I rise to speak to Bill 85, and I want to thank the House for the opportunity to speak to this on behalf of the good people of Scarborough Southwest—to debate the budget bill.

As we heard in this House many, many times—and I know my colleague from Waterloo talks about it—budgets are about priorities, about the investments that we make to care for the people of our province, about the choices that prioritize the needs of the people.

This budget that is in question here, according to members opposite, is the biggest budget in the history of this province—and this is actually a quote from government members—the biggest spending, which seems like a great start, when you look at the current reality of so many people in our province.

I know my government colleagues will heckle me, so I’m ready for that. Go ahead.

I want to start off by saying what happened during the pre-budget consultation. Let me just read a quote from the pre-budget consultation, from economic affairs. This is what the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario and the Association of Municipalities Ontario, who have, all together, summarized and highlighted in this report—which is, a number of wit-nesses expressed uncertainty about the financial impact of the changes on municipal budgets. Some witnesses asked that the province ensure financial support for municipalities to mitigate potential negative outcomes. And they went on to talk about some of the needs.

We know that municipalities are dealing with the post-COVID crisis right now and what’s going on and the reality that we’re facing in our province. This is a dire situation. People are struggling, people are suffering, and we need to do anything and everything possible to support them.

There were many people who came during the pre-budget consultation, and we thought that there would be a lot of hope—to make sure that we support them.

Right now, we’re facing an affordability crisis. When we talk about the cost of food, the cost of living, housing, rent, it’s impossible—especially with the lack of rent control. The dream of home ownership seems very far away. We’re talking about social housing wait-lists, which is about 85,000 right now—families waiting, people waiting. The LTB has about 38,000 people waiting for hearings. The cost of bills like hydro, gas etc.—everything has gone up. A health care crisis, especially with staffing—recruitment, retaining of staff, especially with Bill 124. The needs in our schools—the amount of infrastructure and staffing that we need in our schools. OW and ODSP—just to keep up with inflation. All of these asks were in the pre-budget consultation. And we hear it from our constituents every single day, and I know members opposite hear that as well.

Many Ontarians tell me about how they wake up at 5 a.m., they work hard, they work and work and work to pay the bills and to put food on the table for their family, and yet it’s just not enough. People are losing hope.

When we look at a budget that the province comes up with—we are hoping that this budget will address those concerns that I just highlighted.

So when we talk about the biggest spending ever—but then I look at this budget. And when the budget was released, as soon as people took a look at it, one of the first things I heard was how cruel this budget is, because it is the biggest spending, and yet the budget missed the mark in addressing so many of the issues that people are facing across this province.

Let me tell you what the Toronto Star editorial board said—and not my words; this is the Toronto Star’s editorial board: that this government is spending, but it’s not getting to the people in the province. From the education sector, to the health care sector, to the community services, to the people, to our children, this budget completely misses the mark.

Instead of a budget that pulls people up when they’re drowning, you have a budget that actually pushes people further into poverty and leaves them behind. Goods and services cost more and more. And this budget does nothing to support those people. When we talk of price gouging, for example—it does nothing.

I want to talk about what happened after the budget was introduced. We were sitting in finance committee and we heard—I have a very limited amount of time so I’m trying to rush through everything that I have here, and I know I won’t get to everything. So let me just start off with one of the organizations that I thought was really interesting in the way they kind of put together the holistic summary of what they’re facing. This was actually Vista Centre Brain Injury Services that came to the deputation for the budget hearings. This is what they said: “In Canada, every 3.5 minutes, there is a brain injury. I will repeat that: In Canada, every 3.5 minutes, there is a brain injury.”

And he went on to talk about what the needs are and how to effectively address this, which means investing in our health care system. What they asked for was an increase in their budget. And Speaker, let me tell you what the government has done so far. Over the last 10 years, they have only received a 2% increase in their budget.

What was really interesting is that from a health care perspective, the Vista Centre Brain Injury Services talked about housing, and I was really intrigued by this because they actually brought it back and said: “Do you know what the number one issue our clients tell us? Housing.” This is what he said: “The number one issue that has been identified in my area is housing, and when I talk about housing, I mean specialized housing not only for people” who are facing “a disability, but people who have an acquired brain injury” as well. And guess what the number of years they wait for it? From 15 to 20 years, they wait for housing.

We heard from other organizations, like non-profit organizations. One of them was Earth Education League, and I want to quote Jodi, because I think she does a fantastic job about Bill 85. She said, “Bill 85 includes funding for school boards for the next academic year at a mere 2.7% increase; 2.7% is significantly below the rate of inflation and won’t meet the students’ needs. Critics have indicated that when accounting tricks are set aside, we are seeing a decrease in per-student funding of nearly $1,000 as a result of this budget. We need to invest in classrooms, in educators and adults in the room, not on online learning, not on TVO and D2L, not on privatization through back doors.”

I thought Jodi just did a fantastic job talking about the needs of our education system and how this budget fails to address that as well.

Speaker, I wish I could share some of the other organizations that talked about their disappointment as well, because not only did the budget not address some of this, they did not even keep up with inflation. They did not even keep up with inflation for our needs in our education, in our health care system, in housing. And yet we have the biggest spending ever in a provincial budget. That’s what the government is bragging about. But it does not go to the people who are struggling, who are suffering, who are hurting right now.

So let’s look at what this government is actually spending the money on, and I hope I can address this in the next few minutes that I have.

Bill 23, which is the result of this government, a bill that they brought forward: What’s happening is that municipalities are losing money and now they don’t have the ability to keep up with a lot of the expenditures that they have. And now that will actually cost taxpayers more money because a lot of municipalities are concerned that they have to raise property taxes.

We also have Highway 413. This government won’t even talk about how much Highway 413 will cost. We’ve got report after report, article after article that talks about how the Premier fails to talk about the exact cost of Highway 413—another idea brought by this government which will pave over wetlands, protected lands. Not only that, it’s going to cost taxpayers a lot of money and the government won’t even tell us exactly how much it’s going to cost. And you know, my colleague the NDP critic for finance and the member from Waterloo, during her presentation, went on about some of the other ways the government is losing revenue for this province as well.

The FAO reported that this government—$6.4 billion didn’t even go where it was supposed to. We have Bonnie Lysyk, the Auditor General—and I want to thank her for her service to this province—who talked about how this government is losing money on the OLG. So not only does the government not have the amount of revenue they’re supposed to be getting, they have a smaller share of revenue coming in and then they’re spending it on the 1%, the 2%, the select few that they choose, and not the people of this province, Speaker. And where—I’m almost out of time.

Ontario Place: You’ve got $650 million that’s going to go to a luxury spa, an Austrian spa—not even a business of this province—$650 million. And then there is a $450-million parking lot that’s supposed to be an underwater parking lot, I think, like the biggest car wash, I guess, that this province has ever seen—the costliest—but this is where the money will be spent.

Then, if you think about Highway 407—this is a comparison I can make because that’s the result we’re facing right now, where we have a 1,200% increase of what the cost of this—

Thank you so much for the opportunity. I want to thank the member for his question. Honestly, I wish this were the type of dialogue that we could have because we need to have a public park, a public space that is serving the people of this province, that is accessible, that won’t cost the people money and actually give profit to a private company that is not even Ontarian.

And not to mention, one of the things that’s really difficult for me is understanding—has the government actually done research on Therme? We’re giving $650 million to a luxury spa. Have we done—like, what their financial track record is? They have a very problematic track record in the UK. Have we done our research to see what they have done, what their track record looks like and what it will mean when we have a 95-year lease for Ontario? Because that’s a defective sale—

Interjection.

That means we need to make sure that people don’t go hungry, don’t go homeless. That is the most important part when we talk about budgets because then you’re prioritizing things like housing, you’re prioritizing things like the amount you need for ODSP and OW. We’re not keeping up with those things. We’re not keeping up with the inflation rate of any of these needs, and that’s what the result is. We’re seeing thousands of people lining up, and some people who have never gone to a food bank are now getting food at a food bank.

Thank you to the member for Brampton West for his remarks. Certainly there are good things in every budget; it would be nice if we could hear some of that from the Conservatives from time to time about previous Liberal budgets, but I digress.

Could you talk a little bit more about GAINS? You talked about that the program. It’s ending on December 31—the doubling. Can you tell us why it’s ending at that time?

I’m glad to be able to weigh in on this budget debate for budget 2023, which is indeed disappointing for a lot of folks across communities. I’m pleased to share some of their voices in this space, because many of them were not heard.

I will say that it has been a disturbing trend for quite some time that many community groups and agencies and voices are directed to a different door when it comes to presenting to this government. The finance committee, as we know, is a multi-party committee that travels across Ontario—arguably not enough. However, they travel to communities and hear from folks.

But then there’s this side process where the Minister of Finance and government MPPs invite folks to this community chat, community consultation, where agencies might get three minutes each to share with the minister, and then people think, after they’ve done that, they’ve spoken to the Minister of Finance and to various local MPPs, that they’ve made a presentation on the budget. What they don’t realize is there’s no record of that that is public, whereas if they present to the finance committee, there’s a record that the opposition parties have a chance to hear, have a chance to ask questions. There’s Hansard—thank you to the folks who travel with committee and keep track of the voices—but these folks are directed to that side door that says, “Hey, come and present on the budget.”

Disappointingly, there are a number of our community agencies in Durham who have been rerouted and their voices did not make it into the committee hearings, so I wanted to share a few of those folks. But I just wanted to say, Speaker, I think that is really problematic. Now, I will say, it’s always important, if you get a chance to talk to the minister face to face, you take it. But in addition to that, there is an accountable process that folks have been routed away from, and that is—well, I think it’s a bit dirty, but anyway, it isn’t how this place should work.

Some of the things that are missing from this budget are important to the folks in Durham region. There are seven members of this Legislature who represent at least part of Durham region—seven of us. I am the only non-government member, so my office is busy hearing from people who have concerns when it comes to government priorities.

I would like to share that something that was missing from this budget was funding to get the wheels turning for a new Lakeridge hospital. I want to read here from the Durham Business Alliance, which, as they say, represents the eight chambers of commerce and boards of trade of Durham region and a combined membership of approximately 2,500 local businesses and organizations.

They have said, “We are following up on our previous letter today to express our deep disappointment in the recent budget announcement which made no provision for funding a planning grant for a new regional hospital and trauma centre for Lakeridge Health in Durham region. We believe that the lack of funding for a new hospital is a major oversight in the budget. Durham region, with its growing population, is in dire need of additional hospitals,” and they list the various reasons.

They’ve said, “A new hospital for Lakeridge Health would not only address the issue of aging infrastructure, but also provide much-needed capacity to serve the growing population of Durham region. Lakeridge Health is ready to meet these demands ... we urge the government to recognize Lakeridge Health’s recommendation and reconsider its decision and allocate funding for a planning grant for the new hospital in Durham region,” and they said “no later than” the fall economic statement.

Of course, I support that, Speaker. As I said, there are seven of us in this chamber who are hearing the need is great and to not see it reflected in the budget is too bad, but there is a chance for this government to course-correct.

We’ve also been talking about mental health and health care in this House. I wish, though, that we were seeing more funds directed to places that would make a difference.

Here I have a submission from Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, affectionately known as Ontario Shores. They have said, “Despite the urgent need, Ontario Shores does not currently have an emergency department to provide the necessary acute mental health care to Ontarians in need. We are requesting funding and approval from the government of Ontario to build and construct Canada’s first emergency psychiatric assessment, treatment and healing unit,” or EmPATH for short. “EmPATH is a psychiatric emergency care model that is transforming mental health care in the United States.

“We require a $1-million capital planning grant and approval of our stage 2 submission with the Ministry of Health.” They go on to explain how this model sets itself apart from others and would make an unbelievable, immeasurable difference in our community, but beyond our community, in the province.

It says, “The benefits of an EmPATH emergency department at Ontario Shores would have wider implications for Ontario’s health system. A model like this at Ontario Shores would reduce the strain on the province’s emergency rooms, allow for better, more specialized care for people in mental health crises, and free up resources for other emergency services.

“As one of only four provincially specialized mental health hospitals in Ontario, we are uniquely positioned to introduce this concept to Canada and are requesting a capital planning grant for this project as part of the upcoming Ontario budget....” They go on to say they have support from the “Durham MPPs, mayors of Oshawa, Whitby, Pickering, Durham regional chair, health care professionals, staff, and people in the wider community supporting our vision of transforming mental health care in the province. Partners such as Durham Regional Police Service and Region of Durham Paramedic Services have endorsed this project....” They’ve garnered over 8,000 signatures of Ontarians who want to see this first EmPATH emergency department built at Ontario Shores.

But alas, it was not in the budget. I would love to know why. If mental health is actually a priority for this government, here is a really big opportunity, and this would be a significant ribbon to cut for this government, but more importantly, would have remarkable impacts on people in need.

Speaker, I also wanted to raise the topic of hospice. I had actually a quick chat with Joyce Marshall in our community the other day at a community event, and she was very excited to be an ambassador for Hospice Whitby. They have decided on a name and unveiled that: the Hospice Whitby–Roger Anderson House. A lot of community care and interest and involvement in this project, but Whitby and Clarington hospice folks are asking for money. I know that they asked at these community consultations I was telling you about, that were a side process to the budget hearing. They did not actually get to present to the finance committee because they didn’t know they hadn’t—they thought this community consultation was sufficient. Hopefully, it was. And yet, the money isn’t in this budget.

I hope that the two or two and a half million each that they are asking for is something that this government can figure out, because what hospice would mean and those beds and that care for the community of Durham—as we have seen, Port Perry is a good-news story, the hospice there. As someone who has seen hospice up close and personally when my mother passed, and I know how important it can be and I know, frankly, how beautiful that the pieces that they add to a very challenging time for families can be, I do believe that this should be a priority for this government or any government.

Speaker, I want to go on to also share how challenging it is for folks. I got a letter from someone named Jennifer in Owen Sound. She had seen remarks that I made in this Legislature and said, “As you are aware, life on ODSP is hard. But the real nightmare is living with the knowledge that life will only get harder. A few years ago my fridge broke so now I use my 12-year old-freezer and a cooler, my shoes are coming apart so I hot-glue them back together, my electric kettle can take anywhere from five to 15 minutes as it shuts off repeatedly before the water boils. But I wait for the day the freezer breaks down, when my shoes are too bad to be glued and the kettle doesn’t boil at all. And that day is coming.

“I appreciate that you ... see myself and people like me as persons who are doing all they can and wish every day that we could do better. But the fact that we can’t shouldn’t mean we live everyday with the terror of a hard life becoming an unbearable one.

“Thank you for fighting for us to live without this fear,” wrote Jennifer from Owen Sound.

Speaker, people are hurting, as we have talked about with food banks. I have a really thoughtful letter from Ben Earle, the executive director of Feed the Need in Durham, who laid out recently in the paper for us about: “more clients than ever before who are fully employed, who own their” own “homes, and who would have historically been able to meet the demands of their household budgets. That is no longer the case.” Speaker, there is need in this province not being met.