Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The supplementary question.

Meegwetch, Speaker. My question is to the Premier.

In the north, we have a crisis of people without homes in Kenora and across northwestern Ontario. Without 24-7 support, there will be more needless deaths of First Nations people living outside.

What is this government doing to give municipalities and advocates the resources they need to help people without homes?

Homelessness is a marker of a bigger issue, and I’m talking about addictions. I know there is a need for healing and there is a need for treatment in the north that is not being met. Again, we have to send out people to urban centres to get treatment.

Speaker, today First Nations people are dying. What is this government doing to address the addictions crisis?

My question is for the Minister of Energy. Since our government was first elected in 2018, we have been laser-focused on making life more affordable for all Ontarians. Under the previous Liberal government, energy costs skyrocketed, forcing individuals and families to make difficult financial decisions. That is why it is essential that our government address energy costs by placing a strong emphasis on choice for consumers and providing all Ontarians with options to reduce their energy expenses. Our government must continue to respect the people of Ontario by implementing affordable energy policies.

I understand that last week, our government announced a new program that will give families and small businesses more ways to save on their energy bills. Speaker, can the minister please explain how this new electricity price plan will help Ontarians going forward?

I know that my constituents, along with people all across Ontario, are looking for financial relief on their electricity bills and will want to know if this new price program will work best for them. As with any new initiative, it is necessary that our government provides information to the people of Ontario about how to opt in to this program, and how this will help them to save money on their electricity bills.

Speaker, can the minister please explain the benefits that this program will bring to the consumers and to Ontario’s energy system?

Thanks to the member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke. I appreciate it.

Speaker, he is quite correct: We’ve been hard at work putting families back in charge of their energy bills since we formed the government back in 2018. We started by introducing customer choice on electricity plans, allowing Ontarians to choose a price plan that makes sense for them—either a time-of-use or tiered rate. We also introduced the Green Button program, which is being rolled out right across Ontario as we speak, and will be in full implementation in November.

Now we’ve taken the next step. Last week, down at Toronto Hydro, I had the opportunity to inform the public about our ultra-low overnight electricity rate, which, starting on May 1, customers in the member’s own riding in Renfrew and in Toronto and London and Centre Wellington and Wasaga—I’m sure it was a great weekend at the beach up there, Mr. Speaker. They can opt in on this new plan, the ultra-low overnight rate, that’s going to be available province-wide in the coming months.

Unlike the former Liberal government, which sold clean, night-time power to neighbouring jurisdictions, many times at a loss, our government is coming up with innovative ways to use that power and shift demand in the province in the overnight period, which will make our grid more efficient, saving our electricity grid up to $5.7 million which, at the end of the day, isn’t just going to save those folks who adopt the ultra-low overnight rate, it’s going to save every electricity customer in the province money on their bill.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

To reply, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

I appreciate the question from the member from Ajax. It’s no secret that our government has been making historical progress when it comes to solving the housing crisis right here in Ontario. Our efforts, though, are more than just building homes. That’s why I was really proud to stand with my colleague Minister Clark, in London earlier this month, to announce that we’re doubling the number of adjudicators. That’s going to help, Mr. Speaker.

We know that delays around the Landlord and Tenant Board have been frustrating for people across this province, both for landlords and for tenants, but it has been our government that has been the one getting it done when it comes to improving services here in Ontario. That includes the Landlord and Tenant Board. By doubling the number of adjudicators, more Ontarians will have their cases heard in an efficient manner.

With this announcement, the board will have 80 full-time adjudicators. To help Ontarians appear before them, we’re also making the processes easier. That’s why, in this budget, an investment of over $24 million over three years was made. Of course, the NDP voted against it. As well, we made an investment of $6 million for additional recruitment at the Landlord and Tenant Board, and the NDP voted against that.

These investments follow a $28.5-million funding arrangement, under the justice accelerated strategy, to improve processes in the digital case management process. Mr. Speaker, the NDP voted against that. Unfortunately, they keep saying no. But fortunately, we keep passing it and we keep moving forward, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to continuously improving the process, making the wait times shorter and making the process more efficient.

Ma question est pour le premier ministre. Le coût du gaz naturel dans le nord de l’Ontario est insupportable. Les résidents n’ont aucun surplus dans leur budget. Les entreprises et les organismes à but non lucratif sont tous au bord de la fermeture.

Dans le Nord, on surpasse le taux de mètre cube « standard » dans une période de neuf mois. Notre utilisation est beaucoup plus élevée due à nos hivers plus longs et notre climat plus froid. Alors le calcul pour nous ne reflète pas nos besoins. C’est complètement injuste. La Maison Verte, un organisme, a payé 80 000 $ de gaz naturel dans deux mois, même après avoir investi 300 000 $ dans des nouvelles bouilloires intelligentes.

Alors, ma question pour le premier ministre : qu’est-ce que votre gouvernement va faire pour venir en aide aux gens du Nord et pour les organismes comme la Maison Verte pour assurer que la facturation reflète bien leurs besoins?

The member opposite is saying he wants more affordable energy for people in the north. That’s exactly what we’ve been providing since we took government, back in 2018. But the member opposite and his party were all about supporting the Liberals’ Green Energy Act when they were in power, Mr. Speaker. During the Green Energy Act, we saw hydro bills rising by 10%, 12% each year. In 2018, that came to an end. We ended the madness, Mr. Speaker.

But you know what the NDP wanted to do while the Liberals were doing that? They wanted them to go faster. They wanted them to put more over-market renewable contracts on the grid. Since we’ve come into power, we’ve flattened those increases in the electricity sector, and I’ll have more to say about natural gas in my supplementary.

The member opposite is clearly out of touch, because for the last number of weeks we’ve been making historic announcements. We’re investing over $2 billion in Ontario’s agri-food industry, from the laneway through to processing.

Farmers are buoyed; they’re energized. They know they have a government in Premier Ford and all of us in caucus who actually understand the business of producing food. For instance, we have introduced a soil health study that RBC noted as a hidden gem in the budget. It’s $9.5 million that is going to look at the health of soil.

I was just at the Earlton Farm Show this past weekend, and people are applauding the fact that we actually get it and are demonstrating that we are moving on priorities that truly matter to farmers, who are working so hard to produce good-quality food in Ontario.

The housing crisis is making life unaffordable in Ontario and driving young workers out of the province. This government claims to understand the issue, but their actions say otherwise. They commissioned an expert task force to address the problem, yet they’ve ignored the experts and one of their most important recommendations: to build density in our towns and cities, not to expand their boundaries outward. The province last week ordered cities to do just that and destroy neighbouring farmland.

This attack on farmers will reduce the supply of local food, raising food prices, and create more sprawl, which undermines our carbon reduction goals. Farmers are against this decision, cities and regions are against it and the government’s own experts are against it.

My question to the Premier: Who is telling the Premier that he should pave over our farmland, and are they the same people who will benefit from this decision?

The member for Haldimand–Norfolk introduced a bill to protect our farmland from development. It was supported by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and all MPPs except those on the government side. This government is being very clear: They want to pave over farmland.

Speaker, my question to the Premier: Can the Premier please explain how paving over their farmland helps farmers?

Interjections.

Well, it’s pretty rich coming from the Liberals, who basically did nothing on housing for 15 years, to now try to be the champion for farmers. For almost every budget that I sat in opposition on, the word “agriculture” never appeared in a Liberal budget—never.

So now we have a policy that actually recognizes that a farm can now have the opportunity to sever a lot for a son or a daughter—a farm that, if they decided that they wanted to provide quality housing for workers on the site, they could sever a lot.

Now we know again where the Liberals are at, just like where they were at for 15 years when they were in government: They stand against agriculture, they stand against farmers and they stand against housing in rural areas. That’s the Liberal Party.

My question is for the Attorney General. I’ve heard from many of my constituents, both tenants and landlords, concerning the delays they are experiencing when they engage with the Landlord and Tenant Board. There are many reports of the long delays when it comes to hearings to resolve tenancy disputes, causing uncertainty and confusion to both tenants and landlords. The consensus is that the time frames are way too long, the caseloads are too heavy, and service standards need to be strengthened. As the government, we must put forward resolutions that make wait times shorter and results much faster for those involved.

Speaker, can the Attorney General please explain how our government is taking action to address and resolve disputes at the Landlord and Tenant Board?

The Landlord and Tenant Board is part of our province’s tribunal system, which plays an important role in providing accessible dispute resolution to thousands of Ontarians. It is essential that our government continues to make investments that will modernize services so that the people of our province can have confidence in our tribunal.

Speaker, can the Attorney General please explain further how our government is making investments to improve access?

The supplementary question. The member for Hamilton Mountain.

To reply, the Minister of Energy.

Interjections.

Start the clock. The member for Peterborough–Kawartha, next question.

Mr. Speaker, it’s impossible to take this member seriously when she talks about affordability because it was this party, in 2018, that ended the Liberals’ cap-and-trade and fought the carbon tax all the way to the Supreme Court. That was the Premier that led that charge.

The NDP want a bigger carbon tax, Mr. Speaker. The Premier and our Minister of Energy at the time warned the people of Ontario that the carbon tax wasn’t just going to just drive up the cost of utilities higher; it was going to drive up the cost of everything, including groceries in our grocery stores. And you know what? That is exactly what has happened. Life in Ontario is more unaffordable today because of the federal carbon tax which that member and her party supports. Stand with us and fight—

Interjections.

I’ll tell you what we did for the health care workers: We gave the nurses a $5,000 bonus, which was equivalent to a 7.6% increase—the highest in the entire country. And guess what? The NDP and the Liberals voted against it. Mr. Speaker, we gave the PSWs the largest increase they’ve ever seen at $3 per hour. But guess what, Mr. Speaker? The NDP and Liberals voted against it. We made sure we paid for the tuition for the nurses, all expenses, if they worked in a rural community; the NDP voted against it. We have the highest minimum wage in the entire country. Mr. Speaker, the NDP and Liberals voted against it.

We’re making sure we put money back into people’s pockets. Some 60,000 new nurses have been registered since we took office. As the President of the Treasury Board said, 12,000 new nurses came on the job. That is a record. We have 30,000 in the queue at the colleges and universities. That’s what we’re doing for our front-line workers.

I’m just going to go back to the Premier because the words that I would have to say to that are terribly unparliamentary.

Seniors on fixed incomes are struggling the most when it comes to the cost of utilities and natural gas. A senior from Hamilton Mountain shared with me that her utility bills are so high, she had to wear coats and use two to three blankets overnight just to be able to keep warm in her own home.

Interjection.

Can the Premier explain why seniors like my constituent are supposed to survive this affordability crisis when they are being priced out of basic necessities?

Interjection.

Ma question est pour le premier ministre. Speaker, it has been three long years since this government introduced Bill 124. Does the Premier think freezing the wages of health care workers during a pandemic helped with the recruitment, helps with the retention? In hindsight, does the Premier think it was a good idea?

The time has come for this Premier to start working for workers, to treat our health care workers as heroes. Will the Premier withdraw his appeal of Bill 124?

This morning, I have a question for the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. The important work that our miners do is vital to building a strong Ontario, not just the mining industry, but other industries as well. As just one example, mineral resources are needed for our manufacturing sector in making electric vehicles, and over the next decade, critical minerals will be needed in many more areas for our expanding economic markets.

Speaker, workplace safety in this sector is also a condition for success in developing the critical minerals industry for the future of our province. Miners have been the backbone of Ontario’s economy for generations, and we owe it to them and to their families to do more to keep them safe.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what our government is doing to protect the miners of Ontario?

My supplemental question is to the Minister of Mines. As the minister is well aware, through his long and extensive career in the mining industry, there are many occupational risks that workers face every time they start a shift underground. This announcement by the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is another milestone for workplace safety for miners that our province can be proud of. However, there’s always more work to be done when it comes to ensuring workplace safety in this sector.

Speaker, can the Minister of Mines please describe the importance of this announcement in the context of our government’s goal to strengthen Ontario’s critical mineral supply chain?

Thank you to the member for the question and the minister for a great announcement last week.

Speaker, I come from a very proud mining family that’s been in the industry for over 100 years. I lived and worked in the mining communities. Safety continues to be our top priority, but we can always do better. That is why this announcement is so important, because we are improving workplace safety for miners.

As our government works to build more mines to supply the EV revolution, we need the world’s best and brightest to join our industry. This announcement sends a strong message that you can find safe, rewarding careers in Ontario’s mining industry. I am proud to be a part of a government that puts people first and sets them up for exciting jobs that will make them part of a growing supply chain for electric vehicles in this province.

Thank you to the member for Peterborough–Kawartha for that important question.

On Monday of last week, I had the pleasure to join my good friend the Minister of Mines in Sudbury with the president of the United Steelworkers Local 6500 to announce new measures our government is taking to keep Ontario’s more than 29,000 miners safe. Lowering exposure limits to diesel exhaust is something that miners and their unions have been calling for for years, and we’re listening. Working closely with the United Steelworkers, we have acted quickly on their concerns—concerns the previous Liberal government left unanswered. Our government, under the leadership of our Premier, is proposing new regulations that bring Ontario’s exposure limits from the highest in Canada down to the most protective in all of North America.

Speaker, we know there’s more work to be done, and working together with our labour partners and employers, we will keep the men and women in Ontario’s mines safe.

This government has launched the largest health care recruitment strategy in the history of this province, and that member and the members opposite on the opposition side have voted against that. In fact, this year alone, over 12,000 nurses were registered; that is the largest number of registered nurses in the history of this province.

We put over $342 million in last year’s fall economic statement to support the upskilling of certain nurses and health care professionals across this province. And every single time that we have put forward measures, investments, billions of dollars into health care and recruitment, the members opposite have voted against it every single time.