My question to the member opposite: We know there’s going to be a significant population increase and we need to use all the tools in our tool box to build more schools and more opportunities—both English-language schools and French-language schools. I just wanted to see if she’s supportive of building more schools in this province, including in many places like her own riding.

I’d like to table the following petition:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas parents expect that school board trustees and staff be qualified, accountable and focused on putting forward a plan to boost student achievement; and

“Whereas Ontario’s education system should offer the full accountability, transparency and responsiveness expected by families to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow; and

“Whereas currently, Ontario’s 72 school boards set their own priorities, creating inconsistencies in student outcomes across the education system; and

“Whereas training for school board officials, including trustees and directors of education, to ensure they are unified in their respective roles to help students build skills they need to succeed; and

“Whereas a trustee dispute mechanism should be put in place, saving precious time and countless taxpayer dollars by building a provincially appointed roster of qualified integrity commissioners to quickly and effectively adjudicate the disputes;

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

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

I’ll affix my signature and pass it to page Dominic.

Their own member said that money given to school boards is not divided appropriately. He knows that the Ministry of Education provides money to the school boards and they divide it based on priorities. He was also an educator so I imagine he would know this. He also claimed a few other things in his speech. Some of the things he claimed in his speech actually addressed section 7. I want to ask him, did he read section 7? Does he support at least section 7 of the bill, or had he not looked into the actual clauses of section 7 of the bill?

I’d like to refer it to the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, please.