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

November 22, 2021

42nd Parliament, 2nd Session

< Previous sitting day

Next sitting day >

Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2021-Nov-22 (PDF)

L021 - Mon 22 Nov 2021 / Lun 22 nov 2021

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 22 November 2021 Lundi 22 novembre 2021

Members’ Statements

Home care

Dr. Budhendranauth Doobay

Optometry services

Ferrero Canada

Islamophobia

Government’s record

Violence against women

Hospital funding

Mental health and addiction services

Annual report, Auditor General

Visitors

Question Period

COVID-19 immunization

Anti-racism activities

Social assistance

Mining industry

Child care

Employment standards

COVID-19 response

Climate change

COVID-19 response

Provincial parks

Indigenous affairs

Child care

COVID-19 testing

Climate change

Affordable housing

Private members’ public business

Reports by Committees

Standing Committee on Estimates

Introduction of Bills

Menstrual Health Day Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 proclamant la Journée de la santé menstruelle

2492725 Ontario Inc. Act, 2021

Statements by the Ministry and Responses

National Housing Day / Journée nationale de l’habitation

Petitions

Anti-racism activities

Nurses

Optometry services

Optometry services

Highway safety

Optometry services

Multiple sclerosis

Long-term care

Gasoline prices

Orders of the Day

Extension of emergency orders

The House met at 1015.

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

Prayers.

Members’ Statements

Home care

M me France Gélinas: I continue to receive numerous messages from patients and their families about the lack of care from the Home and Community Care Support Services. Patients are receiving below-standard level and quality of care from overworked and underpaid home care nurses and PSWs, not to mention the multiple missed visits weekly.

A year and a half ago, this government rushed through their Bill 175. The goal was Connecting People to Home and Community Care Act. Well, what did they connect, Mr. Speaker? The same legacy, private, for-profit providers that underpay their staff and shortchange patient care. The result is that no one came for Mrs. S. for days after her surgery; a special-needs child in my riding cannot attend school because there is no provider available to help them at school; not to mention Mrs. Innocente’s mom, who is very medically fragile but cannot get confirmation that the home care worker is vaccinated.

When these families approach the government to make a complaint, they say, “Oh, bring your complaint to the providers.” The providers—when they bring their complaint, nothing happens. The government funds home care. It is responsible for this important part of our health care system, yet this program fails more people than it helps daily. It has to change.

Dr. Budhendranauth Doobay

Mr. Deepak Anand: It is a pleasure to rise today to share the story of a true inspiration, a spiritual leader, professor of medicine, cardiovascular surgeon, philanthropist, lifelong preacher and priest, Dr. Budhendranauth Doobay. His contributions include building Anand Bhavan—a home for seniors—and a Montessori school in Ontario, providing shelter to orphaned girls in India, offering free dialysis to patients in need at Doobay Medical Centre, and providing computers to youth in Guyana.

In 1993, Dr. Doobay was awarded the Order of Ontario, and the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee awards in Canada in 2012. Guided by the principle of Vasudhaiva Kuṭumbakam, “the world is one family,” Dr. Doobay has played a vital role in promoting Hinduism’s core teachings while advocating for the religious diversity and inclusiveness that make our province beautiful. He is the founder of Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill, a 27,000-square-foot facility that features the Canadian Museum of Indian Civilization, embodying the principle of “ahimsa,” non-violence.

Remarks in Hindi.

Thank you for being the champion for Sanatana Dharma. Thank you for leading the path for us today and for the generations to come. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Doobay for strengthening our province through his passion for community service and community well-being.

Optometry services

Mr. Faisal Hassan: I rise this morning on behalf of the decent and hard-working people of York South–Weston. Recently I hosted a virtual town hall on eye care with residents and eye care providers from York South–Weston. I heard from residents whose children cannot get their eyes tested and from seniors who cannot get eye tests that could literally save their vision. This unacceptable and unnecessary situation is due to this government’s inability to negotiate a fair deal with optometrists. When will this government stop their dangerous games, which are only putting children’s and seniors’ vision at risk, and negotiate in a serious and fair manner?

Luisa, who participated in our town hall, said, “It is going to cost the health care system 10 times as much for stuff down the road that’s not being diagnosed. Once you do it at a later stage it’s too late.”

Michael stated, “The situation is urgent, and my long-term health is being directly affected. The government needs to get back to the table and address this issue quickly, so that people like me can get on with their lives.”

What does the government have to say to Luisa and Michael? And when will they take responsibility, stop pointing fingers and finally bring the fairness optometrists deserve and the fairness that seniors like Luisa and Michael need in our community of York South–Weston?

Ferrero Canada

Mr. Will Bouma: I am happy to rise in this great House today to talk a little about the largest single employer in my home riding of Brantford–Brant. Ferrero is a company that is near and dear to many people in Ontario—and, indeed, all over the world, as a matter of fact—for the beloved, high-quality products that they make every single day.

Last Thursday the Premier and I were given a tour of Ferrero’s spectacular Brantford–Brant production plant, where they make Nutella, Tic Tac, Ferrero Rocher and Nutella & GO! The sweet smell of freshly roasted hazelnuts and chocolate, a combination put together by the company’s founders, Pietro, Giovanni and Piera Ferrero, will always be etched in my memory. We were most impressed by the quality levels that far exceed the industry standards—so much so that in 2019, Ferrero opened its own on-site cocoa processing plant in Brantford so they could process raw cocoa beans directly from the country of origin to ensure freshness and their very exacting standards.

So the next time you dip into that jar of Nutella in your kitchen pantry, or share a Ferrero Rocher over the upcoming holidays, know that it was made by Canadian workers with the freshest ingredients by some of the finest people in Brantford–Brant. To everyone working at Ferrero, on behalf of the province of Ontario, thank you.

Islamophobia

Mr. Gurratan Singh: Yumna Afzaal, Madiha Salman, Talat Afzaal, Salman Afzaal: Four out of five family members were murdered in a terrorist white supremacist attack earlier this year in London, Ontario. Fayez Afzaal, a boy of nine, was the only survivor from this attack, and he was put into serious condition from this terrorist attack.

This is just one of the many acts of hatred that have recently targeted Muslims in Ontario. I remember talking to Muslims after this terrorist attack, and they described to me the impact of this violence: how Muslim women were afraid to leave their home wearing their hijab; how Muslim families had made the terrible decision not to go for evening walks wearing their traditional clothing out of fear that they, too, would be attacked.

That’s why the calls from the Muslim community after this terrorist attack were so clear. Yes, we must condemn this violence, but the time for words alone is over. We need systemic change to challenge and combat Islamophobia and hate in Ontario. That’s why the Ontarian NDP has partnered with the National Council of Canadian Muslims to put forward the Our London Family Act to make sure that Muslims again are never afraid to walk the streets of Ontario. That’s why I am calling on the Conservative government to do the right thing and to pass this act as soon as possible.

Government’s record

Mr. Roman Baber: Speaker, I was born and spent the first nine years of my life in the communist Soviet Union, so when I allege that the government is engaging in conduct one would expect from a communist regime, I don’t do so lightly. But judge for yourselves.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): You’re going to withdraw.

Mr. Roman Baber: Withdraw.

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

Mr. Roman Baber: Former chief of staff Dean French tried to appoint his son’s friend and wife’s cousin to lucrative positions abroad for which they weren’t qualified. That’s textbook communist. The government forced private businesses to hang a sticker containing political speech at their place of business. That’s communism. The government tried to put itself above the law by giving itself absolute immunity from litigation with the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act. That’s communism.

With Bill 218, the government rewrote negligence law applicable to long-term care homes in the middle of a trial, making it impossible for families to get closure and justice. That’s communism. The government invoked the “notwithstanding” clause, the nuclear option, to overrule a court decision for the first time in Ontario’s history, and over what? Over elections legislation that helps the government get re-elected. That’s communism.

And now the government continues—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The next statement.

Violence against women

Mr. Stephen Crawford: November is Woman Abuse Prevention Month. This is a month for all of us to stand with women and girls against any form of abuse. Abuse comes in many forms, whether emotional, physical, sexual, and we need to be aware of the signs. The number of reported incidents is unfortunate and shocking. Half of women aged 16 have experienced some form of violence.

There are outstanding organizations concentrated on supporting young women and girls who are trying to leave their situations. In Halton, SAVIS and the Halton Women’s Place are helping survivors by providing a safe and comfortable environment with dedicated resources to overcome the emotional trauma that has been experienced. These two organizations also provide proactive educational sessions to the general public, with the key goal of prevention through education. On November 25, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Halton Women’s Place will be hosting a free education event virtually with the topic “Community Conversation on the Role of Males in Ending Gender-Based Violence.”

As an aside, I did want to mention I made a contribution to the Halton Women’s Place in memory of my great friend Andrew McMurtry’s mother, Theresa, who passed away November 1. Theresa was a great woman and a loving mother who will be missed greatly. I couldn’t think of a better way to honour Theresa’s legacy than by supporting the Halton Women’s place.

SAVIS and Halton Women’s Place are truly changing the lives of women and girls, and I cannot thank you enough for the meaningful work you are doing.

Hospital funding

Mr. Kevin Yarde: My riding of Brampton North has a hospital which is the only hospital in Brampton which is a full-fledged hospital, Brampton Civic Hospital, which cares for over 700,000 people in Brampton.

Earlier this year, the government promised an additional hospital in Brampton. What we’ve learned since, Mr. Speaker, is that this government is providing only an additional wing to Peel Memorial hospital. This is not enough.

On top of that, the government has promised 250 beds for Peel Memorial. We need 850 beds in order to bring Brampton up to the Ontario average. I’m—

Interjections.

Mr. Kevin Yarde: I want this government, I want Brampton South and I want Brampton West to listen to me.

We need a full-fledged hospital. We need an additional hospital in Brampton. What’s happening right now is incredible, Mr. Speaker. We are seeing many people in Brampton going to Georgetown or other places in the GTA just to get care.

Right now, the hospital which we have at Peel Memorial will not be able to service people who have heart attacks, people who have strokes or people who are cancer patients. This is why I’m calling for this government to stop what’s going on in Brampton. We need a full-fledged hospital. We need better health care, and I wish this government would stand up and listen and do the right thing.

Mental health and addiction services

Mr. Lorne Coe: The government is investing approximately $350,000 to increase mental health supports for post-secondary students at Durham College in my riding and Ontario Tech University. This funding, Speaker, is part of an additional $8.7 million for Ontario post-secondary institutions announced in the 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario. Importantly, this investment builds on the government’s record supports to address mental health and addictions challenges from the 2021 budget, for a total of $28.5 million in the 2021-22 mental health supports at Ontario post-secondary institutions.

Speaker, Ontario’s publicly assisted colleges, universities and Indigenous institutes play an important role in supporting the mental health needs of Ontario’s post-secondary students, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our government is committed, absolutely committed, to protecting our progress against the COVID-19 pandemic and providing mental health supports for those in Whitby and other parts of the region of Durham who need them. It’s another example of this government listening carefully to residents in the region of Durham.

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

Annual report, Auditor General

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I beg to inform the House that the following document has been tabled: the 2021 Annual Report of Environmental Audits from the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario.

Visitors

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m very pleased to inform the House that page Joel Kronis from the riding of University–Rosedale is today’s page captain. We have with us today at Queen’s Park his mother, Tamara Kronis, and his father, Martin Traub-Werner. I hope Martin won’t mind me pointing out that today is his 50th birthday. Happy birthday.

Page Elinor Carter from the riding of Parkdale–High Park is also today’s page captain. Joining us today is her father, Richard Weiser. Welcome to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. We’re delighted to have you here.

Question Period

COVID-19 immunization

Ms. Doly Begum: My question is to the Premier. On Friday, parents finally had some relief to hear that the first vaccine for their youngest children has been approved. This week, children from five to 11 can be immunized, but it’s up to parents to contact their public health unit for details. That’s because the province’s central website still does not allow appointments for children.

Speaker, my question is, why was the provincial booking system not yet set up for children to be pre-registered for these vaccines?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: I thank the member opposite for the question. This is a really wonderful time. It’s great news on Friday that Health Canada approved the vaccine for use, a different vaccine than the adult vaccine, of course, for children aged five to 11. We’re ready to deliver those vaccines.

Parents will be able to make appointments for their children as of tomorrow on the online booking system, but we have more than that because we know that while most parents are happy to have their children vaccinated, some still have some questions. And so we have a collaborative relationship with SickKids hospital for any parent who wants to ask questions before having their child vaccinated. They can simply call 1-833-943-3900 or make an appointment with SickKids at sickkids.ca/vaccineconsult. It’s really important that parents consider having their children vaccinated, but we want to make sure all their questions can be answered before they do that.

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

Ms. Doly Begum: I want to thank the minister for the answer, because this morning we heard from parents that SickKids was already booked up for those appointments that the minister just mentioned, as well as that no one was picking up the calls for the 1-800 number she just gave.

Mr. Speaker, in other provinces—they could have set up these websites ahead of time—the systems were already in place for parents to pre-register their children. In British Columbia, for example, 75,000 kids are already signed up for the vaccine. Alberta launched online pre-registration last week. In Manitoba, they allowed registration this morning. That has given a lot of parents across many provinces some certainty, which helps parents know what plans to make; for example, get their child care arrangements or take time off.

Why has Ontario not been able to do what other provinces have done? Is it just incompetence from this government? We are proposing the solutions, but the government doesn’t seem to act on time, so maybe they should just go on a vacation, for example, and hand over the job to us. We knew this was coming. We should have done this months ago.

Hon. Christine Elliott: The government is certainly well-prepared for the immunization of children aged five to 11. We have been working on a plan with 34 local public health units for months. We are ready as soon as the supply is ready.

One of the issues is, of course, that you can’t make bookings until you know exactly when it’s going to be approved and exactly when the vaccines are going to be ready.

As of tomorrow, people will be able to make the appointments for their children. We are expecting two large shipments today and tomorrow. Over one million vaccines will be received in Ontario. We are shipping them the same day to all of the 34 public health units, and we will be ready to have vaccines going into children’s arms as of this Thursday, November 25.

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

Ms. Doly Begum: Speaker, I can just imagine, tomorrow morning, the number of calls that our offices will get because so many parents won’t be able to book the vaccines for their kids, and that’s because the website will crash or there will be no more appointments available.

The province has to do more, and their own data shows that. Last week, fewer than 70% of 12-year-olds were fully immunized. In many communities in the province, the vaccination rates are still low, which leaves young people more vulnerable as case counts have rapidly increased.

Dr. Tam, Canada’s chief medical officer, says the virus is now disproportionately affecting Canada’s children.

So my question is, what steps will this minister take to ensure our youngest children are quickly vaccinated?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Speaker, with respect, the member is imagining problems that don’t even exist. Our system has not crashed yet. We have had one of the most successful vaccination programs in the entire country. We have 89% of our population aged 12 years and older having received their first dose and 86% having received the second dose. The system hasn’t crashed yet, and the system is not going to crash for children aged five to 11. We are receiving the vaccines, people can make the appointments, and children will be able to get those vaccines in a timely manner.

Anti-racism activities

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: My question is to the Premier.

In June, our community of London faced a senseless Islamophobic attack. Three generations of the Afzaal family were killed, leaving a nine-year-old as the only survivor. No one should be at risk of such an atrocity. That’s why Ontario needs to take action to stop Islamophobia, white supremacy and hate crimes.

We’ll table a new bill, the Our London Family Act, developed in partnership with the National Council of Canadian Muslims, early next year. Will the government work with us to pass and implement this important legislation?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism.

Hon. Parm Gill: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member opposite for the important question. Islamophobia and hate have absolutely no place in our province of Ontario. The horrific terrorist attack in London was a solemn reminder that solutions to address racism and eliminate our province of hate are needed urgently.

Our government continues to work closely with our community partners like the National Council of Canadian Muslims. We know there is more work that needs to be done. That’s why we are making the necessary investments, including the $8.1 million in our recent fall economic statement to combat racism and hate, including doubling the Anti-Racism and Anti-Hate Grant program from $1.6 million to $3.2 million.

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

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: Speaker, for far too many Canadians, feeling unsafe while simply going for a walk or going to worship is much, much too common. Police-reported hate crimes have grown rapidly over the past few years and many, many more go unreported. As the NCCM CEO Mustafa Farooq has said, hate-fuelled acts of terrorism must stop.

For the Muslim community in London and across Ontario, it’s a time for action, not just words. Will the Premier commit today to work with us to stop white supremacy here in Ontario?

Hon. Parm Gill: On this side of the House, we condemn any act of hate and violence in the strongest terms possible. Ontario’s Anti-Racism Directorate continues to lead the government’s efforts when it comes to anti-racism work, including Islamophobia.

Mr. Speaker, let me share a quote with the House that the National Council of Canadian Muslims had to say about how we have taken action: “The NCCM welcomes new increases in funding to strengthen racialized communities in the province of Ontario.” That’s from the CEO of NCCM.

We are absolutely committed to taking strong action to combat racism and hate-motivated violence in our province. We will continue to defend the rights of everyone in our great province of Ontario to worship, practise their faith and live their lives free of fear, intimidation and violence.

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

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: Speaker, as a Legislature, we must not only condemn acts of hate, acts of terrorism and acts of Islamophobia, we must also distinctly and unequivocally call out white supremacy for what it is. The Our London Family Act is going to include new tools that members from all parties, I hope, will support. It will introduce new resources in Ontario schools so young people will understand Islamophobia. It will work to dismantle white supremacist groups by preventing their registration as societies as well as preventing intimidation at places of worship such as mosques, synagogues and gurdwaras, and it will re-establish a fully funded Anti-Racism Directorate.

Will the Premier commit today to work with us to implement these tools to stem a rising tide of hate in our province?

Hon. Parm Gill: Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree in this House that there is definitely more work that needs to be done and it’s part of the reason the Premier and our government take this absolutely very, very seriously. We, of course, thank our partners like NCCM and other organizations. Since taking over my role in this ministry, I have been out and about meeting with organizations and community leaders right across our province, hearing first-hand recommendations on what we can do to work together to address these serious concerns.

I’d like to remind the members opposite that this is not a political issue. If they are serious about helping address this issue, work with our government, work with us. As I mentioned, we are making the necessary investments. I’d like to remind the members opposite that every single investment—$8.1 million—that we have put forward in our recent fall economic statement, the opposition voted against.

Social assistance

Ms. Bhutila Karpoche: My question is to the Premier. The cost of living has skyrocketed, and life in Ontario is simply not affordable for the everyday person. Things are even worse for people on social assistance, like my constituent Laura, who is on ODSP. Her maximum allowance for rent is only $497—$497 when the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto is nearly $2,000.

My question is simple: With the cost of everything rising, why aren’t social assistance rates?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): In response, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member opposite. We know that this system has been challenged. We acknowledge the issues with this system. That’s why we’ve been working across ministries, across government to make sure that we get the supports to our most vulnerable people, through ODSP, through Ontario Works. We’ve rolled out about $1 billion in social services relief. We also put in an increase as soon as we became government. We know the pressures that are on this system.

This fiscal year, funding for social assistance saw an increase of $341 million. We know that this is an important area of concern and that’s why so much emphasis is put on this area across ministries.

We will continue to be committed to making sure the vital services go to our most vulnerable people. Thank you for your question.

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

Ms. Bhutila Karpoche: Back to the minister: With rates being frozen under consecutive Liberal and Conservative governments, and now with the rate of inflation and cost-of-living increases, people receiving social assistance are further behind and living in deeper poverty than 17 years ago.

But it’s not only the social assistance rates that need catching up, the program policies are also incredibly outdated. When my constituent Laura considered asking her boyfriend to move in, ODSP told her it meant her allowance would be clawed back. Will the minister update these policies that punish people on social assistance for forming relationships and living with a partner?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Once again, thank you for the question. Our government is continuing its effort to renew the social assistance area, whether it’s through the—

Interjection.

Hon.

Merrilee Fullerton: Well, look, what we have is the billion dollars that have gone into the social services and relief funding; working the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, the micro-credentialing strategy; the Roadmap to Wellness—$3.8 billion over 10 years to create a coordinated mental health system that supports people and helps them reach their full potential; as I said, $1 billion for the Ontario Social Services Relief Fund but also another $1 billion for new child care spaces in schools over the coming years, and that’s on top of the 19,563 new spaces already added last year; the $1.2 billion last year in the Ontario Child Benefit.

We’re investing $90 million to provide dental care to 100,000 low-income seniors. We’ve introduced the CARE tax credit, which will provide about 300,000 families up to 75% of their eligible child care expenses. And this builds on the work our government has done on the low-income individuals and families tax credit, or LIFT, which will result in Ontario personal income tax being reduced or eliminated for about 1.1—

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

Mining industry

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: My question is for the Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry. We have seen a lot of news recently about the potential that exists in the Ring of Fire. There are billions of dollars of untapped minerals right here in northern Ontario. These minerals can be used to build electric car batteries, which would help us transition to a greener transportation option, creating jobs and providing economic prosperity for communities in the Far North.

After years of previous governments saying no, Ontario deserves a government that will finally say yes to unlocking the potential of the Ring of Fire for communities in the north and others in Ontario. Through you, Speaker, will the minister say yes to changing the Far North Act?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Member for Peterborough–Kawartha and parliamentary assistant.

Mr. Dave Smith: Thank you to the member from Mississauga–Lakeshore for that question. I could sit and talk about the Ring of Fire all day long. It gives me a great deal of pleasure to rise and talk about the Ring of Fire in this case.

Speaker, we’re at a critical juncture right now when it comes to the electric vehicle market. Companies are rapidly preparing for a shift to an all-electric vehicle fleet. We’ve got the minerals here in Ontario. We’ve got the manufacturing capacity to become the global leader in electric vehicles.

It’s unfortunate that for 15 years, the previous government, supported by the NDP, made no progress whatsoever on the Ring of Fire and the vast potential it holds for the surrounding First Nations communities. After years of saying no to economic prosperity, we’re saying yes by making changes to the Far North Act. I’ll be happy to elaborate in the supplementary.

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

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: Back to the minister: We all know electric vehicles will be a key

part in the fight against climate change. Myself, being a worker at the Ford Motor Company, I know how important this will be. The previous government, who talked a big game on climate change, clearly missed an opportunity to position Ontario as a leader in the electric vehicle market. Speaker, they said no. It seems that Ontario is playing catch-up when it comes to this file.

While it is refreshing to see that the fall economic statement included language that will better position Ontario to be at the forefront in the mining of materials that will power the electric vehicles of tomorrow, we also can’t do it without carefully considering and consulting with the partners in First Nations communities.

Speaker, through you: Will the minister tell the House if our First Nation partners were consulted in this process?

Mr. Dave Smith: Our government remains committed to building strong relationships with First Nations and the Far North. We need to work with them to unlock the economic potential of this region, and the changes in the FES were extensively consulted with by First Nation partners and industry. After careful consideration and input, this legislation, if passed, would target barriers that prohibit economic development in Ontario’s Far North, while keeping environmental protections and consultation with communities in place. These changes would allow us to mine the minerals needed for electric vehicles, while First Nations are able to build infrastructure that will serve their communities.

Speaker, we’re making sure that these proposed changes will benefit communities for generations to come. We’re saying yes to jobs, yes to economic opportunity for all of Ontario, while the Liberals and the NDP would be happy to say no and say goodbye to the jobs and the prosperity that the Ring of Fire could bring.

Child care

Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens: My question is to the Premier. Last week, I was on a panel discussing affordable child care in Niagara. It is clear that the cost of doing nothing while playing politics is way too high. The municipality is flagging that child care providers in Niagara are operating at 50% staff capacity, so when you talk about adding child care spaces and tax credits, this ignores the problem at hand. It is no wonder Ontario has the highest child care fees in this country, no wonder that I have pediatricians highlighting that good child care is fundamental to child development, and families need support urgently.

We know that child care will receive increased funding when the Premier finally gets to work and makes a deal. So why is Ontario not acting today to correct the low-wage workforce that has led to a staffing crisis in Niagara right now?

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

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. We do appreciate the work of early childhood workers in the province of Ontario, who make a difference in our child care settings. It’s why we, on an annual basis, invest $2 billion to ensure quality child care is available to moms and dads in Ontario.

It is true—the member is right—that child care is inaccessible and unaffordable for too many Canadians. Under the former Liberal government, child care rose 40% above the national average. We know that is unacceptable. It’s why the government, in our first budget, introduced an Ontario Child Care Tax Credit to reduce costs for working parents. We enriched that tax credit by an additional 20%, announced by the Minister of Finance in the last budget, to help more families, providing $1,500 per child on average.

We’re committed to getting a deal. We’re working with the federal government this week, meeting with them with the aim to land a fair deal for the people we serve: one that’s accessible, one that is sustainable and flexible to support all parents in this province.

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

Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens: Back to the Premier, Speaker: Last summer, Kim Cole, the executive director of A Child’s World, a large Niagara child care provider, wrote a letter about the staffing crisis for ECEs and what the cost is in Niagara. They lost almost 300 spots due to staff shortages. I am puzzled when this government talks about making more spots when we cannot even sustain the ones we have. A Child’s World could add another 200 spots today if they had the staff. This is support for families allowing parents—mostly women, may I add—to go back to work.

We are in a crisis today. It is a disgrace that we know that it takes two years to become a registered ECE, so every day we lose in stalled negotiations has a real cost for Niagara.

Premier, if you are determined to hold up the child care deal with the federal government, is it not sensible to start investing in the ECE workforce in Ontario with larger investments immediately, because we are in a crisis today and know funding will be there tomorrow?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I thank the member opposite for the question. The government and the ministry does provide a wage enhancement grant to child care workers with the aim of retaining them because we know that there is more demand than the spaces available. That’s the legacy of the former Liberal government: too few spots and expensive for too many families.

We know we can do better. That’s why we’re sitting with the federal government, both to stabilize the workforce and really to make child care more affordable in this province. It is way too expensive for families. We are on their side by taking action through the introduction of the Ontario Child Care Tax Credit, which is making a difference in reducing costs.

But we do believe, more systemically, that the solution is for the federal government to increase their investment from 2.5% today to something much higher, much more equitable—again, that they have skin in the game as well—to make affordability a priority for all families in this province.

Mr. Speaker, we’re investing $2 billion every year, $1 billion over five years to create more spaces. Some 35,000 spaces were created last year because of our actions. We are continuing to work with the sector and the feds to get a deal that is good for all families.

Employment standards

Mr. John Fraser: Speaker, on Friday, Health Canada approved the Pfizer vaccine for kids aged five to 11, and the first doses arrived last night in Hamilton. They will be in kids’ arms by the end of the week. It is a really important step that the province has taken to make sure we protect our kids and their families.

Children’s vaccines need parental consent which means, in most cases, parents are going to have to be present. They’ll need time off work. The government’s temporary paid sick days are set to expire on December 31 and it’s actually not clear whether workers can get the time off to get their children vaccinated.

So, Speaker, through you, will the government commit to making paid sick days permanent and ensure that all parents can use these days to get their children vaccinated?

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

Hon. Paul Calandra: I thank the member for the question. The member knows, of course, that this government did bring in, in co-operation with our federal partners, a number of sick days that workers could use.

We also were the first government in the country, in fact, that protected workers and their ability to take time off either for themselves or their family should there be an issue with COVID in their home. I’m very proud of the fact that we were one of the first governments across the country to do that. Speaker, we continue to offer that. We understand how important it is for parents to get their children vaccinated, as the Minister of Health highlighted.

We are doing extraordinarily well in this province with close to 90% of our population having received a first dose, and I believe close to 87% having received that second dose. We expect that there will be every bit as—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Response?

Hon. Paul Calandra: —the same amount of support for children getting their vaccines, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. John Fraser: Speaker, under the government’s legislation, workers can take paid sick leave to “provide care or support” for a relative. That includes if they’re sick with COVID or they’re self-isolating—not getting vaccinated. It doesn’t specify that. I think the government needs to clarify that omission so the employers know and that workers know, and that the people paying it know.

In any event, these parents are going to need time off in January and in February to have their kids vaccinated. Your paid sick days are set to expire December 31, at the end of this year.

Speaker, through you: Will the government move to ensure that all parents are entitled to paid time off to get their children vaccinated, or will the government just pass my private member’s bill or the member from London West’s private member’s bill, that’s going to be debated tomorrow, so we can just put this issue to rest?

Hon. Paul Calandra: Speaker, the member knows full well that since the onset of this pandemic, this government has led the way with respect to protecting workers when it comes to accessing not only COVID vaccines but to protecting workers in advance of the vaccines.

We were, as I said, the first government in the country to protect workers who got sick with COVID. We understood how important that would be. And, as the member said in his own question, not only did we do it for the workers, we did it if workers had family members at home, children at home, if the challenges of online learning became an issue. We protected those workers’ jobs. We were the first government to do that. Those protections still remain in place for our workers, Mr. Speaker.

The real important part here is that very soon, children from five to 11 will be able to get those vaccinations, and we expect the people of the province of Ontario will embrace that, as they have, to give us one of the highest vaccination rates in the entire world.

COVID-19 response

Mr. Will Bouma: Keeping kids in school and learning has been a priority for this government. We know that our children need to be learning in person, in class, every day. Not only does it ensure a continuity of quality learning, it allows kids the essential socialization they need for their mental health and well-being.

Safe and open schools are essential to the social and intellectual development of the next generation. Speaker, through you to the Minister of Education: With the winter and holiday seasons coming up, our youngest students, who cannot yet be vaccinated, need our government’s support. How is the minister planning to keep schools safe for Ontario students?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I want to thank the member from Brantford–Brant for his question and advocacy for the safety of schools in this province. We have taken action, listening to the best, expert advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, pediatric institutes and the Children’s Health Coalition themselves, who have called for an expansion of low-barrier testing in Ontario. We are leading in this respect in the nation.

Starting in September, we created access to rapid antigen tests for the public health units to deploy at any time, wherever they saw fit, to ensure schools remain safe. We then added in the test-to-stay protocol, which is guidance designed to minimize disruptions and keep kids within our schools to minimize learning instruction.

We then announced—the first province in Canada—to extend take-home PCR tests to all families in all regions of Ontario. Finally, just days ago, with the Minister of Health and the Chief Medical Officer of Health, we announced an additional expansion, the first province in Canada to provide five rapid antigen screening tests in a kit to every child in a publicly funded school, designed to ensure the holidays are safe and kids can get back to learning this January.

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

Mr. Will Bouma: I thank the minister for his answer. As I heard on Saturday, when I was knocking on doors seeing how people are doing through COVID-19, parents across the province are glad to see the steps this government has taken to keep schools safe. The delivery of over 11 million rapid antigen tests to students will mean a safer return to school for Ontario students in January.

We know that a priority for student learning has been the return of a more normal school year. Families in my riding want to know what the government has planned. Through you, Speaker: What measures will the minister and the government take this upcoming year to make for a more normal and experiential school year for our students?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: It is an important question, because I think many families in Ontario are looking forward to the province incrementally and cautiously returning to a more normal experience for all of us, most especially for our kids, who have shouldered such a disproportionate burden of this pandemic.

It is why we are very grateful that roughly 81% of children 12 to 17 today are double-vaccinated, one of the highest rates of immunization in the country for young people. We’re proud of that. As a consequence of that high rate, the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Minister of Health and I announced last week that we’re moving forward with a regular timetabling model of four courses a day. That is a great relief to school boards, to children, as well as to parents across Ontario. That, in itself, will be a positive intervention to support the mental health and learning of all children.

I will also say we restored extracurriculars and sports for children in this province—critical to their mental and physical health. We’re taking action to make it more normal by the increasing rates of vaccinations in schools. The head of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association said that this return to normal timetabling will improve student engagement and achievement, while allowing educators to create more effective teaching and learning environments.

It was applauded, and we’re going to continue to take action to keep schools safe in this province.

Climate change

Ms. Catherine Fife: My question is to the Premier.

This morning, the Auditor General released another scathing report that details this government’s lack of action on climate change. The report clearly states that the Premier is doing absolutely nothing meaningful to fight the negative impacts of climate change. She said, “The public, businesses and stakeholders are in the dark on the overall state of Ontario’s environment and how it is changing over time....” The auditor goes on to say that little has changed in 20 years.

Speaker, why is this government dragging us back decades on climate action when we know that you can’t meet an emissions target if you aren’t prioritizing climate change and if you have no plan to address this very serious issue in Ontario and across this country?

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

Hon. David Piccini: I thank the member opposite for her question.

We certainly appreciate the feedback from the Auditor General.

I do think it’s important to remind everybody that Ontario is, of course, taking meaningful action to achieve our 2030 targets. In fact, we have 40% of Canada’s population, we generate approximately 40% of the GDP, and yet we are only responsible for 22% of the emissions in this country. That’s thanks to important investments this government has made in making gasoline cleaner, launching the emissions performance standards, supporting industry—in the case of Algoma Steel, with the recent electrification of their arc furnace—investing in transportation, expanding subways, promoting active transit.

One in every four GO trips in the Durham region to get people to where they work is thanks to investments this government has made.

We’re going to keep making those investments and keep leading Canada in greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

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

Ms. Catherine Fife: The minister forgot paving over paradise for political donations—that should be your campaign slogan in the next election.

The Auditor General—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): We don’t impute motive. It’s against the standing orders. I’m going to ask the member to withdraw—

Ms. Catherine Fife: Withdraw.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): —and conclude her question.

Ms. Catherine Fife: The Auditor General could not be clearer in her findings. The government is not doing enough. She said, “Little progress has been made on 50% of the recommended actions” and that “the ministry does not have an expected time frame for presenting an updated climate change plan to cabinet for approval.” Never mind an actual plan, Speaker; they don’t even have a timeline.

She goes on to detail how even the Ministry of the Environment’s climate change leadership team has no authority over whether any other ministries adopt their recommendations, and they are making moves that actually increase Ontario’s emissions.

It is clear that the attempts made by this government to fight climate change are just pure political theatre.

When are you going to do your job and come up with a plan that actually—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke will come to order.

The Minister of the Environment to reply.

Hon. David Piccini: I’ll continue on. The member opposite didn’t mention one substantive initiative or one thing that she disagreed with that this government is doing—as I said, investing in active transportation, public transit. We’ve launched the province’s first-ever climate change impact assessment.

When that member was propping up the previous government that did nothing on adaptation and resiliency, they could have invested in a climate change impact assessment; they did not, Speaker.

Speaking to our reporting requirements on the Environmental Bill of Rights, we issued 2,000 notices last year alone.

In fact, when that member propped up the previous government, they posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights, but they never issued notices after. In fact, most of their posting was stale and outdated. When we came into government, we cleaned that up—no thanks to the member opposite. Thankfully, we reduced that by 93%.

We’re going to keep reporting to Ontarians in a transparent manner, keep taking robust action to clean our land, water, lakes and provide active—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Waterloo will come to order. The Minister of Energy will come to order.

The next question.

COVID-19 response

Mr. Roman Baber: Speaker, this is to the Minister of Health.

Speaker, I asked the minister a year ago, before the winter lockdown, if she was sure that she is not killing more lives than she is saving. She didn’t know the answer then.

But now we learn that the increase in deaths from overdose alone under age 65 is more than double all COVID deaths under age 65—that’s just overdose. A McMaster pediatric brain surgeon wrote a couple of weeks ago that very often, she saw children whose lives could have been saved if their cancer was diagnosed earlier.

Can the minister tell us if the ministry or anyone at public health conducted an analysis of how many lives were lost as a result of the lockdowns? And does she take responsibility for those lives?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. The health and welfare of all of the people of Ontario has been our government’s priority since day one. There is no question that, unfortunately, we had to go through the periods of lockdown that we did to prevent this virus from multiplying far much more than it has.

We are very fortunate in Ontario right now that we have not run into the problems that many other countries have. They’re shutting down entirely in Austria starting today. We’re following what’s happening in other countries.

We’ve lost lives in Ontario, yes, sadly, due to COVID and due to other causes of death, but we’re working on that. We’re working on reducing the number of COVID cases. We’re looking at reducing the number of people waiting to have cancer surgeries and other surgeries, like hip and knee responses. We’re making sure that with our mental health Roadmap to Wellness, we’re investing $3.8 billion to get people the help they need for mental health and addictions issues. We are—

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

Mr. Roman Baber: Speaker, it’s November 22, 2021, and for the first time, I heard the Minister of Health acknowledge that lives were lost because of lockdowns. Ontarians are owed a response as to what is the estimate of Ontarians who lost lives because of lockdowns. A quarter-million surgeries postponed; a million cancer screenings missed: Has anyone done the math on how many people died because of government policy? We should care about people dying from cancer.

Speaker, in a report of inquiry into the conduct of Councillor VanLeeuwen of Centre Wellington, released on August 24, the presiding integrity commissioner asked the province if it has any analysis with respect to the adverse impacts of the lockdown. The integrity commissioner was told that there were none.

My question to the Minister of Health: Why hasn’t the ministry weighed the adverse effects of the lockdowns? And will she apologize to the families who lost a loved one because of her government’s policy?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Well, I’m very sad for any family that lost a loved one due to COVID, or for anything else that has happened during the course of this pandemic. However, I still know that this policy that we had to bring forward was the one that saved the most lives. Yes, lives have been lost due to COVID in Ontario, but it could have been far, far worse.

I thank the people of Ontario for all of the steps that they’ve taken to reduce the transmission of COVID—by being vaccinated, first of all; anyone who has not yet been vaccinated, please do so. We have more than enough vaccines available. We have them readily available at any place they wish. Please continue to wear a mask when you’re in public spaces. Please continue to follow physical distancing. Please make sure you look at ventilation in spaces, to make sure that they’re adequate, and continue to follow those rules. That is what is going to get us through this pandemic, and that is what’s going to continue to save lives.

Provincial parks

Mr. Deepak Anand: My question is for the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, but before I ask my question, I would like to congratulate the minister’s PA, PA Khanjin, for the new addition to the family, a newborn baby.

To the minister: With the days getting shorter and winter bearing down on us, many Ontarians will be looking for a way to get outside and fight the winter blues. Our Ontario provincial parks are a perfect source for all Ontarians to get out, get active and get some fresh air. For example, Wildwood Park provides a perfect place for my residents to spend time participating in some great winter activities.

Can the minister responsible for our provincial parks please share what winter opportunities Ontario’s provincial parks offer?

Hon. David Piccini: I thank the member opposite for that question. I, too, would like to congratulate parliamentary assistant Khanjin on the birth of her beautiful new boy, who I know will be active in Ontario’s provincial parks in the many years to come. Congratulations, Andrea, on behalf of all of us here at the Legislature.

Speaker, I’m glad the member asked that question, because our provincial parks offer a wonderful opportunity for Ontarians to get outdoors not just in the summer months, but throughout the winter months as well. Whether it’s skating at Arrowhead Provincial Park, enjoying the frozen winter waterfalls at Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park—and I know the members opposite have been there; it’s a phenomenal park—or whether it’s the winter birdwatching at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, there is no shortage of activities for Ontarians to enjoy in our wonderful provincial parks across the beautiful province of Ontario.

I know Killarney Provincial Park is one of my favourites. In the winter months, they offer 33 kilometres of beautiful mature pine forests, open fields and frozen-over marshlands in which one can snowshoe. So I encourage everybody to get outside, get active, get outdoors, and enjoy—

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

Mr. Deepak Anand: Thank you, Minister, for your passion and enthusiasm when it comes to the well-being of Ontario’s residents. I’m happy to hear of the winter opportunities that many provincial parks have to offer. I look forward to sharing these opportunities with my residents, and I’m sure each one of you will do the same.

While I know the minister has been working hard to expand and grow access to our parks, I know more can be done. Parks offer Ontarians a unique way to connect with their community, and they deserve to know that our government is committed to protecting the environment. Through you, Mr. Speaker, to the minister, what initiatives has this government put forward to encourage Ontarians to experience and celebrate our parks?

Hon. David Piccini: Thank you again for that question. It’s not just about experiencing the great outdoors. Christmas will soon be upon us, and folks across Ontario can now go online and order some of their favourite Ontario parks merchandise by visiting ontarioparks.com. In fact, Speaker, since we launched that, we’ve seen over 4,000 orders, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars that will be invested back into Ontario’s provincial parks.

So I encourage everybody, as you get set for the holiday season, go online to ontarioparks.com, visit the online store, purchase a wonderful gift for one of your loved ones, be it a friend—I know I’ve done my Christmas shopping. I encourage everybody to get out and do theirs. Ontarioparks.com: Go online and order today.

Indigenous affairs

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: My question is to the Premier. Grassy Narrows has invited Ontario to the table to resolve land protection issues eight times since this government was elected. Ontario has yet to answer. Last Thursday, the Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry met with Chief Fobister. The chief was there to talk about the mining permits that Ontario issued on the treaty territory of Grassy Narrows without informing the First Nation. At the meeting, the minister refused to discuss the mining issues.

Speaker, this is so disrespectful. When will Ontario stop working against Grassy Narrows and work with them to resolve these land protection issues?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Member for Peterborough–Kawartha to reply.

Mr. Dave Smith: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. Our government takes the challenges at Grassy Narrows very, very seriously, and we’re committed to the success of all First Nations, especially those in the ANA, the Grassy Narrows area. We will continue to work with ANA to establish a positive relationship and promote reconciliation, to ensure the community is appropriately consulted with as we move forward, but as this issue is before the courts, I am afraid I’m not able to answer any further.

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

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Over hundreds of years, those are the types of answers we keep hearing. To hide behind courts and to fight First Nations with courts is very colonial. I want to say this: The position of Grassy Narrows is clear. Chief Fobister stated:

“When the government issues mining permits behind our backs, that’s not reconciliation, that’s destruction.

“The government isn’t working with us, they are working against us. They need to stop logging and mining so the land can heal.

“Ontario continues to behave like a colonizer who believes they can force anything they want on our people and our land.”

The chief is asking Ontario to join them on the path to protect the lands and to support the nation’s healing journey. Will they honour this request?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The members will please take their seats. The member for Peterborough–Kawartha to reply.

Mr. Dave Smith: It’s true that the Minister of Indigenous Affairs did meet with the chief and some of the delegates from Grassy Narrows just last week. But unfortunately, because there are ongoing legal proceedings, we’re not able to discuss the issues around the mining claims. When the legal proceedings are completed, we’ll be able to discuss it further at that point, but as long as this is before the courts, I’m afraid that there is nothing more I can say on that.

Child care

Ms. Kathleen O. Wynne: My question is for the Premier. For the first time in decades we have a federal government in Canada that has put a concrete, funded plan for child care across the country on the table, a $30-billion plan that would reduce fees to $10 a day. This should be good news for Premiers of all provinces and territories as they grapple with post-pandemic economies.

COVID-19 forced hundreds of thousands of Canadian women out of their jobs, and they’re not coming back into the workforce as quickly as men. The pandemic has wrought havoc in the lives of millions of people in this country, and for women who have children or parents and grandparents to care for, that havoc has often come at the cost of their careers. This is a huge issue for these families, for the Canadian economy and for the economy of all provinces and territories.

Now, the minister and the Premier have offered excuses for why Ontario does not have a child care deal. For example, “Only Ontario has full-day kindergarten.” That’s not true, Mr. Speaker. There’s a patchwork of kindergarten programs across the country, and at least one, Nova Scotia, has a full-day program, as does ours in Ontario.

The question for the minister and the Premier is whether they actually believe in high-quality, fully funded child care, and if they do, why have they not yet signed a deal with the federal government?

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

Hon. Stephen Lecce: We’re very much committed to getting a fair deal, a good deal for the people we serve. We are sitting with the federal government this week, in fact, in order to land a fair deal for families, one that is sustainable, that increases investment and ultimately gets us to $10 a day, because the proposal noted, as I’ve mentioned in the past, currently does not get us there.

If the aspiration of the federal Liberal government is to reach $10, for the purpose of equity, Ontarians should not be treated any differently than the provinces east and west. We want to get to $10. We want to get that fair deal. It’s why the province has been working with the federal government to make that case directly to them.

With respect to Ontario’s actions, we’ve increased investment on an annual basis to build spaces: $1 billion over five years to build 30,000 more spaces. Last year alone, 16,000 spaces were created, largely by the market, supported by the government. In addition, we introduced a tax credit that incrementally is helping to reduce costs, given the spike in fees that happened under the former Liberal government.

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

Ms. Kathleen O. Wynne: I understand that the government has continued the building of the 100,000 child care spaces that had begun under our government, but a tax credit does not create child care opportunities for people who can’t afford them in the first place. And each province and territory has a different set of circumstances in its education and child care system, so it is incredibly difficult to compare systems.

But now that the federal government has stepped up and is offering per capita funding and is committed to funding the program on an ongoing basis—another barrier that this government set up, Mr. Speaker—the Premier’s excuses for not signing a deal have evaporated. I heard from young parents at their doors on Saturday that they want to see this deal now. Municipalities are frustrated enough that some of them are ready to jump over the province’s delay tactics to deal directly with the federal government.

Mr. Speaker, if Alberta, led by Jason Kenney, whose ideology is diametrically opposed to Justin Trudeau’s, has been able to craft a deal for the good of the children of Alberta, how is it that the Ontario government has not been able to do the same? Is it possible, Mr. Speaker, that the Premier believes that by artificially dragging out this negotiation and then magically pulling out an agreement out of the air just before the—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much. The Minister of Education to reply.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: As we reflect on the history and the legacy of the former Liberal government, under the tenure of the former Liberals, child care rose by 400%—40% higher than the national average. And here we have the provincial Liberals lecturing any party in this Legislature, given their reckless record of making child care totally inaccessible and absolutely unaffordable to virtually all families in Ontario—out of touch, disconnected from reality.

The Premier is working hard at the table to land a good, fair deal that finally makes child care affordable for the people we serve. It’s why we’ve increased investments to build spaces. It’s why we’ve dedicated funding to lower the fees on an annual basis.

We know there is more to do. We’re going to stay at the table to get a fair deal, a better deal, for the people we serve, Mr. Speaker.

COVID-19 testing

Mr. Jamie West: My office has been flooded with calls angry about the Premier’s decision to have symptomatic COVID testing performed in pharmacies. Pharmacies are where people go when they are at their most vulnerable. It’s where parents will wait with sick children, waiting to speak with a pharmacist about over-the-counter medications. It’s where seniors go to pick up their prescriptions. And people are concerned in Sudbury that COVID tests could be performed at the pharmacy located in the middle of their grocery store. They’re concerned that shoppers are browsing for fruit and vegetables while waiting for their COVID-19 test results.

COVID testing at pharmacies, especially pharmacies in grocery stores, exposes vulnerable people and their families to potentially COVID-positive cases, which doesn’t make any sense. Leanne has this to say: “We keep hearing how the PC government is doing everything in their power to keep us safe. I disagree with this. The main places that people go for essentials are grocery stores and pharmacies. Leave the testing to sites where people are not intermingled.”

My question is to the Premier: When will the Premier finally stop focusing on what’s best for his big business buddies and finally focus on protecting community members like Leanne?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. Our focus is and always has been the health and welfare of all of the people of Ontario. As we are gradually reopening Ontario, vaccination remains the best way to protect oneself, one’s loved ones and one’s community. But we also need to have many more places where people can be tested in a timely manner. The last thing we want to see happen is people who may have symptoms who don’t get tested who then pass COVID on to other people. So we need the co-operation of pharmacies, especially in rural and northern Ontario—places that people can quickly get to for testing.

Not every pharmacy is going to be able to offer symptomatic testing, however, just due to the physical configuration of the pharmacy. In some cases, they may be able to have outdoor testing, but that’s not the reality for many places in urban areas. But we are going to make sure that if a pharmacy is able to be able to do symptomatic testing due to the configuration of the location, there are very strict infection prevention and control measures which must be followed. It—

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

Supplementary.

Mr. Jamie West: Speaker, it makes no sense to direct people who may have COVID symptoms toward where there’s more people doing their shopping.

I want to tell you about David. He’s a pharmacy assistant. It’s not his real name; I’m using “David” because he’s worried about a reprisal if I use his real name. He works at a pharmacy that’s located in a large grocery store. He’s a clerk. He’s been assigned the additional task of performing these COVID tests. Because of the Premier’s decision to have these tests performed in pharmacies, David will soon be in close contact with potentially positive COVID cases on a daily basis. He has received no additional training, no additional PPE. There’s no additional hiring to help with the increased workload, and as a reminder, Speaker, people like David lost that “hero pay” 17 months ago.

David is concerned for his health. He’s concerned for the health of his co-workers and the health of the vulnerable people he regularly serves at the pharmacy. He is also concerned about the grocery store customers, because potentially COVID-positive people have to walk through the store to get to the pharmacy.

My question is, when will the Premier finally stop focusing on what’s best for Shoppers Drug Mart and finally focus on protecting workers like David?

Hon. Christine Elliott: The Premier is focused on protecting the health and safety of all Ontarians, and I think there are just a few comments that need to be made with respect to the member’s question. First of all, as I said before, not every pharmacy is going to be able to provide symptomatic testing just due to the physical constraints of that pharmacy. Secondly, people are not going to be able to go and do their grocery shopping or other shopping in a pharmacy if they are coming in to be tested. They are going to need to have an appointment. They are going to need to follow the infection prevention and control measures, as will the person performing the test.

This test has been approved by the Chief Medical Officer of Health and Public Health Ontario. There are very strict infection prevention and control measures that are going to be applied: a dedicated space to perform the specimen collections; physical distancing; time between testing appointments to allow for cleaning and to avoid lineups; wearing masks, of course, inside pharmacies. All of that is going to have to be done.

Dr. Moore has said, with respect to symptomatic testing, “We absolutely anticipate a great partnership with our pharmacy experts and that they will be able to” test “in a safe manner”—

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

Climate change

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: My question is to the Minister of Energy. As you know, thanks to the phase-out of coal electricity and introduction of renewables, Ontario has one of the greenest, cleanest grids in North America, which is why I was so surprised to read an op-ed from your hand-picked chair of the Independent Electricity System Operator, who is in charge of that very system. Joe Oliver wrote about how Canadian politicians are adopting increasingly damaging climate policies, and instead he argued that Canada’s climate change targets from COP26 were virtue-signalling and moral gestures.

I ask the Minister of Energy, is this a view shared by your government?

Hon. Todd Smith: I’m pleased to say that Ontario’s electricity grid is 94% emissions-free, thanks in large part to the hard work of our nuclear workers, our power workers at—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order. The Minister of Energy has the floor.

Hon. Todd Smith: Over 60% of Ontario’s electricity every day—the foundation, the backbone of our electricity system—comes from nuclear. It comes from Bruce, it comes from Pickering, and it comes from Darlington. Another 20% to 25% of our electricity comes from our hydroelectric fleet, Mr. Speaker, also emissions-free, and a workhorse when it comes to producing electricity emissions-free in our province. We do have about 8% or so that comes from unreliable renewables so far. That needs to be balanced off with natural gas, and we’re using our natural gas—

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

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: Back to the minister—I hope he stops skating around my question.

The op-ed goes on to say, “Prime Minister Trudeau and many Premiers will not have the intellectual honesty to concede their policies are ineffectual and will reduce our standard of living and endanger our security and national unity.” This is from your hand-picked chair of the IESO, Joe Oliver. He went on to say, “Candour would produce a political backlash that would undermine public support for green initiatives and imperil their own political survival.”

Speaker, through you to the minister: Do you share the view that addressing the rising threat of climate change will reduce our standard of living and endanger our security and national unity?

Hon. Todd Smith: Thank you to the member opposite for the question.

What I do believe in is that we have to have an energy system and an electricity plan here in Ontario that’s reliable, that’s affordable, that gives customers choice—and we’re providing that choice, finally, to customers across the province—and that’s sustainable.

We saw what the energy policies of the previous Liberal government did to create an unstable environment—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

Hon. Todd Smith: I hear the former Premier over there talking about her policies that created—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Come to order, member for Scarborough–Guildwood, member for York Centre.

The Minister of Energy to reply.

Hon. Todd Smith: Mr. Speaker, they may like to forget, but the people of Ontario do not forget the chaos that was created when it came to our electricity system in Ontario under their guidance. Energy poverty was a thing here in Ontario. We have gone to great—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. The House will come to order. The Minister of Energy has finished his response. Thank you.

The next question. Start the clock.

Affordable housing

Mr. Wayne Gates: My question is to the Premier.

Last week, the Premier voted down a motion in this House designed to tackle the affordability crisis.

In the city of Niagara Falls, the average home price is $700,000, for those who can even get a bid in. In some cases, we’re seeing homes get sold for cash without inspections and for $200,000 over asking price, because people are so desperate for a place to live. And now young Niagara families are being torn apart and have to leave the region. In Niagara, we’re seeing developers with no connection to the Niagara region buying up properties, evicting long-term residents and then flipping their houses for a profit. And the people these developers evict, they can’t afford rent, they can’t buy a house anywhere else in Niagara.

How can the Premier allow this to happen to seniors in Niagara under his watch? How can he expect kids to be able to move out of their parents’ homes when they need a down payment for a house that sells for three quarters of a million dollars?

My question is simple: Will the Premier agree that there’s a housing affordability crisis under his watch, and more importantly, is he going to agree to take the steps we need and that the NDP has laid out to resolve this issue?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Hon. Steve Clark: Speaker, it’s National Housing Day, and I’m pleased to respond, through you, to the member opposite. As the member will remember, in 2019, I was proud to introduce More Homes, More Choice, our housing supply action plan, which has focused on making housing more affordable by encouraging development of all types and all kinds. We’ve made record investments in our community housing system, and we again call on the federal government to pay their fair share. I know they’re back to work today.

But again, although our housing supply action plan, despite the pandemic, has created a tremendous increase in housing starts, we know that there’s much more for our government to do. I’ll have more to say this afternoon as I make my statement on National Housing Day.

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

Private members’ public business

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I beg to inform the House that, pursuant to standing order 101(c), changes have been made to the order of precedence on the ballot list for private members’ public business such that Ms. Lindo assumes ballot item number 23 and Mr. Vanthof assumes ballot item number 91.

There being no further business at this time, the House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1136 to 1300.

Reports by Committees

Standing Committee on Estimates

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Standing order 66(

a) provides that “The Standing Committee on Estimates shall present one report with respect to all of the estimates and supplementary estimates considered pursuant to standing orders 63 and 65 no later than the third Thursday in November of each calendar year.”

Pursuant to standing orders 64(

b) and 65(c), the estimates and supplementary estimates 2021-22 of these ministries and offices, not having been selected for consideration, were deemed to be received and concurred in.

Report deemed received.

Introduction of Bills

Menstrual Health Day Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 proclamant la Journée de la santé menstruelle

Ms. Karpoche moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 55,

An Act to Proclaim Menstrual Health Day / Projet de loi 55, Loi proclamant la Journée de la santé menstruelle.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’d like to invite the member for Parkdale–High Park to briefly explain her bill.

Ms. Bhutila Karpoche: This bill proclaims May 28 of each year as Menstrual Health Day. The day aims to raise awareness of the challenges people who menstruate face due to a lack of access to menstrual health products and gives menstruaters and non-menstruaters in Ontario the opportunity to celebrate the natural process of menstruation and fight menstrual health inequity and stigma. Menstrual Health Day will contribute to the normalization of menstruation, as menstruating is a natural bodily function and access to menstrual products is as necessary as access to soap, water and toilet paper.

2492725 Ontario Inc. Act, 2021

Mr. Yarde moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr54,

An Act to revive 2492725 Ontario Inc.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Pursuant to standing order 89, this bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.

Mr. Roman Baber: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Point of order: the member for York Centre.

Mr. Roman Baber: Speaker, I have now obtained and reviewed the video from this morning’s statement. I see no discernible violation of any standing orders that could give rise to the Speaker ruling my statement out of order or ending it without notice 25 seconds before time expired.

It is not unusual to characterize conduct by government. That is something we do daily in this House. I compared this government’s conduct to a political philosophy that is in fact espoused by some of the members of the opposition. I can certainly suggest that the government is acting like the Liberals. There should be nothing to preclude me from comparing the government’s conduct to communists, who also have a registered party in Ontario.

Could the Speaker please explain or perhaps consider retracting this morning’s ruling?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): There is no appeal of the Speaker’s ruling. The Speaker’s rulings are final, as the member knows full well.

I listened to his statement this morning, and some of his language I thought was very inflammatory. I asked him to withdraw. He persisted along the same line and I chose to prevent a grave disorder from erupting in the House, and we moved on. I do not find that there is a valid point of order.

Statements by the Ministry and Responses

National Housing Day / Journée nationale de l’habitation

Hon. Steve Clark: I rise in the Legislature today to mark National Housing Day. I am pleased to be standing here on behalf of the government to acknowledge and thank housing and homelessness partners across Ontario for their commitment and their collaboration, and also to reaffirm how our government is delivering on the commitment that we’ve made to make it easier for hard-working Ontarians to find a home that is right for them.

Speaker, I want to take you back to 2019, when I was proud to stand in this House and introduce More Homes, More Choice: Ontario’s Supply Action Plan to address the province’s housing crisis.

Our action plan puts Ontarians first.

Notre plan d’action accorde la priorité aux Ontariennes et aux Ontariens.

Our plan is focused on making housing more affordable by encouraging development of all kinds of homes so that every Ontarian can find the home that meets their unique needs and their budget. This includes streamlining processes and accelerating approval timelines for official plans, zoning bylaws and plans of subdivision so that we can drive progress hand in hand with our municipal partners.

We are also encouraging innovative approaches to building different types of housing and supporting affordable ownership and rentals. For example, we have made it easier for homeowners to build a second unit in their home. What we’ve done is we’ve also turned new rental units by exempting second units from development charges.

We’ve also allowed development charges to be deferred or paid over several years, to enable more rental and affordable housing projects. Development charges for rental housing, for example, can be paid over a five-year period from occupancy instead of up front. For non-profit housing, development charges can be paid over 20 years from the first occupancy.

Our policies are delivering real results, despite the pandemic. In 2020, the year after More Homes, More Choice was implemented, Ontario had over 81,000 housing starts, which was the highest level of housing starts in the last decade. In 2020, we had nearly 11,000 rental starts, which is the highest number since 1992.

Mr. Speaker, this isn’t just about the number of homes or rental units that our government is helping to create, this is about the hundreds of thousands of Ontarians who can now find a home because of our policies. Our government is working hard to get shovels in the ground to create the jobs and increase the housing supply that our province needs today. We’re also using every resource at our disposal to put affordable home ownership within reach of more Ontarians. This includes minister’s zoning orders, or MZOs.

In partnership with local governments, MZOs are a very important tool as part of our government’s policy tool kit to help critical local projects move at the pace Ontarians need and deserve. Using MZOs, we have helped the construction of over 500 supportive housing units.

And Mr. Speaker, I was pleased on Remembrance Week to be in Kingston, on November 10, to announce that I had issued an MZO to accelerate the creation of up to 25 tiny homes for veterans in what will be Ontario’s very first veterans’ village. The veterans’ village is a very exciting example of how our government’s housing policies are being put in action. Our government is helping to turn underutilized, provincially owned property into affordable housing, using innovative solutions like pre-fabricated modular housing, under Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan.

I also made an MZO to accelerate the process of zoning to allow residential units on this site, so that our military heroes can access these homes as quickly as possible.

Without the MZO, it would have taken years for the site to be rezoned through a traditional zoning bylaw amendment, leaving these veterans in a continued state of home insecurity and homelessness. I’m proud to have a collaborative relationship that we built with our partners, the city of Kingston and also the Homes for Heroes Foundation.

Our government is supporting the needs of Ontarians across the housing continuum. This includes community and supportive housing. Cela comprend le logement communautaire et le logement avec services de soutien.

Through our Community Housing Renewal Strategy and Ontario’s response to COVID-19, we’re providing more than $3 billion in this fiscal year and in last year. This includes $1 billion in flexible supports through the social services relief fund to our municipal and Indigenous partners.

Interruption.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Sorry, that’s your watch.

Hon. Steve Clark: My watch is listening to me, Speaker.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Take his watch.

Hon. Steve Clark: Yes, you want my watch? Do you want my watch, Bruno?

These funds help them meet critical pandemic-related needs and drive new supportive—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): If I may offer another ruling: Our watches are not allowed to heckle us. Okay? I rule that out of order.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs has the floor.

Hon. Steve Clark: It’s the first time I’ve been heckled by my wrist, so anyway, a new experience.

I’m proud to say that this is one of the biggest investments by the province in affordable housing in Ontario’s history. And in addition to our Community Housing Renewal Strategy, we continue to work with our municipal and our sector partners on how we can improve Ontario’s community and supportive housing system. It includes many things, including identifying opportunities to streamline and improve coordination so that the people can have a more easy-to-access system that they need. The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services alluded to that all-of-government collaboration this morning in question period.

So what have we done? We’ve held a number of successful engagement sessions with our community and supportive housing stakeholders. We are currently working with our ministry partners to explore opportunities to not just improve local planning across sectors, but to better connect people to the right housing and also the right support services from the start of their journey and, finally, better integrate programs to make sure they’re more efficient. I look forward, in the near future, to sharing further details of our all-of-government work that we’ve been able to create.

Creating a system where people have greater choice and more opportunities to find a home that’s right for them requires decisive action at all levels of government. That’s why I’m going to continue to call on the federal government to pay their fair share of funding under the National Housing Strategy. Speaker, I’ve said this many times in the House: Ontario is projected to receive $480 million less over the term of the National Housing Strategy when you factor in Ontario’s share of households in core housing need. Addressing this funding imbalance is vital to addressing the needs of some of our most vulnerable Ontarians.

Since day one, our government has and will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our municipal partners to help them utilize not just the resources but the tools that we’re providing to help address housing needs in their communities. One of them includes, to address homelessness—it’s called a by-name list. A by-name list is a tested approach that drives better coordination of services for our most vulnerable Ontarians. Many of our service providers use it. It helps them to identify their homeless populations. It helps them understand their challenges, to not just see a number.

We’ve already heard since we started implementing this that service managers who have done this, who have got a by-name list, say to us that the difference is between night and day. I’m very pleased to announce that we’re on track, that the by-name list of people who experience homelessness will be implemented in every community across our province by the end of this year. I think this is something that all members of this House should be celebrating. My ministry will continue to work with all service managers to implement this evidence-based system, which, I believe, and I’ve said in this House many times, will tackle homelessness in every single corner of the province.

Mr. Speaker, we’re not done yet. Monsieur le Président, notre travail n’est pas encore terminé.

As announced in the fall economic statement, our government is building on the progress our housing policies have already made by establishing a housing affordability task force. The task force will provide recommendations on further opportunities to make housing more affordable for Ontarians and their families. This will include exploring how else we can get shovels in the ground faster, how we can remove duplication and how we can remove the barriers to home ownership.

In closing, on National Housing Day, I want to close by sincerely thanking our municipal partners, our local service managers, our housing providers, our Indigenous program administrators right across this province. They’re on the front lines, supporting some of Ontario’s most vulnerable. Especially during the pandemic, their commitment and compassion has truly demonstrated the Ontario spirit, and our government will continue to use every resource at our disposal. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that every Ontarian can find the home that meets their unique needs and their budget.

Notre gouvernement continue d’utiliser toutes les ressources à sa disposition et de travailler avec tous ses partenaires afin que chaque Ontarienne et chaque Ontarien puisse trouver un logement qui répond à ses besoins particuliers et à son budget.

Again, to close, our government stands committed to ensuring that Ontario is the best place to live, to work and to prosper.

I want to thank all members for continuing to be advocates in their local communities on this, our National Housing Day.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Responses?

It’s a pleasure to rise to talk about National Housing Day. I want to begin, so I don’t forget, by acknowledging our partners in housing and homelessness and all the work they do across Ontario.

For context, in 1998, the homelessness advocacy group the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee declared homelessness to be a national disaster. That was in 1998. It was immediately endorsed by individuals, communities, agencies, faith groups, labour unions and various government entities. We’ve been recognizing National Housing Day every year since then for the last 23 years. I think that if we were to declare it today, we’d have the same amount of empathy endorsing it. And it’s sad, because it’s a reflection of what we’ve missed out on in the last 23 years. You can’t just keep calling for solutions without implementing them.

Their campaign called for the One Percent Solution. One Percent Solution was for all governments to invest an additional 1% towards building social housing. And 23 years later, we haven’t done that.

I want to thank our critics. Because of COVID-19, we’re in cohort groups, so I want to thank Jessica Bell, the MPP for University–Rosedale, our critic for housing, tenant rights and urban planning, and as well MPP Jeff Burch from Niagara Centre, who’s our critic for municipal affairs, for allowing me the opportunity to speak while they’re in the other cohort.

The call to build more social housing is near and dear to me. I grew up below the poverty line. My mom worked full time, but she didn’t have enough for market rent, and so my mom, my sister and I lived in Sudbury housing for 14 years. Sudbury housing is social housing; it’s geared-to-income housing. Having affordable housing is an investment in the community. It’s an investment into the future. It means that a kid who grew up in the projects can grow up to do anything. He can even be the MPP for Sudbury.

I’m worried about the future for other kids. For the first time in my life, Sudbury has a tent city, and that’s the number-one issue in my riding. The number-one call or email I get is: “How do we save people from being homeless?” Housing is a human right, and Ontario has more homeless than ever before. Sudbury has tent cities. It regularly goes below 25 degrees in my city, and people will be living in tents through this winter.

How did we get here? Sudbury housing, where I grew up, on Cabot Street, the wait-list to get in there now is 10 years—six years when urgent for a three-bedroom, but 10 years. In 2019—this is before COVID-19, Speaker—Feed Ontario reported that the number of food bank users with jobs had increased by 27%.

During question period today, the member from Niagara Falls, MPP Gates, told us that starter housing in his riding was going for $750,000. The cost of housing is rising exponentially across the province. The idea of owning a home shouldn’t be impossible.

Similarly, the MPP for Parkdale–High Park, MPP Bhutila Karpoche, spoke about OW and ODSP rates. She said her constituent Laura has $497 for rent, while the average rent in Toronto is $2,000. If you’re on OW and ODSP, you make about $1,000—a little less for OW, a little more if you’re living with a disability. If the average rent is $2,000 in Toronto or the average rent is $1,000 in Sudbury, how do you make ends meet? When your entire cheque goes toward rent, how do you pay for food? And if it’s not enough for rent, how do you make up the difference?

When people are working full time and going to food banks, it means housing is unaffordable. When people have $497 for rent and that’s more than their entire cheque, it means housing is unaffordable. When housing is unaffordable, it means that any of us—any of us, Speaker—is this close to becoming homeless.

As the Homeless Hub wrote, housing is a human right. We know it. The United Nations know it. The federal and provincial governments know it. Speaker, why aren’t we doing more?

M. Gilles Bisson: Il y a 42 secondes, so je vais en prendre avantage. Écoute, je veux appuyer les commentaires qui ont été faits par mon collègue de Sudbury. On sait très bien qu’à travers le Nord, comme dans le reste de la province de l’Ontario, on se trouve dans une situation où il y a beaucoup moins d’habilité d’être capable de louer. Pourquoi? Les prix ont augmenté. À la ville de Sudbury, comme à Timmins et autres, on voit les montants augmenter, aller d’environ 800 piastres en moyenne à environ 1 600 ou 2 000 piastres, ce qui est où on se trouve à cette heure avec les nouvelles unités.

So clairement, le plan du gouvernement ne marche pas. Le ministre peut dire tout ce qu’il veut pour dire : « Oh, ça marche. Regardez tout ce qu’on fait. » Mais jusqu’à date, on se trouve dans une situation où le prix du logement continue à augmenter. C’est de plus en plus difficile sur les individus, parce qu’on a tous besoin d’avoir une place où vivre.

On encourage le gouvernement comme cette Assemblée de faire ce qu’il y a à faire pour être capable de s’assurer que le monde trouve une place où vivre et de le faire d’une manière qui fait du bon sens quand ça vient à comment ça nous coûte de la poche.

Mr. Stephen Blais: It’s an honour to rise and mark National Housing Day today. I’d like to first thank all of the partners in Ottawa who help provide housing—Ottawa housing, Cumberland housing, Habitat for Humanity and many, many others that provide housing in Ottawa and Orléans—for the important work that they do in our community to provide housing supports to those most in need.

The cost of both owning and renting a home has exponentially increased and is now out of control, Mr. Speaker. According to RBC and TD Bank, housing prices in Ontario are up between 16% and 20% this year, if not more. In Ottawa they’re up 18%, and in Toronto, it’s closer to 20%.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult for young people and young families to enter into the housing market and purchase their first home. It’s also becoming increasingly difficult for seniors and older adults to downsize, freeing up important housing stock in existing, built-out communities. There isn’t sufficient purpose-built rental close to where their children and, they hope, their grandchildren will be establishing themselves. Selling the family home to downsize is making less and less financial sense, and the supply options simply aren’t there, Mr. Speaker.

This is a critical transition to free up supply in our existing communities to help younger families enter into the housing market. The government must take stronger actions to make this housing type easier to build and more affordable, so that this important transition can take place.

I would also like to take a moment to talk about an important part of our affordable housing stock that often gets overlooked, and that is co-ops. Co-ops are a critical element to our housing supply. There’s something like 125,000 Ontarians living in 500 different not-for-profit co-ops in the province. Most of these co-ops were built upwards of 30 years ago and their mortgages are quickly coming to an end.

Now, for most of us, Mr. Speaker, being mortgage-free would be a time to celebrate. But for these co-ops, it potentially will mean a drastic reduction in their operating subsidy. It will impact their ability to provide rent and property tax assistance to their members and make it harder to make the capital improvements necessary to renew these aging buildings. There are billions and billions of dollars of renewal and rehabilitation that’s needed in Ontario’s co-ops, and they require certainty in their operating subsidy so they can refinance and make these necessary investments.

These investments in renewal can potentially help maintain or create thousands of jobs in construction and maintenance in the renovation and construction industry. It will be critical to maintaining this valuable housing stock and creating jobs at the same time.

And finally, Mr. Speaker, in a week where we’re starting to talk more and more about how we can take stronger actions to combat racism and Islamophobia, we must recognize that these are important factors and elements in the housing crisis that we are experiencing. Too many Ontario Muslims and people of South Asian heritage face housing insecurity, and while there are many contributing factors to this reality, we cannot deny that Islamophobia plays a contributing role. We must ensure that every Ontarian, no matter where they come from, what God they pray to, what kinds of clothes they wear or the colour of their skin, has access to affordable housing. It is a basic human right, Mr. Speaker.

We must ensure that everyone can live without the anxiety of not knowing where they will lay their head at night, or needing to choose between paying the rent and buying groceries for breakfast, or lunch or supper for their kids. We have an obligation to our neighbours, to our children and to each other to make this happen in Ontario.

Mr. Mike Schreiner: It’s an honour to rise today and talk about National Housing Day, because we have a housing affordability crisis in this province. As the Ontario Greens, we are willing and able to work across party lines to solve this crisis with our housing affordability strategy that some have described as a master-class plan, and it begins with building affordable housing spaces, 100,000 over the next decade—60,000 permanent supportive housing spaces and 22,000 Indigenous-led and Indigenous-owned affordable housing spaces.

It’s a plan that puts people before speculators, because a place to call home is what housing is all about for people. It’s about changing our zoning rules so we can have triplexes, duplexes, quadplexes and tiny homes that people can access. It’s about building livable, connected, affordable communities where people don’t have to travel long distances just to find an affordable place to call home.

People, we have solutions. Let’s get to work on delivering them.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The government House leader has a point of order.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Just to inform the House that there will be no night sitting this evening.

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

Petitions

Anti-racism activities

Ms. Bhutila Karpoche: I have a petition here with me that has been signed by hundreds of my constituents from Parkdale–High Park, and it reads:

“Parkdale Against Anti-Black Racism in Schools.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the recent occurrences of anti-Black racist violence against Black students and education workers at Queen Victoria Public School and Parkdale Collegiate Institute have left students, families and communities traumatized;

“Whereas a teacher at Parkdale Collegiate Institute wore blackface, a blatant form of anti-Black racism and violence, to school for Halloween;

“Whereas the principal at Queen Victoria Public School received mail that contained anti-Black racist comments against administrative staff, for the second time;

“Whereas anti-Black racism which perpetuates systemic discrimination and injustice is present in all of our society’s institutions;

“Whereas the Parkdale–High Park community and groups like the Black Student Success Committee have organized to make our community a safer place for Black students and to confront anti-Black racism in all its forms;

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

“To rightfully use the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 to maintain an anti-racism strategy that aims to eliminate systemic racism and advance racial equity (as promised in

section 2(1) of the Anti-Racism Act, 2017);

“To immediately require collecting race-based province-wide data using the data standards legislated by the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 to tackle systemic discrimination, anti-Black racism, and worsening mental health outcomes for Black students, education workers, and other staff;

“To implement an action plan for the training and hiring of Black, Indigenous, and racialized educators for an education workforce that reflects the diversity of Ontario whose jobs and presence will be prioritized and protected from being declared surplus/redundant;

“To implement standards and practices for school boards to provide trauma-informed support for students and staff impacted by racial violence;

“To implement a new K-to-12 curriculum that educates about systemic racism, oppression, and intersectional solidarity, with a particular focus on disrupting and confronting white supremacy and Eurocentrism for all students;

“To mandate anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and anti-oppression coursework for all educators as a requirement for early learning and education-related degrees and licensing;

“To require that the Ontario College of Teachers clearly set forth specific standards of practice expected to be understood by every licensed teacher in Ontario, to be able to effectively address anti-Black and systemic racism that causes harm to Black students.”

I fully support my constituents and this petition and will affix my signature to it.

Nurses

M me France Gélinas: I’m happy to present these petitions. There are 209 names, and 207 of them come from Newmarket–Aurora. They read as follows:

“Petition to Stop Unsafe Patient Care and the Erosion of Quality Critical Care at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas patients requiring critical care have complex and urgent care needs and their conditions are unstable, unpredictable, and can quickly change and deteriorate; and

“Whereas these patients need registered nurses with specialized education and training who are highly skilled and experienced, and anything less puts patient safety at risk; and

“Whereas Southlake’s response to the RN staffing crisis in its intensive care unit is to hire RNs without providing full education and training in critical care nursing prior to these nurses working in the ICU; and

“Whereas existing expert RNs will be required to intervene to provide care to multiple patients when the appropriate level of care in an ICU is a 1-to-1 nurse-to-patient ratio; and

“Whereas while in ICU RNs are exhausted from providing life-saving care during the COVID-19 pandemic, Southlake’s plan puts patient and staff safety at risk and is driving away the expert and experienced ICU RNs this hospital can’t afford to lose; and

“Whereas cutting skilled care means patients can suffer from unnecessary complications or death” caused by unnecessary “care needs, delayed care, missed care, miscommunication, or errors which erode safe quality patient care;

“Therefore,” they “petition the Legislative Assembly ... as follows:

“Stop the pre-sponsorship program in the ICU at Southlake Regional” health care—“a program that does not provide newly hired RNs with full education and training in critical care nursing prior to working in the ICU;

“Immediately transfer any RNs who were hired under the pre-sponsorship program enrolment into the sponsorship program—a comprehensive critical care education and training course, the successful completion of which is required prior to working in critical care at Southlake;

“Cease the plan to implement ‘team nursing’ in the ICU at Southlake—a model that does not provide the appropriate level of care for critically ill patients, which is a 1-to-1 nurse-to-patient ratio;

“Cease any subsequent plans to implement the team-based nursing model of care in the cardiac intensive care unit and the cardiovascular intensive care unit at Southlake;

“Create increased opportunity for” full funding of “education and training of new critical care RNs at Southlake;

“Commit to fund initiatives that retain existing specialized, highly skilled, educated, and experienced critical care RNs at Southlake;

“Ensure this hospital recruits appropriately educated and trained critical care RNs to provide safe, quality care to patients who need life-saving care.”

I fully support this petition, Speaker, will affix my name to it, and send it to the Clerk with my good page Alfie.

Optometry services

Mr. Jamie West: I want to thank the patients from Chisholm Optometry for sending this petition to me. It’s entitled “Petition to Save Eye Care in Ontario.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Ontario government has underfunded optometric eye care for 30 years; and

“Whereas the government only covers an average of 55% of the cost of an OHIP-insured visit, the lowest rate in Canada; and

“Whereas optometrists must absorb the other 45% for the over four million services delivered annually under OHIP; and

“Whereas optometrists have never been given a formal negotiation process with the government; and

“Whereas the government’s continued neglect resulted in 96% of Ontario optometrists voting to withdraw OHIP services beginning September 1, 2021;

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

“To instruct the Ontario government to immediately commit to legally binding, formal negotiations to ensure any future OHIP-insured optometry services are, at a minimum, funded at the cost of delivery.”

I support this petition and the giant box of petitions in my office that I neglected to bring down and will table tomorrow, and will provide it to page Athisha.

Optometry services

Miss Monique Taylor: I have a petition to save eye care in Ontario.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Ontario government has underfunded optometric eye care for 30 years; and

“Whereas the government only pays on average $44.65 for an OHIP-insured visit—the lowest rate in Canada; and

“Whereas optometrists are being forced to pay substantially out of their own pocket to provide over four million services each year to Ontarians under OHIP; and

“Whereas optometrists have never been given a formal negotiation process with the government; and

“Whereas the government’s continued neglect resulted in 96% of Ontario optometrists voting to withdraw OHIP services beginning September 1, 2021;

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

“To instruct the Ontario government to immediately commit to legally binding, formal negotiations to ensure any future OHIP-insured optometry services are, at a minimum, funded at the cost of delivery.”

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I’m going to affix my name to it and give it to page Joel to bring to the Clerk.

Highway safety

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank the Coorham family from Levack in my riding for these petitions.

“Make Highway 144 at Marina Road Safe....

“Whereas residents of Levack, Onaping and Cartier, as well as individuals who travel Highway 144, are concerned about the safety of a stretch of Highway 144 in the vicinity of Marina Road and would like to prevent further accidents and fatalities; and

“Whereas three more accidents”—now four—“occurred in summer 2021 resulting in severe injuries, diesel fuel spilling into the waterways, the closure of Highway 144 for several hours delaying traffic and stranding residents,” as well as the deaths of two people; and

“Whereas the Ministry of Transportation has completed a review of this stretch of Highway 144, has made some improvements and has committed to re-evaluate and ensure the highway is safe;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows: “that the Ministry of Transportation review Highway 144 at Marina Road immediately and commit to making it safe, as soon as possible, and no later than December 2021.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my name to it and send it to the Clerk with page Serena.

Optometry services

Ms. Bhutila Karpoche: This petition is entitled “Petition to Save Eye Care in Ontario.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Ontario government has underfunded optometric eye care for 30 years; and

“Whereas the government only pays on average $44.65 for an OHIP-insured visit—the lowest rate in Canada; and

“Whereas optometrists are being forced to pay substantially out of their own pocket to provide over four million services each year to Ontarians under OHIP; and

“Whereas optometrists have never been given a formal negotiation process with the government; and

“Whereas the government’s continued neglect resulted in 96% of Ontario optometrists voting to withdraw OHIP services beginning September 1, 2021;

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

“To instruct the Ontario government to immediately commit to legally binding, formal negotiations to ensure any future OHIP-insured optometry services are, at a minimum, funded at the cost of delivery.”

On behalf of children, seniors and those with disabilities in my community who are waiting for eye care, I fully support this petition and will affix my signature to it.

Multiple sclerosis

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank Carolyn Larocque, a good friend of mine from Garson in my riding, for these petitions.

“MS Specialized Clinic in Sudbury....

“Whereas northeastern Ontario has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Ontario; and

“Whereas specialized MS clinics provide essential health care services to those living with multiple sclerosis, their caregiver and their family; and

“Whereas the city of Greater Sudbury is recognized as a hub for health care in northeastern Ontario;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows:

“Immediately set up a specialized MS clinic in the Sudbury area that is staffed by a neurologist who specializes in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, a physiotherapist and a social worker at a minimum.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my name to it and send it to the Clerk with page Ellie.

Long-term care

M me France Gélinas: I have this petition called “Ban Retirement Home PPE Charges....

“Whereas Ontario’s retirement homes are largely privately owned corporations; and

“Whereas these businesses have a responsibility to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to their employees; and

“Whereas many retirement homes are adding PPE charges to the residents’ monthly bill, but the PPE is not for the residents but for the employees of the retirement home; and

“Whereas residents of some Sudbury retirement homes have effectively organized letter-writing campaigns and actions to have the PPE charges to residents cancelled and recognized as a retirement home’s cost of doing business;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows:

“Treat our province’s seniors with respect and ban any additional COVID-related fees, including PPE, to retirement home residents.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my name to it and send it to the table with my good page Ellie. And I forgot to mention that it was Murray Patterson from Barrie who sent me these petitions.

Gasoline prices

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank Lorraine Harard, who lives in Cartier in my riding, for these petitions.

“Gas prices....

“Whereas northern Ontario motorists continue to be subject to wild fluctuations in the price of gasoline; and

“Whereas the province could eliminate opportunistic price gouging and deliver fair, stable and predictable fuel prices; and

“Whereas five provinces and many US states already have some sort of gas price regulation; and

“Whereas jurisdictions with gas price regulation have seen an end to wild price fluctuations, a shrinking of price discrepancies between urban and rural communities and lower annualized gas prices;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows:

“Mandate the Ontario Energy Board to monitor the price of gasoline across Ontario in order to reduce price volatility and unfair regional price differences while encouraging competition.”

I support this petition. I will affix my name to it and send it to the table with Ellie.

M me France Gélinas: Ces pétitions me proviennent de partout en Ontario.

« Alors que l’Université Laurentienne a annoncé, le 12 avril 2021, son plan de restructuration, qui incluait la fermeture de 69 programmes (dont 28 programmes francophones), la dissolution de la Fédération laurentienne, et la mise à pied de plus de 100 professeur(e)s, et que ces annonces ont un effet dévastateur aux niveaux social, économique, et humain pour la communauté francophone du Moyen-Nord;

Ils et elles pétitionnent « l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario pour qu’elle entreprenne les actions suivantes :

« —mettre en place un moratoire d’un an, renouvelable, sur tous les programmes francophones de l’Université Laurentienne et de ses universités fédérées offerts en date du 9 avril 2021, afin d’assurer qu’ils puissent être offerts dans leur intégralité d’ici la fin de la transition des ressources et programmes francophones vers l’Université de Sudbury;

« —s’assurer, par tous les moyens, que les étudiant(e)s actuel(le)s des programmes francophones touchés par la restructuration de l’Université Laurentienne puissent obtenir un diplôme dans le programme au sein duquel ils/elles étaient inscrit(e)s en date du 9 avril 2021, sans cours ou coûts supplémentaires à ceux déjà prévus initialement. »

J’appuie cette pétition, je vais la signer et je la donne à Ellie, qui a été très, très patiente.

Orders of the Day

Extension of emergency orders

Hon. Sylvia Jones: I move that,

whereas certain orders made pursuant to

section 7.0.2 or

section 7.1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act were continued pursuant to

section 2 of the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 (the act); and

Whereas, pursuant to subsection 8(1) of the act, the powers to amend and extend the orders would have expired on July 24, 2021, the first anniversary of the day the orders were continued by the act, if not extended pursuant to subsection 8(2) of the act; and

Whereas, pursuant to subsection 8(2) of the act, the powers to amend and extend the orders may be extended only by resolution of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; and

Whereas on May 31, 2021, by resolution of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, the powers to amend and extend the orders were extended to the end of the day on December 1, 2021; and

Whereas the Premier has recommended that the powers to amend and extend the orders be extended further to the end of the day on March 28, 2022;

Therefore, the powers to amend and extend the orders referred to in subsection 8(1) of the act are extended until the end of the day on March 28, 2022.

The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Lisa Gretzky): Ms. Jones has moved government notice of motion number 8.

I look to the Solicitor General.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Thank you, Speaker. I will be sharing my time with the excellent parliamentary assistant to the Solicitor General, the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore.

It is an honour to be in the House to speak on extending the authority under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020.

It’s been a long 21 months for all Ontarians. After months of necessary but tough public health measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, people are ready to have the pandemic in their rear-view. And with vaccination rates among Ontarians so incredibly high, we are finally able to take tangible steps to close the book on the pandemic.

After months of steady decline, cases are ticking upward. This was expected as more of the province opened up and fall’s arrival signalled a shift to more indoor activities. The rate of increase, however, has been and can be mitigated by Ontarians taking the necessary precautions, such as wearing face coverings and practising physical distancing, following public health advice and, of course, rolling up your sleeve to get vaccinated if you haven’t already done so.

These self-protection measures have been further strengthened by orders under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act. For example, under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, as of September 22, 2021, patrons are required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to limited exceptions, to enter certain public settings and facilities, such as indoor areas of restaurants and bars, theatres, facilities used for sports or recreational fitness activities, sporting events, and certain other public settings and facilities.

Our government has been clear. Nothing will stop us from having the most successful immunization campaign in the country. As of this morning, 86% of Ontarians who are eligible, aged 12 and up, are fully vaccinated, with nearly 90% having received their first dose. It can be said with confidence, therefore, that there is more COVID-19 behind us than ahead of us.

Contrast this, Speaker, with where we were in July 2020, when Ontario’s first declared emergency was still in effect and this House was debating the merits of Bill 195, the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act. We knew that vaccines were on the horizon but we didn’t know the exact arrival date or how quickly we could get shots in arms. Fairly quickly, as it turned out.

It should be noted that these successes are thanks to partners from around the globe. That includes science leaders developing and safely testing the vaccine with the weight of the whole world on their backs. That includes the global supply chains that get vaccines from the manufacturing plants to us here in Ontario. That includes the local public health leadership, hospital staff, pharmacies and primary care docs and others who have been on the ground, getting shots into arms.

And of course that includes the work of the Ontario vaccine distribution task force, which was established in November 2020 to oversee the delivery, storage and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across Ontario. Most important of all are the millions of eligible Ontarians who rolled up their sleeve in larger numbers than almost any other jurisdiction worldwide.

In March 2020, when a first emergency declaration in response to COVID-19 was made, it was a temporary measure. And while that measure had to be deployed on two other occasions while the vaccine program was in its infancy, an emergency declaration was never going to be a long-term plan.

Some of the questions that dogged the pandemic response in the early months were: How do we return our children to school safely? How do we keep pressures off our health care system and protect our most vulnerable? How do we start to reopen the province while managing the risks of the virus and maintaining the safety of all Ontarians? Simply put, how can we prevent mortality, prevent serious illness and prevent transmission?

It was clear back then, Speaker, that we had