I’m not sure where the member was when we had our budget, but there was actually a very substantial increase in community care and community supports, like organizations such as Meals on Wheels. We know, because of the use of volunteers and community commitment, as well as paid staff, the Meals on Wheels organizations in all of our ridings have done exceptional work during the pandemic, while we needed to keep those connections. In fact, I met last week with organizations to talk about how the investments we announced in the budget can be used to most effectively continue to treat our seniors and our most vulnerable in-community, just as we’ve highlighted in our Your Health document.

I’ll make sure you get a copy of the press release.

My question is for the Minister of Infrastructure.

Under the previous Liberal government, key infrastructure, tourism and recreational facilities like Ontario Place were unfortunately neglected. Instead of making investments and partnering with businesses to enhance the iconic waterfront location, they chose to close many of the features and attractions.

Ontario Place still holds great potential and opportunities for year-round enjoyment, as a place for everyone, no matter if it’s Ontario families or you’re coming from somewhere around the world.

That is why our government must act now to follow through on our promise to bring Ontario Place back to life. We cannot allow this once-in-a-generation opportunity to pass us by.

Can the minister please explain what our government’s plan is to revive the amazing Ontario Place?

I want to thank the minister for that response.

Under the leadership of this government, Ontario clearly has a vision and a plan for Ontario Place that’s going to make it, once again, the world-class destination that it once was.

I remember, as a young girl, coming here in the late 1970s with my dad to visit Ontario Place, but it has changed so much. Now we go see concerts and we see places that are closed, and it’s derelict, and it needs paint, and it needs upgrades. There’s so much more that we can do to make that place so much better. Despite these years of neglect and deterioration—it’s really sad that previous governments did not see this jewel in our community and fix it up and take that time.

I once again want to thank the minister for her leadership. And can she please expand on some of the new features and plans that will rebuild and revitalize Ontario Place for generations to come?

My question is to the Premier.

Over 550 tenants of Livmore High Park signed and delivered a letter asking their corporate landlord, GWL Realty, to stop rent increases of up to 14% this year. GWLR responded, saying that the building, being new, is not subject to guideline rent increases and pointed out that rent for a one-bedroom in High Park has gone up 46% compared to last year.

Does the Premier believe that a 46% increase in rent is manageable by tenants?

This is over 550 tenants and their families impacted in just one neighbourhood in my riding. Imagine how many tenants are impacted across this province.

There has to be some predictability in how much one can expect to pay in rent year after year. No one can manage unpredictable cost-of-living increases.

Minister, will you ensure that all tenants, regardless of when their building was built, can have stability in their rents?

The member is absolutely right; we are bringing Ontario Place back to life, and we will be making it a place that everyone can enjoy.

Yesterday, I joined the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport and the Premier to announce that we are moving the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place. We also announced that Live Nation will be renewing their lease with the province of Ontario and also building a brand new stage that will be active and operational all year around.

Mr. Speaker, with wonderful tenants like the Ontario Science Centre, Live Nation, and Therme, there will be lots for families to do. We are so excited that families will be able to spend all day there, from morning till night, every single day of the year.

But what I’m most excited about was releasing the final renderings of the whole vision of Ontario Place, which include 43 acres of public realm and park space, which is bigger than Trinity Bellwoods Park. This wonderful space will now have boardwalks, piers, public beaches, waterfront access, a brand new marina, children’s play areas, as well as food and beverages.

Mr. Speaker, we are excited that the final renderings are out in the public. We are completing the environmental assessment. And we will bring Ontario Place back to life.

The supplementary question.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs will get a chance to respond, if he chooses to do so. In the meantime, I encourage him to—

The member opposite has a fundamental difference with the government on creating affordable housing.

We are in the middle of a housing supply crisis, and we’re going to do everything in our power to build more purpose-built rental. We made a conscious decision. We delivered on our promise to existing tenants to protect rent control. In 2018, we made the exemption in the fall economic statement for one reason and one reason only, and that was to incent the construction of purpose-built rental. What happened last year? I’ve said it many times in the House: We had a record of 15,000 purpose-built rental starts in Ontario because of that. And already this year, we’re seeing bright signs in this city. We’re seeing permits for purpose-built rental five times higher than they were at the same time a year ago.

We invoked the cap this year because of the inflationary rate, to ensure that the maximum under rent control was 2.5%.

We delivered in the middle of the pandemic. The Attorney General blocked evictions in the middle of the pandemic to protect the most vulnerable. We capped rent increases in the middle of the pandemic.

We have stood up year after year after year to protect tenants and strengthen the stock of community housing and purpose-built rental housing, and we are going to continue.

The question, though, before the House, with all of our renter protections in the bill before the House, Bill 97—will that member and her party, the New Democrats, support those rental protection measures in Bill 97? Yes or no?

I always say this about the Liberal-Green alliance: They always talk a good game in their questions, but they never deliver on it when the votes come.

Exactly what this member talks about, allowing a young family to have the opportunity to build a home that meets their needs and their budget, close to where they grew up—that’s exactly what the policies we’re consulting on right now will provide.

The member talks about supporting farms and farm families. It’s going to be very interesting to see if he supports our initiatives to allow sons and daughters of farmers to be able to have a property on the family farm—or more importantly, to talk about workers and the opportunity to have a lot on a farm. to upgrade the opportunity for farm workers to have not just employment but a home there.

We’ve put all those policies down in some progressive bills in this House that this member has voted down every single time.

Oh, he has to finish? I’m so excited to answer.

I just want to give some stats. Stats Canada came out with February’s numbers—a 25% increase in condo permits, the highest increase in the entire country, which is great.

Mr. Speaker, do you know what really irks me? I really like the leader of the Green Party, but let me tell you something: It’s a little rich when he gets up and says, “Housing, housing.” As the Minister of Municipal Affairs says, “It’s all talk, no action.”

There are 444 municipalities in this entire province. Guess who has the lowest housing starts? It’s his riding of Guelph. But this gets even better.

Interjections.

He talks a good game—

I do appreciate the question from the member opposite.

I’m working with the Minister of Infrastructure to accelerate building schools in this province. We brought forth legislation designed to help fix the problem cited, which is, there are too many schools that need repair and it takes too long to get it done. In this bill, we’re going to accelerate the approval process. We’re going to allow joint-use projects with community partners, to build better recreational facilities for our kids.

In the budget, $14 billion is committed over the next decade to build new schools—$550 million this year alone.

And the Auditor General has requested and recommended to government to invest 2.5% of our budget in maintenance and renewal in the GSN. We have done that. We are providing that stability and those funding guarantees to school boards.

We know there is much more to do.

If the members opposite want to improve the state of schools, they will vote for the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act to ensure we deliver schools quicker and get things done for the children of this province.

When it comes to education, just this morning, the Ontario Human Rights Commission issued a statement on the legislation posted. They said, “The OHRC is pleased to read that the government of Ontario is committed to overhauling the language curriculum and screening all young children, as recommended in its #RightToRead report.”

We have strong support from Dyslexia Canada, from special education families, and from the parent associations of Ontario—demanding that we lift standards and we do better for kids.

We just announced a $690-million increase—the entire Ministry of Education budget. When you compare the peak of spending under Premier Wynne, it’s 27% higher.

We are investing more, we are expecting more for children in this province, and we’re going to continue to stand up for families in Ontario.

I want to thank my colleague and wish her a very happy birthday.

Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely correct; public safety must be the centre point of our attention, as urgent change is needed.

Two weeks ago, as members will remember, this House came together in voting for a motion to call on the federal government to implement meaningful bail reform. I can assure this House that our government is looking forward to working with our federal counterparts, including Minister Mendicino, and we are ready to assist in any way we can to see critical change and reform as soon as possible. This matter cannot wait, and this House sent a strong message that signalled with our unanimous vote.

Maintaining law and order is impossible without our police services. The men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line need our support, and we will always have their backs.

We know that the majority of those firearms were smuggled into Canada from the US and sold illegally—and this is not new. That’s why we’re calling for greater border protection.

As a result of Operation Moneypenny, some offenders were charged with failure to comply in the courts, and that’s why we need bail reform, as the member said.

Our message to the people of Ontario is simple: The safety of Ontarians is always our highest priority.

Oh, okay.

I apologize to the member for Guelph.

Start the clock.

You can conclude your question.

Interjections.

Stop the clock.

The government side will come to order.

Start the clock.

The next question.

It’s good the Premier is excited, because I’m excited for the answer.

Will the government support Bill 44 and Bill 45, to build homes instead of paving over the farmland that feeds us?

My question is for the Solicitor General. My constituents in Richmond Hill are deeply concerned about the safety of our neighbourhoods. They are concerned about increased levels of crime. This is a serious issue, impacting many of our communities, especially in the GTA.

People should not be afraid to use public transit, commute to work, or go shopping.

Public safety needs to be a priority because it affects all of us in our daily lives and is important for ensuring strong and prosperous neighbourhoods.

People are looking to our government for leadership and solutions to get crime under control.

Can the Solicitor General please explain what actions our government is taking to address crime in our province?

However, for the people of our province, there are other issues that relate to public safety and crime prevention. The first concern is about how our police are tackling large-scale criminal activity, and the second is about the importance of bail reform policies. One of my birthday wishes is to have that bail reform under control.

Can the Solicitor General please explain how the important issue of bail reform will benefit Ontario?

I’m glad to see that my students from Scarborough Southwest are here today.

My question is to the Minister of Education.

Schools in Scarborough Southwest are literally falling apart, and it is unacceptable that, despite the urgent facility needs identified by schools and school boards, our children are forced to learn in poorly equipped classrooms.

Speaker, this government claims to be making historic investments while simultaneously committing less than inflation and underspending their education budget by hundreds of millions of dollars.

My question is, how will this government address the backlog of repairs that we have across the province and ensure that our children are in safe and well-equipped classrooms?

Speaker, not only are our schools crumbling, but the government’s continued underfunding of our education system is leading to cuts in teachers and education workers. These cuts have resulted in oversized classrooms, inadequate specialized learning programs, and a lack of mental health support. This has a direct and detrimental impact on our children’s education.

So my question is, again, will this government provide our children with the support that they need, instead of putting pressure on our already underfunded education system?

I’m very pleased to share with the House today that Ontario is Canada’s food hub when it comes to processing.

The member from Brampton East is absolutely right; we have amazing food processors right in his home riding—and I appreciate the question very much.

Just recently, we hosted a food summit with over 200 participants. At that summit, we celebrated good work that our government has initiated; for instance, the Food Security and Supply Chain Fund, as well as the Strategic Agri-Food Processing Fund.

We’re building more capacity, because the world is looking to Ontario.

I want to share with you, as well, that at the summit I was very proud to launch the Agri-Food Energy Cost Savings Initiative—because it’s processors like in the member’s riding that are looking to modernize and looking for ways to reduce cost of production. So through a $10-million fund, we’re helping food processors identify and increase efficiencies throughout their processing plants.

Food production affects everyone in this province.

To the students who are in the galleries today: I want to assure you that there are amazing careers—careers for life—in Ontario’s agri-food sector. I encourage you to research those opportunities.

Our government stands with Ontario farmers and processors. Through the Agri-Food Energy Cost Savings Initiative, we are looking to cost-share up to 20% of all energy-saving initiatives that processors in this province undertake, up to a maximum of $300,000. Why are we doing this? Because we want our story to be sustainable. We want to be ensuring that processors are modernizing and embracing every opportunity to reduce costs of production that ultimately translate into affordable, good-quality food on store shelves throughout this province.

Ontario’s food processing industry is a core pillar of our province’s economic success and sustainability. And in my riding of Brampton East, they are some of our largest employers, with companies like Sierra Processing, Sofina Foods, and Maple Leaf Foods bringing high-quality food to our plates every single day. The success of Ontario is tied to the success of these companies and their employees. Ensuring that we enable success is an important priority.

Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Could the minister please explain how the government is supporting food-processing businesses in my riding?

As was reinforced to me during the summit, this sector is crucial to the continued growth of our economy and building a stronger Ontario. It’s important that our agri-food industry in Ontario is as competitive as possible.

Can the minister explain how the energy efficiency program will contribute to reducing costs for our food processors here in Ontario?

My question is for the Minister of Colleges and Universities.

All Ontarians deserve to have access to health care that they need when they need it.

Due to the neglect of the previous Liberal government, Ontario needs more doctors to alleviate the strain on our health care system. Unfortunately, too many Ontario students are going abroad for medical school because they haven’t been able to find residency spots here in their home province.

Our government must take decisive steps to educate and retain doctors locally in order to connect people to care closer to home.

Can the minister please explain what our government is doing to expand Ontario’s medical school system?

Expanding post-secondary education opportunities will make it easier for our homegrown doctors of tomorrow to receive training and provide world-class health care right here in their own communities.

This is one of many important initiatives our government is taking to help build up our health care workforce.

However, I know there are some regions of our province where the need for doctors and other health care professionals is more extreme. It’s up to our government to implement solutions that respond to these local health care needs.

Can the minister please explain how our government will prioritize medical training programs to support communities that have the most need?

My question is to the Premier.

This morning, in the media studio, Maria Sardelis and Cherie Vandevenne spoke about the terrible suffering caused by the illegal use of the trespass act by care homes. Far too often. when caregivers make complaints about poor standards of care, facility operators retaliate by using the Ontario trespass act illegally to permanently ban entrance to family members.

Will this government ensure that care home operators cannot hide from accountability by using the trespass act to punish patients and their loved ones?

In March 2021, this House unanimously passed a motion, presented by my colleague from Ottawa Centre, stating that the government of Ontario would “provide clear direction to operators of retirement, long-term care and group homes that they cannot use the Trespass to Property Act to ban family members who speak out about their loved ones’ living conditions.”

Will this government fulfil this commitment from 2021 by posting clear direction in publicly accessible spaces in every care facility in Ontario and ensure, also, that the police forces no longer misapply the trespass act by blocking families from visiting their loved ones?

Thank you to the member from Eglinton–Lawrence for this important question.

Our government recognizes that in order to build up our health care system, we need to ensure that students pursuing medical studies have access to world-class post-secondary education. As part of that effort, we need to ensure that we have the capacity to train doctors locally—and this government is delivering. In 2022 alone, we added 160 undergraduate spaces and 295 postgraduate medical seats to be implemented over the next five years—the largest expansion of Ontario’s medical school system in over a decade. As outlined in budget 2023, we are building on that expansion by investing $33 million over three years to add another 100 undergraduate seats and 154 postgraduate seats, beginning in 2024, prioritizing Ontario students. This means that by 2028, Ontario will have the capacity to train 1,212 undergraduate medical students and 1,637 postgraduate students annually.

I can assure you that the future of medical education in Ontario is bright.