My question is to the Premier. Over 100 residents in the town of Rossmore are being threatened with a blatant renoviction by their new corporate landlord, Bedford Properties. Resident Keith Maybe said this: “It’s not humane what they have done. You’ve got people who have been in these apartments right from the time they were built 37 years ago. Some people are in their eighties and their nineties. It’s not right.”

Premier, what are you going to do to help these residents keep these homes?

For the sake of these residents, can you say yes to our amendments in Bill 97 to strengthen Ontario’s eviction protection laws?

The supplementary question.

I want to thank the member from “build nothing” riding, because that’s what he believes in: building absolutely nothing. It’s unheard of that the University of Guelph, on their property, tried to get housing and guess what? He didn’t support it. He didn’t support housing at the University of Guelph. He doesn’t believe in building housing in Guelph. They have the lowest per capita housing starts in the entire province.

I find it ironic that he’s coming up and trying to tell us how to build housing. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, we have 445,000 people who arrived in Ontario last year and they need homes. We’re going to make sure that we hit our target of 1.5 million homes, and I just wish the MPP from Guelph would get on board and support our housing plan, because the people in his community are going to need homes.

We have reduced the cost of doing business in Ontario by $8 billion every year. According to the latest federal report, Ontario is now the number one investment destination in all of Canada, and with our regional development programs we’re ensuring that we remain that number one site.

Just last week, All Season Fencing announced a $4-million investment into their Trenton manufacturing facility. Thank you, Minister Smith, for doing that. They manufacture sustainable PVC vinyl fencing that uses only recycled plastic. They are creating 19 jobs and acquiring new equipment in Trenton with a $400,000-investment from the province. This adds to the $1 billion in investments and over 1,800 jobs that companies like All Season Fencing have added to Ontario.

They continue to vote against attracting billions in investment and making Ontario stronger. Speaker, we’re going to keep Ontario competitive because we’re open for business.

Part of our commitment to Ontarians, under the leadership of Premier Ford, is that we’re going to have a housing supply action plan tabled in the Legislature every year for the four years. We’ve got a bill before the House right now, Bill 97, Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, and we’ve been responsive to many of the tenant concerns and also the Ontario Human Rights Commission when it comes to air conditioning in units. Many of the recommendations that we put forward on that bill respond directly to some of the concerns that tenants have expressed to our government about renovictions and landlord’s own use.

Again, Speaker, the member keeps asking questions, but she never states on the record whether she’s going to support our measures. I would really love her to do that today.

I think this is one of the premises that the Attorney General has taken throughout the pandemic, whether it be to stand up against illegal evictions when we were at our most vulnerable as a province—but this latest commitment, this record-setting commitment by the government to invest $6.5 million in the Landlord and Tenant Board, will pay huge dividends to both landlords and tenants alike.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Over the last five years, Ontario was garnering a reputation for its world-class manufacturing sector. Employing almost 800,000 workers, we are continuously investing and innovating to stay competitive and produce critical goods that the whole world relies on. That’s why it’s imperative for this government to take the right steps to attract investments that will grow the economy and create good jobs. Will the minister please highlight how our government is promoting Ontario’s manufacturing sector and keeping it ahead of the competitive global curb?

In 2018, our government knew it was long overdue that Ontario, once again, takes charge of its manufacturing sector after over a decade and a half of Liberal inaction that spurred the manufacturing exodus from the province.

This minister has mentioned a number of times that Ontario is now one of the most competitive places to invest and grow a business. Will the minister please explain what actions have led to Ontario holding this illustrious title?

You know, it’s pretty rich for the member from Windsor to say what she just said, when for 15 years you could shoot a cannon down the middle of the street in Windsor. Now Windsor is thriving.

Not only did the member not support it, she voted against it. She voted against every economic development opportunity down in Windsor. She voted against Stellantis. We’re the ones who created the deal—

Interjection.

Interjections.

Interjections.

My question is for the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

All workers in Ontario deserve a workplace that is safe. Strong workplace health and safety practices help to make workplaces more productive and reduce the risk of injury. No worker anywhere in our great province should have to go to work worried about harm to their health or safety. One worker not returning home at the end of the day is one too many. Improving safety for workers is a serious issue, and this must remain as a top priority for this minister and our government.

Can the minister please explain how our government is addressing safety for workers in Ontario?

I am pleased to hear that our government is continuing to lead the way in strengthening workplace health and safety measures. These valuable investments will help to ensure that our government and workplace partners are working together to eliminate injuries.

However, the sad reality is that last year, 64 workers in Ontario lost their dear lives on the job. We owe it to them and to their loved ones to do better.

Unfortunately, one of the leading causes of death on construction sites and in other workplaces is falls from heights. These injuries are devastating, and our government must do more to improve protections for workers.

Can the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to increase safety measures for workers in Ontario?

I want to thank the member from Newmarket–Aurora for this question and for her advocacy in keeping workers in her riding and across the province safe.

Speaker, our government, under our Premier, is leaving no stone unturned on our mission to make our workplaces the safest in the entire world. Ontario has one of the strongest safety records in North America, and that’s thanks to everyone—government, workers, labour leaders, and businesses—working together. But as long as workers are being injured on the job, our work isn’t done.

That is why we announced today that we’re investing an additional $12.5 million into Ontario’s six health and safety associations to improve training, expand their resources and save lives.

Speaker, we’ll continue to invest in education, prevention and enforcement to ensure that every worker returns home safely to their families at the end of the day.

Speaker, I can tell you, as Minister of Labour, that nothing is more important than the safety of workers. Hearing about fatalities is the most devastating thing that one can hear of every day. Every one of these workers had hopes, dreams and families of their own.

That is why today I announced that we’re updating our “working at heights” course to better protect our workers. Working with labour leaders, workers and businesses, our new course will cover working safely on ladders, skylights and equipment, as well as the use of PPE. And because safety is never the cost of doing business, our Working for Workers Act 3 is proposing to increase our fines to the highest in the country. We’re working hard every day under the leadership of this Premier to make Ontario work for everyone.

Jesus. The cheese has slipped off the cracker? Really? Coming from the 800-pound gorilla.

Interjections.

That’s a very disappointing answer. Losing this Stellantis investment would mean losing thousands of good-paying unionized jobs in Windsor-Essex—jobs that feed families and support our local economy and charities.

We’re now seeing a game of jurisdictional football. The Premier says it’s all up to the federal government; the federal government says the province needs to step up too. My community needs and deserves governments at all levels to do everything in their power to not only protect current jobs but secure new ones. We need the Premier to take leadership and not just wait for someone else to save the day.

Speaker, will the Premier tell my community what specifically he’ll do to support Windsor workers and ensure the Stellantis investment isn’t lost? Will he step up?

I can’t believe this member is quoting the report that he did, because what he failed to tell the House is the fact that the success of this report is because of the measures that our government is putting forward. Speaker, the report he quoted estimates that an additional 150,000 units are going to be created because of the as-of-right zoning changes that our government has put forward.

You voted against those changes for 150,000 homes.

The member is very selective. This report shows that 5% of those homes are built because of minister’s zoning orders—again, something that member doesn’t support.

The member needs to get his facts straight. The member needs to read the entire report—to show that many of the successes of these initiatives are directly because of the initiatives this government has done under the leadership of—

Speaker, in the last two and a half years, this government has landed $25 billion worth of electric vehicle and battery investments. All of that happened because we lowered the cost of business by $8 billion a year.

Ontario has done a deal with Stellantis identical to the deal we did with Volkswagen—and I mean identical in every way—and we are honouring our commitment. We know the feds have made a commitment to Stellantis. In fact, in writing, five times they have committed to matching the production incentives of the United States; five times the feds have committed. We are urging the federal government to honour their commitment.

My question is to the Premier. We can all agree that good jobs mean a strong future. The official opposition, to that end, helped fast-track legislation to make sure that we got the VW deal done. It’s entirely unclear who dropped the ball with Stellantis—

Interjections.

My question: Will the Premier meet with the Prime Minister immediately, find out what’s gone sideways, use every tool in the toolbox and get the Stellantis deal over the finish line?

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The next question.

Interjections.

I’m going to remind the House that the debate is not enhanced, in any way, shape or form, by personal insults.

Interjection: Apologize.

Start the clock. The next question.

Thank you to the member for the great question. Yesterday, alongside the Minister of Health, we announced that applications are now open for the much-anticipated Ontario Learn and Stay Grant. Months of hard work and dedication led up to what was a very successful launch of the program, with over 700 students applying to the Learn and Stay website within the first 24 hours. This is a win-win for both post-secondary students and underserved communities across the province. Not only does it offer a sizable financial contribution for students, it also has the power to make a significant impact in the local communities that need it most.

Speaker, it’s clear that students are eager to begin their careers in nursing, and I’m confident our government’s approach of offering financial support will make all the difference between someone considering a career in health care and someone who actually pursues it. This grant clearly demonstrates that, unlike previous governments, this government is taking concrete—

My question is to the Minister of Colleges and Universities. All Ontarians deserve to have access to the health care they need when they need it no matter where they live. In my riding of Chatham-Kent–Leamington, my constituents are looking for connected care and services that are close to home, in Wheatley, in Leamington, Blenheim, Ridgetown and beyond. Unfortunately, because of the destructive policies of the past Liberal government, many parts of our province are in desperate need of more health care professionals to provide that care. Our government must take decisive steps now to educate and retain more health care workers across the province to make immediate impacts in our local hospitals, long-term-care homes and other health care facilities.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what our government is doing to expand opportunities to educate more health care professionals?

Thank you.

The supplementary question.

We certainly share the concern of the rise of crime and violence taking place in communities across the country, and we’re seeing impacts in our school communities, affecting staff and, of course, our kids.

It’s why, from 2018—where I think many members opposite will speak to root causes—when it comes to mental health supports, pre- and post-pandemic, the Premier and the government increased funding from $18 million to $114 million in student mental health, a 550% increase in support to help that school and every school afflicted by the rise of violence, behavioural issues and other concerns impacting kids. We’ve increased the amount of caring adults in the room. There are nearly 8,000 more staff, notwithstanding there’s been a flat number of students within our schools. We’ve also enhanced the mental health literacy, mandatory learning—more people, more literacy, more curriculum and, of course, more mental health supports to keep students safe in their schools.

We’ve increased funding in mental health. The overall funding envelope in education is up for the coming September by $690 million. The overall education budget, when you compare to the peak of spending under former Premier Wynne, is 27% higher.

I recognize fully that we’re going to continue to do more. In every single budget, we’ll increase funding. We’ll continue to hire more people. And we’ll continue to make the case, as a former school board trustee, that the school boards involved, everyone involved in public education, should be doing better, which is why I urge the members opposite, if they want a better school, they should vote for the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act to demand better for children in this province.