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October 20, 2020

42nd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2020-Oct-20 vol. A (PDF)

L196A - Tue 20 Oct 2020 / Mar 20 oct 2020

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Tuesday 20 October 2020 Mardi 20 octobre 2020

Orders of the Day

Main Street Recovery Act, 2020 / Loi de 2020 visant à redonner vie aux rues commerçantes

Members’ Statements

Small business

Women’s achievements

Cultural facilities

Shane Stanford

Blood donation

SilverScenes Film Festival

Flu immunization

Small business

DSV Global Transport and Logistics

Economic development

Question Period

Long-term care

Long-term care

Small business

Member for Don Valley West

Canada Christian College

COVID-19 response

Long-term care

COVID-19 response

Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight

Protection for health care workers

Long-term care

Vaccination contre la grippe / Flu immunization

Long-term care

Hospitality industry

Health care

Waste reduction

Reports by Committees

Standing Committee on Government Agencies

Introduction of Bills

Quadrant Consulting Services Inc. Act, 2020

Filipino Heritage Month Act, 2020 / Loi de 2020 sur le Mois du patrimoine philippin

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

Life Settlements and Loans Act, 2020 / Loi de 2020 sur les rachats de polices d’assurance-vie et les prêts sur l’assurance-vie

Motions

Legislative reform

Petitions

Broadband infrastructure

Anti-racism activities

Long-term care

COVID-19 response

Access to personal health records

Long-term care

Magna Carta Day

Long-term care

Family law

Long-term care

Veterans

Anti-vaping initiatives for youth

Opposition Day

Long-term care

The House met at 0900.

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

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Main Street Recovery Act, 2020 / Loi de 2020 visant à redonner vie aux rues commerçantes

Resuming the debate adjourned on October 19, 2020, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 215,

An Act to amend various statutes with respect to the economic recovery of Ontario and to make other amendments / Projet de loi 215, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne la reprise économique de l’Ontario et apportant d’autres modifications.

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

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I’m pleased to rise today to participate in the debate on Bill 215. It’s an interesting bill, Speaker. It is entitled the Main Street Recovery Act. However, anyone who expects to open up this bill and see measures to actually assist our main streets to recover is going to be deeply disappointed.

It is a very brief bill. There are five pages, thereabouts, and four schedules. I’m going to briefly give an overview of what those schedules include.

Schedule 1 and

schedule 3 simply make permanent a change that was introduced during one of the first sessions, I think, that we came together as a Legislature to deal with the COVID-19 emergency. There was emergency legislation that was passed in a very fast-tracked process to enable deliveries in our municipalities so that they did not violate noise bylaws.

So schedules 1 and 3 prohibit municipal noise bylaws in connection to the delivery of goods to retail stores, hotels, restaurants and distributors. This is a measure that we supported in the summer in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and certainly it’s supportable now to make it permanent. It makes sense. Schedules 1 and 3 amend the City of Toronto Act and the Municipal Act so that all of Ontario is now covered by these legislative changes.

Schedule 2 amends the Highway Traffic Act. It clarifies that taxis, limos, Uber, Lyft and these kinds of services have to have licensed drivers in order to carry passengers for compensation. It also increases fines for Uber and Lyft drivers who are unlicensed. The fines used to be a range from $300 to $20,000, and now the fines are increased to $500 to $30,000, so there is a slight increase of $200 on the lower end of the fine and an increase of $10,000 on the higher end of the fine.

Now, I just wanted to digress a moment, when we’re talking about Uber and Lyft drivers, unlicensed drivers and the competition that the licensed taxi industry faces in Ontario from these ride services. I think all of us as MPPs have likely heard from taxi drivers in our communities about the challenges facing that industry because of Uber and Lyft, but also, and in particular, because of the insurance premiums that are skyrocketing that taxis are now being required to pay.

In my community, in London, there was a story in the London CBC—last week, in fact—about the skyrocketing premiums that taxi drivers are facing. London taxi driver Radovan Millinkovic says his rates have risen more than $5,000 over the last couple of years. His premium increased from $7,000 to $9,600, so he’s paying $800 a month more than he used to pay. While the fines on unlicensed Uber and Lyft drivers will maybe, hopefully help the taxi industry, what taxi drivers were really looking for was some relief from these skyrocketing insurance rates.

Interestingly, the CBC reporter who wrote this story about the rate hikes for London taxi drivers contacted the Insurance Bureau of Canada to ask about these insurance rate hikes. The insurance bureau told CBC News that the reason that commercial insurance rates are going up for small business owners, such as independent taxi owner-operators, is related to the pandemic. Now, Speaker, I appreciate that the insurance industry has had some additional costs related to the pandemic; however, it is hard not to question the rate increases that have been imposed on independent taxi owner-operators and many other small businesses.

With a bill that’s called the Main Street Recovery Act, one might have expected to find some measures in there dealing with insurance rates, because all of us are hearing from small businesses that have been told that their insurance premiums are, in some cases, doubling. Or in London, one thing that we are hearing more and more from small businesses, particularly those downtown, is that they can’t get insurance anymore. There’s no insurance available. There’s no insurance company that’s willing to insure some of these small businesses. This is not what we need at this moment in the pandemic; there are enough small businesses that are facing closure as a result of many other issues.

This is an issue that this government could address to ensure that the insurance rates remain affordable for small businesses, but they chose not to do that and, as a result, in London, we are seeing more and more taxi drivers going out of business.

In fact, Speaker, last fall, prior to the pandemic, more than a year ago, I wrote a letter to the Minister of Finance about this issue with taxi insurance. At that time, taxi drivers were seeing a 45% increase in premiums, which is taking taxi drivers out of business. In the city of London, approximately 150 owner-operators of taxi companies support an estimated 1,200 families, with the dispatch operators etc. who are involved in the industry. Those families are feeling the financial hit from these taxi insurance rates. So I think that taxi drivers will be quite disappointed when they see

schedule 2 of Bill 215 only dealing with fines for uninsured drivers.

Schedule 4, the last

schedule in this bill, amends the Ontario Food Terminal Act. That allows the terminal to sell a wider range of agricultural products, not just fruit and produce, and it also makes some minor changes to the governance of the Ontario Food Terminal.

This is supportable, certainly. However, I think that the government once again missed an opportunity. People who are involved in agriculture, our farm families, our food processing firms, understand that there has to be a distinction between food availability and food access. And while this amendment will help ensure the stability of food availability, it will do nothing to address food insecurity and also to support a sustainable local food supply.

This is something that I think we can all remember when the emergency measures were first imposed dealing with COVID-19, when community gardens were shut down. I’m sure you recall, Speaker, the outpouring of support for community gardens that all of us heard because the government had classified community gardens as being non-essential services, but we heard loud and clear from the people that we represent that community gardens are very much an essential service.

In London, we have 464 community gardens. There are over 1,000 Londoners who use community gardens and the majority of them say that the reason that they use community gardens is because it provides access to healthy food.

We know that food insecurity is a growing problem across the province; all of our communities are seeing food bank usage spike. The London Food Bank just reported that there has been a 10% increase in the number of London families who are using the food bank on a regular basis just in the last month—just in the last month, Speaker.

The executive director, Jane Roy, of the London Food Bank commented that they saw a pattern at the initial start of the pandemic. Food bank usage went way up, and then as people were able to access some of the financial supports, the CERB etc., food bank usage started to decline. Now that those supports are ending, they are seeing food bank usage spike right back up again. So the urgency of ensuring food access is very apparent in all of our ridings.

That is certainly something that could have been included in this Main Street Recovery Act as a means of supporting some of those local food businesses that are so vital in many of our downtown cores. Unfortunately, as I said, the government chose not to take that opportunity.

What’s most interesting, Speaker, is that this bill is apparently the result of the government’s analysis and

interpretation of the input that was received over the summer and early fall from the Standing Committee on Finance. That committee heard presentations from about 500 delegations. There were 800 hours of testimony that were provided. Many, many, many recommendations were made, and this is what has come out of that.

Of course, when the minister introduced this bill, he did position it as one of the pieces of the government’s approach to economic recovery and claimed that the government’s main street recovery plan was informed by the input that was received during those hearings. What is curious, Speaker, is that this government’s package of measures to address main street recovery actually has very little to do with the input that was presented to the Standing Committee on Finance.

For example, one of the most consistent recommendations that was made by deputants to the committee was to ensure commercial rent relief and a moratorium on commercial evictions. We used valuable debate time, valuable time in the business of this chamber, to discuss extending a moratorium on commercial evictions to the end of this month. In just a couple of weeks, it’s going to start all over again. Many, many businesses are going to be in serious trouble and are going to be facing the prospect of eviction.

We also heard loud and clear about the need for commercial rent relief. Of course, we all heard last week the announcement from the federal government that there is going to be a revamped commercial rent relief program. I have to say, Speaker, we were all in our communities last week. It was interesting. I went to a physiotherapist on Friday morning, I picked up some dry cleaning on Friday afternoon, and both the physiotherapist and the woman in the dry cleaning store congratulated me on my advocacy for commercial rent relief.

I had raised a question in the Legislature on behalf of Mustang Sally’s, a restaurant in London West that was not able to access the rent relief that was under the previous program, the CECRA. There was a story in the London Free Press. The physiotherapist and the dry cleaner had seen the story, so they congratulated me for my efforts to get this commercial rent relief program in place.

While I’m happy to take credit, I had to point out that, in fact, there is no credit due to the provincial government, that this was the federal government’s change in the program, because this provincial government has consistently refused to implement a meaningful commercial rent relief program that would actually assist businesses with some of those fixed costs that they are dealing with.

The final points I wanted to make are the contrast between this government’s main street recovery plan and the Save Main Street plan that the official opposition released earlier in October. Both of us were using the same data, in a sense. Both of us were using the input that was provided to the standing committee on finance, but we came up with very, very different solutions. The reason is that the official opposition actually listened to what small businesses were saying when they came to present to MPPs about what they need in order to survive this pandemic and remain in operation when the pandemic is over.

What we heard was the need for a commercial rent subsidy—and we have proposed and we continue to urge this government to put that in place—a utility payment freeze, a ban on all evictions by commercial landlords in place until the pandemic ends, and also a made-in-Ontario sick days plan.

This is another issue on which this government continues to miss the boat. They do not seem to understand that paid sick days for workers is not a drain on business, it is a support for business. Businesses don’t want employees coming to work sick because that means that there is a risk that their co-workers could get sick, that customers could get sick, and that’s not good for business.

Yet if employees do not have access to paid sick leave, then they face the choice of, do I go into work and take that risk of infecting my co-workers and my customers or do I miss being able to make my rent payment this month and then face an immediate eviction from housing? So you can certainly understand why workers, particularly low-wage workers without access to paid sick days, are in a very vulnerable position.

Our Save Main Street plan also includes measures to stop insurance gouging. We have called for an auto insurance grace period for taxis and car-sharing drivers, and stopping insurance corporations from denying coverage based on COVID-19. We also called for a limit on food delivery fees. We heard the Premier ask food delivery services to lower their fees, but this government has an opportunity to actually impose regulations to stop that practice, that 30% that food delivery services are taking off the top.

Finally, we also called for measures to address the necessary she-covery, because women have been the first and hardest hit by this pandemic, and without access to child care, without ensuring that children are safely able to go to school, women will continue to be unable to get back to work, and that is not going to save main street.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): We now have time for 10 minutes of questions and responses. The first question?

Mr. Lorne Coe: I’ll just take off my mask here. Part of what’s reflected in this bill, and I think it’s worthwhile emphasizing once again, is empowering small businesses to pivot and take advantage of new opportunities to increase revenues. Speaker, you’ll know from discussions with your own local businesses the challenges that exist at the present time, but it’s important to highlight a couple of changes here: exploring options to permanently allow licensed restaurants and bars to include alcohol with food as part of a takeout or delivery order before the existing regulation expires, and also enabling community net metering demonstration projects to support local communities.

I’d like to ask the member—and thank you very much for your presentation—does the official opposition support these particular changes and the effect it’s going to have in communities across Ontario?

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Thank you for the question. I do note that the government’s main street recovery plan includes a one-time grant of up to $1,000 for businesses to purchase PPE and, yes, that is definitely something all of us have heard about, the need to enable businesses to have financial access to PPE.

But what I’m hearing from restaurants is it costs $70,000 to get a covered patio tent that can withstand snow. Another restaurant spent $20,000 to install new glass barriers. So while the $1,000 is welcome, it is a drop in the bucket when you consider what restaurants will have to do in order to remain open through the winter.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): I recognize the member for Niagara Centre.

Mr. Jeff Burch: I thank the member from London West for her thoughtful presentation. Over the summer, we heard from a lot of businesses who wanted greater clarity around the rules, and the member raised that concern when she spoke about food security. In our neck of the woods, it was speedways and pumpkin patches and those types of businesses that found the government’s rules very confusing and tried to take advantage of the portal that the ministry had for reopening—you could submit plans for reopening—and never got any response; businesses across the province simply weren’t getting a response from the government.

How important is that clarity and providing opportunities, and what could the government have done in this bill to provide greater opportunities for businesses to safely reopen?

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I want to thank my colleague for the question. Absolutely, the government has failed to ensure clarity in communication, and all of us experienced that in the initial shutdown of non-essential businesses. There were all kinds of—we were flooded with questions about what is a non-essential business and why certain businesses were classified as non-essential. I used the example of community gardens. Thankfully, the government revised that closure and allowed community gardens to reopen. But it has been an ongoing challenge.

Last week, I raised concerns about pandemic pay. There has been a total lack of clarity around pandemic pay, who is eligible to apply for the pay, and why workers were denied the pay.

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

Mr. Stan Cho: I appreciate the presentation from the member opposite. I distinctly remember the question posed about Mustang Sally’s because I remember responding to them. I also remember at that very moment that our Minister of Finance had been on the phone all week with Minister Freeland in a coordinated approach with Ottawa, making sure that relief that was provided filled the gaps where it was coordinated.

My question to the member opposite is simply: Do you feel that it’s important to continue to collaborate with all levels of government in these relief programs so there’s not duplication and we’re covering as much ground as possible? In the case of the commercial rent relief program, that is exactly what happened and that’s why our $300 million goes to actually fill the parts that are not covered in this coordinated approach to provide relief to great businesses like Mustang Sally’s.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I appreciate the question, and certainly I use the example of paid sick days as a policy for which collaboration between the provincial government and the federal government would be very, very helpful, because right now the federal government is rolling out a program that will require workers who want to access those paid sick days to go through an application process. We have heard from advocacy organizations, like the Decent Work and Health Network, how critical it is to ensure seamless access to paid sick days, and that requires amendments to provincial employment standards legislation.

So this would have been an opportunity for the provincial government to collaborate with the federal government, amend the ESA and provide access to paid sick days.

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

Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens: I’d like to thank my colleague from London West for bringing a lot of very important issues to the forefront this morning.

One of the issues that my colleague highlighted, and I’m just going to reiterate what the colleague across the way has brought forward, is she-covery, and how important it is for single mothers who are in businesses to be able to go to work without worrying about how they’re going to pay their bills. Can you highlight how this bill could possibly hinder a single mother or a single person to be able to get back to work in such an important business, like small businesses within our downtown area?

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I would like to thank my colleague for the question. Certainly there is absolutely nothing in this bill that recognizes the gendered nature of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We saw hospitality workers, the first and largest group of workers to lose employment—we know that women are overrepresented in the hospitality industry, in retail sectors, and those were sectors that were very hard hit by the pandemic.

You know, Speaker, when a family has children who require child care or who are school age, and that child gets sick, guess who typically stays home with that child? It’s the mother, it’s the woman, so we need legislation that reflects the gendered nature of the pandemic.

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

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: My question to the member, in listening to her remarks: All of us have heard from small businesses in this entire pandemic, and the needs they have. Certainly there have been several pieces of legislation that we’ve introduced in this Legislature—some that would have been supported by the opposition; some not—to help these businesses. But some of the things that we heard are getting onto Main Street, getting more digital and providing those supports.

I want to ask the member opposite whether or not she has advocated to her small businesses about the Digital Main Street platform, how many of her constituents have been able to uptake that and what her relationship is with her local BIAs in that situation.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: That is an excellent question, because it provides me an opportunity to recognize the Hyde Park BIA, which is in my riding of London West and is taking the lead on implementing the Digital Main Street program throughout the city of London. Hyde Park BIA is doing a terrific job advocating on behalf of the businesses in London West and, in fact, across the city.

They also collaborated with five key city of London organizations—Downtown London, the Small Business Centre, TechAlliance, Old East Village and the London Economic Development Corp.—to send a letter to the Premier and the Prime Minister talking about the importance of commercial rent relief. That is what we have not seen from this government.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): We have time for a very quick question and a very quick answer.

Ms. Doly Begum: I’ll give the opportunity for the member, who spoke very eloquently about this, to tell us a little bit more in terms of what the government can still do to help small businesses, even though we might have lost many.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I think I talked about some of the measures that could be taken: a commercial rent subsidy, a ban on evictions, a utility payment freeze, a fund for businesses that face historic barriers, a made-in-Ontario sick days plan, a cap on class sizes so that children can go to school safely, more child care spaces so that families have access to child care—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Thank you so much. Further debate?

Mr. Robert Bailey: Speaker, it’s good to see you in the Chair there today. It’s a pleasure to be here in the House and to speak, as it always is.

It’s my pleasure, Speaker, to join the debate this morning on Bill 215, the Main Street Recovery Act. I want to thank my colleague the Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, and all the members of the team, for the tremendous amount of work that they have done putting together this important piece of legislation. I’ve seen first-hand how committed the minister is to small business and red tape reduction, and to his portfolio as a whole. In fact, a few months back, the minister and I hosted a virtual small business round table in Sarnia–Lambton with a number of businesses from Lambton county.

We had a real great discussion about how our government could help support small businesses during the pandemic. I know that the stakeholders from my riding were really impressed on how engaged the minister was during that meeting.

Reading through Bill 215 and also the main street recovery plan, I can see the minister really does listen. It looks like there are a number of ideas from our discussion in Sarnia–Lambton that made their way into the plan. I’m really pleased by that, and I know my constituents will be as well.

Mr. Speaker, we all know that small businesses really are the backbone of our local communities. It’s no different in Sarnia–Lambton. Helping small businesses get back on their feet is critical to our recovery in Sarnia–Lambton and across this province.

Prior to the start of the pandemic in early March, there really was a lot of momentum building in our local economy in Sarnia. A number of new businesses were opening in Sarnia–Lambton. Vacant storefronts were being renovated. Developers broke ground on a number of exciting new developments. We actually saw population growth in the city of Sarnia for the first time in many years. And, I might add, in the town of Petrolia, where I actually reside, the population has just exceeded 6,000. I remember for years it was 3,500 or 4,800. The other day the mayor told me it’s actually more than 6,000 now.

All kinds of new housing development and exciting work, for example, in the petrochemical sector with Nova Chemicals spending over $2 billion and with a lot of provincial money in there as well, has created thousands of jobs.

In Sarnia–Lambton, we’ve waited a long time for some of this investment and development to happen. Things were very optimistic, and, for the most part, I think they still are. In fact, despite the pandemic, I’ve actually had the opportunity to participate in a number of virtual grand openings thanks to the work of the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce. I look forward to the day, Speaker, when we can get back to in-person celebrations and ribbon cuttings, but until then, it’s great to join new business owners in this Zoom world to help them kick things off.

I certainly want to make sure our government is doing everything we can to keep the small business sector momentum going in our corner of the province.

But, Speaker, there were businesses that have struggled too. Stages 1 and 2 were very difficult for many of these. Just like all my colleagues, I’ve heard from many businesses about the challenges of now having to accommodate customers and staff safely in small places.

In my discussions with business owners, I’ve heard over and over again that they need a plan from the government that will help them meet these new demands, because they want to be open and they want to continue running the businesses that they love. I think Bill 215 and the main street recovery plan is going to be the blueprint they need to get the job done. In particular, Bill 215 and the main street recovery plan introduce a number of new programs and policy changes to help small businesses recover from the economic effects of COVID-19.

Included in the main street recovery plan, our government is proposing the following:

—a one-time grant of up to $1,000 for eligible main street businesses, in retail, food and accommodations, and other service sectors, with two to nine employees, to help offset the unexpected costs of personal protective equipment;

—creating Ontario’s Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Network, which links 47 small business enterprise centres across the province as places where small businesses can access tailored advice and information on local, provincial and federal programs;

—investing in Digital Main Street squads to help small businesses grow online;

—investing in mental health supports for families, front-line workers, young people, children and Indigenous communities;

—developing Ontario’s small business recovery web page to provide single-window access to small business supports.

Underlying all of this is our commitment in the main street recovery plan that small businesses will be able to apply for and easily access the support they need to reopen safer, rehire faster and re-emerge from this global pandemic stronger than ever before.

Mr. Speaker, there’s nothing I like more from our government than when we make programs and services easier to access and use. Small business owners are going to appreciate this. They are already busy enough doing everything that needs to be done to keep their doors open and the lights on. The last thing they need are complicated programs and more forms from the government. Let’s keep things simple. Let’s get that information and support to the people as quickly and efficiently as possible. And then let’s get out of their way so that these small business owners can do what they do best: do business.

This really is a terrific plan put together by my colleague the Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction. I mentioned earlier how committed the minister is to this file. The minister has put forward this plan, the main street recovery plan, after more than 100 virtual meetings, round tables and discussions with owners, employees, economists and various stakeholder associations.

It draws from across government to bring together a comprehensive package of legislation, programs and services to help more small and main street businesses recover from the economic effects of COVID-19, and it builds on more than $10 billion in urgent relief provided through the COVID-19 action plan.

Something simple but important for small businesses are the new direct supports like the PPE, personal protective equipment, grants for small businesses and the small business COVID-19 recovery network.

The PPE grant is really a great idea. We all know how important PPE is to keeping everyone safe. The personal protective equipment grant—I’d rather say that than PPE; a tongue twister—of the main street recovery grant will help small businesses provide a safe place to shop for their customers and a safe space to work for their employees. This one-time grant of up to $1,000 is for small businesses with somewhere between two and nine employees in various sectors like retail, food, maintenance and more.

This grant will provide funding and cash flow relief to help these businesses with the greatest need to manage costs for personal protective equipment to help them stay safe and protect their employees and their customers as well.

Of course, central to the main street recovery plan is Bill 215, the Main Street Recovery Act. If Bill 215 is passed—and I’m optimistic that the opposition will give this bill the unanimous support it deserves—it will save many small businesses precious time and money that they can then reinvest in their businesses. Bill 215’s changes would achieve this by a number of measures: removing unnecessary burdens that are costly and time-consuming; and modernizing regulations to strengthen strategic supply chains, promote innovation and allow more businesses to pivot and take advantage of new opportunities to increase their revenues.

Among a number of those that I’d like to address is the grant that will provide funding and cash flow relief to help businesses with the greatest needs to supply Plexiglas, gloves and face coverings to help them stay safe, protect their employees and customers and increase consumer confidence and raise revenue. We are also recommending that small businesses consider using this grant to purchase Ontario-made personal protective equipment. I think it’s important to stress that, where possible, we should buy in Ontario. This will help boost local manufacturers and retailers while supplying small and main street businesses with quality personal protective equipment made right here in Ontario.

Some of you might ask, why would we fund small businesses when it’s needed everywhere? Providing these businesses with a grant to help with the cost of PPE—whether it’s for installing Plexiglas—will help them stabilize their cash flow, increase consumer confidence and enable more of them to reopen and stay open. This grant could help upwards of 60,000 businesses, it’s estimated, across this province, enabling more of them to stay open, keep people employed, sustain main streets and keep their diverse communities strong and diverse.

Our government is committed to helping small businesses of all sizes to recover from the economic effects of COVID-19 by providing them with a number of financial programs and non-financial services. This includes the $2,500 Digital Main Street grant that is helping small businesses to develop new and stronger online presences and market their businesses using the latest digital tools.

I remember when this first started, one of the landscaping businesses in my area of Sarnia–Lambton was struggling to keep up because they had never bothered with an online market. They never had to. They had been in business for almost 100 years. Some of the newer ones with younger people had started, and they were really moving ahead, so they had to scramble and get online marketing. This would be something they could certainly take advantage of. It certainly was recognized during the start of COVID-19.

How can small and main street businesses find the PPE to purchase? The Workplace Personal Protective Equipment Supplier Directory has an up-to-date list of Ontario companies and business associations that are ready to supply personal protective equipment—and some of these items are made right here in Ontario, I stress again. Small businesses can find this directory on the small business recovery webpage at ontario.ca/smallbusiness and use it to purchase PPE with the new grant funding. This will help, I say, boost local small manufacturers and retailers, while also supplying these businesses with quality Ontario-made PPE.

The Main Street Recovery Act is proposed legislation that would modernize regulations and remove unnecessary and costly barriers, to help more small businesses recover from the economic effects of COVID-19. These changes consist of a number of proposals from three ministries.

Permanently allowing 24/7 deliveries of goods across Ontario to businesses that include retail stores, restaurants and distribution facilities: This builds on temporary changes made to help keep shelves stocked at the outset of the pandemic this spring. This helps support economic recovery on our main streets and helps ensure that important goods can continue to be delivered to these businesses as efficiently as possible. Two previous pilot programs have shown that it may also reduce rush hour traffic in large urban areas, lower fuel costs for businesses and reduce greenhouse gases and other emissions, which I’m sure we’re all supportive of.

It also supports the distribution of local food and food products by increasing the range of products sold at the Ontario Food Terminal. Thousands of small businesses, from farms to independent grocery stores to restaurants, rely on the Ontario Food Terminal for their success. This helps support the recovery and growth of agri-food businesses across Ontario, enabling sellers to offer more products for sale to increase their revenues. At the same time, buyers and ultimately consumers would enjoy an expanded variety of local products for purchase.

The third item, supporting Ontario’s taxi and limousine industry by increasing fines for illegal operators: We’ve all read the headlines about certain companies and people being robbed or assaulted, and that’s certainly something that we would want to put a lid on. This would ensure that Ontarians are safe when they travel. These changes would act as a stronger deterrent to illegal operators, making it easier to protect those who are arriving at Ontario’s airports and terminals. Among other changes, this would increase the fine from $500 to up to $30,000 per offence, and it would help support the recovery of the taxi and limousine sector.

Bringing Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program into the 21st century: These changes would ensure that Ontarians, when they need their first or a new assistive device, would avoid unnecessary paperwork, and outdated timelines for small business vendors would be ended. By digitizing this process, small businesses that sell covered assistive devices would be able to upload claims online and receive their payment in as little as one to two weeks instead of the normal eight weeks.

That’s something that I’ve certainly heard a lot about—clients who need those devices and the vendors say, “Well, I can’t get my money.” Some people don’t even want to handle them, because they have to wait for so long. So that’s really good.

The five pillars for renewal and growth include lowering costs by:

—reducing costly red tape;

—increasing exports by helping small business to access domestic and international markets;

—accelerating technology adoption;

—developing talent by helping small businesses in all regions and sectors to access and retain talent;

—encouraging entrepreneurship by succession planning and diversity.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I see I’m winding my time down.

One example is, “What is Ontario Made?” Ontario Made is a $500,000 program funded by the government of Ontario and supported by the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. It will help the province’s manufacturers regain and recover revenue lost due to COVID-19 by creating awareness of consumer goods made right here in Ontario.

This program includes:

—the Ontario Made logo that manufacturers can use to easily identify their made-in-Ontario products to consumers to help increase their visibility;

—launching a supportontariomade.ca website, which will connect consumers and supply chain partners, which I spoke about earlier, to manufacturers of proudly made-in-Ontario products in one directory, increasing awareness within our borders;

One of the other items is 24/7 delivery—which I think is important, too—for goods across Ontario to businesses that include retail stores, restaurants and distribution facilities; supporting the distribution of local food and food products by increasing the range of products which are sold at the Ontario Food Terminal; and supporting Ontario’s taxi and limousine service. These are some simple yet effective steps.

Our government is doing everything it can to make sure small businesses know that we will be there for them every step of the way on their road to recovery. Bill 215 and the main street recovery plan build upon all the great work that this government and all members of this Legislature have been doing over the last seven months. We are delivering new funding programs to help small business, we are amending regulations to make it easier for owners to run their business, and we are connecting business owners from across the province with experts who can help them with tailored advice, planning and tools to meet their needs.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I want to congratulate our Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and his team on delivering the main street recovery plan and Bill 215, the Main Street Recovery Act. This plan is going to help small business owners in Ontario and it’s going to help jump-start our economic recovery right across this province, from Sarnia–Lambton to Windsor to Toronto to Ottawa and other parts of the province and the Far North; I know they’ve got their struggles there as well.

I look forward to businesses across this province reopening and rebuilding safer and better than before.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Your colleagues will now have up to 10 minutes to pose their questions on your presentation. I turn first to the member from Niagara Centre.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member from Sarnia–Lambton for the presentation.

Over the summer in finance committee hearings, we heard from many businesses, and I was a part of those hearings. I’m wondering why did the government choose not to give small businesses the support they were asking for in terms of direct rental relief, help with keeping insurance premiums under control and other measures that businesses asked for. Does the member not think that it would be more expensive in the long run if businesses collapsed than if we had just properly supported them to begin with?

Mr. Robert Bailey: Thank you to the honourable member for the question. I remember many of those discussions as well, and I had a number of them with small business operators in my own constituency, the riding of Sarnia–Lambton.

I remember at the start of this, early on in March-April, when the Premier encouraged landlords at the time, he said, “Look, wouldn’t you rather take 25% of the rent and get that and keep your tenants there?” Because I could never understand when there was talk of landlords evicting business owners. If you put someone out, who are you going to find to take over that business spot? If the last guy there couldn’t make a go of it, how could someone else relocate there?

So I think what the minister of small business put together was a balanced program—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Response?

Mr. Robert Bailey: Okay. Thank you, Speaker.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): When I say “response,” you have 10 seconds to wrap up.

Mr. Robert Bailey: Oh, okay.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The member for Northumberland–Peterborough South.

Mr. David Piccini: Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member for his comments today. I was wondering if the member could talk a little more about agriculture. He has a similar riding to mine, and I know when we talk about expanding the local foods and food products by increasing the range of products sold at the Ontario Food Terminal, I think to my riding. We have saffron syrup. We’ve done incredible value-add in the community of Northumberland–Peterborough South, adding value to our agri-food products and taking them to market.

I’m just thinking, we have the world in Ontario. We have immense potential with our agriculture industry. I’m wondering if he can speak a little more about how important this is, to unlock the potential of agricultural communities like mine.

Mr. Robert Bailey: Thank you, Speaker. I’ll try to wind up sooner this time; I won’t get reprimanded there.

Anyway, thank you to the member for the question. Yes, the Ontario Food Terminal: I’ve been there two or three times in my life since I’ve come to Queen’s Park. I’d heard about the Ontario Food Terminal; I’d never experienced it. I was quite amazed when I made a trip there with our Minister of Agriculture, the critic at the time. It was before we formed government.

When I saw all the produce from all over Ontario that was processed there and went to the restaurants and the stores—I have a very successful market business in Sarnia, and they also have an outlet in London: Sunripe. That gentleman there, he makes a trip every day or two and brings all that produce back to Sarnia–Lambton, and delivers to the store in London. It’s very well-accepted by the people there.

I think it’s very important that we support our agriculture industry.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Thank you. The next question goes to Mushkegowuk–James Bay.

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: I want to thank the MPP for Sarnia–Lambton. My question today is that I’ve been hearing a lot of questions or concerns regarding insurance from owner-operators in my area. These are small mom-and-pop operations that own trucking. They’re facing huge increases from insurance companies, which are gouging—and they have free range to gouge, by the way. The fact is that some of them, instead of paying $5,000, they’re up to $15,000 just to hire another driver. I’m asking you, what is your government doing to help these owner-operators and to control these insurance companies that are taking advantage of the situation of COVID?

Mr. Robert Bailey: That’s a good question. I was just reading this morning a different ministry than small business—but our actual Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, we’ve laid—I think there have been 26,000 complaints. Over 1,000 at least, somewhere upwards of 2,000 charges, have actually been fired to do with price gouging, just like the member says. I support what you say. There are instances of that out there.

If anyone who’s watching today knows of instances of price gouging like the member spoke of, please communicate them to the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. We will make sure—because there’s a whole file on that in my book. I’m the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Government Services. That’s why I was just reading that this morning, at about 6:30.

Charges have been filed. It’s recognized by the government that there is price gouging. The Premier has warned business owners. There’s only a few of them doing it, but they’re bad apples and we should punish them.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): I recognize the member for Carleton.

Ms. Goldie Ghamari: I wanted to thank the member for his very informative speech this morning.

Main street is a very important part of Carleton, especially because prior to amalgamation, it consisted of a lot of very small communities. We have a Stittsville main street, we have a Manotick main street, we have main streets all over.

I know it is also Small Business Week right now, and as part of that, the main street recovery plan is essential to support small businesses during COVID-19. Our government and the Premier have made a commitment to help them through the recovery period and beyond.

I was wondering if you could maybe just expand a little bit on the proposals outlined in the main street recovery plan that can help struggling businesses like those in my riding of Carleton and across Ontario.

Mr. Robert Bailey: To the member from Carleton, I know your riding very well. I also know, even though it’s an urban area, it has one of the largest rural area components combined in an urban area. I’ve been there a number of times.

A number of the proposals I outlined—I don’t have the notes right in front of me, but the grant to small businesses of $2,500, and of course the $500,000—up to a fund of $500,000 to help small businesses access talent and more diversity in their management system; and also the recognition that small business is the backbone of the Ontario economy; and how it’s important that we’ve established this committee and the minister himself went out to travel the province. I think that was an acknowledgement by this government, by this Premier, of the importance of small business.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The next question goes to the member from Niagara Centre.

Mr. Jeff Burch: One of the things that was not in this bill was around clarity. I asked the previous speaker a similar question. There was a portal that the government had for businesses like speedways and farms to apply for safe reopening, and they received no response from the ministry. I haven’t seen that situation corrected, and I didn’t see anything in the bill that would address the situation of clarity around safe reopening for businesses, which is crucial to their ongoing business. Why did the government not include that, and are there plans, as far as the member knows, to correct that in the future?

Mr. Robert Bailey: Thank you to the member from St. Catharines—ahem. I’m losing my voice here this morning. This is way too much talking.

Interjection.

Mr. Robert Bailey: Yes. It wasn’t the previous evening’s activities anymore, Mr. Speaker, at my age.

Anyway, at this point, I know the minister is taking all those comments under advisement. There’s a further rollout that’s going to come as we further develop this. As we hear from members of this Legislature, as we hear from business owners and small business owners when they access these programs, if there are tweaks that we need to make to it, I know that that’s something that the minister and this government will be open to.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): We’ll go to the member from Willowdale. You have a short time and a short answer.

Mr. Stan Cho: It has got to be a really great question, then, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the presentation from the member from Sarnia–Lambton. I remember visiting your riding and speaking to go a lot of small business owners who told our government at the time—this is pre-pandemic—that they were having difficulty paying the cost of just doing business, let alone given an uncertain global situation. I know the members opposite joke that, “Well, PPE—a $1,000 grant for the smallest of small businesses is not enough,” but it’s the little things that absolutely matter to these small businesses.

In the brief time remaining, I’m wondering if the member from Sarnia–Lambton can give his opinion on whether these little assistance programs for the littlest of small businesses are a waste or not.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): You have 10 seconds—make that nine, seven—

Mr. Robert Bailey: Well, it’ll take me that long to clear my throat.

Thank you to the member from Willowdale for that question. Yes, these littlest of things make a big difference to small business.

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

Further debate?

Ms. Doly Begum: Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill 215, the Main Street Recovery Act, 2020.

As this bill was introduced, I was honestly excited, because we have heard from businesses across this province, we have heard from so many mom-and-pop-shop owners, and we have heard from so many employees and so many workers across this province that we need support. This government has an opportunity—and frankly, it has been a little late, but they still have an opportunity—to do the right thing and help the people across this province.

As I hear members across the aisle, members from the government side, congratulate themselves—and we’ve just heard the member from Sarnia–Lambton congratulate the government on this bill, on this legislation that has been proposed, which, by the way, is four pages long. I’m sure those who have gone through it—it’s four and a half pages long and barely covers any of the necessary tools that businesses really need in order to recover. We need a plan that provides jobs, we need a plan that provides financial security and we need a plan that helps working people across this province. Mr.

Speaker, we are facing a crisis right now. People across the country, across the world have lost their livelihoods, lost their jobs.

This government, over and over, will come here and complain that, “Oh, no, the opposition is at it again. They’re complaining. The NDP is going on again.” Well, what do they expect? You throw bread crumbs at us, at the people across this province, and did you expect us to come here and just sing Kumbaya and get along and say, “Do you know what? Great. Well done. Thank you for these four pages that barely do anything for anyone.” Did they really expect us to come and sing Kumbaya with them? Well, I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, because I cannot do that. I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, because I care for my people across Scarborough Southwest and for the people across this province.

People are struggling. We have businesses across my riding in Scarborough Southwest that lost their business, that had to close down because they couldn’t keep up with their rent. We have people in our riding that were just barely holding on, that were trying so hard, and then finally, we had the federal government announce the rent relief program, and people thought, “Do you know what? That’s great.” But then what happens? You have to go to your landlord, plead to the landlord, and you’re at the mercy of your landlord to get this rent relief.

There are so many small and medium business owners that did not qualify or did not have that mercy, did not have landlords who were willing to help them.

Do you know what happened, Mr. Speaker? Those businesses closed down, and we know once one of those small businesses closes down it’s hard to get back up. It’s really hard to get back up. It takes a whole community, it takes a whole family to come together. The amount of debt, the amount of savings, everything comes together to build that business, to put it together. But once it goes down, once they shut their doors, it’s hard. It’s tough to open those doors again.

Right now, this is what’s happening. We are seeing it over and over again, and this government is doing very little, just barely doing anything to support these businesses. Right now, when they had an opportunity, Mr. Speaker, this is what we get. We have hundreds and hundreds of pages; we have so many businesses that came forward during the last few months in committee hearings. We have heard from so many of these people who have run these businesses for decades and said, “Do you know what? This is what we need.” They have outlined these plans. And do you know what we did?

We on the opposition, we the NDP, actually met with these businesses; we met with many chambers of commerce, and we put together a plan.

We had a plan that’s called the Save Main Street plan, which actually outlined a lot of the important, essential tools that could have saved many of these businesses across our province. And that starts with rent relief, Mr. Speaker. We had an amazing, comprehensive plan that actually highlighted many of the concerns that people brought forward.

Over the last few months, I had a chance to go across my riding, and whether we’re talking about Kingston Road or the Danforth Pharmacy, there are so many vibrant businesses by so many diverse owners who put their heart and soul into this, their blood and sweat. They put everything into this. What these folks were saying is, “We need support. We need help.” But instead, what we saw is this government not only put them at risk of going to their landlords for rent relief, we also saw these business owners being taken advantage of by insurance companies.

Over and over again, we came here and said, “Dear Premier, dear Minister, please listen. Here is what we need: We need to stop these insurance companies from taking advantage of our businesses”—over and over again. But do you know what? No, “The NDP is complaining again. Oh, the opposition is going at it again.” Well, what do you expect us to do? We are here with a job to represent our people.

I want to help the government, just remind them again, because I feel like some members may have difficulty hearing it or sometimes they don’t really take these things seriously, because we are facing a crisis right now, and I want to give them an opportunity again to understand what these tools can be, that they can add to this bill and actually make it better.

One of the things I have already mentioned was rent relief. Another one I want to point out is paid sick leave. I had my colleague from London West talk very, very carefully about paid sick leave which, when we’re talking about a lot of the people right now—and especially being the child care critic, I know for a fact that a lot of women across this province are having difficulty in terms of going back to their jobs.

So people who have their jobs or who are trying to go back to work—a lot of these shops that are trying to open up again don’t have the ability to do that because workers are not able to go back to work. What happens is that a lot of these people will lose the opportunity to have the ability to keep those jobs, because they don’t have paid sick leave.

Now we have an opportunity, because the federal NDP actually recently negotiated very, very carefully and got the government to provide paid sick leave, so now the ball’s in this government’s court. We need this government to step up. We need the Premier to step up.

Over and over again, we have heard the Premier talk about businesses. We have seen the big placards that say, “Open for business.” This government’s really for business—well, prove it. For a government that claims to be for businesses, for a government that talks a lot about small businesses, this is your opportunity. This is your chance to actually show the people of Ontario, the small businesses of Ontario, that you can do better. You can actually help the people across this province by providing what they need.

When I looked at the schedules, and I think there are four schedules in this bill—one of the BIAs I was speaking with—the only thing I could say was that this is one of the saddest pieces of legislation I have seen during this time, because we’re facing a pandemic right now, we’re facing a crisis, and this is the best this government has to offer.

We have so many women across this province who own small businesses. Just recently, one Black woman opened up a beautiful store called O’Smile, and I had the chance to go visit. She has a zero waste policy, and she’s working really hard to help the environment and have a business where you can do refills for your dish soap, hand soap, hand sanitizers and all these sorts of things. She opened her business and it’s beautiful to see that, but these kinds of people who are working so hard to keep going, they’re just hanging by a thread. They need support. And not everyone is able to hang on.

Recently, on Kingston Road, we lost one of our dear businesses, Victorian Monkey, which is a nice little restaurant, a pub, a lovely place for a lot of my constituents. Victorian Monkey closed. Do you know why, Mr. Speaker? Because they just couldn’t do business anymore because a lot of their business was based on constituents being able to go inside their restaurant to eat and support them. When they tried to open up the patio, they were too close to residential homes and, therefore, they couldn’t actually go ahead and do that. So what happened? They kept losing revenue, and they couldn’t keep up.

Just recently, they had to close their doors. I have another business owner right on the corner of Warden and Danforth, and he’s just holding on. He’s holding on, because he knows that one more month and he doesn’t know what to do, because he’s not able to keep up with the rent.

The worst

part is that every time we hear about the fact that we’re providing support or there is no eviction for commercial tenants—this has to be paid off.

I will continue next time.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Yes, unfortunately, the clock was against you this morning. You didn’t have time to finish your entire debate in this matter, but it is now time for members’ statements.

Members’ Statements

Small business

Ms. Rima Berns-McGown: A couple of weeks ago, I held a forum for women entrepreneurs in Beaches–East York, because the east end of Toronto has an unusually high number of women entrepreneurs—shout-out to Colin Johnson and the Danny BIA for that research—and because it’s been widely recognized that the pandemic has caused a she-cession.

The smart, innovative, creative women who came together to support one another and to look for solutions had a lot to say about what they need most. Revenue is down; expenses are up. They need rent relief, and they need it right away. What they don’t need is this government boasting that red tape reduction is a plan for a she-covery.

Today, they need cash in hand from a government that cares. They need a ban on commercial evictions through the end of the pandemic. They also need the government to make transparent, evidence-based decisions.

Small businesses that were asked to close on October 9 don’t understand why they are seen as more dangerous than crowded classrooms or crammed buses, where people are told to take their chances. Dance studios that were closed have now been reopened by tweet, but what about yoga studios or small gyms that have spent thousands of dollars putting up barriers and have strict protocols in place?

We should be rewarding small businesses that have made investments in safety rather than shutting them arbitrarily. We need evidence-based, transparent decision-making from this government. Small businesses in Beaches–East York and in Ontario deserve so much better.

Women’s achievements

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: This month, we celebrate Persons Day, which marks the anniversary of the legal ruling that under the Canadian Constitution women were able to be included as qualified persons that could sit in the Senate.

The Famous Five is a very important story from my riding; after all, Amy Murphy, who had appealed to the Canadian Supreme Court, was from Cookstown, which is situated in Innisfil. Innisfil has a proud legacy of women of influence. In fact, this year, our mayor, Lynn Dollin, won the 2020 Women of Influence award by Municipal World.

It goes further, Mr. Speaker. As you may know, Deputy Chief McElary-Downer, who first started her career in policing with the OPP in 1981—she served there in several capacities, including in 1992, when she made history becoming the first woman to serve as the detachment commander in the rank of staff sergeant in Port Credit. Later, she came to serve in 2017 at South Simcoe Police and was the first female deputy police officer for South Simcoe Police.

Now, as you may know, she served as the aide-de-camp for the Lieutenant Governor here at the Ontario Legislature. She has served there for different Lieutenant Governors since 2002, and, as of this month, she has been named the chief aide-du-camp. I’m very proud of her. Congratulations, and I’m very proud to represent a riding that has so much history for progressing women forward.

Cultural facilities

Mr. Jeff Burch: I want to tell you about one of the forgotten casualties of the ongoing pandemic: cultural clubs and associations, and the facilities and banquet halls they operate.

Cultural facilities in my riding and across the province provide immeasurable value to our communities and are integrated into their social fabric. They do everything from supporting seniors and youth to welcoming newcomers and raising money for food banks and other charities. Yet many are facing closure due to unprecedented fiscal constraints, with no end in sight.

Club Capri is an Italian hall in my Thorold neighbourhood. Formed in 1917 by a group of volunteers, the association opened their hall in 1960. This club has been hosting wedding receptions, fundraisers and other community functions ever since.

Due to the pandemic, they have had to close up shop, losing over 50% of their revenue as a result. They have lost nearly a quarter of a million dollars. In August, Club Capri applied for a Trillium grant and has yet to hear back. Without intervention, this cultural hall that has been operating for over a century is facing imminent closure.

Club Capri is just one example of many cultural halls and not-for-profits across Ontario on the brink of collapse. Make no mistake: The economic recovery of our province depends on the not-for-profit sector being able to continue to operate. Investment in cultural infrastructure is essential for the health, well-being and economic prosperity of communities. We must invest in these community hubs now or pay a much higher price for the fall-out when we lose them.

Shane Stanford

Mrs. Robin Martin: I rise today in the House to express my deep sorrow as yet another death as a result of gun violence has occurred in my riding.

Shane Stanford, 33, was killed on October 7. This young man was part of the health and fitness team at the Central YMCA, just close here to Queen’s Park, and had headed home after locking up the facility when someone drove by him in another car and opened fire. It was about 11:30 in the evening. Moments after the gunfire, his car unfortunately crashed into the side of a local home. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and was Toronto’s 58th homicide victim of the year.

On last Wednesday, October 14, dozens of people attended a candlelight vigil in the community in honour of this fitness instructor. This young man worked with youth in the community and improved kids’ lives, and it’s very important to have people like him there. A long-time friend of his reported that he was one of those kids who looked up to Stanford. Stanford had family and friends who loved him. One of them said, “He had a beautiful soul.”

Indeed, every life is precious, and Stanford’s was treasured by his family and his community, who are struggling to come to terms with his untimely death. In the aftermath of this tragedy, I have re-engaged in conversations with community leaders about what else we can do, and I will continue to engage with them in the coming days. This tragic violence has to stop.

Blood donation

Ms. Catherine Fife: It’s a pleasure to rise in the House today to speak once again about Abigayle Lobsinger. Many people will remember Abigayle, who is Waterloo’s toughest cookie. She has been fighting neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer, for five years—most of her young life. Abigayle is remarkably strong and has had the support of her amazing and resilient family every step of the way. As part of her treatment, she has been receiving transfusions of blood and platelets, these days on a weekly basis. For Abigayle and her family, these transfusions are life-sustaining. Their significance cannot be underestimated.

Abigayle’s experience highlights the need for constant blood donations from those who can give. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, over 900 Canadian children are diagnosed with cancer each year. As part of their treatment, many of these kids require blood, plasma or platelet transfusions. These children—kids like Abigayle—need all of us who are able to step forward and donate blood. Canadian Blood Services has gone above and beyond to make sure that all safety protocols are in place to ensure that people like you and I can continue to safely donate. Donors are always needed. Please, if you are able, book an appointment online at blood.ca.

On behalf of all of Waterloo, we are sending our love and our positive energy to Waterloo’s toughest cookie.

SilverScenes Film Festival

Mrs. Gila Martow: Sylvia Lustgarten is a spunky 94-year-old who insists on being heard. She has adapted to using Zoom conferencing during this pandemic, and is managing quite well to keep up with her family, friends and interests. In fact, she is coping so well she is part of a committee to develop an international film festival on ageism. SilverScenes is a unique film festival that celebrates the older adult, in all their complexity.

Ageism is one of the final prejudices that is still socially acceptable. It’s deeply ingrained, with economic, psychological, social and cultural factors that prevent its eradication. This film festival’s goal is to use films as catalysts to provoke discussions.

SilverScenes is honouring Alanis Obomsawin, an Indigenous woman from the Abenaki tribe, who is an 88-year-old filmmaker still making feature-length documentaries. And she just won the Glenn Gould award, so congratulations, Alanis.

The festival will be highlighting three Ontario-made productions, including The Cuban, The Art of Downsizing, 100 and Counting and, of course, a classic film from 1971, Harold and Maude, which is about a romantic relationship of a young man with a 79-year-old woman who’s a Nazi concentration camp survivor. She teaches Harold about living life to its fullest and that life is the most precious gift of all. Certainly an important lesson for film lovers of all ages.

This is free. Sign up at silverscenes.org. We’re all looking forward to participating.

Flu immunization

Yesterday, during question period, we heard the Minister of Health say, “We do not have shortages,” but I’m hearing otherwise, and I know members of the government side are also hearing otherwise. This government was fully aware that this may happen. Ontario’s population is approximately 14.5 million, and yet, this government has only ordered 5.1 million flu shots.

I have constituents who have had to wait six hours at Shoppers Drug Mart only to be turned away after being told that there is no stock left. I had a senior constituent who shared with me how worried he is about the unavailability of the high-dose vaccine. Upon reaching out to his doctor and several pharmacies, he was told that it “disappears the same day they get it.” Across from my constituency office in Cliffcrest, the Shoppers Drug Mart had a sign that said, “Our store has run out of the flu vaccine,” and this was put up, which I have actually shared with the minister and Premier as well.

We know that this is a big task, but we also know that the people should not have to wait that long to get a flu shot. This government needs to be open with the public that they were not prepared for the second wave. Ontarians should not be caught in this mess just to be safe in this province.

Small business

M me Lucille Collard: I rise today to voice the concerns of businesses in my riding of Ottawa–Vanier, but also across the province. With businesses going into a second round of lockdown, many won’t be able to make up for the lost revenue and will have to close doors permanently. These closures were announced without any kind of warning and we have yet to see the supporting data that shows transmission through businesses in Ottawa.

Businesses such as restaurants, bingo halls that raise money for charities, and health and fitness facilities, for example, have shown that they care about their communities, because they’ve put in place all the required public health measures to protect the community. Many are questioning the recent restrictions right now. Health and fitness centres also provide care for the mind through their services, and we are starting to see alarming signs of the negative consequences of the closures.

In Ottawa and in my riding, people have demonstrated incredible support for small and medium-sized businesses for the future of our local economy, but we cannot rely on them to bear the whole weight of this. The proposed one-time grant of up to $1,000 for selected businesses to offset the cost of PPE is clearly not meaningful help if you have to shut down.

I urge the government to act now and provide real support before we lose the local businesses that make up the backbone of our local economy.

DSV Global Transport and Logistics

Mr. Parm Gill: I was proud to have both the Premier and the Minister of Government and Consumer Services in my riding of Milton recently to visit the team at DSV Global Transport and Logistics. I knew when I toured the DSV facility in my riding about a year ago during construction that this facility was going to play a huge role in Ontario’s overall supply chain, but with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, DSV has played a huge role in making sure Ontarians stay safe and fully supplied with personal protective equipment.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the DSV team, 42 million units of non-medical grade PPE have come directly from Milton in August alone. That is over 12 full tractor-trailers a day.

With 50 to 60 people picking and packing orders 24 hours a day, their teams are making sure PPE supplies are always available to those in need. That means more masks, more face shields, more cleaning supplies, sanitizers and gloves are being sent to help our schools and other institutions stay safe.

I want to thank the team at the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services for being hands-on in the facility to ensure a timely turnaround of PPE, while ensuring there are no corners cut when it comes to quality control.

Thanks to the work being done in Milton, our PPE supply chains remain strong, helping Ontarians stay healthy.

Economic development

Ms. Donna Skelly: I rise today to express how pleased I am that the e-commerce giant Amazon has chosen Hamilton as the site for a new 855,000-square-foot fulfillment centre. The investment will create 1,500 full-time jobs and competitive hourly wages and benefits, and is expected to open next year. Employees at the warehouse will work with robotics to pick, pack and ship small items such as books, electronics and toys. The items will be sent from the fulfillment centre to a delivery station in Stoney Creek, where cargo vans will ship the products to customers.

This investment will bring the number of Amazon fulfillment centres in Ontario now to 10. The facility is being constructed in a major business park near the Hamilton airport in my riding of Flamborough–Glanbrook.

Flamborough–Glanbrook has seen unprecedented economic growth in the past few years. Last year, Germany-based logistics giant DHL announced it is expanding its gateway into Canada with a new $100-million distribution centre at the Hamilton airport. The airport offers benefits to companies like DHL and Amazon that need to meet growing demands in handling capacity.

Amazon’s investment in Hamilton is further evidence that business has confidence in Ontario’s future. Our government, led by the Premier, has worked tirelessly to chart a path to economic recovery and to get people back to work.

Question Period

Long-term care

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My first question this morning is for the Premier. Despite repeated warnings, the second wave of COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on our long-term-care homes, and the Ford government seems unwilling or unable to provide some basic answers.

I’m hoping that the Premier can answer a question that the minister flip-flopped on yesterday throughout the day. Is there currently a staffing shortage in long-term-care homes in Ontario?

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

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member opposite for the question and the opportunity to clarify. The staffing crisis was existing as we came to govern in 2018; it was pre-existing. Our ministry, the Ministry of Long-Term Care, which was formed in the summer of 2019, began to work aggressively on this with the report of Justice Gillese, acknowledging the pre-existing staffing crisis. There is one effort going on there to stabilize the entire sector.

But another area where we deal with each home that is under outbreak or at risk for some reason is to make sure we have the lens on that home every single day, to understand whether their staffing is shored up, because, as you recognize, as homes do go into outbreak, some of the staff may have to isolate at home.

And so it is really a two-pronged approach. I know that it has been referred to as a flip-flop. I would just like to say that this is not a flip-flop; it’s a clarification and an—

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Well, Speaker, I’ll get to the effect of testing that’s not going very well in this province on the outbreaks in long-term care in my next question.

But for this question: The minister yesterday actually insisted in this Legislature that there is not a staffing crisis in long-term care. Yet within the hour, she was insisting to reporters that she never even made such a claim.

The government’s own bureaucrats, a hand-picked committee by this minister and, actually, the long-term-care commission as well have known that there is a 6,000-person shortage of PSWs in long-term care in our health system. The minister refused to actually articulate that number when asked about it in estimates committee the other day. So the question is: Why is the Ford government so utterly incapable of being honest about the shortage of staffing in long-term care?

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: I withdraw, Speaker.

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

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Once again, I will repeat that there are two issues here. The first is a sector-wide shoring-up that needs to be done, and that’s why our government has taken the steps that it has: $461 million to increase the per-hour wages of our personal support workers in long-term care. That’s why we put out another $30 million to hire IPAC specialists and provide that training. That’s why this is ongoing, to provide the support that is needed to our long-term-care homes.

The other issue is the day-to-day analysis and, basically, scrutiny of our long-term-care homes so that we have a fine lens on the homes that are at risk. This is exactly what we’re doing, putting dollars behind it, developing a complete staffing strategy which will be informed by the expert panel that has already provided its report. That comprehensive staffing strategy will be complete in December, but we continue to work on a day-to-day basis. We’re not waiting for that. That’s why we continue to work with other ministries, including the Ministry of Health, to take the measures necessary as we move forward.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, with all due respect, I beg to differ. In testimony made public this week at the Premier’s long-term-care commission, workers in long-term care—the people on the front lines who know what’s actually going on, on the ground—talk about their frustration as this government ignored their pleas for help all through the summer.

I’m going to make a quote from their testimony: “When we met with Minister Fullerton in February” she “was very clear to us that she had a staffing commission, that she knew that there was a crisis ... that we needed to fix.... Her ... very own hand-picked staffing commission released their report” on “July the 30th. And that report has sat on the shelf, and not one ... thing has been implemented.” That’s from the testimony to the commission, Speaker.

When will the government stop running away from the tough questions and admit that their attempts to save money through the summer have meant that seniors have been put at more risk, once again, in long-term care?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: I reject the premise of that question. We have continually worked since day one to address the staffing crisis that was long neglected by the previous government and supported by the opposition today. We have acknowledged this. We’ve listened to our sector.

We brought in four emergency orders. We brought in regulatory amendments. We worked and consulted with the long-term-care sector to understand what their needs were, to be flexible and to be vigilant with this. We have the expert panel informing the recommendations. That is constantly being worked on.

There are many things that go on, on a regular basis, day-to-day, with multiple ministries, working with the Ministry of Health as the lead for the PSW reform piece. We know and acknowledge, and we’ve listened and we’ve collaborated, and we continue to do that not only ongoing to provide the necessary staffing for capacity, but also to deal with the urgent COVID situation. This has been ongoing. We’ve never stopped.

Long-term care

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is also for the Premier. You know, every family, every single family who has lost a loved one in long-term care deserves answers to what the heck has been going on. Yesterday, the minister walked away rather than provide those answers. That same minister only days ago brushed aside all these horrible deaths in long-term care as simply similar to a bad flu season. For months, she’s ignored the pleas that have been coming from front-line workers and long-term-care operators.

Is this the Premier’s plan to actually deal with the problems in long-term care: delay, dither and deny that there is actually a crisis happening?

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

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: I appreciate the chance to clarify. Certainly as a physician, as a parliamentarian, I lead with both my head and my heart. We need both to be analytical and compassionate. This is something that we need to understand the data.

My reference was to understanding the vulnerability of our residents in long-term care in previous years and under COVID. The fact that this has been happening in previous years and nothing has been done about it until our government has come and put the lens on long-term care I think speaks volumes to the commitment that our government and I have to our most vulnerable people in society.

To look at the questions that I’ve been asked for months, I’m happy to answer those questions. I’ll continue to answer those questions. I will bring decorum and responsibility and transparency, and will continue to answer questions. Whether it’s in estimates, whether it’s in the chamber, whether it’s through other investigations of the commission, I will continue to do my work every day.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Somehow, dodging questions at a press conference doesn’t look like transparency to very many people. There’s a crisis in long-term care, and the minister can’t run away from that.

Over the summer, they didn’t hire the staff necessary to deal with the problems in long-term care, and they didn’t prepare for the increased testing that was necessary. Today, the Globe and Mail reports that testing delays have had a devastating impact on long-term care—a devastating impact—with homes waiting literally days to get results.

The minister talks a good game about all the stats and all the data, but what’s not happening is results on the ground. They can’t get the test results back. Days and days are going by while they wait for the test results. This means they are losing opportunities to identify the outbreaks while they wait.

Is the Premier ready to finally admit that the government’s delay and denial is putting seniors at risk?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you for the question. The testing is ongoing. I can tell you that the surveillance testing in our long-term-care homes is creating a stabilization in the homes across Ontario. Fifty-nine homes considered in outbreak have zero resident cases. An outbreak is defined as one resident or one staff member who has tested positive. In 59 of those cases, it’s a staff member isolating at home.

We are confronting the issues in long-term care that have been so badly neglected for decades. I brought my personal experience and my professional experience to politics because I care about long-term care. We can make a difference.

This COVID-19 is unprecedented. It’s happening in our long-term-care homes across the world, but we are making progress. We are working with our best experts in Canada and across the world. We have experts here informing us, and I—

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, instead of planning for the second wave, the Premier is sitting here and watching more outbreaks come through long-term care. He is watching the outbreaks take hold once again, especially in the for-profit facilities where it always seems that profits take the front seat while care for the residents is shoved aside. Instead of admitting that we’re actually in a crisis in long-term care, the Ford government is comparing COVID-19 to the flu.

The minister has nice words, but it’s not an improvement: 821 cases today, with a backlog of 24,000 tests. Only 24,000 tests were actually done. Eighty-seven long-term-care homes are in outbreak; 1,907 people died in long-term care. And yesterday, instead of giving people answers, and family members answers and front-line workers answers, the minister ran and hid.

Why is this Premier so incapable of admitting that there is actually a crisis in long-term care and it’s time to put peoples’ lives ahead of—

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

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Members will please take their seats. Minister of Long-Term Care to reply.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Once again, we are confronting the realities of decades of neglect and, on top of that, COVID-19. We’re investing in long-term care, building capacity, shoring up staffing and dealing with the emergency situation as well. We’re not just looking at what needs to be done to prepare for an aging population. We’re dealing with what is presented to us by the effects and the impact of COVID-19.

My heart goes out to all families, residents and staff who are impacted by this. We are taking active measures, working swiftly. We began work very early, at the end of January, looking at making sure that we worked with the Ministry of Health, our other ministries, our experts and the Chief Medical Officer of Health every step of the way. We have been taking action, layering on more layers of protection, understanding the dollars that are required for this and investing three quarters of a billion dollars to help protect our most vulnerable in long-term care. They are a priority. They are this—

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

Small business

Ms. Catherine Fife: My question is to the Premier. Businesses that have had to close in modified stage 2 areas continue to wait on their piece of the $300 million for their survival. We have a second chance here to get things right and to save small businesses, the very backbone of our economy, but they need to know now how they can access these funds. This $300-million announcement means nothing if there is no program to deliver it to those in need. Small businesses need a plan, not empty promises.

Will this government advocate to make the new commercial rent relief program retroactive to businesses that need it?

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

Hon. Rod Phillips: Thank you to the member for the question, and I appreciate she raised the previous program. It lets us point out the relative success of that program. Mr. Speaker, 62,000 businesses—62,000 businesses—employing over 600,000 Ontarians were supported for six months by that program. But we also heard from businesses. We heard about the challenges, and that’s why we advocated to the federal government, who announced that the new program will be coming forward. It will be retroactive—to answer the member’s question—and it will be dealt with directly to business owners. I think that’s an improvement and I think we should commend the federal government for amending that program.

But we’ve also provided other supports. We know that businesses in the areas that are affected by the shutdowns have extraordinary additional costs. That’s why we’ve committed to support the fixed costs related to property tax and energy. That program will be supporting those businesses, those grassroots businesses that this government has supported from the day it was elected.

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

Ms. Catherine Fife: The CFIB says that only 50% of the businesses were even able to access that commercial rent support. That is not relative success. That means 50% of the businesses went out of business.

Last week a photographer travelled a short

section of Queen Street West in Toronto to see the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on one of Ontario’s most significant main streets. He took photos of 72 shuttered storefronts, up 20% from the last time he counted in August.

Speaker, these are our main street businesses. They’re gone. They’re done. Meanwhile, the government continues to dangle this alleged $300 million in supports in front of their noses with no real program to deliver the relief. When will this government stop sitting back on their heels and actually deliver the direct financial supports that our small businesses need and that they deserve?

Hon. Rod Phillips: Only the opposition, only the NDP would say support for 600,000 employees was not helpful. But we agreed that we wanted to make it better, and that’s why we worked with the federal government to design a new program, and we look forward to that program.

In the meantime, in addition to the billion dollars of support that was provided: $50 million through the Ontario Together Fund; $355 million in elimination of the employer health tax, temporarily; $175 million in electricity price support; $57 million for the Digital Main Street program, and in addition to that, $60 million just a couple of weeks ago by my colleague, the minister for small business and reduction of red tape, to help with PPE; and, yes, $300 million that will be rolled out. We will support the businesses as they need to be supported because we understand small business, unlike the opposition.

Member for Don Valley West

Mr. Michael Parsa: Yesterday, the member for Don Valley West—a proud Richmond Hill native, I might add—announced that she would not be seeking re-election in 2020. Would the Premier please comment on the member’s legacy?

Hon. Doug Ford: Thank you for the question. Mr. Speaker, I want to dedicate my next minute to the former Premier, Kathleen Wynne.

Premier, I have the utmost respect for you. We may differ on policies. We may differ on political outlooks. But as a person, I have the utmost respect for you. You’ve walked a mile in my shoes. During the election, everyone always said, “How is Kathleen Wynne as a person?” I said, “She is super nice, unlike some other people who tend to be just mean and nasty-spirited people, vicious”—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

Hon. Doug Ford: —“vicious, vicious people.” I said, “Kathleen was never that way: always there, very kind, very polite, never took anything personal.” And that’s the way more people should act around here, Mr. Speaker. She blazed a new trail being the first woman Premier; she blazed a new trail by being the first gay Premier, and—

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

Applause.

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

The supplementary question.

Mr. Michael Parsa: My supplementary question is back to the Premier. Premier, could you please elaborate further on your positive comments about the member for Don Valley West?

Hon. Doug Ford: You know, you sit back—and I say this respectfully to everyone. Anyone who’s served as an MPP, as a minister, no matter what colour of party you come from, orange, blue, purple, whatever, there are certain decisions, and there is one person—as a matter of fact, there are only 25 other people in the history of this province who know how it feels when you’re getting calls every single night. You have to make a decision. Kathleen, when you make a decision, you know: One decision, there are 10 other reactions. And then you make another decision: 10 other reactions, and you have to weigh them out.

Certain times, the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Sometimes, you sit back and you balance it and you say, “No matter what I do, there’s going to be an issue.” But you have to go and show leadership.

Throughout the time the former Premier was there, she showed leadership. Again, we might have disagreed, but she showed leadership because she made a decision, right or wrong. And for that, I respect your service. I respect the years that you spent down here serving your constituents. So thank you, God bless you—

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

Interjections.

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

Are we ready to move on?

Please start the clock.

Canada Christian College

Ms. Laura Mae Lindo: All Ontario educational institutions should be places where students, no matter their religion or sexual orientation or ethnicity, may reach their full potential. That’s why it’s so troubling to see this government try to slip through a new plan to hand their friend Charles McVety the ability to grant new degrees.

Charles McVety has a history of making Islamophobic and homophobic statements, and of using Canada Christian College, of which he is the president, to host Islamophobic speeches. Why is this government using an omnibus bill about helping small and medium-sized businesses navigate and recover from COVID-19 to give the likes of Charles McVety the right to grant new degrees?

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

Mr. David Piccini: Ontario has a world-class, world-renowned post-secondary education system. From day one, this ministry has worked with all partners across our sector to continue to build that world-renowned education system. That includes establishing an equal playing field for our post-secondary institutions to compete and attract world-class talent from around Ontario and abroad. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Ms. Laura Mae Lindo: I’m speaking about Charles McVety; I don’t know what he’s talking about.

In the 1980s, the PCs stripped Canada Christian College of the ability to grant these degrees after years of scandals. The only thing that’s changed since that is the rhetoric from Charles McVety: It’s become more vile. And yet the Premier has personally welcomed Charles McVety endorsements.

Let’s not mince words: Charles McVety has opposed a modern sex-ed curriculum, has spoken out against Muslims and has dragged the LGBTQ2S community through the mud at nearly every chance he gets.

Ontarians should be proud of our post-secondary system because of its commitment to equality and to acceptance. The Premier, of all people, should not be using the COVID-19 pandemic to legislate intolerance and hate. Why does this government continue to use the cover of a pandemic to make good on backroom deals with the Premier’s friends, especially when the Premier’s personal friends are people like Charles McVety?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I ask the members to take their seats.

Again, the parliamentary assistant to reply.

Mr. David Piccini: I am very proud of our post-secondary, world-class education system, and I think it’s important for the member opposite to understand something. The Postsecondary Education Quality Assessments Board is an independent review body that reviews all programs put forward to the government.

Mr. Speaker, we’ll continue to work with all of our world-class institutions—universities, colleges, our Indigenous institutes, our private career colleges—to ensure Ontarians get the skill sets they need to achieve ever-changing jobs in our changing economy and continue to succeed in Ontario for years to come.

COVID-19 response

Mr. Randy Hillier: My question is to the Premier. Never in our long history have we seen such abuse and violations of our Constitution, our fundamental freedoms and our rights. As the Premier spouts we’re all on the brink, the Minister of Long-Term Care refers to COVID as comparable to a bad flu season.

Along with these contradictions, however, he denies people the freedom of mobility, our freedom of assembly and our freedom to be with loved ones. But his laws are unconstitutional, and they will be tested. Tomorrow, I will host and gather with more than 25 friends—an offence under these authoritarian laws.

My question is, is the Premier—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I caution the member on his language. Place your question.

Mr. Randy Hillier: Is the Premier prepared to violate our constitutional rights to defend this fearmongering agenda?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Government House leader to reply.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Of course not, Mr. Speaker. We’re doing no such thing.

I can appreciate that the member opposite has a different view on the best ways in which we, as a province and as an assembly, should be tackling the COVID-19 outbreak that has taken the lives of too many Ontarians, but as much as I respect the honourable member’s ability to get up and ask questions that are important to him and his community, I can say very clearly to the member opposite that we will not stop doing all we can to make sure that the people of the province of Ontario are safe, that we have the absolute best results when it comes to COVID-19.

We have all been working very, very hard together. In fact, for the vast majority of this outbreak we have worked with unanimous consent of all members of this Legislature, including the member opposite, who approved almost all of the measures that we have brought forward.

I say very clearly to the member, I respect your opinions, I disagree with them, and we will continue to work very hard to make sure the people of the province of Ontario remain safe.

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

Mr. Randy Hillier: Again to the Premier—and just for the record, since May I have opposed many of these unconstitutional measures, and I’m on the record for doing that.

I’ll be testing this law at 10:30 tomorrow morning in Queen’s Park, directly north of the assembly. We’ll be social, but we won’t be masked. We’ll be greeting people. If the Premier believes his laws are valid and not just scare tactics, he can throw the book at me tomorrow. Have Toronto bylaw, Toronto police come and charge me as the host and the organizer. The law must be tested in our courts, but I have doubt that he has the courage to defend it.

Speaker, again to the Premier: Will the Premier defend our Constitution or will he violate my rights? From here, it looks like he’s just being a political yahoo.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m going to ask the member to withdraw the unparliamentary comment.

Mr. Randy Hillier: Withdraw.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Government House leader to reply.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Again, Mr. Speaker, I think the quality of the question really speaks for itself.

There have been a number of protests that have occurred during COVID-19 on a number of issues that have been very, very important to the people of the province of Ontario. We have not, of course, outlawed this behaviour. At the same time, it is our responsibility as a government, as legislators to make sure that we do all we can to keep the people of Ontario safe. We have all taken that responsibility very, very seriously on both sides of the House. We may disagree on how we get there but, overwhelmingly, that’s what we have all been working towards.

Now, I respect the opinions of the member opposite. I completely disagree with what he is doing tomorrow. I do not believe it to be in the best interests of the people he will be protesting with, but it is our job to make sure that people are safe, and I hope the member opposite will do all he can tomorrow to make sure the people he is with are safe.

Long-term care

Mr. David Piccini: Today, the NDP brought forward a destructive motion aimed solely at setting back all the progress the government has made at reducing the wait-time list for long-term care. It’s an outrageous request at a time when the need for long-term care has never been more apparent.

Mr. Speaker, I got off the phone with many of the hard-working folks of all the long-term-care homes in my riding. The utilization rate at Northumberland Hills Hospital for acute care patients is at an all-time high, and thanks to transitional bed funding from this government, we’re getting people into the long-term-care supports that they need.

Mr. Speaker, will the government stand up and outright reject this ridiculous proposal from the opposition?

Hon. Paul Calandra: I appreciate the question from the honourable member for Northumberland–Peterborough South. Allow me just at the outset to say yes, absolutely, we will completely reject this proposal from the NDP. At best, it’s irresponsible; at worst, it’s a destructive proposal.

What the NDP are proposing would see hundreds of seniors evicted from their long-term-care homes, would see hundreds of thousands of people lose their jobs, on a proposal that they are bringing forward today. Of course we will fight against that, Mr. Speaker. I can assure the member for Northumberland–Peterborough South that we will do all that we can.

The members opposite should try to explain to Yee Hong, to Mon Sheong in my riding, who are providing exceptional service to seniors, why they are no longer worthy of providing that service.

This is a destructive proposal, and this government will do all that it can. I encourage all members to vote with us against this proposal and protect our long-term-care homes.

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

Mr. David Piccini: It’s really comforting to hear that, because I can’t stress enough how dangerous it would be to accept this NDP long-term-care motion.

Mr. Speaker, I think of a conversation I had over the weekend with folks at Hope Street Terrace and Regency in my riding. They go to work every day to support the seniors of this province—seniors like a gentleman I spoke to recently, who served the Ontario public service with distinction, who just finally got admitted to long-term care thanks to additional beds this government has provided to the sector.

This reckless proposal is driven purely by ideology, with no understanding or actual ideas to improve the long-term-care sector. Will the minister stand in this place today and answer the question clearly? Will this government continue to build long-term-care beds, like the ones that have been announced in my riding over the past year, to make up for years of Liberal neglect, supported by the NDP?

Hon. Paul Calandra: Again, I thank the member for his question and his passion on this. I want to say again very clearly, Mr. Speaker, that we will be voting against this very destructive and irresponsible policy approach by the NDP.

I want to say to the people at home, to the seniors who are in long-term-care homes: This policy of the NDP would seek to evict hundreds of seniors from homes that they have come to rely upon. To the families who are relying on these homes for care, I can tell them that we will continue to work for you to make sure that your loved ones are cared for. To the thousands of people working in long-term care, we value the work that you are doing. We will stand up against this reckless motion and make sure that you still have a job to go to.

To the member specifically I say yes, we will continue to invest in long-term-care homes. Yes, we will continue to open up new beds across this province, the likes of which we have not seen in over a decade, Mr. Speaker. I know there’s a new facility in my riding of over 650 beds. There are facilities all across this province. They are doing good work. The people of the province of Ontario know they can rely on us.

COVID-19 response

Mr. Faisal Hassan: My question is to the Premier. Residents of York South–Weston have been waiting months for a COVID testing assessment centre and are extremely frustrated with the lack of availability and delays. My office is hearing from many residents, like Molly Lynn, Robyn Moreno and Tania, who have waited over 14 days to receive COVID-19 test results.

Toronto Public Health confirmed that my community is disproportionately affected by the virus and suffers from a lack of testing. What exactly is this government going to do immediately to rectify this dangerous failure?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you very much to the member for the question. We have increased our testing services across the province. We are putting a billion dollars into testing, into contact tracing and making sure that people can be in quarantine for 14 days, if that’s necessary. We have opened up over 150 assessment centres. We’ve also expanded into pharmacies for people who are asymptomatic. And we’re constantly looking at other areas where we need to increase our resources.

If there is a need—and it sounds as if there is in your community—that is probably an area where we should be opening up either more pop-up assessments or more testing in pharmacies, depending on what the requirements are. If people are symptomatic, of course, they need to go to an assessment centre or another centre of its like.

We are going into communities where there is need. I’ve taken note of the response and the need in your community. We’ll do whatever we can to get the resources there to be of assistance to your constituents.

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

Mr. Faisal Hassan: My question, again, is to the Premier. Cyndi Ferraro went to York South–Weston’s new facility the day it opened. She is a personal caregiver for her mother-in-law living in long-term care. She is still awaiting her test results to comply with the home’s policy, and that was September 28. She now is unable to care for her mother-in-law and provide the support and comfort she deserves.

Mr. Speaker, when a negative test result for caregivers is required every two weeks, those results are not timely and in fact are out of date when they finally arrive. What does the Premier have to say to Cyndi—and her family—who says, “I am disgusted and saddened that this has happened. I now face the chance of losing another loved one without being able to see her.”

Hon. Christine Elliott: Well, in fact what has happened is we’ve increased our testing capabilities. We’ve also improved our lab testing facilities. There was a period of time when there was a backlog, but that has been covered. We are now at a point where we are able to do the tests within the required time frame and get those test results back out to people in a timely manner.

In the case of the person you just indicated, I would be happy to look into why they’ve been waiting for so long for the test results, but over 90% of our public health facilities are able to receive the tests within 24 to 48 hours of the test being administered. That is something that I’m happy to look at in your situation, but it certainly is not the case across the province, because we have greatly amplified our lab facilities as well as our test facilities to make sure that they can respond in a timely manner.

Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight

Mr. John Fraser: My question is for the Premier. Premier, the Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight was struck with the intention of letting Ontarians know the government’s reasoning for the extension of COVID-19 emergency orders. Earlier this week, I wrote to the Chair of the committee requesting that members of the COVID-19 command table appear before the committee. The Premier also received a copy of this letter.

Ontarians deserve to hear directly from the body that’s giving advice to the Premier. So, Speaker, through you, for the sake of transparency, will the Premier designate members of the COVID-19 table to appear before the next select committee hearing?

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

Hon. Paul Calandra: I want to thank the honourable member for the question. As the member knows, committees run themselves in this place, but I do appreciate the suggestion from the member opposite. As he knows, the Solicitor General has been before the committee on at least two occasions so far, and from my understanding has done an exceptional job of helping to explain the measures that the government has taken. I encourage the committee to independently do the review that is required, as this Legislature would expect.

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

Mr. John Fraser: We are looking forward at the committee to seeing the Premier at one of the committee meetings. In any event, the Premier has the power to designate someone, like the minister, to appear before the committee. That’s what is written in the motion. That means he can designate members from the command table. It’s his decision.

Ontarians deserve to know what advice the Premier was given, when he was given that advice, and what the evidence is that underpins it. COVID-19 is like a brush fire, and the longer that you let that fire burn, the more it spreads. There is a pattern of delayed decision-making in this government, whether it’s in long-term care in the first wave, whether it’s in migrant workers, whether it’s increasing testing or whether it’s the return to school.

So I’ll ask, once again: Will the Premier designate members from the COVID-19 command table to appear before the select committee?

Hon. Paul Calandra: Mr. Speaker, I think the honourable member would agree with me that it would be inappropriate for the government to direct committees in how they do their work, so we’ll leave it up to the committee to make that decision.

Protection for health care workers

M me France Gélinas: Ma question est pour la ministre des Soins de longue durée. On September 22, on behalf of St. Joseph’s Health, I asked the minister why health providers were having such trouble accessing PPE. She responded, “They have the PPE they require, including N95s.” It’s a fact.

On Friday, St. Joseph’s received a two-page response from Ontario Health (North). It spells out the long list of hoops health care workers and long-term-care management have to jump through in order to maybe gain access to N95s or any other respirators, what Ontario Health (North) calls “a scarce and critical resource.”

This is embarrassing, Speaker. According to the Chief Medical Officer of Health’s directive number 5, if in proximity to a suspected or confirmed COVID resident, workers must be given an N95 or better on request. Can the minister please explain why her statement and the letter from Ontario Health are so badly disconnected?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you for the question. We announced just a few weeks ago, in the $540-million package, the six to eight weeks of PPE that would go to our long-term-care homes from government. That would include N95s for the homes that are in outbreak.

This is an ongoing process, working with the Ministry of Health, working with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, working with our medical officers of health in the public health units to make sure that we understand the needs in the context of each home. That’s continually scrutinized, and the vigilance is there. But as you know, early in the pandemic, the global competition for PPE made it a big challenge not only for Ontario but across the world. I commend everyone who has worked in Ontario to stabilize that and create the capacity that we need here in Ontario, including through 3M.

These N95s are going out; I have confidence in that. And the PPE supply, the six- to eight-week supply, is there for our homes.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Sudbury, supplementary.

Mr. Jamie West: Back to the Minister of Long-Term Care: Like many people in Sudbury, I come from a career in mining. In fact, before the election, I spent 17 years representing mining health and safety concerns. Frankly, I’ve never seen anything like this.

If a miner or a surface plant worker needs a respirator in order to work safely, they get it. If they don’t, the job stops. When it comes to long-term care, the women at St. Joseph’s have been working with their employer to get the PPE they need for months—months, Speaker. They won’t refuse to work because they know that a work refusal in long-term care would mean leaving someone’s parent, sister or husband in need.

Why is the minister ignoring these women, and when will they have the N95 masks they need?

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

Mr. Robert Bailey: Thank you for the question. It is important that you know that in long-term care, as of October 5, all 626 homes have eight weeks of personal protective equipment, so they have the inventory on hand at all times. The exception is gloves are two weeks and personal hand wipes are three weeks. This includes over 275,000 goggles and face shields, 12.5 million surgical masks, over 150,000 KN95 masks, 17.5 million gloves, 2.5 million gowns and the use of the Minister of Health’s emergency operations centre.

No LTC homes, no long-term-care homes, have reported shortages to the Ministry of Long-Term Care at this time. I have more answers here if I get another question on it.

Long-term care

Mr. Dave Smith: Today, the NDP have tabled a motion that effectively demands the government close long-term-care centres across Ontario.

The last Liberal government, propped up by the NDP, did virtually nothing to grow our long-term-care system, but this proposal is simply offside. For an opposition party to advocate for fewer long-term-care beds and longer wait times is almost unbelievable.

Mr. Speaker, will this government please commit to rejecting the NDP proposal and instead continue to invest in our long-term-care system?

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

Hon. Paul Calandra: I can appreciate the passion that this irresponsible motion has evoked from the members of the government caucus, who have spent the last two years making up for the disastrous decisions and the bad policy of the previous government, supported by the NDP.

Let me be very clear: The proposal that the NDP have brought forward, which we will be debating later on today, is a proposal that would put hundreds of seniors out on the street, which would see thousands of people in these long-term-care homes lose their jobs. This government will never allow that to happen.

I can assure the member for Peterborough that we will do everything in our power to make sure that that doesn’t happen, that we will continue to support long-term care with the biggest build-out this province has ever seen and continue to support our personal service workers across this province. We value the work that people are doing in our long-term-care homes, and we will continue to invest in them.

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

Mr. Dave Smith: I really can’t believe that we’re at a spot where I even have to ask this question, because it’s more important now, more than ever, that the province of Ontario continue to invest in people.

Ms. Catherine Fife: You should be embarrassed asking this question.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Waterloo, come to order.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Scarborough Southwest, come to order

Mr. Dave Smith: We have continued building long-term-care beds so we can reduce wait times. Rejecting this irresponsible NDP proposal is an absolute necessity. Will the minister tell this House just how costly and damaging this NDP proposal would be to our great province?

Hon. Paul Calandra: Again, I thank the member for this question. I appreciate the passion that the members on this side of the House have on this, Mr. Speaker. We see some of the members of the opposition NDP laughing at the context of the question. They should go back to their communities and talk to the people at Yee Hong; they should go back and speak to the people at Mon Sheong—two fine examples of long-term-care homes that have been doing spectacular work in the province of Ontario.

But more importantly, they should go back into their communities and explain to the residents of these long-term-care homes who will be evicted by this policy and the thousands of workers who are doing great work in these long-term-care homes why they no longer value them, where they’re going to go.

Let me say very clearly to the member of Peterborough and to the opposition NDP, we will not allow this to happen in the province of Ontario. We will fight for those jobs. We will fight for seniors in these long-term-care homes. We will fight to improve conditions in our long-term-care homes. We’ll fight to support our PSWs, and we will continue to build out long-term care like this province has never seen.

Vaccination contre la grippe / Flu immunization

En septembre, le gouvernement a annoncé qu’il lançait la plus grande campagne de vaccin contre la grippe dans l’histoire de l’Ontario pour adresser la deuxième vague de COVID-19. C’est une bonne initiative, sauf qu’on s’est rapidement rendu compte qu’il n’y avait pas de doses en quantité suffisante pour la demande.

Comment est-ce que le gouvernement peut faire une campagne sans s’assurer au préalable que les doses sont disponibles? Ça devient une situation très frustrante pour les gens qui veulent suivre les recommandations du gouvernement et aller se faire vacciner. Alors, quel est le message de la ministre aux Ontariens qui veulent maintenant se faire vacciner mais qui se font refuser parce que les doses ne sont pas disponibles?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you very much for the question. I would say that the message should be that everyone who wants to receive the vaccine will receive the vaccine. We ordered 5.1 million doses of vaccine this year—700,000 in the previous year. I would say that this happens almost every year, that there are some occasions when some units don’t have vaccines for a short period of time, but they are coming in on a regular basis. We have contracts with them. We have no recorded issues with supply; there is adequate supply. The supplies are coming in.

It’s great that so many people are trying to get the vaccine this year. That’s one of the key pillars of our fall preparedness plan. But the people of Ontario should not worry. There is adequate supply, and it is coming in on a regular basis in shipments that were agreed to months before we came upon this situation with COVID. This was ordered almost a year ago, so it is coming in. It will be in. People should just check with their primary care practitioner or with a pharmacy where they wish to receive the vaccine.

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

M me Lucille Collard: Encore à la ministre de la Santé : merci pour la réponse. Cependant, j’étais dans ma circonscription la semaine dernière. J’ai voulu faire ma part puis me faire vacciner pour également encourager les gens de la circonscription à se faire vacciner. J’avais même réussi, en fait, à convaincre ma mère de venir se faire vacciner, elle qui ne veut jamais le faire. Parce qu’elle a 77 ans, je trouvais que c’était important.

Cependant, comme mon collègue d’Orléans l’a mentionné hier, il manque de vaccins. Puis, ce n’est pas un cas isolé, parce qu’à Ottawa–Vanier, il manque de vaccins aussi. Les endroits où, moi, j’ai téléphoné ne pouvaient même pas me donner un rendez-vous, même pour plus tard, parce qu’ils ne savaient pas quand ils allaient recevoir les vaccins. Alors on m’a dit de rappeler dans deux ou trois semaines.

Si nous voulons que la campagne de vaccination encourage les