I want to thank my friend for the question. I’ve toured a lot of facilities all over Ontario, and it has been an eye opener for me to see the investments that we made in the facilities to meet the cultural needs of Indigenous peoples there, such as the smudging spaces, the sweat lodges and the teaching lodges.

Mr. Speaker, it has been my honour to meet so many native inmate liaison officers, the NILOs, who are absolutely critical to the chaplaincy and the well-being of those facilities. It has been my honour to meet Elder Cam Goodman in Thunder Bay where I’ve seen for myself.

This is important to our government, and we will continue to act.

Order. The supplementary question, the member from Niagara Falls.

The Minister of Health.

To reply for the government, the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

Our government shares the concerns that are being spoken of in the House this morning. When you stop and think about the importance of providing culturally safe services that are low barrier to individuals, these are investments that need to be made upstream.

Yes, investments are being made in corrections facilities by increasing the amount of services and supports; transitional housing when individuals come out of the corrections system, but we have to look upstream. We have to look and see what needs to be done in the communities and provide the services where the individuals live, and that’s exactly what we did. The $90-million investment put 54% of the dollars and created 7,000 treatment spots, the majority of which are in northern Ontario. Why? Because we need to deliver supports and services before individuals resort to situations that get them into corrections facilities. We’ve done that in Sioux Lookout, in Thunder Bay, in Sudbury, in Timmins—and the list goes on and on.

We will continue building continuums of care for individuals that are culturally safe and appropriate as close to home as we possibly can.

Mr. Speaker, we stand by everyone who is committed to quality education for the people and the students of this province, and that includes in Waterloo region and in all regions of Ontario, where we value the work of our front-line educators trying to make a difference in our schools.

But Mr. Speaker, if the aim fundamentally is to reduce barriers that impede progress for some of the most at-risk kids in Waterloo or in any region, then the members opposite should explain in the supplemental the logical consistency of opposing the de-streaming of the entire grade 9 curriculum; how the members opposite could pose the question when we are trying to ensure there are more racialized, qualified, merit-based educators in the front of classes where we have some of the highest amount of classrooms with racialized kids.

When we removed O. Reg. 274, it was the Leader of the Opposition, the former education critic, who suggested siding with the education union, saying that’s the wrong policy. Stand up for kids. Make actions necessary to improve the lives of kids. Get over the performative hashtag politics of the NDP.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Earlier this month, the Ombudsman released a report on the Landlord and Tenant Board. In response to questions, the Attorney General stated that Ontario’s tribunals were in shambles when this government took over in 2018; however, the chapter entitled “Issues Contributing to Delay” notes that the problems started in 2019, Mr. Speaker. Delays were specifically attributed to the Conservatives’ decision to leave positions unfilled, presumably waiting for preferred candidates, while experienced applicants were available or could have been renewed.

Mr. Speaker, under this government’s watch, Ontario’s tribunals have fallen into a shambles. Will this government commit to putting aside what the Ombudsman called the “political nature of elections,” especially when tribunals have many unfilled positions, so that people can have timely access to justice?

My question is for the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. With over 300,000 jobs going unfilled daily, we are facing a historic shortage of workers in Ontario. In order to ensure that our economy is strong and resilient, we need more skilled workers to fill labour gaps in key sectors. We must welcome more workers who are best positioned to succeed in critical industries where there are significant labour shortages, including construction, health care and technology.

Our government must do everything we can to ensure that we have the workforce that is needed to help build Ontario. Speaker, can the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to strengthen Ontario’s workforce?

However, for some newcomers who have already settled in Ontario—and many of them settled in Scarborough–Agincourt—there are barriers that, unfortunately, prevent them from pursuing careers in fields that they are trained for and are eager to work in. Currently, only one in four immigrants is able to continue working in their professions when they come to Ontario. That is why our government needs to show leadership and remove obstacles that make it difficult for qualified individuals to apply for work. It costs our province billions in lost productivity when jobs remain unfilled.

Can the minister please explain how our government is eliminating barriers so that skilled immigrants can pursue employment in their professions?

Thank you to the member for this very important question. He’s right: One of the greatest economic challenges we’re facing in Ontario today is that 300,000 jobs are going unfilled. I’m proud that, under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government has landed a truly historic deal with the federal government to double the number of economic immigrants we can select, to a minimum of 18,000 by 2025.

Speaker, this means that we can select more skilled trades workers, more software and IT workers and more health care workers like nurses and personal support workers. We’re tackling our labour shortage head-on and making it easier for employers to find the skilled workers they need to grow and build the future of Ontario.

All across our province there are in-demand and well-paying jobs waiting to be filled. Welcoming more immigrants with the skills we need is a win for workers, businesses and communities in every corner of Ontario.

Our government, through our first Working for Workers Act, made it illegal for regulators to require Canadian work experience. We are leading the way in Canada by eliminating this unfair and truly discriminatory barrier that far too many immigrants coming to Ontario face. The Professional Engineers of Ontario became the first regulator to remove their requirement for Canadian work experience. Every single regulator should follow their lead before our December deadline.

We need all hands on deck to build a brighter future for all of us. This change allows immigrants to start better jobs, earn bigger paycheques and build a better life for themselves and their families. Our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, is levelling the playing field and bringing the Canadian dream within reach for more people.

My question is to the Premier. Ontario’s own Education Equity Action Plan directs school boards to undertake work that will “eliminate inequities in the education system.” Most school boards have taken this responsibility to heart. They understand that it impacts student achievement and well-being. But there has been significant and damaging pushback in communities. In Waterloo, both public and Catholic school boards have faced outright vicious hatred.

Boards are doing this important equity work as directed by the government, and yet Ontario school boards are receiving very little support from the ministry. I’m asking today very clearly: Does the Minister of Education stand behind Waterloo public and Catholic school boards, their trustees, their directors of education and their students as they undertake this important equity work?

Earlier this week, when the Premier was asked whether he thinks the York school board should fly the Pride flag in June, he said “no comment.” A failure to comment is a failure to stand up for equity. There are no neutral positions on this.

When those who oppose equity in our schools hear the Premier’s refusal to comment, they feel emboldened. They assume, rightly or not, that he agrees with them and is making space for those voices. Does this government realize the damage caused by saying “no comment” on matters of equality and equity?

Interjections.

Speaker, through you to the Minister of Energy: Yesterday, the body that oversees electricity grids in North America reported that Ontario risks power outages this summer. In fact, Ontario is the only province in Canada that is rated with elevated risk that it can’t meet peak demand. After five years, this government’s policies of cutting funding for efficiency and conservation, of demolishing wind farms and cancelling other renewable projects have led to this.

What will the minister do immediately to protect this province from the risk that he has set up?

Again, what will the minister do today to protect us this summer so that we don’t have those outages?

To reply, the Attorney General.

The Attorney General to respond.

Speaker, my question is for the Associate Minister of Transportation. My community is growing rapidly and they need more convenient ways to connect to their jobs, family, appointments and other communities in the GTA. Whether travelling by car or bus, traffic congestion and gridlock add frustration and unnecessary delays.

Even though our government is making historic investments into new transit infrastructure, Toronto’s north end still needs more transit options. The people of my community and across the GTA are looking to our government for solutions that will make transit easier and more convenient. Speaker, can the associate minister please explain how our government plans to increase the transit options in the GTA?

Interjection: Great question.

Transit upgrades and expansions are needed now to ensure frequent and convenient service for years to come. The previous Liberal government failed to plan for Ontario’s transit needs and failed to invest in building vital transit infrastructure. The investments and construction work that are currently under way to strengthen our province’s transit networks show that our government is getting it done for the people of Ontario. But more can and should be done to deliver on our commitment to these projects.

Speaker, can the associate minister please expand on how our government is making historic investments in building transit networks?

What?

Thanks very much to the member opposite for the question. My number one job is to ensure that we have an energy system here that’s reliable, one that’s affordable and one that’s clean. I’m glad to say it’s an A+ on all three of those categories in Ontario. We have a system that is 90% clean, one that is attracting investment from all around the world. They’re coming here because our system is clean, because it’s reliable and it’s affordable.

If the member opposite was in charge of our energy system—God forbid that that should ever happen—we certainly would become one of the most unreliable jurisdictions in the world because he is against baseload power.

I’m not sure which of those questions to answer but I’m going to tell you what we are doing at the Landlord and Tenant Board. We are investing so much money and effort and time to make sure that the people of Ontario are served.

When the Liberals left the fire that was in tribunals, when they left it to us to fix it, Mr. Speaker—I can tell you, the back office system was not working. So we undertook, as soon as we came into office, to start rebuilding the backbone of the tribunal system, and the Landlord and Tenant Board in particular. We worked with the province of British Columbia, an NDP government, to see what they were doing. We’ve adopted parts of their system. We’ve invested $26.5 million, Mr. Speaker, to fix that part of the LTB alone.

He can talk about the Ombudsman’s report, Mr. Speaker. There were so many things that they left undone that we’ve had to fix, but we are going to get it done.

It is a good question, because we need to increase those transit options. Minister Mulroney and I recently gave official direction to develop an initial business case for an extension of the Sheppard subway. Let’s break it down, Speaker. We’ve asked officials to examine extending the Sheppard line eastwards from its current terminus at Don Mills station to the future Scarborough subway extension, which would serve that very member’s community. But that’s not all.

While the initial business case will focus mostly on the eastward route, we’ve also tasked agency officials to investigate a possible western extension from Sheppard-Yonge station to Sheppard West station. This potential east-west expansion would create a game-changing transit corridor across Toronto’s north for riders across Scarborough, North York and beyond. This is a stark contrast to the Liberals and the NDP who, for decades, did nothing to build transit in any meaningful way. We’re not only cleaning up their mess; we’re building that transit for riders today—

But to turn those plans into reality, we have to get through the red tape. I know the Liberals love the colour red, whether it be ties or tape, but we’ve got to cut through that to actually build that transit. That’s why we passed the Building Transit Faster Act. That’s why our four priority subway projects are well under way. That includes the Sheppard subway east extension’s initial business case by examining track alignments, grade options, storage facility requirements and technology regimes of the potential extension. Speaker, we’re dedicating $1 million to the early planning work on this.

All that is to say, these aren’t just plans; these are reality. We’re bringing transit in a meaningful way to the great people of Scarborough and across this entire province.

Mr. Speaker, the Attorney General knows well that the timeline for the problems at the Landlord and Tenant Board, as identified by the Ombudsman, started in 2019 and made no mention of the Liberal government.

Tribunal Watch Ontario, in response to the report, said, “Experienced and proven leaders were replaced, in some cases, by people for whom political affiliation seemed to be the main qualification.” This seems to be a common theme with this Conservative government. It’s okay to ignore what’s broken in Ontario so long as their friends are taken care of.

Mr. Speaker, let me be constructive. Will the government commit to creating a non-partisan oversight body that protects the independence of Ontario’s adjudicative tribunals?

Interjections.

I’d like to thank the member representing Hastings–Lennox and Addington for his question and, more importantly, telling us earlier today about some of the events and festivals that are going on in your community. That’s what tourism is all about, sir. You’ve got it, and your community is doing it right.

From the buzz of the big city and the bright lights to the stars up north, our government is providing support for tourism across the brand. This year, we are providing $1.3 million through the local regional tourism organizations that will help promote Hastings–Lennox and Addington as a tourism destination. Our government is delighted to spread the news about experiences like agri-tourism and the nature trails and make the member’s community an attraction and destination for all people, because you have a lot to offer.

We’re excited about where tourism is going, and I have more in the supplementary for you.

From my meetings across the province, and specifically in just the last couple of weeks in the Niagara region, I met with Niagara Parks, casinos, hoteliers, the great wineries and the opportunities there—they are ready to go. They aren’t rebounding; they’re there, Mr. Speaker. We are happy to support them, to drive them even further in their destination of what they’re trying to accomplish in being a tourist destination, maybe being the best tourist destination in this country.

Speaker, we have a grid in Ontario that is the envy of all jurisdictions in North America: one that’s clean, one that’s affordable, one that’s reliable and one that’s safe. God help us if the NDP were ever in charge of our energy system. We’re seeing multi-billion-dollar investments in our province from companies around the world like Volkswagen, Stellantis, Umicore—so many others because we have a system that people can rely on.

We’re making sure that we’re hardening the infrastructure here to deal with some of the conditions that the member is talking about, but at the same time, because of our success on this file, we’re now building North America’s first small modular reactor that’s going to go online in 2028. Our nuclear fleet is being refurbished. When they come back a little bit later on this decade, that’s 3,500 megawatts of clean non-emitting electricity, enough to power the city of Toronto for the next 35 years—the largest procurement of energy storage in Canadian history—

Look, my message is clear: Get a deal at the table, a deal that’s good for workers and families in Windsor.

Mr. Speaker, it’s our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, that continues to work with our labour partners, with employers and with workers across this province to ensure that we’re creating better jobs and bigger paycheques for workers out there.

Under the leadership of the Minister of Economic Development and our entire government, we have 600,000 more people working in Ontario today than when we were elected back in 2018, including tens of thousands of more people in southwestern Ontario. In fact, the Premier is down there today with our amazing MPP from Windsor–Tecumseh to make more great announcements.

It’s our government that’s building a brand new hospital down there, which the member opposite opposes. It’s our government that’s widening Highway 3, which the NDP opposed. But Mr. Speaker, we’ll continue having the backs of people in Windsor-Essex every day.

Mr. Speaker, let’s look at what happened in the Legislature yesterday. We passed legislation that reduces diesel exhaust in mines across Ontario by 70%, the toughest regulations in all of North America. Do you know who opposed standing up for those 30,000 miners? The NDP in Ontario. Do you know who voted against all of the investments in the skilled trades to get people jobs with defined pensions and benefits in Windsor? The NDP. Do you know who voted against hiring more inspectors today than at any point in Ontario’s history? The NDP.

We will take no lessons from the NDP when it comes to standing up for workers in this province. It is under the leadership of Doug Ford—

Interjections.