Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

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

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.

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.

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?

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy and move its adoption.

And the supplementary question.

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1144 to 1300.

Report adopted.

Pursuant to standing order 110(f)(9), the report is deemed to be adopted by the House.

Report deemed adopted.

Mr. Lecce moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 98, An Act to amend various Acts relating to education and child care / Projet de loi 98, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne l’éducation et la garde d’enfants.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

I’m not sure where that question is coming from. We made a historic investment, under the leadership of Premier Ford and Minister Bethlenfalvy: $202 million, additional, for the Homelessness Prevention Program. Members were in their ridings last week for a break week, and some of the announcements that have come out of our municipal partners have been amazing. With this extra $202 million, our Homelessness Prevention Program now provides funding of almost $700 million to provide service managers—like the one that the member opposite just talked about—additional funds to keep shelters open, to build capacity.

Definitely, we’ll be reaching out on what the city of London will be doing with the extra dollars that the government just gave them and that the member opposite voted against.

My question is to the Premier.

In the middle of the night, outside a local shelter, Olivia’s makeshift tent went up in flames. The shelter beds inside weren’t available because provincial funding had run out. Olivia suffered severe burns to nearly half of her body. She’s now fighting for her life. I want to send strength to Olivia’s parents, Sean and Stephanie, as well as her friends and the service providers who knew her so well.

The city of London has double the number of unhoused people compared to two years ago—double—with 1,868 lives hanging in the balance, and the province is ignoring it.

Will this government do the right thing: invest in affordable and supportive housing and wraparound supports, expand rent supplement programs, and fund municipalities properly to ensure that shelters don’t have to close when the need is so high?

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Bills 23 and 39 are the Ford government’s latest attempt to remove protected land from the greenbelt, allowing wealthy developers to profit over bulldozing over 7,000 acres of farmland;

“Whereas green spaces and farmland are what we rely on to grow our food, support natural habitats, prevent flooding, and mitigate from future climate disasters with Ontario losing 319.6 acres of farmland daily to development;

“Whereas the government’s Housing Affordability Task Force found there are plenty of places to build homes without destroying the greenbelt, showcasing that Bill 23 was never about housing but about making the rich richer;

“Whereas the power of conservation authorities will be taken away, weakening environmental protections, and preventing future development;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately repeal Bills 23 and 39, stop all plans to further remove protected land from the greenbelt and protect existing farmland in the province....”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature and give it to page Senna.

The member is right. It should be easier to tap and get down to watch the Leafs win the cup this year when you’re taking public transit, Speaker. That’s what we’re doing. Through last summer and this winter, we introduced credit card tap on the Presto across GO and the 905. Speaker, I’m glad to say that across participating agencies, riders have now tapped with their credit cards one million times.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Metrolinx is now also working to implement debit card tap very soon in the 905 and across the GO network. What’s more, Metrolinx, on behalf of our government, has done great work with the TTC to update Presto devices so both credit card and debit tap payment features can be brought to the hard-working people of the Six later this year.

Speaker, it’s not enough just to build record transit, which we’re doing under the leadership of this Premier. We’re bringing game-changing initiatives, making it easier for connecting to the grid and getting down to watch our boys in blue.

In contrast to the previous Liberal government, with its transit hikes over six straight years when they were in power, Metrolinx, under our government, has not increased transit fares for the past four years.

What’s more, our GO affordability pilot provided a 50% reimbursement for applicable GO riders in Peel region.

We’re also delivering for the hard-working youth and students of this province, because no matter where you’re enrolled, if you’re between the ages of 13 and 19, we nearly doubled the youth and post-secondary discount—up to 40% off the standard fare on GO and UP Express.

Let’s not forget that we eliminated double fares for riders connecting to GO Transit and major 905 transit agencies, saving up to $1,800 a year, making it more affordable to get down to watch our Jays in action this summer or wherever you need to go.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario” from the good people of the Kenogami area:

“Whereas the purpose of this petition is to ensure the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing promptly and consistently enforces the rules in their bulletin (Information bulletin regarding off-grid development in unincorporated areas—dated November 30, 2022) when it comes to current and future off-grid developments in northern Ontario;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“That the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing put a cease and desist on current development of off-grid developments in unincorporated townships until environmental compliance and prerequisite consultation with First Nations is completed.”

I agree with it and will add my signature to the other thousands of names.

This bill enacts Garrett’s Legacy Act (Requirements for Movable Soccer Goals), 2023. It responds to the tragic loss of a young man in my riding by the name of Garrett Mills. Unfortunately, there have been many other such fatalities.

The act establishes requirements for organizations and entities respecting the secure application of movable soccer goals that they make available for use by members of the public. The act provides for inspections and requires the minister to establish a mechanism to report complaints of alleged non-compliance with the act.

Ms. Stiles moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 100, An Act to amend the Members’ Integrity Act, 1994 with respect to fees, gifts and personal benefits / Projet de loi 100, Loi modifiant la Loi de 1994 sur l’intégrité des députés en ce qui concerne les honoraires, les dons et les avantages personnels.

The government is introducing the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act. Our new legislative changes would, if passed, improve transparency for parents and ensure Ontario’s publicly funded education system is unified in its focus on a back-to-basics approach for math, STEM and literacy, which will enhance the outcomes of all students. Our proposed changes would build on the work currently under way to ensure that our students have the supports they need to achieve their goals and succeed in all endeavours.

Mr. Bresee moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 99, An Act to provide for safety measures respecting movable soccer goals / Projet de loi 99, Loi prévoyant des mesures de sécurité pour les buts de soccer mobiles.

Your committee begs to report the following bill without amendment:

Bill 69, An Act to amend various Acts with respect to infrastructure / Projet de loi 69, Loi modifiant diverses lois sur les infrastructures.