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July 30, 2018

42nd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard (PDF) 30-JUL-2018_L011

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 30 July 2018 Lundi 30 juillet 2018

Introduction of Visitors

Jerry Gadwa

Notices of reasoned amendments

Oral Questions

Municipal elections

Municipal elections

Municipal elections

Municipal elections

Municipal elections

Municipal government

Municipal elections

Municipal elections

Municipal government

Municipal elections

Firefighting in northern Ontario

Public consultation

Taxation

Municipal government

Government spending and accounting practices

Municipal elections

Municipal government

Notice of dissatisfaction

Introduction of Visitors

Members’ Statements

Riding of Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas

Special Olympics

Riding of Brampton Centre

York University Markham Centre campus

Opioid abuse

Municipal government / Gouvernement municipal

Fierté Simcoe Pride

Firefighting in northern Ontario

Special Olympics

Special Olympics

Introduction of Bills

Better Local Government Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur l’amélioration des administrations locales

Poet Laureate of Ontario Act (In Memory of Gord Downie), 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur le poète officiel de l’Ontario (à la mémoire de Gord Downie)

Petitions

Curriculum

Employment standards

Municipal elections

Immigration and refugee policy

Municipal elections

Municipal elections

Municipal elections

Municipal elections

Curriculum

Indigenous affairs

Municipal elections

Municipal elections

Orders of the Day

Politiques du gouvernement / Government policies

The House met at 1030.

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

Prayers.

Introduction of Visitors

Ms. Jill Andrew: Good morning, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome our visitors today. Within about a day or so, Toronto mobilized and came together under the banner of our city hall. We welcome you here this morning.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): We need to keep the introductions brief. There may be many.

Mr. Robert Bailey: I’d like to introduce a guest of mine up in the east members’ gallery: my son Rodney Bailey from the ridings of both Sarnia–Lambton and Oxford.

Mr. Faisal Hassan: I would like to welcome Adam Machado and Brandon Machado, young leaders from York South–Weston.

Mr. Vincent Ke: I would like to welcome Mr. Alan Kasperski from my riding of Don Valley North. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Ms. Kathleen O. Wynne: Please help me welcome my hard-working constituency office staff: Afie Mardukhi, Aafaaq Shaikh and Wendy Weston; and summer student extraordinaire Hakan Balpinarli.

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: I want to welcome Steven Mirtsos, who is with us today. He is a student at Ryerson University from my riding, and was a great volunteer for myself. He knocked on countless doors. Welcome, Steven.

Ms. Doly Begum: I would like to introduce my friend and former MP Matthew Kellway, sitting right over there, as well as a friend, Hamdi Ji, who is from the Toronto Youth Cabinet.

Ms. Marit Stiles: I’d like to welcome today Peter Gatti, a local Davenport community activist, and also my daughters, Lila and Mahala Berger-Stiles, who are in the members’ gallery today.

I’d also like to acknowledge Amin Ali, who is the Toronto District School Board student trustee.

Mr. Aris Babikian: I would like to welcome Aris Mousessian, one of my volunteers who helped me in the campaign. Welcome, Aris Jr.

Mr. Tom Rakocevic: I’d like to warmly welcome former member of the Legislature Anthony Perruzza, his wife, Kayla, his daughter Angelica and his son Antonio.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): We are pleased to welcome Mr. Perruzza, who was a member of provincial Parliament for the 35th Parliament, if I recall correctly. Welcome.

Do we have any further introductions of visitors? The member for Toronto–Danforth.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: I’d like to welcome Jean Lim O’Brien, her son Sean O’Brien, and Lester Brown. Welcome to the Legislature. I hope it’s illuminating.

Ms. Suze Morrison: I was also going to introduce Lester Brown, but I was beat to it.

I’d also like to welcome to the Legislature Jennifer Hollett, who is the Toronto city councillor candidate for the new ward 21. She’s not in the room right now. I understand she’s just outside doing media.

I’d also like to welcome Brian Chang, who I understand hasn’t made it into the gallery as well, but is here.

Mr. Mike Schreiner: I’d like to introduce a former member of the provincial Legislature. George Smitherman is here today.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Yes, indeed. The member for Toronto Centre–Rosedale in the 37th Parliament, the member for Toronto Centre–Rosedale in the 38th Parliament and the member for Toronto Centre in the 39th Parliament—again, we extend our welcome.

Jerry Gadwa

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Point of order, the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry.

Hon. Jeff Yurek: I believe we have unanimous consent for a moment of silence to honour the life of Jerry Gadwa, the firefighter who lost his life in northern Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Is there unanimous consent to have a moment’s silence to honour the passing of the firefighter? Agreed? Agreed.

Will you please rise.

The House observed a moment’s silence.

Notices of reasoned amendments

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I beg to inform the House that, pursuant to standing order 71(c), the member for Toronto–Danforth and the member for Ottawa–Vanier have filed with the Clerk reasoned amendments to the motion for second reading of Bill 4,

An Act respecting the preparation of a climate change plan, providing for the wind down of the cap and trade program and repealing the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016.

The order for second reading of Bill 4 may therefore not be called today.

Oral Questions

Municipal elections

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My first question is for the Premier. The Premier’s secret plot to interfere in municipal elections is the act of a bully, not a leader. He never campaigned on it. He never consulted anyone on it, and now he has no mandate whatsoever to inflict his own will on the people of Toronto, Niagara, Peel, York and Muskoka with the most antidemocratic action that this province has seen in years.

When did he decide to be a bully instead of a Premier?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’ll ask the Premier to take his seat.

I’m going to caution the House on the use of language. We have to ensure that the Speaker can maintain decorum in this House, and inflammatory language makes it much more difficult to do that. So I would caution members on their language.

Response. Premier?

Hon. Doug Ford: Through you, Mr. Speaker, to the Leader of the Opposition: I criss-crossed this province and campaigned on accountability, trust and reducing the size and cost of government.

Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, I fought for the people of this great city for years to reduce the size and cost of government. When I talked to thousands of people in the city of Toronto, not one single person came up to me and said, “Doug, I want more politicians.” They want less politicians. They want that money to go to priorities that matter to them. They want to make sure the $25 million that are saved are going to go to infrastructure, transit that’s in gridlock—it’s gridlocked just like city hall has been gridlocked for decades.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. Stop the clock. Please take your seats.

Start the clock. Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The Premier cooked up his backroom plot to steal power from the people and kept it hidden from 14 million Ontarians for the entire election campaign. There was no consultation and no fair process. That means that, today, there’s absolutely no legitimate mandate for this Premier to cancel regional elections and rip up Toronto’s wards.

Why is this Premier inflicting his will on millions of voters when he never told them the truth about what he was going to do?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m going to ask the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Withdraw, Speaker.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Response. Premier?

Hon. Doug Ford: I talked to tens of thousands of people across this province. I talked to thousands of people in Toronto, and every single person I spoke to in Toronto said that city hall is dysfunctional. It’s not getting transit—

Interjections.

Hon. Doug Ford: It has not even put a shovel in the ground for transit in over 20 years. Housing is backlogged by a billion dollars. Infrastructure is crumbling right underneath our feet.

We’re going to reallocate that money to things that matter and priorities for the people. We don’t believe in bigger government. We don’t believe in more politicians or more bureaucracy. We’re going to make sure the city of Toronto finally runs more efficiently. My friends—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock.

Final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The Premier’s secret plot, cooked up in a backroom and hidden from the people of Ontario for the entire election campaign, doesn’t just fit the very definition of a hidden agenda, it’s also petty and mean-spirited and it’s the vendetta of a man who doesn’t want to lead, Speaker. Instead, he wants to bully his way through. He wants to get his own way and exact revenge on his old political opponents.

Why is this Premier abusing his power and showing such contempt for the people of Ontario?

Hon. Doug Ford: Through you, Mr. Speaker: The difference between myself and the Leader of the Opposition—

Interjections.

Hon. Doug Ford: The Leader of the Opposition wants to talk about bullying. I’ll tell you the definition of bullying, when it comes to the Leader of the Opposition: cutting 7,000 jobs, laying off 7,000 jobs, at the Pickering power station. They would still be looking at how to put food on their table if it was up to you.

We’re reducing council by 25 politicians—22 politicians; it should be 25. Twenty-two politicians, and people love the idea. Out of anything I’ve ever done in politics, I’ve never had a better response than I’ve had about reducing the size and cost of government. My friends, even my neighbour—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Take your seat.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Premier will take his seat.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. The House will come to order. Thank you.

Next question.

Municipal elections

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is for the Premier. The Premier’s plot to undermine Toronto city council and stop elections in Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka is an assault on our democracy. It robs people of their voice. It robs the people of Toronto of their right to decide how many councillors they elect, and it shows that the Premier is not interested in doing what’s right for Ontario. He’s driven by his own desire for power.

Why is this Premier trying to control Toronto city hall from the Premier’s office?

Hon. Doug Ford: In the city of Toronto, we have 25 MPs, we have 25 MPPs, and some of those ridings are larger than Prince Edward Island. They’re larger than some provinces that your MPPs and my MPPs have to cover.

I can assure you that when we have 25 councillors, it’s going to be 500,000 less sheets of paper. I’m protecting the environment. I’m protecting trees, because there’s going to be less bureaucracy. It’s going to make the mayor’s job easier. It’s going to make fellow councillors’ jobs easier. It’s going to make the clerk’s job a lot easier, because right now, with 47 people, it would be dysfunctional. Nothing gets done at city hall. There’s gridlock on our streets, and there’s gridlock at city hall. Nothing—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. Stop the clock. Take your seats, please. Restart the clock.

Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The number of councillors that Toronto needs to serve the people of this city is a decision that belongs to the people of this city. But this Premier doesn’t care. All he cares about is inflicting his will and his own whims on the people of this city.

Why is this Premier trying to rig local elections? Just to put more power in his own hands?

Hon. Doug Ford: The Leader of the Opposition wouldn’t know what it is to serve the people of Toronto because you’ve never done it. You’ve never gone out there. You’ve never talked to the people of Toronto.

Let’s do a little comparison here: We have Los Angeles at four million people; we’re about half the size, and we have 47 councillors. Mr. Speaker, when I went to Los Angeles and I told the people we had 44 councillors, they said, “How can you get anything done?” My answer was: “We never get anything done.” No one gets anything done, because there are too many politicians, too many fiefdoms down there, in the interest of themselves.

I’m glad that my neighbour Councillor Perruzza is here, because we had many conversations, and every other councillor, all 44, have agreed that city hall is dysfunctional. Nothing is happening but spending—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. Members will please take their seats. Restart the clock.

Final supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Interfering in the middle of local elections to steal power away from the voters is not

an act—

Interjections.

Hon. Todd Smith: He runs the House.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I don’t need any help, thank you.

I have to ask the member to withdraw.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Withdraw.

Interfering in the middle of local elections to take power away from the voters is not

an act of leadership, Speaker. It is an abuse of power.

Taking revenge on political opponents does not show strength. It is a deeply chilling sign of weakness and insecurity.

And hiding one’s secret plans during an entire election campaign does not show respect for voters. It demonstrates utter contempt for the people of Ontario.

Why is this Premier acting like a dictator?

Hon. Doug Ford: Mr. Speaker, to the Leader of the Opposition: You go to the people. Maybe we should go out to the people in the streets, door-knock, and ask what they want. Do they want 25 more politicians that they weren’t consulted with, or do they want less politicians? Do they want more police or do they want 800 less police than when I was there to protect the streets? Do they want more transit or do they want less transit? Do they want higher taxes or lower taxes? Because we know you want higher taxes. You want big government. You want a dysfunctional government.

We’re going to reduce the size and cost of government, we’re going to save the taxpayers $25 million, and we’re going to get things going once and for all with transit. We will get this city moving again.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock.

If you could restart the clock. Next question.

Municipal elections

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The question is to the Premier, who just indicated that this really is all about him. Let’s not forget that this Premier could not get elected as mayor of Toronto. He was soundly defeated by the people of this great city.

In June, the vast majority of Torontonians once again rejected this Premier. But instead of accepting Toronto’s verdict, this Premier is trying to settle political scores with the people of this city.

Why is the Premier trying to punish the people of Toronto?

Hon. Doug Ford: Mr. Speaker, granted, I only ended up with 330,000 votes when I ran for mayor, in five weeks. That’s more than all the NDPs combined in the city of Toronto.

I think we did a pretty good job in the last provincial election. It’s like throwing boulders in a glass house.

Leader of the Opposition: People want less government. They want lower taxes. We aren’t going to be laying 7,000 people off, like you were going to up in Pickering. We’re going to create jobs, we’re going to create transit, we’re going to fix the infrastructure, and we’re going to take care of the $1-billion backlog of housing. People are sleeping on the streets because too much money is going to politicians, not into the taxpayers’ pocket—

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

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock.

Restart the clock. Supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: I would dare say that most Ontarians and most Canadians want democracy, not dictatorship, Speaker—democracy.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Once again, I’m going to caution the House and the members who are asking questions today on the use of inflammatory language. We have to ensure that this debate continues in a respectful and civil manner to the greatest extent possible, as we all expect and hope we could achieve today.

Leader of the Opposition.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, the Premier’s decision to behave in this way instead of acting like a leader is the most revealing thing that he has done yet. By keeping his plot secret for the entire election campaign, he has shown that his word is, in fact, worthless. He has revealed that he will steal power away from the people he disagrees with and he will abuse his own office just to—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m going to ask the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Withdraw.

He will abuse his own office to take mean-spirited revenge on his political opponents.

Why does this Premier have no idea how to act like a Premier?

Hon. Doug Ford: Speaker, through you: Leader of the Opposition, you won’t ever have to worry about acting like a leader. You will never have to worry about that. Democracy took place on June 7, when the greater Toronto area and the rest of province decided they want smaller government. They want less taxes. They want lower hydro rates. They want accountability for the first time they’ve seen in God knows how long.

Leader of the Opposition, you’re going to have a chance to vote on this—all the power to you. The people voted on June 7 to make sure we start respecting the taxpayers, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. Before I call for the next question, I would remind all members that you make your remarks through the Chair.

Next question.

Municipal elections

Mr. Roman Baber: My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Minister, what a wonderful weekend in Toronto. As a resident of north Toronto, I am excited about our government’s plan to enable Toronto to save on costs, streamline decision-making and ensure equal representation for all Toronto residents on city council.

Can the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing tell us how the government is helping Toronto with the upcoming municipal election?

Hon. Steve Clark: I want to thank the member for the question. Local governments deliver critical services to residents. It’s in everyone’s interest that they are efficient and respect taxpayers’ dollars. Speaker, we believe that the taxpayer in Toronto will benefit from the changes that are proposed in the bill.

I understand that the municipal election period is already under way. Voting day is just three months away. That’s why my ministry intends to work with the city to mitigate operational issues under this proposed legislation and to allow candidates to develop revised plans. We’re going to be sitting down with the clerk’s office. We’re going to be extending the nomination period for those council and school board candidates to September 14.

I can tell the member more in the supplementary, but we’re working with the city on this issue.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. Members will please take your seats. Restart the clock.

Supplementary?

Mr. Roman Baber: Back to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: Thank you very much, Minister. It’s great to hear that you have Toronto’s needs in mind, and I’m more optimistic than ever about the future of the city.

Would the minister go back and ask Ontario’s Chief Electoral Officer to share the most recent voters list with the city clerk?

Hon. Steve Clark: Again, I want to thank the member. I’m very glad you asked this question. As I said, I believe the taxpayer of Toronto will benefit from the proposed changes in this bill as soon as possible. That’s why we’ve already had conversations with Ontario’s Chief Electoral Officer, Greg Essensa. Should the city of Toronto require or request some assistance, the Chief Electoral Officer has agreed to assist the city with moving forward to those new electoral boundaries, including providing revision and updated information from the most recent election.

If passed, Speaker, our proposed legislation would align Toronto’s municipal boundaries with those that are already in existence with the federal government and with the members that we just had during the election.

Speaker, we are taking decisive action so that, on October 22, Torontonians can vote for a streamlined government, one that is—

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

Municipal elections

Ms. Suze Morrison: My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier tell Ontarians exactly where in his plan for the people he said that he would specifically cut Toronto city council in half in the middle of our election?

Hon. Doug Ford: When I was down at city council, I put it to a vote. I spoke a hundred times about reducing the size and cost of government. As a matter of fact, if you saw on Friday, we had a diverse group of councillors, and you’ll probably see them today come down to support reducing the size and cost of government. We had over 12 councillors come out who said, “This is the right decision. Forty-four councillors, no; it’s dysfunctional down there.”

Nothing is getting done except wasting taxpayers’ money and getting into more debt. We’re feeling the pressure of over $550 million down at the city, and they aren’t coming to ask to get bailed out, I can guarantee you that. They’re going to start taking care of their own house with a smaller government. Good governance in any corporation is seven to nine because you can’t get anything done if you have 20 people around the table—

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

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. The members will please take their seats.

Restart the clock. Supplementary?

Ms. Suze Morrison: The Premier has no mandate to interfere entirely on his own in Toronto’s election. Why does the Premier think that he knows better than the people of Toronto?

Hon. Doug Ford: Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Hon. Steve Clark: Speaker, during the election, we committed to bringing accountability and trust back to government. We also agreed to reduce the size and cost of government. We believe that under this proposed legislation—

Mr. Michael Coteau: Go to some other cities, then, Steve.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Don Valley East.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Don Valley East must come to order.

Hon. Steve Clark: We believe that on October 22, under this proposed legislation, the people of Toronto will have a streamlined council that is ready to work, ready to make those important, efficient and effective decisions on behalf of their constituents, to have the right priorities under an effective council. This is very important for us. We talked about reducing the size and cost of government—

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

Next question.

Municipal government

Mrs. Robin Martin: My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Our government for the people is committed to reducing the size and cost of government. Can the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing tell us about the steps that the government is taking?

Hon. Steve Clark: I want to thank the member for the question. During the campaign, we received a very strong message from Ontarians, that they wanted us to respect taxpayers’ dollars. On June 7, it was clear that they wanted a government that got things done. And, Speaker, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.

Today I will propose legislation that, if passed, would reduce the number of Toronto councillors to 25. Speaker, as you know, local government delivers critical services to their residents. It’s in everyone’s interest that they do so in an effective and efficient manner for their taxpayers. Torontonians, as I’ve said, can now vote under this proposed legislation for a streamlined council that, when elected, is ready to work on the priorities of its constituents.

Interjections.

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

Restart the clock. Supplementary?

Mrs. Robin Martin: Back to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: Thank you very much, Minister, for the answer. This is great news for Toronto and for the people and the council.

Can the minister tell the House how this legislation would not only benefit Toronto council, but would also improve the lives of all Torontonians?

Hon. Steve Clark: Again, I want to thank the member. As I said earlier, the proposed legislation would reduce the number of Toronto councillors to 25. This is a meaningful change that will dramatically improve the decision-making process at the city of Toronto. For too long, Speaker, that process has been discussions that have went around and around and around, and not been able to make those important decisions.

We believe that this bill will allow the city to make those important decisions, whether they be on infrastructure or whether they be on housing or transit. To have a streamlined council that can make decisions faster, and that, at the same time, over the four years, would save Toronto taxpayers $25 million—that’s an important dollar figure, Speaker. It will allow the city to make quick decisions, but it will also provide a financial benefit to those constituents—

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

Municipal elections

Mr. Peter Tabuns: My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. When did the Premier tell the minister his plan to interfere in Toronto’s election during the middle of their campaign? When?

Hon. Steve Clark: Speaker, through you to the member: It’s very important for me to remind the member of the message that both our party and his party and the other parties received in the June 7 election. Make no mistake: We received a very clear mandate for accountability and trust, and to put that back into government.

We also made it very clear during the election—and I want to remind the member—that discussing reducing the size and cost of government was something that my Premier and members of my caucus made countless times during the election. We went through this campaign, and the Premier and our members talked to tens of thousands of Ontarians. They talked about the interest and the information to be able to provide this to the House today.

As I said before, my plan is to propose this legislation. It will dramatically cut the size of Toronto city council. But it will, more importantly—

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

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Again to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: The Premier didn’t campaign on interfering in Toronto’s election in the middle of a campaign. It didn’t come up until Thursday night, three months after the municipal election began. It wasn’t in his platform. He didn’t mention it in a single debate. He didn’t tell Ontarians.

When, Minister, did the Premier tell you his plan?

Hon. Steve Clark: I thank the member for the question. No one in Ontario believes that we need more politicians to make a decision. Any oversized council makes it almost impossible to make those decisions on behalf of their constituents. We believe that the proposed legislation would streamline council and make better decisions.

I don’t know about the member, but I certainly believe that having 25 MPs covering an electoral district and 25 MPPs covering the same electoral district is out of touch with having 25 city councillors deal with that same electoral district. I think it provides better government. I think it provides better decisions, faster decisions to be able to deal with the priorities of the citizens of Toronto.

I ask the member: Join us in supporting this proposed legislation.

Municipal elections

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: My question is for the Premier. Your overnight decision to meddle in the Ontario municipal elections is concerning. Again and again, you drive chaos through this system. Given that the elections have already begun as of May 1—with hundreds of candidates already registered, signs that have been purchased and people who have signed up—this creates chaos at a time when we need stability and strong leadership to focus on things like NAFTA.

The Premier is sending a message to investors that he can’t manage a stable government. He speaks out of both sides of his mouth. Consultations—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I would ask the member—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Take your seat. I’d ask the member to withdraw.

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: I withdraw, Speaker.

Why consultations for sexual education and not for municipal election decisions? Will the Premier commit to consultations in this instance for the city of Toronto?

Hon. Doug Ford: Minister of Municipal Affairs.

Hon. Steve Clark: I want to thank the member for the question. As I said, our proposed legislation will change, for this election, the number of councillors within the city of Toronto.

On Friday, we talked about the changes we are proposing that would allow the nomination period to be extended from Friday, July 27, the Friday that was past, to September 14. We’ve committed, as I said earlier today, to work with the clerk on those transitional issues for candidates. We’ve also reached out to Ontario’s Chief Electoral Officer to try to help the municipality deal with the most important aspect of the newest possible voters list. We’re going to continue to work with the clerk’s office and the city of Toronto as we manage over the proposed piece of legislation.

Again, it goes back to the underlying principle. We campaigned on respecting taxpayers’ dollars—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: Mr. Speaker, to the minister, then: Like most people, I was shocked to learn from the Toronto Star overnight that this government is planning to cancel regional chair elections and interfering with local races in Toronto.

From the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing—a former mayor, in fact—we expect better. You stood in this House and voted in favour of the bill for an elected chair in York region, saying, “We all agree that this bill would increase the accountability and make the system more democratic, and the people of York region want ... change.”

Minister, why have you changed your tune?

Hon. Steve Clark: I want to again thank the member for the question. The Liberals imposed the bill on this House in 2016. There were many stakeholders who felt it needed to be hitting a pause. The Premier and I on Friday talked about hitting a pause on those four regional governments. They’ll go back to the way they operated in the 2014 election. It remains unchanged for the other three regional governments.

I think we were very clear that we are going to move forward with those changes as well as the city of Toronto changes today in the proposed bill. I look forward to engaging our regional government partners in a couple of weeks at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference. We’re going to start the dialogue on an informal basis, and we’ll probably have something more formal in the fall.

Municipal government

Mr. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Our government for the people is committed to restoring accountability and trust and bringing efficiency back to government.

Can the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing tell us what our government is doing to help regional government work more effectively and efficiently for their taxpayers?

Hon. Steve Clark: I want to thank the member for Brampton South for that question. As I said earlier, it’s my intention to present legislation that, if passed, would put a pause on changes brought in in 2016, without consultation, to create a new layer of politicians, elected regional chairs, in York, Peel, Niagara and Muskoka.

Speaker, the last thing that families, businesses and municipal leaders in these regions need is another layer of politicians. We’re proposing to go back to the way it was before 2016. The other regional governments would continue to elect their representatives as normal, but in York, Peel, Niagara and Muskoka we’re going to take a pause. We intend to reverse legislation imposed on municipalities in 2016.

This is another example, Speaker, of our government getting out of the way and allowing those councils to work in the best interests of their people.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Mr. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: Back to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Thank you very much, Minister, and thank you for acting now to reverse legislation that was unfairly imposed on municipalities.

What about the other regions? Can the minister tell the House how the government intends to make sure all regional governments in Ontario work more effectively and efficiently for the people?

Hon. Steve Clark: Again, I want to thank the member for the question. Speaker, our government for the people is committed to finding the most effective and most efficient ways for municipalities to work for their taxpayers. As the Premier has said, one thing every politician at every level in every region needs to understand and remember is that we all share the same boss. We all work for the people.

We’re going to take a long look at regional government, Speaker: where things have worked and where they haven’t worked so well. I’m going to start this review informally, at our discussion at the upcoming Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in the city of Ottawa. I really want to hear from municipal leaders at that conference, in an informal setting, how they feel things have worked and, in some cases, things they would like to change. After that review, we’ll have more discussions, perhaps in a more formal—

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

Next question.

Municipal elections

Ms. Sara Singh: My question is for the Premier. In Brampton, we welcomed the opportunity to finally elect a chair to the region of Peel, so we were shocked to learn that, without any public input, this government has decided to drag Brampton backwards. And now this government has taken away the democratic voice of 1.4 million residents in the region of Peel. The people in my community deserve to elect a chair.

Can the Premier explain why he is taking away our community’s right to elect their government?

Hon. Doug Ford: Through you, Mr. Speaker, I know the people in Brampton very well, extremely well. As a matter of fact, I know the people in Brampton Centre very well, and I think I’m going to do a little door-knocking there to find out, when I door-knock, “Do you want more politicians? Do you want more layers of government? Because your MPP wants bigger government, more taxes.”

I can promise you not one single person in Brampton Centre wants more politicians, wants higher taxes. They want lower taxes. That’s what the people of Brampton Centre want. And if I went up to them and said, “Would you be happy to trade in a bunch of politicians for millions of dollars of services?” they would say, “Show ’em the door,” and that’s what we’re going to do.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. Members will take their seats.

Interjections.

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

Supplementary?

Ms. Sara Singh: Back to the Premier: During this government’s short time in office, we have seen backroom deal after backroom deal, leaving the people of Ontario worse off. Now the Premier has suddenly taken away the right of a community to elect their own regional chair. This type of unilateral meddling does nothing but move our communities backwards.

I ask you: Which of your insider friends are you propping up to power by manipulating the election in Peel region?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Take your seats.

Premier?

Hon. Doug Ford: Through you, Mr. Speaker: Back in 2016, I don’t remember any consultation happening when the previous government rammed it down the throats of the region of Peel, to have duplication of government. I don’t remember any consultation when the city wanted to increase politicians, three more politicians. I don’t remember any consultation about raising taxes or increasing politicians, but I can tell—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I ask the Premier to take his seat.

The official opposition has to come to order. I can’t hear the Premier.

Premier?

Hon. Doug Ford: I just want to remind the Leader of the Opposition and the NDP—you mentioned me running for mayor. I ended up getting 88,646 more votes than the NDP, all combined, in the city of Toronto. So thank you.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. Order. Members will take their seats.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order. We still have 20 minutes.

Start the clock. The member for Parry Sound–Muskoka.

Firefighting in northern Ontario

Mr. Norman Miller: My question is to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry.

We’ve all heard the tragic news of Jerry Gadwa of the Kehewin First Nation community in northern Alberta, who died while supporting the fire suppression efforts in Red Lake, Ontario. On behalf of the people of Ontario, I would like to thank him for his services and express my heartfelt condolences to his family. He will always be remembered as a hero.

Can the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry provide this House with an update on how fire suppression efforts are progressing across Ontario?

Hon. Jeff Yurek: Thank you to the member for the question. I also would like to once again express the government’s condolences to Mr. Gadwa’s family. I think it’s very important that we recognize the bravery and courage that Mr. Gadwa displayed in the name of providing for his family and protecting those areas to which he was deployed. I would like to also express my appreciation to all the staff and volunteers who continue to do their part.

To this date, we have received support from our provincial partners as well as from the United States and Mexico. We anticipate more fire rangers coming from Mexico and more equipment from our provincial partners. We’re also exploring an option that would allow retired rangers to come back on the job on a temporary basis to provide added assistance and expertise.

Again, our top priority is the safety of the public, protection of property and the safety of our emergency responders.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Mr. Norman Miller: Back to the minister: I want to thank all the firefighters from Ontario, other provinces, the United States and Mexico who are working so hard to fight the many fires around northern Ontario. In particular, I want to thank those who are fighting Parry Sound 33 in the north end of my riding. I was pleased to join the minister and the Premier in visiting the brave men and women fighting Parry Sound 33 on Friday.

Can the minister share with this House and with the people of my riding what is being done to stop this and other fires?

Hon. Jeff Yurek: Thank you again for that question. Yes, on Friday the Premier, the member from Parry Sound–Muskoka and myself visited the Britt command centre near Parry Sound to visit those who are fighting the fires and to see the effects for ourselves. We must say, we were truly amazed at the dedication and professionalism of the command centre and those doing their part to keep Ontarians safe.

Currently the fire situation across northern and central Ontario is still active. This is because of warm temperatures, windy conditions, minimal precipitation and frequent thunderstorms with plenty of lightning. We are actively monitoring the fire situation and fighting key fires from the air and on the ground.

Our top priority, as I said earlier, is the safety of the public, protection of property and the safety of our emergency responders. We are fully prepared and ready to protect the public and our natural resources, and I’ve instructed my department to explore all options as to how we can continue to assist with, and dedicate resources to, these fires.

Public consultation

Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens: My question is for the Premier. Does the Premier believe that consulting with the public is important to the political process, yes or no?

Hon. Doug Ford: Municipal affairs.

Hon. Steve Clark: I want to thank the member. My Premier has consulted with tens of thousands of people during the election campaign. You know what, Speaker? It was crystal clear during that election that Ontarians embraced our message to respect taxpayers’ dollars.

As well, we talked countless times during the campaign about bringing accountability and trust back into this government, to again move forward our legislative agenda where I’ll be proposing legislation that will reduce the number of councillors in the city of Toronto, that will press a pause on the regional government changes that the previous government imposed in 2016.

We believe very strongly that the mandate we received and the message that we were given during that election was to respect taxpayers’ dollars, to make government accountable and efficient. That’s what we’re doing in the city of Toronto. I look forward to discussing—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens: Mr. Speaker, this government just can’t seem to keep their argument straight. First they go on about the importance of—and I quote the Deputy Premier here—“a proper end-to-end consultation that is completely inclusive and that hears from everyone.” And then, days later, they turn around and force changes on communities like Niagara, with no word from the people.

We have seen this government rail on and on and on about the importance of public consultation, but they only seem to care when it suits their far-right extremist friends. If public consultation is such an important part of this political process for the Conservatives, why did they think it was appropriate to skip it when removing democratic rights from the people of Niagara?

Interjections.

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

Minister?

Hon. Steve Clark: No one but the New Democrats believes that having more politicians is the right thing to do. Over and over again we’ll hear from this side of the House talking about a bloated government, more government and more politicians. I don’t believe that having more politicians is the right way to go.

We heard clearly during the campaign to respect taxpayers’ dollars, to bring back accountability, transparency and trust in government. We’re moving forward to reduce the size of government, to make it more streamlined, to be able to make decisions faster for the priorities of their constituents. I’m not surprised that New Democrats are against having efficient government.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. Members will take their seats.

Interjections.

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

Next question. The member for Hastings–Lennox and Addington. Start the clock.

Taxation

Mr. Daryl Kramp: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly appreciate the calm in the House right now.

My question is to the Minister of the Environment. Our government was elected on a clear, clear mandate to put people first, and to make life affordable for families in Ontario. That included a commitment to taxpayers to show respect for their hard-earned money.

In her value-for-money review, the Auditor General looked at the previous government’s cap-and-trade scheme. It was concluded the program would cost $8 billion. It would “not significantly lower emissions within the province.” In fact, the Auditor General went on to say that this program would achieve only 20% of its desired results. Clearly, Mr. Speaker, that is not value for money. The taxpayers of Ontario deserve more.

Will the Minister of the Environment please assure this House and address the real challenges we face with respect to taxpayers and the—

Interjections.

Hon. Rod Phillips: I thank the member from Hastings–Lennox and Addington for the question.

As we know and as we’ve discussed, the previous government’s cap-and-trade carbon tax was an ineffective program. He quite rightly reminds us that the Auditor General confirmed, through her approach to this, that the government cap-and-trade would actually cost businesses and consumers $8 billion, and it would only see a slight reduction in emissions. As was mentioned, the talk that it would fall 80% short of the targets that were set was surprising to Ontarians. That is why we ran on a program that would eliminate that. That is why we are saying that the era of carbon tax in Ontario is over.

The NDP would continue that program. The NDP would, in fact, build on that program. The NDP has talked about the highest carbon tax in the world. Our government will stand up for taxpayers. Our government will eliminate the carbon tax.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock.

Restart the clock. Supplementary?

Mr. Daryl Kramp: I certainly thank the minister for his answer that does respect taxpayers.

The conclusion reached by the Auditor General, of course, was the same conclusion reached by the people on June 7. The Liberals’ cap-and-trade carbon scheme is nothing more than a complete tax grab.

For years, families have struggled with the increased costs associated with this tax, and I hear stories, and most members do, everywhere we go. I know that’s why my constituents are excited to hear that our government is now moving quickly on our promise to eliminate the cap-and-trade scheme that truly punishes families.

Mr. Speaker, we promised that relief would be on the way for the hard-working people of Ontario. Promises made—

Interjections: Promises kept.

Mr. Daryl Kramp: Could the Minister of the Environment commit to my constituents that true relief is on the way?

Hon. Rod Phillips: As with the member, I heard the same thing from my constituents in Ajax. People are tired of being taxed for everything that they do. We are winding down this program to help working families, to help families in Ontario and make sure that they benefit from the program—cheaper gas prices, lower energy bills and more money in their pockets. Eliminating the cap-and-trade carbon tax will save the average family $260 a year, every year.

In addition to saving families money, it will lower the burden for Ontario business. It’s anticipated that through the cancellation of the cap-and-trade carbon tax, Ontario will create an estimated 14,000 jobs.

Our legislation is great news for the people of Ontario. As the member said, promises made, promises kept.

Municipal government

Ms. Marit Stiles: My question is for the Premier. Why has this Conservative government singled out Toronto city council specifically—not any other municipality—with this unilateral action to slash the number of Toronto city councillors? Is it because he has a score to settle with Torontonians who rejected him as mayor?

Hon. Doug Ford: Member of the opposition, we had an election. The people of Toronto, they were very clear. We ended up with more votes than all of the opposition, we ended up with more votes than the NDP, to fulfil our commitment of reducing the size and cost of government.

We were very clear that we’re going to have a smaller government. We were very clear about saving taxpayers money, reducing their hydro rates, reducing taxes, getting infrastructure built, getting transit built, taking care of the backlog of housing. That’s what our mandate was, and that was the mandate the people of Toronto and Ontario gave to our party, to move forward. That’s exactly what we’re going to do.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock.

Restart the clock. Supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: This government is proposing to slash the number of Toronto city councillors from 47 to just 25.

Interjection: Shame.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Yes, shame on you. This is being done despite the fact that the city spent two years consulting on this issue—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order. I’ll give the member extra time.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Speaker, thank you.

This is being done despite the fact that the city spent two years consulting on this issue and concluded that 47 councillors would be the best in terms of representation and ensuring that every voter is treated equally. Now Toronto will have the same number of councillors as Ottawa, a city with one third of Toronto’s population.

So I ask you again: Why is this Conservative government undermining the foundations of our—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I apologize to the member that I had to interrupt her question. I would ask the government side—she’s 10 feet away from me and I can’t hear her. I’m going to let the member repeat her question so I can hear it.

Ms. Marit Stiles: I ask you again, Mr. Speaker: Why is this Conservative government undermining the foundations of our democracy in order to take revenge on old foes?

Hon. Doug Ford: Through you, Mr. Speaker: Member of the opposition, did you see the 12 councillors stand up, the fiscally conservative councillors representing close to two million people in the city of Toronto? They know what their constituents want. They want smaller government. They want transit built for the first time ever in Toronto. That’s why we’re going to be uploading the subway system. That’s why we’re finally going to build subways—for the people of Scarborough, Mitzie. Actually, subways are coming to Scarborough.

Government spending and accounting practices

Ms. Jane McKenna: My question is for the President of the Treasury Board. My constituents in Burlington are concerned about the state of Ontario’s books. Under the previous Liberal government, they have seen our province’s debt climb to become the highest of any subnational jurisdiction in the world. They are also worried that we don’t know yet the whole truth. They watched as the Auditor General called into question the previous government’s accounting practices and discovered that their promises to return to a balanced budget were hiding an even bigger structural deficit than we imagined.

Mr. Speaker, can the minister explain how our government for the people will begin to dig Ontario out of this mess?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you to the member from Burlington. Let your constituents in Burlington know that help is on the way.

We know that Ontario doesn’t have a revenue problem, Mr. Speaker, but under the previous government it certainly had a spending problem. We have been clear since day one that we will put Ontario on a healthy financial footing and we will ensure that the province can afford to strengthen and maintain the vital public services the province depends on.

That is why our government has launched an Independent Financial Commission of Inquiry to show us how the province got into this mess, and a line-by-line audit which will begin to show us the way out. This audit will provide the government with a detailed analysis of current spending, benchmark this against other jurisdictions, and recommend areas that can be improved. Mr. Speaker, the government—

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

Supplementary question?

Ms. Jane McKenna: Speaker, back to the minister: I thank the minister for his answer and his diligence in ensuring Ontarians can trust the government’s books. I know the people of my riding and across Ontario are looking to the government to find efficiencies while continuing to deliver our vital services in an effective way.

Can the minister please update the House on our government’s efforts to restore the confidence of taxpayers that their money is being spent with prudence and care?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you again to the member from Burlington for that important question.

We promised, Mr. Speaker, that we would put an end to the party with the taxpayers’ money. We know that fiscal reviews like this one have the greatest potential to help target efforts to find solutions. Mr. Speaker, that is why I’m proud our government has wasted no time in launching a line-by-line audit. This audit includes a clear commitment to transformational change while protecting front-line jobs and services.

Mr. Speaker, we are not only restoring trust and accountability; we are ensuring Ontario is strongly positioned to deliver high-quality, sustainable public services now and in the future. The government and our Premier will not stop until we have restored responsibility and Ontario’s finances to a healthy place once again.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. Start the clock.

Next question?

Municipal elections

Mr. Gurratan Singh: My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The Premier cannot just wake up one day and unilaterally decide to change the municipal electoral landscape and cancel elections. Money has already been invested and campaigns have been under way for months.

Does the minister know how much this undemocratic decision will actually cost in court challenges that will inevitably come forward?

Hon. Steve Clark: Speaker, I want to thank the member for the question.

I think my Premier was very clear. We had an election. He spoke to many people in the city of Brampton about respecting taxpayers’ dollars, about making sure that government at all levels is more effective and more efficient.

Our proposed legislation, other than the changes for the city of Toronto, will only deal with the four regional governments that were part of this previous government’s 2016 legislation. All we’re doing is pressing the pause button while we move forward with a discussion with our municipal partners about—

Interjections.

Hon. Steve Clark: I know that the opposition benches are going to howl because they’re always going to stand up for bigger government, they’re always going to stand up for more politicians. That’s not the message that we heard from Ontarians. We heard very clearly to respect taxpayers’ dollars and to reduce the size and cost of government. That’s—

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

Mr. Gurratan Singh: Mr. Speaker, the Premier is acting like a dictator, changing the rules—

Interjections.

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

The member must withdraw.

Mr. Gurratan Singh: Withdraw.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Question?

Mr. Gurratan Singh: Changing the rules midway through the campaign. We know at least one court challenge has already been filed.

Again, can the minister tell us how much Ontarians will be on the hook for fighting court challenges caused by this dictator-like plot?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

I ask the member to withdraw.

Mr. Gurratan Singh: Withdraw.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Response? Minister of Municipal Affairs.

Hon. Steve Clark: Thank you, Speaker. It’s very regrettable, some of the words that are being used in this Legislature today—very regrettable.

Our government for the people is committed to finding effective and efficient ways for government to deliver services.

Again, Speaker, in terms of the regional governments, it’s only the four that were dealt with in the previous government’s 2016 legislation.

I’ve mentioned very, very clearly that we’re going to start an informal discussion with our governments at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in a couple of weeks in the city of Ottawa. We want to engage them to find out things that have worked in our regional government system and also things that I think we need to improve on. It’s all, again, a part of us having an efficient and effective way to deliver public services and especially those municipal services that are the closest services to the people. We want to respect those municipalities. We want to engage them—

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

Municipal government

Mr. David Piccini: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

I was out on Friday consulting with the good folks of Alnwick Haldimand township. In fact, Mr. Minister, I met with the mayor. Do you know that the first thing the mayor told me was that the first move they made to restore accountability and trust was to reduce the size of their municipality? As a result, they’ve been better able to deliver municipal services to their constituents.

My question is for the minister: What is this government doing to ensure we better respect the hard-earned tax dollars of Ontarians?

Hon. Steve Clark: Again, I want to thank the member for the question. There’s no doubt, Speaker, that we, on this side of the House, believe in better local government. During our last campaign, we heard very clearly to respect taxpayers’ dollars. With the changes that are proposed in this legislation, we want to get to the point that on October 22, the people of Toronto can vote for a streamlined council—just like the council that you talked about. They will vote for a streamlined council that will be ready to make quick decisions in the best interests of their taxpayers. It’s the right decision to do.

I, again, ask the members opposite: Join us in making efficient and effective local government something that—

Interjections.

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

That concludes question period for today.

Notice of dissatisfaction

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Pursuant to standing order 38(a), the member for Toronto Centre has given notice of her dissatisfaction with the answer to her question given by the Premier concerning Toronto’s municipal election. This matter will therefore be debated Tuesday at 6 p.m.

There being no deferred votes, this House is recessed until 1 p.m. this afternoon.

The House recessed from 1146 to 1300.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Mike Schreiner: I just would like to introduce a former deputy leader of the Green Party of Ontario, Peter Elgie. He comes from a long line of parliamentarians. His grandfather, Goldwin Elgie, served in this Legislature in the 1930s and 1940s. His dad, Bob Elgie, served in the Legislature from from 1977 to 1985. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mrs. Robin Martin: I would like to introduce my best friend and my biggest supporter: my husband, Jon Martin, who is in the gallery today to hear my inaugural address.

Ms. Suze Morrison: I’d like to introduce Chris Moise and Jennifer Hollett, who are in the members’ gallery. They are both municipal candidates in the upcoming Toronto election.

Mr. Bill Walker: I welcome a few Toronto city councillors who are here to witness the tabling of the legislation. They are Michael Ford, Stephen Holyday, David Shiner, Giorgio Mammoliti, Cesar Palacio, Jim Karygiannis, Justin Di Ciano, Michael Thompson, Frances Nunziata, Glenn de Baeremaeker, Vincent Crisanti and Michelle Holland.

Ms. Sara Singh: I’d like to introduce two fantastic young women who have been integral in helping me get elected to this magnificent post. I’d like to introduce Jasdeep Grewal and Bhani Whadwa, who are now officially hired on as my constituency assistants.

Ms. Jill Andrew: I want to acknowledge and thank friend Megann Wilson, municipal candidate in ward 23—she was here earlier—and also John Cartwright, president, Toronto and York Region Labour Council, from this morning.

Members’ Statements

Riding of Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas

Ms. Sandy Shaw: The riding I represent, Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas, is a newly created riding, and I am enormously proud to have been given the opportunity to be its very first representative in this House.

As is widely known, Hamilton has a proud history of strength in our steel industry and the good-paying jobs that have contributed to the well-being of our city. What is not as well known is that, in fact, education and health care is the largest employment sector in Hamilton. Its largest employers are Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University and Mohawk College, all of which are located in my riding of Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas. We’re known as hard workers who are engaged in our neighbourhoods. We lend a helping hand to those who need assistance.

Mr. Speaker, it is with that same sense of community in mind that I would like to mark a significant event that took place at St. Joseph’s Villa in Dundas this morning. A ceremonial groundbreaking for Margaret’s Place, a new hospice, marked the launch of their Gift of Love campaign.

In Ontario, governments only cover approximately 60% of operating costs for hospice care. So with Margaret’s Place in Dundas, it is a comfort to know that those suffering, and their families, will have access to high-quality hospice care in their time of need.

Special Olympics

Mr. Stephen Crawford: Tomorrow will mark the start of the 2018 Special Olympics in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The Special Olympics is a great event where hundreds of people aged eight or older from across the country will compete to qualify for the 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi.

This year will mark the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics, which was started by the world-famous Canadian medical doctor Dr. Frank Hayden, who lives in our neighbour riding of Burlington. Dr. Hayden was a pioneer in intellectual disability research, especially as it pertained to children, and he was the first to disprove the long-held belief that children who have intellectual disabilities are not capable of participating in play and recreation.

Last week, I had the privilege of meeting a constituent, Aiden Lee, who will be competing in the games. Aiden is 15 years old and will be competing in the swimming events in the games. He is a dedicated athlete who cares about the well-being of his teammates. Aiden visited my constituency office on Friday to share his knowledge of the competition, and asked for Ontario pins for all of his teammates from Oakville that they could proudly wear.

Mr. Speaker, I want to wish all the athletes from Ontario and especially Oakville all the best of luck when competing later this week. I know they will represent their province and their communities with the utmost commitment to the competition and respect of their fellow athletes. I look forward to meeting with Aiden and his teammates upon their return and to share in the celebration recognizing their efforts.

Riding of Brampton Centre

Ms. Sara Singh: I’d like to thank the people of Brampton Centre for the opportunity to represent the community I’ve called home since the day I was born, and I’d like to thank all the members that were involved in my campaign and for the opportunity to be here today.

Growing up in Brampton, I’ve watched us transform into the ninth-largest city in Canada. We are home to Chinguacousy Park, a 100-acre park that is in the heart of my riding, where families in our community gather every week to celebrate and connect. We are home to this country’s largest transportation and manufacturing hubs, moving this province’s economy forward. We are also home to some of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs and artists, like Alessia Cara, Rupi Kaur and Director X.

While I was knocking on doors in my riding, I met with thousands of people, who all indicated to me that one thing was clear: They wanted change. They wanted a government that was going to represent them and put their needs first. I am so proud to stand here and be that voice for my community, and I look forward to representing those diverse voices in this Legislature.

York University Markham Centre campus

Mr. Billy Pang: On July 23, I had the opportunity to stand with Mayor Scarpitti, colleagues and staff for the unveiling event marking York University’s Markham campus’ latest milestone. The York University Markham Centre campus will be located west of Markham Pan Am Centre and will offer more than 20 degree programs, including business, education, information technology, and software.

Here are just a few numbers of the impact the new campus will make:

—4,200 students by 2024 will have access to teaching, learning and research.

—400-plus on-campus jobs will be created.

—$500 million in economic benefits from the construction.

—$37 million of annual impact when it is fully operational.

The opening of the 2021 campus will benefit many residents of Markham and York region, allowing them to gain the skills and knowledge in order for them to be part of the 21st-century economy of Ontario. This expansion was made possible through investments made by the provincial government of Ontario, and it’s events like this which allow our government to invest in our children’s future.

Opioid abuse

Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens: I would like to take a moment to recognize a remarkable member of our community, Mr. Fred Bowering. Fred is a community advocate in St. Catharines who takes it upon himself to fight for compassionate action to be taken in the opioid crisis. He rides his bike to places like Centennial park and to the downtown public library to collect and dispose of discarded needles, sometimes filling multiple containers a day. In 2017, Fred was stuck with a needle at a local park but thankfully did not contract any illness.

In one year, Niagara EMS observed a 335% increase of suspected opioid overdoses. These needles are at our libraries, in our parks, children’s play areas and near our businesses.

We need to take action on the opioid epidemic in our city. I am thankful we have people like Fred ensuring our community is safe. However, more needs to be done to ensure people in our community are safe from harm. I hope this government will listen to the people, like Fred, and implement safe injection sites in Niagara.

Municipal government / Gouvernement municipal

Ms. Kathleen O. Wynne: One of the reasons that I am in this Legislature and I was motivated to run in 2003 was because we had a government in the Mike Harris government that did not respect local governance. So it pains me, Mr. Speaker, to rise today to express my concern and the concern of many, many constituents of Don Valley West and beyond who have already contacted my office regarding the Ford government’s perplexing last-minute scheme to meddle in Toronto’s municipal election.

As our Liberal caucus has already stated publicly, this bizarre action on the part of Premier Ford creates chaos in Toronto and in Ontario. This erratic proposal to unilaterally cut Toronto city council in half jeopardizes Ontario’s strong economic growth by sending the message to the world that Ontario is a risky place to do business.

This is a highly undemocratic proposal. It does not respect the process that the city of Toronto and the regions went through. It does not respect the people who have raised funds, who have paid out of pocket to campaign for election. There was no hint of this erratic action during the election campaign, and the Ford government has never asked the people of Toronto about this proposal. No matter what the Premier may say, travel and rallies are not the same as consultation.

Il est tout simplement irresponsable de procéder à des changements antidémocratiques à ce moment.

Whatever you believe about the ideal number of councillors for Toronto, Mr. Speaker, the way Premier Ford is treating Toronto is wrong. It is vindictive, mean and undemocratic, and it should stop.

Fierté Simcoe Pride

Mr. Doug Downey: I rise today to celebrate 18 flag raisings across Simcoe county that are happening over the next four days. These flag raisings are in support of Fierté Simcoe Pride, and there are proclamations from most municipalities in Simcoe county.

This is Fierté Simcoe Pride’s seventh annual Pride across Simcoe county, which features various family-friendly, community-oriented events over the course of two weeks. The celebration of LGBTQ2+ community brings pride to communities big and small and has support from all 18 municipalities in the county as well as Canadian Forces Base Borden, Rama First Nation and Beausoleil First Nation.

This year features the first-ever two-spirit powwow, organized by the youth of Beaujolais First Nation, as well as the third annual Trans Pride March in Orillia and the fourth annual Simcoe County Pride Awards. The awards honour LGBTQ2+ individuals, allies and supportive organizations that are doing work to make it safer and more inclusive in Simcoe county. This work makes our communities better places to live, work and grow. Details of the awards can be found at www.simcoepride.com.

Minister Wilson, Minister Mulroney, Andrea Khanjin, Jill Dunlop and myself would like to wish them a fantastic two weeks of events. We also would like to congratulate the award winners that will be feted on August 11.

Firefighting in northern Ontario

Mr. John Vanthof: As we are all aware, northern Ontario has been ravaged by forest fires in the last few weeks. On behalf of the residents of Timiskaming–Cochrane and, I believe, all Ontarians, I would like to express our sincere condolences to the family of Jerry Gadwa, who lost his life fighting a fire in northwestern Ontario.

Firefighters and people who respond to emergencies are a special breed. They go to danger and they help the rest of us flee from it. To his family and to all the others who are fighting these fires to keep our families safe, our sincerest thanks and our sincerest condolences.

And, for a brief update, the Lady Evelyn fire has been held at, I believe, around 30,000 hectares. The Parry Sound fire, I believe, is the hot spot right now.

This is a very divisive place, but we give credit where credit is due. I would like to thank the MNR and the minister responsible for the work that they’ve done—there’s been no effort spared—along with Emergency Measures Ontario and the firefighters and other workers from other provinces, from America and from Mexico. It has been a united effort, and I’d like to thank everyone. Please stay safe, everyone.

Special Olympics

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: I am very excited to stand in the House to wish athletes from my riding of Barrie–Innisfil good luck as they leave to compete in the 2018 Special Olympics Canada National Summer Games in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. There are 260 athletes travelling from Ontario to compete in the games, making it the largest team attending.

I would like to personally congratulate Joey Eira, Kristy Alford and Nicholas Cunningham, who are competing in athletics; Emily MacTavish, who is competing in swimming; as well as Maryann Lewtas, who is competing in bocce. These athletes earned their place on the team through hard work, dedication, and their performance at the 2016 provincial spring games, which took place in Guelph. I want to inform the House that Kristy Alford holds the OFSAA record for the 100-metre as well as two gold medals from 2017.

I urge everyone in this House to go to specialolympicsontario.com to be able to follow their athletes from across Ontario. Good luck, team Ontario.

Special Olympics

Mr. Dave Smith: I too am rising on Special Olympics Canada. For the next seven days, a number of athletes will be competing in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Ontario once again has a very strong contingent of exceptional athletes.

I would like to publicly acknowledge a number of those athletes who will be competing for Ontario from my riding: in the A division of soccer, Brandon VanSickle and Dylan Armstrong; in soccer, Nicole Hewitt, Brian Davis and Candace Bushie.

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge one particular athlete who has distinguished herself in a number of disciplines. This is her second Canada games that she will be attending. Her name is Lisa Butler and she is competing in five events: the 400-metre, the 800-metre, the long jump, the javelin and the shotput. As I like to say, it is her own half-decathlon.

I would like to wish all of those athletes the best of luck in Nova Scotia. I’m sure they will represent us very, very well. And most importantly, I wish them a safe journey back home.

Introduction of Bills

Better Local Government Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur l’amélioration des administrations locales

Mr. Clark moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 5,

An Act to amend the City of Toronto Act, 2006, the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 / Projet de loi 5, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2006 sur la cité de Toronto, la Loi de 2001 sur les municipalités et la Loi de 1996 sur les élections municipales.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard some noes.

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

Call in the members. This will be a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1319 to 1324.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Will the members please take their seats.

Mr. Clark has moved that leave be given to introduce a bill entitled

An Act to amend the City of Toronto Act, 2006, the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, and that it now be read for the first time.

All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be counted by the Clerk.

Ayes

Anand, Deepak

Baber, Roman

Babikian, Aris

Bailey, Robert

Barrett, Toby

Bouma, Will

Clark, Steve

Coe, Lorne

Crawford, Stephen

Cuzzetto, Rudy

Downey, Doug

Dunlop, Jill

Elliott, Christine

Fedeli, Victor

Fee, Amy

Fullerton, Merrilee

Ghamari, Goldie

Gill, Parm

Hardeman, Ernie

Harris, Mike

Hogarth, Christine

Jones, Sylvia

Karahalios, Belinda

Ke, Vincent

Khanjin, Andrea

Kramp, Daryl

Kusendova, Natalia

Lecce, Stephen

MacLeod, Lisa

Martin, Robin

Martow, Gila

McDonell, Jim

McKenna, Jane

McNaughton, Monte

Miller, Norman

Mulroney, Caroline

Nicholls, Rick

Oosterhoff, Sam

Pang, Billy

Park, Lindsey

Parsa, Michael

Pettapiece, Randy

Phillips, Rod

Rasheed, Kaleed

Rickford, Greg

Roberts, Jeremy

Romano, Ross

Sabawy, Sheref

Sandhu, Amarjot

Simard, Amanda

Smith, Dave

Smith, Todd

Tangri, Nina

Thanigasalam, Vijay

Triantafilopoulos, Effie J.

Wai, Daisy

Walker, Bill

Wilson, Jim

Yakabuski, John

Yurek, Jeff

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): All those opposed to the motion will please rise one at a time and be counted by the Clerk.

Nays

Andrew, Jill

Armstrong, Teresa J.

Arthur, Ian

Begum, Doly

Bell, Jessica

Berns-McGown, Rima

Bisson, Gilles

Burch, Jeff

Des Rosiers, Nathalie

Fife, Catherine

Fraser, John

French, Jennifer K.

Gates, Wayne

Gélinas, France

Glover, Chris

Gretzky, Lisa

Harden, Joel

Hassan, Faisal

Hatfield, Percy

Horwath, Andrea

Hunter, Mitzie

Lalonde, Marie-France

Lindo, Laura Mae

Mamakwa, Sol

Mantha, Michael

Miller, Paul

Monteith-Farrell, Judith

Morrison, Suze

Rakocevic, Tom

Schreiner, Mike

Shaw, Sandy

Singh, Gurratan

Singh, Sara

Stevens, Jennifer (Jennie)

Stiles, Marit

Tabuns, Peter

Vanthof, John

West, Jamie

Wynne, Kathleen O.

Yarde, Kevin

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Todd Decker): The ayes are 60; the nays are 40.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I declare the motion carried.

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’d like to recognize the minister for a brief explanation of the bill.

Hon. Steve Clark: The Better Local Government Act amends the Municipal Act, the Municipal Elections Act and the City of Toronto Act to align the city of Toronto’s municipal wards and the number of councillors with the number and configuration for the current 25 provincial and federal electoral districts. It extends the nomination period for councillor and school board trustee candidates in Toronto to September 14. The nomination deadline for the position of mayor of Toronto would remain unchanged.

It reverses changes introduced in 2016 that mandate the election of new regional chairs in York, Peel, Niagara and Muskoka and return to the system that was in place prior to 2016. Other regional chair elections remain unchanged.

Poet Laureate of Ontario Act (In Memory of Gord Downie), 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur le poète officiel de l’Ontario (à la mémoire de Gord Downie)

Mr. Hatfield moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 6,

An Act to establish the Poet Laureate of Ontario in memory of Gord Downie / Projet de loi 6, Loi visant à créer la charge de poète officiel de l’Ontario à la mémoire de Gord Downie.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I recognize the member for Windsor–Tecumseh with a brief explanation of the bill.

Mr. Percy Hatfield: A very short synopsis: The members who were here before know that this isn’t the first time this bill was introduced. It came this close the last time, and then we were prorogued for a day, which knocked it out of the ballpark.

Gord Downie was the lead singer of the Tragically Hip. We all are aware of the cross-Canada tour, watched by 11 million or 12 million people.

A Poet Laureate: Canada has one; other provinces have them. Many municipalities in Ontario have them, including my city of Windsor. I think it’s appropriate and it’s past overdue. I would anticipate and expect your support when we debate the bill in the future.

Petitions

Curriculum

Ms. Marit Stiles: I’m proud to present a petition on behalf of my constituent Jacqueline McKenzie. It’s entitled “Protecting Children: Forward, Not Backward, on Sex Ed.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the health and physical education curriculum empowers young people to make informed decisions about relationships and their bodies;

“Whereas gender-based violence, gender inequality, unintended pregnancies, ‘sexting,’ and HIV and other sexually transmitted infections ... pose serious risks to the safety and well-being of young people;

“Whereas one in three women and one in six men experience sexual violence in Canada, and a lack of age-appropriate education about sexual health and healthy relationships leaves children and youth vulnerable to exploitation;

“Whereas one in five parents reported their own child being a victim of cyberbullying; and

“Whereas Doug Ford and the Conservative government is dragging Ontario backward, requiring students to learn an outdated sex ed curriculum that excludes information about consent, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexting, cyberbullying and safe and healthy relationships;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to direct the Ministry of Education to continue the use of the 2015 health and physical education curriculum in schools and move Ontario forward, not backward.”

I’m very happy to support this petition. I’ll be affixing my signature and asking page Emmanuel to table it with the Clerks.

Employment standards

Ms. Goldie Ghamari: This petition was influenced and inspired by a number of business owners in my riding during the campaign when I was organizing a series of conversations called the Carleton Conversations.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas employers are not able to make a fair assessment of an employee’s suitability after only one week of work; and

“Whereas the legislation introduced by the previous government ... granted two paid emergency leave days to all new employees after only one week of work; and

“Whereas” this bill “forces employers to pay for two emergency leave days to a potentially unsuitable employee; and

“Whereas many employers, the majority of whom are small business owners or operate family-run businesses, are now facing greater financial risk and cost, especially for those employers hiring part-time employees; and

“Whereas it is recognized and understood that there are situations where a new employee may require emergency leave during their probationary period;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To re-evaluate the mandatory paid benefit requirements to employees that work less days per week in order to ensure that paid benefits are fair to both employees and employers; to change the time period for entitled paid emergency leave days to three months after an employee’s first day of employment, and instead grant two unpaid emergency leave days to all new employees within the probationary period as outlined in their respective employment contracts.”

I fully endorse this petition and will be affixing my signature to it.

Municipal elections

Ms. Jessica Bell: This petition is to stop Doug Ford from interfering in municipal elections.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Doug Ford’s decision to reduce Toronto’s wards from 47 to 25 was made without any public consultation;

“Whereas Doug Ford’s meddling in municipal elections is an abuse of power;

“Whereas Doug Ford is cancelling democratic elections of some regional chairs;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately reverse Doug Ford’s unilateral decision to dismantle Toronto city hall and cancel regional chair elections; to maintain the existing Toronto municipal boundaries; and ensure that the provincial government does not interfere with the upcoming Toronto municipal election for Ford’s political gain.”

I support this petition and I will be affixing my signature to it.

Immigration and refugee policy

Mr. Billy Pang: This is from a group of constituents from my riding.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas there has been an unprecedented number of illegal border crossers who have entered our country;

“Whereas the federal government is shirking its responsibility to handle the costs of providing social assistance to those illegal border crossers, even though the majority of them will be eventually deported when their claims are rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board;

“Whereas the Premier and the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services have shown strong leadership by standing up for the financial viability of Ontario and” responsibility “of Canada’s immigration system;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

“—continue the work that the government is doing to stand up for Ontario’s taxpayers by demanding that the federal government pay its bills;

“—take steps to stop the flow of illegal border crossers to Ontario;

“—condemn the practice of illegal border crossing, and thank the provincial government including, notably, the Premier and the minister for their amazing work to manage this crisis.”

I fully endorse this petition and affix my signature on it.

Municipal elections

Ms. Suze Morrison: I would like to table a petition entitled “Stop Doug Ford from Interfering in Municipal Elections.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Doug Ford’s decision to reduce Toronto’s wards from 47 to 25 was made without any public consultation;

“Whereas Doug Ford’s meddling in municipal elections is an abuse of power;

“Whereas Doug Ford is cancelling democratic elections of some regional chairs;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately reverse Doug Ford’s unilateral decision to dismantle Toronto city hall and cancel regional chair elections; to maintain the existing Toronto municipal boundaries; and ensure that the provincial government does not interfere with the upcoming Toronto municipal election for Ford’s political gain.”

I fully endorse this petition. I will be affixing my signature to it and providing it to page Emmanuel to deliver to the Clerks.

Municipal elections

Mr. Faisal Hassan: I have a petition entitled “Stop Doug Ford from Interfering in Municipal Elections.

“Whereas Doug Ford’s decision to reduce Toronto’s wards from 47 to 25 was made without any public consultation;

“Whereas Doug Ford’s meddling in municipal elections is an abuse of power;

“Whereas Doug Ford is cancelling democratic elections of some regional chairs;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately reverse Doug Ford’s unilateral decision to dismantle Toronto city hall and cancel regional chair elections; to maintain the existing Toronto municipal boundaries; and ensure that the provincial government does not interfere with the upcoming Toronto municipal election for Ford’s political gain.”

I’m supporting this petition, affixing my signature and will be giving it to page Eric.

Municipal elections

Ms. Jill Andrew: I am proud to present this petition on behalf of our community: “Stop Doug Ford from Interfering in Municipal Elections.”

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Doug Ford’s decision to reduce Toronto’s wards from 47 to 25 was made without any public consultation;

“Whereas Doug Ford’s meddling in municipal elections is an abuse of power;

“Whereas Doug Ford is cancelling democratic elections of some regional chairs;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately reverse Doug Ford’s unilateral decision to dismantle Toronto city hall and cancel regional chair elections; to maintain the existing Toronto municipal boundaries; and ensure that the provincial government does not interfere with the upcoming Toronto municipal election for Ford’s political gain.”

I proudly support this and will be signing my signature and passing it over to page Emmanuel.

Municipal elections

Ms. Rima Berns-McGown: This petition is to stop Doug Ford from interfering in municipal elections.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Doug Ford’s decision to reduce Toronto’s wards from 47 to 25 was made without any public consultation;

“Whereas Doug Ford’s meddling in municipal elections is an abuse of power;

“Whereas Doug Ford is cancelling democratic elections of some regional chairs;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately reverse Doug Ford’s unilateral decision to dismantle Toronto city hall and cancel regional chair elections; to maintain the existing Toronto municipal boundaries; and ensure that the provincial government does not interfere with the upcoming Toronto municipal election for Ford’s political gain.”

I completely endorse this petition and will be affixing my signature to it and passing it to page Hannah to deliver to the Clerk.

Curriculum

Mr. Kevin Yarde: “Protecting Children: Forward, Not Backward, on Sex Ed.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the health and physical education curriculum empowers young people to make informed decisions about relationships and their bodies;

“Whereas gender-based violence, gender inequality, unintended pregnancies, ‘sexting,’ and HIV and other sexually transmitted infections ... pose serious risks to the safety and well-being of young people;

“Whereas one in three women and one in six men experience sexual violence in Canada, and a lack of age-appropriate education about sexual health and healthy relationships leaves children and youth vulnerable to exploitation;

“Whereas one in five parents reported their own child being a victim of cyberbullying; and

“Whereas Doug Ford and the Conservative government is dragging Ontario backward, requiring students to learn an outdated sex ed curriculum that excludes information about consent, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexting, cyberbullying and safe and healthy relationships;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to direct the Ministry of Education to continue the use of the 2015 health and physical education curriculum in schools and move Ontario forward, not backward.”

I fully endorse this. I will be signing it and handing it over to page Emmanuel.

Indigenous affairs

M me France Gélinas: My petition is called “Stop the Cuts to Indigenous Reconciliation.

“Whereas Ontario is situated on the traditional territory of Indigenous peoples, many of whom have been on this land since time immemorial;

“Whereas reconciliation must be at the centre of all government decision-making;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario” as follows:

“—continue reconciliation work in Ontario by implementing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission;

“—reinstate the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation;

“—work with First Nations leaders to sign co-operative, government-to-government accords;

“—support TRC education and community development (e.g. TRC summer writing sessions);

“—support Indigenous communities across the province (e.g. cleaning up Grassy Narrows).”

I fully support this petition and will affix my name to it and ask page Eric to bring it to the Clerk.

Municipal elections

Ms. Doly Begum: “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Doug Ford’s decision to reduce Toronto’s wards from 47 to 25 was made without any public consultation;

“Whereas Doug Ford’s meddling in municipal elections is an abuse of power;

“Whereas Doug Ford is cancelling democratic elections of some regional chairs;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately reverse Doug Ford’s unilateral decision to dismantle Toronto city hall and cancel regional chair elections; to maintain the existing Toronto municipal boundaries; and ensure that the provincial government does not interfere with the upcoming Toronto municipal election for Ford’s political gain.”

I will be affixing my signature to it and handing it to page Hannah.

Municipal elections

Ms. Sandy Shaw: “Stop Doug Ford from Interfering in Municipal Elections.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Doug Ford’s decision to reduce Toronto’s wards from 47 to 25 was made without any public consultation;

“Whereas Doug Ford’s meddling in municipal elections is an abuse of power;

“Whereas Doug Ford is cancelling democratic elections of some regional chairs;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately reverse Doug Ford’s unilateral decision to dismantle Toronto city hall and cancel regional chair elections; to maintain the existing Toronto municipal boundaries; and ensure that the provincial government does not interfere with the upcoming Toronto municipal election for Ford’s political gain.”

I fully support this petition and I will affix my name.

Orders of the Day

Politiques du gouvernement / Government policies

Resuming the debate adjourned on July 26, 2018, on the motion regarding government priorities.

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

M me Marie-France Lalonde: Merci, monsieur le Président. Encore une fois, félicitations pour votre élection.

Il me fait un grand plaisir de partager avec vous. Je sais qu’on parle, chacun de nous, de ce qu’on a vécu durant la campagne. Donc, avec votre indulgence, cher Président, j’aimerais remercier les gens d’Orléans pour m’avoir réélue pour pouvoir les représenter ici, à Queen’s Park, pour cette 42 e législature, cette première session que nous vivons cet été tous ensemble.

I would like to congratulate all of the elected officials who are in this House, 124 of us, who will be sharing the next four years with respect, I hope, and good debate.

And, Mr. Speaker—Madam Speaker, actually; congratulations on your nomination.

Certainly, for me, I also want to take the time to say thank you. Merci à toute l’équipe de la campagne and to all of the individuals who helped me during my campaign. This was my second time. I had the privilege of being elected in 2014. This 2018 campaign brought forward, I would say, hundreds of people coming together in Orléans to ensure that I would come back to this Legislature. So to the people of Orléans but also to my campaign team and all of the wonderful volunteers: Merci. Merci beaucoup.

Madam Speaker, we’ve been talking about many, many things in the past few weeks sitting in this Legislature. This is my first time reflecting on some of the government bills that are coming to the House that have passed or that are being introduced. Certainly, I wouldn’t be myself if I was not going to talk about the cap-and-trade system that has been cancelled.

In 2014 and thereafter, I had the privilege of going to schools, visiting schools in the riding of Orléans. You talk to the future: the people, the young minds who may be here someday helping us make decisions. What those young minds are asking us, every single time that I meet them in classrooms, is, “What’s your plan for climate change? What’s your plan on the environment?” And I had a plan; we had a plan in Ontario, a cap-and-trade system that was there to ensure that the polluter would pay. We would ensure that the sky, the water and everything around us is better. They were glad to hear this, Madam Speaker, I have to say. They were indeed very happy to see that we were taking action.

This government made a decision during the campaign, and they did follow through, cancelling that. But at what cost? What is the cost associated with the cancellation of a cap-and-trade system? What is the message that this government is sending, not only to the wonderful young people who one day will be voting but also to our Canadian partners, our international partners?

I have to say that I was a little bit shocked. Last week, I believe, I was reading an

article in the Globe and Mail. There was the ambassador of Germany to Canada who was making reference to this. It was sad. It was actually quite sad for me to hear that coming from an international leader, someone apolitical, sharing with us their thoughts. I will quote here. She warned that, “Ontario’s move to cancel” contracts “represents a black mark for the province in the eyes of foreign investors..” That really spoke to me, because when we hear on the other side of the House a government that says that they’re open for business, that they’re there for the people, I hope they take the time to go to school and meet with the future of Ontario’s best.

You ask them about what matters to them, and you know what they say? The environment, climate change, the fact that it is costly, climate change today. Municipalities are suffering for many, many things that are happening that are outside of the control of this Legislature. And we’re paying for those events. So I want to reflect on what message we’re sending to those young minds. What is this government sending to those young individuals?

As I said, I hope that they have the privilege to go to those schools and actually engage and share what their plan is, because I don’t think that at this point we really understand what the plan is, other than cancelling a cap-and-trade system that was helping the environment.

Madam Speaker, I also want to talk to you today about when this decision was made—a little bit before. This government, the Premier-elect at the time, said, “Well, we’re going to move forward in cancelling some initiatives” that were helping businesses, individuals, seniors in their house renovations, businesses also thriving, selling electric vehicles. I’m very proud to say that in Orléans we have a wonderful dealer who has been very proud to be the number-one sales retailer dealership selling electric vehicles. That was because of some of the incentives from the revenue generated from the cap-and-trade system, going into a program called GreenON.

Not only this program cancelled, but I think in my first week in the constit office I received about 35 calls from residents of Orléans who are very concerned that they signed contracts for home renovations, upgrading their windows, helping them with the efficiencies within their electricity—and that was very important for them. They were told bluntly by this government, “It doesn’t matter. We’ve made the decision. We promised, and we’re going to keep our promise at whatever cost, and you’re not going to get those rebates.” That’s what they say governing for the people is.

I don’t have the exact number of people who were eligible to vote in 2018, but what I do know is that, sadly, a little bit over 40% did not exercise their right to vote—and I always encourage you, regardless of who you’re going to vote for, to vote. Out of those about 60% who chose to vote, less than 40% actually voted for this new government. Some 60% actually voted for other parties, including the Liberals, the NDP and the Greens.

So again, I ask this government: Who are they governing for? In my view, when you say that you’re going to govern for everyone, you have to look at everyone who might not have voted for you and try to identify the areas where you can also help them. In Orléans, it was really hard for me to look at those families and say, “Well, I’m going to see what they can do.” And it was very blunt: “I’m so sorry. We made a decision and this is it.”

Let’s talk about school repairs. I know the minister is going to say, “Oh, there is money for school repairs.” Yes, but there was $100 million earmarked for those school boards and those schools all across the province, where they would be able to help in renovating their schools, to help with their electricity and their footprint, to reduce their GHG emissions. That was actually a good thing happening—when you hear that the students in those schools are particularly interested in this. Let’s tell those kids what this government just did.

Municipalities are going to be deeply affected, and actually, a lot of those municipalities are rural municipalities. When you look at the entire province, it’s not just Toronto; it’s Windsor, it’s Perth, it’s Thamesville, it’s Hawkesbury, it’s everywhere. That’s another thing: Through the GreenON initiatives and the cap-and-trade system, there were a lot of initiatives that would have helped municipalities all across Ontario. Those are cancelled.

Let’s talk about businesses. I’m a former business person, for those who don’t know. I owned and operated a retirement residence. As a business, I liked to know what was going to happen next. You try to be predictable. From a business perspective, you have a business plan so that you know. Well, my understanding is that this government just made a decision to cancel a contract with very little notice to those individuals. For me, the rule of law—and I have a wonderful person who whispers every day the rules of law, and that is definitely not where I thought this government would start governing from.

There are a lot of things in the cap-and-trade bill that I’m very concerned about: cancelling of contracts; arbitrary decisions with no proper notification; businesses that had hired staff in good faith, knowing that there would be an incentive at the end of the day so they can increase their revenue from the GreenON initiative. There are lots of things to talk about. I am disappointed but not surprised about what’s happening right now. I’m sad about this aspect: I thought that they would at least consult and look at the benefit of what was happening all across Ontario from this system that we just made an arbitrary decision, and a very partisan decision, to cancel.

Depuis, je sais qu’un des membres du gouvernement a demandé à la ministre déléguée aux Affaires francophones une question, et elle était très vague dans la perspective de ce qu’ils vont faire pour la francophonie en Ontario. Écoutez, depuis plusieurs années—et je dirais plusieurs années de belles initiatives qui ont fait leur chemin ici à l’Assemblée législative pour promouvoir la francophonie et pour aider à créer une province où les deux langues officielles soient respectées.

C’est intéressant de voir que la ministre déléguée aux Affaires francophones n’a pas pu, à ce moment—c’est encore tôt; on va voir ce qu’ils vont faire. Mais j’étais un petit peu irritée et un petit peu désappointée du fait qu’on n’avait pas parlé de l’OIF, l’Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. On est un membre au niveau international. On a pris cette décision pour démontrer à tous qu’on est fier de notre francophonie.

Aussi, au niveau économique, madame la Présidente, c’est très important, l’OIF, parce que ça peut amener des investissements et des partenariats très intéressants qui seraient à développer. Pour moi, et pour nous, je pense que c’était un aspect important, et ils n’en ont fait aucune référence depuis le début de cette 42 e législature. Donc, je pose des questions à ce gouvernement. Qu’est-ce qui arrive avec l’OIF?

Aussi, on n’a pas encore parlé du Programme d’appui à la francophonie ontarienne. C’est un programme, madame la Présidente, qui s’appelle le PAFO. Le PAFO, c’est un million de dollars désignés pour les communautés et les organismes francophones, et ce programme aidait à démontrer l’engagement à la francophonie, de soutenir la francophonie de façon locale—les radios, les petits organismes. C’était quelque chose, vraiment, qui avait été très, très bien accueilli.

J’espère que ce nouveau gouvernement ne fera pas des décisions à l’aveuglette, et qu’ils vont prendre le temps et qu’ils vont renouveler la troisième année du programme PAFO, qui est très important à travers la francophonie ontarienne.

Un aspect, aussi, dont on ne parle pas depuis quelque temps—on parle beaucoup d’immigration, mais on ne parle pas de la francophonie. L’immigration francophone, on a une cible de 5 %. On n’a rien entendu, en ce moment, du côté du gouvernement, de leur engagement profond d’atteindre cette cible de 5 % de francophones. C’est certain que pour l’atteindre, on doit travailler en partenariat avec le fédéral, et je vous dirais que dernièrement, les liens entre le fédéral et la province sont un petit peu froids—

Une voix: Tendus.

M me Marie-France Lalonde: Ou tendus, exactement. Donc, j’espère que le gouvernement va ouvrir ses oreilles et va vraiment rejoindre cette cible. Pour ça, ils doivent travailler en partenariat avec le fédéral et aussi les municipalités.

Donc je vais tenir compte de ce dossier. Nous allons vraiment suivre ce dossier de façon très particulière, parce que c’est important d’avoir un environnement où les jeunes du secondaire vont pouvoir poursuivre leurs études ici, dans la région de Toronto, dans un univers francophone. Donc c’est certain que pour moi, ce sont des choses importantes, et j’ai hâte d’entendre l’engagement profond de ce nouveau gouvernement pour la francophonie de l’Ontario, parce qu’il y a eu quand même de belles réalisations dans les dernières années. Ça serait vraiment triste, madame la Présidente, qu’on prenne des décisions irrationnelles, comme on voit en ce moment, pour les francophones de l’Ontario.

Il me reste une minute et quelques secondes. Je vais terminer encore une fois en disant que durant une campagne électorale, c’est facile de faire des promesses. It’s always easy during a campaign to promise everything, and that’s what we’ve heard. But I urge this government to stop campaigning and start governing. Being part of a government means that you need to consult. You need to think. You need to look and engage with every single Ontarian.

We haven’t seen that much coming from the government at this time, so I encourage the government to maybe take a pause on certain decisions and to continue on la francophonie; lots of great things have happened and we haven’t heard any strong commitment coming from that side.

Encore une fois, madame la Présidente, I want to say congratulations to you. I know I started with the Speaker, and the Deputy Speaker is here at this point. Madame la Présidente, congratulations. It’s wonderful to see you sitting in this chair. All the very best. Merci beaucoup.

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

Mrs. Robin Martin: Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to start my inaugural speech by congratulating you, and also all of my fellow MPPs, both new and returning, on all sides of the House. I look forward to working with each one of you. We all have the incredible honour and duty of bringing the voices of our constituents to this place and to the attention of our colleagues, as I hope to do today.

Words cannot describe the honour that I feel to rise here in this House to represent the people of my riding and to play some small

part in the making of Ontario’s history. In fact, I am a Conservative largely because of history—maybe because of the French Revolution. At least that was the thing that I studied that made it twig for me.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Hold it a second. Robespierre? Is that what you’re comparing yourself to?

Mrs. Robin Martin: No.

The French Revolution teaches us that freedom without restraints leads to anarchy, and utopian dreams like you often hear from the other side of the House often lead to terror or violence. So, following Edmund Burke, I personally have a disposition to preserve, to respect and to study what is best in our culture, while acknowledging, of course, that there are always areas we can and should improve.

I studied history and political science—and political philosophy, really—at McGill, the university in Montreal, with the great Canadian political philosopher Charles Taylor. Some of you may have heard of him. I think he actually ran for the NDP in Westmount in 1968 against a guy whose name was Pierre Trudeau. But he’s a brilliant philosopher, and unfortunately most Canadians haven’t heard of him, but he has a lot to offer and I recommend all of his books. They’re a little dense but well worth the read.

Charles Taylor was a great influence on me. We read together, for my master’s thesis, a lot of books—a lot of books in French, actually. We read de Tocqueville; we read Montesquieu’s l’Esprit des lois; we read Benjamin Constant on the Liberty of Ancients Compared with That of Moderns. Really, freedom was the focus of my thesis. But what is freedom? Freedom clearly isn’t just doing what you want. That isn’t what freedom is; that’s anarchy.

Freedom, in my view, is ordered liberty. In my view, each of us is a link in a historical chain of democratic obligation—past, present and future. Although the individual may be the basic political unit, the family is the basic social unit. I believe that we find our personal freedom by assuming the burden of our natural, inherited and freely chosen obligations and duties—those ones we take on because we want to. We get married. We have children. And we take on those obligations willingly because they make our lives more fulfilling. In fact, you could say they make us more free.

I believe that it is this felt obligation to pursue the good and the well-being of future generations, which is the very thing that can make us heroically devoted to purposes beyond ourselves, even beyond our own families, to the flourishing of our community, our province and our country.

I got into politics because I’m worried about the direction that our culture is going, with our very extreme emphasis on rights—that’s all we talk about: the rights that we have—and we have little or no discussion about our duties and responsibilities. In fact, people can be seen sometimes trying to evade those: trying to hide from paying taxes; not wanting to serve in our military; really trying to shirk some of our responsibilities.

I think we’re losing our compass. I think we’re actually losing what makes us happy, which is those duties and obligations that we freely take on. Sometimes—and I think this was particularly true under the last government in the last 15 years—it seems that we’re descending into democratic gluttony, if you will, or doctrinaire selfishness.

One example is near at hand, and that is our debt. All government debt is deferred taxation. Someone has to pay it. And it’s being downloaded onto the backs of our children, who cannot defend themselves against our democratically produced gluttony. They don’t get a voice. We have to be their voice—our future generations, our children. We’re making these decisions and putting the debt on them. That, I think, is the wrong direction.

As I said before, it’s an honour for me to rise in this House and to represent the people of my riding. I want to thank those people again for the honour and privilege of serving them. My riding is the riding of Eglinton–Lawrence. I really would not be here today without the help of many people.

I would like to just take a moment to mention a few of them: first of all, my very supportive family, including my husband, who is here today and who I introduced earlier—it’s not a secret that we were high school sweethearts, so he’s in for the long haul, as it were, but I won’t call him long-suffering because it’s great to be my husband, obviously; sometimes he suffers—our two grown children, Erik and Alexandra; and my parents, who unfortunately are no longer living but were certain that I would be elected someday; and also my husband’s parents, who are like my parents as well.

I was very blessed to have a window into politics at a very early age. My best friend, Jennifer Kaplan, was the daughter of former Solicitor General Robert Kaplan; and my husband’s father, Joseph Martin, was the executive assistant to the then Premier of Manitoba, Duff Roblin, back in the day. Those two role models made sure that I caught the political bug early, and they encouraged me.

But my election is the result of many people working hard for many years during many elections and in between those elections. In this campaign, I had a very dedicated team of volunteers, under the leadership of Mitch Wexler, Clare Schulte-Albert, Corey Michaels and Bernadine Morris. And I’d just like to particularly recognize Bob Amaron, Juri Otsason, Richard Tattersall and Katarina Glozic, who never stopped helping through at least two election cycles. One incredible volunteer—you all want one like this—Juri Otsason, canvassed virtually every day for over a year, for more than one election.

I also want to extend my sincere thanks to my campaign co-chairs: former finance minister Joe Oliver; former Senator Consiglio Di Nino; the late Senator Jun Enverga, who was Canada’s first Filipino senator; and Senator Linda Frum.

It took a long time and a lot of effort to get here, and I pledge to use every ounce of my energy to shape a positive future for this great province and for its people.

I am the first Progressive Conservative to be elected to the Ontario Legislature in the riding of Eglinton–Lawrence, which came into existence some 19 years ago.

My predecessor, Mike Colle, held the riding for all of that time and, as his many years of service attest, served the constituency ably. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Colle for his years of service to the community.

In case you don’t know, Eglinton–Lawrence is in the middle of the city of Toronto, just about five kilometres from Queen’s Park, so I encourage all members to come and visit. I’d be happy to show you around. The riding includes a number of important landmarks, including the Columbus Centre, which is the cultural hub for Toronto’s Italian Canadian community, and Baycrest Health Sciences, which is a unique research and teaching hospital, with a special focus on brain health and aging.

The eastern part of our riding was settled in the early 1900s and was at that time the northern tip of the old city of Toronto. The western part of the riding was settled mostly by Italian, Portuguese and Jewish immigrants after the Second World War. More recently, the riding has benefited from a burgeoning Filipino population and a host of immigrants from various other backgrounds. It’s a diverse and vibrant community which I think of as a microcosm of the city of Toronto.

I have been knocking on doors in all parts of my riding over some 20 years in elections for all levels of government, so believe me when I tell you that I have met the people and I have listened to those people and I have heard those people. They’ve told me about their concerns and challenges, and I heard those concerns becoming ever more urgent over the past few years. In this recent election, I canvassed every day for over a year. I have a vivid recollection of some of the people that I spoke with and the concerns they shared, and I want to share some of them with you today.

Many people that I spoke with were looking for work and currently unemployed or underemployed, including a very frustrated resident of Albanian background who had a young family and a pregnant wife and who could not find work to support them. In fact, many of the people that I spoke with wondered why the government was making it so hard to work. Recent immigrants told me they came to Ontario for a better life and were very disappointed to discover that good jobs were so difficult to find.

Small business owners that I spoke with expressed similar concerns. One wanted to hire 10 young people into good jobs but was unable to do so because of regulations. Another was getting out of a business that he had been in for years and, as a result, had to lay off his two long-term, skilled and trusted employees, simply because regulatory hurdles had effectively made the business, in his words, “not worth it anymore.”

Under the previous government, it almost seemed as if Ontario was closed for business. If there was a going concern, they would tax it. If it carried on, they would regulate it. When the poor business owner finally threw up her arms in despair and gave up, the government just might come along and subsidize it, or subsidize a competitor.

Stories like these make me glad that our new government is taking steps to reduce the size and cost of government and is making creating and protecting jobs a priority. Many of the struggles people are facing can be resolved or at least made better if people can find a decent job to support themselves and their families. The people I have spoken with recently are genuinely relieved to have a province which is open for business again, and a government which supports businesses and entrepreneurs by lowering taxes and reducing the regulatory burden.

Other people I spoke with during the election expressed frustration with the mounting bills and expenses that they were facing. Many of the people facing the worst challenges are those on a fixed income, such as pensioners or those just starting out, both as young adults on their own for the first time ever or as immigrants trying to build a new life.

One older lady from the Caribbean started to cry as she explained to me that she could not afford to stay in her house and pay her hydro bill, despite cutting her electricity usage to the bare essentials. Another older woman from an eastern European background was in tears because she was going to lose her home even though she had unplugged her refrigerator and did not put up her Christmas lights that year. A young man who required a pickup truck for his job told me that he would line up endlessly at Costco just to save a few cents on a litre of gasoline because he couldn’t balance his budget and was afraid that he was going to default on his rent and lose his apartment.

I am thinking of these people and others when I say how proud I am to be part of a government that has already taken steps to reduce gas prices, scrap cap-and-trade and oppose other carbon tax schemes, and lower hydro bills. You can almost hear a collective sigh of relief across Ontario.

Then there are those others who are relying on our public services, who have been holding on for years hoping that things would get better but who never seemed to benefit from all of the previous government’s spending. I spoke with numerous people who have simply waited too long to access basic health services. I also heard from more than a few aging parents who worry about how their now-mature but dependent children with developmental disabilities or autism or brain injuries will manage when they are gone. I met a Filipino mother of two teenage boys with severe autism who can barely cope with the daily demands on her. There are many, many other examples.

I’m proud to be part of a government that will take action to address many challenges through our commitment to ending hallway health care, through special funding for autism and through our historic commitment to mental health. I’m particularly looking forward to working on improving access to those services in my role as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health, and to offering suggestions on autism in my role as an MPP and mother of a child on the spectrum.

Ordinary people recognize that the biggest threat to Ontario’s public services is unsustainable spending. Some I spoke with at the doors were bewildered by the last government’s spending spree. These were Liberals, but they said to me, “When is it going to stop?” and they shook their heads in despair. I’m delighted that our government is already taking steps to restore faith in Ontario’s public institutions. Putting Ontario on a healthy financial footing will ensure that we can maintain and strengthen our hospitals, our schools and other vital public services.

Unfortunately, my riding has also been impacted by the scourge of gun and gang violence. On July 8, I went to an annual community walk for hope and peace to end gun violence. The walk was started a few years ago by friends of a beloved teacher who was caught in the crossfire and killed because he happened to be outside at the wrong moment. I am glad that our government is prioritizing community safety and that it will ensure our police services have the resources, tools and supports they need to enforce the law and protect innocent people and families from violence.

I am excited about the opportunity we have here to help create a better future for the people I have spoken of today, for others in my riding and, more broadly, for the people of Ontario. This will be a government for the people—which, after all, is what a democracy should be. I strongly support the approach that we have taken as a government, which looks beyond what divides us—our race, our religion, our language, our sexual orientation, our region—and instead is focusing on what unites us, because I believe there is strength in that unity, and I believe that is a better approach.

After all, we all want the same things: a better job, a better life. We want our families to have the things they need to succeed, our children to have what they need to succeed. That, I think, is a better focus: strength in unity, because, together, everything is possible. Together, I believe we can overcome the ch