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.

My question is for the Premier.

The housing affordability crisis is getting worse, not better. Over 185,000 families are on the wait-list for social housing.

Until the mid-1990s, Canada was building 20,000 non-profit and co-op houses each and every year. In Ontario alone, 14,000 co-op homes were built between 1989 and 1995. In fact, 93% of our current below-market rental supply was built before 1996.

But instead of building more homes that people can actually afford, in the communities they want to live in, this government is imposing an expensive sprawl agenda that municipalities and families simply cannot afford.

Speaker, I want to give the Premier an opportunity today to commit to making the financial investment to build 122,000 non-profit and co-op homes—deeply affordable—over the next decade.

Maybe the minister is saying that he will support my Bill 44 and Bill 45 that will allow fourplexes and four-storey walk-up apartments, will allow six- to 11-storey mid-rise apartments as-of-right in this province—

Interjection.

Interjection.

Speaker, is—

Interjection.

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.

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.

I appreciate the question from the member.

I can appreciate that the member wasn’t here in the last Parliament, so she was probably unaware of the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, which, of course, enshrined a Residents’ Bill of Rights within the law. We learned during COVID how important it was that family and friends are able to visit their loved ones in long-term-care homes across the province of Ontario. That’s why we enshrined that within the Residents’ Bill of Rights. It might please the—well, I guess it would displease the member to know that of course the NDP voted against that piece of legislation in the last Parliament. Despite that, we made the commitment to ensure that it is within the Fixing Long-Term Care Act. We’ve actually gone a step further. We’ve ensured that every single home across the province of Ontario posts the Residents’ Bill of Rights right within every single long-term-care home across the province.

On top of that, we are still building out 60,000 new and upgraded long-term-care homes while we add 27,000 additional staff.

Again, they voted against that.

But I think we’re on the right—

I found it odd that the NDP, in the last Parliament, actually voted against the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, because here’s what it says as you enter the doorway of a long-term-care home—

Interjection.

Here’s what it says on the Residents’ Bill of Rights in the doorway of every long-term-care home: “Every resident has the right to ... receive visitors of their choice ... without interference”—so job done, as you have asked in your question. It says, “Every resident has a right to ongoing and safe support from their caregivers to support their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being.” This is the wording that appears in every single long-term-care home across the province along with a Residents’ Bill of Rights.

They voted against the Residents’ Bill of Rights. They voted against the Fixing Long-Term Care Act. They voted against 60,000 new and upgraded homes. They voted against 27,000 additional health care workers. They vote against—

Supplementary.

I’d like to thank the member from Brampton North for a number of things: your enthusiasm and your approach and what you do in the community.

Interjections.

I thought you had cloned yourself to 5,000 based on that gold medal game, because the fans in Brampton were unbelievable with their support for Team Canada—outstanding.

This government invested $500,000 in the IIHF Women’s World Championship in Brampton, and it was a massive success—a success on number of fronts, in what it does from a tourism, culture and sport perspective in the community, and how it drives visitorship.

I stepped back at one point because I got there early, as I often do at a sporting event—especially when you’re involved with it emotionally—to try to get rid of some tension, and what I saw when the doors opened were as many children as I saw adults; young girls who played hockey throughout Ontario wearing their jerseys, showing up with their parents and getting engaged. If they’re engaged, that means they’re looking at these women on the ice, especially Team Canada, and using them as a source of motivation and—

I can talk for hours on what sport does, what it delivers to young people, and how it helps them and positively affects their lives, but I won’t bore you, at least at this point.

The Ontario Sport Hosting Program is designed to help communities host national and international events. Again, it goes back to that tourism, culture and sport piece that work awfully well together to drive business to the economy. To that point, since 2018, we’ve supported 155 sporting events. That equates to about $81 million of impact in the communities that were hosting these events. That’s a big deal.

I was just in Ottawa, and we are investing $300,000 in the World Rugby Pac Four international tournament to be held this year in July. The best of the best will compete in Ottawa. One of those four is Canada, which means we’re one of the best of the best, including New Zealand, Australia and the US. Once again, it’s a great example for all people in sport, but especially young women who can be motivated and inspired by watching their heroes on the ice or on the field.

My question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

This past Sunday, my community of Brampton had the pleasure of hosting over 5,000 hockey fans at the CAA Centre for the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Women’s World Championship. The gold medal game was certainly an exciting hockey match. Our Team Canada played so hard right until the end, and we’re all very proud of their efforts. Medals and awards went to numerous athletes, but each and every one of the women is a true champion and an all-star. They are positive role models, providing encouragement for other women to stay active in sport.

However, according to a national study, unfortunately, 50% of girls will drop out of sports by adolescence.

More must be done to raise the profile of women in sports and create opportunities for greater participation.

Can the minister please explain how our government is promoting active involvement in sport for women?

We certainly saw and experienced excitement and fun in Brampton last week.

Sports events like this one in my community not only inspire future generations of athletes and increase physical activity, but they also contribute to the social fabric of our communities.

It’s also encouraging to see the positive effects that a major event like this one had for the businesses in Brampton and across Ontario. Many Brampton hotels, restaurants and shops welcomed the boost in occupancy and sales as people enjoyed themselves in and around our city. It was a true winning experience for everyone.

Can the minister please explain how our government is supporting amateur sporting events and boosting tourism opportunities in local communities like mine?

To the Premier: My constituent Janice complains that the surgical wait times are simply too long in Ontario. She shared with me a BC government website which publicly lists specialists as well as surgical wait times—a very convenient tool.

Since the Premier won’t keep his promise to eliminate surgical backlogs, five years after he was elected to do so, will he at least do the very minimum, which is to create a surgical wait time portal for Ontario patients, just like the one the BC government has created for their residents?

Let me just rephrase this: The BC NDP government has created a central system for faster referrals. Their residents can go online and see exactly what they need to see and get that information in a timely fashion.

This Conservative government scrapped the local health integration networks on the eve of a global health pandemic, and under this government there are now more private, for-profit companies charging for similar services. This is a disaster for Ontarians.

Why does this government insist on making health care worse and more expensive for Ontario residents?