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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

I beg to inform the House that, pursuant to standing order 9(g), the Clerk has received written notice from the government House leader indicating that a temporary change in the weekly meeting schedule of the House is required, and therefore, the afternoon routine on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, shall commence at 1 p.m.

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

Please join me in welcoming this group of legislative pages.

Applause.

I would like to welcome Michau Van Speyk from the Ontario Autism Coalition.

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

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

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

Thank you for joining us.

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

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

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

Welcome all to Queen’s Park.

To reply, the Minister of Education.

The Minister of Education to respond.

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

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

I thank the honourable colleague for the question.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interjections.

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

Interjections.

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

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

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

Speaker, Johnson Children’s Services failed Misty.

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

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

Thank you very much, Rosemer, for your contribution.

The final supplementary.

The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

The next question.

The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

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

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

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

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

Interjections.

Meegwetch, Speaker. Good morning. My question is to the Premier.

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

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

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

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

Interjections.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interjections.

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s not going to happen on—

Interjections.