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April 18, 2023

43rd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2023-Apr-18 vol. A (PDF)

L066A - Tue 18 Apr 2023 / Mar 18 avr 2023

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Tuesday 18 April 2023 Mardi 18 avril 2023

Orders of the Day

Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 / Loi de 2023 sur l’amélioration des écoles et du rendement des élèves

Wearing of pins

Members’ Statements

Yom ha-Shoah

Labour dispute

Homelessness and assisted housing

Fire safety in northern and remote communities

Hockey championship

Tenant protection

Taxation

Road safety

Police

Rosemer Enverga

House sittings

Use of electronic devices in the House

Legislative pages

Introduction of Visitors

Question Period

Education funding

Child and family services

Child and family services

Life sciences sector

Hospice care

Manufacturing jobs

Social assistance

Ontario Place

Literacy and basic skills

Children’s health services

Municipal planning

GO Transit

Islamophobia

Electronic service delivery / Housing

Hospital funding

Petitions

Labour legislation

Hospital services

Social assistance

Missing persons

Détachement de la PPO

Alzheimer’s disease

Emergency services

Anti-vaping initiatives for youth

Public sector compensation

Adoption disclosure

Mental health services

Winter highway maintenance

Orders of the Day

Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 / Loi de 2023 visant à aider les acheteurs et à protéger les locataires

The House met at 0900.

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

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 / Loi de 2023 sur l’amélioration des écoles et du rendement des élèves

Mr. Lecce moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 98,

An Act to amend various Acts relating to education and child care / Projet de loi 98, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne l’éducation et la garde d’enfants.

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

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to first off acknowledge that I will be sharing my time with the brilliant parliamentary assistant, the member from Ajax.

I’m going to commence this with a quote. “One complaint that we heard, repeatedly, was that the public education system no longer seems to be responsible to the public ... there exists widespread unease that schools have become a kingdom unto themselves, with little need to report to parents or to the world at large what they are doing with our kids, and whether they’re doing it successfully.” That was a quote from the Royal Commission on Learning commissioned by Premier Bob Rae in the early 1990s, led by a former federal Liberal minister and provincial New Democratic minister.

That is a telling quote, and the constant in my lifetime has been the desire for our ministry, our school boards, the enterprise around our children, to step up and to do better.

So I’m very honoured to rise in this House and to speak about the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act and how it will help Ontario succeed and help our kids reach their full potential in our country. If passed, this bill would propose legislative reforms under four key statutes. The first is the Education Act, the second is the Ontario College of Teachers Act, the third is the Early Childhood Educators Act—and, finally, consequential amendments to the Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

These changes would improve and modernize our publicly funded education system to prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow, to ensure that young people have a curriculum that leads them to good-paying jobs and to succeed in whatever path they take.

Yesterday, I was proud to unveil a new investment in our publicly funded schools, a global commitment to spend more than $690 million for the coming school year, a 2.7% increase relative to last year. We’re increasing the funding per student, per pupil. We’re increasing funding for transportation and mental health, in special education. We’re increasing investment in reading, writing and math—the fundamental skills where we insist there is greater fluency within the classroom both from the teacher and from the students themselves.

I want to acknowledge our publicly funded school system. Overwhelmingly, I think it’s fair to say, it does good work. We’re proud of the record of the outcomes associated with respect to increasing graduation rates—we started at 85% just a few years ago, and today it’s 89%. That’s a trajectory moving in the right direction, at the highest levels it has been in recent history. That is not done in spite of, but because of, a targeted focus on lifting everyone up—destreaming, new mental health supports, and going back to the basics of reading, writing and math.

In addition to the broader $26.6-billion investment for this school year and more investment for the next school year, over the past days, the parliamentary assistant and I worked together on unveiling a plan to refocus our system on what matters most.

It is our government that believes most strongly, as a matter of principle, that education needs to ensure that as a child goes through their learning journey they master the skills that will set them up for success.

The fact that Dyslexia Canada spoke at the announcement—about a third of children graduating with a physical graduation diploma, and yet, one third of those kids are still not at the tiered level or meeting the standards of their age. They’re leaving our high school system not feeling prepared. That is not a reflection on students in Canada. It’s not a reflection on kids in this province. It is exclusively a reminder that the systems around our kids need to be better, and to lift our standards and the ambitions of our young people.

Over the past days, the parliamentary assistant and I announced a new plan with new investment focused on the fundamentals of reading, writing and math, by announcing $175 million—a new investment and the largest of its kind in the nation—specifically tailored and focused on boosting literacy rates.

We took the advice of the Ontario Human Rights Commission in the monumental Right to Read report that urged the government to reform the former Liberal government’s language curriculum that was failing so many kids, particularly in the special education community.

We accepted their advice to impose and introduce a standard screener of all children in senior kindergarten and grades 1 and 2 to make sure that they are at the literacy rates they should be at, particularly recognizing, Madam Speaker, as you will know, that if we don’t intervene at the front end of a young person’s life, it could create long-term impacts, adversity and, frankly, roadblocks to their success. Illiteracy costs the economy billions. It imposes great levels of anxiety, mental health affliction, a lack of confidence, and a lack of ability to get those good jobs.

We see the total connection point, the causal connection of having strong literacy rates and mathematical competence with success in life, success in the job market. I think those are consequential, foundational elements of our publicly funded school system. And it is our government and our Premier who are committing to boosting those levels and to refocusing the system on what matters most.

We unveiled a plan, endorsed by the Ontario Human Rights Commission in the Right to Read report, and I hope all members of the House will stand with the government to ensure every child is able to meet the standards of literacy, reading and writing, both in grades 3 and 6 and upon their graduation years down the road.

We also announced a plan to boost math. A core part of the legislation and the investment is associated on the understanding that financial literacy and broader numeracy skills are foundational in this modern workplace. Many employers, many job creators, many families, many parents, will say their kids are not at the level they should be at. Again, it’s not a reflection of the child’s willingness to work hard. It’s a reflection of the system’s inability to inspire these kids and, frankly, educate them in the competencies that are required.

We unveiled a plan—over $70 million of investments to double the amount of math coaches in Ontario schools. We are literally ensuring every single school board in Ontario has one senior lead that is singularly charged with ensuring outcomes improve in school boards; that training with staff is better standardized; that evidence-based best practices that are high-impact, and, frankly, lift standards are introduced systematically across school boards; and accountability with the government.

What we’re going to be asking school boards to do is to tie student outcomes to their own board improvement plans, connecting the dots, creating real accountability for boards and opportunities for young people to believe again that if they work hard they will be able to succeed.

Madam Speaker, we know that there are 15,000 students every year, almost 11% of kids, who do not graduate in Ontario. It is an example of our “why” today—that we can lift our ambitions, our standards and our expectations for our system to do better for kids. It is the crux of why we exist, of why this legislation exists. We’re trying to challenge the status quo. We are trying to send a signal throughout the system that we have to step it up to serve our kids. We know the non-graduates in this province have a 5% higher rate of unemployment, a 13% lower rate of labour market participation, lower incomes than the provincial average. We know that graduation is a key to success for so many kids.

Some school boards have consistently lagged behind on the key student performance indicators: elementary EQAO assessments; secondary EQAO assessments in grade 9; graduation rates; student attendance—all of these fundamentals.

I believe and I hope all of us believe that we can do better, and it is possible to do better if we work harder and smarter and work together in the interests of serving our children.

That’s why we devised this plan. It’s why we brought forth, if it’s passed, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act—to directly respond to the challenges in a modern country; to ensure our systems perform better, more efficiently; and that the unifying mission of the ministry, of the school board, of a school, is the advancement of skills that matter to the success of a young person. We’re bringing forth this legislation in response to an overwhelming desire by parents to see the system of education refocused on what matters most.

We brought this plan, really, premised on consequential pillars: to ensure more accountability, more transparency for parents; better governance and leadership of our school board trustees and administrators; a commitment to build schools faster and to better use our real estate portfolio for the needs of our children; and an overwhelming refocus on driving better outcomes, especially in areas like reading, writing and math, graduation rates and attendance rates.

This is possible through legislation—the first time in roughly 25 years, in a generation, that a government has had the commitment to overhaul and modernize legislation that clearly was not meeting the needs of children today.

The first principle of our action is to deal with accountability and transparency. We know that some school boards are not always working towards the same priorities. This bill, if passed, will establish a provincial priorities framework to ensure all school boards across the province are focused on student achievement. This is the anchor of this legislation. It is the capacity for the democratically elected government of the people of Ontario to be able to set binding student achievement priorities on school boards.

The purpose of education is to build skills, to make sure children are able to go through with confidence in their education system, knowing that they have the competencies relevant and necessary in the labour market and in higher learning and wherever their path will take them in life.

I believe having the authority to set out a clear, unambiguous commitment to student achievement, to higher grad rates, to higher success rates in reading, writing and math, higher attendance rates—this is an ambitious plan to lift standards and outcomes, and it allows the minister to send a signal to school boards that “these priorities shall be your priorities.” Student achievement has to be the crux of what we do.

The parliamentary assistant, Patrice Barnes, former trustee, often spoke to me in her former life—before getting elected as a member of provincial Parliament—as a trustee, about the necessity for student achievement to be at the centre of what government does, and too many kids were falling behind, as a consequence, when we weren’t focused on achievement.

So this plan repatriates power and focus back to the people, to parents, and to the mission of lifting up the skills necessary that we think are critical for these young people.

We require school boards, for the first time, to meet with parents in the development of a board improvement plan. This is about creating some metric where we can measure success, measure improvement and progress associated with this bill. Many parents say it’s great to set out standards, but how do we ensure that this new priority of student achievement is codified and implemented on the ground?

Well, we’re now going to be imposing a requirement for school boards to meet with their parent communities and other stakeholders and voices in their education system to develop a board improvement plan that is directly responsive to the provincial priorities on student achievement. The mission of the bill is to refocus our education system on what actually matters most: on boosting reading, writing and math; on building very socially and emotionally intelligent leaders who are ready for the jobs of tomorrow. But we can’t do that unless we master the basics.

And EQAO data is a compelling, relevant data point that should define a problem we all agree with: The status quo is unacceptable. We have to do better. So the board improvement plan will create a healthy level of accountability. You develop it with your community, you post it publicly, and the ministry will now be able to benchmark success according to adherence to those provincial priorities and student outcomes. Let that be the guide that moves us forward as school boards actually improve on the ground.

It is a healthy reform with a healthy level of accountability, necessary to get Ontario’s kids back on track on the fundamental skills.

If we find school boards are struggling to act in this area, we have tools, of course, in place to take action, to make sure that those school boards refocus on what matters. But I do believe that the school boards will work with us to strengthen accountability and outcomes. I think they’ve heard from parents loud and clear in all regions of this province that that is what matters most.

So we’re moving forward with a plan to strengthen accountability, to require boards to be more transparent, as well, about how they spend our money.

We’ve increased investment in every single metric that matters most. In the most recent Grants for Student Needs, the funding vehicle for school boards, yesterday we expanded mental health—it’s over $100 million to date. We started, under the former Liberals—at the peak of spending under Premier Wynne—at $18 million per year in schools. It is today over $100 million of investment in student mental health—a compassionate, necessary investment to support kids who are facing great adversity in our schools and in our society.

That is the type of investment we’re making, and it’s part of the accountability mission we want—to see more kids be successful and supported and positive in our school system.

Madam Speaker, we are including enhanced school board financial reporting on the funding and spending—planned and actuals. We want to make sure people know exactly where tax dollars are being expended, because we often hear of curiosity for where all this money goes. I think we can build confidence by being more transparent with the people we represent, by letting them know exactly what we’re spending and where we’re spending it. We’re also going to require and create authority to limit board participation in activities that could potentially place them at financial risk.

School boards, as you know, play a significant role, as well, in the delivery of child care. Speaker, 64% of our child care spaces are located in schools. To continue to implement the Canada federal agreement where we’ve reduced rates this year at 50%—roughly $8,000 to $10,000 in savings per year—we need to have a better plan to collaborate with school boards and municipalities on where they’re going to build child care, where they’re going to build schools.

Currently, there is no requirement for a school board to work with the municipality on where the next school will be built, often creating conflict. The municipality will suggest they know best. They are permitting the growth. The school board will suggest they know best. They’re looking at student enrolment forecasts.

How do we marry these silos and make them work together in the interests of building schools where the growth is at?

This bill actually requires school boards to work with—in good faith, at the front end—municipalities to build communities together and to stop the siloization that frustrates all of us who think, “How is it possible in 2023 that you could have these two coexisting governing systems that never really spoke to each other, except through petitions?” We need more collaboration, and this bill will actually require that integration, which is good for development, good for planning communities where families can live and thrive.

We’re also ensuring a more seamless transition to provide to children and families from care to school. That’s part of this bill—the recognition that the education system plays a fairly critical role in child care. We’re going to continue to invest and work with them to build spaces. We’re on track to build 86,000 new spaces over the coming years to meet the needs of families, because of our reduced child care fees for the people of Ontario.

We’ve also spoken about the skilled trades in this bill, to accelerate pathways for some kids who may not graduate in Ontario. For roughly 11% of children today, notwithstanding that the graduation rate has increased from roughly 85% to 89% under our Progressive Conservative government—a historic achievement that was done because of the hard work of our staff and our schools, our parents and government working together, investing in areas that matters most. But we still have kids who may not graduate. I believe in providing a path to a credential that leads them to a good job.

It’s why we are looking at accelerating apprenticeship pathways into the skilled trades directly for some students, starting in grades 11 and 12. This bill enables that transition.

When it comes to leadership and governance of our school boards, 700 elected trustees in the province of Ontario are responsible for $32 billion of our publicly funded school system. I want to believe all of us accept the premise that we need to see more consistency in the skills and the training of school board trustees and a better provincial standard when it comes to the ethical conduct and the governance of our school board trustees and the code of conduct that really manages that.

Madam Speaker, we all know of examples where this dysfunction has manifested, impacting children. Perhaps the most compelling example was in Peel, a school board that faced years of broad-level systematic dysfunction of their trustees—often interpersonal beefs that triumphed over the interests of children. Kids—often the most marginalized, racialized, most at risk—were the ones who paid the biggest price. That is an unacceptable reality for any observer. It was why, as minister, I intervened for the first time in this province’s and country’s history to supervise a school board on that basis.

Broad-level “dysfunction,” “racism,” “incompetence,” across the board”—these are not my words. An independent assessment was done, and then I moved and acted to intervene. But that shouldn’t be our reality. I was essentially, in addition to being your Minister of Education, effectively managing or directing a school board in Peel. That is not a reflection of how a well-functioning system should run.

We recognize we need to do better when it comes to creating a dispute resolution mechanism with trustees, because what I’ve also found is this increasing propensity of some trustees to level vexatious complaints against others, often paralyzing the ability of school boards to get on with the business of student achievement. Again, going back to the cult of personality, ideological schisms that exist within governments that often manifest with school boards spending 90% of their time doing a lot of counterproductive work—“work” is probably the wrong word, but a lack of focus on what matters most.

That’s not a comment on all trustees, not a comment on all school boards. It’s a comment on problems that exist far too often and a desire to work with—we’ve consulted with school board trustees for well over a year on the development of a new code of conduct. We’ve done so with the aim to build public trust, because it has been eroded in many school boards in this province. Trustees’ disputes also detract from the attention of their primary duty: student achievement.

In the bill, we propose that all trustees would have to undergo governance training. They have to understand how to be effective, professional leaders in their space, focused on achievement, and we are going to require all boards of trustees to adopt a provincial code of conduct, to finally standardize a code of conduct that didn’t exist. Some boards have—they pretty much all have them—differing codes of conduct.

Madam Speaker, perhaps you are best positioned in this House to speak about the governance of effective bodies and bodies that actually drive outcomes.

The aim of a provincial code of conduct is to create some sort of standardization of the system, to create an impartial process, led by the integrity commissioner, that would resolve trustee code of conduct issues and complaints in a fair and timely manner. I believe many of these complaints often paralyze the business of focusing on students.

Madam Speaker, this legislation will also introduce higher standards and, frankly, expectations with respect to our directors of education. To support them in their work, we’re proposing to enhance the standardized training for directors and other senior board officers. The bill will create authority to make performance appraisal frameworks for all directors of education because, as you may know, right now there are 72 performance assessment appraisals in the province—no standardization, no central sort of overarching vision for an effective, accountable system.

As people get to know more about the gaps that exist in Ontario’s education system, it probably is enraging them to think, “How was that not done years ago?” Why were consecutive governments, former Liberals—one referred to the Premier as the “education Premier,” a self-imposed name. But how did all that time pass and yet there wasn’t an improvement to the systems around our kids? It’s a fair question, and it’s part of the reason why we’re here today: to fill those gaps, to improve the system and, frankly, to lift our standards in education to become more mission-focused on what matters to families, and that is the achievement of their kids.

So the imposition of a code of conduct, the creation of an independent authority through the integrity commissioners, will allow for our school boards to focus, as set out, on provincial priorities dealing with achievement.

We’ve also made a commitment in this legislation to maximize our real estate portfolio. School boards have roughly a value of $64 billion in real estate. We are literally one of the largest real estate holders in the country, and yet currently the ministry does not have the authority or the knowledge of the inventory available—what is being used for schools, as in what schools are being used for learning versus schools that are sitting empty, schools that are being used as administrative buildings or storage facilities or being rented to a wreck business down the street.

Just as an asset manager, that is a problem in itself. We need to understand the portfolio we have and what is available to put to use for the benefit of educational purposes.

Madam Speaker, in the announcement made yesterday we committed to investing $550 million every single year to build new schools in this province. The Auditor General recommends 2.5% of funding for renewal—maintenance funding to keep our schools up to date. This budget confirms that investment again of $1.3 billion. That is a reflection of a commitment to make sure modern schools are built and schools are updated.

In fact, we have 100 schools being built as we speak and 200 in the pipeline today in small towns and big cities everywhere. We are refocusing on building schools, and the impetus for this bill is to get it done quicker. It should not take a decade of time to build a school in this province, and yet, here in Toronto—a compelling case study how not to do it—it takes literally a decade. Many members opposite represent urban centres. You all have examples of this. In rural Ontario, the same can be true. The bottom line is, no matter where the application, the problem, I think, resonates with most parents.

Why does it take seven, eight, nine, 10, 12 years to build, often, a standard modulated build? It’s honestly ludicrous. Time is money, because every single week I’m having to go back and reauthorize an inflationary increase to a school that cost $15 million a year ago, but now they’re asking for $2 million or $3 million more because of inflation, because of time. So if we could reduce the backlog and make the system more seamless, we could be more responsible with the tax dollar, but even beyond the fiscal imperative, we can get a school built in a community faster. That’s the point of the bill.

I find the element of our capital system to be almost of an archaic nature. The legislation will enable, for the first time, the authority of a school board to do joint-use projects. There’s roughly 40 of 5,000 schools joint-used in our history. That requires an exemption from the minister—a massive level of bureaucracy. It’s a headache, frankly. It’s annoying for the school boards to have to go through the process of working with all these entities because the systems have been designed to make it difficult, because it’s such a static, siloed nature of our bureaucracies.

We don’t have someone with a lens to break down those silos. This bill materially does that. It takes a global lens of how the tax dollar should be extended, and that would create greater value and better outcomes for kids.

Madam Speaker, I say this because the bill includes the capacity to streamline and reduce the timelines. In fact, the Ministry of Education, through a lean review, cut down the approvals by 15%. But even still, I would submit that’s not enough. Speak to parents today in any community, small or large. They will say it isn’t working as efficiently as it should be. My job, as minister, is not to defend the status quo.

I would submit that members opposite should not be defending the status quo; we should serve as a challenge function to all governments and those around our kids to step up and do better and produce a more efficient result for children. So this bill does that. It allows for the acceleration of school builds. It allows us to meet our immigration targets set by the federal government. Speaker, 300,000 people are moving in next year; 300,000 are moving in the year after, so we need to build schools faster.

We’re going to have to reimagine how we do business when it comes to building in this province and eliminate the roadblocks to progress.

We are going to take a few steps that I think are going to be very, very positive. The first is, we’re going to focus on building modern schools faster by delivering and better utilizing school capacity and enhancing accountability around this.

We’re going to establish a provincial framework of property that is deemed excess by school boards to meet current and future pupil accommodation needs, which essentially means we’re going to come up with a system that understands where the growth is happening and where the corresponding capital investments need to be.

We’ll work with school boards to end the territorialism that does exist in school boards—not everywhere, but we all know of examples. We may not be prepared to share them, but I know all of us are aware of examples where the public school board is looking for a school. They have faced explosive growth in Ottawa, just to illustrate an example. The Catholic school board, which has a school that is empty—or perhaps rent it to some organization in the community.

They have a school down the street, but that school board, because of the nature of the competitive systems within our education system, will not sell that excess school that they haven’t used in a decade to the other board. The taxpayer paid for the school. I’m not suggesting repurposing it for some other interest. There has to be some entity that forces the hands of school boards, to say, “You’ve got to work together. Kids are sitting in portables or being bused out of town.

This is actually about the quality of life of our children, so stop creating these territorial cultures and put children first.” So in my job as minister, this legislation will enable my ability to say to a school board, “That’s a problem we’re not going to stand by anymore. You will sell your excess school to the board that needs it.”

There are French schools in this province, massive growth—it’s a great story of enrolment increasing. They don’t have land. You know, Madam Speaker, the history of how French school boards were developed. They didn’t get a lot of legacy schools in the public and Catholic system. That’s one of their big issues of contention. We have to keep up with the needs of our French-language commitment. We are constitutionally obliged to do so, and we will.

It resonates with me when a board comes to me, saying, “We need a school.” They have schools—often, half a dozen schools within a small community—and there isn’t a commitment to sell them. That’s going to end in this bill. We’re going to make sure schools are sold for educational purposes.

There’s a process established to be clear. The first step is, the school boards themselves have to say if there is need for the school or not. If there’s not a need, the process would then force them to offer it to the coterminous board. So in this example, the public school selling the school would have to offer it to the Catholic and French school. They get the first right of refusal.

If there is absolutely no need for educational purposes for any of the school boards involved—the original landholder, the other boards—then it can be provided, through the Ministry of Infrastructure, to our provincial priorities list, which can include things like long-term care. If they don’t also need it, then, of course, it would go on the market. That’s the existing process, frankly, of how to dispose of a school, of an asset.

So this is not really revolutionary, but it’s following that process—offer it firstly for academic purposes, for student purposes, for learning; offer it to coterminous boards; offer it to other provincial priorities, like long-term care; and then, should none of them exercise their rights to put their hand up, saying, “I need that school. I want to build on that land a long-term care for a compelling reason to support an aging population,” then it could be sold in the public market. That’s just common sense.

I think we should all really focus ourselves on doing better when it comes to building schools faster and allowing for more innovation in the sector. The elements of our system are so archaic, even joint-use projects—there are brilliant examples in the province of joint use between a school board partnering with a YMCA or a municipality. There are some awesome examples in Ontario of those joint projects. The problem is, statistically, they’re so insignificant. Of 5,000 schools—4,800-plus schools—we have 40, since Confederation, joint-use schools.

I wouldn’t say that is a number that is reflective of many families’ interests, which is marrying good recreational infrastructure with a local school.

Imagine in our communities a school that is partnered with a community centre or a recreational facility or a YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, whatever, that has pools and ice rinks—from an equity perspective, access to recreational infrastructure that many kids may not get in their communities or at home or certainly in their schools. This is good for kids. It may economize and save some money; that’s not the driving force here. We’re putting $550 million. We have a $14-billion capital plan that’s committed in our budget. That money is there.

But I just think if we could do more and provide better learning experiences and learning spaces, that’s a good thing for kids. So let’s enable school boards—let’s send a culture through this bill that that is now permissible; in fact, it’s actually encouraged.

Out-of-the-box thinking: We’re going to need to think about how we build in vertical communities. I approved the first elementary school in a condo down in lower Lakeshore some two years ago. It was somewhat comical that, in 2022, the government of the day builds a school in a condo, when we know there’s intensification happening. We know young families, that’s probably—let me rephrase that: That’s often where many young families will start. If they’re able to attain homes, they will start within their condos and then perhaps move out of that.

But they will have their first or second child often in an urban centre, in a condo. They deserve a school too. They shouldn’t be bused 92 minutes to some other part of town. We could build schools and rethink and reimagine how we build more efficiently in the province. And we did that. We did that in an urban centre as a case study that we can build with community, developments and municipalities to deliver education close to home. That’s a good outcome, and this bill will encourage more of that.

It also will reduce the planning time, and it will give me the ability, as the minister, to require boards to use certain designs and plans when constructing, renovating and making additions to schools—essentially, a catalogue of options to better modulate the building of schools and make it happen quicker.

Madam Speaker, I also have reaffirmed my commitments to protect the integrity of small towns in this province. We know there are many parents—some in this House today—who advocated strongly against the former government’s systematic school closure policy. It was a legacy that was quite indefensible: 600 schools closed. And it’s not the concept of closing underperforming schools that offends me; it’s the concept of closing a single school in a community, the only school in a community, that it, in effect, guarantees the end of the viability of that town or village or community for economic purposes.

When you remove a school or child care, you remove the heartbeat of a small town. The lack of concern for that implication, I think, is the impetus for why we’ve maintained a school board moratorium to date, and that will stay in place until we have resolved long-standing concerns around the economic impacts—a true evaluation of the real impact of closing a school in a small town of this province. In the meantime, this bill focuses on building them faster. We can all unite behind that, I hope.

Another component that I think is prudent for me to share today, moving beyond the capital side, is the idea to strengthen a zero-tolerance approach in the Ontario College of Teachers. First off, we’ve got to process teachers quicker. In BC, if you’re an international teacher from London, England and you want to come and teach in Canada, it takes you 40 to 50 days to get certified; yet our regulator, the Ontario College of Teachers, takes 110 days. We can do something better. It’s just a recognition that we have to create a healthy level of pressure on all the entities in the ecosystem of education to step up.

Why does it take two or three times longer to certify a teacher, when I’m hearing from school boards that they lack access to those qualified staff? Well, then get on with it. Work harder and smarter and produce a better outcome that meets the needs of the labour market and our school system today—so I’m imposing mandatory dates that it will take to certify. If they can do it in BC, we can do it in this province. And I know the school board system and many others in the education system support that.

The other element is, how do we send a signal of zero tolerance against some of the most heinous and, often, the most serious of crimes against children? It has to be said, our educators, I think, care deeply about their kids—a true affection and commitment. They go above and beyond. I celebrate their work. I thank them for their work. But like in any profession, there will be those who bring reputational harm to their profession. Thus, there needs to be a bona fide, zero-tolerance, strong regulator in place, to remove individuals who pose a potential risk to a child.

This bill, through legislative force, will require any teacher charged and convicted of a serious Criminal Code offence dealing with, for example, sexual crimes against a child to receive a lifetime ban. They will never be able to teach in the province of Ontario again. Their names will now be publicly posted to a registry. I believe it’s in the provincial interest that you know if your child’s teacher was charged, convicted or associated with a serious crime. We will require those individuals to pay for the victim supports for the children and their families, including retroactive examples of this.

And, obviously, we will continue, as we did last year for the first time, to mandate that every single teacher in the Ontario College of Teachers and the College of Early Childhood Educators has to go through sexual abuse prevention training. We did that this past September, which I think is going to make a big difference.

The message in this bill is zero tolerance when it comes to the safety of children, zero tolerance when it comes to those who believe they want to bring harm to a child. I cannot reaffirm the overwhelming sense of gratitude to the staff—these are good people. But among good people, there can be examples of those who are predatory and should not be near a child. The old system was not working particularly well in Ontario. This sends a signal: If you dare act upon a vulnerable child in a school in any criminal way, there will be real consequences, and professionally you’ll never be able to teach in the province again. We’re going to do that. We’re going to speed up the processing times.

There are so many elements to the bill, but I want to get through just one or two more quick points before I turn it over to the parliamentary assistant.

Another element that is necessary is the curriculum. It took the former Liberals almost 15 years to update the math curriculum; 13 years to update the science curriculum. The global economy changed around us—AI came on board; we had massive changes in technology, in innovation—and the curriculum was static, as if the government had no regard of the day for how labour market needs must connect with what we teach our kids in the classroom. And then we wondered aloud, “How is it that kids have such a high rate of youth unemployment?” It was because they weren’t learning skills they can monetize in the economy.

They weren’t learning anything relevant to where the puck was going when it comes to future innovations of the jobs of tomorrow.

So this bill mandates, through statutory power, that every minister, whomever he or she may be, will have to modernize curriculum on a regularized basis to make sure it meets the needs of job creators and, more importantly, it actually helps kids get a good job, own a home, and achieve in our country.

Finally, we are placing a great deal of emphasis in the Education Act on helping to ensure, when it comes to Ontarians with disabilities, that the language in the legislation is reflective and inclusive. We’ve heard from our stakeholders from the French community about the need to amend the language speaking to special education in the French version, so we’re amending the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, because words matter too. We want young people to feel respected and included and celebrated in our school boards, so we’re going to make that amendment as well.

Overall, our aim is to lift outcomes, lift ambitions, better introduce and usher in more accountability and transparency to empower the parents’ voice and to refocus our system on what fundamentally matters: the mastery of reading, writing, math and STEM disciplines to build leaders ready to take on the jobs of tomorrow, who can graduate with a competitive advantage in this country.

It is a great honour to serve as minister, and I’m grateful for all the partners involved to make this bill a reality: my staff, our stakeholders, all parliamentarians who have spoken out on a desire for better for children. Hopefully, with the support of this House, this bill will allow us to improve a system that is so desperately in need of reform.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): The member for Ajax to continue.

Ms. Patrice Barnes: It is an honour to stand before you today, as the parliamentary assistant to Ontario’s education minister, to support the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act. I want to thank the minister for sharing his time with me this morning to highlight how these proposed reforms will help improve student outcomes for Ontario students and support their lifelong success.

As a former trustee, an MPP and a mom, I know how profoundly important education is.

I’m very proud of the work our team has done and continues to do to support Ontario’s education system.

As Minister Lecce has already outlined, these reforms are designed to ensure Ontario’s education system is focused on improving student outcomes across our province’s 72 district school boards, while preparing students for the jobs of the future. At the same time, we want them to be ready to adapt as the world changes around them.

We need to ensure our education partners are held accountable, their practices are transparent, and the entire sector is focused on the same provincial priorities; namely, student achievement, especially in fundamental skills like reading, writing and math, because at the heart of our public education system is a shared responsibility to ensure all students and children can succeed and reach their full potential.

By proposing the changes to the Education Act, the Ontario College of Teachers Act, the Early Childhood Educators Act, and subsequent amendments to the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, we are making it clear that the success of Ontario’s students and children is our number one priority.

As a former school board trustee proudly serving Ajax students and parents in the Durham District School Board for nearly a decade, I firmly support the reforms to enhance governance and leadership. I can speak from first-hand experience on how important the role of a school board trustee is. They have the important responsibility of serving as their community advocate for public education. They’re required, under the Education Act, to carry out the responsibilities in a manner that assists the board in fulfilling its duties.

A trustee must maintain a focus on student achievement and well-being, as well as participate in making decisions that benefit the board community they serve. At all times, they must be focused on being the voices of the parents who elected them and represent the interests of their constituents. It is not an easy job. Oftentimes, many people don’t know what a trustee does.

Speaker, many trustees do amazing work to support and advocate for students. They champion programs and changes in their communities that lead to phenomenal student success. We often don’t see these amazing stories on the news, but we know that they do the work. And oftentimes, we have others that cause disruption within our schools.

Ontario is large and diverse. As such, the job of a trustee varies widely to meet local needs. But there’s significant inconsistency across the province when it comes to trustees and their training and skills. Discussions with our trustee partners and a public survey showed strong support for provincial standards when it comes to trustee codes of conduct. I’m happy to say these proposed reforms will establish this, which ultimately will set trustees up for success in supporting our students and our boards.

Speaker, I support the proposed implementation of standardized mandatory training for all trustees on a provincial level to ensure they have the knowledge and skills necessary for this very important job. And because Ontario is a vast place, we need provincial requirements for trustee codes of conduct, which sets out clear expectations in how trustees fulfill their duties. It’s unfortunate that we have seen some trustees shut down respectful parents who were simply offering views which the board disagreed with.

By clearly establishing this standard code of conduct, this legislation seeks to ensure all trustees clearly understand their roles and obligations to their constituents—that they understand what governance is.

And the same goes for directors of education. Directors of educations are leaders in our school communities, but right now, there are very few criteria or requirements for a candidate to assume this critical role. A director is effectively a CEO. It is precisely for this reason that I support establishing government authority to set out a consistent performance appraisal framework to support boards in assessing director of education performance. This would help ensure greater consistency across the province, and that boards are supported in meeting their duties and delivering on provincial priorities.

In addressing the difference we’re seeing in school board performance and renewing our focus on student achievement, we will help more students and families in Ontario to succeed, especially in our marginalized communities. The results are better outcomes for students and children across the province. That is why I believe consistency in trustee training, establishing provincial standards in trustee codes of conduct, as well as a future, standardized performance appraisal framework for directors of education will improve student success in Ontario.

And just as school boards will benefit from greater consistency, so will educators. It is important to have a consistent, evidence-based approach to teaching and learning in math, literacy, special education, mental health, and technology courses. This will ensure students across the province will be able to gain the skills and knowledge they need to take their next steps in life. So we’ll make sure our educators have the tools and knowledge they need to help our students to succeed to maintain Ontario’s competitive edge in the labour market.

Additionally, our proposed amendments will also aim to increase fair and effective disciplinary processes for teachers and registered early childhood educators that support child and student safety. Specifically, we’re taking action to ensure that there’s zero tolerance for educators involved in a sexual offence.

We’re also supporting students who have been victims of sexual abuse by expanding therapy counselling funding provided by respective regulatory colleges to any student victim of alleged sexual abuse. This is a further demonstration of our commitment to protecting our students.

Speaker, we are proud that Ontario continues to be among the top-performing education systems nationally and internationally. However, we know that there is variability in how our education system performs across the province. As Minister Lecce previously mentioned, some of our school boards have struggled with key student performance indicators including elementary EQAO assessments, secondary EQAO assessments, graduation rates, and student attendance. As a former trustee and as a parent, I know we must do better—it is my condition that we need to do not just pockets of excellence, but excellence across our boards.

Moreover, parents are telling us that they feel powerless and out of touch, with limited knowledge and ability to affect the education system for their children. It is one of the main reasons that I ran as trustee. I had a problem that I could not navigate with our system. It was cumbersome and unresponsive to the need as a parent.

We have seen many organizations that are up to support parents just to navigate the education system. That is why we are proposing to establish consistent requirements for school boards to share information with parents. As I mentioned earlier, this would be both in how they manage Ontario’s historical education investment, as well as information and updates on student outcomes, and progress around student achievement in fundamental areas. This would help parents measure success right across the province.

It’s important, because if this legislation is passed, it will establish consistent information and approaches to student learning, so students will benefit from similar approaches to instruction and learning no matter where they live. That consistency is a big focus for the changes we are seeking to make, because where people live should never determine the impact or quality of their kids’ education.

To help ensure students have the support they need, this legislation proposes an amendment to the Education Act providing authority to the minister to issue binding policies and guidelines on student mental health and well-being. This would bring more consistency to the delivery of mental health education and services in all boards across the province.

As the minister touched on earlier, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act would grant him the authority to establish formal guidelines for a transparent and predictable review process. It would ensure the curriculum is not only reviewed regularly, but ensure students are prepared for success at every level of their lives and for jobs in the future.

It is also an exciting day for our government and the broader education sector at large, as we announce education funding for the 2023-24 school year, with a focus on getting back to basics and developing strong fundamental skills and knowledge. Our government is investing $693 million more in public education for the next school year as part of the Grants for Student Needs and Priorities and Partnerships Fund. That’s a 2.7% increase in the base GSN funding from last year, which, by the way, was already a record-setting investment.

This new record-setting investment, announced today, aligns with our proposed reforms, building on the work currently under way, including our new targeted supports for mental health, math and literacy. This investment will support nearly a thousand more educators, which follows Sunday’s exciting news where our government made a $180-million investment to support the development of fundamental skills in reading and mathematics. That investment will also support nearly 1,000 educators, meaning that over the past few days our government has made an investment of nearly 2,000 more teachers.

This reform, proposed in the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, will be supported by targeted initiatives including $140 million to help students struggling with the fundamentals of reading, writing and math. Almost $40 million will be provided over the next three years for summer mental health supports, to support the continuity of care for students with mental health concerns, and almost $20 million for the hiring of additional paraprofessional staff, educational assistants, and custodians to enhance student safety and maintain cleaning standards.

Under the GSN funding formula, school boards in Ontario’s publicly funded education system are receiving the largest investment in education in our province’s history.

In addition, the Priorities and Partnerships Fund investment of $473.6 million will enable school boards and third parties to undertake important curricular and extracurricular initiatives that promote student success, development and leadership skills.

Our goal is to support students with help they need.

As we move forward, we need a strong education system with a unified focus to ensure all students, no matter where they are in Ontario, are ready for the demands of the future economy.

Since our government took office, we have worked to get our publicly funded education system back on track and back into the hands of those it impacts the most: our students, their parents, and educators.

To conclude, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act is another example of our government’s efforts to get our kids back on track. If passed, it would not only help to ensure students and children in Ontario are equipped with the skills they need to succeed, but it would also help make certain we continue to have one of the best education systems in the world for years to come.

The proposed amendments to the Education Act, Ontario College of Teachers Act, Early Childhood Educators Act, and the subsequent amendments to the Ontarians with Disabilities Act make it clear that our government is focused on one thing: improving student success.

We know our teachers are among the very best in the world. We know they do a great job, and we want to ensure that we continue to develop supports and resources that will help them remain leaders in their field. The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act would support educators to be better prepared at teaching the fundamentals of math, literacy, special education, mental health, and technology to help set up our students for success now and in the future.

We realize—and we’ve heard from parents and from our job market—that our students are leaving school not prepared for the jobs. We have over 200,000 jobs available, and our youth unemployment is still very high, and so this is why our government wants to focus and continues to focus on student success.

I look forward to the support of all members of this House on this very important piece of legislation that continues to support and set our kids up for success.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): We’ll move to questions.

Ms. Chandra Pasma: The Grants for Student Needs background documents that were released yesterday revealed that thanks to this government’s persistent underfunding of education, our high schools now have, on average, four fewer teachers than they did in 2018. What the minister has announced in the past couple days is one new educator for only about 20% of our schools in Ontario, $180 million—that’s less than half the amount of money the minister failed to get out the door the past year. This math is not mathing.

How does the minister believe that our kids are going to succeed at reading and writing when every single year he’s providing them with fewer supports instead of more?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I remind the speaker that it’s not lost on us that the NDP would have voted against the roughly 8,000 new staff hired since 2018 when we came to power. They would have opposed the last increase of $690 million, a 10% increase in the GSN over the last four years, 27% in the Ministry of Education relative to where we started in 2017-18 under the former Liberals.

The message we’re sending in this bill, through Sunday’s announcement, was the hiring of 2,000 front-line staff; specifically, 700 for literacy promotion, educators who specialize in reading; an additional 380 math educators; and then almost a thousand more for grades 7, 8, 9 and 10 destreaming courses—for grades 7 and 8, leading into the grade 9 destreaming and grade 10 to help with that transition out. That’s 2,000 more front-line educators, and the members can’t agree that that’s an incremental step forward to improving literacy in math. It’s odd that they’re not dealing with the substance of the bill that deals with improvements and reform and modernization.

I hope the member will declare a clear position if she and all New Democrats will vote for better when it comes to our school system in Ontario.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Next question?

Mr. Will Bouma: I wanted to ask the member from Ajax a question. It seems that just a few weeks ago, we were having a conversation about how much she cares about the education system in the province of Ontario. In fact, for those of you who don’t know, her concerns about education in the province of Ontario are exactly why she’s here. It’s such a personal thing for her.

I’m so excited, with our Minister of Education, to see the progress that we’re making for the benefit of the students in Ontario.

Again, there are too many things that I’m so excited about in this piece of legislation. But I wanted to ask her, as a mom and being a parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Education, what really is personal for her that’s such a huge step forward in this piece of legislation?

Ms. Patrice Barnes: Thank you very much for that question.

It’s the parental part. I know myself that, as a trustee, when I had a problem trying to figure something out for my child—the lack of response from the education system about my questions, the number of doors I knocked on and the phone calls I made, that I could not get a response. As a parent, when your child is in crisis and you cannot get a response from the education system—a system that you’re sending your child to for multiple hours a day—it really takes away from your sense of power as a parent, where you want to protect your child and you want to do the best for your child.

That is definitely one of the reasons why I ran as a trustee and why I’m pleased to serve with the minister in this portfolio.

We need to really move back to a child-centric education system, where parents also have a voice in that education—because it shows that when parents are involved in education, students do much better.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Next question.

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: As a trained educator myself, I have some concerns with Bill 98, because we see Bill 98 as legislation that has been developed without consultation with educators, with trustees, and without consultation with parents or with students. It’s another cart-before-horse exercise, which we’re so familiar with from the Liberals before. They made drastic changes to education without consulting the community.

The government has reached out and said that they will hold public consultations and allow public input by mid-May. Is this a public relations exercise, or will the government pass amendments to this legislation brought forward by the official opposition?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: We’re going to listen to the overwhelming message of parents who expect and demand the education system to be better. If you’ve knocked on a door in London, you would have heard the same message. If you spoke to any parent in the publicly funded school system, they acknowledge that there are good things happening. They also demand better for their children. That’s exactly why we brought forth this bill.

Is there a provision in this bill that you specifically oppose, so you—let’s decouple the consultation. Could you name an element that you specifically—

Interjection.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Yes, we’re going to use this opportunity to define the positions of the opposition.

Do you oppose building schools faster? Do you oppose certifying teachers quicker? Do you oppose using our real estate portfolio for educational purposes? Do you oppose having involvement in the faculties of education so we can set out what a modern educator looks like? Do you oppose accountability for school boards who expend billions of our dollars? Do you oppose an integrity commissioner to standardize complaints in the province? Name the issue you oppose.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Next question.

Ms. Laura Smith: I want to thank the minister and parliamentary assistant for their dedication to the students of Ontario.

Every day, parents receive information about their child’s school—I personally just received one about three seconds ago, about my son’s school. We know about the permission slips, the class updates and the requests to take

part in events. Yet one piece of information we don’t know about is how our child is performing at school.

The EQAO for 2021-22 assessment results showed weaker performance in the math scores across all grades and reading and writing in grade 3.

We know that this proposed legislation will include setting provincial educational priorities for boards.

How does requiring school boards to provide progress reports on provincial education priorities for students achieve support for student success?

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): The Minister of Education.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I’d much prefer the member from Ajax, actually, to respond, but thank you very much to the member from Thornhill for the question and her leadership as a parent and as an advocate for children in Thornhill and beyond.

The way by which we introduce a measurement tool is by ensuring that school boards have to create, through public engagement with families and parents, a board improvement plan. The anchor of this bill is not just words and aspirational mission statements; it is accountability to measure the improvement in our school boards by refocusing on student achievement. So every school board will produce, in consultation with parents, a board improvement plan. They will then post the plan publicly.

They will then be benchmarked against the success of implementing and adhering to provincial priorities when it comes to student achievement: better reading, writing and math scores; higher graduation rates; a higher level of attendance within our schools. These are all metrics that matter, and they will help children succeed.

So yes, we’re going to produce accountability in the system, but we’re also going to really move forward with a spirit of collaboration. I think if we all work together and we work smarter and harder, we can lift the standards and the ambitions of kids and give Ontario students the ability to reach their full potential, which we all desire.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): One last question.

Mr. Joel Harden: My question is for the minister.

I listened with rapt attention to 40 minutes of platitudes. But in the real world, at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, we know that there are $10 million to $13 million of cuts being proposed with this minister’s performance. In the real world, what that will mean for students with special needs, who are at the top of the chopping block, unfortunately, are fewer autism classes—at least two in the city of Ottawa. I want to mention Steve Legault, whose son, profoundly in need of supports, is only entitled to two hours of education a day.

That’s what the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, sadly, has had to do because of a lack of staff supports. And this minister, despite the rhetoric, is continuing a regime of austerity that will make the Legault family’s life worse.

So, Minister, I would like you to deliver a message to the Legault family. Are you going to make sure that you’re going to make the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board whole and they won’t have $10 million to $13 million of cuts, or aren’t you?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: We’re going to commit to families in Ottawa and all regions of the province that their funding will increase through an almost $700-million GSN funding enhancement—2.7% this school year—to meet the needs of children now and into the future.

We’re also going to hire 2,000 more front-line teachers. The member opposite calls it a platitude; I call it a person, a leader in front of a child, making a difference on reading, writing and math. That’s going to help.

I hope the members opposite will support us as we hire 2,000 additional front-line educators in schools across Ontario.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): We’re going to move to further debate.

Ms. Chandra Pasma: I am pleased to have the opportunity today to rise to speak to Bill 98, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act. This is another example of the government’s Orwellian naming of legislation.

I think a more apt title for it would have been the “micromanaging school boards as a distraction from the underfunding of schools act” or maybe the Wizard of Oz act—pay no attention to the minister behind the curtain—because what we have here is a spectacular refusal to take responsibility for the government’s failures on the education file and the many ways in which this government and this minister are shortchanging our kids. Instead, the government is trying to distract parents by blaming schools, by blaming teachers and by blaming school boards for his underinvestment.

And he’s desperately hoping that you don’t notice that, once again this year, education funding is not keeping up with inflation. Instead, he wants you to believe that if he blusters enough about basic skills, you won’t even notice that there’s no actual plan here to address the real reasons why our children are struggling.

He’s hoping you won’t pay any attention to rising class sizes, to cuts to teachers and education workers, to the lack of special education supports, to the absence of mental health supports in our schools, to the rising tide of violence in our schools because of the mental health crisis, to the burnout that teachers and education workers are experiencing because of the cuts and the conditions imposed on them by this government, to the impact of e-learning on our students and our school budgets.

This bill and the timing of it, along with the minister’s announcement on Sunday, is smoke and mirrors. It is sleight of hand. It’s saying, “Please look over here so that you don’t notice what we’re doing over here,” so that you disbelieve what you are seeing in our schools with your own eyes.

Are our children struggling? Yes, absolutely. Do they need and deserve better supports? Yes, absolutely. But let’s talk about why they’re struggling and who is actually responsible for what is happening and what the solutions are if you are not a minister who is obsessed with avoiding responsibility.

The past three years have been rough; there is no doubt about that—

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): I apologize to the member. I have to interrupt because it’s now 10:15.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

Wearing of pins

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): I will recognize the member for Newmarket–Aurora, who has a point of order.

M me Dawn Gallagher Murphy: Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to wear pins in recognition of April being the Canadian Cancer Society’s daffodil campaign.

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): MPP Gallagher Murphy has moved unanimous consent to allow MPPs to wear pins. Agreed? Agreed.

Members’ Statements

Yom ha-Shoah

Ms. Laura Smith: Today marks Yom ha-Shoah, the solemn commemoration of the brutal murder and discrimination endured by the Jewish people during the Holocaust. Almost every Jewish person out there has a story of a family member who endured the Holocaust, including myself.

There’s a park that borders my riding dedicated to a well-known Holocaust survivor, Felix Opatowski. At 15, Felix risked his life and smuggled goods out of Nazi ghettos in exchange for food for his family. After being deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in 1943, he joined the Polish underground as a runner and later helped plan an attempt to demolish the camp’s crematorium.

Not long ago, I attended the premiere for the Legacy Portrait Project documentary, where Holocaust survivors spoke of their experiences with their grandchildren. These conversations filmed in the documentary capture a moment in time, a glimpse into the individual triumph of each survivor, having prevailed over adversity by building families and finding love and joy after the Holocaust.

One in three students in Canada believe the Holocaust was fabricated or exaggerated, and 42% of students have explicitly seen an anti-Semitic incident in their school.

I’m looking forward to September of this year, when the new Holocaust curriculum will be officially launched in schools all over this province. Learning and listening to these stories of the Holocaust is crucial because those who fail—

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Thank you for the 90-second members’ statement.

Labour dispute

Mr. Jeff Burch: Over 100 developmental service workers at Community Living Port Colborne-Wainfleet, members of CUPE Local 2276, have been on strike since March 31. These are some of the workers we so proudly called heroes during the pandemic, who do the often-invisible work of helping people with disabilities live full, rich lives. The main issue is a staffing crisis that has led to members being stuck on shift, sometimes for up to 36 hours. They just want to get back to the bargaining table to secure a fair deal, but this employer has indicated they are in no rush to do so.

Untrained IT and admin workers are caring for residents, including administering medication and managing complex needs. They have hired agency workers, and these unqualified scabs are being paid substantially more than the workers were.

Chris Judge, one of the CUPE members I met on the picket line last week, says he has been stuck on shift so frequently that he misses his children, and hearing his kids upset or crying on the other end of the phone when he can’t come home is absolutely heartbreaking.

Judge and his co-workers aren’t fighting for a raise, although they deserve one. They’re fighting so their employer will respect them as complete people with families and lives. Their message: “We don’t do this to get rich, we do it because it’s meaningful. But our employer uses that against us. They push us to our limits. They take advantage. People are made to feel guilty for wanting to go home at the end of a shift when all we want is to do our jobs to the best of our ability and to have a life outside of work.”

I urge Community Living Port Colborne-Wainfleet, its board and management to get back to the bargaining—

The Acting Speaker (M me Lucille Collard): Thank you. We’re still on 90-second members’ statements.

Homelessness and assisted housing

Mr. Robert Bailey: It’s an honour to rise today to share with the Legislature important news from my riding of Sarnia–Lambton. I am extremely pleased to inform the members of this Legislature about a recent announcement that will provide much-needed new funding from the Ontario government for the province’s Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program. The county of Lambton will see an increase of over $2 million, bringing total Homelessness Prevention Program funding for this municipality to more than $5.6 million. That represents an increase of over 57% over the previous year’s funding.

I had the opportunity to speak with Valerie Colasanti, the general manager of Lambton county social services, about the importance of this critical new funding. Ms. Colasanti said the increased provincial investment would help Lambton county provide more support to keep people in their homes, and also allow the county to do more long-term planning.

The additional funding will be spent on initiatives such as helping those who live in shelters move into permanent homes. It could also help pay for mental health and harm reduction supports to keep precariously housed individuals in their homes. And it could also provide rent supplements to make rent more affordable.

All of us in Sarnia–Lambton are grateful for this important investment in our community.

Fire safety in northern and remote communities

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Meegwetch, Speaker. Good morning.

Remarks in Anishininiimowin.

This morning, I would like to share parts of an open letter from Norman Shewaybick from Webequie First Nation:

“On April 7, 2023, the home that my family has been occupying since 1999 burnt to the ground. It housed eight of us in total (and yes, we had working smoke alarms). Luckily, we were all able to self-rescue without injury before the fire spread. The house was engulfed in flames within 20 minutes. All we had was a measly fire extinguisher. We lost everything.

“Last fall, another fire left families homeless because there are no fire services to call.

“In Webequie, there is no fire service, there are no enforceable fire codes, there is no fire truck or a fire station.

“While we live in poverty, our lands are being valued in the trillions and mining is being aggressively pushed to promote Canada and Ontario’s future prosperity.

“It is preposterous that legislation like the Ontario Mining Act is fully applicable on our lands but not the Ontario fire protection act or Ontario fire code and that governments have not already found a way to work with ... First Nations in Ontario.”

There is so much more to Norman’s letter. I do not have enough time to share it all this morning, but it’s an important letter.

Meegwetch for listening.

Hockey championship

Mr. Ross Romano: Mr. Speaker, my favourite time of the year is the spring. I love the changing of the weather. I love seeing the sun come out and all the snow melting. Obviously, in Sault Ste. Marie, we do get our fair share of snow. It’s such a wonderful time of year, such an exciting time of year. This past week, our constituency week, was an absolutely glorious spring week in so many communities across the province. And Sault Ste. Marie was just outstanding. We had the snow melting. Kids were all outside playing. I couldn’t get my boys to come back inside by the middle of the day Sunday as the weather actually started to turn. Patios were open for business again. Things were outstanding.

This past week was a really great week in Sault Ste. Marie, with our brand new Northern Community Centre, which is a new twin-pad hockey arena that just opened a month ago. Already, we’ve had a few tournaments hosted in this new hockey arena that I’m really proud our government was able to help with the construction of. It was a really special tournament we hosted this past week, where our Soo Jr. Greyhounds under 15 AAA—northern Ontario hockey league champs, actually—hosted the Ontario Hockey Federation U15 AAA Ontario championships.

We had teams from across all of Ontario that travelled to the Soo for this five-day round robin tournament. We welcomed the York Simcoe Express, the Sudbury Nickel Capitals, the Thunder Bay Kings, the Vaughan Kings, the Elgin-Middlesex Canucks, and the Upper Canada Cyclones. Unfortunately, we fell short in the finals. But I’m really proud of the work our team put in, and I want to congratulate them on their success.

Tenant protection

Ms. Chandra Pasma: Speaker, 12 days ago, an ice storm knocked out power in parts of Ottawa once again, including large parts of Ottawa West–Nepean. For the second time in less than a year, the power was out for multiple days, with some residents waiting up to four days to have power restored. And once again, residents in apartments and condo buildings were trapped in their own homes for multiple days with no access to food, water or medical care.

Lynn Ashdown, who uses a wheelchair and has now been trapped three times in her home for multiple days, was so struck by the trauma of the situation that she threw up as soon as the power went out.

Residents of apartment buildings like the Minto-owned building at 1343 Meadowlands were once again reaching out to my office to plead for help as they were trapped without water and elevators.

These residents cannot fathom why the government would not support legislation that could easily prevent situations like this from happening.

It is absolutely shameful that the government is siding with big real estate investment trusts against people with disabilities, seniors, parents of small children, and others with mobility issues who are experiencing extreme hardship and trauma every time the power goes out.

We need legislation to protect the safety and human rights of every Ontarian in an emergency.

Shame on this government for making people like Lynn and the residents of 1343 Meadowlands suffer repeatedly.

Taxation

Mr. Graham McGregor: I rise this morning to stand up for every resident of Brampton North or Ontario who drives a car, heats their home, or shops at a grocery store. It’s on their behalf that I join my caucus colleagues in calling on the federal government to end their carbon tax.

For many families in my community—and this may come as a shock to downtown Toronto progressives—access to a car is a necessity, not a luxury. For families in my community and across Ontario, heating their home with natural gas is a necessity, not a luxury; grocery shopping to feed their family is a necessity, not a luxury. Maybe some progressives will argue that those families could stockpile blankets to stay warm in the winter or just shiver a lot. It would appear that those same progressives suggest that those families simply fork out more money for their groceries. They call it “doing our part,” or “civic duty.”

I’ll tell you what, Mr. Speaker. I’ll do my part by voting in favour of measures that cut taxes on gas, food and other necessities.

And it’s the civic duty for every member of this House to stand up for Ontario families and demand the federal government scrap this ridiculous carbon tax.

Road safety

Mr. Stephen Blais: Ontarians were recently blessed with a glimpse of what summer has in store, and while it didn’t last as long as any of us would have liked, it’s a very good reminder that warmer days are just around the corner.

Warm weather brings about a great deal of activity in our communities. Neighbours are gardening and spring cleaning. Cities are sweeping away the remnants of winter. The coming of spring and summer also means more people moving about their communities.

In Orléans last week, the roads and sidewalks were full of joggers and cyclists dusting off the cobwebs of winter and getting some much-needed exercise and vitamin D.

Soon the parks will be open to welcome our children, and more and more students will be walking or biking to school. With all of this activity, it’s important that we, as motorists, pay closer attention to our surroundings and that we remind ourselves to slow down through the neighbourhood, become mindful of the ball bouncing down the driveway into the road. As much as we might try to teach them, children won’t always be on their highest guard and know all of their surroundings. It’s incumbent upon us to be extra-vigilant around them.

Everybody should be encouraged to enjoy the outdoors and the wonderful opportunities spring and summer provide. Let’s make sure everybody can stay safe while they do it.

Police

Ms. Donna Skelly: A few weeks ago, I was privileged to join members of Hamilton Police Service on a ride-along. Unfortunately, many people in Hamilton are suffering from addictions issues, so I wasn’t surprised that all but one of the calls we responded to that night involved a person under the influence of either drugs or alcohol. What did surprise me was the level of compassion displayed by police when they interact with these people. Here are a few examples:

Police prevented a man who was dressed completely in dark clothing, walking straight down the middle of a dimly lit street, from being hit by a car. Police convinced him to go to a shelter and actually drove him there. He could have been killed that night and an unsuspecting driver’s life forever changed.

I watched as police, along with paramedics, de-escalated a family crisis involving a mother and a troubled youth. The youth was eventually calmed and taken to hospital for treatment.

I witnessed wellness checks of our homeless population and police handing out canned good to people who knew them by name.

But I also saw the dangerous side of policing. At the beginning of the shift, I had taken a selfie with a young rookie cop I knew, Marco Arif. By the end of that shift, he was off to hospital with serious facial injuries that he received during an altercation on the job.

I want to thank Constable Arif, Sergeant Scott Hamilton, and all of the women and men who work for Hamilton Police Service.

Now, more than ever, we need our police, and now, more than ever, they need our support.

Rosemer Enverga

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: I’m honoured to rise today to celebrate a strong community leader and a constituent in my riding of Scarborough–Rouge Park, Rosemer Enverga. Rosemer is a caring community leader and a force of nature who has inspired and touched the lives of many.

Rosemer is the wife of the late Senator Tobias Enverga Jr.

The Enverga family have been known for their leadership in the community and for promoting Filipino art and culture, while supporting the most vulnerable. In 2008, Rosemer co-founded the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation with her late husband to support community initiatives, including the Pinoy Fiesta and Trade Show Toronto. As temporalities leader, Rosemer’s dedication extends to the Philippines, where PCCF and the Archdiocesan Filipino Catholic Mission have provided over $600,000 in medical supplies to hospitals and helped construct houses for those in need. These initiatives are rooted in their strong belief in family, community and faith.

Rosemer is also a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Governor General of Canada for her service in Canada and for the Filipino community.

I want to congratulate Rosemer for continuing the legacy of her late husband and their lifelong commitment to charity.

I am truly proud to have Rosemer and her family in the Ontario Legislature today.

House sittings

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I beg to inform the House that, pursuant to standing order 9(g), the Clerk has received written notice from the government House leader indicating that a temporary change in the weekly meeting

schedule of the House is required, and therefore, the afternoon routine on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, shall commence at 1 p.m.

Use of electronic devices in the House

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I also need to take a moment to remind members that the rules of this House prohibit members from using smart phone cameras to record the proceedings in the chamber. This rule is found in standing order 22, which provides that electronic devices may not be used as cameras or recording devices. Any recording of House proceedings using a personal electronic device would be a contravention of the standing order and, therefore, out of order.

Legislative pages

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): It is now my pleasure to ask our group of legislative pages to assemble for their introduction.

From York–Simcoe, Nicholas Boutsis; from Scarborough–Rouge Park, Dominic Cadotte; from Burlington, Senna Chan Carusone; from Eglinton–Lawrence, Claire Cross; from Dufferin–Caledon, Katherine Demczur; from Guelph, Frederick Funk; from Brampton West, Mridul Goel; from Oshawa, Sanskrati Goyal; from Newmarket–Aurora, Liam Gunning; from Oxford, Leonard Hobbs; from Beaches–East York, Lazaros Kasekas; from Niagara Centre, Randall Marsh; from Markham–Stouffville, Maya Morales; from Pickering–Uxbridge, Christopher Naassan; from Etobicoke–Lakeshore, Cole Okrainec; from Mississauga–Streetsville, Kundanika Pingali; from Waterloo, Akshitha Puttur; from Lambton–Kent–Middlesex, Mackenzie Rankin; from Cambridge, Olivia Vermet; and from Vaughan–Woodbridge, Sophie Vine.

Please join me in welcoming this group of legislative pages.

Applause.

Introduction of Visitors

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: It is my pleasure to welcome representatives from the UHC Hub of Opportunities that provides supports and services to people in Windsor and all of Essex county: CEO June Muir and supervisor Marianne Moore.

It’s good to see you back here at Queen’s Park.

Mr. Trevor Jones: It’s my pleasure to welcome representatives from Farm Fresh Ontario joining us today in the galleries. I encourage everyone to stop by their reception this evening from 5 until 7 in the dining room.

Thank you for joining us.

Hon. Lisa M. Thompson: I’m pleased to welcome to the House today Steve and Christine Wright and Mary Ann and Nathan Peel. Steve is chair and Mary Ann is director of Howick Mutual Insurance. Steve and Christine are from Belmore, and Mary Ann and Nathan are from Bluevale. There might be a couple of family members up there, as well.

Miss Monique Taylor: I would like to welcome Michau Van Speyk from the Ontario Autism Coalition.

Mrs. Daisy Wai: I’m delighted to welcome Pamela Sertl and Lori Schisler of 360°kids from my Richmond Hill riding, as well as First Work representatives led by their executive director, Akosua Alagaratnam, sitting in the public gallery.

Speaker, 360°kids was named one of Canada’s best charities by Maclean’s magazine in 2020. It helps youth overcome crisis and transition to a state of safety and stability.

Welcome all to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Nolan Quinn: I’d like to welcome a few people to the House today: Justin, Sarah, Adrian, Charles, Frank, Steve, Alison, Trevor, Lachlan, Martin, Stephanie, and Craig. They’re here for the Good Roads conference. We had some other visitors this morning for breakfast, but they had to go for delegations.

Thanks for coming.

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: I would like to welcome constituents from Scarborough–Rouge Park: the incredible community leader Rosemer Enverga and her daughter Rocel Enverga; Lions Club

chapter president Virgie; and community leader Gloria.

Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

Ms. Jess Dixon: It’s my absolute honour and pleasure this morning to introduce you to three incredible police officers from the Toronto Police Service. Some of you may remember my member’s statement from a while back about a grassroots organization called Project Hope, started by these three officers. They have since gathered almost half a million dollars in donations for recent immigrants and refugees to Canada, as well as the survivors of the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. On their own time, they do outreach work, making sure that new arrivals to Canada who maybe haven’t experienced Canadian police get a positive experience right off the bat. The work they do can’t be understated.

Murtaza Popalzai, Mustafa Popalzai, and Farzad Ghotbi, thank you so much for coming.

Mr. Andrew Dowie: I’d like to wish a very, very warm welcome to June Muir and Marianne Moore from the Unemployed Help Centre of Windsor Hub of Opportunities, who are here participating in the First Work advocacy day today. I had a great opportunity to meet with them earlier today.

On behalf of MPP Jones, MPP Leardi and myself, thank you for all that you do for the betterment of our community.

Mr. Aris Babikian: It is my great pleasure to welcome Rosemer Enverga and her colleagues to this House. Rosemer is quite an active person in the Filipino community. We’ve worked on so many projects to enhance and improve the quality of life for Scarborough–Agincourt residents of Filipino descent.

Thank you very much, Rosemer, for your contribution.

Question Period

Education funding

Ms. Marit Stiles: Our students are struggling. Underfunding of our education system is impacting our kids directly with oversized classrooms, with fewer in-school supports, and anxiety levels are at an all-time high. None of this is normal.

Would the Premier explain how a measly $66 per student is going to address the massive problems their chronic underfunding has created?

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

Hon. Stephen Lecce: We are proud to increase investment for the coming school year by 693 million more dollars for September. That is a 10% increase in funding for school boards in the last four years. When you look at the entire Ministry of Education budget, it is up 27% when compared to the peak of spending under Premier Kathleen Wynne. That is an investment in our publicly funded schools.

Speaker, we just announced a commitment to hire a thousand more teachers focused on literacy and math, a thousand additional teachers focused on destreaming.

I know the members will continue to oppose measures that incrementally make a difference in schools. They have an opportunity today to vote for our budget and our new plan to improve schools, to expect better from our school boards, and to demand that our education leads to student achievement and better outcomes in reading, writing and math.

Vote for our budget. Vote for our investments. Vote for better-in-Ontario schools.

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

Ms. Marit Stiles: The education funding that was announced yesterday doesn’t even remotely keep pace with inflation, let alone address the three years of learning disruption that have been impacting our kids so deeply.

So if they’re not investing in our students and their future, what are they doing? They’re micromanaging school boards, they’re labelling community schools as real estate assets, and they’re introducing new fees. That’s what they’re doing.

Back to the Premier: If he isn’t going to invest in schools, will he at least not stick them with the bill for ministry responsibilities?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: From health care to housing to education, the status quo defender here, in the Leader of the Opposition—defending the status quo, when we all know we can do better for our children and they deserve better in Ontario schools.

We introduced legislation that is premised on raising standards, increasing accountability, and enshrining the voice of parents in our education system. What about that is so offensive to the Leader of the Opposition?

What about making sure that we have better outcomes tied to student achievement so we actually see higher outcomes related to reading, writing and math?

What is offensive about ensuring that we build schools faster, that we certify new educators quicker?

What is offensive about ensuring that new teachers are better educated on math, on literacy, on mental health and special education?

It is opposition, systematically, to progress and to change.

We will stand up for kids and drive this legislation forward.

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

Ms. Marit Stiles: Speaker, when is this government going to start taking responsibility? Five years—the status quo is their terrible record. It’s the same old story that we’ve heard from this minister and this government for years now, and that’s how out of touch they are. They’re micromanaging municipalities. They’re ideologically dismantling public health care. And now they’re grabbing power from school boards.

I don’t know a parent or a teacher in this province who trusts this government to deliver quality education to our children. Just look at the state of education in this province right now.

Interjections.

Ms. Marit Stiles: They don’t want to hear it. But we see it every day.

Back to the Premier: His plan is going to force the layoffs of teachers and education workers across this province. Will he reverse course and invest in the supports that students need to thrive?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I ask the members to please take their seats.

The Minister of Education to respond.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Mr. Speaker, it is ironic, recognizing that in the last election, the New Democrats lost 300,000 votes of the people of Ontario. So when you want to talk about public confidence—we have a mandate to demand better for Ontario children. There are 83 Progressive Conservatives—a historic achievement—because the people of Ontario have confidence in our Premier and in our party to stand up for parents and to demand better from the system of education.

We are increasing the hiring by 2,000 more front-line staff. We are refocusing education on what matters most: back to the basics, back to ensuring young people have the fluency in the skills that will help set them up for long-term success.

The member opposite speaks about mental health. In this budget, we’ve increased it by 500%, over $100 million—a significant increase to help children succeed.

We’re going to continue to drive reform and demand better for Ontario children.

Child and family services

Ms. Marit Stiles: On Thursday, the Ombudsman’s office released their latest report on child welfare agencies in the province. We heard about Misty, a 13-year-old Indigenous girl from northern Ontario who repeatedly went missing while living in a home operated by Johnson Children’s Services, which, as many of you already know, is a private provider. They were found to be particularly remiss in their obligations to provide care to Misty. The Ombudsman made 58 recommendations as a result; 31 of them were directed towards Johnson Children’s Services.

So my question is very simple: What does the Premier plan to do to act on the important recommendations of the Ombudsman?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Hon. Michael Parsa: I thank the honourable colleague for the question.

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear: There is absolutely no room whatsoever in our system for individuals, entities or organizations that either willfully or through neglect fail in their duty of care towards children. Every single child in our province, whether they’re in care or not, deserves the right to live in peace and safety.

I’m glad to be able to share that all three organizations that were at the centre of the Ombudsman report have accepted all 58 recommendations from the Ombudsman. It’s critical that all 58 recommendations need to be implemented swiftly so that something like this never happens again across this province. And while none of these recommendations are directed towards the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, we will nonetheless use this report to inform the continuing work of redesigning child welfare across the province.

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

Ms. Marit Stiles: I want to go back to the Premier on this one. It’s a very important question.

Misty went missing seven times while she was in the care of Johnson Children’s Services. At one point, the staff waited to report Misty missing to the police for more than four hours, and that resulted in her disappearance for 19 days—19 days, Speaker. I want everyone in this House to imagine a child going missing for 19 days.

What’s worse, Johnson was being paid to provide her with one-on-one support. The Ombudsman found they failed to provide this level of care. He also found significant gaps in documentation, record-keeping and training practices.

Speaker, Johnson Children’s Services failed Misty.

To the Premier: Why are private providers with documented negligence still allowed to operate in Ontario?

Hon. Michael Parsa: The events outlined in the Ombudsman report are absolutely unacceptable and there will be absolutely no room—zero tolerance. As I said, every single child and every single youth in our province deserves to have a safe and loving home regardless of whether they’re in care.

Again, the three organizations in the case have accepted all 58 recommendations, but we are asking and we will make sure that all 58 recommendations are implemented swiftly so that this never happens to a single child or youth across the province.

Mr. Speaker, under the leadership of this Premier, Premier Ford, as I said from day one, no child or youth will ever be left behind. We’ll make sure that never happens.

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

Ms. Marit Stiles: The minister talks about zero tolerance. Why are they still operating in this province?

I’m going to go back to the Premier again. It’s clear that private providers like Johnson Children’s Services have not been meeting the complex needs of marginalized children in care.

The circumstances of Misty’s life put her uniquely at risk. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls specifically addresses “the obligation of the child welfare system to protect Indigenous children from exploitation.” But it seems like this is not a priority for the Premier and his government.

How is the Premier going to ensure there are resources for northern communities to provide culturally appropriate services so children like Misty can receive the support and the protection they need, and that every child deserves?

Interjections.

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

The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Hon. Michael Parsa: I thank the member for the question.

As I mentioned earlier, the events that are outlined in the report are unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that, just last week, I was up north with the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and my colleague from Kiiwetinoong in a signing of a coordination agreement to support the exercise of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug jurisdiction that would give them jurisdiction over child and family services under the KIDO agreement of family law.

I will add once again that we have made sure that services that are being provided need to be safe and secure, and every single child and every single youth in this province needs to be supported.

This comes as a result of many years of neglect by the previous government which always, every single time—the NDP had the opportunity to do something about it; they didn’t. It is unacceptable.

Under this government, under this Premier, we’ll make sure that, once again, no one is left behind, not a single child—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

The next question.

Child and family services

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Meegwetch, Speaker. Good morning. My question is to the Premier.

Last week, the Ombudsman released a report on the failure of three care agencies to ensure the safety of a First Nations girl who repeatedly went missing when she was supposed to be receiving supervised services. This young woman should not have been harmed while under this care.

What has this minister done to hold these child welfare agencies accountable after all the evidence that tells us they are not doing their jobs?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Hon. Michael Parsa: Once again, thank you for the question.

Very clearly, again, the events that are outlined in the Ombudsman report are absolutely unacceptable.

As I mentioned, every single child and every single youth in our province needs to be in a safe and loving environment and a stable home, again, regardless of whether they’re in care.

The Ombudsman’s report is going to be helpful as we are embarking on a child welfare redesign across the province.

Once again, Mr. Speaker, let me be very, very clear: Not a single child or youth in this province is going to go through neglect. We are not going to let it happen. We will fight for them every single day and make sure that those who are responsible are always held to account.

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

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: You should shut down Johnson, because it’s children who pay full with their lives when you do not take action, when you just speak those words that you’re speaking.

The provincial protection system is perpetually responding to crises instead of fixing the root issues. Their focus should be on keeping families whole and healthy and on issues that create the crises, such as housing, parenting, wellness, food security, and poverty.

Again, what does this government plan to do to act on the important recommendations of the Ombudsman?

Interjections.

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

The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Hon. Michael Parsa: Again, the three organizations involved in the case have accepted all 58 recommendations of the Ombudsman’s report and will make sure that they are acted on swiftly and implemented so that this never happens again to a single child or youth.

Mr. Speaker, I want to also add, this is why the child welfare redesign is in process. We are now consulting with those, because we want to make sure that this never happens to a single child or youth in the province. That includes more oversight across the province.

Once again, this is as a result of neglect for many, many years. They didn’t do anything about it.

It’s not going to happen on—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order. Official opposition, come to order.

Hon. Michael Parsa: We’ll make sure that we work every single day to protect every single child and youth in our province.

Life sciences sector

Mr. Mike Harris: My question is for the Premier.

Waterloo region is home to some of the best and brightest health care and technology researchers in the world, making this an ideal location for innovative companies that are looking to start up and expand. It should come as no surprise that there is such extensive knowledge, skills and expertise found here, as our region is also home to a number of highly respected post-secondary institutions.

Ontario’s life sciences sector is essential to advancing innovative health care solutions, and it is also vital to building our competitive economy. Our government must continue to demonstrate support for this sector in order to ensure that Ontario remains a leading force in new, innovative health technologies and job creation.

Can the Premier please explain what our government is doing to foster innovation in the health technology sector?

Hon. Doug Ford: I want to thank our all-star MPP from Kitchener–Conestoga for the important question and for hosting us, along with the other MPPs in the Waterloo region. I brought some real all-star ministers: the Minister of Colleges and Universities, and my good pal the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. We did an incredible announcement over in Kitchener, at the University of Waterloo—it was $7.5 million to help build a state-of-the-art innovation arena at the University of Waterloo.

Mr. Speaker, you see these students—they’re coming up with the brightest and greatest ideas; they’re blazing a new trail when it comes to life sciences. We’ve seen over $3 billion of investment in the life sciences sector right here in Ontario. We’re leading the country. We’re leading globally with life sciences. Companies are coming here by the droves because we have the brightest and best students anywhere in the world, right here in Ontario.

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

Mr. Mike Harris: Thank you to the Premier for that response. This announcement is great news that will help to create good-paying jobs, attract new investments and elevate the profile of Kitchener and, of course, Waterloo region as a leading region in tech and innovation. Under the leadership of the Premier, this investment is just one of the many ways that our government is building a strong Ontario for a resilient economy today, but also for the future.

However, it is essential that our government continues to be forward-thinking and continues to adopt Ontario-made innovations that will improve our health care sector.

Can the Premier please elaborate on how this investment in Waterloo region is part of our government’s broader strategy to develop innovative solutions to improve the lives of all Ontarians?

Hon. Doug Ford: Again, I want to thank the member for that question.

When we went to Kitchener-Waterloo region, one of the fastest-growing regions anywhere in Ontario, we were there to support the life sciences strategy that we’ve put together. The strategy is the first of its kind in over a decade, and it’s serving as a road map to establish Ontario as a life sciences leader.

Mr. Speaker, I always say that government doesn’t create jobs; we create the environment and the conditions and the climate for companies to invest. And as I mentioned earlier, over $3 billion has been invested.

OmniaBio, 250 jobs, a 200,000-square-foot building in Hamilton—they’re a bio-manufacturing company. You heard about the AstraZeneca, 500 jobs—what a great announcement; Roche, another 500 jobs; Sanofi, 300 jobs. Mr. Speaker, that’s just to name a few. Again, they know Ontario is a place to invest in. They know we have the best talent in the world.

We have cut red tape and regulations—over $700 million.

We’ve cut $8 billion off the backs—

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

The member for Sudbury.

Hospice care

MPP Jamie West: My question is to the Premier.

Maison McCulloch is Sudbury’s hospice. I met with executive director Julie Aubé, and I was shocked to hear the hospice must rely on donations just to stay afloat. This is not normal. Julie told me how critical their 50/50 draw is because the Conservative government’s budget doesn’t spell out new money for any specific palliative care operations in Ontario. She said, “It is time hospices be recognized for the vital role they play in the health care system and start being funded like an equal clinical health care institution.”

My question is, will the Premier finally recognize the vital role hospices play in the health care system, and will he start funding them like an equal clinical health care institution?

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

Hon. Sylvia Jones: The member opposite is right when he talks about the value and importance of palliative care and hospices in our province.

In fact, in our Your Health document, we laid out very specifically our commitment to expand hospice and palliative care in the province of Ontario, because we see it as a really important part of our health care continuum.

And in fact, in our 2023-24 budget, our government is expanding palliative care to services in local communities, adding 23 new hospice beds to the 500 that already exist in the province of Ontario.

There is no doubt that hospice and palliative care are an important community partner in our health care system, and we will continue to support and fund them appropriately.

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

MPP Jamie West: Sudbury’s hospice has to raise is $1.6 million every year to operate. So the announcement from the minister that they’re going to open more hospices means that there’s more fundraising required to operate. The $1.6 million isn’t for fancy extras. This fundraising is for meal prep, for housekeepers, for cleaning supplies. Imagine worrying every single month that you won’t raise enough money to keep residents fed and cared for in the final stages of life. And the fear is justified, because last month it was reported that the hospice was relying on food banks to feed their patients—food banks. This is shameful. This is not normal. And this is not acceptable.

My question: Will the Conservative government increase the funding so that hospices like Maison McCulloch don’t have to rely on food banks, fundraisers, and community donations to feed and care for their patients?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Hospices are a really integral and engaged community asset that many of us had the pleasure of participating in and being part of—and by doing that, community members have historically always stepped up to support.

In my own community, Bethell Hospice was founded by one family who saw the need and ultimately funded and formed a residential hospice that, frankly, is world-leading, in the region of Peel. We do this in our community because we want to give back. We want to support these very important services.

And, yes, the province of Ontario will continue to support and fund hospice and palliative care, but we’re doing it with the support and the commitment of the communities they serve.

Manufacturing jobs

Mr. Rob Flack: My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Interjection: I do like the tie, by the way.

Mr. Rob Flack: Nice and yellow.

I want to thank the minister for visiting my riding yesterday and the city of London. It was truly wonderful to see area manufacturers announce their important expansions.

Ontario’s world-class manufacturing sector employs over 660,000 workers and is the lifeline of our province’s regional economies. That’s why we’ve taken the right steps to attract investment, all the while growing the economy and creating new, good and sustainable jobs.

But to remain competitive, our manufacturers and businesses need a government that will work with them.

Can the minister highlight how our government is once again supporting the manufacturing sector and talk about the expansions in my riding and the city of London?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Thank you to the member from Elgin–Middlesex–London for that great tour yesterday. Together, we welcomed over $14 million in new investments from two area manufacturing firms.

Great work, Rob.

Edge Automation builds massive machinery for companies to automate their businesses. They’re investing over $5 million to expand their facility. The facility is well under construction, and they’re buying really innovative equipment. They’re creating 12 jobs along the way.

We went over to St. Thomas and saw Takumi Stamping. They manufacture auto parts over there. They’re investing $9 million. They got a $1.3-million injection from the province. They’re expanding that current facility and creating 65 brand new, really good-paying jobs.

Speaker, this is how we’re supporting Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

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

Mr. Rob Flack: Thank you to the minister for his answer.

When the previous Liberal government announced that Ontario’s economy would shift away from goods-producing to service-producing sectors, they spurred an exodus of jobs from this province. The 300,000 manufacturing jobs that were sent running from Ontario came as a surprise to no one. They left, causing damage economically to our communities.

Programs like the Regional Development Program have been a game-changer for manufacturing and new job creation throughout Ontario.

And it’s long overdue that both businesses and families receive their fair share of support.

Can the minister explain what our government is doing differently from previous governments to support business growth and long-term job creation?

Hon. Victor Fedeli: Since we got elected, our government has put all the pieces in place to create the environment, as Premier Ford just said, to create 600,000 jobs in the province of Ontario. We got there with absolutely no help from the Liberals or the NDP. Think about the fact that they voted against every single thing that we put in place to create jobs and help families. They voted against every skilled trade enhancement we’ve put to help people prepare for the jobs of the future. They voted against every infrastructure investment, whether it’s roads or bridges or highways, to get these people to work.

They voted against every single lowering of taxes for families to help save money. They voted against every housing initiative so people have a place to live. They voted against every time we lowered the price of energy. Speaker, who the heck does that?

Social assistance

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: My question is to the Premier.

According to Feed Ontario, food bank use remains at an all-time high in Ontario. There has been an increase in food bank use of 42% over the last three years and a 47% increase in people with employment accessing food banks since the Conservatives formed government in 2018. One in four people using a food bank are children living in poverty in this Premier’s Ontario. Two out of three people who access food banks are social assistance recipients.

People in my riding and across Ontario are struggling to provide food for themselves and their families. This is not normal.

Will the Premier commit today to at least doubling ODSP and OW rates and stop legislating poverty?

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

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Mr. Speaker, through you to the member opposite: There’s no question that many are feeling the pinch in this province and many are hurting.

Our government understands that taxpayers are under pressure. That’s why we acted quickly last year to improve the cost of living for many in this province. We didn’t wait.

Let me just acknowledge a few other things while we’re at it. Why don’t I acknowledge the Minister of Energy, who reduced energy costs so that people could afford electricity prices? Why don’t I acknowledge the Minister of Colleges and Universities, who froze tuition to make it more affordable for many people in Ontario? While I’m at it, why don’t I congratulate the Minister of Education, who is providing child care so they can take their kid to school and have a world-class education?

Interruption.

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

I wish to inform the House that we have had a fire alarm in the basement and it is currently being investigated. We’ll provide more information as we have it.

Start the clock.

The supplementary question.

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: It’s absolutely shameful that the minister stood there applauding his government when my colleague from Sudbury just talked about the hospice there having to fundraise or their patients having to use food banks.

Between January and September 2022, the number of people visiting a food bank increased by 24%; first-time visitors increased by 64%, and one in three of those people never had to use a food bank before.

Food banks are concerned that the need may outpace the capacity of the provincial food bank network. This is an unprecedented crisis. This is not normal.

After five years in government, the Conservatives should be absolutely ashamed of the consistent increase in the number of people living in poverty.

Can the Premier explain why he and his members applaud themselves for making life more affordable when in fact more and more Ontarians are living in poverty under their watch?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: Well, perhaps the member opposite could explain why they have not supported any of the measures that we’ve put forward on this side of the House and over there to reduce the cost of living for many in this province. There’s no question that many people are hurting. That’s why they should look, perhaps, to their support for a carbon tax. Do you know what a carbon tax does? A carbon tax puts the burden on many families across the province—a carbon tax actually increases food prices in this province.

Inflation came down this morning from 5.2% to 4.3%—almost a full point. It’s still too high.

That’s why this government took action before. That’s why this government continues to take action. And we’ll—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Response?

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy: —to help the people of Ontario.

Ontario Place

Ms. Mary-Margaret McMahon: My question is for the Minister of Infrastructure.

Ontario Place was originally created as a place to reaffirm our identity as Ontarians and Canadians, with many of us having special and fond memories from being there. The space is now used by many as a beautiful outdoor public space to make more memories with friends, family and the community, as well as the natural—the birds, the insects and animal life.

What has happened to the Ontario in Ontario Place? What has been an attraction to celebrate Ontario through design, materials, landscape and programming is now going to feature an Austrian spa franchise, Therme. Even the west island entrance is to be rebranded as Therme.

Can the minister please explain how she believes an expensive, privately owned spa developed by an Austrian corporation represents the identities of Ontarians?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The parliamentary assistant and member for Scarborough–Rouge Park.

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: Our government is bringing Ontario Place back to life, making it a remarkable, world-class, year-round destination that will include family-friendly entertainment, public and event spaces, parkland and waterfront access. Once completed, Ontario Place will be open 365 days a year and welcome from four million to six million visitors annually.

This site is in the process of redevelopment, and the site preparation is under way. This project will create 5,000 jobs, with 3,000 construction jobs and 2,500 permanent jobs.

I look forward to this afternoon’s announcement with the Premier and Minister Surma.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

The supplementary question.

Ms. Mary-Margaret McMahon: Ontario is, as we know, open for business. We want to support our local economy and be a destination for people across the world. I agree—it’s a great idea to create new attractions for both our residents and tourists to enjoy. It should be somewhere that is affordable and accessible and be representative of who we are as Ontarians.

It really makes me wonder, why Therme? How was this decision even made?

My question to the parliamentary assistant, since the minister is not here, is, what other options—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m going to ask the member not to make reference to the absence of another member and conclude her question.

Interjection.

Ms. Mary-Margaret McMahon: Okay. Thank you, Ms. Heckler.

My question to the minister is, what other options for the development on the west island of Ontario Place were considered by the government before they decided on a spa with Therme, and why weren’t proposals from Ontario-based and even Canada-based companies considered?

Mr. Vijay Thanigasalam: Mr. Speaker, the redevelopment of Ontario Place is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that will revitalize our beloved waterfront destination and bring tourism, commercial and social benefits to both the province and the city.

The previous government left Ontario Place in a state of disrepair and neglect. Attractions are currently closed and left abandoned, while flooding, electrical and plumbing issues ar