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

April 20, 2021

42nd Parliament, 1st Session

< Previous sitting day

Next sitting day >

Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2021-Apr-20 vol. A (PDF)

L249A - Tue 20 Apr 2021 / Mar 20 avr 2021

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Tuesday 20 April 2021 Mardi 20 avril 2021

Orders of the Day

Protecting the People of Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2021 / Loi de 2021 visant à protéger la population ontarienne (mesures budgétaires)

Members’ Statements

COVID-19 response

Health care workers

COVID-19 response

Fox 40 International Inc.

COVID-19 response

Shelley Vaillancourt

Small business

COVID-19 immunization

Arts and cultural funding

Volunteers

Question Period

COVID-19 response

COVID-19 immunization

Employment standards

Employment standards

COVID-19 response

COVID-19 response

Health care funding

Post-secondary education

COVID-19 response

Border security

Small business

COVID-19 response

COVID-19 response

COVID-19 response

Petitions

Noise pollution

Long-term care

Orders of the Day

Protecting the People of Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2021 / Loi de 2021 visant à protéger la population ontarienne (mesures budgétaires)

Private members’ public business

Protecting the People of Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2021 / Loi de 2021 visant à protéger la population ontarienne (mesures budgétaires)

The House met at 0900.

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

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Protecting the People of Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2021 / Loi de 2021 visant à protéger la population ontarienne (mesures budgétaires)

Mr. Bethlenfalvy moved third reading of the following bill:

Bill 269,

An Act to implement Budget measures and to enact and amend various statutes / Projet de loi 269, Loi visant à mettre en oeuvre les mesures budgétaires et à édicter et à modifier diverses lois.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Would the Minister of Finance care to lead off the debate?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand today to urge my colleagues again to support Bill 269, the Protecting the People of Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2021.

Ontario is at a critical stage in the fight against COVID-19, and our government is acting quickly and decisively. On Wednesday, April 7, our government declared a provincial emergency and issued a province-wide stay-at-home order to keep people safe while allowing our vaccination program to reach more people. These measures are being taken in response to the rapid increase in COVID-19 transmission, the threat on the province’s hospital system capacity and the increasing risks posed by the COVID-19 variant.

It is more important than ever to devote every resource our government can muster to defeating COVID-19, and our government’s second pandemic budget focuses on protecting people’s health with our plan to defeat COVID-19, and on protecting people’s jobs and economic well-being as we continue to fight the pandemic, because as I’ve said many times, you cannot have a healthy economy without healthy people.

Le deuxième budget de notre gouvernement en période de pandémie met l’accent sur les mesures prévues pour protéger la santé de la population grâce à notre plan de lutte contre la COVID-19 et pour protéger les emplois et le bien-être économique de la population à mesure que se poursuit la pandémie, parce que, comme je l’ai dit à maintes reprises, pour avoir une économie en santé, on doit avoir une population en santé.

Mr. Speaker, since releasing the budget on March 24, our government has reached out directly to people all across our great province. We did so to talk about the supports we’re providing to them during the pandemic, and to get their feedback on how to bring Ontario out of these unprecedented days. At a time when many people have been feeling the strain of the pandemic, we are profoundly grateful to them for taking time out of their busy days to join in the discussion and to share their opinions.

As the pandemic has continued to unfold, people have been very clear that they expect us to focus on two vital priorities: first, protect people’s health, and, second, support the economy. The feedback we’ve received in these town halls indicates that our government is on the right track with our response to the pandemic, because protecting the health of the people of Ontario and protecting people’s jobs and our economy is exactly what this budget does. The measures in Bill 269 are important components of our budget and our plan to defeat COVID-19.

The 2021 budget measures will help move forward the next phase of Ontario’s action plan—a plan that brings our total COVID response to $51 billion. That includes $16.3 billion to protect people’s health, the top priority of this government because it is the priority of the people of Ontario.

Protecting people’s health is the first pillar of our plan. Top of mind now is getting vaccines into arms, full stop. We’re investing more than $1 billion in a province-wide vaccination plan so that every person who wants a vaccine can get one. We have mobilized Team Ontario and we won’t stop until the job is done.

The plan has three phases and activates every available health care resource to get the job done. For instance, we are investing in a program to provide safe, accessible transportation for people with disabilities and older adults with limited mobility to get to their vaccination appointment. We are also supporting community-led vaccination efforts in First Nations and urban Indigenous communities with $50 million to support the vaccine rollout, including more public health capacity and greater access to testing. Nobody will be left behind.

To execute a rollout of this size, we have brought together health care professionals, medical experts and front-line workers across the province. All of us have a role to play, from the drivers who transport precious vaccine shipments to our communities to the front-line health care workers who put shots in arms, to the volunteers helping to set up appointments, to the friends, family, work colleagues and neighbours encouraging each other to get vaccines.

Mr. Speaker, along with the vaccines, our government is supporting increased testing. Anyone who needs a test can get a test, and they can get their results quickly. Well over 14 million tests have already been completed, and as vaccines roll out, testing will only increase. Our government is investing more than $2.3 billion for testing in 2021-22, and this brings our total investment since the beginning of the pandemic to $3.7 billion.

In particular, we are deploying rapid tests, a key part of our strategy. We will provide around 385,000 rapid tests per week in long-term care, 118,000 in retirement homes and 300, 000 in essential workplaces such as manufacturing, warehouses, construction and food processing. This ambitious testing strategy will continue to ease anxiety, make life safer and ultimately save lives. It’s an important part of our plan to defeat the pandemic and get life back to normal.

COVID-19 has put a significant strain on our health care system. We’re also making sure hospitals have the resources they need. We have invested an additional $5.1 billion to support hospitals since the beginning of the pandemic, creating more than 3,100 additional hospital beds—the equivalent of six new, large community hospitals. The government is accelerating investments to build, expand and enhance hospitals across the province with a plan of more than $30 billion over the next decade. Our investments in health care are strengthening the system today and for future generations.

Yet hospitals are not only the front-line of our pandemic battle, COVID-19 heightened long-standing challenges in the long-term care of our province’s most vulnerable people. Residents and staff of long-term-care homes and their loved ones have faced incredible tragedy as a result. Our government is taking action to fix long-term care so that our loved ones can live safely, and with dignity and respect. That’s why we are investing an additional $933 million, for a total of $2.6 billion, to support our commitment to build 30,000 additional new beds. With over 20,000 beds now in development in the pipeline, we are two thirds of the way to achieving the goal.

But it’s not just about beds, Mr. Speaker. It’s also about the quality of care. We are training and hiring thousands of staff and investing $4.9 billion over the next four years to deliver on our commitment to increase the average daily direct care for long-term-care residents from 2.75 hours to four hours. This is an ambitious commitment. It will make Ontario the leader in Canada. However, there are many hurdles to making it a reality, including the need to hire tens of thousands of new staff to provide the care, something that clearly can’t happen overnight.

We will clear the hurdles and we are not waiting to act. We’re investing over $121 million to support the accelerated training of almost 9,000 personal support workers.

Mr. Speaker, while we improve long-term care and retirement homes, we are also making it easier for seniors to live longer in the homes that they love, and with their loved ones. We are investing $160 million in the Community Paramedicine for Long-Term Care program to bring care and services to the homes of seniors in 33 communities—communities like Orangeville, Merrickville, Waterloo, Brant, York region and Windsor.

To reflect the true character of the Ontario people, the government must act with compassion. That’s why better care for our seniors is such an important part and focus of our budget, and it drives our commitment to mental health and addictions treatment and care, because mental health is health, period. This phrase is so simple and yet it represents a monumental shift in our society’s recognition that people with mental health and addictions challenges deserve access to the treatment when they need it and how they need it.

It has driven so many of our actions since taking office, including the Roadmap to Wellness, our $3.8-billion, 10-year commitment to mental health and addictions funding, providing more psychology treatment to patients, and the first centre of excellence for mental health in the province’s history.

Mr. Speaker, we have a lot of work left to do. COVID-19 has intensified the need for action. To help the thousands of people struggling with mental health and addiction issues, our government is making record investments. That includes an additional $175 million in 2021-22 to provide more and better care for everyone who needs it.

It includes four new mobile mental health clinics to serve rural and underserved communities, a new program to embed mental health workers in police call centres to make sure people in crisis get the right support when they desperately need it, and investments to help those who serve, and who, as a result, can experience particularly troubling mental health pressures, including veterans and OPP staff.

Mr. Speaker, just as the pandemic has exacerbated mental health and addictions challenges, it has also led to a disturbing rise in domestic violence. Our government firmly believes that women and children have a fundamental right to feel safe in their home. The 2021 budget takes steps to make that a reality with new investments to bolster support services for women and children in need.

We are investing an additional $18.2 million over three years to protect and support First Nations, Inuit and Métis women and girls, who can face higher rates of violence than others, and $18.5 million over three years to support victims of domestic violence and human trafficking survivors find and keep a safe place to live in. We remain committed to supporting the victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and other violent crimes, because this is a government that will always stand up for victims because every law-abiding citizen deserves to be protected.

Mr. Speaker, many know me as a numbers person. Before entering public life, my career was in financial markets, so I know just how important fiscal responsibility, sustainability and transparency are. It was a guiding principle when I was in the private sector and it remains a guiding principle in my role as finance minister and President of the Treasury Board.

There is no more important time to be honest and upfront with the people of this province than during a period of uncertainty such as we are experiencing now.

Mr. Speaker, in a moment, I’m going to invite my parliamentary assistant, Stan Cho, to speak to this House in further detail about our plan to protect the economy and the measures in Bill 269 that support our government’s action plan, and that’s why I will be splitting my time with the member from Willowdale.

Before I do so, I would like to talk about our province’s fiscal position. My job is to ensure we make every resource available to win our battle against the virus, and we have. The Ontario government is projecting to spend $173 billion in 2021-22, and when you consider that the government spent $148.8 billion in 2018-19, it is clear we have spared no expense to defeat COVID-19.

Of course, as it has for governments around the world, this spending has resulted in record deficits. We project the deficit will be $33.1 billion in 2021-22, and, while this is neither sustainable nor desirable forever, I’m absolutely, unequivocally convinced it is necessary to get through the pandemic and to recover strongly. In fact, I believe the price of inaction would be much, much higher in terms of lives lost, jobs and prosperity, because, as I said, you cannot have a healthy economy without healthy people.

In this budget, we, once again, outlined three economic and fiscal scenarios, to be straightforward about the uncertainty that the global economy faces and the risks it could pose to our province’s finances. We will continue to be transparent, with regular updates as we continue the fight against COVID-19.

Now, there is no doubt that our return to fiscal sustainability will take many years. Some say tax hikes or cuts to public services will be necessary due to COVID-19. I say they are wrong. The other path is to get Ontario growing again. I’m convinced that along with a modern government and a federal partner who pays their fair share, economic growth is the key to our fiscal recovery, and that growth will create jobs, provide revenues to support critical public services and ensure a sustainable fiscal position.

Since 2018, we have worked hard to confront Ontario’s competitive issues, we have strengthened the foundation of our province’s economy, and, to build on that, later this year our government will release our plan to create the conditions for stronger, longer-term economic growth. But, for now, as we deal with the third wave, our focus remains on protecting health and jobs threatened by COVID-19.

In conclusion, since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made a simple promise to the people of Ontario: Your government will do whatever it takes to protect you. The 2021 budget outlines the historic commitments our government is making to keep people safe, to strengthen our health care system in the face of the pandemic and position it to better support Ontario’s growing health needs for the future and for today, because, even after the pandemic is over, the health of the people in Ontario will continue to be Ontario’s and this government’s highest priority.

Bill 269 contains vital measures to support Ontario’s action plan, and that plan takes us closer to the day when people no longer worry about a virus that can harm their health, take away their jobs or undermine the future of their small business. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that the 14.7 million people of Ontario can accomplish incredible things when we work towards a common goal.

La COVID-19 nous aura appris au moins une chose : les 14,7 millions d’Ontariennes et d’Ontariens peuvent accomplir des choses incroyables lorsqu’ils travaillent à atteindre un but commun.

I know that their hard work, ingenuity and commitment to look after each other will set us up on a path that restores Ontario’s place as the economic engine of this country. The Ontario spirit will get us through COVID-19—of this I have no doubt—and, when that time comes, the Ontario spirit will unleash growth unlike anything we’ve seen in this province ever before. Until then, with grateful hearts, our government expresses its profound admiration and respect to the people of Ontario.

We know the road back won’t be straight or easy. Even as we face a very challenging third wave and variants of concern, hope is on the horizon, and we remain absolutely committed to seeing people through these trying days and into a better future.

I’d like to now invite my parliamentary assistant, Stan Cho, to talk about the second pillar: protecting our economy.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Well, the minister did say he’d be sharing his time, so we turn to the parliamentary assistant, the member for Willowdale.

Mr. Stan Cho: Good morning to all my colleagues in the Legislature today.

On March 18, less than a week before the government tabled its annual budget, a member of this House spoke to the press about what should be included. On March 18, this member suggested that the government should focus on fixing long-term care in Ontario, and asked that the budget provide funding to hire and train personal support workers. Six days later, on March 24, our government did just that. As part of the largest recruitment of personal support workers in Ontario’s history, we provided $121 million to accelerate the training of 9,000 PSWs and extended the wage enhancement for over 158,000 PSWs.

On March 18, this member asked that this year’s budget include funding to meet the commitment to provide four hours of average daily care to long-term-care residents. On March 24, our government did just that by investing $4.9 billion to meet our nation-leading commitment.

On March 18, this member said, “We know that there are some 227,000 people who have either postponed or cancelled surgeries and procedures. That has to be dealt with. There needs to be a solid plan to get those surgeries and procedures done.” And on March 24, the government laid out a solid plan, including a $300-million investment to deal with the surgical backlog.

On March 18, the same member of this House asked the government to help hospitals with their operating deficits. On March 24, the budget provided $700 million to do just that.

On March 18, the member asked for a new hospital for Brampton. On March 24, our government delivered.

On March 18, the member asked that the government focus on supporting small business, to give them help and hope. On March 24, the government doubled the Ontario Small Business Support Grant, giving businesses up to $40,000 in cash payments.

Speaker, the member making these suggestions on March 18 was the leader of Her Majesty’s loyal opposition. So you can imagine my surprise when I learned the members opposite would not be supporting the government’s budget. After all, it delivered on every single one of the priorities their party leader had outlined just days before the budget was tabled in this very Legislature. So somewhere over the course of six days—six days—the members opposite changed their minds.

I thought to myself, there must be things in this budget that the opposition objects to. There has to be. There must be parts of this budget so egregious to the members opposite that they would vote against the very measures they were calling for the government to implement.

And over the past three weeks of debate, I’ve been in this chamber and in committee. I’ve listened very carefully, and I’ve waited and waited. I waited to hear what it was in this budget that the opposition objected to. But I’ve heard nothing. For three weeks of debate, the opposition has not raised a single issue with what is in this budget. Their only objection—their only objection, it seems to me—is with what they don’t think is in this budget.

Now members opposite are going to vote against this budget, are going to attempt to vote down the measures, many of which they themselves have called for, that this government is putting in place to support their constituents. The opposition hasn’t outlined a single problem with what’s actually in the government’s budget, but for purely partisan gain, they are going to vote against it.

Sadly, these partisan games are not a new phenomenon. Last year, our government invested $2.8 billion in our fall preparedness plan for testing and contact tracing to support hospitals and purchase flu vaccines, $1 billion to purchase PPE and $1.5 billion in pandemic pay for front-line health care workers. The NDP and the Liberals voted against. In this budget, the government is investing a further $1 billion for vaccine distribution, $2.3 billion for increased testing and $1.8 billion to support hospitals. The NDP and Liberals are voting against.

Last year, this government invested $1.75 billion to increase capacity and build new long-term-care beds. The NDP and Liberals voted against. In this budget, the government is investing another close to $1 billion to build 30,000 long-term-care beds. Two thirds of those beds are already in development. After years of propping up the Liberal government that built just 600 beds over the course of nearly a decade, the NDP plans to vote against this increased funding.

Speaker, when it comes to supporting Ontario’s entrepreneurs, small businesses and job creators, last year, this government spent $4.8 billion to lower commercial and industrial hydro rates, reduce property taxes and eliminate the tax on jobs for the smallest of small businesses. The Liberals and NDP voted against all of it. This year, the government is doubling the small business grant to provide struggling small businesses with immediate support, a program that has already distributed more than $1.4 billion to over 100,000 main street businesses in the first round alone.

The Liberals and NDP are voting against it and, instead, want small businesses to shoulder the cost of a paid sick leave program that’s already being provided by the federal government.

Perhaps the reason the uptake on the federal paid sick days program in Ontario has been so slow is because the Ontario Liberals and NDP have for weeks been trying to convince Ontarians that the program doesn’t exist. The members opposite often talk about undermining public trust and confusing communications, yet the NDP and Liberals have done nothing but confuse the public by repeating the false claim that paid sick leave does not exist in Ontario and undermine trust in this federal program.

They’ve failed to mention that this government was the first in Canada to protect workers from losing their jobs if they needed to self-isolate or look after an ailing loved one. Instead, they’ve done everything they can to suggest that Ontario workers don’t have access to paid sick leave when they absolutely do.

So what does a Liberal-NDP COVID-19 response look like? Based on their voting record, less money for hospitals, fewer long-term-care beds and more small business bankruptcies. Talk is cheap, Speaker, but when it comes to actions, the members opposite haven’t missed an opportunity to vote against increasing spending to protect people and support jobs.

Ontarians are rightfully exhausted. It’s been an impossible year, and we are facing a harder spring than any of us imagined or hoped for. Our government has had to move quickly to make tough decisions with limited information and few good options at times. With variants of concern ripping through our cities and a slower-than-expected vaccine supply from the federal government, I believe that the difficult choices being made are only in the best interests of the people we serve, to protect the health and safety of our communities.

But no one—no one—on this side of the House is under any illusion about the devastation these measures cause small businesses, the hardship they cause for families or the strain they place on the mental health of Ontarians.

But instead of moving forward with investments we know will help, policies and funding they themselves have called for, the NDP and the Liberals will once again put their partisan interests above all else and vote against doubling the Small Business Support Grant, vote against giving parents $400 per child, vote against an additional $175 million for mental and addictions funding. Why, Speaker? Well, during second reading debate, the member from Ottawa South complained that the budget “is barely 200 pages.” A $51-billion total investment to protect the lives and livelihoods of Ontarians—but not enough pages for the member from Ottawa South.

The members opposite claim that this budget cuts funding. It was the first thing the Leader of the Opposition said on March 24 in her press conference. And we’ve heard numerous times these past weeks from members opposite that the government is cutting education funding. But I’ll ask the members opposite who are in the chamber now: Which page? Which page of the budget shows this cut to education funding that they keep talking about? Because I’ve read this budget cover to cover, all 211 pages, and what I can see is that on page 7 it shows, in black and white, an increase in base program funding for education this year, in 2021; again next year, in 2022, in 2023 and in 2024.

On page 9 of the budget—and for those watching at home, if you’re seeing the budget online, you’ll have to add 20 to the page numbers, because they count the index; so on page 9 of the physical copy, 29 of the virtual copy—there’s a nice chart there for members opposite that shows that base program spending across all ministries increases every year between now and 2024. And in case the members opposite skipped over those pages, they can also find the year-over-year increases in education funding on page 11, page 164 and page 174.

All of that increase in funding is on top of the billions of dollars that this government has invested during the pandemic to protect students, to hire additional teachers, to keep class sizes small, hire more cleaning staff, hire public health nurses for schools and provide rapid testing. In truth, Speaker, contrary to the claims made by the opposition, the budget shows on page 174, 194 online, that the base funding for education increases from $30.56 billion last year, a record amount, to $31.26 billion this year.

Hon. John Yakabuski: That’s more, isn’t it?

Mr. Stan Cho: That’s actually an increase of $702 million, or 2.3%. If you look at the inflation rate on page 129 of the budget, 149 online, Ontario’s inflation is projected to be 1.7%. The increase to education is above the rate of inflation. So not only is there not a cut to education funding, but increases to education outpace inflation.

Hon. John Yakabuski: Wow. And they’re against it.

Mr. Stan Cho: And the opposition stands against it.

Speaker, this government is investing in public education, and we believe that the investments we’re making will provide better outcomes for students. I don’t expect the opposition to agree with that. We can and should have a robust debate in this chamber about how to get the very best education for children in Ontario. But to claim that the government is cutting education funding is a bit more than disingenuous.

The NDP and the Liberals believe that the measure of success of any public policy or government program is the amount of money that you throw at it, but on this side of the House, we believe that it’s the outcomes that matter, that we should measure the success of Ontario’s education system not by how much it costs but by the quality of education that our kids, our students, receive. We believe that spending taxpayer dollars should buy the people of Ontario better outcomes, whether that’s in education, health care, transportation, and we believe that there is always room to improve the way that the public sector operates.

So, Speaker, while this government is spending historic amounts to do everything possible to protect the health and safety of Ontarians, to support families, businesses and communities, we also know that Ontarians deserve to have their money spent to provide them with the best results possible. That’s part of the reason why being transparent and accountable is so important to this government.

I’ll remind the members of this chamber that we are the only government in Canada who has, even during this time of global uncertainty, charted a path to financial stability. The previous provincial Liberal government, during the best of economic times, failed to meet eight of their last 14 financial reporting deadlines—eight of their last 14, Speaker. By contrast, this government hasn’t missed one.

The role of the opposition is to criticize. The members opposite have brought up the hawk in this very chamber many times, to keep a critical eye on the government. I understand that. I respect that. But while this government has been fighting COVID-19, the opposition has been fighting the government. Speaker, now is the time to work together to support the necessary investments in things like hospitals, vaccines and long-term-care homes—priorities that the opposition themselves called for just a few short days before the budget.

If the opposition thinks that the government should be spending more, then stand with us. Stand with us in asking the federal government to pay their fair share of the Canada Health Transfer.

The Ontario Liberals have a number of their former caucus colleagues who sit as Liberal members of Parliament today. Give them a call. Ask them why, in yesterday’s federal budget, they once again failed to provide the funding Ontario desperately needs. Stand with us, and with all the provinces and territories, in calling on the federal government to immediately increase the Canada Health Transfer to cover at least 35% of health spending. Speaker, today the Canada Health Transfer covers 22% of health care spending in Ontario. An original commitment of 50% stands at 22%. Over the next two decades, that will decrease to just 18%, a gap of $30 billion a year in funding for Ontario alone.

While this government is making unprecedented investments in health care, it’s the federal government that will be reducing health care funding in Ontario by $30 billion a year. Where is the NDP’s outrage about that? Where is the Ontario Liberals’ outrage?

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: Where are they? Like, really, though, where are they?

Mr. Stan Cho: Speaker—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt. The member for Niagara Centre knows the rules. I would ask him not to repeat his last statement. Thank you.

I go back to the member from Willowdale.

Mr. Stan Cho: Thank you very much, Speaker. So instead of working with this government—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): My apologies. It has been pointed out I’ve made a mistake. It’s Niagara West, not Niagara Centre. You know the rules more than the member from Niagara Centre. Don’t do it again. Thank you.

Back to the member from Willowdale.

Mr. Stan Cho: Mr. Speaker, I look forward to going into both Niagara West, Niagara Centre and Niagara Falls—great areas of the province. I really look forward to this when COVID-19 is behind us.

In the meantime, we have an opportunity here to support Ontarians, but instead of working with this government—and I want to remind the NDP that they worked with the Liberal government in 2011 when they voted in favour of Liberal budgets; in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014. But instead of working with us to fight the COVID-19 virus, members opposite want to work together to fight this government.

In voting against this budget, the members for Brampton East, Brampton Centre and Brampton North will vote against a new hospital in Brampton, will vote against a new medical school in Brampton, against a new public school in Brampton, including the creation of an additional 73 child care spaces, and against more than $71 million for 5,128 small businesses in Brampton. Speaker, they’ll vote against these things their constituents need, to score cheap political points.

The members for Windsor–Essex and Windsor West will vote against the new Windsor Regional Hospital, will vote against the expansion of mental health in-patient beds at Windsor’s Hôtel-Dieu health care, and against more than $19 million to support 1,429 small businesses in the Windsor area. Speaker, they’ll vote against these things their constituents need to score cheap political points.

The members for Niagara Falls, Niagara Centre and St. Catharines will vote against $10 million in support for Ontario’s wine industry, against $600 million to support Ontario’s tourism sector, and against more than $20 million to support 1,414 small businesses in the Niagara region. They’ll vote against these things their constituents need to score cheap political points.

The members for Ottawa Centre, Orléans and Ottawa–Vanier will vote against a new children’s treatment centre at CHEO, against $2 million for francophone non-profit organizations, against $2.4 million to train 300 new PSWs in the Ottawa region, and against more than $80 million in funding for 5,186 small businesses in Ottawa. They’ll vote against these things their constituents need to score cheap political points.

The member from Waterloo, who has stood in this House for the past year and talked about the importance of supporting small business, who has told main street businesses appearing before the finance committee that the opposition is looking out for them—that same member will vote against doubling the small business support grant for those very small businesses, including voting against the more than $10 million for almost 700 businesses in Waterloo; will vote against $10 million in additional funding for the Digital Main Street program to allow businesses to retool to sell online; will vote against making child care more affordable for women and caregivers trying to re-enter the workforce; will vote against two-way, all-day GO service; will vote against almost $1 billion in training and employment supports; will vote against an additional $2.8 billion to expand broadband across Ontario.

Speaker, the member from Waterloo will vote against perhaps the most important thing we can do for our economy: The member will vote against $1 billion to get vaccines into the arms of every Ontarian, our best hope for reopening those small businesses that she claims to support.

Interjection.

Mr. Stan Cho: I hope they change their minds.

Speaker, since the very beginning of this pandemic, this government has been there for Ontarians and for Ontario businesses. This whole process hasn’t been easy. We’ve had to make difficult choices, no doubt. No one on this side of the House is claiming that the government’s response to this global pandemic has been perfect; it hasn’t. But Speaker, around the world all governments agree that there is no playbook against this pandemic. There’s no guide for this crisis.

When this government has made mistakes, we’ve learned from them. We’ve worked quickly to remedy them. We’ve moved fast, been iterative, evolved. Most importantly, we’ve listened to the experts and to Ontarians. Throughout this crisis, a crisis that’s lasted longer than any of us were prepared for, we’ve only ever acted to protect Ontario.

Speaker, it’s easy to criticize, and there are at times valid criticisms, but what I sincerely find most troubling is that in this Legislature it has become increasingly clear that members opposite are more interested in their own political advancement than they are in working to improve legislation like this budget and help Ontarians. As I’ve said before, and I’m reminded in this Legislature often, it is the role of the opposition to hold the government to account, to criticize the government to better serve the people we are all in here to serve collectively. It is not the role of the opposition to root for failure.

There are members opposite who have offered well-reasoned and thoughtful suggestions. The member for Scarborough–Guildwood, for example, brought forward a number of amendments at committee last week around Invest Ontario. I really appreciated that because we were able to have a very meaningful discussion around these amendments, and her feedback has sparked real conversation, dialogue about how we can ensure good, equitable governance in this new critical agency—an agency that attracts investment to Ontario.

I appreciated the member’s work in offering up suggestions on how this government can work better to serve Ontarians through this budget bill, and I extended my offer to work with her, together, moving through this to make sure we can achieve those better outcomes for all Ontarians. That is exactly the kind of dialogue and debate we should be having in this Legislature.

In contrast, the Ontario NDP, after spending two weeks saying that the government budget measures weren’t good enough, to my surprise offered a grand total of zero amendments in finance committee—so no problems found inside the budget, but nothing of constructive value to offer to the budget. This government is doing everything that it can to pilot our province through this storm and we need the opposition’s help, their suggestions, their ideas and even their criticism to improve our response.

In these times of great uncertainty, we need all hands on deck, but that only works if the opposition actually wants the response to succeed. The leader of the NDP first calls for a host of measures before the budget, and then, after the government introduces those very measures, attempts to vote them down; criticizes the government for not doing enough, but offers no suggestions, no amendments for the bill.

I’ll remind the Legislature that this government, within days of the first cases of COVID-19 in Ontario, made $17 billion available to fight this pandemic, immediately.

As Premier Ford has said, we have spared no expense over the past year to protect the health and safety of the people we serve, as evidenced by our $51 billion pandemic response tabled in this budget; as evidenced, in the page numbers cited earlier, in our $186 billion spend to protect our core programs and services during these very difficult times; as evidenced by the $16.3 billion invested into our health care system, $5.1 billion into increased capacity and addressing the surgical backlog, $1 billion for vaccines, and $23.3 billion to protect our jobs and our economy.

It’s never too late to do the right thing. It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing. So I hope that the members opposite will change their minds.

There is an opportunity. Hope does spring eternal. As we see brighter days on the horizon here in our province and around the world, I have hope in this Legislature today as well. I have hope that the opposition will change their minds, will support their constituents, and will support small business, our health care system and our long-term-care sector, all of which have been hit so hard by this globally uncertain situation that nobody asked for. I hope that they will change their minds and vote in favour of this increase in spending to protect health, to protect jobs here in Ontario and to protect our future.

I hope they will work with us to fight this pandemic instead of fighting the government for partisan gain. And, Speaker, I hope that we can all agree that what Ontario needs now, during these difficult days in particular, is for its leaders to stand united, to work together, to display that Ontario spirit the Premier talks about so often.

It’s been just under 1,100 days since I’ve had the privilege of being voted into office. Every single day, I’m reminded of just what an honour it is to stand in this place, to represent the fine people of Willowdale. I cannot help but be reminded of my family’s story, which is the story of so many in this chamber: the story of hard work, the story of sacrifice, the story of tough times to provide a better life for the next generation. Speaker, all of that has been threatened by this pandemic.

As our Premier and as our government has shown from the very beginning, we have spared no expense to provide that support, and it has not been the time for politics. So, Speaker, I am sincerely, in earnest, pleading with the members opposite to put our partisan differences aside.

There is no criticism you can find in the budget. There are no constructive additions you have provided outside the budget. It stands to reason that you will support this budget. I sincerely hope, for the sake of the people of this province today, for the sake of our next generation, for Sullivan, for those to follow afterwards, for our core programs and services, for Ontario to remain the best place to live on the entire planet, that you will vote in favour of those investments into health care, into long-term care, into our economy. If you’re not going to do it for today, please let’s do it for tomorrow and truly display what is rightly called the Ontario spirit.

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

Ms. Jennifer K. French: I’m pleased to have the opportunity to ask a question of the President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Finance, whose remarks I listened to intently. He said the Ontario spirit will get us through the pandemic and claimed to be a numbers guy. So my question is about that. In terms of the sections of the budget on social assistance and income support, the overall funding to children, community and social services is flat and not keeping pace with inflation. The increases are less than inflation. There’s no mention for support for children with autism.

So I’d like to know some numbers from the numbers guy. How many people are desperately struggling on ODSP and OW? How much money do folks relying on social assistance need each month to get by? How much is the average rent? How much do they have left at the end of the month? What does it cost to survive in this province? How many Ontarians on ODSP and OW deserve to be ignored and further marginalized by this government? And how many folks on social assistance will be able to pay rent, buy food—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Thank you. To the member from Willowdale to respond.

Mr. Stan Cho: I will direct the member opposite’s attention to page 9, which clearly shows those investments into the very core programs and services that she is mentioning. Nothing more, but—in the out years, every single year out to 2024—investments in every single line ministry. If she wants a clearer breakdown of that, it’s available on pages 164 through 174 inclusive, showing every single out year on those investments to the Ministry of Social Services.

You will also see the increase, the doubling of the funding, for autism supports. You will see increased investments into those social services that we all know protect the most vulnerable in our community.

Speaker, this goes back to my central point, which is that the budget clearly demonstrates these investments, clearly shows our government’s priority into investing in today, but also tomorrow. If the members want to challenge those figures based on the objective black-and-white numbers that we are referencing in the budget, please do so. But in the meantime, I will direct the member’s attention to those very page numbers to see those investments.

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

Mrs. Belinda C. Karahalios: Good morning. Mr. Speaker, I’m not going to vote in favour of this budget, because in 2018 I voted Conservative and for a Conservative budget. Here we have the parliamentary assistant admitting that this budget was crafted around measures requested by the NDP.

Why has this Conservative government, who claims to be fiscally responsible, tabled a budget that has no tax relief, has record debt and has made it illegal to open your small business?

Mr. Stan Cho: I shared this story before, but at nine years old, when my parents’ store was very busy, I asked for some stuff I probably shouldn’t have, and my parents reminded me that when times are good, you put away for a rainy day. Sure enough, the very next week, the store flooded. The store was closed for two weeks. But it is because of that fiscal prudence that my parents were able to weather the storm.

The storms are here, and that’s why, in our first two and a half years in government, our government chopped the proposed Liberal deficit in half. That is why we were able to spend today to protect the health and safety of the people we serve. I, for one, will not apologize for investing into the health and safety and protecting Ontarians until we are through this pandemic.

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

Mr. Lorne Coe: Good morning, Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to ask a question to the member for Willowdale and the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Finance.

At the region of Durham, we have an upper-tier government there, and one of the aspects that they’re spending a lot of time on right now is their economic recovery plan. The reason why is that, like many municipalities, many of the businesses in tourism, hospitality and cultural sectors have been affected by the pandemic. Would the member from Willowdale talk about what our government is doing to help those particular sectors through this Ontario budget?

Mr. Stan Cho: There are a couple of really important points that the member from Whitby brings up there, not the least of which are the supports for the tourism and accommodations sector we know has been hit very hard. Our pandemic response has been $624 million in additional relief.

But the member also touched on something very important, that our front-line municipalities have played a pivotal role in getting us, in piloting us through this very difficult time. That’s why we’ve announced a series of tax relief measures, permanent reductions to the small business taxes, up to 30%, an elimination of the EHT for 30,000 of the smallest small businesses in our province—that’s a tax on jobs—without affecting the bottom line of our municipalities.

We understand that this is a balanced approach. Like a boxer, you have to be ready during the pandemic and ready to pounce forward when we are through to recovery. That’s why this government has moved prudently, both fiscally and socially, to make sure that we can achieve just that.

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

Mr. Chris Glover: My question is to the Minister of Finance. It’s about the recent Canadian Federation of Independent Business report that more than 25,000 small businesses have gone under during this pandemic, and that speaks to the failure of this government to support small businesses.

I’m hearing from many small businesses in my riding that the criteria for the supports leaves them out. It leaves out new businesses. It leaves out businesses whose income between April 2019 and 2020 does not show a dramatic decrease. So many tens of thousands of more small businesses are on the brink of collapse because of this government’s refusal to change the criteria, and this budget does not change that criteria.

Why not? Why aren’t you supporting small businesses? How many more tens of thousands of small businesses in Ontario are going to have to go under before you take action?

Mr. Stan Cho: We know that small businesses are going through a difficult time. We’ve said that in this House from the very beginning. That’s why we have provided a blanketed measure of support, in conjunction with all levels of government, from the very beginning of COVID-19. The latest iteration, the small business grant that the member references, has provided over $1.4 billion in direct relief to 120,000 small businesses in this province.

It was interesting to hear the member say that this government is not supporting small businesses, when it is that member and the party that has voted—not about a third round of small business supports, but it voted against the second round of small business supports; voted against an extension of a program for the tourism and accommodations sector; voted against broadband infrastructure for small businesses; reductions to the EHT, the tax on jobs; reductions to small business property taxes; reductions in hydro costs for these hard-working small businesses.

It takes more than words to actually support these small businesses. I hope the member from Spadina–Fort York will support small businesses, like the Score on King, and make sure that they are able to weather this storm and vote in favour of this budget.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): The member from Niagara West has a question.

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: One of the important aspects of this legislation is, of course, health care, which we saw crumbling under the former government for many years. I think we’ve seen substantial investments. I know in my community in Niagara, whether it’s Hotel Dieu Shaver, whether it’s the new South Niagara Hospital, whether it’s the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital, that Niagara has never seen such investments in health care as it has under this government, and I believe that this budget, especially since the pandemic hit, is continuing that legacy.

So could you speak a little bit to these historic investments, and why they’re necessary as we see aging demographics and, of course, the pandemic just creating more pressures on our health care system?

Mr. Stan Cho: I really appreciate the question from the member from Niagara West, because there is nothing more important than the health and safety of Ontarians. As the Minister of Finance has said numerous times in this Legislature, you cannot have a healthy economy without healthy people.

Speaker, I want to direct the member’s attention, and those watching at home, to the pages in the budget that outline two key priorities. It’s not just about the pandemic response, which totals $16.3 billion and that’s many of those measures that I talked about in my comments; it also points to our record spend to that end, to accomplish those health outcomes throughout the out years in this budget. It’s a very important distinction to have. There’s a pandemic response, but then there’s your “when life is back to normal” response.

The member touches on a crucially important point: We have an aging population, we have a growing population, and our health care system is the envy of the world and something that we should all be very proud of here in Ontario. Those record investments are going to continue to make sure that we protect the health and safety of those in this province, not just for today but for tomorrow as well.

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

Ms. Jessica Bell: In my riding of University–Rosedale, we have a huge, growing small business community that has just been gutted by the pandemic. We’ve had shutdown after shutdown, and a tiny amount of government support to help these small businesses get through. We just did outreach to the small businesses in our riding. We surveyed them and said, “How many of you have applied to the small business support program and how many of you have actually got your money?”

Of the businesses that have applied—who are eligible, and there are a lot who are not—80% have not received their money. So the small business program is not working. What are you going to do to make sure it works?

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): We have 25 seconds for a response.

Mr. Stan Cho: I fondly recall University–Rosedale. My first job was actually at Korea House restaurant on Bloor Street. I’ve spoken to the owners of PAT supermarket; I’ve spoken to many small businesses in that vibrant area of our city who have said that our support has helped them weather the storm. And 120,000 small businesses, to answer the member’s question directly, have received over $1.4 billion in direct support, something that can—

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

Mr. Stan Cho: I only had 20 seconds, Speaker. Sorry about that.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): When we divide the time, we try to do it equally.

We have time for further debate.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I rise today as the House leader for the official opposition to participate in the debate on the budget bill that is before us this morning. I am joining this debate on behalf of my colleague the member for Waterloo, who is the finance critic for the Ontario NDP and is not able to be in the Legislature this morning, Speaker, because we have implemented safety measures to deal with the unprecedented crisis that we are living through in this province. We have divided our caucus into cohorts so that if one cohort experiences COVID transmission, another cohort will be available to continue to attend this Legislature and fight on behalf of the people of this province.

These safety measures that have been implemented are necessary because of what has happened in this province—what was on its way to happening long before this budget was released, but in particular what we have seen over the last couple of weeks. It seems like a lifetime ago, actually, Speaker, that this government tabled its budget in this Legislature, given all that has happened with the third wave in this province.

What this government has not and continues not to be able to understand is that nothing that’s in this budget matters unless we can deal with the crisis that is before us. We are on the brink of a catastrophic overwhelming of our health care system, Speaker. If the projections actually come true—and the track record has been very solid in terms of what the scientific experts, what the medical experts have been telling this government.

If those projections appear, where we have 10,000 cases in the province and we have thousands of people in ICU beds—if we confront that reality face to face; if effective measures aren’t put in place to prevent that reality—our health care system is going to gutted. Our health care system is going to be completely overwhelmed, and the process of rebuilding that is going to be enormous. It is going to be enormous to get through the next days and weeks of this third wave and have a health care system that is still functioning and that is still there for the people of this province.

I have to say, Speaker, yesterday I stood in this place and I participated in a one-hour debate on a bill that the government had brought forward dealing with red tape reduction. The title of the bill is Supporting Ontario’s Recovery and Competitiveness. I want to just say up front that many of the comments that I made yesterday—I’m going to be making those same comments today, Speaker, because, really, there is only one debate we should be having in this place right now. People in this province are looking to this Legislature for leadership.

They are looking for government to listen to experts, to listen to their science advisory table, to listen to physicians—ICU physicians, public health physicians who know what has to be done, who have been telling this government what has to be done—and this government has continued to ignore that advice.

We saw that in rather spectacular fashion on Friday, when Dr. Brown from the science advisory table presented a stunning scenario of the catastrophe that is about to unfold in this province. He made some very specific recommendations about the measures that the government needed to put in place urgently, immediately, to prevent that catastrophe from taking on an even greater scale than we are currently looking at. One of the recommendations that he included was support for essential workers, support for the businesses, the non-essential businesses that must close if we’re going to prevent workplace transmission.

And what did the government do two hours later? We saw the Premier stand up and ignore those urgent recommendations from the science advisory table, and instead propose giving the police extraordinary powers to stop citizens and ask for their address and where they’re going—basically, Speaker, to reintroduce carding into the province. We saw the government announce a closure of playgrounds and outdoor recreational amenities. Nowhere in Dr. Brown’s presentation did he recommend that people be prevented from going outdoors and participating in recreational activities. That was not a recommendation.

What was a recommendation, as I said, was support for essential workers through a program of paid sick days and support for the non-essential businesses that must close. Once again, we saw this government introduce measures to require some businesses to close, but they don’t go far enough.

I have to commend Dr. Lawrence Loh, the medical officer of health for Peel region, who has been a leader. This government can certainly take some lessons from Dr. Lawrence Loh about what leadership means in a time of crisis. Dr. Lawrence Loh has been sounding the alarm on the need for paid sick days from the beginning of this pandemic. He is in a region where a study showed that of 8,000 essential workers in Peel with COVID symptoms, 2,000 of them were going into work sick.

One quarter of the Peel essential worker workforce who had COVID symptoms were going into work sick; 80 of those workers actually had a COVID-positive test confirmed. They were going into work sick because they didn’t have a choice.

We know that many essential workers are racialized workers. They’re immigrant workers, they are low wage, they live paycheque to paycheque, and staying home while they are sick is not an option. It’s not an option, because what it means is not being able to pay the rent, not being able to support their families, and that’s an impossible choice for a worker to make. If you have symptoms of COVID, you have to decide, “Do I want to go into work and potentially infect my co-workers or follow the advice of public health, which is to stay home?” They have to make that choice of what to do. They shouldn’t have to be financially penalized for following public health advice.

That’s what Dr. Lawrence Loh has always known. Today, he stepped up where this government has failed to act, has used his authority under

section 22 and has called for the closure of all businesses with five or more cases of COVID-19 within the last two weeks. He has called for those businesses to close down for 10 days. He has also called, in the absence of any government support, for the employers of those businesses to provide paid sick days to their workers.

It’s extraordinary, Speaker: This government continues its constant narrative that there are paid sick days, that the federal government’s program, the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, is a paid sick days program. It is not. A paid sick days program involves waking up in the morning, feeling unwell, calling your employer and saying, “I can’t come in to work today. I’m going to go and get a COVID test. I’ll let you know when I’ll be back,” and having your paycheque arrive just as it would have if you had not made that call. That is a paid sick days program.

The federal program is only available to certain workers. You have to have earned at least $5,000 in the previous year. To access that program, again, you call your employer, you say, “I’m not feeling well,” and the employer says, “Okay, as of today you’re on unpaid leave.” Then you have to go online and file an application for the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and hope you qualify, but you won’t if you haven’t already lost 50% of your regular work hours.

I see my time is up.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Yes, I’m sorry to interrupt the member for London West, but unfortunately the time for debate on this matter this morning has expired.

Third reading debate deemed adjourned.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): You’ll have an opportunity later today, I would think, when the bill is called again.

Members’ Statements

COVID-19 response

Ms. Jennifer K. French: I have received an impassioned letter from a critical care nurse at our local hospital in Oshawa. She writes: “I have been watching this tsunami of COVID cases in this third wave with great trepidation.

“The ON government has said they didn’t know it would be this bad, they needed to see the effects in the hospitals before finally acting (too little too late). There is absolutely no accountability on their part for ignoring the provincial modelling presented by science and health experts and creating this crisis in our health care system.

“I am devastated by the rising COVID cases in our community and our province due to the government’s poor communication and negligent mishandling of this pandemic. Their ongoing refusal to protect Ontarians with paid sick days and their callous cuts resulting in an inefficient public health system that can properly test/ trace/isolate are abject failures of leadership. Their vaccine rollout has demonstrated systemic inequities in marginalized communities and is abhorrent. Their lack of accountability for their decisions and their actions is unforgivable....

“Critical care units here in Durham region have moved several critically ill Durham region residents to centres in Kingston and Ottawa to try to ensure critical care services are available here for the many COVID and non-COVID patients requiring our services. Emergency measures to redeploy non-ICU staff have been issued to help us manage this third wave.

“I have been a registered nurse for 34 years and a proud critical care nurse for 25 of these years. I am gutted by what this ON government has allowed to happen to our health care system. They must be held accountable for choosing ideology over science, for listening to business and lobbyists over health experts.”

Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to our front-line services.

Health care workers

Hon. Rod Phillips: I rise in the House today to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of Durham public health, and in particular Dr. Robert Kyle and the front-line team who support those who are hard at work administering vaccinations in the town of Ajax and elsewhere in Durham.

Tomorrow, a mobile vaccine clinic will be at Bolton C. Falby school in the town of Ajax. That’s located at 80 Falby Court. The clinic will require no appointments, and I encourage everyone in the area who is eligible to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated.

In Durham region, as of this Sunday, 158,947 vaccines have been administered, including 1,834 by mobile clinics such as the one that will be at Falby school in Ajax tomorrow. In addition, pharmacies, primary care clinics and Lakeridge hospital continue to provide vaccine appointments. Durham public health have in the past few months set up and operated eight mass vaccination clinics across Durham region, and this effort has not gone unnoticed by our community. As well, today, those aged 40 and over can get access to the AstraZeneca vaccine at their local pharmacies. In Ajax, 16 of our local pharmacies are providing vaccine booking appointments online and on the phone.

In addition to thanking our front-line public health staff, I also want to thank all the pharmacists, technicians and others involved in the distribution of vaccine through our local pharmacies and through our public health and primary care units.

COVID-19 response

Mr. Chris Glover: Today, I’m going to argue that the refusal to implement paid sick days by this government and last week’s decision to increase police powers are both examples of systemic racism.

We know that workplaces are the main transmission points. Just today, I was at a press conference with the Ontario Medical Students Association. An emergency room physician, Dr. Stephen, pointed out that two thirds of the COVID cases in Peel region can be traced to workplace transmission. He also said that one in four workers reported going to work while symptomatic, because if they did not, if they lost their paycheque, they would not be able to pay the rent or feed their families.

The decision last week to increase police powers was incredibly traumatizing to particularly Black and Indigenous communities. A resident from my community, Paul David, wrote on Facebook: “It’s hard to understand if you present as white, but I now have to prepare what to do, say, avoid, how to behave whenever I leave my home.”

And our colleague from Kiiwetinoong: The increase of police powers reminded him of the powers of the Indian agents on the reserve to refuse or give permission for First Nations people to leave those reserves. That happened for decades.

My question to the government is: How could you possibly come up with this police measure? What is the proportion of Black and Indigenous members on the command table?

And I will argue again that refusing to implement paid sick days that would primarily benefit low-income, racialized communities and the decision to increase police powers are both acts of systemic racism.

Fox 40 International Inc.

Mr. Rick Nicholls: One of the premises in any business is to either find a need and fill it or simply create the need. For 15 years, back in the day, I refereed basketball at high levels at all-Ontario high school games as well as men’s leagues consisting of former college and university players. When the stands were filled with cheering fans, their noise would drown out the sound of my whistle, making it difficult to stop play. You see, the old-style whistle had a cork pea. When you blew it really hard, nothing would come out, and when it got frozen or wet or had some dirt inside, it would lose its efficiency.

Enter Ron Foxcroft. Ron was a former basketball official who experienced many of my same issues. His business acumen was second to none as he knew there was a need to build a better mousetrap. Instead, he created what is known today as the Fox 40, a pealess whistle with a very high shrill to it. I had to make sure that when I used it, I didn’t blow it in somebody’s ear.

The pealess whistle has become the whistle of choice for the NHL, NBA, NCAA, NFL, arena football and the Canadian Football League. I’m proud to say that the Fox 40 and the mini Fox 40 were invented while I refereed. To this day, it was the absolute best whistle I ever used.

In over 30 years of business, the company has grown and is now comprised of a Canadian head office with a US-based sister company, Tri-Foxco USA. Fox 40 whistles are sold in over 140 countries.

Congratulations to Ron and his team, who, by the way, hail from Hamilton, Ontario.

COVID-19 response

Mr. Michael Mantha: My role as the MPP for Algoma–Manitoulin is to make sure that the voices of people across my riding come to floor of the Legislature—voices like Melissa. Melissa is single mom dealing with three children at home. Her biggest challenge this week was the return to home virtual learning for children; however, she is stuck going to work. She cannot afford, and will not receive enough on CERB, so she’s having to make the decision: “Do I quit my job and come back home and lose my benefits?” These are the realities of what certain individuals are facing.

Seniors across Algoma–Manitoulin are still struggling with booking appointments. They have no access to computers; they only have telephones. They are sitting on the phone for enormous amounts of time only to be told that there are no spaces available. They feel like they are desperate and really forgotten by this government. The frustration level, as far as what seniors are seeing on the daily news, is from what’s happening in other parts of the province, particularly in southern Ontario, where they see individuals who are younger who are getting access to receiving vaccines while they are still waiting for vaccines.

Listen, northern Ontario has done their fair share. The virus is not spreading throughout northern Ontario as in other areas. People are staying at home or doing their jobs. They are concerned with individuals who are not respecting the regional transportation and travel that is going on.

What they are asking for is an equitable distribution of the vaccine throughout this province.

Shelley Vaillancourt

Mr. Jim McDonell: Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry, we have many dedicated individuals who help those in need. Shelley Vaillancourt recently marked 31 years as executive director of the Alzheimer Society of Cornwall and District. She has been a tireless advocate, administrator and educator for dementia-related concerns. I know this first-hand, as my constituency staff and I have had the opportunity to be coached personally by her to become a dementia-friendly office. She is a great example of the many mental health professionals in my riding and our province who have brought this subject of mental illness out of the shadows and into the light.

The role that Ms. Vaillancourt and others like her have in the community has also taken on extra importance during this pandemic, as many seniors struggle against isolation effects.

As always, I look forward to shining the light on deserving people like Shelley, for without them, our province would not be the great place to live, work and raise a family.

I want to thank Shelley for her long and rewarding career and wish her the very best in retirement.

Small business

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Speaker, to say that the last year has been hard on London West businesses would be an understatement. I have been hearing from the owners of all kinds of businesses: restaurants, recreation and fitness studios, personal care services, arts organizations, locally owned retail and more. They’ve depleted their savings. They’ve taken on debt. Some of them have mortgaged their own homes. Many have struggled through with no government assistance at all because they haven’t qualified for government supports. These small business owners are barely hanging on, and in too many cases, they’ve already closed for good.

The Ontario Small Business Support Grant was supposed to provide a lifeline, but it excluded many businesses. Even eligible small businesses that had their grants immediately approved have been waiting months for the grant to arrive, despite the promise of a 10-day wait. Business owners who have had problems with their applications told me they’ve called the program and sent emails over and over and have received no response. Some are assured that their file will be escalated, but then nothing happens. One constituent filed an application early and waited so long that the business was forced to close before the funding arrived.

It did not have to be this way for London businesses. Had this government followed expert recommendations, we wouldn’t be watching small businesses close while lockdown restrictions drag on.

COVID-19 immunization

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: It is with deep concern that I rise today in the House to advocate for the health and safety of my constituents in Scarborough–Guildwood. For more than a year now, Scarborough has been locked in an all-encompassing struggle with an invisible enemy that does not discriminate. It has long been established that Scarborough is a COVID-19 hot spot, and the recent prioritization by postal code further confirms this, with literally all of Scarborough designated as a COVID-19 hot zone.

As I stand here today, however, it is my responsibility to report to this House that on April 14, the Scarborough Health Network’s mass immunization clinics at Centennial College and Centenary Hospital were forced to close due to the lack of vaccine supply. Local residents, like 70-year-old Ranjeet, who came to the Centennial clinic on his bicycle, could not get a booking. This is not only a logistical and an organizational failure of leadership; this represents a moral failure, which will have dire consequences.

People throughout Scarborough are looking to the government to guide the pandemic response. With a positivity rate of 24%, with ICUs overflowing—they’ve already been transferring people for many, many months—this is a high-priority area. Scarborough is being neglected and needs protection now more than ever.

To the residents of Scarborough–Guildwood, I want to say thank you for all your efforts in this struggle. I will continue to do everything I can to advocate for more vaccines.

Arts and cultural funding

Mr. Kaleed Rasheed: I am pleased to share with this House that our government continues to support cultural organizations in my riding and across Ontario through the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries.

In particular, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund recently awarded $45,000 to the Canadian Arabic Orchestra based in my riding of Mississauga East–Cooksville to support their programming for the 2021-22 season. Additionally, the Mississauga Children’s Choir received a Resilient Communities Fund grant of $18,000 through the Ontario Trillium Foundation to support their programming for the upcoming season.

Speaker, cultural institutions like the Canadian Arabic Orchestra and the Mississauga Children’s Choir are at the heart of sharing and building upon Ontario’s rich history of arts and cultural diversity. These institutions help us celebrate the many cultures and traditions that make up the mosaic of Ontario.

Despite the recent challenges, many cultural and arts organizations have shown remarkable resilience by adapting their programming for virtual platforms. I encourage everyone to check out the respective websites of your favourite cultural and arts organizations to see what virtual programs they are offering during our lockdown.

Let us all continue to work together to support our cultural and arts institutions across Ontario.

Volunteers

Mr. David Piccini: In honour of volunteer week, I would like to highlight the extraordinary work of volunteers in my riding of Northumberland–Peterborough South. I would like to specifically acknowledge the remarkable work of Cobourg Rotary and so many community-based volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, when our community began to receive COVID-19 vaccines, Cobourg Rotary did not wait a minute, coming together with a can-do attitude to help set up one of the most efficient mass vaccination clinics in Canada. This has now expanded to three other Rotary Clubs taking the initiative in Minden, Fenelon Falls and Haliburton throughout our public health unit. It has attracted interest province-wide and, indeed, nationally.

Anyone eligible who has had the opportunity to get vaccinated at the Cobourg Community Centre knows what a great system we have. The system’s foundation is backed by a strong network of over 600 volunteers in Cobourg and 300 in the other three communities. We are fast approaching a thousand-person army to support this initiative.

This effort would not have been possible without the leadership of Gord Ley and Brian Reid, who were integral in the planning and early operation of the site. I’d also like to acknowledge other members of the planning committee: Linda Essak, Paul Allen, Ann Grozier, Lynda Kay, Helen Lackey, Patti Ley, Richard Brule, Dr. Bob Scott, Roger Tessier, Dr. Mark Essak, Nancy Bruce and Kym Reid.

Speaker, what starts as a drop—and what a mighty drop this has been—has now had a ripple effect across so many communities in our province. So to Cobourg Rotary and all the volunteers who have been critical in this initiative: Thank you.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): That concludes our members’ statements for this morning, but I understand that the Leader of the Opposition has a point of order she wishes to raise.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to bring forward a motion requiring the government to implement paid sick days legislation, to help protect workers across Ontario from COVID-19 so no one has to make the difficult choice between staying home when sick and being able to pay the bills.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion. Agreed? I heard a no.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to pass private member’s motion 152, calling on the Ford government to revoke regulation 298/21 and the unprecedented and potentially unconstitutional powers it has extended to Ontario’s police services.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to immediately pass private member’s motion 152. Agreed? I heard a no.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to immediately pass private member’s motion 153, calling on the Ford government to implement paid time off for vaccination, helping facilitate the timely vaccination of Ontario’s workers as part of the fight against COVID-19.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to immediately pass private member’s motion 153. Agreed? I heard a no.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to immediately pass private member’s motion 154, calling on the Ford government to implement a full shutdown of Ontario’s non-essential businesses where the risk of COVID-19 spread is high and extend adequate financial supports to help the workers and businesses impacted by the interruption.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to immediately pass private member’s motion 154. Agreed? I heard a no.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to immediately pass private member’s motion 136, calling on the Ford government to provide financial assistance for small businesses not eligible for other supports during this pandemic.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to immediately pass private member’s motion 136. Agreed? I heard a no.

Mr. Michael Coteau: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Don Valley East on a point of order.

Mr. Michael Coteau: Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to move a motion regarding the immediate passage of Bill 247, the Paid Personal Emergency Leave Now Act.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Don Valley East is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion to immediately pass Bill 247. Agreed? I heard a no.

It is now time for oral questions.

Question Period

COVID-19 response

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Right now in Ontario’s ICUs there are some 770 or so patients, people with COVID-19, who are literally struggling to breathe. Ontario is in an absolute crisis with this virus. Yesterday, against all evidence, the government claimed that they were following expert advice from the science table and from other doctors and experts about how to handle this crisis.

Of course, we now know that Dr. Loh has, in fact, started to shut down businesses where COVID-19 is spreading. If, as the Premier claims, all of the appropriate measures are already in place in Ontario to stop the spread of COVID-19, why did Dr. Loh then have to take the action that he decided to take today?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development.

Hon. Monte McNaughton: Of course, we saw the news this morning with the local decision by Dr. Loh. We’re working closely with public health.

But I have to say, we are truly disappointed with the federal budget that we heard yesterday. In fact, the federal government worked with the provinces at the beginning of this pandemic to ensure that job-protected leave was the responsibility of the provinces. That’s why we moved forward, the first in the country, to ensure there was job-protected leave, including job-protected leave for those who are getting vaccinated. And the federal government was going to step up with paid sick days. Mr. Speaker, $100 billion more in new spending federally—no improvements to the sick pay program, but I want every worker in the province to know that we have their backs.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Dr. Loh, the Peel medical officer of health, actually had the courage to do today what the Premier has not had courage to do. He’s filling, literally, a leadership void that’s been left by the Premier of this province. The members of the science table and other experts are speaking out. In fact, Nathan Stall, science table member, said this: “Another heroic move by Dr. Lawrence Loh.” Oh, that we could have a heroic move from our Premier, Speaker. Member of the vaccine task force Isaac Bogoch said this: “This will really help.”

Now that Dr. Loh, the Peel medical officer of health, has done the right thing, has chosen to act to save lives, will the Premier step up and provide direct financial support to the businesses impacted and the workers impacted by Dr. Loh’s courageous and correct decision this morning?

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

Hon. Paul Calandra: I appreciate the question, but to be clear, this is an authority that the chief medical officer of Peel has had since well before the beginning of this pandemic, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister of Labour just highlighted, we are disappointed that the federal government did not extend further protections to workers. It is something that we will look at. It is, of course, something that the Minister of Labour has just said, that it is important to ensure that workers who are infected with COVID, that they know that we have their back. But as I said, look, ultimately, this is a power that the chief medical officer of health of Peel has had since the beginning of the pandemic.

With respect to supports for businesses, I note that the Leader of the Opposition and the NDP provided absolutely zero amendments to the budget bill that was presented by the finance minister. They had an opportunity to provide amendments. They, instead, supported that bill, and I congratulate them for it.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Dr. Loh in Peel had to step in because the Premier marched us right into the third wave with his eyes wide open, and he is now marching us in the wrong direction. He continues to march this province in the wrong direction. All of the experts are saying the same things. His own experts, doctors, nurses—people on the front lines of the health care system—are all very clear. What essential workers need are vaccines, not spot checks. What they need is paid sick days, paid time off when they’re sick and to get vaccinated, not playgrounds being closed.

Speaker, will this government do their job, finally do the right thing by Ontario’s workers: listen to the advice of experts, save lives and do what’s necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): And to reply, the Minister of Labour.

Hon. Monte McNaughton: Mr. Speaker, getting needles in arms is the top priority for this government. I’m proud to say that 25% of adults in this province have now been vaccinated. We need to do everything to ensure that we get more vaccines delivered to the province of Ontario to ensure that those essential workers, that everyone in the province of Ontario gets vaccinated. That’s how we’re going to move to defeat COVID-19.

The responsibilities of the province, and all provinces and territories, was to ensure that there was job-protected leave. That was the agreement. The federal government was going to step up with paid sick days for workers. They spent, in new spending, more than $100 billion yesterday and not even a fraction to deal with the concerns that Ontario has been raising when it comes to protecting the health and well-being of workers.

But I want to assure every worker out there that we have their backs and we’re going to be there for them until we defeat COVID-19.

COVID-19 immunization

Ms. Andrea Horwath: It’s clear to workers that their government has abandoned them in the fight against COVID-19—their Ontario government, Speaker. Their Ontario government has abandoned them.

But I want to ask another question of the Premier, and the question is to do with the postal code hot spots that were identified by the government that are priorities for vaccinations. They claimed that the decision they made last week was directly from the advice of their science table recommendations. My question is, did the government actually implement the recommendations on the hot spots that came forward from the science table: yes or no?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: Yes, we did receive recommendations from medical experts on the identification of the hot spots. Some of the hot spots we didn’t proceed with because we needed to take into consideration other information, such as hospitalizations in the past; ICU admissions in the past; unfortunately, deaths in the past; vaccine hesitancy issues with respect to language; socio-economic issues as well; and barriers that were preventing people from coming forward to receive vaccinations.

So yes, we did receive the information from the medical experts. We then added to the additional information, which was what ultimately ended up in the postal codes that were identified as hot spots that we are dealing with by allocating 25% of the vaccines off the top to fight COVID-19 in those hot spots for the benefit of all of the people in Ontario.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Today’s Toronto Star has a headline that says this, “Ontario Ignored Its Own Science Table’s Advice on Several COVID-19 Vaccine Hot Spot Postal Codes.” Five higher risk postal codes were taken off the list and eight lower risk areas, most of which are in PC ridings, were added to the list. In fact, Dr. Anna Banerji said this on that decision: “Someone’s intervening.... It’s not based on science and evidence.”

My question is, who changed the list and will they change it back?

Hon. Christine Elliott: What I would say to the leader of the official opposition, through you, Speaker, is that somebody’s talking about something they know nothing about. In fact, what happened is what I indicated in my previous answer: The medical experts at the science table gave us some information about postal codes that they thought should be identified as hot spots. We then took that list, which was then presented to the Vaccine Distribution Task Force.

We added additional information, such as the socio-economic data, the barriers that existed to people receiving vaccinations, because we want to make sure as many people receive the vaccinations as wish to have it. We wanted to make sure that we could identify those hot spots, work with community agencies to bring people in for those vaccinations, and that is how the information resulted in the hot spots that were identified by our government as the areas where we should put the additional 25% of those vaccines going forward.

Interjections.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, lives are at stake here in our province. The ICUs are filling up; they’re full. They’re full of young people. They’re full of pregnant women. They’re full of entire families who are sick with COVID-19.

What we need is vaccinations going to all of the hot spots, Speaker. We need paid sick days and paid vaccination time off so that people can keep themselves and their co-workers well. We need strong public health measures in our province. All of the experts have been giving this government the exact same advice. The science table, the vaccination table, everyone is telling the government—front-line doctors and nurses and health care workers, who are exhausted and terrified, are giving the government the same advice.

When, instead of listening to the anti-public health and the anti-science wing of the PC caucus, will this government actually listen to the experts, the scientific experts who are giving them advice?

We have always followed the advice of our medical experts and will continue to do so until we are out of this pandemic.

Employment standards

Ms. Peggy Sattler: My question is to the Premier. Everyone but this government understands the urgency of paid sick days to protect lives in Ontario. They claim it’s not their responsibility, which we heard yesterday and again this morning. They attack the federal government for not tweaking the federal program, acknowledging what we all know: that the federal program isn’t adequate for workers who need paid sick days.

The finance minister said in this House yesterday, “We also need to protect essential workers who need to keep working during this crisis.” Speaker, why do the Premier and his finance minister ignore all the evidence that the best way to do that is to bring in paid sick days for Ontario workers?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development.

Hon. Monte McNaughton: Mr. Speaker, we’ve been advocating for months to improve the federal sick pay program. That’s why we reached out months ago and urged Minister Qualtrough. I know the Premier talked to the Prime Minister to ensure that payments got into workers’ bank accounts faster. Now, payments are between three and five days. We advocated for greater flexibility. We advocated to fill in the gaps of this federal program.

But, Mr. Speaker, there was a budget yesterday in Ottawa. We wanted to see our borders protected, more secure borders. We wanted to see more vaccines for the people of this province, and we wanted to see an improvement in the paid sick leave program by the federal government. But let me assure all workers in this province that we will be with them. Together, we’re going to defeat COVID-19, and we’ve got their backs.

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

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Speaker, instead of expecting a sick worker to go without pay while applying for a program that doesn’t replace their full wage, instead of attacking the federal government at every opportunity, this Premier should be focused on getting Ontarians the supports they need.

Speaker, paid sick days would mean workers who get sick would get automatic, seamless support from their employer. It would mean essential workers would know their province has their back. When workers can stay home if they’re sick, they protect their colleagues, their families and the whole community.

Will this Premier stop blaming the federal government, stop his ideological opposition to paid sick days and bring in a program of paid sick days, just as health experts recommend and workers desperately need?

Hon. Monte McNaughton: Mr. Speaker, we were the first jurisdiction—one of the first in all of North America—to bring in job-protected leave for any worker in self-isolation, in quarantine. If they’re home looking after a son or a daughter because schools are closed, you can’t be fired for that. We were the first jurisdiction to bring in job-protected leave for anyone who has to get a vaccination; it was two weeks ago that the NDP government in British Columbia reached out to us to figure out how to bring in job-protected leave for those getting vaccinated and, of course, they moved yesterday.

But it was the federal government’s responsibility—that was the deal with all territories and provinces in the beginning—to bring in paid sick days for every worker. There are gaps that exist. The federal government did not move yesterday, but I can assure workers out there we’ve got their backs.

Employment standards

Ms. Donna Skelly: My question is to the Minister of Finance. In my riding of Flamborough–Glanbrook, people recognize the importance of protecting workers and keeping them safe during this pandemic. That is why I’m very proud this government passed legislation at the start of the pandemic creating job-protected leave. This leave ensured no worker would lose their job if they stayed home to self-isolate or to care for a loved one, and that was just the beginning. Premier Ford joined our federal and provincial partners in signing an historic $19-billion Safe Restart Agreement, which included $1.1 billion to provide Ontario workers with 10 paid sick days.

This government has continued to ask the federal government to make improvements to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit. Yesterday, the federal government’s budget was an opportunity to introduce improvements. Can the Minister of Finance tell this House why the federal government needs to amend the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit to support all Ontarians?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: First off, I’d like to thank the member from Flamborough–Glanbrook for that excellent question, and I thank her for being a strong advocate in her community.

Mr. Speaker, our government’s advocacy for Ontario has delivered real, meaningful support for people and employers across our great province. Working closely with the federal government, this Premier has already successfully negotiated 20 additional paid sick days, starting from 10 and doubling it to 20, as well as improvements to the speed with which workers receive their sickness benefits.

For months, Ontario has continued advocating for additional improvements to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, to protect Ontarians’ health and that of their co-workers when they are ill or worried they may have COVID-19. Workers need to know they have immediate access to this program. The government will continue to plan for Ontarians and the recovery sickness benefit they deserve. I hope all members of this House will support our efforts to protect workers in Ontario.

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

Ms. Donna Skelly: It’s great to hear the government of Ontario continues to advocate to improve this very important benefit. Members of my riding will be happy to know that they can apply for up to 20 paid sick days using the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and expect payments in only a few days, thanks to the work of this government.

We have heard that the province has successfully negotiated improvements to the benefit already. We know the federal government is aware of this government’s request to amend the benefit to provide immediate access to relief for workers. Yesterday’s budget was the right opportunity for the federal government to show support for workers right across Ontario. Can the Minister of Finance tell us why the federal government decided not to improve access to paid sick days for all workers in Ontario?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you for that important question. The federal government shares our commitment to protecting people from this virus and beating this pandemic once and for all, and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Minister Freeland on the release of budget 2021. However, as the COVID crisis intensifies, we are disappointed to see that there was no action announced in yesterday’s budget to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit.

Mr. Speaker, every member of this House needs to stand up for the workers in Ontario, and this government continues to fight hard for improvements, while other members of this House play politics with the health of Ontarians during a pandemic. Mr. Speaker, I, along with our entire government, remain steadfast in our province to protect all workers. We will continue to advocate on behalf of Ontario and push for changes to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit all Ontarians expect and deserve.

COVID-19 response

Ms. Sara Singh: My question is for the Premier. For months, experts, including members of the Premier’s own science table, have been sounding the alarm about dangerously high ICU levels, and today we learned that there are over 760 people fighting for their lives in Ontario ICUs. But the Premier failed to act. They failed to implement paid sick days. They failed to vaccinate workers in hot spots, and now ICUs in communities like Brampton are overflowing. Pediatric hospitals are sacrificing their beds.

Patients are being transferred to hospitals around the province outside of their communities, and doctors and nurses are being put in the horrific position of having to make decisions on who will receive life-saving supports and who will not.

Speaker, why—with all of the evidence in front of this government, all of the warnings from their own science tables and medical experts—does this government continue to ignore the crisis in our ICUs?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: We have been listening to the experts all along. We have been listening to their evidence.

I think one thing is really important, Speaker, and I would say to the member opposite, through you, that the member is alleging that there is a triage protocol in place in Ontario; there is not. There is not.

What we are doing is building capacity in our hospitals. We are making sure—there are two aspects to what we need to deal with here. We need to blunt the transmission of COVID-19 in communities, as well as, right now, we need to build capacity in our hospitals, which we are doing. We are in contact with the CEOs of the hospitals on virtually a daily basis. They are working very hard to create spaces. We are creating capacity so that everyone in Ontario who needs to be admitted to hospital and needs to be in an intensive care bed will have a bed available for them.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.

Ms. Sara Singh: Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the Minister of Health, that response shows us how out of touch with reality this minister is. Doctors are sounding the alarm bells and this government continues to ignore their pleas for help.

The government is following a pattern of denying the problem and acting too late. Now the government is begging other provinces for help, but refusing the federal government’s assistance and the assistance of the Red Cross. Speaker, health care systems in other provinces are also fighting COVID-19. They need their health care workers just as much as we do.

It was this Premier’s responsibility and this Minister of Health’s responsibility to help protect people here in Ontario, and they failed to do that at every step of this pandemic. This is a national and global failure, and it is upsetting and heartbreaking to know that they could have acted and they chose not to.

With months to plan for this crisis, why did this Premier fail to address the issues causing ICU capacity to rise, and why does the government think it’s another government’s responsibility to come and clean up their mess?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’ll ask members to please take their seats and allow the Minister of Health to reply.

Hon. Christine Elliott: Again, through you, Mr. Speaker, I would say to the member opposite that what you’re suggesting is simply not the case. Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have been working hard to make sure that we have both the health human resources—

Ms. Sara Singh: There are people dying—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

Hon. Christine Elliott: —and the physical capacity in order to deal with what’s been happening. We have created—

Interjections.

Hon. Christine Elliott: I don’t know if the member opposite really wants to hear me— .

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m going to ask the Minister of Health to take her seat. I’m going to ask the member for Brampton Centre to come to order. I’m going to ask the government House leader to come to order—always innocent.

I’m going to recognize the Minister of Health to conclude her response.

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you, Speaker. To continue, since the beginning of this pandemic, we have created over 3,100 new hospital beds, which is the equivalent of six new community hospitals.

We have also added 14% to intensive care capacity, which is significant in the context of this pandemic. We have also added resources in order to be able to deal with the health human resources that we need. We have allowed for the deployment of people from one sector to another.

Finally, I would say with respect to what’s happening with other provinces and other organizations coming in to help us, we’re very grateful for the help that’s being offered by the other provinces and we’re very grateful to the federal government for their offer of assistance from the Red Cross as well. We know that we need help right now. We have the physical capacity. We need some more health human resources and we are using those resources to make sure everyone who needs help will get help in our hospitals.

COVID-19 response

Mr. John Fraser: My question is for the Premier. The Premier has continually said during this pandemic that we have followed the advice of health experts every step of the way during this pandemic. Let’s review.

The science table warned the government in February about the risk of new, more contagious variants and a devastating third wave, and they advised that you could prevent that third wave and further hospitalizations and lockdowns if you just kept public health measures in place. The Premier didn’t. The science table gave the postal codes in hot zones where the COVID fire was burning the fiercest and the government made a list of its own, almost twice as long, leaving off five postal codes that were very clearly hot zones.

And then the science table asked the Premier to limit the number of essential workplaces and implement paid sick days. Instead, the Premier gave them shuttered playgrounds and police checks.

How can Ontarians continue to trust the Premier will protect them when he repeatedly denies the science?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: In fact, we have followed the recommendations of our medical advisers at every step along the way during this pandemic. For one thing, we had to start a lab system, which wasn’t connected, which allowed us to test almost 13 million tests already. We have also acted decisively on the recommendations of the Chief Medical Officer of Health by implementing the province-wide stay-at-home order and declaring the state of emergency. Additionally, by assembling our world-class vaccine task force that’s led by Dr.

Homer Tien of Ornge and listening to the health experts, we’ve also been able to implement a vaccine plan that has seen virtually four million tests already implemented. We should reach that total by the end of today.

We are delivering the vaccines, 25% extra on top of the original. That is going to be received by the areas that have the vaccination hot spots. We are following the health advice that has been given to us at every step along the way in the pandemic, and we will continue to do so until everyone in Ontario who wants to receive a vaccine will have received one.

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

Mr. John Fraser: While I don’t appreciate the fact that the minister did not address the three things I raised in my first question, I do appreciate the fact that she’s here to answer questions every day.

Today, there are 768 people in ICUs. Peel’s medical officer of health has had to step in and take action to protect essential workers, which this government didn’t do. We’re in a crisis in Ontario. In the words of Dr. Peter Jüni from the science table, “We need to stop having political considerations guide this pandemic. It hasn’t worked in the past.... It hasn’t worked in other jurisdictions. Why should it work in Ontario?”

While ICU admissions continue to rise, the Premier’s priority this Thursday night is a $1,000-a-ticket fundraiser in the middle of a third wave. What planet is that okay on? Ontarians deserve a Premier that is solely focused on getting us through the third wave. So Speaker, through you, when will the Premier follow the science, implement paid sick days and protect essential workers?

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

Hon. Paul Calandra: Thank you for the question. As the honourable member knows full well, this government has been working since the beginning of the pandemic in order to fight this head-on. He will know full well, seeing that he was the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health in the previous government, that we were left with an ICU capacity that was per capita the lowest in North America, and we moved very, very quickly to increase that capacity not only with the amount of beds but with the health human resources that were needed.

He will know, because he was part of the team in the previous government, that they left us without the capacity in our long-term-care system—400 beds. We’ve increased that by thousands and we’ve increased pay for our personal support workers in that area. We’ve increased health and human resources. We’ve put 16 billion extra dollars into health care over and above what they did. We were on the defence for the first part of this pandemic because of the situation the previous government left us in, and he is responsible, in part, for those decisions.

What this Premier has been doing is making the investments so that we could tackle this virus head-on, and not only tackle it, but defeat it. We have done great things in the province of Ontario, the people of the province of Ontario together, and we’ll defeat it.

Health care funding

Ms. Donna Skelly: My question is for the Minister of Finance. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a trying time for Ontarians across the board. Families have been unable to gather, seniors have been living in isolation, and businesses have had to shut their doors in an effort to keep our communities safe. But the area under the most strain has been our health care system, and yesterday’s federal budget made no commitments for the long-term sustainability of Ontario’s health care system.

Can the Minister of Finance inform this House of what Ontario needs to see from this federal government?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you again to the member for that question. The member for Flamborough–Glanbrook is absolutely right. The federal government tabled the budget yesterday, announced billions of dollars, but did not include any enhancement of the Canada Health Transfer.

While collaboration and new funding has helped to address key challenges over the course of the pandemic, COVID-19 has also underscored some long-standing challenges facing the health care system that require urgent action on the part of the federal government. Enhancing the CHT remains one of our government’s top priorities.

Currently, the Canada Health Transfer covers less than 22% of Ontario’s health care spending, and this share is expected to decline over the next decade, while demand for services increases. Ontario needs a strong federal partner to ensure we can improve wait times, reduce surgery backlogs, provide access to more beds and better treatments and come out of the pandemic with a stronger, more resilient health care system.

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

Ms. Donna Skelly: I’d like to thank the minister and our Premier for their continued advocacy on behalf of Ontarians, and thank you to the minister for the significant investments made to our health care system included in our government’s budget last month to get us through this pandemic. From long-term care to the province’s ICU and hospital bed capacity, our government has identified where our system needs more support.

Can the minister elaborate on why an increase to the CHT is vital to Ontario’s future?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Our government’s budget last month focused on protecting people’s health with our plan to defeat COVID-19, as well as protecting people’s jobs and economic well-being as we continue to face the pandemic together. Because, as I’ve said many times, without healthy people, we cannot have a healthy economy, and the past year has shown us that we need a long-term, committed partner with the federal government to address health care challenges that Ontario is facing.

Our need for services will only increase, and it is unfortunate that the federal government would not take this opportunity to meet the urgent, unanimous request of all of Canada’s Premiers and territorial leaders to significantly increase federal health care funding to cover at least 35% of provincial-territorial health care spending. We will continue to advocate, and I hope everyone else will, on behalf of all the people of Ontario.

Post-secondary education

Mr. Michael Mantha: My question is to the Premier. This government is once again playing games with northern Ontario’s post-secondary education. After refusing to provide funding and help Laurentian University, forcing them to slash nearly 70 programs and fire over 100 professors, we now discover that this government was working a backroom deal to let the Northern Ontario School of Medicine sever its ties from Lakehead and Laurentian universities and become a stand-alone institution.

This decision is very concerning. This partnership has had significant benefits for the medical students, the universities and for northern Ontario communities at large. The president of Lakehead University shared in a letter that the university has not been consulted. Can this government tell us why Lakehead University was informed of the decision after it was made?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The parliamentary assistant, the member for Northumberland–Peterborough South.

Mr. David Piccini: I just want to address the two issues the member asked about. First and foremost, we do understand the very difficult and personal situation that students and families and staff of Laurentian University are currently in. But I think it’s really important, Mr.

Speaker, that we make it abundantly clear that not only did this government provide increasing funding to our institutions; not only have we stood tall, with over $80 million in supports for Laurentian, offering an additional $1 million for the midwifery program; but after this very difficult reality of the financial situation that this institution is in, we made it clear that 90% of students are not affected by these decisions. For the 10% who are, we’re working aggressively with the institution, which is working in turn with those students to ensure pathways to graduation.

I’ll address the second question in my supplementary.

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

Mr. Michael Mantha: I return to the Premier. On April 7, we saw two former mayors of Thunder Bay and Sudbury call on the government to make the Northern Ontario School of Medicine an independent degree-granting education institution. It suddenly became policy just a week later. Considering that the president of Lakehead was not informed, it is safe to assume that the government probably did not consult with First Nation communities who have close ties with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Can the government provide some level of transparency as to why this decision was made and tell us whom they actually consulted with?

Mr. David Piccini: Mr. Speaker, we did introduce legislation that, if passed, would establish the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the Université de Hearst as two new independent, degree-granting universities in northern Ontario. Both institutions provide a high quality of education, and this is making it possible for students to access medical health care and health care professions training in French at these top-notch institutions.

He asked who we consulted. Perhaps he might want to speak to members of his own caucus. The member for Thunder Bay–Atikokan said that it is in the best interests of northern Ontarians that NOSM be secured against any disruptions and that northern Ontario’s universities be properly supported so that they can in turn continue to support residents in the cities they are located.

Mr. Speaker, we absolutely agree. That’s why we introduced this legislation that, if passed, will have these two stand-alone institutions offering degree-granting in the north, expanding opportunities for northern Ontario students.

COVID-19 response

Mr. Roman Baber: My question is to the government House leader. On Friday, the Solicitor General said:

“Moving forward, police will have the authority to require any individual who is not in a place of residence to first provide their purpose for not being at home and provide their home address.

“Police will also have the authority to stop a vehicle to inquire about an individual’s reason for leaving their residence.”

When asked about that yesterday after question period, the House leader said, among other things, that he appreciates it was a challenging weekend, certainly with respect to communication, and that it wasn’t the government’s best weekend communication-wise and that they can do a better job communicating. My question is: Will the government House leader apologize to Ontarians for his suggestion that the mobility restrictions enacted last Friday were a miscommunication, and will he apologize for his government’s attempts to impose martial law in Ontario?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Solicitor General.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: As I mentioned yesterday, we have refocused O. Reg. 8/21, “Enforcement of COVID-19 Measures.” If a police officer or other provincial offences officer has a reason to suspect that you are participating in an organized public event or social gathering, they may require you to provide information to ensure you are complying with these restrictions. It is critical for all Ontario citizens to respect the stay-at-home order to stop the spread of COVID-19 and the very transmissible variants of concern.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Mr. Roman Baber: The government House leader always talks about his government listening to the experts. They hid behind the experts for every failing policy decision while abdicating leadership. On Friday, the government shut down almost all outdoor recreation, including soccer and baseball fields, tennis, golf and more of the things that bring joy and health to kids and adults. But according to the government’s own experts, the risk of transmission outdoors is negligible and, in fact, this particular government action was against their advice.

Doctor after doctor expressed astonishment at this government’s misunderstanding of the virus. Ontarians are wondering how and why the government would come to such an ill-informed decision.

So my question to the government House leader: Will he listen to his experts, to all experts unanimously, and to common sense and walk it back—and not just the playgrounds, but all outdoor recreation? Will you let them play?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’ll remind the member to make his comments through the Chair.

The government House leader to respond.

Hon. Paul Calandra: I appreciate the question from the honourable gentleman. I recall that he was a very enthusiastic supporter of all of the measures that we took in this place from, I believe it was February—or actually March 2020, Mr. Speaker. He was—

Interjection.

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

Government House leader, conclude your response.

Hon. Paul Calandra: I remember he was a very enthusiastic supporter of the economic measures that we brought in. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the initial lockdown, which went much further than some of the other lockdowns that we have had. He was an enthusiastic supporter of when we brought in a number of other restrictions. I believe in March, he voted with us; April, he voted with us; May, he voted with us; June, he voted with us. When we extended the session into July so that we could continue to have an accountable government, Mr. Speaker, he voted with us.

I believe in September, he voted with us; in October, he voted with us; November, he voted with us. I believe in December, colleagues, he might have voted with us as well, and for parts of January—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. That concludes the answer. The next question.

Border security

Ms. Donna Skelly: My question is to the Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the federal government’s budget did not include any measures to protect our borders and our citizens from COVID-19. For example, the week of April 4 through 10, the data available shows that no fewer than 39 international flights landed at Pearson airport with confirmed cases of COVID-19. On these flights, combined, more than 450 rows of passengers are considered affected by the confirmed positive cases. Mr. Speaker, depending on the size of these planes, we are talking about between 1,300 and 2,700 people.

The spread of COVID-19, our dangerous variants of concern, is only made worse by cases coming in from other countries. Mr. Speaker, will the government call on the federal government to secure our airports, as the federal government should have done months ago?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Thank you again to the member for Flamborough–Glanbrook for that very good question. Mr. Speaker, everyone knew that the new variants were a threat, but the federal government did too little, too late. Canada could have avoided a third wave with stricter border measures that kept the variants out or with more vaccine supply sooner to better protect people.

In the face of weak border measures and limited vaccine supply, Ontario is doing what is necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19. By first pulling the emergency brake and then implementing a stay-at-home order, we have reduced the mobility and avoided the worst-case scenario, but we need the federal government to step up and take real action in securing our borders.

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

Ms. Donna Skelly: Mr. Speaker, the data from last week, April 11 through 17, shows that at least 16 international flights landed at Pearson airport with confirmed cases of COVID-19. On these flights, combined, more than 120 rows of passengers are considered affected by the confirmed positive cases. The spread of COVID-19 and dangerous variants of concern is only made worse by cases coming in from other countries.

Mr. Speaker, will the government continue to call on the federal government to secure our airports, as the federal government should have done months ago?

Hon. Peter Bethlen