I would like to welcome Christine Charnock, who is the CEO of the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors; Dr. Cyndi Gilbert, who is the board chair of the association as well as a member of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine; and Dr. Jessica Carfagnini, who is practising in Thunder Bay. Welcome to Queen’s Park, ladies.

Ma question est pour le solliciteur général.

Speaker, this morning I was joined by northern MPPs to discuss the need for 911 everywhere in Ontario. Every year, families living and visiting northern Ontario discover in their times of need that after they dial 911, they get a recording that says, “This number is not in service. Please try your call again.” In my riding, the police, the fire, the ambulance are available, but nobody knows the 1-800 numbers to reach them. When will Ontario do like every other province in Canada has done and make 911 available everywhere throughout our province?

I would like to thank Lorraine Rocheleau from Alba in my riding for this petition.

“911 Everywhere in Ontario....

“Whereas when we face an emergency we all know to dial 911 for help; and

“Whereas access to emergency services through 911 is not available in all regions of Ontario but most Ontarians believe that it is; and

“Whereas many Ontarians have discovered that 911 was not available while they faced an emergency; and

“Whereas all Ontarians expect and deserve access to 911 service, throughout our province;

They “petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To provide 911 emergency response everywhere in Ontario by land line or cellphone.”

I support this petition, will my affix my name to it and give it to my good page Claire to bring to the Clerk.

J’aimerais remercier Andréane Chénier de Hanmer dans mon comté pour cette pétition.

« Soutenez le système d’éducation francophone en Ontario...

« Attendu que les enfants francophones ont un droit constitutionnel à une éducation de haute qualité, financée par les fonds publics, dans leur ... langue;

« Attendu que l’augmentation des inscriptions dans le système d’éducation en langue française signifie que plus de 1 000 nouveaux enseignants et enseignantes de langue française sont nécessaires chaque année pour les cinq prochaines années;

« Attendu que les changements apportés au modèle de financement du gouvernement provincial pour la formation des enseignantes et enseignants de langue française signifient que l’Ontario n’en forme que 500 par an;

« Attendu que le nombre de personnes qui enseignent sans certification complète dans le système d’éducation en langue française a augmenté de plus de 450 % au cours de la dernière décennie; »

Ils et elles demandent à l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario « de fournir immédiatement le financement demandé » dans « le rapport du groupe de travail sur la pénurie des enseignantes et des enseignants dans le système d’éducation en langue française ... et de travailler avec des partenaires pour mettre pleinement en oeuvre » ces « recommandations. »

J’appuie cette pétition, monsieur le Président. J’affixe mon nom et je demande à Dominic de l’amener à la table des greffiers.

Resuming the debate adjourned on May 17, 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.

I truly appreciated the story that you shared from your constituent who is on ODSP with a kettle that doesn’t work, with shoes that she needs to glue back together in order to be able to have decent shoes, with the different problems directly linked to poverty. We all know that poverty is the number one determinant of health. For every $5,000 more you make a year, we can see the improvement in the health of each and every one of us. Could you share with us how much money there is in the budget to help your constituent on ODSP receive enough money so that she can live a healthy life? How much money is in the budget so that she receives enough money to be out of poverty?