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March 22, 2022

42nd Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2022-Mar-22 (PDF)

L045 - Tue 22 Mar 2022 / Mar 22 mar 2022

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Tuesday 22 March 2022 Mardi 22 mars 2022

Orders of the Day

Working for Workers Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 visant à oeuvrer pour les travailleurs

House sittings

Private members’ public business

Members’ Statements

Bengali Canadian community

Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival

Port Colborne Top Hat Ceremony

Al Leeder

Water quality

Anti-racism activities

Horse industry workers

Land use planning

George Leslie Mackay

Introduction of Visitors

Legislative pages

Claude Bennett

Question Period

Health care workers

Education funding

Government accountability

Infrastructure funding

Land registration

Human trafficking

Post-secondary education and skills training

Government accountability

Child care

Automotive industry

Long-term care

Employment standards

Automobile insurance

Answers to written questions

Visitors

Correction of record

Reports by Committees

Standing Committee on Government Agencies

Introduction of Bills

Environmental Protection Amendment Act (Microfiber Filters for Washing Machines), 2022 / Loi de 2022 modifiant la

Loi sur la protection de l’environnement (filtres à microfibres pour machines à laver)

Ending Automobile Insurance Discrimination in the Greater Toronto Area Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 mettant fin à la discrimination en matière d’assurance-automobile dans le Grand Toronto

Connected Communities Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 pour des collectivités solidaires

Petitions

Tenant protection

Road safety

Optometry services

Social assistance

Child care

Optometry services

Employment standards

Affordable housing

Orders of the Day

Working for Workers Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 visant à oeuvrer pour les travailleurs

The House met at 0900.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Good morning. We’ll begin this morning with a moment of silence for inner thought and personal reflection.

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Working for Workers Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 visant à oeuvrer pour les travailleurs

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 21, 2022, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 88,

An Act to enact the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 and to amend various Acts / Projet de loi 88, Loi édictant la Loi de 2022 sur les droits des travailleurs de plateformes numériques et modifiant diverses lois.

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

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: Good morning, Speaker, and good morning to all my colleagues here in the chamber this brisk spring morning. What a beautiful day it is, and what a beautiful day it is to also be able to speak about the legislation that has been brought before this House. I know all of us are very thankful to have the opportunity to serve here representing our constituents on the issues that matter, and, of course, a very good morning to all those watching on live stream.

I’m sure there are many across the province eagerly anticipating a robust debate, a robust discussion, on the subjects of the day, the matters of importance, and today we’re resuming debate on Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022, which builds on the strong foundation of the Working for Workers Act, 2021.

I had the opportunity to walk through a few of the various schedules of this legislation, and I know I don’t have a great deal of time left so I won’t go back through all of those parts, but I just wanted to reiterate the commitment of this government to ensuring that we have strong protections in place that support employers, that support employees, that ensure that workers are being protected, that ensure that they’re taking home the tips that they deserve, that the fines that are being levied upon bad actors when it comes to employers are strong enough to be a big prevention when it comes to workplace accidents and, of course, workplace injury, and we’ve also been making steady progress on building up and introducing policies which are supporting gig workers across this economy, and we’ve seen that really come forward as well in the legislation.

I want to just acknowledge again, as I did yesterday, the excellent work of Minister Monte McNaughton and his parliamentary assistant, the member for Mississauga–Malton when they came down to Niagara and spoke with Youth Skills Studio, a partnership that has been launched with the town of Lincoln, and local job creators to ensure that the skills being provided to our youth are the ones that are needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow, building on the work of the transformation that’s happening in our education system to ensure that we’re providing the training that’s necessary for learning the skills for all the job opportunities that exist—not 15 years ago, not perhaps 10 years ago, but recognizing that the economy shifts so rapidly, the jobs that are in place today are very different than many of the jobs that were around even a few years ago.

So I want to acknowledge all the work that has gone into today’s legislation, I look forward to the continued debate on it and I want to thank all members in this House for their indulgence and for taking the opportunity to hear me present on behalf of the good people of Niagara West. I look forward to a robust question and answer as well, as we discuss this further.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): We have time for questions and comments.

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Meegwetch. Happy World Water Day, everyone. We know that when I come here, I always talk about water. Access to clean drinking water is such a basic human right. I know that sometimes when we talk about some of the legislation that comes down, water is not even an issue. As a First Nations person, one of the things I know is that, disproportionately, we are impacted—and not only that, the front-line people, the essential and migrant workers, women, BIPOC folks, but the workers living with a disability. What does this bill do, is my question, to help the people that are impacted?

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: Very respectfully, Speaker—and I appreciate the member raising this—I’m not completely sure exactly, so I’m going to ask, perhaps, for him to follow up a bit. Was this in reference to concerns about water, or was it just an acknowledgement of water? I wasn’t sure if the question was about water or if it was about the impact of trades on populations in particularly marginalized communities that were mentioned. I apologize to the member; I’m just trying to better understand what the question is.

But, obviously, I want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to succeed and to thrive. Regardless of anyone’s background, regardless of the circumstances, we want to provide the tools for all communities in this province—every individual in this province—to reach their full potential to be able to live a life that reflects the dignity, the worth and the respect that they should be deserving.

So perhaps he can reiterate in the follow-up question, I guess, with some precision, what the area—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Thank you very much.

The next question.

Mr. Jim McDonell: I know that one thing this legislation does is look after the new gig workers. Something that is new and really, I guess, spurred by COVID, as we’ve changed the way we do work—a lot of changes in technology that have come about in the last few years. I’m just wondering if the member might elaborate on some of the protections that this bill puts in place. Something that is timely, with the time that we’re looking at here, with the requirement for changes going forward. As we look at life evolving after this pandemic, we’re not quite sure how, but, of course—because will people go back to work?

Will they change? There’s a lot going on and we’ll have to evaluate. It’s an evolution coming up.

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: Yes, absolutely. That’s a fantastic question.

The very first

schedule of this bill is the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022, which is a very important aspect of the legislation. That

schedule enacts the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022, which establishes a number of rights for workers who perform digital platform work, commonly known as gig work: the right to information; the right to a recurring pay period and payday, which is a huge improvement; the right to a minimum wage—we believe everyone in this province should be earning a minimum wage, at least.

When it comes to including our digital platforms: the right to amounts earned by the worker and to tips and other gratuities—a big improvement as opposed to having those tips, which obviously people give in good faith to the person who provided the service and then sometimes they can actually be redirected to the business. We also have implemented the right to notice of removal from an operator’s digital platform; the right to resolve digital platform work-related disputes; as well as the right to be free from reprisal—so important changes that will protect more workers in the province of Ontario.

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

Ms. Sandy Shaw: Today is World Water Day, so it’s a bit disappointing that the member from Niagara West didn’t understand the question from the member from Kiiwetinoong when he asked about the importance of ensuring, in every bill, equal access to the basic fundamental rights of humans in this country, in this province, including the access to clean drinking water. It’s a fundamental human right.

But I’m sorry to say it’s not very surprising, because we have a government that has this bill that in fact doesn’t do all the things that they’re saying. It doesn’t provide a minimum wage for gig workers for all the hours that they work. That is not a fact. The second thing is that this is a government that has capped the wages of our public sector workers with Bill 124. They refuse to repeal that. You also have not done anything to ensure that workers in all kinds of communities—racialized workers, BIPOC workers, low-income workers, women—in fact have the protections that they deserve.

I will give the member another chance to answer the question: What have you done in this bill to ensure equal access to the fundamental rights of the people of the province of Ontario?

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: Again, I think there are two parts to that question, and perhaps that does explain the earlier question. One is a commentary and, I assume, a recommendation for changes to the regulation of water supply and protections here in the province of Ontario.

Of course, it seems that the member opposite isn’t content with what’s contained in this piece of legislation, so I anticipate we’ll be seeing a proposed amendment from the member opposite or from the party opposite with regard to water regulation and supply in the province of Ontario to the Working for Workers Act, which has to do with labour changes to ensure that gig workers are protected and employees are protected.

I’m assuming we’re going to see something like that added, which is a bit of a surprise because typically we see the NDP complain, frankly, when there are matters brought up in a bill that don’t seem to pertain exactly to what the title of the legislation is. I look forward to seeing what the proposal from the member opposite to the legislation looks like.

Secondly, I would completely reject the premise that this legislation doesn’t support everybody. It does, in fact, ensure that each and every person in the province of Ontario—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Thank you very much.

The member from Perth–Wellington has a question.

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: This is probably a question that means so much this morning after hearing on the radio of some opioid-related problems. Apparently there’s a super drug out there that will kill you faster than what they had before, and it’s been quite alarming. The police said this morning it’s quite alarming how fast this works. I wonder if I could ask the member, why are we proposing to require naloxone kits, and what types of workplaces will be required?

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: The member and I must have been listening to a similar broadcast, because I know I was listening to the news at the top of the hour at I think 7 o’clock this morning and I heard about the situation I believe the member is referencing, where there were multiple overdoses due to the lack of stability within the way the drug composition is. In fact, if I remember the report correctly, there was an individual who needed six naloxone treatments in order to be brought back to consciousness—six naloxone treatments.

This just goes to show the dangerous street drugs that there are right now and the instability in those drugs and the need to ensure that we have in place protections, but also that we have in place treatment. I think naloxone is that first response. Of course we recognize that we need to ensure that there’s broader access to supports for those who are struggling with addictions. That’s something the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions has been working on.

But we also want to ensure that employees know that when they’re at a work site, the employer is going to have naloxone available to react to an overdose. That’s a requirement we put in this law to support—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Thank you.

The next question.

Miss Monique Taylor: It’s interesting and, quite frankly, welcome to hear the government talk about the concerns that are happening in our community with the overdoses. We were looking at an over 80% increase in overdose deaths. And yet this bill does not go far enough. Would the member agree that it doesn’t go far enough when it comes to ensuring that people in various workplaces across the province have access to those kits to ensure that they can save lives? And will the training be there for the workplace to ensure that they know how to implement them and truly do the work that they need to do?

This bill doesn’t go far enough with just construction sites, bars and nightclubs. It needs to be vast and broad and in all workplaces. Would the member opposite agree to that, and maybe amend their own bill in doing so when it comes to the naloxone kits in this bill?

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: My thanks to the member opposite for the question. It’s always important to see, on issues like this, the broad consensus and bipartisan support that there is for taking action to address the opioid crisis that is in so many communities. I know in Hamilton, as well as in Niagara, it is a major issue.

Look, the Working for Workers Act, 2022, builds on a foundation that was first laid out in the Working for Workers Act, 2021. I hope there’s going to be another Working for Workers Act after June, where we build on the work that has been done in this one.

I think there’s always more work that we can do. I know that the minister has been in consultation with community leaders, with industry stakeholders, with union leaders and with labour advocates to ensure that we’re building on this work. We recognize that the work is never done, but we do believe that this provides, again, very strong leadership, the first in Canada, in fact, to require certain employers to have these in place—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Thank you very much.

Further debate?

Ms. Suze Morrison: It’s an honour to rise and speak to this bill today. Speaker, it was tough for workers before COVID-19 hit our communities, and things have only gotten tougher. I don’t think anyone in this chamber could deny that gig workers played an incredibly important role throughout the pandemic. Many delivered food right to our doors, allowing us to stay in and stay safe during the worst of the lockdowns. We know that gig workers are disproportionately migrant workers; they’re women, Black, Indigenous, racialized, and many live with disabilities.

Speaking on the precarity of gig workers in Toronto, the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council noted that, “New immigrants are overrepresented in precarious gig-work jobs and struggle for decent working conditions. The gig economy is here to stay. Moving forward, TRIEC hopes the government will further labour reform to be inclusive of workers in this sector.”

Speaker, despite the barriers that workers face getting by, gig workers have shown extraordinary courage, compassion and grit throughout this pandemic. These essential workers are fighting for equal rights and fair treatment—something they don’t currently have under Ontario law. I recently spoke to Jennifer, the president of Gig Workers United, who shared with me that her co-workers feel like heroes. They feel pride at what they have been doing during the pandemic.

Jennifer shared with me that she regularly delivers to a family with four children who have come to love waiting outside for her deliveries and get excited to greet her when she comes around. The parents told Jennifer how difficult it was to rally four children to make a trip out to the grocery store and make it back home safely. Workers like Jennifer kept parents and children in our community safe, and have all throughout this pandemic.

Gig workers have waited far too long for fair treatment from this government. It’s no secret that a deeply rooted agenda of the gig economy is to roll back workers’ rights, and that is exactly what we’ve been seeing happen. App-based workers are not treated as workers by their employers, because, quite frankly, it’s not in the interest of the apps, of these businesses, that rely on their labour to do so. There is more profit to be made when you can incorrectly classify a worker as a contractor and subsequently offload all of your responsibilities for their overhead expenses, for workplace health and safety and for minimum wages.

Recently, though, a Ministry of Labour investigation ruled that gig workers at Uber Eats are, in fact, employees, just as the courts have been ruling in cases all around the world. The ministry’s ruling ordered Uber to stop contravening the Employment Standards Act by misclassifying Uber delivery drivers and to start recognizing them as the employees that they actually are. Rather than enforcing its own employment law, however, what did we see this government do? Well, they immediately tabled legislation to deny gig workers the basic employment protections that they deserve and had just fought for and won. This law will entrench their misclassification.

Workers like Jennifer are told by the multinational companies like Uber, who lobby their buddies in this government, that they don’t deserve the same rights as other workers. Jennifer reached out to my office and said, “Misclassification is violence. It’s dehumanizing. You are constantly reminded that you don’t have rights. If my health and safety rights are violated, I cannot hold my employer accountable. I feel like being an essential worker is coded language for being an expendable worker. We never even had” a plan for “paid sick days under” the Premier’s “plan.”

Speaker, I’d like to speak next to the

section of this bill that the government is trumpeting as a supposed $15 minimum wage for gig workers. When we look at the bill, we actually see that it only applies to app-based drivers when they have a passenger in the car. This would be like telling a retail worker that they’re not going to be paid unless they are actively cashing out a customer, not when they are in the store waiting for the next customer or doing any other kind of work in their down time. They’re stuck in that store, but if they’re not actively cashing someone out they’re not being paid.

This is not even close to what gig workers have been calling for. Not only will most gig workers be unlikely to see a $15 minimum wage for the hours that they are actively working, but they will continue to be denied overtime pay, vacation pay, public holiday pay, termination pay, WSIB coverage and other employment protections that every other worker in this province has access to.

Josh Mandryk is a labour lawyer with expertise in the ABC test. The ABC test is used by some jurisdictions to determine whether a worker is misclassified as a contractor rather than as an employee. It’s the basis for my colleague the member for London West’s Bill 28, a bill that would address worker misclassification specifically. Josh Mandryk actually assessed the minimum wage provisions in this bill and determined that it has the potential to in fact reduce the earnings of delivery drivers to as low as $9 an hour.

They’re talking about, “Oh, it’s a $15 minimum wage,” but, in reality, the way that the math ends up, these workers will be lucky to see $9, which is far below the actual minimum wage of this province. Why is this government more interested in protecting the profit margins of app-based companies, rather than making sure that the gig workers, who held up our communities for the last two years throughout this pandemic, can actually earn a minimum wage so that they can do their job?

In Canada, Uber has been actively shopping around a proposal to carve gig workers out of the Employment Standards Act entirely and create a new subclass of workers with fewer rights, in order to avoid having to recognize gig workers as legitimate employees. This Conservative government is caving to Uber’s demands through this bill. These companies—Uber and others—have found a willing partner in the Premier, whose government hastily convened a rushed process last June with absolutely no worker representation at their supporting technology platform workers as one of their three pillars. They had no workers at the table on this supposed consultation that led to this.

So to keep drivers’ wages down and their company profits up, Uber wants to legislate a third category of workers so that they can legally deny gig workers their rights as employees. This bill effectively does that, and I have to say I join my colleagues in flat out rejecting this approach.

This House recently had a chance to stand up for gig workers when my colleague the MPP for London West put forward the Preventing Worker Misclassification Act. That bill would have filled the holes that are in this legislation, such as how Uber drivers are still working employees during the time on the job when they’re in between passengers. Without that recognition, they cannot access any of the employment protections of the ESA.

As independent contractors, they’re not covered for things, like I said earlier, like minimum wage, paid overtime, vacation pay, statutory holiday pay, parental leave, termination notice, severance pay and the paid sick days that every worker deserves. They are not covered by other workplace protections like WSIB coverage, the right to refuse unsafe work or access to unionization. And although it’s illegal under the Employment Standards Act for employers to misclassify their employees as independent contractors, employers do it anyway because it saves them money.

It’s cheaper for them to call their workers independent contractors because it means they don’t have to pay overtime, they don’t have to pay minimum wage, they don’t have to pay vacation, they don’t have to pay severance. This bill does nothing to fix any of those problems.

But when misclassification cases have gone before the courts, legal rulings have made it clear that it doesn’t matter if their employer calls them an independent contractor. What matters is what the workers do. Uber Eats courier Saurabh Sharma, who was found to be an employee by an Ontario Labour Relations Board arbitrator, was speaking about this and said, “We’ve been saying from day one, Uber is not a tech company. Uber is deciding what labour rights we get, how we do our work.

“It is very important for us to be recognized as employees.... This is what gives the job some dignity.”

Ontario employers who have misclassified their employees can face huge financial penalties in owed back payments. Even if the misclassification is accidental, employers are still liable financially, which means that preventing misclassification is as important to businesses as it is to workers. We are leaving employers in a position where if they’re accidentally misclassifying their workers because we don’t have adequate legislation in place, that puts them at financial liability risk as well.

The Workers’ Action Centre has commented on this and has said, “Since Bill 88 does not make gig workers employees, the door begins to open for employers in all industries to also turn their employees into gig workers without full protection. The burden of fighting for employee status against large, international app-based companies would fall onto individual workers willing and able to challenge their precarious working conditions.”

I want to remind my colleagues that, for a very brief time, the onus was on the employer to prove that their worker was not an employee. Reversing this requirement was one of the very first attacks on labour that was launched by this Conservative government right after they were elected in 2018. Along with that move, what else did they do for workers? Well, they cancelled the minimum wage increase, eliminated the meagre two paid sick days that workers fought so hard to achieve and ended equal pay for equal work and other provisions, undermining workers’ rights.

Importantly, Bill 88 does not establish that digital app-based workers are employees of the companies that employ them, with access to full rights under the labour code and Employment Standards Act. Canadian Union of Postal Workers president, Jan Simpson, commented on this, saying, “The Conservatives misrepresent this legislation as a step forward, but it’s really designed as a barrier to unionization and a distraction from the fight for equal rights and employee status.”

So, again, we have the government trying to parade this bill around as some gift to workers while taking away their rights to unionize, their rights to employee status, their rights to things like overtime pay, severance pay and vacation days, and trying to tell workers, “Hey, this is in your best interest.” I don’t know what kind of spin that is, but it is not in the best interest of the workers of this province.

Despite the efforts of this Conservative government to reinvent themselves as a friend of labour, workers will not be fooled. This Conservative government’s low-wage policies and the Premier’s consistent attacks on workers’ rights have shown time and again that they are not here for workers. The Premier is more interested in doing what his buddies want than what gig workers need.

Speaker, every single gig worker deserves so much better. They deserve respect. They deserve to be able to afford the life that they are working for. And they deserve to be protected by the Employment Standards Act, the same way that every other worker in this province is. I would add to this point that, according to the government’s own workforce recovery advisory committee, 69% of Ontario residents surveyed agree the province should treat gig or technology platform workers the same as traditional workers when it comes to employment benefits.

These are workers’ rights that are, yet again, under attack by this Conservative government. And it should be surprising to absolutely no one, considering this government’s low-wage, high-cost, anti-worker policies that we have seen put in place for the last four years.

To remind the members of this House: What have we seen for the last four years? They cut the planned minimum wage increase in 2018, taking more than $5,300 out of workers’ pockets so far. Every minimum wage worker in this province would have more than $5,000 extra to their name since this Conservative government was elected if they had not rolled back that minimum wage increase.

They then moved on to cap the wages of workers like nurses and teachers behind the rate of inflation—effectively a cut to their wage in terms of their purchasing power in the world—by implementing Bill 124, which capped public sector wage increases at 1%. Meanwhile, we’ve seen the cost of rent, the cost of our groceries and the cost of our bills skyrocketing with the cost of inflation. So, how are our nurses, who are the backbone of our health system right now, supposed to be keeping up with their rent increases when their wages are going up 1% this year? It’s absolutely outrageous.

Then they denied workers PPE supplies and other protections during a pandemic, even fighting in court to avoid having to give workers access to KN95 masks. They took away workers’ paid sick days and refused to reinstate them during the worst days of the pandemic. The absolutely inadequate sick day plan that we got from this government expired before the Omicron wave hit our communities. And did they bring those paid sick days back when we were in the absolute worst of this pandemic? Absolutely, they did not. This is not a government that is for workers; this is absolutely not a government that is for workers.

Then they took women in health care to court to try to deny them equal pay for equal work, and they’re taking WSIB funds that should have supported injured workers and they’re handing that money over to corporations instead. It’s no surprise that this Conservative government is bringing in legislation to permanently misclassify gig workers, because they have never been on the side of the working people of this province.

We also saw this government decide that there was no need for legislation to ensure equal pay for equal work, to ensure that when a temp worker is brought into a company that that temporary worker is paid the same wage as the worker doing the exact same job as them but that’s hired by the company directly. The government said to employers, “Go ahead. Keep paying temporary workers less than the workers that you hire yourselves.” What it does is it incentivizes those employers to continue to keep a consistent stream of temporary workers hired through their company, but that puts those workers at really significant risk.

When you’ve got a temporary worker coming in they may not have the same training or the same experience, particularly in a situation where those workers may be working on factory lines. We’ve seen devastating incidents of death and injury. I think Fiera Foods is a perfect example of that, where temporary workers are not being given the training or safety procedures they need to be put in place and are being put onto these factory lines and putting their lives at risk and dying because the company doesn’t want to properly directly hire and train their own people. They can undercut the wages by using temporary workers.

The other thing that we saw this government do right after it was elected was decide that workers had to prove they were employees and not independent contractors. Again, I’ve spoken extensively to that misclassification piece, but it’s really truly astounding that we’re seeing this coming forward for further attack by this government. We need to ensure that gig workers are properly classified, we need to ensure they have the same rights and protections as every other worker, we need to ensure they have access to paid sick days and to all of the benefits that any other employee would expect.

Speaker, I see I’ve got just a few minutes left on the clock, but there were a few other provisions in this bill that I did want to speak to. I did want to start with

schedule 4, which amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act to require some businesses or workplaces to provide naloxone kits in their businesses. I have to say that while I certainly am thankful for an opportunity to improve access to naloxone kits, especially for workers across our province, considering the opioid overdose crisis that we are facing, I have to challenge this government. You can’t sit back and pat yourself on the back and think that you are going to solve one of the greatest crises of our lifetimes, the opioid crisis, by putting a few naloxone kits in a few workplaces. It’s not going to solve the crisis.

I had the opportunity yesterday to spend the day with an NDP MP who was visiting my riding, Gord Johns from BC, who has put forward a bill federally to decriminalize personal possession and to improve access to a safe supply of drugs, because we know that what’s killing people who are using drugs right now is a tainted and poisoned drug supply. That’s why we need naloxone kits in our communities: to reverse overdoses that are not caused by people not taking the right doses of their drugs, but that are caused by tainted drug supply.

If this Conservative government is not willing to have a conversation about addressing the poisoned drugs in our community that are killing tens of thousands of people across this country, you cannot pat yourself on the back and say, “We’re going to hand out a few naloxone kits to a few businesses,” and think that that’s going to solve that crisis. It absolutely is not.

I’m not saying it’s not a good first step. Fine, let’s put naloxone kits in businesses, let’s put them in schools, let’s put them in this chamber, let’s put them everywhere, because people who use drugs are in every corner of our community and we need to break down the stigma of who we see in our community who we identify as people who use drugs. We need to start treating this as a health issue and not a criminalization issue.

People cannot seek access to safe supply if it doesn’t exist, and they cannot come forward to overdose prevention sites if they think they are at risk of criminalization for being in possession of the drugs that they’re going to be using there. If we are still criminalizing a health issue, we will never get in front of it.

So my ask to this government is: If you actually want to address the opioid crisis in our communities, stop treating it like a justice issue, like a policing issue, and start treating it like what it is, as a health crisis, as a pandemic, a second pandemic that has been raging through our communities longer than COVID has.

Speaker, I see that I’m out of time, but it’s been a privilege to rise in the House today.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The first question goes to the member from Flamborough–Glanbrook.

Ms. Donna Skelly: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning.

To the member opposite, I have been listening about your concerns with the opioid crisis in Ontario. Of course, we’re all very concerned about it. My hometown of Hamilton has had ongoing issues with drugs and, in particular, with opioids. And, of course, we’ve heard the news this morning about the incidents here in Toronto.

But we have introduced in this piece of legislation a requirement to have the naloxone kits at workplaces. You did mention that it is a good first step. Without getting too political—I understand that you are a member of the opposition—can you share with us the importance of why it’s so necessary to include this in legislation and the benefits of having this particular kit in the workplace?

Ms. Suze Morrison: To the member opposite, as I said in my remarks, you cannot sit there and pat yourself on the back for putting a sprinkling, a few naloxone kits throughout our community and thinking that’s going to end the pandemic of the poisoned drug supply raging through our communities. If you are not willing to come to the table and have very real, big, serious, complicated, hard conversations about how to address the opioid crisis, people in our communities are going to continue to die by the tens of thousands.

The problem is the poisoned drug supply. Putting in an antidote to an overdose isn’t going to stop the overdose from happening in the first place. The only way to stop the overdose from happening in the first place is to address the poisoned drug supply. You are, quite frankly, trying to treat a bullet wound with a Band-Aid. It’s shameful.

I’m not saying don’t put naloxone kits in workplaces; do it. But you don’t get to pat yourself on the back and say that this is going to end this crisis while people in our communities die.

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

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: Around Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, we know there wasn’t much consultation that happened. I really enjoyed the member bringing the voices of her gig workers from her riding—to bring that consultation to the Legislature.

We know that the $15 minimum wage that the government is saying gig workers will be eligible for only when they’re engaged in work doesn’t really help. Can the member elaborate on the gig workers’ bill of rights from the member for London West, who brought it forward, and how it will affect gig workers and the actual benefits it will have if we actually implemented Bill 28 from the member for London West? How is that going to change lives in your riding?

Ms. Suze Morrison: Thank you so much to the member from London–Fanshawe for the question. Certainly, I would love to speak to the member from London West’s bill to improve gig workers’ rights. I certainly love my friends from London.

The member’s bill would absolutely improve the rights of workers, by clarifying their classification as employees, not independent contractors. When employers are allowed to treat their employees as independent contractors, they get to just absolve themselves magically of the responsibilities to do things like pay vacation pay, pay overtime, pay a fair minimum wage, severance pay. When an Uber driver’s rating falls too low, they just get cut off from the app. Where are they supposed to go? They don’t get any termination notice. They don’t get any termination pay, just, “Too bad, so sad. You didn’t meet our magical app criteria to continue working for us. Your job is done.”

We need the member’s bill to clarify the classification for these workers.

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

Ms. Donna Skelly: Back to the member from Toronto Centre: Clearly, you are very passionate about this issue—through the Speaker—but that passion doesn’t give one the right to misrepresent information or the facts. You have stated that—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): I’m sorry to interrupt the member, but I would ask her to withdraw her unparliamentary language.

Ms. Donna Skelly: I withdraw.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Back to the member from Flamborough–Glanbrook.

Ms. Donna Skelly: But it’s important for us, regardless of how we feel about issues, to bring forward accurate information. I would like to ask the member from Toronto Centre, where and when did this government suggest that requiring naloxone kits at workplaces would end the opioid crisis? You’ve stated that several times in your response to me and in your remarks earlier. If that is the case, please show me where.

Ms. Suze Morrison: Thank you for the question. I think the member from Flamborough–Glanbrook’s question is quite interesting because what it suggests to me is that she would like to clarify on the record, as I’ve just heard her try to do, that the provisions in this bill to address the opioid crisis are not actually intended to end the opioid crisis. To me that sounds like an admission from the government benches that they actually have no plan or no legislation on the table and no funding for any programs or services that actually will end the overdose crisis in this province.

Do the job: Come back with a bill that actually will end the overdose crisis, because you’ve just admitted yourself that this bill will not.

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

Ms. Rima Berns-McGown: I want to commend my colleague the member for Toronto Centre for an absolutely stunningly powerful speech on the problems with this bill and how to fix them for workers who really need it. I really do wish that the member for Niagara West, who was having so much trouble understanding the questions after his presentation, had actually listened to this disquisition, because he might have learned something useful.

I would like to ask if there’s anything else you would like to say on what this bill should have if we’re going to meet the needs of Black, Indigenous and other people of colour; workers who are disabled; immigrants; marginalized workers; and people who really need the help.

Ms. Suze Morrison: Thank you to the member for Beaches–East York for the question. Certainly, like I said earlier in my remarks, when we look at who makes up the gig worker population, we know that population is predominantly racialized. They are Black; they are Indigenous. They are more likely to be women. They are more likely to be lower income, to live with a disability, primarily because, when we look at gig work and the structure of it, it is a style of work that you can accommodate around a disability if you can only work a few hours a day. We do recognize that.

We do need opportunities for more workers to be able to access fluid schedules that are going to meet their needs, especially for folks with disabilities. But that doesn’t mean that we can then all of a sudden treat this most vulnerable class of workers as substandard to every other worker in this province. If anything, they need the strongest level of protections, because they are most vulnerable to being taken advantage of by their employers. We need stronger minimum wage protections, we need to ensure they are classified adequately as workers in this province, and they need stronger rights.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The member for Sarnia–Lambton has a question.

Mr. Robert Bailey: To the member from Toronto Centre: I had a question about skilled trades and the retirement in the next two or three years. I think a third or more of employees in Ontario are over 55, heading towards that retirement goal that some of them worked so long for. There are a number of pieces in the bill, Working for Workers Act, where we talk about working with employers and with employees to replace those workers. I wonder if the member from Toronto Centre could speak to that and if she supports that part of the bill.

Ms. Suze Morrison: Respectfully, to the member, I think this would be a good opportunity to talk about how we should be better supporting young people to actually access employment and training opportunities. You know what a really great way to do that would be? To address the unbearable student loans that are crippling the students of this province. Young people are being absolutely weighed down by the massive debts on our shoulders that we incur for post-secondary education—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): I apologize, you did nothing wrong.

Pursuant to standing order 50(c), I am now required to interrupt the proceedings and announce that there have been six-and-a-half hours of debate on the motion for second reading of this bill. This debate will therefore be deemed adjourned, unless the government House leader directs the debate to continue.

I recognize the parliamentary assistant to the government House leader, the member for Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill.

Mr. Michael Parsa: Please continue.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The debate will continue. I believe you have, I don’t know, 15 seconds to conclude your response.

Ms. Suze Morrison: Thanks, Speaker—15 seconds isn’t a lot.

Ease the student debt on young people so we can actually go to school, get trained, get our education and not enter the world with $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 of student debt on our backs.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Further debate?

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: Good morning, everyone. It’s a pleasure to rise and join today’s debate speaking in support of Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022. And it was brought forward by the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. I first want to thank and commend the minister and his parliamentary assistant and their staff for the work that has gone into this landmark legislation and the work they are doing each and every day to create a stronger economy that works for everyone.

Speaker, it is important we leave no workers behind. If you take a look around Canada and across the world, we have seen that other governments are experiencing real challenges keeping up with new technologies and the economic implications of these changes, but not in Ontario. Thanks to the leadership of Premier Ford and the Minister of Labour, you will see that our government is working swiftly to close these gaps and to ensure that workers in the 21st century have the protections that they need.

In the first Working for Workers Act, debated and passed in this House last year, we made it clear that we would protect, support and attract workers due to the changing nature of work. Mr. Speaker, the changes brought forward in Working for Workers, the first act, put workers in the driver’s seat, and we became the first province in Canada to say yes to introducing the right to disconnect after work and a ban on non-compete clauses. We also said yes to removing barriers for internationally trained workers by making it easier for these individuals to get licensed in a regulated profession and get access to jobs that match their qualifications and skills.

In addition, Working for Workers 1 put delivery and courier workers first by guaranteeing them washroom access at the businesses that they serve. I can’t thank the minister enough for this particular measure, because in my role as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Transportation, I heard first-hand from drivers that they’re being denied the right to use the washroom—even when they were stepping up over the past two years to help fight the pandemic.

Mr. Speaker, Working for Workers 1 was a first step to show what we are about: a government that will deliver smart, common-sense policies to protect the working class, help middle-class families earn more money and create a better future for everyone. But we didn’t stop there, because we know there is always more that we can do for our workers.

Recently, it was announced by the Minister of Labour that Ontario will be the first place to examine how to bring extended health care benefits to workers with limited-to-no coverage—another step, the first of its kind in all of Canada, that stands to benefit millions of workers right here in Ontario. Make no mistake, we are actively working for workers because the future of work is here, and that is exactly why we are proposing the measures found in Bill 88, to help those workers and ensure no one is left behind.

During my time in office, and especially the past two years, I’ve had the privilege to meet with digital platform and gig workers from my riding of Scarborough–Rouge Park. And these individuals—mothers, fathers, students, young people—all share one thing in common: the collective desire to build a better life, and support themselves and their families.

In our conversations discussing their jobs and the many digital platforms that they use, I noticed that three common core themes emerged: These workers appreciate the flexibility, they appreciate the options that they have and the opportunity that comes with the jobs found on digital platforms. They spoke about how these jobs filled temporary gaps as they changed their careers or navigated a layoff, or allowed them to better balance the work and life obligations that they have.

Presently, one in five workers works in the gig economy, and that number is only expected to grow in the coming years. Online platforms like Uber, DoorDash and Instacart are here and they are growing in size and popularity. As a government, we must look out for the workers on these platforms, protect their rights and ensure they can get ahead. And Bill 88 builds on the success of the Working for Workers Act by proposing foundational rights and protections for workers in this gig economy.

Bill 88 proposes a bill of rights for gig workers in Ontario which would grant a guarantee of at least minimum wage when logged onto the platform, and the right to keep their tips and know when they’re getting paid. These are some foundational rights, Mr. Speaker. Clarity on advance notice or an explanation if they are being removed from the platform—that is also a foundational right—the right to resolve their work-related disputes right here in Ontario and the right to protection from reprisal for asserting their rights to the platform.

These protections extend to all digital platform workers regardless of the worker’s classification as an employee or as a contractor. These rights are the first of their kind in Canada. It just makes sense to do it, because for these gig workers these protections are essential so that they can put more money in their pockets and get ahead.

But most importantly, implementing these essential rights are also a matter of fairness, respect and gratitude for gig economy workers and the work that they do in our province, because no one working in this province should ever make less than minimum wage for an hour’s work. No one working in Ontario should be dismissed without notice, without explanation. And certainly no one working in Ontario should have to leave this province to settle an employment dispute or go elsewhere to sign a contract that they do not understand.

It is unacceptable that these injustices are happening in Ontario, and by implementing the proposed changes found in Bill 88, we give back to workers by protecting their rights and laying a foundation for their success in our province.

Over the past two years, gig workers—and all workers—stepped up for their communities during the pandemic. They were there for the families and for the seniors who had to isolate and needed groceries to be delivered. They were there for businesses that had to pivot to delivery to keep their products moving. Despite these heroic efforts, the scales in the gig economy continue to not be in the workers’ favour. Therefore, we must act as a government to recognize the value of their work, increase their protections and give back to digital platform and gig workers.

I cannot state this enough: This bill is a landmark measure for gig workers. By moving forward with Bill 88, we have a real opportunity to level the playing field and raise the floor for these workers.

Speaker, now I’ll shift to

schedule 2 of the bill, which proposes legislative amendments to the Employment Standards Act to create another protection for workers. We live in the 21st century, and as such, workers and people expect their privacy to be protected and, more importantly, that their government is actively working to ensure that, despite changes, their privacy is protected. With the changing nature of work, workers are working in different places, like their home.

When you’re in your home, it doesn’t matter if you’re working in your living room, bedroom or in your kitchen with your children; you deserve to know if, how and why your employer is monitoring you. That is why Bill 88 proposes a requirement for employers to disclose to their workers if, how and why they are being monitored, and implement this policy within six months. This new protection would extend to company devices like computers, cellphones, tablets, GPS systems and the many other electronic devices that a worker may come across on the job.

By proposing increased privacy protections for workers, we are putting workers first and ensuring that they can work with confidence and certainty while they work in new places as the nature of work changes.

Speaker, we are committed to safe and healthy workplaces across the province. No worker should ever have to work in fear over becoming seriously injured, or not making it home at the end of their shift. If you’re doing business here in Ontario, you must put the safety of your workers first. We must act against the bad actors who do not put safety first and see current fines as another cost of doing business. The changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act found in Bill 88 would propose the highest fines in Canada for companies that break workplace health and safety laws.

If this bill is passed, the maximum allowable fine for a violation resulting in serious injury or death would increase to $1.5 million for companies that do not follow these important workplace health and safety laws.

Speaker, another way we are working for workers is making it easier to bring a worker’s skilled trade credentials to Ontario. It should be no surprise to any member of this House that Ontario is in a skilled trades shortage—the largest shortage in a generation. Take in that, just last summer, over 300,000 jobs were vacant. With even more skilled trades vacancies expected in the coming years, we must stay on top on making it easier for workers to get into this sector. Bill 88 does that by making a call-out to skilled workers across Canada to move to and settle here in Ontario.

Currently, Ontario recognizes 52 of the 55 Canadian Red Seal trades, a credential that recognizes that a tradesperson has met the national standards for their given trade. To close this gap, Bill 88 proposes to recognize the final three credentials—gas fitter class A, gas fitter class B and oil and heat systems technician—that make up the full slate of 55 Red Seal trades.

Making it easier to live and do business in Ontario is at the core of what we do as a government. That is why Bill 88 proposes a new service standard to have the credentials of out-of-province skilled tradespeople recognized in a timely manner. By introducing a service standard of 30 days, skilled professionals like engineers, mechanics and plumbers will be able to move to our province, fill long-standing job vacancies and contribute to our economic growth.

To get ahead of the skills gap, we must raise our game to attract the workers we need. The new 30-day service standard builds on what was found in the first Working for Workers Act, which introduced a streamlined process to have the credentials of immigrants and new Canadians recognized. Again, this is another measure that I cannot thank the minister enough for, making it easier for newcomers to apply their skills in Ontario.

We have a real opportunity to fill these positions, contribute to our province’s economy and give newcomers a secure economic footing as they settle in our province, because for far too long, skilled job seekers have been met with bureaucratic red tape and delays, and ultimately this deters them from seeking these jobs.

By moving forward with this bill, Bill 88, we are charting a different course than the Del Duca-Wynne Liberals. We will make it easier for workers to fill these crucial gaps in our economy. When taken together, the proposed actions illustrate that our government will do whatever it takes to increase labour mobility and drive skilled and in-demand workers to our province. I cannot stress this enough: These are well-paid jobs with defined benefits and pensions that represent real opportunities. Making it easier for all workers to reach these opportunities just makes sense.

Speaker, the proposed measures found in Bill 88 are common sense and needed as we build Ontario. With our growing population, we must take every necessary step to create the conditions for the economic success for our province and its workers. Our government has allocated over $148 billion in infrastructure spending, and we are going to need skilled workers to build highways, to build bridges and subways that will be needed in the coming years.

By making it easier to come to Ontario and have your skills recognized, we are leading the way in Canada and across North America in promoting labour mobility. By proposing foundational rights and protection for digital platform workers, we are the province in Canada that is being bold and leading the way for workers.

As Ontario continues to grow, we must leave no worker behind. In our government, led by Premier Ford, it doesn’t matter if you work for a big company or a small company or a digital platform, we have your back and we won’t leave you behind. We listen to workers, and we heard you loud and clear. We are moving forward with Bill 88, our second Working for Workers Act. Our government is ensuring that Ontario remains the best place to live, work and raise a family.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): We have time for questions. I see the member from Niagara Centre has a question.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Thank you to the member for his speech. I appreciate it. My question is regarding Bill 124. If we’re proposing to come up with a bill that’s going to help workers, especially at this time, at the end of a pandemic, when we’re looking at what’s going to be good for an economic recovery and what’s good for workers, you would think that the very first thing any government would do is to repeal Bill 124, which restricts the pay of people who got us through this pandemic.

How could a government possibly come up with a bill that’s supposed to help workers and still retain a bill they’ve already passed that limits workers’ pay to less than inflation? And we all know what’s happening with inflation, so the people who got us through the pandemic are actually losing pay.

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: As I mentioned in my speech, this is the first of its kind. In Bill 88, the Working for Workers Act, our government is introducing foundational rights for digital platform workers in Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, I have engaged with many residents from Scarborough and all across. One core theme: They’re all saying that they need digital platform gigs because they’re flexible, because they can balance their family responsibilities while they’re on the job, and sometimes this is their second or third job. We’re the first government in Canada to actually introduce foundational rights for these gig workers, so I am thankful to the Minister of Labour, the parliamentary assistant and their staff for their great work in actually bringing foundational rights for gig economy workers.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The member from Sarnia–Lambton has risen to ask a question.

Mr. Robert Bailey: I wanted to congratulate the member from Scarborough–Rouge Park for his remarks. I wanted to ask him—I’ve got two questions here, but I’ll just ask one; maybe I’ll get a chance for the second one later.

I wanted to ask him to comment on—well, I guess I’ll ask about the fines for workplaces to protect workers. If the member could expand upon the importance of fines and implementing them by the government.

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: As we know, when a worker goes to a job, we want that worker to be safe. That’s priority number one for this government. If there are bad actors in Ontario and if there is an accident and there is a severe injury or death, the government will increase the penalty to over $1 million, because we have to make sure we, as a government, should be there to protect our workers first. Regardless if they’re working for a small company or a big company, they should know that our government is there to back them up when it comes to safety and safety laws in Ontario.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The member for London–Fanshawe.

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: The Working for Workers Act, Bill 88, is, as the member has said, protecting workers, making sure workers are safe at work. I have to say, because we didn’t have any consultations, we haven’t heard from all workers. One of the areas I want to ask the member a question about is temporary workers, temporary workers like Enrico Miranda who worked at Fiera Foods and was a temporary worker who was cleaning machinery and was crushed by that machinery to his death. Where is that in this bill to protect workers?

Temporary workers who are owned by a temporary agency, literally owned by them, and then contracted out to employers that pay them less for the same work. Where is that protection in Bill 88 for temporary workers, their health and their safety?

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: As I mentioned in my remarks, we are the first government in the country to actually bring these foundational rights and protections when it comes to safety. Protecting workers is going to be the forefront of our government’s focus in Bill 88. When it comes to safety, we’re not going to leave any stone behind and we’re not going leave any workers behind.

Again, we have heard loud and clear from all corners of our province, whether it’s from Sudbury or Scarborough, that workers welcome these protections for their safety. Moreover, the families are welcoming this, because they really want their family members to come home after their shifts.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The next question is from the member from Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill.

Mr. Michael Parsa: I want to thank my colleague for the presentation—always a strong advocate for the people of Scarborough–Rouge Park. Thank you very much.

My question to my colleague is about the historic labour shortage we have in the province and the many unfilled jobs that are costing billions in productivity. I was wondering if the member can perhaps share with the House how this proposed legislation will not only cut red tape but make it easier for the skilled trade professionals across Canada to come and work right here in our province.

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: As the member from Aurora-Oak Ridges mentioned, our province is actually facing the largest labour shortage in a generation. Just last summer, about 300,000—labour shortage. That’s why it is important to address this problem by making it easier to bring skilled workers from other provinces to come with their families and work right here. By working towards eliminating this bureaucratic red tape, it is easy for the workers to get their credentials in a short amount of time. Also, we are welcoming workers across Canada as well as internationally. That’s why I feel like this is landmark legislation that the Ministry of Labour team introduced.

I will continue to advocate to make sure that we fill the gaps, because our government is building bridges, to highways, to all the subways that we are building.

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

Ms. Rima Berns-McGown: The member opposite did a great job of walking through some of the government’s talking points on this bill, but did not answer any of the crucial questions that were raised by my colleagues about where the bill is leaving behind gig workers who are marginalized in particular, and I want to know if the member can please tell us and assure us that at the committee stage, the government will amend the bill with many of the suggestions that are going to be brought forward, which would actually make it a bill that would help workers?

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: Thanks to the member opposite for that question. We heard loud and clear from gig workers and digital platform workers about the changes that they want to bring forward in their ecosystem. It’s the new nature of work and it’s evolving day by day. We’ve seen the increase of the widespread usage of digital platforms, and in the last two years they stepped up.

Our Ontario government would be in the first in the province to offer these rights and protections, including minimum wage to digital platform workers to deliver food, or have a rideshare or deliver courier services. These changes would apply to all digital workers who provide all sorts of services to Ontarians.

Mr. Speaker, this is not just about having minimum wage protection, but it’s also about disputes. All the disputes will be handled right here in Ontario and they don’t have to leave the province to take care of any work-related issues.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): If the government member has a quick question, you may get a quick answer.

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: I’m interested in some of the comments made this morning, certainly on workers’ rights and all this type of thing. I think it’s the right of every worker in this province to have a good job, and we are in a crisis right now where we are probably a hundred and some thousand workers short—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): If you want an answer, now is a good time to pose your question.

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: I’ll ask a quick question. Can you explain what we’re doing for Canadians on digital work platforms?

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: Thank you to the member opposite for that question. Mr. Speaker, our government has the responsibility to keep up with technology. That’s why we are leading the way in Canada and across North America with Bill 88.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Thank you very much. We will not have time for further debate.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

House sittings

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

schedule of the House is required, and therefore, the afternoon routine on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, shall commence at 1 p.m.

Private members’ public business

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): I also beg to inform the House that, pursuant to standing order 101(c), changes have been made to the order of precedence on the ballot list for private members’ public business, such that Mr. Babikian assumes ballot item number 43 and Mr. Pettapiece assumes ballot item number 59.

At this stage, we’re a little bit early, but we are going to move into members’ statements.

Members’ Statements

Bengali Canadian community

Ms. Rima Berns-McGown: One of the great delights of being the member for Beaches–East York has been the privilege of getting to know many members of the Bengali Canadian community. In east Toronto, the community’s core is nestled on and around the Danforth and in Crescent Town.

March is of course Bangladeshi Heritage Month, and March 26 is Bangladesh Independence Day, which marks the day that Bangladesh separated from Pakistan at an enormous cost in lives to preserve its Bangla language and culture. The dedication of Bengali community groups to the well-being of community members and ensuring kids are growing up proud of their language and culture is unmatched.

I want especially to shout out the South Asian Women’s Rights Organization for consistently shining a light on the harsh conditions of working immigrant women and for providing the policy answers that need to be enacted.

Last summer, we unveiled the first International Mother Language Day monument in Dentonia Park, and this year the community gathered there in February for the first time to honour those who lost their lives fighting for their language. Every year, this powerful ceremony, and indeed the existence of Bangladesh as an independent nation, serves to remind all of Canada of the importance of mother languages to root and ground us all.

Ontario and Canada need to follow the Bengali example, and to ensure that First Nations people can reclaim the languages stolen from them in residential schools. We have so much to learn from this beautiful community.

Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival

Ms. Laurie Scott: Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize an annual and very sweet community event taking place next weekend, April 2 and 3, in my riding of Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock, the Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival. After two long years, the annual festival is back, and this year we are celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Maple syrup festivals will be taking place all across the province over the next few weeks where community members can gather together to enjoy this season’s maple syrup harvest and learn about the time-honoured tradition of making maple syrup.

Maple syrup has a long history in Ontario and it continues to be an important staple in our rural and global economy. Canada remains the world’s largest producer of maple syrup, and I want to give a shout-out to and thank some of our local producers in Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock, like Harlaine Maple Products and Pinedale Maples in Sunderland, for allowing community members to visit their farms every year to learn about such an important Canadian tradition.

So come learn about traditional maple syrup production, beginning with early knowledge sharing from Indigenous communities to today’s production methods, support local vendors and take

part in lots of family-friendly activities next weekend in Sunderland.

Congratulations on 25 years of this tradition in Sunderland and thank you to the fantastic local volunteers who make it possible.

Port Colborne Top Hat Ceremony

Mr. Jeff Burch: It’s my pleasure to speak today about the Port Colborne Top Hat Ceremony. My riding of Niagara Centre runs the length of the Welland Canal from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie through St. Catharines, Thorold, Welland and Port Colborne. An important tradition takes place in Port Colborne every year in March celebrating the annual opening of the Welland Canal, and this year the kickoff of the 64th navigation season of the St. Lawrence Seaway takes place on March 24.

Every year a top hat is presented to the captain of the first downbound vessel, and Port Colborne’s fair-trade committee made up of dedicated volunteers are on hand at Lock 8 Gateway Park with coffee and hot chocolate for the many residents and dignitaries in attendance.

Port Colborne has a rich history in the marine industry and does a great job promoting that fact through Canal Days festivities and the Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum. We are also very proud of the Port Colborne Marine Auxiliary Rescue and its dedicated volunteers, formed in 1988 to preserve life and property in the waters surrounding Port Colborne.

Niagara drivers are well acquainted with bridge delays and know that we will spend time waiting for ships to pass in the coming weeks and months, but we are also aware of the economic benefits and jobs that the Welland Canal generates for the entire Niagara region. It is estimated that 3,300 ships pass through the canal annually. Today, over 40 million tonnes of cargo is carried through the canal by vessels each year. As a matter of fact, general cargo shipments surged by 71% last year. The top hat ceremony gives us an opportunity to recognize the importance of the Welland Canal and how much it enriches the economy, history and culture of our great region and province.

Al Leeder

Mr. Bill Walker: Today I rise in the Legislature to pay honour and tribute to the life of Alma James Vernon “Red” Leeder, formerly of Wiarton, who passed away on March 6 at the age of 92 years. Alma is survived by his wife Shirley, his companion of 69 years, sons Steve (Donna) and Bert (Susan), and was predeceased by daughter Maureen.

Mr. Speaker, Red Leeder was a pillar of our community. He served for 70 years in the Wiarton Rotary Club and was an absolute fixture at the corn booth at the Rotary Village Fair. He was twice awarded the Rotary Club’s Paul Harris fellowship and recognized as Rotarian of the Year in 2017. He was committed to the club’s mandate to help spread hope, particularly the Easter Seals concerts, which were hosted at the local arena. He was part of the community choir. He was on the recreation committee, and did much for the youth of our community.

He was a teacher, Mr. Speaker. At the age of 18 he began teaching in Amabel township, and went on to work as a teacher and principal in Shallow Lake, Wiarton, Ajax and Amabel-Hepworth over a distinguished 39 years.

Red, or Al, as we knew him reverently in Wiarton, was a person who, along with his wife, Shirley, gave significantly to our community in many, many capacities. He and his wife, Shirley, helped to save the Wiarton train station, and he was always around to be able to help out youth in need. He was very firm and committed to what he did, but he was a compassionate, friendly giant, and he truly will be missed as part of our leadership in the Wiarton-Bruce Peninsula area.

Water quality

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Today is World Water Day. As Anishinaabe people, we know that the Creator has given our people a special relationship and responsibility to the water.

Water is one of the most basic elements we need to survive and live a good life. And it’s a basic human right.

Ontario is the province with the highest amount of drinking water advisories. In Kiiwetinoong today, there are 13 long-term drinking water advisories and five short-term advisories. This is 60% of the 31 First Nations in the Kiiwetinoong riding.

We had elders who told us decades ago that there would come a time where we would pay as much for water as we do for other resources. We are living in that time today.

The water that sustains all of us is under threat due to climate change, water diversion systems and man-made pollution. The health of our water system has an effect on our relationship to water. We must be able to trust our community water sources and those out on the land.

Speaker, today on this day, and every day, I hope you take the time to honour our collective responsibility to protect the water and the environment for our children and our future generations.

Anti-racism activities

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: It is an honour for me to rise in this House to acknowledge the progress that has been made on an area in this province that is of great concern to my riding of Scarborough–Guildwood.

In June 2021, I stood and brought forward motion 10, condemning Islamophobia, because the terror attack that took place in London demanded an immediate and unequivocal response. In the aftermath of this tragic loss, I joined my Liberal colleagues in working with all parties to address the issue of hate-motivated incidents in this province. From those collective efforts came Our London Family Act, Bill 86, put forward by the NDP.

Bill 86 is now at justice committee. Getting this bill passed quickly must be a genuine commitment from members of this House, following consultations with stakeholders and the development of a framework for combatting hate. It is critical that we work together to get Bill 86 passed as soon as possible.

I want to recognize the leadership of the CEO Mustafa Farooq of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, as well as Abdul Hai Patel, Nadeem Sheikh and Maaz Abowath from the Scarborough Muslim Association and, of course, MPP Mike Schreiner of the Green Party, who joined me in recent discussions about the bill. There was agreement from everyone who attended, including the relatives of the Afzaal family: If this government is committed to passing this bill, they must take action quickly.

Speaker, this weekend, sadly, we all know that hate-based attacks are happening in this province. Worshippers at Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre in Mississauga were attacked in a hate-motivated incident, a clear reminder that the work that we need to do is ongoing. All parties agree: Bill 86 must be passed, and it must be passed now.

Horse industry workers

Ms. Donna Skelly: Since our government first took office, we have been committed to tackling the skilled worker shortage. In the horse industry alone, there are over 1,000 unfilled jobs tending to horses on farms, racetracks and training facilities. Grooms and caretakers are fundamental to the health and welfare of the animals, and they are critical to the success of the industry.

The horse racing and breeding sector contributes $2.3 billion each year to Ontario’s economy. For more than a decade now, I’ve been working with Jim Whelan, president of the Ontario Harness Horse Association, to find a solution to the worker shortage program. I am so pleased that weeks ago, our Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development came to my riding of Flamborough–Glanbrook to announce that our government is investing $2.1 million to train workers for rewarding careers in the horse industry; 250 participants are being offered free training and up to $3,000 to cover expenses and paid work placements.

Hannah Knowles from Mount Hope is a young person who was looking for a new career path. She had been enrolled in a special effects program in a career college, but she really loves horses, and when this opportunity came up, she jumped at it. I am so proud that our government is supporting the project. It is giving people a head start in a career that they want to pursue, and it is assuring employers in the horse industry that they will have the trained workers they need.

Land use planning

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Today I ask that the government reject the plans Metrolinx has put forward to build a train maintenance facility and layover in the Don Valley park.

I support and my community supports the expansion of GO train service in the Lakeshore East corridor and in the rest of the system. We need this. My community understands—I understand—the need for increased GO services to get people out of their cars and onto mass transit. People support and want electrification of these GO lines to cut pollution and greenhouse gas emission. However, they don’t want a rail maintenance and layover facility in the park area of the Don Valley. No one would propose such a facility in High Park and no one should propose such a facility in this location.

The Don Valley park is a major recreational area for a community that is becoming increasingly denser on both sides of the Don. These are areas already facing park deficits. We can’t get new parkland in the centre of Toronto, and we can’t afford to lose what we have. The minister should sit down with Metrolinx, review what is needed and find a new location that works from an environmental and engineering standpoint.

George Leslie Mackay

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: This is a very special year in Taiwan. It’s a year filled with celebrations of George Leslie Mackay. He was the first Canadian missionary to Taiwan, who arrived there 150 years ago on March 9, 1872, and is still a beloved hero.

George Leslie Mackay was born in my riding of Oxford—incidentally, that was 178 years ago yesterday. The people of Taiwan are showing their regard for Mackay throughout this year with various celebrations and a message to the Canadian Mackay Committee from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. I’d like to read part of the president’s message to you today:

“As we commemorate the 150th anniversary of Reverend Mackay’s 1872 arrival in Tamsui, we look back on his remarkable life as a missionary, educator, and medical practitioner in Taiwan. Among the most notable of his achievements was the founding of Oxford College, where Reverend Mackay himself lectured extensively on subjects including Bible studies and medicine.

“It was his devotion to public health that left possibly the deepest mark on Taiwan, as his name is now synonymous with the medical profession here. Several of Taiwan’s hospitals bear his name, ensuring that his legacy will continue for many years to come.

“Reverend Mackay represented Canada admirably through his time in Taiwan, sparking a close friendship between our two countries that endures to this day. Today, Taiwan and Canada are like-minded democracies working together toward a common global vision of peace, stability, and prosperity.” So says the president; so say we all.

Introduction of Visitors

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Today we are honoured to remember and pay tribute to a former member of our provincial Legislature, the late Claude Frederick Bennett, who was the MPP for Ottawa South during the 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd and 33rd Parliaments. Mr. Bennett’s family are here with us in the Speaker’s gallery: His son Winston Bennett and spouse Erin, and daughter Natalie Bennett.

Also in the Speaker’s gallery is Mike Harris, Premier during the 36th and 37th Parliaments; John Parker, MPP for the riding of York East during the 36th Parliament; and David Warner, Speaker during the 35th Parliament.

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

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: As I mentioned in my statement, we have a delegation here from the Taiwanese community. Ms. Jin-Ling Chen is the director-general of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. Mr. Kuan-Chung Chen, Mr. Cheng-Hao Liao, Mr. Kuo-Hsiang Sun, Ms. Pei-Chen Hsu, Mr. Peter Huang, Ms. Maggie Lin, Mr. Edward Chung, Mr. Columbus Leo and Ms. Pi-Lin Lin. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Miss Monique Taylor: This is fantastic to be able to welcome people back to the House and I’m really excited to welcome my executive assistant, Jessica Beaupre, and my OLIP intern, Melody Greaves. Welcome into the chamber.

Mr. Bill Walker: I would like to welcome Charlie the chaplain who’s here with us all the time not only in spirit but in words and thought. Thank you for all you do for everyone in our province, our country and the world. Thank you, Charlie.

Ms. Sandy Shaw: On World Water Day, it is my pleasure to welcome to Queen’s Park people who have travelled from Tiny township. Tiny township has the purest water in the world. They’re here to make sure we protect it and we’re aware of it.

Legislative pages

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Next, I’ll ask our pages to assemble. It is my pleasure to introduce this group of legislative pages:

From the riding of Flamborough–Glanbrook, Kamal Alaichi; from Niagara Centre, Jackson Burch; from Sarnia–Lambton, Emily Coyle; from Toronto–Danforth, Mila Dechaine; from Don Valley North, Brianna Lovshin; from Ottawa South, Vivian Lozada; from Whitby, Rhythm Panchal; from Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill, Pallas Shen; from the riding of Simcoe–Grey, Callum Smith-Milne; and from Mississauga–Erin Mills, Ria Somaia.

We have two other pages who unfortunately aren’t here this morning, but will be helping us in the coming days: from the riding of Markham–Unionville, Stanley Zhou; and from the riding of Spadina–Fort York, Molly Marshall. We’re delighted to have you here as well. Thank you very much.

Claude Bennett

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

Hon. Paul Calandra: If you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to make statements in remembrance of the late Mr. Claude Frederick Bennett, with five minutes allotted to Her Majesty’s loyal opposition, five minutes allotted to the independent members as a group and five minutes allotted to Her Majesty’s government.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Mr. Calandra is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to allow members to make statements in remembrance of the late Mr. Claude Frederick Bennett, with five minutes allotted to Her Majesty’s loyal opposition, five minutes allotted to the independent members as a group and five minutes allotted to Her Majesty’s government. Agreed? Agreed.

I recognize the member for Ottawa Centre.

Mr. Joel Harden: It’s an honour to rise today as the member of provincial Parliament for Ottawa Centre in the presence of two Premiers and the Bennett family to offer some remarks on the life of Claude Bennett, a truly huge figure in Ottawa politics.

As I think about what to say this morning about Claude Bennett, I think back to a question that took me myself into this place in the first instance, and that is the question of: Who do we serve in this work? What’s this work really about?

A lot of people out there are cynical about politics. They think politicians are in it to serve themselves. What I’ve found to be honest in all parts of this House is a number of people who are trying to make their communities better. We will disagree on how to get there, but we’re trying to make our communities better.

What I was heartened to know in the example of Claude Bennett is that we both hail from the same part of old Ottawa South, at the moment, on Bellwood Avenue; that Claude went to Hopewell Avenue Public School, where my kids go to school; that Claude was proud to be an Ottawa boy, as the vernacular often goes from his generation; and that he actually wanted to use everything he could to help make Ottawa better. But as I’ve learned, Speaker, in this work in three and a half years, a really important question one has to ask themselves in this work that we do as a team with our community is: What are we prepared to sacrifice to serve our community?

What Claude Bennett was prepared to sacrifice was a number of things. He married very late, worked very hard, spent a lot of time on the road, as I understand, in a mobile van, going all over Ontario; and in doing that, he also entertained a certain amount of risk. So I want to entertain, just for our benefit collectively here, one in particular that benefited Ottawa in 1983.

When Claude was serving as a cabinet minister in the then-government led by Premier Davis, the Ottawa Heart Institute was about to open its doors, and it was short $6.5 million in funding. Mr. Keon, who led that heart institute, told Claude that we could be facing a situation where the heart institute would open and there would be no equipment inside to help the people who would come in its doors. So Mr. Bennett decided to take a risk.

On the spot, without any authority to authorize the spending, he guaranteed a $6.5-million loan to the Ottawa Heart Institute and said that he would be meeting with Premier Davis shortly to figure out if the government could make right on the dispensation. He said in 2012 to someone who gave a retrospect of his life, “I’m going to Bill Davis and telling him what I’ve obligated the province to do. He either agrees or I’m gone.” I ask, how many of us take risks like that in public life?

What I can tell you is that the Ottawa Heart Institute today is one of the leading institutes for helping Canadians who have thrombosis concerns, who have heart issues. It took a lot of sacrifices to get there, and I wanted to take a moment to name Claude Bennett’s sacrifice.

I’m also inspired, in the time I have left, Speaker, to talk about how much Mr. Bennett, despite his activity in politics, cared about his family. His wife, Deborah, apparently told him in 1986, “Do you think some day you would like to grow up and know your children?” It was one of those alarming conversations you have with your partner when you realize, “Oh, my gosh, I’m such a political nerd. I’m so immersed in this life that I may be forgetting what’s most important.”

He tells the reporter in this 2012 memoir that he saw many of his colleagues, with the stress of this job, succumb to alcohol addictions, succumb to habits that hurt themselves as they tried to cope with the stress of the occupation. What he decided to do instead was invest that stress through his faith and through his family. I think that’s something we all can benefit from, given the pressure all of us are under this this place. I think the fact that we see his family here today is evidence to the fact that that was an investment worth making.

Speaker, I want to end with a quotation from the great American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson on success, that I think Claude Bennett meets:

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;...

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;...

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—

This is to have succeeded.

Thank you, Bennett family, and thank you, Claude, for your service to Ontario.

Mr. John Fraser: It’s an honour today to pay tribute to Claude Frederick Bennett, MPP for Ottawa South from 1971 to 1987. He sat in this seat. Claude held the responsibility for many different portfolios in the Davis government—a lot of responsibility.

Before coming to Queen’s Park, he was an alderman, a deputy mayor and a controller, which is a position he actually held while he was here at Queen’s Park for a year, which is a testament to his energy. He was born and raised in Ottawa, and was a lifelong resident.

I had the pleasure of knowing Claude, although our politics were definitely different. We came from two different political families; like the Hatfields and the McCoys in Ottawa South, we disagreed on many things. I never doubted for one second his commitment to the people of Ottawa and to the people of Ottawa South. His energy and enthusiasm and efforts left Ottawa a better place.

Aside from his work at Queen’s Park, Claude was deeply involved in our community. He gave up so much of his time to build up and support places that are so important to our community, like the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the Glebe Centre. He oversaw a new Ottawa airport and St. Patrick’s Home.

He loved sports. He was the president of the Ottawa Sooners Football Club, chair of the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame and supported Lynx AAA baseball coming to the nation’s capital.

Claude was energetically and enthusiastically involved in so many aspects of his hometown of Ottawa, but I would be remiss if I didn’t say a few words about politics. His politics were definitely on the right-hand side of things. He was a true believer. He held fast to his values and he wasn’t shy about it.

I only ever ended up in one debate with Claude, and that was at an Alta Vista Community Association meeting where he was coming in as the Ottawa Transition Board chair and I was coming in as Dalton McGuinty’s local assistant. Claude finished his presentation and I got up to make my presentation. I talked a bit about health care and education and then, of course, opened the floor for questions, which each speaker did. Claude’s hand was the first hand up. That’s just about all I remember, apart from the ferocity of the question. I still have that feeling—that’s almost 20 years ago—but we still treated each respectfully after that. It was an early lesson for me to always be prepared.

I think it’s important to mention his wife, Deborah, Winston and Natalie’s mom. Like so many partners of politicians, she had to endure the long absences that we all know and the hectic schedules. As I understand it, she handled that with grace and gave back in her own right to her community—not the least of which was her dedication to the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre in Ottawa South and the gift shop that’s there. It’s named after her now. It’s Deborah’s Gift Boutique.

Claude’s life was full of boundless energy. I’d like to share a comment that Speaker David Warner helped me get from Chris Carruthers, his neighbour, who is also the former chief of staff of the Ottawa Hospital. This one is entitled the Ottawa Hunt Club Claude Bennett rule. When Claude took up golf at age 65, like everything else in his life, he went full speed ahead on the sport. He would book two games a day—18 holes in the morning, 18 holes in the afternoon, and occasionally, another 18 holes. He was monopolizing the tee sheet.

Because he was playing twice a day or more each week and tee times were limited, others could not get on the course. As such, the club brought in the Claude Bennett rule, in that you could only book one round of 18 holes a day. The issue had never arisen in the over 100 years of the club.

He also took up walking with a vengeance. You could see him walking in the neighbourhood up to 20 kilometres a day. He would wear large earphones and walked at a very brisk pace—and anybody who knew Claude knows how quickly he moved through things. You could always spot him a mile away. He walked rain or shine. Like everything else in his life, once he started, he went at it passionately and full-time.

He was a good guy and always opinionated on anything political—just get him going.

To Winston and Natalie and to the gathered guests—mostly to Winston and Natalie and your families, thank you for sharing your dad with us. He left a mark on the city of Ottawa that won’t be forgotten.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: It is truly an honour to have the opportunity to pay tribute to the life and the legacy of the Honourable Claude Bennett. He is dearly missed.

Claude shone brightly in life, and his legacy continues to shine after his passing in March 2020. The city of Ottawa, the province of Ontario and Canada have all been well served by his accomplishments and dedication to political life and public service.

With a career that spanned an amazing five decades, in both the municipal and provincial political arenas, Claude made an immeasurable contribution to his community.

And overarching all his vast achievements was his love of family and love of community. He would do anything to help a neighbour, and he had genuine interest in people. He would meet you once, remember your name and even your children’s names and ask about them the next time he saw you, sincerely.

Claude Bennett was a remarkable man and a remarkable elected representative. He embodied what it means to be a Progressive Conservative. He was fiscally responsible, adhering to guiding principles. At the same time, he was compassionate and caring and always focused on how to best support individuals, families and those who required a helping hand. With Claude, those combined character traits were hallmarks. It’s who he was. And they are why today so many of us look back on his time in office with great fondness for the man and great regard for his accomplishments.

He led life with remarkable ability and seemingly boundless positivity, courage and hope for the future, and he led others with the same zest for life he had embraced. He knew how to work hard from a young age, and he came from a family that instilled the value of hard work and helping others.

After serving 12 years as a municipal alderman at Ottawa city hall—the last years of which he served as acting mayor and a controller on the city’s board of control—Claude took the step the run for a provincial seat. He would soon become the youngest member of the Ontario cabinet when Premier Davis appointed him Minister without Portfolio. He went on to serve as Minister of Industry and Tourism from 1973 to 1978, and he brought his positivity and enthusiasm to his role. He met with leaders and Ontarians across the province with the message that they had a voice at Queen’s Park and he travelled the world promoting Ontario.

Claude would carry on to have an illustrious political career at Queen’s Park, holding many important cabinet positions. At a tribute dinner held for Claude in 2015, Premier Davis reflected on his days working with him: “You are one of the most intelligent, one of the most delightful individuals in cabinet. It was a pleasure to be associated with you.”

Throughout his political career, Claude represented his hometown with distinction. In fact, he was Ottawa’s ultimate ambassador. He was also our ultimate champion. There is a lengthy list of significant landmarks around the city of Ottawa, and Claude Bennett had a central role in realizing those. We must thank him for his vision of a vibrant and livable city and his ability to deliver for the people of Ottawa.

Consider what he championed and accomplished—some of these things have already been mentioned, but there’s always more: the Rideau Centre, the Ottawa Congress Centre, the provincial courthouse, Ottawa’s regional Transitway, the Algonquin College expansion, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the Ottawa Heart Institute—without Claude and his collaboration with Dr. Keon, it may never have happened. He was a champion.

In so many ways, Claude shaped our Ottawa as we know it today, and we owe his life as an elected representative a great debt of gratitude.

Claude’s beloved wife, Deborah, shared the dedication to community in providing her support to the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre for decades. The gift shop she championed was ultimately named in her honour. They were quite a pair.

Claude Bennett really cared. It showed in everything he did—in the way he treated people, in how he touched the lives of others, in his loving family with his wife, Deborah; daughter, Natalie; son, Winston; and their families. I have tremendous respect for Claude and I feel honoured to have been his friend. He was always generous with his time and he provided me with wise counsel as well as colourful anecdotes, as he was prone to do from time to time. I will always cherish Claude’s friendship, as so many do.

We are grateful to the Honourable Claude Bennett for all that he has achieved, to his family for sharing his life with us and for his legacy of duty, kindness and hope for the future. Thank you.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I want to thank the members for their eloquent tributes as, together, we give thanks for the life and public service of Claude Bennett.

Applause.

Question Period

Health care workers

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Can I just say to the minister across the way, that was very moving. I know you’re feeling a lot of emotions right now, and that was lovely—as well as the other speakers, also.

My first question this morning is in fact to our Premier. We all know that our health care heroes gave their all during the pandemic. They gave their all, and now they are absolutely burned out. The nurses in our province, in our hospitals, in all health care settings really did deliver for us, but their government simply didn’t have their backs.

Now, we know that they continue to face really difficult situations at work. There are staffing shortages that are massive. Their workloads on their wards are extremely heavy. They feel disrespected because of this government’s low-wage policy, Bill 124, and they continue to face significant mental distress. Yesterday, the federation of nurses told Parliament, “Over 80% of nurses report insufficient staffing in their workplace, with two thirds saying the quality of care has declined over the past year.”

My question is simple: Where is this Premier’s plan to retain, recruit and return health care workers to our health care system?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you very much for the question. We certainly recognize the tremendous work that’s been done by nurses across the province for the last two years. We know that they have, in many cases, had to sacrifice being with their own families, especially before vaccinations started, and we recognize that a strong nursing workforce is critical as we move forward into our recovery phase, past COVID.

That’s why our government is investing in a number of different ways in order to retain nurses, first of all. We’re investing $763 million to provide Ontario’s nurses with a lump sum retention incentive of up to $5,000 per person. That’s equivalent to about a 6.9% increase.

But there’s more than that. We are retaining and we’re recruiting more and more nurses in order to be able to allow for some of the nurses who have been on the front lines for the last two years to be able to have the time off that they need, because many of them have been at work virtually the entire last two years. So we need to do more work both to retain what we have but also to recruit more people, and I’ll speak to that in the supplementary.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: If this minister doesn’t know, she ought to, that their one-time payment with strings attached was largely panned by nurses. They still feel very disrespected.

But it’s not just nurses, Speaker. It’s not just nurses. Medical lab professionals processed millions of COVID tests and other samples over the last two years. Their new report says that they are experiencing burnout as well. Michelle Hoad, the CEO of the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario, said this: “We have a mass exodus of people leaving the profession because they just are tired of feeling unappreciated.” They, too, are disrespected by this Premier’s low-wage policy, Bill 124.

My question is, why does this Premier insist on continuing to disrespect and drive out health care professionals in this province with this low-wage policy, including our medical lab techs?

Hon. Christine Elliott: In fact, what we’re doing is supporting all of our health care professionals with the investments that we’ve made. We’ve made investments to support our nurses. We made investments previously with the pandemic pay to help people get through this time period and to recognize their efforts, knowing that they were, in many cases, having to leave their families behind; they were working extra shifts. We recognize that all front-line health care professionals have been through a great deal, and that is why we are spending additional monies in order to recruit and retain more health care professionals.

We’ve also recognized that we need more physicians in Ontario. That’s why we’re expanding, for the first time in the last 10 years, the number of undergraduate and post-graduate spaces for physicians and to train more doctors for northern and rural areas.

But we recognize that there are also other front-line professionals that need help. That’s why we’ve expanded the number of beds available. We’re expanding the number of professionals that are going to be able to be trained at some of these locations, including the new medical school in Brampton that is going to be started by Ryerson, which will also be able to train other health care professionals, including lab techs, including nurses and other front-line health care professionals.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, the reality is the staffing crisis continues to be a problem in our health care services, and this government should not be surprised by that.

Back in October the Premier’s own science table flagged them with this concern: “Sustained burnout will likely contribute to staff retention challenges due to health care providers leaving their workplaces and professions. A vicious circle may be under way where understaffing leads to increased burnout and an even weaker health care workforce.” That spiral is under way, but it doesn’t have to be this way. This can be fixed, and we can start fixing it up by ripping up the government’s Bill 124 low-wage policy.

My question is, when nurses, when PSWs, when lab technicians, when the government’s own science table are ringing the alarm bells that something needs to happen and it needs to happen fast, why is he stubbornly refusing to fix it and get rid of Bill 124, his low-wage policy?

Hon. Christine Elliott: In fact, we are dealing with it, by retaining the front-line health care professionals that we have, by recruiting more people and providing them also with the supports they need if they are facing exhaustion or burnout. In some cases, many of them need mental health supports. We are providing that in terms of online assistance, but for people that need front-line interpersonal care, they can receive that as well.

We’re also getting ready for the future by building the support at the Runnymede centre that is going to be for front-line professionals. That includes front-line police officers, front-line firefighters, but also front-line health care workers, because we know it can often be more difficult for them to obtain supports in a traditional setting. We are creating a centre that is going to be for them when they are facing burnout, when they have mental health or addiction needs. This is going to be a centre specifically for front-line health care providers and front-line providers for other services.

Education funding

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is for the Premier. We all know it’s been a difficult couple of years in our schools in this province. There’s been a new report issued by People for Education, an organization that does a lot of work in terms of our education system. In that report it says that 90% of principals found that the pandemic was extremely difficult to navigate for the staff that they were responsible for. The report says the stress on teachers and education workers is resulting in an absolute crisis in our education system, a staffing crisis that’s significant and that they’re very worried about.

Worse, the group is calling for action, and they have been doing so for some time, but they’re being ignored by this Premier and his minister.

My question is, why are the Premier and the minister ignoring our kids and our schools and the workers who work in those places, the folks who support our children and our families? Why are they being ignored by this government?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Niagara West and parliamentary assistant.

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: I wish to thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question. Speaker, I think it’s important that we take a step back and we look at the historic investments that have been made by this government, by Premier Ford and Minister Lecce and the entire government of Ontario, in our education system—truly historic investments that have enforced and built upon the health and safety measures that we put in place based on the recommendations of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and, of course, his team.

I want to speak a little bit about some of the specifics. We’ve seen that this year alone, under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government is increasing investment in public education by $683 million, the single largest investment in Ontario’s history. That’s a substantial investment. What this means is that on an average provincial per-pupil basis, funding is going to be over $13,000 per student for the first time in our province’s history. There’s a $92-million increase in the Special Education Grant funding through the GSN being projected to increase to over $3.25 billion, substantial funding that’s ensuring our students receive the best education possible.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: In the report that I was referring to in my first question, principals shared stories of the hardships they’ve been facing during the pandemic, and I’m going to share some of those with the government, because apparently they’re unaware. One principal said, “Families are undergoing significant stress.... I have a staff member breaking down in my office over stress at least once a week. It’s a lot to take in....”

Another one said, “Without an increase in supports to keep schools open safely ... impact of educational funding cuts”—which is what’s happening—“especially during a pandemic, on our community will only worsen.”

The government cut $500 million from education just in the last review. That’s not going to fix what’s broken. Cuts by this government are not going to fix what’s broken in our education system. When is the Premier going to start investing in education, stop cutting and fix what’s broken to make sure our educators and our students get the kinds of schools that they deserve?

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: The leader of the official opposition must have been a victim of discovery math because the reality is that, on this side of this House, we have invested the single largest amount in public education in Ontario’s history. Our government’s investments in public education have increased each and every single year since taking office, rising 9% in the 2022-23 school year when compared to before our government took office.

This is a substantial amount of investment, and it is ensuring that each and every student in the province of Ontario is receiving the safe and supportive environment that they need to learn. It’s ensuring that each and every student is receiving the staffing supports through our education workers.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, it is certainly not surprising that this government is denying the cuts they’re making to education, but the evidence is very clear. In fact, that report’s conclusions should be an alarm bell for this government, and the fact that it’s not is truly frightening. Here’s another quote from that study: “The Ontario government and education system have allowed students, staff, and families to go without the support, resources, and action plan needed to navigate this crisis.”

But, Speaker, it didn’t have to be this way; in fact, it still doesn’t have to be this way. We can invest in our schools and our classrooms. We can build a system that has the supports that our children need. We can take care of our excellent staff and give them the respect that they deserve. Together, we can actually fix what’s broken in our education system, but we have to stop the cuts and make the necessary investments.

My question is, why won’t this Premier do exactly that?

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: I have to correct the record because, under the leadership of this Premier, the government has increased funding to the publicly funded public education system each and every year by historic amounts to ever-increasing levels to ensure that every student of this province receives an education that they can be proud of, that can ensure they’re prepared for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

But I want to speak a little bit about some of the specific issues that were mentioned by the member opposite, although, of course, clearly she hasn’t had the opportunity to go through some of the budget items that express how much we’re increasing supports for public education. We’ve invested over $300 million to hire 2,350 new staff. We also announced an agreement with the Ontario Teachers’ Federation to deliver access to thousands of retired educators. We’ve increased the 50-day re-employment rule to 95 days for retired teachers, principals and vice-principals in the public school system.

We’ve expanded the use of temporary certificates to a new cohort of Ontario teacher candidates. This will allow approximately 3,400 additional certificates to teacher candidates this year alone.

These are the sorts of measures that we are taking as a government to ensure that each and every classroom in this province has good staff in front of it, and each and every classroom is safe, supported with ventilation, with proper and adequate access to infection control measures—

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

The next question?

Government accountability

Mr. Jeff Burch: Speaker, through you to the Premier: In October 2020, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing issued a minister’s zoning order to enable a medical innovation park on unserviced farmland in Oro-Medonte. The MZO was sought by developers with political and donor ties to the PC Party. By granting the MZO, the government claimed it would accelerate the production of PPE, vaccines and other medical supplies, but none of that happened. The medical innovation centre was never built. Instead the property owner put the land up for sale for $26 million, citing the MZO as a key selling point.

Through you, Speaker: Why is the Premier handing out MZOs just to boost the property values of friends and donors to the PC Party?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Again, I’ll caution members: You can’t impute motive.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing wishes to reply.

Hon. Steve Clark: Absolutely, Speaker, I want to reply. Those are unfounded allegations that the member should really seriously reconsider when he’s posing a question.

Again, I’ve said this many times: Minister’s zoning orders come at the request of the local council. They’re for priority projects that that council determines are needed and are necessary in their community.

I understand that that property is not for sale. That information, while it might have been correct several months ago, is not the case today. We’re going to continue to work with that council to ensure that the project and the zoning meet the intent of the minister’s zoning order. I thank the member for the question.

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

Mr. Jeff Burch: According to a Teranet search, the Oro-Medonte property was bought in April 2020 for $2.6 million, six months before the MZO was issued. Then the property owner put the land up for sale for $26 million, 10 times what they had paid for it less than two years before for the same land. All that had changed was the MZO.

This government has issued 80 MZOs in the last three years, more than five times what the previous government issued in 15 years. More than half of those MZOs, Speaker, have benefited friends or donors to the Premier and the PC Party. When will the Premier stop corrupting the planning system with special favours to his friends and donors?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Again, I say to the member for Niagara Centre: You can’t impute motive with a question or any statement in the House.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Withdraw, Speaker.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order. Order on the government side.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Hon. Steve Clark: Thanks for withdrawing that. That’s the important thing that the NDP should be doing, Speaker.

But the fact of the matter is—

Ms. Andrea Horwath: We know what the fact of the matter is.

Hon. Steve Clark: And the Leader of the Opposition can chirp all she wants, but here’s the compare-and-contrast: We want to build Ontario up. We want to work with municipalities. We want to ensure that municipalities can build the housing, can have the job creation, can have a basis to move Ontario—which we all believe on this side of the House is the economic engine of our country.

Again, Speaker, Liberals and New Democrats will always gravitate to a coalition against development, against prosperity, against local councils. We are going to continue to work with councils to ensure that our province leads the nation.

Infrastructure funding

Mr. Bill Walker: It’s always a pleasure to stand up in the House to represent the communities in my great riding of Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound. I want to thank the Minister of Infrastructure: $17 million to Grey county for 3,982 house connections, and $16 million to Bruce county for 5,225 homes as part of the Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology program, or SWIFT.

Mr. Speaker, just last week, Grey county announced that they would be using some of their provincial funding to minimize the increase of property taxes from a 3.75% hike to a 2.88% increase. This is great news for the use of funding that will go a long way in putting money back in the pockets of the hard-working people of Grey county, and I look forward to seeing the other projects that will be funded.

Mr. Speaker, through you, could the Minister of Infrastructure please share with us how our government is supporting critical infrastructure projects in my riding?

Hon. Kinga Surma: Thank you very much for the question. There’s no question that our small, rural and northern municipalities have been the victim of chronic underfunding to support their infrastructure backlog by the previous government. That is why our government committed an additional $1 billion annually in our fall economic statement, bringing our total investment to $2 billion per year over the next five years for the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund. These investments also help 424 small, rural and northern municipalities, including those in southwestern Ontario, build and repair their infrastructure such as roads, bridges and water and waste water systems.

As part of our investment, 13 communities throughout the area, including Bruce and Grey counties, will see over $12 million to support local projects for more than 266,000 residents, to provide safe and reliable infrastructure. These people are getting the infrastructure that they so desperately deserve.

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

Mr. Bill Walker: Thank you to the minister for her great response. I know this funding will go a long way to support municipalities in my riding and across our great province of Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, I know that our government is working tirelessly to connect Ontarians to high-speed Internet, an issue that is very important in my riding and, again, across the province. In areas of southwestern Ontario, including Grey and Bruce counties, we’re retaining and attracting young farmers and seeing increases in their earnings. Despite the increasing population and drive for more farmers, many of these farmlands don’t have the connections they need to connect to reliable high-speed Internet, an essential service they rely on heavily to access information to make business decisions, market their products, operate on-farm technology and much more.

Can the Minister of Infrastructure please explain how our government is helping these farmers in my riding and across our great province connect to compete in today’s economy?

Hon. Kinga Surma: I want to thank the member for his hard work.

Our government is investing a historic $4 billion in high-speed Internet infrastructure and has committed to full connectivity province-wide by the end of 2025. Through Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology, or SWIFT, more than 63,000 homes and businesses are being connected to high-speed Internet services in the region. And we didn’t stop there, Mr. Speaker. We invested a total of $255 million to connect 58,000 more homes and businesses across southwestern Ontario. Construction is under way for 53 projects, and SWIFT is on track to complete construction by June 2023. Our government is saying yes to building Ontario and yes to connecting all Ontarians.

Land registration

Ms. Jessica Bell: My question is to the Premier. Experts have been warning us for years that home prices are being driven up by investors who anonymously buy and sell homes in Ontario and Canada to store wealth, launder money about cheat on their taxes. The BC government found that money laundering in the real estate sector caused house prices to skyrocket by 5% in just one year. Experts and the NDP agree: To stabilize housing prices and stop tax evasion and money laundering in the real estate sector, we must bring in a land registry and require secret investors to reveal their true identity, but this government doesn’t want to do it.

Why is this government allowing anonymous investors to drive up the cost of housing beyond what Ontarians can afford?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To respond, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Hon. Steve Clark: I want to thank the member for the question. She had a very similar question a couple of weeks ago, and I know the Minister of Finance gave a really good answer. I’ll let him deal with the supplemental.

Our government has been crystal clear throughout our mandate that all housing options are on the table. We spent a lot of time early on in our term looking at housing supply—

Interjection.

Hon. Steve Clark: —something that the laughing Leader of the Opposition has voted against every time. Again, we had a bill that protected tenants and strengthened community housing, something you would think New Democrats would be in favour of. Again, they vote against it—even some of our measures, including the Ho