The ayes are 76; the nays are 35.

It’s my honour to introduce Nathan and Sophie Skoufis, who are in the west members’ gallery. They’re the owners of Guelph Family Martial Arts. Nathan is a sixth-degree black belt. He’s been a member of Team Canada’s kickboxing team since 2007 and he’s a 24-time world champion for Canada.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) identifies intimate partner violence as a major global public health concern, as it affects millions of people and can result in immediate and long-lasting health, social and economic consequences; and

“Whereas other Canadian provinces including Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have passed legislation on the disclosure of intimate-partner violence history, to protect citizens from domestic violence; and

“Whereas the disclosure mechanisms outlined in Clare’s Law would be an additional tool for police services to prevent intimate partner violence; and

“Whereas over 43,786 people, as of April 19, 2023, have signed the petition ‘Justice for Bobbi: Adopt Clare’s Law in Ontario’ on change.org; and

“Whereas people at risk of potential harm have the right to be informed of their intimate partner’s violent past—if the partner was a repeat offender of domestic violence;

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

“To urge the government of Ontario to adopt mechanisms for disclosure outlined in Clare’s Law—whereby information relating to intimate-partner-violence convictions can be used to assess risk of and prevent harm for intimate partner violence.”

I was proud to bring that motion forward, and I’m very proud to sign this petition.

I’m pleased to introduce this petition: “Protect the Greenbelt.

“Whereas the government has removed 7,400 acres of land from the greenbelt...;

“Whereas the government Housing Affordability Task Force found there are plenty of spaces to build homes without destroying the greenbelt;

“Whereas the government’s repeated moves to tear up farmland and bulldoze wetlands have never been about housing, but are about making the rich richer...;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to stop all plans to remove protected land from the greenbelt and protect existing farmland and sensitive wetlands.”

I agree with this petition. I signed it and I give it to page Sanskrati for submission.

My question is for the President of the Treasury Board and emergency management. I want to talk a little bit about a community he knows well, the community of Brampton, Ontario. Now, we know that Brampton is a community that is simply tired of waiting. We’re tired of waiting, whether it’s in the hospital waiting room after 15 years of neglect where they closed hospitals under the previous Liberal government. We’re tired of waiting in traffic where progressive politicians have continually voted against bypass highways for our city in favour of downtown Toronto environmental interests. But when this government got elected, the residents of Brampton have a reason to wait no longer. We have help on the way.

Can the President of the Treasury Board please tell the residents what we’re doing to get it done for Brampton families?

Mr. Saunderson moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr21, An Act to revive 1105954 Ontario Limited.

The supplementary question.

The division bells rang from 1140 to 1145.

On April 18, 2023, Mr. Lecce moved second reading of Bill 98, An Act to amend various Acts relating to education and child care.

On April 20, 2023, Mr. Coe moved that the question be now put.

All those in favour of Mr. Coe’s motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Mr. Lecce has moved second reading of Bill 98, An Act to amend various Acts relating to education and child care.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard some noes.

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

Call in the members. This will be another five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1149 to 1150.

Second reading agreed to.

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1154 to 1300.

First reading agreed to.

I want to introduce a petition. It’s titled “To Raise Social Assistance Rates.” I want to thank Professor Sally Palmer and also Tina Harrison from Dufferin-Peel secondary schools for providing me with these signatures.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent small increase of 5% for ODSP still leaves these citizens below the poverty line, both they and those receiving the frozen OW rates are struggling to survive at this time of alarming inflation;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a ‘basic income’ of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I wholeheartedly agree with this petition. I’ll affix my signature and present it to page Lazo to bring down to the Clerks’ table.

I’m going to put a couple of facts on the table before I answer that question in particular. First of all, in Canada, Ontario has the lowest wait times for surgeries. We lead Canada in Ontario. That is in no small part because of the excellent work that our clinicians and our hospitals have been able to do dealing with the pandemic backlog. We’ve done that.

We also understand that there is more work to do in terms of ensuring that we do even better for the people of Ontario, which is why, through Bill 60, we have allowed an expansion in the community and surgical area. The member opposite would know very well that there are hundreds of community surgical and diagnostic organizations that are already operating in the province of Ontario, and we are expanding that in Bill 60 because we understand people want access to care as close to their community as possible.

We, of course, also have, through the work of the Minister of Colleges and University, our Learn and Stay program, which has ensured the largest number of students applying for those nursing spots because they want the opportunity to train, to live, to work in their community. That recruitment continues, and we will ensure that we train the appropriate health human resources. We’re doing the capital investments. We’re getting it done.

Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé.

As our provincial health care system continues to face severe staffing shortages and patients are seeing record wait times, whether in emergency rooms or for surgery, more than a dozen nurses are being laid off at Stevenson Memorial Hospital. Can the Minister of Health explain what led this hospital to have to lay off 13 nurses?

Will this government allocate the funds to Stevenson Memorial Hospital so it can keep their nurses that the patients so need and deserve?

This petition is entitled “Save Ontario Place.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario Place has been a cherished public space for over 50 years, providing joy, recreation, and cultural experiences for Ontarians and tourists alike...;

“Whereas redevelopment that includes a private, profit-driven venture by an Austrian spa company, prioritizes commercial interests over the needs and desires of the people of Ontario and it is estimated that cost to prepare the grounds for redevelopment to build a 2,000-car underground garage will cost approximately $650 million;

“Whereas there are concerns of cronyism by Mark Lawson, Therme Group Canada’s vice president of comms and external relations who was previously Ford’s deputy chief of staff;

“Whereas meaningful public consultations with diverse stakeholders have not been adequately conducted and the Ontario NDP has sent a letter of support for a public request to begin an investigation into a value-for-money and compliance audit with respect to proposed redevelopment of Ontario Place;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to halt any further development plans for Ontario Place, engage in meaningful and transparent public consultations to gather input and ideas for the future of Ontario Place, develop a comprehensive and sustainable plan for the revitalization of Ontario Place that prioritizes environmental sustainability, accessibility, and inclusivity, and ensure that any future development of Ontario Place is carried out in a transparent and accountable manner, with proper oversight, public input, and adherence to democratic processes.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and pass it to page Nicholas to take to the table.

I have a petition:

“Vulnerable Persons Alert.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas there is a gap in our current emergency alert system that needs to be addressed;

“Whereas a vulnerable persons alert would help ensure the safety of our loved ones in a situation where time is critical;

“Whereas several municipal councils, including, Brighton, Midland, Bonfield township, Cobourg and Mississauga and several others, have passed resolutions calling for a new emergency alert to protect our loved ones;

“Whereas over 90,000 people have signed an online petition calling for a ‘Draven Alert’ and over 6,000 people have signed an online petition calling for ‘Love’s Law’, for vulnerable people who go missing;

“Whereas this new alert would be an additional tool in the tool box for police forces to use to locate missing, vulnerable people locally and regionally;

“Whereas this bill is a common-sense proposal and non-partisan in nature, to help missing vulnerable persons find their way safely home;

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

“Support and pass Bill 74, Missing Persons Amendment Act, 2023.”

I wholeheartedly support this petition. I’ll affix my name to it and give it to page Mackenzie to bring to the Clerk.

I want to thank my honourable colleague for that important question once again, and I want to thank her for organizing a wonderful round table with her local businesses last Friday. I had an opportunity to hear first-hand about some of the challenges, and feedback in terms of how we can continue to make our province competitive.

One of the things that I really enjoy in my role as the minister responsible for red tape reduction is meeting with businesses, meeting with individuals, and hearing first-hand about the challenges that they’re facing and how our government can continue to help them and help their business be competitive around the province. That’s how we have informed our 10 different pieces of legislation that we have introduced to help the regulatory burden on Ontarians.

We recognize there’s a lot more work to do, and we will continue to work hard each and every day to make sure that every Ontarian and every single business in the province has the opportunity to succeed and compete.

I’d like to thank the minister for visiting my riding of Newmarket–Aurora this past Friday where we had a very fruitful round table. During this recent visit with our local small business leaders, the Minister of Red Tape Reduction and I heard about the problems they are facing because of outdated, redundant and ineffective regulations. Their message to our government was very clear: Businesses expect our government to leave no stone unturned when it comes to cutting red tape and attracting new investments that will help to create more good-paying jobs and strengthen our economy. While our government continues to get it done, it is obvious that continuing to eliminate red tape and keeping costs low is crucial to maintaining Ontario’s competitive advantage.

Can the minister please share how our government is making it easier for businesses to invest and grow in Ontario?

The Standing Committee on Social Policy, Speaker.

I think everyone in this House can agree that all of us are here because of our amazing volunteers. I’d like to welcome some volunteers from my riding today: Samantha Kesar, David Newbury, Saroj Gandhi, Keith Fleming—two of whom are now constituency staff in my office. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to take the opportunity today to welcome my constituency office manager, Mariana Ghobrial. She has been with us for three years. This is the first time she’s visiting Queen’s Park. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

The petition I’d like to read is entitled “Protect the Greenbelt and Repeal Bills 23 and 39.” It states:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Bills 23 and 39 are the Ford government’s latest attempt to remove protected land from the greenbelt, allowing wealthy developers to profit over bulldozing over 7,000 acres of farmland;

“Whereas green spaces and farmland are what we rely on to grow our food, support natural habitats, prevent flooding, and mitigate from future climate disasters with Ontario losing 319.6 acres of farmland daily to development;

“Whereas the government’s Housing Affordability Task Force found there are plenty of places to build homes without destroying the greenbelt, showcasing that Bill 23 was never about housing but about making the rich richer;

“Whereas the power of conservation authorities will be taken away, weakening environmental protections, and preventing future development;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately repeal Bills 23 and 39, stop all plans to further remove protected land from the greenbelt and protect existing farmland in the province by passing the NDP’s Protecting Agricultural Land Act.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and deliver it with page Olivia to the Clerks.

Ms. Stiles has moved opposition day number 4.

I recognize Ms. Stiles to lead off the debate.

This afternoon, I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and it reads as follows:

“Whereas to address the current staffing shortages in the health care sector, the Ontario government has proposed an investment of $200 million in 2023-24 to address immediate staffing shortages; and

“Whereas to grow the workforce for years to come, this” funding “includes:

“—offering up to 6,000 health care students training opportunities to work in hospitals providing care and gaining practical experience as they continue their education through the Enhanced Extern Program. This program has offered these opportunities to over 5,000 health care students; and

“—supporting up to 3,150 internationally educated nurses to become accredited nurses in Ontario through the Supervised Practice Experience Partnership Program; and

“Whereas more than 2,000 internationally educated nurses have enrolled in this program and over 1,300 of them are already fully registered and practising in Ontario; and

“Whereas Ontario is continuing to hire more health care workers to ensure everyone” in this province “can see a trained professional when they need to; and

“Whereas key new investments in” the 2023-24 budget “to build the health care workforce include:

“—$22 million to hire up to 200 hospital preceptors to provide mentorship;

“—$15 million to keep 100 mid-to-late career nurses in the workforce; and

“—$4.3 million to help at least 50 internationally trained physicians get licensed in Ontario;

“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 the Ontario budget bill, Bill 85, Building a Stronger Ontario” Act.

Speaker, I fully support this petition. I’ll be signing my signature to it as well, and I will be passing it to page Leonard to bring it to the table this afternoon.