Thank you to the member for Thornhill for this really important question.

In Ontario today, about 600,000 people work in construction. Each and every one of them are heroes, and it’s time they got the dignity and respect they deserve. For far too long, politicians and others have looked down their noses at people in the skilled trades. No more.

Over the last two months, my ministry inspectors have visited more than 1,800 job sites and inspected their washrooms. They found over 240 washroom-related violations: missing doors, missing walls, no place to wash your hands and, worst of all, no toilets on job sites. In what other industry would this be acceptable? These are people who are building our communities, not livestock.

I’ve spoken to workers who tell me washrooms have been an issue for generations. This ends today. We’re working for workers and making sure our washrooms are clean for these heroes.

Interjections.

Under the leadership of our Premier, last month we announced our government is requiring cleaner washrooms for all 600,000 construction workers. We’re doubling the number of washrooms on construction sites. We’re mandating that they be clean, private and well lit. We’re also requiring that they have hand sanitizer when running water isn’t possible and that large job sites have women-only washrooms.

Speaker, it’s unacceptable that anyone is making a career choice based on washroom quality.

For over 100 years, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour had never done a washroom blitz. Under our government, we launched the first one in history, and the second blitz is starting this week. Only our government, under the leadership of this Premier, is getting it done for our front-line workers and our heroes, those construction workers.

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?