Ontario Hansard — 1 June 2021 (42nd Parliament, 1st Session)
2021-06-01
Ontario — Debates (Hansard)
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June 1, 2021
42nd Parliament, 1st Session
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Hansard Transcript 2021-Jun-01 vol. A (PDF)
L269A - Tue 1 Jun 2021 / Mar 1er jun 2021
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO
ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO
Tuesday 1 June 2021 Mardi 1 er juin 2021
Orders of the Day
Appointment of Chief Medical Officer of Health
Members’ Statements
Child care
Prescription drugs
Residential schools / COVID-19 response
COVID-19 immunization
Residential schools
Filipino community
Global Coptic Day
Automobile insurance
Municipal planning
Ontario Day
Question Period
COVID-19 response
COVID-19 response
Education
COVID-19 immunization
Residential schools
COVID-19 response
Border security
COVID-19 response
Addiction services
Tourism
College standards and accreditation
COVID-19 response
Injured workers
COVID-19 response
Children’s mental health services
Wearing of pins
House sittings
Filipino Heritage Month
Deferred Votes
Advancing Oversight and Planning in Ontario’s Health System Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 visant à faire progresser la surveillance et la planification dans le cadre du système de santé de l’Ontario
Reports by Committees
Standing Committee on Government Agencies
Standing Committee on Public Accounts
Introduction of Bills
Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Amendment Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 modifiant la Loi favorisant le choix et l’excellence au niveau postsecondaire
Autism Awareness Day Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 sur la Journée de sensibilisation à l’autisme
Petitions
Autism treatment
Gasoline prices
Optometry services
Autism treatment
Multiple sclerosis
Long-term care
Documents gouvernementaux
Orders of the Day
Appointment of Chief Medical Officer of Health
Private members’ public business
Appointment of Chief Medical Officer of Health
Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 ouvrant des perspectives dans les métiers spécialisés
The House met at 0900.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Good morning. Let us pray.
Prayers.
Orders of the Day
Appointment of Chief Medical Officer of Health
Hon. Christine Elliott: I move that an humble address be presented to the Lieutenant Governor in Council as follows:
And that the address be engrossed and presented to the Lieutenant Governor in Council by the Speaker.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Ms. Elliot has moved government notice of motion number 113. Would the minister care to lead off the debate?
Hon. Christine Elliott: Yes, thank you, Speaker. I am very happy to rise today in support of the motion to appoint Dr. Kieran Moore as the new Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario.
Before I get started, Speaker, I should advise you that I will be sharing time with the member of Eglinton–Lawrence—right over here. I would like to thank her for her ongoing support on this proposed motion and her support for many other matters we have been working on within the Ministry of Health.
I’d like to start today’s discussion by thanking Dr. David Williams and acknowledging his decision to retire. This means we need to select a new Chief Medical Officer of Health for the province of Ontario. I don’t imagine that when he accepted the position of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health in February 2016, Dr. Williams ever foresaw an impending global pandemic like what we are experiencing now. But Dr. Williams has been at the forefront of Ontario’s response to the pandemic. His dedication to the people of this province, his tireless work and his measured advice have helped our government to keep Ontario and Ontarians safe and informed.
Under Dr. Williams’s leadership, Ontario has achieved significant milestones in its fight against COVID-19. He has been a leader in testing and case and contact management, and helped with the development of the case and contact management central resource team. He has also advocated for and initiated the addition of school-focused nurses in public health units. This provided rapid-response support to schools and boards so they could facilitate public health and preventive measures, including screening, testing, tracing and mitigation strategies.
Dr. Williams was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open framework in the fall and winter to ensure that public health measures could help to limit the spread of COVID-19. He was the force behind the release of the three-step plan called the Roadmap to Reopen to safely and cautiously reopen the province and gradually lift public health measures. The road map is based on the province-wide vaccination rate and improvements in key public health and health care indicators.
Whether it be his work in a key role as part of the federal, provincial and territorial level as a member of the Special Advisory Committee on COVID-19 or his work as the co-chair of the Ministry of Health’s Health Coordination Table, Dr. Williams has demonstrated unwavering dedication to the people of this province throughout the pandemic.
Speaker, these are just some of the significant ways he has supported the people of Ontario throughout the pandemic, but his tenure as Chief Medical Officer of Health is so much more than that. During his tenure, he also served as an ex officio member on the board at Public Health Ontario and served as a member of its strategic planning committee. He also introduced the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program and led the provincial public health response through multiple challenges, including preparing Ontario’s Zika readiness strategy, with steps in place to manage any potential threats. He also served as Ontario’s first-ever provincial overdose coordinator in 2018-19.
He even generously agreed to postpone his retirement plans last year to continue to guide our province through this pandemic, and it was with the faith of this Legislature that he was reappointed to stay a little longer so we could continue to benefit from his experience and knowledge. We are even more appreciative that Dr. Williams has been kind enough to stay around a few more weeks or so, so that we can transition to a new chief medical officer.
Dr. Williams has been a steady and knowledgeable source of advice to our province for as long as he has been in office. On behalf of our government, I want to extend our deepest thanks and appreciation for all of his efforts during his time as Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health.
While we may never be able to thank Dr. Williams enough for all of his leadership during his tenure, Ontario is so fortunate to have a high-quality candidate in Dr. Kieran Moore to step into the very big shoes of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. Yesterday, Speaker, our government tabled the motion that is before us right now to appoint Dr. Kieran Moore as the next Chief Medical Officer of Health for the province of Ontario. With this motion, we are proposing that Dr. Moore succeed Dr. Williams effective June 26, 2021.
Speaker, I believe very strongly that Dr. Moore is the right person for the job ahead. Dr. Moore received his medical degree from the University of Ottawa and subsequently received his specialty certification in family medicine as well as emergency medicine from the College of Family Physicians of Canada. He has master’s degrees in disaster medicine and public health as well as a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene. He has completed a Canadian Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons fellowship in public health and preventive medicine at Queen’s University.
Dr. Moore also has the distinction of serving in a variety of other roles, including as a program director for the Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency Program at Queen’s University, as a professor of emergency, family medicine and public health sciences at Queen’s University, as an attending physician at Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital, and as a principal investigator at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network.
Dr. Moore has served as the local medical officer of health for Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health since July 1, 2017. Prior to his appointment as the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Moore served as the region’s associate medical officer of health for the prior six years, starting in 2011. It has been under Dr. Moore’s leadership that the public health region has taken a proactive stance against COVID-19 and the morbidity and mortality rates remain low with limited impacts of the virus on the region’s hospitals.
In addition, there have been no deaths or any major outbreaks in long-term care or high-risk retirement homes. Under Dr. Moore’s leadership, the region reached the key milestone of administering first doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 50% of the adult population as of May 17, 2021. All Ontarians have already benefited from Dr. Moore’s considerable talents, as he is a very important member of the COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force.
Throughout Dr. Moore’s medical career, the real-time evaluation of health data has been a key interest and priority for him. During his time at Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health, the public health unit has received not just provincial or national but international acclaim for the rollout of its Acute Care Enhanced Surveillance system, public health information management system, and most recently the southeastern Shared Health Integrated Information Portal. In 2014, the Association of Ontario Health Centres named Dr. Moore a champion for public health and primary health care.
This designation is awarded to an individual who shows significant leadership in advancing the relationship between primary health care and public health at system, managerial and front-line levels.
Speaker, Dr. Moore is a demonstrated leader in the field of public health, and the people of Ontario would be very, very fortunate to have him as our next Chief Medical Officer of Health for our province. We know that if the members of this Legislature pass this motion before us, Dr. Moore will continue to be a dedicated public health leader and a champion in our public health care system.
Speaker, until the pandemic was upon us, most Ontarians probably didn’t spend much time thinking about public health. But to quote Dr. Williams, “The focus of public health is on the whole population. Its work is embedded in the daily lives of the people of Ontario.”
Public health contributes to improving and protecting the health of Ontarians through programs and initiatives such as childhood immunizations; the control of infectious diseases of public health significance; dental programming for seniors and low-income families; and ensuring safe water, education and inspections related to safe food handling.
Speaker, public health also impacts communities by developing healthier environments, responding to public health emergencies and promoting social conditions that improve overall health metrics. By addressing the social determinants of health and reducing health risks to the population, our public health system is playing an important role in reducing the need for other health care services and limiting the consequences of poor health.
These efforts are helping to reduce the pressures on our hospitals while also addressing the long-term consequences of illness and injury, including the severity and incidence of diseases and disability, and premature mortality. A strong public health care system has an important role to play in helping to create a strong and healthy future for our province, and that is why the decision we are being called upon to make is so crucial.
Speaker, Ontario’s public health model is unique. It reflects the diversity of Ontario’s population and it is important for us here today to understand how it operates to best inform our decision-making. In Ontario’s public health system, there is a shared authority and accountability at the provincial and local municipal levels. The reason our public health system is structured this way is to ensure it remains flexible enough to meet local needs and effectively bridge the health and non-health sectors, like social services and education, while still having the ability to coordinate measures, programs, services and responses across the province.
The Ministry of Health provides policy direction and guidance to support population health and ensures the delivery of quality public health programs and services.
At the local level, Ontario’s boards of health serve populations large and small in urban and rural settings. Each of these boards of health has a responsibility for delivering local public health programs and services within its geographic borders, defined in legislation as the public health unit.
There are currently 34 public health units in Ontario, which are established under the Health Protection and Promotion Act to deliver health promotion, health protection, and disease prevention public health programs.
Each public health unit is governed by a board of health, which is accountable for ensuring the provision of public health programs and services required by the Health Protection and Promotion Act and the Ontario Public Health Standards. Boards of health are accountable for ensuring the provision of the Ontario Public Health Standards, including the protocols and guidelines set out by the province.
As it relates to infectious diseases of public health significance, including COVID-19, public health units are required to have emergency response plans, respond to health hazard complaints and respond to outbreaks of reportable infectious diseases at the local level.
Part of the responsibility of a board of health includes setting priorities and establishing the budget for the public health unit to deliver the Ontario Public Health Standards.
Speaker, I want to emphasize that Ontario’s 34 public health units have played an extraordinary role in the pandemic response. This role includes:
—working with health care partners, municipalities, partner organizations, businesses and community members to actively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic since January 2020;
—public health management of cases/contacts and outbreaks, which can be very complex and time-consuming;
—providing ongoing infection prevention and control support at the local level;
—providing a 24/7 on-call system to receive and respond to reportable infectious diseases of public health significance;
—maintaining critical public health programs and services throughout the COVID-19 response; and
—leading the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination program at the local level. The COVID-19 vaccination program is one of the largest, most complex and most rapid vaccination programs in history.
Without question, our government has a deep and abiding respect for the very important work being done by our public health workers.
Speaker, as you are aware, our government is taking a comprehensive approach to modernize Ontario’s health care system, which includes public health services that are nimble, resilient, efficient and responsive to the province’s evolving health needs and priorities. Strengthening public health is part of the government’s plan to end hallway health care and to build a modern, integrated and sustainable health care system.
As part of the 2019 Ontario budget, which was released in April 2019, our government committed to modernize the public health sector in order to address these issues.
In November 2019, we launched broad consultations with municipalities, emergency health, and public health stakeholders. These consultations were put on hold in mid-March 2020 to allow public health and emergency health services to engage in the necessary COVID-19 response activities in their local communities.
For the 2021-22 fiscal year, our government remains committed to invest in additional public health resources, including increased funding for the public health sector, to ensure there is sufficient capacity to monitor, detect and contain COVID-19 in the province while continuing to deliver other important, essential and critical public health programs and services. And we will continue to work with public health and municipal sector partners to ensure public health services are maintained and delivered to protect the health and well-being of all Ontarians.
Speaker, I cannot stress how much our government values the important service that public health units provide to Ontarians, and the Ministry of Health will continue to work with public health units to ensure the best possible use of our health care resources to support the very important work of public health. We would certainly benefit from the key advice of Dr. Moore, should he be appointed to the role of Chief Medical Officer of Health for our province.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an extraordinary and challenging time. As COVID-19 has progressed, new and evolving science, evidence and data have continued to emerge and we have had to continuously shift and adapt how we act and react. That is where we see Dr. Moore’s interest and experience in the real-time evaluation of health data to be a real asset for our province.
This pandemic is a health crisis which has had and will continue to have, unfortunately, significant impacts not just on our health but on all aspects of our society and our economy. The public health sector is crucial to the extraordinary and continuing efforts to monitor, detect and contain COVID-19 in this province. This crucial role has included enhancing case and contact management to quickly test, trace and isolate cases of COVID-19 to stop the spread of this virus.
We know that under Dr. Moore’s leadership, Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health has taken a proactive stance against COVID-19 and has been able to achieve notable milestones in its fight against the virus. Should the members of this Legislature pass this motion before us, we know that, under Dr. Moore’s leadership and expertise, we will be able to continue to make incredible progress in our efforts to vaccinate Ontarians and to successfully modernize our public health system.
Speaker, before I pass things over to the member for Eglinton–Lawrence, I want to once again thank Dr. Williams for all of his considerable efforts and leadership over the last five years, and wish him all the best in his retirement.
Finally, I want to encourage the members to support this motion in appointing Dr. Kieran Moore as the next Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario so we can continue our efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario and enable the recovery and return to our path towards a brighter future for our province.
Thank you, Speaker, for the opportunity to speak today on this matter.
The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Thank you. The minister did say she’d be sharing her time with her parliamentary assistant, the member for Eglinton–Lawrence, who now has the floor.
Mrs. Robin Martin: I’m very happy to rise today in support of the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health as we support the motion to appoint Dr. Kieran Moore as Ontario’s next Chief Medical Officer of Health.
I would like to thank the Deputy Premier for sharing her time with me today and for the important work she has been doing to build a better patient-focused health care system in our province, as well as her determined and committed leadership throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic.
Like the Deputy Premier, I want to take this opportunity as well to thank Dr. Williams for his dedication to safeguarding the health and the safety of Ontarians during his many years of service to the province, especially over the last year during this pandemic. Dr. Williams has been at the forefront of Ontario’s pandemic response and his tireless work and his measured advice have helped our government to keep Ontarians safe and informed.
We are all incredibly grateful for his experience and his leadership at the helm of the province’s pandemic response to protect our communities from COVID-19 and its devastating impacts. I certainly wish Dr. Williams and his family all the best in the new and exciting
chapter of their lives that they’re about to enter.
While we are very sad to be losing Dr. Williams to retirement, we are so very fortunate to have a strong candidate for the role of Chief Medical Officer of Health in Dr. Kieran Moore. I hope everyone here today will agree and support the motion before us.
Dr. Moore has an extensive background working in public health. He has the skills and the qualifications required to ensure a smooth transition into his new role. Since July 2017, he has served as the medical officer of health for Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health. Under Dr. Moore’s leadership, the public health region has taken a proactive stance against COVID-19, and the morbidity and mortality rates remain low, with limited impacts of the virus on the region’s hospitals. On May 17, the region reached a key milestone of administering first doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 50% of the adult population.
Dr. Moore has had the distinction of serving in a variety of other roles, including as the program director for the Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency Program at Queen’s University; as a professor of emergency family medicine and public health sciences at Queen’s University; as an attending physician at Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital; and as a principal investigator at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-funded Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network. These unique and diverse experiences in the health care field make Dr. Moore an ideal candidate to take over for Dr. Williams upon his retirement.
As we continue to vaccinate more Ontarians and embark on our Roadmap to Reopen in the coming weeks, Dr. Moore’s years of experience working in public health could prove crucial as we begin to gradually lift public health measures. Should this motion pass, Dr. Williams has agreed to stick around for a few weeks longer to work alongside Dr. Moore to ensure a seamless transition into his new role.
I think it’s fair to say that we all recognize that if appointed as the next Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Moore will be charged with an immense responsibility for safeguarding the health of Ontarians and providing public health advice to the health sector and to our government.
Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of our government’s efforts to build a better-integrated and connected health care system. While our government is focused on protecting Ontarians’ health and well-being during the pandemic, we remain committed to strengthening our public health sector by working with health care partners to contain the transmission of the virus and implement our vaccination rollout plan. We know how important it is to build a modern health care system that is better organized and supports our committed health care workers in order to provide Ontarians with the high-quality care that they need and deserve.
Speaker, the need for a strong public health system has never been more evident than it has been, of course, during this COVID-19 pandemic. It stands to reason Ontario needs a strong Chief Medical Officer of Health to provide us with the right guidance to come out of this pandemic even stronger. That’s why, through the Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19 in 2020-21, our government invested well over $100 million in additional funding to support the extraordinary costs incurred by Ontario’s public health units and other initiatives associated with monitoring, detecting and containing the COVID-19 virus in the province.
Supporting the province’s 34 public health units is crucial, as they have all played an extraordinary role in the pandemic response. Those contributions include:
—working with our health care partners, municipalities, partner organizations, businesses and community members to actively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic since January 2020;
—public health management of cases/contacts and outbreaks, which can be very complex and very time-intensive;
—providing ongoing infection prevention and control support at the local level;
—providing a 24/7 on-call system and the support for that to receive and respond to reportable infectious diseases of public health significance;
—maintaining critical public health programs and services throughout the COVID-19 response; and
—leading the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination program at the local level.
The COVID-19 vaccination program, of course, is one of the largest, most complex and most rapid vaccination programs in our history.
Dr. Moore, as the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health, is very familiar with the vital role public health units play in the fight against COVID-19, further strengthening his candidacy for this critical job at this critical time.
Our public health units work to respond to and manage infectious diseases, including surveillance and case and contact management, through their operating funding allocations. However, COVID-19 has required a level of response from the public health sector that goes way beyond the norm or business as usual, resulting in increased expenditures.
In recognition of the unique circumstances of the public health response to COVID-19, the government approved approximately $188 million in additional one-time funding for public health units for 2020-21 to support and enhance COVID-19 monitoring and case and contact management. This increased investment is over and above the $802 million approved to support public health programs and services, and it included the following:
—$131 million in additional one-time funding to support extraordinary costs incurred associated with monitoring, detecting and containing COVID-19 in the province;
—$42 million in additional one-time funding to hire up to 625 additional school-focused nurses to provide rapid response to support our schools, school boards and families in facilitating public health and preventative measures related to COVID-19;
—$7 million in additional one-time funding for the temporary pandemic pay initiative for public health unit nurses eligible under this program;
—$5 million in additional one-time funding for the infection prevention and control hub program, which supports the development of local networks to enhance infection prevention and control practices in community-based congregate living settings; and
—finally, an additional one-time funding to support implementation of the public health case and contact I&IT solution, which is being used to manage cases and contacts of COVID-19.
As the COVID-19 response continues, we do anticipate that many public health units will continue to incur additional expenses to support their efforts, including the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine program.
As the minister mentioned previously, in recognition of these unique circumstances, the government is investing additional public health resources, including increased funding for the public health sector for the 2021-22 fiscal year, to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to monitor, detect and contain COVID-19 in the province, and maintain essential and critical public health programs and services. As well, a process for public health units to request reimbursement of COVID-19 extraordinary costs incurred in 2021-22, including costs associated with the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine program, was initiated earlier in the year and is currently under way.
Our government continues to support our partners in other ways as well. For instance, the province’s COVID-19 fall preparedness plan, Keeping Ontarians Safe: Preparing for Future Waves of COVID-19, also included additional funding to add case and contact management staff to support the public health sector to identify and follow up with new COVID-19 cases and outbreaks to avoid further spread.
For the 2021-22 fiscal year, the government remains committed to investing in additional resources to support our public health system. This includes increased funding to ensure there is sufficient capacity to monitor, detect and contain COVID-19 in the province while continuing to deliver other important essential and critical public health programs and services. These investments have and will continue to help ensure that the public health sector has the capacity to undertake crucial public health interventions with clients, the public and the community in order to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Our government has been supportive of the work of our public health units beyond their response to the pandemic as well. In total, for 2020-21, public health units received approximately $802 million in provincial funding to support the provision of public health programs and services, which included approximately:
—$726 million in operating funding to support the delivery of public health programs and services in accordance with the Ontario Public Health standards; the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program, which provides comprehensive dental care to eligible low-income seniors; and public health programs and services for Indigenous communities and unorganized territories; and
—$76 million in additional one-time funding, including one-time mitigation funding to fully offset increased costs of municipalities as a result of the cost-sharing change of the modernization efforts the minister referenced during this critical time; and one-time capital funding to support implementation of the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program and other critical public health programs and services.
While talking about Ontario’s public health system, I would be remiss to not mention the incredible contributions of Public Health Ontario. Public Health Ontario provides scientific and technical advice to our government and to the Chief Medical Officer of Health. The agency performs public health laboratory testing for our health system, a role that is fundamental to the work of the health system overall.
They also carry out and support activities such as public health research, surveillance, epidemiology, planning and evaluation, and operate and provide public health laboratory services in the public health laboratory centres. In fact, Public Health Ontario operates 11 public health laboratories across the province that process more than five million clinical and environmental tests on over 2.5 million specimens each year. They have also served as a valued partner as part of the Ministry of Health’s executive command table.
Our government has benefited immensely from the advice and the counsel given by many of Public Health Ontario’s leaders. This past year has been a testament to the valued partnership between the Ministry of Health and Public Health Ontario. Public Health Ontario has really played an extraordinary role in the pandemic response, including:
—contributing to public health measures and our reopening planning;
—COVID-19 laboratory testing and scientific support; including, by the way, development and validation of our tests for COVID-19 and input into our testing strategy;
—COVID-19 data collection, monitoring, analysis and reporting;
—COVID-19 case and contact management guidance, including resources to support our public health units;
—COVID-19 vaccine programming, including provincial monitoring and support for adverse events following immunization and vaccine coverage monitoring and reporting;
—development of products based on evidence such as scientific briefs and guidance documents to inform government policy; and
—providing scientific and technical advice and guidance to the public health units and other parts of the health care system as well as other sectors.
In addition, Public Health Ontario plays a critical role in monitoring genetic variants of COVID-19 and helping to ensure appropriate public health measures are in place. The agency leads genomic sequencing efforts through the Ontario COVID-19 Genomics Network, including sequencing a minimum of 10% of positive samples to monitor and identify new and emerging COVID-19 variants—and we all know how important that is. This is complemented by broad screening to identify variants of concern. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, Public Health Ontario will continue to adapt its surveillance strategy to detect known and emerging variants through genomic sequencing based on emerging evidence.
The leadership that the Public Health Ontario laboratory system has shown throughout this pandemic has been unmatched and is an invaluable component of our government’s response. Faced with what seems like impossible timelines and an incredible amount of pressure, Public Health Ontario has not wavered in its duties, for which we are all grateful.
Throughout the pandemic, the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health has worked very closely with Public Health Ontario, and will continue to do so under Dr. Moore’s leadership if he is appointed as the next Chief Medical Officer of Health. Collaboration is the hallmark of Dr. Moore’s career, as was recognized by his designation as a champion for public health and primary health care by the Association of Ontario Health Centres.
The Ministry of Health will continue to work with key partners, including Public Health Ontario, to build upon and improve our testing strategy and the associated infrastructure and systems, such as viral sequencing, to continue to monitor COVID-19 as it evolves and to prepare the province for the emergence of any future novel pathogen.
For these reasons, our government has made significant investments in a comprehensive testing strategy, totalling $3.7 billion over the last two years, including $2.3 billion in 2021-22. These investments include additional funding to offset extraordinary costs incurred by Public Health Ontario as a result of managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our government values the important services that Public Health Ontario provides to Ontarians and will continue to work with Public Health Ontario to ensure the best possible use of our health care resources to support the important work of public health as we respond to the pandemic while ensuring that the public health and safety of all Ontarians is protected.
In closing, our government continues to prioritize a strong and united public health system, especially as we enter this critical juncture in our fight against COVID-19. Dr. Moore, with his many years of experience working in public health and building relationships throughout the health system, is the right person for the job of leading Ontario’s public health response to COVID-19. He has a demonstrated track record of success in taking a proactive approach to protecting those under his care.
He has a proven ability to bring primary care and public health together, a skill which is more important than ever as we take steps to address COVID-19. With strong relationship-building skills, we know he will continue Dr. Williams’s legacy of collaboration by working with all of our partners in the health sector, with the goal of defeating COVID-19 and ensuring Ontarians province-wide are healthy and safe.
Speaker, if we pass this motion, Dr. Moore would succeed Dr. David Williams effective June 26, following several weeks of working alongside one another as Dr. Moore transitions into the role. While we are all very thankful for all of Dr. Williams’s efforts and the tremendous impact he has had on our public health system and wish him all the best in whatever may come next for him, we’re also very excited at what Dr. Moore will bring to the table, should he be named Ontario’s next Chief Medical Officer of Health.
Once again, Speaker, I want to thank the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health for the opportunity to speak to this motion before us today, and I will encourage all members of the Legislature to support this motion in order to appoint Dr. Kieran Moore as Ontario’s next Chief Medical Officer of Health.
Thank you very much, Speaker, for the time today.
The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Further debate?
M me France Gélinas: I will start my remarks by drawing a little bit of a difference between how the last Chief Medical Officer of Health was selected and came to be the Chief Medical Officer of Health—that’s Dr. Williams—compared to the process that is being taken now. I would like to bring you back to—I think it was the fall of 2015. Arlene King had been our Chief Medical Officer of Health. She had left. The position had been filled by an Acting Chief Medical Officer of Health, and a process was put in place to find a new Chief Medical Officer of Health.
The process started with an advertisement campaign for anybody who had the qualifications, and there was a long list of qualifications that was put together by the department of human resources here at Queen’s Park for people to apply.
I was part of this process. There are many parts that I’m not allowed to share, but I will share with you the high-level facts. There were applicants that came from all over Canada, all provinces, the territories, many from Ontario. We even had applicants from outside of the country who had medical privileges in Ontario apply for the position. An all-party committee was put together that was led by the Speaker of the House. From the long list of applicants who applied to become Chief Medical Officer of Health, a selection was made, and we agreed to interview—I think I’m allowed—I won’t say.
We agreed to interview a certain amount, quite a few. There was a ton of good applicants who had put their resumés forward for the position.
Under the guidance of the human resources department here at Queen’s Park, an extensive questionnaire was developed. A number of applicants for the position were asked to come to Queen’s Park, and an all-party committee of the Legislative Assembly—I happened to be the NDP representative. At the time, it was a Liberal government. There was a Liberal representative who was there. There was a representative from the Conservative Party who was there. Those were the only three parties represented at Queen’s Park at the time.
All three of us sat together with the Speaker, but the Speaker made it clear that he was there to supervise the process but was not going to be part of the selection. We also had the deputy minister at the time. It was Dr. Bob Bell who was deputy minister.
Given that the position of Chief Medical Officer of Health is unique in Ontario, where they are an officer of the Legislature, as in they have a direct link to all of us in the Legislature like all the other officers of the Legislature, but they are also an ADM—they also report to the deputy minister. So the deputy minister attended all of the process to select the next Chief Medical Officer of Health, but he did not participate, as in ask questions during the interviews or anything like this.
The interviews took place. Like in a regular interview process, each of us from the three parties took turns asking questions of the different candidates. Human resources had done a very good job of assigning points to each of the questions we were to ask. Basically all of the responsibilities of the Chief Medical Officer of Health were covered in the interview questions, as well as some of the qualities that we were looking for in the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
We went through this process and scored, once we had interviewed all of the people who had been selected for the interview. We had many long discussions as to what your score was for the different questions for the different candidates. Then we had a limited selection on which the department of human resources went out and called for their references. That was done internally by HR, not by us politicians, and then HR brought back what they had heard from the reference check, I would call it, and then a selection was made after many, many hours of conversations. We selected Dr. David Williams, who became the next Chief Medical Officer of Health, and then it was ratified by the House.
I wanted to share a little bit as to how it had been done because we did not just dream that up, Speaker. This process was put in place after SARS. You will all remember that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS, came to Ontario in early 2000. It was devastating to some of our hospitals and over two dozen Ontarians, including health care workers, passed from this. There were investigations that were done, and then the focus really came as to how we prepare for the next pandemic, which we all knew was going to come. A big part of the preparations for this was to restructure our public health system.
I will always remember Chief Medical Officer of Health Sheela Basrur and how hard she worked. Really, she is the one who taught me the importance of public health and the importance of learning from what had happened during SARS so that we would be ready for the next pandemic. None of us knew when the next pandemic was going to be, but we all knew that another one was to come. There’s been a few close calls in Ontario, but nothing like what we’re living through right now with COVID, all this to say that the lessons from SARS, the lessons from a previous pandemic, are important to all of us to respect.
One of the lessons was really how you select the Chief Medical Officer of Health. The end goal in all of this is always to build trust. Public health is not sexy. When they do a great job, nobody knows they’re working. When you go to a restaurant and the food is good, when you turn on the tap and you can drink the water, when you send your child to daycare and everything works good, we just assume that it all works good. It works good because public health is doing its work. Public health is sort of always in the background.
We don’t really know they’re there until things derail; and now I would say most Ontarians have a pretty good idea of what public health is all about and how important it is to be able to trust, because without trust it is really hard to get compliance.
Public health is asking each and every one of us to make efforts day after day. Many of us are tired of the effort that they’re asking us to put in, but we continue to do this because we trust them. This is the end goal, to always build the trust in our public health system, so that when public health emergencies happen, the trust is there. When your medical officer of health stands up or when your Chief Medical Officer of Health stands up, you know that the advice they are giving us is based on the best evidence. It is based on data; the best data that is available at the time is being used, and every time they learn more, they reanalyze their decision and they share it with us.
We had learned from SARS that one of the ways to achieve our end goal of making sure that everybody trusts was to have an all-party committee do the selection of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. Because the Chief Medical Officer of Health reports to the Legislature, to each and every one of us, it was found that that was an important
part in building that trust that will make us as prepared as possible for the next public health emergency that comes, whether it has to do with opioids or bad water or anything else—or, as we see now, it has to do with a virus called COVID-19. For all of this, it was important.
I wanted to put what happened in the fall of 2015 on the record, because I want to contrast it with what is happening now. You will all remember that I put forward a bill—I forgot the number of the bill, but I will find it quickly—Bill 227. You will all remember that in the fall of 2020, I put forward, and we debated in this House for second reading, Bill 227,
An Act to amend the Health Protection and Promotion Act with respect to the positions of Chief Medical Officer of Health and Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health and related matters. In the bill I had put forward—I will just read a bit of the
preamble here, Speaker. It says:
“The bill amends the Health Protection and Promotion Act to make the Chief Medical Officer of Health an officer of the assembly and to provide for various related matters, including specifying the manner in which the Chief Medical Officer of Health may be appointed or removed from office, as well as the appointment of a temporary Chief Medical Officer of Health in specific circumstances.”
It goes on to say:
“The act is also amended to provide for the appointment of a select committee in the event of a declaration of an emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act that relates to a public health event or a pandemic or may have health impacts anywhere in Ontario. The mandate of the select committee consists of receiving advice from, and providing advice to, the Chief Medical Officer of Health with respect to the situation that gave rise to the declaration of emergency.”
The bill was debated in November and voted down by the majority government. The reason I wanted to bring us back to this is, again, the same thing: Our end goal is that each and every one of us has a responsibility to build trust between the people of Ontario and the people in charge of public health. This is how you make it through public health emergencies. This is how you make it through the pandemic, by people trusting the advice of their medical officer of health locally in the 34 public health units, as well as the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
So you have to understand a bit of my surprise when I got up Saturday morning and I had I don’t know how many emails from people all over the province, mainly from people working within our public health system, saying, “France, did you see this?” Did I see what? So I started to read. I think the first
article I read was from the Sun, from Brian Lilley, I think. He was the one that informed me that a new Chief Medical Officer of Health had been selected for Ontario.
Quickly after this, I saw something in the Toronto Star. I’m thinking, “Oh, how bizarre is that? I read about this in a newspaper.” We had constituency week last week. We spent about 15 hours in health estimates, so I had the Minister of Health, the deputy minister, all of the ADMs, all of the program supervisors, including Dr. Williams, there on Zoom, just to be safe, for 15 hours. We also reviewed two reports from the Auditor General that happen to deal with health care issues. Again, the deputy minister was there. The medical officer of health was there.
So I’d just spent over 30 hours with all of those good people who were making those decisions, and not a peep. I knew nothing until Saturday morning, when everybody read and everybody fell off their chair and started to—
Interjection: A minor oversight.
M me France Gélinas: A minor oversight—that’s it. Quickly, I was reassured that it was not just a trial balloon. It was a decision that had actually been made, that our Chief Medical Officer of Health would be leaving us before the extension of his term that was supposed to be in September, and that the new Chief Medical Officer of Health had been selected.
First, I said, “Well, maybe I missed something. Maybe there was an ad that went out asking for people to apply for the position.” I searched pretty high and low, and no, I have not seen any advertisement going out to select such an important public servant position. So how the selection was made—I was hoping this morning, when the minister and the parliamentary assistant to the minister were speaking, that they would have shared a little bit as to the process that led to the selection, but I have not heard a peep about that yet.
I wanted to put all of that on the record, again, because on this side of the House, we are committed to the end goal. We are committed to the goal that as many people in Ontario will have confidence in our public health system, in our Chief Medical Officer of Health. We know full well that the confidence will be in part because of the way that we as leaders in our community show our respect for the people in those positions, how we as elected officials in the provincial Legislature are supportive of those decisions.
Let’s just put it clearly that last weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, it was pretty hard to be supportive of a decision that I knew nothing about. The previous selection of the Chief Medical Officer of Health—I worked really hard on this process. I read resumés of—there are physicians who apply for those positions who have resumés of 120 pages long. Those are people that come with a wealth of knowledge and skills, and half of the words in the thing I have to look up because I don’t even know what they mean. This is how knowledgeable and skilled those people are.
I worked really hard through this process. I knew it inside and out. I knew the background of each and every one of the people who had applied for the position. Often, they would tell us why they had applied. They came with letters of reference from all sorts of very knowledgeable people in public health.
For the new Chief Medical Officer of Health, I read it online through somebody who copied and pasted—because I’m not able to read the Sun’s articles because I don’t subscribe. I don’t subscribe to any online, so somebody had to copy and paste and send it to me, and then we read it. It’s like, all right, in the middle of a pandemic, we are changing the Chief Medical Officer of Health through an announcement in the Toronto Sun.
What am I to think of this? So we put our thinking hat on, and remembered the end goal: The end goal is we want 14.5 million people in Ontario to trust the Chief Medical Officer of Health. We want everybody to know that when this person speaks, they will have the support of 14.5 million Ontarians, and no matter how difficult, how unpleasant, how tired we are of their advice, we will listen to their advice. We will follow what they’re recommending to us.
So this is really not starting out in the best of ways. You don’t build the trust of the people who are elected to represent their constituents by letting them read in the Toronto Sun or in the Toronto Star that a new Chief Medical Officer of Health has been selected. How hard would it have been, Speaker, to let us know that a process was in place to try to recruit?
In the back of my mind, I really thought that—I knew that Dr. Williams’s contract had been extended until September. So I thought that the ads will be coming out any time now, we will do our work right after the House rises to have a selection by the end of June, and I’m hoping that in July and August whoever the person who has been chosen will have an opportunity to work with Dr. Williams, to ensure a smooth transition during the pandemic so that when he retires in September, we’ve had the process, we have a new person in place and there we go.
How wrong could I have been, Speaker? How wrong could I have been? None of what I expected when it comes to due process actually took place. I read it online on Saturday morning from a copy-and-paste from the Toronto Sun. That was not exactly what I had expected.
We have to realize that the role of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, especially during a pandemic, is really exhaustive. The Chief Medical Officer of Health can issue orders that basically go against the basic freedoms of everyone. They have incredible powers to protect us during a pandemic.
I very much respect the role of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. I know how important they are, now that we all know the different chief medical officers of health in the different provinces. We’ve all seen the chief medical officer of health from BC, who has been the face of the response in British Columbia. We’re starting to know most of them in the different provinces as the different provinces struggle with the second and third waves and the public health measures that have to be put in place.
An important position like this, I felt, maybe deserved a phone call, a “I need to talk to you for a minute,” a “We wanted you to know that we’re about to do this”; a basic courtesy coming from the Conservative government on something so important, so that we would at least know that they also considered the position as important as it is. But none of that happened.
When we talk about Public Health Ontario, I always like to read their vision into the record: “Internationally recognized evidence, knowledge and action for a healthier Ontario.” Doesn’t that speak loudly?
Their mission: “We enable informed decisions and actions that protect and promote health and contribute to reducing health inequities.” This is also very powerful.
Their mandate: to “provide scientific and technical advice and support to clients working in government, public health, health care, and related sectors.
“We build capacity, assemble expertise and guide action through”—and they go on.
The whole public health system, the Chief Medical Officer of Health is an adviser to the government. This is where the knowledge, the technical knowledge as to what is going on during a pandemic—the Chief Medical Officer of Health is the voice of that, the knowledge keeper of that. He is the one who advises government as to what is happening public health-wise and what the measures are that are recommended by public health.
We are in the middle of a pandemic. We need 14.5 million Ontarians to trust Dr. Moore, who will become the next Chief Medical Officer of Health. Why not send him into this really difficult position with as many opportunities as possible to succeed? Why appoint him with this cloud, this bullet attached to his ankle as he tries to run us out of this pandemic? It’s hard to understand what motivated the government to do this. I would like, at some point, for them to share an explanation.
I cannot stress enough, Speaker, how important the role of public health is. All 34 public health units have a board of health. The 34 medical officers of health of our 34 public health units report to a board of health. The board of health is their board of directors. They report to this board. There’s a specific structure to those boards that is set out in law, and it is comprised of municipal members, as well as members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The meetings are always open.
Interjection.
M me France Gélinas: When you stand up, usually I sit down.
The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): Yes, thank you. I do apologize for interrupting you, but unfortunately the time allotted for this part of the debate has ended.
Debate deemed adjourned.
The Acting Speaker (Mr. Percy Hatfield): You will have an opportunity later in the day, if it’s called again, to complete your hour lead.
Members’ Statements
Child care
Ms. Doly Begum: Speaker, this past year has been incredibly challenging for families, especially for working parents with little ones. Many have lost access to child care, while others have lost their income and haven’t been able to afford child care. Many parents, including a disproportionate amount of mothers, have exited the workforce entirely because they had to stay home and care for their little ones. Lack of access to child care has a domino effect on not just our day-to-day lives but also on our economy.
My constituent Jennifer, a woman entrepreneur, took on the task of opening a nursery in my riding of Scarborough Southwest, Little Bugs Nursery, with the intention of providing Scarborough Southwest families with some relief and a local option for child care. Despite her spending thousands of dollars to ensure the location was up to par with regulatory standards, she was told that she needed to add some more fixtures if she wanted to receive the full licence.
She was told that in the interim, she would be allowed to operate the space for five children or less, but on Friday, to everyone’s surprise, the Ministry of Education came and shut the centre down while she was following that specific order.
Jennifer has done everything she could and that she was told to ensure that the business could operate. Instead of making it more difficult for Jennifer, she should be supported by our government. Mr. Speaker, I’m calling on this government to pave the way for entrepreneurs and local businesses as we plan for a recovery. We need to work towards a feminist recovery that supports female entrepreneurs and parents in the workforce, and provides access to good-quality child care.
Prescription drugs
Mrs. Nina Tangri: COVID-19 has taught us that there has never been a more important time to invest in and have access to new, innovative vaccines and medicines in Ontario. I am proud of the work that our government, led by the Premier, has done to support innovation, research and manufacturing of life-saving and life-altering treatments. A strong domestic life sciences sector is so important, and my community of Mississauga–Streetsville is concerned about the changes the federal government will be introducing this July through the Patented Medicines Prices Review Board, or PMPRB, which will put Canadians’ and Ontarians’ access to new medicines and vaccines at risk.
Our government is committed to ensuring that Ontarians continue to have access to the life-saving medicines they deserve and need. As such, since last year, we have written to the federal government, asking them to consult further with stakeholders and to conduct further analysis and assess impacts to pharmaceutical investments, including clinical trials, manufacturing and access to new medicines.
Yesterday the Minister of Health and the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade wrote again to the federal government, urgently calling for these measures, slated to be introduced on July 1, to be paused while we consult and assess the impacts of their changes. Many stakeholders have expressed concerns with proposed pricing guidelines and impacts to the sector, including drug launch delays, decreased research and development, less investment or decisions not to launch certain products right here in Canada. We’re requesting that the federal government acknowledge these concerns.
We need to make sure that all Canadians have their drug plans and non-excessive prices, while incentivizing an introduction of new and improved products.
Residential schools / COVID-19 response
Mr. Guy Bourgouin: I’d like to take a moment to pay my respect to all Indigenous people across Canada who are hurting and in pain from the discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children found buried at the site of a former residential school. My heart goes out to all First Nations across Canada.
Mr. Speaker, I now want to bring the Minister of Health up to speed on the disturbing spike of COVID-19 cases in my riding, especially in the Cree communities of the James Bay coast. Yesterday, the Porcupine Health Unit recorded 326 active cases. Of these numbers, 86 are active cases in the James Bay community. These numbers keep surging at an alarming rate.
Minister, Moosonee declared a state of emergency last week. This community alone currently has 27 active cases; Fort Albany now has 27; Moose Factory, 13; Attawapiskat, 18; and Kashechewan, one.
Speaker, I’m asking the minister to work with these communities and to work with WAHA. The town of Moosonee has requested an extension of the field hospital, and I’m asking the minister to extend their contract. I’m also asking the minister to commit resources to these communities as needed so they can come out of this pandemic safely without having faced tragedy.
COVID-19 immunization
Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: It is times like these that we come to understand the value of coming together. Today, I want to pay tribute to the collaboration between Peel Public Health, Bruce Power and members of its nuclear supply chain to help fight COVID-19. They have partnered to create a hockey hub mass vaccination centre at the CAA Centre in Brampton, similar to those Bruce Power and its partners have helped deploy at four other locations in Grey-Bruce and Lambton counties.
With support from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce-led vaccination support council, companies and labour groups jumped on board to help, including: Alectra Utilities, Energy Solutions, Nordion, Framatome, Kinectrics, NPX, CGI, BWXT, E.S. Fox, SNC-Lavalin, LiUNA, the Power Workers’ Union and Ontario building and construction trades council. All of these groups joined forces to contribute and pull this clinic together in just five days.
Speaker, we will only end the pandemic when we end it in every region of Ontario. I offer my sincere thanks to these groups who have demonstrated true Ontario spirit by reaching out beyond their footprints to help their fellow Ontarians and for their help in powering Ontario forward through COVID-19.
Residential schools
Mr. Gurratan Singh: The remains of 215 Indigenous children were found at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. There were children as young as three years old found in the mass grave there.
I can’t even begin to imagine the horror that these children faced, to be stolen from their homes, to be robbed of their culture, their way of life and their language, only to be murdered and killed.
These are crimes against humanity. This is genocide, the gravest of injustices. This is an injustice that each and every one of us carries.
Whether you came here a year ago or 100 years ago, we are all settlers on this land, because the roads we drive on, our homes, our workplaces and the lives we live are on Indigenous land.
Canada has failed the Indigenous community, and each and every one of us bears the weight of this failure. It is a wrong that each and every one of us needs to right on the path to justice.
Filipino community
Mr. John Fraser: June is Filipino Heritage Month in Ontario, and that’s thanks to the member from Scarborough Southwest, who brought forward the private member’s bill that we passed unanimously in this Legislature last month. Ontario is home to some 340,000 people of Filipino descent. This month, we celebrate their rich culture, diversity and the many contributions that Filipino Canadians have made to Ontario.
Many first-generation Filipino Canadians were women. They came here to teach, to nurse and to provide child care. In fact, during this pandemic, many Filipino Canadians have been on the front lines keeping Ontarians safe.
Sadly, we lost Christine Mandegarian, a Filipino Canadian and PSW from Scarborough, earlier this year to COVID-19. I know that the member from Scarborough Southwest honoured her in debate last month, and we should do that again today.
The continued dedication of Filipino Canadians to their community and to our health, our well-being is greatly appreciated. Our diversity defines our identity, and celebrating our common interests and our unique cultures in Ontario unites us all.
I just want to thank Alicia Natividad from Ottawa–Vanier for her continued support and advocacy and promotion of Filipino Heritage Month, and it’s with pride and joy. Mabuhay.
Global Coptic Day
Mr. Sheref Sabawy: As the first Coptic Egyptian MPP to sit in this Legislature in Canadian history, it is my honour to speak today to commemorate Global Coptic Day, the feast of the entry of the Holy Family into Egypt. That day was chosen by the Coptic Orthodox Church to mark the annual Global Coptic Day, and the icon of the Holy Family in Egypt was picked to symbolize this event.
Coptics are the direct descendants of their ancestors, the pharaohs of Egypt, and the Coptic heritage is the extension of the pharaonic civilization grown around the Nile River for thousands of years. Mr. Speaker, Global Coptic Day is intended as a day to celebrate Coptic’s rich heritage, including its unforgettable history of martyrdom and persecution, as well as its theological education and monasticism. This day commemorates the hundreds of victims and martyrs over thousands of years. It aspires to create global awareness of Coptic heritage all around the world. The day is an annual celebration of the contributions made by the Coptics over many centuries.
Churches worldwide call Christians to fill this day with PRAISE: pray, read, acts of mercy, invite, serve and educate. It’s no doubt that many of the Eastern churches were the saviours of the cultural history of their nations. The Coptic Orthodox Church is a live testament of care and protection of the Coptic culture, history, language and traditions.
I am proud to be a Canadian Coptic, standing here today on behalf of all Ontarians and wishing the Coptic community a happy Global Coptic Day.
Automobile insurance
Mr. Kevin Yarde: It’s an honour to stand on behalf of the great folks of Brampton North. As the critic for auto insurance, I’ve been trying to get this government to end postal code discrimination that we see in Brampton. We’re paying the most out of all of Ontario, and it’s not even close. On average, my constituents of Brampton North pay more than twice the provincial average per year. It’s unacceptable to see this government ignore the people of Brampton, especially when we’re going through a pandemic.
This is why the NDP as the official opposition proposed a 50% break on auto insurance costs for all drivers and called for a deferral of insurance payments for anyone who lost their job or income. This 50% break during the pandemic will not only help the everyday people of Ontario but also our essential workers such as truck and taxi drivers.
I have spoken to many from the Airport Taxi Association, along with their president Rajinder Singh, and they shared their concerns with me. Taxi drivers are essential workers who are on the verge of losing their livelihoods by skyrocketing insurance premiums and an inability to renew insurance policies, and by COVID-19. Throughout this pandemic they’ve seen their insurance go up threefold while their revenues have all but disappeared. They are being denied coverage by their insurance companies, so they must resort to facility insurance or have their taxis parked in their driveways. Many have chosen to park their taxis, but they still continue to pay their operating expenses.
These folks need a break. I encourage this government to do the right thing and make sure that they lower the auto insurance for general insurance as well as for taxi and limousine drivers.
Municipal planning
Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos: In my community, we have a neighbourhood called Millcroft in the city of Burlington, which residents consider a jewel. People have come from all over Burlington and the GTA to live and raise a family in Millcroft.
Millcroft is built around a golf course that threads its way through the community, a green space that provides recreation and beautiful vistas for the people of Millcroft. Yet this green space is at risk of development, even though it provides a haven for wildlife and helps collect storm water, preventing flooding; even though thousands in the community have opposed development through petitions and letters to the city of Burlington and to me as their MPP.
Residents have told me again and again that they want what is best for their community and their families. The Millcroft community wants to preserve its green spaces, and most residents are opposed to the new development. I support them in their wish to preserve their community.
The greenbelt and our parks and green spaces are essential for the health of our communities. We must preserve them, and I will do all within my ability to help Millcroft preserve its communities.
Ontario Day
Mr. Michael Parsa: Speaker, it’s an honour to rise in the House to speak to the first celebration of Ontario Day. When I first thought about how Ontario Day should be celebrated, I wanted to ensure that it was as inclusive as possible so that every Ontarian could have this day to honour what they cherish most about our province. After all, Ontario is one of the richest and most diverse places in the world. Whether you’re celebrating Indigenous heritage or your family’s recent arrival in Ontario, we should all be grateful for our beautiful province.
Speaker, on this inaugural Ontario Day, I’m celebrating our province’s front-line heroes, our health care heroes in particular. They’re the best in the world, and for the past 15 months, they have worked tirelessly to protect each and every one of us. I’m choosing to take this day to honour and thank them for everything they have done for us. Because of their efforts to get vaccines into the arms of Ontarians, we’ve seen case numbers continue to go down, and as a result, lives are being saved.
That’s also why we are closer than ever to the light at the end of the tunnel. Soon, we will all be able to gather safely with our loved ones, go back to workplaces, and reopen businesses that illustrate our communities.
Speaker, after a long and difficult year, there is no better time to honour everything that makes this province the best place in the world. So, to everyone across Ontario, I’d like to be the first to wish you a safe and happy Ontario Day, and I look forward to celebrating with you in person. Happy Ontario Day, everyone.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): That concludes our members’ statements for this morning.
I understand the member for Niagara Falls has a point of order he wishes to raise.
Mr. Wayne Gates: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is Injured Workers’ Day, and I seek unanimous consent to move a motion regarding the immediate passage of Bill 119, the Respecting Injured Workers Act, to put an end to deeming in Ontario and ensure that WSIB treats injured workers fairly.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Niagara Falls is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion regarding the immediate passage of Bill 119, the Respecting Injured Workers Act. Agreed? I heard a no.
It is now time for oral questions.
Question Period
COVID-19 response
Ms. Andrea Horwath: My first question this morning is to the Premier. The Minister of Education, on November 18, said in this Legislature, “It is quite obvious, according to leading medical experts across this province, that ... transmission is not happening within school....” This is, of course, in reference to COVID-19. My question is, is this Premier and this government prepared to stand behind that statement?
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the Minister of Education.
Hon. Stephen Lecce: It is the position of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, from September to the present. He was asked just last week a question on the safety of schools. He said, and confirmed, that schools have been safe in the province of Ontario, that three out of four schools in the province did not have an active case of COVID when we closed them at the peak of the third wave.
Mr. Speaker, we have put in place a $1.6-billion plan. We have followed the best medical advice. And according to medical officers of health in Ontario, the Chief Medical Officer of Health and a variety of other pediatric institutions—including the scientific director of the Ontario science table, who said that Ontario, unlike other places in the world, did a relatively good job. If you compare to the UK, our way of cohorting, our way of masking kids is much, much better. Mr. Speaker, we’re going to continue to follow that advice and, most especially, continue to invest to keep kids safe.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.
Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, today’s Toronto Star reveals that on the very following day from when this minister made the claim about schools being safe, his ministry folks were hearing the exact opposite from experts at SickKids. In fact, Ministry of Education staff wrote the following note: “Is there any transmission happening in schools? We don’t know.”
Why was the minister telling parents, teachers and kids, in fact, members of this Legislature, that there was no transmission happening in schools while his own team was admitting that they didn’t know?
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Education.
Hon. Stephen Lecce: The principal adviser to the cabinet, to the government and to the province of Ontario is the Chief Medical Officer of Health. While I know that, when given the opportunity to affirm her public commitment to him, to the lead scientific leader of this province in the midst of a pandemic, they opted not to renew and instill confidence in him, we have followed that perspective. Most especially, in the context of our testing program, what we have noted is that we’re one of the only provinces in the nation that has a targeted asymptomatic testing program. That is an additional layered approach to keeping schools safe.
The principal testing agent in Ontario is the Ministry of Health. Last week alone, 20,000 tests were completed. In addition, the Ministry of Education brought in a targeted program to offset and complement testing within our schools to make it more accessible and more available for families.
The Chief Medical Officer of Health, the head of the science table, and the head of the medical officers of health council have been consistent and clear: Schools in Ontario have been safe. We’ve been grateful for the partnership of local public health and school boards, educators and parents to keep students safe in the province of Ontario.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): And the final supplementary?
Ms. Andrea Horwath: Yesterday, the Minister of Education made the same claim he’s making now, bragging about the in-school testing, and yet the Toronto Star reveals quite clearly that the testing was woefully inadequate. In fact, Dr. Ashleigh Tuite from the science table calls the government’s approach to testing “scattershot” and says it was “ultimately doing nothing, in terms of our ability to take the data and make any sort of inference from it.”
In fact, the very best week of this government’s testing in schools yielded 8,213 tests instead of the promised 50,000 tests that we’ve heard this minister brag about time and time again. Why did the government claim that their testing proved that schools were safe when they knew that wasn’t the case? I’m sending the evidence over to the minister right now.
Hon. Stephen Lecce: What has been confirmed by the Chief Medical Officer of Health, according to his independent analysis of transmission in schools, is that they have been safe, that the layers of protection put in place by the province of Ontario, following the best medical advice, has worked to reduce transmission.
When three out of four schools in the height of the third wave had no active cases at all, when 99% of students and 98% of staff had no cases of COVID reported through the pandemic, that demonstrates that the $1.6 billion, the layers of protection and the strict public health interventions we put in place from September, escalating them throughout the pandemic as the challenges changed throughout Ontario—it demonstrates that we were agile, that we followed advice and we invested to keep kids safe.
The authority is not the Minister of Education. It’s not the Leader of the Opposition. It is the Chief Medical Officer of Health, who has been consistent in this province from September through to the present that schools have been safe. We are grateful for the partnership to do that for the benefit of children in Ontario.
COVID-19 response
Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is also for the Premier, but maybe this is the minister’s opportunity to get the transfer to a different ministry that he wants.
Teachers, education workers and public health experts have all been clear about what is needed in our schools, and that means smaller classes, fixing the backlogged repairs that the Liberals left us with, vaccinations and an actual testing strategy that is robust, which we haven’t had. Instead, what we’ve had is education cuts in the last budget; the government, the Premier particularly, attacking our teachers; and the government and this Premier claiming that the experts were backing their plans when, in fact, they actually told the minister and the Premier that they were literally flying blind.
Why did the government tell parents, schools, teachers, boards and everybody in this province that schools were completely safe when, in fact, they knew that they had really no idea whether they were or they weren’t?
Hon. Stephen Lecce: Mr. Speaker, the Chief Medical Officer of Health has advised the people of Ontario—when repeatedly asked about the safety of schools, transmission in schools, he has suggested that the protections we put in place, following his best advice from September, have kept students and staff safe. That is his repeated position on the record to the people of Ontario, literally for the past year.
The question for the Leader of the Opposition is, why do you not take the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health? Why not accept the independent analysis he has made with the various tables that inform him, that have built confidence for students and parents that our schools have been safe, when 99% of students didn’t have an active case and 98% of staff, when three out of four schools didn’t have an active case at all at the peak of the third wave? It underscores one truth: The investment we put in place has worked.
With that said, Speaker, there are 7,000 more staff that were hired this year, and 95% of schools have seen some upgrade to ventilation. We have 40,000 HEPA units and HEPA filters improving our ventilation in schools, double the public health allocation. And yes, we’re the only province in the nation with a targeted, province-wide capacity to conduct asymptomatic testing. That is very important. We are proud of the work we have done, and we’re going to continue to do everything we can for the benefit of students and for their safety in Ontario.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.
Ms. Andrea Horwath: It’s really clear that investment was needed to keep kids safe at school. But that’s not what has happened in this province. The Premier heard it from teachers, from boards, from the science table, that they needed to invest in our kids, but they just didn’t want to. In fact, the FAO report, just the other day, indicates very clearly that this government has cut $800 million from education just in this budget, and over the next decade, those cuts will increase significantly.
Cuts to the classroom will not help keep our kids safe. They just won’t. That’s the reason why our schools aren’t open today. Why is the Premier cutting education in this province? Why is the Premier doing that when it’s clear to everyone that our kids need and deserve more investment now? They need it now more than ever before.
Hon. Stephen Lecce: The reason why schools were closed in the province, according to the Chief Medical Officer of Health, is because community transmission spiked to roughly 4,000 cases a day. That is the reason, and the member opposite knows it to be true. That’s why we closed schools. That’s why Nova Scotia announced closures on a regional basis. It’s why BC did so on a targeted basis. We have to respond to risk profiles that change. When cases rise in the community, they’re reflected in schools, and we closed them to protect families. We did that repeatedly.
In the context of funding, we increased investment by $2 billion as we look forward to September: a $1.6-billion provincially funded increase in resources for COVID, a $500-million increase in the Grants for Student Needs and a targeted $85-million support for summer learning and learning gaps. We’ve also quadrupled mental health funding. How can the member opposite suggest there’s a reduction in expenditure? In the FAO report, when it comes to methodology, the FAO suggests, in the context of methodology, that the Ministry of Education is not forecast based on compensation hikes. He makes assumptions on what those hikes may be; we do not. When it comes to the—
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. The final supplementary.
Ms. Andrea Horwath: Yet another government attacking an independent officer, Speaker. It’s just getting a bit tired.
Look, when it comes to parents, when it comes to students, when it comes to teachers, everybody is desperate to get back into the classroom. Why? Because our kids are suffering. They’re suffering from mental health challenges. They’re suffering from loneliness. Parents are so worried about their kids and what is happening to them because they can’t go to school. In fact, this government promised that schools would be the first to open and the last to close. Experts, of course, say that that’s essential for the mental health of our kids, and it needs to be done safely and on a regional basis. However, to do that, we need to have that safety and we need to have that investment.
Today, just moments ago, the Star reported that the Ford government is not ready to do that, to make those investments and open those schools. Apparently, they’re more interested in classroom budget cuts than in protecting our kids, which is absolutely shameful. My question is: Is the report from the Star accurate today? Will the Premier keep his promise to kids and make the investments to ensure that they do come first in reopening?
Hon. Stephen Lecce: Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to continuing to invest in schools. It’s why we announced some weeks ago a significant enhancement in funding for September.
Even though we know that all students will be double vaxed, for those who want it, 12 and up, by September, and likewise for our education staff and the general population, so long as supply continues to come in; even though we know that the world will change and will hopefully be much better and safer for communities and for schools, we still are funding it at 100%; still maintaining the doubling of public health nurses; still are the only province with an asymptomatic testing program; still having PPE being provided for free, with three-ply masks for all students; still ensuring cohorting; and all the public health measures we put in place this year that the science table chair as well as the Chief Medical Officer of Health have said has resulted in safe schools.
When 99% of students are safe, and 98% of staff, we can be confident that the program we put in place has kept students safe, and we will continue to invest and continue to support parents, families and children in Ontario.
Education
Ms. Doly Begum: My question is to the Premier. Amaiyah, a seven-year-old from Scarborough Southwest, has been facing an incredible amount of difficulty over the past year with online learning. She cannot focus, and misses the support that she used to receive from her educator during in-class learning. When the province finally announced that in-person learning may be available for children with special needs like Amaiyah, her mother made the request to her school, with no success.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Education.
Hon. Stephen Lecce: I should have noted in the last answer that when the Leader of the Opposition speaks about the importance of open schools, it was the opposition parties who stood with the unions at the time, who called for the government not to reopen schools in February and January. They advocated for keeping schools closed until the stay-at-home order lifts. That is their position, and they would have kept schools closed throughout 2021. We moved mountains, working with every medical officer, with the chief medical officer, seeking external counsel, pediatric institutions, to get them open, to keep them safe.
In the context of virtual learning, another choice that would have been removed: They would not have offered parents a choice of virtual learning. And yes, one in four parents opted for it. They may into September. We think that choice is a strength, recognizing that in-class learning must be safe, which is why we invested for it.
In the context of what we’re doing to support virtual learning, we’ve added an additional $200 million to support it. Over 150,000 tablets have been procured, 10,000 Internet connections—a significant increase, including last year and this year forthcoming, to ensure families can get access to the devices and supports that they need.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question.
Ms. Doly Begum: Mr. Speaker, it’s shameful that I asked a question about a seven-year-old who needs special-needs support, and the minister decided to use this opportunity to answer and throw political punches at the opposition, and then he went on to advocate for privatization or for online learning. I am at a loss for words, because I’m talking—
Hon. Lisa MacLeod: That’s all you do, day in and day out.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.
Ms. Doly Begum: And again, the minister is going to interrupt me while I ask my questions.
Speaker, we cannot let students lose a year’s worth of learning, development and progress. Students, educators and families are exhausted. They are waiting for this government to make immediate investments in safer, smaller class sizes, upgrade ventilation and give resources for students with disabilities.
For weeks, Amaiyah’s family has been given the runaround. I hope the minister will move mountains to help kids like Amaiyah, like many other families who are trying to access supports. Despite having all the documentation, like medical notes, Amaiyah is still on a wait-list to be considered for in-person learning and accommodations. So my question is, why is the government failing students like Amaiyah and so many others across this province?
Hon. Stephen Lecce: Mr. Speaker, when it comes to virtual learning, yes, it is important to start on the basis that we are the only party in the Legislature that would have provided that family with that choice—step 1. Step 2 in the context of our funding for virtual learning: We have increased the investment by $225 million, which has provided literally over 195,000 devices that have been procured this year. We have nearly 10,000 Internet connections. In a Toronto District School Board survey, nine in 10 families currently have access to their own devices, which were provided in part by the boards. We’ve done an incredible amount of work to build up the infrastructure.
Remember, we set a high standard in Ontario. We set the highest standard in the nation. At least 70% of the 300 minutes of instruction must be done in live, synchronous Zoom learning. That was opposed by the members opposite: high standards, access to choice.
And, of course, in the context of mental health supports and special education, given the circumstance of the family you mentioned, we’ve increased spec ed funding by $3.2 billion—the highest levels ever recorded in Ontario history—and we’ve quadrupled mental health funding from the former Liberal government, at the peak of their spending, to $80 million, representing a 400% increase in supports for kids.
COVID-19 immunization
Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: My question is for the Minister of Health. Last week, the minister stood up in this House and provided us with an update on our government’s vaccine rollout. She let us know that we achieved our goal of providing a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to over 65% of all Ontarians over the age of 18 ahead of schedule. Not even a week later and our province has already surpassed another milestone by administering over nine million doses to Ontarians across the province.
Mr. Speaker, my constituents are eager to get both their first and second doses so they can get back to the most important things, like spending more time with friends and family. Would the minister please tell the members of this House how our government plans to accelerate vaccines to those most vulnerable across the province?
Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you to the member from Brampton West for his question and for his incredibly hard work on behalf of his constituents. Since day one, Speaker, our government has been committed to vaccinating Ontarians as quickly and as safely as possible. That’s why, starting yesterday, we opened up the eligibility for accelerated second dose appointments starting with individuals aged 80 and over, beginning as of May 31. For those who want to get their second dose sooner, appointments can be rebooked through the provincial booking system, call centre, public health units and through pharmacies.
If there is sufficient vaccine supply, anticipate that the majority of Ontario residents who choose to receive the vaccine will be able to be fully vaccinated by the end of summer.
Speaker, we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the most vulnerable in our communities receive their second vaccine doses as quickly as possible.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): And the supplementary question.
Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: Thank you, Minister, and thank you to all of those on the front lines for helping us administer these crucial vaccines.
Mr. Speaker, it’s reassuring to hear the minister talk about our plan to ensure that the most vulnerable, like our seniors over 80, are able to receive the second dose they need ahead of schedule. If the success we have seen so far with our vaccination rollout is any indication of what’s to come, Ontarians can rest assured that we are well on our way to fully vaccinating everyone who wants to be by the end of summer.
I know a number of factors were considered when determining to accelerate our vaccination program. Mr. Speaker, would the minister please tell this House how more Ontarians can expect to get their second doses sooner over the summer?
Hon. Christine Elliott: Yes, and thank you again very much for the question. To support this accelerated rollout, the province has developed an anticipated
schedule for eligibility to accelerate second doses based upon confirmed supply. This began yesterday, with individuals turning 80 and over in 2021 becoming eligible to rebook their second dose appointment for a sooner date if they wish to do so. Next, individuals aged 70 and over are scheduled to begin doing the same the week of June 14. The rollout will continue to expand eligibility for second dose appointments based upon the date of the first dose.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to further accelerate the rollout of second doses as the federal government determines and confirms increased vaccine deliveries. Accelerating second doses will provide more protection to Ontarians sooner. Every dose administered means we are one step closer to the end of the pandemic. I encourage all Ontarians to get vaccinated and continue following public health advice.
Residential schools
Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Meegwetch. To the Premier: Today we are collectively still in a time of grief and reflection. We grieve for the 215 children found on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops and the thousands of children we know never came home. These children should have lived their full lives, and their grandchildren would be here today.
Indigenous people in this province deserve justice and they need it today, not decades from now. Yesterday, the government committed to searching former residential school sites, a search that should be Indigenous-led. But if things are going to happen and change, we need to see funding and timelines from this government. When can we expect a real plan from this government to back up their commitment to Indigenous people? Meegwetch.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the government House leader.
Hon. Paul Calandra: As the member knows, myself, the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and the Premier made this commitment yesterday. As I said yesterday, it is important, as the member has just said, that we work with First Nations to ensure this gets done in a way that is respectful of the traditions of the First Nations and is done in a way that ensures we are able to fully investigate and ensure that we are doing—really, as the member said, what should be led by First Nations, and making sure that we get this done appropriately.
I don’t think anybody is going to disagree with the member opposite. I know that the Premier and the minister are very much in line with that, and we will be continuing to work very closely with First Nations to ensure that it gets done.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary? The member for Toronto Centre.
Ms. Suze Morrison: Back to the government House leader: Respectfully, what I didn’t hear there was an actual commitment to funding.
Speaker, entire generations of children were lost to residential schools. As Indigenous people living in Canada today, we’re all survivors of Canada’s genocide. Despite the ongoing systemic racism that attempts to erase us, we’re still here.
Ontario must confront its colonial past and take action to secure justice for all those who survived the trauma of residential schools and who are still experiencing the harmful intergenerational impact today. We need a commitment to funding from this government to search the grounds of all the former residential schools in Ontario for all of the lost children, and that funding has to come with a commitment that that search is Indigenous-led.
Will this government follow through on their commitments today: provide a plan, provide funding, provide a commitment that the search of the residential schools will be Indigenous-led? Will you do that today so that we can have justice for survivors and their families?
Hon. Paul Calandra: I apologize; I thought I was very clear yesterday that we are making that commitment to fund this. I thought I was clear yesterday that we would be working with the Indigenous communities to ensure that it is done in a respectful manner. I know that Minister Rickford reiterated that just yesterday. So if I need to be even clearer—yes, absolutely, positively.
This is extremely important. This is not something that a week from now we will forget just because it’s out of the news cycle. We heard the very, very powerful words of the member from Kiiwetinoong yesterday. We see what’s out front of this Legislature, and we see what is happening across this country. People want us to build on the work that we have done, that Minister Rickford has done.
But on this issue, yes—I don’t know how much more clear than that I can be. The answer is yes.
COVID-19 response
Mrs. Belinda C. Karahalios: My question is for the Premier.
A couple of weeks ago, before the long weekend, the government unveiled a roadmap to reopen, which actually contained no indication of when life would get back to normal or fully reopen. At the same time of the press conference, the government began debate to extend emergency powers under Bill 195, the reopening Ontario act, until December. In the plan, they have followed with the approach of Justin Trudeau and Dr. Theresa Tam, linking vaccine rates to a limited return to some everyday activities, but have not indicated how many Ontarians receiving a vaccine it will take to allow for life to return to normal—if they ever plan to let life return to normal.
If 80% of Ontarians receiving a vaccine is not enough for a return to normal under this plan, what is the number? Is it 100%?
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To respond, the Minister of Health.
Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you to the member for the question.
The Roadmap to Reopen is based on vaccination rates, of course. To get into stage 1, we need to reach 60% of all adults over 18 having been vaccinated, which has already happened. We’re at, at least, 67%, as things stand now, with over 9.2 million vaccines already having been administered.
There are also some public health indicators that need to be met, in terms of the number of new cases. Today, we are down to 699 cases, which is a huge improvement. There is still a ways to go. It’s also based on the number of people being admitted to our intensive care units, the R factor, the public health ability to recover. These are realistic indications and numbers based on what our medical experts have advised us and what the modelling has shown us.
We are gradually and carefully reopening, because the last thing we want to go into is a fourth wave. We have been advised that the levels we have suggested for the Roadmap to Reopen are realistic and achievable.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question.
Mrs. Belinda C. Karahalios: With this government, the goalposts are always moving. In January 2021, we were told life would get back to normal with 1,000 positive cases per day. By May, we heard it was 500 to 600 cases. Now, apparently, case rate has nothing to do with it. As the minister just said, it’s about vaccine rates. But the fine print of the government’s plan, as she also says: “plus key health indicators.” This vagueness is not a plan, and coupled with the extension of emergency orders until December, it suggests they have no plan to reopen our province.
Can the Premier please publicly disclose to Ontarians what is meant by the “plus key health indicators” part of the plan that is in addition to vaccine rates? We want exact numbers. This is a limited reopening plan. What is it dependent on?
Hon. Christine Elliott: The Roadmap to Reopen is very clear, with three stages that we will need to move through very carefully in order to be able to reopen the province. We’ve seen what’s happened with the variants of concern that are still out there. We need to move very, very carefully through this to slowly, gradually reopen the province.
But as the member would see, from stage 3, we are going to then be opening the last areas that haven’t been opened for a very long time, things like closed-in cinemas, concerts—all of those other areas that will be met and will be available based on these achievable targets that have been very clearly disclosed to the people of Ontario.
In addition to the vaccination rates, there are the hospitalization rates, the ICU factors, the public health rates, the R factor. All of those have been very, very clearly discussed with the people of Ontario. As I indicated earlier, these are realistic and achievable targets. The people of Ontario are helping very much with receiving the vaccinations. We’ve been able to accelerate the second doses, and we are confident that we will be able to hit these milestones and be able to open Ontario back up at the appropriate—
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. The next question.
Border security
Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: My question is to the Solicitor General. We know that stricter border measures stop the spread of COVID-19. This reality is backed up by hard evidence and data. All the cases that we have in Ontario can be traced back to regions outside of Ontario. Ontario is finally getting closer to opening, yet now we’re hearing about the federal proposal to lift border restrictions. We know that it isn’t just about international travellers from overseas; COVID-19 can enter Ontario from the United States too.
Can the Solicitor General remind the House what our government’s position is on opening our borders so soon?
Hon. Sylvia Jones: Thank you to the member from Brampton West for this important issue that he has raised. I—and we—have consistently called on the federal government to enhance our safeguards at our border. It’s disappointing, but unfortunately, it doesn’t surprise me that the federal government is looking for ways to reopen the border. The Prime Minister needs to take the border issue seriously, but instead, he keeps ignoring Ontario’s concerns.
Ontario is starting to see some incredible progress as a result of everyone’s sacrifices. Finally, we can see our numbers gradually coming down. Our vaccines are at a record level, averaging approximately a million doses a week. It’s time for the Prime Minister to take this seriously, just like we are, and address the border issue by implementing stronger requirements, not by seeking out ways to remove them.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question.
Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: Thank you to the minister. We are all aware of how the original COVID-19 virus got here: It was through travel. Every variant of concern that filled our ICUs came from outside of Ontario. Although we all look forward to our American friends being able to visit once again, now is not the time.
Back to the minister: Can she explain why this is not the time to have a return of American travellers?
Hon. Sylvia Jones: We know that mobility is a factor in the spread of COVID, which is why now is not the time to open our borders. Yesterday, I spoke about the importance of our border controls with our neighbouring province of Manitoba and how it is working. On one side of the border, cases are increasing, and we will continue to help Manitobans, with 34 Manitobans currently in Ontario’s ICUs.
Ontario has had to make great sacrifices to get to the point where the stay-at-home order is being lifted at 12:01. Last night, for the first time in months, there were hockey fans in person watching the Leafs game, and despite the unfortunate results, the return of sport is an exciting step in the right direction.
We have seen how just a few travellers infected with a new variant can set us back literally for months. This is not the time for the federal government to lift restrictions at our borders.
COVID-19 response
Mr. Gurratan Singh: Since the beginning of this pandemic, I have repeatedly stood in this House and raised the alarm about Brampton’s health care crisis. Brampton has only one hospital, Brampton Civic, and it has been pushed to the limit as front-line workers there have cared for Bramptonians who are struggling to breathe during this devastating third wave. We have consistently had the highest positivity rates and our hospital has struggled to care for people who are getting sick across our city.
On the weekend, the Toronto Star published a story where they shared harrowing accounts of health care workers at Brampton Civic who have had to deal with this pandemic first-hand. Jennifer Shiels, a registered nurse, described how COVID-19 hit Brampton Civic. She said, “Now, we see whole families. The mom and dad upstairs on a ventilator, the son coming into our ER because he can’t breathe. This time around it really feels like more of a nightmare.”
When will the Conservative government finally work to stop this COVID-19 nightmare in Brampton by giving us the resources we need to fight and beat COVID-19? My question is to the Premier.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.
Hon. Christine Elliott: To the member opposite I would say, through you, Mr. Speaker, that Brampton has been receiving resources and extra help, recognizing that there are a number of traditional hot spots in the Brampton area, as well as hot spots that have been further identified by the local medical officer of health. That is why we took that into effect, along with other hot spots in the province of Ontario. For two weeks during the month of May we took 50% of the vaccines that were coming in and dedicated them to the hot spot areas in order to boost the vaccination rates and make sure that people would be properly protected from COVID-19. That strategy has been extremely successful.
I can advise the House, through you, Mr. Speaker, that we now have areas in the hot spot areas that have 8% more people vaccinated than in non-hot spot areas. Brampton received its share because of the number of hot spot areas that were identified, and we’ll continue to follow up with all the clinics that we have to continue with first and the second doses.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary.
Mr. Gurratan Singh: Back to the Premier: Brampton has been left behind by the Conservative government since day one of this pandemic. But because Brampton has been fighting and organizing, we’ve been able to get supports because of our advocacy. The Conservative government left Brampton behind when it came to testing. The Conservative government left Brampton behind when it came to vaccines. But because we organized, we were able to get the 50% allocation of vaccines that Brampton and other hot spots required.
But now, just as we’re turning the corner and finally bringing cases down, the Conservative government is going against the recommendation of the science table and halting the 50% allocation of vaccines to COVID-19 hot spots. We are not out of the woods yet. This is a pandemic and we can’t stop now that we are finally getting ahead of this virus. Will the Conservative government finally listen to the science, do the right thing, and make sure that Brampton and other hot spots continue to get the 50% allocation of vaccines that we need so we can beat COVID-19?
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Health.
Hon. Christine Elliott: Through you, Mr. Speaker, I would advise the member opposite that several of the items he mentioned are simply not the case. With respect to the recommendations of the science advisory table on the 50% of the doses being allocated for a longer period of time, that was before they realized that we were receiving almost double the number of doses from the federal government. So, in actual fact, we have fulfilled the wishes of the science advisory table. And, as I indicated earlier, that strategy has been incredibly successful with boosting the number of people in hot spot areas receiving the vaccine over non-hot spot areas.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. The next question.
Addiction services
M me Lucille Collard: My question is to the Minister of Health. The opioid crisis in our communities has reached an alarming threshold, and this health crisis requires more attention from the province. Drug use, overdoses and addictions continue to increase costs to government for services such as shelters, health care and emergency services.
Both Ottawa and Toronto have seen a very concerning increase in overdoses during the pandemic. This is not only true for those cities, but it’s also true for the rest of the province. We hear about this crisis every day.
My question is, what is the government currently and actively doing to mitigate the impacts of the opioid crisis and protect vulnerable Ontarians?
Hon. Christine Elliott: I thank the member very much for this question. This is an extremely important issue. There is no denying the fact that the opioid crisis has increased with the pandemic, and we take this crisis very seriously.
That is why we have, first of all, approved and funded 16 consumption and treatment services sites in Ontario, with others with pending applications. The CTS sites not only save lives by preventing overdose-related deaths, but they also connect people to primary care and other services in the event that they are ready to enter rehabilitation and treatment.
In addition, we have also invested up to $194 million in emergency mental health and addictions funding to expand easily accessible mental health and addictions care during this COVID-19 pandemic.
It is something where there is more work to do, but we have certainly identified this as a priority and we are working towards expanding those services and funding.
Interjections.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.
Supplementary question?
M me Lucille Collard: Again to the Minister of Health for my follow-up: Mayors of Ottawa and Toronto are both asking for the province to do more to address this crisis that continues to take the lives of so many people. A safe supply of drugs has proven to drastically change the lives of those who use drugs, in addition to the surrounding communities, businesses and residents.
During the COVID-19 period, it has become even more clear how current responses are not sufficient in protecting our residents and communities from the negative impact of addictions. The Ministry of Health said that it was looking into a safer supply program. That was back in February, but there has been no update yet.
Will the government commit to supporting the expansion of safe supply to provide immediate support to address this alarming health care issue and bring relief to our communities?
Hon. Christine Elliott: Our government is committed to providing more supports for people struggling with a mental health or addictions crisis. Our Roadmap to Wellness was initiated just before the COVID pandemic struck last March. We are committed to putting $3.8 billion into our mental health and addictions system over the next 10 years. We put in $175 million in new funds for the last year; $176 million this year went to both mental health and addictions funding. There will be an announcement with respect to mental health funding later on today and addictions funding is coming very shortly.
However, I can advise that in addition to the consumption and treatment services sites, we have put $4 million to nurse practitioners for detox services to improve the medical management of clients who are withdrawing from substance use, $8 million for addictions day and evening care and $3.5 million for in-home and mobile withdrawal management services.
There is certainly more to come, but as I indicated earlier, we do take this very seriously and are taking action.
Tourism
Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: My question is for the Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. Our government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, recently released its Roadmap to Reopen, a three-step plan to safely and cautiously reopen the province and gradually lift public health measures. This was great news for our province and great news for the sectors this minister represents.
Having said this, many tourism industries and small businesses in our province are going to need assistance to safely reopen after having been shuttered for so long. Can the minister tell us how the Ontario Tourism and Travel Small Business Support Grant has been supporting these sectors since it was announced a few weeks ago?
Hon. Lisa MacLeod: I want to thank the honourable member for the question. It’s important that we continue to talk about Ontario’s hardest-hit sectors in this Legislature so that when we eye economic and social recovery, we’ll be prepared.
That’s why we have, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services as well as the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, created the $100-million Ontario Tourism and Travel Small Business Support Grant. To date, we’ve paid out over $13.1 million to small businesses across the province, with an average payment of up to $17,000, and it takes about six days to approve the payment. This is incredibly important as we continue to invest in our sectors.
We are going to be announcing another $100 million for tourism recovery. As well, later this summer, we’ll be able to enact the $150-million travel incentive, because we want to make sure that the travel and tourism industry is going to be protected as we move forward.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question?
Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: Thank you, Minister. It sounds like these tourism small business are taking advantage of this great program. It must be very beneficial to be able to use the support in whatever way makes the most sense for their business.
There’s no question that these small businesses have suffered dramatically throughout this pandemic. With our government announcing its Roadmap to Reopen, what other supports is this government providing to help these tourism businesses succeed when they can reopen?
Hon. Lisa MacLeod: As you know, we have the $150-million travel incentive, the $100-million travel and tourism small business grant and the $100-million recovery fund. We’re going to continue to make significant investments into our regional tourism organizations.
I’m delighted to say that Michael Crockatt, president and CEO of Ottawa Tourism, recently said, “Ottawa Tourism welcomes the support of the” Ontario government, “as it recognizes that the tourism industry was the first hit, hardest hit, and will take the longest to recover from the effects of the pandemic. Owners of tourism businesses have been resilient and creative over the past 14 months and while several aid programs have been launched, some businesses have still fallen” between “the cracks. Programs such as this are incredibly helpful, allowing businesses to continue employing Ontarians and contributing to the vibrant quality of life we enjoy.”
We have a spectacular double bottom line within this ministry, Speaker, and I am intent on making sure that we continue to preserve and protect it.
College standards and accreditation
Ms. Laura Mae Lindo: My question is to the Premier. Last year, this government snuck in a degree-granting university for Charles McVety. They put it into legislation that was meant to help small and medium-sized businesses. Thankfully, the review board, PEQAB, rejected the application.
Today, we can all put this entire Charles McVety university behind us. I have new legislation that will be tabled that will rip up that deal between the government that they cut with their buddy Charles McVety. It will also bring new accountability and transparency to the PEQAB process so Ontarians will see how these decisions are made. And, being Pride Month, it has never been a more fitting time to take a stand against bigotry and intolerance.
It’s a simple question, Mr. Speaker: Will the government do the right thing and support my bill this week, yes or no?
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The parliamentary assistant, the member for Northumberland–Peterborough South.
Mr. David Piccini: As we’ve said from day one, this government values and will always lean on the expert independent advice of the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board. We’ve said that we would respect their decisions, and we’ve done just that.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question?
Ms. Laura Mae Lindo: Back to the Premier: Charles McVety’s college is campaigning to keep this legislation on the books and to ensure it receives royal assent for it. They’re claiming widespread fraud and alleging damage to their reputation. Ontarians have had enough of this nonsense. The House leader himself said in an interview on Monday that this has been difficult for his government.
It’s time to turn the page on this troubling
chapter brought to us by this government. The government can support our bill and rip up this legislation. My question is simple: Why won’t they do it?
Mr. David Piccini: Again, as the government said, we rely on the expert independent advice of the PEQAB process, and we’ve done just that. It’s in leaning on independent processes like that that we’ve seen an expansion of OCAD University, of Algoma in the north. It’s in leaning on those independent processes that we’ve seen our high-quality post-secondary education sector expand in this province, a sector that has expanded through OSAP eligibility for Indigenous institutes, something that this government has worked on, and that I’ve really enjoyed working in partnership with our Indigenous institutes on.
It’s through that we’ve expanded mental health supports to support our students through the challenging COVID-19 realities. It’s through working with our sector and working with the independence of the universities and colleges and how they’re governed that we’ve expanded, for the first time in over 20 years, nursing seats to support our Herculean commitment to bring in 27,000 more health care workers.
We respect the independence of our academic institutions and the independence of the PEQAB process, as we said from day one.
COVID-19 response
Mr. Roman Baber: To the Minister of Education: We’ve all been hearing from parents across the province. We heard the 70% SickKids study, kids’ helpline calls doubling, Hamilton children’s hospital and CHEO. We all heard the Canadian Paediatric Society—that Ontario’s kids are increasingly anxious, depressed and suicidal. What can be more important than that?
The minister stood in front of this House for months and pontificated that schools are safe, that there is no transmission; I agree, but not because of ministry or public health abracadabra, but because they’re kids. They don’t transmit much. We know this already.
So when the pressure got to this Premier, he started blaming the teachers’ unions and threats of injunction for not opening the schools. Then, instead of listening to the chief medical officer, who wanted to open schools, the Premier wrote to 54 stakeholders looking for political cover and still got the same advice almost unanimously: “Open the schools.”
Minister, despite the advice, the lack of transmission, the harm done to our kids, why aren’t Ontario schools open today?
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The government House leader.
Hon. Paul Calandra: I appreciate the question from the honourable gentleman. As you know, Mr. Speaker, this is, of course, a member who has come both ways on this. For months, he was very supportive of the measures that this government had taken in order to ensure the safety of the people of the province of Ontario. He was very supportive of measures taken in March, April, May, June, July, and then back in September. We learned yesterday, though, that his efforts from September, October, November and December were actually not for him but were for our benefit. So I thank him for the sacrifices that he made in attempting to help this government.
The Minister of Education has always made sure that our schools are safe and the people of the province of Ontario are safe, despite the transition of the member opposite to somebody who no longer seems to have that as a priority.
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question?
Mr. Roman Baber: To the Minister of Health: For 15 months, the minister and Premier told us they were listening to Dr. Williams, until Dr. Williams wanted to open schools and they didn’t. Two days later, they announced that Dr. Williams is getting replaced. But, in fact, that was not the first time they didn’t listen to Dr. Williams.
Williams testified before the long-term care commission that he did not believe in asymptomatic transmission until late summer. The rationale for the lockdown is stopping the spread of asymptomatic transmission—to keep 15 million Ontarians at home. But why? If Williams didn’t believe in asymptomatic transmission last spring, then why did we go into lockdown?
My question to the Minister of Health: Is it a coincidence that Dr. Williams is getting replaced after publicly wanting to open Ontario schools? And if Dr. Williams did not believe in asymptomatic spread until last summer, as he said under oath, then does the minister deny that the decision to go into lockdown was a political decision and not a medical decision?
Hon. Paul Calandra: The only person who seems to really be flip-flopping is the member opposite. We have bee