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March 30, 2022

42nd Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2022-Mar-30 vol. A (PDF)

L050A - Wed 30 Mar 2022 / Mer 30 mar 2022

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Wednesday 30 March 2022 Mercredi 30 mars 2022

Members’ Statements

Affordable housing

Lansdowne Children’s Centre

Public sector compensation

Seniors / Personnes âgées

Lure of the North

Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario / Tec-We-Gwill Women’s Institute

Spotlight on Agriculture Awards

Commercial tenant protection

Housing

Peter Ellinger

Introduction of Visitors

Question Period

Housing

Health care

Mental health and addiction services

Transportation infrastructure

Police oversight

Sexual assault

Skills training

Automobile insurance

Housing

Northern Ontario development

Assistance to persons with disabilities

Fiscal accountability

Autism treatment

Early childhood education

Northern health services

Notice of dissatisfaction

Deferred Votes

Protecting Ontario’s Religious Diversity Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 sur la protection de la diversité religieuse en Ontario

Reports by Committees

Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills

Introduction of Government Bills

More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 pour plus de logements pour tous

Petitions

Anti-racism activities

Land use planning

Anti-racism activities

Abortion images

Optometry services

Optometry services

Gasoline prices

Education funding

Orders of the Day

Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 sur la préparation aux pandémies et aux situations d’urgence

The House met at 1015.

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

Prayers.

Members’ Statements

Affordable housing

Mr. Jeff Burch: The number one issue in my riding of Niagara Centre is the severe lack of affordable housing. Wages are stagnant, but the price of gas, groceries and housing continues to rise. A modest one-bedroom in Welland is going for $1,400 a month. A basement one-bedroom apartment in Port Colborne is $1,300.

According to the Niagara Workforce Planning Board, in March 2020, Niagara’s average home price was $450,000. In March 2021, this price increased by 37.2% to over $620,000. This annual increase in local housing costs outpaces wage increases of the average worker by five times.

If you work at a grocery store or in the service sector full time, your take-home pay is roughly $1,800 a month. The median income in Niagara is just $35,000 a year. Speaker, that worker takes home just over $2,300 a month—$2,300 a month. We’re asking people to spend 60% of their take-home income on a one-bedroom apartment.

I’m willing to wager not one person sitting in this House is faced with that impossible task. When members of this House go home to their constituencies, I know they are hearing much the same thing. It’s the obligation of this House to address this critical issue if we are to properly represent our constituents.

I’m urging this House to take real, substantive and timely action to address the soaring cost of living and shortage of affordable places to live. Bring back rent control—the rent control this government eliminated just months into its term; tackle the unsustainable price of owning a home; discourage speculation; and we must commit to building more social housing and co-operative housing. The people of Niagara and people across this province are demanding action.

Lansdowne Children’s Centre

Mr. Will Bouma: The Lansdowne Children’s Centre is the crowning jewel of service to nearly 3,000 unique children and families in Brantford–Brant, Haldimand–Norfolk, Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit. They primarily deliver government-funded rehabilitation services for children with physical, communication or developmental needs due to conditions including autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, chromosomal disorders and neurological conditions.

My constituency office constantly hears from families who receive services from Lansdowne Children’s Centre expressing their gratitude for the breadth of the one-stop services that they provide.

The catchment area has experienced a growth that is six times greater than the city of Toronto and four times higher than the provincial average. That being said, executive director Rita Marie Hadley has been a champion advocating for the stage 1 approval for Lansdowne to progress through plans for a new premises that enables them to move forward with this critical infrastructure. And I would like to add my name, Speaker, with the pediatric rehabilitation community and the chorus of people who would like to see the funding come through like it did for our friends in the Grandview children’s centre in Ajax.

My sincere compliments to Rita Marie, her staff and the volunteers at Lansdowne. You make Brantford–Brant a better place.

Public sector compensation

M me France Gélinas: Today, I want to talk about the discriminatory and unconstitutional Bill 124. Bill 124 was a move by this government to take away the rights of workers to fair negotiation. Bill 124 is a Conservative government doing what it does best: capping the wages of the lowest-paid front-line workers so they can give big tax cuts to big businesses.

The bill became law in November 2019, four months before the province enacted the emergency measures that would force health care workers to work night shifts, overtime, stat holidays, cancel their vacation, work on a different site with no way to refuse. Workers were being told to work from home, students from kindergarten to university were having to learn from Zoom, and the list goes on.

After all this upheaval, the people who got us through this pandemic, who taught our youth, who cared for our elders, who made our hospitals and health care system work, who cared about the most vulnerable among us—how does the Ontario government reward them? The Ford government takes away their right to bargain and puts a salary cap of 1% on all public sector workers. This is an insult and a pay cut.

We cannot fix a revenue problem on the backs of teachers, PSWs and nurses, especially during a pandemic. This bill is cruel and disrespectful. Bill 124 has got to go. If you agree, sign the petition at francegelinas.ca.

Seniors / Personnes âgées

Funding for original groups and organizations ranges from $1,000 to $25,000, benefiting a broad range of program types, including fitness, art and cultural activities. In a multicultural and diverse city such as Mississauga, this funding can ensure that seniors of many backgrounds can benefit from culturally and linguistically appropriate programming. With seniors being our province’s fastest-growing demographic, our government recognizes the importance of supporting the nearly three million Ontarians over the age of 65 who helped make Ontario the place we know and love.

In my riding, I’d like to recognize three amazing organizations who are beneficiaries of this program. I was very happy to see the Church of Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius, the Kang Nai Xin Senior Association and the Sawitri theatre group all receive funding to continue serving seniors in our community.

Monsieur le Président, le programme de subventions communautaires pour les aînés a bénéficié à plus de 950 bénéficiaires depuis 2018, et ce nouveau financement garantira que le nombre augmentera pour les années à venir. Soutenir nos aînés est plus important que jamais alors que la vie revient à la normale, et cela continue d’être un gouvernement qui les aidera à bien vivre leur âge d’or.

Lure of the North

Mr. Michael Mantha: Lure of the North is a family business based out of Espanola owned by Dave and Kielyn Marrone. Since 2011, their goal has been sharing their passion for traditional winter travel, crafts and culture. They sell everything you need to enjoy the outdoors in winter at their store, and they run trips for those people who want to challenge themselves and actually put that gear to good use.

Yesterday, a group led by Dave and Kielyn finished—get this, Speaker—an epic 72-day snowshoe trip, starting from Lake Superior and ending on the shores of James Bay. In that time, they travelled more than 700 kilometres over some of the most rugged and beautiful country this province has to offer. Not a lot of people would take on this task. However, this group did. Their journey was a test of physical, mental and emotional endurance.

This trip is a prime example of the unique experiences that northern Ontario has to offer. Few other places in the world can match the natural beauty of northern Ontario.

On behalf of the Legislature, I want to say to Dave, Kielyn and the whole group: Congratulations, and welcome home.

Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario / Tec-We-Gwill Women’s Institute

Mr. Jim Wilson: I rise this morning to recognize the 125th anniversary of the Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario, and in particular to congratulate the Tec-We-Gwill Women’s Institute on the 75th year of its founding.

The women’s institute is a worldwide movement established right here in Ontario to promote inclusive and supportive social networking for community action and personal growth. Over the years, in addition to sharing fun and friendship, the institute has promoted milk pasteurization and bread wrapping as well as white lines painted on roadways and documenting local histories. In its 75 years, Tec-We-Gwill, comprising many of my constituents, has provided gifts for children in hospital, prepared low-cost lunches for seniors, sewn and knitted clothing for orphanages and raised thousands of dollars to support causes like the South Simcoe 4-H, Simcoe Manor and the fight against breast cancer.

President Donna Jebb, who has been a Tec-We-Gwill member for more than 40 years, tells me that even COVID has not slowed the organization. The group continues to provide educational workshops via Zoom: everything from cooking, canning and pottery to sewing.

I ask all members of this House to join me this special anniversary year in congratulating the FWIO and Tec-We-Gwill on their many achievements and the excellent work that they do in our communities.

Spotlight on Agriculture Awards

Ms. Laurie Scott: I want to congratulate a few recipients from the third annual Spotlight on Agriculture Awards that took place this past Saturday in Kawartha Lakes, which celebrate food, farming and agri-business in the community.

The DeVos family was honoured as the recipient of the 2022 Farm Family Award. With four generations in the community, there are always lots of helping hands on the farm as the next generations create more new agri-businesses.

In 2020, the Callaghan family of Maryland Farm was recognized with the Farm Family Award. Farming in the community since 1841, they brought the first purebred Holsteins to the county in 1918. They still have the only biogas digester in the area, supplying enough to power 300 homes.

This year’s Excellence in Agriculture Award was awarded to Wahab Zamani of Simcoe Street Meat Packers. Wahab serves a number of local farms and is an avid educator on the industry and its challenges. Trillium Lamb Producers was honoured with this award in 2020.

Finally, the agriculture leadership scholarship was awarded to Allison Brown to support her participation in the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program.

The Spotlight on Agriculture Awards also recognize the legacy contributions of farm families, and this year the Batty family was recognized for the 200-year milestone, Ontario family farm, and the 150-year-milestone, county family farm.

Thank you to the committee members, volunteers and all the nominees.

Commercial tenant protection

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Speaker, over the last two years of COVID, small businesses that have struggled to stay afloat are far from being in the clear. It’s not only that revenues are still down and soaring inflation is driving costs up, but small business owners are also facing unfair and exorbitant increases in commercial rent.

Huma Sohail owns Tandoori Eh!, a restaurant in the Hyde Park area of London West. She borrowed to get up and running in February 2020, just one month before the global pandemic hit. Her restaurant, like so many others, is still hanging by a thread, and she is working around the clock to repay her loan and avoid losing her livelihood. But what’s hurting Huma the most is the recent $2,000 increase in her monthly rent, an increase of more than 25%. There are five other businesses in the same commercial plaza. All are struggling to pay the rent increase and wondering if they can stay open.

This government’s refusal to address commercial rent fairness will result in many more small businesses closing, with more local jobs lost and more communities doing their best to recover without a thriving business core.

Small business owners like Huma did their part to get us through the last two years. This government should be doing everything possible to make sure that they can survive the next two years and beyond.

Housing

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: I hear it from young people everywhere I go across the riding: “Buying a home is getting out of reach. Housing is too expensive. My husband and I both work full-time jobs and can’t hope to save up the $100,000 down payment. By the time we save up the original amount, it’s gone up by 50%. Will I have to rent forever?”

It shouldn’t be this way. The expectation of working hard, saving up and being able to one day own a property is part of the promise of being a Canadian and shouldn’t be out of reach for families in our province.

At its core, this is an issue of supply and demand. For many years under the Wynne-Del Duca Liberal government, roadblocks and delays were put in place on the housing development sector, leading to slumping housing starts across the province, and the NDP supported them every step of the way. Low amounts of new housing starts, combined with low interest rates and a continually rapidly growing population across the GTHA, meant that there were too many buyers chasing down too few houses.

But our government has a plan to change that, to bring new housing into the market, to jump-start the construction of new homes across our province and ensure that the dream of home ownership is a reality. Our More Homes, More Choice Act cut red tape to speed up approvals for new builds and build a healthier mix of housing of all shapes and sizes, and pushes municipalities to plan for more growth and housing in their communities.

There’s more work to do, but already housing starts—the number of new units being built each year in the province of Ontario—is skyrocketing under Premier Ford. We are saying yes to unleashing the market to meet the demand, and the result will be that we’re getting it done, building more homes for Ontarians at more affordable rates across our great province.

Peter Ellinger

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): We have in the Speaker’s gallery some very special guests: Peter Ellinger, his wife, Cindy Beggs, and Vicki Whitmell, who are here in honour of Peter’s upcoming retirement from the assembly.

Peter joined the Legislative Assembly in 1989 and served in a number of important roles over the past 33 years: information and reference circulation clerk, information and reference librarian, manager of library technology applications and, most recently, manager of the portfolio management office. He has been instrumental in ensuring the library stayed up to date on the latest digital information and technology tools, keeping our parliamentary data accessible and readily available.

Although Peter is retiring, his impact at the Legislature will continue to be felt, as we use his team’s applications and databases to support the work of this House. His knowledge, innovation and dry sense of humour will be very much missed.

We thank Peter for his service to this House and wish him good health and happiness in the years to come. Please join me in thanking Peter Ellinger.

Applause.

Introduction of Visitors

Hon. David Piccini: I’d like to welcome to the Legislature today the Sharpe family: Keri, Paul, but honestly the most infamous Sharpe, Wyatt Sharpe. Most people in this Legislature probably know Wyatt: He’s interviewed; he’s well-prepared; he’s an aspiring young journalist, and I expect to see him up here one day. I’d like to welcome them to the Legislature. They’re constituents of mine from Orono. Welcome to the Legislature.

Mr. Jeff Burch: It’s my pleasure to welcome to the House my lovely wife, Linda, and mother-in-law, Connie Vespoli—also known as Nonna—who are here to watch my son Jackson perform his page captain duties.

Hon. Monte McNaughton: I know he’s not in the chamber yet, but I’m really excited to have my friend here today: Chief Jason Henry from Kettle and Stony Point in my riding. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Ms. Jennifer K. French: It’s nice to have folks back with us. I see our friend Paul Kossta from OSSTF up there in the gallery. I know we’re all glad to see our regulars back. Welcome.

Question Period

Housing

Ms. Peggy Sattler: My question is to the Premier. Speaker, late yesterday, the Conservatives finally took a page from the NDP’s housing plan, Homes You Can Afford, a full year after our plan was released.

Certainly, Speaker, raising the tax charged on non-resident speculators who make millions playing the housing market is a long, overdue measure, but there’s so much more to be done. Will this government be announcing further actions to crack down on the housing speculation that just drives up costs for everyday families?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To respond on behalf of the government, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Hon. Steve Clark: Speaker, I’m proud of the progress that our government has been able to do on the housing supply issue under the leadership of Premier Ford.

Since our housing supply action plan was passed in 2019, we found that there has been much improvement in the housing supply issue—the enormous amount of purpose-built rental that’s being built in the province, going back to the early 1990s—but we know that there is much more to do and we need to do it in conjunction with other levels of government. We really need our municipal partners to do their part to ensure that we put a process in place that gets housing built faster, at the speed that Ontarians not just need, but deserve.

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

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Speaker, this government has nothing to be proud of when it comes to housing. They have a dismal record in making homes more affordable. For four years they did nothing to tackle rampant speculation. They have consistently showed much more interest in helping friends and donors build warehouses on protected wetlands than in bringing down the cost of housing.

The NDP has called for an annual speculation and vacancy tax on residential property, like they have in British Columbia—a tax that would apply to speculators who are here in Ontario, as well as non-residents. Speaker, will this government do that?

Hon. Steve Clark: Again, Speaker, the announcement yesterday that the finance minister and I made was pretty clear. We’ve now got the most comprehensive non-resident speculation tax in Canada. We’re delivering on those demand-side issues.

But let’s not cloud the issue, Speaker. Every single time that our government has put forward recommendations to deal with the housing supply issue, New Democrats have voted against it. Every time we’ve put bills on the floor to protect tenants, to strengthen our community housing, every time we’ve increased investments in new, affordable housing in partnership with our municipalities, every single time, New Democrats have said no.

Speaker, I’m going to make it very clear to Ontarians: Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re going to get it done.

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

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Young people who are starting out in the housing market need a plan that helps them. We should be pulling out all the stops to address the housing crisis in this province. The NDP’s plan for housing includes measures to curb speculation as well as real rent control, desperately needed investments in social housing and more. Will we see any of these other measures from the NDP’s plan announced today?

Hon. Steve Clark: Again, I want to put some statistics on the floor as a comparison to the NDP voting no all the time.

The year after we introduced our housing supply action plan in 2020, we saw 81,000 housing starts, the highest level in over a decade, and 11,000 rental starts, the highest since 1992. The next year, 2021, we saw 100,000 housing starts, the highest we’ve seen since 1987, and again, more than 13,000 rental units, which is the highest since the early 1990s.

Every single time, New Democrats have said no. Their housing plan is no; our housing plan is yes. Again, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re going to get it done.

Health care

M me France Gélinas: Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé. Minister, many residents of Sudbury and Nickel Belt have approached my office complaining about a new health service that they are being pressured to purchase in order to receive basic health care services from their family physician.

Sparrow Health is an online product that charges patients for services that were always free before. To get a doctor’s note or a prescription renewal without waiting for an appointment, Sparrow Health will make that happen. Just give them $20 or the price of an annual subscription.

With so many people who can barely afford the cost of their prescription, does this minister believe that it is okay for people to have to pay an extra $20 for the services of their family physician?

Hon. Christine Elliott: I thank the member opposite for the question. We know there are many services that are covered under OHIP. In some circumstances, their physician may be able to charge extra for some of the services that aren’t covered by OHIP. But for basic services, you’re absolutely right: People should be covered. Getting a prescription renewed, some of the other services that you mentioned, you’re absolutely right: They should not be charged for that.

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

M me France Gélinas: Currently, Sparrow Health is telling residents of Nickel Belt to pay $20 or wait for the next in-person appointment with their family physician. This company is profiting off the doctor shortage, frankly created by the Liberal government, but not helped very much by this one. The average wait time for a family physician in Nickel Belt is four to six weeks.

Jody in my riding needed her prescription medication renewed. She had to pay $20 plus a $10 fee to have the prescription faxed the same day. That’s $30 that she had to pay for services that are covered by OHIP if she goes and sees her family physician.

Does the minister believe it is acceptable for people to have to use their credit card to get basic medical care from their own family physician instead of their OHIP card?

Hon. Christine Elliott: I would agree with you that people should not have to pay for basic medical care that is covered by OHIP. But I would say with respect to your comment about not having enough family doctors in the north or primary care physicians or whoever else is providing the care, our government is investing in an additional 160 undergraduate spaces and 295 postgraduate spaces, the biggest expansion in terms of medical students entering schools in over a decade.

One of the chief organizations—there are six that are receiving these positions and funding over the next few years. One is the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, which is receiving 30 undergraduate positions and 41 postgraduate positions. That should certainly help with this situation, although, as you say, the payment for basic medical care from your own family doctor is not something that we would condone. But we should have more doctors in the system in the next few years to deal with this.

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

M me France Gélinas: Speaker, let me tell you what’s happening right now: Many people cannot afford these fees, so they are now booking unnecessary medical appointments to avoid to have to pay the $20 or $30 associated with their prescription renewal—which, I want to repeat, was always renewed for free before.

In northern Ontario, where we are short 300 physicians, people are booking unnecessary appointments with their family physicians because they cannot afford to pay. It does not stop there. You can now get a physiotherapy, chiropractor, orthotics or massage therapy prescription, whether you need them or not, without ever seeing a physician. Just give money to Sparrow Health, and voila.

This privatization of our health care system has to stop. Care should be based on need, not on ability to pay. Does the minister agree?

Hon. Christine Elliott: What I would certainly say is that the activities of one group, this Sparrow group, is not indicative of anything else happening within our system. We can certainly look into what’s happening with Sparrow, but there is no privatization going on in our health care system. We’ve actually increased our investments in the public health care system since we took office by $4.8 billion. That is in our public health care system. We have not expanded any private health care whatsoever.

Anything that’s happening is systems that have already been there prior to—we have not issued any new medical licences for independent health facilities or private hospitals since 1973. At that time, there were 80 private hospitals; today, there are only four. It clearly indicates we’re not making investments there; we’re making investments in our public health care system.

Mental health and addiction services

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: My question is to the Premier. Ontario recently lost Kristin Legault-Donkers, a master’s graduate, children’s author and award-winning advocate. She was lost to suicide. Kristin fought tirelessly for system change. In 2019, she slept on the ER floor and waited 24 hours for mental health help. There just aren’t enough supports. Her obituary reads, “After years of battling her own demons along with the bureaucracy of our mental health care system, the system she fought so passionately for failed her.”

The current lack of mental health supports in my community is hurting everyone. The CMHO states that children under 18 wait as long as two and a half years to receive mental health treatment. How is that possible in Canada’s richest province?

What does this government have to say to Kristin’s family and families who are waiting while their children are suffering?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Associate Minister for Mental Health and Addictions.

Hon. Michael A. Tibollo: Thank you for that question. Clearly, prior to having the pandemic in the province, we’ve seen that there was a crisis with mental health and addictions. That’s why our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, worked and created the Roadmap to Wellness, agreeing to invest $525 million annually over 10 years, for a total of $3.8 billion, to create the very system that’s missing. That system is not only to look after adults, but after children, our seniors. It’s a continuum of care. It looks at the different ages during the lifespan and ensures that there are supports for them.

It’s a program that looks at creating connections between different communities and creating the continuum of care that’s required for them, whether it’s addictions or mental health care supports. In addition to that, it’s culturally sensitive. It focuses on all the people in all regions of the province of Ontario: rural, municipal, urban and, of course, agricultural.

We are going to continue making those investments for the people of the province of Ontario.

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

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: Respectfully, through you, Speaker, to the member, funding over 10 years won’t help Kristin.

My question is back to the Premier. Kristin needed our help. She advocated for others, worked with psychiatrists and social workers, and still it was an uphill battle. One of the first acts this government made when they took power was to cut $335 million from promised mental health funding.

Dr. Jared Berman, a child and adolescent clinical psychologist in my riding, shared with me that a youth in our area sought mental health counselling, but walk-in services had a different person every time, no continuity of care, no relationship of trust—the cornerstones of good mental health care. Lucky that this individual had partial parental benefit coverage. They were told a minimum of a six-month wait but more than likely a year.

Ontarians need to see better support of mental health care now so families aren’t burdened with high bills so that kids get the care they deserve. Will this government return the $335 million they cut in mental health: yes or no?

Hon. Michael A. Tibollo: This illusion of $335 million continues to completely elude logic. This was a commitment that was made by the Liberal government as a last-ditch attempt during the last election to try to win voters over. This government made a commitment of $3.8 billion and is investing those dollars now. The investments we are making are game-changers. They are transformational to the system. They are creating continuums of care for people with addictions, in providing everything from detox beds to addiction treatment beds to supportive beds.

We’re making investments with the Ministry of Housing in ensuring that we have supportive housing for individuals—truly addressing the underlying issues of mental health and addictions in this province, which have to do with the social determinants of health, which I’m sure you understand. These investments are being made, and it’s hundreds of millions of dollars that no government in the past has ever taken the time or energy to invest.

Transportation infrastructure

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: It’s no secret that our government inherited a massive infrastructure deficit from the Wynne-Del Duca Liberals. For 15 years, we saw the Wynne-Del Duca Liberals refuse to invest in badly needed roads, bridges and highways, and now Ontarians are paying the price. By 2051, the population of the greater Golden Horseshoe is forecasted to grow to 14.9 million people. That’s 200,000 people—the equivalent of Welland, St. Catharines and Grimsby combined—moving into the region every single year. Can the Minister of Transportation please tell us what this government is doing to invest and prepare our infrastructure for this population surge?

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: Thank you so much to the member from Niagara West for the question. The member is right that previous Liberal governments were short-sighted on transportation planning. But good news for Ontarians: Under our government, things are changing.

For instance, I was pleased to join the Premier just a few weeks ago to announce our long-term transportation vision for the greater Golden Horseshoe. This plan sets out a path to 2051, including more than 100 near-term actions to tackle the infrastructure deficit the Liberals created and to accommodate the massive population growth that is already here.

Whether you’re a student using transit to get to class, a business owner relying on our strong highway network to get your goods to market, or a parent like me who’s using local roads to get your kids to the nearby rink, we took your needs into consideration when developing this plan.

Our government is saying yes to building critical transportation infrastructure, and saying yes to getting more options for Ontarians to get around.

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

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: I want to thank the minister for that answer. We saw that the Liberals knew rapid population growth was headed to the greater Golden Horseshoe and instead of addressing it, they shelved crucial key highway projects like Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass. The Liberals failed to get shovels in the ground to build more public transit. They failed by sentencing a generation of GTA drivers to perpetual gridlock. Speaker, the Liberals’ do-nothing approach isn’t an option anymore.

Could the minister please elaborate on what key actions are in this government’s transportation plan for the greater Golden Horseshoe and how this government is getting it done for the people of Ontario?

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: Thank you again to the member from Niagara West for the question. I’ve said it before in this House: If we don’t take strong action now, gridlock will only get worse in this province. In fact, it’s forecasted to triple over the next three decades.

I know the frustrations of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic each day first-hand, yet every single day we hear no from the Liberals and the NDP on that side of the House, who would rather keep Ontarians trapped in gridlock forever.

Our government is embarking on the largest transit expansion plan in Canadian history. We’re expanding GO service to deliver on our mandate of two-way, all-day GO service on core segments of the network, including in the region of Niagara, where we have already increased the number of GO train trips per day by 27% on weekdays and 23% on weekends.

Speaker, we are also saying yes to building critical infrastructure projects, like Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass, as well as the Morriston bypass. Our government is addressing gridlock and addressing population growth head-on. I hope the members opposite will join us in this work.

Police oversight

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Remarks in Oji-Cree. It’s a good morning.

My question is to the Premier. Anishinaabe Nation Grand Chief Reg Niganobe and Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum are at Queen’s Park today, calling on this government for immediate action in Thunder Bay regarding their police services. All Indigenous people have the right to feel safe and be treated equitably within the city of Thunder Bay, especially by those sworn to serve and protect.

What action has this government taken since we learned that the Thunder Bay Police Service failed to properly investigate the deaths of 14 Indigenous people?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the Solicitor General.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Misconduct allegations must be and are taken very seriously by our government. When we started to hear about the very serious allegations that were coming out of Thunder Bay, I wrote to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission. As you know, they started a review in January. That review is ongoing. Specifically related to the deaths, the OPP are doing an independent investigation. That work has already begun.

When we heard from the chief pathologist and the coroner about their concerns about these deaths, they did the right thing. They did that independent review. They gave it to the Attorney General, who referred that information to the OPP. Those investigations are ongoing, and we will allow that to happen without political interference.

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

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Back to the Premier: The leaders of the Anishinaabe Nation and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation are here to tell this government that Indigenous people have no trust in the Thunder Bay police. Their repeated failures to properly investigate the deaths of Indigenous people mean that an additional 25 unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls require an external review. Their families deserve answers.

Systemic racism within the Thunder Bay police is preventing justice for Indigenous people, and it is intolerable. Will this government immediately call for OPP oversight of the Thunder Bay police?

Interjections.

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

Solicitor General.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: The member opposite and I and our government are in full agreement. These serious allegations must be and are being investigated by independents through the Ontario Civilian Police Commission and through the OPP. Those investigations must happen in order—exactly as you said—to bring back trust and faith in the police services in Thunder Bay and elsewhere. We’ve done that. Those investigations are ongoing, and we should not and cannot politically interfere in those independent reviews as they take place.

Sexual assault

M me Lucille Collard: My question is to the Premier. Recently, a serious problem that seems to exist in Ontario has come to my attention. It is something that I find hard to believe, or very discouraging. A comprehensive study last year found that 39% of hospitals in Ontario do not have sexual assault evidence kits available to victims. These kits provide really important evidence to trials in cases of sexual violence. Unfortunately, it seems that these kits are not always available.

I also recently heard something else disturbing: that some victims of sexual assault have been asked to pay for rape kits in provinces. That is extremely disturbing and it’s a manifestation of rape culture that should not be allowed to happen in Ontario.

My question is: I have tabled a private member’s bill, just yesterday, to address the problem of rape kit availability and to ensure that they are always available for free. Will the government support my bill?

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

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you to the member opposite for the question. Our government has zero tolerance for workplace violence. One incident of workplace violence is one too many. That is why the Ministry of Health along with the Ministry of Long-Term Care and Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development acknowledge that workplace violence and workplace violence prevention continues to be a critical issue in the health care sector.

That’s why we are working already with our partners, like Ontario Health and the Public Services Health and Safety Association, to develop strategic approaches to address this very important issue. Most recently, our government published a workplace violence prevention guide to the law for employers to help health care organizations understand their obligations to prevent workplace violence under the Ontario health and safety act.

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

M me Lucille Collard: Maybe I can offer the minister to read my private member’s bill, because we’re talking about availability of rape kits and sexual assault.

Mr. Speaker, in Canada, only 33 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to the police. Women clearly do not feel that policing and justice are responding to their needs. We have seen numerous movements call out the systemic racism at play in Ontario’s policing. Police can’t do their job properly if they don’t have the confidence of the general public. We need to be bringing perpetrators of sexual assault to justice.

What is the Solicitor General doing to ensure that there can be public trust in the OPP so that women—every woman; Indigenous, Black women, every woman—feel comfortable reporting sexual assault?

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

Hon. Sylvia Jones: I think the first and most important thing is that people have confidence to come forward and place those charges. We have some incredible police leaders who are doing excellent work to make sure that there are standard processes so that when people come forward, they have confidence in the police service to make sure that those investigations are happening. And that work is ongoing—absolutely, I will not disagree with you there.

What we are doing is making sure that people understand what their rights and responsibilities are and to make sure that the police have the tools. That’s, frankly, why we have now some grants and programs in place to have police services work with their local sexual assault agencies, to work with their homeless shelters, to make sure that those communications and relationships are there, in place, so that when someone comes forward, not only can the charges come forward, but they can also get and are provided with the supports they need as they go through the criminal justice system.

Skills training

M me Natalia Kusendova: Ma question est pour le ministre du Travail, de la Formation et du Développement des compétences

Mr. Speaker, from our big cities like Mississauga to our small towns, Ontario is back and ready to unleash our economic potential and start firing on all cylinders. But we need all hands on deck.

In the construction sector alone, we will need over 100,000 more workers over the next decade. These good jobs with pensions, benefits and bigger paycheques are right here in Ontario for the taking. Our mission, under the leadership of Premier Doug Ford, is to help more people reach them. This includes our strategy to get more women involved in skilled trades.

Minister, you were recently in Ottawa to announce an exciting investment. Can you please tell us how this announcement will benefit the people of Ottawa?

Hon. Monte McNaughton: Thank you so much to the member for this very important question. As the member said, recently I had the pleasure of travelling to our nation’s capital to join my colleagues the members from Carleton and Ottawa West–Nepean. Together, we announced our government is investing over $13 million in free training and paid electricians’ apprenticeships for more than 2,500 people across Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, electricians make everything possible that we enjoy in life. Their cables kept us all connected with families, with friends and work colleagues at a time when we couldn’t be together. This is part of our worker-first plan for Ontario. We’re helping people lift themselves up, support their families, and give back to their communities.

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

Ms. Natalia Kusendova: Thank you to the minister for that response, and for working hard to get it done.

Through you, Speaker, it’s clear that these are rewarding and well-paying careers. Construction electricians make about $34 an hour. Industrial electricians make $36 an hour. Power system electricians make $47 an hour, and many electricians earn more than $50 an hour.

Mr. Speaker, last year there were over 1,800 job postings for electricians. With over $2 billion in infrastructure projects on the horizon, we need to ensure our workforce is ready to meet this demand. We need these workers to build and maintain our roads, hospitals and schools for Ontario’s growing population.

So, Speaker, what is the minister doing to give a hand up to those who work hard and take pride in a job well done?

Hon. Monte McNaughton: Through you, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her advocacy and continued support to get more people into the skilled trades.

Speaker, our announcement in Ottawa was about more than just training. We’re breaking new ground, taking historic steps, and passing first-of-their-kind legislation that builds a stronger Ontario for everyone. It shows our government is working for workers every single day and we’re not slowing down. We’re putting those who work an honest shift in the driver’s seat and helping average people and their families get ahead. We’ve got a workers-first plan to build a brighter future for Ontario that works for everyone.

Through you, Mr. Speaker, our government is all in, and we’re going to get it done under Premier Ford.

Automobile insurance

Mr. Gurratan Singh: My question is to the Premier. Ontarians are struggling to make ends meet, and one of the greatest expenses they face is car insurance. But instead of helping Ontarians and lowering rates, the Conservative government continues to allow billion-dollar car insurance companies to rip off Ontarians by charging them more simply based on where they live. It is postal code discrimination and it is wrong.

Last week, alongside other NDP MPPs, I put forward a bill to lower car insurance rates by ending postal code discrimination. Will the Premier to the right thing? Will he vote yes to our NDP bill to stop postal code discrimination and lower rates? Or will he continue to allow his insider friends in the car insurance industry to rip off Ontarians?

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

Mr. Will Bouma: Thank you for that question. Our government has been keeping a very close watch on the insurance companies across Ontario to make sure that they are treating the people of Ontario fairly during this unprecedented time. And we have had a clear message to insurance companies: “You should provide relief and funds to reflect the financial hardships your customers are facing because of COVID-19.”

Because of that, because of the encouragement of the province of Ontario, we have seen $1 billion in consumer savings, affecting 93% of Ontario drivers. In fact, Mr. Speaker, David Marshall’s report that came out a few days ago stated that, since 2019, FSRA has been active in reducing the regulatory burden.

The reality is, Mr. Speaker, the people of Ontario work very hard, and our government understands that taxpayers are under pressure. We recognize the impact that inflation is having on our families, and our government is here for them. Our government is committed to putting and keeping more money in the pockets of hard-working Ontarians—for example, the jobs training tax credit of $2,000 and the low-income workers LIFT credit.

Mr. Speaker, every opportunity that the opposition has had to make life more affordable for the people of Ontario, they have said no.

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

Mr. Gurratan Singh: Back to the Premier: We have just heard how out of touch the Conservative government is. I challenge the Premier to go to Brampton, to go to Scarborough, to go to northwest Toronto and ask voters there if their car insurance rates have gone up or gone down. They will tell you that the rates have gone up and people are struggling because of it.

It’s no surprise, because every single year that the Conservative government has been in power—in 2018, in 2019, in 2020, in 2021 and in 2022—they have allowed car insurance rates to go up. And on top of it, they have voted no to two NDP bills that would actually have ended and lowered car insurance rates.

Enough is enough. The Premier needs to stop serving his insider friends in the car insurance industry and start serving the people of Ontario. Will he vote yes to our NDP bill and lower car insurance rates once and for all?

Mr. Will Bouma: I appreciate that in the Marshall report that was just released, no mention was made about how making auto insurance more expensive for the rest of the people of Ontario would serve any benefit. In fact, what he’s saying is that the future of consumer services like insurance lies in being responsive to rapid changes, such as pricing and innovation.

We recently implemented, through FSRA, a regulatory sandbox to test new initiatives to respond to changing consumer needs. Successful innovations from this sandbox would be delivered to the consumer market.

But the reality is that the people of Ontario need real relief: making life more affordable and convenient for over eight million vehicle owners by eliminating licence plate renewal fees; the minimum wage increase, a raise to over 760,000 Ontario workers; removing the unfair tolls imposed on Highways 412 and 418 by the Del Duca Liberal government and addressing the housing crisis.

Mr. Speaker, every chance that the opposition has had to say yes to the people of Ontario, they have said no.

Housing

Ms. Lindsey Park: My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and I understand this is a timely question. Oshawa is now one of the most expensive places to rent an apartment in all of Canada. A real estate listing and analysis firm’s numbers say Oshawa saw the average two-bedroom unit in Oshawa jump by a staggering 24.8% this month, reaching a new high of $1,860 per month.

I recognize, Minister, you inherited a huge housing backlog when you became minister. What more can we do as a Parliament? What more can you do to help my Oshawa constituents like Ontario Tech students who are soon going to graduate who are looking for a place to rent?

Hon. Steve Clark: Speaker, through you to the member for Durham: I want to thank you for the question. Thank you for your advocacy in your riding. I really appreciate the interest on the housing file.

You’re right: We inherited a housing file that was for the most part neglected by the previous government for 15 years. We went at it very quickly with our housing supply action plan. As you know, both in 2020 and 2021, the years following the housing supply action plan, we’ve had significant increases. In Durham alone, in the member’s riding, since we implemented our plan, there have been about 4,200 housing starts, which is about a 58% average from 2019—it’s higher than the average for 10 years.

But regardless of that, your points are well-taken. It only shows the fact that our work is not done. We need all of our partners, including municipalities, to do their share to make sure that long, drawn-out process that’s really causing undue delays needs to stop. So your question is very timely, and I’ll have more to say later on today.

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

Ms. Lindsey Park: I want to specifically thank the minister for his collaboration on the release of the Co-owning a Home guide earlier in the term, one of the potential solutions for those finding themselves priced out of the market.

In February, the average Durham region home reached an all-time high of $1.2 million. As we near the end of the term of this Parliament, what other solutions can you offer to benefit my constituents?

Hon. Steve Clark: Speaker, again through you to the member for Durham: I want to thank you for your leadership on the co-ownership innovation guide that we’ve done highlighting the Golden Girls in your riding. Thank you for your leadership.

We want to build upon some of the measures that we’ve put forward as a government. Obviously my housing task force report—very bold, visionary—sets out a longer-term plan for the government. But we know; it doesn’t matter what consultations we had. The member knows that the process takes too long. It literally takes too long to start a process and get shovels in the ground. That’s something that we’ve heard throughout the consultation. We want to put a plan in place, but we want to continue that consultation: multi-generational communities; to ensure that there’s a rural and northern lens on the housing file, which I know the member’s very, very interested in.

This is a long-term strategy. It’s not a one-and-done. And I think you’ll see, in the years ahead, that our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, will have many, many more housing initiatives to deal with the housing supply problem.

Northern Ontario development

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: My question is for the Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry. It’s long been observed that the gap between northern and southern Ontario is more than just a geographic one. We have known for quite some time that the northern portion of our province has been left wanting for investment. Whether investment in health care, infrastructure or even just the investment of consideration into formulating strategies to improve life for our northern, remote and Indigenous communities, it’s clear that the previous administration was uninterested, and instead solely fixated on the southern, urban regions of our province.

Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister: How is our government and his ministry bridging that gap to build a stronger, more inclusive Ontario?

Hon. Greg Rickford: I want to thank the member from Perth–Wellington for his legacy in this place and the incredible work he’s done for his constituency and our government over the past couple of years.

Mr. Speaker, up north, we’re talking about opportunities. I started out in Cochrane, went to Iroquois Falls, Temiskaming Shores, Sturgeon Falls and Calstock where, on behalf of the Minister of Energy, we announced a biomass strategy, and in Lac des Iles with the Premier, talking about our Critical Minerals Strategy. There’s a palpable enthusiasm across northern Ontario that we have an opportunity to serve global demands, that we have an opportunity to be part of an integrated supply chain, from exploration to electric vehicles. That means investing in our businesses, investing in infrastructure for our communities. It’s why we modernized the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp.

Northern Ontario is appreciative of the work this government is doing, and we’re ready.

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

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: It’s clear that the minister’s efforts to create a new-and-improved Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. are manifesting into real-world results for people and businesses across the north.

The facts are this: Since June 2018, we have invested more than $473 million in 4,244 projects in northern Ontario through the NOHFC, leveraging more than $1.5 billion in investment, and creating or sustaining over 6,600 jobs. What is clear is that many northern communities were forgotten under past Liberal governments, and our government was elected to clean up their mess.

Speaker, through you, how is the minister turning these communities across the north into economic hubs?

Hon. Greg Rickford: I’m sure the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade shares my view that we have the most amazing Premier, who is focused on the priorities of the north. He knows, when it comes to agriculture, that the clay belt in Thunder Bay district and in Fort Frances and Rainy River represents three of the largest growth areas for agriculture.

He knows that, with the tariffs President Biden slapped on Russia—and rightly so—for their hardwood plywood birch, it’s now going to be demanded from Cochrane. That’s why we invested $3.5 million in a new four-foot lathe up there.

He knows that in mining we have an opportunity to fill the gap, Mr. Speaker, and the global demand and the context of this strife for critical minerals. The European Union has come to the Premier and myself for a meeting to form a strategic alliance. They’re now asking us for our timber and our food.

Northern Ontario is busy, and the NDP have voted against all of these important initiatives. We’re ready, up north—

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

Assistance to persons with disabilities

Miss Monique Taylor: My question is for the Premier. The COVID-19 fatality rates for people with disabilities are two and a half times higher than for the general population. They have largely been left out of conversations around supporting Ontarians through this pandemic, especially when discussing the protection of residents in long-term-care facilities and group homes.

One group home here in Ontario had a 95% infection rate during the height of the pandemic. This is shocking. Ontarians with disabilities do not deserve this. They do not deserve to be left on the sidelines of this conversation. This government needs to stop ignoring people with disabilities. The health and well-being of people in Ontario who have a disability needs to be prioritized.

Can the Premier tell us what his government is doing to protect individuals in group homes as the province reopens?

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

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member opposite. Our government is committed to ensuring the safety of those in our group homes and under children, community and social services’ purview. That is why we have seen unprecedented investments in this area to support our vulnerable populations. Our government has understood the impact of COVID-19, and that’s why we’ve backed up our communities and our group homes with real supports. More than 250,000 recipients and their families received the emergency benefit introduced in March 2020 to help individuals who may have faced additional costs due to COVID-19.

To support individuals, we also expanded access to temporary emergency assistance for those in financial crises who have had no access to other supports. ODSP and OW recipients continue to have access to the government’s discretionary benefits.

We are working with our other ministries—the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions—to allow a plan for renewal and recovery for this sector.

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

Miss Monique Taylor: Prior to this pandemic, there were painfully long wait-lists for supportive housing for people with disabilities, and this has only gotten worse under this government. In many cases, a person has to wait up to 23 years for appropriate supportive housing—23 years, Speaker. Can you imagine anyone in this chamber having to wait over two decades to receive housing and support that they need? I bet not.

Ontarians with disabilities are overrepresented among those living in poverty and in emergency shelters, which is completely unacceptable. They deserve stability and they deserve to have access to appropriate housing options now, not two decades from now.

Can the Premier tell us what his government is doing to expand the appropriate housing and care options for people with disabilities and to protect them from future outbreaks?

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

Hon. Steve Clark: I want to thank the honourable member for the question. One of the things that our government is doing as a result of our supportive housing consultation is to take an all-of-government approach on this issue. We’re working collaboratively. Obviously, Minister Fullerton just responded to the first part of the question, but she and I and our ministers in health, Minister Elliott and Minister Tibollo, are taking that all-of-government approach when it comes to supportive housing.

One of the things that we heard from our stakeholders was that there are too many programs. I made an announcement in Durham region with our chief government whip to announce our Homelessness Prevention Program, which basically takes some of our supportive housing programs and rolls them into one to make it easier and more flexible for our service managers. What we’ve also done, Speaker: We’ve added more dollars to our municipal partners so that they’re able to get that immediate improvement to the system today, not 10 years from now.

Fiscal accountability

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: My question is to the Premier. According to the FAO expenditure monitoring report for Q3, the government has reduced planned spending on health, children and social services, and education. Choking off supports to some of Ontario’s most important services and programs during a global pandemic and lockdowns is bad enough, but the FAO’s Q3 report showed us again that this government is hoarding billions of dollars in contingency and unallocated funds. What are these billions of unallocated funds for? There always seems to be a lack of transparency when it comes to this government.

What we do know is this: It was not to help Ontarians get through this pandemic. Instead, it was set aside for March madness, a $5.6-billion pre-election spending spree.

Speaker, the Premier, in 2019, called March madness spending a waste of taxpayers’ dollars. Why did he choose to waste $5.6 billion now?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the President of the Treasury Board.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: As the member would know, the Minister of Finance updated on his own quarterly reporting where he noted that we are investing an additional $2.3 billion to support the people of this province. Every step of the way, to support the people of this province, we have invested.

There is no government in the history of this province that has invested more in health care, more in education, more to support the people of Ontario, and we’ve continued that, just like last week, where we announced one of the first new medical schools in over 100 years in the GTA, in the city of Brampton. That also includes a new medical school in Scarborough that the people of Scarborough will be able to utilize. We’ve got a commitment to build over 3,000 new beds over 10 years and $22 billion behind that. We will continue to make record investments to keep the people of this province safe and to build on our progress to date.

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

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: Thank you to the President of the Treasury Board. I worked on that new medical school before you took office, so I appreciate the fact that—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. The government side will come to order.

Please restart the clock. The member for Scarborough–Guildwood has the floor.

Ms. Mitzie Hunter: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I did work on the Scarborough Academy of Medicine before you took office, so I want to see those programs get built.

The fact is, the people of Ontario and of Scarborough are waiting for services that this government has delayed, like the families on autism that are waiting for services, or the ODSP program, which is underspent in the face of rising inflation. Seniors who are on fixed incomes need to hear from this government that there’s a plan to ensure that they can have a dignified retirement. What about the learning gaps? Why are you delaying those important programs and leaving people hanging?

Speaker, does the Premier think that breaking his budget deadline for selfish reasons is the leadership that Ontarians deserve? You’ve changed that deadline. You should have been reporting this budget this week instead of at the end of April. You are keeping people waiting when they are in need of much-needed programs and services in this province.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: There is no government in the history of this province that has invested more to support the people of this province than this government.

Mr. Speaker, let’s take a look at the record of the members opposite. They voted no to over $1.5 billion in additional spending to support hospitals. That included 3,100 new surge beds, and those, too, in the member’s own community of Scarborough. The members opposite have voted no to historic capital investments to increase the supply of hospital beds in this province. That’s 56 new major capital projects over the course of 10 years. The members opposite have voted no towards that.

The members on this side of the House are going to be committed to making life more affordable, building hospital beds, building capacity and building that new medical school in Scarborough.

Autism treatment

Mr. Faisal Hassan: My question is for the Premier. Parents of children and young people with autism have long struggled for the financial and structural support they require to get the proper care they deserve. We know the previous Liberal government let parents down, and under this government, the wait-list has doubled.

In York South–Weston, one such parent is Alexis, whom my office has been trying to help. Alexis has been frustrated with the lack of communication from the Ontario Autism Program, and has no funding support for her child and no end in sight to the lengthy wait-list. Why will this government not step up to the plate and address how the Ontario Autism Program is simply not working and the wait-list is clearly unacceptable?

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

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member opposite for that important question. Our government has been committed to making sure that the children and their families get the supports they need. That’s exactly why we’ve been creating a program for the community by the autism community. That’s why we have doubled the investment. That’s why we have approximately 40,000 children receiving supports right now through the plan, which is a multi-pathway program, providing supports in multiple ways. And that’s why we did consultations, listened to the community and understood the needs to create a new program through the independent intake organization, which has now been announced.

We’re moving forward and making very good progress, unlike the previous government that had 75% of children who would never receive any supports, and that was supported by the NDP. What did you do to address this issue? What did you do? There is important progress that is being made. We’re on track to getting five times as many children into this program as previously. The data supports that.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.

Mr. Faisal Hassan: This Saturday is World Autism Awareness Day.

My question is back to the Premier. Alexis has met barriers when trying to access the Ontario Autism Program and the Special Services at Home program. In fact, her SSAH application was lost and she had to resubmit it.

Special Services at Home updated Alexis a few days ago, saying she cannot get a client number until funding is approved and that the waiting list for her son is contingent on when and how much the government funds SSAH.

Alexis sent a letter to the Minister of Social Services that I was copied on: “We have been told early intervention is key for supporting kids with ASD and if you haven’t figured it out by now, Emmett’s early intervention window is quickly passing.” Alexis has deep fears of her son’s regression without getting the funding she needs and, in fact, is fearful for his well-being. Families deserve so much better.

With a wait-list of 53,000 children, when is this government going to provide the urgent help needed for their children’s development?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you for the question. Let me first of all acknowledge the challenges that families have had and the importance of the progress that we’re making to bring families into these programs.

I dispute the number that you’re suggesting for the 50,000. The actual reality is that we have 40,000 children receiving supports right now: children and youth in the behaviour plans, 3,665; childhood budget funding payments issued, 8,682; 32,000 payments for the one-time interim funding; for the foundational family services, 12,914.

The opposition had the chance to support children and youth with special needs. They said no to the Grandview children’s treatment centre in Ajax. They said no to the 1Door4Care in Ottawa. They said no to the Chatham-Kent children’s treatment centre. They voted against this funding and these investments not once but twice.

Our government is supporting—

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

The next question.

Early childhood education

Mr. Mike Schreiner: My question is for the Premier. Families in Ontario have paid the price for the Premier’s dithering and delay as the last jurisdiction to sign a child care deal in Canada, and they will pay the price if there are not enough spaces available.

Here’s the bottom line: Ontario will not have enough child care spaces if there are not enough early childhood educators to care for our children. There is already a shortage of ECEs because of low pay and poor working conditions. Graduation rates of the Ontario College of Early Childhood Educators have declined by 7% every year since 2014.

Speaker, care providers deserve fair wages, so will the Premier say yes to ECEs and the children and families who need them by offering a $25-an-hour pay for ECEs?

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

Hon. Stephen Lecce: We have delivered what no Liberal Premier could, which is affordable child care for the people of Ontario. Under Premier Ford’s leadership, we have announced a plan that will reduce rates by 25% on average, upfront, this spring and an additional 50% by Christmas of this year. We will get to $10 by 2025, a monumental initiative that will provide relief and stability for families who need it, young families in our province.

Mr. Speaker, we value the work of early childhood educators. It’s why in this deal we have a minimum wage of $18, and $20 for supervisors. Mr. Speaker, 75% of our workforce is above that. We’re trying to create an equilibrium of wages within the sector, to retain them and incentivize 14,000 more to enter our industry. We’ve landed not any deal but a better deal for the people we serve.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.

Mr. Mike Schreiner: Speaker, we need to have an honest conversation with the people of Ontario about the fact that you need ECEs to be able to staff the spaces to deliver the affordable child care that people want and need. Paying care providers a fair wage is just the right thing to do. It’s the right thing to do for nurses, educators and child care workers. It reflects the values of who we are as Ontarians.

But if that doesn’t convince the government to do the right thing, maybe basic economics will. You don’t have to be a labour economist to understand that low wages in a tight labour market will make it difficult, if not impossible, to hire the workers needed. Manitoba gets it: They’re paying $25 an hour. Yukon gets it: They’re paying $30 an hour. So why doesn’t the Ford government get it, at $18 an hour?

Speaker, will the Premier stand up, do the right thing and pay ECEs the fair wages they deserve?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: In the agreement that was publicized for the people of Ontario, we confirmed to a minimum wage of $18. Every year thereafter, in this agreement, it rises a dollar, up to $25 at a maximum. Also, the province of Ontario unilaterally put in $395 million to ensure that child care workers who work with staff and kids six to 12 years old, which are excluded from this federal deal, also get that wage increase.

We didn’t have to do that, but we believed it was the right thing to do to stabilize the workforce and encourage 14,700 more ECEs to step forward to help fill the 86,000 spaces that our Progressive Conservative government is creating. We have put more money in the child care system. We’re maintaining the Ontario Child Care Tax Credit, which the members of the Greens, Liberals and New Democrats have opposed systematically in this House. We’re going to continue to invest in families, reduce fees and make life more affordable for families in Ontario.

Northern health services

Mr. Michael Mantha: My question is to the Minister of Health. Right now in Algoma–Manitoulin, communities are facing many shortages of permanent doctors. In Thessalon, the North Shore Health Network has been searching for a full-time physician at the local hospital for months. They are scrambling. They are relying on locums to fill the urgent need of the hospitals, while primary care, which is the gold seal of our care here in this province, is basically non-existent.

Weeks ago, I presented a plan to the minister from the East Algoma Primary Care Work Team to create an integrated care model to help recruit and retain new physicians in the area. The current model of care is simply not sustainable in the area. This has been going on for years, and this problem, Minister, is not going away. We’re looking to you for your help.

Can you let us know: What is the government’s plan to train, recruit and retain physicians in northern Ontario?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you to the member for the question. We have had several conversations about the issue that you just described. You did present your plan to me, and we are studying it. We understand the urgency for it. We know that you need to have a solution and we are giving it priority in our office, I can certainly advise you of that.

In the longer term, however, you know that we are expanding medical placements for medical students significantly across Ontario—the biggest increase for the past 10 years: 160 undergrad physicians, 295 postgraduate physicians. I recognize that won’t help in the immediate instance that you’re speaking about. However, it is going to greatly increase the number of doctors who are going to be available in Ontario, particularly in northern Ontario, because the Northern Ontario School of Medicine is receiving 30 undergraduate physicians and 41 postgraduate physicians.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): That concludes our question period for this morning.

Notice of dissatisfaction

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Pursuant to standing order 36(a), the member for Ottawa–Vanier has given notice of her dissatisfaction with the answer to her question given by the Minister of Health concerning the availability of sexual assault evidence kits. This matter will be debated today, following private members’ public business.

Deferred Votes

Protecting Ontario’s Religious Diversity Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 sur la protection de la diversité religieuse en Ontario

Deferred vote on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 89,

An Act to amend the Human Rights Code with respect to religious expression / Projet de loi 89, Loi modifiant le Code des droits de la personne en ce qui concerne l’expression religieuse.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Call in the members. This is a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1140 to 1145.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): All those in favour of the motion will please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

Ayes

Anand, Deepak

Andrew, Jill

Babikian, Aris

Bailey, Robert

Barrett, Toby

Bethlenfalvy, Peter

Bouma, Will

Burch, Jeff

Calandra, Paul

Cho, Raymond Sung Joon

Cho, Stan

Clark, Steve

Coe, Lorne

Crawford, Stephen

Cuzzetto, Rudy

Downey, Doug

Dunlop, Jill

Elliott, Christine

Fedeli, Victor

Ford, Doug

Fraser, John

French, Jennifer K.

Fullerton, Merrilee

Gates, Wayne

Gélinas, France

Hardeman, Ernie

Hassan, Faisal

Hogarth, Christine

Jones, Sylvia

Kanapathi, Logan

Ke, Vincent

Kramp, Daryl

Kusendova, Natalia

Lecce, Stephen

Mantha, Michael

Martin, Robin

McKenna, Jane

McNaughton, Monte

Miller, Norman

Mulroney, Caroline

Oosterhoff, Sam

Pang, Billy

Park, Lindsey

Parsa, Michael

Pettapiece, Randy

Piccini, David

Rasheed, Kaleed

Rickford, Greg

Romano, Ross

Sabawy, Sheref

Sandhu, Amarjot

Sarkaria, Prabmeet Singh

Scott, Laurie

Simard, Amanda

Singh, Gurratan

Skelly, Donna

Smith, Todd

Stevens, Jennifer (Jennie)

Taylor, Monique

Thanigasalam, Vijay

Thompson, Lisa M.

Tibollo, Michael A.

Triantafilopoulos, Effie J.

Wai, Daisy

Yarde, Kevin

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): All those opposed to the motion will please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Todd Decker): The ayes are 65; the nays are 0.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I declare the motion carried.

Second reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Pursuant to standing order 101(h), the bill is referred to the Committee of the Whole House, unless—

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: I refer it to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Shall the bill be referred to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills? Is the majority in agreement? Agreed? Agreed. The bill is referred to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1148 to 1300.

Reports by Committees

Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills

Mr. Aris Babikian: I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills and move its adoption.

The Clerk-at-the-Table (Ms. Meghan Stenson): Your committee begs to report the following bills without amendment:

Bill Pr60,

An Act to revive 1692783 Ontario Inc.

Bill Pr61,

An Act to revive 1712042 Ontario Ltd.

Your committee recommends that Bill Pr63,

An Act to revive Superior Corporate Services Limited, be not reported.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Shall the report be received and adopted? Agreed? Agreed.

Report adopted.

Introduction of Government Bills

More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 pour plus de logements pour tous

Mr. Clark moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 109,

An Act to amend the various statutes with respect to housing, development and various other matters / Projet de loi 109, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne le logement, l’aménagement et diverses autres questions.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Would the minister briefly explain his bill?

Hon. Steve Clark: Yes, Speaker, thank you. The proposed More Homes for Everyone Act would amend the Planning Act, the City of Toronto Act and the Development Charges Act to make it faster and less expensive to build all types of housing.

The More Homes for Everyone Act would, if passed, also amend the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act to provide municipalities with more tools to make it faster to build homes and save costs for families.

Finally, if passed, the More Homes for Everyone Act would also amend the New Home Construction Licensing Act, 2017, and the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act to strengthen consumer protection for purchasers of new homes.

Petitions

Anti-racism activities

Mr. Faisal Hassan: I want to thank the congregations of the Masjid El Noor for signing this petition.

“Take Action on Islamophobia

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas three generations of a Muslim family were killed in an Islamophobic terror attack in London, Ontario;

“Whereas Islamophobia, white supremacy and hate crimes are on the rise in Ontario;

“Whereas no one should be scared to go for a walk while wearing a hijab, or fear worshipping at their masjid;

“Whereas we must take urgent action to eradicate Islamophobia, white supremacy and hate crimes;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to take urgent action against Islamophobia, white supremacy and organized hate, and unanimously pass the Our London Family Act.”

I support this petition. I’ll give it to page Vivian to take to the table.

Land use planning

Ms. Effie J. Triantafilopoulos: I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Millcroft golf course represents more than 60% of the community’s overall green space, is home to many species of wildlife (some endangered), and acts as a flood management system; and

“Whereas there is currently a proposal to rezone the golf course for residential development;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly to work with the city of Burlington, the region of Halton and the province of Ontario to work together to preserve the Millcroft golf course lands for the people of the community and beyond.”

I support this petition, affix my signature and pass it on to page Ria.

Anti-racism activities

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I have a petition entitled “Take Action on Islamophobia”—which is extremely important to the people of London West who signed this petition. It reads:

“Whereas white supremacy and hate crimes are on the rise, and we must take urgent action to combat Islamophobia and organized hate; and

“Whereas Ontario should be a province in which families can live without fear, regardless of the religion they practise, their clothes, or the colour of their skin; and

“Whereas the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) has made recommendations for key ... changes in the way that we challenge Islamophobia in Ontario;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pass the Our London Family Act, which will address NCCM’s provincial calls to action including:

“—a provincial review of hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents in Ontario;

“—new tools and strategies for Ontario schools to combat all forms of racism;

“—safe zones around religious institutions;

“—empowering the Speaker to ban protests at Queen’s Park that incite hate;

“—dismantling white supremacist groups by preventing them from registering as societies, and prevent acts of intimidation; and

“—establishing an Ontario anti-racism advisory and advocacy council, to make sure racialized communities have a say on government policies that impact their lives.”

I fully support this petition, affix my signature and will send it to the table with page Callum.

Abortion images

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: The petition I have is entitled “Call on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to Block Disturbing Anti-Abortion Images.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas an anti-abortion group, the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, is distributing unwanted flyers to people’s homes and displaying placards on major streets in London featuring horrifying and graphic images of aborted fetuses;

“Whereas regularly displaying graphic images on our streets and in our homes is traumatizing, difficult and misleading for women, children, and other vulnerable members of the community;

“Whereas the display of these images at crowded intersections creates a hazard and distraction to drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly as follows:

“To support calls for an injunction based on the need to prevent a public nuisance, and should it not be possible to proceed with an injunction, to develop and bring forward legislation to prohibit the use of such graphic and disturbing images on flyers dropped in people’s mailboxes or exhibited on placards used in the street.”

I support this petition. I will affix my signature and give it to page Jackson to deliver to the Clerks.

Optometry services

Miss Monique Taylor: I have a petition to save eye care in Ontario.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Ontario government has underfunded optometric eye care for 30 years; and

“Whereas the government only pays on average $44.65 for an OHIP-insured visit—the lowest rate in Canada; and

“Whereas optometrists are being forced to pay substantially out of their own pocket to provide over four million services each year to Ontarians under OHIP; and

“Whereas optometrists have never been given a formal negotiation process with the government; and

“Whereas the government’s continued neglect resulted in 96% of Ontario optometrists voting to withdraw OHIP services beginning September 1, 2021;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To instruct the Ontario government to immediately commit to legally binding, formal negotiations to ensure any future OHIP-insured optometry services are, at a minimum, funded at the cost of delivery.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my name to it and give it to page Molly to bring to the Clerk.

Optometry services

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I have a petition to save eye care in Ontario. I want to thank the optometrists at Old South Optometry and Byron Optometry for collecting signatures.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Ontario government has underfunded optometric eye care for 30 years; and

“Whereas the government only pays on average $44.65 for an OHIP-insured visit—the lowest rate in Canada; and

“Whereas optometrists are being forced to pay substantially out of their own pocket to provide over four million services each year to Ontarians under OHIP; and

“Whereas optometrists have never been given a formal negotiation process with the government; and

“Whereas the government’s continued neglect resulted in 96% of Ontario optometrists voting to withdraw OHIP services beginning September 1, 2021;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To instruct the Ontario government to immediately commit to legally binding, formal negotiations to ensure any future OHIP-insured optometry services are, at a minimum, funded at the cost of delivery.”

I agree with this petition. I affix my signature and will send it to the table with page Stanley.

Gasoline prices

Ms. Doly Begum: I have a petition here to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The petition is for gas prices.

“Whereas northern Ontario motorists”—and, frankly, all motorists across Ontario—“continue to be subject to wild fluctuations in the price of gasoline; and

“Whereas the province could eliminate opportunistic price gouging and deliver fair, stable and predictable fuel prices; and

“Whereas five provinces and many US states already have some sort of gas price regulation; and

“Whereas jurisdictions with gas price regulation have seen an end to wild price fluctuations, a shrinking of price discrepancies between urban and rural communities and lower annualized gas prices;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“Mandate the Ontario Energy Board to monitor the price of gasoline across Ontario in order to reduce price volatility and unfair regional price differences while encouraging competition.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature to it and give it to page Pallas.

Education funding

Mr. Terence Kernaghan: The petition I have is entitled “Stop” Premier “Ford’s Education Cuts.”

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas” Premier “Ford’s new education scheme seeks to dramatically increase class sizes starting in grade 4;

“Whereas the changes will mean thousands fewer teachers and education workers and less help for every student;

“Whereas secondary students will now be forced to take ... classes online, with as many as 35 students in each course;

“Whereas Ford’s changes will rip over $1 billion out of Ontario’s education system by the end of the government’s term...;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly” as follows:

“Demand that the government halt the cuts to classrooms and invest to strengthen public education in Ontario.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and give it to page Vivian to deliver to the Clerks.

Orders of the Day

Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, 2022 / Loi de 2022 sur la préparation aux pandémies et aux situations d’urgence

Mr. Sarkaria moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 106,

An Act to enact two Acts and amend various other Acts / Projet de loi 106, Loi visant à édicter deux lois et à modifier diverses autres lois.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I look to the minister to lead off the debate.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: As the President of the Treasury Board and minister responsible for Ontario’s plan to stay open, it’s my honour to rise here in the House today for the second reading of the Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act. It is also a pleasure to share my allotted time with the parliamentary assistant to the President of the Treasury Board and MPP for Mississauga–Lakeshore.

Mr. Speaker, I am beyond grateful for the progress our province has made in the fight against COVID-19, and that because of this progress our government has been able to gradually ease public health measures, so that Ontarians can visit their loved ones safely, members can gather in this very Legislature again, and, together, Ontarians in every corner of the province can plan for a brighter and more prosperous future. It is precisely this plan to stay open that I am here to speak about today.

As we all know too well, the COVID-19 pandemic touched each and every one of us. The past two years have been unlike anything any of us have seen or ever experienced. Far too many people have lost their jobs, their businesses and, tragically, their loved ones. One day we were reading about the first positive cases in Canada, and the next day our health care system was on the brink.

Very quickly and early on in this fight against COVID-19, one thing became clear: If previous governments had taken action seriously—their duty to protect the people of Ontario—and seized that opportunity to invest in the province’s critical health infrastructure, Ontario would have been better prepared to handle the challenges of the past two years. Instead, in a matter of two weeks, patients in need outnumbered the hospital spaces available to care for them. Crowded hallways greeted incoming patients, leaving families in a state of shock and disorientation, and our front-line workers put themselves at risk because there was no supply of personal protective equipment available.

Despite virus outbreaks in Ontario and around the world during the previous government’s leadership, such as SARS, Ontario lacked the capacity, resources and preparedness to adequately respond to pandemic events and emergencies. Our job creators, who sacrificed so much to achieve their dreams, were forced to close their doors for months on end. Ontarians had to scramble for resources just to keep their loved ones safe. From masks to toilet paper, the province faced shortages of basic supplies. Anxiety, angst and unease weighed on everyone as the crisis prevailed across the province.

This is why our government got to work right away. To address the long-standing problems plaguing our system, we made historic and unprecedented investments in our health care sector, among other priority areas. We moved swiftly and safely to protect the people of Ontario, and as Premier Ford has said time and time again, we have not spared a penny to keep the people of our province and the jobs that they hold.

While our government has made significant progress, we know that more needs to be done, and that is why I’m proud to introduce the Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act. If passed, this legislation will ensure that Ontario is well equipped to fight any future pandemic or threat to the lives and livelihoods of Ontarians. The Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act includes our government’s plan to build on our progress to date. It is the first comprehensive post-COVID-19 pandemic preparedness plan in Canada, and it is our plan to stay open.

Mr. Speaker, the Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act is built upon the following three pillars: expanding Ontario’s health workforce, shoring up domestic production of critical supplies, and building more hospital beds. In addition, select initiatives and legislative pieces fall beyond these pillars and thus exist in another category of their own.

Together, these initiatives that constitute and complement the pillars of our plan are specifically designed to protect our progress by increasing capacity in Ontario’s health care system, strengthening government-wide coordination for emergency responses, and streamlining policies that are necessary to safeguard Ontario for the future. All of this will allow our government to continue strengthening Ontario, looking to the future and saying yes to building Ontario into the best place to do business, work and raise a family.

It is my honour to detail the pillars of this omnibus bill here today. However, before we go into these details any further, I would like to take an opportunity to thank the people who demonstrated the Ontario spirit that saw our province of Ontario through some of the worst days of COVID-19 and who will also see us to a brighter and more prosperous future.

I would also like to thank my fellow caucus members, whose many efforts over the past two years have accounted for our government not having to start from scratch when it came time to saying yes and making the decisions that would position Ontario for success.

Most importantly, I want to thank the front-line health care heroes, who were running into hospitals when everyone else was running out; the grocery clerks, who kept shelves stocked; and the truck drivers, who kept those goods moving.

Finally, I especially would like to thank my fellow members who have partnered in this plan.

Ontario’s health care human resources represent exceptionally skilled, committed and well-trained professionals. But for decades, Ontario failed to invest in the staffing necessary to make our health care system work as best as possible. That is why the first pillar of the Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act pertains to expanding Ontario’s health workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic only reinforced what we know is true: that protecting the health and safety of all Ontarians belongs to all of us.

Ontario’s health care workers have shown us how tirelessly they work and how much they sacrifice to provide patients with the care and medical attention they need and deserve. While we cannot, once again, thank these heroes enough for their commitment, we can make sure that they are safe, staffed and supported as needed. This is why our government is working to ensure that Ontario’s health care workers are well equipped with adequate health resources.

Before elaborating any further, I would like to acknowledge my fellow members the honourable health minister and the Honourable Minister of Colleges and Universities and their respective offices for the work that they have done and collaborated on together here to meet the needs of Ontarians and our health care heroes. These members will have more to say about their work later on, but I will preface it by sharing some of the ways we are shoring up our health human resources in Ontario for the future.

To retain nurses across the health care sector, earlier this month our government announced an investment of $763 million to provide Ontario nurses with a lump sum retention incentive of up to $5,000 per nurse. This support is helping to stabilize the current nursing workforce as we build a stronger, more resilient health system.

Mr. Speaker, the system our government is building will be able to meet new challenges as they emerge. It will ensure Ontarians receive the high-quality patient care that they need, when and where they need it. It will also be our first line of defence in any future emergency or pandemic. None of this is possible without our front-line health care heroes who, simply put, are the beating heart of our system.

Ontario’s plan to stay open will also help us to continue bolstering our health human resources by expanding medical schools across the province. This will be done through the addition of 295 postgraduate seats and 160 undergraduate seats over the next five years. It could not come at a better time. This would represent the largest expansion of Ontario’s medical schools in more than 10 years. It will be the first time in over 100 years that there is a new medical school being built in the GTA. This expansion will increase access to family and specialty physicians and other health care professionals in every corner of this province.

Mr. Speaker, I am also very pleased to share that our government is reducing red tape across Ontario’s health human resources workforce. We are removing unnecessary burden and rethinking regulations to help increase the number of health care workers across this province. We are doing this by assessing the registration barriers that exist for foreign-trained regulated health professionals. As part of this initiative, our government pledges to address barriers for individuals looking to be registered with the health regulatory colleges; more specifically, those internationally trained professionals.

Removing these barriers will not only help to address staffing challenges, but it will also enable talented, resourceful individuals to contribute to the workforce and the training and expertise for the benefit of all Ontarians.

Another important component of this pillar is the creation of the new Ontario Learn and Stay grant. The grant is designed to provide vital financial support to post-secondary students who enroll in high-priority programs—programs such as health human resources and other critical care positions. It would also bolster the health care sector in the north through a commitment from graduates to work in underserved communities. Tracking to launch next spring, this program represents the province-wide innovation and resiliency we are working to build.

In addition to the grant, this omnibus legislation seeks to address the gaps in Ontario’s health care system through the Community Commitment Program for Nurses. This program is designed to place new nursing graduates in communities of greatest need across our province to ensure that our system meets the needs of communities in every corner of Ontario. Through the program, an investment of $81 million will go towards offering a full tuition reimbursement to 3,000 nurse graduates over the next four years. In return, these graduates will commit to working in communities in need for a minimum of two years, with 1,500 starting early in 2022-23.

Together, the Ontario Learn and Stay grant and the Community Commitment Program for Nurses will help us to expand Ontario’s health workforce. These initiatives will work hand in hand to turn the page on the failed plans and broken promises of previous Liberal governments by undertaking the largest recruitment and retention work in Ontario’s history, bolstering Ontario’s health human resources, and meeting the needs of all Ontarians through our investments and a stable workforce.

Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic also revealed red tape within the health care system that, if reduced, would improve how Ontario’s health human resources can work together. This improvement starts with amending the Personal Health Information Protection Act from within this omnibus legislation. Currently, the province has 51 separate, siloed Ontario health teams that organize health care services for patients in every corner of this province. These teams work to maintain the entire health care system centred around patients, families and caregivers across the province.

To better integrate Ontario’s health teams and the communities they care and provide for, the proposed amendment would ensure that health care providers, including hospitals, doctors and home and community care providers, will finally work as one coordinated team wherever they provide care. This change will strengthen local health care services, making it easier for patients to navigate the system. It will also help them transition between providers without running into red tape.

It will also better prepare Ontario’s health care providers to respond to any future emergencies by enabling them to access patient information securely, when needed, without facing barriers within the sector. Ultimately, it will ensure Ontarians receive the high-quality patient care they need, when and where they need it.

Mr. Speaker, our government is taking action from the lessons we have learned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to secure Ontario’s preparation and readiness for the future.

After years of facing pressures in the health care system, such as high taxes, limited domestic procurement and a shortage of highly skilled talent, to name a few, many of Ontario’s life sciences companies fled this province. For far too long, the sector was not receiving the support and resources they needed to thrive. That is why the second pillar of the Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act pertains specifically to shoring up domestic production of critical supplies. It will help reinvigorate the province’s life sciences industry, which is crucial to shoring up that domestic production. This work begins with having expertise we can leverage right here in Ontario.

Our government is building a life sciences sector that improves patient outcomes and positions Ontario as a market leader in the health industry. Ontario is home to innovation that has led to world-changing discoveries—one of the most obvious of the many examples being the discovery of insulin. I firmly believe that there is a lifetime of innovation to come, as long as we can create the right conditions to nurture and foster this innovation, and so do my fellow members in this House, including the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

That is why we are working to establish Ontario as a global biomanufacturing and life sciences hub that leads in the development, commercialization and early adoption of innovative health products and services. This work is helping our government to prepare Ontario for the future through an impressive strategy that my fellow member will detail later on. In the meantime, I will preface it by saying this: Ontario has the largest life sciences sector in Canada, one that provides over 66,000 well-paying jobs.

Positioning Ontario to compete and thrive in today’s global economy will allow Ontario to leverage its strengths in the health care sector and produce game-changing, life-saving solutions right here at home. This new strategy will ultimately close the gaps that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed in Ontario’s ability to procure innovation in the health care sector, and it will also develop solutions to help save lives.

At the start of the pandemic, Ontario did not have any made-in-Ontario personal protective equipment, and our stockpiles were left empty. Policies of the past 15 years hollowed out our production capabilities, weakened our manufacturing sector and left us dependent on foreign supply. That is why the Minister of Government and Consumer Services has worked hard to shore up the production of critical supplies in Ontario. I will highlight a few examples of this work before my fellow member speaks about it later.

To protect Ontario’s supply chain and ensure the province always has access to the PPE and goods we need, our government created the made-in-Ontario PPE and CSE program. With this homegrown support, we are now able to stockpile and safeguard resources, and we are better prepared for whatever comes our way.

In addition to this, in April 2020, our government invested $50 million to launch the Ontario Together Fund in the wake of COVID-19’s first wave. This fund continues to support domestic businesses through targeted investments to allow them to develop the ideas and solutions that will help control the spread of COVID-19 while they retool their operations to help produce PPE.

This strategic way of supporting Ontario’s businesses is yet another example of how our government’s fiscal firepower has helped to meet the needs of Ontarians and how we continuously move forward and prepare for the future.

But our work to enhance PPE production does not end here. Within this omnibus legislation, the new, proposed PPE Supply and Production Act would also ensure a robust supply of PPE and CSE is available in Ontario at all times, ready to be deployed at any time when an emergency hits. This legislation would enable Ontario to withstand any challenge without having to rely on uncertain foreign supply and unstable international supply chains.

Our government is leveraging Ontario’s extensive manufacturing capabilities wherever possible, which we need to maintain, because unlike previous governments, we recognize that protecting Ontario and ensuring preparedness means that we need to maintain a substantial stockpile of quality PPE and CSE in both emergent and non-emergent times.

Mr. Speaker, to further this work and remain vigilant going forward, our government will be enabling tools to track the level of domestically procured materials that make up these stockpiles. We will also be able to monitor the quality of these stockpiles through ongoing annual reporting. This due diligence will ensure that these critical materials are never found expired and depleted, as they were found under the Liberal government’s watch.

Furthermore, the PPE Supply and Production Act will also protect the people of Ontario’s hard-earned money from price gouging. This component of the legislation would make it illegal to resell PPE and CSE that is provided by the government without charge. Therefore, it will ensure that Ontarians will never again have to wait days and weeks on end for products required immediately for their personal safety; nor will they ever have to pay unruly costs to ensure their safety nor think of basic protection as inequitable, exclusive commodities.

Never will our government leave the people of Ontario in as precarious a position as the previous government did. This is why our government will continue to take additional steps to build on this domestic production.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to very quickly touch upon the third, and one of the most important, pillars of this legislation, and that is building more hospitals and hospital beds. Over the past 15 years, we saw the previous government leave the health care sector on life support. Our government is committed to not only retaining the 3,100 beds that we have put online in the past two years, but we are making sure that we have an ambitious plan over the next 10 years to ensure that, with the growing population of Ontario, we are able to continue building hospital infrastructure.

That will include over 3,000 new beds over the next 10 years, over 50 major capital projects, and investments of over $22 billion to keep the people of this province and our health care structure in place.

We will continue to build upon this plan to make sure that what happened in March 2020 never happens again to us as a province—left with so many gaps. This plan will help us move forward as a province, and it is our plan to stay open.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would ask to pass it over to my parliamentary assistant.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I recognize the member for Mississauga–Lakeshore.

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: It’s a great honour to rise today in my role as parliamentary assistant to the President of the Treasury Board to speak in support of Bill 106, the Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, introduced yesterday by my good friend the President of the Treasury Board. I would like to thank him for this opportunity. As well, I would like to thank the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and her team for all their work in crafting the proposed amendments in

schedule 2 and

schedule 3.

I’d like to begin with these sections and provide a preview of some of the work before my colleagues discuss it in more detail.

The proposed amendments to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act would make clear that the ministry’s mandate includes providing advice and programs to safeguard and stabilize our food supply. This issue is another matter of the two guiding principles of the government of Ontario: transparency and accountability.

Speaker, there should be no grey area when it comes to maintaining a safe and stable supply of food in Ontario. Food is a universal basic need. It feeds our children, parents, grandparents, workers and communities in every corner of Ontario, and Ontarians should never have to worry about putting food on their table. That’s why keeping it safe and accessible is clearly the top priority.

The proposed amendments in

schedule 2 and

schedule 3 would also require the ministry to report on the status of the Ontario food supply. This report process would include regular evaluations of the food supply system and related contingency plans that the ministry has in place to respond to emergency situations. Mandating these regular reports is another essential part of establishing the province-wide preparedness.

In addition, these amendments would authorize the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to allow for the creation of a temporary alternative location for the Ontario Food Terminal operation during an emergency. This would build on the flexibility needed to provide the government of Ontario with backup plans and options in the event of any future emergency. This work would not just meet our needs in an emergency, but it would also provide us with two new abilities in future emergencies too.

As I said, our government is once again delivering on the commitment of transparency and accountability for the people of Ontario by making reporting on the status of the Ontario food supply publicly available. Speaker, you have heard the words “transparency” and “accountability” over and over again today, because they run through the body of this proposed law and because they are core values of our government. These public reports would show Ontarians how reliable our agri-food sector is and how we are—for future needs.

They would also help guide any requests for surge capacity resources to support a safe and stable food supply, which are exactly the type of requirements that, as we learned, are often made in the event of an emergency.

The Ontario Food Terminal in Etobicoke is Canada’s largest wholesale fruit and produce terminal. It ranks among the top four terminal markets in Canada and the US by volume of food distribution. As of March 2019, it distributed 2.1 billion pounds each year. This volume is equal to the average of 5.6 million pounds of food product distributed daily from this 40-acre site. The Ontario Food Terminal is an essential crossroads for Ontario’s food supply.

During the pandemic, I was able to pick up fruits and vegetables at the terminal many, many times to deliver to our local food banks, including the Compass Food Bank and the Sai Dham Food Bank. The terminal is owned and operated by the Ontario Food Terminal Board, an enterprise operated under the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Therefore, it is our government’s responsibility to ensure that the proper steps are taken to secure its operations and sustainability. That’s why the amendments to the Ontario Food Terminal Act within

schedule 3 of Bill 106 would require the Ontario Food Terminal Board to maintain and submit to the ministry a contingency plan for emergencies that would impact the operations of the food terminal, along with a description of how the terminal’s operations could be temporarily carried out from a different location in the event of an emergency. These amendments would also authorize the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to direct the board to implement emergency measures when and if they are needed.

Speaker, these amendments and plans echo many of the other measures described today. They seek to enhance clarity and effectiveness while reducing red tape that only tied the government’s hands at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. These amendments would support the province’s agri-food sector while ensuring there is no disruption in Ontario’s access to high-quality and nutritious food made right here in Ontario.

Our government is committed to positioning the province for domestic production and to keeping Ontario’s shelves stocked with critical supplies for the future. However, our commitments preparing Ontario for the future do not end here.

Under the previous government, capital investment in Ontario’s hospitals also failed to meet the needs of a growing province. As a result, our government was left with hospitals that were not fully able to address an immediate and urgent need that came with the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why the third pillar of the Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act is building more hospital beds.

In my role as parliamentary assistant to the President of the Treasury Board, I have had the great honour to help unleash the province’s full fiscal power to protect the health and safety of all Ontarians.

Since the beginning of this pandemic, our government had made record investments in every area of Ontario’s critical health care infrastructure. Let me give you a few examples of that work.

We increased hospital capacity spending to create more hospital beds and to finally end chronic underinvestment.

In March 2021, we provided over $1.2 billion to help Ontario’s public hospitals recover from financial pressures created and worsened by COVID-19, which also ensured that the hospitals could continue to provide the world-class programs and services that Ontarians rely on.

In January 2021, we announced an investment of up to $125 million to immediately add over 500 critical-care and high-intensity medical beds to address the surge of COVID-19 cases.

This quick action was a key part of our government’s work, together with our hospital partners, to build unprecedented new capacity so Ontario will be ready to respond to any scenario.

Hospitals are the single most important aspect of the province’s health care infrastructure. But long before the pandemic, capital investment in the province’s hospitals did not support Ontarians. The former Liberal Deputy Premier and Minister of Health George Smitherman said, “The Ontario Liberals really starved health care for five years and that is not spoken enough.” And earlier this year, the former Premier admitted she would not have done this had she known a pandemic was coming.

We can’t afford to go into another pandemic or any future emergency unprepared ever again in this province. That’s why our government is making this long-overdue investment in new capital projects to get shovels in the ground; to build, modernize and expand our health care system; to add more hospitals and long-term-care beds across the province; to protect communities across Ontario; and to provide the best health care possible. We’re investing in communities that have not seen a new significant capital project in decades. These investments will ensure Ontario is never again left with hospital capacity at such vulnerable levels as it was under the previous Liberal government.

I’ll give just a few examples of these investments.

Our government is committed to making progress on our $30.2-billion hospital infrastructure plan to add 3,100 acute and post-acute beds, with over 50 major projects. As I’ve said before here, this begins with the single largest investment in hospital infrastructure in Canadian history: to completely rebuild the Mississauga Hospital in Mississauga–Lakeshore, in my riding. At 24 storeys and about 2.8 million square feet, the new, state-of-the-art Mississauga Hospital will be the largest and most advanced hospital in Canada, tripling the size of the current hospital, which was built in 1958.

As our mayor, Bonnie Crombie, said, this pandemic has brought to light some real limitations of the current hospital. COVID-19 has highlighted the need for major upgrades at this facility that are in many cases long overdue. This is even more critical because over the next two decades demand for hospital services at Trillium Health Partners facilities is expected to grow about seven times more than the average hospital in Ontario.

The truth is, this investment should have been made 15 years ago, but the former Liberal government kept saying no. I couldn’t be more proud that this Premier, this minister and this government have said yes to a historic, game-changing project for Mississauga. With this historic, multi-billion dollar investment, we’re adding over 600 more hospital beds, for a total of almost 1,000 beds at the Mississauga Hospital site, and over 80% is in private rooms.

The new hospital will have an expanded emergency department, one of the largest in Canada, with 23 new state-of-the-art surgical operating rooms. It will include a new advanced diagnostic imaging facility, a new pharmacy and clinical laboratory, a new eight-storey parking structure with spaces for almost 1,500 vehicles and a connection to the new Hazel McCallion LRT on Hurontario.

The first phase of this construction, which will begin this year, will build a new parking structure. The project also includes a new in-patient care tower nearby, at the Queensway Health Centre in Etobicoke.

Together, these investments would expand our hospital service, improve access to care, and reduce wait times for patients in both Mississauga and Etobicoke.

Speaker, this is a government that is fully committed to protecting the health and safety of all Ontarians.

As a result of decades of neglect and underfunding by previous governments, no group of Ontarians was impacted more by the devastating effects of the COVID-19 virus than our seniors living in long-term-care homes. That’s why another key pillar of Bill 106 is our government’s progress on fixing the long-term-care sector.

At this point, I have to acknowledge the great work of the government House leader and his team at the Ministry of Long-Term Care for their ongoing work on this strategy. To date, we have committed $4.9 billion to hire more than 27,000 long-term-care staff over four years and to ensure that the residents receive an average of four hours of direct care per day by 2024-25. Hiring more staff is part of our government’s plan to fix long-term care to improve the quality of life for our seniors. These long-term-care staff include registered nurses, registered practical nurses, and personal support workers.

They will help to fulfill our government’s promise to Ontario’s seniors that they will be able to live in the dignity and comfort they deserve.

Our government is not in the business of breaking promises. We will take every action to ensure that Ontario’s most vulnerable population is never again left in the difficult position as it was under the former Liberal government.

That’s why we have also committed to investing $6.4 billion to build 30,000 new long-term-care beds and to upgrade 28,000 current beds to modern design standards. This includes 877 new beds and 275 upgraded beds in Mississauga–Lakeshore, more than any other riding in Ontario. This includes 632 beds at two new long-term-care homes on Speakman Drive in Sheridan Park, in Mississauga–Lakeshore. Partners Community Health, a new non-profit organization, will operate these beds, which will be ready later this year as part of the government’s accelerated build pilot program.

This project will include a new health service building and the first residential hospice in Mississauga, operated by Heart House Hospice. There are projects like this in various stages of planning and development in communities right across Ontario.

In addition to the pillars I’ve already outlined, there are a few other initiatives that are part of the plan to stay open that I would like to discuss now.

When it came time to reference emergency protocols in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our government found that despite the previous Liberal government’s 15 years in office, there were no updated emergency protocols to clearly outline roles and responsibilities within and outside the government. The challenges that marked the early days of this pandemic were more difficult than they had to be because of the tangles upon tangles of red tape.

It comes as no surprise that in her 2017 report, the Auditor General found that under the Liberal government, Ontario’s emergency plans