I’m very pleased to rise and join the debate in this House this afternoon with respect to third reading of Bill 85, the Building a Strong Ontario Act. I will be sharing my time with the member for Markham–Thornhill.

Speaker, Bill 85 represents a thoughtful, transparent plan—a targeted approach to helping people and businesses today, while laying a strong fiscal foundation for future generations, and it contains a path to balance the budget while still delivering on our plan and making the investments that are so necessary for a stronger Ontario. Our plan recognizes the resilience of Ontario’s economy, despite the fact that we are facing economic challenges at this time that are felt worldwide. We are continuing, therefore, to create the environment for a strong Ontario economy, both for today and tomorrow.

Our plan provides more support for employers and Ontario workers. Our plan builds a strong health care system and invests in people and the necessary infrastructure which Ontario needs. It is a plan that prioritizes the critical mining sector in Ontario’s north, which, in turn, will make Ontario’s manufacturing sector globally competitive in the south.

Because of the failed tax-and-spend policies of the previous Liberal government, Ontario lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs between 2004 and 2018. And look where that left Ontario, Speaker: higher debt, lost jobs and a downgrade to Ontario’s credit rating, all under the previous Liberal regime.

Our province, along with the rest of Canada, is headed for some potential uncertainty in the global economy in 2023, and now is not the time for repeating or doubling down on failed policies which we saw in Ontario from 2004 to 2018. The budget bill that has been tabled by the Minister of Finance is an important opportunity for all levels of government, federal, provincial and municipal, to work together on priorities that matter most to families and businesses.

We have set out a financial blueprint to address the ongoing housing affordability crisis, and we welcome co-operation and input from municipalities and the federal government to work with us to build new homes, invest in green spaces, invest in infrastructure and also to defer the harmonized sales tax on all new large-scale, purpose-built projects. This is an issue that affects so many, and we are investing in housing because this budget is about people.

We are building on the work we have already done to make Ontario a global leader in manufacturing and to bring investments and jobs back to Ontario. Our government is proposing a new Ontario-made manufacturing tax credit that would help more Canadian-controlled private corporations and local manufacturing companies invest and expand so that their products which benefit families today and tomorrow are made right here in Ontario.

Ontario is leading the nation, Speaker, in new technological developments which are essential to our energy supply. Our government believes that clean, safe, reliable, emissions-free nuclear energy is essential to our energy supply mix. Therefore, Speaker, I am proud of our government’s investment and support for the continued safe operation of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station and the refurbishment of the Darlington nuclear station within my riding for the construction of the small modular reactor which will be operational by 2028.

Ontario is a leader in battery procurements, with the largest battery storage project in Canada being built right here in our great province of Ontario. In doing so, our support will attract electric vehicle supply chain investments to Ontario, thus making Ontario a leading jurisdiction to build the cars of the future.

Our government is making these investments because our budget is about people. It’s about Ontario’s future and future generations, and that means investing in families and businesses. That will ensure that Ontario can thrive and that Ontario can grow, both presently and into the future.

What I am most proud of is that our government has a solid fiscal path to balance Ontario’s budget in the very near future and, at the same time, this budget bill allows us to increase spending in crucial areas, such as health care, education and infrastructure. Our government’s fiscal blueprint projects a smaller-than-forecasted deficit of $2.2 billion this year, a $1.3-billion deficit next fiscal year and a return to a balanced budget with a surplus of $200 million the following year. This fiscal prudence and the stability that is associated with it provides businesses, credit rating agencies and global investors with the confidence to invest in Ontario, because those partners understand that our government has its fiscal house in order, and to quote our Minister of Finance, “What’s good for Ontario is good for Canada.” This principle is essential to Ontario’s success within Canada and for Canada.

Now, in this budget, our government is investing more in health care to reduce wait-lists and provide better outcomes and to add more family doctors, more nurses, more PSWs. These investments and improvements will connect Ontarians to more convenient care through their OHIP cards.

Bill 85 will, if passed, invest $1 billion over three years to get more people connected to care in the comfort of their own homes and within their communities. Now, we are accelerating these investments to bring funding in 2023-24 up to $569 million, which includes nearly $300 million to support contract rate increases to stabilize the home and community care workforce. Our government is providing an additional $425 million over three years for mental health and addictions, including a 5% increase in the base funding of community-based mental health and addictions service providers. We are funding an additional $80 million over the next three years to further expand enrolment for nursing programs. Our government will invest an additional $202 million each year in supportive housing and homelessness programs in Ontario.

So despite the negative assertions of the opposition, we are investing in public services. As a result, our budget improves public services by making it more convenient and faster for Ontarians to access those public services. We are investing in services. We are investing in people. We are investing in the future of Ontario and leading Canada’s growth and prosperity as a result.

As we come near to the conclusion of the debate on Bill 85 for third reading, our government, I submit, has presented to the people of Ontario a responsible, transparent and common-sense budget that will support families, workers and businesses across this great province. Our government believes in a strong and resilient Ontario, because it is the people of Ontario who make it so.

I urge all members of this House—in particular, I urge members of the official opposition, His Majesty’s loyal opposition, to reconsider their position, to carefully read the budget bill, to carefully consider the debates in this House and to come together to pass this budget. Because we owe it to our children and our grandchildren to invest responsibly in their future today. If we do that, we can and will have a prosperous tomorrow for the next generations to come.

“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” recipients;

“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 ... and the Ontario Disability Support Program...;

“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 want to thank Dr. Sally Palmer for this petition. I agree with it wholeheartedly, will sign it and give it to page Akshitha.

“Petition to the Legislative Assembly ...:

“Whereas the Wolfe Island ferry and Glenora ferry have had serious service disruptions due to a staffing crisis created by the Ontario government; and

“Whereas residents and visitors to Wolfe Island have been trapped on the island for up to 12 hours with no way to leave, even for emergencies or work; and

“Whereas Glenora ferry has had a reduced schedule during this year’s busy tourism season, creating hours of lineups and delays for passengers; and

“Whereas the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) ferry workers are drastically underpaid in comparison to the rest of the marine industry, causing recruitment and retention issues; and

“Whereas instead of paying competitive wages and hiring more permanent staff, MTO has contracted out the work to Reliance Offshore, an out-of-province, private temporary staffing agency, which charges up to twice as much hourly as ministry staff earn; and

“Whereas contracting out the work is a waste of our public funds on a stopgap solution that doesn’t provide long-term stability to our ferry system;

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

“(1) Fix our ferries—stop the service disruptions and reductions caused by ministry understaffing.

“(2) Repeal Bill 124, which has imposed a three-year wage cut on already underpaid ferry workers during high inflation, and pay them fair, competitive wages.

“(3) End the outrageously expensive contracts with private temporary staffing agencies and hire permanent Ministry of Transportation ferry workers to work and live in our communities instead.”

I support this petition. I’ll affix my signature and provide it to page Dominic to give to the Clerk.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the basics of reading, writing, and mathematics are fundamental for students achievement; and too many school boards are jeopardizing student achievement by straying away from teaching the basics of reading, writing, and mathematics; and parents are being bullied and denied representation at school board meetings, and trustees are being bullied by other trustees;

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

“That the Legislative Assembly of Ontario authorize the Minister of Education to set provincial priorities in education in the area of student achievement, and authorize the Minister of Education to issue policies and guidelines setting out the training to be completed by board members, directors of education, supervisory officers and superintendents, and require boards to adopt codes of conduct that apply to members of the board.”

I wholly support this petition. I will be affixing my signature, and I’ll send it back with page Sanskrati.

We’ll move to—

Interjection.

Interjection.

I am honoured to rise today and speak on the third reading of Bill 85, Building a Strong Ontario Act, 2023. I’m happy to share my time with my colleague and friend, the member from Durham. Thank you for allowing me to speak for 10 minutes.

Speaker, this budget not only maps out the plan to attract jobs and build infrastructure but is also a plan and vision that will lead all of us in Ontario to prosper. I am here to speak not only to hard-working residents of my riding of Markham–Thornhill but to all residents of Ontario on how to navigate the way through these uncertain economic times—how our government is supporting businesses and people during this challenging time.

Madam Speaker, this is a budget which will prepare the province for the uncertain economic times. Each and every day, families, businesses and workers are facing immense financial pressures by the current economy as Ontario wrestles with the above-target consumer price inflation, high interest rates, a generational labour crunch and possible recession. Bill 85 plans to actually make an economically stronger Ontario.

Growth has slowed and is expected to remain modest in the coming years. In face of all these economic challenges, our plan is comprehensive and is connected to everyone. We are building Ontario’s economy for today and tomorrow.

Speaker, I want to remind the members opposite that the residents of Ontario are in agreement with what we have to offer in Bill 85. For instance, Ian Howcroft of Skills Ontario said, “Skills Ontario is thrilled by the increased investments, supports, and actions announced by the provincial government to promote and grow the skilled trades and technologies. This support will continue to positively impact the number of young people across Ontario who will choose to enter the trades and go on to have rewarding careers. There is an enormous shortage of skilled workers, and the government should be recognized and applauded for addressing this long-standing challenge with a multitude of skills solutions.”

Ingrid Palmer, chair of the Child Welfare PAC Canada and former youth in care, stated, “By implementing the Ready, Set, Go framework, the Ontario government is beginning to break down the complex barriers faced by youth from care who experience disproportionate risks and challenges throughout their lifetime. The Child Welfare PAC fully endorses this approach, which incorporates a data-driven system and a better-resourced, graduated introduction to adulthood. With multiple pathways to brighter futures and improved outcomes, this framework will help us support our most vulnerable youth and provide them with the tools they need to succeed.”

Madam Speaker, let me explain our road map to economic prosperity for Ontario. We are unlocking northern Ontario’s economic potential by committing close to $1 billion. We will support critical legacy infrastructure such as all-season roads, broadband connectivity and community supports to the Ring of Fire region, which has one of the most promising mineral deposits in Canada.

We’ll bringing manufacturing jobs back to Ontario. We will attract more than $16 billion in investment by global automakers and suppliers of electric vehicle batteries and battery materials. Just look at the recent announcement by Volkswagen of its planned EV plant in St. Thomas. Ontario is the emerging centre of Canada’s electric vehicle revolution.

Markham–Thornhill is the most ethnically diverse riding in all of Canada, according to the census. We welcome many new Canadians. It takes ambition, a strong will to never give up and a commitment to work hard when one relocates from one country to another. And it takes ambition and willingness to be an entrepreneur. Our government has a plan to do all it can to help these international migrants. That’s why we are enhancing the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program with an additional $25 million over three years. We will attract more skilled workers, including in-demand professionals in the skilled trades, to the province.

In the same vein, we are expanding the Ontario bridge training program with an additional $3 million in the budget to help internationally trained immigrants find employment in their fields here and get faster access to training and support toward an Ontario licence or certification, so new immigrants, without any delays, hit the ground running and start contributing to Ontario’s economy right away.

And not only this, our list to make life affordable and easy for the people of Ontario goes on and on. We are investing an additional $15 million over three years for the Racialized and Indigenous Support for Entrepreneurs Grant program.

Speaker, we’ll continue to provide gas tax and fuel tax rate cuts until December 31, 2023. We are eliminating double fares for most local transit services in the greater Golden Horseshoe when commuters also use GO Transit services. It will help tremendously in regions like York region—Markham—because we have a very ineffective public transportation system compared to the GTA. The government is working to expand this initiative to support more people using public transit coming to Toronto.

We will provide financial support to more seniors by proposing changes to expand the Guaranteed Annual Income System—what we call the GAINS program—starting in July 2024, to see 100,000 additional seniors be eligible for the program and the benefit adjusted annually to inflation.

We are investing in supportive housing with an additional $202 million each year in the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program to help those experiencing or at risk of homelessness and those escaping intimate partner violence and to support the community organizations delivering supportive housing.

Madam Speaker, we are helping more Ontario students become doctors by investing an additional $33 million over three years to add 100 undergraduate seats, beginning in 2023, as well as 154 postgraduate medical training seats to prioritize Ontario residents trained at home and abroad, beginning in 2024 and going forward. Ontario residents will also continue to be prioritized for undergraduate support at medical schools in the province.

Starting fall 2023, we’re expanding the program to allow pharmacists to prescribe over-the-counter medications for more common ailments.

We are continuing the 2022 budget commitment to invest $1 billion over three years to get more people connected to care in the comfort of their own home and community.

The government is now accelerating investments to bring funding in 2023-24 up to $569 million, including nearly $300 million to support contract rate increases to stabilize the home and community care workforce. This funding will also expand home care services and improve the quality of care, making it easier and faster for people to connect to care. These services helped my mother a lot when she was bedridden and she was dying, with dementia, before she passed away, Madam Speaker. It was a wonderful program. Our government invested over $1 million.

In my closing, Madam Speaker, I can go on and on about the effective measures we have taken for the economic betterment of our people but my time is limited. I encourage all members to vote in favour of the spring budget bill. Let’s get it done.

The member has talked about preparing to navigate people in these uncertain economic times. Right now in London, a corporate landlord recently purchased Webster apartment units and they’re systematically renovicting vulnerable seniors and people on ODSP and OW. They’re being renovicted, and London rents have increased by 25% since last year, so also the rents have soared.

I want to know why this Conservative government removed rent controls, and what’s in this budget to protect tenants who are now being renovicted and who are facing double the rent if they have to look for another unit.

We’re going to move to questions.

I thank the member opposite for the question. Inflation, as we know, is affecting everybody, not just here in the province of Ontario but across the country, the continent and indeed the world. But here at home in Ontario, it’s left many, especially the more vulnerable, feeling pressure on their household budgets, and everybody is affected by this on the rental side, landlords and tenants. Landlords certainly face tenants who aren’t paying, and they can’t make ends meet.

The government understands that it’s a challenging time for many across the province, and therefore has acted early to provide relief. As a result, for example, we are providing more than $6.5 billion a year in electricity price relief for both consumers and job creators under our comprehensive electricity plan. We, as well, made adjustments to the core allowances for the ODSP and of course have added 100,000 more seniors in terms of eligibility for the GAINS program.

It’s so good to hear my colleagues talk about the budget and the great things that we’re doing.

I have a question for the member from Markham–Thornhill. I think just the most incredible part about this job is the incredible people that you get to meet. Something that struck me so much about the member for Markham–Thornhill is his absolute passion for the most vulnerable in the province of Ontario. In fact, I think that’s something that he’s carried with him, being a refugee himself, from his homeland. As a new Canadian asking a new Canadian, I just have so much respect for what he brings here.

Part of what we’re doing, and I think what’s so exciting for me, is that our government announced last year that it would be increasing the ODSP rate by 5%, and now, with budget 2023, we have confirmed ODSP will be indexed to inflation. I was wondering if the member could highlight why this is an important move to help Ontario’s most vulnerable.

I’ll be brief because we don’t have a lot of time. The autism wait-list has grown from 28,000 to 60,000. There’s not one word on autism in the budget. I’m just wondering why the Conservative government doesn’t think that’s important?

Being a Brampton boy, born and raised, being born in Peel Memorial Hospital and raised in our community, one of the frustrations we have in my community is that we always feel like our decisions are being made by somebody else. It felt like the powers that be in downtown Toronto decided they wanted to give everybody else a bypass highway, but when it came time for Brampton to go and get our own bypass highway, we were cast aside by the previous government.

Now, under this Premier’s leadership, we are investing in Highway 413, which is finally giving Brampton its own bypass highway—the downtown Toronto environmentalist critics be damned.

I know the member for Durham also had some of these decisions that didn’t really reflect his own local priorities around tolling on Highways 412 and 418. Just like in my community where drivers were getting shafted by downtown Toronto decisions that didn’t reflect the community, his area was getting shafted as well. I wonder if the member could talk about—I see in the budget a commitment around keeping those tolls away—

It’s my honour to rise today to speak to this budget bill on behalf of the good people of Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas. You put me in this place, you trusted me, and I work every day to make sure that I continue to earn that trust and be an MPP you can be proud of. So you can be sure that what I’m about to say about this budget today reflects everything I have been hearing from you, all your hopes, your dreams and your disappointment in this government with this budget.

It really is like we’re talking about two Ontarios. In this province of Ontario, if you are, let’s just say, an international corporation like Therme getting a 95-year lease on our public lands, you’re doing pretty well. If you’re a for-profit corporation that is profiting from the privatization of our health care system, if you are profiting from seniors’ knees, their eyes, their hips, those operations, you’re doing pretty well in this province. If you’re a developer that now has got your hands on the greenbelt—the government was supposed to be a steward of these lands in perpetuity—you’re doing pretty well in this province.

But do you know what? We just heard it here: If you have a child with autism, you’re struggling in this province. If you are a middle-class taxpayer, you are having a hard time making ends meet. A small business owner, barely recovering from COVID: It’s going to be difficult for you. A working single mom in this province, trying to feed her kids, put clothes on their backs, keep a roof over their heads: This bill does not speak to you at all. It’s like this government doesn’t understand what’s going on in the real main streets of all of our ridings and all of our communities.

There’s an affordability crisis happening out there. People can’t pay their bills. People are struggling to buy groceries. The cost of bread is something that gets talked about in our communities. That’s what people are facing, and this government has set their priorities, and it’s not those people. You are not serving those people. There really are two Ontarios. The people who have the ear of this government, the corporations, the wealthy: You were reflected in this budget. But if you’re an average working Ontarian, this budget does not speak to you.

Recently, there was a survey done—very recently—by Angus Reid, a reputable pollster. They polled Ontarians to see what are their priorities, their number-one priorities: 79% of Ontarians selected health care as a top priority if they were over the age of 55. Cost of living and inflation: 62% of Ontarians were concerned with those, followed by health care and housing affordability. Those are the top priorities of the people of the province of Ontario, and this budget that this government put forward is exactly in opposition to what people are concerned about—absolutely in opposition to this.

When we talk about cost of living and inflation, the government talks about the cost of living, about inflation and inflation and inflationary pressures, but let’s be perfectly frank: This government has seen a windfall when it comes to inflation. While the people of the province of Ontario are struggling because of inflation, because of the high cost of everything—gas, energy bills, food, housing—this government is seeing a windfall. Your revenue when it comes to sales tax in the province of Ontario has gone through the roof. Why? Because people have to pay sales tax on hugely inflated grocery bills. That’s why.

In fact, this is a government that highly benefits from land transfer tax. Why is land transfer tax so high now? Why are people struggling to pay that? Because of the skyrocketing cost of housing in this province. This is a government that is benefiting from the struggles of the people of the province of Ontario. You’ve made money because people are struggling.

You would think, if this government actually was concerned with the people of the province of Ontario and the struggles they face, that they would share that windfall. That would be the decent thing to do, right? You’re the government. You took their money, their taxes, and now they’re struggling. Now would be the time for you to step up and help them, but in fact, that is not the case.

This is a government that currently has underspent their planned spending when it comes to health care. Even your promised spending is underspent, and the FAO has been very, very clear, particularly when it comes to the health care sector, that this shortfall of underspending in health care means that we will not be able to continue to support existing health care sector programs and announced commitments. So you’re already failing when it comes to health care and your spending in the province of Ontario, when people, as we know when it comes to health care, are really concerned and we are facing a crisis in health care.

This is not normal behaviour, really, for a government. It’s not normal for a government to profit off the misery of the people of the province of Ontario and not share that wealth. You would expect a government to say, “Do you know what? We did pretty well. People are struggling, so let’s give that back to the people who have paid this.” But instead, as I said, who do we see profiting in this province? Well-connected developers, huge multinational corporations that are getting their access to public domain lands and developers, not the people who we hear from every single day in this province here.

I’m not sure how this government measures success. They seem to measure success by talking about—

Interjections.

Next question?

We’re going to move to the next question.

Thank you to my good colleague from Brantford–Brant for the kind introduction and kind words. Thank you for standing up for so many vulnerable and marginalized people in your riding, and for all your passion.

Madam Speaker, our government announced last year that we would increase the ODSP rate by 5%. When I got elected and appointed as a parliamentary assistant this term, dealing with the MCCSS, Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, I was blessed to serve under Minister Michael Parsa and blessed to give my input on behalf of the vulnerable, marginalized people in Ontario. There are many in my riding of Scarborough. These are things that are very important to us and to our government: the increase of 5% for ODSP for the first time after a long time, but also the increased threshold from $200—we increased the limit to $1,000 without affecting their benefits.

I can’t imagine the member opposite is reading the same budget bill that I’ve been reading or listening to some of the comments from the Minister of Finance and others in support of the bill. Indigenous communities are very much a centrepiece of this budget bill. We’re investigating residential school burial sites. We are making investments in the Ring of Fire and continuing to work with First Nations and industry on key Ring of Fire projects. We’re supporting racialized and Indigenous communities and businesses by investing $50 million over three years in the RAISE Grant program. We’re providing rapid training through micro-credentials and addressing homelessness—and this was just addressed today—through supportive housing, and that is the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program.

I can’t even get all of the aspects of this that support Indigenous communities into this short answer, but I do encourage the member opposite to read the bill.

That toll-free approach is exactly why we also removed the tolls from 412 and 418—and in my riding, 418 in particular. It affects driver behaviour. It has reduced gridlock significantly because those tolls aren’t there anymore. That’s what it’s about, Speaker.

I can tell you that I hear about it in my own community. Autism Home Base is a hub for adult autistic young people, and they are very much applauding this budget and all of the measures that we’ve introduced to enhance support for autistic families, whether the children be under the age of 18 or over the age of 18. We have to focus on all of them because they have different needs at different ages, and I can speak from experience on behalf of my son, Jake.

I’m proud of this government’s record and its plan of action to support autistic citizens and their families.

The province is signatory to Treaty 9. Unfortunately, in this budget, we haven’t seen very much help for First Nations. Even though we have spoken about the water crisis, the housing crisis, communities being landlocked in their own reserves—and yet, silence; we haven’t seen anything helping them. We’ve seen First Nations come here and tell this government that they’re bringing this government to court because of the lack of help, of exchanging and trying to find solutions.

I ask this government: We are a signatory to Treaty 9—we all are. So why not fix the water crisis? Why not fix the home crisis and also the landlock that Attawapiskat is facing? Why not do this when we’ve brought this over and over and over again?

I’d just like to welcome our guests from the Ireland Canada Business Association and our guests from the Republic of Ireland who have joined us here today.

Yes, they seem to measure success by the number of—

Interjection.

What I was saying is that you would know, you would see that your members are struggling. People and businesses are struggling. People are finding it’s very, very difficult to pay their property tax, to pay their income tax, to afford their groceries and to afford everyday, basic necessities. But this is a government that is not sharing the windfall that they have seen from the increase in the sales tax revenue, the land transfer tax revenue, the gas tax revenue that this government gets. They’re not sharing that.

We would measure success by seeing that everyday Ontarians are doing better, but in fact, that’s not the case. People are doing much worse in this province. This government has been in power for five years and things have not gotten better; they’ve only gotten worse. Really, there’s no better example of that than people in this province not being able to afford baby formula. I mean, how is this in the province of Ontario, which has been described as the capital, the economic engine of Canada? How is it possible that families are unable to afford to pay for baby formula?

The MPP for Niagara Falls brought this up in the House, questioned the Premier about the increasing cost of baby formula. It needs to be said that the cost is rising by $5 to $10 per case, with cases that last mere days. That reaches about $75 a month for families trying to feed their babies. They’re trying to feed their babies. They’re struggling with the high cost of living, but there’s nothing more upsetting than to hear that people can’t afford to feed their babies. This budget does nothing to address the affordability crisis.

We’ve asked time and time again for this government to stand up to corporations that are price-gouging, corporations that are taking advantage of people who are desperate, but this government has done nothing. We ask you to stand up to corporate bullies. We measure our success by how we make life affordable for average people, for moms feeding their babies. That’s a measure of success that I would like to see this government stand up and talk about.

We have a number of reports coming from the FAO, which is an independent office of the Legislature that provides excellent information for us as legislators to do our job. I would say that the most recent report, which the FAO released today, about women in the labour force is really extremely disheartening, but it’s really not surprising. We see a report from the FAO that says that there continues to be a stalled gender wage gap in this province. Further to that, the FAO has said that while women have made progress, they still continue to earn, on average, about 84 cents to the dollar that men make. That’s a significant gap. That gap in wages would help women, mothers to be able to afford the rising cost of baby formula. What we see instead of a government that understands that women are major contributors to their household income is single moms who are raising a family. Women who have so many responsibilities inside the home and in the workplace are not in any way being protected by this government.

In fact, the FAO also finds that—what did he describe it as? A motherhood earnings penalty. This wage gap, this penalty that women face economically when they’re in the workforce, is only exacerbated when they do have children. Using this data, the FAO finds that after having a child, Ontario mothers’ earnings are cut in half and it can take up to four years to return to their pre-childbirth earnings level. This is unbelievable. This is the kind of stat that speaks to the poverty that we see in this province. It speaks to the fact that we have a child poverty rate in this province that we should all be ashamed of. It speaks to the fact that one of the highest users of food banks in this province are kids. It speaks to the fact that families and parents and teachers run—in schools, they have to run nutrition programs that aren’t funded by the government, that are funded by donors and are funded by fundraising to make up the shortfall for people’s ability in their household to feed their kids.

There is a wonderful program in Hamilton called Food4Kids. They also identify a gap. While there are nutrition programs or breakfast programs in schools, oftentimes kids go home on the weekend and they’re hungry. There isn’t food for them at home. This fantastic program makes sure that kids are sent home with backpacks with food so that while they’re not in school benefiting from nutrition programs, they do have food over the weekend. This is a program that is only run by donations, by people who step up and see the need, not by this government.

If this government were quite clear on the important role that women play in making sure that families are thriving and are able to meet the basic necessities, they wouldn’t actually have spent so much time attacking women-led working sectors. What we have seen from this government is a government that continues to attack health care workers and education workers. These are primarily women-led sectors.

First, we have a government that took midwives to court. I can’t think of a more women-led sector than midwives. This is a government that took them to court to fight their pay equity award. This is a government that, with Bill 124, has frozen the wages of public sector workers, including nurses and PSWs, primarily women-led industries. This is what this government has done.

This harmful legislation—not only legislation but attacking them in court—is something that this government needs to really acknowledge. You need to understand that you are hurting children. When women can’t earn a decent living in this province, when families go hungry, it’s the children who suffer the most. That’s how we would measure success. We would measure a successful budget that made sure that children were front and centre, that their well-being was the first thing that we ensured.

Interjections.

We just have a point of order: the government House leader.

I apologize to the member. The member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas has the floor.