Point of order, Mr. Speaker.

I just wanted to introduce a very special person from the city of Ottawa. A 21-year veteran of the Ottawa Police Service, deputy police chief Steve Bell, has joined us here in the Ontario Legislature today. Welcome.

Mr. Speaker, this petition is entitled “Petition in Support of Ontario Getting More Boots on the Ground by Making It Easier to Recruit and Train Police Officers.

“To the Solicitor General:

“Whereas the government of Ontario is committed to ensuring the safety of Ontario communities; and

“Whereas the government of Ontario is committed to supporting our hard-working women and men in blue, who put their lives on the line every day in police forces across the province of Ontario to keep our communities safe;

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

“To support the passage of Bill 102, the Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023, to ensure the following:

“(1) Make it easier for police services across the province to recruit and train more police officers by removing tuition fees for the basic constable training program at the Ontario Police College, also known as OPC, and immediately expand the number of recruits that can be trained each year;

“(2) To expand the Basic Constable Training Program at the Ontario Police College immediately to accommodate an additional 70 recruits per cohort from 480 to 550;

“(3) Starting in 2024, expand the Basic Constable Training Program to four cohorts per year instead of three cohorts;

“(4) Additionally, to support recruitment efforts at a time when local police officers have signalled challenges in doing so, and introduce legislation that, if passed, will eliminate the post-secondary education requirement to become a police officer as set out in the Community Safety and Policing Act, also known as the CSPA, and if passed, the act would amend the CSPA to provide that a secondary school diploma or equivalent is sufficient education for the purposes of being appointed as a police officer; and

“(5) To make the elimination of the tuition fee for the Basic Constable Training Program at the Ontario Police College retroactive to January 1, 2023, and recruits who paid for their 12-week basic constable training earlier this year to be reimbursed.”

I proudly affix my signature to this petition, and I will be giving it to page Sophie.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the government of Ontario is committed to ensuring the safety of Ontario communities; and

“Whereas the government of Ontario is committed to supporting our hard-working women and men in blue, who put their lives on the line every day in police forces across the province of Ontario to keep our communities safe;

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

“To support the passage of Bill 102, Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023, to ensure the following:

“(1) Make it easier for police services across the province to recruit and train more police officers by removing tuition fees for the Basic Constable Training Program at the Ontario Police College, also known as OPC, and immediately expand the number of recruits that could be trained each year;

“(2) To expand the Basic Constable Training Program at the Ontario Police College immediately to accommodate an additional 70 recruits per cohort from 480 to 550;

“(3) Starting in 2024, expand the Basic Constable Training Program to four cohorts per year instead of three;

“(4) Additionally, to support recruitment efforts at a time when police officers have signalled challenges in doing so, introduce legislation that, if passed, will eliminate the post-secondary education requirement to become a police officer as set out in the Community Safety and Policing Act, also known as the CSPA, and if passed, the act would amend the CSPA to provide that a secondary school diploma or equivalent is sufficient education for the purposes of being appointed as a police officer; and

“(5) To make the elimination of the tuition fee for the Basic Constable Training Program at the Ontario Police College retroactive to January 1, 2023, and recruits who paid for their 12-week basic constable training earlier this year to be reimbursed.”

I’ll proudly affix my signature to this petition and give it to page Mridul. Thank you.

I rise today in support of the Building a Strong Ontario Act and to speak to our government’s plan to navigate these uncertain times and help people and businesses.

I want to talk to you today about something that affects my constituents of Carleton: economic uncertainty. My constituents, every day, are facing the cost-of-living pressures due to high inflation, interest rates and supply chain disruptions. Understandably, families, workers and businesses in Carleton are feeling the pinch and looking to the government for help. And that’s precisely what we’re doing.

We’ve developed a plan called Building a Strong Ontario that’s responsible, targeted and designed to help people and businesses today while creating a solid fiscal foundation for future generations. And the good news is that this plan is already showing results. Our population is growing, jobs are being created, and we’re attracting manufacturing investments. In fact, Ontario’s population has surpassed 15 million people, with 275,000 more people moving here yearly. This growth is helping to strengthen my riding of Carleton, and that benefits families, workers, businesses and public services. And it’s allowing all of Ontario to remain resilient during economic uncertainty. Our plan is focused on building up and investing in Ontario’s economy for the future with the infrastructure needed to support growth across the province.

Our government is training workers for future jobs, keeping costs down today, and providing better services for the people of Ontario and their families. One example of this in my riding is the investment in hospice care, with over $3 million going towards the Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa. This expansion will more than double the capacity of Ronald McDonald House from 55,000 stays to 115,000 overnight stays per year for families with children being treated at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

And as a part of our effort to establish a more interconnected and convenient health care system, we have undertaken an exceedingly ambitious initiative for hospital expansion in Ontario. Over the next decade, we will invest more than $48 billion in hospital infrastructure, which encompasses over $32 billion in hospital capital grants.

Notably, the Queensway Carleton Hospital mental health redevelopment project already achieved significant milestones, including the completion of construction in December 2022. This development incorporates two additional acute mental health beds and an expansion of mental health and addiction programs and services. This was much needed. I recall visiting the centre and doing a tour and speaking with those front-line health care workers who were providing services to patients in that facility, and this is welcome news for them. The remaining renovations are expected to be finalized by November 2023, leading to positive outcomes for my constituents in Carleton and the entire Ottawa and eastern Ontario region.

I am pleased to discuss our province’s commitment to improving Ontario’s transportation infrastructure. Our government has pledged $27.9 billion over the next decade to enhance connectivity, reduce traffic congestion and facilitate the movement of goods and people throughout the province. Through the Ontario highways program, over 600 expansion and renovation initiatives are either currently under way or are slated for completion within the next four years. Additionally, we are widening existing highways to boost capacity and enhance traveller safety.

Madam Speaker, I’m particularly thrilled about the ongoing and future projects that will benefit the residents of Carleton. Recently, the rehabilitation and replacement of bridges at Innes Road and Ramsayville Road were completed as part of the Highway 417 project in Ottawa. Furthermore, we’re committed to finishing the widening of a 22.5-kilometre stretch of Highway 17 from Arnprior to Renfrew, which will be a significant boon to both Ottawa and eastern Ontario.

It’s a well-known fact that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the driving force of our province. For this reason, our government is backing regional innovation centre hubs. These hubs play a crucial role in aiding entrepreneurship by working with other regional innovation centres and organizers to provide entrepreneurs with the necessary resources to launch and sustain their businesses. Our government is committed to supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs, and this budget demonstrates that commitment.

All of these investments in my riding of Carleton and across the Ottawa region mean more well-paying jobs, and more well-paying jobs grow our economy. But don’t take my word for it, Madam Speaker; just listen to what the president and CEO of Invest Ottawa, Michael Tremblay, said about the government’s proposed budget:

“This government budget firmly secures the key role we play in our community and Ontario, enabling us to serve more high-growth entrepreneurs and companies that fuel our economy. It will help us to achieve an even greater economic impact and ensure that innovative businesses in Ottawa continue to grow and succeed today and for years to come. We are very grateful to the government of Ontario for this critical investment in our community.”

Christine Hardy, the CEO of the Ronald McDonald House Charities Ottawa, has said, “Receiving this incredible $3.1 million grant from the government of Ontario will enable our Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa to officially break ground this year and get started on a much-needed expansion of 22 more bedrooms. We have been operating since 1984 with just 14 bedrooms, we are always at full capacity, and desperately need to grow to reflect the diverse needs of the communities we serve and to reduce our wait-list. When families stay at the house it is because their child is receiving urgent critical medical care far from home, often for months and in some cases years at a time. It is my honour to speak on behalf of all Ronald McDonald House Ottawa-region families with sick children when I say thank you—having this kind of recognition from the government of Ontario is truly helping us make room for all families.”

Madam Speaker, I’ve had the honour and the privilege of visiting the Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa twice. The most recent time was just this past year. I spoke with Christine Hardy, and this is one of the things we spoke about. To see our government taking this feedback, to see our government listening to local MPPs—when I do these tours and I go back to the Premier and the ministers and I say, “This is what the community needs in the Ottawa area,” for this $3.1-million investment in Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa to be specifically in the budget is a testament to our government’s commitment to serving the people of Ontario.

Christine Hardy said thank you to our government. Madam Speaker, I also say thank you to our government for finally listening to the needs of the people of Ottawa and the people in eastern Ontario.

Madam Speaker, as we continue to grow our economy and create more jobs, we have to tackle the labour shortage that’s facing every community in Ontario, including in my riding of Carleton. In order to develop a strong workforce that can meet the demands of today and tomorrow’s job market, our government is investing significant resources. We’ll be investing an additional $75 million over the next three years in our Skills Development Fund. Additionally, we’re allocating an extra $224 million to expand training centres and leverage private sector expertise, including union-led training halls. This will allow us to train and retain skilled workers in high-demand fields.

Madam Speaker, I see my time is running short, so I just want to end my speech by saying that I’m pleased to support our government’s budget. I urge all members to join me in getting it done for the people of Ontario. The people of Ontario will always be able to rely on this government and this Premier to have their backs, and we will continue to do so, because that’s why they voted for us, that’s what they count on us for, and that’s what we will continue to do.

Madam Speaker, through you, I would like to thank the member for his question.

To ensure that more seniors who need financial help receive it, our government is proposing to make changes to expand the eligibility for GAINS, which is the Guaranteed Annual Income System for seniors. Starting in July 2024, it would see about 100,000 more low-income seniors receive payment, with a 50% increase in recipients.

Madam Speaker, we’re also building more long-term-care beds, and we’re also making sure that seniors are protected at home. For example, we’re investing in community paramedicine: more than $174 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to continue the Community Paramedicine for Long-Term Care Program.

Our government is investing in seniors, and we will continue to support those people who helped us to build Ontario.

You know, Madam Speaker, when I think about public education, I think about my story My parents immigrated to Canada when I was a year old. They came here to escape a fascist dictatorship, and they came to Canada because they wanted to have an opportunity to raise their one-year-old daughter in a free and democratic society. When they came to Canada, they had two suitcases, $50 in their pocket and a one-year-old daughter, me. Back in 1986, their first night in Canada, they had rented an apartment. The apartment was barren—it was empty, because they had just arrived—and so my dad tells me that their first night in Canada, they slept on newspapers and I was sleeping in my parents’ jackets.

Now, 37 years later, here I am, a politician in the provincial Legislature of Ontario, and that’s because of our public education system, Madam Speaker. I am a product of the public education system. That is why—

I’m not sure why the member was taken aback by my comments, because the comments that I made came from an email that I received personally from Christine Hardy, the CEO of Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa. I’m just going to repeat the email that she sent. In her email, she said, “Receiving this incredible $3.1-million grant from the government of Ontario will enable our Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa to officially break ground this year and get started on a much-needed expansion of 22 more bedrooms.”

Madam Speaker, Ronald McDonald House has been seeking this expansion for years. They were ignored by the previous government, which was supported by the NDP, by the way. And it’s only under this government and this Premier that Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa finally got funding to expand and create more beds since they were created in 1984.

I also spoke about union halls and union learning centres. What comes to mind is the ironworkers located in Metcalfe, which I’ve had the pleasure of visiting several times, including with Minister McNaughton. This budget is going to help people who work and train at the ironworkers in Metcalfe and others all across my riding of Carleton, because skilled trades is such an important profession. As the daughter of a skilled trades worker, this is a testament to how we are supporting Ontario.

When that party, when the official opposition speaks about diversity and supporting immigrants, what did they do for immigrants like me and my family and my friends who came here with these health care degrees and were ignored by the Liberals for 15 years, which were supported by the NDP? It is our government that is actually supporting these health care workers trained in other countries to get the jobs that they are qualified to do here in Ontario. That is why I support this government and this budget, and I am proud to be a part of this government.

Questions?

Thank you. I believe the member from Orléans had the floor. Please respond.

Further debate? The member from Mississauga–Malton.

Please continue.