We’re committed to continuing to invest in publicly funded schools—$693 million more for the coming school year, a 10% increase in funding to school boards over the last four years.

The member opposite speaks about staffing. Then, she should ask her caucus why they opposed every single hire—8,000 additional education workers and teachers in our publicly funded schools, because our Premier and our government have invested in what matters most. We just announced an additional 1,000 educators to promote literacy and math, an additional 1,000 teachers to help with the destreamed courses, and the opposition have already asserted that they will vote against that investment.

We also brought forth legislation to improve better schools and better outcomes. I will note that the members opposite have yet to disclose one substantive concern with the legislation, the first overhaul of the Education Act in a generation. You would think the members opposite would find an opportunity to work with government to improve outcomes, accountability—

Alicia Smith from Dyslexia Canada said, “Dyslexia Canada sees today’s funding announcement as a positive and necessary step that will help Ontario school boards shift their ... practices.”

The head of Community Literacy of Ontario said, “The changes that the Ministry of Education is making to the current” school system “directly addresses literacy and aims to support children building” their critical skills.

The head of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association said, “Today’s announcement of significant additional resources in support of improved student math ... and literacy skills are welcomed and very much appreciated.”

The head of the Ontario Federation of Home and School Associations said, “These additional supports in the fundamental areas of math and literacy that will get students back where they need to be.”

We are investing more, and we are expecting more for Ontario’s publicly funded school system.

I ask the members opposite to support this bill, to expect better for Ontario children, lift standards, lift the ambitions and the outcomes for kids in Ontario.

I’d like to welcome some wonderful constituents from Mississauga–Streetsville: Seshagiri Pingali, Srilakshmi Koduri, and Richita Pingali, the family of today’s page captain Kundanika Pingali.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I want to welcome Steve McKenzie, a friend of over 40 years to the House today, and nine-year-old political enthusiast Lucas Atienza.

Welcome to Queen’s Park, buddy.

My office decided this week that we would call today “bring your family to work day.” So with us today, I have my executive assistant, Jess Beaupre, who brought her parents, Margaret and David Beaupre, to work today. And, proudly, I have my daughter, Destinee Taylor, and her boyfriend, Jeff Cooper, here with us today.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I welcome to the assembly today, in the members’ gallery, Remi Ferreira, who arrived in Canada from Guyana in 1952—married for 69 years to Inge. He makes the community of Guildwood in Scarborough his home. He was a successful businessman, retiring as executive vice-president from Stafford foods company after 38 years.

Welcome, Remi Ferreira.

I have the privilege of welcoming two wonderful guests to the Legislature today: my beautiful wife, Keri, and my son, Sullivan. They are in the members’ gallery.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I beg to inform the House that, pursuant to standing order 9(h), the Clerk has received written notice from the government House leader indicating that a temporary change in the weekly meeting schedule of the House is required and, therefore, the House shall commence at 9 a.m. on Monday, April 24, 2023, for the proceedings of orders of the day.

Laptops and other devices that members visibly make use of in the chamber are subject to the same standards. I mention this since I have recently noticed that some members have added stickers or decals to the covers of their laptops. I urge all members to consider the statement that they may be making and ensure that any personalization of their devices does not become a distraction from the work of the House. This could include taking precautions such as using a cover on the device while in the chamber or other measures to ensure that their belongings do not convey visible political messaging.

As a closing reminder, the expectation in this chamber is that political points should be made during debate rather than through the use of props.

I thank the members for their attention to this important matter.

Minister of Education.

It’s my pleasure to welcome my friends Mr. Scott Johnson, director of education for the St. Clair Catholic District School Board, and Amy Janssens, associate director of corporate services.

Welcome to your House.

It is ironic—NDP math. There are fewer students and more staff—8,000 more in Ontario schools—and yet somehow the opposition, with a straight face, could declare there’s less going in the publicly funded school system. We increased staff by 8,000 more front-line workers—EAs, ECEs, and teachers in the school system. We just announced an additional 2,000 front-line teachers focused on what matters most: boosting reading, writing and math. We introduced legislation to get back to the focus.

I noticed that some of the members from the Leader of the Opposition’s caucus, when they were trustees, called for the very provisions in the bill today. The member from London West, the former chair of Thames Valley, called for school boards to establish a minimum code of conduct for trustees. She called on the minister to do that. She called on the board of trustees to approve a multi-year strategic plan. She called on school boards to report annually to the public. She called on us to undertake more effective governance of school boards. That’s exactly what the bill does.

Instead of your ideological opposition to progress and to change, vote for this bill. Expect—

Interjections.

The Minister of Infrastructure has said multiple times that an environmental assessment is under way at Ontario Place, but she failed to mention that the assessment doesn’t include the site of the private Austrian spa because the government weakened the Environmental Assessment Act. The project involves cutting down 850 trees and destroying habitat where beavers, minks, foxes and endangered birds live. It also plans to attract more than 10,000 guests per day without any assessment of how that will impact transit, traffic or infrastructure.

Why is your government sidestepping its requirement for an environmental assessment for the majority of the redevelopment of Ontario Place?

This question is for the Premier.

Yesterday, the Minister of Infrastructure told Ontarians that it was “much more expensive” to repair the Ontario Science Centre than it would be to just tear it all down—much more expensive than tearing it down, refurbishing the pods, building a whole new building, and then moving all of those jobs out of Flemingdon Park and next to the Premier’s new, elite, private spa. But when she was asked how much more expensive, she couldn’t or wouldn’t say.

So, Speaker, I would like to offer the Premier a chance: How much will it cost to remove the Ontario Science Centre from its heritage property in Flemingdon Park?

The minister also referred to a business case for this whole scheme. Considering that there has been exactly zero consultation with local communities, no transparency as to how this whole plan came together, and with this government’s very dubious track record when it comes to land deals, I think it’s on the minister to show her work.

Back to the Premier: When will you show Ontario the evidence that this scheme is actually in the public interest?

Back to the Premier: What role did Conservative-connected developers have in this decision?

Interjections.

Stop the clock. Government side, come to order.

Restart the clock. The next question.

Supplementary?

To reply, the government House leader.

My question is to the Premier.

Without any consultation, Premier Ford announced plans to tear down the current Ontario Science Centre building and build a smaller, new building at Ontario Place, where large parts of the site are also being privatized with no consultation or transparency.

The Ontario Science Centre is an important architectural landmark and a vital place for the communities of Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park. Tearing it down is a bad idea.

The Premier says that the plan is to build housing on the site.

Has the public land where the Ontario Science Centre sits—land that belongs to the city of Toronto—already been promised to a developer? If so, who?

I was correct. But what our government is doing is saving the science centre. We are going to get a brand new, modern home with new exhibits—a new home at Ontario Place, which will be redeveloped so that families can enjoy it.

I wonder what the member opposite was doing for years when they let Ontario Place and the science centre deteriorate—a lack of investment.

Mr. Speaker, we will invest in the science centre, and we will continue to invest in Ontario Place.

Mr. Speaker, those members over there have let Ontario Place deteriorate. It is flooded. It is eroding. It is not safe.

It is this government that is investing in the science centre and investing in Ontario Place to make it a wonderful place for families to enjoy for generations to come.

Interjections.

We made a commitment to build public transit in the city of Toronto—expanding the subway system by 50%. That is exactly what we are doing. We are bringing the transit system up to Thorncliffe Park, which I know will truly benefit the community, as it will others, as well.

We have a wonderful opportunity before us. We have a wonderful asset at the waterfront that is not being utilized, that is not enjoyed by the public. They closed the doors in 2012. We will open the doors and welcome families to come to Ontario Place.

We are following all of the processes before us. We are following everything that’s required of us by the Minister of the Environment through legislation that has been in the House, and we are following the city process with the development application of Ontario Place.

While I love the fact that the members opposite are talking about transit, we are the government that led the way in transit expansion. We will be connecting Ontario Place with public transit, with the subway line, so that people can have greater access to the site because, once again, we are bringing Ontario Place back to life so that everyone can enjoy this wonderful landmark at our waterfront.

Let me just get this straight: The Leader of the Opposition’s main concern is that we might have to change the name of the brand new subway station that we’re building—across the $30-billion infrastructure program to bring subways to the city of Toronto, in an area that is being redeveloped, that is saving the science centre, bringing tourists back to Ontario Place, that they allowed to destroy, in co-operation with the NDP. The number one concern that the Leader of the Opposition has is, we might have to change the name of that subway stop. That’s it.

I’ll tell you what. I will give the Leader of the Opposition a victory: We’ll change the name of the subway stop for them.

Speaker, as they say in New York: Start spreading the news. Ontario is home to North America’s fastest-growing tech market. That was the message in New York as we met several companies in the fintech and life sciences sectors. With two-way trade between Ontario and New York valued at $37 billion, there’s no shortage of opportunity. And with over 300 New York-owned firms already operating here in Ontario, we are their natural choice to expand. That’s why the two companies we met with—Cockroach Labs and Globant—recently announced new offices in Toronto. Globant alone is creating 200 jobs right here in Toronto, and we know that is only a start for them.

Speaker, Ontario has everything that companies from around the world need to succeed, because Ontario is open for business.

To the contrary, we’re working with Neskantaga First Nation, as we are working with First Nations communities across northern Ontario on various resource projects and on various pieces of legacy infrastructure which will enhance the social, health and economic opportunities that are available to their communities.

We take our section 35 responsibilities seriously with respect to the duty to consult. We’ll continue to engage and work with communities to build consensus, to provide an opportunity for a better life for people in Indigenous communities across northern Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, he quotes FPIC here. There’s been a lot of discussion about it; fair enough. It’s not the law of Ontario. However, we have built consensus into the Far North Act. We continue to work with Indigenous communities. It just can’t be that one community wants consent and the others want a project to proceed. That begs us to build consensus. That begs us to work with Neskantaga, Webequie First Nation, Marten Falls, Eabametoong, Kasabonika. Name those communities and I will tell you about people who want opportunities for a better way of life in their communities—including legacy infrastructure: roads, electricity—

My question this morning is for the Premier.

Over the coming decade, Ontario is expected to grow by more than two million people, and many of those people want to call the beautiful riding of Etobicoke–Lakeshore home. But as Ontario’s population continues to grow, housing construction has historically not kept pace.

Now, like much of Canada, Ontario is facing a housing crisis that is freezing individuals and families out of the dream of home ownership. With each year that passes, we know that thousands of newcomers to Canada will settle in Ontario, and many are skilled workers looking to potentially buy or rent a home. Simply put, Ontario needs to build a lot more homes to meet the rapidly growing population.

Can the Premier please explain how our government is taking action to increase the pace of new home construction?

But, Speaker, more can be done and should be done when it comes to addressing our province’s housing crisis and the affordability crisis that’s affecting all regions of Ontario. For too many Ontarians, including young people, newcomers and seniors, finding the right home is still too challenging. It is essential that our government implements measures so that local interests and demand for housing are considered when it comes to building housing to accommodate community and region-specific needs.

Can the Premier please explain how our government is promoting collaboration and partnerships in responding to diverse housing needs?

I want to thank the great member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore for that great question.

Our government remains committed to delivering on our promise of 1.5 million homes. You saw Stats Canada a couple of weeks ago—445,000 people landed here in Ontario. That’s the fastest-growing region anywhere in North America. We’re going to make sure we have homes and rental homes.

As you saw, housing starts in the GTA rose by 7.7% last year—the highest level since 2012. Year over year, total housing starts in Ontario are up 4.5%. Rental starts are double what they were the same time last year because of Bill 23—the minister did an incredible job.

We’re cutting red tape. We’re making sure we get shovels in the ground. We’re going to make sure it doesn’t take five years for a municipality to issue a permit. We’re getting homes built for the newcomers and people who have been here for years. We’re going to make sure we have affordable, attainable homes for everyone.

Multi-unit construction in Ontario has increased by 7.6% since February. We’re seeing this continue to grow—the largest increase in the country, over any area in the country. We saw a 25% increase in condo permits, also the largest increase in the entire country. There’s a reason. Everyone heard the stat—and this goes back many years. We’ve created the conditions and the climate for companies to come here and build. We have more cranes than LA, New York, Chicago, Washington and Boston combined. They’re building because we’ve created the climate.

We’re cutting red tape. We’re getting shovels in the ground. We’re making sure that municipalities are held accountable for the first time ever—they’re being held accountable. We’re going to make sure we have condos and houses for people who may not be able to afford it.

It’s very simple—the Liberals and NDP have never understood it for decades—it’s called supply and demand, and we’re going to have to supply the demand.