Thank you to the leader of the official opposition. We have been fully transparent with the public in terms of what our intentions are for the site since 2019. We are leasing the lands. We have a tenant in place. We have a development application with the city of Toronto. We are proceeding with environmental assessment work that is underway. We have made tremendous progress on the site.

But what’s most important is the sentiment of the public. People drive by the site and think, “What a waste that we let the site deteriorate to the point of it no longer being safe for people and pedestrians to be able to go there.” We are bringing the site back to life. We will make sure it is there for everyone in Ontario to enjoy.

Our government is making the financial investments necessary to preserve these two treasures, to bring them back to life, to make them a place that everyone can go and enjoy with their families. I 100% think the public is behind us on this one.

I would also like to take the opportunity to introduce a wonderful contributor to Canadian Tamil media, Logan Logendralingam, chief editor and president of Uthayan Canada.

My question is to the Premier. This month, the government doubled down on expensive sprawl. They’ve forced municipalities to open thousands of more hectares of farmland to development. They’ve eliminated density requirements in new subdivisions. And they’ve eliminated targets to build more housing in areas already zoned for development.

My question is this: Why is this minister doubling down on sprawl when there are better ways to build more housing?

Across Ontario, homeowners are seeing their property taxes go up and their services get cut. These tax hikes are going to continue if this government continues to build spawl, because sprawl is much more expensive for municipalities to service than building more homes in existing neighbourhoods.

My question is to the Premier: Why double down on sprawl when there are cheaper and more affordable ways to build the housing that we need?

I want to thank the member for Markham–Unionville and all members of the House for their support on the work we’re doing to boost literacy in this province, by lifting standards, by demanding better and by investing in a plan that goes back to the basics so that our young people can master the skills that matter most—reading, writing and math.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was proud to join the parliamentary assistant to announce $180 million of investment to lift standards and outcomes for young people in the province, to hire a thousand front-line reading specialist educators and math educators, to double the amount of math coaches.

Specific to reading: Supporting the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read report, we are introducing the largest reading screening in the country. Every child from senior kindergarten to grade 2 will be screened this coming September. A new, overhauled language curriculum that follows the science of reading—again, recommended by the Ontario Human Rights Commission—and more staff in place to help those kids who need support to get up to the provincial standard: This is supported by the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, by Dyslexia Canada, by Community Literacy of Ontario and many others who are urging us to move forward with—

We’re going to double the amount of math coaches in our schools. We’re going to ensure every school board in Ontario has one senior lead whose singular mission is improvement in their board. We have a math improvement action team in the ministry for the first time. We’re going to deploy it to school boards who have historically been underperforming. That lower 20% of schools that still need to do better—we now have the means, the investment and the resources to raise those standards.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to mandating new curriculum that is relevant to young people, like life and job skills, we’re investing, with over 381 new math educators in the classroom. This is all designed to lift standards for better schools, better outcomes and better jobs for the young people of this province.

My question is for the Minister of Education. Ontario’s education system must prioritize teaching students the skills they need to succeed. The most fundamental of skills that students must learn are reading and writing. Without a comprehensive understanding of these two subjects, we know that students cannot progress with their learning in a meaningful way. This situation has been made all the more serious as an outcome of disruption to in-person learning.

This is why it is imperative to help our students gain or regain proficiency in these subjects, so they are able to excel in their classrooms and in their lives. Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is supporting reading and writing skills development for our students?

However, there are other fundamental skills our students need to learn, as many of the jobs of the future require an understanding in math and other STEM subjects. Students’ math scores across North America and in Ontario have seen an alarming decline over the past several years. With the return to in-person learning this school year, our government must have a comprehensive plan to help our students develop their math skills.

Speaker, can the minister please describe how our government is supporting math learning recovery, as well as plans to continue improved mathematics understanding for Ontarian students?

And the final supplementary.

The next question.

The supplementary question.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps I was not clear in my previous answer. The science centre has been in existence since 1979. Very little over the past number of years has been given to the science centre in order to rehabilitate it and keep it alive. It is falling apart. During COVID, in fact, we had to close a bridge to make sure that those attending the science centre could be safe and the workers could be safe.

You said it yourself: It is a treasure. We are doing everything we can to preserve it, such as looking for a new opportunity, a new home, so that many children in the future could enjoy this wonderful treasure that we have.

My question is to the Premier. Last week, this government overruled years of work and consultation by local representatives in Waterloo region by unilaterally rewriting the local official plan, moving urban boundaries and violating the countryside line to open previously protected lands to development. The Premier went so far as to call this a “no-brainer,” insulting both the people who worked on the original plan and the people of Waterloo, who know it is neither necessary nor wanted. And there was zero consultation.

My question to the Premier: Why does he think he’s so smart? Why does he think he’s smarter than the people of Waterloo region and the people who serve in that community that he’s dictating this plan to?

Speaker, the circumstances around this government’s paving-over and carve-up of the greenbelt and this continued lack of transparency by the Premier means that every land use decision by this government is tainted by suspicion. That’s the fact. When the Premier muses about massive changes to provincial institutions with no evidence at all, not even pretending to have community involvement, it raises questions.

So I have to ask, Speaker—to the Premier, again—are any developers with ties to the Conservatives pushing to move the Ontario Science Centre?

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?

Thank you to the member opposite for that question. It’s a very important question, and our government is taking the issue very, very seriously in terms of the investments that are being made in northern communities, remote communities and, of course, Indigenous communities. There is no exception. We are following through and making investments.

In October 2021, we announced $36 million for community-led Indigenous mental health and addictions service organizations, including supports for students, victim services and an Indigenous-driven anti-opioid strategy.

Our Addictions Recovery Fund was designed to boost capacity in communities of the greatest need: 400 beds, 7,000 spaces, 56% of them in northern and Indigenous communities, in addition to $7 million for land-based care—because we know that culturally safe services need to be delivered to the people where they are.

I want to thank the honourable member for his question. In fact, in this last budget, under the leadership of our Premier, we recognized the urgent need for adequate housing to meet the basic needs of many First Nations who are moving from their communities into towns and cities like Kenora, Dryden and Sioux Lookout.

That’s why we invested significant resources to ensure that the Homelessness Prevention Program, moving forward, provides those additional houses. It’s sensitive to the nuances of housing requirements for Indigenous peoples displaced from their home communities and are at risk of homelessness, and require wraparound services from community support organizations. It’s a fully integrated model, Mr. Speaker, and we’re endeavouring to address those matters—

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.

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?

Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government has a plan to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. We’re pleased to work with councils on their official plans, as those in this chamber who served at the municipal level, and just like our guests that are here for Good Roads, know that official plans are the most important playbooks for development in their community. We want to ensure that all of the official plans that are before us reflect our government’s policies.

But don’t take my word for it. Let’s hear from Waterloo regional chair Karen Redman:

“The regional official plan is not a one-and-done.... We always acknowledged that when you’re looking at the kind of rapid growth that we’re experiencing, we would have to revisit the regional official plan over time....

“We know that we’re going to grow, so what we need to do is ensure that it’s well thought out planning, that there’s a variety of housing, that we have townhomes, that we have stacked townhomes, that we have rental accommodation for people who are going to come to the community.”

We agree with Chair Redman, and that’s exactly how we moved forward, Speaker.

“I think the main parts of the regional official plan have been adopted and that includes things like protecting the Countryside Line, things like protecting things like the major transit areas in the city of Kitchener.”

“It also recognizes that there were some areas that we felt, for example in southwest Kitchener, that those lands should be, in fact, included....

“I think the decision of the minister recognizes there were lots of strong arguments about why those lands needed to be included.”

We’re going to continue to stand with Mayor Vrbanovic and Chair Redman as we move forward to build 1.5 million homes by 2031.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The supplementary question.

The minister will know that Waterloo region relies mostly on an aquifer for drinking water, yet no analysis has been done to determine the threshold for servicing water or waste systems. This government has gutted the Grand River Conservation Authority, allowing development on wetlands. This government has approved a property in this plan called Big Springs for development that the region has opposed for decades due to hydrological sensitivity.

This approval runs counter to groundwater sources protection. It’s almost like you’ve forgotten all about Walkerton. Source water protection is key to our health, and key to our economy and viability.

Can this minister, then, if he’s so proud of this plan, produce the hydrological studies that will reassure our citizens? Or are you just so willing to gamble the health and well-being and economy of the people of Waterloo region?

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 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.