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?

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.