On behalf of hard-working Ottawa families, it’s a pleasure for me to stand up and provide my strong support for the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act.

There’s no question that the world is changing, and we had better change with it, or we risk getting left behind.

The Minister of Education has been doing an admirable job of modernizing Ontario’s curriculum, to ensure that it prepares our young people for the world of tomorrow. This has meant focusing on STEM learning and math, including financial literacy and digital fluency, and encouraging kids to take a good look at rewarding careers in the skilled trades.

It’s an honour for me to represent the people of Carleton, and I take every opportunity I can to listen to the concerns of hard-working families. My constituents are respectful and polite, but they’re also pretty firm about wanting value for money. Families in Ottawa understand the critical role that public education plays, and they nearly always like their children’s teachers, but they also see their school board as a big and impersonal bureaucracy and believe the education system must do a much better job of preparing young people for the workforce.

The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act will, if passed, provide parents and taxpayers with some long-overdue accountability, and it will assist the minister in making the education system more responsive to the changing needs of the job market.

Our legislation, if passed, will drive provincial priorities and expectations for Ontario’s education sector from the province through to Ontario’s classrooms to enhance accountability and transparency.

Our legislation will enable more effective governance through reforms for education sector boards of trustees and directors of education.

Our legislation will help to maximize the considerable real estate assets of school boards.

It will ensure Ontario’s teachers are trained for the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s classrooms.

And our legislation will provide the information and tools necessary to ensure consistent information and approaches to student learning, including student learning about mental health and well-being.

Madam Speaker, there are certain parts of the legislation that are very, very important and are very critical, not just in Ottawa—but specifically in my riding of Carleton.

The fact that our legislation will enable school boards to maximize the considerable real estate assets of school boards make me think about Munster Elementary School, which was shut down years ago by the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP. While it’s in perfect condition, Munster Elementary School has remained closed, and the school board has no intention of reopening it. In fact, the school board has tried to sell this asset several times—something that I have prevented, because it makes no sense for the school board to not utilize Munster Elementary School to its full potential.

This bill allows the school board to collaborate—whether it’s with other school boards, whether it’s with the municipality—to come up with some sort of solution that will allow parents in Munster to send their kids to a local school, but also give the option of making sure that the building is used to its maximum capacity. Whether it’s as a hybrid community centre or whether it’s dual school boards, the opportunities and the possibilities are endless, and this legislation provides that opportunity. This legislation provides that hope to the community of Munster, the people of Munster, that perhaps once again they can send their children back to Munster Elementary School, a local school. That’s why I’m proud to support this important piece of legislation, and I look forward to working with the parents and the community of Munster to come up with various solutions and work towards how we can get Munster Elementary School opened.

The bill that we’re discussing is quite wide-ranging and includes a number of much-needed reforms. I’m not going to list them in their entirety, but I will briefly mention a few that I’m especially excited about.

The big item is, of course, the provincial information for parents that will spell out their rights, roles and responsibilities within the educational system. This is very important, especially in the city of Ottawa, where in the past month there have been some contentious issues in the news with school board trustees, and parents have been left wondering what their rights are to get involved, what their rights are to ask questions. This legislation will ensure that parents will know what their rights, roles and responsibilities are within the education system.

As I mentioned earlier, many parents across the province view their local school board as a big and impersonal bureaucracy that does not feel a need to listen to the concerns of families. I experienced this myself when, last year, the parents in Findlay Creek who had their children attending Vimy Ridge Public School reached out to my office because they felt like they were getting nowhere with the school board and their trustee. When they were telling the school board and trustee that there were too many kids and that they needed to build a second public elementary school in Findlay Creek, the school board simply ignored them and kept on adding more and more portables until, finally, the school board said they’re going to start busing new students to other communities. Instead of accepting that they needed to build a second public elementary school, the school board just ignored the needs of parents.

The parents came to me, and we worked hard. We created a petition. I spoke with the Minister of Education—and that’s probably the fastest school I’ve ever managed to get funding for, to get built. When I heard about the issue, it was in October, and the day we received funding was, I believe, sometime in mid-April—so eight months.

I was very, very pleased to work with the parents and families of Findlay Creek to make sure that they got funding and that the school board prioritized building a second public elementary school in Findlay Creek. But they shouldn’t have gone through me; they should have been able to deal directly with the school board and their school board trustee. But you know that when parents are reaching out to their local MPP to get assistance on a school board matter, there’s an issue there with the system.

Our government understands that parental involvement is crucially important in a child’s education, and we believe in empowering parents, not in telling them to sit down. Providing each parent with information that outlines their rights and responsibilities will enhance parent-teacher conversations and encourage more parents to voice their opinions and get involved in their children’s education.

Madam Speaker, my colleagues on this side of the House strongly support this legislation, because it includes a number of measures to make school boards more accountable to families, and I agree with all of those measures.

I’m especially impressed by one amendment to the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, that would allow student victims of alleged sexual abuse, child pornography or a criminal sexual act by any teacher to receive funding for therapy. At present, the provisions require there to be a direct relationship between the student and teacher, which is limiting for victims of abuse. I applaud the Minister of Education for including that measure in the bill.

When young people enter the public education system, they are in our care, and they deserve every protection we can afford them.

Clearly, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act is a thoughtful and comprehensive bill that will help protect young people, empower parents, and make school boards more accountable to parents and taxpayers. With this legislation, we are telling parents in Ontario, we are telling the communities of Munster, of Findlay Creek, Riverside South, Stittsville—all across my riding of Carleton, across the city of Ottawa, including Manotick, and across the province that our government is here, our government is listening.

Our government has always supported parents, and we will continue to support parents, because ultimately it is their children in the public education system, and it is our responsibility to make sure that children and families are supported.

Further questions?

The member for Nickel Belt.

Speaker, we know that student success is very, very important, and I know that all members agree that students need to be given every opportunity to succeed in the workforce—ready to go forward with rewarding careers, whether they go to post-secondary by way of university, college, a trade, or another path.

Our government announced that, starting with students entering grade 9 in September 2024, they will be required, toward their Ontario secondary school diploma, to obtain a technological education credit. This is just one example of our government supporting all students for the jobs of tomorrow.

How does this bill further support student learning?

This bill states right in the title that it wants to achieve better outcomes for students.

Right now, in Niagara, 16 schools can’t operate their nutrition program—and they can’t even operate it because of the funding. The kids are going hungry because this government hasn’t increased funding as food prices skyrocket.

Does this member and the Conservative Party think that hungry children perform well at school?

I was very interested in the example the member from Carleton mentioned about getting a new school in Findlay Creek. I don’t know if she knows, but school boards establish their priorities for new schools, and these priorities are then submitted to the Minister of Education, who actually makes the decision and approves which schools might be built. So the fact that schools don’t get built is not the fault of the school boards.

I really wish I had the power of the member to get a new school built in my riding.

My question to the member is, what do I need to do or tell the minister so I can get a new school built in eight months in my riding?

I find it interesting that the member for Carleton says people shouldn’t be commenting when they don’t know what they’re talking about.

The nutrition program at the school my colleague was talking about is actually funded through the province—so I suspect that you’re going to go to the minister, then, and tell him that he needs to provide the emergency funding to feed those hungry children.

Speaker, my colleague from Nickel Belt talked about students with special education needs not getting the supports they need in schools. As a trustee, I can tell you, for many decades, through consecutive Conservative and Liberal governments, every single board runs a deficit when it comes to supporting students with special needs. The special-ed funding is insufficient and has been for a very long time.

I’m going to ask the member from Carleton, is your government, in this bill, going to provide the special education funding that the school boards need in order to actually be able to provide supports to students with special-ed needs so that they can thrive and get the education and the learning experience that they deserve—because currently, under your government, they’re not. In fact—

Questions?

OPG is currently in talks with New Brunswick Power over the ownership and operation of the Point Lepreau nuclear plant. I asked the Minister of Energy last week what he would do to protect Ontario from taking on debt or financial risk in any deal related to the plant. His assurances were just boilerplate; they were not comforting.

Since then, media reports from New Brunswick indicate the power company there is looking at a number of options.

One article noted, “That could include giving up direct ownership and management of some power generation so that outside companies absorb more of the cost and the financial risk.”

I think that’s a pretty clear statement.

New Brunswick Power has over $5 billion in debt and says the status quo can’t continue. Last year, poor operations at Point Lepreau cost New Brunswick Power almost $400 million in losses.

New Brunswick Power is also talking about the option of a partnership arrangement with OPG that some say could shield the deal from New Brunswick regulators and allow OPG to take on financial risk.

Speaker, the people of Ontario have no interest in taking on someone else’s debts and losses. Our hydro rates are high enough; we don’t need to subsidize another province’s power company.

The Minister of Energy should make sure OPG is focused on looking after Ontario and not signing agreements that put us in harm’s way.

Further questions?

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

In a press conference this week, the Minister of Education talked about provisions which would potentially allow for the purchasing of school properties for the development of long-term-care homes. Given the crumbling private long-term-care system, I just want clarity around whether these properties would remain in the public long-term-care system.

The month of Ramadan is coming to a close now—late Friday, early Saturday.

I have had the opportunity, as many of us have, to attend a number of Ramadan events and community iftars. I’ve also been to several Ramadan bazaars and Eid bazaars; some have seen the henna on my hand.

What I wanted to comment on, as far as my community, is, first of all, a couple of the bazaars I have been to. These are organized shopping events, basically, that are focused on jewellery and clothing and handbags. They are real community events. One of the things I noticed when I was there is how many female entrepreneurs this really gives an opportunity to. When you go there, most of the sellers are women, and it’s this incredible community.

I also had the chance to go to an iftar held by the organization Muslim Social Services of Kitchener-Waterloo, and I really wanted to give them a shout-out. They are filling a really important void in the mental health space, which is, offering mental health supports that have a cultural sensitivity that would be otherwise missing. Understanding that socio-religious background is very important when it comes to building strong societies, and they’re absolutely essential in that space. I wanted to thank them for inviting me to iftar.

I rise in the House today to honour a friend, a colleague and an exceptional leader from my riding of Elgin–Middlesex–London. Last month, on March 11, sadly, only two weeks before his 70th birthday, Duncan McPhail passed away. He was an active farmer and egg producer. He grew up and spent his life on his family farm, where he also raised his own family. He was also a great customer of my former employer, Masterfeeds.

A strong community advocate, Duncan also served as West Elgin’s mayor. I believe it’s fair to say that Duncan McPhail was the voice of West Elgin.

Duncan was a man of honour and integrity, and he was truly loved throughout Elgin county.

Duncan served on council from 1988 to 2002, and he returned to politics in 2018. In 2000, 2001, and 2019, Duncan served as Elgin county’s warden. He also served as deputy warden last year, in 2022. This meant that Dunc had an unmatched wealth of knowledge.

I certainly appreciated his advice and guidance in the time I was fortunate enough to work alongside him.

His experience, wisdom and sense of humour were appreciated by all in Elgin county.

We have lost a steadfast leader, and I know that Duncan McPhail will be greatly missed by his family, his community and the many, many people who called him friend.

The Peterborough Regional Science Fair conducted its 54th annual event last Tuesday. This fair is held at Trent University, bringing in hundreds of bright young students. These students showcase their experiments and compete for the Canada-Wide Science Fair. It’s encouraging to see students explore scientific explorations this way—shaping our youth to promote a better future.

From this year’s fair, four projects will be sent to the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Edmonton next month, from May 14 to 19. Peterborough’s very own Isabelle Young will be representing Peterborough at the national level, after coming in second place with her project. Her experiment specializes in forensic sciences. Isabelle is only in grade 9, but her passion for science began at a young age, and she’s now able to explore it nationally. As a finalist, she’s paired with a master’s student from Trent University to tweak and finalize her project.

Speaker, this is an exceptional way of connecting our future scientists at all different levels of education.

Congratulations, Isabelle. I wish you good luck in Edmonton. I know I speak for everyone in Peterborough city and county when I say how proud we are of you, to have someone with your passion for science. We look forward to cheering you on as you contribute not only in Edmonton but also as you progress throughout your journey in the field of science.

This week is National Volunteer Week, and it is a time to recognize all of our hard-working volunteers who make our services and programs in our communities possible. Volunteers are really the fabric of our community, so it is only fitting that this year’s theme is “Volunteering Weaves Us Together.” Through working together and sharing their time, the interconnected actions of volunteers strengthen and support our communities.

There are countless volunteers in Hamilton Mountain who make our community what it is, whether it’s running Coldest Night of the Year, operating the food bank, driving seniors to appointments—and the list goes on. In fact, 52% of people in Hamilton volunteer, which is higher than the national average. The one thing they all have in common is their dedication to helping others in any way they can.

I am thankful for the volunteers who have come out to support me over the years, because the work we do here is not possible without them.

Volunteers help our children, our seniors, our neighbours, our families, our friends, our pets, and the environment. The list is endless.

I want to say thank you to all of the volunteers out there, because your selflessness and willingness to dedicate your time to others is worth being celebrated.

Congratulations, and happy volunteer week.

At the end of the day, all school boards have a common responsibility to promote student achievement. Our goal with the proposed legislation is to reinforce this responsibility. Through the proposed measures, we would ensure that everyone, from leaders across Ontario’s 72 district school boards to the province’s classrooms, is working toward the same goal of improving student outcomes and are held accountable to students and parents.

Our government values school boards’ knowledge of and connections with their local communities. They will be able to continue leveraging their expertise in these areas to deliver the province’s priorities in a way that is responsive to local needs.

Thank you to the member for her presentation.

I know that the riding of Carleton—similar to my own riding—has a wide variety of schools and school boards, mixed urban and rural. That represents all of what Ontario has.

We have a variety of school experiences. There are four unique, publicly funded school systems, 72 district school boards, over 3,900 elementary and 870 secondary schools.

In Toronto, there are schools with more than 2,000 students. In northern and rural Ontario, there are schools—including some in my own riding—that have less than 200 students. While each of these schools use the same curriculum, the learning experience is vastly different.

This proposed legislation includes one set of priorities for all school boards for all students. Can the member talk to us about how this will be beneficial for the boards and, more specifically, how it will be beneficial—

Mr. Speaker, the people of Don Valley East have, as of late, unjustly had their voices silenced, discounted and cast aside. I’m referring to a string of decisions made about us, without us.

First, the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission issued an unanticipated recommendation to eliminate DVE as a riding. The response from my constituents has been clear: They were not offered community consultation, they do not want this change to happen, and they know it will be reflected at the provincial and municipal levels. Arbitrarily dividing up our riding will tear apart neighbourhoods that are politically, socially and culturally intertwined.

Cutting and pasting ridings together negatively impacts people who rely on organizations, services, and uniquely tailored political representation.

Don Valley East is a distinct part of Toronto. It needs more than just representation; it also needs a soul.

The Ontario Science Centre is one of the crown jewels of Toronto, promoting culture, employment, prosperity, education, and recreation. Meanwhile, the government has been planning its demolition without a shred of consultation. The Minister of Infrastructure’s feeble machinations about a so-called “business case” fool nobody—and the Science Centre Station is the very definition of a bait and switch.

The people of Don Valley East deserve honesty and a chance to be heard, and the province is taking notice. On their behalf, I say, you will not tear down and relocate the Ontario Science Centre without a fight. It is a community institution, an architectural wonder, and the protector of our cherished ravine lands, which you must not pave over with so much new housing already being built in the area—

I’d like to welcome to the House Caleb Lyons, the son of Charlie Lyons, our chaplain. It’s nice to see you here.

I want to take the opportunity this morning to congratulate the 2023 Flamborough Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Business Achievement Award winners. Each year, the Flamborough chamber honours the best in corporate excellence and community service at its Outstanding Business Achievement Awards gala. This year, six local businesses and individuals were recognized for their exceptional service.

The Waterdown Village BIA received the Community Service Award for demonstrating exemplary business practices and its dedication to involvement in the community.

IG Wealth Management took home the Large Business Award.

The Small Business Award went to Birmingham Consulting.

Benchmark Plumbing was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year. This award recognizes an individual who shows extraordinary energy, inspiration, leadership and innovation in their business practices.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former Hamilton city councillor Judi Partridge.

Christina Birmingham received the FCC Award, which recognizes a Flamborough business that has made an outstanding contribution to the Flamborough Chamber of Commerce.

This was the first time in three years that everyone could get together in person. Flamborough Chamber of Commerce executive director Matteo Patricelli made a point of thanking the local businesses who worked together to make this gala evening a success.