This petition is entitled “Support to Ontarians living with long COVID.” The petition is,

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the impacts of long COVID are extensive and devastating, which include migraines, dizziness, vertigo, brain fog, loss of smell or taste, and mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety;

“Whereas socio-economic analyses on long COVID project significant negative impacts on the economy through its effects on the labour market, gross domestic product, as well as added costs in health care and social supports;

“Whereas 1.4 million Canadians or approximately 500,000 Ontarians are suffering the devastating health impacts of long COVID;

“Whereas adequate treatment options for those suffering from long COVID are mostly limited to private clinics and can cost as much as $5,000 a month in order for them to continue in their day-to-day lives through gainful employment, parenting, and overall life enjoyment;

“Whereas the Ontario government has failed to properly address and support the escalating crisis of long COVID and how it is devastating the lives of an increasing number of Ontarians;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To immediately allocate funding to support fair, equitable, accessible, and appropriate treatment for the complicated symptoms of long COVID and implement a cohesive and comprehensive funded support system for those suffering from the disease.”

I absolutely support this petition. I want to thank Lesley in my community of St. Paul’s for her leadership and advocacy on supports for long COVID. I have affixed my signature and I will hand it to Ryan for tabling.

I would like to thank Denise Levent from Val Caron in my riding for this petition.

“Occupational Exposure Limits for Diesel Emissions Underground.

“Whereas the current Ontario occupational exposure limit ... for diesel engine exhaust, 400 micrograms per cubic metre total carbon, is unsafe for underground workers;

“Whereas the best current scientific evidence as published by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists..., CAREX Canada and the Occupational Cancer Research Centre ... all recommended” that the occupational exposure limit be “based on 20 micrograms per cubic metre;

“Whereas the proposed ... elemental carbon poses an unacceptable risk for lung cancer to our highest exposed workers in the province which are underground miners;

“Whereas proposed industry limits will result in hundreds of lost lives, undue harm in our communities and incalculable financial loss due to our health care and WSIB systems;

They “petition the Legislative Assembly ... to lower the occupational exposure limit for diesel emissions to a safe limit of 20 micrograms per cubic metre for all underground workers in Ontario.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my name to it and ask my good page Evelyn to bring it to the Clerk.

“Make Highway 144 at Marina Road Safe....

“Whereas residents of Levack, Onaping and Cartier, as well as individuals who travel Highway 144, are concerned about the safety of a stretch of Highway 144 in the vicinity of Marina Road and would like to prevent further accidents and fatalities; and

“Whereas three more accidents occurred in ... 2021” and another four accidents occurred in 2022 “resulting in severe injuries, diesel fuel spilling into the waterways, the closure of Highway 144 for several hours delaying traffic and stranding residents; and

“Whereas the Ministry of Transportation has completed a review of this stretch of Highway 144, has made some improvements and has committed to re-evaluate and ensure the highway is safe;

They petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows: “that the Ministry of Transportation review Highway 144 at Marina Road immediately and commit to making it safe, as soon as possible....”

I fully support this petition, will affix my name to it and ask my page Paul to bring it to the Clerk.

I’m very pleased to read this petition to the House. It is entitled “Enhancing Public Transit Accessibility.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas access to public transit is essential for Ontarians to be able to work, go to school, and for their day-to-day activities;

“Whereas youth, seniors, and families across Ontario rely on public transit to access basic necessities such as groceries, health care, recreation, and more;

“Whereas people living with disabilities face immense accessibility barriers, physical and otherwise, when accessing public transit;

“Whereas there are public transit stations across the province, including in the GTA, that are not equipped with facilities that allow people living with disabilities to be able to reach the trains, bus bays, streetcars, LRT, etc., without leaving the premises;

“Whereas transit agencies such as TTC have begun the work to ensure accessibility on transit vehicles and some stations, there are many stations across the city, as well as stations operated by various transit agencies across the province, that need to continue adding and enhancing accessibility features to ensure transit access for all Ontarians;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, call on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pass Bill 82, Enhancing Public Transit Accessibility Act, 2023, and ensure that Ontarians living with disabilities or who have accessibility needs can use public transit.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature to it and give it to the Clerk through Mikaeel.

I recognize the member from Durham.

Continuing with the debate on the budgetary policy of this government and specifically Bill 85: Because of inflation and higher interest rates, now is not the time for doubling down on failed policies which we saw in Ontario from 2004 to 2018 and which we see at the federal level.

The proposed budget we have tabled, Speaker, is an opportunity for the other levels of government, federal and municipal, to work with us on priorities that matter most to families and businesses. We have proposed a financial blueprint to address the ongoing housing affordability crisis, and we welcome co-operation and input from municipalities and the federal government. This will enable us to build new homes, invest in green spaces and infrastructure and defer the harmonized sales tax on all new large-scale purpose-built projects.

Speaker, we are building on what we have already done to make Ontario a global manufacturer and to bring investments and jobs back to Ontario. As outlined in the budget speech of the Minister of Finance, our government is proposing a new Ontario-made manufacturing tax credit. This would help local manufacturing companies invest and expand so that their essential products are made right here in Ontario. Our government is following through on our plans to attract electric vehicle supply chain investments to Ontario, thus making Ontario a leading jurisdiction to build the cars of the future. Our government is making these investments because our budget is about investing in people. Ontario’s future is about investing in families and businesses. We are getting it done.

Suffice it to say, Speaker, we are disappointed that the federal government has chosen neither to address nor invest in the Ring of Fire, given the absence of any reference to the Ring of Fire in Tuesday’s federal budget speech. This is a missed opportunity for workers and for families, especially those living in northern Ontario and in Indigenous communities. Our government recognizes the need to grow our electric vehicle and battery supply chains. We want to work with our federal partners to unlock the full economic potential of Ontario’s abundant supply of critical minerals and the Ring of Fire. This does not appear to be a priority for the federal Liberal government, and that is disappointing. However, it is a priority for our Ontario PC government. Our priority is people, and this budget will help families and businesses in Ontario thrive and grow, both today and tomorrow.

What I am most proud of is that our government has a solid fiscal plan to balance Ontario’s budget while allowing for increased spending in health care, infrastructure, education and social services. Our government’s fiscal blueprint will see a smaller-than-forecasted deficit of $2.2 billion this year; for next year, a $1.3-billion deficit; and a return to a balanced budget—a return to balance—with a surplus of $200 million in the following year, 2024-25.

This fiscal prudence and stability, Speaker, provides businesses, credit rating agencies and global investors with the confidence to invest in Ontario, because those partners understand that our government has its fiscal house in order. This fundamental is critical to Ontario’s growth and success.

In contrast, Ontarians understand that the federal Liberal government’s reckless spending is the pathway to disaster. Under the federal government’s budget that was just announced on Tuesday, Canadians will have to shell out $43.9 billion this year alone just paying interest on the record debt of $1.22 trillion—yes, trillion-dollar federal debt, and the interest alone is $43.9 billion in 2023.

The Minister of Finance mentioned during his budget speech, here in this House last week, that there would be no way that a Liberal or NDP government could deliver a fiscally balanced and prudent budget such as this. His statements are corroborated by what we have seen federally with a Liberal government backed by the NDP.

While the federal government is preparing to give raises to the Prime Minister, the federal cabinet ministers and backbench MPs effective April 1, our government is choosing to invest in people. And while the Prime Minister is set to receive a $10,300 annual salary raise effective April 1, our government will temporarily double the Guaranteed Annual Income System, or GAINS payment, for eligible seniors until the end of 2023.

Speaker, while 27 members of the federal cabinet are set to receive a $7,800 increase in their pay this year, our government will expand the GAINS program starting in July 2024, to allow for an additional 100,000 eligible seniors to be added to the program.

While 115 Liberal backbench MPs will receive a $5,100 increase in their pay, our government will invest an additional $202 million each year in supportive housing and homelessness programs in Ontario.

People come first. Our citizens come first with this Ontario government.

When the federal Finance Minister, in her speech earlier this week, stated that the feds would focus on “targeted inflation relief,” I assume that that minister was referring to members of the federal Liberal government and other Liberal elites. In contrast, our Ontario Progressive Conservative government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, is delivering a budget which is for all of the citizens. Speaker, to respond to the opposition that we are not investing in public services, allow me to address how our budget improves public services by making it more convenient and faster for Ontarians to access them.

Our government is investing more in health care to reduce wait-lists and provide better outcomes and to add more family doctors. These investments and improvements will connect Ontarians to more convenient care through their OHIP cards.

In this budget, our government announced it will invest $1 billion over three years so that more people are connected to care in the comfort of their own homes and in their communities.

Our government is providing an additional $425 million over three years for mental health and addictions, including a 5% increase in the base funding of community-based mental health and addictions service providers.

We are funding an additional $80 million over the next three years to further expand enrolment for nursing programs.

Speaker, we’re getting these things done because we’re building Ontario, creating the environment for a prosperous Ontario, and that is how we can afford to both balance the budget in the near future while investing, in a record-setting way, in the essential services our fellow citizens expect to rely upon.

Unlike the federal Liberals, who are blind to the needs and the extreme high costs and demands on their citizens, we are investing in services for our citizens. Our government has presented to the people of Ontario a responsible, transparent and common-sense budget that will support families, will support workers and help businesses to succeed across Ontario.

Our government believes in a strong and resilient Ontario because it is the people of Ontario that make it so. I therefore urge the opposition and, indeed, all members of this House to pass this budget, to confirm and affirm the budgetary policy of this government, because we owe it to our children and our grandchildren to invest responsibly in their future today to ensure we have a prosperous Ontario of tomorrow.

Thank you to the member from Durham for eloquently talking about the federal budget and federal numbers. It’s scary. Staggering numbers are coming out in the federal budget. The debt alone—he was talking about $1.22 trillion and the interest on the debt they have to pay every year—Canadians, not they have to pay; Canadian taxpayers had to pay $43 billion. The numbers are staggering. We are mortgaging our country to generations to come, Madam Speaker. Could you elaborate on that number, that very staggering number?

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. This is a budget that balances the competing concerns we face. This is a budget that is thoughtful, transparent and forward-thinking.

Fundamentally, what His Majesty’s loyal opposition fails to understand—both at the federal level, supporting the federal Liberal government, and in opposing this budget—is that when we tax and spend, we drive jobs out. The answer is to reduce taxes, create the environment for prosperity for businesses, particularly small businesses, to invest in people, so that when we have prosperity, we have the funding for the public services we—

The member from Richmond Hill.

Further questions?

I’m happy to join the member from Durham to support the budget motion. This budget is all about building the future of a strong Ontario. Like the rest of the world, Ontario continues to face economic challenges. However, despite this uncertainty, our economy remains resilient. The budget is a responsible, targeted approach to help people and businesses today while laying a strong fiscal foundation for future generations.

Last Friday, when I was back in my riding of Richmond Hill, I received many phone calls giving me their thumbs up to our plan. One of my constituents, Amy, shared her excitement: “This is really a long-term plan. I see the future of Ontario and a bright future for our next generation.” I am so encouraged by her comments, and she is totally right.

Due to the government’s thoughtful, transparent planning, we have a path to balance the budget while still investing in health care, supporting seniors and building more homes. The budget continues heavy investments in infrastructure, with more than $20 billion in highways, hospitals and transit projects. We are also providing boosts to home care and the health care workforce.

Speaker, our government is building a strong Ontario by attracting and protecting investments and jobs. We are investing in hospitals, schools, transit, highways and other infrastructure projects. We are working to manage today’s challenges, train workers and provide connected and convenient health care and better public services. We have the right plan that is building an Ontario that we can all be proud of, not only today but in the future—an Ontario that continues to have a resilient economy, an Ontario that is strong.

Even though we are making investments into more health care, more housing, more highways, more transit, more skilled trades, more new manufacturing, more development in the north, we are still able to shrink the deficit of the 2022-23 fiscal year to $2.2 billion. We will further reduce the deficit to $1.3 billion in 2023-24, with a modest surplus of $200 million in the following year. My member just now has already covered all these things, but I still want to share this excitement.

All these are made possible because we worked hard in developing our economy. We successfully attracted over $16 billion in investments from the global automakers, from Ford to Toyota, GM to Volkswagen. Ontario is the global leader in electronic vehicle and battery manufacturing now.

Madam Speaker, our government is building Ontario for today and tomorrow by driving economic growth, lowering the cost of doing business, attracting new investments and getting key infrastructure built faster. The budget is proposing a tax credit that would lower the cost of investing in Ontario for the local manufacturers who are looking to grow and expand.

We are also unlocking the potential of northern Ontario by committing $1 billion to build the road to the Ring of Fire and other crucial infrastructure that will connect the rich mineral deposits in the north with Ontario’s world-class manufacturing sector.

Ontario is investing an additional $3 million this year and $3 million next year into a program that helps junior mining companies finance mineral exploration and development. The investments build on the government’s minerals strategy which aims to grow the sector and make Ontario a leading producer of critical minerals, including those in the Ring of Fire in the province’s north. Critical minerals are essential for products Ontarians rely on, like cell phones, electric vehicles and semiconductors in goods.

Madam Speaker, to build a stronger Ontario that works for everyone, we need to welcome more economic immigrants with the skills we need, especially in the skilled trades and health care. Ontario is facing a labour shortage with nearly 300,000 jobs unfilled, and it is critical to ensure that we have the resources to select and welcome those best placed to succeed, building stronger communities for everyone.

As part of the 2023 budget, our government is investing an additional $25 million over three years in our Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. This investment will speed up processing and ensure those coming to Ontario can start working in their professions quickly. In the meantime, our government is investing $224 million to expand training centres, including union training halls and leverage private sector union expertise to train more workers in the skilled trades. Ontario needs more skilled workers.

Our government is also doing a lot to the lower the cost of living. The member has just covered a lot of what we are doing to lower the cost of living. All I can say is we have a strong outlook for Ontario. I share the finance minister’s quote, “Our government is now bringing the cars of tomorrow, the jobs of tomorrow and the investments of tomorrow.”

Thank you very much. I’m so looking forward to support from everybody in this House. Let’s build a strong Ontario together.

I want to thank the member for his discourse, and I want to say that the citizens of the riding of Essex are very excited, because this budget makes another reference to the regional hospital that’s being constructed that’s going to serve my citizens in the riding of Essex. Also, my colleague from Windsor–Tecumseh here is very excited, along with the citizens in Windsor–Tecumseh, because this budget continues the commitment to build the regional hospital in Windsor–Tecumseh that’s going to serve our whole region.

And so my question to the member is, in addition to this fantastic investment for Essex and Windsor–Tecumseh, what else is in this budget in regard to health care that is going to serve the citizens of the province of Ontario?

I listened to both the member from Durham and the member from Richmond Hill asking for support for this legislation, and one of the things I’m really concerned about, Speaker, is the crisis in our housing across this province. Not only can’t people rent, but people are seeing the high mortgage payments and the increasing property taxes. We’re seeing this is going to happen in Toronto, as well.

How do you justify the cut by your government of $124.4 million in this budget to municipal affairs?

Thank you to the member, who I understand plans to support this budget, wisely. The federal budget—the federal debt and deficit are out of control. Not only is it $1.22 trillion, a record debt, most of which was piled on just in the last few years—interestingly enough, the former federal finance minister, Bill Morneau, clearly objected to what direction that Liberal government was going in, supported by the NDP. He has written about it in his book. He left because he didn’t agree with that being the pathway forward, and that is now leading, as I said, to $49.3 billion in annual interest payments that the Canadian people will be saddled with.

We are going in a different direction. We have a path to balance, and that is where we are headed, while making sure we have investments to create a prosperous Ontario, which in turn funds the public services that we all rely upon. That is the Progressive Conservative way.

But homes don’t get built by the government. They don’t get built by themselves. They get built when a government such as ours creates the environment where it happens, where we unleash the potential to address the issue, and that is what we’re doing.

Then, with investments that create the pathway for Highway 413, that has a ripple effect across the province. With investments in transit, that has a ripple effect across the province. It’s all about targeted investments in strategic areas across the province, but it’s also about general investments.

In the area of health care, we’re making it possible so that we have more nurses—thousands more nurses in well-paid positions, more PSWs, more doctors, because you can’t just build hospitals; you’ve got to have the people, and we’re investing in people.

It’s always a pleasure to rise in the House.

A couple of things, a couple of little statements I’ll make: Our lives are not for profit. I want to make sure we know that.

But I’m going to start with the same comment I heard again this morning and again this afternoon, about the job loss in Ontario. I want to be clear about the job loss in Ontario, because I lived it, being president of Local 199. What killed the manufacturing sector in the province of Ontario was the Harper government that allowed our dollar to go to $1.10. It was a petro dollar. It benefitted the West; we all know that. Their residents were getting paycheques and all kinds of extra stuff from the government. But in Ontario, it killed the manufacturing sector. That’s what really started the problem—it was $1.10. Why are we doing so well in Ontario today? I stood up in this House nine years ago and I said we needed an 80-cent dollar; today it’s at 72 cents. People are coming here because of the cheap dollar. But the other reason why they come to Canada and why they come to Ontario is because we have a publicly funded health care system, which this government is attacking. They’re trying to privatize our health care. That will be one of the benefits that will be gone. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.

The other thing I wanted to talk about, because I raise it all the time—I listen to this all the time and I don’t even know how to respond to them. You say, “You guys always voted with the Liberals.” Going back to 2011, 2014, most of the people around here weren’t even here at that time, but that’s okay. What they forget to mention is that the Conservatives were not in power, in official opposition, for 14 of those years—14. And you know what they did? They voted for the Liberals and Bill 115 that attacked workers and teachers. They voted against anti-scab, and not once. Anybody want to guess how many times you guys voted against it? Yell it out. I’ll help you out then: 16—16 times, as they continue to say they stand up for workers.

Last night I was fortunate enough to go watch a Leafs game. I live on Wellesley while I’m up here. I walked from Wellesley to the ACC. And while I was walking down the street, I saw exactly what Ontario is like with an affordability crisis, with a homeless crisis. You know, Madam Speaker, it brings tears to your eyes to walk from Wellesley to the ACC and see 20—20, because I counted them last night—people lying on those grates where the heat comes up, with blankets around them. That’s our Ontario. Nobody here should be proud of that—nobody.

I’ll get into the bill. I’ll probably get into some other things, but I’ll get into the bill as well. As we are talking about our health care system, there is another bill that they are bringing forward almost at the same time with the budget. It’s Bill 60. But because the budget talks about health care, during the committee hearings we had a lot of unions come to present at committee, to talk about health care and where we’re going in health care and the privatization of health care.

The OFL represents 1.2 million workers in the province of Ontario. You would think a government that is saying they are working for workers would consult with them. Anybody on the Conservative side know if they did? Want me to help you? They never consulted with the OFL.

SEIU came, representing workers in the province of Ontario. I asked them the same question: Were you consulted about the future of our health care? You know, Madam Speaker, what they said? “Never consulted.” So the OFL and the SEIU were not consulted. I said, “Wow, that’s really strange.”

Then Unifor came. I said, “Well, they must have talked to Unifor.” I asked the same question. I believe it was Kelly-Anne Orr, from Unifor, who was there. She said, “We weren’t consulted.” I said, “You weren’t consulted on health care, which is probably the biggest thing, including the budget?” “No.”

Then I got lucky; CUPE came. Well, CUPE would have been consulted, right? I ask my colleagues on the other side, who have got their heads down and aren’t looking at me, was CUPE consulted? Not consulted.

Think about that when you’re talking about a party that is trying to say “We’re working for workers”; when we have a crisis in health care. We have a crisis in long-term care, where 5,500 people have now died in long-term-care facilities in the province of Ontario—78% in private long-term-care facilities. Not consulted? These are the workers that represent the nurses, the PSWs—not consulted. Whether it be in home care, retirement homes, long-term care, they didn’t even consult them. You should be embarrassed by that, quite frankly, not even talking to the workers that you should be.

I’ll start my speech now I guess. I chewed up a couple of minutes here. I apologize for that.

I think we came into this budget season knowing what to expect. Since the provincial election, we’ve seen the disregard this government has for public services, the affordability crisis in our province and the lives of our workers. They have told us the pandemic is behind us, although it’s not, and we have seen the true Conservative government. It’s a government that prioritizes wealthy corporations over everyday people. It’s a government that works to dismantle our public health care system. It’s a government that refuses to participate actively in our legal legislation. It’s a government that I believe is showing its true colours.

Madam Speaker, the members across the aisle have a habit of standing up and telling us that we voted no to their bills. We said no to their ideas, but I feel that those members have a very short memory—and being fair, when I look around, I don’t see anybody who might have been here during the Harris days. From 2004 to 2018, the Conservatives in opposition voted against every single budget. I want to repeat that—because we’ll have the House leader and other people stand up and talk about the NDP saying no. For 14 years, you voted against every single budget, every single one. Although you did vote with the government on a couple bills: Bill 115, voted down anti-scab legislation. You did vote, but that was against labour.

What do you expect from this budget? First, I think we expected something to address the affordability crisis we face in Ontario. But we didn’t get anything like that, nothing to actually help working people make ends meet in Ontario.

Maybe I thought we’d get something similar to their gimmicks around the last election, like the licence plate stickers that didn’t stick, that rebate they offered to voters. Maybe this budget would offer some discount coupons, like you get in the mail: discount, two-for-one, maybe buy-one-get-one-free eye surgery. But we didn’t get the classic vote-buying gimmicks we’ve seen from this party before. We got a budget that didn’t even try to address the affordability crisis in Ontario.

Because of that, I think it’s important for us to begin talking about the affordability crisis, Madam Speaker. I want to talk about the crisis in our communities. I gave you an example of going to the Leafs game last night right here in Ontario.

I want to talk about what seniors are facing when it comes to home heating costs, because this is a big part of the cost-of-living crisis we have in Niagara and across the province. Natural gas prices have doubled for some families and seniors. That’s not an exaggeration. The Toronto Star reported that some people’s Enbridge bills have gone up from $89 a month to $196 a month. That’s an increase of 120%.

This is affecting everyone. Families are struggling. But in particular, it’s affecting families who are on low income and affecting seniors. Most seniors are on fixed income from their pensions or from Old Age Security. This is somewhere where the Conservative government could actually do something to help seniors and families who are struggling. But there’s nothing in the budget around natural gas heating bills.

Madam Speaker, it isn’t just home heating we see increasing. Gas is largely unaffordable. The province moved to deal with gas prices, but the budgets were limited, and the government then fearmongered during the 2018 campaign about increasing gas prices. They sat back and watched it happen.

When you fill up your tank, maybe you’re happy it’s not costing you $2. But, definitely, you’re seeing $1.40, $1.45, $1.50 at the pump. And we know it’s going to go up. Oil prices are up again today. You know what the price increase is going to look like from day to day or even within that day? In the morning, it could be $1.39; in the afternoon it’s $1.50.

This government has the opportunity to regulate gas companies and bring transparency to the industry to help consumers, but they refused a number of times.

It may be tough to always predict what this government is going to do, but if they have an opportunity to side with the corporations, they’re going to do that every time. We know that the oil companies have had record profits.

Talking about corporations, I don’t think we can discuss this budget without talking about the lack of action on surging grocery prices. I’m sure you feel the same way, Madam Speaker. Do you know they’re up somewhere between 13% and 17%, grocery prices? We all have to eat. Some people, in particular seniors, are having one meal a day, sometimes two meals a day. They’re skipping meals. Families are doing the same thing.

The Premier, who said he would take on any corporation that was gouging Ontarians, can’t seem to find the courage to take on the Weston family gouging Ontarians. I think they might be too close of friends for him to step in and say, “Hey, your company is taking advantage of an inflation crisis at the expense of hard-working people.”

I always like to give examples. I do a lot of shopping up here if I go and buy my groceries. One of my favourite stores is the dollar store. I eat 14-grain bread, do it all the time. At the dollar store, it’s $3. I live where Rabba is, so I go down there sometimes if the dollar store is not open and I’ll buy bread. It’s $3.49. And if I can’t get to those two places, I go to Shoppers. Do you know what it is at Shoppers? It’s $4.49.

Can somebody tell me—and the dollar store is exactly half a block away from the Shoppers—how it’s $3 at the dollar store and $4.49 at Shoppers? How does that happen? That’s price gouging, my friends. And this is one example. I can give you more about Kraft Dinner and all that kind of stuff that I eat, but that one’s pretty clear. Some of these companies have a history of price-fixing. They’ve actually been caught doing it. So when you go to Loblaws and you see a pack of chicken that costs more than a ticket to a Sabres game, it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that they are purposely gouging people. This government could have taken action in this budget and provided relief for families, but they didn’t. They could have stood up to these corporations and addressed their clear gouging, but they didn’t do that either. It was a missed opportunity for the people of the province who are paying for it.

Madam Speaker, I wanted to talk about rents. I don’t know how many people here pay rent. I think somebody from the Conservatives yesterday said he was paying $2,700 for rent in his apartment in Toronto. We know renters are really struggling right now. Across the country, asking rents have increased by 10% over the past year. Think about this, Madam Speaker: In Niagara, we have communities where the price of a two-bedroom rental has jumped over 20% since last year. As we know, in 2018, it was the government that passed a rule that allowed for unlimited rent increases in buildings and units that were created after November 2018, and again, in this budget, there’s been no action on rent control. That’s a mistake.

So what do you see in front of us? We are a province with an affordability crisis and a government unwilling to address it in any meaningful way. And now, we’ve seen them start to cut back on health care services as we move towards a private model. Madam Speaker, I would like to first talk about what this government has done to seniors, because this is really devastating. This government, under Premier Doug Ford, has reduced the OHIP-covered eye check up for seniors aged 65 and older down from once a year to 18 months. What do you think about this?

We know seniors are struggling with the cost of living. Everything I have talked about previously—rent, price of gas, price of groceries, natural gas—it’s been affecting all our seniors. So they are already struggling with making ends meet, managing their budgets on a fixed income. And what else do we know? We know that preventative care is extremely important for everyone, but particularly for seniors, and I can say that because I’m a senior. I’m proud to say that. By the way, I’m wearing glasses and I get my eyes checked once a year. Now I’m being told I’ve got to wait 18 months.

What else do we know? We know that preventative care is extremely important for everyone, particularly seniors. And we know that when seniors go longer without proper eye care, there can be long-term problems. It’s not acceptable in one of the richest provinces in the country that we need to cut back on simple health care services like eye care.

Let’s not forget the one that I haven’t mentioned yet—I don’t think I have. Let’s not forget what we did to our seniors in long-term care. It’s up to 5,500, I believe, right now, that died in long-term care.

It’s hard not to look at the inadequacy in investment in health care from this budget. Long before we saw the contents of their privatization bill, we knew the plan. In early 2022, we rang the alarm bells that health care privatization was coming. How did we know that? Because we witnessed them starve the system, disrespect health care workers and turn the pandemic into a long-term health care crisis. This is standard practice for conservative governments across the world—and I say conservative with a small “c” because that includes some past Liberal governments in this province.

I don’t know how many speakers—NDP speakers, Liberal speakers, independent speakers, the Green speaker—have talked about Bill 124. You know who hasn’t spoken about Bill 124? The majority government. But you’re working for workers? You’re capping their wages at 1%. And that doesn’t just include wages; that includes wages and benefits at 1% when inflation is running at 6.5% and 7.5%. And then you have the nerve to stand up and call them heroes. They’re tired. They’re exhausted. They’re unappreciated by this government. Yet you guys continue to run into courts and fight Bill 124. You should be ashamed of yourselves, quite frankly.

They manufacture a crisis in a public service and then they turn around and tell us that the only solution is privatization, that a for-profit company is going to save the day. They call it innovation. It’s not innovation. Private companies have been working to take over public services and funnel public dollars to their shareholders for many years.

In the health care sector, we’re not talking a few million dollars. You know what we’re talking? Billions. It’s the same thing that they did in long-term care. I’ve said this at committee, and I was very clear on it, and I say it here: Take a look at what they did to long-term care and the end result there, where shareholders got billions and billions of dollars. Their CEOs were making hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting on boards where they might meet a couple times a year.

The ultimate thing that happened with the privatization: It wasn’t about care. It wasn’t about our parents, it wasn’t about our grandparents, it wasn’t about our brothers and our sisters, our aunts and uncles. What was it about? Yell it out. Conservatives, yell it out: It was about profit. It was never about care. That’s why we had 5,500 people die in long-term care; 3,800 of those died in private, for-profit homes. Because it wasn’t about care, it was about making money.

It’s hard to discuss a budget without discussing the impact it will have on workers in this province. I think it’s easy for some of us in this Legislature to forget that workers move this province forward. Without them, the province doesn’t function. They are our greatest asset. The government has done a lot of work to reshape their image in the eyes of workers. The 1990s under Mike Harris is hard to erase from the minds of workers, but they are trying. A few photo ops, a couple of empty bills—reassuring words to their friends in the skilled trades, all in hopes of mending that relationship. When it comes to the big things, like the budget, they revert back to their old style. They want to privatize our health care system.

I’ve only got a minute left, but I’m going to read at least one quote from J.P.: “Privatization makes wait times worse, not better. Our health care system is in crisis, and it’s clear that privatization is not the solution. Putting private profits over people won’t fix wait times or solve the recoupment and retention crisis, which is causing staff to burn out and leave their jobs. This government has manufactured a crisis in order to clear the path to privatization—Bill 60 is proof.”

I’ll try and read the OFL: “Bill 60 opens the door to two-tiered care—where those who can afford to pay more receive faster service. Meanwhile, underfunded public hospitals reach capacity and underpaid, overworked health care workers face critical levels of burnout.”

I’ve only got four seconds left so I can’t read any more, but we’ve got to stop agency employees charging $150 for a nurse as well.

Further questions?

I’m glad the member is talking about having people in communities and cities for building hospitals, building services.

As of January 12, 2003, the Kerr report has said that London was Ontario’s third-fastest growing community after Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo and Barrie. So, I looked through the budget. Transit is a huge topic in our city and as you know, Via is no longer operating from London to Toronto. Your government started running a pilot project in October 2021 to expand GO train services to London, and I’d like to ask the member why there’s nothing in the budget with respect to expanding the GO train services in London. Why did his government abandon this pilot project?

Mindful of the time, very quickly: My colleague from Durham spoke about investments in making sure that we have the right climate for business. I’m wondering if he can speak to the House about how he believes the investment in the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit will benefit our industries.

Yes or no? Are you going to support the tax? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Thank you to the member opposite for your discussion and debate of the budget bill. I’m glad to hear that you comparison shop between the dollar store and Shoppers; that’s great. I always support people who comparison shop. That’s what makes competition healthy—glad to hear that.

I did want to touch on something that’s coming down the pipe on April 1: The increase in the carbon tax. That’s 14 cents a litre on gas. That is going to cost every consumer in this entire province. Every individual, regardless of income, it’s going to cost them more to heat their home, put gas in their car, making life more unaffordable for the people of Ontario, and it’s inflationary, which is not something we want. I think we all agree we need to get inflation down right now.

Will you support us in going against this carbon tax which penalizes hard-working Ontarians?

First of all, I think you missed my point when I talked about going around and seeing the price of bread. My point was about price-gouging. That’s what it was about. It has been going on—

Interjections.