My question is to the Premier. Last week, the Middlesex-London Health Unit wrote to this government urging an increase to social assistance rates. Their letter states, “Middlesex-London residents with low incomes cannot afford to eat after meeting other essential needs....” At a time of unprecedented inflation, food insecurity is higher than ever before. Our health unit is telling this government that people on ODSP and Ontario Works are not eating.

Speaker, why is this government keeping social assistance rates so low that those who rely on social assistance are force to go without food?

I really do want to thank the member from Brampton North for this very important question.

It was a pleasure to be joined by my Peel caucus colleagues and representatives from the region’s municipalities last month to echo our government’s investment of an additional $202 million every year in our Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program. This brings our total annual investment to nearly $700 million. It’s record investments.

But this funding is vital as it helps service managers, like the regional municipality of Peel, provide supportive housing and other supports for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Speaker, we know that supportive housing provides stability that opens doors to better health, employment and independence for those in need. That’s why our government is stepping up and delivering greater investments to the people of this province, which benefit our communities and our economy as a whole.

Our government met with partners and stakeholders right across our province this past fall, and their valuable feedback was key to our improvements to Ontario’s supportive housing system. We recognize that the availability and affordability of housing are closely linked to the supply of homes in our communities. That’s why we’re committed to increasing the supply of housing in the coming 10 years.

We’re pleased to see that many municipalities in Ontario share this goal, like Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon, who have collectively pledged to build a total of 246,000 homes. These pledges demonstrate a solid commitment to increasing housing supply and ensuring that residents have access to affordable housing.

Speaker, only by working together can we ensure that all Ontarians have access to safe, affordable and suitable housing.

As we support the ongoing logistical challenges of that community, there is no question that there is a need for us to move on that location—“us” involves the community itself and some neighbouring communities. The federal government and the provincial government remain committed to that process and continue to work with not just Kashechewan but Fort Albany First Nation to ensure that they actually want to do this and we can proceed with a couple of important processes to make that move. Our door remains open, and we’d like to facilitate that process. It shouldn’t take this long. It’s twice in my own political career that this has happened.

I can assure the member opposite that we remain committed to facilitating that, providing it has the support of the nearby communities to Kashechewan.

Frankly, we continue to urge, particularly, Fort Albany First Nation to work with Kashechewan First Nation so that we can proceed with things like the environmental processes that are required to actually build the road that the member speaks about. It’s not that nothing is being done. Efforts are being made to get things started. That has been going on for a couple of years. I suspect the member knows that.

We would be happy to have a conversation with the leadership of those First Nations communities to trigger those processes and move that community to a place where we signed on the dotted line that we were committed to do that.

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Red Tape Reduction. Reducing red tape is a key part of building a stronger economy and improving services for all Ontarians. That’s why our government must bring forward red tape reduction solutions to deliver on our promise to improve government services and make it easier to do business in Ontario. The Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act should help to pave the way for better services, provide greater support for businesses to grow and help to save people time and money. While it is unfortunate that the opposition does not believe in the benefits of cutting red tape, this legislation could help ensure Ontario remains a key destination for investment, opportunity and prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, through you, can the minister please explain how our government is reducing regulatory burdens on people and businesses in Ontario?

Through you, Mr. Speaker, can the minister please explain how these red-tape-reduction changes can create real benefits for people and businesses in our province?

“To the Solicitor General:

“Whereas the government of Ontario is committed to ensuring the safety of Ontario communities; and

“Whereas the government of Ontario is committed to supporting our hard-working women and men in blue, who put their lives on the line every day in police forces across the province of Ontario to keep our communities safe;

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

“To support the passage of Bill 102, Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023, to ensure the following:

“(1) Make it easier for police services across the province to recruit and train more police officers by removing tuition fees for the basic constable training program at the Ontario Police College, known as OPC, and immediately expand the number of recruits that could be trained each year;

“(2) To expand the Basic Constable Training Program at the Ontario Police College, OPC, immediately to accommodate an additional 70 recruits per cohort from 480 to 550;

“(3) Starting in 2024, expand the Basic Constable Training Program to four cohorts per year instead of three;

“(4) Additionally, to support recruitment efforts at a time when local police officers have signalled challenges in doing so, introduce legislation that, if passed, will eliminate the post-secondary education requirement to become a police officer as set out in the Community Safety and Policing Act, also known as the CSPA, and if passed, the act would amend the Community Safety and Policing Act, CSPA, to provide that a secondary school diploma or equivalent is sufficient education for the purposes of being appointed as a police officer; and

“(5) To make the elimination of the tuition fee for the basic constable training program at the Ontario Police College retroactive to January 1, 2023, and recruits who paid for their 12-week basic constable training earlier this year to be reimbursed.”

I proudly affix my signature to this petition, and I will give it to page Sophie.

I’d like to introduce Richard and Sandra Bradley from Save the Minden ER. And there are two other Minden residents up above who are also with Community Living Ontario.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs and move its adoption.

I would like to introduce one of my constituents, William Hulme, who just made it to the gallery with his group, Community Living Ontario. Welcome to the chamber, William, and I hope you enjoy your day at the Legislature.

Mr. Speaker, the health and safety of every worker is our government’s top priority. That’s why I was proud to go to Sudbury to be joined by the Minister of Mines, to stand with the United Steelworkers union, to lower diesel particulate requirements in mines to the toughest standards in all of North America. This was a request by the United Steelworkers union.

But, Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute to those 29,000 miners across northern Ontario who are building the future of this province. They are in well-paying jobs with pensions and benefits. These are the jobs that our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, is investing in to ensure that we have more young people joining these amazing careers out there. As we’ve said before, and as the Premier often says, when you have a career in the skilled trades, you have a career for life.

Yes. Thank you, Speaker. My apologies. I’d like to welcome Robert Smith to the Legislature, who I’m having lunch with. He’s with Community Living Ontario as well. I look forward to speaking with you later today. Thanks for being here.

Thank you. Order.

Supplementary question.

The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

The next question.

The division bells rang from 1149 to 1154.

On May 8, 2023, Mr. Pirie moved third reading of Bill 71, An Act to amend the Mining Act.

On May 9, 2023, Ms. Kusendova-Bashta moved that the question be now put.

All those in favour of Ms. Kusendova-Bashta’s motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Mr. Pirie has moved third reading of Bill 71, an Act to amend the Mining Act. 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 is another five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1159 to 1200.

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

Be it resolved that the bill do now pass and be entitled as in the motion.

Third reading agreed to.

The House recessed from 1204 to 1500.

Report adopted.

Mr. Fraser moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr25, An Act to revive Superior Corporate Services Limited.

First reading agreed to.

Ms. Brady moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr24, An Act to revive Parrington’s Food Market Limited.

First reading agreed to.

This question is to the Premier.

Young people are particularly vulnerable to permanent brain damage due to diesel fuel exposure. With young people beginning skilled trades training as early as grade 11, can the Premier explain to parents why the government has not reduced the diesel exposure limits to the level long recommended by health and safety experts?

Mine workers have been lobbying this for years. In fact, members of the United Steelworkers have stickers on their hard hats recommending it be much reduced from the level that the government has recently moved to. For me, particularly knowing how badly WSIB is serving the interests of injured workers, I can’t imagine how parents will feel.

My question is: Why has the ministry not moved the rate down to the recommended level?

I would like to invite members to join the delegation from Lupus Ontario for a group picture at the grand stairs after the question period.

I’d like to remind the House that in room 247, the Nigerian delegation is there. You’re welcome to join us there today.

Deferred vote on the motion that the question now be put on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 71, An Act to amend the Mining Act / Projet de loi 71, Loi modifiant la Loi sur les mines.

Mr. Speaker, we have invested more than $1.2 billion towards helping communities through the Social Services Relief Fund—$1.2 billion to help with food, to help with the cost of housing; investing $83 million through the Ontario Trillium Foundation to support non-profit organizations, including food banks; $8 million in support for funding Feed Ontario. Mr. Speaker, every single measure that we’ve taken to help Ontarians during the cost of high prices everywhere, the NDP continuously votes against. They will never support lowering costs in this province. You’ve seen them; you’ve heard them. They’ll say one thing here in the House, but as soon as it comes to actions, they’re MIA. They don’t exist.

It’s this Premier and it’s this government that says we’ll make sure that every single Ontarian is supported and no one is left behind, and we’ll put—

Interjections.

Again to the Premier: Food banks in London and across Ontario are stretched to the limit. In just the last year, the London Food Bank saw a 40% increase in demand. The Emergency Food Cupboard at the Northwest London Resource Centre in my riding is seeing five or six new families a day. When people can’t afford food, their physical and mental health suffers. It causes more chronic conditions, more non-communicable diseases, more infections, depression, anxiety and stress.

Speaker, will this government listen to the Middlesex-London Health Unit, lift people on social assistance out of legislated poverty and increase social assistance rates?

Interjections.

Speaker, there are friends throughout the gallery; I think it would take up the five minutes that we have if I went through the list.

I do want to welcome all of my friends and supporters who are here today. Thank you for taking the time and for supporting me in the decade that I have served.

I would like to acknowledge that my mom, Yvonne Hunter, is here. My eldest brother, Maurice Hunter, is here. And I always call him my little brother—my youngest brother, Andrew Hunter, is here, as well.

I also want to acknowledge my constituency staff who are here. Mohammed Patel is here. Julianna Atanasovski is watching—and Jonathan Patch, and also my intern, Daniel.

Thanks to all of you for being here and for joining me today. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

The ayes are 78; the nays are 30.

Pursuant to standing order 63, your committee has selected the 2023-24 estimates of the following ministries for consideration: Ministry of the Attorney General; Ministry of Francophone Affairs; Ministry of Indigenous Affairs; Ministry of the Solicitor General; Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery.

Report presented.

Bill 85, An Act to implement Budget measures and to amend various statutes / Projet de loi 85, Loi visant à mettre en oeuvre les mesures budgétaires et à modifier diverses lois.

I want to thank the member from Carleton for that important question.

Time and again, the only thing we ever hear from members opposite is no. What they fail to realize is that reducing red tape is about the impact these changes are having on real people and businesses across our great province—changes like helping businesses embrace new technologies like carbon capture and storage. Reducing red tape on these projects will unleash innovation, and it will create hundreds of millions of dollars in new investments right across our great province.

While our government knows there is a tremendous economic and environmental potential for carbon storage, the opposition wants to keep the red tape barriers in place. Mr. Speaker, we are never going to let that happen. Our government will never stop fighting for a better future for Ontarians and make sure our province is prosperous.

I also want to point out that I’ve yet to receive a single idea from any of the members opposite. They don’t even have a critic responsible for red tape reduction. While this is disappointing, it is not unexpected. That’s because, as we all know, the Liberals, supported by the NDP, came up with the highest burden the province had in the country.

However, since 2018, our government has taken strong action to cut Ontario’s regulatory burden by over 16,000 regulatory compliance requirements, which helps businesses big or small with, on average, $700 million annually.

I have a petition here:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Haldimand county has requested a ministerial zoning order to accelerate the development of a proposed city of 40,000 people on industrial-zoned buffer land in the Nanticoke industrial park; and

“Whereas the housing development will grow the population of the Port Dover-Nanticoke area from approximately 7,000 to 47,000 people; and

“Whereas this development will have a significant impact on infrastructure such as roadways; and

“Whereas 40,000 people living in the Nanticoke industrial park buffer zone is a threat to area jobs in steelmaking, oil refining and the related trades;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to not grant the Haldimand county request for an MZO.”

I support this petition. I will affix my signature to it and send it to the table with page Sophie.