As I’ve said before, I want to assure Ontarians that the Eglinton Crosstown construction continues to make progress. Currently, the project is 98% complete. But, as I have said before, Mr. Speaker, politicians should not interfere in the timing and the opening of transit projects. When that happens, we see that transit riders are left stranded. The Ottawa LRT is a prime example of that, Mr. Speaker.

But you know, Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition stands in this House and asks about why we can’t get the Eglinton Crosstown built when her own party, when it had the chance to vote in support of it 10 years ago, declined to do so.

The NDP continues to vote against transit. They vote against subway expansion, they vote against new LRTs for the city of Hamilton and they vote against building transit faster.

Our government will continue to deliver for the people of Ontario despite the NDP and their opposition to everything we do.

Interjections.

She thinks that the Ontario Line, which will take 28,000 cars off the road every single day, is bad for Ontario. She says that the largest transit expansion anywhere in North America, which will deliver a new three-stop subway extension for the people of Scarborough, an Eglinton Crosstown West extension and a Yonge North subway extension as well as a new LRT for the city of Hamilton—according to the Leader of the Opposition, that’s bad for Ontario, and she will do everything she can to stop it. She votes against it every single time.

Mr. Speaker, a transit plan that united, for the first time in Canadian history, four levels of government—

Mr. Speaker, I say to the Leader of the Opposition, if she wants transit, then she should vote in favour of it. What the Leader of the Opposition needs to do is pick a lane.

Well, I can tell the minister that it’s time she put the partisanship aside and did the work it takes to fix people’s health care, because this is not the reality out there across this province—code blacks, code reds. Speaker, Ontarians are speaking out because they know this government is heading down the wrong path. They saw what happened in Quebec, where carpal tunnel surgeries at private clinics cost taxpayers 84% more than if they had been done in the public system. They hear experts when they say that further privatization of health care will lead to even more emergency room closures and worse outcomes for patients.

Real leadership is listening and changing your behaviour when you have made a mistake. Back to the Premier: Will he start listening to ordinary Ontarians and stop wasting public money on privatizing care?

Interjections.

Speaker, to the Minister of Transportation: When will the Eglinton Crosstown finally open?

These delays have been caused by the utter mismanagement of this project. Instead of taking responsibility, this minister is embroiled in a finger-pointing battle between the private contractors, Metrolinx, the TTC and even her own ministry. The Toronto Sun reported this morning that they can’t even get answers on just how bad things are.

Speaker, instead of blaming everybody else, can the minister specify what direct actions she has taken to fix this mess?

Interjections.

Interjections.

Back to the minister: With rumours swirling around a potential cabinet shuffle, does this Minister of Transportation still think she’s the best person for the job?

Interjections.

Dedicated off-load nursing programs that allow hospitals to have dedicated staff who are able to take those patients as the paramedics come in and allow the paramedics to go back out into community and do what they want to do, which is continue to respond to 911 calls; 911 models of care that ensure that instead of the paramedic’s only choice—to be able to take that patient to a palliative care facility, to a long-term care facility, instead of exclusively and only to an emergency department. These are the changes that we have been making that we are seeing, on the ground, make a difference. The number of paramedics who have spoken to me saying, “These programs are literally life-changing in our community. Please keep them coming,” tells me that the programs are working. And I continue to remind them that, unfortunately, the NDP continue to vote against them.

You talk about why you’re opposed to the expansion of surgical and diagnostic centres in the province of Ontario—centres that have operated for decades but have not had the investment of previous governments. We made that investment in January in Windsor, in Kitchener-Waterloo and in Ottawa, and we now have people getting those cataract surgeries and getting back into community.

The status quo doesn’t work. We’re making the investments.

Minister of Health.

Minister of Health.

Supplementary question?

The final supplementary.

The member for Ottawa Centre, come to order. The member for Waterloo, come to order. The Minister of Education, come to order. The member for Brampton North, come to order. The member for Kitchener–Conestoga, come to order.

Start the clock. The response? Minister of Transportation.

Mr. Speaker, we’re putting more money into Ontarians’ pockets. They voted against every single item we put forward. They voted against the 10-cents-per-litre gas tax. They voted against when we scrapped the licence plate stickers for eight million people, an average of $240 per family. We dropped the tolls on the 412 and 418, saving the folks millions of dollars; they voted against that. We increased ODSP by 5%, tied to inflation; they voted against that. We cut the income tax to 1.1 million low-income workers; they voted against that. We increased minimum wage; they voted against that. We extended a 10% tuition cut; they voted against that. And we’re doubling the payments for low-income seniors, which will provide a maximum increase of $1,000 per person.

Mr. Speaker, the NDP campaign on making gas more expensive. We have the carbon tax king over there from Ottawa Centre who wants the highest carbon tax in the entire world, and you’re proud of it. It’s absolutely unbelievable. You’re proud of that—

Interjections.

Meegwetch. My question is to the Minister of Education. Last week, Lambton Kent District School Board wrote to the Minister of Education about the 63% cut to their Indigenous education funding. Speaker, it’s wrong to cut funding during National Indigenous History Month. School boards across Ontario need resources for curriculum on residential schools, on treaties, on Indigenous history, as well as land-based learning. But I don’t know: What’s wrong with our history?

Speaker, how is the board supposed to implement their Indigenous education programming with a 63% cut in funding for next year?

Thank you to the member from Cambridge for that very insightful question. Mr. Speaker, our government has a responsible plan to ensure that all of Ontario remains on a strong and steady economic growth channel. Our plan is a commitment to support families, to support individuals, to support workers in this great province, as well as our business partners. We’ve laid a strong fiscal foundation which will continue to build Ontario into the future.

As inflation was rising, as the Premier said, we took action early to help the hard-working families of Ontario. We eliminated licence plate renewal fees as well as stickers and refunded two years of past fees for eligible vehicle owners. We extended the current gas tax until December 31, Mr. Speaker.

That is what the people of Ontario expect and deserve from this government.

For low-income seniors, uncertain times are even more challenging. That’s why we temporarily doubled the Guaranteed Annual Income System payments for eligible seniors until December 2023, expanding the GAINS program for up to a 50% increase in recipients, and adjusted, for the first time ever, the benefit to inflation.

Mr. Speaker, our track record speaks for itself. We’re committed to keeping costs down for the people of this province.

My question is for the Minister of Finance.

Much like the rest of the world, Ontario continues to face economic challenges. Individuals, families, workers and businesses are all troubled by the rising cost of living. As prices go up on everything from groceries to gas, their household and business budgets are feeling ongoing financial pressure.

That is why our government must implement a responsible plan that supports businesses, families and workers across the province. Speaker, can the minister explain how our government is continuing to support people and businesses during these uncertain economic times?

However, the people of Ontario expect that our government will continue to follow through on our commitments to lower costs, build key infrastructure, build projects faster and attract more jobs and investments. But, most of all, the people of Ontario want our government to focus on issues that will help make everyday life more affordable, and they deserve nothing less.

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on actions that our government is taking to make life more affordable for the people of Ontario?

Order.

To reply, the Premier.

Restart the clock. The supplementary question.

The response: the Minister of Infrastructure.

Ontarians pay some of the highest cell phone and Internet bills on earth. Places around the world spend 10 times less for what we’re getting. If they can do it, why can’t we?

This morning, I joined our Ontario NDP leader and NDP MPP colleagues to discuss a consultation plan and a set of hearings across the province to hear from consumers, telecom experts, consumer protection advocates and the industry itself to discuss a way forward and a plan to deliver more accessible telecom, and at better prices.

Does this government agree that telecom companies are gouging Ontarians? And what are they willing to do about it?

Interjections.

If there is one thing that this government is great at, it’s over-promising and under-delivering. What we’ve seen is that this government has held back nearly 90% of their budgeted investment on broadband infrastructure, going back years.

So my question is simple: Why won’t they make broadband access a priority, and why are they under-spending on bringing access to Ontarians? Because access to Internet and cell phones and telecom isn’t just a luxury anymore; it is a necessity for all of us.

Interjections.

We are very committed to ensuring that Canadians learn about their Indigenous history, about Indigenous history in the province and country. It’s why funding within the school board allocation is up overall. It’s at $120 million. It is the highest level of funding in Ontario history.

Now, beyond the money, I will note that the member opposite rightfully speaks about our curriculum, the mandatory learning so students could be better informed about our past. I’m proud that, this coming September, every child in grades 1 through 3 will finally learn about residential school knowledge, because we are mandating it in the curriculum effective this coming September. That’s a positive step forward. We made that announcement with Indigenous leaders, who called on the former government to get it done; they didn’t. We are.

We’re committed to the cause and will continue to work with members opposite to get this right, so we strengthen Indigenous learning right across Ontario.

My question is for the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. The sad reality, Speaker, is that everyone in our province, unfortunately, knows someone who has been negatively impacted by the ongoing opioid epidemic. It’s a distressing fact that over 2,000 individuals died last year from opioid-related causes and about one third of those individuals worked in the vital construction sector.

That’s why our government must take action and ensure that Ontario workers have access to life-saving equipment, like naloxone kits, when and where they need them. Our government must do more to protect Ontarians who are struggling with addictions in order to reduce preventable workplace deaths.

Speaker, will the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to protect our workers here in Ontario?

For the Ontario Workplace Naloxone Program to be effective, naloxone kits must be available in workplaces where there’s a risk of opioid overdose. Additionally, people must be trained to know how to administer naloxone properly. That’s why our government must implement requirements and directives for employers so that they can provide a safe workplace for their employees.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is supporting worker safety and protection through the workplace naloxone program?

My question this morning is to the Premier. Another expert report has just been released, this time using advanced mapping technology, that shows yet again this government does not need to build on the greenbelt to achieve our housing goals. Yes, we are in a housing crisis. We need housing; we need affordable housing. But this study shows that Ontario could deliver the next 30 years of housing in the greater Toronto-Hamilton area using a portion of land already zoned for development.

My question: Given the mounting evidence that we already have the necessary land to build housing, why are you putting the greenbelt, our farms, our forests and our wetlands at risk?

I want to thank the member for Hastings–Lennox and Addington for this very important question. Our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, is working every day to save lives. That’s why we are actively expanding the availability of naloxone kits throughout Ontario. Naloxone is a vital medication that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. As of last week, employers are now required to have a life-saving naloxone kit on hand and workers trained on how to use these naloxone kits.

Through our Ontario Workplace Naloxone Program, we have now distributed more than 1,000 free naloxone kits to workplaces across the province. This initiative enhances public awareness of opioid addiction, combats the stigma and, ultimately, saves lives.

Speaker, I encourage everyone to visit ontario.ca/workplacenaloxone to learn more.

My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Back in 2019, this government did a good thing by creating provincially significant employment zones and identifying areas of high economic output The Nanticoke industrial park in my riding of Haldimand–Norfolk includes both Stelco and Imperial Oil, and was included in this initiative—rightfully so.

Fast-forward to last spring in Haldimand, when the mayor at the time dropped news on the county that he supported a proposed 15,000-home community on 4,200 acres surrounding the industrial park. Stelco maintains a provincial rezoning of the lands could imperil the future of the company’s Lake Erie works, and Imperial Oil has the same opinion.

Haldimand county needs these good-paying jobs, and an industrial park is where they should remain. Speaker, will the minister assure Haldimand county and the tenants of the industrial park that this government will protect the jobs at the steel mill and the refinery, as they said they would do in 2019?

Thank you, Speaker, and good morning. I’d like to thank the member opposite for the question.

Speaker, we all know that Ontario is expected to grow by more than two million people by 2031, with approximately 1.5 million living just in the greater Golden Horseshoe alone. The federal government has also announced that Canada will increase immigration by another 500,000 newcomers by 2025. We know Ontario is expected to get a significant portion of new Canadians, and so we have to start planning now so the next generation of Ontarians have a place to live. The decision we made will result in the construction of at least 50,000 new homes and will expand the greenbelt by approximately 2,000 acres.

Speaker, Ontario’s population reached a historic 15 million people last year, and it’s expected that this growth is going to continue. We are going to get 1.5 million homes built by 2031 because we desperately need it, Speaker.

Speaker, I am so proud to be part of a government that’s taking a responsible, targeted approach to deliver on its plan to build a million and a half homes by 2031. This plan is just part of our larger commitment to make life easier and much more affordable for the people of Ontario.

Speaker, under this Premier and this infrastructure minister, we’re investing more than $159 billion over the next decade to support infrastructure projects including transit, highways, schools, hospitals, long-term-care projects. This transportation minister is building more municipalities while improving local transit. This labour minister—we’re doubling our economic immigrants. And under this economic development minister, we’re attracting $7 billion in St. Thomas.

Speaker, our province is growing. We’re welcoming newcomers. We need to build housing, and we’re going to get it done.

My question is to the Premier. The Conservatives want to open up an area of land as big as the size of Toronto on greenbelt land and farmland, even though experts have been telling you loud and clear—even your own experts have been telling you—that there is more than enough land already available in areas zoned for development.

Well, get this: Land speculators are reading the tea leaves and they are buying up protected farmland. Farm prices have gone up by 20% in the last year alone. New farmers and young farmers can’t compete with these land speculators, and they’re worried they’re never going to get into the housing sector and the farming sector.

To strengthen our farming sector, can the Conservatives commit to not opening up any more greenbelt land to needless development?

It’s amazing how the minister’s record-breaking spending keeps translating into cuts on the ground. It’s like the opposite of magic.

The Lambton Kent District School Board isn’t just losing Indigenous funding. They’re facing a cut of $8 million, or 2.5% of their total budget. This is on top of the fact that the government is only funding one quarter of the actual cost of special education for Lambton Kent. In all parts of the province, kids need more support, not less.

Why is this government forcing school boards like Lambton Kent to implement cuts and take supports away?

Supplementary question: the member for Ottawa West–Nepean.

To reply, the Associate Minister of Housing.

The Associate Minister of Housing.