I appreciate the question from the member opposite. Of course, we have been working very closely to ensure that there is maximum accountability with respect to the harm done to the people of the province of Ontario, and we’ll continue to do that.

At the same time, Mr. Speaker, I know that the Minister of Health as well as a number of colleagues on both sides of the House, frankly, have been working to ensure that not only young Canadians but Ontarians in general understand the challenges and the risks associated with cigarette smoking and tobacco use.

But specifically to the member opposite’s question, we’ll continue to work very, very closely with our partners to ensure the best possible outcome for the people of the province of Ontario.

So I would ask the member to maybe take a moment to look at the success not only of the Bob Rae government, of the Liberal governments, of the Conservative governments—we have all done our part. It’s not her ownership. We’ve all done our part, and I’m very proud of what Ontario Parliaments have done to ensure that the people of the province of Ontario are safe.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. First, I would like to thank the associate minister along with the Minister of Housing for visiting Ottawa last week.

Everyone deserves to have a safe place to call home. That’s why it’s so crucial that our government addresses the need for more supportive housing across our province. We made a commitment to support Ontarians who are at risk of and those who are experiencing homelessness. As we work towards increasing housing supply across our province in the coming years, we must ensure that every Ontarian can find housing that meets their needs and budgets.

Speaker, through you, can the associate minister please elaborate on the measures our government is taking to increase the supply of affordable housing?

We know that homelessness is a serious concern throughout our province, and that’s why our government must continue to provide solutions that address and prevent homelessness in Ottawa and across Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, through you, can the associate minister please expand on the measures our government is taking to assist municipalities as they support the most vulnerable people in our communities?

Thank you to the member for Cambridge. I know that the minister is leading the charge when it comes to cutting red tape, reducing costs for businesses and ensuring that it’s easier to start, operate and expand a business, creating jobs and driving our economy forward.

Since forming government, under the leadership of the minister and this entire party, we’ve seen real progress. We’ve reduced Ontario’s regulatory burden by 16,000 regulatory compliance requirements, saving businesses some $700 million—not once, but every single year—in annual compliance costs. The results speak for themselves: over 85,000 new jobs in Ontario last year and, since we came to office, over 660,000 new jobs here in the province of Ontario.

We know there’s more work to do to clean up after 15 years of Liberal and NDP mismanagement, but we’re going to get the job done under this Premier and under the leadership of each and every member of this House. We won’t stop—

Mr. Speaker, there is absolutely nothing to dismiss about a 400% increase in mental health supports under our Progressive Conservative government. There is nothing platitudinal when the member from Burlington brings forth a motion calling on government to mandate mental health literacy in the grade 7, 8 and 10 curriculum, which we are doing for this coming September. We are taking action—not performative action, real action: investments, funding, staffing and mandatory learning in the school system.

This shouldn’t be a political exercise for the NDP. We should be working together to further educate students on how they can see themselves as part of the solution on the day-to-day challenges of living a life in this country.

We know that there are challenges of violence in schools. That’s why we’re increasing support. There are 3,000 more EAs helping those kids. There are 7,000 more staff within our publicly funded schools. And this September—if the members opposite want to be supportive of those kids, vote for our budget, which will add 2,000 more educators to Ontario’s schools.

There are 3,000 more education assistants hired by our government under our Premier’s leadership. We, too, want to make sure that there’s value for those investments and for that staffing. We added a 400% increase in mental health. We’re spending more in special education than any government.

But the virtue is not just spending more; it’s getting more out of the system for the kids we represent. We’re going to stand up for better outcomes, more accountability and a better school experience for children in Ontario.

Thank you to the MPP from Scarborough Centre for asking this very important question. National accessibility awareness week is very important to this government and to me personally. Thanks to the leadership of the Minister of Labour, we are announcing over $4 million to the Skills Development Fund this week. This marvellous fund will support local organizations like the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the Geneva Centre for Autism. They make sure people with disabilities have the right programs and services to find meaningful training and jobs.

Join us in celebrating those who are making this province more accessible and inclusive for everyone.

My question is to the Premier. Last week, at a private, for-profit long-term-care home in Orillia, a resident who lives with a disability was forced to sit in their own waste for an entire night due to staffing shortages at the home. Staff were unable to assist the resident because they didn’t have any staff. And, according to the resident, it’s not the first time this has happened.

Speaker, when is this government going to put forward an actual plan to address the staffing crisis in long-term care and ensure that residents—our seniors, our parents, our grandparents—are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve?

The supplementary question?

Next question.

Thank you for that response.

No one, except the Liberals and the NDP members, wants more red tape in our province. By reducing unnecessary regulation burdens, our government can create an environment that drives new investments and grows our economy, while maintaining high public safety and environmental protection standards. We must continue our ongoing efforts to support Ontario’s hard-working job creators and enhance our competitive advantages for the years to come.

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on how our government is fuelling future economic growth by modernizing Ontario’s regulatory system?

Last week, a letter from a teacher warned that students and staff at Tomken Road Middle School do not feel safe going to school. Tomken Road is far from alone. Violence in our schools is reaching a crisis level, but instead of investing in mental health supports and additional staff, this government offers nothing but platitudes. In fact, school boards are being forced to cut safety monitors and child and youth workers.

What will it take for the Premier to finally make the investments needed to keep students and workers in our schools safe?

Every day, students with autism and disabilities are being excluded from our schools, because the supports are not there to keep them safe at school. We did a survey of parents which shows only a small snapshot of the problem, and shows that at least 78 kids with special needs missed out on more than 555 hours of school in just the past two weeks.

Knowing the extent of the problem is the first step to fixing it. Will the government finally listen to parents, like the parents from the Ontario Autism Coalition, and finally track and publicly report on all exclusions in our schools?

To reply, the government House leader and Minister of Long-Term Care.

The next question.

The House recessed from 1148 to 1300.

Report adopted.

Report adopted.

Report adopted.

Ms. Bell moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 113, An Act respecting the continuation of the corporation known as Trustees of the Toronto General Burying Grounds / Projet de loi 113, Loi concernant la prorogation de la société connue sous le nom de Trustees of the Toronto General Burying Grounds.

First reading agreed to.

Mr. Calandra has moved that for the consideration of private members’ public bills, standing committees be authorized—

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

Motion agreed to.

In response to the many concerns from Moore Park residents, we have introduced a bill to provide greater government oversight over Mount Pleasant Cemetery and affiliated cemeteries.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Justice Policy and move its adoption.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. Speaker, everyone in Ontario deserves the highest standard of mental health and addictions care. There is no health without mental health, which is why our government must continue to make investments to support Indigenous-led initiatives that are tailored to meet the needs of their communities.

Our government must remain committed to building an Ontario where everyone is fully supported in their journey towards mental wellness. This includes working with Indigenous partners and communities to improve access to mental health, addictions and well-being services.

Speaker, can the associate minister please explain what measures our government is implementing to make these vital services available in Indigenous communities?

Speaker, I’m pleased to take this opportunity to acknowledge my chief of staff, Krystle Caputo. She has been an invaluable asset to our ministry and to me personally since I’ve come to this role as the new Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. And before that, she was a great support to both Dr. Fullerton and the Minister of Municipal Affairs. As she takes her next step, I want to say to Krystle, thank you for everything that you’ve done for all of us, and I wish you all the very best.

I appreciate the question. The member is quite correct. I was very unhappy by what I heard last week. There were two instances that I’ve been unhappy with. In one instance, of course, there was an air conditioning challenge at one of our homes. The municipal home in that case has been fined $25,000 under new rules that we brought into place. And in the other instance—again equally unacceptable, Mr. Speaker—I’ve asked the inspections branch to immediately go into the home and investigate.

At the same time, directly to the member’s question, we are adding four hours of care a day per resident. This will be a North American leading standard. At the same time, we’re adding an additional 27,000 health care workers to meet that standard. We started on doing that a couple of years ago, and the Minister of Colleges and Universities has a program that has been leading to thousands of people getting back into the sector, Mr. Speaker. I’ve been very excited about that.

We’ve also met our targets as we’ve been increasing the level of care. We’ve met our targets over the last two years. We do have a plan in place. Of course, the member opposite voted against that plan. He voted against extra staffing in his own riding, Mr. Speaker, but we will get it done. Don’t worry.

I know the opposition is just ideologically opposed to anything that has to do with private individuals having any role to play in any part of society. We’ve talked about this before. The only thing that they care about is ensuring that people are dependent exclusively on government. We view things differently, Mr. Speaker. We want to give people the resources and the tools to succeed.

He talks about Orchard Villa; he talks about Southbridge. I am happy to report that they received their Canada accreditation to be one of the best long-term-care homes in the province of Ontario—

Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, July 12, 2023; and

Standing Committee on Justice Policy be authorized to meet on Monday, July 10, 2023, and Tuesday, July 11, 2023; and

Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy be authorized to meet on Monday, July 10, 2023; Tuesday, July 11, 2023; and Wednesday, July 12, 2023; and

Standing Committee on Social Policy be authorized to meet on Tuesday, July 13, 2023; and

Standing Committee on the Interior be authorized to meet on July 10, 2023, and Thursday, July 13, 2022—2023, excuse me; and

That the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be authorized to attend the 2023 Legislative Summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Indianapolis, Indiana from August 13 to 16, 2023; and

That the Standing Committee on Public Accounts be authorized to attend the 2023 Annual Conference of the Canadian Council of Public Accounts Committees in Whitehorse, Yukon from September 10 to 13, 2023; and

That the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be authorized to travel outside of Ontario and to meet during the summer adjournment upon agreement of its subcommittee on committee business.

Your committee begs to report the following bill, as amended:

Bill 102, An Act to amend various Acts relating to the justice system, fire protection and prevention and animal welfare / Projet de loi 102, Loi modifiant diverses lois relatives au système judiciaire, à la prévention et à la protection contre l’incendie ainsi qu’au bien-être des animaux.

Bill 98, An Act to amend various Acts relating to education and child care / Projet de loi 98, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne l’éducation et la garde d’enfants.

Bill 97, An Act to amend various statutes with respect to housing and development / Projet de loi 97, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne le logement et l’aménagement.

J’ai l’honneur de me lever pour présenter une pétition qui s’intitule « Soutenez le système d’éducation francophone en Ontario.

« À l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario :

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

« Alors 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;

« Alors 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;

« Alors 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;

« Par conséquent, nous, soussignés, demandons à l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario de fournir immédiatement le financement demandé par le rapport du groupe de travail sur la pénurie des enseignantes et des enseignants dans le système d’éducation en langue française de l’Ontario et de travailler avec des partenaires pour mettre pleinement en oeuvre les recommandations. »

J’appuie cette pétition. Je vais y ajouter ma signature et je vais l’envoyer à la table des greffiers avec Halle.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) identifies intimate-partner violence as a major global public health concern, as it affects millions of people and can result in immediate and long-lasting health, social and economic consequences; and

“Whereas other Canadian provinces including Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador have passed legislation on the disclosure of intimate-partner violence history, to protect its citizens from domestic violence; and

“Whereas the disclosure mechanisms outlined in Clare’s Law would be an additional tool for police services to prevent intimate-partner violence; and

“Whereas over 43,786 people, as of April 19, 2023, have signed the petition ‘Justice for Bobbi: Adopt Clare’s Law in Ontario’ on change.org; and

“Whereas people at risk of potential harm have the right to be informed of their intimate partner’s violent past—if the partner was a repeat offender of domestic violence;

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

“To urge the government of Ontario to adopt mechanisms for disclosure outlined in Clare’s Law—whereby information relating to intimate-partner-violence convictions can be used to assess risk of and prevent harm from intimate-partner violence.”

I think this is a great petition, and I will be happy to sign my name to it and give it to Amara.

Thank you to the member from Hastings–Lennox and Addington for this important question.

Ensuring that the services we provide are culturally safe and culturally appropriate is an extremely important part of building a continuum of care that works for everyone in Ontario.

Indigenous leaders have consistently told me, “Nothing about us, without us.”

Recently, I had the honour of attending the Kenora Chiefs Advisory mental wellness summit, where I heard directly from northern Indigenous communities about their needs.

I’m proud to say that after working with community leaders, we’ve developed land-based healing, detox and after-care programs with Kashechewan, Taykwa Tagamou First Nation and Mushkegowuk tribal council, with more to come.

Across the north, we’re making investments to build capacity, aid in crisis response, and support local community members and front-line health care workers in First Nations communities.

Speaker, our government’s investments are building out the culturally safe services that are critical to ensuring that in Ontario no one goes without the support they need.