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?

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?

Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

The House recessed from 1140 to 1300.

Report adopted.

MPP Vaugeois moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 101, An Act to establish the Advocate for Older Adults / Projet de loi 101, Loi créant le poste d’intervenant en faveur des personnes âgées.

First reading agreed to.

I have a petition, and it reads as follows:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas parents have asked the Ministry of Education to find a way to refocus and get students back to the basics; and

“Whereas there is a recognition that there is a need for additional qualified and dedicated educators in Ontario; and

“Whereas, if passed, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act will streamline certification timelines for those with in-demand expertise who have valuable skills to teach our students; and

“Whereas with a rapidly evolving economy, Ontario’s curriculum must be consistently updated to ensure relevant and modern information for students to access good-paying jobs; and

“Whereas students and parents deserve a world-class education system built, on strategic investments and initiatives, that will deliver the highest impact on student success, greater involvement and transparency for parents and respect for Ontario taxpayers;

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

“To urge all member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the passage of Bill 98, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023.”

Speaker, I support this petition. I will affix my name it to and send it to the table with page Frederick.

J’ai une pétition intitulée « Soutenez le système d’éducation francophone en Ontario.

« À l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario :

« Alors que les enfants francophones ont un droit constitutionnel à une éducation de haute qualité, financée par les fonds publics, dans leur propre langue;

« Alors que l’augmentation des inscriptions dans le système d’éducation en langue française signifie que plus de 1 000 nouveaux enseignants et enseignantes de langue française sont nécessaires chaque année pour les cinq prochaines années;

« Alors que les changements apportés au modèle de financement du gouvernement provincial pour la formation des enseignantes et enseignants de langue française signifient que l’Ontario n’en forme que 500 par an;

« Alors que le nombre de personnes qui enseignent sans certification complète dans le système d’éducation en langue française a augmenté de plus de 450 % au cours de la dernière décennie;

« Par conséquent, nous, soussignés, demandons à l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario de fournir immédiatement le financement demandé par le rapport du groupe de travail sur la pénurie des enseignantes et des enseignants dans le système d’éducation en langue française de l’Ontario et de travailler avec des partenaires pour mettre pleinement en oeuvre les recommandations. »

Je suis complètement d’accord. Je vais y ajouter mon nom et la donner à la page Maya pour apporter aux greffiers.

Your committee begs to report the following bill, as amended:

Bill 71, An Act to amend the Mining Act / Projet de loi 71, Loi modifiant la Loi sur les mines.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on the Interior and move its adoption.

I’d like to introduce, from the riding of Burlington, today’s page captain, Senna Chan Carusone. Welcome to Queen’s Park, and thank you for your work as a page.

I see that the students are actually finally here today. I hope everyone will join me in welcoming the wonderful students from St. Agatha Catholic School, with trustee Nancy Crawford and their teachers Shannon Murphy, Deirdre Moloney-Sciberras, Hyacinth Fernandes, Kathleen Dillon, and Theresa Moulds. Welcome to the House.