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April 18, 2024

43rd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2024-Apr-18 vol. A (PDF)

L148A - Thu 18 Apr 2024 / Jeu 18 avr 2024

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Thursday 18 April 2024 Jeudi 18 avril 2024

Members’ Statements

Film and television industry

Passover

Long-term care

Education funding

Health care

Autism treatment

John Lyons

Landlord and Tenant Board

Community safety

Volunteers

Introduction of Visitors

Wearing of kaffiyehs

Question Period

Energy policies

Health care

Highway tolls

Taxation

Tenant protection

Education

Trucking safety

Government accountability

Taxation

Child care

Public safety

Taxation

Air quality

Taxation

Health care

Taxation

Waste to Resource Ontario

Reports by Committees

Standing Committee on Government Agencies

Introduction of Bills

Lydia’s Law (Accountability and Transparency in the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases), 2024 / Loi Lydia de 2024 (responsabilité et transparence dans le traitement des cas d’agression sexuelle)

Petitions

Heritage conservation

Anti-racism activities

Sexual violence and harassment

Access to health care

Long-term care

Social assistance

Organ donation

School safety

Orders of the Day

Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act, 2024 / Loi de 2024 sur la prévention de la vente de chiots contraire à l’éthique

Standing Committee on Justice Policy

Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act, 2024 / Loi de 2024 sur la prévention de la vente de chiots contraire à l’éthique

Business of the House

Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act, 2024 / Loi de 2024 sur la prévention de la vente de chiots contraire à l’éthique

The House met at 0900.

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

Prières / Prayers.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Orders of the day? I recognize the government House leader.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Thank you, Speaker. No business.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): With no business at this time, this House stands in recess until 10:15.

The House recessed from 0901 to 1015.

Members’ Statements

Film and television industry

Mr. Deepak Anand: Film, television and digital media are powerful tools for entertainment, education and reflection. Ontario’s film and TV industry provide opportunities for artists to showcase their talent by fostering creativity, providing economic benefits for residents through job creation and encouraging community engagement. Through storytelling, we can capture diverse perspectives, provoke thought, spark dialogue and reflect on the human experience.

Right here in Ontario, the film and television industry contributes to over $3 billion in production. Our enticing tax incentives are attracting filmmakers around the world, while its vibrant pool of talent lures development houses.

Mississauga takes pride in its significant year-round filming activity, with more than 314,000 square feet of studio space across 12 sound stages.

Our government is helping to make sure the industry thrives. That’s why we are investing more than $900 million to support Ontario’s cultural media tax credits.

To filmmakers and production houses alike, Ontario extends a warm invitation to continue crafting content for a global audience.

To all my fellow MPPs, I urge you to advocate for the growth of the film and TV industry in your community so we can continue empowering artists and supporting our growing economy. Let’s increase the revenue for Ontario and Ontarians. Let’s continue to build a prosperous Ontario.

Passover

MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam: I rise today to extend my warmest wishes to the Jewish community in Toronto Centre and across Ontario as they prepare for Passover.

Passover commemorates the liberation of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and their journey to freedom. The story of Passover reminds us all of the importance of standing up against oppression and the power of hope in the face of adversity.

Across Toronto, the Jewish community has made invaluable contributions to our rich, vibrant cultural tapestry. From the bustling streets of Kensington Market to the historic synagogues dotting neighbourhoods, Jewish heritage is woven into the very fabric of our province.

Over the years, I have attended many Passover celebrations where families and friends gather around the Seder plate and table to retell the story of the Exodus, enjoy traditional meals, and strengthen the bonds of love and kinship.

This year is special, as we will be hosting a Seder at our home for our friends and chosen family. We’ve taken the time to appreciate the blessings, where we will reflect upon freedom and reaffirm our commitment to building a world rooted in compassion, justice, equality and peace for all, including Israel and Palestine.

May the message of Passover inspire all of us to work toward a future where every single person can live safely in dignity, peace and freedom.

To the Jewish community in Toronto Centre and beyond, I wish you a happy and meaningful Passover. Chag Pesach Sameach.

Long-term care

Mr. Aris Babikian: I was delighted to visit the Tendercare Living long-term-care home in my riding to inform them of the historic investments our government is making into long-term care and what this funding means for the residents of the home. These investments into care will ensure that residents can connect to the right care immediately, instead of having to go to hospitals or outside health care providers. This funding will also help reduce and avoid unnecessary emergency department visits and hospital stays.

This is part of a broader investment, including a new $46 million in budget 2024 in the long-term-care sector to help seniors with complex needs like dementia and bariatric care to get the care they need at their convenience, quickly and close to home.

Our government is keeping its promise to our seniors and families to fix the long-term-care sector, which was ignored and neglected by the previous Liberal government.

In addition, our government invested $4.9 billion over four years to hire and retain 27,000 long-term-care staff to provide the care residents need.

Furthermore, we are investing a historic $6.4 billion to build 58,000 new and upgraded beds.

Our government also hired 193 new long-term-care inspection staff, including 156 new inspectors.

We owe it to our seniors to provide them a dignified, healthy and active life during their retirement days.

Education funding

MPP Jill Andrew: The Toronto District School Board is calling for a new provincial funding structure to help address their near $27-million deficit, and I’m calling on this Conservative government to support their demands, for the sake of our children, youth, families and the caring adults who teach and support them. Our schools are at the heart of our community, and we need them properly funded in order for them to function.

The Minister of Education says he expects school boards to put student achievement first. Well, guess what? In order to do that, we need funding that keeps up with inflation, instead of the chronic cuts we’ve seen throughout this government’s tenure. We need this government to fix our schools, not tinker with them. Fixing our schools requires billions of dollars, which this government has and can invest in education.

Schools are losing invaluable staff because they can’t keep up with salaries and benefits. TDSB programs supporting the most vulnerable are being cut. We only need to look at special education to see where your government’s cuts are impacting the most vulnerable students.

This government continues to toss money at the rich while having austerity measures for those who need the most help.

Stop blaming and shaming our TDSB and other school boards across Ontario and start helping them put student achievement first.

Health care

Mr. Sheref Sabawy: I recently joined my colleagues for a groundbreaking at the site of the soon-to-be patient care tower for the Queensway Health Centre. Once completed, this $1.3-billion centre, operated by Trillium Health Partners, will serve the growing needs of families in Etobicoke and Mississauga. This is exciting news. Because of investments like this, our government is improving health care services in Mississauga and meeting the needs of future growth. This is part of our goal to ensure every Ontarian has access to convenient and connected care when they need it.

Right now, our province is expanding all six medical schools and supporting new medical schools at York University and TMU.

Over the next three years, the government is spending an additional $546 million to connect approximately 600,000 people to team-based primary care.

And I was happy to see that our investments to support nursing are being sustained, allowing 2,000 more registered nurse spaces at colleges and universities, and 1,000 more registered practical nurse seats.

Speaker, as our city continues to grow and the population continues to age, we will need these health services more than ever. I am excited to see those investments pay off, bringing convenient and connected care to everyone.

Autism treatment

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: I hear from families regularly that the Ontario Autism Program is not working. Despite recent funding announcements, families are still calling, begging for help for their children.

Jessica reached out to my office for support for her beautiful daughter. Jessica wants to share this message with the government:

“The OAP program has failed many families who are now without essential services and supports during their most vulnerable moments.

“I know my daughter is capable of accomplishing a lot in her life, but we need help to get her there.

“And there are so many other families who are in the same boat, and so many other families who are at their breaking point because they have nowhere to turn.

“True success should be defined as celebrating differences and fostering an environment where everyone belongs, regardless of their abilities.

“Let’s work together to build a society that values inclusion and empowers individuals with diverse talents to flourish.

“Let’s also build systems that support those who need help; and provide a way for that to happen before it’s too late.”

Families like Jessica’s are making sacrifices every day to provide the best care that they can for their children. Our government needs to match their efforts. Receiving consistent, robust core services is essential for autistic children to thrive.

We need a concrete plan attached to the funding announcements to make sure this money helps the kids it’s intended to so every child in Ontario receives the supports that they need. Jessica’s family and her daughter deserve that.

John Lyons

Mr. Dave Smith: Today, I’d like to celebrate the 38-year career of Inspector John Lyons, because last Friday, John retired. He started his career way back in 1986, before I even had my driver’s licence. Back then, as part of his contract with the Peterborough police, he had to agree to live in the city limits in order to be a police officer.

He started with Peterborough police. There was a merger with Lakefield, and the service became the Peterborough Lakefield police. And then, eventually, it became the Peterborough Police Service again.

He joined the force after moving from Gananoque to attend Sir Sandford Fleming College in their security and administration program. He moved up through the ranks throughout his career and ended his career as an inspector.

When I was first elected, John was the officer who took me along for my very first ride-along. It was an interesting day, to say the least. Those who know John know he has a lot of stories to tell. I think I heard almost all of those stories that day in the cruiser.

John epitomizes what a community police officer should be. He loves his community. He loved his job. And everyone around him loved to be with him.

John, we’ll miss you on the beat, but I know that this really just frees up your time to give back to your community. Congratulations on your retirement.

Landlord and Tenant Board

Ms. Stephanie Bowman: Tenants and landlords in my riding of Don Valley West are concerned about the unreasonable delays at the Landlord and Tenant Board caused by this government’s bad decision to fire qualified, experienced adjudicators and appoint their friends. Just like with the $8.3-billion greenbelt giveaway and the gravy train in the Premier’s office, this government takes care of their friends at the expense of Ontarians. According to Tribunal Watch Ontario, the backlog of cases is over 53,000—almost four times worse than when they took office. The average wait for a landlord needing an arrears eviction hearing has risen to 342 days—10 times worse.

Speaker, the delay for tenants is even worse. Their average wait is 427 days, versus 70 days in 2018. Tenants are waiting over a year for their day in court about a problematic above-guideline rent increase or unlawful eviction—just one more way that life is worse for tenants under this Conservative government.

Today, my colleague from Kingston and the Islands will be debating his Bill 179, the Fewer Backlogs and Less Partisan Tribunals Act. The government has a chance to fix the LTB mess of their own making by voting for this bill. Voting against it is one more sign that this Premier is happy to be the conductor of his very own gravy train.

Community safety

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: Last week in my riding of Mississauga–Lakeshore, I attended a public meeting on safety and security issues hosted by my friends at the Lorne Park Watercolours Residents’ Association. Over 250 residents joined us at St. Luke Catholic Elementary School to share their concerns about auto theft in Peel. We have an average of 20 cars stolen every single day—the most per capita in Ontario.

I’d like to thank the Peel police for joining us and listening to the concerns of our community. Particularly, I’d like to thank Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich, who spoke about Project Vector, in which almost 600 vehicles were recovered from shipping containers at the port of Montreal. Superintendent Joshua Colley spoke about crime in Mississauga–Lakeshore, and Detective Gregory O’Connor gave us some tips on how to protect ourselves.

I was proud to speak about the great work our Solicitor General is doing on this issue—$49 million over three years to give our police services the tools they need to fight back against auto theft, and $46 million over three years to purchase four new police helicopters, to help improve response times to major incidents and serious crimes in Mississauga and across the GTA.

Again, I’d like to thank the Peel police as well as our first responders for all the work that they do to keep our communities safe all across Mississauga and the province of Ontario.

Volunteers

Mr. Lorne Coe: Recently, the Ontario government honoured 14 exceptional individuals and two volunteer organizations with the June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism.

Grace Shaw from Whitby was one of those recipients. Grace has volunteered at the VON Durham hospice service centre for over 10 years, providing care and empathetic support to individuals dealing with grief after the death of a loved one.

Named in memory of the late author and journalist June Callwood, the award recognizes the leadership, innovation and contributions of individual volunteers, volunteer administrators and volunteer organizations who have stepped up to help others, support communities, and build a stronger Ontario.

Speaker, I am grateful for the tireless work of remarkable volunteers like Grace who continue to give back and drive change in the town of Whitby. May their kindness, dedication and selflessness serve as an inspiration for others to learn from.

Congratulations, Grace.

Introduction of Visitors

Ms. Sandy Shaw: It gives me great pleasure to recognize today’s page captain Nate Rochwerg. Nate is from Hamilton. Joining him today are members of his family. We have his parents, Bram and Rachel Rochwerg; we have his grandparents, Ken and Shelley Rochwerg and Bonnie and Dave Loewith; and Nate’s three younger brothers, Leo, Henry and Jake, who I am sure, after today’s experience, will want to be page captains when they grow up as well.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Ms. Jess Dixon: It is my pleasure to introduce to the House the Albanian community association from Waterloo region.

Lejdi Ago, Vlorat Vitia, Drita Berisha, Ariana Elezi, Halime Tropusha, Gjylzade Kelmendi, Bujar Kelmendi, Arber Morina, Shkelzen Islami, Sefedin Gashi, Muje Gashi, Adem Sulemani, Fitim Muharremi, Arben Sadiku, Ekrem Sadiku, Driton Qirici, Orges Zejna, Kevin Tervoli, Admir Sadiki, Dajtina Aliu, Antony Lena and Arben Faikovski, welcome to your House. Thank you so much for coming.

MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam: I’d like everyone to join me in wishing my executive assistant, Ben Donato-Woodger, a very happy birthday.

Mr. Ted Hsu: I’d like to welcome members of my youth council in Kingston and the Islands. I’m not sure if the bus has arrived or not, but they will be here for question period.

Hon. Graydon Smith: I just want to introduce my talented, lovely and beautiful wife and the love of my life, Melissa, who is in the Speaker’s gallery here today.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mrs. Daisy Wai: I’m delighted to introduce Zihan Erwin Wang, a bright and enthusiastic student from Silver Stream Public School in my Richmond Hill riding, who serves as our page. Observing while the House is in action promises to be a remarkable experience and a significant highlight of his educational journey.

Mr. Speaker, it is also my pleasure to extend a warm welcome to Xiaoping Yuan, who is here with us today as the proud mother of page Erwin Wang.

Welcome to your House.

Mr. Mike Schreiner: I’m pleased to welcome climate action advocates Sharon Sommerville, Franca DeAngelis and LeeAnn McKenna to Queen’s Park today. Welcome to your House.

Mr. Logan Kanapathi: I would like to welcome to the chamber today three special guests from the beautiful riding of the government House leader and MPP for Markham–Stouffville: Mr. and Mrs. Yogarajah—Sundareswary Yogarajah is celebrating her 75th birthday; she is also president of Box Grove Seniors’ Community Wellness Club and a well-known volunteer across Markham—and their granddaughter Suwetha Sivaneswaran. Welcome to the House.

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: It gives me great pleasure to welcome the family of today’s page captain Jerome Bow Pearce: Jerome’s mother, Jennifer Bow; brothers Vincent Bow Pearce and Dominic Bow Pearce; as well as family friend Jennifer DeSilva. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Rick Byers: It’s my pleasure to welcome long-time friend Chris Breen to the House, from Walker Aggregates, and no doubt others.

Colleagues, welcome to your House. It’s great to see you, as always.

Wearing of kaffiyehs

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I wish to take a moment to address the House on a matter of some importance.

On April 12, I received a letter from the leader of His Majesty’s loyal opposition. Since her letter to me has apparently been released to the media, I will not read it now, but I will instead summarize the request that she made of me. She asked that I permit the wearing of the kaffiyeh in the assembly.

I replied in writing to the Leader of the Opposition on April 16, and I hope she has seen my reply, but I have placed a copy on her desk in the event that she has not.

I will take a moment now to reiterate one of the points in my letter.

As always, any member may seek the unanimous consent of the House to wear clothing, buttons, ribbons etc. which may fall outside the established rules or customs of the House. If a member sought unanimous consent to wear a kaffiyeh, and if the House were to grant such consent, I would obviously accept the decision of the House.

As Speaker, I am the servant of this House. While I made my decision in this regard after considerable research and reflection, if the House believes that the wearing of the kaffiyeh in this House at the present time is not a political statement, I would certainly and unequivocally accept the express will of the House, with no ifs, ands or buts. Again, I would be willing to entertain such a point of order at any time and put the question to the House forthwith.

The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order.

Ms. Marit Stiles: With that, I seek unanimous consent that this House acknowledge that the kaffiyeh is a culturally significant clothing item to many in Ontario’s Palestinian, Muslim and Arab communities, and should neither be considered an expression of a political message nor an accessory likely to cause disorder and should therefore be permitted to be worn in the House.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Ms. Stiles is seeking the unanimous consent of the House that the House acknowledge that the kaffiyeh is a culturally significant clothing item to many in Ontario’s Palestinian, Muslim and Arab communities, and should neither be considered an expression of a political message nor an accessory likely to cause disorder and should therefore be permitted to be worn in the House. Agreed? I heard some noes.

Question Period

Energy policies

Ms. Marit Stiles: This question is for the Premier.

In December, the Ontario Energy Board ruled that consumers should no longer have to subsidize Enbridge’s gas expansion. But instead of listening to the experts, the government decided to keep forcing consumers to pay the subsidy.

Yesterday, the Narwhal revealed that the Premier’s top officials weren’t just communicating with Enbridge on this; they were actively coordinating their response together.

Again, this is to the Premier. Did the government give preferential treatment to Enbridge when it intervened pre-emptively to undermine the regulator and drive up costs for consumers?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the Minister of Energy.

Hon. Todd Smith: Thanks to the member opposite for the question this morning.

Since day one, on receiving the OEB ruling that they would be—which, I should point out, by the way, was a split decision, which is rare at the Ontario Energy Board—that this decision was going to make the price of home ownership soar, we have been ready and ensuring that we were going to protect future homeowners so that they could afford to buy homes in our province.

The other thing that we’re very focused on here since I’ve become the Minister of Energy, and prior to that—basically, since we became the government in 2018—was ensuring that we kept the price of energy low in our province, and as a result, we have seen the results. We have seen massive investment in our province. We are building over a million homes in our province.

What we’re doing on the energy file is working, ensuring that our growing province is going to have the electricity and the energy that it needs, that we will have a reliable, affordable and safe electricity system. That’s what we’ve been focused on at the Ministry of Energy since day one, and the proof is there: billions of dollars of investment in our province.

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

Ms. Marit Stiles: Maybe the minister doesn’t really understand what’s going on here. This is passing on an additional cost to consumers in this province, on their gas bills.

On the morning of the OEB ruling, the chief of staff to the Minister of Energy reached out to the Premier’s staff and called an urgent meeting to prepare a response in case the OEB ruled against Enbridge in favour of consumers. It just happens that the minister’s chief of staff is—guess what?—a former lobbyist for Enbridge.

So my question to the Premier again is, was this chief of staff in a conflict of interest when he decided to put the interests of his former employer ahead of the interests of Ontario gas consumers?

Hon. Todd Smith: Once again, the NDP have their facts wrong.

I can assure the NDP that our government and the Ministry of Energy are focused on ensuring that we have the energy we need for our growing province, and that includes natural gas, something that the members of the NDP are opposed to. They say that natural gas is not healthy. They say that nuclear isn’t healthy. They would get rid of nuclear energy. They would get rid of gas, which is the insurance policy that keeps our lights on and keeps over 70% of our homes heated during the winter months.

We’re ensuring that we have a reliable, affordable energy sector in Ontario that is going to support our growing economy, support our growing population in this province.

The last time the Liberals and the NDP were in charge of our energy sector, we saw electricity bills triple. We won’t stand for that.

We’re going to make sure that home ownership is also affordable for new home buyers. That’s why we stepped in.

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

Ms. Marit Stiles: I think Ontarians are wondering right now who this government is working for. Is it Enbridge or is it Ontarians?

Government lawyers warned the Premier’s staff and the former Enbridge lobbyist, who now, I will remind everybody, is working as the minister’s chief of staff, that intervening in the OEB decision carried legal risks. They did it anyway. They announced a plan to overrule the OEB only 15 hours after the decision was published. I have never seen a government so determined to overrule an independent regulator and drive up gas bills for Ontarians.

Why is the government risking legal action in order to give preferential treatment to this gas monopoly over the interests of hard-working Ontarians?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Members will please take their seats.

Minister of Energy.

Hon. Todd Smith: I’ll try to explain this to the member opposite.

First of all, it’s unbelievable for the people of Ontario to think that the NDP are for lower gas bills. The NDP are for a carbon tax. The NDP have members in their caucus who were calling for the highest carbon tax not just in North America, but in the world. The Liberals are fully on board with that as well.

There’s one party in this Legislature that actually gives a darn about the affordability for people in this province, and that is Premier Ford and our team here on the PC side. We have been fighting since day one for more affordable electricity bills, not the tripling of electricity bills that we saw under the Liberal-NDP coalition or what we’re currently seeing with the Liberal-NDP coalition up on Parliament Hill that has us driving to the pumps today, where it’s a buck eighty a litre—that’s because of the punitive carbon tax that the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, Jagmeet and Justin have slapped onto the people of Ontario.

Ms. Marit Stiles: I feel like we’re on track for another flip-flop on this one, Speaker.

Health care

Ms. Marit Stiles: This next question is for the Premier again.

As millions of Ontarians struggle to find a family doctor, private companies are seeing an opportunity to make a profit.

Instead of making sure everyone has access to primary care, the government is letting so-called executive health clinics continue to charge patients thousands and thousands of dollars to see a doctor.

Does the Premier believe people who can afford it should be able to use their credit card to skip to the front of the line?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry and parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health.

Mr. Nolan Quinn: We will not tolerate clinics taking advantage of a loophole created by federal legislation, as we’ve stated in this House many times. That is why Minister Jones wrote to our federal counterparts to ensure that they prevent non-physicians from charging for publicly funded health services.

While Ontario leads the country, with close to 90% of people connected to a regular health care provider, we know there’s more to do.

As announced in the budget, our primary health expansion has expanded a total investment of $546 million over three years to connect 600,000 people to primary care.

Our government is taking bold action through our Your Health plan. We are taking innovative steps to grow our workforce to better serve the people of Ontario now and for years to come.

Speaker, we will continue to work with our health partners across Ontario to ensure that Ontario has the best publicly funded health care when and where they need it.

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

Ms. Marit Stiles: A letter? That’s bold action?

I want to make sure that the government truly understands this. These concierge clinics are promising patients 24/7 care and access to a dedicated team, but there’s just one catch: Patients are expected to pay a whopping $12,000 a year. In the middle of a severe primary care shortage across this entire province, this is clearly creating a two-tiered health care system where those who can afford it are going to move to the front of the line at the expense of everybody else.

So my question, again, to the Premier of this province: Why is this government allowing for-profit clinics to compromise the integrity of the public health care system?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Members will please take their seats.

The parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health.

Mr. Nolan Quinn: No matter where your get your OHIP-covered service, you do not get charged—at no nurse practitioner-led clinic.

We started the year with a record investment of $110 million to create 78 new and expanded interprofessional primary care teams and add over 400 new primary care providers to help close the gap in accessing primary care. In this budget, we went even further. Our primary care expansion has expanded to a total investment of $546 million over three years to connect 600,000 Ontarians to primary care.

While Ontario leads the country, with almost 90% of people connecting to a regular health care provider, we know that more can be done. As I mentioned, we will continue working with our health care partners across the province to ensure that we have the best publicly funded health care system when and where the people of Ontario need it.

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

Ms. Marit Stiles: Speaker, I think the member didn’t get the question, or the notes weren’t really anticipating what I actually asked. I’m talking about these concierge clinics that are charging people $12,000 a year to bump to the head of the line. It’s outrageous. Applications, meanwhile, for integrated primary health care teams are collecting dust somewhere; they’re being totally ignored. Community health centres, Indigenous primary care organizations, nurse practitioner-led clinics—since he mentioned them—have been underfunded for over a decade. And right now, 2.4 million people in this province do not have a family doctor. People are very vulnerable to this.

Public health care providers out there are calling this government’s strategy for funding primary care the “Wild West.” The government isn’t just allowing these companies to take advantage of patients; they are, in fact, encouraging it.

I want to ask the Premier, why are you allowing these for-profit clinics to get away with this while ignoring the model that we know works here in the province of Ontario?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Members will please take their seats.

The parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health.

Mr. Nolan Quinn: Our government is currently investing $85 billion into our publicly funded health care system, which is a 30% increase since 2018, when we took government.

While the Liberals, propped up by the NDP, cut the residency school spots and limited the number of physicians practising in interdisciplinary teams, our government has added 12,500 new physicians since 2018, 10% of those being family physicians.

We have a plan to rebuild the health care in Ontario, and we will not stop until everyone gets more convenient access to care when and where they need it. Our government is taking bold action through our Your Health plan. And we are taking innovative steps to grow our workforce to better serve the people of Ontario for years to come.

Highway tolls

Ms. Jennifer K. French: My question is to the Premier.

The government’s only plan to alleviate traffic will take at least a decade. Meanwhile, it refuses to look at the 407. The NDP has put forward a cost-effective, smart solution to make better use of the 407. It is simple: Take the tolls off for trucks; get things moving. It’s good for business and gives commuters room to breathe.

So my question is, will this government recognize a good idea and remove 407 tolls for truckers?

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

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: Our government is investing over $28 billion in the next 10 years to build highways.

We know what the NDP is trying to do with this. They don’t want the 413 to be built.

We know that our highways are going to be at capacity in the next five to 10 years.

For 15 years, the Liberals did absolutely nothing to build infrastructure in this province.

It’s under this government, this Premier and this Minister of Infrastructure that we’ve launched over $190-billion worth of—whether it’s hospitals, schools, roads, highways, we’re going to get that built, because this government is about building.

We know that people are stuck in gridlock. Over 30 minutes will be saved each way when we build Highway 413. We will continue to move forward with this plan because that is what the people of this province elected to us do.

I urge those members to go to communities like Brampton—in fact, they actually lost all three members of their team because of their position on Highway 413.

I urge the Leader of the Opposition to please go to Brampton, Mississauga, Milton and communities across—

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

Ms. Jennifer K. French: A 10-year plan doesn’t help us today.

Any Ontarian can tell you that Highway 407 is terribly underused. If the government would get out of the Queen’s Park bubble, they’d find the 407 sitting half empty while the 401 stays bumper to bumper. It makes no sense.

We have infrastructure we aren’t being smart about. We need to better use existing highways.

This government needs to do something about the 407. Specifically, will this government recognize a smart idea and remove 407 tolls for trucks?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Members will please take their seats.

The Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: Mr. Speaker, this government believes in building highways like the 413, the Bradford Bypass, Highways 11, 17, 69, Highway 3. We’re building all across this province, because we want to improve the way our goods are moved and how people are moving.

In fact, the members opposite are so out of touch. Just look back at June 2, 2022. What happened? Where are those three members who were a part of that team before that? They’re not here anymore—because the members from Brampton North, Brampton East and Brampton Centre supported the building of the 413.

Let’s look at their record when it comes to drivers. They voted against removing tolls off the 412, the 418; they voted against those two measures that we took for drivers. They voted against removing $120 off your licence plate sticker for trucks or cars. Every step of the way, whether it’s removing 10 cents off a litre for gasoline—they voted against that as well.

We asked them to join this government in our fight to scrap the carbon tax. What do they do? Absolutely nothing.

This government will put drivers first, people first, and will do whatever we can—

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

Taxation

Mr. Matthew Rae: My question is to the Minister of Energy.

People in my riding of Perth–Wellington tell me they want an end to the Liberal carbon tax. Ontarians are not fooled by the Liberals’ renaming tactics. A tax is a text is a tax, plain and simple. They feel the impact of this disastrous tax every time they are at the pumps, at the grocery store and paying their heating bills. They have had enough.

Our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, has spoken out against this tax since day one, because we know that a carbon tax makes life more difficult. That’s why we fought this carbon tax all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, and we won’t give up until this tax is abolished.

Can the minister explain how the carbon tax unfairly impacts the people of Ontario?

Hon. Todd Smith: Thanks to the great member from Perth–Wellington, who no doubt feels the pinch as he drives in to Queen’s Park every day. People across the province are feeling it as they take their kids to hockey playoff games and—of course, soccer and baseball games are getting started. Construction workers are making their way in to work on our brand new subway systems we’re building here in Toronto—and the refurbishments that we’re doing at our nuclear facilities at Bruce Power.

It’s costing a lot of money, is the bottom line, and it’s having an impact on people as they plan for their summer getaways. Maybe they’re planning on taking a tour across Ontario and visiting one of the most beautiful provinces in the entire country and some of the great places that we have, like Prince Edward county, Tobermory and all those great tourist attractions.

I was down in Niagara Falls; you might have heard of it. It’s a pretty significant tourist attraction in our province and in the world.

The bottom line is, Bonnie Crombie, the queen of the carbon tax, the Liberal leader, is supportive of federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax, which went up a whopping 23% a week ago—it’s resulting in $1.80 at the pumps today. It’s completely unacceptable.

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

Mr. Matthew Rae: Thank you to the minister for that response.

The carbon tax does nothing—I say again, nothing—to reduce emissions. It only punishes the hard-working people of this province. But shockingly, at a time when families are struggling to put food on the table, the Liberals decided to hike the carbon tax even further. They want to increase this carbon tax until it reaches $170 per tonne. That is unacceptable.

Speaker, during these challenging times, all governments should be working together to make life more affordable for everyone.

While the provincial Liberals support their federal counterparts, our government will continue to have Ontario’s back and end this punitive tax.

Can the minister please explain how the provincial Liberal carbon tax is creating financial hardship for everyone?

Hon. Todd Smith: The queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, the Liberal leader, is in full support.

As a matter of fact, the federal environment minister says she’s happy to have the federal carbon tax in place.

We are opposed to that. We believe there should not be a carbon tax in the province.

The member, in his question, said it’s not having an impact; it’s not driving down emissions in our province.

The federal environment commissioner said the federal government is missing out on all of its climate goals. So all they’re doing is punishing people across our province and across our country.

We’re seeing the results at the grocery store. We’re seeing the results on our natural gas bills—massive increases to our natural gas bills. And we’re certainly seeing it at the gasoline pumps—$1.80 a litre today in parts of Ontario.

Prime Minister Trudeau and the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, need to do a 180 and do away with the federal carbon tax now.

Tenant protection

Ms. Sandy Shaw: In the middle of our housing crisis, rents continue to climb at alarming rates. In Hamilton, rents increased by 20% in just the last year.

Data from Ontario’s rental housing tribunal shows that corporate landlords are abusing the above-guideline-increase process to raise high rental rates even higher than provincial guidelines.

So my question is very simple: What is this government doing to protect tenants from the unfair rent increases, and what are you doing to make sure tenants stay housed?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Attorney General.

Hon. Doug Downey: I thank the member for the question.

The cost of everything is a concern for this government. You’ve heard the Minister of Energy address some of those issues.

Mr. Speaker, what we’re doing is making sure we have an independent tribunal with a fair and independent process to look at those requests to raise above guidelines. That’s how the system is built, so that it’s not a political decision, so that we have professionals making independent decisions. That is what we’re doing in terms of letting those people have their say.

I’ll say more in the supplementary, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question. The member for University–Rosedale.

Ms. Jessica Bell: Back to the Attorney General: At 1440 Lawrence Avenue West and 1442 Lawrence Avenue West, owned by Barney River apartments, tenants have received three above-guideline rent increases in the last seven years, despite the buildings being in such horrible condition that Canada Post deemed them unsafe to deliver mail to.

At 33 King, owned by Dream Unlimited, tenants have received the highest number of AGIs in the whole city, making their rents go up three times higher than rent control.

These are some of the most profitable landlords in the country. They can afford to maintain their buildings with the rent they collect without resorting to AGIs.

This government needs to clamp down on AGI abuse. Can you do that? Yes or no?

Hon. Doug Downey: Coming to question period, sometimes, is just like reading the Toronto Star—because I read that story this morning.

The NDP want us to interfere in the independent tribunal when it suits their purpose. They want us to interfere in an independent tribunal and independent hearings. They would have us meddle in that independence. When they want a different outcome somewhere else, they say, “You shouldn’t be meddling.” So I just don’t know which way it goes with the NDP, except the end justifies the means for them.

We will not meddle with the independent tribunal. We set up a fair, transparent process. And we’ll let them do their work.

Education

Ms. Laura Smith: My question is for the Minister of Education.

As Ontario’s population grows, the need to maintain and expand our public education system has become increasingly important.

Our government must continue to build the education infrastructure we need to ensure that future generations have access to state-of-the-art schools in their communities.

Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re making critical investments that will provide children in this province with the resources and the support they need to thrive and succeed in an ever-changing world.

Can the minister please tell the House what our government is doing to help more children attend school close to home?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I want to thank the member from Thornhill for her leadership in advocating for us to go back to basics in Ontario schools.

After we landed deals with every teacher union in Ontario, a historic achievement that’s providing stability for children, we announced a commitment to more than double the funding to build modern schools, after the former Liberals closed 600 in this province—a commitment to more than double the funding, a 136% increase in funding as we approved, this year alone, over 27,000 student spaces, 1,700 additional child care spaces in schools. When you put it all together, under our government’s leadership, 100,000 spaces are being built as we speak.

We’re building. We are investing and delivering a more highly qualified education system that goes back to the basics in Ontario.

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

Ms. Laura Smith: Thank you to the minister for his answer and his commitment to the students and the parents of Ontario. Families in my riding of Thornhill will be thrilled to hear that our government is committing to expanding Ontario’s world-class public education system so that children can thrive and prosper in a school closer to their homes.

It’s crucial that more learning spaces be built so our education infrastructure can keep pace with Ontario’s growing communities. Ontario families cannot wait, like they did under the Liberals, to have a new school built in their communities. Students deserve convenient access to in-class learning that comes with extracurricular activities, sports and clubs. That’s why our government must continue to support the construction of modern educational facilities where students can receive the important lifelong skills, such as reading, writing and math, they need.

Now that our government has more than doubled the fund to build schools—Speaker, through you—can the minister please outline our government’s plan to build schools faster?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: We announced a plan to build schools faster and smarter—on time, on budget—to cut the time it takes to build. Under the former Liberals, the average was eight years to build a standardized school in this province. We are challenging the status quo by developing and implementing a plan to cut construction timelines by half.

Speaker, I’m proud to report that in this round, because of the changes we implemented in the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 81% of new builds in this province are using standardized designs as a consequence of our mission, which is to speed up construction, to approve shovel-ready projects in our smallest towns and our biggest cities, as we build schools and highways and homes and the infrastructure necessary to ensure we build this province.

Trucking safety

MPP Lise Vaugeois: According to a recent Insurance Bureau of Canada report, new commercial truck drivers with inadequate training are putting the safety of Canada’s roads and highways in jeopardy, validating what we have been saying all along.

Premier, this is the reality: Immigrants are being charged up to $40,000 for training they never receive. Many are simply given a licence and sent on the road, with red tape and green tape on the pedals to indicate stop and go.

Licence testing must be done by the MTO.

When will this government finally do something to protect these workers and all other road users from preventable accidents?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To respond, the Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: We take highway truck training and safety on our highways very seriously. That is why we continue to rank, in Ontario, as some of the safest roads in all of North America.

Mr. Speaker, Ontario leads North America in our truck training, and we will continue to work with the industry to do whatever we can to strengthen that and have no room for any of those who abuse the system or who act outside of the rules and regulations.

We will continue to ensure that safety is the topmost priority on our streets and on our highways. There’s nothing more important than that. We will come down hard on anyone who contravenes any of those rules or regulations. We will continue to speak with the industry, speak with those on the roads and ensure we do everything we can to continue improving those measures.

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

MPP Lise Vaugeois: Some companies are misclassifying drivers as independent contractors, leaving them without WSIB coverage. These drivers can’t refuse to take an unsafe vehicle, or they won’t be paid. They are pushed to take risks on the highways to beat the clock, or they won’t be paid. And because wage theft is rampant, they have to fight their employers to receive any pay at all.

When will you institute company inspections with harsher consequences for employers breaking the law?

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: Mr. Speaker, we will not allow anyone to break the law in this province. This government is all about law and order and ensuring that those who do contravene the law are held to account.

We have worked with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to ensure that truckers continue to be trained. In fact, the minister has done various measures to help improve safety and training, along with truck drivers across the province.

Truck drivers are some of the most important people in our economy. They move goods across this province. Their safety is of utmost priority to this government and to all members of this House, and we will do whatever we can. That is why we have always constantly supported measures for the trucking industry, whether it’s building new highways, whether it’s building the infrastructure that they need, to continue to support the safety of their transportation industry. We will continue to do so and continue to work with the industry to ensure that all measures are taken into consideration.

Government accountability

MPP Andrea Hazell: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier.

It seems like each day, this government gives Ontarians another reason not to believe them. They say one thing and then do another. They make a promise just to break it. In my community of Scarborough, we know this all too well. Scarborough’s transit has been left to decay by this government, while commuters, families and students are left out in the cold. When do they show up? When it benefits them.

The former Conservative MPP for Milton jumped ship from the caucus after years of scandals, and now that there’s a by-election, the Premier and his minister finally found Milton on a map. They showed up to make a transit announcement about the UP Express that, only days later, they would—you guessed it—reverse.

My question to the Premier: How is anyone supposed to believe you will get anything done when you can’t even finish what you’ve started?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The government House leader.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Well, Speaker, I say this: I know the member’s riding very well. I used to live in the community, and I used to have to take the Scarborough 86 bus from my home to Kennedy station, and then Kennedy station—for my first job, which was as an intern at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Now, after 15 years of Liberals, do you know what people are still doing in that neck of the woods? They’re still taking the Scarborough 86 bus to Kennedy station, to get on a subway to get to work downtown. But do you know what’s going to stop for them? They’re going to have a subway now in Scarborough. Do you know why? Because we’re building that subway. Now, if they choose not to go to University of Toronto downtown, they can go to the expanded University of Toronto—where? In Scarborough. If they want to be a doctor, do you know where they can go get that education? In Scarborough.

Do you know what they couldn’t do under 15 years of Liberals and Liberals in that riding? Anything, Mr. Speaker—because that’s what the Liberals did; they held Scarborough back.

We’re unleashing opportunity, and it’s good for Scarborough.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

The supplementary question.

MPP Andrea Hazell: Ontarians are tired of broken promises and flip-flops. It seems like the government doesn’t think before they act. The Premier promised a London GO line and then cancelled it—reversing course on the UP Express only two days after announcing it; six years working on the Eglinton Crosstown, while the CEO gets six-figure raises, and they still refuse to provide timelines for its completion.

Do you know what, Mr. Speaker? It seems like this government has a real problem with trains. But do you know which one is working just fine? The $6.9-million gravy train that is running right through the Premier’s office, where the Premier has raised the budget by $4 million in just six years and 48 staffers are making more than the average Ontario family.

So again, why should anyone in Milton or across Ontario believe this government when all they have done is break their promises?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Associate Minister of Transportation may reply.

Hon. Vijay Thanigasalam: For 15 years, Ontario Liberals did nothing for Scarborough. They did not build subways. They did not build new hospitals. They did not build a new medical school.

There is no government that has done more for Scarborough than this government, under the leadership of Premier Ford. We are building the Scarborough subway after 15 years of Liberal inaction.

The Ontario Liberals voted no for the Scarborough subway. The Ontario Liberals voted no for the first-ever medical school in Scarborough.

Guess what? The people of Scarborough deserve new hospitals. Premier Doug Ford is building a brand new hospital, and Ontario Liberals voted no for the brand new hospital—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

The next question.

Taxation

Mr. John Jordan: My question is for the Minister of Energy.

During a period of rising cost of living and high interest rates, it’s important for all governments to find ways to make life more affordable for people in Ontario. But the Liberal carbon tax keeps making life more difficult for the hard-working men and women in our province. I’ve heard from my constituents’ families and farmers in my riding of Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston about how much costs for gas and groceries have increased as a result of this tax. Everyone in Ontario is experiencing this.

Speaker, I understand small businesses across the province still haven’t seen any of the rebate money they were promised three years ago. That’s not right.

Ontarians are looking to our government for support. That’s why we need to keep calling on the federal Liberals to cut the carbon tax.

Can the minister please explain how the Liberal carbon tax is creating financial hardship for everyone in our province?

Hon. Todd Smith: Thanks to the great member from just north of Kingston. He’s an outstanding new member in our caucus. He’s standing up for residents in his riding who have great concerns about the carbon tax, whether they’re farmers, or that mom and dad who is heading to take their kids to hockey—as I mentioned earlier—or to school, or the construction workers who are working so hard.

The member talked about those small business people who haven’t received their carbon tax rebate. We can solve this by not having the carbon tax in the first place, which is what we’ve been pushing for since 2018 here, with Premier Ford and our team in Ontario. I had a meeting with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business just last week, where they told me about the fact that this $1.3 billion had been stuck there in Ottawa and business owners hadn’t received it. Obviously, again, the solution to the problem—scrap the carbon tax. Eliminate it entirely, so you don’t have to worry about it.

Bonnie Crombie, the queen of the carbon tax, and the Ontario Liberal caucus believe that the people of Ontario are better off with this carbon tax than without it.

I know the people just north of Kingston, up in Smiths Falls, Perth and all of those great communities in eastern Ontario, don’t support the carbon tax.

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

Mr. John Jordan: Thanks to the minister for that response.

As I said, life is already expensive for the hard-working people of our province. But the Liberals in this Legislature, much like their federal counterparts, are only focused on raising taxes for Ontario families and businesses. People in our province need urgent relief.

Unlike the carbon tax queen, Bonnie Crombie, and her caucus, our government is focused on making life more affordable for Ontarians.

It’s time for the federal government to listen to what we have been saying for years and get rid of the carbon tax once and for all.

Can the minister explain what our government is doing to protect the people of this province from the costly carbon tax?

Hon. Todd Smith: Thanks to the member for the question.

Let’s be clear again: The queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, loves hiking taxes. That’s all she did when she was the mayor of Mississauga for all those years, and now she has brought those same practices to her partisan role as the Liberal leader here in Ontario. She’s happy to have the federal carbon tax in place. And she would be way too expensive for the people of Ontario if she was ever elected into this wonderful chamber that we have here in Ontario.

Again, we’re standing up for the people of Ontario by cutting gasoline taxes, while Liberals are driving gasoline taxes up higher and higher every year—on April 1. We’re cutting those gasoline taxes. We’re ensuring that we have affordable energy right across the province, like that big investment in hydroelectric power—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

Next question.

Child care

Mr. Chris Glover: The Carmelite daycare that serves my riding is shutting its doors for good in July. Once the doors are shut, Jennifer, a single mother in my riding, will no longer have child care for her daughter. She is one of 175 families impacted by this closure.

What is this government doing to make sure that there is child care for all of the families in Ontario who require it?

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

Hon. Stephen Lecce: After the Liberals increased child care costs 500%, pricing so many families out of the job market, and mothers often had to stay home instead of going to work because of the economic disincentives of unaffordable child care, we delivered a plan, in partnership with all levels of government, that has reduced fees by 50%, saving $8,000 to $12,000 per child.

The member speaks about access for constituents who would seek child care, and yet the member’s party and the Liberals recommended to the government that we remove 30% of the market by denying for-profit child care. We’re talking about tens of thousands of spaces for families in Toronto that would have been reduced and cut and eliminated if we did it the way the NDP and Liberals recommended.

We are standing up for choice, we’re respecting parents, and we’re ensuring all families benefit from affordability in this province.

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

Mr. Chris Glover: The government’s actions don’t support the answer that you just gave.

Tina, another parent who is impacted, is on multiple wait-lists for child care, and her child may have to change schools if the Carmelite centre closes.

This government has fought against $10-a-day child care from the get-go. They were the last province to sign the agreement with the federal government. TD Bank estimated that we would need 315,000 spaces for $10-a-day child care; this government made a plan for one third of that number. This government downloaded administration to municipalities for implementing the $10-a-day child care, then cut $85.5 million from those administration fees.

Will this government stop its crusade against $10-a-day child care, or will you leave Jennifer, Tina and hundreds of thousands of families across this province without the child care that they need?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: We didn’t sign any deal with the federal government; we signed a better deal for the people of this province, with billions of dollars of additional support.

The record must be clear: Liberals and New Democrats stood in this House encouraging—in fact, demanding—that the government sign a deal that would have left 70,000 spaces and families behind because of your ideological conviction to oppose small business women who own for-profit child care. That’s the choice. That’s what those three parents you mentioned should know—that you would have made it worse, increased wait-lists, decreased access, increased costs.

We stood up to this Prime Minister for a better deal. We will always stand up for all families, all children, in all regions of this province.

Public safety

Mr. Vincent Ke: My question is to the Solicitor General.

Speaker, with more than a 100% increase in occurrences this year compared to the same period in 2023, I need to talk about the carjackings again. This is clearly not the first time that you have heard me speak on this issue, but when my constituents tell me that they feel unsafe in their cars, on the streets, and even in their own homes, I must speak up for them.

Can the Solicitor General please tell this House about the progress that the Provincial Carjacking Joint Task Force has been making?

Hon. Michael S. Kerzner: I want to thank my colleague opposite.

It’s undeniable that the crisis that we have in auto theft is completely unacceptable—people’s doors are being knocked in at 5 in the morning and people are being demanded to hand over the keys. That’s why we’ve never had a government—we’ve never had a stronger government, our government, led by Premier Ford, that takes this so seriously.

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that the OPP and Toronto police have teamed up to lead a province-wide task force to fight auto theft, and in January, this past year—the proof is in the pudding, because of what they have accomplished: 89 people arrested, 554 charges laid, and hundreds of vehicles returned.

Our investment of over $100 million is working. Supporting over 21 police services with auto theft grants is working. We’re treating this with high priority.

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

Mr. Vincent Ke: Thank you to the Solicitor General for his response.

Speaker, more than 12,000 vehicles were stolen in Toronto last year, with a combined value of $790 million.

The impact of car theft extends to all Ontarians, due to increasing insurance premiums. With the rise in inflation and the costs of living, the last thing that we need now is another added expense.

My follow-up question to the Solicitor General is, how are stolen vehicles being shipped overseas? And can he explain how this government is putting pressure on the federal government to take this issue seriously and to act immediately?

Hon. Michael S. Kerzner: Mr. Speaker, the member is right; our cars are going overseas. That’s why, when I attended the auto theft summit in Ottawa, I had two requests for the federal government: Change the protocols at the port of Montreal so that containers are being inspected the same on outbound cargo as they are on inbound cargo, and the second thing, which Premier Ford has said loudly, is that there must be consequences for people stealing our cars; there must be minimum sentencing.

Mr. Speaker, we know, on this side, where we sit, but the opposition does not stand for public safety. And do you know why we know it? Because when police board budgets went before their councils for approval, the proxies for the Liberals and the NDP voted no in Ottawa, in London, in Hamilton, and in other cities. It’s completely unacceptable.

Taxation

Mr. Brian Saunderson: My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Pork farmers contribute to making Ontario a world-class exporter for growing international markets. In 2023, Ontario’s pork sector contributed over $3 billion in GDP to the provincial economy and supported over 19,000 jobs across the value chain from the farm to processing.

Despite its instrumental contribution to our province’s economy, the overall competitiveness of this sector is compromised by the federal carbon tax. This regressive and punitive carbon tax leads to increased costs of production and transportation of food, placing a heavy financial burden on farmers and compromising the competitiveness of our agricultural sector on a global scale.

Can the minister please explain how the federal carbon tax is negatively impacting Ontario’s farmers?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the member for Essex.

Mr. Anthony Leardi: I’d like to thank the member from Simcoe–Grey for that important question.

Ontario farmers are ready to grow food for a growing Ontario, and they’re ready to do it 365 days out of the year. But by taxing farmers, you’re actually taxing growing Ontario.

Let me give you a quote from John de Bruyn, the former chair of Ontario Pork: The carbon tax “has amounted to an unfair burden to farmers, adding costs and lowering incomes, without reducing emissions.”

Mr. Speaker, farmers need to heat their barns; they need to dry grain; they need to power the greenhouses—there’s no option here; it has to be done.

If we eliminate this useless tax on farmers, we could unleash the full potential of farming and agriculture in the province of Ontario.

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

Mr. Brian Saunderson: Thank you to the parliamentary assistant for that response.

The carbon tax only serves to harm farmers in my riding of Simcoe–Grey and across this great province, and it impacts their potential to grow Ontario’s agriculture and food industry.

Speaker, Ontario’s agriculture and food industry contributes over $48 billion to our province’s GDP and economy, representing more than 800,000 jobs. That is why it is so vital that this sector continues to grow and produce more food for our growing population and expand its export market.

However, production costs for our farmers, greenhouse growers and food processors have risen considerably since the implementation of this disastrous carbon tax. That is why we on this side of the House are continuing to urge the federal government to scrap the carbon tax now.

Can the parliamentary assistant outline what measures our government has taken to support our farmers and fight this carbon tax?

Mr. Anthony Leardi: We will always say yes to growing Ontario, and we will never say no and punish farmers for producing quality food in our safe, quality food system.

That’s why the Minister of Agriculture signed a letter, together with 25 farm and agricultural organizations, calling on the federal government to pause the destructive carbon tax increase on April 1.

I urge the Liberals in this House: Please, take that letter to your federal colleagues in Ottawa. Hop in your minivan and hand-deliver it to Justin Trudeau in Ottawa and remove the carbon tax.

Farmers cannot afford Liberals. They can’t afford the Liberal leader.

Our government will do everything it can to make farming and food production in Ontario more affordable.

Air quality

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Aamjiwnaang First Nation is asking Sarnia’s Ineos chemical plant to be shut down after community members reported headaches, nausea and dizziness on Tuesday. The First Nations’ air quality monitoring station near the band office continues to report high benzene levels.

Why is Ontario allowing this company to continue with business as usual while people are getting sick from their emissions?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: I am concerned about what’s happening, and I spoke to Aamjiwnaang’s Chief Plain yesterday to discuss the situation and the impacts on the people of his community. I also spoke to representatives from Ineos and made it clear that we expect them to quickly work to identify the source of these emissions and implement a solution.

Make no mistake: When it comes to protecting health and safety, we will not hesitate to use our strong regulatory tools and enforce actions to hold emitters to account.

As of now, our mobile air-monitoring truck has already been deployed for several days and remains on site in Sarnia indefinitely.

I will continue to ensure that compliance with all past orders made to Ineos, including requirements to install emission-control equipment, are done and air quality is monitored.

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

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Again, Aamjiwnaang First Nation has called upon the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to immediately impose a shutdown of the Ineos facility to reduce the ongoing benzene emissions and to protect community members. This is a major health and safety issue. Wellness in the First Nation is at an all-time low.

The ministry continues to ignore the concerns. How many more people have to get sick before Ontario shuts it down and takes action?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Members will please take their seats.

Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Hon. Andrea Khanjin: I remain deeply concerned, and I do have an additional call with Aamjiwnaang’s Chief Plain this afternoon. We currently already have environmental compliance officers who have been conducting site visits at Ineos. But we will not hesitate to take additional actions to protect the people of Sarnia and Aamjiwnaang First Nation.

Taxation

Mr. Dave Smith: My question is for the Solicitor General.

Since the introduction of the Liberal carbon tax in 2019, life has become more and more unaffordable for Ontarians. With the support of the Liberal members in this House, the federal government continues to punish Ontario families who are already struggling to put food on the table and heat their homes. It’s forcing Ontarians to pay more at the gas pump—a 14-cent increase just yesterday. This is not what the hard-working people of the province of Ontario deserve.

The carbon tax is costing everyone, including our front-line heroes.

Ontario deserves better, and our government must do all we can to fight this regressive tax.

Can the Solicitor General please explain the consequences of the federal carbon tax on our province’s public safety system?

Hon. Michael S. Kerzner: I want to thank my friend from Peterborough–Kawartha for his commitment to public safety in his community. And I want to give a shout-out to his police chief, Stu Betts, who does a great job to keep Peterborough safe.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve said this many times, and it’s absolutely obvious: The carbon tax has a direct impact on the cost of public safety. As an example, the OPP spend over $4 million a year just in carbon tax. And by the numbers—as of April 1, Ontarians are now paying 18 cents a litre for gas and 21 cents a litre for diesel; that means on every vehicle that is being used for public safety, there’s carbon tax.

We know where we stand. We know where they stand.

Bonnie Crombie has to come clean and say this is regressive and it’s affecting our community—

Interjections.

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

Mr. Dave Smith: Thank you to the Solicitor General for that response.

It is truly disappointing to see the federal government ignore the significant financial burden the carbon tax places on all of our front-line heroes.

Unfortunately, both the NDP and the Liberal members in this Legislature continue to support the federal Liberals and their unjust carbon tax. They just have to make a phone call to Jagmeet and Justin and ask them to change it.

Speaker, since our government was elected in 2018, affordability has been one of our top priorities. Unlike the carbon tax queen, Bonnie Crombie, our government is fighting the carbon tax. We’ve frozen the gas tax, and we’re saving Ontarians’ hard-earned money.

We’re keeping the pressure on and calling for the carbon tax to be scrapped so that the first responders who keep our communities safe won’t be impacted by this regressive tax.

Can the Solicitor General please explain how the Liberal carbon tax is negatively impacting law enforcement and public safety agencies all across Ontario?

Hon. Michael S. Kerzner: Again to my friend opposite, thank you for the question.

Let’s just talk about Peterborough. As of April 1, 3.3 cents a litre was added to the carbon tax; that means the vehicles for Peterborough Police Service have to pay this—in every vehicle, at every fill-up. This means they’re paying, on average, $800 a year just for the increase in the carbon tax. And do you know what, Mr. Speaker? Bonnie Crombie knows this. She sat on the board of Peel police services for many years. She knew how to read a budget. She knew that the carbon tax is embedded in the cost of fuel.

She should come clean with Ontarians and say, “This is wrong. I will call Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet in Ottawa and tell them it’s affecting our community safety.”

Health care

Ms. Chandra Pasma: The Minister of Health has repeatedly claimed that no one needs to pay for health care with their credit card. Yet my constituent Khalid was charged $3,590 to get his cataracts fixed. Khalid’s doctor said the surgery was medically necessary.

Can the minister of Minister of Health please explain to Khalid why he had to pay for the surgery and the tests on his credit card?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health.

Mr. Nolan Quinn: Our government knows the status quo is not working and more needs to be done. That is why we launched the Your Health plan. We are taking bold action to eliminate surgical backlogs and reduce wait times for publicly funded surgeries and procedures. Our plan is investing in infrastructure, boosting health human resources and adding educational supports for the future. Our plan is adding thousands of hours of MRI and CT scans and more procedures, including hip and knee replacements, closer to home—all accessible with your OHIP card, not your credit card. Our plan has already reduced the surgical backlog to below pre-pandemic levels.

We will continue to work with our health care partners across Ontario to ensure that we have the best publicly funded health care when and where people need it.

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

Ms. Chandra Pasma: Your health plan and the government’s bold initiatives are costing my constituents like Khalid thousands of dollars that they are having to pay on their credit cards.

One of the things Khalid was charged for was the lenses used for his surgeries. The doctor told him he needed to have this lens because he has astigmatism. These lenses cost him $1,590.

And Khalid is not alone. We know from the Ontario Health Coalition report yesterday that thousands of people across our province are being charged fees like this every single day for procedures they don’t need.

Why is the Minister of Health allowing private clinics to upsell patients on services by telling them that they are necessary when they are not?

Mr. Nolan Quinn: First and foremost, we do have protectpublichealthcare@ontario.ca that that constituent can call, or 1-888-662-6613.

It took Ontario years of neglect by the previous governments, propped up by the NDP—but our government has taken action and delivered results for Ontarians. Our government is proud to have one of the largest publicly funded health care systems across the whole world—a system we’re investing $85 billion in this year. There are countless stories of life-changing impacts across the province and evidence that expanding our capacity in our health care system is creating access for more surgeries and procedures than ever before.

Our government will continue to find innovative ways to make it faster and easier for Ontarians to access the care they need, when they need it, closer to home.

Taxation

Mr. Will Bouma: My question is for the Associate Minister of Small Business.

Canada’s inflation rate just rose to 2.9% this past month thanks to higher gas prices. Data from Statistics Canada indicates that if it wasn’t for gasoline prices, inflation would have actually gone down month over month.

We know that many small businesses rely on transportation to deliver goods and services. The carbon tax is making it more expensive to run their operations. The federal government must fix their broken tax measures, scrap the carbon tax and deliver real affordability for small businesses across Ontario.

Can the associate minister please tell this House how the carbon tax and high gasoline prices hurt our small businesses in Ontario?

Hon. Nina Tangri: Thank you to the great member from Brantford–Brant for his strong advocacy for his small businesses.

So many of our small businesses rely heavily on transportation and energy-intensive operations to deliver their goods and services. Ontario’s agricultural and agri-food businesses, from family farms to processing facilities, have seen their transportation and operating costs skyrocket. But the opposition Liberals and NDP have ignored the basic economics of why the carbon tax is bad for business. In fact, they think business owners and customers are better off.

So if you’re a lover of farmers’ markets, you can thank a Liberal the next time you see the price of Ontario produce go up. And when you pick up the necessary groceries for your family, you can thank a Liberal when you have to make those tough decisions on what to pick up and what to put back.

Join us and tell the Trudeau Liberals that this expensive, unaffordable tax has to be axed.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): That concludes our question period for this morning.

The member for Kingston and the Islands has a point of order.

Mr. Ted Hsu: I rise to seek unanimous consent for the following:

That, in the opinion of this House, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario calls on the Ontario government to protect Ontario’s water supply and not repeat the tragedy that happened in Walkerton 24 years ago by ensuring the current safety regulations, including Ontario’s free and public water testing, remain unchanged.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I believe the member is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion. Agreed?

Hon. Paul Calandra: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): On the same point of order?

Hon. Paul Calandra: On the same point of order, Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, obviously, we’re not going to entertain a substantive motion like that. If the Liberal Party would like to bring something on the floor, they have many opportunities to do that—as opposed to playing games, perhaps they would take their work seriously and bring something to the floor of this House. But I can assure the member that we will be voting against a motion that we have neither seen nor have been advised about what the contents of it are.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Agreed? No.

Waste to Resource Ontario

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has a point of order.

Hon. Andrea Khanjin: I just want to give a point of order in case folks are looking to go outside to the south lawn for their lunch. We’re going to have Waste to Resource that are there, that are going to be highlighting high alternative fuel usage in their waste collection system. It’s a really interesting truck, so I encourage everyone to go visit it.

And welcome to the board from Waste to Resource.

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

There being no further business this morning and no deferred votes, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1142 to 1300.

Reports by Committees

Standing Committee on Government Agencies

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I beg to inform the House that today the Clerk received the report on intended appointments dated April 18, 2024, of the Standing Committee on Government Agencies. Pursuant to standing order 110(f)(9), the report is deemed to be adopted by the House.

Report deemed adopted.

Introduction of Bills

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Introduction of bills? I recognize the member from Waterloo.

Ms. Catherine Fife: Thank you very much, Speaker. It’s my pleasure to introduce my private members’ bill for the first time.

I want to thank Karissa Singh, who’s the legislative assistant from my office here at Queen’s Park as well as OLIP’s Steffi Burgi for their dedication to crafting this legislation.

Lydia’s Law (Accountability and Transparency in the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases), 2024 / Loi Lydia de 2024 (responsabilité et transparence dans le traitement des cas d’agression sexuelle)

Ms. Fife moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 189,

An Act to enact Lydia’s Law (Accountability and Transparency in the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases), 2024 / Projet de loi 189, Loi édictant la Loi Lydia de 2024 (responsabilité et transparence dans le traitement des cas d’agression sexuelle).

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Is it the pleasure of the House the motion carry? Carried.

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Would the member from Waterloo like to briefly explain her bill?

Ms. Catherine Fife: I would. Thank you very much. Lydia’s Law (Accountability and Transparency in the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases) Act: This bill enacts Lydia’s Law,

Section 2 of the act provides that the Attorney General shall prepare and publish a progress report describing the extent to which the Ministry of the Attorney General has implemented certain recommendations set out in the Auditor General’s report and shall lay the progress report before the assembly.

Section 3 of the act requires the Standing Committee on Justice Policy to establish a working group to review the progress report and report on their review to the assembly.

Section 4 of the act provides that the Attorney General shall review the efficiency of the Victim Quick Response Program and report the results of the review to the assembly.

Section 5 of the act requires police services that receive a sexual assault complaint from persons who are 16 years of age or older to make the person aware of the independent legal advice program.

It is my pleasure to table this bill and I look forward to the debate on May 15.

Petitions

Heritage conservation

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: It gives me pleasure to present the following petition on behalf of Paul King in my riding of London North Centre. It is also a petition that has been put together by Architectural Conservancy Ontario.

Now, given the changes to the standing orders, we are not able to read the entirety of the petition text, so I will do my best summarize the key elements within this petition.

It talks about the changes that this government made to the Ontario Heritage Act—all of the changes that were made in 2022—and it talks about the heritage properties that are currently listed which are at risk. There are 36,000 heritage properties at risk, and the meagre protections for them will end January 1, 2025, unless this government acts.

What this petition does is it calls upon this government to correct that mistake that they have made—to backpedal upon yet another mistake that they have made—and amend the Ontario Heritage Act to give municipalities an additional five years, giving them until January 1, 2030, before heritage property listings expire.

I completely support this petition, will affix my signature and deliver it with page Armaan to the Clerks.

Anti-racism activities

Mr. Ted Hsu: I have three related petitions today that I will summarize together. These are related to the subject of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, signed by many people in my riding but put together by my youth council in Kingston and the Islands, and I’m very proud of what they’ve done. There are Jews and Muslims on the council. They are worried for each other about the effects of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

So, the three petitions today—I’ll just summarize each one very briefly.

I’m very happy to present these petitions today, Speaker.

Sexual violence and harassment

Ms. Catherine Fife: For the first time, I’ll be presenting this petition. It deals with Lydia’s Law, the piece of legislation that I just tabled, and it deals with the prevalence of sexual assault cases that are being dismissed or stayed or thrown out of our court system.

This petition honours a young woman named Lydia who waited two years for justice. In those two years, Speaker, the pain and the stress and the tension that she and her family experienced is inexcusable in a province like Ontario, for people to have to wait that long for justice.

This petition specifically speaks to two recommendations from the Auditor General, and that is to ensure that the Attorney General of Ontario is reporting back to this House what’s actually going on in our justice system with regard to the cases specifically around sexual assault that have been thrown out.

So we have gathered some signatures and are asking the government to support this legislation to address a constant and prevalent and systemic level of injustice that is happening to women who come forward and report sexual assault in Ontario.

It’s my pleasure to affix my signature and give it to page Brayden.

Access to health care

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: It’s my honour to present a petition entitled, “Support the Gender Affirming Health Care Act.”

Within this petition, it talks about the difficulties that two-spirit, transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse and intersex communities face when it comes to accessing the vital health care upon which we all rely.

It’s important for us to recognize that, unless we make sure that the government understands that this is a necessity, people within medical circles are not going to be taught in a way that respects people’s identities. So what this calls upon the government to do is to create an advisory committee to make sure that we address those gaps within the education system of medicine, and make sure that there’s greater access and coverage for gender-affirming care in Ontario.

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature and deliver it with page Shiara to the Clerks.

Long-term care

Ms. Catherine Fife: Given that I can’t read the text of the Till Death Do Us Part petition in the House anymore, I just will give you a quick

summary.

This is a petition calling on the Minister of Long-Term Care, the member for Willowdale, to call Bill 21 to committee. It has been at committee now for almost 400 days. It is time for the committee to address the issue of spouses being separated in long-term care.

This is a petition that honours Jim McLeod from Waterloo region. He and his wife, Joan, have been married for 65 years, now separated in two different facilities for six and a half years.

The research is very clear. When spouses and family members are able to stay together, their health improves. We knew through the pandemic that when you do have a spouse with you in a long-term-care facility or a care campus, they do a lot of assistance with the caretaking and caring for that individual. It’s a win-win-win to keep people together. It is cruel to separate spouses who are in long-term care, especially after these seniors contributed to the health and well-being and financial success of this province.

I’m calling on the Minister of Long-Term Care to call Bill 21 to the social policy committee. Let’s fix this together. It’s the least we can do for seniors in Ontario. Thank you very much.

Social assistance

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I have a petition with a number of signatures that were collected by Dr. Sally Palmer, who is a professor at McMaster University and is passionate about the urgency of raising social assistance rates. We’re proud to support her efforts because the petition points out how far below the poverty line individuals on Ontario Works and ODSP receive from this government: $733 for individuals on Ontario Works, $1,308 for those on ODSP. As the Speaker knows, that won’t even rent you an apartment, much less provide resources for food and electricity and other essentials.

The petition also talks about the fact that this government’s decision to tie ODSP to the cost of living does nothing to lift people on ODSP out of poverty and, in fact, just condemns them to legislated poverty for as long as they are collecting social assistance.

The petition also reminds us that the federal government had a CERB program during the pandemic that provided a basic income of $2,000 per month, which the government had determined was about what people needed in this country to be able to live during the COVID pandemic. So the petition calls for a doubling of social assistance rates for Ontario Works and ODSP, which is something I fully, fully support and am happy to affix my signature.

Organ donation

Ms. Catherine Fife: It’s my pleasure to table a petition regarding organ donation. Many people in the province of Ontario don’t understand how this program is in crisis. Our health critic has been gathering signatures from all over Ontario, but there are currently 1,600 people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in Ontario. It’s a shocking number, Speaker. Every three days, someone in Ontario actually dies because they can’t get a transplant in time.

We know that we need to be more proactive around organ donation, so our health critic, the member from Nickel Belt, has a petition that would allow a donor system based on presumed consent, which means that you would have to opt out instead of ensuring that organs are available for donation.

It’s a worthwhile program, built on many years of advocacy across the province. This is something we can do together. It should not be a partisan issue. With that, I will table this petition on behalf of the member from Nickel Belt. Thank you very much.

School safety

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I am pleased to rise to present this petition on behalf of many residents of London West who signed their name to this petition to keep classrooms safe for students and staff, because, certainly, Speaker, we are hearing more and more about issues in our classrooms.

We have EAs who are feeling unsafe, who are often on long-term disability because of the violence that they experience in our schools. Teachers are reporting more violent incidents. Students and parents are reporting more violent incidents in our classrooms. Much of that is connected to the fact that our schools are terribly understaffed. The mental health supports available for students are terribly under-resourced. All of this contributes to that crisis that we’re seeing in our classrooms.

So the petition calls on the Legislative Assembly to take effective action to address the violence in our schools. It calls on the Legislative Assembly to invest in more mental health resources and to properly fund our schools so that we can have smaller classrooms and more caring adults in our school buildings.

Orders of the Day

Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act, 2024 / Loi de 2024 sur la prévention de la vente de chiots contraire à l’éthique

Resuming the debate adjourned on April 17, 2024, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 159,

An Act to amend the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, 2019 / Projet de loi 159, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2019 sur les services provinciaux visant le bien-être des animaux.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Further debate?

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Meegwetch, Speaker. Remarks in Anishininiimowin. It’s a good day.

It’s always an honour to be able to speak on behalf of the people of Kiiwetinoong and, at this time, to be able to address some of the issues with Bill 159. There is so much for me to advocate for regarding animal welfare and animal wellness in the riding of Kiiwetinoong. I talk about that because it is so important that we make sure that we are not passing legislation that we know people in Kiiwetinoong communities and people in the north will be in contradiction of because they cannot access veterinary services.

But I want to do a shout-out also. I want to thank Matawa First Nations as well on supporting me and speaking to this bill by passing along very important information about animal welfare in First Nation communities, but also to be able to talk about their own pilot project. When my office was talking to them, their work was based on fulsome consultation with Indigenous people.

Ontario’s animal welfare models and services take almost no consideration, if any, for on-reserve communities in the province of Ontario.

I want to reiterate as well that governments have come a long way when it comes to dogs. As members of the Legislature, I think more people should know about the history of how sled dogs have been treated in this country. I spoke about this last month, but I want to take a minute again to remind you that for all First Nations—not just First Nations, but also Inuit communities—sled dogs were not historically pets but rather work animals that were necessary for our ways of life when we were on the land. They helped us transport hunting supplies, moving camp to camp.

Speaker, one of the things that happened is that the colonial governments used violence to aim at taking away First Nations and Inuit ways of life. For decades in the 20th century—the 1950s specifically, the 1960s—government officials, RCMP officers, shot and killed our people’s dogs. The reason they did that: Because they wanted to disempower and take away our ways of life, the independence, by taking away our ability to hunt for food. That’s why I keep saying governments have come a long way on how we treat animals and our pets and our work dogs.

When I talk about that, this is one of the many ways, one of the many violent tactics used by the government to try to force us to assimilate and one example of the many ways that the government has interfered in our ways of life, changing our relationship to animals and the land.

Before I continue, I want to say that I will be sharing my time with the member for London North Centre.

Also I want everyone to consider today what it looks like for the community in the north, what it looks like in Kiiwetinoong, where there are no veterinary services, because it’s very clear; I see it. We end up with overpopulation and suffering by both the animals and also people. This spring, as an example, in Nibinamik First Nation, also known as Summer Beaver, over 20 dogs were lost because of an outbreak of parvovirus, a very contagious and often deadly disease. The death of these dogs and the heartbreak it entailed for families could have been prevented if vaccines were regularly available and if there were veterinary professional models of service delivery, but there was none.

This should be a reminder of the very real consequences that the lack of animal care imposes, which is also felt across the border in Manitoba where a state of emergency was declared last month because of animal overpopulation crisis. Speaker, without proactive measures to control dog populations, because of the lack of veterinary services, some communities are forced to resort to dog culls, which is traumatic for everyone involved. If spay and neuter clinics were available so that overpopulation could be prevented proactively, there is no doubt the community would choose this option.

Much like the situation in Nibinamik First Nation, dogs suffer unnecessarily from diseases that could have been prevented by delivery of consistent vaccines and veterinary services. Zoonotic diseases like rabies, giardia, leptospirosis are of particular concern and pose risks to people as well.

Speaker, I’m sure almost everyone here has felt a bond with an animal at some point. Imagine how the mental health of community members is impacted by the absence of veterinary services, with traumatic outcomes that cause people to feel distress without witnessing the needless suffering of animals in their communities.

Turning to the substance of Bill 159, I ask everyone to consider how the people in far northern Ontario will feel if they hear about these laws that they will be accidentally in contravention of, just of where they are located. If a situation is considered to be a puppy mill because female dogs are having litters three times a year, then with an unintentional breeding caused by the non-existence of veterinary services, people in communities without veterinary services will be seen to have puppy mills. It should go without saying that this is unequitable to people in these communities in far northern Ontario, as well as animal welfare partners and the dogs themselves.

Speaker, there’s a simple solution: to provide more veterinary services. But why is Ontario not finding a way to do this? Why is Ontario hiding behind jurisdictional disputes to avoid taking any accountability or responsibility for the animals in on-reserve communities and on-reserve lands?

We need First Nations voices to be heard at the transition council when regulations are being crafted to ensure that there are not barriers for First Nations Indigenous communities and that systemic racism does not occur. We also need answers. Will dog owners who have no access to spay services for female dogs in their communities get charged under Bill 159?

I mentioned Matawa at the beginning of my remarks, who provided so much helpful insight. Everyone should go check out their Facebook page called Matawa Pets and People, where pet owners in the Matawa communities, Matawa First Nations share their experiences.

Speaker, I want to share a project. I want to tell you about a pilot project that they are in the midst of implementing until March 31, 2025, which establishes an animal services community-of-practice. This important project was a result of the Matawa Chiefs resolution that was passed in 2023 during the Matawa Chiefs Council’s regular business meetings and should serve as an example of how we can find innovative solutions to help bring more animal services to northern communities.

Speaker, Matawa’s pilot project recognizes the changes that have occurred in our relationship with our animals, especially dogs, which have been especially affected by colonization. We have new animals that we did not have traditionally, and the practice of dog sledding has almost disappeared—something I spoke about a few weeks ago as well during the debate for the vet care bill, Bill 171. The poor animal health and dog overpopulation that is often a result of these changes negatively impacts our communities. We see instances of dog bites, pack aggression, dog mauling deaths and potential for zoonotic disease transmission.

I wanted to share as well that Matawa’s pilot project also recognizes and embraces the many responsible pet owners in our communities and, in some communities, the wonderful volunteers who are helping.

The pilot project in Matawa I spoke about will do the following:

It will work with part-time animal guardians in each Matawa community to learn, to be trained and supported by an animal services lead coordinator.

They will improve education on animal wellness in Matawa First Nations.

They will improve animal wellness, reduce fertility rates and safer, healthier communities using an animal-human “one health model.”

They will provide animal wellness and spay/neuter clinics in seven of the nine First Nations in Matawa. That started in March 2024.

They will also work on getting feedback from the people in the community and leadership on how they will want to see the animal situation, complete with an animal population survey and sustainability plan for when the project is completed.

They will work with online veterinarians to learn to do rudimentary first aid, give basic vaccines and medications, as required.

They will contribute to the Matawa Pets and People site on Facebook to better educate the public on what other communities are doing.

They will advocate with governments on animal issues in the First Nations in Matawa.

And finally, they will complete a final report on a community of practices which can be used as a model for other First Nations in Canada who are both road-access and fly-in First Nations.

Speaker, First Nations in Ontario have experienced time and time again the harms of jurisdictional finger-pointing between colonial governments of this country. I know that, once again, on the issue of animal services, First Nations are in between federal and provincial jurisdictions. It’s not only that this is unacceptable, but because it results in no animal services being provided, it leads to the system for services for animals—pets, dogs—to become unjust.

I just want to call on the government to acknowledge this problem and to respond to this instead of continuing to leave our communities on the sidelines when we want to better the system for the pets that we have in the north as well. You cannot use jurisdiction as an excuse not to do anything. When you continue to use jurisdiction as an excuse not to do anything, it is very colonial, and when we talk about services for dogs, we have to acknowledge that.

As I spoke to earlier, the adverse effects of leaving First Nations out not only neglect the First Nations and neglects the communities, but put us in a position where we contravene the legislation because of the lack of veterinary services that we have on-reserve. The question is what is going to happen to the people that live in these communities when you implement this legislation.

Speaker, thank you for listening and thank you to the members for listening and also sharing my thoughts. Again, as I said before, I will be sharing my time with the member of London North Centre. Meegwetch.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly): The member for London North Centre.

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: I’d like to thank the member from Kiiwetinoong for an excellent lead-off to the opposition debate on Bill 159.

As I begin my remarks, I think of the Humane Society of London and Middlesex, who are engaged in a wonderful campaign. It’s called New Home, New Hope. They’ve been at their current location at 624 Clarke Road for 120 years, and they’re currently moving to 1414 Dundas Street. Unfortunately, it’s just outside of my riding, but it’s very close to the border. But within this brilliant plan, they’re going to have outdoor spaces, play areas. Right now, the cages that are in their current space don’t meet industry standards. It’s an old building; there’s old plumbing, there’s an old HVAC system. The capacity is 175 to 200, and the new location will have about 400.

What’s also really brilliant and revolutionary about this plan is that it really looks after the skills pipeline. It is in partnership with post-secondary institutions such as Fanshawe, so allowing training of vet techs, experiential learning, local leadership capacity.

I wanted to start off with this because the Humane Society of London and Middlesex has asked this province for $1.5 million, and it’s fallen upon deaf ears with this government, despite all of the spending that we saw in budget 2024. As it turns out, the city of London has contributed twice the amount that was asked of the province. They’ve contributed $3 million. The federal government has stepped up, but unfortunately, the province is really a laggard when it comes to funding these amazing initiatives.

What’s brilliant about it is that it will also include pet training classes, adoptions and an education centre where children will be able to take school visits. As I said, it will really look after that skills pipeline of people entering veterinary medicine. They will have seasonal camps, but also there will be a companion animal hospital that will support shelter animals as well as provide affordable vet services.

It will be building the spaces that people need, whether it’s saying goodbye to a pet, which will be accessible from a certain door as opposed to the people who are entering to adopt a new family member, which will be from a separate door—because can you imagine those two people crossing paths? It doesn’t make much sense, Speaker. But unfortunately, this government has not yet chosen to acknowledge that funding request, and it really is such a pity because I believe it’s a very worthy cause, a very worthy organization. I hope this government will reconsider that.

As we look at Bill 159, there are some good measures that do come forward within Bill 159, including making certain practices illegal, such as breeding a female dog more than three times in a two-year period or breeding more than two litters from a female dog’s consecutive heat cycles; breeding a female dog that is less than a year old or failing to keep a dog with a contagious disease away from other dogs or animals; failure to keep a dog’s environment sanitary and free from the accumulation of waste; and also separating a puppy from its mother before the age of eight weeks.

These measures do make a great deal of sense, Speaker. We see a few guidelines here having a minimum penalty of $10,000. However, if any infractions result in the death of a dog, it could be a fine of up to $25,000.

Now, what I will say is that these are good places to start, but many animal care advocates are asking for a great deal more from this government. They don’t believe that this goes far enough. In fact, this legislation has been called toothless. It has been said that these baseline fines are simply not enough to tackle and address the issue that this legislation in Bill 159 purports to try to solve or to try to combat.

Animal Justice has written, “One of the biggest failures of the PUPS Act is that it does not require dog breeders to be licensed.” So Bill 159 is to prevent these unethical puppy sales, but the government is not making sure that these people will even have to be licensed. So how is this going to be enforced? How will these be overseen? How will this be regulated if there is no licensing?

“Without a licensing regime,” the quote goes on, “there is no way to keep track of who is breeding dogs and where they are operating, which makes animal cruelty law enforcement nearly impossible. Without the ability to cancel a licence, authorities have little ability to shut down a problematic breeder.”

But what’s also important for us to recognize within this debate of the Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act is that these activities and these puppy mills, it’s not as though this is happening in broad daylight. This is not something that people are doing obviously. These puppy mills are being kept behind closed doors. They’re in places like barns; they’re in places like basements. They’re away from the public view, otherwise people would report them. It’s very rare for puppy mills to be caught and charged under current law as it stands, and I don’t know that Bill 159 will actually solve that.

Animal Justice goes on to state that these puppy mills, despite these fines, will continue to force dogs to produce litter after litter of puppies in deplorable conditions. They won’t have access to regular exercise, socialization and veterinary care. It doesn’t solve the problem that it sets out to do.

I’d also like to quote from Humane Initiative co-founder and president, Donna Power, who said this legislation is “pretty weak.” Donna goes on to state, “They’re selling it to the public like it’s the second coming, but they acknowledge to us, they know it’s not where it should be by any means.” That the legislation could bring about an end to the puppy mills is “simply not true,” she said.

Now, Camille Labchuk, who is the Animal Justice executive director, stated, “This bill will do little to nothing to stop the abuse of puppy mills in Ontario....

“Stating otherwise could provide a ‘false sense of security’ for people perusing online marketplaces for new four-legged family members....”

So, Speaker, here are experts in the field who want to be involved in the consultation on this bill, and they’re saying it doesn’t go far enough. Will Bill 159 provide licensing for people who would breed dogs? It doesn’t seem so. Labchuk and Power are both making that call. They’re asking for this to be included in Bill 159. Include a licensing regime with enforceable care standards.

Now, I will also point out that both Labchuk and Power talk about an inquiry that was made to the province about data on investigations. The province has simply ignored that request for investigations of this activity, and I find that curious. Should the province identify that this is a problem they want to solve, they should be able to also provide the backup to that.

Now, from my area, the London area, Laurie Ristmae, who is the founder of ARF Ontario and is also the executive director of the East London Animal Hospital, has stated—repeating what I’ve just said—“The breeds that are showcased in movies and on TV and that become popular, become very overbred and have physical issues and physical deformities that are just wrong, that can’t be fixed” because the market unfortunately responds to the demand. Breeders will see that breeds such as Dalmatians become very popular, and they want to be the ones who are able to sell them—able to make that profit.

Unfortunately, they may choose to do so in a way that is cruel, that is unfair, that is unethical to those beautiful little animals.

The government has said that it’s going to bring on more provincial animal welfare services inspectors to enforce these rules, but I will also point out that in the CBC’s coverage, CBC News found PAWS inspections were leading to significantly fewer orders and provincial and criminal charges when compared with animal abuse and neglect calls, which had been dealt with by the OSPCA, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

So that’s interesting, that the government is changing its tune and is now saying, “Yes, we’re going to hire more inspectors” because it has been discovered that there have not been enough inspections and there has not been enough enforcement. And yet, we see through Bill 159—is there going to be more enforcement? I’m not certain, if there’s not a licensing regime in place.

Labchuk is also quoted in this article. Camille Labchuk has stated, “How can inspectors ever go in and inspect a puppy mill to see if they’re complying with the laws if we have no idea where they are?”

The city of London has been very proactive on this issue. Back in 2018, they enacted an updated business and licensing bylaw. It banned pet shops from actually using animals that were obtained from some unethical places.

They banned pet stores “from selling cats and dogs that weren’t obtained from a municipal animal shelter, a registered humane society or shelter, or a prescribed rescue group.” That way they made sure that the animals that were in those places being adopted, with all those young people with their fingers and noses pressed to the glass wanting to get that little furry animal home—that those were the ones that were being rehomed, that were ones from shelters. And that makes a good deal of sense, Speaker, because it pulls the rug out from those unethical players within the market.

As I also look at this legislation, it reminds me of other legislation that this House has seen, in particular the opening up of training and trialling areas in the province. I think about how it was a past Conservative Premier, Mike Harris, who made new licences for training and trialling areas illegal.

Also, I think of the testimony of Rick Maw and Wayne Lintack, who were former conservation officers who talked about training and trialling areas and how that was cruel towards wildlife, in particular coyotes. You see, training and trialling areas are where dogs are trained how to track and hunt coyotes, but these areas are pens. They are massive areas that there is no escape from. These coyotes are often tracked down, they are cornered, and they are ripped apart by these dogs who are learning how to hunt.

In fact, those officers spoke about how they uncovered a coyote trade ring where these coyotes were caught illegally, stuffed into a small room in a barn and sold off to other hunters to be used in training and trial areas. Animal Justice and Coyote Watch Canada have said, “These operations subject captive animals to horrific physical and psychological distress, and also create an unsafe environment for the dogs who are trained to chase these animals being used as live bait.”

Ontario is an outlier when it comes to these sorts of what some would call very barbaric and anachronistic practices because no other province allows these training and trialling areas to use live animals as bait—except for Manitoba, which, in that case, uses live game birds. In fact, fox and coyote penning is banned in most US states.

So it seems antithetical that this government is saying that they’re standing up for animals with Bill 159, the Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act, and then in the other case are allowing training and trialling areas where coyotes will be ripped apart and savaged, basically tortured, which—in a more balanced way—also does put those dogs who are being trained to hunt at risk themselves, because of course those coyotes are going to defend themselves in their last moments.

Really, Speaker, as we look at this legislation with Bill 159, it does do some things which are positive steps. I don’t think that the legislation goes far enough. I think that we need to listen to experts within the field who are stating that baseline fines are simply not enough. This legislation, on its own, is toothless. This legislation requires a licensing regime and enforceable standards of care. I think, if we are going to tackle the problem that is puppy mills, we need to make sure that we are able to not only know where they are, find where they are, but make sure they stop operating.

These places operate under the cover of shadow. We need to make sure that everybody is licensed in order to breed dogs, so that we can make sure they’re doing it in a way that is ethical, in a way that is responsible and in a way that cares for animals properly—such as this bill purports to do. But as it stands right now, it doesn’t quite make the mark.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly): Questions?

Ms. Jessica Bell: My question is to the member from London North Centre. Thank you for your

summary of the bill. Could you just summarize for us again what are the specific things you’d like to see improved in this bill?

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: Thank you to my colleague from University–Rosedale for the question.

What animal advocates have indicated within this bill—they believe that baseline fines are not enough. The $10,000 for an infraction, the $25,000 for the loss of a dog’s life: While they are a start, we need to make sure that there’s a licensing regime in place; that all places that are going to foster and breed dogs are overseen by the province so that we can make sure that the care standards that are within Bill 159 are actually being enforced in all those places.

We need to shine a light into those places where these dogs are coming from and making sure they’re doing the right thing. We need these standards of care to be enforceable, and part of that is making sure we know exactly where this activity is happening.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly): Further questions?

Mr. Matthew Rae: Thank you to both my colleagues for their remarks this afternoon on the legislation before this House. My question is to the member from London North Centre. I am a dog owner, as many will know. Does the member agree that regulating record-keeping and the sale and transfer of dogs would be beneficial to the welfare of our furry friends?

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: Thank you to my colleague from Perth–Wellington for the question.

I do believe it’s important that regulations are in place to make sure that we know exactly when these animals are being sold, who they’re being sold to. But first and foremost, we need to make sure that we have regulations in place ensuring that the people who are breeding these dogs are doing so in an ethical way, a responsible way and a transparent way by disclosing their location. We should not be in a situation where we don’t know where this business activity is happening, because it’s happening in cramped places. It’s happening in basements. It’s happening in barns. It’s happening under the cover of night.

And we won’t be able to address this problem unless we know where this activity is happening.

You know what to do, government.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly): Further questions?

Mr. Jeff Burch: A question for my friend from Kiiwetinoong, whose opinion I like to hear when there’s a bill that affects First Nations communities, with respect to consultation: Has there been, in your opinion, enough consultation around this bill prior to the government bringing it forward?

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Meegwetch for the question.

Like any other time when we talk about legislation here in Ontario, there is—at the best of times, we get very minimal or very scattered consultation. At the worst, we get no consultation. And when I was speaking with some of the First Nations from Matawa, there was absolutely no consultation in the work that they’re trying to do. They bring such valuable information on the impacts on-reserve—I guess rez dogs on reserve, pets that we have. I think it’s important to say to this government that whenever there is legislation coming through that’s going to have an impact in Ontario, you should speak to First Nations.

Just because of that jurisdiction-on-reserve issue, that doesn’t mean that we are not part of Ontario. We need to come together as people to be able to address these things.

But that’s a great question.

Remarks in Anishininiimowin.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly): Further questions?

Mrs. Daisy Wai: Thank you to the member from London North Centre. I thank you for your remarks. I know that we share the same kind of concern about the unethical puppy sales act. I want to learn a little bit more of your response, that we should ban breeding of female dogs at too young of an age.

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: Thank you to the member from Richmond Hill for the question. There are some things in this bill which are acceptable and things that I think do move the needle forward. I don’t think it goes far enough, but there are such things as not allowing dogs to be bred under the age of one; as well, not breeding them with too many litters back to back; as well as a certain length of time after the animal has been out of heat, but also making sure that young puppies, those baby animals, are kept with their mother for a length of time, which makes good sense.

We want to make sure that they have access to their mother’s milk. We want to make sure that that helps them grow and be nourished and also be socialized in a way that is proper.

But this bill is toothless in other ways. It is toothless in making sure there’s a licensing regime and that there is enforcement. So it’s a step in the right direction, but it’s not a very big step.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly): Further questions?

Mr. Deepak Anand: I was listening to the member opposite, and I was thinking about what the president for the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said, that the PUPS Act “is a welcome and important step towards protecting dogs from unethical breeders and addressing the issue of puppy mills throughout our province.”

So my question is very simple to the member opposite: Do you agree with the president of the Ontario So