Again, Mr. Speaker, if they would spend more time on the front lines and less time on headlines, we would actually be able to work together to improve the system. But we’ll do it without them. That’s okay.

I’m not going to speak to any particular case, but I cannot believe that the NDP are calling for me to interfere with judicial independence and the scheduling of courts, Mr. Speaker. I just cannot believe it.

Supplementary?

I’d like to first congratulate the member from Mississauga–Streetsville on her new role as the Associate Minister of Housing.

My question to the associate minister: With ongoing global economic uncertainty, our government continues to make significant investments in programs to help the most vulnerable in our province. For people who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness, it is essential that they have access to the right housing supports and services they need. However, the reality is that Ontario has both an affordable housing crisis and a homelessness crisis. More resources are needed to build upon the work already under way to bring forward more measures to address the serious issues.

Speaker, can the associate minister please explain what additional supports will be provided for those experiencing homelessness or for those who are at risk of homelessness, as a part of our recent budget?

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. There is an urgent need for adequate housing to meet the basic needs of many First Nations, especially across Ontario’s Far North. For many First Nations in Ontario, this has meant living in houses that lack basic services such as clean drinking water and adequate heating, ventilation and insulation.

While the federal government is responsible for housing on-reserve, Ontario provides support for off-reserve affordable housing, supportive housing, capital repairs and rent supplements for Indigenous people.

We will continue working with Indigenous communities and organizations to ensure the federal government is living up to its responsibility to provide good, safe housing to First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across Ontario.

We recognize how important culturally appropriate housing is for Indigenous communities and how critical these services are to improving the physical, mental and social well-being of Indigenous people across Ontario. Through the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program, our government is more than doubling Ontario’s annual investment in Indigenous supportive housing to ensure those at risk for homelessness have access to the resources they need and deserve.

Ma question est pour le premier ministre. As we all know, the province is facing a very large housing crisis, but imagine facing it for 30 years. Imagine having no access to your own traditional lands to expand and build on. This is the sad reality for the Attawapiskat First Nation and many others. These communities have solutions but are stuck behind government red tape and passed around from one government to another.

Premier, when is this government going to step up and put a plan into action with a long-term solution, as it should, and start helping First Nations like Attawapiskat?

Years have gone by, yet nothing is moving. Since 2014, there was a task force in place; then, in 2018, a memorandum of understanding; then a renewed relationship commitment, signed by your minister, in 2019. All Attawapiskat got so far are two plastic igloos as temporary housing.

Premier, First Nation chiefs are telling us your government is not acting on any of their issues. I ask again: When will this government put things in motion and actually do the work that is supposed to be done?

Our government was elected with a stronger mandate to build Ontario, particularly to build a resilient health care system. In our most recent budget, we are allocating $48 billion to expand hospitals across the province of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, $32 billion of that are grants that will go to increase bed capacity and increase the number of operating rooms, as well as to expand emergency departments in communities.

Last week, we released a request for qualifications—I know my seatmate is very thrilled about this—for the Quinte Health hospital. This will be a brand new hospital in eastern Ontario, Mr. Speaker. We want to make sure that if you are in need of care in the province of Ontario, you will be able to receive it.

The Minister of Long-Term Care and my ministry, the Ministry of Infrastructure, are working together to make sure that we address the long wait-lists. We are on our way to building 31,000 new beds and upgrading 28,000 beds across Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, you’ve heard me speak about the rapid delivery program, where we built a long-term-care home in 13 months in Ajax. We are almost ready to open two more long-term-care homes in Mississauga, which will activate 600 beds. By building hospitals and long-term-care homes, we are protecting our most vulnerable.

I really want to thank the great member from Brampton East for the incredible work that he’s doing in his riding.

Speaker, I am so proud to say that the 2023 budget has provided an additional $202 million to the Homelessness Prevention Program. This represents a 40% increase from the previous amount, bringing the total close to $700 million in annual investments. Also, collaborating with multiple ministries to ensure that the right supports are in the right place at the right time for those most vulnerable is so critical.

The housing supply crisis is impacting Ontarians right across this province, and we know it will take time to fully implement the policies we have put forward. But I’m confident, with this Premier and this government, we are heading in the right direction.

I beg leave to present a report on the pre-budget consultations, 2023, from the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs and move the adoption of its recommendations.

The committee conducted its pre-budget consultations in January and February of 2023. Public hearings were held in Kenora, Windsor, Essex, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Ottawa, Kingston, Barrie, and Toronto. The committee heard from a total of 140 witnesses and received over 200 submissions from associations, organizations, community groups, municipalities, and individuals. On behalf of the committee, I’d like to thank each and every one of them for taking the time to share their views with us.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the permanent membership of the committee: Catherine Fife, Vice-Chair; Deepak Anand; Doly Begum; Stephanie Bowman; Bobbi Ann Brady; Rick Byers; Stephen Crawford; Rudy Cuzzetto; Andrew Dowie; David Smith, Scarborough Centre; and Effie Triantafilopoulos. Terence Kernaghan and Aris Babikian also regularly served as substitute members of the committee.

The committee also extends its thanks to the Clerk of the Committee, legislative research, broadcast and recording services, Hansard and interpretation for their assistance and hard work during the hearings and report-writing.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I move adjournment of the debate.

This government has made historic and unprecedented investments into health care. The fact is the members opposite, the leader of the opposition and the opposition party, have voted against every single one of those measures.

When we launched the largest recruitment of health human resources in this province, which attracted almost 14,000 nurses to register, all of those measures that we put in place to make that happen, the members opposite voted against every single one of those measures. When we increased health care funding last year by over $5.2 billion, the largest increase in history of this province, the members opposite voted against every single dollar of that increase.

Mr. Speaker, our government will continue to make historic and unprecedented investments into health care and we hope the members opposite support us in those investments.

I thank the fantastic member for his important question. It’s on the minds of many whom I’ve had the opportunity to visit in the Lake Simcoe region, and that’s why my ministry and the incredible team at the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is working hard to implement the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan by working with partners, including Indigenous communities and municipalities. We recognize the need to manage and expand and lay the critical infrastructure required for growth while also protecting the environment. That’s why I’m proud to say that working with communities there, we’ve ensured that this government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, has made the largest single investment into phosphorus reduction in that lake’s history. That’s building the critical infrastructure we need to support tomorrow’s growth while also protecting Lake Simcoe for generations to come, and I’m very proud of the leadership of this Premier and government.

You know, the first time I ever heard members opposite ask about this important phosphorus reduction initiative was when the member from Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas wrote to me asking why it hasn’t happened sooner. It’s not lost on me or anyone in the Lake Simcoe watershed that when that party had the opportunity to prop the previous Liberal government up, they voted to send sewage into Lake Simcoe, this shallow receptor body, and it was just shocking—shocking to Chief Big Canoe, shocking to neighbouring municipalities. We’re going to work with them to implement a solution.

I’d love to, Speaker.

The bill enacts the Transparent and Accountable Health Care Act.

Under the act, major health sector organizations—that is, anyone who receives more than $1 million from the Ministry of Health—will be required to comply with the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act—so if anybody makes more than $100,000, their name would go on the list—and with the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act. These organizations are also deemed to be governmental organizations for the purposes of the Ombudsman Act, so people can put in complaints. The Auditor General of Ontario is authorized to audit any aspect of their operation.

The same requirements apply with respect to publicly funded suppliers. A publicly funded supplier is an entity that receives more than $1 million in public funds in a year from major health sector organizations or ministries.

I fully support this bill, and I hope it goes through.

Ms. Ghamari moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 93, An Act to enact Joshua’s Law (Lifejackets for Life), 2023 / Projet de loi 93, Loi édictant la Loi Joshua de 2023 sur le port obligatoire du gilet de sauvetage par les enfants.

Supplementary question.

The House recessed from 1143 to 1300.

Please join me in warmly welcoming our guests to the Legislature today.

Does the member wish to make a brief statement?

Debate adjourned.

Mr. Gill moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 91, An Act to enact two Acts, amend various Acts and revoke various regulations / Projet de loi 91, Loi visant à édicter deux lois, à modifier diverses lois et à abroger divers règlements.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

Thank you, Speaker, through you to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. In AMO’s response to the recent budget, they stated they are “disappointed not to see a commitment from the government of Ontario” with respect to when and how the government will follow through on its commitment to “make municipalities whole” from the fiscal impacts of Bill 23.

Ontario municipalities are losing $5 billion in infrastructure revenue. Why is this government breaking their word and cutting funding to municipalities and housing at a time when the need to support our municipal partners has never been greater?

Conservative Bill 124 is an unconstitutional attack on the working people of Ontario. Justice Markus Koehnen of the Superior Court of Justice said that Bill 124 infringes on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

“The government was using its legislative power to avoid real collective bargaining and to tilt the balance of power in favour of the government....

“It is difficult to see how there can be an effective collective bargaining system when the employer has been given the trump card of compensation increases lower than the rate of inflation and lower than freely bargained agreements.”

All Ontarians have paid the price for the Premier’s wage-capping Bill 124—just look at the staffing crises that have hit our hospitals and our schools as workers quit, feeling disrespected, overworked and underpaid.

My question, Speaker, is will the Premier finally show Bill 124 the door, or will he continue to attack workers by appealing the ruling from the Superior Court of Justice?

Do you know what we voted against? Bill 28, when you attacked the education workers. What we voted against was Bill 124 when you attacked public sector workers, and we’ll do it again.

New Democrats believe that investing in nurses is the best way to improve access to timely, safe and quality health care. But, unfortunately, Conservative Bill 124 treats health care heroes as health care zeros. As a result, many nurses have left the profession. We all know this. Those who remain continue to face increasing levels of violence, exhaustion, burnout and PTSD.

Because bad Bill 124 is unconstitutional, the Ontario Nurses’ Association went to arbitration, and the arbitrator’s decision increased benefits, wages, premiums and vacations for ONA’s non-profit nursing-home health care professionals. Speaker, 60,000 of ONA’s front-line health care professionals will be negotiating a new contract with the Ontario Hospital Association.

My question is will the Premier kill Bill 124, or will the Conservatives continue to fight Ontario’s workers with this unconstitutional wage cap?

Thank you once again to my colleague for the question. The best way to deal with homelessness is to be proactive and prevent it in the first place. We’ve heard from organizations and key stakeholders across the province who are pleased to see we are increasing funding for the Homelessness Prevention Program and have expressed to us how much this means to them.

For example, the chief administrative officer for the Kenora district, Henry Wall, said:

“The Kenora District Services Board is grateful to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the government of Ontario for this historic increase in the Homelessness Prevention Program and service managers’ ability to better address the needs of our communities. Addressing Ontario’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis will take all levels of government to work together. The flexibility built into the HPP programming will facilitate community-driven solutions to addressing homelessness and increasing supportive housing options for vulnerable people.”

Speaker, local service managers and representatives know their communities best. It is our job to ensure they have the tools and resources they need to deliver effective support to those who need it most.

Thank you to the associate minister for that response. It’s welcome news that the 2023 budget provides greater funding investments that focus on providing vulnerable Ontarians with the support they need to stay in their homes and to get the housing they need. For many Ontarians who need our help, this funding will go a long way to improve their living situation. The nature and scope of homelessness is different in every region, and it’s essential that our government continues to work closely with community partners to make the most impact on reducing and preventing homelessness.

Speaker, can the associate minister please explain how this additional funding will address the needs for individuals and families in local communities across the province?

My question is back to the Minister for Municipal Affairs and Housing. Peel region has a housing master plan to build 2,400 new affordable homes on public land by 2028. The member for Brampton South even went to the announcement to celebrate the plan’s launch. The problem is this: Peel’s housing plan is now in jeopardy of failing because the region is losing $200 million in revenue because of your government’s Bill 23.

Minister, how much money exactly is the government going to give to Peel so their affordable housing plan can be revived?

My question is to the hard-working Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. The Lake Simcoe watershed contains key natural, urban and agricultural systems that are vital to Ontario and to the people in my riding of Simcoe–Grey. As our government continues to build Ontario and grow our economy, evolving pressures like population growth present ongoing challenges to our ecosystems and waterways. Some of my constituents have expressed concerns about the sustainability of land and water uses across Lake Simcoe. Our government must continue to respond to emerging issues and adapt to solutions that protect critical aspects of our environment.

Can the minister please explain what action our government is taking to protect Lake Simcoe now and for future generations?

It is evident our government remains committed to improving the ecosystem of Lake Simcoe. Can the minister please elaborate on how our Lake Simcoe Phosphorus Reduction Strategy will support the neighbouring communities?

I know why the member opposite won’t ever be the finance critic for the New Democratic Party.

Speaker, as I said in response to the Leader of the Opposition last week, the number one and number two requests from our municipal partners for the budget were more dollars for supportive housing and more wraparound services for mental health and addictions. We delivered on that budget, something that, at second reading, the NDP voted against.

Speaker, you know who last week really let municipalities down? Jagmeet Singh and Justin Trudeau. There were no new infrastructure dollars in last week’s budget for municipalities. There was no support for the city of Toronto. I had a great meeting on Friday with Deputy Mayor McKelvie, thanking us for our commitment on supportive housing and on our contributions that we promised. There was no clarity on any of the provincial or territorial requests on housing as part of the National Housing Strategy.

We continue to be shortchanged $480 million, something that Jagmeet and Justin need to fix.