I want to thank the member from Brantford–Brant. This is an important question.

As we stare down the opportunities as Ontarians, we want to make sure that Indigenous communities and Indigenous businesses are in play. That’s why, whether it’s through our Ministry of Indigenous Affairs’s focus on economic diversification, business and community funds and regional partnership grants, we’ve paired with the Chiefs of Ontario to support Indigenous businesses through a grant and loan program, e-commerce, supply chain mapping, training and economic development and—one of my favourites—an opportunity for apprenticeship reconciliation. This is where Indigenous peoples have, for a long time, worked on major projects in their communities and never received the hours that they ought to have if they were to apply to a Red Seal certificate. This is an opportunity to reconcile their skill set and contribute to local large-scale energy and infrastructure projects for their communities and regional economic development.

But up north, in addition to the two programs I just mentioned, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund has sharpened its focus on the opportunity to support Indigenous businesses and young people in Indigenous skilled trades job development. This has manifested itself in the Pikangikum youth sawmill, an incredible opportunity as that community opens up the Whitefeather Forest; Garden River First Nation, to increase ecotourism, working with Grand Council Treaty 3 Gamikaan Bimaadiziwin; the Turtle Lodge project to be used for year-round healing and event space; and providing Black Diamond Drilling—a company we met at PDAC and have already started to encourage the expansion of their business in the mining sector.

We’re proud of those—

My question is to the Premier.

Kara Petrunick lives in St. Catharines, Ontario. Her landlord just hiked her rent by $350 a month; it’s a 17% rent hike. If Kara had known she was going to receive a rent hike like this, she would never have moved in.

But even the government’s own brochure for tenants and landlords fails to explain that rentals first occupied after November 2018 are exempt from rent control.

Premier, do you think it is acceptable for renters living in new rental homes to receive 17% rent hikes?

Added 20,000 acres, took out 340; added 21 river basins. There’s a big difference.

Here’s the crux of it: We all know that the Premier had a problem with the greenbelt even before he got to Queen’s Park. In 2018, a video surfaced of the Premier in a backroom, promising his friends that he’d crack open the greenbelt. After that video became public, the Premier promised Ontarians again and again and again, “Don’t worry, folks, I’m not going to touch the greenbelt”—and in 2022, he did.

If you get caught doing something and then promise again and again that you’re not going to do it, and you continue to do that for years and years, knowing full well that you’re going to do it anyway, how would you describe that, folks?

Would the Premier and members opposite agree with me that, actually, what I just described is the real scam here?

Speaker, through you to the member: I thought that perhaps the member would celebrate the fact that we’ve got politicians from Niagara region here—and our historic investment in our Homelessness Prevention Program, something that Niagara politicians have been advocating for for years.

I appreciate the reception we had last night.

The issue that the member brings forward is at the fundamental core to our housing supply action plan. We made a decision, as a government, in 2018 that was going to benefit opportunities for more housing stock. What has happened? Two record years in terms of purpose-built rental.

Now our housing supply action plan is turning on other measures. The bill before the House, Bill 97, the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, will provide a number of protections for tenants in the province.

The member opposite still hasn’t tipped her hand. Is she going to stand up for tenants and support Bill 97? That’s the question.

Mr. Speaker, do you know what the real scam is? It’s that for 15 years, that member and his party systematically destroyed the province of Ontario with the co-operation of the NDP. They made it absolutely unaffordable to heat your home. Imagine, in the province of Ontario, you had to choose between heating or eating—Liberal legacy. They closed hospitals. They didn’t build long-term-care homes. They said that the north was a wasteland that nobody should invest in. That is the record of the Liberal Party. They brought this province to its knees. The highest-tax jurisdiction, the most indebted jurisdiction—that is the legacy of the Liberal Party, and that is why they continue to be punished. That is the scam that they perpetrated on the people for 15 years.

And what are we doing? We returned hope and opportunity to the province. Thousands of jobs are coming back—

Interjections.

Speaker, as the Premier said many times, it’s supply and demand. We have a severe housing supply shortage in the province, and we’re going to do whatever it takes, as a government, to solve that problem. We’ve committed to building 1.5 million homes by 2031.

Her assertions are incorrect. This year, because of our intervention and because we invoked the cap when inflation was over 5%, the vast majority of renters had their rents capped at 2.5%.

We were one of the only provinces or territories in Canada that had a rent freeze during the pandemic and ensured that evictions would not take place when our most vulnerable needed us.

What were the policies we put forward? Pro-rental housing policies.

Again, when it came time for her to cut the fees and charges on new family-sized rental accommodations, the member voted against that.

Supplementary?

My questions are to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, for fair compensation for ministry employees.

Speaker, summer is just around the corner, and across the province, people are getting geared up to head outdoors. Most people in northern Ontario head out onto treaty land to enjoy the beautiful natural resources that we are so lucky to have. To ensure that everyone can access these lands safely and responsibly, we rely on the hard work of conservation officers.

Despite the demands placed on conservation officers to carry out duties ranging from inspections, investigations and enforcement, they are being grossly underpaid when compared with other provincial employees doing similar work.

In 2022, conservation officers came to Queen’s Park demanding a wage that reflects their work. The minister said that he would support their efforts and ensure they are treated fairly.

My question: Will the minister commit to resolving the classification issue the conservation officers raised in October and pay them a wage that reflects their duties?

This isn’t just happening with conservation officers. Last fall, I wrote to the Minister of Natural Resources about staffing issues in the aviation, forest fire and emergency services after receiving complaints about the high turnover rate among wildland firefighters in Chapleau due to low wages. The minister assured me in his response that the MNRF was exploring recruitment and retention strategies to overcome these staffing shortages. Last week, I was informed by Chapleau Cree Chief Corston that Chapleau will only have four operating crews this season, down from 10 last season.

Speaker, with forest fire season starting earlier and lasting longer, communities in the north are put at risk if we are not ready to respond quickly and effectively.

Will the minister immediately raise wages for wildland firefighters and maintain adequate staffing levels in the AFFES across northern Ontario?

Minister, renters are not being helped by the Conservatives; they’re being harmed by them. It’s not just Kara.

A new report by Urbanation shows that rental prices are skyrocketing at alarming rates, well beyond what people can afford. Rent in Toronto for an available one-bedroom went up 20.5% last year; in Markham, rent went up 30%; in Brampton, 31%; in Scarborough, 32%. No one can afford rent hikes like this, Minister.

How high does rent have to get for the Conservatives to realize their housing plan is not working?

Thank you to the member opposite for that important question and for the great work he does for the people of Brampton. I know they care deeply about this subject.

Speaker, it was our government, thanks to the leadership of the member for Barrie–Innisfil, that first launched a Day of Action on Litter, combatting this and engaging communities from across our great province. I don’t care about your political stripe; I thank the many men, women, children, seniors who got active and participated and reported into our ministry. It’s going to be another historic year.

We’ve also worked with partners like Pollution Probe, launching the largest of its kind—the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, capturing microplastics in harbours in my own community. In fact, the Seabins are in Cobourg harbour as we speak, capturing microplastics and partnering with the U of T Trash Team to study the impacts that these plastics are having on our Great Lakes.

Finally, we’ve launched extended producer responsibility, transitioning the Blue Box—one system across Ontario with among the highest targets in North America, so that we can leave behind a cleaner planet for our next generation.

In fact, I just partnered with Earth Rangers to launch the battery blitz—we were in Thornhill—and it was an incredible opportunity to engage youth, to challenge them to recycle the batteries. There was a time not long ago when these batteries were ending up in landfill. Thanks to the leadership of this Premier and this government, we’re now recycling those batteries. I was at C. R. Gummow in Cobourg for the same thing, seeing how inspirational it was to see youth getting active on combatting this.

The member talked about waste water infrastructure. What we inherited from the previous Liberal government was a decade of darkness when it comes to investing in the critical infrastructure, waste water and stormwater.

We’re building a new water station in Cobourg. We’re building modern waste water and water infrastructure to support a growing province so that our next—

Thanks to the member opposite for the question.

I want to celebrate the great work that conservation officers do throughout Ontario. Unquestionably, all over this province, every day they interact with people and are doing a fantastic job protecting our natural resources and making sure that those interactions are positive ones.

Mr. Speaker, we continue to work with conservation officers. My understanding is that OPSEU and the employer are working on a classification review. I also understand that the director of our enforcement branch is part of the committee that’s designed to review this classification.

I also want to highlight that we brought more conservation officers to Ontario, more boots on the ground. Speaker, 25 new CO positions graduated last year and are helping the people of Ontario every single day. I thank them for their work.

We’ve seen what can happen in Alberta—and we know that our people actually are in Alberta right now, as I discussed in this House, supporting those fine people to get them back to some level of normalcy.

Those firefighters are ready to go in Ontario. We have crews that will assist any time wildland fire breaks out in Ontario. We are prepared. Those great people are ready to get in the planes, the helicopters, be on the ground and keep Ontario safe from wildland fires.

If I may say, Mr. Speaker, it’s very good to see you in the chair today.

My question is for the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility.

I was very pleased that my riding of Brantford–Brant was able to celebrate the 99-day countdown to the start of the Ontario 55+ summer games. We are excited that this year’s games will take place in our community from August 11 to August 13. The city of Brantford and the county of Brant were originally scheduled as the site for the 2021 winter version of the games, but, as we know, COVID messed up all those plans. But we are excited and eager for the opportunity to host the games this summer.

We owe it to the seniors of our province to support events that help to promote wellness, physical activity and social connections within our communities.

Speaker, can the minister please provide more information about how the Ontario 55+ summer games will create opportunities for seniors?

The Ontario 55+ summer games is just one example of how our government is committed to supporting active living and sports at all ages and stages of life.

The Ontario 55+ summer games will attract participants and visitors from across our province and beyond, and it will also be an opportunity to showcase our local communities and our local facilities.

While events such as these provide opportunities for seniors to participate in large-scale summer and winter games, it is also vital to the health and well-being of our seniors that they have access to programs and services year-round.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is making sure that seniors can stay active and connected every single day?

Speaker, in 2020, Denise Sandul placed a single white cross for her son Myles, who she lost to an overdose. Today, Sudbury’s Crosses for Change has more than 244 crosses.

The Office of the Chief Coroner just released its preliminary report, and last year, five northern cities had the highest opioid mortality rates per 100,000 population. Sudbury made the list, along with North Bay, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, and Timmins.

Last year, 106 people Sudburians died from opioid-related overdoses, and that was an increase from 98. Those are the facts, and the facts don’t lie.

My question is to the Premier. How many people have to die before the Premier admits that the Conservative government’s actions have done nothing to address this crisis?

Do you know who is taking real action, Speaker? Réseau Access Network. Since October, Réseau has been running Sudbury’s supervised consumption site, and every day, they help people and save lives. But without provincial funding, they may not be able to continue beyond the end of this year. Réseau has been waiting to hear about their request for funding since August 2021. That’s one year and nine months ago. They haven’t heard a peep from this government.

My question is, will the Conservative government fund Sudbury’s supervised consumption site so that Réseau can continue to save lives?

Interjections.

Thank you for that question.

Quite the opposite: Our government has been doing a great deal to support all Ontarians with respect to their mental health and addictions, with the Roadmap to Wellness and investments of $525 million on an annualized basis—the $3.8 billion. The $90 million that went specifically to the Addictions Recovery Fund—those beds are focused, 54% of them, in northern Ontario. That has created 7,000 treatment spots. We are catching up and doing the work that wasn’t done by the previous government, supported by the NDP.

And those investments in Sudbury, for instance—over $12 million towards building a continuum of care. That includes over $2 million in annual, new funding specifically for children and youth. We’re investing not only in building a continuum of care, but in prevention and building resiliency in children as well.

Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

Members will please take their seats.

Once again, I’ll point out to the House that it is inappropriate to make reference to the absence of another member, but it is not inappropriate to make reference to the presence of another member.

It’s also within the standing orders—it allows the government to respond to a question if they choose to respond, or any minister or any parliamentary assistant can respond.

Start the clock.

The response? The government House leader.

Start the clock. The next question.

My question is to the Premier.

The Better Way Alliance, a group of business owners that’s in the House today, and their members across Ontario and Canada are creating good local jobs with good wages, paid sick days and fair scheduling, often in industries that do not offer these benefits. As they know, and as we all learned during the pandemic, healthier communities lead to healthier economies.

Almost all other OECD countries provide paid sick days, but this government cancelled the few paid sick days that were available during the pandemic.

What is this government’s plan to ensure that all workers in Ontario have mandated paid sick days to keep our workplaces and our economy healthy?

I want to thank the wonderful member from Brantford–Brant for the question. He is doing a marvelous job advocating for seniors in his community.

Thanks to the leadership of the Minister of Tourism, we have invested $235,000 through the Games Ontario program for the 2023 Ontario 55+ summer games. This event will bring together hundreds of seniors to stay active and socially connected, and for some friendly competition. I was so excited to celebrate the 99-day countdown to the events and join in on the games.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this fantastic event.

In fact, our government invested over $200,000 since 2018 into the Beckett Adult Leisure Centre in Brantford. It was this wonderful centre that hosted us on May 3 for the celebration.

We are committed to seniors.

And we are pleased to share that there are only 90 more days until these games begin.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve made historic investments.

But do you know who doesn’t show up and has never showed up? It is the NDP. This is a group that had the balance of power in this place—and they like to forget about that. They had the ability to keep the Liberals in power or to end the misery of the people of the province of Ontario, and they chose to keep them in power. When they had the opportunity to demand anything, did they do anything on mental health? No. Did they do anything to stop the opioid crisis that was emerging at the time? No. Did they say, “You have to invest in health care”? No. Did they talk about jobs and the economy? No. They talked about a stretch goal in insurance and then abandoned that immediately. Sound familiar? Because it sounds exactly like what the NDP in Ottawa are doing when it comes to the investments that we are making in the auto sector. They sit on their hands, they do nothing, they don’t show up. They collect a paycheque, and then they go home. That’s—

Interjections.

I’m proud that, under the leadership of Premier Ford, on October 1 we’re increasing the minimum wage to $16.55 an hour—in fact, the highest of all provinces in the country.

Furthermore, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we are going to be the very first jurisdiction in all of North America to ensure that workers have portable benefits in the province. There are millions of workers today who don’t have health and dental benefits, and we’re going to ensure that we bring forward a plan for portable benefits to help these workers.

Lastly, we are investing record amounts in training programs to help people get better jobs and bigger paycheques. We know there are over 300,000 jobs going unfilled today. We’re going to help lift people up to get into meaningful employment, to provide more income for themselves and their families.