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June 2, 2025

44th Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2025-Jun-02 vol. A (PDF)

L020A - Mon 2 Jun 2025 / Lun 2 jun 2025

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 2 June 2025 Lundi 2 juin 2025

Orders of the Day

Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 pour protéger l’Ontario en favorisant le libre-échange au Canada

Members’ Statements

Veterans

Labour dispute

Riding of Etobicoke–Lakeshore

Brant Community Healthcare System

Forest firefighting

Wasaga Beach

Environmental protection

Laine Schubert

Rural road safety

House sittings

Introduction of Visitors

Wearing of jerseys

Question Period

Government accountability

Government accountability

First Nations consultation

Government accountability

Government accountability

Government accountability

Interprovincial trade

Government’s record

Government accountability

Northern economy

Hospital parking fees

Health care

Sports and recreation facilities

Pension plans

Education

Deferred Votes

Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2025 / Loi de 2025 sur le plan pour protéger l’Ontario (mesures budgétaires)

Protect Ontario Through Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 pour protéger l’Ontario en rendant les rues plus sûres et les collectivités plus fortes

Primary Care Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 sur les soins primaires

Time allocation

2025 Ontario budget

Introduction of Visitors

Introduction of Bills

Ethiopian Heritage Month Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 sur le Mois du patrimoine éthiopien

Notwithstanding Clause Limitation Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 visant à limiter le recours à la disposition de dérogation

Petitions

Social assistance

Youth mental health

Endangered species

Social assistance

Social assistance

Water quality

Environmental protection

Midwifery

Endangered species

Interprovincial trade

Social assistance

Caregivers

Interprovincial trade

Health care

Orders of the Day

Safer Municipalities Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 pour des municipalités plus sûres

Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 pour protéger l’Ontario en construisant plus rapidement et plus efficacement

Time allocation

Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2025 / Loi de 2025 sur le plan pour protéger l’Ontario (mesures budgétaires)

Report, Integrity Commissioner

More Convenient Care Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 pour plus de soins commodes

Primary Care Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 sur les soins primaires

Consideration of Bill 2

The House met at 0900.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Good morning.

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 pour protéger l’Ontario en favorisant le libre-échange au Canada

Mr. Fedeli moved third reading of the following bill:

Bill 2,

An Act to enact the Buy Ontario, Buy Canadian Day Act, 2025 and the Ontario Free Trade and Mobility Act, 2025 and to amend various other Acts / Projet de loi 2, Loi édictant la Loi de 2025 sur le Jour « Achetons ontarien, achetons canadien » et la Loi ontarienne de 2025 sur le libre-échange et la mobilité et modifiant diverses autres lois.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the minister.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Thank you very much, Speaker. Our time will be split with Minister Kerzner and Minister Lecce.

This is an historic piece of legislation, and we’re very proud to rise in the House today to speak to it.

Now, I think the best place to start is to try to explain what interprovincial free trade is actually all about. I know all of the members in the House are really interested in listening to this. Let me start with the explanation—I’ll give you an example, Speaker, of all that’s wrong with interprovincial trade, and I’ll start with an example that, over the years, we were actually able to fix.

Now, I know the member from Timiskaming–Cochrane will recall the issue we had with Tembec some years ago. I live in the city of North Bay. It’s 45 minutes from the Quebec border, and there was a plant, the Tembec pulp and paper plant.

The way interprovincial trade didn’t work in the past was that trucks leaving North Bay with lumber or travelling through North Bay with logs would drive all the way—the 45 minutes—into the province of Quebec, stop over the bridge that leads you from Ontario to Quebec, over the river, park, have to uncouple the tractor from the trailer, the tractor would then drive back to Ontario, the trailer would stay there, and a Quebec tractor would back up, link up with the trailer and drive it 60 feet across the road allowance—60 feet; it’s the width of the road—onto Tembec’s property.

So, if you’re driving in from Ontario, you come across the bridge to the border, you normally just turn left and you’re into Quebec, but you must stop there, drop your trailer, a Quebec vehicle pick it up and cross the street with it, then uncouple there and drive away, and Tembec’s vehicle would come and pick it up and take it right in their parking lot.

So this is all that’s wrong. When you hear about why we need to fix interprovincial trade, this is the poster example of why we need to fix interprovincial trade. Now, this particular issue we worked on many years ago and got fixed. So this isn’t an issue anymore. I’m using it as an example of all that is wrong with interprovincial trade, the way it stands today across Canada. This is the kind of nonsense that you put up with to protect each other’s province. I don’t know what the heck that protected—a driver for 60 feet. I don’t know how that did anything.

But that’s why we’re so proud to stand here today and talk about the actions that we’ve taken to date on interprovincial trade. That’s one from a long time ago, but a heck of a great example of the ridiculousness of not having free trade amongst our own provinces.

Since we have taken office, our government has acted to reduce interprovincial trade barriers in several ways. Early in the game—we’ve been in government here seven years—we actually removed three of what we call party-specific exceptions under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, and that was related to energy, it was related to hunting and it was related to securities. It was a big deal, getting rid of three of them.

When the Canadian Free Trade Agreement was signed by all 13 provinces and territories and the federal government, everybody ran off and had a whole bunch of exceptions: “You can do that, except we can’t do this. You can do that, except we can’t do that. You can do this, except we need this tucked over here.” So we got rid of three of our exceptions early in the stage.

We’ve also been very early and strong advocates to advance what we call mutual recognition. What that is, basically, is if you recognize us for a product, we’ll recognize you—it’s mutually recognizable—including the launch of a pilot program all 13 provinces and territories signed on to in the trucking sector. We agreed in that sector to recognize each other’s regulatory requirements even though a difference exists.

What that means is, yes, you do it different than us, but if it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for us. Although you do it differently, we will accept it as being equal. So all 13 provinces and territories signed that pilot trucking agreement. It’s to do with the length of trucks or the—some time ago, you could not drive from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast in the same truck without changes.

The requirements in your first aid kit in each province was different—how many Band-Aids you needed, what size they had to be, how much gauze you needed, how thick the gauze had to be; all that nonsense, believe it or not. It needs to be standardized, and so that’s done. The tire pressure in each province was different. All that’s fixed. So now this trucking pilot says, “Let’s actually put this to work now and see.” So we were in great shape, all 13 signed on to the trucking pilot, so we were making very good progress.

We brought in here in Ontario an as-of-right rule, and that allows health care professionals to practise in Ontario immediately, and we removed interprovincial exemption limits on alcohol in 2019. There was a historic case, if you remember. We’ve talked about it here in this Legislature before, where somebody from New Brunswick bought some beer in Quebec, drives over the border, RCMP stops, arrests the guy, confiscates the beer and charges him. He takes it all the way to the Supreme Court and loses.

So, in answer to that, here in Ontario and in many other provinces, we just lowered—well, we actually removed—the limit on alcohol so that people can carry a larger volume of alcohol across the borders.

So that’s where we were before the threat of the tariffs. Obviously, we need to do more. You can’t just fix tire pressure and fix the first aid kit and allow beer and wine to be carried back and forth a little easier, and also, although it was a very good one, the as-of-right rule for health care professionals. It’s not enough. We still have a lot of blockages.

Ontario alone still had 23 exceptions. Quebec has 39, to give you some scale. Now, we come to today: the threat of the tariffs. We’re facing a once-in-a-generation threat. We’ve talked about this many times: The threat is coming from south of the border, some illegal, some unjustified tariffs that are put in. This is the closest ally, two closest allies—for 150 years we have been each other’s ally, fighting side by side. The Canada-US trade relationship is the largest in the world. This is what we do. We trade with each other. We build things not for each other; we build things with each other. This is what we’ve done for a hundred years.

In fact, Ontario alone—not Canada, just Ontario alone—does $500 billion a year of two-way trade between Ontario and the United States. That’s what we do. Canada is also the number one purchaser of American goods. If you look it up, you’ll find Canada buys more goods from the States—more, and I’m going to go by memory—than Japan, South Korea, the UK, Italy, France and Germany combined, by the way. I might be off by one of those countries. I might be short by one of the countries. The point is we are by far the number one purchaser of goods out of the US. We are their number one customer to 17 states.

We are the number 2 customer to 11 more states: 38 states. Nine million Americans wake up every morning to ship goods to us. This has been a mutually beneficial relationship because it thrived on free trade. Investment, good-paying jobs: They’ve been created on both sides of the border because of this free trade.

But that’s no longer the case. The policy decisions that have been made in the States are made by continued chaos. That’s what’s happening every day. One day, the tariffs are on. One day, the tariffs are off. One day, they’re growing. It changes on a daily basis. One morning, the President wakes up and decides to put a tariff on X. The next day, the tariff is off. The next day, the tariff is back on but bigger. The next day, it’s off by a fraction.

We saw the President come out last week after our steel industry again. He announced he would double tariffs on the sector in a bid to protect American jobs. But these measures don’t protect any American jobs; they threaten American jobs. First of all, steel becomes more expensive to buy in the States. It’s a tax on every American. That’s what it is. You build a refrigerator, a car, all of these things that need steel, when we are one of the largest steel-producing exporters into the United States—25% of what they buy comes from us.

So they threaten American industries. They threaten the integrated supply chain. It’s going to drive up costs. It’s going to jeopardize all the hard-earned savings. We’ve seen the US stock market is still down by several thousand points thanks to these changes. President Trump, he wants our jobs and he wants our industries. We fought hard here in Ontario to bring $70 billion worth of industries into Ontario. President Trump wants those industries put in the States and he wants those jobs put in the States. He thinks that these protectionist policies are going to unlock American growth and prosperity.

We disagree. Our government believes in free and fair trade. That’s why we need to ensure that here in Canada we have free and fair trade within our own borders. At least we need to start by getting that part right. The crisis we’re facing requires us to move faster. We can thank President Trump for one thing: He actually got us to do free trade within our own provinces now as opposed to seven years we’ve been working on it and moving incrementally. But this all requires Ontario to be the lead nation, showing our boldness and showing our ambition, and that’s exactly what this legislation does.

We’ve talked, also, about the benefits of reducing interprovincial trade. We can’t be clearer: Ontario, right now, is the largest player in interprovincial trade. We do $326 billion of interprovincial trade annually, and that is equivalent to 28.5% of our GDP. That’s our economy: 28.5% of our economy is done with other provinces and territories.

Interprovincial trade is up more than $75 billion since we took office, but we intend to grow it by more. We know the economic benefits that will stem from further growth, not only in Ontario but right across the country. Right now, interprovincial trade barriers are driving up costs and holding back our national economy. Interprovincial trade adds 14.5% to the cost of goods that you buy at stores, that your families buy across Canada. Removing interprovincial trade barriers could see Canada boost our national growth by between 4% and 8% every year. That’s a potential gain of $200 billion every year just by releasing our interprovincial trade, because of the added costs.

Remember I told you about the trucking thing? All that costs money to do those things. Everything along the line that we touch ends up costing money. That’s all it does, it costs money, and that money gets added to the price of the goods. It didn’t make the trucking any safer to standardize, it didn’t make it less safe that we standardized what goes into a first aid kit or the tire pressures, to make these things standard, but it saved a lot of time and a lot of money, and that money is saved by the consumer.

So, it’s $200 billion a year across the country. Ontario’s share, you would think, would be 40%, because we’re 40% of the size of the country, but we’re already doing so much in interprovincial trade, we’re already leaders, we’ve already accepted so much, that our share would be about $23 billion. You know what it takes to land $23 billion worth of business? This would be done almost instantly. That is phenomenal—phenomenal—growth just by releasing these tools.

Trevor Tombe is one of the leaders in this area. His new research that came out last week shows a reciprocal, mutual recognition, which we’ll talk about, between Ontario and Nova Scotia could boost GDP by $4.1 billion every year; Ontario and New Brunswick, $5.9 billion; Quebec and Ontario, $32 billion, if we unleash all of these things. We’ve got to knock down these barriers that are locking our provinces down. We’ve got to unlock them and release our country’s full potential. It has never been more important now, with this threat.

So, if you look at us as a country, we’re stuck in the past. Think about the EU: 27 countries. It’s easy to do business across those borders. You don’t even need a passport getting back and forth. Goods travel at the speed of light almost. That’s how easy it is for goods to travel in the EU—27 different countries.

You look at the States: 50 US states. They don’t throw up barriers to each other’s workers and the products the way we do here in Canada. Some Canadian businesses face more red tape moving goods from Ontario to Alberta than from Toronto to Texas. That’s just an absolute reality. That’s what has to change. If we want to compete globally, we need to start acting as a modern economy right here at home. That’s why Ontario is stepping up to lead where others are. We want to push Canada into the 21st century.

We’ve had a tremendous amount of support from our stakeholders. We’ve heard from small manufacturers, wine growers, regional chambers. They all agree this legislation will make it easier to do business. As the Canadian Federation of Independent Business put it, “The [Ontario] government has turned the US-Canada trade war into positive action—encouraging Ontario and other provinces to unite in removing internal barriers” and growing our opportunity.

There are lots of other examples, Speaker, but the real issue is that this is not a partisan issue; it’s a productivity issue. No matter what your political stripe is, you want more jobs, less red tape and a stronger economy. That’s what we’re all looking for and that’s what we’re seeing at the first ministers’ meeting. The urgency of reducing interprovincial trade barriers has united parties. They don’t always agree, but because the evidence is so overwhelming, the benefits are national in scope. This bill reflects what Canadians expect from their governments: collaboration across jurisdictions and political divides that are taken apart so that we can have real results.

Let’s tell you a little bit about what we did. We have removed those PSEs, those exceptions that we talked about, the 23 that we have. Ontario just removed them. They’re gone already. If you go in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement and look up the exceptions, you’ll see Quebec at 39, other provinces have many. Ontario, it will actually say, “None.” That was done. That was done before—didn’t need legislation to do. We’ve removed those. We are now exposed. We expect all of the other provinces and the federal government, who has promised to remove all of their exceptions by July 1—we expect that to be delivered on.

We’re taking them at their word. Our 23 exceptions are gone. We went a step further than jurisdictions like Nova Scotia. We are lowering our costs, allowing greater market access and working towards expanding the GDP to $200 billion by our first step.

But there’s a couple more—there’s three more. One is mutual recognition. What do we mean by that? As I said earlier, there’s way too many rules and regulations because we have slight differences. This mutual recognition that’s in the bill will allow for us to mutually recognize another province’s goods if they recognize our goods. We know that every province already has strong health and safety standards, and we can trust that the goods coming from one province are safe for use in another and vice versa. Our Canadian laws protect us. Our provincial laws protect us.

If a product is safe in Saskatchewan, it’s certainly safe to use here in Ontario. If a trades person is certified in Nova Scotia, they should be able to work here, too. That’s all common sense.

We’ll use the pizza example. Premier Tim Houston of Nova Scotia uses the pizza. He says that we make a pizza here, it’s packaged in a certain box, it’s labelled a certain way, it’s covered in a certain thickness of plastic. That’s their pizza. They want to ship that? Well, we may have a different thickness of plastic that we need allowed in Ontario or a different grade of cardboard or a different size. For whatever reason, our regulations have shown that.

What we’re saying is, yes, there may be a slight difference in the packaging standards, but for heaven’s sake, if it’s been passed and through all the regulations of one province. We should understand that it’s different but treat it as equivalent.

That’s what mutual recognition is. That’s how we get goods flowing back and forth. They don’t want to ship the pizza here because they would have to repackage it with a slightly different shrink wrap, so we don’t get their pizza here. We stop that trade. And if they do make all those changes, it would be more expensive here. That’s what we’re talking about. That’s the kind of nonsense that gets in the way of trading freely amongst ourselves—never mind the States or Europe or Asia—just amongst ourselves, 13 provinces and territories. That’s what mutual recognition is.

The trucking sector is also the other one, and I’ll tell you a little bit about that. Again, we have different rules in the trucking sector—this pilot that I talked about. Trucking is $40 billion a year, 63 million shipments a year. We cannot afford to have different rules in every province. So there’s a lot of redundancies that this legislation will get rid of. Our bilateral deals are already creating momentum. We’ve signed MOUs with Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba—yesterday, the Premier was in Saskatchewan signing a deal with them—with PEI and Alberta. We’ve got six down and six to go. That’s where we are.

Those agreements by all of us, the seven of us now, send a very clear message: The time has come to tear down all unnecessary barriers that are costing all our families more money and more business.

Labour mobility: We need to ensure there is efficient and productive labour mobility across the country as well. Workers who are trained and registered in one province should not be held back from working in another just because of bureaucracy. Our legislation will work with provinces on, again, a reciprocal basis to ensure our workers can practise in other jurisdictions immediately and out-of-province certified workers can do the same here. We are going to expand our as-of-right entry more broadly so we can get more workers here faster.

So, a worker will be deemed registered with the regulators as soon as their registration documents are submitted. That means an architect in Manitoba can come to Ontario and start working and have six months to get their paperwork in order. It’s a little bit of flip the order. They can come now, get their paperwork in order and then go to work, or they can, under our new rules, come now, go to work on Monday morning and get their paperwork done. They still have to register with the regulatory body, but this will allow them to be working as they’re completing their registration.

There’s going to be time limits on the regulators to ensure they’re processing applicants as fast and effectively as they can, because this is what it’s all about: It’s speeding up all of this.

We’ll also go to the third item, the direct-to-consumer sales. Again, you remember I told you the story about the guy in New Brunswick who brought beer over from Quebec, got charged, Supreme Court, turned down. We’ve fixed that so that you can now be in Quebec, come to Ontario, pick up a couple of cases of beer and take it back over the border—there’s no problem, there’s no issue, there’s no limit. But if you’re in another place and you like the case of wine that you bought in Ontario, well, now you can order it and have it shipped directly to your home. That’s what direct-to-consumer sales are.

And this legislation moves us closer to a full DTC, direct-to-consumer model, right across Canada.

We’ll begin, once again, by negotiating MOUs with other interested provinces. It will allow consumers in those reciprocal provinces to buy alcohol directly from the Ontario producers and for Ontario consumers to buy directly from producers in other provinces. So a guy in BC might want to buy a nice case of Niagara ice wine and somebody in Niagara might want to buy a case of wine from Quebec. This is what the direct-to-consumer is all about. Think about this example that we heard from Wine Growers Ontario at committee last week.

This is their words: Oftentimes families and couples will come from out of province to visit Ontario wineries in the Niagara county. They try the wonderful made-in-Ontario wine and they want to order some to their house. Well, oftentimes they want to purchase more than one bottle. They want a case of 12 bottles. If they’re from Saskatchewan, they’ll ask the winery if they can have it shipped to their house. And as you know, the wineries are not allowed to ship directly to their house. So they have to take the box of wine from the winery.

Now, you can imagine the enormous revenue that we lose when they say, “Well, I can’t carry that; I can’t take that home in my luggage.” That’s why we have a direct-to-consumer model. It will increase the sales. This is what Wine Growers Ontario told us at committee last week. The increased competition will broaden the choice and drive down costs. This is a massive opportunity for Ontario producers, giving them direct access to the entire country now.

So, there’s a window of opportunity right now for provinces to remove these barriers. We are rightfully criticizing the US for unjustified tariffs on Canadian goods. It’s hard to continue saying that while we uphold measures here in Canada to put our own tariffs on each other. It doesn’t matter the political stripe; we’re seeing right now an unprecedented consensus around this issue.

We saw, as I mentioned, that Premier Doug Ford has signed six MOUs already. Parties of all stripes have signed the MOUs. We have everything in this country to be an economic powerhouse. In Saskatchewan, potash, uranium; in Alberta, a wealth of oil and gas and natural resources; in Ontario, our critical minerals, a manufacturing hub that’s like no other in the world. Countries around the world would love to have what we have here in Canada. We have something of everything. So, the provinces need to start relying on each other, trading with each other more easily, and that’s what the six MOUs we signed do.

They move us closer to ensuring that the free trade and labour mobility exist within our country.

So, Speaker, this legislation, along with our action that we’ve already taken to remove the 23 party-specific exemptions, is the most ambitious provincial action on interprovincial trade in Canadian history. That’s what we have done here. Canada’s founders envisioned an economic union without barriers between provinces. But here we are, more than 150 years later, and that vision of our founders is still not finished. This bill will bring us much closer.

This legislation will help a carpenter in Windsor work on a project in New Brunswick, a winery in Niagara sell to consumers in Nova Scotia, and a nurse in Thunder Bay continue to practise right here in Ontario. Now is the time for us to be bold and ambitious. Now is the time for Ontario to continue to lead the way and answer this call. We’re already seeing the benefits. We know the benefits of free trade, which is why we need to ensure that it exists within our own borders and unlock Ontario’s true potential. It starts by tearing down interprovincial trade barriers.

Speaker, I will now pass the time to Minister Kerzner.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos): I recognize the Solicitor General.

Hon. Michael S. Kerzner: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. It’s a privilege to speak today on Bill 2, the Protect Ontario through the Free Trade within Canada Act, 2025, and to congratulate my colleague the member from Nipissing, the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Madam Speaker, I want to take the Legislature on a bit of a journey, because I feel that when the minister introduced this bill, he recognized and unleashed something within us that we should be proud of, and that’s our Ontario pride, that’s our Canadian pride. When we see our Canadian flag flying, our Ontario flag flying, I think Ontario, in response to President Trump’s unjustified tariffs, feels protective and defensive and proud about who we are as Ontarians and Canadians. And that’s why I’m so proud to follow my colleague the Member from Nipissing and the Minister and speak on this bill.

I want to say that on my desk, in my office, I’m privileged to have—because it’s a great privilege to become both a member of this Legislature, because less than 2,000 of us have been elected to serve in this place. I think right now the number is around 1,985. One day, somebody will actually have a number that corresponds to their birthday. So we’re getting close to that. On my desk sits a picture of my late uncle Joseph Kerzner and President Ronald Reagan.

In the mid-1980s, my uncle was privileged, together with a delegation from Yeshiva University in New York City, to meet President Reagan, and my uncle told me for decades about why that visit was important. They talked about the umbilical ties between Canadians and Americans that go back a very long time. In fact, it was indistinguishable for many world wars when a Canadian and an American would fight along one another in defence of democracy, understanding that there must be a point in time when we must stand up and protect that which was given to us: our own freedoms and our own democracies.

I think about, seamlessly, as I became a father and my wife and I raised our three children, and we would travel to the States many times, people would talk about the bond between Canada and the US. And I think Premier Ford is a thousand per cent correct when he says, when you go to talk to an American, just like we always have, that bond and respect from one another has remained as important as it always has been—and, I might add, very respectful.

We look at the leadership of President Trump from his first term and as he began his second term, and actually, I looked at it with cautious optimism, that in terms of the world order and protecting democracy and standing up for the values that are inherently ours, I was cautiously optimistic that we would look at the relationship and enhance it from where we left off when President Trump left being the 45th president. I was optimistic even when President Trump reminded us what we have to do to fight crime and to fight crime that was going between the two borders.

And as the minister responsible for public safety called “the Solicitor General,” I went to these borders in Ontario to see for myself. And I worked with our incredible municipal police services—our First Nations police services and our OPP—to do everything that we could to be innovative and imaginative and take the threat of cross-border criminality seriously. And you know what, Madam Speaker? That’s exactly what we’ve done. As the minister responsible for the OPP, as Solicitor General, I can tell you how proud I am of our men and women who put on the OPP uniform every day.

I’m proud of our men and women that put on our municipal police services every day, and I’m proud of our men and women that serve in our First Nations police services in Ontario.

But something changed. President Trump felt that adopting a protectionist-style plan was beneficial to the world order. It may in theory be beneficial to the US, although I’m not convinced of that, and I don’t think the minister is either. But what it did is it allowed us to peel back the onion, to understand what exists locally in our own country, from the shores of Victoria to the shores of St. John’s. And if you travel—and I haven’t travelled that route yet—it’s about seven or eight hours.

It reminds us that our country is large and however insular we feel in our one of hundreds of communities here in Ontario, that we are protective of our community. That’s okay. It’s okay to love our community and to champion our community and to support our community and as MPPs to attend our local events and our local fairs, as I did even in my riding of York Centre. I had the privilege of going to the Faywood school fair yesterday—that’s a fair; it may not be a country fair, but it’s a fair—and to say, how lucky are we?

So when the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, together with a bold Premier and a bold cabinet and a bold caucus—and I hope the opposition will support us in Bill 2, because it does exactly what the Premier ran on a third mandate for, those two words: “Protect Ontario.” And I’ve said it, if I’m speaking to our stakeholders in public safety, I say protect Ontario means yes. It means yes from a public safety point of view, but it also means protecting Ontario economically. We say that each one of us has an incredible opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our community every day.

Madame la Présidente, la raison de leur survie, c’est pour faire une différence dans la vie des gens lorsqu’ils ne s’y attendent pas. Parce que nous croyons en notre province et en notre avenir, et ensemble nous bâtissons l’Ontario.

Of course, we believe in our province, and we believe in our ability to build something for everyone. What Bill 2 does—and I might add, so innovatively—is looking at our country so we can experience the best that Canada has. I’ve spoken many times about being very young, as some of the members who were from the class that I was born in, 1963, although some won’t admit that they were born in that year—I know the member from Timiskaming–Cochrane, the member from Haliburton-Brock, our former Speaker of the House and other members, we were young. We were young in 1967.

Think back: When was there an opportunity for Canada to be galvanized by an unleashing of incredible pride in reaching a milestone of a hundred years? You have to go back in our generation, now in my children’s generation, that we can’t pick one moment, as important as it was for my parents—thank God they’re still alive—and my late grandparents, to have witnessed 1967, “A Place to Grow.” There was a song written. In fact, the person that wrote that song also wrote the hockey theme song, which many of us will remember more prominently today.

We look at the times that we’re in, in 2025, understanding that sometimes you have to leave home to become a hero and make a difference. But the truth is that no one of the 124 people who are here in this place need to be called a hero. I’ll tell you why: Because everything we do here is something that we are intrinsically responsible to do. We don’t need any thanks. We don’t need a medal.

We don’t need anything other than having the privilege of serving here and to bring everything who we are on this incredible journey: our own commitment to serve, our own life’s experiences, our own courage to face everything that life throws at you when you’re an elected official. And to tell you the truth, Madam Speaker, there’s no place I would rather be than being right here.

Some of us have been elected for quite a long time. I think of my friend from Sarnia–Lambton. And getting to know the member from Sarnia–Lambton reminds me why he has served so many elections and decided—and I want to thank my friend; he’s a great friend—to put his name on the ballot again, so he’s continuing to serve. I’ll tell you why: He loves his community. Go down and spend a day with him in Sarnia–Lambton, and you will see how much everybody loves the member there.

So we look at Bill 2 and we look at the difference it will make. It will allow us, on an interprovincial basis, to firstly sell our goods to other Canadians who live elsewhere in our country. The Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade spoke of the six incredible agreements that were signed already with six provinces. I want to thank Premier Ford for not stopping. When others told him and the government, “Just cool it a bit; give it a break,” he said, “There’s no way. We’re going to go full tilt and we’re going to lead.” And do you know what, Madam Speaker?

If nothing else, having the title of Premier for Premier Ford is a high honour; to have the respect of being an MPP from his riding in Etobicoke, another high honour; to say that his brother was the mayor of Toronto, a high honour; that his father was a member of this Legislature, a high honour. But what’s incredible: The Premier, to me, is Captain Canada. Everyone knows it, everyone should celebrate it and the Premier will continue to inspire all of us.

I want to thank the Premier for also working productively with Prime Minister Carney and the government in Ottawa, understanding that when we work together on the federal level and when we work together on the municipal level—the Premier and I were together last week with mayors from northern Ontario; I see what it means to work together. The Premier brings in consensus by being a good listener, by looking at an opportunity and saying, “We can get it done.” It’s not just a slogan; it’s absolutely true.

So, when we look at Bill 2, we look at what we can do so that we can sell goods to other provinces and we can buy their goods too, seamlessly, without barriers that would otherwise prevent somebody in British Columbia or in Alberta or in Saskatchewan from enjoying the Niagara wines. I know the minister spoke about it.

When we look today at how the agri-food business has changed so dramatically, the minister and member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington himself is an expert in understanding that we can produce the best berries and the best fruits and vegetables right here, and we should be able to send them across country.

We have some emerging technologies that could benefit people in other provinces, but there are also workers who could lend an expertise by going to another province or coming to this province so that not only can we build the best Ontario, but we can unleash something, as the minister spoke of, increasing our GDP here in Canada by selling to ourselves. It sounds so basic, but it’s true. In spite of what the US is doing, we look to our alternative marketplace to sell our goods and to provide our services—and you know where that is? That’s right here. It’s in Canada.

It could be in our own backyard; it could be in our own community. I am so proud that one of the first bills that this government decided to undertake—just look at the number; Bill 2. It says how serious this government, led by Premier Ford, takes the protection of our province.

We will, as part of this bill, look at the goods and services and certified workers from other Canadian provinces to meet local standards, which will automatically be accepted in Ontario when we have a reciprocal agreement. We have, thanks to the minister and the Premier, number six and counting, and I bet when the Premier comes back from his meeting with the first ministers and the Prime Minister he’ll say, “We’ve got a few others that are going to go next.” That will happen.

And by amending the Ontario Labour Mobility Act to allow certified professionals from other provinces to work immediately in Ontario while completing a simplified registration will allow, as the minister said, especially in our Ontario communities that border other provinces, which include Quebec and Manitoba—it will be more seamless.

People think that I don’t have any roots in the north. But those who know me know, and the member from Timiskaming–Cochrane knows, that’s not true. My wife’s family was from South Porcupine and my wife’s family was also from Sudbury. My wife’s late grandfather said that the distance to the Quebec border from Monteith and from Matheson and from South Porcupine and Timmins is not that far; from Cochrane it’s not that far.

We need to make these changes so that we can have the functionality of serving across. This whole epic ethos of protectionism was something of another time, and I think when we look at history’s most serious moments, that can be the tipping point for change. I don’t want to thank the 47th President for helping us unleash this incredible moment of patriotism and moment of understanding that it’s okay to be proud. It’s not even okay; it’s great to be proud.

Madam Speaker, I spoke last week at the Police Association of Ontario’s annual meeting in Ottawa. I happened to have the privilege of meeting the daughter of Prime Minister Joe Clark. I said to her, “When you look back here, you’re a daughter of a Prime Minister, the President of the Treasury Board is a daughter of a Prime Minister, and in their leadership on the federal level, they helped bind a country together. But neither of them was able to tackle this particular issue of interprovincial trade.”

Great challenges I think are great opportunities and each generation has a responsibility to meet these challenges and to do it with energy and urgency. This is our government led by Premier Ford. Every generation has an opportunity to see light over dark and to let that light in so that we can flourish. This is our government led by Premier Ford. In each generation, we can unlock something that was there, but we didn’t know was there. That’s our pride and that’s our optimism in our future, because we believe in Ontario. We believe everything that this stands for, that this province stands for. That’s our government led by Premier Ford. So it’s a privilege, Madam Speaker.

I’ll end where it started. Our friendship with the US is unbreakable. We’re going through a challenge, but it should never be personal to those that live there. I know that what they have taught us in these last few months is everything good about who we are. It doesn’t matter where we came from or how we got here. It does not matter our faith. It does not matter our specialness. It does not matter our DNA. It matters that we’re Canadian and we’re Ontarian, and we should be incredibly proud of it.

It has been a pleasure for me to speak on Bill 2. Thank you. Merci beaucoup. Meegwetch.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos): I recognize the Minister of Energy and Mines.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Honourable members, good morning to you all. It’s an honour to rise today in support of this historic piece of legislation, the signal of our Premier and government fulfilling our word to the people of Ontario after the last election, where we sought a mandate explicitly on building a self-reliant economy, where we sought a mandate specifically on eradicating the barriers to the prosperity of Canada.

We also sought a mandate on doing the big things as a government, confronting the status quo, challenging the systems, the agencies, the lack of imagination of some public servants who choose not to see our country as stronger, more united and more self-reliant, independent of our relationships with our allies north or south.

Bill 2, although the first bill we introduced in this parliamentary session, expresses clear intent of this government to confront the challenges that impede our economic growth, the first one of which is the level of protectionism that exists within our country. We often speak as Canadians about the perilous nature of protectionism in the American left and American right, both manifest in the Democratic Party and then later in the Republican Party, and the rise of economic nationalism. And yet, we see it in the left and right in the US. We see it alive and well in every province and territory.

I am proud with the recognition that our Premier is trying to apply the role Ontario has historically played within our Confederation, a unifying role to bring people together. In that leadership, he has brought forth a challenge function to other provincial Premiers and to territorial leaders that they, like Ontario, will take action to eradicate those barriers, to lean in to free trade as a driver of growth, to add $200 billion of economic gain for the next generation of Canada. It is a beautiful legacy we can deliver together. It does not require a monetary investment. It requires the courage of government to do the big things.

And $200 billion of GDP gain is a significant value-added, keeping in mind that Ontario, with all the trade we export, $148 billion, we benefit. We stand to disproportionately benefit from this type of economic arrangement because we have a trade surplus with our provinces of $41 billion. Our workers benefit from this agreement. It benefits from the fact that people, ideas, intellectual property and innovations can move unimpeded east and west, north and south. That is what one strong nation is about.

But for too long, we’ve had 13 subnational jurisdictions that coexist without a cogent economic lens that brings us all together. While the Minister of Economic Development and Trade was being facetious when he thanked President Trump, of course, the unintended consequence of the attacks, the threats against our sovereignty and our economy is that it actually is enabling governments to have courage to confront the public policy challenges that few had the capacity to confront in the past.

That manifests, yes, on free trade, it manifests on energy corridors, it manifests on resource development. It’s talking about actually getting on with building our province. The benchmarks, I believe, are alarming for many of us who desire prosperity, who desire economic independence from America.

That’s why we’re here, because just 24 hours ago, our Premier again led by example, signing agreements in place with the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island, east and west, unifying Canadians ahead of the First Minister’s meeting today, where we’re talking about two-way trade with Alberta of over $60 billion with Ontario, with Saskatchewan north of $15 billion and nearly $2 billion for Prince Edward Island. This unlocks capacity for the province to create jobs. And so we are initiating this.

The first action we took was to eradicate interprovincial trade, the second of which was to deal with our resource challenges when it comes to the responsible development of resources. Together, these types of initiatives actually are nation-building investments. They allow us to seize our moment because there is a change in the new world order. I mean, our assumption, for my lifetime and our lifetime collectively, is that we can rely on America as a beacon of meaningful alliance, in shared democratic values, the fact that we fought in the same wars, that our history is so integrated and yet so different.

Yet President Trump has imposed unnecessary and frankly illegal tariffs—attacks on Canadian steel and aluminum, auto and so many other critical industries of Canada. It reminds us, it motivates governments to decouple. It means we need to be intentional in what we do, how we procure, the policies we drive, the desire to get Canadian resources and products to the market. Because it actually is existential for Canada if we don’t get on with doing the big things.

I’ve learned in this Legislature, through successive ministerial appointments, that or some there is a virtue in really the expression of “going along to get along,” right? Maybe it’s easier just to let the status quo to prevail. That is certainly the public policy position of many members of this House, manifested by their opposition to every bill to get a resource project done before the House. There’s one constant: It is the opposition of the New Democrats and Liberals. And that’s regrettable.

Now, pre-Trump, one could argue we disagreed ideologically. It was a different world; allow parties to have different perspectives. That’s fair game, I guess; I would disagree—but perhaps more empathy or a sense of sympathy for their opposition then.

In a post-Trump world, it is highly irresponsible to take a position that we should landlock resources, we should permit interprovincial trade barriers to remain erect, when we know the greatest threat against our federation and our economy and our future prosperity really resides with those who lack the courage to do the big things, who actually want to use the talking points of self-reliance but not actually vote for or initiate an action that decouples from America to build up onshore and repatriate jobs here back home.

That’s the intellectually honest acceptance of where we’re at amongst the political parties before us.

We know that trade barriers could add. When it comes to doing the big things, one of the big challenges we face, the mandate we saw from the people of Ontario, was a desire to reduce fees and make life more affordable. Acting upon this legislation, the first legislative product we brought forward to the people of Ontario, has the capacity to reduce costs by 14.5%, a 14.5% reduction in products that will really make a difference for families, seniors and young adults trying to build their lives.

Removing these barriers has the potential to boost our economy by 4% to 8%, a significant increase that translates to $200 billion of gain. That’s $23 billion specifically for Ontario alone. We think this is the right public policy.

It is very motivating to see other provinces follow our Premier’s lead. British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba and most recently Quebec: That’s the list who have historically opposed—particularly the latter, in Quebec—interprovincial trade harmonization, but they too are tearing down these walls, tearing down these barriers. That is a sign of unity of spirit, that at least governments of different political persuasions are united to tackle; not the case, perhaps, for opposition parties within those Parliaments.

But for the governments of the day, the duly elected governments from the NDP of BC to the Liberals in Newfoundland and Labrador to the federal government, which does not share our political party, the federal Liberals—all of us are united on two fundamentals: self-reliance is achieved by removing interprovincial trade and self-reliance is achieved by unlocking our resources for global exports, both of which are really central to the future success of Ontario, of Canada and the prosperity for generations to come.

That’s why we’re here, to bring forth legislation that enables people and goods to move east and west without the barriers that only government can conceive. That’s why we believe in this nation-building investment. We believe in securing our position as a leader in Confederation, and we also recognize that the sovereignty of Canada will depend on our ability to tackle the obstacles, the barriers and the philosophies that underpin the desire to defend the status quo.

It is promising, as a Canadian first—before my hyphenation as a Progressive Conservative, just a Canadian—to see governments at all levels do difficult things that are necessary to secure our future. That is a good thing for Canada. It is a good thing for our workers. It is a good thing for the world that desires stable, ethical, environmentally responsible resources and products. It’s a good thing for all.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos): Questions?

MPP Wayne Gates: I just want to let my colleagues know that I’ve been fighting for interprovincial trade since 2002. I’ve known for a long time. And in Niagara, in the wine industry, we’ve known for a long time because we couldn’t ship bottles of wine to BC as BC was importing grapes from Washington and from the States. So we know in Niagara how important it is to have interprovincial trade. Like I said, I raised this issue a number of times because in a number of summers, we had to have our grapes rotting on the ground because they couldn’t get in bottles to sell to BC and supply to BC. So interprovincial trade in Niagara is very, very important. The wine industry is extremely happy.

My only question here is, as we open up our markets in Ontario, what framework are we going to put in place to make sure that our medium and small wineries are going to open up their markets and make sure that as we open up our big market, they keep theirs open? I’d like to get the framework around that.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: You’re absolutely correct about the industry needing this so desperately. This is a reciprocal deal, sort of “We will open to you if you open to us.”

It is not universal; it needs to be negotiated separately with each province to make sure that they do exactly what you’re saying. If we open up Ontario to British Columbia wines, they must be open completely for our wines to be able to transfer back and forth. It shouldn’t be easier for BC to ship a case of wine to California or Florida than it is for BC to ship to Ontario. So that’s the goal.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos): Question?

MPP Stephanie Smyth: This is for the honourable member from Nipissing. Will the government keep the LCBO public?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: I will keep my comments in the context of Bill 2, as we should, when we’re debating Bill 2.

The whole idea with direct-to-consumer is the fact that—the example that I used here: When a family is here at a Niagara winery and enjoys a Niagara wine, if they want to take a bottle or two, it’s easy; taking a case with them is impossible, so they ask for it to be shipped. Today we can’t ship it. That’s the whole idea. This will open the opportunity now for these wineries to be able to ship their product directly to the consumer. That’s the whole purpose of this direct-to-consumer portion of the bill.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos): I recognize the member from Simcoe–Grey.

Mr. Brian Saunderson: My question is to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. We heard at the committee of infrastructure and heritage from many delegates about the importance of breaking down interprovincial trade barriers, and I’m wondering if the minister can speak to the House about the stakeholder engagement he had and about feedback he was hearing from Ontario businesses about this critical issue.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: I did read a quote earlier from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Now I’ll add one from the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters: This bill “is a historic step towards making the movement of goods and people freer across Canada. It is also a call to action for other governments across the country. As we face the threat of American tariffs across a range of sectors, enabling governments and individuals to help manufacturers by buying more goods made right here in Canada is timely and important.

We encourage all provinces to follow Ontario’s lead to build our country’s strength, to completely remove all internal barriers, and support industry-led initiatives that support local jobs, such as” the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters “Ontario Made program.”

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos): I recognize the member from Spadina–Fort York.

Mr. Chris Glover: I’ll address my question to the Minister of Economic Development.

I heard either you or one of your colleagues talking about, in the wake of the Trump tariffs, the importance of selling to ourselves and stopping being dependent upon the US market. But the words of this government are not matched by action. During the election, the Premier cancelled the Starlink deal then reinstated it. Just before the election, they closed small local businesses and gave ServiceOntario contracts to Staples and Walmart. They’ve also given Fedcap, a US company, charge over running Employment Ontario services.

And the biggest one of all, the biggest procurement that they’ve given to others is the $2.2-billion taxpayer subsidy at Ontario Place, which was designed—Ontario Place was originally designed to showcase Ontario innovation.

So the government says that they want to support Ontario businesses with procurement, but they’re doing the exact opposite. Why do you have so little faith and why do you provide so little support to Ontario businesses?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Since the illegal and horrific tariffs that have been placed on Canada from President Trump, we as a province of Ontario have reacted very swiftly, very boldly: $11 billion immediately put in place for business supports, $9 billion to be able to waive taxes for a half a year, $2 billion in cheques being issued back from WSIB. That’s not the first time, that’s not the second time, it’s the third set of cheques. Not only have we reduced WSIB payments—without touching benefits—by 50%, we’ve issued a check for $1.3 billion, we’ve issued a cheque for $2 billion, we’ve issued now a second cheque for $2 billion. That’s the kind of support they can expect.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos): Questions?

Mr. Deepak Anand: Madam Speaker, as we know, President Trump’s tariff has undermined the long-standing relationship between Canada and the United States. To reduce our dependency on the US, Canada must take bold actions. With the Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act, that’s what we’re doing. We are improving interprovincial trade barriers up to 14.5% to reduce the costs.

My question is to the minister. When we say the tough time is the test time, Minister, in your opinion, what is the impact of leadership during this tough time, and how are we protecting it?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: We have reacted boldly to these tariffs and boldly through interprovincial trade. The instructions from the Premier, the leadership from the Premier, is: Let us be the ones on the pointy end of the spear working with the other provinces. We began immediately by removing all 23 of our party exemptions. No other province in the history of the country has ever done that. We are open for trade, and we’ve shown that with our exemptions.

Premier Ford has done a memorandum of understanding with Nova Scotia, with New Brunswick, with Manitoba; now yesterday with Alberta, with Saskatchewan, with PEI. That is the kind of leadership that you’re going to continue to see from Ontario.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos): Questions?

Ms. Catherine Fife: It was interesting to hear the debate this morning on Bill 2. I will say everyone agrees that we should be removing these trade barriers, and there was uniform acceptance of this at committee.

In fact, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce all agreed. They were all on the same panel together. They all found consensus particularly on one issue, and that was around worker safety. The minister and I have talked about this. We want the bar to be raised because Ontario’s health and safety standards are our strength. We want workers to go to work in the morning and come home at night.

To the minister: How are we going to guarantee that health and safety standards, that are the top level in Ontario, are maintained?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Canada has some of the best labour and safety standards in the world, and those are what we will continue to protect.

The member talked about the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. I will quote from what they had to say at committee: “Breaking down interprovincial trade barriers isn’t just good policy, it’s smart business. We can’t call for freer international trade while maintaining outdated barriers at home. By removing these obstacles, Ontario is sending a strong signal that it values economic cooperation”—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): That is all the time we have for questions and answers. We’re now moving on to members’ statements.

Third reading debate deemed adjourned.

Members’ Statements

Veterans

Mr. Joseph Racinsky: This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the Fergus Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 275, to celebrate their 90th anniversary. It was a wonderful evening of socializing and celebrating.

For the last 90 years, Legions across this country have been celebrating and helping our incredible veterans. Over 100 years ago, hundreds of thousands of young men and women went to war to defend the freedoms we enjoy today. Since then, many, many more have answered the call and chosen to serve their country. It is so important for future generations to continue to remember their sacrifice and the sacrifice of all of those individuals who serve and protect us. In this time of global uncertainty, we have so much to be proud of as a nation and it is important to be reminded of that.

I’d also like to thank the Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism for his work in recognizing and celebrating our veterans. I encourage our Legion branches to nominate a veteran in their branch to receive the Ontario Veterans Award for Community Service Excellence. We can never fully repay those who have served our country, but this award will help strengthen our province by recognizing the legacy of our veterans and their contributions to building a stronger Ontario.

So again, to the Fergus Legion: Congratulations on 90 years.

Labour dispute

Ms. Jessica Bell: Workers at the Canadian Hearing Services have been on strike since April 28. Last week, I visited the picket line to show my support and learn about the organization and why CHS’s 200 workers are on strike.

What I learned is that CHS is special. It provides essential services to tens of thousands of deaf, deaf-blind and hard-of-hearing Ontarians. They conduct hearing tests. They provide

interpretation for health care visits, for counselling, for schooling and access to government services.

CHS is also special because it was founded in 1940 by the deaf, deaf-blind and hard-of-hearing community to hire, serve and be accountable to that same community.

The CHS model is now in jeopardy. It is more difficult for clients to get access to some of their OHIP-covered services or, in some cases, even access the building. Workers’ pay is well below inflation, staff are overworked, and morale is low. Staffing levels have also been cut in half from 450 to 200 people, yet at the same time, the pay for their CEO, Julia Dumanian, has nearly tripled. At the same time, management is no longer from or familiar with the needs of the deaf community. This doesn’t sit well with workers, and it doesn’t sit well with me.

On the picket line, I was struck by the underlying message of CHS workers. They want to return to work to serve their community. That is what they want. And for the health of the organization and for the deaf, deaf-blind and hard-of-hearing community, CHS leadership, it is time to make a—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the member for Etobicoke–Lakeshore.

Riding of Etobicoke–Lakeshore

Ms. Lee Fairclough: I rise today to recognize the start of Pride Month and to celebrate the remarkable contributions of those who count themselves among the 2SLGBTQI+ community in our province and in my riding of Etobicoke–Lakeshore.

Tomorrow, the Pride flag will be raised here at Queen’s Park and at the historic Montgomery’s Inn in Etobicoke–Lakeshore on Wednesday. The flag is an important and powerful symbol that everyone belongs, and that in Ontario, people can live authentically and love freely, and that diversity is our strength.

In Etobicoke–Lakeshore this month, we will also celebrate over 1,000 graduating students from our four high schools: Lakeshore Collegiate Institute, Father John Redmond, Etobicoke School of the Arts and Bishop Allen Academy. Congratulations, and I wish them all the best in their future pursuits.

I would also like to mention the upcoming summer events in Etobicoke–Lakeshore. From this weekend’s Lakeshore Village Grilled Cheese Challenge to the Taste of the Kingsway in early fall and the weekly Montgomery’s Inn and Humber Bay Shores farmers’ markets, it’s a time to really enjoy connecting in our community. Events like Lemonade for Love, the Lake Shore West Garden Tour and the Franklin Horner Community Centre Extravaganza bring in the crowds, so join us. It’s a great time of year to explore the bike trails, walk by the lake or enjoy time in our local businesses.

Brant Community Healthcare System

Mr. Will Bouma: I am pleased to rise today to speak about the landmark $12.5-million investment into the Brant Community Healthcare System to advance the project planning to build a new acute care tower and non-acute ambulatory care building to address capacity issues, aging infrastructure and increase the number of in-patient rooms.

In 1885, 12 physicians opened the doors to the Brantford General Hospital. In 1922, the Willett Hospital began serving the community in Paris, Ontario. In 1999, these two hospitals became the founding partners of the Brant Community Healthcare System.

Since then, the BCHS has been a pillar of the Brantford–Brant community. BCHS is home to a wide range of cutting-edge technology and is supported by more than 2,100 employees, nearly 400 professional staff and over 300 volunteers.

I am so proud to represent a government that understands the importance of quality, people-first health care. I would like to thank the community for coming together to help secure this planning grant, which is a major milestone on the road to a new hospital. Much still needs to be done on this critical project. I look forward to supporting the Brant Community Healthcare System’s board, management, medical professionals and support staff in the years to come. It is an honour to work with the community to ensure that Brantford–Brant is the best place to live, work, play and raise a family.

Forest firefighting

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: Ontario is facing a growing wildfire crisis. According to the last briefing from the aviation, forest fire and emergency services branch on May 27, there has been a total of 103 forest fires in Ontario since the season began on April 1. We currently have 14 active fires at the moment. They are reporting that they are seeing very dry conditions, creating hazardous situations across the province.

In the northwest, there are 10 active fires burning, including the major blaze near Kenora that expanded over 34,000 hectares and is affecting a lot of First Nations. In the northeast, we are up to four active fires, with some threatening the James Bay coast, putting more communities at risk.

Despite this escalating danger, the government’s 2024 budget reduced the emergency firefighting fund from $177 million to $135 million. This follows previous cuts, raising concerns about their preparedness and response capability.

Madam Speaker, rain is not a firefighting strategy. We need more boots on the ground, more equipment and a comprehensive plan to protect our communities. Fire season is off to a dire start, and it’s only the beginning.

To those risking their lives on the front lines, our firefighters, emergency personnel, and volunteers, please be safe and vigilant. Your dedication is invaluable, and we owe you our greatest gratitude. It is imperative that we act now to ensure the safety of our province and its people.

Wasaga Beach

Mr. Brian Saunderson: It is a pleasure to rise in this House this morning to speak on behalf of the hard-working residents of Simcoe–Grey. In early May, I was proud to welcome Premier Ford and the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming to Simcoe–Grey to announce a landmark investment of approximately $38 million to build Destination Wasaga. This premier tourism initiative will include revitalized beaches, a dynamic new downtown area and the preservation of a very important historic site developed in close partnership with the town of Wasaga Beach.

Home to the longest freshwater beach in the world, tourism has long been a key economic driver for Wasaga Beach, and as the temperatures climb, the town is preparing to roll out the welcome mat as families return to enjoy the sun, sand and surf.

Our government is committing $25 million to support the redevelopment and revitalization of Nancy Island Historic Site, widely regarded as one of the most significant War of 1812 locations in Simcoe County and the Georgian Bay region. It commemorates a defining moment in Canadian history. The battle involving the HMS Nancy played a critical role in shaping the Canadian borders as we know and love today. As part of this revitalization, stewardship of the site will be transferred from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, ensuring that Nancy Island’s historic legacy continues to be preserved and promoted.

I want to congratulate and thank Wasaga Beach mayor Brian Smith, the council, the dedicated team of staff and the tenacious volunteers with Friends of Nancy Island. Their tireless advocacy and passion for their community has helped bring this vision to life.

Environmental protection

M me France Gélinas: I want to share with this House what happens when environment protections do not apply to mining. Nickel Belt is full of nickel and copper and critical minerals needed now more than ever. But let me tell you, in about 2009, residents of Long Lake started noticing dead fish, plants and animals in areas of Long Lake. Arsenic, a by-product of gold production at the Long Lake gold mine, had started to leach into Long Lake, a long shadow lake a few minutes from downtown Sudbury. In 2012, Sudbury’s public health unit issued a drinking advisory because the level of arsenic was so high.

Some 1,000 residents who take their water from the lakes are affected. Boating, fishing, swimming are also affected.

Many of us, including the residents’ association, petitioned the government for a cleanup. The government took it seriously. They made it their number one priority for abandoned mine cleanup. That was 13 years ago.

For the last 13 years, the Long Lake gold mine leaching arsenic has continued. It continues to be the number one priority of the government, but no mediation work has started yet. This is unacceptable.

As this government promises to speed up development by letting mining companies skirt around the rules in special economic zones, I wonder if they understand the cost of cleanups versus the cost of doing things right the first time.

Laine Schubert

Mr. Dave Smith: Thursday, May 29, was retirement day for a friend of mine. Staff Sergeant Laine Schubert began his career with the Peterborough Lakefield Police on July 31, 1995. When you look back at the pictures of him in uniform from that first year, he was so young-looking, it’s hard to believe that anyone could have taken him seriously.

Throughout his career, Staff Sergeant Schubert has worked on the front line. He was a member of the emergency response team and was part of the intelligence unit.

His last assignment was to be in charge of the Community F.I.R.S.T unit. It was a new approach to dealing with some of the backlog in calls, but more importantly, it was a way for Peterborough police to have meaningful outreach and communication with the community. It was a perfect fit for Staff Sergeant Schubert.

Throughout his career, his collaborative approach meant he was seen as a mentor by many officers in the service. It’s inherent in his personality to look for ways to build relationships, build trust and build a better team. Those relationships, for him, are not just confined to the hours that he works; they’re actually part of who he is. And he frequently visits many of the other retired police officers.

It has been said that you enter a brotherhood when you become a police officer, and Laine lived those words.

Congratulations on your retirement. You’ll be missed around the station, but I know with your dedication to the community, we’ll be seeing lots of you as you volunteer in the community.

Rural road safety

MPP Paul Vickers: Madam Speaker, spring is here, and there’s no better place to enjoy warm weather than beautiful Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound. If you are a water sport enthusiast, our inland lakes provide a cottager’s haven. If you enjoy breathtaking views, Georgian Bay and the Bruce Peninsula are the places for you. And if you want to get some steps in, consider hiking the world-renowned Bruce Trail. However you wish to spend your summer, Bruce and Grey counties have you covered. But getting to these landmarks involves driving on rural roads and highways, where safety precautions are so necessary.

Therefore, I encourage all drivers to exercise caution when driving on rural roads. Never pass on a solid yellow line or when the way is not clear. Obey speed limits, and be extra careful around slow-moving farm equipment. Remember, people live here too.

I would also like to thank those who have drawn attention to rural road safety, including Grey Bruce Public Health, the United Way of Grey Bruce, the community members behind “Let’s Fix Highway 6,” and a predecessor of mine, the famous Bill Walker.

Madam Speaker, we have lost far too many lives on Ontario roads lately.

I encourage every Ontarian to drive safely this summer and to get out and see what Ontario has to offer.

House sittings

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

schedule of the House is required, and therefore the afternoon routine on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, shall commence at 1 p.m.

Introduction of Visitors

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): We have with us in the Speaker’s gallery today a cohort of interns participating in the British Columbia legislative internship program. Please join me in warmly welcoming our guests to the Legislature.

Mr. Joseph Racinsky: I’m happy to welcome mayors and senior staff from the county of Wellington who are here to meet with members of the government.

I’d also like to welcome my constituency office staff: Karen, Ashton and Sandi.

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: It’s my pleasure to announce that today’s page captain is Taylor Doyle. I’d also like to welcome her mother and father, Jenn and Reid Doyle; grandmother Brenda; sister Kenzie; and brother Patrick to Queen’s Park.

I hope you enjoy your visit.

Hon. Nina Tangri: I would like to warmly welcome Sapna and Sohal Goyal, the proud parents of Shreyas Goyal, who is serving as page captain today. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

MPP Paul Vickers: I would like to introduce Dr. Todd Webster and his wife, Christie Webster, both from Owen Sound. They are here to bring awareness to eating disorders on this World Eating Disorders Action Day.

Mr. Chris Glover: I want to welcome an exemplary community leader, Joan Prowse, from my riding, and her partner, who’s a wonderful musician, songwriter and music producer, Chris Birkett.

I also want to welcome a young champion in the community, Xavier Baldwin.

Thank you all for being here.

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: Today, I’d like to welcome Vince Accardi, Eric Forrest and Ray DeNure from the Ontario Motor Coach Association. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I want to welcome my executive assistant, Amanda Stratton, who is here from London West, and my new legislative assistant, Michelle Wodchis-Johnson, formerly of OUSA, who has joined my office here at Queen’s Park. Welcome.

MPP Billy Denault: I’d like to introduce the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming communications team, who are seated in the gallery today.

Thank you for all you do, and welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Vijay Thanigasalam: I’d like to welcome Sandra Palmaro, Kim Duffy, Dr. Debra Katzman, and all of the folks present for today’s eating disorders advocacy day. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Todd J. McCarthy: I’d like to welcome to the House today, from my riding of Durham, strong champions and advocates for seniors, housing and long-term care: Larry Corrigan and Don Farquharson. Also joining them is Paul Woodcroft, former trustee of the Durham Catholic District School Board, a champion for Community Living in Durham and a pillar of Immaculate Conception Catholic church.

Ms. Jennifer K. French: I would like to welcome visitors from the Ontario Motor Coach Association. Caroline Ravazzolo, Brian Denny and Ray Cherrey are here at Queen’s Park today. Welcome to your House.

Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos: I’d like to welcome my friend Konstantinos Sardelis, a student at De La Salle school, along with his grandfather Konstantinos Sardelis.

Hon. Sam Oosterhoff: I have the privilege of welcoming four young staff who are here today who are leaders in their field: Siobhan Noble-Poland, Samuel Van Geest, Mantoj Grewal, Adam Sa-Di Meo.

Thank you for joining us this summer. I know you’re all going to accomplish great things while you’re here.

Hon. Michael A. Tibollo: Today I’d like to recognize and welcome three individuals whose work and insight continue to shape critical conversations in mental health and the law: Dr. Karandeep Gaind, chief psychiatrist at Sunnybrook; Trudo Lemmens from University of Toronto law school; and Dr. Ramona Coelho, a family physician.

I’d also like to say—today is June 2—happy Festa della Repubblica, 79th anniversary of Italy.

Ms. Natalie Pierre: I’m happy to rise in the chamber today to welcome and recognize some special guests who are with us today from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities. I’d like to welcome Marco, Stuart, Lindsey, Mariam and Meghann to the Legislature.

Hon. Stephen Crawford: I have the pleasure of welcoming Yesenia Morillo, who is my constituency manager in the Oakville Youth Council. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

M me France Gélinas: I would like to introduce Sandra Palmaro from the Waterstone Foundation; Todd and Christie Webster, who shared their story about their son facing an eating disorder—sorry, it was a very moving story; and Dr. Debra Katzman, who is a Hospital for Sick Children pediatric lead for eating disorders. Today is eating disorder action day.

Hon. Michael Parsa: I’d like to introduce today’s page captain from the great riding of Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill, David Turcan. He’s joined by his sister Sofia and his proud parents, Elena and Veacelav Turcan.

Welcome to Queen’s Park. Congratulations on—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I apologize; we are out of time for introduction of guests. We do introduction of guests at 1 o’clock this afternoon.

I recognize the member for London North Centre on a point of order.

Wearing of jerseys

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: I’m seeking unanimous consent for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and I to wear London Knights jerseys in recognition of their massive Memorial Cup victory last night.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The member is seeking unanimous consent to wear the jerseys. Agreed? Agreed.

This being the first sitting Monday of the month, I ask everyone to join in the singing of the Canadian national anthem, followed by the royal anthem. And because we are such proud Canadians, let’s sing with vigour.

Singing of the national anthem / Chant de l’hymne national.

Singing of the royal anthem / Chant de l’hymne royal.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): You may be seated.

Question Period

Government accountability

Ms. Marit Stiles: Good morning, everybody. Happy Pride.

This question is for the Deputy Premier. Bill 5 has been an unmitigated disaster. The Premier made a promise to protect Ontario from the chaos of Trump’s tariffs, but his solution is to create no-law zones and then shut down any opportunities for criticism. He limited public input, and he has now refused to let us debate this bill.

Back to the Deputy Premier: Is the government so ashamed of the mess that he has made with this bill that they want to shut down consultations and feedback?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the Minister of Economic Development.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Premier Ford, as you know, is in Saskatoon today for the first-ministers’ meeting. Now, one of the major items they will discuss is how we can work together to fast-track major projects. Every Premier and the federal government agree that projects take too long to get approved and get built in this country. There is a political consensus that we need to move faster, and it doesn’t matter the party stripe. The NDP in BC, the NDP in Manitoba, the federal Liberals, the Conservatives here in Ontario—we all agree, and Canadians agree with us.

The Liberals and NDP continue to use a backward ideology, but our government is going to keep delivering on our promise to protect and grow Ontario’s economy.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Reminder: We do not reference whether members are in the House.

I recognize the Leader of the Opposition.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Speaker, despite the comments about backward ideology, we all want Ontario to succeed—every one of us. We want to strengthen our economy. We want to create those jobs. We want to actually protect the jobs that are leaving the province of Ontario right now.

But this bill is not about any of that, and Ontarians see through this. It is about the Premier using this moment for a massive power grab, and we see through it. No one wants to see all laws suspended or let this government do whatever they want, especially a government that is under RCMP criminal investigation.

Back to the Deputy Premier: Why is the government engaging in this absolutely shameless power grab?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: In the words of BC’s NDP Premier, David Eby, who passed legislation to fast-track approvals, “Now, we cannot allow slow permitting processes and bureaucratic processes to delay what we know has to happen. That will cost us” when we can least afford it.

Speaker, the stakes are higher than ever. We are facing a once-in-a-lifetime threat. That is why you are seeing political parties from across all spectrums rallying together and saying we need to do things faster. Unfortunately, the NDP and the Liberals in Ontario did not support us cutting red tape and ending bureaucracy. They don’t recognize the situation we find ourselves in; this is a once-in-a-generation crisis.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Treaty rights are not red tape—they are not red tape—and you can’t simply bulldoze over them. It is important for people to know what this Premier and his government are doing with this bill. They are creating no-law zones. They are overriding the authority of local governments, of First Nations rights holders. They are giving themselves a blank cheque to do whatever they want.

And I want to tell you, as unemployment reaches 10% in places like Windsor right now, one in 10 people unemployed in Windsor, this government is not helping anyone but themselves—not workers, not families, just themselves.

Will the Premier do the right thing and scrap Bill 5?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the Minister of Indigenous Affairs.

Hon. Greg Rickford: I just want to give a shout-out to all of the firefighters who are busy in northern Ontario, particularly northwestern Ontario, protecting our communities and especially our Far North First Nations communities.

Madam Speaker, in no way does Bill 5 infringe on treaty rights or compromise the duty to consult, and in no way, shape or form do we consider the duty to consult red tape. She’s actually right about that.

We know, because over the past six years, we’ve moved major resource projects, particularly mines, across important starting lines, because we’ve had the full co-operation of First Nations most proximate to those resource development projects, including and especially the Watay Power line, which I know the member from Kiiwetinoong was particularly happy about on several occasions, with his big infectious smile, taking credit for the work this government is doing to put good legacy infrastructure in isolated, remote First Nations communities.

Government accountability

Ms. Marit Stiles: Speaker, I want to go back to the Deputy Premier with this question, because this government’s decisions time and time again have actually set us back on development, particularly in northern Ontario. This is going to send us to the courts. That’s where this is headed.

The government never seems to learn. Free, prior and informed consent is necessary for projects to be delivered. Mining companies know that; everybody seems to understand that except for this government. And I want to say, failure to consult is going to put everything at risk, Speaker. There’s no question.

So, back to the government: How will getting caught up in legal battles with First Nations speed up any projects?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation.

Hon. Greg Rickford: Madam Speaker, if there’s been anything legal going on in northern Ontario with respect to this government and First Nations communities, it’s been co-proponency, agreements, community partnership agreements, that help build out the kind of legacy infrastructure that’s actually required to support modern critical mineral infrastructure for mining. These are common interests and common goals.

I wonder if the Leader of the Opposition supports the Matawa communities actually having hydro transmission. They’re the only ones in the province—through you—colleagues, who don’t have it. I wonder if they stand for better access to help social and economic programs. Their populations are shrinking. Their youth have high unemployment rates, and we see a future where, working together, that prosperity will be the kind of prosperity that we think is something that we all think they should have access to.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Well, Speaker, there are First Nations rights holders here today. No one wants to have to fight, to protest or to go to the courts, but this government proposing to pass a law and then go around and consult shows such deep disrespect, a lack of understanding. The limiting of debate that we have seen here, the way this government has just shoved this legislation through, ended consultations, stoked the fires of frustration that are out there not just among First Nations right holders but across this entire province—we know what this is about. The Premier isn’t even hiding it anymore. He’s talking about shoving through his tunnel to nowhere—please. We know what this is about.

I do not know how this government can face anyone right now knowing how you are trampling on the rights of Ontarians, so I would like to know how creating more chaos and more conflict is going bring economic security to this province.

Hon. Greg Rickford: The Leader of the Opposition, of course, once again footloose and fancy-free with the Supreme Court of Canada decisions, which set out in the clearest of terms that the duty to consult First Nations arises when the legislative process is completed, and then the government has an automatic responsibility for consultation.

Now, I’ve seen the Leader of the Opposition use court decisions to their advantage in debate here. Maybe she’d like to step outside there and make a direct criticism of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision. I won’t. We’ll be looking forward to the passage of this bill, moving out and talking to First Nations who, including this weekend, approached me with innovative ideas, including a special economic zone for different parts of northern Ontario. We’re looking forward to those conversations, and we need to get to the duty to consult in order to do that.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Question? I recognize the member for Kiiwetinoong.

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Speaker, First Nations in Ontario do not want Bill 5. I say no to Bill 5.

Last week, the government said that they respect First Nations, that they respect treaty rights. Speaker, we know the Premier is telling untruths to First Nations about—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): We’ll ask the member to withdraw.

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: But that’s the truth.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I will ask the member to withdraw.

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: That is the truth.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I will ask the member to withdraw.

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Speaker, the Premier is telling the untruths. That’s the truth.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I will warn the member. Please withdraw.

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Our rights are not being respected.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Withdraw the comment.

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: I will not withdraw, Speaker.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Sol Mamakwa, you have been named.

Mr. Mamakwa was escorted from the chamber.

First Nations consultation

Mr. John Fraser: This afternoon—you know, what we just saw here was really a clear indication of what the problems are with Bill 5. That’s how serious it is.

This afternoon, Chiefs of Ontario and many others will be on the lawn protesting Bill 5. What they’re protesting is what we just saw here, but also Bill 5 giving to the Premier king-like Trumpian powers to suspend laws wherever he wants in this province. It’s a serious issue. My colleague was asking a serious question. He spoke the truth.

So, Speaker, will the Premier kill Bill 5, go back to the drawing board, and get it right?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Response? I recognize the Minister of Indigenous Affairs.

Hon. Greg Rickford: I wonder, Madam Speaker, if the member opposite has not just visited symbolically, but actually lived or worked in an isolated First Nations community for any amount of time.

Mr. Adil Shamji: I have—many of them.

Hon. Greg Rickford: I know one of the members there has visited in his professional capacity, but I’m talking about a long time, a month in, year out time there. I know I have, and I can tell you, Madam Speaker, that the level of poverty there is something that we should all be ashamed of. That young people have the education authority, the health authority or the North West Company to look forward to as their employment opportunities has got to fundamentally change.

That’s why this government has put in place the foundational elements of access to capital, training to engage in things like the duty to consult, capacity on the ground to help support legacy infrastructure projects and resource projects, and give First Nations youth something to look forward to.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the leader of the third party.

Mr. John Fraser: Respectfully, you can’t partner with someone if you don’t listen to them and you don’t consult with them. It’s not the way it works. First Nation leaders have been sounding the alarm about Bill 5 for some time now, and what they’ve told us, Speaker—and maybe the other side doesn’t want to hear it—is that they have been hearing the words, “Idle No More,” again and again, something that they hadn’t heard in a long time. They’re not threatening us with that; they’re saying that’s what they’re hearing, but the government’s not listening.

Why is the government breaking what little trust it has with First Nations and why will the Premier not just kill Bill 5, go back to the drawing board and just get it right?

Hon. Greg Rickford: I think, with respect to Idle No More—I was involved in that extensively in my federal capacity—and I think the way we thought about is that we agreed with the idea that we don’t want young First Nations to be idle anymore. Far too often, legacy projects right in their own community, or proximal to them, or resource development projects, extraction activities were occurring 10, 20, 30, 40 kilometres away—those communities were still living in poverty, under impact benefit agreements and very few resources to appreciate what was going on there.

This government has proposed a new path forward. It put access to capital in play. It puts scholarships in play for young First Nations to university or college, to get an education to participate in these extraordinary opportunities and fundamentally change the prospects for prosperity moving forward.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the leader of the third party.

Mr. John Fraser: The Premier’s message to First Nations—and indeed, all Ontarians—with this bill is, “I’m going to do whatever I want with whoever I want wherever I want. I’m going to suspend the laws.” That’s Trump-like, “I’m going to do whatever I want to do and you can’t do anything about it, because I just created the law.”

I said something to the ministers last week: Be afraid, be very afraid, because you’re going to be left holding the bag when you’re told to do something you don’t want to do. That’s the problem with this bill—too much power conferred on the Premier and his ministers. To the ministers over there: It’s putting you in jeopardy. You may not know it right now or think it right now, but it is.

Will the Premier do the right thing, kill Bill 5, go back to the drawing board and get it right?

Hon. Greg Rickford: Today’s rally, as it’s been communicated to me from some very reasonable First Nations leadership, is about ensuring that First Nations have a place, not just in consultation, but moving forward, to be involved in those projects, be they legacy infrastructure or resource projects.

In fact, over the weekend, I spoke to a number of First Nations leaders who put proposals on the table, borne out of submissions that we heard at committee, which is not a process for consultation—that commences when the legislation passes—but these are exciting opportunities where, once again, the First Nations communities are aligning their priorities for things like electricity transmission and road access, with the prospect of forestry and mining activity in their region. We think those common interests and the potential for co-proponency is the kind of modern, economic project that makes sense for us all and that’s the way we’d like to proceed. So far, it’s—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Question?

Government accountability

Mr. John Fraser: Let’s take a look at Bill 5 and the first economic zone, and that’s the dormant dump in Dresden that’s been dormant for 30 years. The Premier’s suspending the rules, right? This is the first special economic zone: It’s a dump. It’s a dump. Suspending all the rules to benefit, as we know, wealthy, well-connected insiders and friends, and breaking his promise to the people of Dresden. If this is the first thing the Premier’s doing out of the gate, is it any wonder that people are suspicious of Bill 5?

Will the Premier kill Bill 5, go back to the drawing board and get it right?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Minister of Economic Development.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: We have seen unprecedented levels of investment flow into the province since we took office. Between last year and the year before, 184 international companies landed here, bringing $30 billion worth of investment and hiring 18,000 people. This is what happens when you cut red tape and lower the cost of doing business in Ontario.

We’re going to build on this progress, but we have to recognize we need to move faster. The competition for investments is going to be unlike anything we’ve ever seen. If companies are going to have to wait 15 years to get shovels in the ground, they will invest in other jurisdictions. We need to get rid of unnecessary red tape and make it easier for companies to invest, hire and grow, and that is exactly what we’re doing.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the leader of the third party.

Mr. John Fraser: Every time this government gets in a rush, it ends up in a steaming pile.

Let’s look at the second special economic zone, Ontario Place. What is it? A foreign-owned spa—no money, no real experience—gets about $2.2 billion from the Ontario taxpayer. That’s not working out too well, is it? Actually, every Ontarian—I think my colleagues here figured it out to about $400 a person. That’s quite the tax to have a foreign company benefit from.

I’ve got go back on this. This is the second thing the Premier is doing that’s a special economic zone, and it sounds like more scandal coming up. But if this is the second thing that he’s doing, how does he expect anybody to support Bill 5? Will he kill Bill 5, go back to the drawing board and get it right?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: The Liberals and the NDP continue to oppose every single measure that cuts red tape, lowers costs and makes it easier for companies to create new jobs.

The situation we are in could not be clearer. We are facing a once-in-a-generation crisis. Coming out of this, the competition for land investments is going to be unlike any challenge we’ve ever had in front of us. We face two very distinct choices: act boldly, to ensure we can keep landing the $70 billion in job-creating investments that we’ve landed, or sit on our hands, do nothing and watch as our economy gets crushed. The Liberals and the NDP want us to do the latter, but we refuse. We are going to do everything to ensure Ontario is the place where those companies land.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The leader of the third party.

Mr. John Fraser: We just heard how immediate the crisis is and how important it is, and the Premier’s latest nation-building thing that’s being touted as a special economic zone is—wait for it—a tunnel under the 401. I don’t know about you, but I think I will be long underground before anybody sticks a shovel in. It makes it hard for me to believe these things are a crisis. It makes it hard for all of us to believe.

Interjection.

Mr. John Fraser: I don’t know about you; I’m speaking for myself. I don’t want to create any bad karma here.

I mean, literally, this thing is just another hole for the Premier to dig to toss money into, and the question will be who’s down there collecting the money as he’s tossing it in. I’ll leave it at this, Speaker: I am totally flummoxed as to how this government doesn’t understand that nobody trusts them on Bill 5, just simply because the things that they’re proposing are preposterous.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Minister of Energy and Mines.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: The member opposite asked rhetorically, “Who benefits?” Some 250,000 Canadians will get a job in the resource sector if we actually unlock our critical minerals—250,000 Canadians, which the member may dismiss as inconsequential, but in a time when we’re in economic war, speed is a strength. Over the weekend, President Trump actually approved a uranium mine in two weeks. Think about that. He approved a mine, that historically took 18 years in the US to approve, in two weeks.

Now is the time for governments to rally. The NDP of BC, the Liberals of our country, have accepted a premise which clearly Liberals in this province cannot, which is: If we don’t move with speed in this critical minerals race, we’re going to be left behind. For the 250,000 Canadians that want a job, the dignity of a job, we’re going to fight for them every single day.

Government accountability

Ms. Chandra Pasma: On top of trying to create special law-free zones and shutting down parliamentary debate on seven different bills, this government has tabled a bill that will allow the Minister of Education to take over school boards whenever he wants, with no limits or oversight. Our kids don’t need more centralized control in the hands of a government that has already taken $6.35 billion out of the education system. They need teachers, books, and safe and healthy schools.

Will the Premier withdraw this Trumpian bill and instead make the investments that our kids need to succeed?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Response? The Minister of Education.

Hon. Paul Calandra: The short answer is, no, I won’t withdraw the bill. because it’s a good bill, Madam Speaker. Colleagues, do you think it’s a good bill?

Interjections.

Hon. Paul Calandra: I think it’s a good bill. I think the people of the province of Ontario, starting with students, parents and teachers, want the government to assume responsibility for the issues that are their responsibility, mainly making sure that funding that is supposed to go for kids in the classroom goes to—go figure—kids in the classroom.

Who here would ever believe that the government shouldn’t take responsibility for an investment of over $30.5 billion in education? When school boards aren’t going to do the things that they’re supposed to do; namely, put money into the classroom—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I apologize to the member.

I would ask the member to put the newspaper down. Put the newspaper down.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Order. Back to the Minister of Education.

Hon. Paul Calandra: I’ll just leave it at that, Madam Speaker. We’re not going to withdraw the bill. It is a good bill. It puts power back into the hands of the people of the province of Ontario as opposed to those school boards which have really gone off the tracks, off the rails. I don’t apologize for that. We’re doing what is right for the students, parents and teachers of the province of Ontario.

Ms. Chandra Pasma: You know what the people of the province of Ontario want to see, Speaker? They want to see that $6.5 billion returned to our education system. Parents want to have a say in the decisions that affect their kids’ schools, but this minister is taking that away from them and giving himself the power to push aside democratically elected school boards for literally any reason he feels like. A Conservative government appointee, with no accountability to parents or communities, making all the decisions about local schools without talking to anyone, isn’t going to solve a single thing.

Will the Premier respect parents, respect democracy and withdraw this bill?

Hon. Paul Calandra: No, Madam Speaker. You know why? Because only the NDP and the Liberals would stand up for school boards that think it’s their responsibility to travel the world and buy artwork. I will fire those trustees that do that, because that’s the right thing to do. But the NDP and the Liberals, they work for them. So, when school boards take money out of the classroom, it’s ok for the Liberals and it’s ok for the NDP. It’s not ok for us. When boards do that, I’ll take them over because that’s the right thing to do.

As I said in the news conference, I don’t need school boards or trustees writing curriculum. I don’t need them opining on global affairs. You know what I need them doing? Sitting at their desk putting money back into the classroom. Anything else, I don’t need them to do. When they stray from that mandate, you know what? We’ll assume that board, we’ll fire the trustees that abuse taxpayer money, and we’ll put students, parents and teachers first all the time. Let them stand against that.

Government accountability

Mr. Ted Hsu: Speaker, this Conservative government wants the power to let development projects ignore the Safe Drinking Water Act or the Clean Water Act. Bill 5 and this government ignore the history of sickness and death in the Walkerton tragedy. They would recklessly put your water at risk. What else do you get from Bill 5? It’s a broken promise to Chatham-Kent in southwestern Ontario beside a dump slated for a giant expansion. Tomorrow, it could be your hometown shafted by a broken promise.

Will this government kill Bill 5 or at least accept my amendments to keep protecting clean water in my community and yours?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Response. The Minister of Economic Development.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Our government has shown the Liberals and the NDP what happens when you cut red tape and lower costs. We have lowered the annual cost of doing business by $8 billion a year and, as a result, businesses have added 1 million jobs here in the province of Ontario. Yet, every time that we reduce red tape and reduce costs for businesses, the members of the members of the NDP and the Liberals oppose it. Now here we are, in a once-in-a-generation crisis, and they still haven’t learned their lesson. They want us to sit on our hands and do nothing as President Trump comes out looking for our jobs and our businesses to land in the US.

We refuse to do that, Speaker. We’re going to do everything to ensure that businesses here continue to have the opportunity to create—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the member for Kingston and the Islands.

Mr. Ted Hsu: We don’t need to put clean water at risk. Bill 5 is a power grab so this government can give itself the same kinds of powers that Donald Trump is using to enrich himself south of the border.

Last March, the Premier said about the Dresden dump, according to the Chatham Voice: “If the people like something, we do it. If they don’t, we don’t do it. It’s about as simple as that.”

In reality, we see today that this government doesn’t want to hear from the people anymore because it’s embarrassing. They’re shutting down debate. They won’t even allow amendments to Bill 5 to be read out, let alone debated, and they’ve got 25 amendments themselves. That is how flawed this bill is.

Why is this government so afraid of facing the people?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Response. The Minister of Energy and Mines.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: The greatest advantage we can give to President Donald Trump is landlocking Canadian resources. They’re the most ethically sourced resources on earth, with the cleanest grid, the highest standards of environmental and labour protections, and you want our government and all governments, including the federal Liberals, to do nothing, to literally sit on our resources and not get a shovel in the ground, which is the record of the former Liberal government. That is not just irresponsible; that is the greatest advantage to the American President.

We’re not going to stand for that when we know Canada’s resources could displace the authoritarian regimes in the world, create a quarter of a million jobs, add tens of billions to our GDP and ensure we become self-reliant.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The Liberals will come to order.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Because, Madam Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party would rather a position of doing nothing, helping President Trump instead of standing up for Canadian workers.

Interprovincial trade

MPP Mohamed Firin: My question is for the Minister of Economic Development and Job Creation.

With rising protectionism, global instability and aggressive moves by other jurisdictions to land major investments, companies are being forced to rethink where they do business and where they place their long-term bets. We’ve seen the impacts of tariffs and buy-American policies, and many workers in Ontario are concerned.

Even in this climate, Ontario continues to the punch above its weight. Speaker, can the minister please share more about why businesses are choosing Ontario and how we’re staying competitive in this new global reality?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Let’s repeat something from earlier today: Over the last two years, Ontario has seen 184 international companies land here, invest $30 billion and hire 18,000 people. From 2018 to 2023, more jobs were created from foreign direct investment in Ontario—90,000 of them—than any US state or any province. Companies are choosing us because we have one of the most diverse and resilient economies in North America.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The member for Waterloo will come to order.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: We are home to world-class talent, advanced infrastructure and a strong innovation system.

We know there’s a chill on business investment right now. That capital is being stored up, and it will look for a place to land. Speaker, our message to the world is clear: Ontario is the right place to invest.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The member for York South–Weston.

MPP Mohamed Firin: I would like to thank the minister for his leadership and his response.

In today’s economy, Ontario can’t afford to rely on just one trading partner. As we see growing uncertainty with the US, it’s more important now than ever that we expand our global reach and create new trade opportunities for Ontario businesses.

At the same time, we need to look inwards. Canada is home to everything countries need to be successful: critical minerals in Ontario’s north, an abundance of energy out west, manufacturing might in southwestern Ontario and so much more.

We as provinces and territories need to take advantage of this. We need to strengthen Canada’s supply chains and trade more with each other. That starts by breaking down costly internal trade barriers.

Can the minister share how breaking down interprovincial trade barriers will help grow Ontario’s economy?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Our government’s interprovincial trade legislation, which we’re debating at third reading today, is a game changer. We are taking the most ambitious provincial action on interprovincial trade in all of Canadian history.

New research last week came out and showed the economic benefits of reciprocal mutual recognition agreements between provinces. An agreement between Ontario and Nova Scotia could boost our GDP by $4.1 billion; between us and New Brunswick, $5.9 billion; and between Ontario and Quebec, $32 billion, if we clear our interprovincial trade.

Canada’s founders envisioned an economic union without barriers between provinces. A hundred and fifty years later, that vision is still unfinished, but this will bring us closer to fulfilling that dream.

Government’s record

Ms. Catherine Fife: My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Trump has just dropped new tariffs on aluminum and steel. Ontario’s GDP growth was just 1.2% last year, well below the national rate. The province’s joblessness numbers have been higher than the national rate every month for the past four years, climbing to 7.8% last month. Speaker, it’s really happening here.

Buffering Ontario from the chaos of Trump requires us to stabilize Ontario’s exhausted economy. To the minister, when we get May’s unemployment report this Friday, how high are you prepared to let it go? When will Ontario have a plan to reverse the job losses? Because what’s happening now is not working.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: To the 17,000 men and women who work in Ontario’s steel sector, we are going to do everything in our power to protect you. Our budget of 2025 has programs in it to protect Ontario.

We aren’t going to give up on manufacturing, industry and workers, like the previous Liberal government did. Whether it’s steel, auto parts or any other product, we will continue to promote Ontario as a top destination for global investment. That is why, in the months of December, January and February, we saw 87,000 new jobs put in place before the Trump tariffs.

Ms. Catherine Fife: Ontario has a lower employment rate than Mississippi. Ontario workers are hurting. Economic confidence is faltering. Trump’s tariffs are triggering massive layoffs, and yet this government is focused on building a $100-billion 401 fantasy tunnel and spending the next four years in court. Instead of defending our industries and protecting jobs, the Premier spent $40 million on a pre-election PR blitz, claiming things have never been better. In reality, 63,000 jobs were lost in the first few days of this new term. How can this government justify this disconnect?

To the minister, why is the government more focused on its pet projects that Ontarians have loudly opposed than listening to what workers are telling us they need: protection and support in this economic storm?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the Minister of Labour.

Hon. David Piccini: The only disconnect we see is an aggressive President to the south making moves to bring industry, to move approvals faster, south of the border, destabilizing sectors of the Canadian economy. We have a plan to unlock our resources, to connect east to west, to build construction, hospitals, schools, and the people against it are the members opposite, Speaker.

We’re going to unlock construction jobs, build training centres faster, get a next generation trained to build a stronger Ontario. We see that consensus from the NDP government in BC. We see that consensus in Ottawa. We are building, nation-building, and the Premiers are meeting in Saskatchewan today to talk about that. The only people left in the past are the two parties opposite.

Government accountability

Mr. Stephen Blais: My question is for the Premier.

History remembers Dresden as a city devastated in World War II, but this government is making its own history: turning Dresden, Ontario, into a new symbol of environmental destruction and political betrayal. The Premier committed to environmental review for the garbage dump, but Bill 5 shreds that promise and exposes this community to unknown risks.

Madam Speaker, why is the government bombing its credibility and turning Dresden into collateral damage for a dump nobody wants and a process nobody trusts?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the Minister of Economic Development.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Speaker, think about what the Liberals did to our manufacturing sector: They watched as 300,000 manufacturing jobs fled our province. There was no once-in-a-generation crisis then, there were no tariffs then; it was Liberal policy designed to push these jobs away and crush our goods-producing sector. Now, they want us to revert right back to their playbook. We refuse to do that.

We will not stand idly by as President Trump tries to decimate our companies and our jobs here in Ontario. We are going to do everything in our power to protect and build on the economic progress that we’ve made, and that starts with Bill 5 and cutting unnecessary red tape.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Supplementary?

Mr. Stephen Blais: As the old saying goes: Those who don’t study history are condemned to repeat it.

Here in Ontario, we should never forget Walkerton—the lives lost, the families shattered and the lessons we all learned: When you cut corners on water protection, people pay the price.

Yet here we are with Bill 5 gutting environmental reviews and the Premier breaking a promise to the people of Dresden—their water, their health and their trust all on the line.

Does the Premier not see that Dresden is becoming a cautionary tale—a warning that if this government keeps shredding oversight, it’s only a matter of time before we risk another Walkerton?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: For the 10th time: We are facing a once-in-a-generation threat from south of the border. It has never been more important for Ontario to remain competitive amid this global economic uncertainty.

President Trump is coming for our jobs. They are coming for our industries. The President does not want us to continue succeeding in landing multi-billion-dollar investments. We landed $70 billion in investments, and it is all at risk. The threat could not be clearer, but the members opposite want us to sit on our hands and do nothing.

We need to speed up permitting, cut red tape, ensure that businesses can get shovels in the ground faster. This is how we build on the progress we’ve made so that businesses can add to the nearly one million new jobs we’ve created in Ontario.

Northern economy

MPP Bill Rosenberg: My question is for the Minister of Northern Economic Development and Growth. The north is strong, but we know the north has faced big challenges with tariffs and trade threats from the US. We know Ontario is facing a lot of economic risk. That means that the north’s economy needs to be stronger than ever.

Northern industries, like mining and forestry, are key to Ontario’s future. We need to build on those strengths. We can’t just rely on one trading partner, and we can’t ignore the threats from outside.

Madam Speaker, can the minister tell the House what our government is doing to invest in the north and support northern communities?

Hon. George Pirie: Northern Ontario is the most valuable piece of real estate in North America, if not the world: We have over 10-million acres in just one clay belt; we have a world-class fibre basket in both softwood and hardwood; we have unlimited energy potential; we have minerals, gold, base metals, critical minerals and rare earths. That is why two-thirds of the throne speech focused on northern Ontario, building roads, highways, railroads and ports to access and develop everything we have in northern Ontario, and pivot from our dependence on US markets to international markets.

That is why we’re making strategic investments through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund that can directly invest in projects that leverage the unique advantages of northern Ontario.

Whether directly supporting our resource development industries or small businesses and communities, we are here for the north.

MPP Bill Rosenberg: Thank you to the minister for the response. The north is a key part of Ontario’s economic future. Its industries, workers and communities drive growth for the whole province. When the north does well, all of Ontario does well.

But we know there are challenges, especially with the economic uncertainty and trade threats from the US. We see tariffs hurting our industries and creating risk for jobs and families. Now more than ever, we need to stand up for the north. We need to make sure that we don’t just react but plan for a strong, steady future. We need to build up the north so it can keep leading the way for Ontario’s economy.

Speaker, can the minister share how our government is making sure the north has the support, tools and resources it needs to stay strong and keep growing?

Hon. George Pirie: Madam Speaker—yes, tariffs. The first visit I did as Minister of Northern Economic Development and Growth was to Kapuskasing, where there are 47,000 jobs at risk in the forestry sector—47,000 jobs at risk for tariffs. The second visit was with Algoma Steel. Those tariffs are costing Algoma Steel a million dollars a day—not to mention the Chinese that control the rare earths and critical minerals that drive the aerospace and defence industries. That’s why we must build the infrastructure to access everything we have and pivot from the dependence on the US market. That’s why we continue to invest in communities and businesses.

I was recently in Timmins to announce a business, OK Tire, that is receiving $400,000 from NOHFC to expand its facility and serve a growing mining industry. I was in Sudbury two weeks ago. I visited Cambrian College, announcing an NOHFC investment of $260,000 to establish a battery material recycling space in its chemical analyses and services—in Timmins.

Northern Ontario—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Question?

Hospital parking fees

Mr. Jeff Burch: Speaker, through you to the Minister of Health: Debbie MacGregor’s mother passed away earlier this year after a seven-year battle with cancer. Throughout that time, Debbie collected a stack of parking receipts at the hospital. She and her daughter spent over $7,000 on parking, just to be with her mom as she passed.

My motion to eliminate hospital parking fees has been endorsed by the Canadian Cancer Society, the Ontario Nurses’ Association and tens of thousands of Ontarians who have signed our petition.

Does the minister understand that this is a tax on the sick, and will she support my motion on June 4 to eliminate hospital parking fees in Ontario?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: I certainly sympathize with the family and that need to want to be with their loved ones as they are undergoing treatment in our hospitals—and of course visiting palliative as well. But we have a hospital parking directive to help reduce financial burden for hospital parking fees on patients and, of course, frequent visitors. That ensures that we reduce the barriers and increase access to health care.

Since 2019, Speaker, hospitals have been limited to increasing their daily maximum parking rates by the annual percentage change of the CPI. Hospitals that charge a daily maximum rate for the parking facility that is more than $10 are required to offer five-day, 10-day and indeed 30-day parking passes with discounted rates. These are the policies that we’ve put in place to e