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 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?

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?

Questions?

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?

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.

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.

I would like to thank the government for recognizing the issue of PTSD. It is one that the official opposition championed. Unfortunately, the government, at the time, left out nurses as individuals who suffer from PTSD, which is shocking. However, I think it is good that the government increased the amount the CMHA was asking for, but they only gave them 5% when they were asking for 8%.

The member from Burlington talks about mental health supports in schools. Let’s talk about more than just the curriculum. Let’s make sure that there are social service workers accessible to students when and where they need them, because unfortunately, that is not the case in schools across Ontario. We know school violence is at an all-time high. This government has chosen to disregard that, to ignore it. We hear presenters time and again feel as though this government was deliberately ignoring education and deliberately cutting and underfunding the public education system in favour of private schools.

In Kingston, we saw that the municipality there invested $18 million per year in wraparound supports. That’s something that should be supported across the province by this government—but, further, making sure that there’s investments in other mental health supports and other supports that this government talks about but doesn’t invest in.

Thank you to the member from London North Centre. I want to read in part a letter that was sent to the Premier from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, AMO. It’s signed by some of the front-line service providers in our community: the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs among others.

It says, “Dear Premier Ford,

“Homelessness is a crisis in every part of Ontario.” They ask that the Premier “acknowledge that homelessness in Ontario is a social, economic and health crisis” and they ask the Premier to “commit to ending homelessness in Ontario” and “work with a broad range of municipal, community, health, Indigenous and economic partners.” They end by saying, “You have the opportunity and the resources to end homelessness in Ontario. We are here to help you succeed.”

Can you explain why you think, when they developed this budget, they ignored this letter from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario?

Question?

Third reading debate deemed adjourned.

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.

The Northern Policy Institute and Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association each opened their recent events with an address by Anishinaabeg Elder Marlene Pierre. Dr. Pierre spoke of our responsibilities as leaders to respect the land, respect our roles as treaty partners and build right relations amongst Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. These are two major northwestern Ontario organizations putting their commitment to build right relations front and centre.

Unfortunately, last week, we witnessed a much older, discredited approach to relations with First Nations. Every single First Nation in Ontario strongly objected to the building mines faster act, yet the Ford government pushed it through anyway, claiming they know better than First Nations peoples themselves what is good for them. But isn’t this the same attitude that led to the violent removal of children from their families and the deaths of so many children at residential schools? And hasn’t the Conservative government thus guaranteed years of business instability and conflict?

By taking the time to build good relations, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, the town of Marathon and Generation Mining have shown the way to creating mutually beneficial projects that protect the land, water and traditional economies and guarantee land remediation. Bulldozer politics will always lead to conflict, but if we put building right relations first, good jobs and a protected environment are possible.

Meegwetch. Merci. Thank you.

I thank the member opposite for his remarks. The member used the word “investment,” and I agree with that investment. Certainly, this government agrees with that approach. That’s why the Ministry of Economic Development has been so incredibly active in all the investment opportunities here in Ontario—$25 billion in the electric vehicle industry.

You mentioned investment in terms of numbers, and I come back to one of my favourite pages in the budget, page 139, where we look at health care spending, which increases $15.3 billion over the next three years from the previous, including $1 billion extra in home care, with education increasing as well. Wouldn’t the member agree that those are very substantial investments in health care and in Ontario?

Members, 16 days ago, on May 1, it was moving day in Owen Sound. As MPP during the past year, and for Bill Walker, our great past member, we’ve been at 9th Street and 1st Avenue West in downtown Owen Sound. It has been a great location for the office, as Owen Sound is the geographic centre of our big riding, which goes up to Tobermory in the north and down to Hanover and Dundalk in the south—as members know, of course, Dundalk is the bee-swallowing capital of Ontario.

The office has now moved to the Greystone, a newly renovated building on 8th Street, also in downtown Owen Sound. It has a great layout and lots of parking. I say this not only to let you know, because you’re all welcome to visit, but more importantly, to acknowledge and thank the great team who made it happen. Moving, whether it’s your home or your office, is a big load of hard work. In this case, with the newly renovated space, it went from planning and managing the layout, to technology and safety support, and then to the move itself. Happily, everything made it in one piece.

I want to sincerely thank Karen MacInnis, Lisa LaPierre and Julie Blake, the great Owen Sound team for all your hard work in getting it done and for the great support of Anetes Anton here in Toronto.

Colleagues, this is just one example of all the hard work our teams do to help us in our jobs. Whether it’s moving, answering calls or managing issues, we are all lucky to have this great support. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much.

Many times over the last five years, I have referred to my riding as God’s country, and for good reason. We have so much to offer, not only to the province of Ontario but all of Canada, not the least of which is the sweet maple syrup that we produce.

In my opinion, some of the best maple syrup in all of Canada comes from the townships that surround the city of Peterborough. And Speaker, my team and I have decided that we should be celebrating all that great maple syrup. Just last Saturday, we held our first pancake breakfast in Apsley, featuring maple syrup from North Kawartha. This Saturday, we’ll be at the Isabel Morris Park in Lakefield for our next free pancake breakfast, where residents can sample that sweet breakfast nectar from 8 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. On Saturday, May 27, we’ll be at the Curve Lake community centre serving up pancakes and maple syrup. And then on Sunday, May 28, we take our pancake road show down Highway 7 to Havelock, where you can sample syrup from 8 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. at the Havelock Lions centre, also known as the Havelock arena. We’ll wrap things up on Saturday, June 10, in my home township of Douro-Dummer at the Warsaw arena, from 8 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.

I’d like to invite everyone to come on out to one of our pancake breakfasts to sample the great nectar from eight different local producers.

I rise today on behalf of Ontarians living in rural communities, who lag behind provincial averages in quality of health and health care. Across Ontario, we have seen a real problem, intensified by COVID-19, such as a shortage of nurses, family doctors and other health care workers. We’ve seen the toll it has taken on people’s faith in Ontario’s health care system.

To see the Minden hospital shut its doors is just another example of this Conservative government’s health care crisis. Closed emergency facilities and an absence of medical support services are a reality through many of our rural communities.

Dr. Paul Zalan recently wrote in Minden’s newspaper, The Highlander, “Closing an emergency department causes more than inconvenience. In case of a stroke, heart attack, embolism ... every minute counts. Interceding quickly is crucial for recovery. Delay results in death or permanent disability.”

Outraged by the lack of planning and consultation, residents brought a petition calling for a moratorium on the closure, with over 17,000 signatures.

As the summer season begins, Minden’s population triples, with cottagers, kids attending camp and other tourists. The new Haliburton plan has not yet filled its doctor shifts for the summer, while the Minden hospital had its schedule filled until September 2023. Community members are seeking full transparency on the decision-making process and access to the transition plan. They need to know the impact of closing the hospital on vulnerable populations, health care staff and regional growth.

If this government cannot keep Minden hospital open, it’s a signal that they have given up on rural health care. The people of Ontario—

I would like to highlight the noble work of the Mukti Foundation in Brampton, an organization founded and lead by seniors whose main goal is helping grieving families move on with respect and dignity. This organization strives to help reduce the stress these families face with the loss of a loved one by helping to alleviate the financial burden.

Each time a member unfortunately passes away, the organization collects a matching donation amount from each member, and these funds are put towards the funeral and commission costs. Their goal is to ensure that every member is honored and remembered with respect, empathy and kindness, and that their loved ones are supported throughout the grieving process.

Speaker, great community-led initiatives like the Mukti Foundation are truly inspirational, and I want to express my sincere gratitude to the founders.