My question is for the Minister of Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs. The previous Liberal government drove jobs out of our province and failed to unlock Ontario’s full economic potential. The negative results of their destructive economic policies left many behind, including those from rural, remote and Indigenous communities.

In contrast, our government must be focused on solutions that will help grow our economy. In my community of Brantford–Brant we see what is possible when governments work in partnership with Indigenous communities as equal partners in major infrastructure initiatives. For example, the Oneida Energy Storage Project is a significant Indigenous-led development that will create good jobs and support prosperity to Six Nations and the surrounding area.

Can the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to further enhance economic prosperity in partnership with Indigenous communities?

One of the ways that we do this is we go out and tell people around the world, across this country about the extraordinary opportunities in store for the province of Ontario, and that it includes Indigenous businesses, Indigenous leadership that want to rally around these great opportunities.

The First Nations Major Project Coalition is helping to leverage and support the development of $40 billion worth of infrastructure. It covers myriad kinds of projects, but at the heart and soul of it is a values-driven opportunity to ensure that major financial institutes, major energy companies, major infrastructure construction companies are in play, working together with Indigenous leadership like communities from the Ring of Fire, like the opportunities that we’re seeing with Indigenous communities in southwestern Ontario’s corridor from St. Thomas to Windsor, to make sure that Ontario’s bright future includes Indigenous young people, Indigenous businesses and a better sense of prosperity for all people in Ontario moving forward.

The insights shared by the minister in his response demonstrate that our government is building on current successes and is continuing to move forward in strengthening relationships with Indigenous partners. We know that by forming and maintaining these strong relationships, we are advancing economic development and success across our province.

Our government must understand that we need to support and invest in programs that will create good-paying jobs and economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples in Ontario. Individuals, families, businesses and communities can all succeed when they have the tools, the training and the supports that they need.

Speaker, can the Minister please explain how our government is supporting the ongoing economic growth and prosperity for Indigenous communities?

A recent survey reveals two out of three Ontarians planning to dig this year could be putting themselves and their community at risk by digging in locations where buried cables, pipes and wires are located. Damaging underground infrastructure is dangerous and can cause serious injuries and carry severe financial consequences. That’s why I would like to salute the member from Sarnia–Lambton and former MPP Paul Miller for their incredible work and the passage of their Ontario One Call private members’ bill.

Speaker, can the minister please provide more information about Dig Safe Month and the role that Ontario One Call plays in protecting public safety?

Can the minister please explain how our government is working closely with Ontario One Call to protect Ontario’s communities and our underground infrastructure works?

Thank you to the member from Brantford–Brant for the question and for taking the time to raise awareness of this important topic. For many, this might sound like a simple thing, but underground locates are a critical step to ensure that communities and workers remain safe and that we don’t accidentally create service outages or damage underground infrastructure when we build. For example, telecommunications failures can cripple a business or cut off a person’s access to emergency services, posing a very real threat to the safety of Ontarians. That is why we continue to work with Ontario One Call to protect the well-being of Ontarians and their communities, just as this government has done since day one.

The member knows full well that the private members’ bills process in this place has a schedule which it works under. Members in the House will give it due consideration.

I know that the Minister of Multiculturalism, though, has been working very, very closely to ensure that we have a very inclusive Ontario. It is something that I’m sure members on all sides of the House would agree on, that we have to continue to do that work. I know the minister also has been reaching out and ensuring that there are continuous consultations.

But Mr. Speaker—Madam Speaker, excuse me—it is also the work that is being done by the Solicitor General and the Attorney General to ensure that we have communities that are safe for all people. That is what this government has been doing right from the beginning.

Now, Mr.—Madam Speaker; I apologize for that, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, later on today, members from the NDP will have the opportunity to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to law and order in the province of Ontario. They spoke against a bill that the Solicitor General brought forward last night, but I suspect, despite every speech being against that bill, that they will do the right thing today, and they will vote in favour of our police and community and law and order in the province of Ontario.

At the same time, we’re hearing the member right now just talk about how important it is to keep the people of the province of Ontario safe, whether it is that community, whether it’s other communities across the province of Ontario, whether it is students.

Now, yesterday the Solicitor General and the Attorney General of this province deposited a bill in this House that was up for debate for 10 hours, and speaker after speaker after speaker on the NDP side spoke against the provisions in that bill. They spoke against the provisions in that bill, but after question period today, the member and her colleagues will have the opportunity to do exactly what that member asked for: vote to keep our communities safe. Despite their opposition, I hope they will do the right thing, have reflected and will vote in favour of that bill in 21 minutes.

To the Premier: Last June, the Norwich BIA put up pride banners, only to have dozens removed, vandalized and then burned. This week, Norwich town council voted to ban pride flags from municipal properties and then rejected proclaiming Pride Month, which is coming up in June.

Since the Premier has not spoken up against the hateful rise of homophobia and transphobia in Ontario, I’d like to ask him today: Will he break his silence and commit to working with the Ontario NDP to pass our bill, the Keeping 2SLGBTQI+ Communities Safe Act, as quickly as possible?

This week, an angry mob also turned up at the York Catholic District School Board, where they disrupted a meeting to intimidate the trustees to vote against Pride Month and raising the flag for their community. This is not the first time that the police were called in to contain homophobic violence. If the Premier is unwilling to adopt our anti-2SLGBT strategy hate crime plan, what is the Premier’s plan to keep students safe? What is he going to do while they attend publicly funded schools?

Further questions?

Thank you to the member from Newmarket–Aurora for their question and their advocacy on creating more economic opportunities in their riding, and also across the province.

Madam Speaker, just last month, I announced the expansion of the Investing in Women’s Futures Program to 10 new locations across the province, bringing the total number of service locations to 33.

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of visiting Operation Grow. It’s in Midland, and I was there with the member from Simcoe North, the Minister of Colleges and Universities, to announce that they will be the next location receiving the Investing in Women’s Futures Program funding.

Operation Grow is a social enterprise operated by Huronia Transition Homes, and they empower women who have experienced violence to access skill-building workshops in their commercial kitchen and their state-of-the-art vertical farm. They grow food to feed their communities and also empower women to develop skills to be able to secure employment.

In addition to Midland, the Investing in Women’s Futures program will now be delivered in Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Pickering, Newmarket, Kingston, Killaloe, Elliot Lake, and Kirkland Lake. These programs will be led by community-based, locally informed organizations and will provide a range of flexible programs and services like counselling, safety planning, legal rights workshops, life skills and self-esteem workshops, financial literacy, employment readiness and skills development and business development. Some programs will also provide wraparound supports to enable women to participate, like transportation, child care, and mental health supports.

Under the leadership of our Premier and this government, we will continue to empower women across this province because we believe that when women succeed—

I recognize the Minister of Health.

Thank you, and it’s great to see you in the chair, Speaker.

The member opposite knows very well that hospitals are responsible for their day-to-day operations and make those decisions independent of the Ministry of Health and government. We have been assured that the Haliburton Highlands Health Services board and leadership have made this decision carefully and thoughtfully, understanding and appreciating the needs of their community and their staff. I will let them do that work.

Our government continues to support hospitals in many ways, including Haliburton Highlands Health Services, to which we have increased funding by 11% since we came into office.

This is not a funding conversation; this is a conversation that the hospital leadership, the hospital board has made based on the needs of the community, and appreciating that they want to best serve the community, and they’ve done that.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity.

Ontario is facing a historic labour shortage, with over 360,000 jobs going unfilled. If left unaddressed, this situation will cost billions to our economy in lost productivity.

We know that women make up almost half of the Canadian labour force but unfortunately hold less than 25% of the jobs in the tech sector and less than 4% of jobs in the skilled trades. Additionally, women often face added barriers when entering or re-entering the workforce.

Our government must focus on measures to provide women with the resources they need to achieve their full economic potential.

Can the associate minister please share what our government is doing to economically empower women in our province?

That said, our government understands that some women encounter social and economic barriers in obtaining the support that they require. It is essential that every woman should have access to these important programs no matter where they live in our province.

Can the associate minister please elaborate on how our government is helping women across Ontario to develop the skills that they need to gain financial security and independence?

Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé.

Residents of Minden and surrounding area are here today in the gallery and on the front lawn. They were shocked last week to learn that their emergency room will close on June 1. So in one week, they have gathered thousands of names on a petition for a simple ask to the minister: a one-year moratorium on that decision.

Will the minister listen to the good people of Minden and grant the one-year moratorium on the closing of their emergency room?

Speaker, the people of Minden stand with their city council and will leave no stone unturned to alter this ill-advised, ill-timed and ill-planned decision. The Minden emergency department had 13,000 visits last year, and the numbers are only going up. This town of 7,000 people triples in size through the summer with the seasonal residents and tourists who come to the area, yet no one was consulted on this decision to close the emergency department.

The government has the opportunity to act. Will they help keep the Minden hospital emergency department open for one more year?

Our government has increased funding to our school boards year after year since taking office. That includes $26.7 billion in base GSN funding for the next school year, an increase of over $700 million this year alone, a 14% increase since 2017-18.

Since the 2002-03 school year, staffing has increased by nearly 8,000 despite student enrolment remaining the same across the boards.

We continue to be very dedicated to our school boards and our school boards’ and our students’ success.

In total, we hired nearly 2,000 new front-line educators, who will be hired and supported by the overall education funding, which is at the highest level in Ontario history, with nearly 1,000 additional skilled math and literacy educators to boost skills across our boards.

We believe in our students’ success and achievement.

My question is to the Premier.

The District School Board of Niagara, like many school boards in Ontario, is facing significant financial pressures. Since Christmas, the board has welcomed 400 new students, who were relocated to Niagara through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. The board has requested $500,000 in additional targeted funding for the unique learning challenges faced by these students, including multi-language resource teachers, social workers, and translation software. After repeated follow-ups with the minister, the school board is still waiting for support.

Why is the Premier refusing to act and provide the necessary resources to keep classrooms functioning and students properly supported in Niagara?

My question is for the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

Recently, the Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors group met to discuss the status of mental health and addiction services in northern communities. Our northern cities and towns are unfortunately facing higher rates of overdoses than the rest of the province, and residents of the north often have to travel greater distances to access services. These are serious health issues affecting our communities, and our government must take immediate action to improve the lives of people who are struggling with substance use.

Can the associate minister please explain what actions our government is taking to improve mental health and addictions services in rural, remote and northern communities?

Unfortunately, Speaker, for young people in rural, remote and northern communities who are in need of help, some services and supports are fragmented and not readily available. That is why it is critical that we strengthen the mental health support networks and make the vital investments in prevention and early intervention. It is essential that our government prioritizes local service delivery to ensure that programs are equitable and meet the needs of individuals and communities in an accessible and timely manner.

Can the associate minister please explain how our government is providing access to critical mental health and addictions support for children and youth when and where they need them the most?

Follow-up?

The Niagara school board has been promised the funding. Please just answer the question; it’s important to Niagara.

I want to be clear: This is a very real and very urgent issue that the board needs to address. The board has spent an additional $300,000 outside of their regular spending models. At this rate, it’s not sustainable. They need support from the province to ensure students in Niagara are receiving the education and support they need and deserve.

Our education workers and our teachers deserve to have the resources needed to provide quality education in our schools.

Will the Premier commit to follow up with the District School Board of Niagara and ensure they have the necessary funding to support all students in our community?

As I said when we highlighted this pilot project that is available at Holland Bloorview, Hamilton, CHEO and SickKids, it really is an opportunity to make sure that those youth, those children have those wraparound services. It is a very exciting pilot project, and we will monitor very carefully to see how they can actually improve the access to service for those young people and their families.

I will remind the member opposite, a pilot project means that we need the data, we need the material to see whether it is an effective one. As I said that day at the announcement, if this turns into a program that will help many people and many families, we will absolutely work together to ensure that we can expand it.

That is exactly the reason why we have introduced the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act—and we ask the members to continue to support it—to support students across the province, in building off the approximately 8,000 additional staff hired since 2018; improving accountability and transparency by allowing the minister to set priorities in important areas and subjects on student achievement, like reading, math, and requiring school boards to update parents on progress; requiring school boards to publicly post their multi-year board improvement plan that reflects the priorities of student achievement and accountability to parents; and directing school boards to increase engagement by reporting to parents on student achievement and ensuring parents have easy access to the information they need to make meaningful engagement with their children’s educational success.

This is why we are asking for accountability—because we continue to believe that students are very important in our province, and we continue to want them to be successful.