Further debate?

Debate deemed adjourned.

I rise today on behalf of London West families of children with autism.

After four and a half years on the wait-list, Sarah Farrants felt hopeful when her seven-year-old son Mason was invited to register for the OAP in October, but she has heard absolutely nothing since. While she waits, the one-time funding that paid for Mason’s speech therapy has run out, and so has Sarah’s hope for Mason’s future.

After a 10-month wait for an assessment for his three-year-old son Luke, Sean Menard was told he could wait years for OAP funding. Sean wants a plan from this government to clear the backlog and get Luke the critical early intervention he needs. Sean desperately wants Luke to speak one day. Sean said, “Without help from the government, he may never speak a single word to his mother or me.”

Even for families who have been approved, the autism program is broken. Virginia Ridley’s two teenage sons receive OAP funding, but Virginia struggles to find services geared to youth and faces constant delays getting reimbursed. At the end of February, she was out of pocket $9,000.

With no mention of autism in the 2023 budget, these families feel abandoned by the Ford government.

Where is the plan, where is the urgency to fix the OAP and get Mason and Luke and Virginia’s sons the services they need and deserve?

I’m going to be sharing my time with the member for Richmond Hill, and I will simply be mindful of the fact that I will begin my remarks now, conclude at 10:15, and continue this afternoon.

In that context, it is my pleasure to join the debate in this House with regard to the Building a Strong Ontario Act, our budget bill. This budget confirms our government’s commitment to invest in Ontario’s future and enhance our competitiveness within a global economy, with a responsible, targeted approach to help people and businesses.

The budget speech that was presented last week to this House by the Minister of Finance outlines this government’s priorities for building a strong economic foundation to provide Ontario’s growing population with highly skilled, well-paying jobs, while at the same time attracting global investments in manufacturing and research. We are exercising fiscal prudence by keeping Ontario’s finances in check as we make the necessary investments in health care, education, infrastructure and transit, while being on track to balance Ontario’s books with a $200-million surplus by 2024-25. This is what Ontarians asked for. This is what Ontarians expect. And we are delivering both on growth and fiscal responsibility. This is our duty. This is our pledge. We are getting it done.

Speaker, this budget is all about people. This budget is about investing in workers, in families and everyday Ontarians who have asked this government to live within its means while investing in the programs that workers and families desperately need to purchase a home, raise a family and save for the future. This government is a citizens’ government that reflects the will and the expectations of the people.

Because of the failed tax-and-spend policies of the previous Liberal government, Ontario lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs between 2004 and 2018. The previous Liberal government, which was propped up by the NDP for three years, thought they could spend their way to prosperity, and look where that left Ontario—higher debt, lost jobs, and a downgrade of Ontario’s credit rating.

As evidence that nothing has changed, the federal Liberal government, also propped up by the NDP, delivered a budget this past Tuesday which included record spending, tax increases, and zero investments in municipalities, business, or assistance for everyday Canadians.

First of all, I want to congratulate the new Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. This minister is very compassionate and hard-working. This minister is someone who talks from the heart. I’m very excited to work with him, as a parliamentary assistant.

I also want to thank and congratulate the new Associate Minister of Housing on her new role.

The 2023 budget is resonating in my riding of Markham–Thornhill; it was very well received.

My constituents at the Armadale seniors club, the Tamil seniors association, Box Grove seniors wellness club, and Greensborough and Middlefield seniors wellness clubs in Markham are all very happy with the budget and are commending the changes to expand the eligibility for the GAINS program—Guaranteed Annual Income System—for seniors.

The minister for seniors is right beside me. Thank you, Minister—the GAINS program for seniors is important news.

My constituents like Ms. Cho appreciate the increase in the ODSP benefits by our government.

Parents and students are also both very happy to know that, through the targeted math supports, an additional $12.6-million investment is provided. It will double the number of math coaches who will be responsible for implementing the early intervention strategy for better understanding math concepts.

On Tuesday, I was invited to a moms-and-tots tea party in the hamlet of Fairground, Norfolk county. This tea party, hosted by the Norfolk Community Help Centre, is part of a much larger picture, a bigger community initiative.

The help centre supports women in the community, largely from the Mennonite population, but also women from the Indigenous community, and, as of late, the Ukraine. The goal is often to work toward obtaining a grade 12 education while learning English as a second language.

Since the program began, 64 Low German-speaking women have graduated with their Ontario secondary school diploma.

The centre also has a partnership with Fanshawe College and the Grand Erie District School Board. Currently, 15 people of diverse backgrounds are learning QuickBooks accounting.

A moms-and-tots program allows these women to come together to improve social, emotional and general well-being. Many of the families served have between five and nine children. These vital community connections enhance independence and coping skills while raising awareness of nutrition, reproductive practices and physical activity. Other supports offered are in areas such as settlement, advocacy, prenatal and postnatal care, as well as Low German interpretation.

The supports being offered in the community continue to grow, all on a shoestring budget, all with the love of a few key people, and under the leadership of executive director Nancy Hildebrand.

Speaker, this is a small but very interesting area with many issues and needs. I look forward to working with Nancy and her team for more opportunities to assist and empower this community.

I beg to inform the House that the following document was tabled: the post-event report 2022 on Ontario’s 43rd general election from the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario.

This coming Sunday, April 2, is world autism day. Many of us are aware of autism, and we recognize that autism brings with it its unique challenges and obstacles but also strengths, skills and perspectives that enrich our communities and contribute to our collective growth.

Now we must turn our attention away from awareness towards acceptance and inclusivity. I ask that all of us here in the chamber and all in our audience embrace the diverse spectrum of human experiences by creating environments for individuals with autism to feel valued, heard and supported. Let us take it upon ourselves to learn about autism, challenge misconceptions, and break down barriers. By cultivating a culture of acceptance, we nurture the growth of individuals on the spectrum and allow them to thrive in their own unique way.

Speaker, on world autism day, let us commit to a world where awareness leads to inclusion, where understanding leads to acceptance, and where every individual, regardless of their neurological makeup, has the opportunity to contribute their talents and reach their full potential.

This is a brief statement about death and about gratitude.

About 17 years ago, when I was 19, I was driving to work and I was late, so I changed lanes to avoid a bus, and I rear-ended an old lady. As I said, that was 17 years ago. Most rear-endings doesn’t follow the story that we did, but what ended up happening was, we sort of adopted her into our family as a bit of a grandmother figure for me. Her name was Elta, and she was from the island country of Dominica. Over the years, my mother took care of her, and that care escalated.

Elta passed away recently, and in the course of her passing, I had the opportunity to experience both the palliative care team in our area—particularly Dr. Celine Sandor—and then ultimately the incredible benefit that we have in Waterloo region of Hospice Waterloo Region.

A week before her passing, Elta was moved to Lisaard hospice. We were very worried that it would be incredibly stressful for her, but on her first day there, I came into the room, and she held my mother’s hand and said, “I’m so happy.” I want to tell them how thankful I am for them taking care of Elta in her years—and how grateful I am that we have them in our riding.

Today I want to talk about my friend Marcel Charron.

Marce was a mill operator at Glencore back when it was called Falconbridge. He worked on the floor at a blue-collar job. He was the sort of guy who was friendly and quiet. He was definitely funny. He was proud to be blue-collar, but he wasn’t a stereotype. Marcel spoke openly about the horrors of femicide and the damage it does to community. His sister, Chantal, was murdered by an ex-boyfriend, and Marce shared his pain, hopeful that it would help, hopeful that it would lead to change.

Most people knew Marcel as someone who believed in workers. He spoke for workers. He stood for workers. He simply wanted a better world for everyone. His activism got him more involved with his union, and in 2013 he was elected as vice-president in Mine Mill Unifor Local 598, my dad’s union. Five years later, he was their president. Unfortunately, early in his term, Marce was diagnosed with cancer. The fight with cancer was hard over the past five years—but I witnessed a love story, and I’m a sucker for a love story, and few are as beautiful as how much Cathy loved Marcel and how much he loved her right back. It’s easy to be in love in the best of times, and it’s beautiful to see love fight through in the worst.

Last Friday, I visited Cathy and Marcel at the Maison McCulloch Hospice. Cath said he knew he had to come, but he was mad. Marcel winked at her and said, “I’ll get over it.” It was the last time I’ll ever see Marcel, a blue-collar worker, a vocal advocate against femicide, a worker activist, a union president, a loving father, and a loving husband.

I’ll miss you, brother.

Speaker, there is no better place to live than in Ontario. It’s one of the reasons I came here from Newfoundland so many years ago and why I chose to stay to raise a family here.

Ontario has always held great promise and great opportunity. But there’s a really growing sense out there that things aren’t quite right. People are struggling to pay rent and keep food on the table. Some are being forced to leave their communities or even the province just to be able to find an affordable place to live.

Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Why did his budget contain virtually no measures to help make life more affordable in this province?

In just a couple of days, rent is going to come due again for millions of people in this province. Thanks to this government’s massive loopholes in rent control, people are seeing a steep and sudden increase in their rent.

Back to the Premier: With people feeling so squeezed by the costs that are out of control, why didn’t he use the budget to bring back real rent control and give Ontarians some relief?

I’d really encourage the Premier and all his ministers to get out of the backrooms and start listening to real people, because people are really struggling, and I hear it everywhere I go.

It’s not just rent that’s through the roof; it’s more expensive than ever before to buy a home. This government’s plan to build luxury homes on protected land is not going to solve that problem.

Speaker, my question to the Premier is, will he act to end greedy land speculation and make sure the dream of truly affordable home ownership is no longer out of reach?

I’d like to welcome Thomas Keys-Brasier and Sarah Keys, mom of page Helen Elizabeth Keys-Brasier. Thomas was also a page here, and he gave good advice to his sister, who is page captain today. Welcome to the Legislature.

To reply, the government House leader.

Members will please take their seats. Order.

Restart the clock.

Final supplementary.

As the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health, I’d also like to introduce the Canadian Cancer Society to the Legislature this morning. I would like to also introduce Janice Hodgson, a Canadian Cancer Society advocacy volunteer from my great riding of Newmarket–Aurora.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Speaker, it’s my pleasure to welcome parents and children from Pape Avenue Junior Public School: Jaclyn Greenberg and her child Isaac Greenberg; Yue Lisa Li and her child Nathaniel Kan; Cara McCutcheon and her children Everett Trudel and Reed Trudel; Mattias Saavedra and Emme Saavedra; Daniel Miller; Amrita Takhar and her child Max Lee; Ling Teoh and her children Daniel Lam and Abigail Lam.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Today, the Canadian Cancer Society is at Queen’s Park. I invite everybody to go at lunchtime in room 228-230. I would like to mention some of their members, starting with the cancer society patient advocates: Dylan Buskermolen, Rebecca Grundy, Anthony Henry, Andre Rose, Taaha Ijaz. There are also quite a few members of the Canadian Cancer Society attending: Dr. Stuart Edmonds, Hillary Buchan-Terrell, Rose D’Souza, Kelly Masotti, Rob Cunningham, Stephen Piazza, Ciana Van Dusen, Gari Ravishankar, Daniel Nowoselski, Julia Pereira, Sasha Frost, Kelly Wilson Cull, Ariana Del Bianco, Elizabeth Holmes, Olivia Kulbak, Apiramy Jeyapalan, Nuala McKee, and Sonia Sheechoria.

Welcome to Queen’s Park. I hope everybody will visit you at lunch.

It is a pleasure to welcome members and directors of Rajasthan Association of North America: Pramod Mittal, Dilip Sharma, Naval Bajaj, Reeta Sachdeva, Rakesh Goenka, and President Rashi Bajaj.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I want to acknowledge, in the members’ gallery today, three excellent young lawyers: Richard Campbell, Stan Cummings and Sam Davies, from the firm Flaherty McCarthy LLP.

Welcome, gentlemen.

I would like to welcome today to the Ontario Legislature the family of Draven Graham. With us is his father, Justin Graham; his grandparents Julie and Patrick Ritchie; Tony Stravato from the Ontario Autism Coalition; and Kyle Fitzgerald from the Alzheimer Society of Ontario.

Thank you so much for joining us today, and welcome to the Legislature.

I’m glad to hear that the Leader of the Opposition is as optimistic about the province of Ontario as we have been since 2018. In fact, just earlier this week the opposition was continuing to talk down the province of Ontario.

But let’s look at what we have done, Mr. Speaker. We didn’t just start this year; we started back in 2018 to reverse what was a disastrous time frame, when both the Liberals and the NDP systematically increased the costs on the people of the province of Ontario. We started, in 2018, to cut taxes from people. We took the most vulnerable right off the tax rolls entirely. They voted against those measures. We’re continuing with the gas tax rebate; of course, they voted against that. We’ve reduced the costs for our small, medium and large job creators by over $8 billion. The results have been that over 600,000 people in the province of Ontario now have the dignity of a job that they didn’t when they shared power with the Liberals, and we have 300,000 jobs that still need to be filled. That’s good news for the people of—

I ask the Leader of the Opposition, will she join with us in asking the federal government to, at the very least, pause that incredible increase on the costs of everything for the people of the province of Ontario? Will she put her money where her mouth is—

Interjections.

As I said last week, the opposition, the federal government—they can either support us in bringing more homes to the people of the province of Ontario, so that more people can share in the dream of home ownership. Whether it’s to own a home, whether it’s your first rental—more people want a share in that dream. You can either help us or simply get out of the way.

Interjections.