On behalf of my seatmate, who forgot one of his friends here today, I would like to introduce Kelley Vandyk.

I want to be very clear that that migrant worker, that international student who is here to be part of our school system are all—and continue to be—covered through their health system, through Ontario’s publicly funded health system. There is no change in the way that uninsured persons will receive care in the province of Ontario.

The change that occurred was as a result of a program that we put in place when travellers could not return home. We have removed that change because we have a system in the province of Ontario where individuals are covered for OHIP-funded services, and we have a number of pathways for individuals to get funding through their health care system even without an OHIP card, of course.

I’ll share more in the supplementary.

There are 75 community health care centres operating in the province of Ontario that have a funding model that allows them to serve and assist individuals without a health care card. We have funding programs in place with midwives that ensures individuals who need assistance through the midwives program are able to do that, with or without an OHIP card.

There is no doubt that we want to protect the most vulnerable, but we also have to ensure that we have parameters in place to make sure unintended consequences don’t occur and we end up, in Ontario, being the health care for everyone else who chooses to come here to access this system.

We are returning to a program where there is no change in uninsured persons receiving care in the province of Ontario.

And in terms of the member’s question about expanding, I hope that as we continue to debate and vote on Bill 60, they will look at the expansions that are embedded in that legislation and vote to support expansions that are occurring and will be occurring because of the investments that our government is making in health to ensure that people get access to service in their communities.

I will ask for the House’s attention. I rise to inform the House of a change in the allocations for independent members’ participation in House proceedings, as we now have 12 members sitting as independents.

During question period, I will recognize an additional independent member to ask a question during each eight-day rotation. This means that one independent member will be recognized to ask a question each day, and a second independent member will be recognized to ask a question every Tuesday and Wednesday, with each of these questions followed by a supplementary. With respect to members’ statements, I will continue to recognize one independent member per day, and each independent member will be eligible to make a statement once every 12 days.

I thank the House for its attention.

Again, the Minister of Health to respond.

Good morning, Speaker. I would like my colleagues here to imagine themselves as a migrant worker, a refugee who fled persecution or a newcomer who came to Ontario with dreams of a good life. Now imagine you had an urgent health issue for which you needed treatment. On Friday, you’d be able to access care without having to worry about how you would pay for it. But by Saturday, that care became a lot harder to access, because this government cruelly eliminated the Physician and Hospital Services for Uninsured Persons Program.

Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health: Will she restore this program to make sure no one risks going without receiving the care they need?

I’d like my colleagues to imagine that you are actually working at a community health centre. An uninsured client has come in. Their needs are beyond what you are able to provide. On Friday, you would have been able to connect them to the help they need so they can focus on getting better. But by Saturday, your client has to make a decision between paying their rent that month or getting better.

It’s never too late to do the right thing, Speaker. Back to the Minister of Health: Will she reverse her decision so no one is forced to make such an impossible choice?

As it happens, I spent time with Niagara community health centre workers last week, and the reality is that these programs the minister keeps mentioning are woefully inadequate. I met with one CHC worker from Niagara on Friday. Her CHC has a budget of a little over $1,000 to help uninsured clients—just $1,000. She told me that that doesn’t go very far—one year, just two clients. There are 500,000 uninsured people in this province.

Back to the Minister of Health: If she won’t restore the program, will she immediately boost investments in CHCs to make sure no one goes without the health care they need?

Interjections.

Speaker, to the Minister of Health: Will the government commit to making virtual ER funding permanent?

This government likes to talk about health care innovations—well, let’s talk about innovation. Virtual ERs were a pandemic-era innovation to reduce pressure on hospitals and keep health care public. They connected Ontarians to the care they needed and helped ease hospital overloading. But this government’s last-minute, eleventh-hour decision to extend it by just three months has effectively cancelled the program.

Back to the Minister of Health: Why is this government saying no to these public health care innovations?

My question is to the Premier. Ontario is facing a mental health crisis. Across the province, people are crying out for help. Mental health organizations are unable to keep up with rising inflation costs, staffing shortages and increased demands for services. All Ontarians should have access to high-quality easily accessible connected supports when and where they need it.

Speaker, why won’t the Premier properly address the mental health crisis in Ontario?

The final supplementary.

Thank you. Restart the clock.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. We know that Ontario has a unique and carefully cultivated entrepreneurial spirit. Yet for more than a decade under the previous Liberal government, Ontario’s entrepreneurs felt abandoned. The previous government did everything to punish people starting a business, but our government is focused on supporting small businesses like the ones in my riding of Scarborough–Rouge Park, making sure they have the support they need to strengthen their economic success.

Speaker, will the minister please explain how our government is creating conditions for Ontario’s entrepreneurs to succeed?

Speaker, will the minister please explain what else our government is doing to help entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground?

Thank you for that question. Mental health and addictions is a priority for our government, and it has been since day one. That’s why we’re making crucial investments in mental health and addictions. We’re creating a recovery-oriented system, a continuum of care by which everyone will be able to get supports and services as needed, and with respect to that, we’re making a $500-million investment annually over the next 10 years.

In addition to that, recognizing the needs in the province, the Minister of Finance announced last week an additional investment of $425 million over three years, and an additional $202 million in supportive housing. Why? Because it is one of the most important social determinants of health that must be addressed.

Those are investments that are being made by the province. They’re being recognized by community members. Perhaps in the supplemental, I’ll give you some of the quotes from the service providers that are partnering with us to ensure that we deliver these services to the people of the province.

Speaker, it’s not just virtual emergency rooms either. Hundreds of people gathered in Chesley in a town hall held by the local health coalition to talk about their fears around Bill 60, as their local ER again continues to have unexpected temporary closures.

Back to the Minister of Health: What do you have to say to the people of Chesley and the 158 other communities experiencing temporary ER closures due to staffing shortages?

Speaker, we can all recall the days under the Liberals when Ontario’s entrepreneurs were closing up their shops, frustrated with a government that made businesses too risky and expensive. But our government changed all that. Lower taxes and less red tape brought a revival of Ontario’s entrepreneurial spirit. There were 85,000 new businesses opened in Ontario last year alone, Speaker. And with budget 2023, expect even more.

An additional $2 million is being invested into Futurpreneur Canada. They’ll help 18-year-old to 39-year-old young business people with mentorship and loans of up to $20,000. Speaker, entrepreneurs once again can take that next step and know that their government is here to support them all the way.

In addition to Futurpreneur, there’s a wide range of other supports. Small business enterprise centres offer all the tools they need to start and grow their businesses. In the member’s riding, he pushed very hard for $2 million in funding for Scarborough’s small business centre, with a further $620,000 for their Summer Company and Starter Company Plus that help their area’s students and young entrepreneurs start their business in his riding, and we’ve provided more than $77,000 in the Digital Transformation Grant to over 30 businesses in Scarborough. Speaker, that is what this member is doing to help his entrepreneurs.

I want to thank the member from Niagara. I’ll tell you what we’re doing, and I’ll tell you a little bit about economics, because I know the NDP don’t have a clue about economics. I wouldn’t trust them running my lemonade stand.

Anyway, in saying that, what drives cost up about 30% of inflation is gas prices, and the folks across the aisle, they’re for the highest carbon tax in the world. The member from Ottawa was preaching he wants the highest gas prices in the world, the highest carbon taxes. That’s what drives up the cost.

Our government reduced the cost of gas by 10 cents a litre. I encourage the NDP, I encourage the Liberals not to fall in step with the federal government, but stand up for the people of Ontario, reduce the gas price, reduce the carbon tax, put money back into people’s pockets rather than just sit there and complain.

Interjections.

My question is to the Premier. Families across Ontario are struggling with the high cost of living. A mom in Niagara contacted my office about the price of baby formula going up 40% in the last three months—a product that is essential for many families with babies. Formula going from $50 in January to over $70 today is simply price gouging from companies like Loblaws.

The Premier promised there would be consequences for retailers who price-gouge on necessary items. Speaker, that mom has a question for the Premier: Why is the Premier letting this happen? Why is he breaking his promise?

The Conservative budget does nothing to address the affordability crisis. They refuse to stand up to price-gouging corporations like the Westons. Companies are taking advantage of families that are just trying to feed their children. Listen to this, Speaker: Some families are watering down baby formula to stretch it further. What kind of province are we living in where the Premier thinks it’s okay for billionaires to make record profits while gouging families struggling to feed their babies? What will it take for the Premier to stand up to these corporate bullies ripping off families in Ontario, so we can feed our families?

In an emergency, there’s no worse feeling than being unable to contact emergency services or our loved ones. With the recent terrible acts of violence on the TTC, having access to cellular service in the subway tunnels would make people feel safer in a crisis. The infrastructure is there, but big telecom is not willing to use it.

Does this government think that’s right? And if not, what are they willing to do about it?

It’s a bit odd that, on a day we are going to debate a motion to protect police officers, I need to ask about protecting the public from police officers. Police officers hold important responsibilities, and to maintain public trust and confidence in our police services, we must ensure that our police officers are held to the highest of standards when it comes to their conduct. Unfortunately, that has not been the case with a particular officer in Leeds county. Despite being convicted for drug trafficking, forgery and sexual assault, this officer has been on paid leave since 2015, even making it on the sunshine list during this time.

Mr. Speaker, if receiving three separate convictions for serious offences is not enough for a police officer to lose their job, how can the public trust the officers tasked with their safety? Can the Solicitor General explain why officers who have been convicted of serious offences are not automatically released from service in our police forces?

My question is for the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. The previous Liberal government missed many opportunities to build up Ontario. They didn’t invest in skilled trades training and didn’t support the tradespeople who are the backbone of our economy. As a result of their indifference and neglect, Ontario is not only facing a shortage of skilled trades workers; our government is also left to manage and correct health and safety issues for workers that should have been fixed years ago. As an example, workers on some construction sites continue to face issues accessing clean washroom facilities. This is wrong, disrespectful and totally unnecessary.

Mr. Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is supporting the health and safety needs of workers on construction sites?

The workers building a strong Ontario for the next generation shouldn’t have difficulty accessing clean and reliable washroom facilities while working. No one, especially those who are doing the necessary work to grow our province’s economy, deserves this.

Unlike the previous Liberal government, we need to eliminate any barriers to entry for the skilled trades and we need to protect the health and safety of our workers. Our government must take direct action to clean up job sites, including expanding washroom facilities and holding workplaces accountable for failing to uphold health and safety standards.

Mr. Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on what actions our government is taking to ensure health and safety standards are respected?

I thank the member opposite for the question. We are all deeply concerned about the increased number of violent incidents on public transit in the last few weeks and all levels of government agree on the importance of ensuring that transit systems across the province are safe. And so, we remain open to continuing discussions with our partners on how we can work to achieve this.

I know that transit riders want to remain connected when they’re riding public transit. That’s why, in 2020, our government took steps to improve connectivity and implemented free WiFi on all GO buses and trains.

As the member opposite knows, the TTC is operated by the city of Toronto and, as such, the city of Toronto is responsible for finding a resolution with the telecommunication carriers. I encourage the city of Toronto and the future mayor to find a resolution on this matter as quickly as possible.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve been supporting public transit for years, especially throughout the pandemic. The province has given over $1.5 billion to the TTC to ensure that its system could remain operational throughout the pandemic. We work closely with the TTC and we’ve continued to urge them to find a resolution to ensure that riders on the TTC can have free WiFi as soon as possible.

The supplementary question?

Next question.

Speaker, community agencies are facing a staffing crisis. Wait times for treatments grow longer and longer.

I spoke to a woman who was sexually assaulted and nearly beaten to death. She lived in her car for months afterwards, and she’s been waiting for trauma counselling through the public health system for four months and counting. For $30,000 a month, she could get treatment at a private clinic immediately. Access to mental health supports shouldn’t depend on your ability to pay.

Kids wait an average of 67 days for counselling and 92 days for intensive treatment. People are literally dying waiting for help.

Why is this Premier shortchanging public mental health services when lives depend on early and consistent access to care?

Mr. Speaker, once again, I reiterate: We are building a system of care that looks after individuals where and when they need it.

Camille Quenneville, the CEO of CMHA: “The vital structural base funding commitment announced today is the largest by any government for community mental health and addictions care in a decade. It will significantly help community-based mental health and addictions agencies provide high-quality care, retain dedicated and committed staff, and address rising operating costs. The budget is an overwhelmingly positive sign that the government understands the strain our sector is facing as we support Ontarians living with mental health and addictions challenges. It also demonstrates their desire to help those most vulnerable in society.”

With respect to children and youth, a quote forwarded to me from Tatum Wilson, Children’s Mental Health Ontario: “We are pleased that today’s budget commits significant new funding to mental health and addictions. These investments are critical to begin to stabilize community child and youth mental health” supports.

Mr. Speaker, we’re listening to our partners and—