Further questions?

Thank you, Speaker. I’m the member for University–Rosedale.

I have a question for the member for Thornhill. In the budget, when we’re looking at how much funding is going to elementary schools, middle schools and high schools, we have a lot of concerns. With the TDSB, there is an over $60-million funding shortfall. The TDSB is looking at removing 522 staffing positions at a time when we know kids need as much help as they can get to catch up to the learning standard they need to be at for math and STEM and writing and reading. Do you think the amount of money in the budget for schools is enough? Because I personally don’t think so.

Thank you for the question on the other side. Yes, I have worked—both, actually, in my previous life. I dealt with matters under the child protection act, and I actually sat on parent council. That’s part of the reason of why I’m here. But I’m really proud to talk about the 46,000 spaces that will be available in child care as a result of this government. We’re working with our federal partners and we got that deal done so that we can make sure that these kids have proper places to go before and after school. I know this as a parent and this is such an important initiative.

One of the things that I did also want to bring up—and this is something that I really think is important—is that we’re increasing help for foster care kids. Previously, that ended at 21. These are the most vulnerable—and now it’s going up to the age of 23. Given what I did in my previous life, I’m really happy to see this bridge to give our kids the best opportunity.

Thank you to the member for their comments on the debate. I’ve been hearing more of a trend with respect to before- and after-school programs, and the member talked about the schools and education. What’s been happening is kids—in particular in my constituency, parents have come to me and we’ve met. Their children need special services and there’s a lack of workers and therefore they’re not able to help in that child care before and after school. I know how importantly the government wants to make sure that people have jobs and this is what’s happening. These parents are going to have to decide if someone has to stay home to look after their child because their grandparents aren’t able to help. As the member mentioned many times, that’s the case for families.

What is this government doing about before- and after-school child care programs to make sure that there are workers there when kids need that special needs care in those schools?

I appreciate our member, who has just taken us on a tour around Thornhill, and actually, what you’re expressing is exactly what I’m seeing in Richmond Hill.

I’d like it if you can elaborate a little bit more on the immigration plan: how that helps the immigrants who come here and how that helps our economy.

I really enjoyed the tour, and especially the stop at the Centre Street Deli, which I’ve been to many times—delicious—thank you for taking me there this morning.

At the end, the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, which I think you just squeezed in there—can you explain to us why that is important to bolster our economy and create more jobs?

I enjoyed the remarks from the member from Thornhill. I particularly liked hearing about the member describing herself as one of those politicians that will actually do a shift at a homeless shelter and help hand out blankets and food. I love to hear those stories. I’m wondering if, from her experience, she could—and it was the Anglican church, if I’m not mistaken, that you had volunteered at with the blankets and the food—the Anglican church in your community?

It’s a pleasure for me to add my comments on Ontario’s 2023 budget bill, Bill 85. As it turns out, I had the opportunity to travel with the pre-budget committee. We went to many places. We heard from many people. I got the opportunity to know many of the committee members, and I have a great deal of respect for everyone who shared this journey.

In terms of the people who presented at committee, I heard and I felt what they said, and I believe in my heart that committee members did as well. But this budget is as exciting as a three-pair of tube socks. At best, it missed the moment; at worst, it deliberately ignored the issues. We heard time and again at committee that Ontario, despite being the richest province, spends the least amount on services. We spend, in fact, $2,000 less per resident in Ontario than other provinces. It is a shame.

When we look at many of the decisions that have been made in this budget—and let’s face it, they are decisions—there are many which are bad business decisions, ones that do not recognize the value of upstream investment, ones that do not recognize or do not pay any heed to a cost-benefit analysis, and ones that simply don’t have any consideration of return on investment. Many of these decisions include the Therme spa, the proliferation of losing court cases that this government seems hell bent on engaging in. In fact, I’ve lost count at the number; I think it’s 14, 15, perhaps even 16 by this point. We also see decisions about the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., where this government is undermining its own revenue streams.

We have seen Bill 124, a losing battle, time and again, that this government keeps throwing public money at. They’re having a party with the public purse to simply attack nurses. We heard again at committee that nurses felt humiliated, they felt demeaned, and at the time when this legislation was passed, this government claimed that there was a need to be fiscally prudent and to be restrained. Yet through this budget, they have claimed how excited they are to return the province to the black, but it’s on the backs of nurses and public workers.

We also see a government that refuses to release its mandate letters. What’s the return on investment on that? What is being hidden?

Further, rather than not abiding by economic principles, we, in fact, see disinvestment from some of the things that Ontarians require. We see disinvestment in health care. We see disinvestment in mental health.

I had the opportunity to attend a mental health round table hosted by the MP for London–Fanshawe, Lindsay Mathyssen, and MP Gord Johns, and I’d like to quote Dr. Andrea Sereda. She indicated that when we consider our mental health crisis, we also should consider that this is a consequence of a lack of investment in housing, because housing is health care. Housing, food and warmth are medicine. The government has not done its part to make sure that people are adequately housed. Poverty has a cost.

Further, if one looks at poverty as being the root cause and housing being something that the province and the federal government have denied people, that causes mental health exceptionalities. Dr. Sereda pointed out that organic mental health exceptionalities such as schizophrenia account for 5%, whereas these mental health exceptionalities have been brought upon by the conditions that have been created—deliberately created—by provincial disinvestment.

Also, I’d like to echo the voices of many of the dedicated harm reduction workers who we had the opportunity to meet on that day, who have indicated that harm reduction workers can’t afford rent and groceries because they are not being paid nearly enough. The people who are providing services to our most vulnerable can’t afford to look after themselves. They’re in jobs that don’t pay enough. They don’t have pensions. They don’t have benefits. So once people find themselves trained within these positions, they have to leave for something else, even though their heart might be in that role.

If we take a look at an economic development lens towards this budget, we also need to consider that many different organizations and different global companies consider Ontario as a wise place to invest because of our public health care. They know that they are going to have a workforce that will be healthy, that will be looked after if they become injured, if they become ill. And yet, this government chooses to disinvest from health care and continues to privatize, making it on the path towards the United States. We cannot compete with the United States in terms of their fiscal opportunities, so we have to look at the things that make Ontario unique, look at the things that make Ontario desirable—and that is our publicly funded and publicly delivered health care.

Furthermore, through education—education is an investment, not a cost. We need to make sure that we have students who are trained and understand the importance of the skilled trades, not simply in high school, but also in elementary school. Let’s remember that it was a Conservative government that removed shop classes and home economics classes from elementary school. Sometimes high school is too late. We need to give students that opportunity as soon as possible. Put shop classes back in elementary school.

As well, we look at Ontario as a viable place for investment because of the trust that Ontario has built as a partner. We’ve seen volatility from this government. We’ve seen bizarre statements. We’ve seen things that do not hold up to fact, like the claims that the greenbelt is a myth. We see these strange, bizarre performances. That undermines trust in Ontario as a place to invest.

We have also seen a culture of unfairness. We see a culture that does not recognize the importance of honest competition. We see favours for insiders. There was the 407, OLG. We’ve seen Tarion turn into yet another agency, HCRA, which is not working. This government talked, when they were in opposition, about how they would reform Tarion; they have chosen not to. We also see the favours that are being done right now for Therme, a private spa that has a lease that this government won’t release. We also see government appointments—we know that in these hallowed halls, many people who used to be Conservative candidates are now walking these halls in paid positions. Is that a culture of competition? Is that a culture of “Did that the person with the greatest experience and aptitude gets the position?” I’m not certain about that. I also would like to ask who’s benefiting from all of the housing decisions that this government has made, with the parcelling off and the sale of the greenbelt. That’s not a culture of fair competition.

Also, as we look towards some of the things that this government has done, they have not made the investments that we heard about, like making sure that nurse practitioners are able to practise across the province. They will alleviate some of the strains on our health care in the north—but across the province.

We also see a lack of investment in housing. Speaker, $124 million was cut from municipalities—and then they’re re-announcing $202 million, but that’s nowhere near enough to address the crisis. Housing is health care.

Furthermore, this government would pat itself on the back for the paltry 5% increase to ODSP and the fact that they’ve indexed legislated poverty. Congratulations. You’re going to keep people in poverty for many years to come. That’s not a success.

The 5% raise to CMHA was not the 8% that they requested.

I’d like this government to understand the importance of upstream investment, the importance of looking at all of their decisions with a cost-benefit analysis. And for heaven’s sake, look at the return on investment.

We need to make sure across this province that there’s wage parity among sectors. Whether it is in the community support services, home care, long-term care, as well as acute care, people should be paid accordingly; they should be paid appropriately. People should not be jumping between sectors because they can’t afford to pay the bills.

Furthermore, this overreliance on agency nurses is fiscally imprudent. It’s not fair to our health care system, it’s further privatization and it’s not effective use of the public purse. The party is over. Please stop. Please make sure that you’re making financial decisions which benefit all of Ontarians, not the insiders who are in the backrooms. Make sure that you’re investing in people. Invest in health care. Invest in home care. Invest in long-term care. Invest in education.

Last but not least, the opportunity to re-establish rent control, as recommended by so many stakeholders, is not found in this budget. We saw that autism was not mentioned once and we saw that school violence—an epidemic in our schools right now—was not mentioned once.

To this government: You can do better. I know you can do better.

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. So, actually, I just wanted to provide some information. We’ve actually increased educational spending, despite the fact that there are less—we used to use the term “bums in seats” when I was in education. We’ve increased education every year. It’s been something that has been at the forefront, and actually, it’s one of the reasons I’m here right now. These are important initiatives because we do have to help our kids and it’s important that they be given the opportunity.

Now, saying that, I also want to actually address the fact that there’s been a 555% increase in mental health spending with respect to schools when you compare us to the last government. So I actually have to perhaps say that that’s probably a very positive thing for our children in school today.

We’ve got a number of great industries in our neighbourhood, and the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit is so important to bolster Ontario’s economy to create more jobs. So this credit will help local manufacturing companies invest and expand in their own businesses. Now, this is a key sector and contributor to the economic success of the province. In 2018, employment in Ontario’s manufacturing sector declined by over 300,000 workers, but now, we’re continuing to bring manufacturing back to Ontario and support local businesses with these kinds of measures. And we’re going to, especially in Ontario—we want to keep all of those businesses here in Ontario—

Further questions?

Thank you to the member opposite for their remarks. In this budget, our government is supporting mental health by supporting a full continuum of care for first responders experiencing PTSD. We’re providing an additional $425 million over three years to connect more people with mental health and addictions support. We’re increasing investments in education to historic levels and have increased spending on mental health in schools by more than 500% since our government took office in 2018.

My question: Will the member opposite support our government’s initiatives to support our first responders and our students’ mental health?

Thank you to my colleague from London North Centre for his contribution to this debate. My question would be this: It’s very clear from what you’ve talked about that this budget is set up in a way that’s disabling. People are sick; people can’t afford health care; people can’t afford places to live. That, in and of itself, is creating conditions where people will continue to be disabled simply by existing. What would creating a caring budget, based on a caring economy, look like to you?

To the member: This government, through their budget, has calculated disinvestment in many sectors. They’ve said no to students. This government has said no to hospices. This government has said no to wage parity. This government has said no to paid sick days. This government has said no to families of children with autism. They have said no again and again and again. They have chosen to ignore many of the issues that families face across this province, and it is glaringly apparent. The fact that autism doesn’t show up once and that school violence doesn’t show up once in this budget should really be a concern. It is, in fact, a message to all of those families who have these concerns. The fact that seniors right now are being evicted from their properties through renovictions that this government refuses to stand up for should be a concern to us all. That is a crisis, and this government has chosen not to support those seniors.

We also stand for wage parity so that people working within community support services—home care and long-term care—are paid as much as workers in acute care. It costs less for seniors to remain in their homes than it does to institutionalize them. It was proven by the community support services who presented at committee. A 2020 study estimated it costs $103 per day for a long-term-care-equivalent person at home in community care. It costs $201 for a person in long-term care and $730 per day in the hospital. That is cost savings and a wise fiscal investment. Make sure seniors can stay at home, where they’re healthier and happier.

This budget, I submit, this Bill 85 and the proposals contained within it, is saying yes to record investments in public education and yes to record investments in health care, while at the same time establishing a transparent path to balance. Why will the opposition and why will the member opposite not say yes to this budget? Why is this official opposition again saying no to growth, prosperity and record investments in public services?

Questions?

Today I want to spend some time celebrating local organizing wins in the Hamilton community. Two days ago, six ACORN Hamilton members—Stewart Klazinga, Damien Ash, Christine Neale, Arnim Hughes, Marnie Schurter and Liz Scott—alongside the Canadian Environmental Law Association, the Hamilton Community Benefits Network, the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction and the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic delegated to the public health committee and successfully called on the city of Hamilton to protect tenants in extreme heat.

ACORN launched their extreme-heat campaign in September 2022, and due to their advocacy, a motion passed unanimously at public health which states that the staff in the licensing and bylaw division should prepare an information report for 2023 identifying 2024 priorities and timelines for the development of a maximum-heat bylaw. I’m happy to share that this motion passed with unanimous support from the public health committee, and I look forward to seeing Hamilton be the first city in Ontario to implement a maximum heat bylaw, hopefully by 2024.

Question?

Third reading debate deemed adjourned.

Recently, I had the pleasure of hosting my fifth annual Eglinton–Lawrence volunteer awards ceremony. Eglinton–Lawrence is home to hundreds of volunteers across countless groups and associations, all of which make invaluable contributions to our riding. Often these wonderful volunteers work quietly, providing support to their neighbours without any public or official recognition, and frankly, with these wonderful stories of community building and selfless support going untold.

I can firmly say that this is my favourite event of the year every year. The best part for me—and for those who attend, I think—is not just the recognition that the volunteers receive personally, although that’s appreciated, but also the feeling of goodwill and community that comes to everyone in attendance from knowing about these selfless contributions to our community. I believe that everyone leaves this event inspired and motivated to contribute more to our community.

This year, over 130 people from more than 20 organizations received an award based on their inspiring work and dedication to our community. I wish I could list them all here, but let me say they range from religious organizations and school councils to non-profits, business improvement area boards and others. All nominees reflect the spirit of community service in Eglinton–Lawrence and show that we can find a meaningful way to make a difference, to get involved in our communities.

I would again like to extend my congratulations to all of the award winners for the 2023 Eglinton–Lawrence volunteer awards.

Recently, I had the pleasure of joining Halton regional police constables Robert Del Villar and Kevin Bochsler, who are here today in the gallery, at the Cram-a-Cruiser event in my riding. We spent a rainy Saturday morning helping officers fill seven police cruisers with food at the Aldershot Fortinos.

The Halton regional police host various Cram-a-Cruiser events across the region to help those in need by filling up police cruisers with non-perishable food items. The next Cram-a-Cruiser event in Burlington will take place on June 3.

This year, they crammed cruisers in support of the Burlington Food Bank. Volunteers filled cruisers with much-needed food like soup, coffee, canned fruit and vegetables. With the help of the community, they were able to raise approximately $1,150 and 950 pounds of food, which will go a long way to support the Burlington Food Bank and the needs of our community.

We all need to pitch in and give back. It warmed my heart to see the community come together to support the people of Burlington. I would like to thank the heroic law enforcement officers of the Halton regional police, Fortinos, Robin Bailey from the Burlington Food Bank, Constables Del Villar and Bochsler, and everyone who donated, volunteered and contributed to the Cram-a-Cruiser event to help those in need.

Point of order?