The supplementary question?

The Minister of Northern Development.

My question is to the Premier.

Ontario is allowing mining claims across Treaty 9 territory that affect the rights and interests of First Nations without their free, prior and informed consent.

In a recent letter to Ring of Fire Metals, Neskantaga stated that no other government or First Nation can rewrite history to take away our rights and our homelands.

Why is Ontario undermining Neskantaga’s rights and interests in their own territories?

We’re not talking about programs and services or funding. We’re talking about rights.

Speaker, last week the Chiefs of Ontario made a strong statement against Bill 71, the Building More Mines Act. They named Ontario’s lack of meaningful consultation and lack of recognition of crown responsibilities.

Neskantaga and other affected nations have not given, again, their free, prior and informed consent to what this government is doing in Treaty 9 territory.

Will this Premier cease and desist all exploration activity in the Ring of Fire until the free, prior, informed consent of Neskantaga and other nations has been given?

Interjections.

Speaker, our long list of meetings included companies like Crowdbotics, Fever, ThoughtFocus, Justworks, Synechron and Citibank. They all agree that Ontario is a global innovation hub. We have 26,000 IT firms and over 400,000 IT workers. That’s why Ontario leads the country in venture capital investments. A record-breaking $8.4 billion came into Ontario in 2021 alone. That’s why our tech sector is growing 350% faster than Silicon Valley. With a highly skilled workforce and world-renowned innovation, Ontario continues to be tech’s favourite place to be.

By reducing the cost of business by $8 billion every year, Ontario is the jurisdiction for businesses to invest and grow.

Back to the Premier: We all know that the privatization of orthopaedic surgery and the poaching of staff from our public hospitals is exactly what this government wants to do with Bill 60. But section 4 of the Ontario Public Hospitals Act is very clear: Leasing any space in a public hospital requires the explicit written approval of the Ministry of Health. You can’t even put a Tim Hortons in a hospital without ministerial approval. The law in Ontario is clear: The Ottawa Hospital cannot lease its operating room without the explicit written approval of the Minister of Health. I hope the Premier knows that.

When will the Premier investigate the apparent breach of Ontario laws by the for-profit corporation leasing operating rooms at the Ottawa Hospital?

The supplementary question.

Thank you to the minister for spreading the news and for his answer.

Ontario’s technology sector is poised to continue leading the digital revolution, with homegrown breakthroughs in the life sciences sector occurring daily. For Ontario to capitalize on these successes, the world needs to know that Ontario is at the centre of the work that is propelling these fields. That’s why trade missions like the minister’s mission to New York are critical for this province.

Will the minister please explain what the businesses that he met with had to say about Ontario and its competitive edge?

In Ontario, our farmers are the very best, and year after year, their yield is increasing. We have an ample supply of amazing, quality food.

But we need to accept facts for what they are—and that fact is, the main contributor of rising food costs in the province of Ontario and across Canada is the carbon tax.

Here are some examples.

I have an energy bill from a chicken farmer from east of Toronto. From March 2 to April 1, his federal carbon charge was 26% of his entire energy bill. This is unacceptable.

It’s that ripple effect across the food value chain that’s driving up the food price in Ontario—

Interjections.

Speaker, from the very beginning, as we put forward an almost billion-dollar three-year investment to expand surgical innovation and to deal with surgical backlog, the Ottawa Hospital, under the leadership of CEO Cam Love have been doing exactly what we asked. I’m going to quote CEO Cam Love: “Such concerns raised by” the member opposite “are unfounded, and the innovative model used by AOAO has resulted in more orthopaedic surgeries being completed faster.”

This is about people. This is about 40 people who needed and were waiting for hip and knee surgeries, who got that surgery faster as a result of innovation that’s happening at the Ottawa Hospital. I am incredibly proud of the partnership that they have been able to manage and work through with AOAO, and as we see more of these innovations coming forward, we will continue to fund them through a program that—

There is no doubt that Ontario leads the Canadian jurisdictions in making sure that people have fast access, but we can do better, and we are doing better. And we’re doing that with Bill 60 and with Your Health, because it means that those expansions can happen—in non-urgent, regularly scheduled surgeries that can happen in the community. I am incredibly proud of the work that we’ve been able to put through with Bill 60.

If the member opposite would focus on individuals in her riding who are desperate for that surgery to happen sooner, she might have a better chance of getting more NDP members.

Speaker, $560 million is going to make a difference to organizations such as Meals on Wheels. We understand that they are doing exceptional work, making sure that our seniors, our most vulnerable, our individuals who are recovering from surgeries get that support in their home and are not then needing more complex care in hospitals or long-term care.

We’ll make those investments, and I hope when you look at that line item in the budget, you’ll say, “This is important for the city of Ottawa, and we will be supporting it.”

My question is for the Minister of Health

Speaker, Meals on Wheels is the largest meal-delivering service of its kind in Ottawa. It serves seniors and people with disabilities with great needs. This organization is vital in addressing the food security crisis in Ottawa. It should be noted that Meals on Wheels remained open through the entire pandemic, the terrible weather events in Ottawa, and the truck convoy. Yet, because of the skimpy 2% increase they are receiving from the province—which is totally out of touch with inflation and certainly not the very substantial increase that the minister described—the price of meals for their clients has not doubled or tripled but is now four times more expensive.

The minister said yesterday that organizations like Meals on Wheels have endorsed the government’s investments, but surely that cannot mean that they consider it sufficient—otherwise, why are they writing to us?

So my question is, how can the government justify such a limited increase despite food costs increasing by over 10%?

Speaker, I am deeply concerned about this government’s actions directly contributing to the erosion of our food security and increasing costs for families struggling to make ends meet. Insufficient funding to help our community organizations is one thing, but adding to that the paving over of valuable farmland is a recipe to leave Ontarians to suffer through rising food prices. The reduced land available for agriculture can only result in less food production. Since food insecurity is a significant driver of poverty and inequality, this will have ripple effects across various sectors, including health, education, and social welfare.

It is time for this government to start prioritizing people over short-term economic gains.

My question is, how is the government planning to grow more food to address the food security crisis?

Stop the clock.

The House will come to order.

Interjections.

Start the clock. The next question.

The Minister of Transportation can reply.

The next question.

Thank you so much to the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore for the question. I’m very happy to provide the update she’s requesting.

Just recently, our government reached another significant milestone on the Ontario Line. We released two requests for proposals to design and build new stations, the Pape tunnel and the elevated guideway. To break it down, the elevated guideway contract will help deliver a three-kilometre-long elevated guideway with emergency exit buildings and five above ground stations for riders. What’s more, the Pape tunnel contract will transition the Ontario Line’s track from above ground to underground, will deliver three kilometres of twin tunnels with stations at Cosburn and Pape, and will connect the all-new Ontario Line to the existing line 2.

While the NDP supported the Liberals who failed to build new transit lines, our government is delivering transit relief, and we are getting it done.

It’s true; after 15 years of Liberal neglect, Ontarians have a hard time believing that we actually can build transit in this province. But I am glad to let the member and Ontarians know that the Ontario Line is going to be delivered. Construction is already under way at Exhibition station and for the future Corktown and Moss Park stations, as well as in the joint rail corridor east of the Don River. Once complete, the 15.5-kilometre-long Ontario Line will enable nearly 400,000 trips each day, bringing much needed rapid transit to more GTA communities.

Speaker, to the member’s point: This game-changing project will benefit Ontario as a whole by supporting over 4,700 construction jobs each year during construction, by cutting overall fuel consumption by more than seven million litres a year, and by generating an estimated $10 billion to the local economy.

Under the previous Liberal government, the proposed UP Express was a relief line for them. Instead of building a true relief line—

My question today is for the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Ontario’s Great Lakes help make our province a great place to live—and I’ve had such a privilege to live steps from Lake St. Clair growing up, and even today. The resources of the Great Lakes provide us with drinking water, energy, food, and recreational opportunities. It is of the utmost importance that we continue to protect, conserve and restore the health of the Great Lakes and support the well-being of communities that rely on them now and for generations to come.

Our government understands that for Ontario’s Indigenous communities, the Great Lakes hold deep spiritual and traditional significance. Respecting and recognizing traditional knowledge will only help in strengthening our shared understanding of the Great Lakes.

Can the minister please explain how our government is collaborating with Indigenous leaders to help protect and restore our Great Lakes?

Thank you to the member for Windsor–Tecumseh for that question. I know he, like I, very much values our Great Lakes, enjoys the tourism and economic opportunity—the important work we have to do, as stewards of the Great Lakes, to protect our water.

I was proud, just last week, to co-chair the Great Lakes Guardians’ Council with a man I have great respect for, Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe. He has been such a strong leader for Anishinabek Nation. He and I had the opportunity to chair it. We heard powerful stories from Indigenous youth; from Ducks Unlimited, a group we funded at great length to support our Great Lakes.

It was prior to that event that I announced, on behalf of the government of Ontario, under Premier Ford’s leadership, over $1 million to support Indigenous-led projects to conserve and protect our Great Lakes. I can’t wait to get out to the Thames River to meet with Indigenous youth to see first-hand the work they’re doing, thanks to this funding from the government of Ontario.

Today, I’m excited. We heard the Minister of Economic Development talk about how this is a jurisdiction to grow and invest, and we heard the Premier saying we’re going to build 1.5 million houses.

But my question here is for the Minister of Transportation—because do you know what? We talked about the GTA becoming home to over two million people, because this is the place to grow and raise a wonderful family. We have to make sure we can build the transit to meet that population need. Unfortunately, the reality is that our transit networks are already strained. People are looking forward to greater transit routes that are accessible and convenient, through the proposed Ontario Line, and that will deliver relief to the city’s core and to the people in Etobicoke south.

The reality is that, unfortunately, the Liberals didn’t do anything. Just like they neglected Ontario Place, they neglected our transit line. They did not put any meaningful investments in badly needed transit infrastructure.

I’m wondering if the Minister of Transportation can provide an update on the progress of the Ontario Line.

Interjections.

Ontario is such a wonderful place to grow, and after 15 years of disastrous rule by the Liberals, not investing in anything, it is so important that we are getting shovels in the ground and, at the same time, we’re building the Ontario Line and other major transit networks that will not only benefit the riders of Etobicoke–Lakeshore but will benefit all Ontarians.

Ontario cannot afford to hold back our economy. Now it’s time to build. Now it’s time to move ahead with critical investments in our transit infrastructure needs. We need to continue building highways, roads and transit infrastructure that is needed to keep Ontario moving.

Can the minister please elaborate on our government’s actions to ensure that this critical transit project is delivered?

Well, it’s not acceptable, which is exactly why our government has made additional investments in MRIs across Ontario, including at London regional health sciences. We are building a system that, frankly, has been ignored for far too long by previous governments that didn’t make those investments, whether it was in health human resources, whether it was in capital.

Speaker, 50 different hospital projects are being renovated, built or expanded in the province of Ontario, under this Premier’s leadership. We are making those investments to ensure that families who need those services can get them in the appropriate timeline.

As I said, the MRI in London is in the works because our government approved it.

Interjection.

Interjections.

My question is to the Premier.

A London-area family recently received the horrifying assessment of sarcoma after an ultrasound showed a mass in their child’s leg. In order to properly diagnose, the oncologists ordered an MRI. But children who need an MRI at London Health Sciences Centre have to wait. Children who should have that service within 28 days are waiting, on average, 299 days—waiting for almost a year. How is this acceptable?

My question is back to the Premier.

I can’t imagine the level of stress and anxiety while patients await this important step in their child’s health care. It’s necessary for diagnosis and potential treatment, and kids can’t wait.

This new Conservative government normal is not okay. While the government ignores its health care responsibilities, the family have even resorted to calling a hospital in Michigan, who got back to them right away with a price tag of $2,200 cash.

Is it acceptable that in a province such as Ontario, cash for health care access is okay?

Thank you to the minister for that response. It truly is welcome news to hear that the minister is working collaboratively with Indigenous partners to protect and conserve the Great Lakes. I’ve seen this first-hand, so thank you, Minister.

In his response, the minister spoke about a fish safety project in the Lake Superior basin, which is just one real-world example of what this funding means to Indigenous communities.

Our government must remain focused on making investments that will help build Ontario and preserve our natural heritage for generations to come.

Can the minister please elaborate on how investments made by our government will help First Nations communities across Ontario?

My question is for the Associate Minister of Housing.

Recently, our government introduced a new housing action plan: Bill 97, the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act. Introducing this legislation means we’ve fulfilled a promise we made to Ontarians: bringing forward a housing action plan every year to help address the housing crisis Ontario is currently facing.

While this is positive news, constituents in my riding have raised questions and concerns regarding what actions our government can take to protect them as tenants. They’ve heard reports about questionable evictions due to renovations, demolitions and conversions that happen in housing units and apartments.

Can the associate minister please explain what additional protections will take effect to support tenants if our latest housing bill is passed?

Renters and landlords want a stop to antiquated and, yes, confusing regulations.

Our government must ensure that rules surrounding rental housing are fair, reasonable, and enforced in a timely manner.

As we enter the summer months, and with rising temperatures, individuals and families who live as tenants have raised questions about what rights they have to install air conditioning units.

Can the associate minister please explain how the proposed housing bill will address tenants’ rights to install air conditioning units?

Speaker, my question is to the Minister of the Environment.

This week, Superior Court Judge Marie-Andrée Vermette issued a decision on a legal challenge filed against Ontario by seven young Ontarians for the weakness of its climate targets. She found that Ontario’s target “falls severely short” of what the scientific consensus requires and that this increases the risk to Ontarians’ life and health.

Why won’t the minister act to protect the life and health of Ontarians?

What will it take for this government to actually protect the health and lives of the people of this province?