: I would like to thank the member for Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry for the great work he does and for this question.

Mr. Speaker, just this week, I announced $20 million in funding to hire just under 200 more inspection staff. What does that mean? That means there will be double the number of inspectors, 344 on-the-ground inspectors—slightly more than double the inspectors—to be doing the important work of reviewing and inspecting our long-term-care homes. That means Ontario will have a ratio of one inspector for every two homes, the best ratio in Canada, which is what it should have.

It also means three things. It means that as we introduce proactive inspection programs, which were recommended by our long-term-care commission, inspectors will have the time to work with homes. It will also mean that the unannounced inspections that respond to critical incidents will take place and take place in a timely way. Third, it also means that among our new inspectors, we’ll have an investigative team—a team that has the skills required in the extreme circums