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March 25, 2021

42nd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2021-Mar-25 vol. A (PDF)

L239A - Thu 25 Mar 2021 / Jeu 25 mar 2021

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Thursday 25 March 2021 Jeudi 25 mars 2021

Orders of the Day

Combating Human Trafficking Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 sur la lutte contre la traite des personnes

Members’ Statements

COVID-19 response

Hellenic Heritage Month

Services for children and youth

Nowruz

Anti-Asian racism

Long-term care

Personal support workers

Dora Skeen

Health care funding / Economic reopening and recovery

Health care funding

Requests to Integrity Commissioner

Wearing of pins

COVID-19 deaths

Question Period

Ontario budget

Education funding

Climate change

Health care funding

Small business

Climate change

Education funding

Hospital funding

Climate change

Small business

Long-term care

Climate change

Child care

Climate change

COVID-19 immunization

Business of the House

Petitions

Internet access

Internet access

Social assistance

Social assistance

Women’s issues

Orders of the Day

Accelerating Access to Justice Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 visant à accélérer l’accès à la justice

The House met at 0900.

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

Prayers/Prières.

Orders of the Day

Combating Human Trafficking Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 sur la lutte contre la traite des personnes

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 2, 2021, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 251,

An Act to enact, amend and repeal various Acts in respect of human trafficking matters / Projet de loi 251, Loi édictant, modifiant et abrogeant diverses lois en ce qui concerne les questions de traite des personnes.

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

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: It’s my pleasure to rise this morning to speak to Bill 251, which is about human trafficking. Speaker, I’m going to spend some time talking about the need for wraparound services.

First, though, I want to start by telling a story. Just a few years ago—I don’t remember exactly when it was—my colleague from Windsor–Tecumseh and I contacted the harbour master in Windsor, Peter Berry, to meet with him and talk about the shipping and the trade that happens across the border. He arranged a ride-along of sorts with us. I guess you could call it a ride-along; it wasn’t a traditional ride-along. It was on a boat, on the Detroit River, along with the Windsor police. As we were doing this ride-along on the water, we were marvelling at how beautiful our shoreline is.

There are obviously industrialized areas where we have all the boats coming and going with various products that are then going to get shipped on from our port to various areas in the province, but there are lots of beautiful, naturalized areas. It’s a really nice shot of Detroit, as well, and other areas of Detroit—as you’re along the waterfront. We were talking about all kinds of different things. One of the topics that came up, as we got just past the industrialized area into where there is a more naturalized area, was trafficking.

The harbour master was telling us about the incredible amount of trafficking that happens across the waterway at night. We’re not talking about those who are crossing the border by traditional means. They’re waiting until the dark of night, and there is trafficking that’s coming across, from Detroit into Windsor. There is gun trafficking, there is drug trafficking, and there is also human trafficking taking place.

Oftentimes, what happens is they come into Windsor in the dark of night, into this naturalized area, and are immediately put in vehicles and shipped up the 401 to different areas all across this province.

What was interesting to me—and I want to recognize the harbour master, Peter Berry. Peter told us that day that oftentimes he’ll get a call in the middle of the night because there is some activity along the waterfront, particularly in that one area. He responds to those calls oftentimes on his own. He is not a police officer. He does not carry a weapon. It’s just him and his ability to communicate with people and, hopefully, to de-escalate any difficult situations he may find himself in when he has to respond to those calls on his own.

Oftentimes he does call the Windsor police—hopefully, they get there in time to support him—but sometimes it’s just him on his own. He has seen an awful lot during his time as the harbour master and has put himself at great personal risk in order to try to not only keep the people in Windsor-Essex county safe but those who are being brought into our area in order to be human-trafficked. He has intercepted many of those transactions. It sounds terrible to talk about them that way, but when you’re talking about human trafficking, to the people who are doing it, that is what it is to them.

This is not a human they are trafficking; this is a transaction. They have put monetary value on someone’s life. I want to thank Peter for his years of work as our harbour master, for doing everything that he does—because he does a lot—but especially for that.

I also want to talk about things that I learned from talking to Peter, talking to different organizations within my community and those outside of my community, about trafficking. One of the things that they often talk about is the different kinds of trafficking.

People often get confused when you talk about individuals who will take advantage of other individuals who are looking to come into our country. All they want to do is come and live in Canada and have a good life, but there are individuals out there who will take advantage of that, who will tell them, “If you give me a whole bunch of money, I will get you across the border. You can enter Canada. You can stay there and live that good life.” These individuals don’t understand that the people they are giving their money to are taking advantage of them. Oftentimes, people think that is human trafficking; that is not. That is a different issue.

But there are those who do indeed bring people across the border with the sole intention of putting them in harm’s way, handing them over to somebody who is then going to sell them to somebody else for sex trafficking.

There’s labour trafficking—you will often see migrant workers or others. A lot of women are trafficked for work—not just sex work, but other kinds of work.

So there is a difference, when you’re talking about human trafficking—and those coming across the border who are seeking to live here but are being taken advantage of by people who claim to be upstanding lawyers or others.

I went to an event a couple of years ago, when we were able to gather in person, at one of the ONroutes in your riding, Speaker. Yes, Speaker, you were there. I met some incredible people who work very, very hard to not only stop human trafficking but to support those who have been trafficked. I had an opportunity to speak to a young woman who had been a victim of human trafficking. I prefer to refer to her as a survivor of human trafficking, because that’s what she is—an incredibly strong young woman.

When she and I had a conversation, she talked a lot about the barriers she faced once she was able to exit or escape the situation that she was in. It took a team of people in order for that to happen. One of the things that she mentioned—and many others I’ve talked to have brought this up, as well—as I referenced at the beginning, is the lack of wraparound supports for these individuals.

Oftentimes, what we’re finding is that when they are able to exit or escape their situation—whether that is through the intervention of law enforcement or whether that is through the support of friends or family members, if they’re able to contact them, or whether they are able to get out on their own—it’s often difficult for them to connect with legal support; it’s often difficult for them to connect with community agencies to get the support they need, to get the mental health supports.

Something I have heard from them is, unfortunately, as a result of trafficking, individuals often will become addicted to drugs. Oftentimes, it is forced on them. It is not something that they choose to do; it is something that is forced on them in order to get them to comply with the wishes of the trafficker or the other people who are abusing them.

They’ve talked about the lack of connected supports when it comes to their mental health—for them to be able to access mental health supports in a timely manner, and for that support to be consistent, for it to be there the whole way through the healing process. That creates a barrier for them.

Sometimes what happens is, as they’re going through this very vulnerable stage, after they have exited or escaped being trafficked, and they’re trying to get the mental health support they need—when they’re not getting that consistent support and consistent access to mental health supports, they find themselves back in a vulnerable position and that cycle starts all over again, or they find themselves connecting to people who are not good for them and are not safe for them. They end up either back in trafficking, through no fault of their own, or they find themselves in other precarious situations.

I mentioned the addictions support. I can tell you that I have heard heartbreaking stories, in talking to parents of individuals who have been trafficked, in talking to individuals who have been trafficked. They talk about how disjointed addictions services are within the province, how they go and seek help. They can go through withdrawal management with support—in our area, there’s a local hospital that does that—and then when they’re discharged, it can take weeks or months, in some cases, in order to get connected with rehabilitation services.

The problem with that is, oftentimes, while they’re waiting for those services, they find that they begin to use drugs again and they start this vicious cycle all over again. That is something that really needs to be addressed.

We need to see real, concrete commitments and actions when it comes to mental health and addictions in general, but specifically, when we’re talking about human trafficking.

We need to talk about affordable housing. The wait-list for community housing in 2020 in Windsor-Essex was 5,357 people. When we’re talking about helping someone exit or escape human trafficking, we have to ensure that all of the pieces are in place to support them, such as housing. We need to look at the fact that oftentimes they are not ready to enter the workforce. They are certainly in no mental capacity, no mental state, to be able to immediately enter the workforce. Oftentimes, because of what they’ve been through and their trauma, they go on social assistance.

Yet in this province, social assistance keeps people living in deep poverty. It’s certainly not enough for someone to get a stable, appropriate, safe home. It is so important, when we’re talking about human trafficking, that when someone exits or escapes human trafficking, they have the stability of a safe home; that they know they are safe in their home and are not going to be targeted for human trafficking and go through that cycle again.

Speaker, I think it’s also important that we talk about the fact that there are certain demographics that are targeted more when it comes to human trafficking. I want to be clear: Human trafficking can happen to anybody. It can happen to boys, men, girls, women. But there are certain factors that make it easier for those who prey on vulnerable people to bring someone into that situation and traffic them—and I mentioned one of those, which is housing. We have to look at someone’s income, which I also mentioned, and their socio-economic background. We have to look at racialized communities.

Women and children are largely targeted, as well, for human trafficking. But it can absolutely happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your background is or what your socio-economic status is. It doesn’t matter where you live. It doesn’t matter what job you do. It doesn’t matter what your education level is. But some people are more vulnerable to human trafficking than others.

We have to make sure, when someone exits or escapes from being trafficked, that they are not revictimized through the process of escaping trafficking. We have to ensure that we are not revictimizing them through the justice system. That’s why it’s so important that our law enforcement, who play a very important role in ending human trafficking, have the training and the understanding, and the empathy and the compassion for the victims and the survivors of human trafficking.

We have to make sure that our court system also has the same—because I have read stories about decisions that have been made within the justice system, where the judge decides that the person who has perpetrated the crime should get less of a sentence than what they normally would, and the survivor is treated more harshly. That’s not the way it should be.

We need to make a system where it is easier for survivors to come forward and talk about their experiences and to know that they’re supported and believed—and that the system that’s supposed to support them isn’t pointing the finger back at them and saying, “Well, because you did this, you put yourself in that situation. Therefore, you kind of deserved it.” I’ve talked to survivors who have told me that oftentimes that’s the way they’re made to feel.

I’m going to go back to where I talked about how it could happen to anybody. I’m going to share a story. Speaker, you’ll be very familiar with this stretch of highway—it’s in your riding. I drive through it on the way home from Queen’s Park and on the way up to Queen’s Park. We’ve heard that that particular corridor, the 401—I don’t think it’s any secret that that corridor is one of the highest-traffic areas when it comes to any type of trafficking, whether that’s gun trafficking, drug trafficking or human trafficking. I was driving home from Queen’s Park on a Thursday evening and it was dark.

On that particular stretch of the 401, down in your area—and I’m not disparaging the people in that area; it’s not them—there was construction, as there often is. Do you ever notice that? There’s constant, ongoing construction on that one strip of the 401. It was down to one lane, and there were concrete barriers to block off the other lane. It was probably about 11, 11:30 at night. I was lucky enough—my husband was on day shift, so he was asleep. I was talking to a friend while I was driving. I have Bluetooth, just in case anybody is wondering, so I was hands-free; I was not holding my phone and talking.

I’m always very cognizant of who is behind me. I’m always looking in the rear-view mirror to see, especially on the highway. Speaker, as you know, that particular part of the highway has a nickname that’s earned, but it’s not favourable. It’s called Carnage Alley. So I’m always trying to see who’s behind me and what’s going on. I was actually observing the speed limit. That’s important to point out, too. In the construction zone, I was doing the speed limit. All of a sudden, someone was behind me who hadn’t been behind me the last time I looked in the rear-view mirror. This car came up on me really fast.

Speaker, as you know—you drive that stretch—some people drive very dangerously; that’s why it has the name that it has. I said to a friend of mine, “This guy is coming right up on my tail, and he doesn’t look like he’s slowing down.” Next thing I know, he rear-ended me in that construction zone. There is nowhere to pull off there. I may have used an inappropriate expletive when he hit the back of my car; I think anybody would. I won’t say it here, because it’s unparliamentary. You think when you have an accident—they always tell you to pull over, pull over. There was nowhere to pull over.

I was in a construction zone. So a friend of mine said, “Wait until you get out of the construction zone and pull over.”

It wasn’t until I got further up the road that it dawned on me that I’m a woman, at 11:30 at night on a highway, all by myself, and this person purposefully ran into the back of my car. I called the OPP to report it and to give the licence plate. The first thing the dispatch said to me is, “Do not pull over. You are a woman, you are alone and you are at risk.” I want everyone in this House and everybody listening to remember that. In this province, that is the life of women. That is our reality. Most men would not think twice about stopping and pulling over and exchanging information.

It was the 911 operator who reminded me that I am a woman, and it was dark and I was alone, and that was a dangerous stretch of highway—because it is well known that it is a human trafficking corridor—and that I needed to wait until the police came before I pulled over.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Questions?

Ms. Suze Morrison: I want to thank the member from Windsor West for your debate. It was really thoughtful. I have to say, your final comments really got to me—when the dispatcher said that you’re a woman, you’re alone and you’re at risk. That’s so true in all of our communities, whether on your stretch of the highway, on the 401, or in my downtown community in Toronto Centre. The experiences of violence against women—I think every woman in the chamber today will have their own stories to share.

What actions would you like to see this government taking beyond what’s in this bill to keep women safe in this province? What do we need to systemically end violence against women in Ontario?

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: I appreciate that question.

I think the first thing we need to do, as legislators, who have the privilege—and it is a privilege to be here—is to ensure that when we are bringing forward legislation or we are changing regulations, we are doing that with a lens that focuses on women or girls; that we look at how that affects women and girls in this province

We need to ensure that we are investing in our shelters, so that women and children who are escaping domestic violence have a safe place to go; and that we ensure we have housing within our communities so that when they are able to leave those shelters, they have a roof over their head that is safe and that they can afford and that is stable for them.

We need to ensure that the justice system doesn’t revictimize women when they do come forward.

I think those are some very important steps that we need to take—but there is a lot that we could see change in this province.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: I thank the member for speaking to this bill.

Part of the bill is, obviously, a legislative review. That’s also to recognize the fact that things are evolving all the time. I just want to ask, in terms of the overall strategy of the bill and the fact that we are going to be reviewing it every few years to continuously improve it, how that will work with the changing times and how these particular traffickers get more and more evasive and use new techniques to lure more people into the trade, unfortunately.

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: Obviously, I think it’s important that any legislation is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it is appropriately serving the people in the province and keeping up with the times. But reviewing legislation, having reviews, is not enough. There need to be concrete steps behind that. There needs to be funding behind that.

When we see that the system is not working for those we have put forward legislation to support, then we need to make changes, and they need to happen quickly. More importantly, we need to actually be listening to the service providers; we need to be listening to the people that legislation is meant to support. When we’re talking about human trafficking, we need to be having those conversations with the community agencies that support the victims and survivors. We need to be investing in them.

We need to be looking at the fact that with changing times—the fact that there really is nothing in here about short-term rentals like Airbnbs or things you can rent by the day, where many traffickers operate out of with their victims. Stuff like that needs to be worked into the bill.

But, absolutely, I think we need to review legislation on a regular basis.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Ms. Jessica Bell: Thank you to the member for Windsor West for your presentation. It was very concerning to hear your story about what it’s like to drive along the 401. It’s a feeling that a lot of people, a lot of women, have.

You spoke about survivors of human trafficking and the support that they need to rebuild their lives. Could you elaborate? What kind of additional support should survivors of human trafficking have in Ontario?

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: I’d like to thank my colleague from University–Rosedale for that.

As I mentioned before, there needs to be safe, stable, affordable housing. When you’re looking at the fact that many survivors of human trafficking cannot re-enter the workforce or have no skills because they started being trafficked at a very young age—there need to be specific educational programs and training programs so that when they are healthy enough, they can enter the workforce. There need to be those community supports.

In this, they talk about more supports for police, more funding going to police, but we also need to be putting more funding into our community agencies that actually continue along the journey with the survivors to support them and to get them healthy.

We need to make sure that they have access to food. We need to make sure that their children have access to the education system. They need a justice system that actually works for them.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Mr. Sheref Sabawy: Thank you very much for all the points you talked about. I really appreciate the story about you having some troubles and being afraid to stop and calling 911. I’m glad that they gave you the right advice: that you are vulnerable and you should not stop.

The majority of times, trafficking is very difficult to recognize, and sometimes we don’t have that luxury, to call 911 and ask for help. We don’t ask for help the majority of times. Do you agree with me that this piece of legislation could enable our enforcement authorities to be able to interfere, and that this legislation can help that goal—to be able to help those victims when they don’t ask for help?

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: I’ll go back to my previous comment to the member from University–Rosedale, when she asked the question.

We need to not just look at law enforcement as the answer to human trafficking. They are certainly a crucial piece of that, but we need to be looking at actually investing in those wraparound supports and those community supports that those survivors will be accessing in the long term.

We have a wonderful program in Windsor through Legal Assistance of Windsor, WEFiGHT, that could use more funding. They are there to help survivors of human trafficking. They represent them in court. Yet this government cut legal aid.

So while I can appreciate the question from the member opposite, I go back to my point that policing is one piece of combatting human trafficking—one piece. There is a much larger piece—when you look at community supports, services and legal support that this government needs to be looking at to actually support survivors.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Mr. Wayne Gates: I thank her for her presentation.

I will touch a bit on her story about not pulling over. I have three daughters, and I have actually advised them that if anybody ever hits them from behind, don’t pull over. I also learned with my daughters that you advise them; you don’t tell them. That’s one thing I have certainly learned.

One thing you didn’t put in your presentation—it’s something that is very, very surprising to me—is that human trafficking can start as early as 13 years old. Think about that. That’s something that, quite frankly, through this bill, we have heard a number of times.

My question is, what are some of the concrete actions government can take with social service agencies, like the YWCA, to combat human trafficking in border towns?

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: I appreciate that question.

There’s a lot that can be done. When you engage youth within our communities, when you keep them busy with activities, when you ensure that they have access to sports—and the YMCA looks at youth whose families can’t afford traditional sports. They couldn’t put their kids into basketball or baseball or hockey, like many of us can afford to. They are putting those services out to lower-income families.

So we need to ensure that agencies like the YMCA are able to operate and offer those programs, to keep the youth within the community engaged and involved; to ensure that there are supports within the community where kids—if there’s something that doesn’t seem right to them, it probably isn’t right. If it doesn’t seem safe, it probably isn’t safe. If someone doesn’t seem safe, they probably aren’t safe.

They need to be able to go to organizations like the YMCA and feel comfortable coming forward and sharing their stories and their experiences. That’s why it’s so important, as I said, that the government doesn’t just look at policing, but at community supports as well.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further debate?

Ms. Christine Hogarth: As a wife, as a daughter, as a sister and a friend, as a stepmom of two beautiful teenage daughters, and as the parliamentary assistant to the Solicitor General, it is my honour to speak this morning to support Bill 251, Combating Human Trafficking Act, 2021.

Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing crimes across the world. It’s a vicious and violent crime that preys on the young and vulnerable. It robs those who have been exploited of their health, safety and dignity. The average age, as we just spoke about, of those being lured into human trafficking is 13 years old, an astonishing and disgusting fact.

This is why it is important that Ontario be equipped to fight this crime and support victims and survivors with every tool at our disposal, and that’s why I feel so strongly about the subject matter.

I am pleased to continue the debate on our government’s proposed Combating Human Trafficking Act, which proposes to open new avenues for Ontario’s relentless fight against human trafficking—and I forgot to mention that I will be sharing my time with the member of Mississauga Centre.

Human trafficking disproportionately impacts children and youth, as well as Indigenous women and girls, racialized groups, 2SLGBTQQIA+ persons, those with mental health and addiction challenges, and marginalized youth such as runaways and victims of abuse. The scariest part? Those are only the offences we know about. Data from the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline suggests that only a small fraction of incidents are ever reported to the police.

As the parliamentary assistant to the Solicitor General, I worry about the number of cases that go unreported. We know that human trafficking crimes are hidden in nature and that for many reasons, including threats and fear of retribution, it is particularly difficult for victims and survivors to come forward.

This is not a problem that only happens somewhere else. My community of Etobicoke–Lakeshore and the city of Toronto as a whole is right in the centre of it all. In fact, two thirds of Canada’s reported cases of human trafficking happen right here in Ontario, with the 401 corridor being a key method of transportation from one region of the province to the next. It could be happening at your child’s school, in a local mall, online or even in your backyard. It could be happening to someone you know.

At the forefront of this fight in my community, I have organizations such as the Women’s Habitat, the Jean Augustine centre, the Gatehouse and the Jean Tweed Centre all available to assist women and children in crisis. I commend the work they are doing.

I had the pleasure of meeting with this group of fine women and other women last week, when we were talking about building a sustainable economy for women—and I was so pleased that yesterday, in our budget, it was mentioned that these conversations are going to be continuing, to discuss women in the workplace, because you cannot have economic growth if women don’t participate in the workforce. One of the items that came out of that discussion was to put a strategy in place to ensure that every child has the opportunity for a brighter future.

While we have made tremendous progress, I acknowledge there still remains work to be done. Our proposed legislation does just that and then some.

COVID-19 has laid bare the social and economic divide that has long been a breeding ground for human traffickers. The victims themselves are more exposed to contracting and spreading the COVID-19 virus and are less able to protect themselves from it, or to seek access to adequate medical care.

This pandemic has forced governments around the world to re-strategize their priorities, which causes us to worry about victims of human trafficking. They are already difficult to identify in normal times, but now they may fall through the cracks even further. But the Solicitor General stated on Human Trafficking Awareness Day that she had a clear message for those who share these concerns: This is not going to happen in Ontario—not here.

Speaker, I am proud to be part of a government that is committed to ending human trafficking. With our government’s anti-human trafficking strategy, the first of its kind in Canada, we have made an investment of $307 million over five years to combat human trafficking and ensure necessary supports for survivors are in place, along with this proposed legislation.

Our proposed act encompasses our anti-human trafficking strategy, and if passed, will unleash the full power and intent of the strategy.

The Ministry of the Solicitor General and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services are the two front-line ministries in this government’s response to human trafficking. Due to the complexity of this crime and the incredible trauma involved, it is imperative that the social services and justice sectors collaborate. We are very proud of our cross-government approach to tackle this, and many, issues.

But the fight against human trafficking is larger than any one government. Combatting human trafficking takes co-operation and collaboration across governments and many stakeholders, including police, community agencies, families, schools, and most importantly, the youth themselves. More and more, these groups are joining the fight and looking to this Legislature for support and prioritization of this issue. We will not let them down.

As an example of the work that we have already done, anti-human trafficking teams have been established to actively gather intelligence that identifies human trafficking activities and intercepts human trafficking networks across Ontario and Canada. The Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario anti-human trafficking intelligence team enhances intelligence efforts of police services relating to identification and interception of human trafficking networks provincially and nationally.

An Ontario Provincial Police anti-human trafficking investigation coordination team focuses on investigation, prosecution, education and identifying and supporting survivors. The team also collaborates with municipal and First Nations police services in the fight against human trafficking.

The OPP has opened a Cyber Operations Centre. The Internet and the dark web are helping traffickers to recruit and exploit their victims. It’s another example of how traffickers will use every tool to act maliciously.

We must continue to improve our existing and emerging technologies to disrupt and prosecute human trafficking rings, while simultaneously working hand in hand with those who investigate and lay charges against human traffickers, to ensure that survivors heal and are able to move forward. This is such an important part—it’s the moving forward for the survivors.

Mr. Speaker, our government’s proposed Combating Human Trafficking Act, 2021, reinforces Ontario’s commitment to fight human trafficking and demonstrates our ongoing leadership in responding to this very pervasive crime.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our brave child welfare and social workers, first responders, victim support workers and health and mental health professionals. Their work is critically important for caring for and seeking justice for victims and survivors. You are our front line against human trafficking, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with you in this fight.

Mr. Speaker, our government voiced its commitment to tackling human trafficking early in this mandate—and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the work of the member for Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock, for bringing this to the attention of the Legislature when she was in opposition. We have collaborated with a wide spectrum of stakeholders to establish an anti-human trafficking strategy, and we will continue to work with those stakeholders.

These legislative changes, if passed, would reinforce the strategy’s key objectives of raising awareness of the issue, protecting victims and intervening early, supporting survivors and holding offenders accountable. It would also support law enforcement to dismantle criminal networks and help deter human trafficking.

Mr. Speaker, this is not a partisan issue. This affects all of us in one way or another. There are children, young women and families in every part of Ontario who depend on this government and our partners to do everything we can. We all have a role to play, and I am confident that, together, we will do what is necessary to help bring an end to this heinous crime.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Thank you very much. I recognize the member from Mississauga Centre.

Ms. Natalia Kusendova: At its core, human trafficking is a crime that thrives and profits off of vulnerability, off of insecurity and off of our youth. It is a crime that comes to affect us all, no matter what city or town we happen to live in. It is becoming the most lucrative business for organized crime because, as was said many times in this House, you can sell cocaine only once, but you can sell a young girl over and over again.

Human trafficking presents one of the most pressing challenges to our way of life—a new pandemic, if you will—and it is up to us as legislators to rise to the challenge to fight it.

En tant que députée provinciale de Mississauga-Centre, j’ai eu la chance de mener de nombreuses tables rondes et discussions avec des partenaires solides, tant dans ma communauté à Peel que dans d’autres partout dans la province, qui partagent une passion et un engagement à protéger les Ontariens vulnérables contre ce crime. Par exemple, j’ai eu plusieurs occasions de collaborer avec la « Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada » et sa PDG, Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, ainsi que d’autres intervenants de l’industrie du camionnage.

L’industrie du camionnage est un allié clé du gouvernement et de notre ministre des Transports dans la lutte contre la traite des personnes, en raison à la fois de sa riche connaissance des autoroutes de l’Ontario et de sa position en première ligne.

Aux États-Unis, l’organisation « Truckers Against Trafficking » connaît un succès croissant en offrant des formations aux camionneurs pour les apprendre à repérer les signes de traite des personnes et à appeler les autorités. De plus, ils ont une ligne d’urgence téléphonique qui a reçu plus de 2 600 appels depuis sa création au milieu des années 2000. Ces appels de chauffeurs routiers ont signalé plus de 700 cas, impliquant plus de 1 100 victimes.

Au Canada, des organisations comme « the Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada » font exactement la même chose, montrant aux membres les signes préalables d’une victime potentielle de la traite, et en leur donnant des ressources pour alerter les autorités. Ce genre d’initiative sauve littéralement des vies, monsieur le Président.

On that note, to those who think they are witnessing trafficking in progress, I implore you to call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010.

I also want to speak a little bit about two other allies in my community I’ve had the privilege of working extensively with in my time as a member of provincial Parliament.

Peel Children’s Aid Society plays a crucial role in the community, working with families to ensure the health and safety of children and youth, and this mandate is no different when it comes to the threat of human trafficking. They have been a leader in both Peel and Mississauga when it comes to protecting our vulnerable children and youth from falling prey to traffickers.

My Mississauga colleagues and I recently met with Peel CAS, and this is what CEO Rav Bains had to say: “Peel Children’s Aid Society is pleased to see the government of Ontario taking a stand against human trafficking and strengthening protections for vulnerable children and youth. We see the devastating consequences of this heinous crime on young victims, and fully support measures aimed at prevention and prosecuting those who exploit children.” Quotes like these both inspire me and motivate me, and they show the good that’s possible when a government for the people listens to its partners in the community to tackle important issues.

Maintenant, monsieur le Président, je veux parler des changements proposés à la Chambre aujourd’hui, qui comprennent deux nouvelles lois et modifications qui renforcent encore la réponse de la province de l’Ontario à la traite des personnes. Ce travail législatif représente le meilleur de l’Ontario, le résultat d’une étroite collaboration entre les ministères pour relever les défis complexes et importants auxquels notre province est confrontée.

Le projet de loi envisagé aujourd’hui appuiera la réponse du gouvernement de plusieurs manières.

First, this bill will support the long-term focus of the government’s response to human trafficking by emphasizing the simple fact that all Ontarians have a role to play in combatting this crime. As my work with community groups and stakeholders has shown me, everyone has a role to play in knowing the signs of trafficking, reporting suspected trafficking to authorities and supporting survivors, because it truly does take a village. This bill will incorporate more community stakeholders, because a crime of this nature that affects us all must also be combatted by all of us.

Second, this bill will strengthen the ability of our children’s aid societies and our brave men and women in law enforcement to protect exploited children. One of the most disturbing facts about human trafficking in Ontario is its disproportionate effect on our children, with the average age of recruitment into sex trafficking being 13—or even 12 years old. This is nothing short of a tragedy. Our plan focuses on equipping those who protect our children with everything that they need to do their jobs effectively.

Troisièmement, ce projet de loi soutiendra davantage de survivantes et de personnes qui les soutiennent, en obtenant des ordonnances contre les trafiquants. Cela comprendra des considérations spécifiques pour les survivantes autochtones, qui ont souvent des circonstances différentes de celles des survivantes non autochtones.

À cet égard, en décembre dernier, le ministre des Affaires autochtones a reconnu que les femmes et les enfants autochtones constituent un nombre disproportionné de ceux qui sont exploités par la traite des personnes dans la province de l’Ontario. Dans cet esprit, la réponse à la traite des personnes par notre gouvernement continue d’inclure des soutiens et des services culturellement appropriés.

Quatrièmement, ce projet de loi augmentera la capacité du gouvernement à recueillir des données non personnelles pour aider à mieux comprendre l’impact de la stratégie, en veillant à ce qu’elle reste efficace en réponse à la traite des personnes. Guidé par des paramètres clés, notre gouvernement aura le potentiel d’évaluer avec précision le travail que nous entreprenons pour lutter contre la traite des personnes.

And fifth, this bill will empower law enforcement with new tools to both locate victims and charge traffickers. This is so crucial to ensuring that perpetrators of this crime are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Survivors and victims of this crime want to see justice served. We hear them loud and clear, and we will make sure our law enforcement has the ability to do just that.

Monsieur le Président, je veux terminer mon temps de parole en réitérant que la traite des personnes est un défi complexe et varié, dont les effets se font sentir dans toutes les collectivités de l’Ontario. Comme a noté la ministre associée déléguée au dossier de l’Enfance et à la Condition féminine, la traite des personnes ne se limite pas à une certaine zone géographique. C’est un crime qui se produit dans nos gros centres urbains et dans nos plus petites villes. C’est un crime qui touche aussi bien les personnes à faible revenu que celles à haut revenu. Pire encore, c’est un crime qui continue de croître et qui s’attaque aux plus vulnérables.

Mr. Speaker, it fills me with great pride that I am part of a government that is pledging and committing itself to doing whatever it takes to fight back, to take a stand against this despicable crime. Though the road ahead will be difficult and challenging, we, along with our community partners and our brave law enforcement officials, will be there to rise to the occasion.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): It’s time for questions and responses.

Mr. Wayne Gates: Thank you to the two sisters who did the presentation.

What is the province doing to implement the calls to action in the national inquiry on murdered and missing women? The inquiry deals with trafficking of Indigenous women and girls.

Ms. Christine Hogarth: Thank you very much for the question.

This is an important discussion, and it has been a long time coming. There were some notes yesterday in the budget—over $18 million, we’re looking at, for this program. But this is not just an Ontario issue. I understand that the minister is going to bring something forward soon, but every single province needs to bring something forward, and we need to discuss this with our federal counterparts. Human trafficking and missing women and girls does not end at the borders of our province of Ontario.

This is an awful, heinous crime. My heart goes out to those moms who have to go to bed every night knowing that their daughter hasn’t come home. This is an awful, awful thing, and this has gone on far too long. I believe we all need to take some action.

We will do our part here in Ontario—and I know you’re going to hear more from the minister of women’s issues—but we also need to talk to our federal counterparts, to make sure that they put some funding in place, as well, to make sure this stops, so there’s no mom who goes home at night wondering where her daughter is.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Mrs. Nina Tangri: My question is for the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore.

I was listening earlier to the member opposite, and I had a very similar circumstance happen to me on that same stretch of highway, when my tire blew. I had no choice; I had to get off to the side. I was very fortunate that an OPP officer stopped very quickly and stayed with me until the tow truck arrived. I want to thank the OPP for keeping me safe that day. It never even occurred to me, at that moment, that potentially somebody else could have come across and I could have been swept away. Who knows, right? You don’t know. We talk about that—and I think it comes down to education. Education and training is a great weapon in our fight against human trafficking.

Can the member tell me what Ontario is doing to train or educate people about human trafficking—what it’s about and how it can happen?

Ms. Christine Hogarth: Thank you to the member for that question.

It is really important that people are trained. You see this in different hotels. They’re doing more training with their staff to let them know what’s going on. You also see this in condominiums. I have a riding that has a lot of condominiums—you look at the concierges and what they see, who’s coming in and out. I went on a drive-along, actually, with one of my police officers, and she pointed out a building where they had an idea that there’s human trafficking in there. They have conversations one on one with the concierges, just so they can notice something that maybe doesn’t feel right in their gut—and that they need to report this.

This is all of our responsibility—to make sure that if you see something wrong, let’s report it. We have to put an end to this. We can’t allow these women to be abused over and over again.

We are putting some standards in place for hotels, for our concierges, for staff, so they know what to look for.

Again, if you see something wrong, please report it. Let’s save a life. Let’s stop this tragedy that these poor little girls and, sometimes, little boys go through.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Mr. Jamie West: Thank you to the two members opposite for their time.

I’ll direct my question to the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore, although either one can answer.

We had a lot of conversations today about the importance of learning about human trafficking. Lynzy Lalande did a lot of education in Sudbury on this. I reached out to her about the bill and asked, “What does this bill need?” She wrote, “Due to Legal Aid Ontario cuts, legal aid requires assistance in criminal court with human trafficking victims during court processes.” Legal aid was cut by 30%, about $133 million. She said they help with victim impact statements, reviewing testimonies, preparing for trial, court support and post-court support. This is all stuff I’m learning. I can’t imagine taking this on to someone who has been trafficked.

I just want to know that if, in this bill—we can also advocate to have those cuts reversed, so that legal aid can really support these people who are being trafficked.

Ms. Christine Hogarth: I thank the member from Sudbury for the question.

We have put some funding into the victim/witness support program. That has been increased over time, so they will have those services at their disposal.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Mr. Sheref Sabawy: Again, I appreciate talking about the social support part of it, but I’m going to go back to the policing—how to identify, how to find and how to combat human trafficking.

Ms. Natalia Kusendova: I think it’s important to note that we are taking a multi-ministerial and multi-industry approach to combatting human trafficking.

The number one thing we heard in our round tables is that we need to raise awareness, because people simply don’t know that human trafficking is very much a Canadian, homegrown problem—with a staggering statistic of 93% of victims being actually Canadian-born.

What we’re doing through our multi-ministerial approach is that, for example, we have introduced human trafficking as a component of our curricula in our schools. We are also encouraging school boards to have survivor-led information sessions for our grade 7 and grade 8 students. There is actually a working group that is happening in the Ministry of Education on that.

Another example is how we’re working with the Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada to help educate our truck drivers in recognizing the signs and symptoms of human trafficking and reporting them to the authorities.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions?

Ms. Suze Morrison: I want to thank both of the members for their comments.

I’ll direct my question to the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore.

In speaking with Indigenous stakeholders about their response to this bill, one of the things that I heard was a concern and a caution to the government that this bill will be used to funnel more resources into policing and not into the front-line, particularly Indigenous-led services that are needed to protect women—and violence against women.

I think a most notable concern in the last week about—why the Indigenous community is so concerned about policing is the active role that policing plays in perpetuating violence against women. Most recently, we’ve had the OPP kicked out of Pikangikum over those concerns.

What is your response to Indigenous community members who are deeply concerned about the role of policing in this legislation and about the resources going into the community, not policing?

Ms. Christine Hogarth: Thank you for the question. It’s a very important part of this.

I want to read a couple of quotes to the member opposite.

“The Ontario Native Women’s Association ... clearly understands the necessity and the timely importance of the introduction of the Combating Human Trafficking Act as well as amendments to the Children, Youth and Family Services Act.... Indigenous women in Ontario have been telling us what they need for years to address human trafficking and this multi-pronged approach stands to provide meaningful change.” That’s Coralee McGuire-Cyrette, executive director of the Ontario Native Women’s Association, one of our stakeholders—and very supportive of this legislation.

Another quote: “We applaud the proactive, cross-government approach the province is taking to prevent and address anti-human trafficking across Ontario. This issue disproportionately impacts Indigenous people, and Native Child and Family Services of Toronto is committed to supporting our partners in government to develop and deploy a distinct Indigenous approach to anti-human trafficking.” I’ll skip through it. This is from Jeffrey Schiffer, who says, “We look forward to working”—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Thank you. Further questions?

Mr. Kaleed Rasheed: First of all, thank you to both of my colleagues for the great work they are doing, especially in this, when we talk about human trafficking.

What kind of partnerships are you guys working on when it comes to our local police?

Ms. Natalia Kusendova: Thank you so much for the question.

It’s really important to note that our police enforcement and our men and women in uniform have to be part of the response in combatting human trafficking.

In our region of Peel, we have strengthened this response by direct funding of $3 million specifically to strategies to combat human trafficking. This is a great investment and an important one.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): The time for questions and responses is over.

Further debate?

Ms. Suze Morrison: It’s an honour to rise today and speak to Bill 251, the Combating Human Trafficking Act.

Human trafficking is a heinous crime that destroys the lives of victims and has deep, long-lasting impacts on survivors. We know that human trafficking often targets women and girls, those who are racialized, Indigenous, queer and trans, and those who are economically vulnerable. It’s vital that we stand with victims in calling on this government to take real and meaningful action and steps to prevent these crimes from taking place.

As a member of the official opposition and the critic on this side for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, I want to take a strong and comprehensive look at this bill from the perspective of Indigenous women and girls throughout the debate. When we look at what’s going on here, we need to make sure that we’re responding to issues at a systemic level, including racism and poverty and discrimination, as well as implementing the calls for justice in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

If this government is really serious about supporting Indigenous women and girls in this province, we need to see more action to not just prevent human trafficking but to empower women and support victims. There’s so much work that we need to do.

Like other forms of violence, sexual violence against Indigenous women and girls is rooted in colonialism and results from the intergenerational trauma that has been caused by the residential school system, the Sixties Scoop, the millennial scoops, and other harms that have been done through the colonial status as

an act of assimilation and violence against Indigenous people.

Indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people are significantly more likely to experience violence in their lifetime. Indigenous women are six times more likely to be a victim of homicide than non-Indigenous women, and two-spirit and trans people experience violence nearly five times more often than their cisgender peers.

Indigenous women and girls in Canada continue to go missing, continue to be murdered. Communities and families grieve these losses daily. The government continues to neglect the systemic nature of gender-based violence, of racism and colonialism in our communities.

It has been almost a year and a half since the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls came out. Thousands of people came forward, through that process, to tell their stories, to share their truths, to share the stories of the loved ones they have lost, with that inquiry. They spoke of their sisters, their mothers, their aunties, their friends who had been murdered, who had disappeared, who never came home. What we heard over and over again was that Indigenous women and girls have been subject to colonial violence for generations. The policies of colonization and genocide that were imposed on Indigenous people are entirely normalized.

It’s not enough for the provincial government to accept the report and say that they’ll listen; we need action and systemic change.

When the inquiry’s final report was announced, my colleague the member from Kiiwetinoong and I called on the province and on the Premier directly to take serious action. We called on the Premier to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to provide funding for prevention programs to counter violence against women. We urged the Premier to recognize Indigenous languages by reinstating the Indigenous Culture Fund, which provided cultural development, including language education—a fund that he callously cut last year, balancing the books on the backs of Indigenous culture.

We asked the Premier to allow all Ontarians to actually learn the true history of this country and to have Indigenous curriculum included as a part of core studies in Ontario schools. But what was one of the first moves that we saw from this provincial government back in 2018? Within days of coming into office, they cancelled the curriculum-writing sessions that had been planned to include reconciliation as a part of our school curriculum.

Speaker, three budgets later, this government has yet to make any of these actions a reality. It has yet to take any meaningful action with regard to education on Indigenous history, with regard to improving supports for Indigenous women, with regard to taking action on the calls to justice in the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls inquiry. We haven’t seen any of this. We need to be taking steps to improve the lives of Indigenous women and girls throughout this province.

In the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres’ closing submission to the national inquiry, they specifically referenced why we need to give attention to the experiences of Indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQ+ individuals as it relates to trafficking and sexual exploitation. From their submission: “Despite the fact that data is scarce,” we know that “Indigenous women and girls are drastically overrepresented in cases of human trafficking.

Given this reality, the Indigenous-specific allocation under the provincial strategy in Ontario does not adequately reflect the disproportionate rate that Indigenous women experience human trafficking and sexual exploitation. There is a clear need for a dedicated strategy to end human trafficking with a specific Indigenous gender-based lens that is appropriately resourced.” I think that appropriately resourced piece is the thing that we continue to see missing from this government, over and over again.

Speaker, this bill does not go nearly far enough to respond to the connection between colonial violence and systemic racism and how that interplays with human trafficking. We still need more resources allocated to Indigenous community organizations, and I want to see this government make that a priority. Like I said, we haven’t seen any meaningful action.

When this legislation was announced, and as I said in my comments before to the last speaker, I connected with my former colleagues at the OFIFC, the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres. Again, they noted that it’s vital that this government commit to a person-centred spirit of this legislation. We need to be focusing on victims—considering how to help them, what they will need to move on with their lives, how we could prevent this from ever happening to them.

My colleague emphasized to me that this should not be used as another opportunity to just invest in police. It’s vital that we invest in communities to implement prevention approaches—not just a police response after the fact. The money should be going directly to organizations in the communities that are actually on the ground servicing communities that are impacted by human trafficking, to support those survivors to rebuild their lives, and developing solutions and programs that address the conditions that lead to human trafficking—conditions like poverty and racism.

We shouldn’t be investing in the structures and institutions that have already failed Indigenous communities for decades. There’s no trust in many of those communities with these policing organizations.

As I said earlier, the most recent example we have is from just in the last week, with the OPP being kicked out of Pikangikum because they don’t have trust in that policing service, and because of the harms that—that policing service has actually directly harmed the folks in that community. How do we combat human trafficking and violence against women by investing in policing, when policing is a part of the problem in many of these communities, in terms of perpetuating that harm and that violence?

My caution to the members opposite, and what I have heard from Indigenous stakeholders, is not to use this as an opportunity to overinvest in policing. We need to be investing in Indigenous communities directly and in the Indigenous-led organizations that are doing the prevention and the education work and the programs and services to support women to exit human trafficking.

Speaker, implementation must mean investing in communities to reach victims. This means investing directly in urban Indigenous community infrastructure—like friendship centres, like ONWA, like shelters, and like housing—in order to protect women in the first place. That includes that people are able to connect with their community, their culture, their languages—that they have access to support networks of people and services. People need access to safe and secure Indigenous housing that’s culturally appropriate, and culturally safe health care. All of these social supports prevent human trafficking.

We need more investments in culture-based programming that grounds people, specifically children and youth, in their communities, in their cultures and in their languages. This helps build up the necessary skills to address the spectrum of issues, from violence to health care to the prevention of child welfare apprehension and educational achievement.

Speaker, I see I’ve only got a few minutes left. I had quite a lot I wanted to say.

A few more pieces that I did want to touch on are pieces that my NDP colleagues and I brought forward that would help women in Ontario. This isn’t just about human trafficking; it’s about the underlying issues of systemic racism and poverty that put women at risk of being pulled into human trafficking in the first place. These underlying systemic issues—poverty, as one example—are getting worse in this province. What have we seen this government do? We’ve only seen it get worse over the last year under COVID-19.

My colleagues and I have brought forward a number of solutions, like rent relief, like an eviction ban, like increased investments in mental health support. This government has repeatedly continued to refuse to take action to address the underlying systemic issues around poverty. The reason that we are seeing a rise in human trafficking is the vulnerability of women and girls, particularly Indigenous women and girls, in this province.

Speaker, in the Ontario Native Women’s Association’s Journey to Safe Spaces: Indigenous Anti-Human Trafficking Engagement Report, they found that the most pressing issues identified by survivors are safety and discriminatory treatment at the hands of service providers. It found that women need safety—a place to go when they get hurt where they can talk, where they are accepted without judgment, and where people understand and have lived experiences. Finding those spaces of safety provides a pathway to stable housing and to transition services to support the process of exiting human trafficking and stabilizing their lives.

The report heard from survivors who had experienced deeply concerning mistreatment and stigma. They found that survivors had concerns around interactions with front-line workers and first responders, like I said, including police. Survivors often face many barriers when accessing these supports. They feared judgment and they feared mistreatment by professional helpers, which prevented them from getting support and the services that they needed.

I want to quote from the report. “Women shared that sometimes police have preconceived notions that the women are not to be believed and are not worthy of being treated with the same respect shown to others. Due to poor treatment and not being taken seriously, women are afraid to report sexual assaults to the police. Police need to believe women when they report an assault. We need a way to change how police deal with the women.”

They went on to say, “Hospital staff are also problematic. They are often judgmental towards the women and don’t treat them as they do other patients. Women mentioned frequently getting ‘that look’ as if to dismiss the women or to suggest they are less important than others seeking health care.”

What we’re seeing is—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Excuse me. Unfortunately, the time for debate has expired. However, when this bill is brought back into the Legislature, you will have time remaining to finish your debate, as well as for questions and responses.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

Members’ Statements

COVID-19 response

Ms. Jill Andrew: Yesterday, the government announced their 2021 budget, and the Premier’s finance minister said, “It’s clear that we are sparing no expense to defeat COVID-19.” This is not the case. Conservatives are cutting supports during the pandemic. Nowhere in this budget mentions provincial paid sick days, and there is no new funding to make schools COVID-19-safe. As I speak, classes in St. Paul’s are in isolation, sent home, paying the price for a cheap government.

Where is income for our individual theatre, visual, dance, musicians and other creative workers who have lost work due to COVID-19? Local fashion designers have had to stop production. Many comedians aren’t laughing anymore. Toronto has the largest number of artists of any city in Ontario, and this government expects them to survive on hope. Hope does not pay the bills.

What about injured workers? Our people in St. Paul’s on ODS-poverty and OW are suffering. Rates must increase. They weren’t even mentioned yesterday in the speech.

Aging adults are facing evictions.

And this government’s grants for small businesses—well, many in St. Paul’s can’t even qualify.

A Conservative budget that ignores the child care crisis, our demands for supportive housing and provincial direct funding for survivors flowing now, not years from now, removes any chance of women’s participation in paid labour.

St. Paul’s has put this government on notice: Your time is up.

Hellenic Heritage Month

Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos: Today is a special day for people of Hellenic descent in Ontario and for Hellenes around the world. March 25 marks the bicentennial of the independence of Greece. On this day in 1821, the people of Greece rose up against the Ottoman Empire in a revolution that gained them their independence. After centuries of living under Ottoman despotism, Greece, the enlightened land that gave birth to democracy, reclaimed its liberty and was a free nation once again.

I am proud that my bill to proclaim March as Hellenic Heritage Month was passed by our government—the first and only jurisdiction in Canada to do so.

We are proud of our history and the gift of democracy our ancestors gave to the world.

The bicentennial marks the restoration of liberty to the land where Pericles orated to the people of Athens, to the land where Alexander was tutored at the foot of Aristotle, to the land where Hellenes stood for liberty at Marathon, Salamis and Thermopylae, where they rose up in 1821 with the cry, “Eleftheria i thanatos”—“Liberty or death”—and the land that shouted, “Oxi”—“No”—to the armies of the Fascist invaders in 1941.

While Greece is free, all nations can dream of freedom.

Remarks in Greek.

Long live Greece, long live Canada.

Services for children and youth

Ms. Jessica Bell: COVID-19 has thrown our education and child care sector into crisis. There are COVID-19 cases in nearly 20% of Ontario’s schools, yet still no adequate mass testing. Women—and it’s mostly women—are quitting or being fired from their jobs because they can’t look after kids and work at the same time, stripping 30 years of gains to address workplace sexism. Child care providers especially are in crisis, and they’re closing down in record numbers. Teachers are getting sick on the job, because this government is not doing enough to protect their health. And very sadly, kids are struggling with mental health.

I want to acknowledge and recognize the parents who have reached out to me to share heartbreaking stories of their kids who are suffering and their loss of children and teenagers to suicide.

And now we get yesterday’s budget. Does yesterday’s budget provide more support to parents, kids and teachers? No, it doesn’t. There are cuts. There’s no commitment to lower class sizes to help us tackle COVID-19. There’s no commitment to continued funding to provide support for COVID-19. There is no real funding for affordable child care. There are a lot of promises about increasing child care spaces, but these promises are false, because this government is doing nothing to help the child care centres right now that are going under and going bankrupt.

If this was our budget, we’d have more support for schools and child care, more support for our kids and more support for education workers and families. That is the right path forward.

Nowruz

Mr. Michael Parsa: Speaker, last Friday, I had the pleasure of gathering with members of the Persian community here in Ontario to host my annual Nowruz celebration—of course, virtually this year.

Nowruz is an ancient celebration that dates back to 3,000 years ago. Although it’s commonly known as Persian New Year, Nowruz is celebrated by millions of people in dozens of countries around the world, including China, Ukraine, Israel, Afghanistan and many more. No more where you’re from, during Nowruz, you’ll always find yourself in warm gatherings amongst family and friends.

I should note that Nowruz isn’t celebrated as a day on its own. Like all grand festivities, there’s a lead-up and a winding-down to Nowruz. I know what you’re thinking, Speaker: “They sure know how to party.” You’re absolutely correct.

The entire Nowruz season kicks off with Chaharshanbe Suri the Wednesday before Nowruz, and it is celebrated by jumping over bonfires—yes, you heard me right: bonfires. This fire-jumping symbolizes the renewal of one’s spirit and the purification of one’s soul before the start of the new year.

After Chaharshanbe Suri, you spend the days leading up to Nowruz shopping for food, desserts, gifts and, most importantly, decorations for the Haft Sinn table. On Nowruz eve, family and friends gather around the Haft Sinn table, which is an arrangement of seven different symbolic items, each starting with the letter S and each with its own unique meaning:

—sprouting grass, the symbol of rebirth and growth;

—coins, representing wealth and prosperity;

—hyacinth flowers, or sonbol, representing spring;

—sumac, representing sunshine;

—vinegar, the symbol of patience;

—apple, the symbol of beauty;

—garlic, the symbol of health and medicine.

Nowruz means “new day,” and it serves as a reminder about the importance of harmony between life and nature—a symbol of renewal and a fresh start. On this new day, let us embrace the spirit of new beginnings by joyously looking forward to this new year.

I’d like to wish everyone celebrating Nowruz here in Ontario and around the world a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Remarks in Farsi.

Anti-Asian racism

Ms. Bhutila Karpoche: Since the pandemic began, Canadians of Asian heritage have experienced a dramatic increase in racist attacks, from verbal abuse to online harassment, to physical assault.

Just last week, a young Asian man had an egg thrown at him as he left work, not very far from Queen’s Park. A young Asian woman was shouted at and called “corona” as she crossed the street on Bloor. Another was harassed on the TTC and told to go back to where she came from.

Speaker, this happened to people I know. They are our friends, our neighbours, our community members. Canadians of Asian heritage are facing these types of aggressions every day. It took the murder of eight people in Atlanta and the brutal violence against our elders for anti-Asian racism to get the attention it needs.

But anti-Asian racism did not start with the pandemic. Canada has a long history of anti-Asian racism, from keeping the “yellow man” out to Japanese internment camps, to the Komagata Maru incident, to the Chinese head tax.

We cannot forget this racist history, and we cannot allow racism of any form against anyone.

Speaker, we have been silent on anti-Asian racism for far too long. Silence is no longer on option. I call on all of us to speak up against anti-Asian racism.

Long-term care

Mr. Kaleed Rasheed: Late last week, our government announced an historic investment of $933 million in long-term-care projects throughout Ontario. This funding is in addition to the $1.75 billion already earmarked towards the modernization of our long-term-care sector. The funding supports the delivery of 30,000 much-needed long-term-care spaces across the province over the next 10 years. With the addition of this new funding, Ontario now has just over 20,000 new and just around 16,000 redevelopment spaces in the development pipeline.

In my riding, Tyndall Seniors Village is being allocated 73 new spaces and 151 upgraded spaces. The project will result in a 224-bed home through the construction of a new building in Mississauga. I recently spoke with the team at Tyndall, and they are thrilled to be able to move into this next phase of providing care for the people of Mississauga East–Cooksville. We know that the number of individuals and families in Mississauga who will require access to long-term care is expected to rise over the next decade.

These 224 new or upgraded beds will make a significant difference in providing that access to those who need it, so that our vulnerable seniors can get the care they need when they need it.

Personal support workers

Mr. Jamie West: In 2018, a Sudburian said something to me that has been stuck in my head ever since: “We need to fix long-term care because the workers there are family when my family’s not there.” Think about that: “Those workers are family when my family’s not there.”

During COVID-19, the shortcomings of long-term care have been magnified. There’s a lot to fix, and I want us to start with PSWs, personal support workers. I had a conversation with Darla Fiset. She’s a home care PSW. She told me that some PSWs make as little as $15 an hour. Darla cares for 10 to 12 clients a day. She used to take the bus, but because of COVID-19, the bus schedules change and it doesn’t feel as safe, and so she walks to those clients.

Tracy Rudiger used to be a home care PSW. She’s now a long-term-care PSW. She loved home care but had to get out of it because of the cost. She said she had to change her brakes every three months. She had monthly oil changes. She had higher insurance than everybody else, and other yearly maintenance fees.

I want to remind everybody that some PSWs make as little as $15 an hour. People often say there’s a shortage of PSWs, but there’s not. There’s no shortage of people who want to be PSWs or train to be PSWs; there’s a shortage of good-paying jobs for PSWs.

On Tuesday, I tabled Bill 266, the Support Workers Pay Act, to address this. Bill 266 is an opportunity to permanently raise that wage floor for personal support workers in any sector, and it will also ensure that they aren’t paying out of pocket for the travel expenses of going from client to client. We have pandemic pay, but pandemic pay ends; pandemic pay only applies to some PSWs.

And those workers are my family when my family’s not there.

Dora Skeen

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: It’s a pleasure to raise on behalf of my constituents in Scarborough–Guildwood. I would like to recognize an outstanding individual, Ms. Dora Skeen, born in 1910. She turned 110 in December. Migrating to Canada from Jamaica in 1980, she has lived in Scarborough ever since. A force of nature who still lives independently, Dora is a true inspiration to all of us.

It gave me great pleasure to be present for Ms. Dora’s vaccination, as she received the COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at her home on March 16, from the Scarborough Health Network and the Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities. Ms. Dora is also an important example of how essential it is for all members of the community to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The fact that Dora is still able to live independently and spend time with her family at 110 years old is a real testament—following consistent guidelines has kept her safe.

Vaccine hesitancy is an issue that for too many is deeply rooted in a history of racism, and this needs to be addressed. It is also an issue that is rooted in the spread of misinformation. I want to underline the fact that all hesitancy related to COVID-19 is a public health concern and impacts our pandemic response for the most vulnerable citizens.

We should all take inspiration from Ms. Dora, who is in her 111th year, and make sure that this trusted and safe vaccine is given to all when they are offered it.

Health care funding / Economic reopening and recovery

Mr. Sheref Sabawy: Health and safety is a concern of every Ontarian, as well as our government, especially during the pandemic. That’s why our government approved the Trillium Health Partners expansion project at Credit Valley Hospital in 2019, as well as the newly approved construction of an in-patient tower at the Trillium Queensway site and a complete rebuild of Mississauga Hospital, in the 2021 budget.

As part of our government’s promise to add 30,000 long-term-care spaces in Ontario, over the last two years Mississauga got 192 beds in Schlegel Villages, 220 beds in Trillium Health Partners, 320 in Indus Community Services, Yee Hong and Trillium Health Partners, 128 in Ivan Franko Homes Village and 224 in Tyndall Seniors Village—a total of l,084 needed long-term-care beds just in Mississauga, approximately double what the previous government allocated for long-term-care beds for the whole of Ontario in four years.

Our government also values the importance of worship and faith, especially in these tough times. That’s why it was my pleasure to support our government’s decision to update the framework to permit places of worship to operate at 15% capacity and ease the restrictions on outdoor dining and patios. This will allow residents of Peel region who have been in lockdown for several months to practise their faith safely and enjoy outdoor activities, given this much-awaited pleasant warm weather.

That being said, we are easing restrictions very cautiously. While we would all like to be open, we have to listen to the advice of our health professionals and cannot go against medical advice.

Our government is determined to place Ontario on the path to recovery, and we will do whatever is necessary. We are all in this together.

Health care funding

Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: “Brampton is always ignored.” “Brampton remains underfunded.” “Brampton is never given priority.” “Brampton doesn’t get its fair share.” Mr. Speaker, these were the perceptions that were prevailing in the hearts and minds of people across Brampton until 2018.

Those perceptions are now history. Yesterday was a historic day in the city of Brampton. In 2018, when this government was formed under the leadership of Premier Ford, we were working to improve the health care infrastructure in the city of Brampton, which was neglected for too long. I’m honoured to share the great news that the Premier and this government announced a second hospital in the city of Brampton to serve Bramptonians better.

I’m also delighted to share that to support the long-term-care needs of Bramptonians, the province is working with Ryerson University and funding them to build a new medical school in the city of Brampton.

There is so much more to Brampton’s support saga. Brampton also received two new long-term-care centres, Guru Nanak Long-Term Care Centre and Indus Community Services long-term-care centre, which will bring 352 new beds to address the long-term-care needs in the city of Brampton.

On behalf of my residents and constituents, I would like to thank Premier Ford, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance for giving Brampton its due share, which was neglected for too long.

Requests to Integrity Commissioner

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I beg to inform the House that I’ve laid upon the table a request by the member for Peterborough–Kawartha, Mr. Smith, to the Hon. J. David Wake, Integrity Commissioner, for an opinion pursuant to

section 30 of the Members’ Integrity Act, 1994, on whether the member for Waterloo, Ms. Fife, has contravened the act or Ontario parliamentary convention.

I beg to inform the House that I have laid upon the table a request by the member for Orléans, Mr. Blais, to the Hon. J. David Wake, Integrity Commissioner, for an opinion pursuant to

section 30 of the Members’ Integrity Act, 1994, on whether the member for Willowdale, Mr. Cho, has contravened the act or Ontario parliamentary convention.

Wearing of pins

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I think the member for Oakville North–Burlington has a point of order.

Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos: As we all know, this month of March is Hellenic Heritage Month. It also happens to be the bicentenary of Greece’s independence after 200 years. I’d like to ask all members of the House for unanimous consent so that we may all wear the Hellenic Heritage Month pin.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to allow members to wear the Hellenic Heritage Month pin. Agreed? Agreed.

COVID-19 deaths

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The leader of the official opposition has a point of order.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: I seek unanimous consent for the House to observe a moment of silence to pay tribute to the 154 Ontarians who have succumbed to COVID-19 since Thursday, March 11.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to observe a moment of silence to pay tribute to the 154 Ontarians who have succumbed to COVID-19 since March 11. Agreed? Agreed.

Members will please rise.

The House observed a moment’s silence.

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

It is now time for oral questions.

Question Period

Ontario budget

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, my first set of questions to the Premier is regarding the critical pieces that we think were missing from the budget yesterday.

As we all know—and maybe the Premier didn’t get the memo—the pandemic is still raging. In fact, today, 2,380 cases are being reported in Ontario. This means people are still hurting. Folks are still in crisis.

Those front-line essential workers, in hot spot communities, particularly, are still facing the third wave of the pandemic—although, those two words, “third wave,” didn’t show up in yesterday’s budget at all. It’s a serious matter, because the budget did not include paid sick days for those essential front-line heroes.

Why would the government not include paid sick days for those workers when virtually every expert has indicated that that’s exactly the right thing for Ontario to do?

Interjections.

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

The Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board to respond.

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you to the Leader of the Opposition and the member opposite for that question.

There is a program. There’s a federal program. This program is working. Some 250,000 Ontarians have benefited from this program. There’s over $700 million still available for that program, and every province in this country is benefiting from this program.

I call on the Leader of the Opposition to join us to make every Ontarian aware of this program so that they can get tested and, if they need to, isolate in one of the many isolation centres that we have put in this province so people can quarantine.

And let me tell you this: The number one combatant against the pandemic is vaccinations. Join us in making sure that every Ontarian who wants a vaccine gets one.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: They can’t take time off to go get the vaccine, Speaker.

The other critical piece that was absolutely shocking when I looked at that budget yesterday was the fact that the survivors of the long-term-care system saw no hope in that budget for urgent action to fix our long-term-care system. This government has shown no urgency whatsoever. In the first wave, there was no urgency to save people’s lives and fix long-term care. The second wave came and, again, the government showed no urgency; in fact, more people lost their lives in long-term care—shamefully—than in the first wave, tragically.

That’s what happened here in Ontario. And yet, this budget shows no investment for more RQIs, resident quality inspections; no permanent increase in the salaries of PSWs; no necessity for working conditions to improve to full-time work for PSWs; no getting the profits out of long-term care.

Why did the budget fail our long-term-care system?

Interjections.

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

Minister of Finance.

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you, again, for that question.

When the Leader of the Opposition supported the minority Liberal government, I don’t think the word “urgent” was in her playbook, and I’ll tell you why. They built 611 beds in that time, over almost a decade.

Mr. Speaker, “urgent” is in our playbook. That’s why we’re building 20,000—over 20,000 have already been allocated—new bed spaces of the 30,000. That’s urgent. In fact, we’re doing rapid builds to have some of them built by the end of this year.

In terms of the quality of care, four-hour standard of care—the gold standard in Canada.

We’re not waiting; we’re already recruiting PSWs. We’re having in-class training and training in long-term-care homes so we can retain them, recruit them and motivate them for great careers in the personal support worker sector.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Here’s the other thing we were really quite disappointed in—in fact, increasingly worried—about what’s missing from that budget: the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of Ontarians who are waiting for surgeries, who are waiting for screenings, who are waiting for various procedures. They’re worried, and they’re in pain. Some of them have cancer spreading through their body. This government, in this budget, did not significantly invest in clearing that backlog—other provinces have. In fact, British Columbia started planning last spring for the clearing of their backlog, and they’re actually going to clear their backlog by the summer—not so in Ontario.

Why did the government turn their backs on all of those folks who are suffering and not include in the budget a significant amount of investment and an appropriate plan, with targets, to get rid of the surgical backlog in our province?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you again to the member opposite for that question.

Number one, all the great people who have supported this province through the pandemic, including our front-line health care workers—nurses, personal support workers, physicians, people who support them—are incredible heroes.

Let me tell you this, Mr. Speaker: I’m not sure the Leader of the Opposition has read the budget, and I’ll tell you why. We’ve put unprecedented amounts, long-overdue amounts, into our health care system—building hospitals, putting money in for long-term care, putting money in for mental health and addictions. In that budget, we also highlight the substantive amount of monies, in addition to the backlog for surgeries that we’ve put in before—another $300 million—through the great leadership of our Minister of Health. We’re going to clear up that backlog.

Education funding

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is also for the Premier.

In that budget is about a third, per capita, of what other provinces are investing in getting rid of their surgical backlogs. So I don’t know why this government can’t do that math.

The budget also confirmed yesterday that we’re going to be seeing more cuts to schools. We’re going to be seeing more caring adults removed from our school system in our province—almost $1 billion in cuts to education.

So my question is, exactly how many educators, how many teachers, how many educational support workers is this government planning to fire this time?

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

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you, again, to the Leader of the Opposition for that question.

If you look at the budget, we increased education spending, and spending is going up every single year through our plan.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve heard from parents and we’ve heard from people right across the province that the most important thing is to bring our children back to school safely. We invested $1.6 billion to do that, and they’re very grateful for that. But we’re not going to rest. We’re going to continue to invest in making sure students can be safely in school.

We’ve put in additional money so that they can learn online, remotely, in underserved communities. There’s nothing worse than, in a lockdown, doing your school online and the bandwidth isn’t there. We’re making historic, record investments in broadband so we can connect every single student in this province.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: School boards in our province are already planning for layoffs. In fact, Ottawa’s school board just sent a memo that 167 positions are going to be cut. The government sent a memo just about a month ago telling school boards to prepare for cuts and firings of staff.

After a year of upheaval, after the most difficult year our students have ever seen, why would this government think that now is the time to pull supports away, instead of making sure that our kids are shored up and that we have the educational workers, the teachers, the mental health supports every student needs and deserves to get over this nightmare of a year that they’ve had to endure?

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

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Ontario’s action plan, which was unveiled by the Minister of Finance yesterday, confirms a $700-million net increase in public education. There is no government in the history of this province—in the first year of our mandate, in the second year of our mandate, and in this coming fiscal year—that has invested more than Premier Doug Ford.

We are committed to ensuring investments continue to rise. It’s why we’re putting more money into skilled trades, more money in summer learning—the largest summer learning program, over $100 million, to mitigate learning loss. It’s why we’re supporting Internet connection in every school and right across the province of Ontario, to end the digital divide in this province. We are investing in all realms—in mental health, in learning loss.

I acknowledge to the Leader of the Opposition that we are going to be providing more support through the Grants for Student Needs, which is the principal vehicle of funding to school boards, which will be released in the coming months—a commitment by the government to continue to invest in safe schools and in quality education in Ontario.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Earth to the government, Earth to the Minister of Education: Schools are still closing, today, in Ontario. We’re in a third wave. There are 2,380 new cases being reported today. There is still a crisis upon us. The pandemic has not ended here in Ontario. Students need supports now, probably more than they ever have before in their educational careers. So why does the government just not get it? Why are they so out of touch?

Why is the government firing teachers, educational workers—supports to students—at the very time that those students need the help the most?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: What is out of touch is the Leader of the Opposition’s dismissal of money directly in the pockets of working parents in this province. To attack the Minister of Finance for believing that a billion dollars in direct financial relief is not a merited investment of tax dollars suggests that you are out of touch, respectfully, ma’am.

The government is fully committed to investing in quality education, to reducing—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): You’ve got to make your remarks through the Chair, not across the floor.

Please conclude your answer.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: It underscores the truth, that the government is investing in quality learning, in safe schools, while also returning monies directly to moms’ and dads’ pockets. We’re doing this through child care relief—a 20% top-up—in addition to direct supports—$400 per child, up to grade 12; $500 per child with special education needs, up to age 21. That is a real commitment to helping taxpayers and parents, and a real commitment to protecting our schools in this province.

Climate change

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Speaker, this question is directed to the Premier.

Moments ago, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against the Premier and his Conservative campaign against action on the climate crisis. To quote the court: “Climate change is real ... and it poses a grave threat to humanity’s future.”

After years of wasted time and millions spent in losing court battles, is the Premier prepared to admit he was wrong, and to stop attacking efforts to fight the climate crisis?

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

Hon. Jeff Yurek: Thanks to the member opposite for that question.

What we have done since day one of being elected, and which we’ll continue to do, is continue to fight for affordability for families and small businesses throughout this province.

We don’t disagree that climate change is a threat to this province and to this country. We want the same things that everyone wants—to reduce our GHG emissions, to protect our air, land and water. We want a strong climate plan. However, we want to take a different path. We believe there’s a different path, moving forward to achieve our goals, and it’s not necessarily what the members opposite are pushing. We think that we can move forward to reduce our GHG emissions and achieve our targets, and at the same time protect our air, land and water.

I’m proud to say that we have our first-ever strategy on hydrogen going forward with this government. We have our emissions reduction for heavy-duty vehicles going forward. And we have our emissions performance standards, which we are working with the federal government to implement in order to attack those heavy polluters in this province and reduce their emissions.

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

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Again, back to the Premier: We need a Green New Democratic Deal to fight climate change and build a sustainable Ontario.

The government lost at the appeals court, and they lost at the Supreme Court. They wasted money putting stickers on gas pumps to show just how angry they were, and those stickers didn’t even stick. But anger won’t address the climate crisis; only real action will.

This is a government that wants to pave over wetlands to build warehouses and that calls carbon pricing a green scam.

When will they wake up, smell the coffee and start tackling the climate crisis the way Ontarians want them to?

Interjections.

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

The Minister of the Environment.

Hon. Jeff Yurek: Thanks again for that supplemental from the member opposite.

What we do believe is that we’re able to have a balance between a healthy, strong environment and a healthy economy. Through that healthy economy, we could put more efforts behind fighting climate change and we could put more efforts protecting our land, air and water.

For the members opposite, just to continue—not only have we introduced Ontario’s first hydrogen strategy consultation, but we have our climate change advisory panel reporting soon. We also are doing an impact assessment across this province for climate change to see how we can build resilience and change through communities throughout the province to prepare for the changes due to climate change. We’ve increased the renewable content of gasoline.

We are going to be moving forward with phasing out the total use of coal within this province—something that wasn’t completed by the previous government, something that was started originally by the previous Progressive Conservative government that is going to be finalized by a Progressive Conservative government.

We are going to continue our investment of $30 million into wetlands and our $20-million greenlands partnership program as we move forward to protect our land, air and water and fight climate change.

Health care funding

Mr. Aris Babikian: My question is to the Minister of Finance.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, my community of Scarborough–Agincourt has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Scarborough is home to more than 600,000 people, and we need significant investments in health care services to support our community and continue to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Yesterday, the Minister of Finance introduced the government’s 2021 budget. Would the minister please tell this House exactly what our government is investing to stop the spread of COVID-19?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you to the member for Scarborough–Agincourt for that question.

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, you can’t have a healthy economy without healthy people.

For the past year, we have focused on protecting people from COVID-19, but many challenges still lie ahead. With vaccines being distributed in every corner of the province, hope is on the horizon.

We will continue to take every necessary step to protect the people of this province against the COVID-19 virus. That’s why our 2021 budget, Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy, brings Ontario’s total investment to protect people’s health since the start of the pandemic to $16.3 billion.

While the Liberals spent 15 years ignoring the health care needs of this province, this government is making the investments that the people of Ontario deserve.

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

Mr. Aris Babikian: My supplementary question is to the Minister of Health.

This is great news for my community. I know everyone will be very excited to hear about this investment to keep Ontarians healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Expanded health care is exactly what Scarborough needs.

Would the Minister of Health explain exactly what this year’s investments mean for expanding health care in Ontario?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you to the member for Scarborough–Agincourt for his question and for his very effective advocacy for his constituents.

Our government continues to take every action necessary to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, while making record investments in the health care system. This means an increase in base funding for health care in Ontario to $64 billion this year. That’s up 4.7% from last year’s investment.

Anthony Dale from the Ontario Hospital Association said that he “greatly appreciates the investments announced today and thanks the government of Ontario for providing hospitals with additional financial resources in an effort to maintain stability during this ongoing crisis.”

Mr. Speaker, our government will continue to make record investments in our health care system so that patients can receive high-quality care in their own communities.

Small business

Ms. Catherine Fife: My question is to the Minister of Finance.

We need to talk about the Ontario Small Business Support Grant. Since it was launched, my colleagues and I have talked to countless frustrated small business owners who never qualified to even apply for the grant. The grant criteria are too narrow. Thousands of businesses have been told, “You’re just out of luck.” We’re talking about family-owned businesses: dry cleaners, brewers, caterers, electricians and more. They were desperately hoping to see expanded criteria for the grant in yesterday’s budget—a call echoed by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the CFIB—so that all affected businesses could receive some support. Instead, they were left out again.

Will the minister do the right thing and level the playing field so that all businesses can receive this much-needed support?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you to the member opposite for the question.

The small businesses in our great province are really the economic engine for this province, but they’re more than that: They’re the identity of many of our communities, and they’ve suffered quite a lot.

That’s why we launched the Ontario small business grant program. That affects over 100,000 businesses that have applied successfully for the grant; we expect 120,000. We’re supporting those who were affected by the lockdown and restricted significantly. I was pleased to announce yesterday that we’re doubling that, because that’s often the difference between keeping the lights on and turning them off for good.

But we went further than that. For those even harder hit in our tourism, in our travel, in our hospitality industries, we announced over $400 million of additional supports on top of the over $200 million.

This government stands behind small businesses. We were there for them before, we were there for them yesterday, and we’ll be there for them tomorrow.

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

Ms. Catherine Fife: Yesterday evening on The Agenda, a small business owner was asked to rate the Premier’s performance on the small business file. She said, “Am I giving him a grade? It wouldn’t be a good one.” She called the assistance thus far “pathetic.”

Today, one in six small businesses is at risk of closing. The average debt that these businesses face is $170,000. Many need more support than what is being offered to them to get through this third wave.

We have 2,400 cases today in the province of Ontario.

What does the minister have to say to small business owners who are rightfully disappointed by yesterday’s budget? What hope can you offer when you failed to recognize the turmoil they have faced during this pandemic?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: I appreciate the question from the member opposite.

We have spent the last months listening to small business owners, speaking to them about their concerns. That is why the Minister of Finance initially launched the small business support grant—up to $20,000 to support their needs. Over 100,000 applications—over $1.4 billion has been paid out, and yesterday, the Minister of Finance announced that he is doubling that payment.

We are going continue to support our small businesses that have faced significant challenges. We’re giving them—100% of their property tax to be covered, 100% of their energy costs that are also being covered. If they go to the federal programs, they can get up to 90% of their rent, and wage assistance up to 75%.

We will spare no expense in ensuring that small businesses continue to receive the support they need to get through this difficult time.

Climate change

M me Lucille Collard: My question is for the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

This government has demonstrated repeatedly that fighting climate change is not a priority. From eliminating powers of conservation authorities to making ministerial zoning orders untouchable, this government continues to put our environment at risk.

Another demonstration of this lies in the budget, which makes no major financial commitments for reducing emissions, with no clear targets and no plans for a green COVID-19 recovery.

Today’s Supreme Court ruling on the carbon tax tells us that this government invested millions in taxpayers’ money in a misplaced priority: fighting against protecting the environment.

Why won’t this government take climate change seriously and proactively protect our environment for the generations to come?

Hon. Jeff Yurek: Thanks for the question from the member opposite.

Unlike the party opposite, we believe in affordability of lives for small businesses and people at home. We base our decisions on knowing that we can fight climate change and that we can have a safe, clean environment while also balancing out the economy. That is how we’re going to move together as a province. Our goals aren’t any different than members opposite—of ensuring that we reach our targets of 30% below 2005 levels.

We have made numerous programs, coming forward, to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. I know the member opposite wasn’t here at the start of the session, and maybe she has missed out on some of those programs that we’ve put forward, but she has to agree that the hydrogen strategy—the first ever in Ontario—we’re coming forward with is a strong strategy that is going to lead to zero-emission vehicles, is going to reduce emissions with our trains and buses, help us store—

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

M me Lucille Collard: We know this past year has been very challenging for so many Ontarians. What they need right now is for their government to stand for them with needed support. Yet, real investments are missing for much-needed personal support workers; people who depend on the insufficient support of the Ontario Disability Support Program; mothers who were forced to leave the workforce; students; small businesses; and so many more.

Our youth deserve a government that will prioritize fighting for their future and fighting against climate change.

Will the government apologize to Ontario taxpayers for wasting so much money to support an anti-environment agenda?

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

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you to the member opposite for that question.

We’re doing a lot to protect the environment. I’ll start with some investments that we’re making in electric vehicles. We participated in investments at the Ford plant in Oakville—to be the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in Ontario. That investment will help our critical minerals industry, as well, and battery-operated facilities, because we want to be a leader in electric vehicles in this province.

In addition, I can tell you as the Minister of Finance, Ontario has issued more green bonds to finance more green projects than any other province in all of Canada—in fact, 27 projects, some $9 billion in green bonds. These are projects that reduce carbon emissions; get cars off the road, like with transit; invest in new technologies—as the Minister of the Environment said, water, parks and so on.

We’ll continue to make those investments.

Education funding

Mrs. Robin Martin: Yesterday, the Minister of Finance released the government’s 2021 budget. The minister has mentioned some impressive investments in health care and for small businesses.

In my riding and across the province, parents and families have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic.

Over the last year, I have heard from countless parents in my riding who are struggling with the stress and costs of supporting their children’s education.

Can the minister tell the House what supports for families and children this government has put forward in our 2021 budget?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you to the member from Eglinton–Lawrence for that question.

The member is right: Parents and families need our support, especially now, as we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The budget is making good on our commitment to do whatever it takes to keep people safe. It also builds on the significant supports for families, workers and employers that have been made available since the beginning of the pandemic.

That is why the government’s 2021 budget proposes doubling of the Support for Families and Support for Learners programs. Now every eligible parent could receive a one-time payment of $400 for children up to grade 12 and $500 for children up to 21 with special needs.

Hope is on the horizon. It’s months, not years, away. Until then, we will maintain our unwavering commitment to protect the people of Ontario.

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

Mrs. Robin Martin: This pandemic has been challenging for families and communities across the province. I know our government has provided record investments to school boards, allowing students to be in class safely and helping to keep schools open. We’ve done this because we know that students need to be in school, learning alongside their peers. This is critical for their development, for mental health and for future success. Our investments have been pivotal in preventing transmission in schools, and they have helped to keep students, staff and families safe.

As our government continues to support school boards, can the Minister of Education please explain why it is so important that we also put money directly into the pockets of parents?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I want to thank the member from Eglinton–Lawrence for her advocacy on behalf of taxpayers.

As Progressive Conservatives, we believe it is critical that we continue to provide direct financial support to the parents of this province, who have worked so hard and sacrificed every step of the way.

Yes, we are providing $700 million more in the budget specifically for public education. Yes, we are going to be unveiling more supports—mental health supports, learning loss supports, special education supports—specific to dealing with September, to ensure we have the safe restart.

In addition to investing in public education, we also believe in investing in parents, by providing an additional billion dollars in their pockets through the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit, as announced by the Minister of Finance—$400 per child up to grade 12, $500 per child with special education needs. It underscores our government’s commitment to supporting parents to make sure we defeat this pandemic and recover stronger than ever before.

Hospital funding

Mr. Gurratan Singh: My question is to the Premier.

For years now, Brampton has made it very clear: We need a stand-alone, brand new hospital, and we need it to meet the growing needs of our city of over 600,000 and the health care crisis.

Despite years of demanding this, the Conservative government, in the Premier’s 2021 budget, has left Brampton behind once again. There is no commitment to build a fully independent hospital; there is no money and no timeline for any work on Peel Memorial and, shockingly, no emergency room; and there is no acknowledgement of any funding for Brampton Civic, Brampton’s only hospital, which has been chronically overcrowded and underfunded.

This budget is a slap in the face to Brampton, and it shows something very clearly: that the Premier doesn’t care about Brampton.

When will this Conservative government start giving Brampton the respect we deserve? That means making sure our city has three hospitals and three ERs. Will the Premier commit to doing that for our city today?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many gaps and vulnerabilities in our health care system, caused by 15 years of neglect. This is particularly true for the health care sector in Peel region.

That’s why our revised capital plan includes an investment of $30.2 billion over the next 10 years in new hospital infrastructure to build, expand and renew hospitals across Ontario so people can receive the care they need close to home.

As part of our 2021 budget, we are committed to transforming the Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness in Brampton from an urgent care centre into a new hospital with a 24/7 in-patient wing. This project will significantly increase bed capacity in Brampton, and by consolidating post-acute in-patient services at the new hospital, we will provide additional capacity for acute-care services at the Brampton Civic—

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

Mr. Gurratan Singh: Once again, back to the Premier: People in Brampton have made it very clear that we need investment in our broken health care system. That means funding for Brampton Civic, that means building an additional hospital, and that means converting Peel Memorial from a health care centre into a hospital.

But the Premier’s budget has no money allocated for Peel Memorial, no timeline and, most shockingly, no emergency room. The 2021 budget is a disgrace, and it shows how little respect this Premier has for the people of Brampton. The Premier has not got any money committed in the budget towards the construction of a new hospital and gives no details as to when we can expect to see one.

I’m going to be very, very clear in my question to the Premier. Will the Premier commit today to converting Peel Memorial from a health care centre to a hospital with an emergency room? Will he commit to building an additional hospital in our city? And will he commit to properly funding Brampton Civic, a hospital that has been overcrowded and underfunded for years?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Premier to respond.

Hon. Doug Ford: It’s the most exciting day, for the people of Brampton, in decades. For 15 years, the NDP and the Liberals ignored the people of Brampton. Well, I have a message for the people of Brampton: You don’t have to worry anymore. You’re going to have a 24/7 emergency room. We’re going to have a brand new hospital there.

What bothers me is how that member neglected and ignored his own constituents. The NDP backed the Liberals for 15 years and they put a little clinic there—9 to 5. We’re going to have a 24/7 operating hospital, a brand new one. They can spin it any way they want, but I can’t wait to get there, get the shovels in the ground and start getting this built, because the people of Brampton have been waiting way too long under the NDP and the Liberals. The PC government is actually building a brand new hospital for the people of Brampton.

Climate change

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: My question is to the Premier.

Speaker, his government’s record on climate change has been costly and destructive: cancelling Ontario’s successful cap-and-trade market-driven program; spending $30 million to fight the federal carbon tax—which the Supreme Court of Canada just struck down—spending $231 million to cancel green energy projects and jobs; ripping up electric vehicle charging stations; selling off the greenbelt to friends; bypassing environmental protections through the abuse of MZOs; and fining small business owners tens of thousands of dollars for refusing to display anti-climate stickers, which the courts have also deemed unconstitutional and a misuse of a governing party’s legislative power.

Speaker, through to you to the Premier: How would you vote? Do the members of your party recognize that climate change, as an existential crisis that our scientists have described, is real?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Again, I’ll remind members to make their comments through the Chair.

The Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to respond.

Hon. Jeff Yurek: I thank the member opposite for that question.

I stated earlier in question period that we don’t disagree that climate change is a serious threat to this province. What we do believe in is the fact that we can move forward to protect our land, air and water and fight against climate change in a balanced manner, protecting the environment and the economy at the same time.

That member opposite and her party’s economic policies for 15 years drove this province into the ground. Businesses fled. Some 300,000 jobs left. Small businesses closed. They destroyed farmland throughout this province, and they cut up and sold off the greenbelt. We’re not doing that. We have a plan, moving forward, that is going to put $30 million into our wetlands to restore them and $20 million to protect more land, working with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. We are expanding the greenbelt through consultation, something that member and that party—

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

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: The party I represent, the Liberal Party of Ontario, created the greenbelt, and at a time when we led the OECD countries in economic growth.

Ontario’s budget from yesterday was supposed to bring hope for the people of Ontario. Unfortunately, what they got was a budget that fell far short. These are truly unprecedented times, yet this budget is abandoning the people of Ontario. In fact, we don’t know what else is hidden in this budget, as we’re still going through it. We remember the last time you tabled a budget, you implemented

schedule 6, which was a threat to conservation authorities, destroying very valuable wetlands.

Why did this government not include a climate recovery, a green recovery in their budget yesterday? Why did you miss that opportunity—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. The Minister of the Environment.

Hon. Jeff Yurek: Ontario has a Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan that’s going to protect the land, air and water. At the same time, we’re moving forward to fight climate change and reduce our emissions to hit our Paris agreement targets, the 30% below 2005 levels.

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: There were no targets in the budget. Why didn’t you put it in the budget?

Hon. Jeff Yurek: Mr. Speaker, the member opposite continues to shout out to us, but I know she wants to hear my answer. She wants to know that we’re moving forward with the first-ever hydrogen strategy in this province, which is going to create a new economy of low-emission energy. It’s going to be able to store energy. It’s about to reduce our GHG emissions through natural gas with a mixture of hydrogen. It’s going to create the ability for trains and buses and trucks to move towards hydrogen-powered engines.

We are going to finalize the phase-out of coal, something the member opposite’s party refused to do in the 15 years that they were in power. We’re going to finalize the ending of coal in industry throughout this province.

We’re investing $30 million into wetlands and $20 million into—

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

Small business

Mr. Stephen Crawford: My question is to the Minister of Finance.

Businesses in my riding are struggling. Small business owners I have spoken to understand and respect that we need to protect our health care system capacity and save lives, but it doesn’t change the fact that many are still struggling to pay bills, pay staff and keep going, with important public health restrictions still in place.

Just yesterday, the Minister of Finance introduced the government’s 2021 budget. I would like to know what is in the budget for small businesses in my riding of Oakville and, indeed, throughout the province of Ontario, which continue to struggle financially while doing their part to fight the spread of COVID-19. Would the Minister of Finance please tell us what is in the 2021 budget so that I can take back this information to the hard-working business owners in my riding?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you to the member for that question.

We have lots of great news not only for the member’s constituents, but for the constituents of every single member in this House. Let me tell you.

I want to quote the CFIB, since the member opposite raised it: “CFIB is pleased to see a much-needed boost to the Ontario Small Business Support Grant” program “by adding a second round of funding. This will help thousands of businesses hard-hit by extended lockdowns and restrictions.”

The OCC, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, said, “Ontario’s business community welcomes the 2021 budget, which gives businesses much-needed supports to confront the current health crisis while laying the foundation for a strong and inclusive economic recovery.” Ontario’s 2021 budget will help the hardest-hit sectors, including new funding for “aid for women who have been deeply impacted by the pandemic, and initiatives related to tourism, training and broadband infrastructure that will enable a strong economic rebound.”

The Speaker (Hon.