Thank you to the member for Cambridge for the question. The expansion of the Village of Winston Park is a game-changing project for the Waterloo and Cambridge area. This state-of-the-art facility now provides 224 safe, modern long-term-care beds along with top-quality care and resources for residents.

Our government is also supporting another 12 projects in Waterloo region, including homes in Cambridge, Wilmot, Woolwich and Kitchener. These are beautiful homes. Together, these projects will provide over 2,400 new and upgraded long-term-care beds built to modern design standards. These investments will also bring many new jobs in the form of construction and health care staff.

This government is investing up to $5 billion for an additional 27,000 new long-term-care staff; that’s something that the Leader of the Opposition might want to put in her review.

That is why our government has provided an increase to the construction funding subsidy designed to encourage long-term-care homes across the province to begin building by August 31, this summer. This will and has enabled the continued development of new long-term-care projects. By building new beds, more seniors will be placed in modern, safe and comfortable new homes. This initiative and commitment by this government will result in shovels in the ground for 11,000 long-term-care beds by August 31. This is all part of our government’s historic $6.4-billion plan to develop over 58,000 new and upgraded long-term-care beds so we can meet the needs of our aging population.

The member opposite speaks of the report that’s going to the city next week. I’ve read it, and it talks about the benefits that they have seen as a result of using the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program.

In terms of land ambulance support, of course, we partner, 50-50, with our municipal partners, so every time they add a new ambulance, every time they add a new paramedic, the Ministry of Health and the province of Ontario are there to support with 50% funding, and we will continue to do that because we want to make sure that 911 models of care, Dedicated Offload Nursing Programs, a Learn and Stay program that is available in northern Ontario for paramedics who train—we are covering their tuition and education costs so that they can continue to serve in underserved communities. We’re doing all of this work to ensure that the people of Ottawa and all of Ontario have appropriate care in their community.

My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. This spring, the minister announced that the Village of Winston Park, a long-term-care home in Kitchener, had opened a new, recently constructed building that will provide more beds for seniors.

Nevertheless, while this is good news for the local community, Ontario’s broader long-term-care sector is being impacted by a rapidly aging population. Despite numerous calls from experts and advocates, the previous Liberal government failed to acknowledge the critical importance of investing in long-term-care facilities and services. This is why it’s so vital that our government continues to plan ahead to address the care needs for our seniors across our province.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how construction projects like this one will support our seniors in Waterloo and the neighbouring area of Cambridge?

In considering the current and future needs for seniors, it is clear that we need to build more long-term-care homes in communities across the province.

Speaker, can the parliamentary assistant please provide an update on measures our government is taking to add more beds to Ontario’s long-term-care system?

There is no doubt that there are unique challenges for patients who are looking to access health care in northern Ontario or having to travel great distances to get those treatments, which is why we’ve invested $48.2 million in the Northern Health Travel Grant, which paid out nearly 150 individuals for those reimbursements.

I will say that I am particularly proud of some changes that we have been able to make recently on the grant, and that ensures that individuals can now apply electronically and get those reimbursements directly into their bank accounts. It means that there is not the unnecessary delay and red tape. It has been very helpful, particularly for individuals who have multiple trips and multiple treatments. That is one example of how we are improving this grant to make sure that people get their money back faster.

Supplementary question.

My question is to the Premier. Speaker, many constituents in northern Ontario must travel long distances to receive specialized health care. The broken Northern Health Travel Grant system forces patients to cover those travel costs and accommodations up front, and then they have to wait to be reimbursed. For example, Denise and her husband, Stephan, are seniors on a fixed income, and they need to come to Toronto to see Stephan’s neurologist. Denise told me Stephan will get 41 cents a kilometre, but only after the first hundred kilometres.

My question is, will the Premier remove cost-prohibitive barriers like this one that make it difficult for northerners to access proper care through the Northern Health Travel Grant?

My question is, will the Premier commit to increasing mileage and accommodation compensation so seniors like Stephan aren’t paying out of pocket to access essential medical care?

Celebrating June as Seniors Month is an important way to recognize the contributions of seniors and highlight the importance of age-friendly communities.

However, the risk of social isolation for seniors is a reality. Repeated research studies show that loneliness and social isolation have detrimental effects on the physical and mental health of seniors. This is an important issue, and that is why it is essential that our government continues to make investments into programs and services that help seniors to remain active and socially connected. Seniors in Ontario deserve our continuing support.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is supporting the quality of life for seniors in Ontario?

My question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

As the MPP for Brantford–Brant, I have always been proud to champion participation in sport in the communities that I represent. Sports contributes to better health, community pride and a stronger economy.

However, I am deeply concerned to know that according to Ontario Soccer’s CEO, the province is losing referees at an alarming rate. This decline in numbers is due to the increasing prevalence of abuse toward referees. To address this serious situation, I understand that Ontario Soccer is launching a body camera pilot project for soccer referees. Can the minister please share his response to this initiative being introduced by Ontario Soccer?

Speaker, all Ontarians who participate in sport deserve to have a safe and supportive environment. Sadly, we are seeing young girls and boys being discouraged by a few irresponsible spectators who intimidate them with abusive yelling. Any form of harassment is unacceptable, and it must end.

Can the minister please share any insights he has gained from his experiences with sporting organizations and with participants?

Before I get to that, I’d also like to thank Mr. Decker for his service. Many years from now, my grandkids will point to that picture and say, “There’s Papa, but who’s the other guy?” I’ll simply say, “He’s a guy who made a big difference in my life.” Thank you.

To the member from Brantford–Brant, thank you for what you do in sport and recreation in your community—it doesn’t just stay with youth; it’s all across the board, because that helps our health care down the road.

To answer the question directly: I went, “Really? We have to go to that extent now and put cameras on officials to make sure parents and fans on the perimeter of a field are not harassing officials?” Let’s be clear, Mr. Speaker, these officials aren’t always adults. They’re young people. They’ve decided to go get trained, participate—they don’t necessarily have to play in sport, but they participate when they’re officials. So it’s disgraceful, it’s unnecessary, and we have to stop it.

Thank you, member from Newmarket–Aurora, for the question and for the last question to close out the session.

I’ve gone across the province and have had a wonderful opportunity of meeting hundreds of women who are getting into the workforce and taking advantage of the programs and investments this government has made to support their flexibility and their training and skill development. This includes promoting a wide range of fields and careers for women and girls, helping entrepreneurs find supports and resources to create more women-led businesses. That’s why we’ve also expanded the Investing in Women’s Futures Program and the Women’s Economic Security Program.

Together, we’ve assisted more than 3,000 women to start their businesses, pursue further training and/or their education. We are getting it done for women in Ontario, because when women succeed, Ontario succeeds.

Minister of Education.

We’ll start with the Minister of Education.

Again, thanks for the question. This may sound strange—and I have been very fortunate to be on sidelines and behind benches in minor sport for a number of years, and I have some great friends as a result of participating in sport not because of the players and the parents, but because of the officials.

I was asked on April 1 on the football side of things to speak at their conference in Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field. There were 100-plus officials there, and they’re there to learn more and to get better. They’re there to get better, not because they want to become pro officials or umpires or referees, but because they want to make the game better. They want to give something back to their community.

So when we talk about the time they spent—afterwards I talked to their leadership group. I said, “What is the key problem for you now?” He said, “We’re losing people from age, but we’re also losing young people, especially because of the harassment they’re getting on the sidelines.”

Let me be clear, the culture of sport has to change, and we can all effect it in a positive way, because here’s the statement: Without officials, there are no games.

Obviously we are very much concerned about those kids, and it’s why this government, since coming to office in 2018, has increased the special-education envelope of funding by over $540 million more. As a case study of that investment in this year’s presentation of our funding for school boards, that is going to rise again by $124 million more. That’s going to help families in Windsor and Essex and right across the region, and it’s going to help the school boards have the staff in place to meet the needs of those kids.

When it comes to EAs, education assistants, who principally work with those children, we have 3,200 additional EAs hired under our Progressive Conservative government. We’re proud of that, and we’re going to keep going as we’re hiring 2,000 additional front-line educators, focused on literacy and math, to help kids who are most at risk. We are committed to strengthening the training of our teachers and principals, and we are committed to hiring more staff to support the kids in your region and across Ontario.

So we reflect with great wisdom on the horrid track record of the NDP. We will never go back. We’re going to go forward, and we’re going to continue to build schools. We’re going to continue to modernize education. We’re going to continue to play the challenging function any responsible government will: to demand better for the next generation of this province.

If members opposite are concerned about the interests of public education, then vote today for Bill 98, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act. Join this government in standing up for accountability, for the rights of parents and for better outcomes focused on reading, writing and math. We’re going to get back to basics, and we’re going to stand up for Ontario students right across this province.

Nancy will be retiring from the Ontario public service after many decades of public service. Nancy has been a true leader, and everyone looks up to Nancy. We are forever grateful for your legacy in Ontario, and we’re proud to celebrate your service today.

Applause.

My question is to the Premier. Special-education needs within the Greater Essex County District School Board are continuing to grow. An additional 200 students will need special-education supports for the next school year. Their deficit for 2023-24 special-education funding is projected at $10.2 million.

The board has flagged the increasing needs of their special-education programs with the Conservative government multiple times. In December last year, the GECDSB wrote to the Minister of Education calling on the province to address “significant underfunding,” and that the board expects to spend an additional $5.4 million on special education this year.

Speaker, why won’t the Premier adequately fund the special-education programs needed and support the students of Windsor-Essex?

In fact, Speaker, in Lambton-Kent, the province is only funding a quarter of the special-education needs. Toronto District School Board has a $67.6-million shortfall when it comes to special education. As I said, in the Greater Essex County District School Board, their shortfall is projected at $10.2 million. They’ve already said it’s going to cost them $5.4 million for special education this coming school year.

Speaker, students across Ontario with special-education needs, their parents and families deserve a government that is making the necessary investments to see all students thrive. Will the Premier stop shortchanging students with special-education needs and properly fund the special-education programming and supports that all students need to thrive?

My question is for the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity. It is encouraging to hear that our government is continuing to focus on initiatives that are providing women with opportunities for greater economic empowerment.

However, there are still areas of concern that need to be addressed. The number of women employed in technology-related careers as well as in the skilled trades occupations are well below their male counterparts. The reality is that women only currently account for 5% of the skilled trades workforce. With more than 100,000 unfilled skilled trades jobs right now, it is critical that our government does all that we can do to attract more women to pursue these in-demand and rewarding careers.

Speaker, can the associate minister please elaborate on how our government is helping women to develop the skills they need to gain financial security?

Mr. Speaker, in the east gallery today, we have the executive director of the Cross-Border Institute of the University of Windsor. She is also a fellow of the internationally renowned Wilson Institute, and she happens to be my younger sister: Marta Leardi.

Yesterday, I had dropped off cards of reminder for the CSG East that will happen on August 20 to 23. I know that we’re excited to get back into our ridings now, but by August, we might miss each other, and I hope that you all come and join the Speaker and I as co-chairs for this event.

Well, I have a point all the time to call my colleagues and wish them a happy birthday. Unfortunately, we won’t be in the House, but there’s a special birthday coming up on Sunday, June 11, for a true leader within our caucus, one of the best transportation ministers I’ve ever seen. Happy birthday, Caroline.

It’s always difficult to follow [inaudible], but here I go. Speaker, as you know, this year has not been one where I’ve been in the House as much as I had been in the previous 17 years. And I just wanted to say thank you to a couple of people who have made my life easier as I’ve been here, that is, to my assistant Ahmed Mawel. Ahmed Mawel is a Somaliland—a new immigrant to Canada. I actually met him while he was driving me in an Uber. He has such a great mind, a great spirit and a great heart. Being around him has been incredible.

And then my former assistant when I was Minister of Social Services, Jacqueline Bishop, has joined me as well. Her leadership, her dedication and her commitment not only to the government but also to her Caribbean community has been something that has really elevated and lifted me up.

Finally, I know it was been said earlier today by my friend Jill Andrew—and Jill, we do hope your mother finds a great ease as she fights this—Charlie Lyons, who was our chaplain here—unofficially, of course, and probably should be. Charlie has been a tremendous inspiration for many of us who have been around his prayer table, whether we’re religious or not.

On that note, I want to wish all colleagues a good summer, a healthy summer, and one that is filled with not only fun—don’t have too much—but also safety.

With that, I want to say thank you, as well, to you, Speaker.