I have a very special happy birthday announcement I want to make to Kathy Beattie from my office, who’s in the under-press, and—

Applause.

Kathy has been with me for many years now and has been an absolute star in my office. She makes sure that I’m doing all the things I’m supposed to be doing—as with all of us in this House—and I want to thank her for all of her outstanding work.

Thank you so much, Kathy.

“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 fully endorse this petition, will sign my name to it and give it to page Leonard.

At the height of the pandemic, the government acted quickly.

Again, we always look for a partner in the New Democrats, but we never seem to get it. Our government has done a myriad of things to help small businesses weather the storm, and the government is always there, as the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development talked about. We continue to work with small business on a daily basis. It would be nice, for a change, to actually have an opposition who would join us in many of the initiatives on how we support small businesses.

Again, to the Premier: 70% of all Ontario jobs are created by small businesses, and the Better Way Alliance has identified a lack of commercial rent standards as one of the biggest barriers to the successful operation of a small business. Many small businesses are forced to close or downsize because of unfair commercial rent increases and practices.

An Indian importing company in Mississauga East–Cooksville that has been operating since 1982 recently faced a 300% rent increase. Instead of a planned expansion and hiring spree in 2023, the company was forced to lay off employees just to pay the rent.

Will this government provide standards and protections for commercial leases?

Further debate?

I’d like to present this on behalf of the Ontario Nurses’ Association. The petition is entitled “Petition for Better Staffing, Better Wages and Better Care in Ontario’s Public Hospitals.” It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas registered nurses and health care professionals are the backbone of Ontario’s public health care system; and

“Whereas nurses and health care professionals are fighting for better staffing, better wages and better care in Ontario’s public hospitals; and

“Whereas the government has the power to direct the funding and priorities for the Ontario Hospital Association in this bargaining process;

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

“Support nurses and health care professionals represented by the Ontario Nurses’ Association in their collective bargaining with the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) by demanding the OHA reach a negotiated agreement with nurses that results in better staffing, better wages and better care in Ontario’s public hospitals.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and deliver it with page Sophie to the Clerks.

Resuming the debate adjourned on May 16, 2023, on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

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.

A great member.

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—