role="main" class="main-container container js-quickedit-main-content" id="main-content">

October 27, 2020

42nd Parliament, 1st Session

< Previous sitting day

Next sitting day >

Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2020-Oct-27 (PDF)

L200 - Tue 27 Oct 2020 / Mar 27 oct 2020

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Tuesday 27 October 2020 Mardi 27 octobre 2020

Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act, 2020 / Loi de 2020 sur la reconstruction et la relance en Ontario

Members’ Statements

Children’s services

Hospital funding

Services for persons with disabilities

Municipal social services funding

Cancer treatment

Municipal elections

Women’s achievements

Northern air service

Tim, Cody and Chase Nadeau

Osgoode Youth Association

Question Period

Long-term care

COVID-19 response

Long-term care

Manufacturing sector

Post-secondary education

Long-term care

Government services

Flu immunization

Discrimination

Electronic service delivery

Soins de longue durée / Long-term care

COVID-19 response

Long-term care

Long-term care

Home care

Deferred Votes

Supporting Ontario’s Recovery and Municipal Elections Act, 2020 / Loi de 2020 visant à soutenir la relance en Ontario et sur les élections municipales

Notice of dissatisfaction

Reports by Committees

Standing Committee on Government Agencies

Introduction of Bills

No Time to Waste Act (Plan for Climate Action and Jobs), 2020 / Loi de 2020 sur la nécessité de ne pas gaspiller de temps (plan en matière d’action pour le climat et l’emploi)

2372830 Ontario Inc. Act, 2020

Statements by the Ministry and Responses

Child Abuse Prevention Month / Mois de la prévention du mauvais traitement des enfants

Petitions

Abortion images

HPV vaccine

Anti-vaping initiatives for youth

Small business

Equal opportunity

Emergency management oversight

Veterans

Long-term care

Family law

Injured workers

Orders of the Day

Time allocation

Private Members’ Public Business

Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Electronic Logging Devices), 2020 / Loi de 2020 modifiant le Code de la route (dispositifs de consignation électronique)

Adjournment Debate

Long-term care

The House met at 0900.

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

Prayers.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act, 2020 / Loi de 2020 sur la reconstruction et la relance en Ontario

Ms. Mulroney moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 222,

An Act to amend various Acts in respect of transportation-related matters / Projet de loi 222, Loi modifiant diverses lois à l’égard de questions relatives au transport.

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

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: Thank you, Speaker. I will be splitting my time with the Associate Minister of Transportation.

It’s an honour to rise in the House this morning to discuss in more detail the Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act,

An Act to amend various Acts in respect to transportation-related matters, which I introduced last week. This bill is a package of legislative and policy measures that would, if passed, accelerate the planning, design and construction of key infrastructure projects to create jobs and lay the foundation for a strong economic recovery.

The Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act would support the construction of better-connected highways and public transit networks, transit-oriented communities and affordable housing.

Les mesures proposées nous aideraient à mettre en oeuvre plus rapidement des projets de transport qui amélioreront la vie des Ontariens dans toute la province. Nous voyons grand et allons de l’avant avec une détermination inébranlable pour atteindre nos objectifs ambitieux et relever les défis qui nous attendent.

We will sharpen Ontario’s competitive edge and foster growth in the skilled trades and professional workforce while building healthier, safer and more prosperous communities. We are building more than just infrastructure; we are building a stronger, more resilient Ontario.

We’ve all experienced the disruptive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous changes to our day-to-day lives. From the beginning, the core of our government’s response to this virus has been ensuring that the people of Ontario are safe and healthy. This will always be our top priority.

But I know that for many sectors, businesses, communities and families, it has been a very challenging year. Every corner of our economy has felt the enormous economic impacts of this virus. The province’s transportation sector has been hit as hard as any.

In 2020, our national GDP is expected to decline by 6.6%. That’s the first time that our GDP has shrunk on a yearly basis since 2009, and it will likely represent the sharpest single-year decline since the end of the Second World War.

We’ve also seen substantial job losses across many sectors. From 2018 to February 2020, employment in Ontario grew steadily, increasing from about 7.2 million to about 7.6 million. But this year, over the February to May period, Ontario employment declined by almost 1.2 million. These job losses represent the largest three-month employment decline on record.

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to face elevated unemployment for a considerable time, with the unemployment rate not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until after 2022. Youth unemployment has reached 28.9%, the highest rate among any age group. Compared with last February, part-time work was down 27.6% in May, while full-time employment was down by 11.1%.

Many smaller businesses are worried about their survival as well. According to a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 32% of small business owners are unsure if they will ever be able to reopen.

The numbers don’t lie. Our economy is facing one of the most challenging times we have ever seen. While the situation may be dire, there is some good news for Ontario. We are on a path to recovery.

In September, employment was up by 168,000, building on the 670,000 over the previous three months. Nous réalisons des progrès, mais la route sera longue pour revenir à un rétablissement complet.

Dès le début de cette pandémie, notre gouvernement a pris des mesures rapides pour répondre aux défis immédiats de la pandémie.

Working in partnership with the federal government, we delivered on our commitment to support municipalities by securing up to $4 billion in urgently needed assistance. That includes up to $2 billion to support our province’s struggling municipal transit agencies.

As Mayor John Tory, mayor of Toronto, put it earlier this summer, “This co-operation to make sure Toronto and all municipalities continue to respond to COVID-19 is exactly what people expect governments to do.” That funding, as he put it, was “good news” for Toronto’s transit system, which, in his words, “must keep going so that we can have as safe and effective a restart of the city and its economy as possible.”

We also introduced the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, which lays the foundation to restart jobs and development, strengthen communities and create opportunities for people in every region of this province.

My colleague the Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction also recently introduced the Main Street Recovery Act, proposed legislation that would support small businesses’ innovations, modernizing rules to meet today’s challenges.

These are just a few of the many actions that we’ve taken to help get more people back on their feet as we continue down the path to economic recovery together.

Notre gouvernement reste déterminé à assurer le succès renouvelé de la province. Nous faisons tout ce qui est en notre pouvoir pour donner aux gens, aux familles et aux entreprises les outils dont ils ont besoin pour assurer leur avenir prospère.

Mr. Speaker, it’s not enough just to stop the virus. Rocco Rossi, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, put it best: “The economy and the health of Ontarians are interdependent, and both must be addressed together.”

While our government continues to take steps to protect people’s health and safety, the Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act is another building block of our made-in-Ontario plan for growth, renewal and long-term recovery.

Nous préparons le terrain pour que les projets d’infrastructure puissent démarrer sans retard important. Les projets d’infrastructure créent de bons emplois, permettent de mieux relier les collectivités par le réseau routier, le transport en commun et les services à large bande, et donnent un coup de fouet à l’économie.

Throughout history, we’ve seen how important it is for governments to respond to hardship through job creation. After the 2008-09 recession, Canada’s Economic Action Plan included significant spending increases and tax cuts designed to counter the effects of a worldwide economic downturn. After World War II, the booming economy was built on renewed public sector investment in infrastructure and other measures designed to stimulate growth. During the Great Depression, President Franklin D.

Roosevelt famously enacted the New Deal, a series of programs, reforms and public works projects that included the largest infrastructure undertaking in American history. America built roads and bridges, airports and runways and more, all across their country. Most importantly, the unemployed were once again back at work.

In 2020, as we face a new challenge brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the solution continues to be infrastructure. It’s time to get Ontario building. Andy Manahan, executive director of the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario, said, “Making strategic investments in infrastructure has proven to be a good way to remain competitive in a global economy and foster a prosperous society.” Our government has always shared that perspective.

Nous améliorons la façon dont nous investissons dans les infrastructures afin d’offrir une plus grande valeur à la population de l’Ontario, en faisant des investissements intelligents et ciblés au bon moment et au bon endroit, en tirant le meilleur parti de nos infrastructures et en protégeant les services pour les générations futures. Et nous réalisons le plus important investissement dans les écoles, les hôpitaux, les transports en commun, les routes et les ponts, de l’histoire de la province.

Our 10-year, $144-billion infrastructure plan will ensure that our province is ready for the future. That includes more than $66 billion—nearly half of our entire infrastructure plan—for public transit, to bring improved service to communities, address congestion and provide more sustainable, convenient and affordable travel options for millions.

It includes more than $20 billion for roads to expand and improve our highway network, to better connect communities and help people and goods travel more efficiently and safely across our province, and billions more for new hospitals and health projects, schools and post-secondary institutions, social and justice infrastructure, and much, much more.

Non seulement ces projets amélioreront la vie quotidienne des Ontariens, mais ils créeront des emplois, feront travailler les gens et contribueront à relancer notre économie. Ils contribueront à fournir la stimulation économique dont nous avons si désespérément besoin.

Projects like our $28.5-billion New Subway Transit Plan for the GTHA, which will transform the region’s subway system into a modern, integrated rapid transit network by expanding rapid transit across Toronto and York region—the subway plan alone is expected to support up to 20,000 jobs during the construction of the four lines, not to mention the economic benefits for the GTA, the province and the country, once completed. The Hurontario LRT in Brampton and Mississauga is another example of an infrastructure project that will both reshape the transportation landscape in their cities and help put thousands of people to work during their construction.

There are many other examples I could point to, and of course they are not limited to public transit. Our investments in highway projects also generate construction jobs in every corner of our province. Highway construction is such a significant part of Ontario’s economic engine. That’s why, just this year alone, our government is investing $2.6 billion to repair and expand provincial highways and bridges.

In fact, for every $100 million that we invest in public infrastructure, real GDP is boosted by $114 million. Projects such as the widening of Highway 401 between London and Tilbury or widening Highway 17 from Arnprior to Renfrew will not only improve those highways for the thousands of drivers and businesses who use them every day, but also help our economy recover. This funding will help address Ontario’s decades-long infrastructure deficit that has seen our municipalities struggle to keep up with repairs to critical infrastructure like roads, sewers, hospitals and more.

Meanwhile, cities worldwide that have invested in state-of-the-art infrastructure projects that bolster public services are already reaping the rewards. We must act now to avoid a widening infrastructure gap and ensure our public infrastructure investments support our economic competitiveness.

Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed investments in infrastructure from important to absolutely critical. In a recent piece in Policy Options magazine for the Institute for Research on Public Policy, economist Jim Stanford wrote, “Great crises are frightening and dangerous. But a crisis can also be an opportunity. The capacity of Canadians to work, produce and care for each other will survive this pandemic. All we need is leadership and purchasing power to put those capacities to full use. Investing in public service, infrastructure and reconstruction will make our economy stronger and more resilient.”

Mr. Speaker, our government is ready to show that leadership. We have a tremendous opportunity before us to help get Ontario back on its feet while addressing our infrastructure needs.

In their July piece, as part of Public Policy Forum’s Rebuild Canada, Georgina Black and Anthony Viel of Deloitte point out that before this pandemic, Canada’s infrastructure and regulation was already a weak point, holding back infrastructure and growth. As they put it, “Investment in infrastructure must be a priority for governments and business if we are to lay the foundation for Canada to thrive long term....

“Taking inspiration from our history, government should look to infrastructure as a way to stimulate the economy, build resilience to environmental and economic shocks, and enable a new period of growth.”

This moment, according to Viel and Black, demands “higher ambition” and “bold action”—and that’s exactly what our government is prepared to do.

Nous avons le plan d’infrastructure nécessaire pour y parvenir.

Highways, transit, long-term-care facilities, broadband: These projects are the ones that will make a difference in the lives of millions. But burdensome red tape all too often creates delays, and these delays prevent these projects from getting off the ground. That frustrates people, and it hurts our economy.

Addressing these types of delays is even more urgent as we grapple with the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to realize the economic benefits of these projects sooner, to help us along the path to recovery. We need to accelerate the delivery of our infrastructure projects.

Earlier this year, we took the first steps, with the introduction of the Building Transit Faster Act and the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act. Those pieces of legislation focused on eliminating roadblocks that have delayed significant transit projects in the past and supporting the development of vibrant, integrated, mixed-use communities around transit stations.

The Building Transit Faster Act, which came into force in July, includes measures to expedite the planning, design and construction process for the four priority transit projects by doing the following:

—enabling relocation of utilities more efficiently, while treating businesses fairly and ensuring that costs are not passed on to consumers;

—better enabling the assembly of land required to construct stations, conduct tunnelling and prepare sites, while treating property owners fairly;

—ensuring timely access to municipal services and rights-of-way;

—allowing the province to conduct due diligence work and remove physical barriers with appropriate notification to property owners; and

—ensuring nearby developments or construction projects are coordinated so that they do not cause delays.

Mr. Speaker, it’s important to remember that these measures are not intended to change the outcomes of these processes, only their timelines. They will help us get projects built as quickly as possible, while still going through the processes of collaboration and respecting landowners’ and homeowners’ rights.

Thanks to the efforts of the Associate Minister of Transportation, the Transit-Oriented Communities Act, which was part of the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, will allow us to pursue transit-oriented community opportunities along the new subway corridors. This approach will increase transit ridership, reduce congestion and emissions, and it will provide a mix of housing, including affordable housing, retail, recreation and community amenities like daycare spaces around transit stations.

Both of these pieces of legislation will help accelerate the delivery of significant infrastructure projects and put more people back to work faster.

Since we introduced both those acts, the response from industry and the business community has been incredible. We heard support from organizations like the Ontario Home Builders’ Association and the Building Industry and Land Development Association, who called on us to apply it to other projects. And Jan De Silva, President and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade said, “Building transit more quickly is a key priority, not just for the business community but for residents as well. Clearing unnecessary roadblocks to ensure key transit projects are delivered on time and on budget is critical.”

Both the Building Transit Faster Act and the Transit-Oriented Communities Act will help us make great strides in delivering our plan faster for the people of Ontario. But these measures only apply to our four priority GTA transit projects. The rest of Ontario needs infrastructure built faster as well, now more than ever.

The COVID-19 pandemic means that we cannot afford to wait for the economic stimulus that comes along with building major infrastructure. With our population expected to grow significantly over the next several decades, we need to set ourselves up to meet future demand. By 2041, Ontario’s population is expected to grow by about 30%, and our infrastructure needs to grow with it. Modernizing our infrastructure network will help Ontario meet a growing population’s needs and strengthen our economy, not just from a transportation perspective, but in areas like health care, education and more.

Nous nous sommes engagés à éliminer les obstacles à la planification, à la conception et à la construction de grands projets d’infrastructure publique, tels que les réseaux routiers et de transport en commun, et à soutenir la croissance des communautés axées sur le transport en commun. C’est ainsi que notre gouvernement renforcera les communautés, créera des emplois et augmentera les services essentiels dont la population de l’Ontario a tant besoin.

Today, Mr. Speaker, I want to discuss in more detail the three legislative proposals contained in the Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act.

First, we propose to amend the Building Transit Faster Act. As you know, this act came into force last July. It introduced new measures that streamline project delivery and support the accelerated completion of our four priority transit projects for the GTA. Those changes were welcomed by industry and by the market. As Anthony Primerano, director of government relations at the Labourers’ International Union of North America put it, “Cost certainty is essential to create confidence in the market which will translate into needed construction jobs for our workers.”

These amendments would enable the extension of measures in that act, as appropriate, to other provincial transit projects by providing regulation-making authority to name such projects. This would help ensure that Metrolinx can apply a clear and consistent legislative tool kit across various projects as we work to accelerate their delivery. It would also help remove the risks of these projects running over

schedule and over budget by providing a backstop measure if we cannot reach an agreement with our partners.

Second, to support the accelerated and streamlined delivery of provincial highway projects, we’re proposing amendments to the Public Service Works on Highways Act for provisions related to the relocation of utilities on highway projects. These changes would add a provision for a court order if a utility company fails to comply with a direction to relocate, just like the measures that exist within the Building Transit Faster Act.

Third, we are proposing to extend through regulation the measures contained in the Transit-Oriented Communities Act to other provincial transit projects, including GO rail expansion and light rail transit projects, such as the Hurontario LRT. These amendments would allow our government to delegate authority to Metrolinx and other public bodies to enter into new types of commercial arrangements for transit-oriented communities as part of new provincial transit projects. If passed, the Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act will give us the tools that we need to clearly and quickly communicate to municipalities and potential partners to speed up the delivery of transit-oriented communities.

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear that these proposed measures, like the ones in the Building Transit Faster Act, are intended to be backstop measures only to prevent significant delays if we are unable to reach an agreement with our partners to deliver major projects. I want to reaffirm our commitment to collaboration with municipalities, Indigenous communities and organizations, the private sector and others. I think that we’ve demonstrated our ability to work very well toward our shared objectives of improving people’s daily lives.

Finally, I want to say a few words about some of this proposal’s non-legislative aspects. There is nothing more important right now than better broadband for many rural, remote and northern communities across Ontario. Last year, our government committed $315 million over five years to expand and improve Internet and cell service in more unserved and underserved communities. The pandemic has shown just how critical these services are for millions of people and businesses.

This is an issue across Ontario, including in my own riding of York–Simcoe. Students, families and businesses, including farmers, struggle to succeed due to poor broadband and cell service. We need help. We need to help bring more businesses online, bring more online learning to students, increase and improve workers’ access, provide more convenient virtual care to patients and so much more.

As part of our Broadband and Cellular Action Plan, led by the Minister of Infrastructure, our government is supporting efforts to identify and remove policy and regulatory barriers to broadband infrastructure deployment.

À cette fin, le ministère de l’Infrastructure finance l’expansion du réseau à large bande dans les collectivités qui en ont besoin dans toute la province et identifiera les leviers politiques qui soutiennent davantage d’investissements du secteur privé pour accélérer l’expansion du réseau Internet à large bande. Ainsi, nous pourrons offrir à plus de personnes, d’entreprises et de collectivités les services Internet et cellulaires dont elles ont besoin pour réussir et prospérer dans le monde post-pandémique.

Our government is working hard to build a strong community housing system that supports our most vulnerable citizens. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing will be taking steps to help expedite municipal infrastructure projects to support our efforts. He will be consulting with municipalities on the best ways to do that, including by potentially granting and delegating additional powers to municipalities to accelerate the delivery of local infrastructure projects.

Partnerships are a big part of the equation as our government takes steps to improve the way we do business overall to get better results for Ontario’s people. Cutting red tape will bring these projects to market faster, leading to lower housing costs and helping people keep more of their hard-earned dollars.

After inheriting 15 years of underinvestment in long-term care and a massive wait-list of seniors, our government is putting forward bold new solutions to turbocharge the development of long-term-care beds across the province. The Minister of Long-Term Care will be looking at ways to increase the availability and affordability of land and expedite municipal approvals for long-term-care development.

Already our government has a plan for new long-term-care homes, but we know that we have much more to do. To that end, we are proposing to leverage existing legislative tools, such as the enhanced minister’s zoning order, to help address zoning, land availability and site plan approval concerns for priority long-term-care home development. We are breaking down historic barriers and accelerating the construction of urgently needed long-term-care projects and new and redeveloped beds.

This project will lead to the building of additional modern long-term-care homes, providing seniors with the quality care that they deserve, and ensure that our most vulnerable citizens can live in a modern surrounding.

Nos personnes âgées ne méritent rien de moins.

But none of this can be achieved without a strong skilled trades and professional workforce. That’s why the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development is working to help workers and employers seize opportunities by increasing apprentice registration and training opportunities through significant infrastructure projects. This will help us increase the skilled trades and professional workforce pipeline.

Nous savons que la demande de travailleurs dans les métiers ne fera qu’augmenter à mesure que la province poursuivra sur la voie du renouvellement, de la croissance et de la reprise économique. Notre plan aidera les gens à acquérir les compétences dont ils ont besoin pour trouver de bons emplois et de bonnes carrières dans les métiers spécialisés.

En ces temps difficiles, les Ontariens se sont engagés à faire leur part pour s’entraider. J’étais très impressionnée en lisant toutes les histoires et les exemples de personnes qui se sont rassemblées pour aider leurs concitoyens. Chaque jour, ils me rappellent que notre province va traverser cette pandémie, et qu’elle sera plus forte que jamais. Nous devons faire notre part en aidant à créer des emplois et à construire des infrastructures pour nous remettre sur la bonne voie.

La loi proposée aujourd’hui contient des mesures qui nous rendront plus concurrentiels à mesure que nous développerons les métiers spécialisés et la main-d’oeuvre professionnelle et que nous créerons des communautés plus saines, plus sécuritaires et plus prospères.

The Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act, if passed, will cut red tape and remove barriers in the planning, design and construction processes for major infrastructure projects. This will enable the accelerated delivery of significant infrastructure projects that will boost our economy and help put more people back to work quickly.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be part of a government that is getting shovels in the ground faster so that we can connect communities and stimulate economic growth. Premier Ford put it best when he said that “we have the people, the resources, and the tools to come back stronger than ever.” Thanks to our municipal partners, thanks to our front-line heroes, thanks to Ontario’s great people, we are in the strongest possible position to recover, rebuild and prosper. We won’t stop until we get every community, every business and every worker back on their feet.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The minister did say she’d be sharing her time. We turn now to the Associate Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Kinga Surma: It is my honour to rise in the House today to talk about the Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act. If passed, it will advance infrastructure delivery to strengthen communities, create jobs and increase critical services for the people of Ontario. We are removing the red tape and other barriers in the planning, design and construction processes for major public infrastructure projects, such as highway and public transit networks, and supporting the growth of transit-oriented communities.

This proposed legislation builds on the historic progress made earlier this year with the Building Transit Faster Act and the Transit-Oriented Communities Act. If passed, we will apply these same principles to other provincial infrastructure projects, modernizing outdated approaches and enabling communities to benefit from our investments sooner.

Our government remains committed to getting shovels in the ground quickly on major projects that will create thousands of jobs, providing more housing options for people and creating countless opportunities for businesses across Ontario. If passed, this package of legislative and policy measures will address the critical challenges that have held up projects in the past and help us realize the economic benefits sooner. By accelerating delivery, we can boost Ontario’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, bolster the professional workforce and put more people back to work faster.

Smart, strategic and well-planned long-term investment in Ontario’s infrastructure is the backbone of our future economic prosperity. The infrastructure investments we make today will determine the quality of our lives for generations to come. But when our government was elected, we inherited a stagnant approach to building the major infrastructure projects we need. Decades of inaction have left the province’s public infrastructure in a state of neglect. It’s time to equip ourselves with the kind of modern infrastructure we need to secure our future as Canada’s economic powerhouse, and we must speed up the construction of these projects.

The evolving impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic make these investments even more important. The virus has changed our day-to-day lives and brought great hardship to so many of our communities. Before the pandemic, our economy was booming and employment was increasing steadily. I know we will be able to return our province to this kind of prosperity. We did it once, and we can do it again. We are ready to rebuild what we’ve lost. Under the Minister of Transportation and the Premier’s leadership, we will usher in a new generation of bold investment in infrastructure, getting more people back to work faster.

As Associate Minister of Transportation for the GTA, I know how critical the next decade is for this region. The forecasts for population growth in the GTA are astounding. It is expected to grow by 2.6 million people by 2031. That’s almost 7.5 million people who will call this region home. By 2046, that number will climb to 9.5 million. That’s exciting to think about, but from a transportation perspective, it should be a wake-up call for all of us.

I cannot overstate the importance of making the right choices and finding the right solutions now to prepare us for the future. The next decade will prove to be the most transformational and perhaps the most consequential of Ontario’s history. The time has come for bold action. We need to make public transit a priority. It’s efficient, environmentally sustainable, and it’s a solution to the growing congestion issues plaguing the greater Toronto area.

We need to deliver a public transit network that gives people a realistic, convenient and affordable alternative to driving, and our government has a plan to do exactly that. Our $28.5-billion New Subway Transit Plan for the GTA will transform the region’s outdated subway system into a modern, integrated rapid-transit network that offers more options and reduces travel times to make life easier for the people. Our plan constitutes the largest subway expansion in Canadian history, which will bring significant relief for commuters across the GTA.

Our signature project, the Ontario Line, a brand new 15.5-kilometre subway, will double the city of Toronto’s previously proposed Downtown Relief Line’s length. This new line will allow someone travelling between Thorncliffe Park and downtown Toronto to arrive 16 minutes faster than today’s travel times. For someone who lives in the area and works downtown, that’s a savings of approximately 35 minutes each and every day.

Our plan for the Yonge North subway extension, spanning from Finch station to Richmond Hill Centre, will provide a much-needed and long-awaited rapid transit connection to York region. The predominantly underground Eglinton Crosstown West extension will increase transit access to Etobicoke. The province is also committed to establishing connectivity to Toronto Pearson International Airport, a significant economic hub not just for the GTA but for all of Ontario.

And the three-stop Scarborough subway extension will finally provide the people of Scarborough with the modern subway extension they have been waiting for. After three decades of political squabbling and inaction, we are putting an end to the talk and moving forward.

But there is more to the GTA than Toronto, and more to our plan than subways. Each year, more than 110,000 new residents are settling in Peel region, part of the GTA’s explosive population growth I mentioned earlier. As these communities continue to grow, it’s vital that transit grows and expands to fit Mississauga’s and Brampton’s needs. That is why work is also well under way on the new 18-kilometre Hurontario light rail transit, or LRT, connecting Brampton’s Gateway Terminal in the north to Mississauga’s Port Credit in the south.

The Hurontario LRT will feature 19 stops in two urban growth centres with connection to four mobility hubs. It will also connect to other major transit systems, including connections to Brampton Transit and MiWay and GO Transit’s Milton and Lakeshore West lines. This project will help make public transit an attractive, affordable and low-stress alternative for commuters and families throughout Mississauga and Brampton. It has the potential to transform the way people in Peel region travel.

To make this project a reality, last year our government signed a $4.6-billion agreement with Mobilinx to design, build, finance and operate and maintain the project over a 30-year term. It’s an incredibly exciting project for the people of Peel region, and I’m thrilled to see that it’s happening.

We’ve also taken steps to offer improved service, additional trains and more choice for GO Transit customers across the GTA. Year after year, train after train, bus after bus, Metrolinx has steadily increased GO Transit service. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, new train service was up more than 20% since our government was elected. Now that work is taking on a whole new level of energy.

The GO Expansion Program is building a modern, comprehensive transit service that offers vast improvements to our network. It will change the way residents travel across the region and allow us to deliver more trains and more service that Ontarians deserve. More than a commuter service, GO Transit will offer expanded service with faster trains, more stations, and seamless connections within a regional rapid transit network.

In a post-COVID-19 world, transforming the GO network into a modern two-way, all-day service with trains every 15 minutes on core segments will be even more critical than before. We’re building a GO Transit network that will take you to more places, get you there faster and give you more options to connect seamlessly to the network of subways, light rail transit and buses in the region.

More trains, more buses, new lines and new stations—wherever you look in the GTA and beyond, we are making improvements. But our plan is about more than just building transportation infrastructure; it’s about how we build around it.

As Associate Minister of Transportation, I’m proud to be leading our government’s new Transit-Oriented Communities Program. Instead of building stations in isolation, we are committed to building fully integrated, transit-oriented communities while reducing the cost to the taxpayer. This approach will allow for the development of vibrant, mixed-use communities built on lands already needed for station construction or lands already owned by the government, like surplus lands at GO stations, all while saving taxpayer dollars.

By combining transit planning, city revitalization, suburban renewal and walkable neighbourhoods, we can build thriving transit-oriented communities. And by partnering with third parties, TOCs will make it easier and faster for commuters to get to the places that matter most, by bringing housing, including affordable housing, and jobs closer to transit.

Our plan for the new GO station at Woodbine in northwest Toronto is a prime example. This new GO station will increase transit access to Humber College, University of Guelph-Humber and Etobicoke General Hospital. It will offer opportunities to live and work near a major employer and entertainment destination and create better access to the local community and jobs in a zone of significant employment opportunity. Thanks to our partnership with Woodbine Entertainment, it is expected to be built at no cost to the taxpayers.

This summer, as part of the COVID-19 recovery act package, we introduced the Transit-Oriented Communities Act to advance our TOC program for our four priority subway projects. That legislation will help us deliver these new projects for the communities along our new subway lines in an expedited fashion.

But now it’s time to take the next step. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that we need to do whatever we can to get our infrastructure projects moving in every corner of the province. We need to move faster and get Ontario back on the path to rebuilding and recovery. Expanding and accelerating our TOC program will help do that, and that’s what this legislation will achieve, if passed.

This proposed legislation would amend the Building Transit Faster Act and the Transit-Oriented Communities Act, extending the authorities granted under both pieces of legislation for our New Subway Plan for the GTA to other provincial transit projects. That means we’ll be able to accelerate the development of transit-oriented communities for other projects in other parts of the GTA and beyond.

The current legislative measures include the ability to speed up the process of land assembly for transit-oriented communities along our new subway projects by exempting them from the hearings of necessity process. These amendments would extend these authorities to other provincial transit projects, such as GO rail expansion, and allow our government to delegate authority to Metrolinx and other government agencies to enter into new types of commercial arrangements for transit-oriented communities as part of new provincial projects.

This would facilitate the accelerated delivery of transit-oriented communities and allow the province and its government and agencies to have a clear and consistent legislative tool kit across TOC programs, making it easier to communicate to municipalities and the private sector. This will also better connect these dynamic new communities and better prepare the province for the upcoming population growth.

As our population continues to grow, we will also need to increase our housing supply substantially. Across the greater Golden Horseshoe, people need affordable housing that improves mobility, helps reduce congestion and provides better access to jobs and employers. The University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute calls transit-oriented communities “an essential means of sustainably accommodating population growth.”

Many of the zoning rules across Ontario date back to the 1970s or earlier, when we were building suburbs and households were dependant on cars. According to Ryerson University’s Centre for Urban Research and Land Development, over 30% of the geographic space surrounding the 200 major transit hubs in Ontario is predominantly single detached homes in the suburbs and have room to absorb more density.

It’s clear as we look for space to accommodate Ontario’s population growth, we need not look further than along the province’s transit corridors. This land represents a virtually untapped resource that can accommodate Ontario’s projected population growth over the next two decades.

Since our government announced our plans to make transit-oriented communities a priority, the response has been tremendous. We are already seeing some municipalities take steps to work with Metrolinx and make transit-oriented communities a reality. They want our help to build more infrastructure, better transit and more affordable housing that reduces our dependence on cars, decreases congestion and helps us spend more time with our loved ones. We are fully committed to working in collaboration with municipalities and our private sector partners to achieve these ambitious goals.

We’ve been listening, and our government is responding by expanding our transit-oriented communities approach to more than just subway stations in the GTA.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot return to the pre-pandemic status quo. We must push to innovate and build more resilient infrastructure that accommodates Ontario’s growing population needs. Unfortunately, the battle against COVID-19 rages on, but I know that Ontario will emerge stronger than ever. Despite overwhelming levels of uncertainty, Ontarians have risen to the occasion, doing everything they can to support each other and stop the spread of this deadly virus, and we must do the same.

This unprecedented moment in history presents us with a chance to advance the province’s infrastructure in ways that strengthen communities, create jobs and increase critical services. Our government will always do everything we can to set up Ontario for success and help people get back on their feet.

Today’s legislation is another building block in our made-in-Ontario plan for growth, renewal and long-term recovery. We are laying the groundwork to ensure infrastructure projects can take off without any further delays. Accelerating these projects’ delivery will boost our economic recovery and get more people back to work quickly. We’re making smart investments that will benefit us today and for generations to come.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): We now have time for questions and responses. I turn to the member from University–Rosedale.

Ms. Jessica Bell: Thank you to the Minister of Transportation and the Associate Minister of Transportation for your presentation.

I have a question about the Safe Restart Agreement and the requirement that municipalities engage in fare integration conversations in order to get the second tranche of money that is allocated to them. In a Friday, October 23 briefing, the Ministry of Transportation said that fare by distance and zone fares are a priority for this ministry.

Minister of Transportation: Are zone fares or fare by distance a priority for the Ministry of Transportation?

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: I thank the member opposite for the question.

Our government, since the beginning of the pandemic, has been focused on the sustainability of public transit. Public transit never stopped during the pandemic. It transported our health care workers to the front lines to care for those who were affected by COVID-19.

The underlying economic models of public transit agencies have changed so much as we’ve seen ridership go down and the costs of operating transit agencies go up significantly—not only due to the fact of enhanced cleaning, and additional buses and subway cars are required to ensure physical distancing—which is why we fought so hard and negotiated with the federal government to ensure that the Safe Restart Agreement contained funding for municipal transit agencies. But we know that in addition to providing that funding, there’s much more that we need to do. That involves engaging with transit agencies in a conversation about what we can do to make it more sustainable in the future—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The next question.

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: First of all, I would like to thank the Minister of Transportation and the Associate Minister of Transportation for highlighting the importance of accelerating provincial transit projects. We understand that transportation-related construction is vital to Ontario’s economic recovery, as a major driver of economic activity and a significant source of employment.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Transportation. Can the minister please tell us by how much, on average, the changes will accelerate individual transit projects?

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: I thank the member for the great question. The applicability and the impact of these measures will vary, based on the nature and the implementation stage of each project.

What we do know, though, is that we can look at an example today like the Eglinton Crosstown LRT because it’s a prime example of an important project that has faced years of delays due to time spent obtaining permits, licences and approvals. In fact, many of the provisions of the Building Transit Faster Act could have accelerated aspects of that project. For example, approval requirements for road work on the road near Eglinton station resulted in a delay of 85 days—85 days of delay on construction due to that.

In addition, removing a shed where the LRT interfaced with the GO expansion as well as additional negotiations to relocate took months to coordinate with the owner, resulting in additional costs.

That’s why it’s so important that the measures proposed and introduced in the Building Transit Faster Act and in this legislation are put in place, so that we can prevent unnecessary delays and we can accelerate the delivery of our projects, get shovels in the ground faster and create more jobs.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The next question.

Ms. Jessica Bell: I’m following the matter of the replacement of the relief line with the new Ontario Line closely. What I’ve noticed, reading the Infrastructure Ontario reports, is that the main

section of the line that would serve underserved, marginalized communities from Danforth to Eglinton has been delayed by two years; the financial close has been delayed by two years.

Is this government still committed to completing the entire Ontario Line by 2027?

Hon. Kinga Surma: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. I am, I think, more eager than anyone else to get shovels in the ground on our subway lines. Perhaps the Minister of Transportation may be a little more eager than myself.

But we have accomplished a great deal in two years. We have one plan that has been endorsed by the city of Toronto and York region. We have three procurements out in the market today to get those tunnel-boring machines to build launch shafts so that we can build this subway plan. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a government so effective and act so quickly in expanding the subway system here in the GTA. I just want to thank York region and the city of Toronto, our municipal partners, for working together with us. Thank you.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Next question.

Ms. Goldie Ghamari: I listened intently this morning, and I wanted to thank the Minister and the Associate Minister of Transportation for sharing that information with us today.

My question is for the Minister of Transportation. You spoke a lot, Minister, about funding to share for priority subject projects, and you also indicated that you have been working with the federal government to try to make this a reality for the people of the GTA. Despite the fact that the federal government has not yet committed their funding share for these priority subject projects, could you please share a little bit more about why there’s such an urgent need to pass legislation to speed up these projects for the people of Ontario?

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The associate minister to reply.

Hon. Kinga Surma: Thank you to the member for the question. Over the last 15 or 20 years, there has been so little investment in real public transit infrastructure in the greater Toronto area. We wouldn’t be in a situation today where there’s so much traffic and congestion, where, in a pre-COVID world, Line 1 was so crammed with people, especially during traffic hours, if we were consistently investing in our public transit system.

The people out in Scarborough want better access to public transit. The people in the west end of the city where I am from want better access to transit. Then, there are other neighbourhoods that simply do not have the same access to public transit that most people in the downtown core do. This is a thing that needs to be addressed now.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The next question.

M. Guy Bourgouin: Merci à la ministre puis à l’assistante-ministre pour leurs discours.

Ma question : je voudrais savoir—vous le savez, dans les régions du Nord, l’hiver est arrivé. L’entretien des autoroutes est « concernant ». Vous le savez, j’avais amené un projet de loi pour essayer d’amener la 11 et la 17 à être équivalentes à la 400. Je demanderais à la ministre deux points : j’aimerais entendre votre solution pour que la 11 et la 17 soient entretenues comme la 400, et aussi, si vous pouvez élaborer, s’il y a des projets pour le deux-plus-un pour aider la situation dans le Nord puis améliorer nos routes sur la 11 en particulier.

L’hon. Caroline Mulroney: Je remercie le membre pour sa question très importante. Assurer la sécurité de nos routes à travers la province, mais en particulier dans le nord de l’Ontario, où l’hiver est difficile et a un impact sur nos routes, est très important pour notre gouvernement. C’est pour ça que, juste la semaine dernière ou il y a quelques semaines, j’ai annoncé des améliorations au système routier avec la construction et l’expansion de nos systèmes où les gens peuvent—our rest stop system. Nous avons ajouté un nombre d’endroits où les gens peuvent s’arrêter.

Nous avons parmi les routes les plus sécuritaires en Amérique du Nord, mais il y a toujours plus qu’on peut faire, et c’est pour ça que nous sommes toujours en train de regarder comment est-ce qu’on peut améliorer le déblayage et la sécurité des routes dans le Nord.

En ce qui concerne le deux-plus-un, j’ai eu une réunion juste avant la pandémie sur ce point très important. Je sais que c’est un dossier qui est avancé par certaines municipalités dans le Nord, et le ministère des Transports est en train d’étudier l’impact de ce système qui existe dans d’autres pays pour voir si on peut l’intégrer ici en Ontario pour améliorer la sécurité de nos routes, et particulièrement dans le nord de l’Ontario.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): I let you go a little longer because it was only eating into your next member’s question anyway. So that’s out of the time we had for that part of the debate this morning.

Further debate?

Ms. Jessica Bell: Thank you once again to the Associate Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Transportation for your presentation on Bill 222, the Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act.

We’ve seen sections of these bills before in Bill 197 and Bill 171. The essence of it is two main parts. Number one is that Bill 222 allows the Ontario government to speed up any transit construction it wants using a variety of measures. Some of those measures do take away rights from businesses, municipalities and residents. It essentially expands what Bill 171 does, which speeds up transit construction for four transit lines in the GTHA, and allows that right to be expanded to transit projects as they see fit, most likely the GO expansion project, the Hurontario LRT project from Mississauga to Brampton, and potentially the third phase of the Ottawa LRT.

The second piece of the bill is around the transit-oriented communities piece. Essentially what Bill 222 does is it allows Ontario to quickly expropriate nearby land, near a transit project, for developers to move forward on the needed zoning changes to allow them to build big in return for partially financing station construction. There are two pieces to this. The government already has the right to exempt themselves from municipal zoning laws, and this bill essentially allows them to impose their own zoning requirements on a new piece of land. So that’s the key differences here and they are the two that I’m going to address today in my time.

I do want to start off by sympathizing and agreeing with many of the concerns that the members opposite spoke about with a real need to improve transit in the GTHA. The GTHA has very long commute times, the longest in North America still.

It has a very serious issue right now where the transportation system still needs to operate, because essential workers—people who work in long-term-care homes, people who need to turn up to work because they have face-to-face jobs—are needing public transit to work, and public transit continues to hemorrhage money because fare revenue is down.

We have a huge need and opportunity to use public transit and invest in public transit, to do our part to increase ridership, reduce driver usage and do what we need to do to tackle our greenhouse gas emissions here in the GTHA and Ontario. The transportation sector, as many of you well know, is one of the leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, and in the fight to tackle climate change, public transportation is ground zero in that fight.

It’s also, I believe, absolutely critical that the transportation we do build, the transit systems we do build address the huge transit inequities that exist in our region. People who live in wealthier areas have access to faster transit, cheap transit, and people who live in racialized areas and poorer areas are often stuck with the bus. They face longer commutes, they pay a lot for it, and they often live very far from where they work or where they go to school, simply because they can’t afford to live in a neighbourhood that’s closer to where they frequent.

These are huge problems that the GTHA is facing, and there are many core reasons why those problems exist. I don’t see Bill 222 as being the way we are going to improve public transit in the near term and meaningfully in the long term.

Before I move to the two bills, I do want to spend a bit of time talking about some very pragmatic ways that we can address some of these key issues and improve public transit in our region, to address some of the many concerns the two members opposite raised. One of the key ways to improve public transit, especially in the GTHA, is to have the provincial government step up and once again provide the matching operating and maintenance costs to transit agencies all across Ontario so there can be immediate service improvements on all routes and there can be more affordable fares.

That is the number one way that this government can meaningfully improve people’s commutes in the near term, from the member opposite’s riding in Etobicoke to the very underserved communities in Scarborough.

This government has moved forward with committing $1 billion, with a federal government match of $1 billion, to the Safe Restart Agreement. It is a good step and a meaningful step forward in addressing the massive funding shortfalls that transit agencies have. It doesn’t fully fill the gap that the drop in fare revenue has created, but it is a good step forward. If this government was truly committed to tackling congestion now, it would make that funding commitment permanent. If it did that, the concerns that these members raised would be significantly alleviated.

The second thing that this Ontario government could do right now to not only improve transit but to tackle the huge unemployment issue that we have in Ontario is the she-recovery. The economic recovery that we need to launch in order to get out of this crisis could also be achieved with near-term investments in public transit.

There is a decision that came last week at the TTC board—where the TTC desperately wants to buy more street cars, buses, Wheel-Trans vehicles and subways in order to simply maintain the transit system that we have. When we’re talking about building the Yonge line extension and the three-stop Scarborough subway, we need to buy those subways now in order for there to be vehicles on those lines to get people from A to B at an affordable price.

So the TTC put in a request to the province saying, “Can you match this funding so that we can buy the vehicles we need to do what this government professes to do?” The provincial government has so far said no. What that means is that the TTC could have bought 1,400 buses, but instead it’s only buying 300, and what—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): I’m sorry to interrupt the member. The time for debate on this subject has expired this morning.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): You’ll have an opportunity later on to continue, but after 10:15 it’s time for members’ statements.

Members’ Statements

Children’s services

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: Everyone in this House can agree that the state makes a terrible parent. Children rise to a challenge when expectations are high. But for kids in care, crown wards, the bar is incredibly low. For every 1,000 kids who age out of care, 400 graduate high school, 80 enrol in university, and eight complete those studies. That’s not even 1%.

Jane Kovarikova, founder of the Child Welfare Political Action Committee, met with me in 2018 after I was first elected. I was immediately inspired by her story of determination and success. Jane aged out of care but never gave up on her dream of a post-secondary education.

Today, I rise to celebrate an enormous achievement in my riding. After many fantastic discussions with the Child Welfare PAC, Huron, Brescia, King’s and Western University will offer 35 individuals who aged out of care the opportunity of a lifetime: financial resources they need for a university degree.

Education opens doors, inspires, and brightens futures. I’m incredibly thankful to Huron, Brescia, King’s and Western University for their commitment to our community. This historic leadership illustrates how Londoners care about one another and promote a kinder, more just and brighter community.

To all crown wards who aged out of care, regardless of your age, Huron, Brescia, King’s and Western University believe in you. We believe in your bright future.

Speaker, this is life-changing work, and it has been an incredible honour to be a part of it.

Interjections.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): To all members in the House, I know as you’re entering now there is conversation going on. We do have important statements to make, so please, if you could keep the noise down.

We’ll continue, with the member from Flamborough–Glanbrook.

Hospital funding

Ms. Donna Skelly: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express how proud I am of the measures our government has taken to ease the pressures on the health care system in my hometown of Hamilton.

Days ago, our health minister announced that 60 transitional care beds will be added to St. Joseph’s Villa in Dundas. I can’t emphasize enough how significant this announcement is for health care in Hamilton and surrounding areas. The 60 additional beds will alleviate the stress on acute care capacity at the two major hospital systems in our city, St. Joseph’s Healthcare and Hamilton Health Sciences.

The additional transitional beds will help reduce wait times by transferring patients out of acute care and into home care or long-term-care settings much faster. Building capacity is critical to reducing wait times at hospitals in Hamilton. This new reactivation centre will create more care spaces in Hamilton so patients can heal and return home sooner.

The 60 additional transitional beds will be moved into a renovated tower at St. Joseph’s Villa. The community is overjoyed by this announcement. They’ve been working on this project for more than a decade. And our government is going a step further. We are working with St. Joseph’s Villa in an effort to fast-track this project. St. Joe’s Villa is just one piece of a larger plan to create more than 230 transitional beds across Ontario.

I’m so proud to be part of a government that is taking action to ease pressures on acute care hospitals and is supporting ongoing efforts to end hallway health care in Ontario.

Services for persons with disabilities

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: Last week, developmental services agencies and families were shocked to learn, with merely one day’s notice, that the Conservative government is seeking applications for individuals and stakeholders to take

part in consultations about reforming the developmental services sector.

Last year around this time, a leaked contract showed the Ford government was looking to pay an external organization up to $1 million to help find a way to make cuts—cuts that directly affect people with developmental or intellectual disabilities. We know that People Minded Business has been retained by the Ford government to carry this out.

Families and stakeholders were given virtually no warning about the upcoming sessions, and many scrambled to submit applications by the deadline with just hours of notice. Major organizations like Community Living Ontario received no direct communication from the ministry about these consultations, and I received numerous emails from individuals who were extremely upset by the secrecy of these consultations.

Agencies in the developmental services sector have not received a base funding increase in well over a decade. Families continue to struggle with wait-lists, lack of housing options, poverty-level ODSP and scarce support services available to them.

There are many issues that desperately need to be addressed, but secret, hand-picked, behind-closed-doors consultations for the purpose of making cuts are wrong and disrespectful. Paying consultants $1 million to reduce expenditures—also known as “make cuts”—while people struggle during a pandemic is disgraceful.

I’m urging the government to scrap this farce of a consultation and truly engage with the sector and individuals without trying to save money at their expense.

Municipal social services funding

Mr. Robert Bailey: I’m pleased to rise and announce an important investment by the government of Ontario in Lambton county and Sarnia. As part of the government’s ongoing efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing will be providing immediate assistance to Lambton county with over $1.2 million in social services relief funding. This money will go towards rent relief, the expansion of short-term rental supplements, emergency shelter solutions and much-needed renovations to the Haven Youth Shelter in Sarnia.

This relief funding is in addition to over $2.8 million in funding that was directed to Lambton county by the provincial government at the outset of the pandemic to support critically important social services.

Mr. Speaker, I’m proud to say that our government is making these investments to help protect the health and safety of the most vulnerable people in Lambton county. As a government, we are working hand in hand with our municipal partners to make sure they have the tools and flexibility they need to keep people safe.

On behalf of the residents of Lambton county, I would like to say thank you to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for his continued support.

Cancer treatment

M me France Gélinas: I met with members of the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network yesterday. They wanted to share their new patient survey with me. The report shows that the delay and cancellation of cancer care due to COVID-19 has triggered another public health crisis. Cancer patients, their caregivers and those awaiting confirmation of a cancer diagnosis are facing postponed and cancelled appointments, tests and treatments, causing heightened fear and anxiety even as the pandemic restrictions are lifted.

We need to get our health care system moving again in the interests of people’s health. Safe and timely access to cancer care, including diagnosis, testing and treatment, must remain a top priority, even during the second wave of COVID-19. The report says that to save lives, cancer care and diagnosis must continue during any public health crisis.

Speaker, Ontario’s pandemic plan must explicitly include essential cancer care. Cancer can’t be cancelled or postponed. Cancer survivors want a system that never cancels treatment, tests or diagnostic procedures for cancer patients. I believe we can get there, but I have some serious doubts in this government’s ability to get us there when they seem to prioritize pinching pennies and backroom deals for their friends. Cancer can’t wait.

Municipal elections

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: It’s an honour to rise in the House today to speak to an important issue facing our municipalities and the people of Ontario.

Last week, the government introduced Bill 218, which would revoke the right of all municipalities in Ontario to hold their local elections under a ranked-ballot system. The government opted to revoke this right unilaterally, without consultation. By doing so, the government is taking choice away from local governments like Kingston, Cambridge and Toronto, and reversing an election process that the city of London has already adopted and invested in, taking choice away from citizens who already chose to opt into this system and to participate in it to elect their local governments.

I urge the Ford government not to rush this process. It’s clear that the stakeholders didn’t ask for this legislation. Many grassroots groups have been pushing for ranked ballots for years. Can the government demonstrate which local municipality, which mayor, which councillor has asked for this to be done?

Just last night, I attended a panel organized by Dave Meslin, founder of the Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto—and hundreds of others; I can speak first-hand to the strong opposition to

schedule 2 of Bill 218.

What is the government so afraid of that they are rushing the bill through? No one wants to revert back to 1867—first past the post.

I will be voting against Bill 218, and the Ford government is urged not to jam through this legislation but instead listen to ordinary people.

Women’s achievements

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: This month in Canada we recognize Women’s History Month. October 18 marked the anniversary of the legal ruling that, under the Canadian Constitution, women were able to be included as “qualified persons” and could sit in the Senate. Emily Murphy, one of the Famous Five who fought for this recognition, was born in Cookstown, which is part of Innisfil today.

Innisfil has a proud legacy of female achievement. Lynn Dollin, the mayor of Innisfil, was the recipient of a 2020 Women of Influence in Local Government Award, from Municipal World.

Former South Simcoe Police Service Deputy Chief Robin McElary-Downer has served as an aide-de-camp for various Lieutenant Governors since 2002. McElary-Downer started her career in policing with the OPP in 1981. In 1992, she broke a glass ceiling and became the first woman to serve as a detachment commander in the rank of staff sergeant. In 1999, she was named officer of the year by the International Association of Women Police. After serving as chief adjudicator for the OPP, she joined the south Simcoe service as deputy chief, the first woman to hold that rank. Earlier this month, Deputy Chief Robin McElary-Downer became chief aide-de-camp to Lieutenant Governor Dowdeswell.

I’m very happy for her, and I congratulate her. I’m very proud to represent a riding that has so much history of women progressing forward.

Northern air service

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: For Ontario’s northern communities, air transportation is essential, a life line for many reasons. In Thunder Bay, our airport is a hub for most of northern Ontario. Planes flying in and out of that airport provide essential services, bringing goods and people to communities, and they ensure that our residents have access to health care. Medevacs, locum nurses, health professionals, police officers, tradespeople, business people and miners are all on those planes and deserve to be safe. Many of our COVID tests need to be flown to Toronto because we don’t have sufficient resources to complete them.

But airports across northern Ontario are in trouble. Since the pandemic, airport traffic and passenger numbers have decreased substantially. Now, nearly eight months later, that drop in revenue has them facing large fiscal deficits.

As the second wave continues to spread through the province and as we move closer to winter, northern airports are looking towards making hard choices about hours of operation and services. Frankly, it’s not a pretty picture. While there has been some help from the federal government with wage subsidies to the airport in Thunder Bay, it was not enough. At the provincial level, we need to do something for airports and ensure that vital link to health care.

Now is the time for all of us at Queen’s Park to step up and secure the future of airports in the north. The people of Thunder Bay, and all the people who live across northern Ontario, deserve nothing less.

Tim, Cody and Chase Nadeau

Mr. Dave Smith: I want to acknowledge three outstanding young men from the city of Peterborough. Just over two weeks ago, on October 13, Jesse Davis, the oldest son of a friend of mine, John Davis, jacked his car up to crawl underneath it to address an exhaust leak. The jack failed, and the car came crushing down on Jesse. His mother-in-law did everything she could to help, but Jesse was in a dire situation on the side of the road. Thankfully, Tim, Cody and Chase Nadeau happened to be driving by and realized something was wrong. They stopped, got out of their car and immediately, upon seeing the situation Jesse was in, lifted the car up enough that he was able to crawl out.

I can’t thank the Nadeaus enough for their selfless and heroic act that day. It would have been so easy for them to have just driven by. Had they not stopped, I could be giving a eulogy this morning for Jesse. Instead, we’re celebrating their actions. Jesse’s father, John, has told me that he now considers the Nadeaus to be part of his family.

I know the last few months have been incredibly challenging for all of us. Thankfully, though, we still have selfless people like Cody, Tim and Chase willing to stop and help a complete stranger. Angels do walk among us.

Osgoode Youth Association

Ms. Goldie Ghamari: I just wanted to take a moment to highlight a fantastic organization in my riding of Carleton. The Osgoode Youth Centre is a non-profit association that provides services to rural youth in Osgoode and surrounding areas.

Normally, Mr. Speaker, students would be able to drop in to their after-school programs or attend summer camps when school is out, but with the pandemic, they, just like every other organization and association in Carleton and across this province, have had to change how they provide their services.

The one thing I can say about the Osgoode Youth Association, and in fact all associations in Carleton, is how resilient they are, and how willing they are to adapt to meet the needs of youth, students and people in the riding who need it the most. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the Osgoode Youth Association actually started doing online programs. One of the things they did was a virtual community cooking class. I was pleased to join that virtual community cooking class on a Wednesday evening a few weeks ago and share with the youth of Osgoode my secret chicken wing recipe and homemade coleslaw. The Minister of Labour, Minister McNaughton, is still asking for that recipe.

I just wanted to thank the Osgoode Youth Association for everything they’re doing, and I look forward to joining them in December for my sugar cookie recipe.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): That concludes our members’ statements for this morning.

The member for Timmins has informed me he has a point of order.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Mr. Speaker, I—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order. The member for Timmins.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Thank you, Speaker. I would ask that we have unanimous consent to stand down our leads as we await the Premier. I take it he is coming today.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): We’re not going to make reference to the absence of any member.

The member for Timmins has sought the unanimous consent of the House to stand down the leads of the official opposition. Agreed? No.

Question Period

Long-term care

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, my first question this morning is to the Premier. Tomorrow, the Legislature will debate an NDP bill, the Time to Care Act, for the fourth time in our Legislature. It’s a bill that would set in law a requirement that each and every person who lives in long-term care is ensured to have four hours of hands-on care each and every day.

But we shouldn’t be having to debate this bill yet again, Speaker. It should already be the law in Ontario that seniors get this kind of attention. It was one of several urgent recommendations, in fact, made by the government’s own staffing study that was tabled three months ago for the minister.

The question is, we’re in the midst of this pandemic and it has killed nearly 2,000 residents of long-term care, so why is the Ford government continuing to study a study that has solutions that we’ve brought to this House on four separate occasions in terms of long-term-care reform?

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

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member for the question. I can assure everyone in Ontario that our government has been actively working throughout COVID and before COVID to ensure that the staffing in long-term care is where it needs to be, going forward. After many, many years of neglect by the previous government and from the opposition members across the way, we have been actively looking to shore up staffing, using measures through the Ministry of Health as the lead on staffing, understanding the report that was provided by our expert panel. Many of those measures are under way.

We are actively supporting our long-term-care homes to make sure they’re getting the staffing they need on an urgent basis, as well as developing the staffing that will be needed as we build more capacity and rebuild and repair long-term care for a future generation of people needing the care, and those on the wait-list. This government has committed to long-term care, to advancing it, and will continue to do—

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, the Ford government and this minister haven’t just ignored front-line workers and families of loved ones in long-term care, they’ve been ignoring their own experts. The government’s own panel on long-term-care staffing called for urgent action—urgent action—three months ago to put staff in place and to set standards of care in long-term care. The Ford government responded by cancelling inspections and changing the law so that they couldn’t be sued for failing to protect seniors in long-term care.

The minister either failed to protect seniors or was prevented from doing so. Either way, this minister should resign, and my question is, when will she?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. When we understand the needs of long-term care and the complexities, not only of the capacity that we’ve been working on creating, the staffing that we’ve been working on creating, the emergency of COVID—we have been active ever since, dealing with, really, what was absolute neglect from the previous government. I do ask the member sitting opposite, where were you in the previous years?

Hon. Bill Walker: For 15 years.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: For 15 years, you had opportunities to shore up long-term care, and you chose not to act.

Our government has created a stand-alone ministry. We are working with other ministries, working across government, and so much work has been done. The funding has been there, the $540 million, almost three quarters of a billion dollars. We’ll continue to work on this. Our work isn’t done; it has only just begun, and to repair, rebuild and advance long-term care, and I—

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

The final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Earlier this morning, I was honoured to join Cathy Parkes and Innis Ingram, two of the thousands of Ontarians who experienced the horror of having their loved ones locked away in long-term-care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic’s first wave.

When Cathy and Innis and thousands like them cried out for help for their loved ones, the Ford government didn’t just ignore them; they cancelled inspections and they blocked a public inquiry. And now they’re even taking away their right to a day in court. They protected themselves and the Conservative insider lobbyists for private for-profit long-term-care homes.

Will the Ford government, at long last, do the right thing: fire this minister, make the investments that are called for by their own experts months ago, and stop blocking families who are seeking justice for the debacle that occurred in long-term care?

Interjections.

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

The Attorney General to reply.

Hon. Doug Downey: I’m pleased to stand and support my colleague in all the excellent work that she has been doing.

We are the first government to come forward with a minister of long-term care, Mr. Speaker. We were doing this before the issues arose. We are aware of the 15 years of neglect by the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP all the way along, who are now shocked and appalled that, all of a sudden, there are challenges in the sector.

We are on this. It is a top priority for us. You’ve heard the Premier talk about it. We are doing everything we can to make sure that our loved ones are protected and we go through this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, I stand, again, with my colleague, who is doing an absolutely fantastic job.

COVID-19 response

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is for the Premier, but I’d like to say I stand with the families of Ontario who went through hell through this year because their government didn’t act to protect their loved ones.

But look, the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting Ontario families now, and it’s hitting us hard. The experts have been rightly criticizing the Ford government for their lack of planning for the second wave, failure to invest, and confusing, sometimes incoherent, messaging.

Yesterday, we learned that the Premier’s own MPPs are challenging the public health advice offered by the government. Then, amazingly, the Premier claimed that he asked his MPPs to challenge the government’s advice, and then one of his own MPPs said that that was not the case.

Speaker, can the Premier clarify what is happening, for worried families out there? Can they clarify what the heck is going on over there?

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

Hon. Paul Calandra: Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. What we’re doing is investing billions of dollars in keeping this province going and keeping the people of the province of Ontario safe.

The Minister of Health started off very early, ramping up testing from 40,000 all the way up to 50,000, Mr. Speaker. We’ve put significant resources into our health care system. We started building long-term-care facilities from day one. We started to move towards a blanket of care when the Minister of Health started, after 15 years of neglect, to bring Ontario health teams into place.

This government has been moving mountains. We’ve been working with our partners at the federal level; we’ve been working with our partners at the municipal level. And every step of the way, this member here has been an armchair quarterback. I appreciated the assistance that they gave us in the early stages. That assistance and that co-operation helped us bring down and make sure that we flattened the curve.

I would suggest to the member opposite, join the rest of Canada, join the rest of us as we work toward one thing: keeping the people of the province of Ontario, keeping the people of Canada safe.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Well, it’s not surprising that the Ford government doesn’t like to have to account for its actions. That’s the way the Premier rolls. But families are really looking for leadership. They’re looking for leadership in this pandemic and they aren’t impressed by the confusion that they’re seeing from the government side—prominent MPPs like the parliamentary assistant to education simply ignoring the rules, and the restaurant that he ate at literally having to apologize to patrons for his behaviour.

The Premier said that he bases his decision on the best expert medical advice, and then he also says, “Write to your MPPs and lobby them to get the medical advice that you want.” Who does the Premier think should be making the decisions on public health: medical experts or members of the Conservative back bench? Exactly who is making the decisions over there?

Hon. Paul Calandra: I guess now, finally, after all of these years, it’s clear to me why it is that the people of the province of Ontario have only given the NDP one opportunity to serve in government. That question alone helps identify and clarify it all for me.

What we have is members of our caucus working hard on behalf of their constituents, working hard on behalf of the small, medium and large job creators in their riding. What the member opposite, the Leader of the Opposition, is saying, and what she’s saying to all of her colleagues—and thankfully, they don’t listen—is, “Ignore your ridings. Ignore your constituents. Ignore the people who help keep this economy going. Ignore the people who have been working hard in long-term-care homes. Ignore the people who have been working on the front lines.”

Our caucus won’t take that advice. We will continue to work for the people of the province of Ontario, and I suspect the people of the province of Ontario, when they hear that question from that member, it will be solid in their mind why they will never return to government.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: You can’t on the one hand say that you’re following medical expert advice, and then turn around and indicate by your actions that you’re doing exactly the opposite, that you’re working for lobbyists, that you’re working for private interests in your riding. That’s not how this should roll, and it’s shameful that the government House leader refuses to acknowledge that what this government is doing is causing mass confusion and making us have a much more dangerous situation in this province than we should.

But here’s where we’re at: Community restaurants are being forced to publicly apologize for the behaviour of a Ford government MPP. Betty’s Restaurant has more respect for public health than some of the members on the other side of the House. This is just the latest reminder, in fact, of this government’s lack of planning for the pandemic’s second wave.

We don’t know who’s at the command table, what data they’re looking at, and the government’s own MPPs are criticizing the government’s response. Others are ignoring public health guidelines and encouraging their friends and family to do the same. When is this government going to get its act together?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: I would say that we have been very candid with the people of Ontario since the beginning of this pandemic. We have always relied on clinical evidence, the medical officer of health and the many people who advise Dr. Williams.

We have Dr. Williams as our Chief Medical Officer of Health, but we also have the public health measures command table, which is led by Dr. Williams, of course, by Helen Angus, the Deputy Minister of Health, and by Matt Anderson, the president and CEO of Ontario Health. That’s the command table. We also have the public health measures table that includes Dr. McKeown, Dr. Mowat, Dr. Feller, Dr. Gardner, Dr. Mackie, Dr. Roumeliotis and Dr. Spruyt.

We’ve also had numerous technical briefings and other briefings involving the mobile table, the command table, and many other technical briefings on some of the issues that we are dealing with as a government. That is important for all of the people of Ontario to know. The Premier has always said, “What I know, you will know,” and that is the way we have acted throughout advising the public.

Long-term care

Ms. Doly Begum: On Friday, CBC’s Marketplace revealed that routine abuse and violations occur in most homes, and there are virtually no consequences for homes that break the law repeatedly. The report also highlights that for-profit homes, like Craiglee Nursing Home in my riding—in fact, in the two years that this minister has had this file, I have raised alarm bells about abuse like this, like in homes like Craiglee Nursing Home. It’s actually, frankly, insulting to hear ministers ask where were we in raising these concerns, because it’s insulting to the people of this province who have raised alarm bells about long-term care for many, many years.

In the past two years that I have been here, I have first raised issues about homes and the abuse. In this House, I asked the minister to extend the Wettlaufer investigation and accept the 91 recommendations from the report. All she’s done is cut inspections and pass legislation that actually protects homes instead of the residents.

So I ask: Will this minister commit to taking immediate actions to address elder abuse in long-term-care homes and ensure that long-term-care operators are held accountable and residents are kept safe?

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

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you for the question. I would like to clarify a few points in your question. The first is inspections were never stopped. Inspections were continued. We worked with the representative groups to make sure that our inspectors were safe, that there were lines of communication with the inspectors into the homes. That was done with Public Health; that was done through the Ministry of Long-Term Care, the Ministry of Labour, the Auditor General’s report in 2015 that recommended homes that were considered high risk to have high-risk inspections. This was a measure taken by the previous government with a report based on the Auditor General’s recommendations.

Our government has made sure that the inspections are ongoing. Our homes in outbreak are receiving regular inspections—as I said, multiple inspections—looking at how we support our residents and staff in these homes.

There is zero tolerance for abuse or neglect, and there are channels to operate and stop that. We are taking every measure possible to make sure that our residents receive the highest quality they deserve and the respect—

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

Ms. Doly Begum: We know the previous government had failed, but right now, the responsibility—the ball is in the court for this government.

My office was contacted by Amanda, whose grandmother, Madeleine, was a resident at Craiglee until her death on September 20. She recounts the horrific conditions that Madeleine was found in, describing “the food left to rot in her room, the markings on her arms ... her refusal to eat, her weight loss, her incoherence and delirium. She would decline and the home would tell us that she was improving.” Following Madeleine’s death, the family went to her room to find evidence of rats and cockroaches in her belongings.

I ask this minister again, because right now, people are not safe in many homes: What will she do to make sure that residents are kept safe in their homes and we do not have elders being abused in long-term-care homes? Because clearly they’re not doing a good job.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you for the question. It is devastating and heartbreaking to hear stories such as this, and my heart goes out to the families, to the residents, to the staff.

Unfortunately, the system was broken, and it had been broken for many years. That’s why this government has made long-term care a priority. That’s why these issues that were long-standing and were exposed by COVID-19 in a fulsome way for society to see—for society to see the neglect that had occurred in these homes for many, many years.

Our government has created a stand-alone ministry to address this issue, not only the pre-existing problems, but the problems amplified by COVID-19. The inspectors, the public health integration, the public health information: It is a cross-ministry effort across government, across agency. We will put every measure, every tool into work, and we are doing just that.

Manufacturing sector

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Under the previous government, our manufacturing sector was battered by hydro, insurance, red tape and taxes. Hundreds of thousands of jobs in entire regions of our province were struggling. The latest challenge of our manufacturing sector has been COVID-19, which has put the health and security of our workers, supply chains and jobs at risk.

Will the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade update this House on our government’s support for a world-class manufacturing sector?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Thank you to the member from Barrie–Innisfil.

With our support of the CME’s Ontario Made program, businesses across Ontario continue to line up to showcase their products and their Ontario spirit on supportontariomade.ca.

Through our Ontario Together Fund, we recently announced a $2.5-million investment as part of Greenfield Global’s $75-million expansion to make medical-grade alcohol for hand sanitizer at their plant in Johnstown.

An Ontario world-class workforce has the confidence of the pharmaceutical giant Roche, which announced a $500-million investment to create 500 highly skilled made-in-Ontario jobs in Mississauga and to build a global supply chain hub.

Speaker, our government will continue to raise awareness of made-in-Ontario goods, to invest in manufacturers and our supply chains, and to attract good-quality jobs and investment at every opportunity.

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

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Thank you, Minister, for that answer and the positive news. We look forward to visiting supportontariomade.ca and more Ontario Together funding announcements.

I know that in my riding, Jomi, Innovative Automation, SBS, Southmedic, Prodomax—all manufacturers—are stepping up to the plate.

It has been six months since the full onset of COVID-19 in March, so I wanted to ask the minister if he has other examples of manufacturers that stepped up to the plate and responded to the challenges of COVID-19.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Speaker, the response from business owners and workers from across the province has been incredible. They have continued to demonstrate the best of Ontario’s spirit.

Recently, StatsCan showed that Ontario gained 168,000 jobs in September alone, of which almost 52,000 were in the manufacturing sector. With that milestone, employment in manufacturing in Ontario is now 17,000 jobs higher than pre-COVID-19 levels. This is a significant bit of news, but we know there’s much more to do.

Unlike the previous government, which lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs, we worked to reduce business costs for manufacturers by over $5 billion a year through lower costs, lower taxes and less red tape. Those fundamentals are still in place, which is why manufacturers continue to make Ontario their new home.

Post-secondary education

Ms. Laura Mae Lindo: My question is to the Premier.

The Premier slipped arts and science degree-granting by Charles McVety into legislation that’s supposed to be about helping small businesses recover from the pandemic. The only reason anyone can come up with is because it’s a payback to a long-time friend of the Premier’s, even when that friend has made a career out of bigotry, homophobia, transphobia and—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I have to interrupt the member. You can’t impute motive. Place your question.

Ms. Laura Mae Lindo: Okay.

The government’s only justification for doing this now is that an independent assessment board will ultimately decide if McVety’s college has what it takes to grant these degrees. But that application has now mysteriously disappeared from the review website, and before it did, it stated that legislation was imminent.

Is the government ready to drop the charade and just admit that this is a favour to a long-time friend?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The parliamentary assistant, the member for Thornhill.

Mrs. Gila Martow: Thank you to the member opposite for the question.

I understand that there’s a process. There’s an independent review. I think everybody in the Legislature, people at home who are watching, who work for a company, they understand that there are review processes. It’s an independent process. We cannot interfere in an independent process.

In terms of the website, PEQAB has said that there was an issue with the web compliance of the application, and they are working to have it posted publicly again very soon.

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

Ms. Laura Mae Lindo: Back to the Premier: Until now, Charles McVety’s college has only issued degrees in religious programs like theology, but their plan is to get into arts and science degrees.

Yesterday, the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo wrote to the minister and to the Premier. They wrote, “I was shocked to learn that your government intends to allow the Canada Christian College to award ‘university’ degrees in arts and in sciences. The publicly-funded university model that we have in Ontario requires further investment, not dilution by enabling privately-funded institutions to offer poor programs on an apparently equal footing.”

My question: Why is the Premier rushing degree-granting status through this omnibus bill for his buddy Charles McVety when real universities need further investment, and especially during this pandemic?

Mrs. Gila Martow: I think everybody here is aware that Ontario has a long, proud history of supporting all religions and religious institutions. We have a long, proud history of supporting our independent colleges and universities. Enabling legislation for private, faith-based degree-granting institutions has happened under governments of all stripes.

Long-term care

M me Lucille Collard: My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. Recently, we learned of a memo sent to long-term-care homes in September that told them they were on their own when it came to ensuring that they had enough staff to manage a second wave of COVID-19. No later than yesterday, a resident of Ottawa–Vanier, whose mother is in a residence with confirmed cases, told me that testing was taking too long, with delays for testing and delays to get results.

The early recommendations of the long-term-care commission are addressing these exact issues. The commission said the province should implement its own existing staffing plan and ensure residents have better access to testing and faster results. Will the minister listen to the commission and put in place the staffing plan and improve testing and other recommendations without further delay and ensure that necessary funds are committed in the upcoming budget?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. The staffing is a multi-ministry effort. The lead on staffing and the human resources is through the Ministry of Health. Our Ministry of Long-Term Care had the expert panel report, which we have taken to heart and have been acting on, having input into the overall human resources strategy. We put dollars behind that, and we certainly appreciate the commissioner’s interim report; an early report for guidance is very much appreciated and very much aligned, largely aligned, with what we are doing.

And so we very much appreciate the importance on staffing, which we’ve said since day one, and $540 million announced just a few weeks ago; $405 million going to that to help with staffing supports and IPAC measures to give staff confidence in the long-term-care homes they work in. This work has been ongoing. We’ll continue to do that work, and we thank the commissioners.

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

M me Lucille Collard: My question is again for the Minister of Long-Term Care. The number of long-term-care and retirement homes battling outbreaks in Ottawa right now is higher than it was back in April. I know the minister is fully aware of this, but it is difficult to understand that we have not done what was necessary to avoid the devastating effects of this second wave.

Having a stand-alone Minister of Long-Term Care, one would expect that proper attention and sufficient resources are devoted to provide effective care and protect the health of family members in these homes. The minister admitted yesterday that she knew since taking office at the head of the ministry that staffing was an issue. So what exactly has the minister done since then, and between the first wave and the second wave, to address the obvious challenges of the shortage of staff, to protect our long-term-care residents and their families?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you for the question. As I’ve said before here in the chamber, we’re addressing the long-standing neglect of staffing over many, many years by the preceding government, as well as dealing with the emergency situation that COVID-19 has caused in our homes. I can tell you that the vast majority of the 17 homes in Ottawa have no resident cases whatsoever. Our homes are doing very well; they are stabilized. We have the integrated response through the hospitals. We are shoring up staffing. We are using Red Cross assistance, and I thank them for their assistance as well.

We are using a multi-pronged approach to get rapid deployment teams, whether it’s community paramedics, Red Cross, hospital, and actively working with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labour and others to shore up staffing overall. This is a two-pronged approach: one dealing with the emergency situation, one long-standing. And we will continue to do that. Our homes are getting the support they need, and an outbreak situation is somewhat misleading because the vast majority of those homes have no resident cases.

Government services

Ms. Goldie Ghamari: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that now, more than ever, Ontario’s programs and front-line services need to be more convenient, reliable and accessible for the people and businesses of Carleton and Ontario. One way that our governments are successfully adapting to our new normal is by providing more digital services and embracing modern technologies.

I’m proud to say that this government is ending 15 years of inaction on the part of the NDP-supported Liberals. In fact, just last week, the President of the Treasury Board launched Ontario Onwards: Ontario’s COVID-19 Action Plan for a People-Focused Government, which will allow health care professionals to rapidly and securely access patients’ health records, improve access to broadband and cellular services and reduce red tape for local businesses, among other things. Mr. Speaker, would the President of the Treasury Board tell the House more about how we are planning to move Ontario onward?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m going to ask the independent members to quieten down over there.

Parliamentary assistant to reply.

Mr. Michael Parsa: I’d like to start by thanking the hard-working member for Carleton for that excellent question. The world has changed, and government must change with it. That’s why we’re expanding the range of programs and services available online, simplifying the government’s role in people’s lives and businesses. Ontario Onwards: Ontario’s COVID-19 Action Plan for a People-Focused Government includes more than 30 projects that will change the way people and businesses interact with government. A parent, for example, could easily access their children’s immunization records. A senior could securely share health information with caregivers.

Mr. Speaker, it’s just the beginning. We’re undertaking an across-the-board modernization of the entire government, and we are moving Ontario onwards.

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

Ms. Goldie Ghamari: I’d like to thank the parliamentary assistant to the President of the Treasury Board for his response and also just mention that I know that the people of Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill are well served by their hard-working MPP.

Mr. Speaker, it’s great to hear that, unlike the previous government, this government is working for the people. We know that by improving access to programs and support for front-line government services, including health care and ServiceOntario, we are helping businesses and individuals make it through the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the projects identified in the action plan focuses on a digital wallet, which Ontarians could set up for themselves or their business. I have heard that the digital identity wallet would allow me to share personal information while avoiding the need to scan and send identification insecurely through email. Through you, Mr. Speaker, can the President of the Treasury Board tell the House more about the digital identity wallet?

Mr. Michael Parsa: Absolutely, and I thank the member again for the question. Speaker, we’re thrilled to announce the development of the digital identity wallet to the people of Ontario. A digital identity wallet stores identity credentials on a smartphone or other device, helping people and businesses verify their identity any time, anywhere. A small business owner could cut through red tape, for example, by registering for licences and permits online. A farmer could register a farm vehicle online without needing to spend a day in their car.

Ontario Onwards is about making government services more convenient, reliable and accessible for the people and businesses of Ontario. Digital identity is just one of the many projects announced as part of Ontario Onwards: Ontario’s COVID-19 Action Plan for a People-Focused Government, a plan that will make government more effective for Ontario’s people and businesses. Speaker, it’s an online world. We can’t have an off-line government.

Flu immunization

Mr. Jamie West: Residents from Sudbury and Copper Cliff are frustrated that they cannot get their flu vaccine in my riding. Jacqueline Trainor, a senior from Sudbury, said she can’t find anywhere to get an enhanced flu shot. Another constituent who is a retired physician in my community said he tried to find a vaccine for him and his wife. They tried three pharmacies and one walk-in clinic. All four locations told them they had their orders on backlog and they couldn’t even book an appointment until they had a better idea of when the vaccine would be coming.

This government’s lack of planning keeps failing seniors. They failed them in Sudbury, they failed them in Copper Cliff and they failed them across Ontario. How could the Premier completely underestimate the demand for this year’s vaccine and let down so many seniors?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: In fact, we did plan for this pandemic. We ordered 700,000 more shots this year than we did last year. The orders are coming in. The orders were set virtually a year ago because we have to order them far in advance. We planned that they would first be delivered, when they first came in at the end of September, to long-term-care homes, to hospitals, to retirement homes that were participating and to other places of congregate care so that we could protect those vulnerable residents. We’re also shipping to primary care facilities, to doctors’ offices, to nurse practitioners and to pharmacies.

We have already received over four million of the virtual 5.5 million doses that we’ve ordered. They have been shipped out. They are being received on schedule. I’m very happy that people are going out to get the flu vaccine, many people this year that have never had it before. But that is why some are having temporary shortages. I’d like to speak to the fact that there are no shortages in my response to the supplemental.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question: member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas.

Ms. Sandy Shaw: I have to say, Mr. Speaker, I find it insulting to hear this minister brushing off the real concerns of the people across Ontario. Front-line health care workers, like our family doctors in Hamilton, play an important role in keeping us safe. That’s why it’s so distressing to hear from constituents and physicians alike who are unable—unable—to obtain flu vaccines.

A constituent recently received this message from their doctor: “We are terribly sorry to inform you that we will no longer be able to run our previously planned flu vaccine clinic. Please note that the flu vaccine shortage through public health is a systemic issue, and applies to all family physicians in the surrounding area.” Our constituency offices are flooded with calls and emails from people who cannot get the flu vaccine, and I can only imagine it’s the same for the PC MPPs as well.

So, Mr. Speaker, what do the Premier or this minister have to say to doctors and their patients across Ontario who are trying to keep safe and healthy but are not able to get a flu vaccine because of this disastrous shortage?

Hon. Christine Elliott: There is no shortage. There may be a temporary shortage in some of the pharmacies. We take the concerns of nurses, doctors and patients across Ontario very seriously, because we know that every year thousands of people are put into hospital because of flu and some, unfortunately, die. So we are very pleased that so many people are taking this seriously.

We ordered over 700,000 more flu vaccines this year from last year, and through Health Canada, we’ve also been able to order an additional 350,000 doses. We have over 5.5 million doses that are coming to Ontario, so any shortage that’s happening in either a doctor’s office or in a pharmacy right now is a temporary shortage. We have no indication that there are any shortages worldwide. We are receiving shipments from global manufacturers on a regular basis. There are no backlogs. There are no delays. We are receiving the shipments, and people will get the flu shot—

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

Discrimination

Ms. Kathleen O. Wynne: My question is for the Minister of Education. Last week, I asked about

schedule 2 in Bill 213 that would allow Canada Christian College, run by Charles McVety, to become a university and issue degrees in arts and science. I want to acknowledge the member for Kitchener Centre, who raised this issue first in this House.

As so many have now pointed out, McVety is a man who has repeatedly made vile comments about the LGBT community, about Islam and has propagated hatred. The fact that he is being rewarded either for that behaviour or for supporting the Ford campaign in the last election, or both, should be a cause for great concern for anyone who values democracy in our diverse society.

But, Mr. Speaker, the message that this action sends goes far beyond this specific case. In fact, it encourages institutions to rely on the protection of this government even if they insist on harbouring bigotry. Case in point, for some months, the Toronto Catholic District School Board has refused to sanction at least one of its trustees for behaviour that appeared to be a breach of its own code of conduct. The board commissioned a report in 2019 concerning the trustee’s conduct. The allegation was that trustee Michael Del Grande violated the trustee code of conduct by using similarly vile language as Charles McVety—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. The question has been placed, and I’m going to recognize the Minister of Education to reply.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: What I said at the time is that the trustee’s comments were unacceptable and deeply disturbing. We live in a province where we accept all people, from all walks of life, of all heritage, faith, orientation, gender, place of birth. This is the strength of our country, and I feel very strongly about this. That’s why, in the health and physical education curriculum, the first curriculum I unveiled, we took significant action to counter homophobia.

In fact, in the context of teaching young people about homophobia, we introduced in grade 2 a

section specifically dedicated to seeing the visible and invisible differences to counter this form of bullying that exists within our schools.

We know there’s more to do, but I have spoken out unequivocally and strongly against that trustee at the Toronto Catholic board, saying that it was unacceptable and urging the board to commission an investigation. We look forward to accountability for those students who have been offended by the comments made by that trustee.

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

Ms. Kathleen O. Wynne: Well, Mr. Speaker, then I would ask the minister to ask that board to release the report so that the community can understand how and why trustee Del Grande was exonerated. This is a government that ran on objection to the very sex ed curriculum, the health and physical education curriculum, that you’re talking about. So there is very little faith that this government actually supports those ideas.

Mr. Speaker, we have made great progress in our province and in our country on the recognition of rights of all people to be their authentic selves, but that progress has been hard won, and it’s fragile. When people like Charles McVety and Michael Del Grande, who are privileged men in positions of authority, are still able to espouse hateful ideas with impunity, we all lose. It should not matter that Charles McVety supported Doug Ford in his leadership bid and in the 2018 election. It should not matter that Michael Del Grande was budget chief to Mayor Rob Ford.

These men should be held to the same high standard that we demand of every child in our publicly funded schools. They should be expected to be compassionate, decent role models for all who hold them in high esteem.

I ask, Mr. Speaker, again, will the government refuse to expand the power of Charles McVety and will it release the report that went to the TCDSB—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. The parliamentary assistant to reply.

Mrs. Gila Martow: We’ve had this question already today. Basically, there’s a process in place; there’s an independent review. We’re all awaiting the outcome of that independent review and then we will be able to comment.

On this side of the House, I’m sure people will agree that we have a long history of supporting all religious institutions. In fact, all three parties, Mr. Speaker, have a history in Ontario of supporting all religions, all religious communities and all religious institutions.

Electronic service delivery

Mr. Norman Miller: My question is for the Minister of Government and Consumer Services.

COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on how much we rely on online services. More than ever, Ontarians across the province are using digital platforms to take care of personal and professional businesses online.

I understand Ontario Onwards: Ontario’s COVID-19 Action Plan for a People-Focused Government will make this easier than ever. My constituents and all Ontarians want to know that when they use our online services or share data with the broader public service, their personal information is being protected.

This being Cyber Security Awareness Month, would the minister please explain what this government is doing to ensure that my constituents’ data is protected?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The parliamentary assistant to reply.

Mr. Robert Bailey: Thank you to the member from Parry Sound–Muskoka for that important question.

Mr. Speaker, as the threat of cyber crime grows and changes, so too must our defenses and preparedness. That is why our government continues to leverage the cutting edge of Ontario’s cyber security expertise to protect our digital service platforms and the information shared with us by business and the public.

Earlier this month, in collaboration with Ryerson University, we held our first-ever virtual cyber security conference for the broader public sector, designed to support public-sector organizations to keep pace in an environment of rapidly evolving threats and increasing demand of digital public services. This conference explored the current and future cyber risks and focused on how to implement best practices and protect vital information systems. Our ongoing partnership with Ryerson will support government staff to operate safely online.

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

Mr. Norman Miller: Thank you, parliamentary assistant Bailey, for that response.

The uptake of digital services is not something new, and we saw significant uptake well before COVID-19. In fact, many Ontarians already provide their personal information to the government and government agencies. As with private businesses, Ontarians rely on the government to keep their data protected when it is submitted and digitally stored.

Ontarians need to know that the government is keeping this information safe. Can the parliamentary assistant please tell this House and the people of Ontario actions this government has taken to ensure this data is being managed safely?

Mr. Robert Bailey: Thank you again to the member for raising this very important issue. It’s important that Ontarians know that our government understands these concerns and is proactively working to address any threats to their personal information.

The initiatives I mentioned earlier build on the expansion of the province’s Cyber Security Centre of Excellence, established last summer as a key part of Ontario’s cyber security strategy.

COVID-19 has meant that more Ontarians than ever are relying on digital platforms to carry out their day-to-day tasks. With the increased reliance on these platforms, there is a strong need to protect the integrity of our data and the digital economy. That is why our government recently launched consultations with key stakeholders to improve the province’s privacy protection laws, improve accountability and safeguard that information.

Our government is committed to protecting Ontarians and their data privacy.

Soins de longue durée / Long-term care

M. Guy Bourgouin: Ma question est pour le premier ministre. Alors que la ministre des Soins de longue durée dit avoir tout fait pour éviter la propagation de la COVID-19 dans les soins de longue durée, les foyers du Nord attendent toujours de l’aide de la part de la province.

Le Foyer des Pionniers à Hearst compte 67 résidents. Il résiste à la pandémie avec seulement cinq infirmières et cinq préposés, qui font l’impossible pour offrir les soins 24 heures sur 24. De plus, il y a 63 aînés sur la liste d’attente et le temps d’attente est en moyenne quatre ans pour accéder aux soins qu’ils méritent.

Monsieur le Premier Ministre, croyez-vous que les personnes âgées du nord de l’Ontario méritent d’attendre quatre ans pour recevoir les soins dont ils ont besoin?

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

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: I appreciate the concerns across Ontario. That’s why our government has been continuously working to address the capacity issues and the staffing issues in long-term care that were so badly neglected for so many years under the previous government.

We are working across ministries with the Ministry of Health, working with the reports that have come to us, taking active measures, putting funding towards the staffing, whether it’s for personal support workers or for RNs, for the rapid tracking, for the nurses and the PSWs, the return of service—$26 million to help retain and recruit for our PSWs; $52 million just announced in September; $405 million just a few weeks ago to address the operational aspects and the staffing supports that are needed. This is multi-ministry, as I said before, and we will continue to work to address the concerns all across Ontario.

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

Le premier ministre va-t-il reconnaître les besoins des aînés francophones, et va-t-il agir aux demandes liées à la capacité, aux besoins culturels et à la demande des lits à Hearst, oui ou non?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member for the question. Our government values the cultural differences across Ontario, and we recognize the importance of long-term-care homes to be able to provide services in the language of the residents. That is why we have many homes that are staffed and supported in those measures.

We continue to create tools and efforts, and put funding behind it, to provide the retention and the pipeline of service providers, whether it’s nurses or whether it’s PSWs or whether it’s other support staff.

I value our personal support workers and our staff in long-term-care homes, as does our government, and we are taking every measure possible to make sure that our homes have the support that they need and their cultural differences are respected and valued. We will continue to put respect and dignity for our residents at the forefront of our decision-making.

COVID-19 response

Mrs. Belinda C. Karahalios: Good morning. My question is for the Premier. During this period, it is important that the government avoid providing inconsistent or false information. As mentioned on Sunday, the Toronto Sun reported that the Premier had no idea that two of his MPPs—

The Speaker (Hon. T