For 48 hours.

Tell us about the stuff you don’t like.

Of course it is.

Yes. Amazing, eh, and I only have nine and a half fingers to count, too.

We’re not opposed to folding three into one, but we need to be assured that we don’t miss anything and that we ensure that people are protected, because you don’t want to be the farmer who finds out that, oh, while we were folding these three acts into one, we missed this. You don’t want to be that person. Maybe that’s never going to happen. Quite frankly, I haven’t had time to research it enough. Quite frankly, I’m probably not qualified to do the full research on these three acts. It’s going to take a lot of legal expertise to make sure this is all right. Hopefully the government has the horsepower and they have done this. Maybe this act, schedule 30, is perhaps an improvement over the three other acts. I hope so.

Interjections.

Speaker, I apologize; I should be talking to you. I should be, and then I wouldn’t be heckled by the government. But I don’t mind the government’s heckling.

Interjections.

If you really want to help farmers—and you talk a lot about farmers in this bill. I just finished talking about the risks in farming, how prices go up and prices go down, and sometimes the prices are below what the cost of production is. That’s very bad, because as the members well know, agriculture is one of the biggest job producers in this province, and the foundation of agriculture is the production that comes from the farm.

We disagree on one thing a lot lately: We think that we have to maximize our available farmland, the government doesn’t seem to want to talk about farmland, but regardless, the production is important. The fact that farmers need to be able to make a profit from that production to stay afloat and to keep producing—there’s nothing that a farmer wants to do more than grow things, but they have to be able to make money doing it.

The one thing that this government could have done and has chosen not to do is lift the cap on the Risk Management Program. That’s actually what the commodity groups have been asking for and repeatedly asking for. I don’t know one commodity group who has actually specifically asked for schedule 30.

We do decimals.

Well off.

Duffins Creek.

No, John. No.

Yes, they did.

My thanks to the member opposite, and I always appreciate hearing from the member, who obviously has a wide variety of experiences in different sectors. My family’s background is in dairy, and yours is as well.

I did want to let you know that we had the opportunity to do a bit more research into your questions around the Milk Act and specifically some of the portions around regulation 761, which has a number of the changes. It’s a regulatory change under that, and I’m happy to send over the information so that you have a little bit more on that.

Interjection.

But I wonder if the member opposite could speak a little bit about the changes for allowing virtual or hybrid meetings for condominium acts, because I understand there’s long distances that people in your riding would have to travel in order to be able to attend some meetings, and I’m wondering if opening up more virtual meetings would be a good thing for your constituents.

Order.

Interjections.

Which one?

Madam Speaker, I’m pleased to rise and speak on Bill 91, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act. If passed, this bill will pave the way for better services, help Ontario grow and save people time and money.

First of all, I would like to congratulate our Minister of Red Tape Reduction, the Honourable Parm Gill, and parliamentary assistant Sam Oosterhoff on their great work in compiling this legislation. I would also like to thank the hard-working staff at the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction for their efforts.

Madam Speaker, I’m sure you’ve heard through your consultations with stakeholders, just as I have heard when speaking to people in my riding of Carleton, how important it is to reduce red tape in order to build a stronger economy and improve services for Ontarians.

In 2017, under the previous Liberal government, Ontario had the highest costs of compliance in Canada, totalling $33,000 per business, $4,000 more than any other province. Thankfully, since 2018, our government has taken historic action to reduce red tape, leading to almost $700 million in annual savings for Ontario businesses. We are building stronger supply chains, helping businesses grow and saving people more time and money. When it comes to eliminating unnecessary red tape, only our government will get it done.

Madam Speaker, we’ve had a number of supportive people and industries reach out to tell us how much they appreciate what we are doing in this bill, Bill 91. For example, Michelle Noble, the executive director of the Ontario Environment Industry Association, has said that Ontario’s environment and clean tech industry welcomes the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce red tape and we look forward to continuing to work with the government to identify ways to reduce red tape in our sector.

This is why our government knows that reducing red tape is a key part of building a stronger economy and improving services for Ontarians. As such, we will continue to bring forward burden-reduction packages that will save businesses more than half a billion dollars each year in compliance costs.

To begin my remarks on this important legislation, I would like to briefly summarize what this important bill will do for Ontario.

Bill 91 includes 42 new initiatives that will save businesses, not-for-profits and people more than $120 million in net annual regulatory compliance costs. Among other things, this legislation will accelerate timelines for municipal approvals to build broadband faster for 700,000 homes and businesses. It will also strengthen occupational health and safety in the mining sector by changing regulations to reflect modern technology and better protect workers. This legislation will enable the next phases of carbon storage innovation by piloting technology that has the potential to store 30 years’ worth of carbon emissions.

Madam Speaker, this legislation will also implement the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support, reducing frustration for more than 8,500 families involved in the province’s child and spousal support order system by enabling enforcement of support orders in 34 additional countries across four continents. Finally, this bill will improve safety on Ontario’s roads by updating the Highway Traffic Act to prohibit drivers from overtaking a working snowplow, unless a full lane is available. As you can see, Madam Speaker, this legislation is comprehensive and robust.

Now, I would like to talk about some of the specific instances of red tape that this legislation will reduce. More specifically, I would like to speak on what this will mean for my riding of Carleton and the great people of Carleton that I have been blessed to represent and serve in the Ontario Legislature since 2018.

Carleton is home to several farms, including Stanley’s Olde Maple Lane Farm, Rideau Pines Farm, Foster Family Farm, Abby Hill Farms, Schouten Dairy Farms, Millers Farm and Market, the Log Cabin Orchard, Mike’s Garden Harvest and Carleton Mushroom, just to name a few, and also home to numerous farm families, some of whom have been here for generations, including the Velthuis, the Acres, the Pattersons, the Shouldices and so many more.

Carleton’s farmers are key producers of fruit, vegetables, honey, lamb, beef, chicken, eggs, dairy, maple syrup, honey cash crop and so much more. That’s why our government is making it easier for Carleton and Ontario farmers through this legislation.

Madam Speaker, we are introducing in schedule 30—and I want to talk about schedule 30. I’ve been reading about it since we introduced this legislation and I want to focus most of my time on schedule 30 of this bill, because it’s actually very, very important for my riding of Carleton. Schedule 30 introduces legislation called Protecting Farmers from Non-Payment Act (Regulating Agricultural Product Dealers and Storage Operators). The purpose of this bill is to provide efficient and effective business risk management tools to farmers to help address the business risks that slow payment and no payment may create, as well as the risks that arise when a storage operator fails to return a designated agricultural product to its owner upon demand. The proposed schedule seeks to protect the financial interests of farmers, like those in my riding of Carleton, so that they can confidently invest and grow their businesses in Ontario. The proposed bill would, if passed, combine the Farm Products Payments Act, the Grains Act and the Livestock and Livestock Products Act into one act, and it would also update the legislative framework governing the financial protection programs for Ontario’s agricultural sector.

The proposed changes to the legislative framework governing the financial protection programs fall within six general themes. It includes flexible administration of the act. The proposed changes would allow for greater flexibility in terms of how the act is administered. This could, for example, include allowing industry to administer all or part of an act via a delegated authority. It would allow for the expansion of financial protection models and greater flexibility for other industries. It would allow easy expansion of protection to other industries. It would allow greater flexibility in financial protection models for other industries. It would update board governance and powers. It would modernize the licensing process. It would enhance compliance tools. And most importantly, it would streamline the appeals process.

Enforcement of this proposed bill would be undertaken by provincial officers. Offences would be processed in accordance with the Provincial Offences Act and prosecuted by provincial prosecutors. If this proposed bill is passed, it would come into force and effect upon proclamation.

Madam Speaker, our government is also proposing amending regulation 761, milk and milk products, under the Milk Act—that’s so many “milks” in one sentence. Sorry, I’m going to repeat that. Our government is also proposing amending regulation 761, milk and milk products, under the Milk Act, which would reduce burden on the dairy processing industry while improving food safety. There is a thriving dairy industry in Carleton, so I’m very pleased that our bill introduces and includes this regulatory change.

Finally, our government is proposing updates to nutrient management tables 1 and 2, which will ensure proper sizing of barns and manure storage to reduce the risk of negative environmental impacts from undersized storages. The updated tables will also provide more accurate estimates of the nutrient content so the land application of manure and other nutrients can occur at optimum rates for both crop growth and to protect the environment. Madam Speaker, this legislation will get it done for farmers in my riding, and I am so excited for these important updates and changes to burdensome red tape.

As I have already alluded to, my riding of Carleton is predominantly rural, and much of the riding lacks reliable access to high-speed Internet. This legislation will make changes in the right direction to ensure that we will have reliable access to high-speed Internet throughout the riding. Ontario is proposing legislative amendments under the Building Broadband Faster Act, 2021, that would ensure Internet service providers can plan, design and build high-speed Internet projects as quickly as possible. This includes enabling more efficient collection of utility infrastructure data to optimize routing for projects, to plan networks and to prevent delays in the permitting process between municipalities and ISPs.

Our government is also updating the Building Broadband Faster Act, 2021 guideline to provide greater clarity and improved guidance to high-speed Internet stakeholders on processes and timelines. A major component of the update is a new process to help resolve disputes between parties and to work with sectors to ensure that they comply with the laws and regulations that are helping to build broadband across the province faster. The updated guideline will also provide more clarity on the Ministry of Transportation’s efforts to speed up their permit process for provincially funded broadband projects and will provide additional guidance on cost-sharing for using electric infrastructure to build these projects. Our government is committed to reliable high-speed Internet access for rural Ontario, and this legislation will help to bring just that.

Moreover, in my riding of Carleton, the predominant means of transportation is by automobile. There simply is no Ottawa public transportation that goes out that far to Carleton. Everyone has to rely on an automobile if they want to get somewhere, and that’s why this important legislation will help improve road safety in my riding of Carleton. Ontario is proposing to amend the Highway Traffic Act by adding clauses that will prohibit drivers from overtaking snowplows working in a staggered formation across highway lanes. The proposed amendments intend to reduce motor vehicle collisions with snowplows on higher-speed, multi-lane highways. This will make the public safer and reduce burden on emergency responders, health care services, the insurance sector and the legal system. Most of all, they will keep our roads safer in my riding of Carleton and across the province of Ontario.

Moreover, to improve safety for people needing a tow and those working in the towing industry, Ontario is taking steps to implement a certification program that will require tow operators, tow truck drivers and vehicle storage operators meet certain requirements to operate in Ontario.

Help is also on the way for commercial drivers in Carleton and across Ontario. Our government is proposing a change to legislation to ensure commercial vehicle operators who purchased equipment between 2020 and 2023 will not to have to undergo a costly retrofit. In emergency driving situations, mainly on icy or wet roads, truck drivers can lift a piece of equipment called a lift axel to make driving safer. Since 2018-19, the law required lift axels to work in a specific way that the Ontario-based company making lift axels for 70% of the market was simply not able to manufacture. The company told the government they were able to provide another solution that meets the needs of trucking companies and the intent of the law. This proposed change would provide more flexibility to companies that manufacture the equipment the steerable lift axel controls, while continuing to support road safety, and saving trucking businesses time and money.

In summary, our government is getting it done for road users across this province.

Now, as Premier Ford and our team have shown time and time again, our government is committed to the success of small business owners, because we know that they are the lifeblood of Ontario’s economy. Small businesses are all across my riding of Carleton, and they are opening up every day. Every day, I am seeing more and more businesses.

In fact, just the other day there was—I’m going to pull this up, because it’s on my Facebook. One thing my office does is we like to keep track of all the businesses and all the companies that are opening up across my riding of Carleton. My riding is very big, there are a lot of communities. My team and I work really hard to keep track of all of this. One thing that we do is, when we see a new business open up, we like to present them with a certificate just to let them know, “Welcome to the neighbourhood, welcome to the community.” Oftentimes when the businesses receive one of these certificates from me and my office, they will usually post about it on social media, and literally five hours ago a company called Bright Hearing and Tinnitus Centre, which just opened up in Richmond and serves folks in Richmond, Stittsville, Kanata and Ottawa West, posted a certificate that I had provided them on their social media account thanking me for welcoming them to the community. Bright Hearing and Tinnitus Centre is just one example of the numerous businesses and small businesses across the riding of Carleton that are opening up, and it’s our responsibility to support them, because they are the lifeblood of Ontario’s economy.

That’s why I’m pleased that our legislation will implement the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative. This is expected to reduce barriers and provide companies in Ontario with greater access to public procurement opportunities, helping them to sell more goods and services and create jobs in their local communities. The implementation of the initiative will help Ontario’s economic growth and build businesses and communities across the province while ensuring greater security of the province’s supply chain.

I also want to speak about the important changes that this legislation is going to be making to child support legislation in this province. Children deserve to be supported in the best way that their families can, and that is why our government is taking action to implement the 2007 Hague Convention. The 2007 Hague Convention is an international treaty that applies to obtaining, changing and enforcing spousal and child support orders when parents or spouses live in different countries.

As a former international trade lawyer, Madam Speaker, I can appreciate and understand how important this legislation really is, because one of the most frustrating things for parents or families is when they have a court order for something here in Ontario, but they’re not able to enforce it in another jurisdiction. This change will provide families relief. So I’m very, very pleased about this.

If this legislation is passed to implement the convention in the province of Ontario and the government of Canada ratifies the convention, then current procedures would be streamlined and more cost efficient. That’s important because, again as an international trade lawyer, one of the things that I worked on was international law, and while we are happy to implement the convention in this province, the convention will not be actual law until the government of Canada ratifies the convention and makes it law. So one thing that I think we need to do, not just as a government but as a province—and I’m asking all MPPs on all sides of the House here—is to put pressure on our federal government to make sure that they ratify this convention, that they ratify this and bring it into Canadian law so that Ontario families can rely on this convention to get the support they need.

Speaking of young people, we are also making important strides for the post-secondary education sector. These partners are crucial in ensuring that young people are trained for the jobs of the future. Career colleges play an important role in Ontario’s post-secondary landscape, providing learners with the knowledge and skills they need to get a job in today’s workplace. Moreover, our government is enhancing collection tools for training institutions under the Private Career Colleges Act.

Madam Speaker, I see that my time is running short. There really is so much that I want to speak about. Every single initiative in this piece of legislation—and here’s the bill. I don’t know if I’m allowed to use props or not, but I’m holding the bill in my hand.

Further questions?

First of all, thank you for the master class today, in an hour lead.

I just have to say that the government—it’s a remarkable achievement, because they put forward a bill that’s six times longer than the budget. It’s hard to see if people are being helped by this. In fact, I would also like to comment that we haven’t had appropriate time, as the loyal opposition, to go through this, so I’m glad you pointed that out. What I do have to say—when it comes to what’s important to people, I’m not sure this is it.

Hamilton has recently declared three separate states of emergency: for our homeless people, our mental health and opioid addiction.

Niagara region council declared a state of emergency, also, for homelessness, mental health and opioid addiction on February 23.

So my question to you is, given the urgent situation we’re seeing across all of our communities when it comes to homelessness, mental health and addiction, do you think the time we’re spending here could be better spent with a sense of urgency about what’s really affecting people’s lives right now?

I respectfully thank the member opposite for his contribution. I found it very entertaining, and I enjoyed it.

I was going to ask a question that relates to the Hague Convention. In my past life, I would commonly deal with family law files—and for reference, the ratification of the Hague Convention would be an important step forward for the Family Responsibility Office. The Hague Convention would enforce orders. It would allow people to transcend Ontario or Canada to meet those orders. We expect everybody to meet their court obligations for child and spousal support, but we’re focusing on making things easier for families because they can make ends meet. Empowering the province to implement the 2007 Hague Convention in Ontario would give the province reciprocity to collect support payments with 34 more jurisdictions.

So my question to the member opposite—because I think this is a learning experience for some. It would also reduce the pressure on Ontario courts, saving a lot of people time and money, and reduce stress, which is such an important issue when you’re dealing with family law. It would help those relying upon support, most importantly. Will the member help our government ensure that families get the spousal and child support they need by supporting this?

Thank you very much to the member from Niagara West. I thank you very much for the clarification. We were both kind of right. It’s not in the act. It’s in the regulations. We’ve only had a day and a half to read the act. I haven’t gotten to the regulations yet. So thank you for that clarification.

I’m not opposed to more hybrid meetings, more accessibility. Hopefully, we will have true accessibility throughout the province. Often, hybrid meetings, virtual meetings—the people they’re meant to benefit most right now don’t have access to actually usable virtual links. So if we all do, at one point, have full access to usable and affordable broadband, I think it is a step in the right direction.

But to your points, we haven’t really seen that the government has actually recognized what’s happening to people on the ground. There are announcements made, but when I walk out of this place and I walk past people in misery—and that used to be just a Toronto thing. I’m from the country. But now I go home, and I see the same things—I see more. This government has been in power—they keep blaming things on the past government, but they have been in power for five years—

Thanks to the member for Timiskaming–Cochrane, as always, for his extemporaneous abilities. That was great.

I have a question, though, about schedule 27 here, and it comes from a previous job I used to have as a pension trustee. What I learned from pension funds is that they really don’t like members getting paper notices. They really don’t like it, and they’re trying to push folks online—which is fair, to encourage them. But as I read this schedule, what it says is that it changes the provision that would require the administrator of a pension plan to tell people that they have the right to request non-electronic notices of their pension plan. That concerns me, because I know for a fact that there are a lot of people who read those pension statements who don’t have Internet access at their homes, who are elderly folks.

Why would this government choose to discriminate against their right to know that they have a right to get those paper copies? I’m interested in your reaction. I think people should be able to get information about their pension plans that they worked hard to receive in retirement by whatever means they choose.

It was great to listen to the member from Timiskaming–Cochrane for the last hour. He’s always very thoughtful in the way he frames his arguments and his thoughts.

I wanted to just touch a little bit—there are some changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act in regard to mining that are contained within this that will actually allow drones to be used to verify underground hazards, which will alleviate a lot of diesel emissions and different emissions underground. Obviously the member from Nickel Belt was speaking about this just the other day. I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to have a look at those yet. I know we’re running out of time, but maybe some comments on it.