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November 3, 2025

44th Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2025-Nov-03 (PDF)

L032 - Mon 3 Nov 2025 / Lun 3 nov 2025

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 3 November 2025 Lundi 3 novembre 2025

Members’ Statements

Health care

Environmental protection

Made in Ajax / Royal Canadian Legion poppy campaign

Kinsmen Super TV Bingo

Gender-based violence

Expo Hawkesbury

Conflict in Middle East

Skilled trades

Chambers of commerce awards of excellence

Introduction of Visitors

Question Period

Government accountability

Government accountability

Government accountability

Government accountability

Public transit

Government accountability

Mining industry

Government contracts

Government accountability

Public safety

Fertility services

Affordable housing

Veterans

Labour dispute

Government accountability

Deferred Votes

Northern Highway 11 and 17 Safety Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 sur la sécurité des routes 11 et 17 du Nord

Royal assent / Sanction royale

Introduction of Bills

730159 Ontario Ltd. Act, 2025

Honey Harbour Community Church Inc. Act, 2025

Petitions

Addiction services

Entretien hivernal des routes

Social assistance

International trade

Foreign-trained doctors

Youth mental health

Emergency services

Affordable housing

Cancer treatment

Social assistance

Health care

Children’s immunization program

Opposition Day

Government contracts / Marchés publics

Request to the Integrity Commissioner

Orders of the Day

Protect Ontario by Securing Affordable Energy for Generations Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 pour protéger l’Ontario en garantissant l’accès à l’énergie abordable pour les générations futures

The House met at 1015.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Good morning, everyone. Let us pray.

Prayers.

Members’ Statements

Health care

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: Speaker, I rise again to share the ongoing story of my constituent Sydney Gesualdi. Sydney was rear-ended in 2023 and has since lived with chronic pain and mobility loss. Despite referrals to eight spinal specialists in Ontario, not one was able or willing to see her—leaving her without a diagnosis, without treatment and without hope from our provincial system.

In May of this year, Sydney travelled to New York, paying out of pocket and raising funds through crowdfunding, in order to undergo invasive cervical traction and intracranial pressure testing.

Sydney finally received a diagnosis of craniocervical instability and approval for life-changing surgery—surgery that would restore her independence. The devastating

part is that the approval expires this month. Without OHIP out-of-country funding—which she qualifies for under the Health Insurance Act—Sydney cannot afford the procedure, cannot even get the required physician’s letter from an Ontario specialist because every surgeon she has been referred to has declined to assess her.

Despite repeated requests from the Ministry of Health, the ministry has failed to provide a single name of a qualified Ontario specialist who could help. It shouldn’t take crowdfunding, loans and international travel for a young woman to access basic medical care.

I urge the Minister of Health to meet with Sydney and her family to understand how Ontario’s out-of-country process is broken, and to act now before it’s too late for Sydney.

Environmental protection

MPP Paul Vickers: I rise today to recognize a significant conservation project in my constituency. This spring, the Nature Conservancy of Canada announced it had acquired China Cove, an ecologically significant area just west of Tobermory through the Crying Water project. There is a historical tie to this property also: China Cove was named after the wreck of a schooner named the China, which sank near these lands in 1883.

Through this worthy project, 29 hectares were acquired for permanent protection and conservation, keeping this property and significant site accessible for the public benefit for generations to come. But, Madam Speaker, it wasn’t just the merits of the purchase that pleased me, it was the fact that this government decided to support it. With a $300,000 grant from the Greenlands Conservation Partnership program, the Honourable Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks helped preserve this beautiful and historic piece of the peninsula. Actions like this prove our government walks the talk when it comes to conservation.

I want to thank the minister and his team for recognizing this project. I also want to thank the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Ontario land trust and all project partners for working to preserve this beautiful piece of Ontario for generations to come.

Made in Ajax / Royal Canadian Legion poppy campaign

Mr. Rob Cerjanec: Ajax is one of the most diverse communities in Ontario and our food scene proudly reflects that diversity. Recently, the town of Ajax launched the Made in Ajax food guide, highlighting the many local establishments and culinary experiences that make our community such a vibrant place. From Caribbean and South Asian flavours to Mediterranean, Filipino and so many other cuisines, Ajax truly does offer something for everyone.

So thank you to the town of Ajax for putting the food guide together, and I invite all of you and those watching at home to visit ajax.ca to check out the food guide and come on down to Ajax.

Speaker, as we approach Remembrance Day, I’m reminded of the town of Ajax’s proud military history, reflected in our town’s own name. On Friday, we launched the Royal Canadian Legion’s poppy campaign in Ajax and across Durham region as well, raising the poppy flag at town hall and regional headquarters and encouraging everyone to wear a poppy to honour the sacrifices and service of Canada’s veterans as we approach Remembrance Day.

I want to thank all those who have served in uniform during times of conflict and peace, and those who continue to help keep our communities and our country safe. We remember and thank you.

Kinsmen Super TV Bingo

Mr. Dave Smith: Under the N36—Speaker, this year marks the 36th consecutive year that the Peterborough Kinsmen Club have been playing Kinsmen Super TV Bingo. It originally began with the Kingston Kinsmen Club, but 36 years ago, it moved to Peterborough. It has been broadcast on CHEX TV the entire time, originally as a CBC affiliate and now as part of the Global TV network. It can be found every Saturday night on Global TV, Global Peterborough, Global Durham and Global Kingston.

Although there are a number of media bingos being played across Ontario, this is the only one that’s broadcast on network TV, in an area of almost 30,000 square kilometres.

Last broadcast year, Kinsmen Super TV Bingo gave almost $700,000 to the communities where the bingo cards are being sold. Just as an example, 31 school breakfast programs were funded because of people playing bingo from October until May.

A huge thank you goes out to all of the volunteers who give up their Saturday evenings to make this happen, from the on-screen callers of Darryl, Dave and Reid to the command team who run things behind the scenes in Caroline, Jim, Conrad, John and Barry; the team answering the phones, with Dave, Dean, Matt, Les, Bob; and the number of validators like Rick and Dave.

Congratulations on 36 years, and thank you for giving up your Saturdays for such—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the member for Toronto Centre.

Gender-based violence

MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam: This month, as we mark Woman Abuse Prevention Month, also known as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I think about the women and children across Ontario who are living in fear, those who go to sleep each night unsure if they are safe in their own homes.

This chamber has repeatedly heard about the stark reality: Women and girls make up nearly 80% of all victims of intimate partner violence; since turning age 15, 45% of teenagers have experienced dating violence; in Ontario, a woman or child is killed every six days. These are not statistics—these are mothers, daughters, sisters, friends and neighbours.

It is estimated that 80% of IPV cases go unreported to the police. This number is even higher among teen dating, where 98% of this violence is not reported, as the survivors feel their situation is simply too minor.

Yet despite the overwhelming evidence and the heartbreak behind these numbers, when the opposition NDP table unanimous motions—Bill 173, Bill 55—this government has refused three times to declare intimate partner violence as an epidemic. The same declaration is now supported by many police chiefs, 106 municipalities and the Renfrew county inquest.

Speaker, when will this government which refuses to name a crisis be able to confront it? Shelters remain at capacity. Affordable housing is still out of reach.

I want to thank all the front-line workers, advocates and survivors who continue to speak truth to power.

Expo Hawkesbury

M. Stéphane Sarrazin: J’aimerais profiter de l’occasion pour inviter les résidents de Glengarry–Prescott–Russell à participer à l’Expo Hawkesbury qui aura lieu les 8 et 9 novembre au complexe sportif Robert Hartley.

I’m pleased to invite the residents of Glengarry–Prescott–Russell to the Hawkesbury Expo taking place on November 8 and November 9 at the Robert Hartley Sports Complex Hawkesbury. The event will kick off on Saturday morning with the mayor’s breakfast at 8:30, where I will have the honour of joining as one of the guest speakers to address attendees—who have purchased their breakfast ticket, of course.

L’Expo Hawkesbury est une occasion exceptionnelle pour les résidents de rencontrer des organismes communautaires, des entreprises et des fournisseurs de services locaux qui contribuent à faire de notre région un endroit dynamique et accueillant. Mon équipe et moi serons sur place tout au long de la fin de semaine, et j’invite tout le monde à venir nous voir à notre kiosque, poser des questions, prendre une photo et en apprendre davantage sur le travail que nous accomplissons pour soutenir la population de Glengarry–Prescott–Russell.

We will also be hosting a contest for a gift basket filled with local products, showcasing the incredible talent and entrepreneurship that define our region. It’s a fun and meaningful way to celebrate community spirit and support our local producers.

L’Expo Hawkesbury illustre parfaitement la vitalité de notre circonscription et le dévouement de celles et ceux qui contribuent à son succès. J’ai bien hâte de rencontrer les résidents, d’échanger avec eux et de partager de l’information en personne.

Conflict in Middle East

Ms. Doly Begum: It has now been over two years since October 7, 2023, a horrific day that’s been weaponized to justify a genocide—children buried beneath rubble; entire families, neighbourhoods reduced to dust; and future generations growing up under fear and starvation. As of now, in Palestine, over 60,000 lives have been lost—killed, actually—with more than 17,000 of them being children. And that’s only what’s reported.

Netanyahu’s far-right coalition—with the help of others, including Canada—continues its military campaign, and what we’re witnessing right now is not peace, Speaker. It’s devastation. Meanwhile, our governments sit here patting themselves on the back every time there’s a ceasefire, which eventually falls apart, time and time again. Just this week, BBC reported that more than 100 people were killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza. For the people of Gaza, there has been no pause in deaths and despair.

Our federal government recognizes Palestine in words yet refuses to implement an arms embargo and impose sanctions on the Israeli government. Speaker, how many more children—how many more lives—must die before the Canadian government finds its moral backbone, the courage and conviction to stop sending arms and enabling this genocide?

Skilled trades

Mr. Joseph Racinsky: Today marks the start of Skilled Trades Week, and I’d like to share some of the incredible work taking place in my riding to provide workers with skilled trades training.

Just a few weeks ago, Landscape Ontario officially broke ground on a new training facility in Halton Hills. This 24,000-square-foot facility will provide the space to train hundreds and thousands of workers in the landscaping industry, which is so important to communities such as mine on the outskirts of the GTA.

This summer, I was honoured to be at Landscape Ontario along with the member for Mississauga–Erin Mills as well as the mayor and town councillors, as we highlighted $3 million in the Skills Development Fund for Landscape Ontario’s GROW program. This incredible program has trained hundreds of workers for the landscaping industry. At the event, I was able to meet Robby from Acton, who had gone through the GROW program. Robby previously worked in an industry that was faltering due to changes in the market and he needed to pivot.

Through the GROW program and the Skills Development Fund, he was able to learn a skill in a completely different field from the one he was in before. Today, he is employed in a good-paying job at a company called Smart Watering Systems and that is thanks to the Skills Development Fund, Speaker. This program is changing lives in my community.

Speaker, to everyone that works in a skilled trade, I want to wish them a happy Skilled Trades Week.

Chambers of commerce awards of excellence

Hon. Ernie Hardeman: Both the Tillsonburg and Ingersoll chambers of commerce recently handed out their annual Awards of Excellence. It’s always great to see people come together to celebrate the businesses and residents who go above and beyond in making our community such a great place. I want to congratulate all of this year’s winners.

From Tillsonburg:

—Kermar Holdings, winner of the New Investment Commercial Award;

—Schep’s Bakeries, recipient of the New Investment Industrial Award;

—Verne’s Carpet One, congratulations on the Community Service Award;

—Beres Butchery and Catering, who received the Business Improvement Award;

—Future Transfer, winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award;

—Good Redden Klosler received the Employer of the Year Award; and

—Tyler Van Lewin, congratulations on the Positive Change Award.

And from Ingersoll:

—the Agricultural Award went to Steve Veldman;

—IMT defence received the Ted Hunt Large Industry of the Year Award;

—Backyard By Design has been named Business/Industry of the Year;

—Jaylen Seif, recipient of the Youth Entrepreneur/Youth Citizen of the Year Award;

—Denise Keeley, winner of the Mark Warnick Citizen of the Year Award; and

—Dale Flynn, winner of the President’s Award.

The hard work and community spirit of these winners are a big part of what makes Oxford such a great place to call home. I wish all the winners all the best in the years ahead.

Introduction of Visitors

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Joining us in the members’ gallery are Jennifer Mossop, my friend and former colleague at CHCH Television, who was the member of provincial Parliament for Stoney Creek in the 38th Parliament, as well as Donna Cansfield, who was the member of provincial Parliament for Etobicoke Centre in the 38th, 39th and 40th Parliaments. Welcome back to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Michael S. Kerzner: I’m delighted to welcome, from my own constituency of York Centre, Paul and Karen Seidman and Guidy and Monica Mamann, who for 107 weeks helped organize a rally at Bathurst and Sheppard so that nobody would forget about what happened on October 7. We prayed for the return of the hostages. Welcome to—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas.

Ms. Sandy Shaw: It’s my pleasure to introduce my family to this House: my niece Katie Caudill; my nephew Graeme Caudill; my beautiful sister Penny Shaw; and her husband Lieutenant Colonel Mark Caudill, US Air Force, retired. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Ms. Lee Fairclough: I want to give a warm welcome to people here today from Hospice Palliative Care Ontario: Rick Firth, CEO; Barbara Mildon, the executive director of Hospice Care Ottawa; and a special personal welcome to the Honourable Donna Cansfield, who is also the chair of the board of Dorothy Ley Hospice in Etobicoke–Lakeshore. We’ll see you today—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The Associate Minister of Small Business.

Hon. Nina Tangri: I’d like to welcome Satish Thakkar, Nikita Thakkar and Mayank Thakkar. Satish is the recipient of the King’s coronation medal. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: As we are marking 50 years of hospice palliative care across Canada, I also want to recognize Rick Firth from my own hospice in Dufferin–Caledon—of course, Margaret Paan and Janette Panhuis, and, as mentioned, Jennifer Mossop and Donna Cansfield from Dorothy Ley Hospice.

MPP George Darouze: It’s a great pleasure to welcome a very special guest to Queen’s Park today: my son Tony Darouze. Tony, I’m incredibly proud of you and I’m thrilled you’re here to witness the work we do in this chamber. Welcome to Queen’s Park. Enjoy your visit.

Ms. Mary-Margaret McMahon: I have some terrific people from the green roofs industry today representing Ginkgo Sustainability, LiveRoof, ZinCo, Soprema, NLSM, Landvist, Leaf Maintenance and Skyspace, representing ridings like Oakville, Wellington–Halton Hills, Barrie–Innisfil, Lambton–Kent–Middlesex, Oxford, Whitby and Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock and representing tons of jobs in Ontario. Welcome to your House.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Today’s page captain, of course, is Theodore Diplas, and his mom, Vicky Agelopoulos, is here, and his father, George Diplas. I welcome them to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Tyler Allsopp: [ Inaudible ] Charlie and Cathy Thompson from my riding of Bay of Quinte. Thank you for coming today. Welcome to your House.

Hon. Michael Parsa: I’d like to welcome Dr. Christina Carew from Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill, from the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors.

Mr. Anthony Leardi: Welcome to Katharen Bortolin from the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County, and also CEO Jennifer Joseph, Dr. Audrey Sasson and Dr. Barbara Weiss, and many other representatives of the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors.

Hon. David Piccini: I’d like to welcome members of the CLAC union and the Progressive Contractors Association who are here today for their lobby day at Queen’s Park. It was wonderful meeting with you this morning.

I’d also like to introduce members of the Grand Valley Construction Association and Mandy, who is here today. I’m looking forward to speaking with Mandy and Jeff MacIntyre later today. Welcome to Queen’s Park, your House.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Speaker, I’d like to welcome Dana McKiel, a broadcaster, to the Legislature. Dana, welcome.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): This morning in the members’ gallery we are joined by Benji Crane, a singer, songwriter and violinist from the riding of Parkdale–High Park, who will perform O Canada and God Save the King. Please stand and join him in the singing of our national and royal anthems.

Singing of the national anthem / Chant de l’hymne national.

Singing of the royal anthem / Chant de l’hymne royal.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): You may be seated.

Question Period

Government accountability

Ms. Marit Stiles: Good morning. My question is to the Minister of Labour. Over the last week I have spent a lot of time with working people, whether it was on the line with health care workers striking in North York or the thousands of workers that are waiting for action from this government in Ingersoll—they just want the government to bring back their jobs, Speaker.

Ontario is in the middle of a jobs disaster. Meanwhile, this minister continues to use the Skills Development Fund as a friends and family special.

So, Scale Hospitality, lobbied for by Amin Massoudi, received $17 million from the Skills Development Fund under this minister. I’d like to know how many permanent jobs came out of that particular investment.

Hon. David Piccini: Speaker, when the global pandemic hit, we introduced a fund which was designed simply to respond—to getting people rapid training, to supporting employers—with one goal and one goal in mind: to kick-start our economy. Since then, Speaker, we’ve implemented a number of measures to improve the strength of the program over the course of successive rounds: after every round, responsive to employer, labour unions; responsive to working-class Ontarians’ needs, to make sure we support them.

I want to highlight one, Speaker, that I was just speaking with at Skills Canada, Skills Ontario. They said their mobile skills unit—our Trades and Tech Truck, which many of us have seen—has enabled us to get into every corner of the province to engage with thousands of students and others around the province to highlight careers and opportunities in ways that are meaningful.

I want to talk about outcomes and results in my supplementary.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: I’ve got to say, Speaker, it’s pretty surprising that the minister can’t answer that question. I mean, $17 million was given to Scale Hospitality, and the minister can’t tell us how many permanent jobs were created?

Look, Scale Hospitality, we know already, had a low-scoring application, right? And then get this: They actually submitted their application late. But still, they got the funding. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the owners did make a timely $10,000 donation to the Conservative Party.

The minister has said before that 700,000 people got work out of this fund, but can he tell us how many people were actually connected to full-time employment?

Hon. David Piccini: Speaker, I want to talk about another important fund. This fund is designed to help people who are underemployed or unemployed find work.

Let’s look at another one: A project that achieves government objectives to support young men and women in the trades scored low, but through the SDF, Skills Canada, Skills Ontario built a skilled workforce initiative, which was focused on underrepresented groups to provide a way into a career in the skilled trades. It was aimed at working individuals, and we were able to place participants in paid employment. Our goal was to focus on 120 participants; we were able to exceed this goal, placing 155 in training and jobs. Many of these individuals lived on social assistance or were completely unemployed, Speaker.

This is the measure. This is the impact it’s having on Ontarians.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Final supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: They don’t have an answer, Speaker, and that’s because they don’t track it. That’s the truth: They don’t track it. Two and a half billion tax dollars—your dollars—and this minister can’t show the results of his work.

I’m going to give the minister another chance to answer a real question and give it a real answer about how he is using people’s hard-earned money—maybe they put something new in the little binder that they give them.

People are losing good union jobs right now. I would like to know exactly how many jobs were created through this minister’s interference.

Hon. David Piccini: I reject the premise. This fund supports people at every stage of their career, whether it’s unemployed, underemployed, people on social assistance. How do you measure it? Binary, full-time employment? Many aren’t able for that, and we get them into part-time employment. We get them to be able to stand on their feet to be able to earn a paycheque. That’s how we measure the success of the program. It’s not just binary on full-time employment, on part-time employment.

After every successive round—to directly answer the question—we’ve implemented measures like tracking SIN numbers. That’s something we don’t even do in many of our post-secondary institutions. We implemented financial audits and we’re implementing the Auditor General’s recommendation by posting, publicly, key programmatic indicators in the next round in the coming months, Speaker.

That’s what we’ll continue to do to strengthen the program after every single round.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Stop the clock. Just a reminder to the minister, if you could remove your phone from the desk, we’re picking it up on audio. Thank you.

Start the clock. Back to the Leader of the Opposition for the second question.

Government accountability

Ms. Marit Stiles: People are losing good jobs, good union jobs—jobs that they use to raise their families, they have to make their mortgage payments. Good, full-time jobs actually matter to the people of this province.

Now, back to the minister: In a recent interview on the radio, the minister said that he reserves the right to decide who gets funding based on the government’s priority. He admitted that he handpicked low-scoring applications because he said that they met the government’s priorities.

Can the minister share a few details about the selection process and tell us now who has the final say in deciding who receives those funds?

Hon. David Piccini: I’m proud to stand up here and talk about this Premier’s jobs record: over a million net new jobs since we took office—after decimating the manufacturing sector and driving manufacturers out of this province.

So, again, when we implemented this fund, after every round, we’ve made improvements and that includes looking at tariff-impacted jobs, which happened midway through the last round. That’s a priority. That includes looking at our Housing Supply Action Plan to make sure we have men and women in the trades. We’re growing the number of apprenticeship registrations. We need to make sure we’re offering meaningful training opportunities to grow that through group sponsorship—something we spoke about this morning—the important group sponsorship that makes sure we have apprenticeship pathways in every corner of the province.

These are the priorities of this Premier. We’re building hospitals. We’re building civil infrastructure. We spoke about Highway 413 this morning, Speaker—more than enough work for everybody to get work, all of our labour partners. That’s something that this member and her party voted against every single time, Speaker—meaningful—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: That was a whole lot of nothing, Speaker. I’ve got to say, he couldn’t answer whether he decides—is it the Premier who decides? Who decides?

The minister has stood here and he has bragged about giving millions of taxpayer dollars, even billions, to low-scoring applicants. Let me point out one of those applicants: Keel Digital Solutions. Their lobbyist is the Paris groom, and the minister was photographed in their executive’s rinkside seats at the Leafs game, right? Remember that: Keel Digital Solutions. Those are close personal relationships, and the minister knows that he has to disclose those relationships with the Integrity Commissioner if they have any business before his ministry.

The people of Ontario, they know what a conflict of interest looks like. So what steps did the minister take to prevent a conflict of interest in decisions related specifically to Peter Zakarow or Michael Rudderham and their business before this House?

Hon. David Piccini: The member doesn’t care about these jobs because they voted against every single systemic initiative we’ve brought forward that puts these young men and women to work, voted against Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass, voted against and does not support net new nuclear, small modular reactors. At every step, they don’t support these meaningful pathways. We’re working hard, with one sole focus: to provide meaningful training opportunities to grow and modernize our workforce.

We introduced as-of-right legislation. We’ve improved pathways into the skilled trades. We’ve brought people from underemployment and unemployment into employment through this fund, Speaker, and we’re going to keep working hard for those very people every day.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Final supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Boy, Speaker, this is an embarrassment, right? This cloud is hanging not just over this minister and this fund, but it is spreading out across this entire government and all of their MPPs.

We know that a disproportionate amount of grants went to applicants that made donations to the minister’s riding association. We know that the minister’s history of fundraisers is getting out there in podcast world. Mr. X claimed that he got the tip-off about the greenbelt removals from this minister at a fundraiser months before it went public.

So I think the public has a right to know: Did the minister or anyone else give any applicant reason to believe that a donation to this minister’s riding association would improve their chances of receiving SDF funding?

Hon. David Piccini: That’s factually incorrect, Speaker. As I’ve said on a number of occasions and I’ve stood here and pointed out, many people who have received funding have donated to them, have donated to other parties, have run for their party in previous elections. But as I’ve said and I’ll say again, none of that matters, Speaker. It doesn’t matter when we’re assessing a worthwhile program that’s going to support people to land a job with a better paycheque, again, sitting down with unions whose leadership literally sit on their executive.

We’re elected here to support tariff-impacted sectors to make sure that we’re supporting people into meaningful careers. I’ve pointed out programs that have included significant donors of their own party, but it doesn’t matter. These are programs that have brought training—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Response?

Hon. David Piccini: —into Indigenous communities to support youth into meaningful careers in the trades. That’s going to help us on the front lines of new nuclear. That’s going to help us on building the 413 and the—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Question?

Government accountability

Mr. John Fraser: I hope the Premier has had a chance to reflect on his $75-million ad, the one that aired twice, the one that the Prime Minister told him not to do, the one that he went ahead and did anyway. We all know that the ad is just another one of the Premier’s vanity projects, like the rest of the hundreds of millions of dollars this Premier has spent on taxpayer-funded advertising, just to tell us how really great he is and how really great his party is.

The Premier isn’t protecting Ontarians’ jobs; he’s putting them at risk. Will the Premier apologize to the workers of Ontario for putting himself first, and for putting them second and putting their jobs at risk?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the member for Bay of Quinte.

Mr. Tyler Allsopp: Thank you to the House leader of the third party, the leader of the third party—I’m not sure what’s going on over there—but in this party, we stand up for the workers of Ontario, and we are proud to put out that advertisement that made it clear to our American friends what the impact of this trade war will be on them.

They say all politics is local. We made sure that they knew that their President and their government are costing them their jobs, are shuttering their factories and are raising prices at the grocery store for them. We will not sit down and roll over, as the opposition has asked us to. We will continue to stand up for Ontario and Ontario workers.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Supplementary?

Mr. John Fraser: At best, it was a brain cramp from the Premier. The Premier has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on vanity ads, ads the Auditor General has said that the primary objective of which was to foster a positive impression of the governing party.

We shouldn’t be surprised because the same people who do these ads are the same people who do the Premier’s campaign ads. They do a lot of government ads—Creative Currency. Last week, we learned the connection they have to the man behind the curtain, the shadow Premier, Kory Teneycke. It’s all just a little too close and a little too cute.

So will the Premier apologize for putting his friends and insiders ahead of the 700,000 people who are looking for work in Ontario?

Mr. Tyler Allsopp: Our government was elected on a promise to stand up for every Ontario worker and every Ontario job. We are facing a once-in-a-generation crisis from south of our border. That’s why our government has stepped forward with $30 billion of support for affected businesses and workers across this province, with relief and supports and various measures to ensure they can continue working.

We will continue to use every tool that we have in our tool box to stand up for Ontario’s economic interests. There are nearly one million more men and women working today than there were when we first took office, and our government will never turn our back on the businesses and workers that power Ontario’s resilient economy.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Leader of the third party.

Mr. John Fraser: You know what’s really interesting here? Not one person on the front bench could answer that question. They had to go to the back of the room.

So 700,000 Ontarians are out of work. Hundreds of thousands of children, families, are visiting food banks. People can’t get the health care they need. They can’t get the help in school—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Order.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Order. I will start warning members.

Back to the leader of the third party.

Mr. John Fraser: Wow, you guys—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The member for Essex will come to order.

Mr. John Fraser: Maybe somebody on the front bench can get up and answer this question, then.

There’s 700,000 people out of work. Hundreds of thousands of children and families are at the food banks, people can’t get the health care they need, and this Premier’s priority is for his friends to make a healthy profit.

So will the Premier apologize to Ontario workers for putting his friends and insiders ahead of them?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Member for Bay of Quinte.

Mr. Tyler Allsopp: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker—

Interjections.

Mr. Tyler Allsopp: Thank you.

Well, I do have an answer. I’m not surprised that the leader of the third party doesn’t recognize what’s going on. It’s called depth of bench, which means we have 79 of these, and if you even had one of them behind you, you wouldn’t still be asking the questions.

Now, let’s listen to what Wab Kinew said, “It’s clear these ads are working. If you throw a rock at a lake and you don’t hear a splash, you’ve probably missed.”

Lana Payne for Unifor said, “Premier Ford, whose province has been hit hard by the trade war, understands that we can’t negotiate from our knees.”

Why is it that everyone except the leader of the third party and the Leader of the Opposition understand what’s going on here? When will you stand up and fight for the hard-working people of Ontario?

Government accountability

Mr. John Fraser: I didn’t know that the effect of the question would be for the front benches and the Premier to be glued to their seats.

We know the Skills Development Fund was used by the minister as his personal piggy bank. We know that this is a cesspool of scandal, the Skills Development Fund. It’s not a pretty picture. When you dig beneath the rot like the AG did, you find that there’s more than just scandal: You discover, really, that the Premier is an incompetent manager shovelling hundreds of millions of dollars out the door, no strings attached.

Will the Premier open the books on the Skills Development Fund so Ontarians can get to the bottom of this?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The Minister of Labour.

Hon. David Piccini: Speaker, this Premier, at every step, has stood up for workers. You just heard the quote from the leader of Unifor: You can’t negotiate from your knees; you’ve got to stand with strength. That also means supporting those workers at every step, Speaker.

As I’ve indicated, and as the Auditor General has indicated—we welcome her recommendations—after every round of funding, we’ve taken steps to improve the program, to build and pack more integrity into the system: tracking the SIN, doing financial audits and now publicly posting KPIs in future rounds for our programmatic indicator.

We’re going to keep taking steps to support those workers—workers and organized labour who abandoned that member and abandoned their party because they know when it comes to their best interest to building a stronger Ontario, a stronger Canada, to stand up to a bully south of the border, they can trust this Premier and trust this government.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Supplementary?

Mr. John Fraser: You know, the Premier and the minister claimed that 100,000 people got jobs out of this program. There’s only one problem: There’s no real data. We don’t know if these are full-time, part-time or temporary jobs. We don’t know if these people who got jobs would have already had to have been trained, hired and paid for by the people who got skills development money, like the $27 million that went to bars and nightclubs in downtown Toronto.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are being shovelled out the door with no strings attached, and you’ve got to ask why. Will the Premier do the right thing and open the books on the Skills Development Fund so Ontarians can get to the bottom of this?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the member for York South–Weston.

MPP Mohamed Firin: Madam Speaker, I’ve sat at my desk for weeks as I’ve listened to the leader of the third party talk about what he could have done and what he would have done. But he had that opportunity: He was in government—the previous government—a government that failed Ontarians of this province as 350,000 jobs left this province under his leadership—350,000 jobs left this province, Madam Speaker.

I’m proud to stand behind this Premier. As I go across this province every single month, I’ve seen, Madam Speaker, the young people who are getting opportunities that I never had under that leader’s party—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Order.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The member for Don Valley North will come to order.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Order.

The leader of the third party.

Mr. John Fraser: So here’s what we have: no reliable data, no accurate record-keeping and hundreds of millions of dollars being shovelled out the door to friends, donors, insiders and lobbyists like Kory Teneycke. What we need here is not just to open the books, we need a forensic audit with the scandal and mismanagement that is the Skills Development Fund.

One more time, I’ll ask the Premier—maybe he’ll answer my question: Will the Premier open the books so we can have a forensic audit on the Skills Development Fund?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The member for Scarborough–Guildwood will come to order. The member for Ajax will come to order.

I recognize the member for York South–Weston.

MPP Mohamed Firin: Week and week again, I’ve heard the leader of the third party talk about how he cares about the workers of this province, but his voting record shows otherwise. Some $70 billion worth of infrastructure—that’s $70 billion worth of jobs for the workers of this province—how did he vote when he got the chance? He voted no.

Some $60 billion worth of health care investment—that’s $60 billion worth of jobs for the people of this province. When he had the chance, he voted no.

Some $40 billion to protect the workers of this province. How did he vote when he had that chance? He voted no.

So, again, Madam Speaker, he does not care about the workers of this province.

Public transit

Ms. Doly Begum: Speaker, residents in Scarborough were promised the hope of an easier commute through the Eglinton LRT. Instead, they have endured 14 years of construction, noise, delays and road closures. What began as a $5-billion project has now soared to $13 billion and going, and there’s still no concrete opening date. This project has become the poster child of this government’s sheer incompetence.

My question to the Premier is, how much longer will Ontarians be forced to pay for this government’s failures and its wastefulness spending the tax dollars of Ontarians?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: We’ve committed to the people of this province that we’re going to deliver a safe and reliable system. We reached a revenue service demonstration and completed that on the Finch West LRT, and we’re going to continue to build.

Here are the facts: Every single project that this government has put forward under Premier Ford, the NDP and Liberals have voted against. Let’s take a look: the Scarborough subway extension, in that member’s backyard; that member has stood up every single time and voted against that project.

Whether it’s the budget or the fall economic statement, for 15 years, the previous Liberal government left the people of Scarborough without transit options. It was this Premier, under this government, that started the Scarborough subway extension. In fact, we were there just a couple of weeks ago marking the start of the station being under construction, making real progress on projects for the people of Scarborough, delivering world-class transit, moving hundreds and thousands of people across the city when complete to help them get to where they need to go easier and quicker.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the member for Scarborough Southwest.

Ms. Doly Begum: Speaker, I would like to correct the record and make sure that everyone knows we always vote against cuts to transit, cuts to this province. That’s why every time you have brought bills without any accountability, whether it’s transit or anything else, we will vote against that.

In 2022, hundreds of workers in Thunder Bay lost their jobs after this government quietly cut Canadian content for Ontario Line subway cars from 25% to only 10%. That reckless decision back then means fewer Ontario jobs and more public money leaving Ontario today.

Again, to the Premier, my question is: How can this Premier justify turning his back on Ontarians and Ontario workers instead of keeping transit production and good manufacturing jobs right here at home?

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: Madam Speaker, let’s talk about Alstom, the plant in Thunder Bay that Premier Ford has visited multiple times and whose workers absolutely love him. You know why? Because we stepped in when the TTC put forward a procurement to say that this can only go to Alstom and the workers in Thunder Bay. Now, $2.1 billion will go to Thunder Bay thanks to Premier Ford and the members of this government.

Guess what: You had an opportunity, when we tabled the Ontario new deal, to support that investment, and every single member of the opposition voted against it. The member from Thunder Bay also voted against a $2.1-billion investment into 55 new subway cars that will be built in Thunder Bay. You’ve turned your back against the workers of Thunder Bay. You’ve turned your back against the thousands of jobs that are supported through transit projects.

It was this Premier who stepped up and ensured that we delivered that contract for the workers of Thunder Bay and Alstom, and we will continue to stand up and fight for those jobs, whether it’s Thunder Bay—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Question?

Government accountability

Mrs. Karen McCrimmon: We’ve seen, in the last few weeks, bills that are being rushed through this Legislature with minimal debate and no committee input or oversight. We’ve seen the Minister of Labour give millions of dollars to rich friends and donors through the $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund. The Auditor General told us this government’s actions were not fair, transparent or accountable.

As we begin November, we move into the time of year when we recognize the contribution and sacrifice of so many who gave us our democracy and our Canadian way of life.

My question to the Premier: When will he restore honour and decency to this government, restore accountability and, as a first step, fire this Minister of Labour?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The Minister of Finance.

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Through you, Madam Speaker, to the member opposite: Thank you for your service over the years to the military and beyond.

I’ll tell you what it looks like in Ontario, I’ll tell you what an economic engine looks like. I hope you vote for the fall economic statement because in there is $1 billion to build the small modular reactor in Darlington, creating 18,000 new jobs, 18,000 construction jobs. Hopefully you’ll support creating new jobs out in Durham—3,700 jobs to operate. Supporting $500 million along with the federal government for 2,800 jobs in the north and Sault Ste. Marie: Hopefully you’ll support that as well.

And how about the $9 billion that’s proposed to help 80,000 businesses? Again, you voted against it. It’s time that you started to vote for Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The member for Kanata–Carleton.

Mrs. Karen McCrimmon: The Premier tells us that he is the most accessible Premier in history—pick up the phone; call him any time. He also tells us that his tariff ad was the most successful ad in the history of North America. Does that sound like anybody else you might know?

But, Speaker, when will this Premier show us that he has the decency, a modicum of honour and a hint of respect for the Ontario taxpayers—who pay his salary—and fire this Minister of Labour?

Hon. Doug Ford: First of all, thank you so much for the question and—Remembrance Day—I do want to thank you for your service. It means everything to all of us in this chamber.

In saying that, there’s never been an ad in the history of this world that has seen 12.4 billion views. But even better, because of that ad—it was on the floor of the Senate—the Republicans lost the vote. Four Republicans switched sides. They talked about the ad. It’s making a massive, massive difference. And guess what? We didn’t have to spend that $75 million. We spent one fraction of it to protect Ontario. You know something? We will use every tool in our tool box to protect the people of Ontario and Canada. Now it’s holding President Trump for accountability, unlike no other leader in this world—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The member for Windsor–Tecumseh.

Mining industry

Mr. Andrew Dowie: My question is for the Minister of Energy and Mines. Speaker, Ontario is a province built on hard work, innovation and trade. Our people power the factories, the mines and the energy projects that drive our economy. From Windsor’s auto plants to the mining developments in the north, Ontario is built by hard-working people who keep our province moving. But in recent months, we’ve heard threats from Donald Trump and others who want to target Ontario’s success in energy and mining. They want to take away investments, weaken our industries and slow down projects that create good jobs right here at home.

So, Speaker, can the minister explain how Ontario is protecting our province from these threats and keeping projects moving?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the member for Mississauga–Lakeshore.

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: I want to thank the member from Windsor–Tecumseh for that question.

Under the previous Liberal government, Ontario was bogged down with red tape. Projects waited years for even basic approvals. Investors lost confidence, and opportunities left the province. Families paid the price.

Through the “one project, one process” framework, we’re replacing a broken system with a common-sense plan that gets results. That means faster decisions and greater certainty. It also means less duplication and fewer delays. Ontario’s high environmental and safety standard remains in place, and the duty to consult is fully upheld. That’s how we build a stronger economy, attract investment and keep Ontario leading the nation in job creation.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the member for Windsor–Tecumseh.

Mr. Andrew Dowie: I want to thank the parliamentary assistant for his response.

Speaker, Donald Trump has made it clear that he intends to put up barriers and punish trading partners who compete with the United States. That includes targeting Ontario’s strength in energy and mining. These are the same sectors that power our auto plants in Windsor and supply the world with critical minerals.

Under the Liberals, Ontario would have had no plan to fight back. We saw that with the GM transmission plant closure. But under our government, we’re moving fast—cutting red tape, building new projects and standing up for Ontario jobs.

Speaker, can the parliamentary assistant explain why it’s so important that Ontario continues to show strong leadership and keep projects moving to protect our economy?

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: For 15 long years under the Liberals, propped up by the NDP, Ontario became a place where good projects were buried in red tape. Businesses were told to wait, investors were told, “Maybe later,” and hard-working families paid the price. That ends under our government, Speaker: no more duplication, no more endless approvals, no more bureaucratic gridlock.

Just last week, the minister designated Frontier Lithium—Ontario’s largest lithium mine—as the first project under this new approach. We’re moving with speed, Madam Speaker. This project will add $1.5 billion to Ontario’s GDP, bringing $124 million in tax revenue and creating 3,000 new jobs.

While the opposition delays and wants to regulate everything into the ground, we’re focused on building—building Ontario’s economy, building Ontario’s opportunity and building a brighter future for Ontario and for Canada.

Government contracts

Ms. Jessica Bell: My question is to the Premier. Ontario invests nearly $30 billion a year on public contracts to build our hospitals, our schools and transit. But under this government’s very weak buy Ontario policy, US-based corporations are still winning contracts even when qualified Canadian companies could do the work.

We raised the issue of a US company getting a big multi-million dollar contract to build an Ontario hospital in October. The government refused to investigate the issue, refused to close the loopholes that we identified and refused to strengthen its buy Ontario policy.

So my question is to the Premier. Why is it okay letting public dollars go south of the border when we have qualified companies and willing workers who are able to do the job here?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement.

Hon. Stephen Crawford: Again, I think the opposition is well aware there is one party, one government in this entire country that has stood up for Canadian and Ontario workers, and that is the government led by Premier Doug Ford.

Speaker, we have put forward multiple pieces of legislation supporting buy Ontario, buy Canada. For example, our government put forward BOBIA, the buy Ontario building initiative, with Supply Ontario and our procurement restriction policy. We’re guaranteeing at least $3 billion more in government spending flows directly to Ontario small businesses. But did the opposition support this legislation? No, they did not.

In fact, last week in this House, we had legislation right before the House that you voted on. You voted against procuring auto vehicles for the Ontario government and the broader public sector. Why would you vote against legislation supporting auto workers right here in the province?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the member for University–Rosedale.

Ms. Jessica Bell: Back to the Premier: Speaker, the government has a buy Ontario policy that has loopholes so big in it you can drive a truck through them. Municipalities are not covered by the rules, US firms can still qualify if they have just a few hundred employees here and enforcement is weak.

Today, we are introducing a motion to call on the Ontario government to strengthen its buy Ontario, buy Canada procurement policies, so government investment goes to Ontario companies and Ontario workers first.

So my question is to the Premier. Which side are you on? Are you on the side of Ontario workers or not?

Hon. Doug Ford: Ironic, you voted against our initiative called BOBI. You voted against it. We’re going to toughen it up even more by passing more legislation.

But you know something? I truly believe the opposition wants more jobs too. They need to vote with us on this new legislation to make it even tougher.

There’s no one out there hammering buy Ontario and buy Canada more than I have right across the country, to all our US counterparts; to look at the Am-Can fortress, making America and Canadians stronger; making sure that we protect Ontarian jobs and steel workers from cheap Chinese steel coming in and being dumped here in Canada, undermining our steel sector, undermining our auto sector, undermining our agriculture sector and every other sector of manufacturing as well—life sciences.

We’re under attack by Donald Trump, and I’m going to fight like we’ve never fought before to protect Ontarians and protect—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Question?

Government accountability

MPP Stephanie Smyth: I’m going to try a different tack. This is about trust. Ontarians trust their government to spend their hard-earned tax dollars wisely, not to reward insiders and donors.

But with this government, that trust is gone. The $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund, meant to help workers, has turned into a revolving door for lobbyists and friends of the Premier.

Now we learn that the labour minister’s own wife registered to lobby for a career college, the very same sector benefiting from this fund, and the ministry doesn’t even track what kind of jobs are being created. No oversight, no accountability—just more money for friends and donors and an erosion of trust.

Speaker, through you to the minister: How can Ontarians trust a minister who oversees a $2.5-billion slush fund that rewards insiders, that ignores outcomes and that reeks of conflict of interest? Will the minister do the right thing and resign?

Hon. David Piccini: You know that’s incorrect. I’ll tell you something for this House: I’m very proud of the working woman my wife is and how she conducts herself with integrity.

I’ll tell you who Ontarians trust. When they went to the ballot box earlier this year, they put their trust in this Premier because they know when it comes to standing up to President Trump, they can trust Premier Ford.

When it comes to actually building a stronger Ontario—the homes, the hospitals, the highways—they had decades to actually build but didn’t. They trust this Premier.

When it comes to ensuring we can actually be an energy superpower, that we’re not dependent on dirty dictators, they trust this Premier and this government, who’s got the best interests of working-class Ontarians.

You heard from PA Firin earlier. They abandoned the people of this province—good, working-class people—when they had the opportunity to govern. Those folks trust this Premier to get the job done, and, at every step of the game, he’s getting the job done for those workers of this province.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the member for Toronto–St. Paul’s.

MPP Stephanie Smyth: This opposition will not stop. We will find every conflict of interest, every dollar handed out to friends because that’s our job.

Ontario deserves a government that works for them, not one that treats public funds like a campaign piggy bank.

Speaker, through you to the minister, will you finally take accountability for this misuse of taxpayer dollars and resign today?

Hon. David Piccini: As I said, this Premier, this government are laser-focused on ensuring we have pathways for meaningful careers. That’s at any stage, as I said, whether it’s the unemployed, whether it’s folks living with a disability who want to actually enter the workforce.

Under them, they measured success by the size of the cheque they cut people to stay at home.

This Premier wants to give people opportunity, give them dignity, give them a shot at a job. Whether it’s full-time, whether it’s part-time, we’ll stop at nothing.

To create those opportunities, you actually have to build. You have to build hospitals. You have to build infrastructure. You have to make sure you’re an energy superpower and actually put a reasonable plan on the table to get the job done. That’s what this Premier is doing. You have to fight crime. You have to support your men and women in uniform, again, something this Premier is doing.

The members opposite had an opportunity. They were weak on crime. They pushed jobs out of this province. They raised taxes, driving employers and investors out. This Premier, this government are turning that tide and ensuring we create new jobs—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the member for Richmond Hill.

Public safety

Mrs. Daisy Wai: My question is for the Associate Solicitor General for Auto Theft and Bail Reform. Every Ontarian deserves to feel safe in their home and their community. I’ve heard a lot of concerns from Richmond Hill especially. It is frustrating when we hear about violent offenders being released back into the community and the streets, sometimes the very next day.

These are not isolated cases. They are happening again and again across the country. Families are scared. Police are frustrated. Communities want change.

Ontario has been leading the charge, calling on the federal government to fix Canada’s broken system. Speaker, can the associate minister explain how Ontario is leading the call for tougher bail laws to keep repeat offenders off the streets?

Hon. Zee Hamid: I appreciate the member’s question on this important issue.

Enough is enough. Ontario is tired of lawlessness. We cannot have a system where violent and repeat offenders are arrested one day and roaming the street on bail the next day. It is critical that federal law meets the standard Canadians expect: cracking down on crime and keeping violent, repeat offenders behind bars where they belong.

The federal Bill C-14 represents a right step in the right direction as it contains good elements that will help Ontario’s courts deliver justice.

Our government will always stand up for the safety of our residents, communities, law enforcement and the victims and survivors of crime. Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re working every single day to protect Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the member for Richmond Hill.

Mrs. Daisy Wai: Thank you to the Associate Solicitor General for his response.

While Bill C-14 makes some progress, we know there is still much more work to do. Too many violent offenders continue to walk free, reoffending and putting our communities at risk. Our government has been clear: One tragedy is one too many.

Ontario families expect real change, not half measures. The Premier and the Associate Solicitor General have shown strong leadership by standing up for victims and supporting law enforcement. They are pushing Ottawa to bring in real change that keeps dangerous offenders off our streets.

Speaker, can the associate minister share how Ontario will continue to lead the call for stronger bail reform that puts public safety first?

Hon. Zee Hamid: Our government has been clear: We will always put the safety of Ontario families first. While Bill C-14 includes positive steps, it still doesn’t go far enough. Too many violent, repeat offenders are being released back into our communities and that is unacceptable.

Under the Premier’s leadership, we’ve been loud and clear with Ottawa: Bail reform must be stronger and protect victims, not repeat offenders and criminals. We pushed for tougher rules, like our proposed three-strikes policy and no-bail thresholds for violent crimes, because Ontario families deserve better.

We will keep standing up and protecting Ontarians until the federal government takes real action to keep dangerous criminals off our streets and restore confidence in our justice system.

Fertility services

M me France Gélinas: Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé.

Northern Ontario residents were excited to hear that fertility services were going to increase, and Ontario would triple the number of families who can benefit from fertility treatment. I’d like to ask the minister how many of the new 2,250 IVF cycles were dedicated to people in northern Ontario?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: We were also very excited to be able to expand IVF services across Ontario. We know that, historically, we have seen some gaps, particularly in northern Ontario. So as we reviewed those applications, we absolutely put a lens to see which organizations currently providing IVF could provide and expand in northern Ontario.

Of course, in the coming months, you will see an additional expansion of new IVF clinics coming online. I’m very excited about this because I know how important it is for people who want to start a family to have that additional support from their provincial government. And under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re doing that with IVF expansion.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the member for Nickel Belt.

M me France Gélinas: The answer to my question is zero went to the north. Most of the new cycle went to brand new clinics in wealthy Toronto neighbourhoods. They went to clinics owned by private equity firms like Osmington Inc., a real estate private investment firm; or to a venture capital company like Rhino Ventures; or to US conglomerate investors; or to the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine. In many of those clinics, people are charged twice as much as in a clinic owned by Ontario physicians.

Why did the minister choose to fund US conglomerates and private equity-owned fertility clinics?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Just to reiterate, of course we have expanded the number of opportunities in existing clinics across Ontario, and in the coming months you will see expansions in new clinics that are being provided.

But I want to absolutely assure the member opposite and everyone who represents northern Ontario that we are absolutely focused and ensuring that these expansions, as they are rolled out, include northern Ontario, because in Premier Ford’s Ontario, northern Ontario is absolutely part of our economic prosperity, and it is necessary for us to make sure that we have those services provided all across Ontario, including in northern Ontario.

Affordable housing

Ms. Lee Fairclough: Speaker, in Bill 60, the government quietly slipped in a clause allowing landlords to adjust tenancy agreements based on so-called “market conditions,” “personal needs” or “business strategies.” In practice, the bill only weakens tenants’ rights.

Meanwhile, there were 4.1 million visits to food banks in the GTA this past year, with 80% of them being renters. This is from a report by the Daily Bread Food Bank in my riding of Etobicoke–Lakeshore just last week. The number of our seniors using food banks has increased 258% since 2019, and a quarter of users are students using the food bank. People are being squeezed and choosing between housing or food.

How can the Premier claim to be tackling Ontario’s homelessness crisis when his government keeps proposing laws that just make it worse?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Hon. Graydon Smith: I don’t subscribe to the Liberal ideology of “We’ve tried nothing, and we’re all out of ideas.”

Bill 60 is bringing forward real opportunities to create balance in the rental system. It’s going to create more opportunity to create more rental units for the people who need them. Without that balance, Speaker, we are nowhere. These reforms are common sense. For too long, delays and inefficiencies have come at a real cost to people.

What we want to do is make sure that that young professional has an opportunity for their first apartment, that senior who is on a fixed income has an opportunity for an apartment, that couple who needs to make a little bit more money to pay the mortgage every month and be comfortable has an opportunity to do that if they want to become a landlord.

Speaker, Bill 60 is doing all that. It is bringing balance back to a system that was in imbalance because of previous governments, and we’re getting the job done for the people, the renters, right here in Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The member for Etobicoke–Lakeshore.

Ms. Lee Fairclough: The government introduced changes with Bill 60 that give landlords more power to evict tenants, burying it in the fine print. Within 72 hours of the public uncovering the obvious flaws of this bill, the minister backed down.

Since this legislative session began, this government has repeatedly tried to rush bills into law with little debate or scrutiny and no accountability. We’ve seen this lack of accountability before: this government awarding millions in the Skills Development Fund to low-ranked applicants with close ties to the government.

Speaker, why were such devastating changes to tenants’ rights even introduced, let alone buried in the fine print?

Hon. Graydon Smith: Of course, the opposition wants to talk about the things that we’re not doing. We want to talk about the things that we are doing, which is bringing balance back to a system to create more opportunities for renters here in Ontario and to incentivize landlords to want to be part of the solution.

We all know people in our communities that have some space that they can rent out, but they’re a little bit apprehensive to be part of this situation right now because the system is out of balance. Bill 60 brings us back into balance. It respects tenant rights, it respects landlord rights and it respects the fact that we need to create more rental capacity here in Ontario.

We’ve been doing that—17,000 new units in the last nine months. We’ll continue to do that because we’re here working every day for the renters and the landlords in this province.

Veterans

Ms. Natalie Pierre: My question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism. As we mark Remembrance Day and Veterans’ Week, people across Ontario are coming together to honour our heroes. In my community of Burlington, the local Legion and the Burl/Oak Naval Veterans association continue to lead this very important work. They bring together people to remember the fallen. They also help to support our veterans who are still with us, helping them find connection, dignity and purpose.

Our veterans gave everything for our freedom, and we must recognize their service, ensure they have the resources they need and create new opportunities for them to thrive. We must also make sure that their courage and sacrifice are never forgotten.

Speaker, can the minister please share how our government is supporting Ontario veterans this Remembrance Day and beyond?

Hon. Graham McGregor: Thank you to the member from Burlington for that question and her fierce advocacy on behalf of the residents that she represents.

Speaker, our veterans here in Ontario rightly deserve a government that looks out for them. Our government passed the Honouring Veterans Act last year, and since then we have made key changes, including renaming this week to Remembrance Day and Veterans’ Week in acknowledgement of the 149,000 veterans that call Ontario home.

We’ve enhanced financial support for veterans through the Soldiers’ Aid Commission. Through the leadership of the Minister of Transportation, we’ve implemented a transit relief program and we’re supporting career pathways for veterans, offering training and new careers in tech and the skilled trades.

I’m also proud to say that the launch of the Ontario Veterans Award for Community Service Excellence has received over 100 nominations, which will be presented by local Legions across the province starting this week.

With the support of the PC caucus—but I want to say with members from the Liberals, New Democrats, independents and Greens, every member was unanimous in supporting this bill to make sure that we give back to the brave men and women who fought for us.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the member for Burlington.

Ms. Natalie Pierre: I’d like to thank the minister for his response.

The men and women who served our country deserve our respect, not just in words but in our actions.

Across Burlington, the Royal Canadian Legion and dedicated volunteers continue to honour our heroes and strengthen our communities. Legions like the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 60, along with the Burl/Oak Naval Veterans association, remind us every day that they are the community anchors that honour our past and support our veterans today. Our government has taken steps to recognize their sacrifice, from protecting poppy rights in the workplace to ensuring Legion halls remain tax exempt.

Speaker, can the minister please share more about how we are continuing to honour and support veterans across Ontario?

Hon. Graham McGregor: Thank you to the member for that question. Simply put, we are ensuring that veterans, both during and after service, receive the recognition that they deserve.

We know that Legion halls play a vital role in communities. It was this government that, in 2019, remained committed to ensuring they’re exempt from paying property taxes.

In 2021, members of this House and members of this government ensured and enshrined the right for every worker in Ontario that they have the right to wear a poppy in the workplace during Veterans’ Week.

Last year, we changed the Remembrance Week Act, 2016, to the Remembrance Day and Veterans’ Week Act, 2024, to honour all veterans, not just those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Today, we have members of our caucus, like the member for Peterborough–Kawartha, who are fighting for the proper recognition that our veterans deserve through his private member’s motion last week.

Madam Speaker, we will never stop fighting for the men and women who fought for us. We can never properly thank them for their service, but we can sure as heck try.

Labour dispute

MPP Lise Vaugeois: Speaker, we heard from several members this morning claiming that this government is protecting every single Ontario job, yet 26 people working for the WSIB in document management—WSIB is an organization under your control—have lost their unionized jobs that have now been handed over to the American company Iron Mountain.

Speaker, through you to the Premier: Why are you cutting Ontario jobs for the benefit of American corporate profits?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The Minister of Labour.

Hon. David Piccini: We aren’t, Speaker. This government is focused. When we look at the systemic measures we’re taking to stand up for jobs, we included in our procurement buy Ontario provisions. We included provisions that support Ontario workers.

When it came to ensuring that we create jobs here on this side, we created a low-tax environment that encouraged investment, that actually gets men and women to work. That’s the record of this Premier: creating the climate to attract world-class manufacturing investments that are helping get people to work.

All they did when they had the opportunity, propping up the previous Liberal governments, is they taxed, taxed, taxed. They taxed people to death. They taxed companies out of ridings like mine.

This Premier created a competitive climate. This Premier is standing up to ensure we can actually manufacture and produce things here. We’ve got a build agenda that’s putting organized labour to work, and we’re very grateful for all the work that they do. We’re going to keep fighting for workers at every step of the game.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the member for Thunder Bay–Superior North.

MPP Lise Vaugeois: Speaker, apparently the minister is not capable of answering the question. I would like to set the record straight on Alstom, a party the Conservatives came to late in the game. We do have work at Alstom now, thank goodness. But prior to that, they lost hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of jobs because $9 billion were sent to build cars in Maryland and Ohio.

Now, my question: WSIB management is notorious for repressing claims at the expense of injured workers, for spending millions of dollars on training junkets in the US and now for sending Canadian work to an American corporation. How can you say you are protecting jobs when organizations under your direct control are farming out good jobs to American corporations?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Back to the Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: Speaker, let’s take a look at that member’s record on voting for Ontario jobs. Just this past week, we had a piece of legislation that the members opposite voted against, that said that all government vehicles would be purchased in Ontario, Ontario-made vehicles. And guess what? That member voted against it.

Now let’s take another look at that member’s record. At Alstom, in her own city of Thunder Bay, this Premier stood up and directed the procurement to go to the only Canadian, in-Ontario option. Guess what? That member voted against that very option.

The $530-million investment we announced in Thunder Bay for repairing and refurbishing Metrolinx bi-level vehicles: Guess what? That member voted against those jobs in her own riding again.

Those are just three examples she has voted against in her own community.

Government accountability

Mr. John Fraser: My question is for the Premier. I’m glad I’m going to give him another chance.

We know there’s no reliable data in the Skills Development Fund. We know that we’re not sure what kind of jobs were created. We’re not sure—well, we are sure that hundreds of millions of dollars were shovelled out the door with absolutely no strings attached. That’s pretty bad management.

We know that lobbyists like Kory Teneycke and Amin Massoudi are allowed to set up a toll booth in front of the Skills Development Fund. We know that the minister’s riding association went from $50,000 to half a million dollars. So I would think that probably the best thing for the Premier to do to clear the air and maybe show everybody he’s a good manager is that we could have a forensic audit on the Skills Development Fund. Will the Premier commit to doing just that?

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The Minister of Labour.

Hon. David Piccini: We just had an audit of the fund.

That member, Speaker, had an opportunity to fight for jobs of all types. He denigrates hospitality workers. He denigrates people trying to earn meaningful part-time employment. When it comes to full-time employment, there’s no Premier with a better record in modern history than this Premier. That member stood by idly as they taxed small business, taxed manufacturers to death, driving them out of this economy—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): The leader of the third party will come to order.

Hon. David Piccini: Speaker, he gets upset when we talk about his record—his record that crushed jobs in the manufacturing sector in all of our ridings.

This Premier is standing up for it, buying Ontario, building things that put men and women to work. We’ll take no lessons from them.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I recognize the Minister of Transportation on a point of order.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: I rise on a point of order to correct the record. On Thursday, October 30, during question period, the leader of the official opposition stated that she would be visiting Stellantis workers in my home city of Brampton; however—

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): You cannot correct someone else’s record.

Deferred Votes

Northern Highway 11 and 17 Safety Act, 2025 / Loi de 2025 sur la sécurité des routes 11 et 17 du Nord

Deferred vote on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 49,

An Act to amend the Highway Traffic Act and Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act with respect to northern highway safety / Projet de loi 49, Loi modifiant le Code de la route et la

Loi sur l’aménagement des voies publiques et des transports en commun concernant la sécurité des routes du Nord.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Call in the members. This is a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1141 to 1146.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): Members, please take your seats.

On October 30, 2025, Mr. Bourgouin moved second reading of Bill 49,

An Act to amend the Highway Traffic Act and Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act with respect to northern highway safety. All those in favour, please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

Ayes

Armstrong, Teresa J.

Begum, Doly

Bell, Jessica

Blais, Stephen

Bourgouin, Guy

Brady, Bobbi Ann

Cerjanec, Rob

Clancy, Aislinn

Collard, Lucille

Fairclough, Lee

Fife, Catherine

Fraser, John

French, Jennifer K.

Gates, Wayne

Gélinas, France

Gilmour, Alexa

Glover, Chris

Hazell, Andrea

Kernaghan, Terence

Lennox, Robin

McCrimmon, Karen

McKenney, Catherine

McMahon, Mary-Margaret

Pasma, Chandra

Rakocevic, Tom

Sattler, Peggy

Schreiner, Mike

Shamji, Adil

Shaw, Sandy

Smyth, Stephanie

Stevens, Jennifer (Jennie)

Stiles, Marit

Tabuns, Peter

Tsao, Jonathan

Vanthof, John

Vaugeois, Lise

Watt, Tyler

West, Jamie

Wong-Tam, Kristyn

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): All those opposed, please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

Nays

Allsopp, Tyler

Anand, Deepak

Bailey, Robert

Bouma, Will

Bresee, Ric

Calandra, Paul

Cho, Raymond Sung Joon

Cho, Stan

Ciriello, Monica

Coe, Lorne

Cooper, Michelle

Crawford, Stephen

Cuzzetto, Rudy

Darouze, George

Denault, Billy

Dixon, Jess

Dowie, Andrew

Downey, Doug

Firin, Mohamed

Ford, Doug

Grewal, Hardeep Singh

Hamid, Zee

Hardeman, Ernie

Holland, Kevin

Jones, Sylvia

Jones, Trevor

Jordan, John

Kanapathi, Logan

Kerzner, Michael S.

Khanjin, Andrea

Kusendova-Bashta, Natalia

Leardi, Anthony

Lumsden, Neil

McCarthy, Todd J.

McGregor, Graham

Mulroney, Caroline

Oosterhoff, Sam

Pang, Billy

Parsa, Michael

Piccini, David

Pierre, Natalie

Pinsonneault, Steve

Pirie, George

Quinn, Nolan

Racinsky, Joseph

Rickford, Greg

Riddell, Brian

Rosenberg, Bill

Sabawy, Sheref

Sandhu, Amarjot

Sarkaria, Prabmeet Singh

Sarrazin, Stéphane

Saunderson, Brian

Smith, Dave

Smith, Graydon

Smith, Laura

Tangri, Nina

Thanigasalam, Vijay

Thompson, Lisa M.

Vickers, Paul

Wai, Daisy

Williams, Charmaine A.

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Trevor Day): The ayes are 39; the nays are 62.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I declare the motion lost.

Second reading negatived.

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): There being no further business, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1149 to 1300.

Royal assent / Sanction royale

The Speaker (Hon. Donna Skelly): I beg to inform the House that in the name of His Majesty the King, Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor has been pleased to assent to a certain bill in her office.

The Clerk-at-the-Table (Ms. Meghan Stenson): The following is the title of the bill to which Her Honour did assent:

An Act to amend various Acts / Loi modifiant diverses lois.

Introduction of Bills

730159 Ontario Ltd. Act, 2025

Mr. Saunderson moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr20,

An Act to revive 730159 Ontario Ltd.

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

First reading agreed to.

Honey Harbour Community Church Inc. Act, 2025

Mr. Saunderson moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr33,

An Act to revive Honey Harbour Community Church Inc.

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

First reading agreed to.

Petitions

Addiction services

MPP Alexa Gilmour: I rise to offer this petition done by the folks in Parkdale–High Park. I want to thank them.

About a week ago, we learned that Parkdale Queen West safe consumption site would close in 30 days. I am the member for all the residents in Parkdale–High Park, and there are residents for whom this program is vital and life-saving. We saw a 500-people increase in use when the other safe consumption sites closed.

The residents here are asking that we follow evidence-based, life-saving health care and that we reverse the funding and restore it to Parkdale’s safe consumption site—because it’s a human right—and that we expand harm reduction and safe consumption services across every community in Ontario.

I agree with this. I will affix my signature to this petition and give it to James.

Entretien hivernal des routes

M. Guy Bourgouin: Ça me fait plaisir de mentionner la pétition « Améliorer la sécurité routière dans le Nord ».

Écoute, on vient de voter sur mon projet de loi 49. La pétition réfère à ça. Le gouvernement a décidé de voter contre. Mais c’est pour, ni plus ni moins, dire que la 11 et 17, ce sont les artères principales. Ce sont nos routes qu’on utilise au jour le jour. Ils disent aussi, dans cette pétition-là, que le taux de mortalité est encore plus élevé—deux fois plus élevé par population, considérant, comparé au Nord, et que les postes d’inspection, souvent, sont très fermés—ils ne sont pas ouverts adéquatement. La surveillance des camionneurs, l’expérience des conditions hivernales, c’est un problème.

Les soussignés demandent que le gouvernement soit obligé de faire certain que les balances soient ouvertes un minimum de 12 heures. Ils disent aussi que le Code de la route—que les mesures d’application sont insuffisantes. Ils disent aussi qu’on doit engager plus de personnes pour être capable de garder ces postes d’inspection-là ouverts; que les examens de camionneurs soient ramenés au ministère des Transports, par des examinateurs certifiés par le ministère des Transports; puis aussi que l’entretien des routes hivernales soit fait par le ministère. Ramenez la gestion des contrats hivernaux.

Je supporte, c’est sûr, cette pétition, et je vais la donner à Aditya pour la ramener au poste des greffiers.

Social assistance

MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam: I’m proud to rise in this house to present this petition. It’s entitled “Petition to Raise Social Assistance Rates,” and it is directed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and $1,368 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both” OW and ODSP;

“Whereas small increases to ODSP have still left these citizens below the poverty line, both they and those receiving the frozen OW rates are struggling to survive at” a rate “of alarming inflation;

The undersigned are calling on this government to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.

I will proudly sign this petition and send it to the centre table with page Mansahaj.

International trade

Mr. Deepak Anand: Now everyone in the world knows that tariffs are not good for the economy and not good for trade. So the residents of Ontario are asking the government of Ontario to stand up against President Trump’s tariffs, which are causing uncertainty and chaos, especially in the auto sector. With over 11 billion views across the globe, they’re telling Captain Canada, “Do not roll over. Stand up and fight for the auto sector.”

That’s why these residents are saying to continue to work to get the US to lift these tariffs immediately and protect Ontario businesses and workers who are being affected by this.

I absolutely, wholeheartedly agree with this petition. I am going to give it to page Lorraine.

Thank you, Lorraine, for all you do.

Foreign-trained doctors

MPP Robin Lennox: I’m very pleased to present this petition today regarding the new changes to the rules for international medical graduates wishing to enter the CaRMS medical residency match.

We’ve heard from hundreds of internationally trained doctors, many of whom are very eager to be able to participate in the match, who want to fill our gap in terms of our health care workforce, but are unable to because they did not complete high school locally. Many of these residents are living, working and paying taxes here, and they desperately want to serve as doctors in our communities.

I’m very pleased to sign this and to urge the government to reverse this policy.

Youth mental health

I have tabled a motion—it is currently at social policy—asking the government to work on the issue of addressing the excessive screen time and mental health concerns that are developed when our youth are on their phones and screens, and also asking the government, literally, “Let’s work on this together, because we all know that this is an ongoing issue across the province.”

I’m just asking the government: Let’s get to work on this.

It’s a pleasure to affix my signature. Hopefully, the government wakes up to this issue.

Emergency services

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank Mrs. Kim Robinson from Wahnapitae in my riding for these petitions. They’re called “911 Everywhere in Ontario.”

Speaker, when we face an emergency, we know to dial 911. Access to emergency services is not available to people who don’t have 911—and that’s most of the region in my riding. Everybody knows that when there’s an emergency, you dial 911. But in my riding, if you dial 911, you get, “This number is not in service.” You try it again and you get the same thing. Then, you dial zero and say, “I have an emergency,” and the operator tells you, “Oh, no. You need to call 911.”

In my riding, if you need the police, you dial 1-888-310-3122. If you need the ambulance in Gogama, it’s 1-877-351-2345. If you need an ambulance further south, in Cartier, it’s 705-673-1117. If you need the fire services in Cartier, it’s 710-673-2542; in Gogama, 1-888-571-3473; in Foleyet, 1-800-247-6603. The list goes on. Nobody knows those numbers, but every year someone will phone, will realize we don’t have 911, and bad things happen.

Ontario is the only province in all of Canada that does not have 911 everywhere. It has to change—and this is what the good people have signed.

I fully agree. I will affix my name to it and ask my good page Orion to bring it to the Clerk.

Affordable housing

Ms. Jessica Bell: This is a petition that’s called “Bring Back Rent Control.” It is a petition that is calling on the Ontario government to stabilize rent prices by bringing in real rent control on all units, including homes that were first occupied after 2018.

The reason why this petition is so important is because there are many people in Ontario who just can’t afford their rent and they’re being evicted by their landlord—because they can jack up the rent to whatever amount they want.

I support this petition. I give this petition to page Tishe. And I’ll look forward to seeing you implement this.

Cancer treatment

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank Melissa Anderson from Val Therese in my riding for these petitions. They’re called “Coverage for Take Home Cancer Drugs.”

Cancer drugs administered in a hospital are free. All you need to do is show your health card. When you get admitted in the hospital, they’re free.

But more and more cancer drugs are administered at home, which is a great thing because you will recover way faster when you’re surrounded by your family and you sleep in your own bed, eat your own food etc.

Did you know, Speaker, that British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec all cover take-home cancer drugs, but Ontario does not?

The Canadian Cancer Society has called on the government to cover take-home cancer drugs, as their data supports that access to take-home cancer drugs saves lives.

The good people have signed this petition asking the government to prioritize access to cancer treatment by developing a provincial program that provides full coverage for all eligible cancer drugs taken at home. I think this is an idea whose time has come.

I will sign this petition and ask my good page Ava to bring it to the Clerk.

Social assistance

MPP Robin Lennox: I would like to add my voice to the petition to raise social assistance rates.

I’d like to thank the many members of Hamilton Centre who have signed this petition, calling on the government to double Ontario Works and Ontario disability support payments. We know that the current rates are grossly insufficient and that we see many people on social assistance living below the poverty line, struggling to find a place to live, struggling to be able to afford food.

I’m very happy to add my name to this petition and to give it to Aditya to bring down.

Health care

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank Lucien Bradley from Hanmer in my riding for these petitions. They’re called “Health Care: Not for Sale.”

We all know that since Tommy Douglas was there, Ontarians, Canadians, get care based on their needs, not on their ability to pay.

We also know that the Ford government is actively privatizing our health care system. The privatization takes nurses, doctors and many other professionals away from our hospitals and into the private sector.

We also know that the Ontario Health Coalition was here last week with 160 people who had been charged for services that are supposed to be covered by OHIP. They came here with bills showing that they had to pay.

They ask the government to immediately stop the privatization of our Ontario health care system and to fix our crisis in health care by having a strong recruitment and retaining plan; to make sure that we license internationally educated nurses, physicians and other practitioners; that we incentivize professionals to come and work in Ontario; and that we guarantee access to primary care to all Ontarians.

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

Children’s immunization program

MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam: I’m pleased to rise to present this petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The petition is entitled “Tackle the Measles Crisis.”

“Whereas measles infections wipe” out “the memory of infected individual’s immune systems while risking blindness, encephalitis, miscarriage, and death;

“Whereas as of early June 2025, Ontario has reported over 18,000 measles cases” and now that number has risen to 2,600;

“Whereas 94.3% of those hospitalized in Ontario were unvaccinated;”

Whereas we need to ensure that “many students ... receive the necessary vaccinations” in order for us “to address this public health emergency;”

The “undersigned petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

“—implement new funding for programs to increase vaccination coverage;

“—invest in public health programs that will build trust with communities that have historically low vaccination rates; and

“—remove the ability of members of provincial Parliament and other professionals who are not doctors or nurse practitioners to officiate documents intended to exclude children from the required vaccine schedule.”

I’m proud to sign this petition and send this to the table with page Ishaan.

Opposition Day

Government contracts / Marchés publics

Ms. Marit Stiles: I am pleased to move the following motion:

Whereas Ontario’s unemployment is at its highest level in a decade; and

Whereas there is an ongoing trade war with the United States that continues to escalate; and

Whereas the government of Ontario does not require the consideration of local job creation and local training opportunities when awarding public contracts; and

Whereas the government of Ontario awarded a $140-million contract for supply and installation of glass and aluminum at the Trillium Health Partners hospital project in Mississauga to a United States-owned company; and

Whereas the government of Ontario continues to allow funding and contracts to go to foreign-owned companies for major publicly funded projects, including the Ottawa Hospital-Civic Campus redevelopment, the E.C. Row Expressway and the Garden City Skyway;

Therefore, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario must implement Ontario-first procurement criteria that prioritizes contracts for Ontario and Canadian businesses that can offer local jobs for all public spending contracts issued by the Ontario government, ministries, agencies, municipalities, and other provincially funded institutions, as well as ban US companies from receiving public contracts until the trade war is over.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ric Bresee): The Leader of the Opposition has moved opposition day motion number 1.

I come back to the Leader of the Opposition to start the debate.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Before I start, I just want to say a few words about the Blue Jays. What a season, hey? What a run. I’ve got to say, the last few weeks have been just electric. I felt like the Blue Jays brought us together, not just as a city or a province, but as a country, in a way that I don’t think we’ve felt in a long time. It was really fantastic.

If you look at the team, Vlad Jr. and Bo and Yesavage—what a year he has had—you can tell how well they all get along. Also, just that love and comradeship that I felt they really had—it was so cool. It was that strong, proud core. And I think they’re still growing. So, next time; next year.

I also want to give a shout-out to the fans because they are the best fans in the league. Every inning, they were there—all that heart. They carried that team.

I want to say, I know it personally stung a lot to lose the series. That was a tough final couple of games. But we are proud. We are proud because we saw what that team built together. Maybe next year, if this government can fix the mess they made by scrapping Ontario’s anti-scalping laws and back our fans-first plan—there’s still time to ban ticket resales above face value and make sure that more fans can actually afford to get to the dome.

Speaker, the Blue Jays showed us what this province is made of: heart, hope, and a lot of hard work.

Thank you, Blue Jays. Go, Jays!

Now, speaking to the motion, I want to say, first of all, that this government has shown us what they are. They are a jobs disaster. Speaker, 800,000 people are out of work right now in the province of Ontario. Youth unemployment is hitting record highs.

In London, I want to tell you, just a few days ago, I met a 22-year-old. She had just graduated from university. She said she has stopped counting how many jobs she has applied to.

But the Premier said, “Oh, no, you’re just not looking hard enough. You want a job? Look harder.”

In Ingersoll, where I was on Friday, the Unifor local there is considering opening up an emergency food bank in the union hall. Meanwhile, they point to the government being caught up in this pay-to-play scheme, which just doesn’t seem to end, with the Skills Development Fund. I’ve got to tell you, Speaker, the Premier is feeling pretty good these days about his little ads and all of that. But I want to tell you what one of the Unifor members in Ingersoll said to me. He said, “This ego clash is killing us.” That’s what he said. And I feel it, too.

Workers feel like they’re being used as pawn pieces on this board. They feel completely abandoned. I know I’m hearing that in Ingersoll, in Brampton. I’m hearing that all across this province. If I’m at Algoma Steel or up at Thunder Bay, in Ear Falls—everywhere you go, people feel left behind.

At the Stellantis plant in Brampton a couple of weeks ago, workers told me that for every single one of their jobs that are on the line, there are seven to 10 more jobs at risk—for 3,000 jobs, that could be 30,000 jobs at risk.

Meanwhile, we have the Premier just washing his hands, pulling another stunt for the cameras. It’s getting pretty old, and we are yet to feel even the full impact of these tariffs.

Sadly, these are not isolated stories. In Ontario today, proud, hard-working people are doing everything right. They’re waiting for their government to show up, though. They’re waiting for their opportunity to get ahead, but opportunity is exactly what this government keeps taking away.

This government and this Premier have yet to offer any vision to improve people’s lives. They have not respected taxpayer dollars. At a time when every single dollar needs to go to workers, while people are pinching pennies here in the province of Ontario, this government is opening up the piggy bank; they think it’s theirs.

Speaker, this Premier and this government have not delivered on their promise to protect Ontario. So, today, we’re giving the government an opportunity to do the right thing, an opportunity for Ontario to build Ontario, with a simple motion: Buy Ontario first.

Every year, we spend, in Ontario, $30 billion of public money on goods and services and construction. That’s important. That’s things like hospitals and highways and schools—projects, though, that are paid for by the Ontario taxpayer. But too often, those contracts end up going to companies outside Ontario, to US companies, in the middle of an ongoing trade war. Let me repeat that: to US companies, while we are in the middle of a trade war. That means jobs, training, paycheques are all going somewhere else.

We are saying very clearly to this government that if Ontario is paying the bill, then Ontarians should get the work. Every contract, every project, every single dollar should go to help build good jobs right here at home. So we’re calling for an Ontario-first procurement rule that’s going to put local jobs first.

I want to be very clear. The government talks a good game, but we’re doing this right now because the government’s own rules are chock full of loopholes. Municipalities are not covered. Big US companies that have offices here can still win those contracts. Old deals are exempt. Bad deals, frankly, are exempt. And companies basically just have to check a box to say they qualify, but no one really checks.

Even worse, the government could make local job creation part of every bid, but they don’t. What does that do to Ontario jobs? Well, let me tell you. It ensures that billions of public dollars are continuing to leave the province at a time when we need them more than ever.

Speaker, I just want to reflect a little bit on some of the things that have happened since the government started talking about their promise to protect Ontario. Many of my colleagues here in the official opposition have raised these stories. We know the Garden City Skyway rebuild went to foreign-owned firms. The Trillium hospital project gave a $140-million contract to a US company. The E.C. Row Expressway in Windsor is using Korean steel, while Ontario steelworkers are losing their jobs. The WSIB just handed 26 Ontario jobs to Iron Mountain, a company that is based in Boston.

Two American contractors are bidding right now to build the new Ottawa Civic hospital. And the Ontario Line subway cars—that first round, they were being made, and they continue to be made, in the United States. That’s Ontario money. That’s our money, and it is building jobs somewhere else.

Meanwhile, other provinces are showing leadership. Quebec is doing it. Manitoba is doing it. So why not Ontario? When Ontario builds, Ontario wins. Workers win. Families win. Communities win. So the government really needs to put their money where their mouth is for Ontario jobs first and pass this motion.

Speaker, I want to be honest just for a few moments here about what is standing in the way of getting this done. A lot of people would say, “Well, that makes complete sense. It’s just practical. It’s common sense.” But what we see, again, is a pattern of scandals with this government and this Premier. We saw it with the greenbelt, and now we’re seeing it with the Skills Development Fund. The government is telling workers, “If you want training funds, hire a lobbyist who knows us.” Friends and donors of this government and this Minister of Labour got millions in funding, while higher-scoring applications were tossed out by this minister.

Last week, I asked the minister, “How many training spots were lost because you hand-picked low-scoring applications?” He said, “People are free to support whomever they want.” It sends a chill, doesn’t it? It sends a message. And then he said—and I’ve got to say, in a rather condescending tone—“I understand you’re upset.” Yes, I am, because, actually, just like all Ontarians out there, I don’t believe that’s how you should be running a government. No. That’s how you run a pay-to-play scheme. That’s what you do. Do you know what? Ontarians see through this too.

I know this government loves to govern by poll, so I want to share one with you. A new poll shows the majority of people in this province agree it is time for the Premier to fire his Minister of Labour, because the minister is not even bothering to deny what he has done; he’s defending it. Every single day that that Premier keeps that minister on the job, he is telling Ontarians that this is the kind of behaviour that is acceptable in this government. Enough is enough. The Premier needs to fire his Minister of Labour.

Speaker, I want to say that this all goes back to choices. The government is going to be presented today with a choice: to choose to support our motion and put Ontario workers first or to continue to do the things the same old way that they like to do it, where insiders win and workers lose. They can build an Ontario that looks out for its own.

Buying Ontario first is about our pride in what we do and what workers build in the province of Ontario as much as it is about our procurement rules. It is about fairness. It is about rebuilding what people believe Ontario can be again: a have province, not a have-not province; a province that makes things, that builds things, that takes care of its own.

Workers are ready to believe in that Ontario again. They just need a government that believes in them.

That’s what New Democrats are fighting for—protecting jobs, creating opportunities, lowering costs.

When you strengthen working people, you strengthen Ontario.

I want to believe that every member in this chamber wants what’s best for the people they represent.

Here’s the test: If you believe in good jobs, support this motion. If you believe in fairness, support this motion. If you believe in Ontario, support this motion.

Let’s make sure that every dollar that this government spends builds the province that we all call home. Let’s buy Ontario first, and let’s strengthen Ontario.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ric Bresee): Further debate?

Mr. Stephen Blais: It’s always a pleasure to rise in the chamber and speak on issues that matter most to Ontario families: about affordability, about jobs, about stability in a time of real uncertainty.

I certainly appreciate the official opposition bringing this motion forward, albeit a week late. It’s good to know that they can eventually get their act together and get their paperwork submitted—if not on time, at least in order to debate something.

Make no mistake about it, the issues raised today are serious. Ontario’s unemployment rate is at the highest it has been in a decade. Families are struggling to make ends meet. And confidence in our economy is being tested by uncertainty here at home and, certainly, uncertainty abroad.

Across the province, people are feeling squeezed. Groceries, electricity, housing, insurance—everything costs more, and paycheques simply aren’t stretching far enough. Inflation may have slowed on paper, but the lived experience of families tells a different story. Every trip to the grocery store is a reminder that affordability isn’t theoretical; it’s very personal. Every hydro bill is a reminder of another broken Conservative promise.

What is this government doing about it? Not much beyond slogans and photo ops. “Get It Done,” “Working for Workers,” “Building Ontario”—those are great bumper stickers, but it’s not great policy, and it’s not great for Ontario workers and their families. In order to “get it done,” you actually need to know what “it” is. You can’t claim to be working for workers when unemployment is rising the way that it has been. And you certainly can’t say you’re building Ontario when families can’t afford to build a life here in Ontario anymore.

What has become clear is that this government has no economic strategy. What it has is a lot of political advertising.

Ontario’s economy is strong with potential, but it’s fragile in confidence. Rising costs, policy uncertainty and flip-flops from the government, and a lack of long-term planning are causing businesses to delay investment. At the same time, municipalities are drowning under infrastructure pressures.

This is the moment when we need clear direction—a plan to protect jobs, to foster innovation, and to build resilience.

Instead, what we’ve seen from the government is improvisation dressed up as some kind of leadership. They chase headlines, not outcomes. They spend millions on re-announcements and foreign advertising, and then they hide money while families are tightening their belts.

When the government hides money, it means classrooms don’t get the support they need. It means hospitals can’t hire the nurses that they’re short of. And it means infrastructure projects get delayed while costs go up and up. Hiding money doesn’t make life more affordable. It makes the challenges even worse. When the government refuses to invest in people, the cost of inaction shows up in every household budget across the province.

Mr. Speaker, Ontario doesn’t need more fiscal theatrics. It needs a plan to actually help people weather the storm.

Now I’d like to get to the substance of the opposition day motion today on procurement. There is a rare but valid point from Ontario’s socialist party: When public dollars are spent, they should create public value, local jobs, local training, local benefit.

We’ve heard reports, raised in the motion, that a major hospital project in Mississauga saw $140 million worth of subcontracts go to US-owned firms, while Ontario companies were left watching from the sidelines. If that’s true, that’s a problem, and it’s a big one. And it’s not just in Mississauga.

In Ottawa, the local building and construction trades council has raised very serious concerns about the Lansdowne 2.0 contract, warning that publicly funded work could once again go to companies from outside of Ontario, bypassing local workers—in this case, to companies from Quebec. That’s not how you build strong communities or a resilient economy. We already know that construction labour mobility between Ontario and Quebec has been a major concern, and now it appears it will be subsidized by public dollars.

According to media reports and a tour the Premier recently made of the Lansdowne project, it appears that that project may be in line to get money from the government of Ontario. Irrespective of what you might think about the Lansdowne redevelopment project—and I have season tickets to the Redblacks; it’s an amazing facility—public investment in that project and others should benefit Ontario workers, Ontario companies. Ontario tax dollars should not be subsidizing workers in Quebec.

When public dollars leave the province, local jobs and training opportunities go with them. We’ve seen this movie before—projects funded by Ontario taxpayers where too little of the benefit stays here at home, where local workers and businesses are too often left watching from the sidelines.

We’ve seen it before with the so-called Skills Development Fund. It was supposed to help workers train for the jobs of tomorrow, but instead of supporting the highest-scoring, most effective programs, this government turned it into a political slush fund for friends and photo ops. That’s the pattern: Every policy becomes a transaction; every investment is a headline. The government approach has been transactional and not strategic. They focus on cutting ribbons and not building capacity. They focus on those bumper stickers.

Let’s also be clear: The NDP’s proposal to ban US companies outright isn’t the answer either. It might sound good in a headline, but it’s not how the modern economy works. Ontario’s prosperity depends on trade. Tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of good Ontario jobs exist because we export goods to the United States.

We see the pattern again and again: When the system doesn’t deliver the outcomes the NDP wants, like good little socialists, they don’t try to win the game; they try to change the rules of the game. Instead of helping Ontario workers and businesses compete and succeed, they try to rewrite the rule book. Instead of finding ways to help Ontario workers compete and win, they call for bans and blockades and bureaucracy. It’s like the little kid losing game night with their parents. They would rather reset the board, instead of learning how to play the game a little bit better.

That’s the difference. Some of us believe in helping people compete and win, and others believe success is itself unfair and needs to be rewritten. We don’t have to debate who’s who in this scenario.

Interjection: You’re showing your real, true colours.

Mr. Stephen Blais: I am showing my real, true colours. And it’s why more residents of Orléans voted for me than any other member of provincial Parliament in the history of Ontario.

Ontarians don’t need a government that rewrites the rules every time it loses; they need one that’s going to help them win.

If we slam the door and shut out US firms, what do we think is going to happen next? It’s going to be retaliation, it’s going to be lost contracts, and it’s going to be fewer opportunities for Ontario workers.

We shouldn’t be retreating from global competition; we should be preparing to win it. That means supporting Ontario companies to scale up, to innovate, to compete—it’s not hiding behind trade walls that could end up hurting the very workers we’re trying to protect.

What Ontario needs is a smarter, more strategic procurement policy—one that prioritizes value for taxpayers and opportunity for workers. That means requiring apprenticeship and local training commitments on all major public projects. That would be a good policy to build projects and actually train workers and improve competitiveness. It means supporting small and medium-sized Ontario businesses so that they can bid competitively. And it means rewarding innovation and sustainability, not just awarding contracts to the lowest bidder.

Public contracts should build public benefit. They should strengthen Ontario’s workforce, our industries and our long-term competitiveness. That’s how you keep wealth circulating in our communities—not through protectionism, but through preparation, through innovation, through thinking forward.

It has to be noted that the government continues to miss the mark—billions in corporate subsidies handed out with little transparency, infrastructure announcements made without local labour strategies, and a jobs plan that seems to begin and end with photo ops. They call themselves builders, but it’s clear they’re not following any kind of blueprint.

When local companies are losing bids on projects funded by their own tax dollars and when young people can’t find a path into the skilled trades because training programs are underfunded, or only funded if they make contributions to the government, that’s not an economy working for people. That’s an economy that is drifting without direction.

Mr. Speaker, Ontario deserves better than slogans and stunts. We need leadership that believes in Ontario workers and businesses; that gives them the tools, the training, and the confidence to compete with anyone in the world. We don’t need a government, and we shouldn’t have a government, that hides behind headlines or an opposition that hides behind easy answers. We need a plan—a real, thoughtful plan—to rebuild economic confidence and make life more affordable again.

The real Ontario-first strategy isn’t about banning others; it’s about believing in ourselves and supporting Ontario workers and families.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ric Bresee): Further debate?

Ms. Jessica Bell: I’m really happy to be speaking here today about our motion to improve the government’s buy-Ontario, buy-Canada procurement policies. The reason is that the state of Ontario’s economy today is not good. We have 800,000 people who are looking for work in Ontario in 2025. We have youth unemployment at 22%.

We recently held an employment round table with the member for Davenport and the member for Waterloo, and we heard young people talk about what it’s like to get a job in Ontario today. We heard at every level—high school graduates, undergraduates, PhD candidates in engineering, in tech. They were telling us, loud and clear, it is next to impossible to get a job in Ontario today. How could this be? It’s very concerning.

And yet, at the same time, this is on top of what has been a persistent affordability crisis in Ontario, and that’s not new. That existed before Trump came into power and imposed the highest tariffs on Canadian products in history. We all know—you must be hearing it from your constituents too—that we have persistent inflation. We have the high cost of housing for mortgages and rent payments. We have stagnant wages. We have people paying too much for everything and paying too much for food.

I recently saw this report—I’m sure it was delivered to MPPs on that side as well—that shows that a million people a year are now visiting a food bank in Ontario. That’s Daily Bread—a million people. And you can imagine, the choice of going to a food bank is not an easy choice that people want to make. No one wants to stand for 45 minutes to two hours in a line, in the cold, waiting for food. That’s what it’s like in University–Rosedale right now. That’s how long you have to wait for a food bank. The lines are very long. People don’t want to do that, but they have to because they have no choice.

I would say that the government’s response to helping our economy, quite frankly, has been weak and does not inspire trust.

You focused on cheap stunts like pouring out whisky at press conferences, or setting up some secretive, pay-to-play Skills Development Fund where you don’t even know—this government doesn’t even know how many workers got jobs at the end of it. And you’re giving it to nightclub owners and wives of former Ministers of Labour. Is that nuts? Honestly, it’s nuts.

That is why I am proud to be here today to present a practical solution that ensures we get to leverage government money to help Ontario and Canadian businesses, and help Ontario workers find good, full-time employment.

That is the purpose of this motion. The reason why it is so important is because Ontario spends about $30 billion a year on goods and services and infrastructure, building hospitals, housing, schools, transit. It is shocking to me that that government money continues to go out to US companies when there are perfectly qualified and competent businesses here in Ontario that are bidding and being denied the job—that doesn’t make any sense at all—and the reason why is because this government has written a procurement restriction policy that has some massive loopholes in it.

I couldn’t believe it when I read the details. Municipalities are not covered. US firms with 250 or more Canadian employees can apply for contracts, and they’re doing it—they’re applying for it, and they’re getting them. Companies with existing supply contracts are exempt from these new rules. So if a company has been providing paper to the school board, they continue to have that contract. Given the situation that we are in economically, this should not continue.

All our major allies are calling for us to have stricter and stronger procurement policies. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the Council of Canadian Innovators, the Canadian Labour Congress, Unifor—they are all calling for stricter procurement policies.

This is your moment, and this is your opportunity to do the right thing for Ontario businesses and the right thing for Ontario workers. I urge you to vote for this motion.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ric Bresee): Further debate?

Mr. John Fraser: I will be brief, thankfully. I wanted to come and speak to this motion because I empathize and feel many of the same things that this party has expressed in this motion.

We have to think about Canadian jobs. We have to think about Canadian workers. We have to make sure we’re protecting them, because we know that the Premier is more busy doing something else other than doing that.

The reality is, it’s a great motion—and then you get to the end. What it fails to recognize is that we are an integrated economy. There are workers in this province who work for American-owned companies—for companies that have Canadian subsidiaries but are controlled by the American parent. We’re integrated, we’re connected; their jobs depend on it. That’s why we have something called—wait for it—trade negotiations.

The other thing that we have is trade agreements. We’re in a tough time right now, and if we somehow think that we’re going to solve it by waving a big stick at the United States—it feels good; I don’t think it’s going work.

Like I say, the motion was fine all the way through, and then the big stick came out.

The problem is, and it’s the same problem the Premier had with his ad—not to the same degree; that was a major, unforced error, where the Premier inserted himself in negotiations after the Prime Minister asked him not to. “Don’t do it”—he did it. He took the big stick and poked somebody in the eye. Yes, it felt good, but it ended negotiations and possibly started tariffs. What it did—

Interjections.

Mr. John Fraser: —and I know members on the other side are agreeing with me, is it had the effect of putting Ontarians’ jobs at risk. That’s a bad thing, especially right now, when 700,000 people are out of work and hundreds of thousands of children’s families are visiting food banks every week in this province. It was a bad thing to do—a lot of hot air, and no result.

This motion pales in comparison to that colossal—I don’t know what you want to call it, but we might have some ideas.

We can’t pretend that negotiated settlements and the trade talks and negotiations are not something that we just have to do, because people in this province work for companies that are owned by Americans—Starbucks. When you want to boycott, who are you hurting first? The workers. So the end of this motion—that’s what could reasonably happen. I don’t think it’s an unfair assessment to mak