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November 26, 2024

43rd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2024-Nov-26 (PDF)

L186 - Tue 26 Nov 2024 / Mar 26 nov 2024

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Tuesday 26 November 2024 Mardi 26 novembre 2024

Orders of the Day

Time allocation

Members’ Statements

Cambridge Food Bank

Welland Canal

Melly’s Workplace

Justice system

Korah Collegiate and Vocational School Colts sports teams

Victim Services of Durham Region

Cancer Warrior Canada Foundation

Riding of Scarborough–Guildwood

Government investments

Rob Flosman

Introduction of Visitors

Member’s birthday

Question Period

Highway tolls

Government accountability

Government accountability

Job creation

Long-term care

Taxation

Affordable housing

Health care

Transportation infrastructure

Justice system

Northern Health Travel Grant

Northern Ontario development

Northern Health Travel Grant / Subvention aux résidents du Nord pour frais de transport à des fins médicales

Seniors’ services

Introduction of Visitors

Motions

Poet Laureate of Ontario

Petitions

Addiction services

Ontario Science Centre

Taxation

Air quality

Addiction services

Taxation

Social assistance

Addiction services

Social assistance

School transportation

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

Addiction services

Health care

Visitors

Opposition Day

Government accountability

Private Members’ Public Business

Retiree Experience Awareness Day Act, 2024 / Loi de 2024 sur le Jour de sensibilisation aux expériences des retraités

The House met at 0900.

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

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Time allocation

Hon. Trevor Jones: I move that, pursuant to standing order 50 and notwithstanding any other standing order or special order of the House relating to Bill 223,

An Act to enact two Acts and to amend various Acts with respect to public safety and the justice system, and Bill 227,

An Act to amend various Acts;

That when Bill 223 is next called as a government order, the Speaker shall put every question necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill without further debate or amendment; and

That, upon receiving second reading, the bill shall be ordered for third reading, which order may be called the same day; and

That when the order for third reading of Bill 223 is called, one hour shall be allotted to debate, with 25 minutes for members of His Majesty’s government, 25 minutes for members of His Majesty’s loyal opposition, and 10 minutes for the independent members as a group; and

That, at the end of this time, the Speaker shall interrupt the proceedings and shall put every question necessary to dispose of the third reading stage of Bill 223 without further debate or amendment; and

That when Bill 227 is next called as a government order, the Speaker shall put every question necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill without further debate or amendment; and

That, upon receiving second reading, the bill shall be ordered for third reading, which order may be called the same day; and

That when the order for third reading of Bill 227 is called, one hour shall be allotted to debate, with 25 minutes for members of His Majesty’s Government, 25 minutes for members of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, and 10 minutes for the independent members as a group; and

That, at the end of this time, the Speaker shall interrupt the proceedings and shall put every question necessary to dispose of the third reading stage of Bill 227 without further debate or amendment.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): The associate minister has moved government notice of motion number 27.

Going to back to the minister to start debate.

Hon. Trevor Jones: Good morning, and thank you, Speaker. Lovely to see you in the chair this morning.

There are a few words, a few guiding principles I’ve lived by. From an early age, I was called to serve in service above self. The hallmarks and the guiding principles I’m talking about are simple words: safe communities in a secure Ontario. Safe communities in a secure Ontario are the building block, the foundation for communities to build businesses, to attract investment, industry, farming, agribusiness—all the things that drive our economy, all the things that guide this government to do good and advance the lives of communities across Ontario.

My friends from across the aisle will know that I’ve shared some stories in this place many times, that I’ve served in communities, small and remote, in the northwest like Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, all the way south to my riding of Pelee Island. And everywhere I’ve been, I’m inspired by people because communities are built on that same guiding principle: safe communities in a secure Ontario.

That’s some of the hallmarks found in the legislation that has been brought forward by this government for this House: to secure our communities, for safe communities, a secure Ontario for all, in every part of this province, so we can build businesses, we can build our families up, we can attract investment and do the great things that this government aspires to do.

With that, Speaker, I’ll return the podium to you and to the opposition.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Further debate?

Ms. Jessica Bell: Wow, that was a short speech.

This is a pretty significant bill. It affects my riding. It affects a lot of downtown ridings. It affects Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie—many, many areas that have pretty significant opioid addiction issues. And now we hear that the government wants to fast-track this piece of legislation—not have it go to committee, not have people speak to it—and then truncate debate to, what is it, an hour? An hour for third reading?

Interjection.

Ms. Jessica Bell: Two hours, okay. Two hours for a bill that affects so many people. Wow. Yes, it’s hard to stand up.

I want to talk a little bit about the bill. I was recently sent a photo of a man called Jonah. It was sent to me by his mother, Katherine McCloskey. Jonah is holding his two-year-old son, Hendrix, on a TTC train; Hendrix loves trains. The reason why I was sent this photo is because Jonah died of an overdose on June 2, 2024. Hendrix lost his dad, at a time in his life when he will probably never hold memories of him, and Katherine McCloskey lost her son.

We hosted a press conference at Queen’s Park shortly after this government introduced this bill to close 10 consumption sites. Katherine spoke and she said, “I could not protect my adult son Jonah from being killed by Toronto’s toxic drug supply, but the Conservative government can choose to protect some of this province’s most vulnerable sons and daughters.” This government has the power to do that.

Fast-tracking this bill, Bill 223, sends a very clear message that the government is not serious about taking a harm reduction approach to addressing the opioid crisis that we have. This bill—I mean, it’s a big bill, but what I’m going to focus on is the consumption sites piece. This bill will close 10 consumption and treatment sites by March 2025 and ban new sites from opening anywhere in Ontario.

The government likes to say, “Oh, well, we’re just going to close these sites because they’re near schools and daycare centres.” Well, that argument doesn’t ring true, because if it was serious, then the government would allow new consumption sites to be opened up that weren’t near daycares and schools, but the government isn’t allowing that. They’re not allowing that.

We have a consumption and treatment site in Kensington; it’s on Augusta Avenue. It’s one of the 10 sites that is slated to close. Consumption and treatment sites are rooms; this is what they are. They’re rooms where individuals can inject their own drugs under the watchful eye of a nurse or a health care worker who can revive them if they overdose. That’s what consumption and treatment sites are. These sites can also help people get access to health care and care, such as a doctor’s appointment to helping someone get on a wait list for affordable housing.

They offer a lifeline to people who are struggling to survive. Many people who access consumption and treatment sites don’t trust the health care system, don’t have a lot of trust for public institutions. This is a place where people can reach out to them and say, “Look, if you’re ready for help, we’re here.”

The statistics are horrific. According to Public Health Ontario, in 2022, 2,531 people died of an overdose in communities all across Ontario—not just downtown Toronto, all across Ontario. It’s particularly acute in the north. There were 2,044 hospitalizations and over 12,000 emergency room visits as well. What that means is that our emergency rooms, which are overcrowded, hallway medicine, are seeing people who don’t necessarily need to go there. And, unfortunately, many people who go to an emergency room if they’re experiencing an overdose don’t come out of it okay. They come out of it sometimes with brain damage, with extensive health issues.

What I find very frustrating, and I’ve heard many government members say this, is that they say, “Well, if we close the consumption and treatment sites, then all the problems of addiction are just going to go away. All the needles are going to go away.” That’s simply not true. When consumption and treatment sites close, the problem of addiction goes elsewhere in the neighbourhood. It means that people are using in washrooms, in front of businesses, in schoolyards. The entire neighbourhood becomes a consumption site. Many of you might have seen those ads that have popped at bus stops saying, “Consumption and treatment site coming here soon.” Because that’s where people will use.

What is also frustrating is that it will mean that more people will die. The Minister of Health, Sylvia Jones, was asked by a reporter, Jack Hauen from The Trillium, if research had been done about how many people will die as a result of this decision. The Minister of Health said, “Jack, people are not going to die; they’re going to get access to service.” That is an absurd statement from a Minister of Health.

It flies in the face of all the evidence that has been presented to this government: what nurses are saying, what CAMH is saying, what health care workers are saying, what the OMA and the medical establishment is saying. The Minister of Health is like, “No, people are not going to die.” That is just simply not true. This is a very dangerous approach to addressing addiction because it’s not going to work, and it means loved ones like Jonah are going to die.

What I find very frustrating is that I fear that this government is using the issue of consumption and treatment sites to take attention away from themselves and their failure to show leadership on these issue around addiction and mental health. They’re identifying wedge issues and targeting vulnerable people and poor people instead of saying, “What can we do as a government to address the issues that they face and that we face?” It’s called showing leadership.

What we know is that municipalities, hospitals, nurses, public health experts and even two of your own government-commissioned reports have recommended keeping consumption sites open. The truth is that the Ontario government can and must meet people where they’re at by keeping then alive and protecting them from dying from an overdose, while also providing comprehensive support to help people who are wanting to recover and need to recover from addiction. It’s not one or the other; it’s both.

I find it hard to believe that this government thinks that their HART treatment hubs that they’re looking at starting up sometime in the future are going to meet the moment and address the addiction crisis to the extent of how serious it is, and I have a lot of concerns about that.

I’m also urging this government to get serious about addressing some of the root, core reasons why people become addicted in the first place. Let’s talk about addressing poverty. Let’s talk about increasing the number of affordable housing options available to people. Let’s invest more in mental health. I wish that we were debating these issues today instead of taking a very divisive approach that will result in too many people who don’t need to die dying.

That’s all the time that I have to speak to this bill today. I wish this bill went to committee. I wish people could speak to this bill and share their expertise and their testimony, but they won’t be able to, and I think that’s a shame.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Further debate?

Mr. Chris Glover: It’s always an honour to rise in this House, but I’ve got to say that it feels kind of futile, because this House is not functioning the way it’s supposed to happen. This parliamentary democracy’s democratic system was developed over hundreds of years. It’s been spread across the Commonwealth and into other countries as well. It’s used as a model of how democracy is supposed to function. Part of the way that this is supposed to function is that the government is supposed to listen to the opposition, and we are supposed to watch you guys like hawks, because there’s actually a statue of a hawk to remind us of our role.

This bill here is a time allocation bill. Almost every bill that this government introduces in this House, they use time allocation, so they limit the amount of time that you can speak. People ask me, “When the government is bringing in some egregious bill, why don’t you filibuster?” The reason we don’t filibuster is because the government has found a way to prevent filibusters, so that we cannot stand up here and cause a debate to go on to draw attention to some of the more egregious attacks on our democratic rights that this government is making.

The question is: Are we a democracy? Six years ago, I would have said, of course, we’re a democracy. But I don’t know that we are a democracy anymore. I fear for the future of our democracy, and I fear for the future of our children and our grandchildren. I see the government is not even listening, and that’s fine. I’m not speaking to you anyway, because you’re not listening and you’re not willing to listen. But the actions that you have taken, the bills that you have voted on, are attacks on our democratic rights in this province.

Right now, we are debating in this House a bill that would strip Ontarians of the rights to sue the government in the case of injury or death of a cyclist who dies because of the removal of the bike lanes. The government also stripped Ontarians of the right to sue the government for any abuse of government power that a minister or government agent made in this horrific deal with Ontario Place.

This government has used three different bills in this House that use the “notwithstanding” clause to strip us of our fundamental rights and freedoms under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The hallmark of a democracy is that we have the right to free speech. In Ontario, do we have the right to free speech? Well, we only do at the whim of the government, because when they use the “notwithstanding” clause, they are stripping us of our right to free speech, as well as our rights to life, liberty and security of the person.

The Premier has just said, recently, that he wants to use the “notwithstanding” clause to strip people in encampments of their charter rights. There are 234,000 people that are homeless in this province. There are 1,400 encampments in this province. That’s the legacy of this government’s policies on housing. They’ve removed rent control. They’re not building affordable housing. They’re giving billions of dollars to developers who are not building any housing, so the supply crisis keeps growing. So now there are 234,000 people who are homeless, and the government’s only response is to say, “Oh, we’re going to strip them of their charter rights.”

It’s really difficult to express to people just how dangerous this is, because we are in a moment globally where democracies are under attack. We look to the south of us, and we’ve got a president who has said that this will be the last presidential election. That’s frightening, because the United States is the oldest modern democracy. And in Canada, we’ve got the “notwithstanding” clause, which is an escape valve, so any provincial or federal government can override our fundamental rights and freedoms under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by invoking the “notwithstanding” clause. This government has done it several different times.

They even gave themselves, with Bill 28, the right to discriminate against education workers, who are disproportionately women and people of colour. In that bill, it actually states, and I’ll read the quote from it—this is Bill 28, that this government passed and that every Conservative member stood up and applauded as they were voting for it: “The act is declared to operate notwithstanding sections 2, 7 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the act will apply despite the Human Rights Code.”

The Ontario Human Rights Code makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on their gender, their race, their religion, their cultural background, their disability. They stripped Ontarians—education workers—of those rights.

The other hallmark of a democracy is that we have democratic elections. But in Ontario, one of the things this government did is that when they got into power in 2018, they changed the rules of the municipal election in the middle of the campaign period, and they cancelled four regional chair elections. This was fought all the way to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court ruled that, in Canada, we do not have the right to democratic municipal elections. The charter only guarantees us the right to federal and provincial democratic elections, not municipal.

So the next thing this government did—they didn’t think of this as a cautionary tale, that, “No, we should respect the right of the people of Ontario to democratic municipal elections.” They brought in strong mayor bills. And these strong mayor bills—it’s a euphemism, because what those bills did is they stripped us of the right to majority-vote democracy. In the regions of Peel, York, Niagara—there’s one other—this government now appoints the regional council chair. That chair can govern with the votes of one third of the elected council members.

So two thirds of elected council members can be overridden by an appointed regional chair and one third of council members. That’s not democracy. In fact, under this government and their strong mayor bills, most of us who live in municipalities across the province no longer have the right to majority-vote democracy in our municipalities. That is an attack on our democratic rights.

So the hallmarks of democracy—the right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association; the legal right that if you are arrested, you will be brought before a judge within 24 hours and charged with a crime, otherwise you’re released; that you have the right to a lawyer without delay; that you have the right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. This government has overridden all of those rights with three separate bills, and now they’re threatening to do that to the people who are homeless because of this government’s own housing policies.

I’ve written op-eds about this. I’ve tried to get the message out. But what we are seeing under this government is a steady erosion of our democratic rights in the province, and if we don’t start paying attention, we are going to be in incredible danger of not having our democratic rights.

The other thing that I just want to conclude on is, the charter only guarantees us the right to democratic federal and provincial elections. This government used the “notwithstanding clause” with Bill 307 just a year before the last election. That bill suspended the right or took away the right of people to pay for advertising that would be critical of the government. They did that a year before the election. The courts have found that the government, in doing this, not only took away our charter rights but took away our right to a democratic provincial election in the 2022 election.

The government has appealed that decision. But right now, this government is under investigation—is being sued—because they may have taken away our right to a democratic election in 2022.

So I’m asking the individual members of the Conservative Party: Pay attention to what you are doing, because your legacy, when the history books are written, when people are looking back, they may look at this government as the government that started to bring about the end of our democracy here in Ontario and then across Canada. I hope that isn’t your legacy, so I’m asking the government to reconsider the actions that you are taking.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Further debate?

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: ᒣᑵᐨ, Speaker.

ᒪᐘᐨ ᐊᐦᑯ ᓂᒥᓄᐍᐣᑕᐣ ᐁᔭᔭᒥᑕᒪᐏᑿ ᐍᑎ ᑭᐍᑎᓅᐠ ᑲᑲᐯᔑᐘᐨ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓄᐘᐠ ᐁᑿ ᒥᓇ ᐍᒥᑎᑯᔑᐘᐠ

ᑲᐏᓂᓂᑯ ᑕᓯᑭᔑᑲ ᓂᐸᑭᑎᓂᑯᓯᐣ ᒋᓇᐍᑕᒪᑯᔭᐣ ᐁᑿ ᒪᓇ ᒋᑲᑭᑎᔭᐣ ᐅᐍ ᑲᐃᔑᑭᔑᐍᔭᐣ

It’s always an honour to be able to get up for the people in Kiiwetinoong. It’s not every day that I’m allowed to be able to speak my language. It’s not every day that this Legislature provides me with the translation services that are required to be able to speak my language. One of the things I know about this Legislature, this place—I’ve been here over six years, Speaker, and I know I’m slowly losing my language because of not being able to provide those translation services from this Legislature. That’s how oppression works. That’s how colonialism works. So I just wanted to start off with that.

I know this is speaking about the time allocation motion that was presented this morning. We know these are important bills. We know that. But one of the things that I disagree about is that, again, they’re time allocated. That’s the most important thing.

I know on Bill 223,

An Act to enact two Acts and to amend various Acts with respect to public safety and the justice system, one of the schedules in there is Christopher’s Law. It talks about the Sex Offender Registry, where sex offenders cannot change their names.

In northern Ontario, in Kiiwetinoong, in First Nations communities in northern Ontario, even in northern Manitoba, we have this gentleman who was there—I don’t know if I should say “gentleman”—a monster. His name is Ralph Rowe. I know him. I know who he is. I saw him in the 1970s and 1980s. He is one of the most prolific pedophiles in northern Ontario, where he abused over 500 boys in northern Ontario. How come Ontario does not know about it? How come Canada does not know about it? Is it because he was an Anglican minister? Is it because he was an OPP officer?

Is it because he was a Boy Scout leader who had a float plane or a ski plane to travel to all the fly-in First Nations that I represent? I talk about that because—where is Ontario? Because right now, today, he is free. He’s not in jail.

I know one of the other things is about the status of a service called Path 525. Path 525 is a consumption and treatment service site in Thunder Bay. It is one of the consumption and treatment services that will be closed due to Bill 223. It will be closing in March. Path 525 is the only safe consumption site in Thunder Bay and in the northwest. The service, again, safe consumption, education, harm reduction, supplies and overdose response. Consumption is supervised by a registered nurse.

I know where I come from, in the north, the northwest, the riding of Kiiwetinoong and even in Thunder Bay, a lot of members from the north go to Thunder Bay to access service, whether it’s a hospital—but I know one of the things that we’re faced with is issues of trauma that is intergenerational, but also which leads to mental health and addictions. We see a lot of unnecessary suffering, Speaker. We see a lot of needless deaths through addictions. What happens in Thunder Bay is a lot of communities do have—I’ve been to where young people are dying because of these issues.

But I’ll tell you this much: The staff at Path 525 in Thunder Bay have reversed 465 overdoses since the opening, until the first half of 2024. In July 2024, this one month, there were 1,266 visits by people accessing food, showers, housing support and supplies. The site works with policing organizations, health care support providers, librarians, mayors, and there is consensus that we need more support, not less, to address the addictions crisis.

Speaker, for me, the clients are more than just numbers. They are people who are often from the north. They are our friends; they are our relatives. They deserve culturally sensitive, culturally safe Indigenous-led medical care available to them now and in the future. These are the issues this government should be working on. Meegwetch.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Further debate?

Mr. Peter Tabuns: I want to thank those who have spoken before me, because I think they have set out the case very strongly, but I want to add to their voices.

This is a pretty extraordinary motion that we have before us. We are dealing with a very substantial bill that deals with a variety of issues. But I will probably spend most of my time talking about consumption and treatment sites, because I think that more than anything else this bill is here because the government doesn’t actually want a window on the impact of this bill on the people of Ontario. Shutting down committee, shutting down the ability of people to come and actually speak about the problems they’re going to face and the problems that the larger communities are going to face is a draconian act.

You should be well aware, Speaker, that just because you don’t have a consumption and treatment site, you don’t eliminate the whole problem of drug use and drug abuse. The reality is that we have a drug problem across Ontario, and it is not consumption and treatment sites that have caused it. It is not consumption and treatment sites that have exacerbated it. But this government is using problems that have arisen around those sites as a way of shutting down treatment that actually saves lives.

I should point out to the government that in February of this year, in Belleville, they had an emergency. They had their emergency rooms overflowing, they had their ambulance service overwhelmed by the number of people who were overdosing and found on the street. There was no consumption and treatment site in the area where these problems were occurring. This was not caused by an attempt to actually solve the problem, to actually avoid death; this was caused because we have a toxic drug supply, and we have the conditions of societal trauma that drive people to addiction. I think my colleague from Kiiwetinoong has spoken to that very clearly.

In my riding, when I talk to people at the consumption and treatment site, about 30% of their clients are First Nations. I’ll tell you right now, 30% of the population in my riding is not First Nations, more like—possibly—1%. But through intergenerational trauma, we have a situation where people find it extraordinarily difficult to deal with life and seek some sort of comfort in using these drugs. It’s bad for them; it’s bad for all of us.

But the reality is, actually providing them with some health care support increases the chances that they will live and, at some point, be able to seek and make use of therapeutic treatment. When you shut down that opportunity, then in many ways you’re saying that these people’s lives will mean nothing, that they will be gone and that all of the neglect and abuse that led to their being consumed with drug use, something that we never address, is something that they’re going to pay for.

I have to say to you, Speaker, that for many people who do not consume drugs, who do not have relatives who consume drugs, they think that this problem is someone else’s problem; it will not touch them if it goes forward. I just want to point out a few things, noting the case in Belleville: If you have a population of people who are using these drugs—fentanyl and others—and they are not provided with any health care support, they will fall through all our systems until they wind up in the last safety net, which is the emergency department. In Belleville, the ambulances could not keep up.

The emergency department could not keep up. Belleville declared an emergency. I have to say, when I talk to health care providers in my riding, they are well aware that the local hospital, Michael Garron Hospital, is going to have an awful lot more people in that emergency room. I can tell you today that people who go to that emergency room can’t get treatment on a timely basis. They are profoundly frustrated that they’re in there for eight, 10, 12 hours. Well, this decision is going to mean that that wait is going to be a lot longer.

It’s going to mean that when they call for an ambulance it’s going to be hard to get one because, in fact, those ambulances are full or those ambulances are at the hospital waiting to discharge people that they can’t discharge because the emergency room is full. That alone should be a concern for those who think that this is not a problem for them.

Prior to the set-up of the consumption and treatment site on Queen Street in my riding, back before 2017, there was a problem of people dying or being found unconscious in the washrooms of local restaurants, which is why at the time the small businesses supported having a consumption and treatment site: because they didn’t like carrying out the bodies.

The summer of the horrible, horrible tragedy, the shooting of one of my constituents on Queen Street—a few months later, a man’s body was found in a laneway near Leslie Street and Queen. He had been living in a stairwell of an abandoned factory and had overdosed.

Now, there are not that many people who are found dead on the streets in my riding in that area, but I have to say to you the chances of that being a far more common occurrence is going to go up dramatically. That’s the kind of information that should have been put before committee so that when you make life-and-death decisions, you’re considering both sides of the balance sheet.

Speaker, I can’t predict with any certainty that there will be more bodies on the street. But when I’ve been asked how was it that that area was chosen for a consumption and treatment site, and I’ve been told it’s because of the very high number of drug users, people say to me, “Well, where do you get the statistics?” What you need to know—and what everyone needs to know—is that statistics come from two places. They come from emergency services: how many ambulances were directed to pick people up. You can get those services and you can see what they were picking them up for. This was a hot spot.

The coroner’s office also reporting on deaths could say, “This is where those deaths were occurring.”

In the time the consumption treatment site was set up, the number of deaths from overdose was cut in half in that community—cut in half. My expectation is that with the closure and with the failure of this government to give people the opportunity to speak about the issue, that we will again see coroners’ reports and paramedic reports about the number of deaths and emergency cases that they have to deal with.

I know that I’m running out of time and I’ll just speak very quickly. Having a system to reduce exposure to needle-born diseases makes a real difference in people’s lives and whether they get to live them or not. I chaired the public health board in Toronto in the 1990s when the HIV epidemic was running high and I had to deal with people in their twenties and thirties—some in their forties and fifties—who came to me as the chair and said, “I got HIV through tainted blood. I got hep C through tainted blood.” I had to deal with people and their families in their last few years.

To bring forward an approach that will guarantee more infectious diseases is far worse than irresponsibility, it is something I can’t say in this Legislature because it will be seen as unparliamentary. But, Speaker, I’ll say that, at the very least, it’s reckless and irresponsible. Thank you.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Further debate?

Miss Monique Taylor: Unfortunately, I have to add my voice to this subject once again in this Legislature. I had a very fulsome 20 minutes the other day for second reading of this bill and I was hopeful that the government would have heard our pleas to do better when it comes to safe consumption sites in our communities.

But unfortunately, they decided to do worse by completely prohibiting our communities, our advocates, our people who work day-to-day on the ground in our communities trying to save lives and make life better for people with addictions—they’ve completely excluded their voices from this legislation. They’ve put forward a time allocation motion—which is what we’re debating right now—that stifles the voices of Ontarians.

I’m just going to read a little bit because I think the viewers at home need to know and understand how this government behaves when it comes to vulnerable people in our communities who are desperate for our help and yet this legislation is going to harm them even further. It says, “when Bill 223 is next called ... the Speaker shall put every question necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill without further debate or amendment; and

“That, upon receiving second reading, the bill shall be ordered for third reading”—that means no committee process. People in our communities who need to ensure that the government hears them, that they understand what happens in our communities, that they understand how these consumption sites work in our community, that are open to change of safe consumption sites, no doubt—if it’s location, change the location. That’s fine. But the legislation that we see before us completely cancels safe consumption in our communities. In communities where it’s not cancelled, it just takes away the funding so it will just starve them out anyways.

Then, it will give us 25 minutes to debate in third reading.

Taking away the committee process is so anti-democratic. It goes against everything that we should be doing as legislators. The process of a bill should be that a bill comes before the House, of course—it’s a majority government, it’s a government bill—we go through seconds reading, we debate. And I know there was some really fantastic comments brought through debate, on both Bill 223 and Bill 227, that we would have hoped that the government would hear those voices. New Democrats don’t just come here making stuff up. We listen to our communities. We listen to our stakeholders. We listen to nurses.

We listen to health professionals. This is where I get my information from, and the government just completely excluded it all. So now there is no opportunity for our community members to be able to come here, to talk to the government, to explain how safe consumption sites really save lives. Obviously, the minister and the Premier didn’t care to listen to those voices before they allowed this legislation to come before us.

Safe consumption sites save lives. It’s fact. It’s proven. It saves lives inside the consumption site and around the consumption site. What this bill is going to do is take away that safe space for someone to use and is going to put them on the sidewalk. It’s going to put them in the alleyway. I’m reading articles that talk about how many people who have died on top of malls in my community. They’re hiding in doorways. We have families who are hiding in their bathroom, so that their children don’t see them. These safe consumption sites gave them the ability to go somewhere else.

It gave them the ability to take it out of their home, to take it out of their car so they could go home to their kids at the end of the day. That’s gone. You are taking it away without even listening to the community and the people who provide these services. It is so absent-minded, so neglectful of the need of our communities, of the desperation of our families who are burying their kids, their brothers, their sisters, their siblings. On a regular basis, people are dying of overdose in our community. We need detox. We need rehabs.

Instead of giving us more for our communities, you’re taking away the only safe spot that somebody possibly could have had the opportunity to use.

If you think that this is right, you shouldn’t even be here. Because our jobs, when we get elected, is to represent our communities and that means all members of our communities. It even means the ones who have fallen through the cracks and have found their way to drug addiction. And nobody, nobody ever in life grows up saying, “I’m going to be drug addict.” I mean, that’s not what happens. They fall into addiction through prescription medication. They fall into addiction through a party. That could happen.

They fall into addiction because they found themselves homeless and they’re desperate, because they can’t function. They found themselves in addiction because they have PTSD, because they have mental health issues. For whatever reason, they have found themselves into the darkest place of their lives and they have addictions. We should be doing everything we can to help our community, not wiping them out and making sure that the very people who are so wonderful and do that hard work on the street don’t even have the opportunity to explain to you the job they do, why they do it and how we can do it better.

You’ve ripped it up. Shame on you. Shame on the government. Unfortunately, I’m out of time—and probably so will be many people in our communities due to the loss of this legislation. Thank you.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Further debate?

MPP Lise Vaugeois: It is an honour to rise, but it is also a tremendous responsibility to speak in this House. What we do here matters. Decisions have profound effects on people’s lives. I’ve been an MPP for two and a half years now and have learned quite a bit about how a government can play procedural games to protect themselves from scrutiny, like the moving of Lydia’s Law directly to committee instead of going through with the planned public debate.

If they don’t want a lot of scrutiny, limit the time available for debate and public commentary—tricks that reinforce the hold on power of the government and are a reminder that their interests are not to serve the public but to serve their partisan supporters.

It’s certainly been striking that this government decided that the Legislature would not sit for 19 weeks, a full five weeks more than originally scheduled. Now of course the government side is boasting about all the meetings that took place over the five-month break from the Legislature, but that is undoubtedly true of every single MPP in this House.

How many meetings were held is not the point. It’s irrelevant. The reason this matters that we’ve been away from the Legislature for so long is because it is time calculated to be away from scrutiny: from the media, from the public and of course from the opposition. Unfortunately, what I have learned is that most strategies deployed by this particular government have nothing to do with public service or making laws that might make life better for Ontarians. Rather, it’s like the ads promoting the Conservative government—partisan ads that the public is paying for.

These long breaks from doing the work of the Legislature are a move to control their own narrative, much of which is built on fantasies, without having to face any scrutiny.

I have to say I was a bit naive when I was elected as an MPP on June 2, 2022, because I actually thought the government was about maintaining standards of democracy and taking the time for serious consideration of any legislation brought before the House. However, that’s not happening. We’ve got time allocation. The government has complete control over how much time we have, and they are choosing to limit debate. As we have heard from other speakers on this side of the House about what is going through in this bill, what I see is that this is a government that doesn’t want facts to get in the way of political opportunism.

The consumption treatment sites are being shut down without any consideration of the realities on the ground. As we heard already, 465 lives were saved in Thunder Bay alone. Those are overdoses that were reversed. So where would those people be if those overdoses had not been reversed? On the streets somewhere, in a playground, in a back alley—but dead. Those people would not be alive today.

People who have gone through that safe consumption site are able to access treatment when it’s available. They’re able to find out what is available; they’re able to access supports and the information that they need. Some of those people have recovered and become community leaders, actually, and are advocating with all of their hearts to keep those sites open because they know they save lives. But unfortunately, facts, research, knowledge, studies are irrelevant to this government because there’s a political goal, and it’s a partisan goal. It’s about political opportunism of the moment.

We also know that in terms of when there is public consultation, as there was with the removing-the-bike-lanes bill—and not a single deputation supports the bill—we know the bill’s not about serving the public interest; it’s not about respecting democracy. It’s clearly not about protecting lives or even moving Ontario into the 20th century like European countries. It’s about having a hate on for Toronto and promoting a narrative—a false narrative in the GTA—that somehow removing these bike lanes in Toronto is going to make life better for people in the GTA when in fact the evidence is so much to the contrary.

And I just want to mention University Avenue; apparently nobody has driven down University Avenue from the government side since the construction is over. It’s fantastic. I’m in a cab there every time I have to go back to Thunder Bay. There is no traffic; there is no hold-up. We drive straight down right from top to bottom. Bikes are on the side, there’s a place for people to pull off to off-load into hospitals. It’s brilliant, it’s fantastic, but apparently that’s irrelevant to the government because facts are irrelevant.

So we are moving closure, we’re shutting down all opportunities to actually hear from our communities, and there is no rationale. There are no arguments, there are no facts from the government side, just a lot of opinion. There is a lot of grandstanding—no opportunity for the communities to speak.

I’m appalled by the shutting down of debate in this House. It is not what we were elected to do; we were elected to be here to listen—to listen to our constituents—to be making life better, not just for the specific people who paid for our elections, but to represent everyone, every aspect of our society, and frankly, this government has failed again and again and again. We’ve never seen homeless like we are seeing now. We’ve never seen people using food banks like we are seeing now. Now, this government wants to take away one of the core services this is helping to keep people alive in our communities.

As other members have said, people who fall into addiction come from so many different walks of life: some are dealing with intergenerational trauma; some may have gone to a party and wound up with something that has actually really turned their lives upside down; some are dealing with trauma of the moment; some are trafficked women who have been forced into addictions and kept addicted by their traffickers—those women, by the way, have no safe place to go. I’ve met with many of those women as well. When they get free of their addictions, there’s no safe housing—there’s nowhere to go other than where they were living before where they were trafficked.

Then you’ve got workers. We’ve got workers coming in—trades workers, workers coming in from the mine—regularly using that safe space, Path 525, because they are living in camps at these work sites. Why did they become addicted at the camps? It could be because of boredom: two weeks on, two weeks off—it’s no way to live a life, you’re away from your family. It could also be masking injuries. Why would workers want to mask their injuries?

Because they can’t afford not to be working, they can’t afford to give up their salaries and they certainly can’t afford to go through the process of dealing with the WSIB and being turned down and certainly not having the income that they have been relying on.

There are many, many reasons that people fall into addiction. I think this government will see a rude awakening—certainly, our communities will—as emergency services are overwhelmed, as paramedics are overwhelmed.

I’m going to stop there. As I’ve said: I’m appalled by the bill, I’m appalled by the use of closure. This is not what we were elected to do. Thank you.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Further debate?

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: It’s my honour to rise here today to add the voices of the wonderful people of London North Centre. Today, we’re talking about time allocation of Bill 223. We are talking about peoples’ lives, and we’re talking about this government playing with peoples’ lives.

If this government were truly serious about tackling the addiction crisis that is all across our province, then we would be talking about enhancing harm reduction, we would talk about enhancing treatment and we would talk about building truly affordable non-market housing—those three things: harm reduction, treatment, affordable housing. Without those three things, we will not tackle the opioid crisis which is destroying our communities, which is destroying families and which is destroying peoples’ lives.

This Premier had the audacity to say that supervised consumption sites were the worst things to happen to communities, and he says that he doesn’t believe in the sites; he betrayed his partisan, ridiculous ideology with this point.

He said, “This was supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread.” What a reduction, what an oversimplification of the fact that people are on our streets and losing their lives as a result of poisoned drug supply, and he’s talking about this as if someone was trying to sell it. This is a necessary step in the vital health care continuum.

He also stated, “We need to put money into treatment. Detox beds. That’s what we need to do.” So why isn’t he? Why isn’t the Premier putting money where it will save lives? Harm reduction, treatment, housing—those three things. We see stigma, we see ignorance and we see ideology guiding this government and their decisions. If these sites in their proximity are so objectionable, Speaker, why did the government approve them in the first place?

Now that this government is removing them, it’s a refusal to admit their first mistake, because if they admitted their mistake then they would be paying for them to move; they wouldn’t be closing them outright. But it just merely shows that this government wants to penalize those suffering with addiction.

What’s missing here is accountability from this government. What I find with this government though is that they’re not focusing on helping people. They’re not focusing on ensuring people have a safe place to call home and that they can rebuild their lives. Instead, this government is solidly focused on monetizing and profitizing our health care system. They’re trying to carve up the greenbelt for their wealthy donor friends. They’re trying to get ministers of the crown to go and enrich the PC Party coffers by having people who are dependant upon them and their decisions donate at private fundraisers.

I would imagine, Speaker, that if there was a way to squeeze a few dollars out of people who are losing their lives as a result of addiction, this government would finally have some more attention for people suffering opioid addiction. And yet this government, with this decision, will be yet again in front of the courts with another loser legal battle—but this government has never seen a loser legal battle that it didn’t love and wanted to shove thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars at.

I want to shout-out while I have a moment here the wonderful people who are working on the front lines in my community of London, the folks at Carepoint and the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection, because they’re doing wonderful, tremendous work for people in our community. They’re meeting people where they are. They’re building relationships. They’re treating them like human beings. These are not statistics. These are our neighbours, these are family members, these are valued people in our community who, for whatever reason, have found themselves struggling.

It should be within us as human beings, in our ethical responsibility to our neighbours, to help them when they are struggling instead of marginalizing them yet further.

Right now, with supervised consumption, people are behind closed doors. So I have to ask the question, what will happen when these places close? All of those people inside of that facility will be further out onto the streets. You are taking a situation where, yes, there are problems within our communities because there is not enough housing, there are not enough supportive housing units, there are not enough mental health supports. But you’re taking people within a facility and you’re going to spread them out yet further.

The RNAO, the people who are on the front line, the experts on this, have panned this government’s decision to close these sites. They state it’s “misguided and represents failed policy.” They call for a “comprehensive response to substance use and the overdose crisis.” They have pointed out peer-reviewed research whereby it has been shown that there is no evidence linking safe consumption sites to increased crime.

Another peer-reviewed scientific study—I know the government’s ears probably closed when they heard that because they’re not fond of evidence or facts—documented criminal activity decreased in the area around a safe consumption site in the five years following it opening. So they followed this for five years and they found that crime went down. Supervised consumption sites actually reduce public drug use and related litter, and they do not contribute to increases in crime.

So at a basic, physical level—just think of this for a moment—people who are going to these health care access points, these safe consumption sites, are disposing of trash and needles and litter there. When these close, where will all of that physical trash go? You are pushing it out into the community, and it is on this government.

What is core to this issue is housing. This government would like to insult and further marginalize people who are struggling as a result of being unhoused, but they’re unhoused because of this government. Our housing starts are the same as 1955. Let’s get that through our heads: 1955. And with the increased revenue that we have, this government has an ideological opposition to actually supporting people, to actually provide people the care that they deserve and that they require.

Speaker, this time allocation motion is playing politics with people’s lives. More people will die as a result of this government’s failure in policy.

With that, I move adjournment of the debate.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Mr. Kernaghan has moved adjournment of the debate.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard a no.

Interruption.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): I’ll go back to the question at hand.

I heard a no.

I will ask all those in favour of the motion to adjourn to say aye.

All those opposed to the motion to adjourn will say nay.

In my opinion, the nays have it.

Call in the members. This is a 30-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1006 to 1015.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Pursuant to standing order 49(a), I deem the debate to be adjourned.

Debate deemed adjourned.

Members’ Statements

Cambridge Food Bank

Ms. Jess Dixon: On Sunday, the CKPC Holiday Train rolled into Cambridge with KT Tunstall playing, and we also had Jessie T, a local artist, playing earlier. The food bank was collecting donations, as is common with the holiday train, a long-standing tradition. Myself and my best friend, Cambridge city councillor Corey Kimpson, actually visited and ended up helping the food bank collect donations that day.

I have to say, I was really impressed with how well the community turned out to bring food to the food bank van, but I also remain so incredibly impressed by the work of the Cambridge Food Bank. The director, Dianne, was there as well as Sarah and their very energetic van driver, Steve, who has more energy, I think, than three people combined.

The food bank in Cambridge isn’t just about food security; they also offer an incredibly impressive array of wellness and community programs as well—particularly impressed by the ones on heart health and diabetes.

It was a great Christmas event. Corey and I did our best to entertain from the back of the food van, and we had a lovely time.

Thank you so much to the community for being so generous and, again, to the Cambridge Food Bank for their continually wonderful and much-needed service to Cambridge.

Welland Canal

Mr. Jeff Burch: My riding of Niagara Centre runs almost the entire length of the Welland Canal. This Saturday, November 30, I will be attending the turning-of-the-sod ceremony in my hometown of Thorold near the Allanburg lift bridge to mark the 200th anniversary of the canal. During the event, a commemorative plaque will be unveiled acknowledging the economic impact, hard work and sacrifice of hundreds of immigrants who worked on the canal until its completion in 1829 and contribute to Niagara’s rich cultural history to this day.

On November 30, 1824, nearly 200 people came out to witness the first shovels being turned to break ground. For the past 200 years, the canal has shaped the region, driving economic development and opening the heart of North America to trade and commerce. Thorold and the Niagara region are once again seeing a resurgence of industrial growth with new industries establishing themselves along the canal, as its proximity to shipping routes and multimodal transportation hubs remains a valuable asset.

I want to give a special thanks to the city of Thorold, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. and the Thorold heritage committee, including chair Anna O’Hare, vice-chair Winsome Stec and city councillor Tim O’Hare for their tireless work celebrating and nurturing the history of the Welland Canal, Thorold and the entire Niagara region.

I’m looking forward to attending this historic event.

Melly’s Workplace

Mr. Lorne Coe: This past Friday, I was joined by the Honourable David Piccini, the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, and we announced approximately $600,000 for Melly’s. The funding will enable Melly’s market and café to empower adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Whitby and other parts of the region of Durham by providing comprehensive training, work experience, mentorship and advocacy. This will be accomplished through three main phases: practical learning, development and coaching; paid work experience and job advocacy; and sustainable employment in the community.

What’s clear is that through this money that has been allocated, Melly’s café will be able empower individuals of all abilities to build confidence, gain valuable skills and reach their aspirations.

Justice system

Ms. Catherine Fife: CBC reported that most criminal cases in Ontario are now ending before charges are tested at trial. In 2022-23, 56% of criminal cases ended that way, without closure. Ontario’s courtrooms are severely understaffed and chronically underfunded by this government, and I’ve stood in this House and repeated that in 2022 alone, 1,326 sexual assault cases were disposed of before their trial date; 1,326 sexual assault survivors did not get their day in court. Still, this government chooses to do nothing.

When I introduced Lydia’s Law, which would increase transparency in the handling of sexual assault cases so we could ensure funding is going to the right places, this government chose to silence the debate on the bill. It now languishes at justice committee, even though the House leader said that they would expedite this bill. Survivors like Cait Alexander and Emily Quint were denied justice in this province.

But, Speaker, if that’s not enough for this supposedly tough-on-crime government to take action, maybe this next story will help. Last week, former MPP Randy Hillier had his charges stayed due to court delays. His charges included assaulting a peace officer. Hillier had been waiting 31 months and 13 days for his day in court, but now walks free because his right to be tried within a reasonable time had been violated.

This is the Conservative government’s justice system, which is failing the people of this province. Ontarians deserve so much better, as do survivors of sexual assault.

Korah Collegiate and Vocational School Colts sports teams

Mr. Ross Romano: Today I rise with great pride to recognize the outstanding achievements of the Korah Colts from my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. The Korah Colts have long been a pillar of our community, representing not just athletic excellence but also teamwork, resilience and school spirit. Whether it’s on the football field, the basketball court or in any other competition, these young athletes exemplify the values that make Sault Ste. Marie so special: resilience, dedication and a sense of community.

This year, the Colts football team has once again made us extremely proud, locking in the Northern Ontario Secondary Schools Athletics championship in their belts with a flawless 10-0 record while heading straight into the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations National Capital Bowl. Their victories are not just about the scores on the board but about the lessons they’ve learned along the way: lessons in leadership, sportsmanship and, of course, overcoming challenges.

To the players: Your hard work has not gone unnoticed. Congratulations on your accomplishments. You have set an example and a standard of excellence for many years to come not only within your school but throughout all of our city.

The Korah Colts are a huge part of the Sault Ste. Marie family, and I’m so proud to celebrate their success. I want to thank them for being great ambassadors for our community. Go, Colts, go!

Victim Services of Durham Region

Ms. Jennifer K. French: Victim Services of Durham Region is a charitable organization that provides crisis intervention services to victims of crime and sudden tragedy and delivers extensive violence prevention programming. This small but mighty team of only 14 staff are working miracles and changing lives every day.

The groundbreaking virtual reality game In Your Shoes took seven of the awards and is part of a larger TeenIRL program aimed at educating youth on the dangers of human trafficking, gang recruitment, exploitation, dating violence and cyber security.

Executive director Krista MacNeil expressed that “while awards provide humbling recognition for our hard work, the real reward for us is knowing that our efforts are saving lives. We are seeing alarming rates of online exploitation and increased victimization of our youth.”

As a charity, they rely on donations. I wish that more government money would go where it is needed to support victims of crime and to prevent violence and victimization.

I want to thank Krista and all of the team at Victim Services of Durham Region. I see them doing unbelievable heavy lifting across our community. Congratulations on these awards and thank you so much for everything you do.

Cancer Warrior Canada Foundation

Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: I rise today to recognize the Cancer Warrior Canada Foundation and their remarkable efforts in hosting the Seventh Annual Cancer Awareness and Fundraiser Gala. This event brought together community members in support of cancer patients and their families, raising funds to assist those most in need.

Cancer is a battle that affects us all, directly or indirectly. It knows no boundaries, touching families and individuals from all walks of life. But events like this remind us that we are not alone in this fight. The gala served as a beacon of hope, celebrating resilience and the strength of those fighting this disease. The foundation has consistently gone above and beyond, not only raising awareness but also providing critical support to vulnerable individuals.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the organizer, Navneet Sharma, volunteers and everyone who contributed to making this evening a success. Your dedication and compassion are truly making a difference in the lives of so many across our community.

Let us continue to stand united in the fight against cancer and support organizations like the Cancer Warrior Canada Foundation, whose commitment inspires us all.

Riding of Scarborough–Guildwood

MPP Andrea Hazell: As I stand here today, I reflect on the 16 months since I became the elected representative for Scarborough–Guildwood. During my campaign, I knocked on thousands of doors where I heard deep concerns about health care, education and affordability.

Fast-forward to this summer, my experience while knocking on hundreds of doors has taken a more sombre turn. The fear in their eyes is evident. What began as a concern 12 month ago has now transformed into anxiety about their future and basic quality of life. Seniors want to age in their homes, yet many don’t have a family doctor. Those on fixed incomes are forced to choose between medication and food, often ending up at food banks. Young families are struggling with 70% of their income going towards rent, while graduates find themselves living with their parents due to a lack of job opportunities. Many are just one paycheque away from homelessness.

With 19,000 people in Scarborough–Guildwood without a family doctor, an average salary of just $48,000 and a child poverty rate of 34.1%, it’s clear that my constituents deserve better. This is why I am here, fighting for their basic human rights and advocating for a better quality of life for all who call Scarborough–Guildwood their home.

Government investments

Ms. Laurie Scott: I’m pleased to rise in the House to share updates about the newest investments and business development in Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock.

Last week, I welcomed our Minister of Rural Affairs to the city of Kawartha Lakes to showcase how the Rural Economic Development Program, known as RED, has made such a difference in my communities. We visited the Coboconk Norland and Area Chamber of Commerce, who received up to $250,000 through the RED Program to renovate the historic Coboconk train station into a community hub and business incubator.

We travelled to Fenelon Falls to see how the Fenelon Falls and District Chamber of Commerce has been working with the RED investments to enhance their downtown revitalization action plan. These investments generate new partnerships and develop enhanced training for employees. These announcements build on the $833,000 in previous funds from the RED Program. Since 2018, there have been 17 RED projects in towns and communities all across Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock.

Thank you to the Minister of Rural Affairs and our government for prioritizing economic development in rural Ontario. I also want to thank our local chambers of commerce, BIAs and municipalities for their strong vision in facilitating innovation and prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, we all know that small businesses are the backbone of our economies in rural Ontario.

Rob Flosman

Ms. Donna Skelly: It’s my pleasure to rise this morning to recognize the dedication of a wonderful teacher in my riding of Flamborough–Glanbrook. Rob Flosman, a history teacher at Waterdown District High School, will be retiring at the end of this school year after a very, very impactful career.

Ten years ago, Mr. Flosman encouraged students to connect with history as well as their community. What began as a high school history project—creating projects, curating artifacts and acting as museum guides—has now turned into a year-round museum on the First and Second World Wars.

The museum had always been housed at the high school. However, due to the increasing number of artifacts, Mr. Flosman and his students began looking for a permanent location for the collection. Well, as of November 11, 2023, the Waterdown Museum of Hope is now open year-round at the Waterdown Legion for all of our community to enjoy.

I’d like to thank Mr. Flosman and the faculty and students at Waterdown District High School for all their hard work on this project. Mr. Flosman and the students of Waterdown District High School invite everyone in the Legislature to come to the next opening, May 5 to 11, 2025. That is where they will honour the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands as well as the end of World War II.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Aris Babikian: I would like to welcome Greg Bostajian, the honorary consul of Lebanon in Toronto. He is here today to celebrate the 81st anniversary of the national day of Lebanon. Around 12 o’clock, there will be a flag-raising outside, and everyone is welcome to join.

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: I had a wonderful meeting this morning with president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph’s health care, Roy Butler; director of forensic mental health care program at St. Joseph’s health centre, Kent Lewis; and Gary Chaimowitz, head of forensic psychiatry program, professor, department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences, faculty of health sciences, McMaster University. I want to thank them so much for coming to Queen’s Park and talking about the importance of forensic mental health care in our province.

Hon. Jill Dunlop: I have a few guests to introduced today. I want to thank the Retired Teachers of Ontario, who I met with this morning, and their board members John Cappelletti, who’s the chair; Claudia Mang; and Muriel Howden.

I would also like to introduce Karim Mamdani, the president and CEO of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences and chair of Mental Health Partners; Sarah Downey, the president and CEO of CAMH and vice-chair of Mental Health Partners; Dr. Nadiya Sunderji, the president and CEO of Waypoint; Rob Desroches, the chair of Forensic Directors Group of Ontario; Dr. Sumeeta Chatterjee, vice-chair, Forensic Directors Group of Ontario; and Dr. Gary Chaimowitz, member of the Forensic Directors Group of Ontario.

Welcome, everyone, to Queen’s Park today.

MPP Lise Vaugeois: I’d like to warmly welcome the members of the RTOERO retired teachers’ organization, and specifically Lorraine Knowles, Stephen Harvey, David Kendall and Alyssa Buttarazzi, who I will be meeting with later today. Welcome to your House. It’s good to see you again.

Mrs. Karen McCrimmon: I’d like to offer a warm welcome to the University of Toronto Young Liberals here today: Reza Rashidi, Soobin Sung, Xavier Baldwin, George Thordarson, Siyar Habibi, Richelle Furtado and Shaun Ganzeveld. Welcome to your House.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: It’s my pleasure to welcome students from the Orangeville District Secondary School and their teachers, Mr. Kirk-Elleker and Mr. Barber. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens: I’d like to thank the members from Mental Health Partners group today for their meeting this morning. I’d like to welcome Karim Mamdani, president and CEO of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences and chair of Mental Health Partners; Sarah Downey, president and CEO, CAMH, and vice-chair, Mental Health Partners; Mike Heenan, president of St.

Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton; John Chen, vice-president of clinical services and chief operating officer of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences; Cathy—sorry for the pronunciation before I say it—Duivesteyn, Forensic Directors Group of Ontario; and Dr. Treena Wilkie, Forensic Directors Group of Ontario as well.

Thank you for putting a spotlight on people who are in the forensic mental health system and the unique population. I want to thank you for your meeting this morning. It was a lovely meeting.

Hon. Sam Oosterhoff: I have a number of lovely folks who are here today from Niagara Falls. We have Jake Sinke, Michael Alexander, Beverly Alexander, Stephen Magnacca, Sonia Craig, David Eke, Jamie Jones, Michael Paralovos, Mark Taylor, Patrick Harris, Carole Jamestee, Victor Packard, Barbara Cole, Barbara Demney, Gwayne Johnston, Jyoti Desai and Permod Goyal. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

MPP Wayne Gates: I see Sam beat me to introducing a lot of people, but I would like to welcome the Retired Teachers of Ontario here. My wife is a retired teacher, and I know she enjoys her meetings at Betty’s Restaurant in Chippawa once a month. That ad was paid for by the government of Ontario.

Mr. Mike Schreiner: I’d really like to warmly welcome Melissa Kwiatkowski, the head of the Guelph Community Health Centre, who’s here today as part of the Alliance for Healthier Communities, which I know are having a reception over the noon hour. Welcome, Melissa.

Hon. Stephen Crawford: Speaker, I’d like to welcome Wieslawa Stepkowska and Mr. Jozef Bednarczyk. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): If there’s agreement in the House, I’d like to continue with the introduction of visitors.

Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: I’m very happy to welcome to Queen’s Park my close friend Mr. Liben Gebremikael, who is an excellent CEO of TAIBU Afro-Canadian health care centre in Scarborough, and Racquel Hamlet, director of wellness and crisis support of the same organization.

Also, I’d like to welcome all the retired teachers to your House.

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: It gives me great pleasure to welcome retired educators from RTOERO. Welcome to Ontario’s most poorly behaved classroom.

Hon. Vijay Thanigasalam: I would like to welcome Graham Brown, managing director of Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, who is sitting in the members’ gallery today. Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

Hon. Stan Cho: Straight from the centre of the universe, today’s page captain is Kamila Mofrad. I want to welcome her mother, Alina, who is visiting today at Queen’s Park. I’m looking forward to lunch today.

Member’s birthday

Mrs. Robin Martin: Speaker, a point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): There’s a member who has a point of order? The member for Eglinton–Lawrence.

Mrs. Robin Martin: I just wanted to rise on a point of order to wish a very happy birthday to the Minister of Energy and Electrification.

Question Period

Highway tolls

Ms. Marit Stiles: This question is for the Premier. Highway 407 has some of the highest tolls in North America. This week, we learned that those tolls are going up. It’s going to cost drivers even more and it’s going to further pad the profits of the private corporation that runs it.

My question to the Premier is: He said he would take tolls off all the highways, so why are these tolls going up?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: Here are the facts: Highway 412 and 418 tolls were removed. That’s a fact. And do you know what, Mr. Speaker? The NDP opposed removing those tolls. They actually supported the previous Liberal government, who put those tolls against the residents of Durham.

We’ve removed $125 sticker fees off vehicles and trucks as well, because we know that that money is better with the people of this province and not with the government. It’s about putting more money back into your pocket.

When we talked about reducing the gas tax by almost 10 cents, guess what? The members opposite have voted against it. In fact, there was a piece of legislation in this House that we put forward saying, “No new tolls, ever again, in this province,” and guess what? The NDP and Liberals voted against that.

Interruption.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Waterloo will come to order. The government House leader will come to order.

Mr. Steve Clark: I will.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Yes, you will.

You can start the clock. Supplementary question?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Speaker, here’s a fact for you: The tolls on the 407 are going up. And we gave this government real and, frankly, immediate solutions: Let’s clear the congestion on the 401 and move trucks onto the 407 for free. But what did the Premier and this Conservative government say to that? They said no. The Premier then said that his government had seriously considered taking the tolls off the 407, so we looked into it. Our research shows no record of this government ever exploring removing the tolls.

My question to the Premier is: He said he would remove tolls from all the highways, so why won’t he remove them on the one highway that still has them?

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

The Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: We have a plan to keep putting money back into the pockets of hard-working families. Like I said, tolls on 412, 418—the members of that caucus over there, who represent those ridings, voted against removing those tolls for residents in Durham region. That’s a shame. Putting $125 back into the pockets of people when we removed the validation sticker fees; those members over there voted against that. When we put forward measures to decrease the gas tax by over 10 cents, those members, the NDP and Liberals, opposed that every step of the way.

We have a plan to build. We have a plan to relieve congestion across this province, building the tunnel, building 413, the Bradford Bypass and investing in public transit—$70 billion over the next 10 years.

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

Ms. Marit Stiles: Every day, life under this government gets more and more expensive. That’s the truth. People are stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and when they need to get home to their loved ones safely and faster, they need it now, not decades from now. My goodness, think of the mom trying to get home to her toddler at daycare; she needs to get there now, not in 30 years, not when her kid is 30. My goodness.

Instead of real, immediate solutions, the Premier and his government are so distracted by his fantasy tunnel—while the 407 is sitting empty. They’re looking to dig a tunnel under the 401 when the 407 is sitting empty.

Why won’t the government stand up to this private company and save Ontarians time and money on our roads right now?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Members will take their seats. The government side will come to order. The member for Spadina–Fort York will come to order. The Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries will come to order.

Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: Why are we in record gridlock today? It’s because the Liberals did absolutely nothing to build for 15 years. And guess what? The NDP have opposed every single one of our actions that we have put forward. They refer to public transit projects as “fantasy.” Check their record, Mr. Speaker.

Ontario Line, they doubted every step of the way—which is going to move 400,000 people every single day, take 28,000 cars off the road.

The Liberals lack the vision; the NDP don’t want anything built.

The Scarborough subway extension: The people of Scarborough for decades have been talking about and calling for relief. And guess what? The NDP voted against that, and the Liberals did absolutely nothing—just talk.

Our government is about having a bold vision for this province to build: to build transit, to build highways and to build for the future generations. They’ve opposed the Highway 413. They’ve opposed the Bradford Bypass. They have no vision. They want people stuck in gridlock. They want people stuck—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Ottawa Centre will come to order. The Associate Minister of Small Business will come to order.

The next question.

Government accountability

Ms. Marit Stiles: I’m going to go back to the Premier. The only thing this government is building up are their election coffers, off the backs of the people.

The Attorney General insisted this week that the email from the Conservative Party’s bagman, their fundraising chair, Tony Miele, assigning fundraising quotas to ministers was just a simple “mistake,” I think is what he called it. But a number of Conservative Party fundraisers featuring prominent ministers were planned, curiously, just after that infamous email.

This government has already established a reputation for backroom deals and preferential treatment. So I want to know: Is it standard practice for Conservative ministers of the crown to take donations from lobbyists and individuals with business before their own ministry?

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

Hon. Doug Downey: As I’ve said before, there are regulations, there are rules, Mr. Speaker. All the parties follow them. We have an open and transparent system. We all raise money. That’s what political parties do. It’s not a surprise—for those that want to be in the House, those that are in the House. It’s part of our democratic system. There are rules in place that are overseen and transparent, they’re accountable.

I’m watching the clock, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the member of the opposition, but I will ask it through you when I get the chance in a moment.

Ms. Catherine Fife: That’s not how question period works.

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

The supplementary question.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Well, you know what? He’s welcome to come to the other side in just a few months, and then he can ask us the questions.

Speaker, they changed the rules, right? We know they did. They changed the rules so they could open up their coffers to those donations.

This week, the Conservative Party is hosting fundraisers with the Minister of Infrastructure, the Minister of Transportation, the Minister of Health. In each of these ministries, we’ve seen major policy decisions that seem to benefit a few private interests, whether it’s the Therme luxury spa company or the private health care corporations.

Are lobbyists with business before these ministries attending fundraisers for those same cabinet ministers? I’m going back to the Premier on this: What are they getting in return?

Interjections.

Mr. John Yakabuski: Good government—you don’t understand that.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order. Member for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, come to order.

The Attorney General.

Hon. Doug Downey: I, in fact, have news for the Leader of the Opposition: We will be sending more members over to sit on that side of the House, Mr. Speaker, with a bigger majority next time.

Now, here’s a press release headline: “Marit Stiles’ Ontario NDP Smashed Yet Another Fundraising Record”—$1,214,589, with 26,000 contributors. Now, in the September 3 issue of that, they said that there were 1,246 new donors. Well, that means that there are over 20,000 repeat donors, but they don’t report most of them, because it’s under the $200 limit. So I would challenge the Leader of the Opposition to release the names of all donors, regardless of amount, if she’s so intent on transparency.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock.

For what I think is the umpteenth time, I’m going to ask the members to refer to each other by their riding name or their ministerial title, as applicable, not by their personal names.

Start the clock. Final supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: I’ll tell you what we’re not doing: We’re not making insider deals with brown envelopes, and we’re not being investigated by the RCMP.

The thing is, Speaker, Ontarians have lost trust in their government. The Premier makes deals, insiders cash in, and it is Ontarians who are left paying the price every single time. The 407 tolls are up. People can’t get a family doctor. Moms who can’t get support for their kids. Families who are trying desperately to find a home they can afford. They can’t afford $1,500 tickets to the Minister of Housing’s fundraisers; that’s the thing.

Will the Premier finally put an end to the cash-for-access culture and close the loophole so ministers don’t take donations from folks who have business before their ministry?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. The Minister of Red Tape Reduction will come to order. The Minister of Energy and Electrification will come to order. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing will come to order.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): If I have to continue to remind members to come to order—if they ignore the Speaker’s request to come to order—I’ll warn them and then, eventually, name them if necessary. We’re going to have order this morning.

Start the clock. The Attorney General.

Hon. Doug Downey: You know, it’s instructive: I know we speak through you, Speaker, and that’s the way that it should be, but you’ll notice I’m looking at you and not the camera, because this is not performative. There are rules and regulations in place. We all follow them. Whether you’re in the House, whether you’re wanting to be in the House, there’s accountability; there’s transparency.

The opposition knows this full well: They say there are different rules for cabinet ministers than there are for themselves, but that is simply an admission they will never be cabinet ministers. I would hope that they would stand with us and uphold the very strong system that we have, instead of giving the impression that somehow the rules and regulations aren’t being followed.

Government accountability

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: ᒥᑵᐨ, Speaker.

ᒥᓄᑭᔐᐸᔭ. Good morning. Last week, the chief and council from Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg were here to meet with the government about their public safety state of emergency. They are in a public safety crisis and the government failed to make time to listen to them. If the First Nation had donated to a fundraiser hosted by the Solicitor General, could they have had that meeting they needed?

Interjections.

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

Solicitor General.

Hon. Michael S. Kerzner: In fact, last week—and the member from Kiiwetinoong knows—I immediately called Chief Jeff Skye to speak to him about what was going on in the community that the Nishnawbe Aski police protect. This member knows that I have regular discussions with all First Nations police chiefs on a regular basis.

The member also knows how hard our government, under Premier Ford, has been working to secure extra spaces at the Ontario Police College that are allocated to First Nations police services, and that we will do everything that we can to accommodate their needs. When they have recruits, those spaces must be available. We’re going to continue to make sure public safety across our province and in First Nations communities is of the highest priority.

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

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: We’re not talking about the police chief, Jeff Skye. We’re talking about the leadership of Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg. When we talk about the integrity of government ministers and the integrity of the crown, the only way people can have guaranteed access to ministers is to make a donation. I’m talking about donations of thousands of dollars to attend events that most people can’t afford.

Can the government confirm that they are fundraising from groups who have business in their ministries?

Interjections.

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

The Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I take 400 calls a day on my personal cellphone for messages that people need help. They know what they need to do. They need to dial my phone number. It’s never happened in the history of Canada; it’s never happened in North America. I talk to my friends in the US. They say, “I’ve never seen someone so accessible.”

As I’m having meetings, Jane and Joe and Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith are calling my cellphone that may need help. But they aren’t concerned about it, because never have they ever returned calls when they get a phone call. I take the personal calls, and there’s no one in the history of this country that has taken more calls from constituents than I have—simple.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas will come to order.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. Members will please take their seats. The member for Sudbury will come to order. The Leader of the Opposition will come to order. The member for Hamilton Mountain will come to order.

Start the clock.

Job creation

Ms. Laura Smith: Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

When the Liberals were in office, Ontario’s economy was getting crushed. The Liberals hiked taxes at every opportunity and put up red tape that was designed to prevent businesses from getting ahead. As a result, businesses fled our province in droves, taking good-paying jobs with them.

Our government knew that we had to reverse course immediately if we wanted to rebuild Ontario’s economy after more than a decade of Liberal mismanagement. We have cut over 550 pieces of unnecessary red tape that the Liberals put in, and we are ensuring that the conditions are there for businesses to succeed. Companies across the world know that Ontario is open for businesses.

Can the minister please share details on any job-creating investments that have landed in Ontario recently?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’ll once again remind the members to make their comments through the chair.

The Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Yes, I can, as a matter of fact. Yesterday, we welcomed a $100-million investment from Hitachi Rail into North York. Hitachi Rail is a leading partner to the world’s best transportation companies. Their investment will allow them to advance the engineering and design of their own Ontario-created train control system. This is using cutting-edge technology: AI, 5G. This creates a hundred new jobs at Hitachi. Those 100 new people will join the existing 1,000 employees at Hitachi. This is yet another vote of confidence in Ontario’s thriving business ecosystem.

Speaker, our government has created the conditions for businesses to succeed and, as a result, we are seeing businesses invest, expand and create good-paying jobs at an unprecedented rate.

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

Ms. Laura Smith: Thank you for the minister’s hard work in his portfolio. Our government understands that the competition needs to land important investments, and they’re ramping up from countries across the world. That’s why we’re working to lower the cost of doing business in the province: to ensure that the conditions are there for businesses to invest, expand and create good-paying jobs.

As a result, companies from across the world are investing in our province at record levels. I know this personally, because Thornhill has several expanding companies and they’re also investing in Ontario. These companies could go anywhere in the world, but they chose Ontario. They know they have everything they need here to succeed, from clean and reliable energy to world-class talent. In every region of the province, we see companies scaling up and creating good-paying jobs.

Speaker, can the minister please provide us with details on any other investments that have landed in the province recently?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Last week, we welcomed a $130-million investment from Roche Canada. Roche is expanding their global informatics division at their existing Mississauga headquarters, and this will create 250 brand new, good-paying jobs in fields such as AI and research and development. This builds on Roche’s $500-million investment they announced recently, which set up a new operations hub in Mississauga, adding 500 engineers.

Roche’s investment is yet another testament to Ontario’s growing reputation as a global leader in the life sciences sector, with over $5 billion in new life science businesses that we’ve landed here in Ontario. Ontario has become the prime location for global biomanufacturers looking to invest and expand.

Long-term care

MPP Wayne Gates: My question is to the Premier. We’ve learned that the government has failed to meet its own targets of providing four hours of hands-on care per day for every resident in long-term care in Ontario. We know the cause of the issue: the staffing crisis that the Premier has created in long-term care. According to government documents, we need over 13,000 additional nurses and 38,000 PSWs to provide the proper care for long-term-care residents. Seniors in long-term care deserve better.

When will this government stop breaking its own promises and deliver the care seniors need and, quite frankly, deserve?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the Minister of Long-Term Care.

Hon. Natalia Kusendova-Bashta: I welcome the question from the member for Niagara Falls because it gives me the opportunity to celebrate the incredible progress we have made on the direct hours of care delivered by our exceptional and committed staff.

Since 2021, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we have increased our direct hours of care by 33%. That is over one extra hour of care for every single calendar day for every single one of our 80,000 residents. In total, this results in 15 extra days of care—15 extra days—due to our government’s policies and investments: $1.8 billion into staffing this year alone.

But that’s not all. We have also increased the level-of-care envelope by 6.6%, and these investments are being felt by both our staff and residents.

My question back to the member: Was he listening during our estimates?

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

MPP Wayne Gates: Back to the Premier: This government spent $1 billion in 2022-23 on private staffing agencies in health care and long-term care. Private temp staffing agencies cost more than paying permanent staff, which means homes must spend more to achieve the same level of care. Staff turnover in long-term-care homes is high and it won’t be fixed until this government commits to paying nurses and PSWs good wages with full-time hours, benefits and pensions.

Will the Premier commit today to stop spending $1 billion of taxpayers’ money on private staffing agency profits, and instead pay nurses, PSWs and front-line staff, who deserve it?

Interjections.

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

To reply, the Minister of Long-Term Care.

Hon. Natalia Kusendova-Bashta: I do find it strange that the member for Niagara Falls admits to being unaware of our government’s achievements when it comes to direct hours of care. I say this because in our estimates just a few months ago, I told him and all the members of the committee the exact same thing that I’m telling you now.

But to refresh his memory, I will quote directly from the estimates meeting: “In terms of our year-three targets, I’m happy to report that we have hit them by the first quarter of year four, so that’s significant progress. We’ve added many minutes into the system of direct care per resident, per day, and we’ll continue building on that success. I’m very, very proud of the progress we’ve made.”

When I visited his riding and I visited the Lawson Eventide Home and Oakwood Park Lodge, I spoke to the residents and the staff, and they told me that our investments are working. The PSWs are seeing a reduction in the amount of residents that they have to take care of each and every day, which allows them to spend more time with each resident.

So we’ll continue investing in our residents, we’ll continue investing in our staff. Our long-term-care sector is in good shape.

Taxation

Mr. Steve Pinsonneault: My question is for the Minister of Natural Resources. Ontario is home to industries that make things we need. For example, steel is used in schools and hospitals, and cement is used for subways and bridges. These products are called hard to abate because it’s tough to cut their emissions, but they’re essential for building our province. The truth is the Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax is making it more expensive to produce these vital materials. Cement, for example, is already expensive enough; this regressive tax is only making the situation worse. This hurts Ontario workers, hurts Ontario jobs and hurts Ontario’s economy.

Speaker, can the minister please tell the House what actions our government is taking to reduce emissions while supporting businesses and workers?

Hon. Graydon Smith: Thanks to the great member for the question. There are many hard-to-abate industries that produce essential products right here in Ontario: the steel that we need to build our hospitals and schools, the cement to build subways, bridges, roads. Our natural resource sector is being pummeled by the Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax. It raises the price of all these essential building blocks that we need to use to build Ontario.

That’s why yesterday I tabled legislation to enable carbon capture and storage right here in Ontario—right here—technology that captures emissions which can be stored away safely. Ontario is on the cutting edge of innovation and technology that will increase investment, attract jobs and support existing industries, communities and families.

The Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax has got to go. It’s driving away innovation and driving away jobs. It’s time to cut the carbon tax, get out of the way and let—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Kitchener Centre will come to order.

Supplementary question?

Mr. Steve Pinsonneault: Thank you for the minister’s response. Ontario’s industries are leaders in making products which we depend on, like cement, steel and glass. These industries are the backbone of our economy, but they are also energy-intensive, and cutting their emissions is a big challenge. The Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax isn’t helping. It punishes these industries by raising costs, making it harder for them to compete and grow. Families feel these costs, especially when prices go up on everyday goods. Carbon capture technology could be the solution to this problem. It’s a smart way to cut emissions without hurting jobs or raising costs.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government’s plan for carbon capture could help our industries to reduce emissions and create jobs?

Hon. Graydon Smith: Again, thanks to the member for that question. Moving forward with carbon capture technology here in Ontario is essential to support growth in our province, creating highly skilled, good-paying jobs in communities. It’s advanced technology that will, again, capture carbon at the site, at the source, and store it and reduce emissions. Everyone supports this technology.

It is in use globally, and it will help energy-intensive industries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by roughly five million to seven million tonnes per year—that’s the equivalent of taking up to two million cars off the road—while creating 4,000 jobs and reducing the price that industry pays: close to $1 billion a year on carbon.

Carbon storage will revolutionize how we manage emissions in this province and around the world, and, once again, Ontario is leading the way; once again, we are bringing technology to bear that will help our communities, help our environment, help Ontario continue to grow—

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

The next question.

Affordable housing

MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam: My question is to the Premier. Last week, the Smart Prosperity Institute reported that this province is falling behind on building affordable housing, and because of the affordability crisis, Ontario is bleeding young, talented people—100,000 young people are fleeing every single year, mostly to Alberta—while Liberal and Conservative governments have ruled this province for over 29 years and they have waited for the market to solve the housing crisis.

Speaker, all we know is that their failed housing policies have shown us these results. We now have unfathomably expensive home prices, skyrocketing rents, growing encampments and an Airbnb takeover. Ontarians need this government to get back into the business of building affordable housing. It’s the only way forward.

Will the Premier reverse the brain drain by admitting that his housing plan is the slowest do-it-yourself project in Ontario history? Or does he think that a policy that’s failed for decade after decade will magically start working now?

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

Hon. Paul Calandra: I don’t know where the member has been, because when we started eliminating red tape and making it easier to get shovels in the ground, when we continued on the process of reducing costs, our housing starts were increasing to the highest level ever. Our purpose-built rentals: highest level ever.

It wasn’t until interest rates started to increase—thanks to the policies of the federal government, Mr. Speaker, supported by a federal NDP, that caused high inflation and the highest interest rate increase in the shortest amount of time in the history of this country—that we started to see housing starts declining across the province of Ontario.

We’re going to double down on what we’ve been doing, Mr. Speaker. We’re going to double down on reducing red tape and making it easier and faster to get shovels in the ground. We’ve told our municipalities the exact same thing and they are coming on board.

When it comes to affordable housing, we have a National Housing Strategy that is going to be building thousands of homes across the province of Ontario. We’re getting the job done, despite the obstacles—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question? The member for London North Centre.

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: Speaker, back to the Premier: Ontario’s experiencing a brain drain because the Ford government is utterly incapable of building housing. Housing starts are the lowest since 1955 and are only going to decrease further, according to the fall economic statement. Economists point out that Ontario’s ideological opposition to building housing has led to record low vacancy rates, soaring rents, record food bank use and an estimated 234,000 people experiencing homelessness.

When people can’t find housing, like young graduates, they move. Over the last four years, 100,000 more people have moved out of Ontario than from other provinces into Ontario.

Speaker, my question is to the Premier: When will this Conservative government finally build housing so that our province doesn’t face brain drain?

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Member for Ottawa Centre, come to order.

The Premier.

Hon. Doug Ford: Mr. Speaker, let me respond to the member from London North Centre, as he votes against every housing bill we have, against building houses. The NIMBYism in their ridings is unprecedented. Mr. Speaker, if we put out a bill to support housing, they vote against it.

We saw the largest influx of immigration in the history of this country, with over 800,000 people showing up to our province. Let me remind the member, as they voted with the Liberals to chase 300,000 jobs out of our province, there’s 850,000 people working today that weren’t working last year.

When we talk about the threat that we just received from the Americans—they voted against our nuclear fleet, our clean, green energy. They voted against the critical minerals that we’re selling to the US. They voted against the infrastructure, building highways, and they voted against building more homes. That—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Ottawa Centre is warned.

The next question.

Health care

Mr. Adil Shamji: For the Minister of Health, Mr. Speaker: Everyone in Ontario should have their own family doctor. What does it mean to have your own family doctor? What is it that millions of people in Ontario have been deprived of by the inaction of this government? It’s that special relationship that’s created when one patient is rostered to one family doctor.

In sports, if you’re on the team, you’re on the roster. Coaches, staff and management will support you and take care of you. In family medicine, if you’re on a family doctor’s roster, you’re their patient, through and through. You can call and get an appointment any time you like. You can remain their patient for years, decades or until they retire. They know your file, meaning you don’t have to explain your medical history over and over again. They can refer you to specialists the moment that you need one.

Mr. Speaker, for the Minister of Health: How many people in Ontario are not rostered to a family doctor and how many more are at risk of being de-rostered in the next five years?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Right back at you: How many doctors did not get the opportunity to train and practise in the province of Ontario because the Liberal government actually cut the number of physician seats in the province of Ontario?

In 2015, we saw the then Liberal government of the day cut by 50 every single year the number of physicians who had the opportunity to train in the province of Ontario. What does that mean? Today, that means over 350 young people did not get the opportunity to train in the province of Ontario and, ultimately, to serve in the province of Ontario. They chose different professions. They went out of our country.

What are we doing, in contrast? We are making investments in our education system, in our primary care practices, multidisciplinary teams. We are getting it done when you walked away.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock for a second.

I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair, not directly across the floor of the House. Secondly, I’m going to warn the member for Ottawa South. Thirdly, I’m going to warn the Minister for Red Tape Reduction.

Are we keeping track of all the warnings? Good. I hope there aren’t anymore but, if necessary, they’ll be issued.

Start the clock. Supplementary question?

Mr. Adil Shamji: Mr. Speaker, I asked a basic question that should have a factual answer. The Minister of Health won’t answer it because she knows it’s a big number that she’s embarrassed to admit.

Now, there’s no doubt this government has failed to secure family doctors for patients in Toronto, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Scarborough and Brampton. But let’s look at how this problem affects the northern and rural ridings that the Premier is so quick to neglect: 39,000 people in Bay of Quinte without a family doctor, 31,000 in Chatham-Kent–Leamington, 29,000 in Kenora–Rainy River and on and on and on.

It’s no coincidence that in these northern and rural ridings, with so many people not having a family doctor, people are forced to rely more and more on emergency rooms, which are becoming harder to staff and harder to keep open. Ontario suffered 1,300 ER closures in the last year alone, most of them in northern and rural ridings. And so, Mr. Speaker, for the Minister of Health, another simple factual question: How many municipalities in Ontario don’t have even a single family doctor?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: You know, it is interesting that the member opposite conveniently forgets the fact that, earlier this year—in February, in fact—we expanded the number of primary care practitioner teams in the province of Ontario to 78, the largest expansion we have seen in primary care in the province of Ontario. Those are multidisciplinary teams. Those are nurse practitioners working with family physicians, working with mental health workers, with dietitians, to make sure that those patients are served.

We have the Periwinkle model in Kingston that has, because of that investment this year, meant 10,000 additional patients are being seen. I was in Innisfil two weeks ago, opening a nurse practitioner-led clinic where 10 nurse practitioners are now taking on and rostering patients. Those are the investments that we are making, whether it is working with our colleges and university partners—

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

The next question.

Transportation infrastructure

Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: My question is to the Minister of Transportation. Gridlock is a problem that every Ontarian knows all too well. At this time, it adds stress and it hurts our economy. Families are stuck in traffic instead of spending time together. Workers face long, frustrating commutes every single day.

For years, nothing was done to fix this. The previous Liberal government talked, but they didn’t act. The promises were made, but the projects never happened. Now everyone is paying the price for their inaction. Ontarians deserve better. They deserve roads and transit that work. They deserve solutions that will cut commute times and help businesses thrive.

Speaker, can the minister tell us what our government is doing to end gridlock and build the infrastructure Ontarians need?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Hastings–Lennox and Addington and the parliamentary assistant.

Mr. Ric Bresee: My thanks to the member from Brampton West for the question.

Unlike the Liberals and the NDP, we know that doing nothing is not an option. Ontario is one of the best places in the world to live, to work and to raise a family, but to maintain that position we need a strong transportation network. That’s why we’re building historic projects such as Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass.

My colleague is completely correct: We need to keep building our future. We need to cut red tape to get the shovels in the ground sooner. That’s why we’ve brought forward the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act. This legislation will speed the construction of Highway 413, of the Bradford Bypass, the Garden City Skyway bridge and other future priority highway projects.

Speaker, these projects should have been built years ago. We’re in this gridlock crisis because of the previous government. We are the only party with a—

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

Supplementary question?

Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: The people of Ontario are tired of sitting in traffic. They’re tired of losing hours of their day just trying to get where they need to go. Workers are losing time at home with their families. Businesses are losing money because deliveries are delayed. For too long under the previous Liberal government nothing was done to fix these problems. Gridlock isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a major drag on our economy and quality of life.

The costs keep piling up and the delays hurt everyone. Ontarians deserve better. Speaker, can the parliamentary assistant please share more about what measures our government is taking to help get these critical projects built faster and to reduce gridlock for all Ontarians?

Mr. Ric Bresee: Thank you again to the member from Brampton West.

Unlike the previous Liberals and the NDP, our government is taking steps to address and tackle gridlock. Gridlock costs our economy $11 billion every year. We simply can’t afford to do nothing and let the problems get worse, like they had done. We’re taking action to build new highways in our growing communities, such as Peel and York region.

The Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act will allow around-the-clock 24/7 construction on priority highway projects. Speaker, we’re already seeing the results, the benefits of 24-hour construction on the Gardiner Expressway, where construction is four months ahead of schedule.

We won’t stick to the status quo. We won’t do nothing. We are focused on building for our future.

Justice system

Ms. Catherine Fife: My question is for the Premier. Last year in Ontario, every six days, on average, a woman or child lost their lives due to men’s violence. Last year, 62 women were murdered in Ontario. This is an epidemic.

Preventing intimate partner violence is also about holding those responsible accountable and ensuring justice is served. We cannot do that when 56% of criminal cases are being withdrawn, stayed or dismissed simply because our courtrooms are understaffed and underfunded. In fact, in 2023, 1,171 sexual assault cases were dismissed because of delays.

The government needs to be tracking how many of these cases are being dismissed, but the government refuses to do so. They are scared for the public to learn how badly you are failing on the justice system. Survivor Emily Quint describes her court experience as “horrific.” Her rapist walks free today.

When will this government live up to your tough-on-crime rhetoric?

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

The Attorney General.

Hon. Doug Downey: Our prosecutors are actively engaged in case management and getting resolutions as quickly as possible. This is a very important area. The opposition—I’d have to check the record to be 100% positive, but I’m pretty sure that they voted against even Keira’s Law.

They talk a good game, but we’re in the trenches doing the work, Mr. Speaker. We’re adding capacity, whether it’s the 25 net new judges, the largest increase in the history of the province. We’re adding logistics, we’re adding prosecutors, we’re adding victim support services. We’re adding across the board to make sure the capacity is there. And we are tracking cases. We track anything that’s in danger of an 11(

b) challenge, and supervisors, the crown managers, can access that data.

So we are, in fact, making sure that we’re holding people to account. It would be great to have the NDP support us at any point in time.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.

Ms. Catherine Fife: Well, I’m quoting the stats, Speaker, and someone with a King’s Counsel designation surely should know what’s actually going on in the justice system in Ontario.

Why is this government so afraid of transparency in justice funding? We need transparency and accountability into where the money is going. This hits close to home for many of us. Just last week, your former member Randy Hillier had his charges stayed due to court delays. His charges included assaulting a peace officer, police officer. Why are you okay with this? This is not okay. Mr. Hillier waited 31 months and 13 days for his day in court but now walks free because his right to be tried within a reasonable time had been violated. This is your court system, as the Attorney General in Ontario. We must—

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

Ms. Catherine Fife: Thank you.

We must adequately fund and staff our courts. My Bill 189, Lydia’s Law, would hold the Attorney General and this entire Legislature accountable for failing survivors of sexual assault.

So I have one question: When will this Premier hold the Attorney General accountable for a failing justice system?

Interjections.

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

Attorney General.

Hon. Doug Downey: Mr. Speaker, we are fixing a system that was left in disrepair. For the first time in over a decade, we are clearing more cases than we are bringing in.

This is what the Liberals were up to, supported by the NDP: They were letting cases stack up; we have reduced the backlog through COVID by 48%. So we’ll take no lessons from the performative NDP, who are doing nothing to support the investments we are making in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars.

The $166-million case management filing system that is cutting edge: They voted against it. The 25 net new judges: They voted against it. The 190 new crown attorneys and victim support workers: They voted against it. I’ll take no lessons from them.

Northern Health Travel Grant

Mr. Michael Mantha: My question is to the Minister of Health. Almost seven months ago, the minister announced that the government would be enhancing the Northern Health Travel Grant after years of advocacy by residents in northern Ontario.

My question is simple: Why are northerners still waiting?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: I’m happy to follow up with individual examples, but in fact, we had made the changes, as were announced in the budget. I’m proud of the investments that we’re making to enhance the Northern Ontario Travel Grant. But I’m also proud that we are making investments so that people don’t have to travel as far to get service. When we make announcements that have MRIs in communities and in hospitals that didn’t have them previously, when we make announcements in places like Thunder Bay, where we’re ensuring that there is access in their community, we’re actually working to ensure that fewer people have to access the Northern Ontario Travel Grant.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Mr. Michael Mantha: Again to the Minister of Health: All the funding promises in the world don’t matter if the money isn’t getting to the people who need it.

Over a year ago, I introduced legislation to improve the Northern Health Travel Grant under Bill 13. We heard from hundreds of northerners who want equal access to health care and who were pushing this government to address the shortfalls in the program. Finally, this government made a funding announcement in April. But now that it has come time to deliver, they are nowhere to be seen. My office has sent multiple requests to the ministry on behalf of constituents who need to know when they can access the funding that they were promised.

The ministry has yet to even acknowledge those requests from myself and other MPPs in the Legislature. People in northern Ontario deserve equitable access to health care. They shouldn’t be deciding between getting the treatment they need or the bills they are paying.

Minister, will you answer my constituents’ questions and tell them when the $45 million you promised will be delivered?

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

The Minister of Health to reply.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: It’s actually $48 million, if you want to be specific, which I do, because they are investments that we are making in northern Ontario.

Not only have we made it easier through the work of red tape reduction to make sure that people can easily process online applications, but, in fact, we’ve also enhanced it. Starting on December 1, we have an additional enhancement that says 200 kilometres is going to 100 kilometres, $75 per night for accommodation and expanding eligibility to include medical travel companions accompanying a patient. This, of course, is separate and apart from an enhanced investment that we have made jointly with the Ministry of Finance to actually ensure IVF is also covered through a tax credit and additional access, including in northern Ontario.

Northern Ontario development

Mr. Ross Romano: My question is for the Minister of Northern Development.

Northern Ontario is home to hard-working people and strong communities, but we all know that the north faces unique challenges. Small businesses often need help to grow and to stay open, municipalities need help keeping local facilities in good shape and Indigenous communities deserve better access to opportunities and to support. Individuals and families want to know that our government is listening and that we are making real investments that will improve their lives.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. has a proven track record in strengthening the north. It creates jobs, fosters economic growth and supports vital community infrastructure. Speaker, can the minister please tell the House how the NOHFC fund is supporting northern and Indigenous communities and businesses throughout all of northern Ontario?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the parliamentary assistant and member for Brantford–Brant.

Mr. Will Bouma: Thank you to the member from Sault Ste. Marie for the question, and I appreciate his tireless advocacy for the north. Last week, the minister had the opportunity to travel to northeastern Ontario to announce dozens of investments our government is making to increase economic opportunity in the north.

In Iroquois Falls, we announced that our government is providing more than $580,000 through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. to four economic development projects in the region. This investment will improve municipal infrastructure and support physical activity for locals and visitors in northeastern Ontario.

This investment will provide $429,000 for the town of Iroquois Falls to install a new roof membrane on the Jus Jordan Arena and sports complex to ensure the facility is safe and structurally sound, and it includes $67,000 for the Abitibi Golf Club to renovate the clubhouse, purchase equipment to improve and extend the life of the clubhouse and course, and make the facility more suitable for hosting events for club members and for the broader community. We’re getting it done for northern Ontario.

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

Mr. Ross Romano: We all know how vital northern Ontario is to our province. Its communities are absolutely filled with potential, but they do need support in order to be able to thrive. Small businesses have to be able to grow. They have to be able to expand. Muncipalities need strong infrastructure to serve their residents. Indigenous communities need investments that are going to create lasting opportunities.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp., the NOHFC, is one way that our government is helping. The NOHFC funds projects that make life better for people in the north. But northerners want to know that our government is serious about its commitment to the region. We’ve heard about support for Iroquois Falls, but the needs of the north go beyond one single community.

Can the minister please explain how our government is working with the NOHFC to support other northern Ontario communities in order to create good jobs?

Mr. Will Bouma: Thank you to the member for the question. Our support for northern Ontario didn’t stop at Iroquois Falls. Last week, the minister had the pleasure of announcing that our government is investing more than $2.5 million through the NOHFC to 12 economic development projects in the Hearst region. This investment will expand company operations, improve municipal infrastructure and create good jobs in northeastern Ontario.

For example, there is $500,000 for Moose Cree First Nation to upgrade the community heating infrastructure by replacing its fossil fuel-based heating system with a renewable biomass-powered heating