This question is for the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Access to health care professionals has become increasingly challenging for many Ontarians, which is also impacting people on the Ontario Disability Support Program. ODSP recipients have been contacting my office consistently, seeking assistance in finding a doctor to fill out essential forms. These forms are necessary for their special diet needs and to review their eligibility for benefits. The inability to obtain these forms puts them at risk of losing income support and benefits.

Is the minister willing to commit to a temporary pause on medical eligibility reviews and provide extensions to recipients who are unable to find a health care professional to fill out their medical forms until more health professionals become available?

My question is for the Minister of Transportation. As we approach the summer season, many people are looking forward to visiting some of our province’s top tourism destinations, such as Niagara Falls. However, connecting to the Niagara region by car from other areas in Ontario can be challenging. Traffic congestion and gridlock on highways can lead to delays and frustration. With so much to see, do and enjoy in the Niagara region, there need to be more options for convenient travel to this part of our province. Tourism is vital to Ontario’s economy and our government must do all that we can to encourage more people to visit Niagara.

Mr. Speaker, can the minister please explain what steps our government is taking to make it easier to travel to the Niagara region?

Mr. Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is expanding public transit across our province?

Mr. Speaker, again, employers know the laws in this province, and the Ministry of Labour will ensure that those laws are upheld. But it was under a Progressive Conservative government under Premier Ford that we increased the number of inspectors in this province to the highest in Ontario history. We now have over 500 inspectors inspecting thousands of businesses, including 200 employment standards officers. In fact, in the last five years alone, we’ve recuperated over $110 million in lost wages for workers across this province. We’re going to continue to work every single day for all workers in this province.

My question is to the Premier. May 29 marked the start of National AccessAbility Week. The week is ending and there’s little to celebrate by way of accessibility here in the province. Over the last few years, we’ve seen announcements and ideas around accessibility, but no real changes to meet markers around physical infrastructure. On top of this, disabled people can’t find accessible places to live, are excluded from schools, are being kicked off specialized transit services like Wheel-Trans and are disproportionately criminalized. They’re also still living on social assistance rates below the poverty line.

When will the government stop treating disabled people in this province like second-class citizens and get back to making Ontario accessible by 2025?

Speaker, the worth of a person exists outside of their ability to produce, and in this province, disabled people cannot access public transit, free and fully funded health care, accessible housing, or live lives free of discrimination. As a sitting MPP, I also have struggled with getting trapped in places in Toronto due to inaccessible subways.

Enough is enough, and we are people too. When will this government honour the legacy of David Onley and get back to making Ontario accessible by 2025?

Interjections.

Thank you to the member opposite for asking this very important question. National accessibility awareness week is very important to this government and to me personally. Mr. Speaker, there is no better advocate for accessibility than this Premier and the Minister for Accessibility. They understand accessibility and inclusion require long-term vision. Every dollar on infrastructure is a dollar being invested for people with disabilities.

I would also like to thank the leadership of the Minister of Labour. Just this morning, we announced over $4 million in the Skills Development Fund. This marvellous fund will support local organizations like the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the Geneva autism centre. This makes sure people with disabilities have the right programs and right services to find meaningful training and jobs. When we break down the barriers in our province, we’re helping all Ontarians live in a better—

Mr. Speaker, project by project, community by community, we are making Ontario more accessible every day.

I thank the member for the question. After over a decade of Liberal inaction, it is our Progressive Conservative government that is investing in the Niagara region to unlock its full potential.

Earlier this month, I joined Premier Ford and my colleagues to announce more GO train service between Union Station and Niagara Falls. The expansion of GO train service will connect more people to jobs, housing and to Canada’s top tourist destination. Families across the GTA now have more options to get to the Niagara region, as GO train service has increased by two daily round trips and an additional round trip on weekends. That’s a total of 21 round trips per week. So whether you’re heading to a winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake or seeing the falls up close, families have more access to GO Transit to explore the beautiful Niagara region.

Our government is also funding four additional weekday express trains during the busiest hours. Trains will travel in both directions on Lakeshore West and offer more express service between Hamilton, Burlington and Toronto.

Speaker, this investment will not only shorten travel times for everyday commuters, but it also supports tourism and economic growth. And with the $15 weekend travel pass, families can enjoy unlimited travel anywhere on the GO train network. Our government is making it easier to get where you need to go and we will—

The supplementary question.

The next question.

Supplementary question?

Member for Richmond Hill.

My question is for the Minister of Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs. The ongoing impact of global high interest rates and inflation continues to create challenges for all Ontarians. Unfortunately, the current economic climate is impacting people of rural, remote and northern communities far greater than other parts of the province.

Communities in northern Ontario are facing unique barriers for job creation and business development. Sadly, the previous Liberal government ignored the economic potential in rural, remote and Indigenous communities and drove many jobs out of the north. It is vitally important that our government takes action to keep the north competitive and improve the quality of life for northern Ontario residents.

Can the minister please explain how our government is supporting prosperity and opportunity in the north?

While it is clear that many northern communities that were forgotten under the previous Liberal government are now quite optimistic because of the meaningful investments made by our government, our government must continue to do all that we can to work with our northern partners to foster innovation, in order to build stronger and more prosperous communities.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is continuing to support economic development in communities across the north?

I appreciate the answer, but in my riding there’s not sufficient access to a health care professional. That’s a fact.

The province recently announced that it is investing to help people with disabilities find meaningful jobs with businesses in their communities. That’s, undoubtedly, great; however, it is important to consider that many of these individuals will likely need accommodation to successfully integrate into the labour market.

The duty to accommodate under the Ontario Human Rights Code specifically requires that a person with a disability provide to the employer information about relevant restrictions or limitations, including information from health care professionals. Given this requirement, how are they supposed to meet this obligation without access to a medical professional? What is the minister’s plan to effectively remove barriers to employment for people with disabilities?

Thank you for the question. It is a very important one, to make sure that we have primary care access across Ontario, which is why in our Your Health plan and under Bill 60, we’ve actually set aside an expansion of 18 new primary care practitioner-led clinics.

Today, right now, of course, as an MPP and an advocate, I would hope that you are also encouraging individuals to seek out those community health centres that are sited in communities across Ontario, to make sure that individuals who need that very important paperwork filled out by their primary care practitioner have that option.

There are a number of investments that we have made, but I would hope that, as an advocate, you would make sure that you talk about and share what is already there and, primarily, community health centres are a perfect example of that service.

My question is for the Premier. Our communities are searching every day for missing vulnerable loved ones here in Ontario: children, youth, adults and seniors who, when they go missing, do not meet the Amber Alert criteria, including Nathan, a 37-year-old man with Down syndrome who has now been missing for 19 days from Toronto.

Over two months ago, my private member’s bill, Bill 74, Missing Persons Amendment Act, was discharged and referred to committee. Speaker, through you, I ask the Premier: Why are you not bringing back Bill 74 and providing another resource for police to use while searching for a missing and vulnerable loved one who may still be close to home?

Speaker, again: Will the Premier do the right thing and bring Bill 74 back to the table?

I want to thank the member for Hastings–Lennox and Addington for his work here in the Legislature on behalf of his constituents.

It was a beautiful, sunny, bright day in northwestern Ontario. Business leaders and Indigenous business leaders gathered to discuss the opportunities. In the morning, we talked about supporting and unlocking communities in transition and surging as a result of resource-based activities and tourism. We also talked about opening northern Ontario for international business. We talked about the need for the province to maintain and stay focused on reducing red tape for businesses, the modernized Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and the northern energy assistance program to make sure we had that competitive advantage to compete globally.

The good news is that we were very well received by these business leaders. We’re looking forward to building out the kinds of projects, Mr. Speaker, that can complete an exciting supply chain that very much includes northern Ontario.

I mentioned it was a bright sunny day. It turned partly cloudy, Mr. Speaker, because I chaired the discussion on processing and refining of our critical minerals in northern Ontario, and I had to tell the folks at the table about the recent vote here in the Legislature and the lack of support from the NDP for mining, which means processing in northern Ontario, northwestern Ontario. It could only mean one thing, that NDP stands for “Not Doing Processing.” What an incredible opportunity—

Interjections.

The member, frankly, knows that the bill was discharged directly to committee so that we could make improvements to the bill. The member also knows, because the member was in the House, that we passed a motion earlier this week that authorized committees to do their work over the summer, which would include the member’s bill.

In fact, I spoke to the family when they were here. The member is aware of that. We have talked directly about it, that we would be dealing with this bill, because of the importance and because of the flaws that were in the bill.

The member, to my understanding, agrees with that. The whole House agrees with it. I’m uncertain what confusion there is. So again, the whole House voted unanimously to bring back committees over the summer because, as you know, on this side of the House we are constantly working on behalf of the people of the province of Ontario, and we will continue to do that over the summer for our communities.

Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

The next question.

The next question.

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The agri-food sector in Ontario employs 750,000 people and is vital to our province’s economic prosperity. In order for the agri-food sector to continue to grow and expand its markets, there must be a stable workforce to meet both current and future demands for services and products. That’s why our government must continue to make investments that will strengthen competitiveness, innovation and resiliency within the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based industries.

Speaker, through you, can the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to build up the workforce in the agri-food sector?

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on how this investment made by our government will help young people in Ontario prepare for careers in the agri-food sector?

A year ago, the Minister of Labour promised to raise WSIB income replacement rates to 90% of pre-injury wages. This increase has not taken place. Then, the WSIB cut the cost-of-living allowance for injured workers by a further 2%. While cutting benefits and creating new red tape for injured workers to wade through, the government then took $1.2 billion out of the fund and gave it back to their corporate buddies. Now, they’ve commissioned a report to say that the time to appeal WSIB decisions should be cut to one month.

An injury at work has thrown your life completely upside down, and now the government is telling you that if you want the compensation to which you’re entitled and which your family needs, you’re going to have a month to appeal a bad WSIB decision.

The Ontario NDP believes that no worker should ever be unjustly denied access to WSIB. Does the minister share that commitment, or will he be cutting the time to appeal WSIB claims?

Ontario’s tribunal system is broken. There are huge delays. It’s difficult to navigate, and it’s hard to find legal assistance. And yet, when workers make it through the system, a lot of them are finding justice. Claims that have previously been denied are being approved on appeal, and it’s completely life-changing. Well, it seems that the government wants to take even that hope away from people by cutting the time for appeals. Workers deserve justice. It’s the right thing to do. But when WSIB is not there for workers, guess who pays? The public.

Will the minister do the right thing and commit not to cut the appeal time for WSIB claims?

I’d like to thank the member from Brantford–Brant for the question, and it is a very important question.

Mr. Speaker, I think it’s important for all of us in this House to be very clear that hate and intolerance have no place here in Ontario. Every Ontarian, no matter their ethnicity or nationality, how they worship, or who they love, deserves to live in safe communities and without fear that they may be targeted because of who they are.

That is why our government, over the last two years, has invested over $100 million to combat hate and help foster inclusive communities.

Recently, our government has announced $25.5 million to help protect Ontario’s religious, diverse and other marginalized communities. This funding will help ensure that they have safe and secure places to practise their faith, showcase their culture and express who they are.

Our government will always be a champion for all Ontarians. We will continue working to build a stronger, safer and more inclusive Ontario for all people from all walks of life.

Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank all of those hard-working men and women who work for the WSIB, who are there every single day helping those injured workers across the province. They do great work everywhere, in all of our communities.

It was only a decade ago that the WSIB was on the brink of bankruptcy. Under the leadership of Premier Ford and this government, we brought in new leadership, a new board of directors, a new chair of the board—new leadership at the WSIB to build a better system for workers and employers.

I’m proud of the changes that we’ve made in our recent Working for Workers 3 legislation, truly historic legislation. We’re expanding pancreatic and thyroid cancer to presumptive coverage to firefighters across the province. This is going to help every firefighter, whether they’re full-time, volunteer, First Nations firefighters. And we’re making it retroactive to January 1, 1960.

There is no government in literally a generation that has done more for workers across this province than Premier Ford and the PC government. We brought forward three historic, game-changing pieces of legislation: Working for Workers 1, Working for Workers 2, and Working for Workers 3, and we’re not done yet. There’s more to come.

I appreciate the question from the member from Carleton because I’m very proudly standing in this House to say that our government is planning today for the future jobs of tomorrow. That includes our agri-food sector. Through our Grow Ontario Strategy, over the next 10 years, we have set a target to grow employment in our agri-food sector by 10%.

A key to attracting people is pulling them in and making them aware of the amazing jobs our sector has at a young age. That’s why the 4-H program in Ontario is so, so important. I had the pleasure just last week of sharing with people across this province how our government is continuing to invest in agricultural leadership development. One way is through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership program, whereby we’re investing $2.3 million over the next three years in Ontario 4-H. That is continuity and certainty for this program as they expose young people to the amazing opportunities in careers in the agri-food sector.

We’re engaging diverse communities through this program. We are ensuring that the four jobs that are waiting for every one individual graduating from agriculture or a food service program will have jobs available to them. This funding will benefit the already 6,000 4-H members and young people wanting to work in the agri-food sector in Ontario.