Speaker, there’s no doubt that life-saving dialysis treatment is something we want to be able to expand and ensure that people can get as close to home as possible. In fact, in the north, Ontario Health has identified capital initiatives to expand dialysis stations in Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Dryden Regional Health Centre, Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora and WAHA to improve dialysis in the province of Ontario. We know that people need these life-saving interventions as close to home as possible, and that is exactly what we’re doing with Ontario Health.

Speaker, through you to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: AMO, representing 444 municipalities across Ontario, has calculated there is a $5-billion infrastructure revenue shortfall resulting from Bill 23. We’ve asked the minister repeatedly if he’ll keep his promise to “make municipalities whole” so that these municipalities do not have to raise taxes or cut services. Will the minister commit today to restore the $5 billion in lost revenue that AMO has identified and amend the budget accordingly? Yes or no?

My question is for the Minister of Red Tape Reduction. Whether you’re a business owner looking to grow your operations or an individual trying to access government programs and services, the last thing anyone needs is to navigate a complex web of burdensome processes and never-ending paperwork. Needless red tape makes life more difficult for all of us. Fixing outdated, complicated processes will save time and money for all Ontarians. That’s why our government has focused on finding meaningful solutions to make life easier for people and businesses across many sectors.

But there are always more opportunities to make further improvements. Can the minister please explain how the Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act will help Ontarians?

But our government must always be focused on doing more to deliver on our commitment to making government services more convenient for the people. Can the minister please elaborate on how our government’s red tape reduction packages are making life easier for Ontarians?

I want to thank the member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound for that important question and for his continued work on helping us reduce red tape right across this province.

No matter which small business or industry association I meet with, the first thing they say to me when we sit down is, “We wish every jurisdiction had a ministry dedicated to reducing red tape.” This is because the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, spent decades creating red tape, killing businesses and driving jobs out of our province.

The measures in the spring 2023 red tape reduction package, if passed, will deliver real results for people and businesses right across our province, measures like helping to connect every community across our province to high-speed Internet by 2025.

After 15 years of red tape and excuses under the previous Liberal government, our government is cutting through it all and getting it done.

In the fall 2022 report we reported $576 million in annual savings for businesses, not-for-profits and the broader public sector. I’m proud to stand here today and announce we have now reached nearly $700 million in annual savings.

This, of course, has paved the way for massive investments in our great province in critical minerals, in tech start-ups and in the electric vehicle sector totalling over $17 billion. There are over 660,000 new manufacturing jobs since we took office in 2018. Our latest introduction of the red tape reduction package will help us do even more.

I would encourage all the members on the opposite side, NDP and Liberals, to please get onside, support initiatives that we are introducing, so we can continue to make our province competitive.

Thanks to the multiple streams available under the revamped NOHFC, we are creating new career pathways for people in the north.

This is the time of year when university students start looking for summer jobs. Many hope that there will be opportunities for them back in their hometowns, and we are investing in internship opportunities to help people stay connected locally. These internships have high success rates of job retention in the future and help people create new connections and opportunities locally.

Since the beginning of the new year, we announced nearly $1.5 million of investments in internships in my riding of Thunder Bay–Atikokan. Thanks to the NOHFC, the film industry in Thunder Bay is seeing the creation of four internship programs: Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre to hire four research assistant interns and a human resources intern; Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute to hire three research assistant interns; Atikokan General Hospital to hire a rehabilitation aide; and the Museum of Atikokan to hire a curatorial and archivist assistant intern—

This week, children from the legacy autism program are beginning the transition to our schools with no plan from the government, no communication with school boards and no funding to schools to support them.

Michele MacAdam, who is here with us today, is one of thousands of parents across the province who are concerned by this government’s failure to put in place a plan. Michele’s daughters are 10 and 12. They are not toilet-trained. They are non-verbal, so this transition can’t even be explained to them, and their safety will be at risk without support. They are flight risks. They need to be watched at all times to make sure they don’t put things in their mouth and choke. They need supports in school to stay safe and thrive, and this government is giving them nothing. Why is the Premier setting these kids up to fail?

Thank you very much.

The supplementary question: the member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas.

I want to thank the NDP for asking that question. If they did their numbers, they would realize that we have $190 billion of infrastructure going in across the province, building new schools, building new hospitals, building highways and bridges and roads right across this province. It’s unprecedented—the most money ever spent in infrastructure in the history not just of Ontario, in the history of Canada. No matter if we’re doing the largest transit project in North America, making sure that we build a subway to get people out of the cars, we’re going to continue supporting the municipalities, all 444 municipalities.

And I’ve just got to talk about the housing. We got Stats Canada figures: 445,000 people arrived in Ontario. Where are we going to house them? We’re going to make sure we build the homes. We’re going to make sure that we build the 1.5 million homes and have affordable housing, attainable housing and non-profit housing for the community.

For children with special education needs, we believe so strongly that they need support to succeed in our school system, given the exceptional challenges they face. This school year, and every year, we’ve increased funding for special education overall by $92 million. That is highest level of investment in the history of Ontario. It’s at $3.25 billion today, and we recognize there’s more to do.

Specifically for children with autism, we doubled the behaviour expertise amount from $15 million to $30 million; $25 million more for staffing. Today, when compared to the former Liberals, there are 3,200 additional EAs hired and working with those very children who need support. We have fully subsidized professional development AQs for educators to lift their standards for better communications with those children, and as well, we’ve expanded the After School Skills Development Program to every school board in Toronto. We know there’s more to do, and I look forward to working with members opposite to improve the lives of those kids.

The government boasts about increasing funding for education to the highest level ever, but they don’t take into account inflation. There’s an inflationary cut of $40 million to school boards across the province. Toronto Catholic schools are facing at least a $35-million shortfall. That’s going to cause at least 120 staff cuts, and it may impact Amy Moledzki, who’s one of the parents in the House today. Her daughter has autism. Her daughter is non-verbal, is a flight risk and needs assistance with toileting. She’s in a special education class in a Toronto Catholic school. She’s worried that the cuts, because of the funding shortfall that your government is handing to TCDSB and other boards across this province—she’s afraid that they may lose some of the staff who support her daughter and that she won’t get the supports she needs to stay in school.

Why won’t the government put the safety of children first and provide adequate funding for special education?

Again, I remind the honourable gentleman that the initiatives that have been brought in by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing have resulted in 28 of 29 municipalities coming on board, because they understand how important it is that we continue to build homes across the province of Ontario. Now, in order to do that, it has meant that we’ve needed to utilize some of our natural heritage in order to do that, while protecting even more of it.

What does that mean for a community like Stouffville? Let’s talk about Stouffville. What this means in a community like Stouffville is that new homes will be built in Stouffville, in a community that has two new GO train stations, with a vibrant downtown that is looking for people to work in all of the small businesses that are thriving because of the policies that we have made; a community that has new school; a community that has state-of-the-art community centres; a community where, if you are a senior, you have to leave our community to go live somewhere else because there is nowhere for you to live. That’s what we are in part solving in a community like Stouffville, and that’s—

My question is back to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

It is clear that this housing plan is not working. And just like in communities all across Ontario, housing is critical in my city of Hamilton. But it can’t exist without infrastructure, and right now, Hamilton is facing an infrastructure deficit of $3.5 billion. The cuts to municipalities in your Bill 23 have left Hamilton with the difficult choice of raising taxes or cutting services that people rely on, services like waste collection and road repairs.

So my question, on behalf of all of the taxpayers in this province and all these municipalities: Will the minister commit to making Hamilton whole for this lost revenue?

My question is for the Minister of Colleges and Universities.

We know that there is a troubling shortage of doctors in Ontario, including in my riding of Brampton West and in the communities across Peel region. Unfortunately, critical investments into the health care needs of our province were sadly not a priority for the previous Liberal government. Despite repeated warnings from the medical profession about physician shortages, the Liberals ignored the situation and even cut medical residency positions in Ontario. That is why it is critical that our government prioritize investments that will support our health care system and follow through on the commitment to attract and retain new doctors.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is addressing the doctor shortage in Ontario?

However, the reality is that the shortage of doctors affects regions and communities across Ontario differently, depending on their needs and circumstances. For example, with the rapidly growing population in my riding of Brampton West and across Peel region, there is an increased demand for family doctors. Our government must recognize the unique needs across our province and implement realistic solutions. Can the minister please elaborate on how our government is investing in medical schools to meet the needs of communities throughout Ontario?

Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Energy. Last week, media in New Brunswick reported that OPG was in negotiations with New Brunswick Power to potentially buy the ailing Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station. We’ve gone through this kind of acquisition effort before when the six-million-dollar man ran Hydro One. We need to focus on Ontario and its needs, not on problem plants in other provinces.

Why is OPG focused on New Brunswick when we need it to focus on providing affordable and sustainable power in Ontario?

Why should Ontario ratepayers take on a project that could stick them with huge debts?

My question is for the Minister of Energy. Individuals, families, farms and businesses all across our province struggle to pay their electricity bills. However, our government respects the people of Ontario, and our focus is on keeping costs down. Families, workers and businesses are looking to our government to help them get through these challenging times, particularly reducing their energy costs and helping them to make life more affordable.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is helping hard-working Ontario families save money on their energy bills?

Our government must continue to build on what has already been accomplished to bring down costs and provide help to Ontarians after the Liberals squandered our province’s clean-energy advantage for many years. Can the minister please elaborate on what programs are available for those who need help the most?

I thank you for the opportunity to present my question on behalf of the people of Scarborough–Guildwood. This will likely be one of my last questions in this chamber. After four elections and 10 years serving as the member for Scarborough–Guildwood, I will be resigning my seat in the coming weeks in order to seek a different forum to serve the people of Scarborough and everyone in Toronto.

So, Speaker, my final question in this House is for the Premier. Premier, as you know, I have been a champion for the Scarborough subway. Of course, you have been a champion for the Scarborough subway too, as well as your late brother Rob when he was mayor. As you know, tunnelling for the Scarborough subway began in January, and it is slated to open in 2030.

Premier, I know that we are in agreement that the people of Scarborough and everyone in Toronto deserve the best public transportation possible when they travel for work, school or pleasure. Knowing that, how can we provide, from the province, the best support to the TTC?

Mr. Speaker, even with a flat enrolment in the province of Ontario, we’ve increased base funding when compared to the former Liberals by 27%. That is a significant step forward for those kids.

To the member opposite: We accept there’s more to do. It’s why in this budget, in every budget, we’ve increased special education funding. We accept that there’s more to do. It’s why we invested an additional $92 million this year alone. It’s why we hired 3,200 additional EAs. It’s why we hired 7,000 more education workers.

But I think the fundamental question parents are also asking is, why are the members opposite opposed to the very measures that improve the lives of these kids? You have a track record of systematically opposing investments that help those children, and I would hope that in the budget you will vote for measures that incrementally improve the lives of every child, most especially kids with special education needs in Ontario.

I want to thank the member from Whitby for that great question this morning. We have cleaned up the Liberal hydro mess, but we’re still doing more under the leadership of Premier Ford.

I’m pleased to inform the House this morning that as of today, we’re raising the income eligibility threshold for Ontario’s Energy Affordability Program by almost $12,000 for a family of four, $8,000 per couple. That’s going to mean thousands of additional families in Ontario can receive free home efficiency upgrades like insulation, like smart thermostats, energy-efficient refrigerators and air conditioners. These free upgrades can help eligible families save up to $750 a year on their energy bills, while also conserving energy and maintaining overall reliability of Ontario’s electricity grid.

The Energy Affordability Program has already provided free upgrades to about 47,000 families across Ontario, and with today’s announcement we’re going to help a whole lot more.

At the same time, we’re saving the average residential family $168 per year in the Ontario Electricity Rebate—lots of programs, Mr. Speaker. While families had to choose between heating and eating when the Liberal government was in charge in Ontario, we have stabilized rates. We stabilized our electricity system, and we’re providing targeted supports to families that really need the help.

The folks at OPG are world leaders when it comes to providing clean, reliable, affordable nuclear power to our province, from the large-scale Candu reactors that we have in Ontario to, now, the development of the new small modular reactor that’s going to be developed at Darlington. Our government has continued to watch what’s happening down at Point Lepreau with OPG and we will inform the House all the way along. But again, I just want to confirm to the member opposite, we’re not going to sign bad deals like these guys that you supported did. We’re going to—

Yesterday, we signed a massive, massive deal in Port Hope—the member’s home riding—at Cameco, a $2.8-billion deal to extend the Candu fuel contract with Bruce Power, one of the largest nuclear facilities in the entire world right here in Ontario, a facility that has been providing clean, reliable, affordable nuclear power. I have to ask the member opposite, why would he oppose a technology that is providing clean, reliable electricity—60% of Ontario’s power every day? Why do the NDP not support our nuclear fleet?

I’ll remind members to make their comments through the Chair, not directly across the floor of the House.

The next question.

The supplementary question.