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?

The government is increasing investments by $590 million more for the coming September. Our Special Education Grant is up across the board—over $3.2 billion. It is dramatically higher than when the former Liberals were in place. We’ve hired over 3,200 EAs. I appreciate the inconvenient truth associated with funding, staffing and support for school boards, but we are increasing the supports across the board in Lambton–Kent–Middlesex and in every single region of Ontario. To suggest otherwise is frankly preposterous.

No one believes the NDP. This is the default. Every year, there’s a narrative from the opposition of the sky is falling.

We are increasing supports to help kids get back on track. Look at the numbers, look at the investments: $590 million more and roughly 8,000 additional staff even though we don’t have additional kids in our schools. We will continue to be there for Ontario kids.

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?

I just want to say to the good people of Wheatley that you’re never far from our thoughts, and what happened in 2021 continues to shape our actions today.

I was pleased to be joined by the member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington—thank you for the question—and the member from Essex on Friday to make an announcement that’s very important to southwest Ontario. Over the course of the next three years, our government will provide over $26 million to develop a plan to address legacy oil and gas wells in the province. To start, eligible municipalities will be able to apply for funding for specific projects aimed at keeping their communities safe. In addition, this funding will help municipalities address risks and challenges of oil and gas wells, invest in plugging more abandoned oil and gas wells and conduct more science and research.

Speaker, this is the first step in a commitment to the people of southwest Ontario. We’ve heard their concerns, and we’ll continue to provide resources to protect and build a stronger province.

As I mentioned on June 2, in addition to the funding, our government has also announced an action plan that will have three main principles: increasing our understanding of the risks of plugging oil and gas wells, taking actions to reduce and mitigate these risks, and implementing measures that are focused on preventing petroleum-related emergencies and enhancing our emergency preparedness.

We understand our job is not done, which is why we’ll be holding additional consultations as we look toward the next steps. Speaker, we’re just getting started. This side of the House will not rest until we have delivered on our commitment to the great people of southwest Ontario.

I want to thank the member from Hamilton Mountain for her excellent presentation about the COAST program. It is something that has also been implemented in the London area. It’s a partnership of the CMHA, the London Police Service and the Elgin-Middlesex paramedic services. It’s absolutely brilliant. It was something that was brought forward, as well, during the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs 2023 budget consultations. And yet, this government has chosen not to allocate the funding that has been requested for this program. There’s no dedicated funding for this in the budget. Unfortunately, in the London area, this is a program that is not available at all hours of the day. My question to the member is, why is this government not listening to front-line officers who know the incredible value this program provides to our community?

To the member from Hamilton Mountain: You had spoken a little bit about the COAST program in your community. We have something that’s very similar in Waterloo region—just by a different name: the IMPACT program. It does have a very substantial impact in our community. I know that there has been funding to our IMPACT program through the Ministry of Health and through the Ministry of the Solicitor General.

I know that Hamilton’s program, as well, was able to receive funding that they applied for over the last few years. I’d just like to get her thoughts on that program and how she sees it working a little bit better in her community.