Continuing where I left off yesterday—we need a government that invests in young, high-potential companies. An innovation hub told me that a government contract is more valuable than a grant because it gives them credibility when they go to sell in other markets. We need a government that sees that opportunity and does what it can to support these companies. But we’re not seeing that kind of creativity with this government.

Canada’s productivity is lagging far behind other major economies, with the OECD ranking us last for future economic GDP per capita growth amongst advanced economies. Ontario plays a role in that. It has been an economic engine for Canada, and we are not keeping up. We must keep firing on all cylinders to make sure that Ontario does its job to be the roaring engine of the Canadian economy. That could include continuing to drive work to remove barriers in freer interprovincial trade. Ontario should be leading these conversations, yet there was no mention of this opportunity in this latest budget document. As Stephen Poloz, former governor of the Bank of Canada, said at an initiative led by the Minister of Economic Development in 2021, “Politics is the art of the possible. I see no reason why this isn’t possible.” Unlocking this potential would create thousands of dollars per person in GDP in this province.

Speaker, let’s talk about the $4 billion this government has once again put in contingency funds. This government has a predilection for squirreling more away for a rainy day than any other government before it. Clearly, they have no plan to use that money to invest back into our economy and the people of Ontario. Maybe that’s why the Premier said, last year, “The worst place you can ever give your money to is the government.” That $4 billion would go a long way in making a difference in people’s lives. If the government repeals their unconstitutional Bill 124, they could use this money and the millions they are spending to fight it on paying our health care and other public workers more than a 1% raise. It could go toward the construction of new affordable housing, so that we can provide safe housing to the thousands of homeless people struggling across this province. It could go towards restoring the universal basic income pilot. It could help address the school repair backlog and the surgical backlog. It could go towards addressing the shortfall in municipal budgets and helping municipalities large and small to meaningfully address the opioid crisis. It could go towards key transit projects like the Eglinton East LRT in Scarborough or the waterfront LRT. It could go towards restoring OSAP funding to the more inclusionary levels under the previous Liberal government, and to supporting arts and culture to enrich our lives. It could go towards advancing employee ownership trusts, digital health innovation, and helping drive climate resilience and the energy transition.

There’s a long list of unmet needs under this government, and spending our money wisely to support the people of Ontario and drive growth in our economy would help lift everyone up.

Instead, individuals, families, health care and education systems, Ontario productivity and our future economy will continue to struggle under this government’s latest budget. If people can no longer afford to live in Ontario, and this government is not investing in people and real solutions to make Ontario the roaring engine of our economy, why would people choose to stay?

Unfortunately, for a lot of Ontarians, this budget means more housing unaffordability, more suffering from the increased cost of living, and more long wait times for care—more unmet needs.

The families of Ontario will not feel any balance from the budget, and that is nothing to celebrate.

As I mentioned, I do believe that those things drive productivity but that those aren’t the only sectors in our economy that we need to pay attention to. As I also mentioned, those companies in the manufacturing sector will only benefit from that credit if they actually decide to invest, and investing takes confidence. Business confidence is at an all-time low right now under this government.

I think what we need to be doing is focusing on the things that can build up investor confidence, business confidence. That includes making sure that we do have a strong health care system, a strong education system; that we’re investing in our post-secondary education institutions and driving advancement towards a clean economy, a green economy, so that those businesses are here and willing to stay.

I think the member has made a very good point—that, of course, it’s not fiscally prudent. The government is very likely to lose this court battle; it has been deemed unconstitutional. In addition to that, we know that it’s driving workers out of this province. We heard that in the pre-budget consultations. We heard how it’s forcing people who have full-time jobs to seek support in food banks. So we know that it’s not only unconstitutional, but that it’s damaging our economy, and spending probably in the tens of millions of dollars, if it’s consistent with what they’ve spent on other appeals, is really throwing good money after bad.

I’d like to thank the member from Don Valley West for her comments.

I had the opportunity to travel the province with the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, with the member, during which we heard from no delegation in support of the wage-suppression and wage-restraint legislation of Bill 124. In fact, it’s concerning that the government seems ideologically fixed on this costly legal battle. I believe that delegations indicated that Bill 124 was demeaning, was degrading to health care workers—and, in fact, the word that was used that will stick with me forever was that Bill 124 was “humiliating.”

Is it fiscally prudent for the government to continue to appeal legislation that has been defeated in court?

I thank the member for her comments on the budget. I certainly respect, given her commercial background involvement, the comments she made. The member talked a lot about productivity and how we can make the economy stronger.

I’d point out a number of things in this budget we have done—in particular, the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, which is a 10% refundable corporate tax credit for Canadian-controlled private corporations that will get investment in Ontario, increase productivity. There is the Ontario Junior Exploration Program, the savings for small businesses in our reduction of red tape—on and on and on. Those things are attracting huge investments—$16 billion for our automotive sector, in particular. Does not the member think those things do, in fact, enhance productivity in this budget?

We’re going to move to questions and answers.

Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers.

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 27, 2023, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 85, An Act to implement Budget measures and to amend various statutes / Projet de loi 85, Loi visant à mettre en oeuvre les mesures budgétaires et à modifier diverses lois.

I want to respectfully thank the member opposite.

I have spoken to countless businesses in Thornhill, and they are in desperate need of skilled trades workers, and we know Ontario needs skilled trades workers as a whole.

Will the opposition please support the proposed investment of $25 million in the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program so that Ontario can welcome more newcomers with skills needed to build Ontario?

I want to thank the member for her remarks.

I’m thinking about the implications of the government that, in its budget last week, announced no new money for operating public transit in the province of Ontario—just commitments to these trains they’re building that may happen at one point somewhere. We know about them in Ottawa. They don’t tend to work very well when they’re built by the consultants this government likes.

A 16-year-old, sadly, tragically lost their life this past Saturday, and people have been sounding alarm bells that we urgently need money into public transit so the transit system works well and is safe.

I’m wondering if the member has any comments about how we can make sure that the public transit system that we do have actually works well and is safe?

From your perspective, where should the money be going? Should it be going into operating transit for the TTC? Should it be going to helping folks who are homeless get access to safe, affordable homes with wraparound supports?

Give these folks, who seem to be fixated on trains that have not been built yet and are late, an idea of where the money should be going to.

The next question?

The unfortunate part is that I only have 20 minutes. This is such a good budget that I would have loved to have had the 60-minute leadoff to talk about this. There are so many things that we’re doing in this to improve the lives of people in Ontario.

I’ll try to focus as much as I can on my own riding, because I think there are a number of things that this document lays out that will improve the lives of the people in Peterborough–Kawartha.

We know that we have, across Ontario, an addictions crisis. Some people want to refer to it as an opioid crisis, but the reality is, it’s an addictions crisis—it’s not just opioids. It starts with different things, and it leads to a lot of other challenges. Those challenges affect not just the individuals, but their families.

I’ve said before in this House that any person who overdoses and dies is someone’s son or daughter, and could potentially be someone’s mother or father or brother or sister. They are a family member.

We’ve taken this very, very seriously. Almost half a billion dollars is being allocated to it.

What does that mean for communities like mine? We know that in Peterborough, last year, we averaged one overdose death a week; 52 people in a city of 85,000 overdosed and died. The investments that we’re putting into mental health and addictions are things that will make a positive difference. What we’ve done in our community over the last year and a half are things that need to be celebrated. We have a mobile mental health and addictions bus—we actually have two of them; Peterborough is part of the pilot project for this—taking mental health and addictions supports out into the community, where people need the service, when they need the service, paid for by OHIP. It goes out into Peterborough county, Northumberland county, Haliburton, which relieves some of the stress in the city of Peterborough, because the services are coming right out to you. We’re one of the pilots for this; there are three of them across the province. This is something that’s replicable and will make a positive difference, because if we can intervene before it is a crisis, we never develop to that crisis point. We get the supports to the individual, again, when they need it, where they need it.

These are things that are outside-of-the-box thinking. It’s not something that is being done widespread across the province. It’s not something that was widespread across anywhere in Canada. And yet, this government is investing funds specifically for that, and will demonstrate that this is a service that will work. This is a service that will reduce the number of individuals who find themselves in crisis.

But we know that we do have people who are in crisis right now—and that’s where some of these other investments will be. We know that harm reduction is one of those models that is a stopgap. It helps to build trust with an individual. It keeps them alive for a period of time. But it’s not the final solution. The final solution is developing ways to get people to treatment. That’s what this investment will do—create more treatment opportunities, more chances for people to get to treatment.

In my community, in 2020, 82% of the overdose deaths were in their own homes. These are people who would not be going to a consumption and treatment site. These are people who are not on the street. These are people who are not unhoused. These are your neighbours, and we’re providing supports for them, to get them into a better position.

We’ve heard the NDP talk about how heartless we are, as Conservatives—that we don’t do things that they want us to do.

Well, $202 million is being invested in the homelessness prevention fund. That’s an investment to change the narrative, to change the trajectory for some of these people, because we know that if we can get them to stable housing, if we can get them to a point where they feel valued, they will be far more productive.

We also know that one of the best social programs is a job, so we’ve done things in this budget to increase training, to increase the ability to get people to that next stage. Ready, Set, Go—that funding opportunity will provide education opportunities for a number of individuals who have been disadvantaged and get them to the next step, so that they can improve their lives.

But it’s not just about those social programs. We’re investing in job creation—the tax rebates, tax cuts for manufacturing. Manufacturing is something that we drove out of this province in droves for 15 years, when the Liberals were in power. We’re reversing that trend. We’re bringing companies back to Ontario. We’re repatriating a lot of that manufacturing, and we’re providing a tax benefit for companies—small companies—in manufacturing to accelerate that, so that more people have that opportunity for a good-paying job.

We know that by reducing taxes the way we have—over the last few years, we’ve heard repeatedly how horrible it was to put money back into people’s pockets, how horrible we were for not increasing taxes. We’re projecting record revenues for the province by cutting tax, and the reason we’re doing that is, you have more money in your pocket to spend; companies have more money to hire and produce; companies have more money to advertise, market and sell their products. And we’re seeing the benefits of that.

We have a record amount of spending in this province now. This budget is more than $200 billion, and we have a pathway to a balanced budget in a record time. Just last year, we talked about getting to a balanced budget in three years’ time. We’ll be at a balanced budget in a year, because we’re doing the right things. We’re saving people money.

There have been comments that we’re not doing enough to help the average person, that there’s nothing in this budget to help the average person. That is a completely false narrative.

When we were first elected in 2018, hydro rates, electricity rates in Ontario had risen from 2003—the lowest in North America—to 2018, the highest in North America. And if anyone in Ontario believes that you do not pay for electricity—that is a false statement. All of us are paying for electricity. But the relief we have put in there, $6.5 billion in relief on electricity charges, is money right back into the pocket of every single person in this province. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using electricity to turn on the lights or whether you’re using electricity to heat your home. All of us use electricity. The opposition members want us to move to an electrified system, where we have electric cars. Well, guess what? Every single electric car has to be charged. And how do they charge that electric car? By plugging it into the grid. That is savings for every single person in this province. I know it’s a narrative that the NDP doesn’t want. I know it’s a narrative that the Liberals don’t want. They don’t want to talk about the good things we’re doing.

This budget supports every single person in this province. With the GAINS program, at least 100,000 more seniors will have more money back in their pockets because of that.

That’s what this budget does—it puts money back into people’s pockets. It gives them the ability to decide how they’re going to spend it. And that is how government should function.

With that, Madam Speaker, I’m going to turn my time over to the member for Windsor–Tecumseh.

Thank you for the question.

I think the member has nailed it on the head here when he says that people are on their own.

Again, that money is basically being stored away for a rainy day and potential risks that the government talks about. Well, again, those risks are here. As you’ve mentioned, children are suffering from the pandemic. Their mental health is suffering, and they’re being told, “Here’s a couple of hundred dollars to go get some tutoring help.” That will not advance their learning. Seniors are being told, “Wait for your eye care appointments.” People are being told to keep waiting for their surgeries.

That money could be invested in our economy, invested in our health care system, invested in helping the homeless, whom we know are struggling, and that’s affecting all of us more broadly in our economy.

The member is quite accurate in saying that that money could be better spent under many different programs, instead of squirrelling it away for a rainy day.

Certainly, investing in new immigrants to Ontario and to Canada is important.

I know the government likes to point out that if we vote against the budget, we’re voting against the whole thing. I certainly don’t think that’s the case.

I think the focus really needs to be on keeping the workers we do have. The government is focused on finding new workers. That’s because they’re driving away workers. They’ve driven away workers in the health care sector. They’ve driven away education workers. And they’re driving away daycare workers, so that’s actually preventing us from achieving the full potential we can around the federal government’s program for daycare.

While I support supporting new immigrants to Ontario, we need to also make sure that we’re fighting for the workers we have today.

It was really heartbreaking to hear the interview with the mother of the 16-year-old boy who died. She was very brave and spoke up about the need not only for investment in our transit systems but for investments in the people who are vulnerable—the homeless man who allegedly killed her son.

So I think that, on two fronts, this budget lets us down. It is not investing in our transit systems. There are broken promises related to new lines that the previous budgets have laid out that are not here.

We know that the TTC is having to cut service, and that only leads to more unsafe conditions on our transit systems, because with fewer people around and longer wait times, we know that that can lead to more issues.

Absolutely, the member is correct that we should be investing in public transit and the surrounding supports to make sure the homeless are supported.

We need to be making sure that if we build transit, we actually can run it. We can’t run it without sufficient operating budgets. We know that the TTC is one of the most underfunded transit systems in North America, and I expect that’s probably the case for others, like in Ottawa.

Again, having government support for that transit system will provide safety, but we also need to talk about how many people are homeless, what kind of supports they need, what kind of housing they need. Let’s look at things like small homes that can be affordable, that can be done quickly, to put a roof over their heads so that they can then get the help that they need.

I want to note that the member is reminding us of the Premier’s statement that the worst place you can send your money to is government. I guess he doesn’t fully understand that Ontario’s school system, our schools, our colleges and our universities have made us great, that our publicly funded—

Interjection.

But in this budget, it’s very clear that the message is, if you have a child with special needs in school and their needs aren’t being met, you’re on your own. If they’re having challenges with mental health, you’re on your own. If they’re just simply falling behind, the government is saying to you, “You’re on your own.” If you need paid sick days, you’re on your own. If you’re a senior looking for eye care, you’re on your own.

My question is, what does the overdependence on contingencies and reserves in this budget mean to Ontario families?

The member for Windsor–Tecumseh to continue.

Today, I’m pleased and proud to rise to speak in favour of Bill 85.

One of the greatest privileges of serving here in our government is knowing that my community of Windsor–Tecumseh matters. Those who grow up in Windsor–Tecumseh and Windsor-Essex live in a persistent cycle of economic boom and bust. The opportunity to overcome this cycle is through sound government policy—policy that supports the attraction and retention of employers; policy that supports our wraparound and supportive social services; policy that helps people be their best. On these fronts, the budget delivers.

We know that, in this moment, there is significant economic challenge and uncertainty. But, despite it all, Ontario remains a beacon of hope, a place where the economy is resilient, where we have a government who knows that driving debt onto younger generations—both government and personal—is a poor choice.

Speaker, our plan is truly a responsible one. It helps people and businesses today through a targeted approach. It cares about future generations. It recognizes that we must be mindful of the consequences of our actions. It recognizes that we need to be prepared for the unexpected. It recognizes that we build Ontario up by attracting and protecting investments and jobs. It recognizes that we must not build and ignore, but rather, reinvest in hospitals, schools, transit, highways and infrastructure projects, and that should not cease. Our plan addresses today’s challenges head-on, with worker training, connected and convenient health care, and better public services. Our plan offers hope where hope is hard to find. It offers a future where Ontario maintains strength and a resilient economy.

But the truth of the matter is, I don’t need to say much more about the budget on my own—I’ll let my community speak on this.

Mayor Drew Dilkens of Windsor celebrated the measures of the budget in an interview with the Windsor Star. He noted that measures designed to target labour market issues, health care wait times, and addictions and mental health will benefit the Windsor region. Mayor Dilkens noted, particularly with respect to the economy, the following:

“What the government is doing with respect to the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit will certainly help Ontario manufacturers. It certainly plays into all of the work that we’re doing behind the scenes to get new industrial land ready to support the types of investments we expect to see coming in Ontario, in addition to the EV battery supply chain projects that we see happening.

“This is really good news.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of uptake provincially with businesses looking to take advantage of that tax credit, but it means that we have to be ready on the land side and so that’s what we’re working on, is putting the building blocks together.

“It’s certainly good to know that the government is thinking forward about investments that will help drive business and investment decisions here in Ontario to help create more jobs and better pathways for people looking for work.”

On mental health and addictions, Mayor Dilkens welcomes the $425 million earmarked over three years for support to help the issues “playing out on the streets.”

On the government’s $72-million investment over the upcoming year to expand the number of publicly funded surgeries and procedures performed at community clinics—measures designed to reduce wait times—he noted, “All of those investments I think are very, very strong. Look at someone like Dr. Tayfour and the eye surgeries that he does as a model of how other surgeries can be performed outside of hospital, saving money and increasing the level of service that we all expect as Ontarians. This is good for our community.

“You’ve already seen traction initially with some of those types of investments, they’ll continue to grow but ultimately, (these investments) continue to improve the delivery of service for people who live in the city of Windsor.”

Indeed, Mayor Dilkens referenced Dr. Fouad Tayfour. Dr. Tayfour and Dr. Barry Emara are pillars of our health care community in Windsor-Essex. I call them health care experts. They operate the Windsor Surgical Centre in conjunction with Windsor Regional Hospital. It’s a tremendous success story that should be celebrated widely, not protested.

I can’t tell you, Speaker, how stunned I was to see the opposition stand outside Windsor Regional Hospital and vow to fight the efforts to get better public health care delivered faster to Windsor-Essex residents, as pioneered by Windsor Regional Hospital.

On the $202 million more for homelessness prevention, Mayor Dilkens said, “Premier, we are ready to put these $$ to work ASAP.”

My friends on this side of the House remind our government frequently to listen to the experts. I encourage everybody to listen to the experts, particularly with respect to health care services. I’m delighted to share what our local experts have to say.

David Musyj, president and CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital, said, “As stated by the Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance, Ontario and the rest of the world are continuing to face economic uncertainty.... These challenges have created pressures and risk for the people and businesses across Ontario.

“The last three years have been beyond difficult for everyone.

“I am very pleased to see the Ford government continues to recognize these facts and has made continued, ongoing and significant investments in health care across the whole system and also with respect to Ontario hospitals. The government has signalled a 4% base funding increase to hospitals.

“Windsor Regional Hospital’s current annual budget is in excess of $610 million. We will await the detailed funding letters which will provide exact details to Winsor Regional Hospital.

“Over the past couple of years, the Ford government has invested $30 million in Windsor Regional Hospital annually to fund 62 additional acute medical/surgical, critical care and acute mental health beds these past few years and for 2023-24. This is significant on its own and only one example of the ongoing health care investments the Ford government made to Windsor Regional Hospital.”

I will highlight this: “The Ford government has listened to every request made by Windsor Regional Hospital for operational funding, based on a business case, and has responded favourably to every one of these requests.

“At the same time, the Ford government reinforced multiple times in their 2023 budget its support for the new Windsor/Essex acute-care hospital and the Ouellette campus urgent care centre and ambulatory procedures. This project is scheduled to go to tender in 2025 and a ‘shovel in the ground’ is anticipated for 2026.”

To CEO Musyj and the Windsor Regional Hospital staff: Our government stands shoulder to shoulder with you in your efforts to take care of the people of our community.

I also want to highlight Bill Marra, CEO of Windsor’s Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. That’s our mental health facility and chronic care facility. Mr. Marra and I actually ran into each other on Saturday night at the hospice gala held at the Caboto Club, and he let me know how much he appreciated our government’s considerable investment in mental health and addictions. He wrote:

“I want to acknowledge and commend Premier Doug Ford and his government for the recent 2023 budget announcement which includes proposed investments in children’s mental health, adult mental health and addictions as well as supportive housing. His commitment to improving access to mental health care and supportive housing is a significant step forward for Ontario and it will have a profound impact on the lives of countless individuals and their families.

“Further to that, with the recent acknowledgement and investment of our provincial government recognizing HDGH as a centre of excellence in mental health and addictions care along with the expansion of 68 in-patient acute mental health beds due to arrive on our campus within the next few years, it is clear that this government understands the priorities ahead. As we continue to grapple with the long-term fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for mental health care and supportive housing has never been more pressing. The pandemic exacerbated existing mental health and addiction challenges leaving many vulnerable individuals without the support they require. With this proposed investment strategy, the government of Ontario is taking a crucial step towards addressing this urgent need and providing much-needed relief for those who are struggling.”

Mr. Marra concluded—I won’t read it all—supportive of the supportive housing investment: “I applaud Premier Doug Ford and his government for taking this important step forward and improving our health care system in addition to the supportive housing strategy. We must continue to work together to build a healthier and more resilient Ontario for all Ontarians.”

Mr. Marra also noted that Hôtel-Dieu Grace is looking to construct a long-term-care facility.

I see I only have a minute and a half on the clock, so I’ll just finish off with some of the investments that haven’t been really heard in our community, with the absence of a government member. These great news stories are hard to find.

I’m happy to celebrate these investments in long-term care made by our government in the city of Windsor:

—36 new and 60 upgraded beds at Brouillette Manor in Tecumseh;

—40 new and 120 upgraded beds at DTOC-Leamington;

—85 new and 75 upgraded beds at an Arch home in Lakeshore;

—192 upgraded beds at a new Banwell Gardens Care Centre in Windsor;

—11 new beds and 181 upgraded beds at a new Berkshire Care Centre;

—88 new beds and 72 upgraded beds at a new Regency Park Long-Term Care Home.

Dr. Sonja Grbevski of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex county branch, has equally celebrated the investments made in this budget. She noted, “This budget commitment shows that the government understands the strain our sector is facing as we support Ontarians living with mental health and addictions challenges. We are grateful for this critical investment, which will help us to maintain a high quality of care for the individuals we serve in our community.”

Supportive comments have also been made by Rukshini Ponniah-Goulin, executive director of the Downtown Mission of Windsor; Tim Brady, owner of Brady’s pharmacy, speaking to the new measures for pharmacists; and Rakesh Naidu of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce.

I could go on for probably another half hour on this.

My community supports our budget. I’m very happy to share the good news with my community.

We’re going to move to questions.

Obviously, the member didn’t actually listen to everything I said, because I did talk about all the things that we were doing to support everyone in Ontario.

The reduction in cost for electricity of $6.5 billion affects every single person, whether they are on Ontario Works, ODSP, or whether they are working someplace, whether they are retired. It makes no difference; it affects every single person in this province in a positive way.

We’ve increased funding to ODSP by 5% and tied it now to inflation so that they’ll never find themselves in a position where they’re falling further behind. This is the first time any government in Ontario has done this—tied it to inflation to make sure that they do not fall behind.

Madam Speaker, this is a fantastic budget, and the opposition needs to stand up and vote in favour of it, because it helps everyone in this province.

I thank the member from Sarnia–Lambton for his question.

It’s no secret that the delivery of health care has been a struggle in our community. We actually compete with the city of Detroit for our nursing staff. In fact, my next door neighbour, Sandra, a phenomenal nurse, was cut back by a previous government in her career, so she was scooped up by an HMO in Michigan.

We need to provide modern facilities. This government has brought that hope and optimism back by finally approving the Windsor-Essex regional acute-care hospital, giving practitioners the dignity of a sound place to work, with proper equipment that’s not left over from 40 years ago. This is a tremendous investment. This is the only government to get behind it. I’m so happy that it made this investment prior to my arrival and that we’re going to get the job done in delivering this much-needed facility for the people of Windsor and Essex county.

Ontario has reached a population of somewhere around 15.4 million people.

I’d like the member for Essex, for example, to explain how those capital investments are going to make improvements both to Ontario as a whole and to Essex in particular.

Thank you to the members opposite for your comments on the budget.

I was genuinely heartened to hear the member from Peterborough–Kawartha spend so much time talking about the importance of people in crisis; I truly agree that that should be a priority for this government. But I was really surprised to hear him say that the budget supports every single person in this province—to begin with, because I can list many people in this province that the budget does not support, but mainly because the budget does not support some of the people who are the most in crisis in our province, which is people who live with disabilities, people who are living on Ontario Works, who are living in such incredibly deep poverty that they are going hungry every day, who are using food banks in record numbers, who are unable to afford rent because the benefits that they are receiving are significantly lower than the rate of rent in the province.

Does the member not agree that, if we genuinely want to help people in crisis, we should start with the 900,000 Ontarians who are living in very deep poverty, and double the rates of Ontario Works and ODSP?

Meegwetch, Speaker. It’s always an honour to be able to get up in this place, to speak on behalf of the people of Kiiwetinoong. You have to understand that the Kiiwetinoong riding is 294,000 square kilometres, and we are one of the richest ridings in Ontario—rich in resources such as water, such as the land, and also the lakes that we have, the animals and the fish that live in those waters.

Remarks in Anishininiimowin.

At this time, I will speak your language, which is English. You all know that Anishininiimowin, my language, is not allowed to be spoken in this place. I think we have to understand, as well, that this place, Queen’s Park, the Ontario Legislature, was never built for people like me—First Nations [Remarks in Anishininiimowin]. I always acknowledge that this is a place that is very colonial. English is my second language. I have to speak your language.

It’s an honour to be able to speak on this bill, Bill 85, Building a Strong Ontario Act. I speak on behalf of the people of Kiiwetinoong.

Yesterday, just down the road, I attended a gathering hosted by the Office of the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. This was their third National Gathering on Unmarked Burials. There may be a lot of you who do not know: The office of the special interlocutor works closely and collaboratively with Indigenous leaders, communities, nations, survivors, families and experts to identify needed measures to ensure the respectful and culturally appropriate treatment and protection of unmarked graves, but also the burial sites of children at former Indian residential schools. In Ontario, we are still looking for children who never came home from those—I don’t know if I should call them schools. They were not schools. I talk about that because it’s very important work that is being done at these gatherings, and it’s an honour to be there. I won’t be taking part in today’s sessions, question period, because I’m going to be with all the survivors who are here, just down the road, from across the country.

We honour the survivors, the Indigenous families and the communities across Turtle Island who are leading the work of recovering the unmarked burials and the missing children.

We also honour and acknowledge those who lead the search and recovery efforts, often reliving their trauma as they work to bring honour and dignity to the spirits, to the bodies, to honour the remains of our children who never came home.

I know we speak about prosperity and a vision forward, but there are things that are happening—like the fact that there are still unmarked graves, unmarked burials of children, on former Indian residential school sites and other associated sites across Canada due to the inaction and the decisions of Canadian governments, provincial governments, and especially the churches who administered these institutions.

We also cannot forget that our children were often sent to other places, like the federal Indian hospitals, sanatoriums, provincial hospitals and provincial reformatories.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified that further work is needed to be done to locate all the unmarked burials, including at associated sites, to locate the missing children.

Today, the survivors, the families of these survivors, Indigenous families and communities carry the burden of leading the search and recovery efforts. It is a burden that they should not have to carry. But that’s the reality. That’s a dark history.

That’s the real history that all Canadians, all Ontarians never knew, which brings me to the budget—$25.1 million in additional funds to identify remains at former residential school sites over 2023-24. Without this being itemized, it just appears to be an additional $5 million over $20 million over three years committed to date. When I see those numbers—how do you put a price on finding our children? How do you put a price on the children who never came home? This is what Ontario has decided—that it’s worth this much.

In relation to Indigenous people, this budget mainly talks about two things: (1) the searches for Indian residential schools and (2) the Ring of Fire.

It’s certainly interesting how important mining is to this province, to this government.

Before we even had treaties in Ontario, there were people coming into the territories of Indigenous people and mining without agreements. It was in the 1840s—a very important piece of history that took place in Mica Bay at Pointe aux Mines, north of Sault Ste. Marie. This was just before the creation of the Robinson Treaties.

A few years after the discovery of minerals on the shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior in 1841, the Canada West company generated $60,000 from mining leases and patents, and stood to earn $400,000 once the patents were paid in full. We have to understand that this was a lot of money at the time. Government officials of the day continued to ignore the concerns of local Indigenous leaders, whose homes and sources of food were now threatened by this activity. Also, the chiefs of the area were aware of the value of the minerals and questioned the legality of surveying unceded territory.

On November 1, 1849, a group of several hundred Anishinaabe and Métis warriors, led by Chiefs Oshawano, Shingwaukonse and Nebenaigoching, travelled to Mica Bay by boat. They took a small cannon from the lawn of the crown lands agent Joseph Wilson, and other weapons supplied by local merchants who supported their cause. At that time, they secured a lawyer, Allan Macdonell, who joined them with an artist. When they arrived at the mines, the chiefs met with management and gave them an ultimatum of shared profits or a complete shutdown of the operation. The company closed the mines, and his workers began to disperse with their equipment in the following days. Rumours began to spread that there had been an “Indian massacre” with hundreds of casualties. Other mine owners became uneasy after hearing the sensationalized reports, though there had been no deaths at Mica Bay, and pressured Canada West to act. The lawyer and the artist were arrested, alongside two Métis and two Anishinaabe chiefs. The group was sent to Toronto for trial, where they were eventually released and returned to help with the negotiations for the Robinson treaty.

Premiers like to make promises. The current one likes to talk about bulldozers a lot.

George Ross was the fifth Premier of Ontario, from 1899 to 1905, and he talked a lot about railroads. He needed a way to build the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway, renamed Ontario Northland in 1946. The way he did it was through treaty. He sent survey parties to examine possible routes for a new railroad going as far as James Bay. The initial survey area was covered by the 1850 Robinson-Huron Treaty between the crown and the Anishinaabe people. By 1905, both Queen’s Park and Ottawa were pushing for Treaty 9 to be signed to ensure clear title for all the land up to Hudson Bay. The land would be needed for mining, timber and the railroad.

George Ross’s 1902 budget stated that resource development was the central government priority. Ross explained later to the House that a modern government “has to be the pioneer ... of manufacturing and commerce.” Sounds familiar, right?

Shiri Pasternak, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, recently wrote an article about critical minerals and settler colonialism. She said, “The transformation of industries like automotive manufacturing with the rise of electric vehicles, the energy sector with solar and wind infrastructure, and medical innovations in cancer treatment all rely on extracting ‘critical minerals’ in mostly traditional ways.”

But we have to ask ourselves: How is this new extraction different from the old practices of colonization? When we listen to the government talk about critical minerals, it gets framed as clean energy and responsibly sourced materials. The government says that they need critical minerals for national security and to be more important globally. But you have to think more about the land that these minerals come from. Those minerals lie under the treaty lands of the people who have cared for the lands and the waters since the Creator put us there.

What is the trade-off needed for a green economy? Whose lives will these companies be changing forever to make their shareholders richer? How much does it cost to change the ways of life for the people in Treaty 9 forever? And how is it fair to go in and push these projects through in First Nations that don’t even have access to clean drinking water, in these reserves? I don’t see a $1-billion commitment to that in the budget—just a road that will mostly make money for a company that can’t possibly understand the importance of the lands and the waters, that can’t possibly understand the ways of life of the people in Treaty 9. How can I believe that, when every day I look at the mace over here? There’s a diamond in there that came from Victor mine, that came from Attawapiskat. During its operation, the Victor mine yielded about 1.1 million carats of diamonds. It’s hard to imagine how much that is worth to an average person.

I was in Attawapiskat before, and they have to haul their water in jugs. Their community reserve line is so maxed up, they can’t build any more homes. It is important that we acknowledge that.

The government talks about prosperity. I was in the community about two months ago. This community is a signatory to one of the mines nearby. There is literally needless death and unnecessary suffering. I see children who are four years old suffering with skin conditions. The government talks about mines and prosperity to me, to First Nations. We’ve had that mine for 30-plus years, and there is no prosperity in there. I think it’s important to be able to try to acknowledge that.

I come from a different Ontario. I come from a different Canada.

Thank you for listening. Meegwetch.

Wow. That is really all I have to say on that.

Thank you so much for voting against bills that would reduce the cost of building things in Ontario.

We are cutting the development charges for not-for-profit housing. Is that not what your question was about? Then you asked, how are we doing that? We’re cutting the development charge in the GTA. In some portions of the GTA, it’s $167,000 for a development charge. Not-for-profits will not have to pay that. That is a significant reduction in the cost per unit—$167,000. What is that in terms of mortgage payments right now, with the interest rates that we have? That is hundreds of dollars per month—close to $500 per month—that is not going to have to be paid for not-for-profit housing builds. That helps.

There is more to the province of Ontario than the city of Toronto, and if you come to any riding outside of the 25 that are in Toronto, they would say that they should also get the same level of respect and that they should get the same benefits as what the Toronto members of the NDP are trying to advocate for Toronto.

In my riding, I know that people are happy about the idea of housing being built; I know that people are happy about the idea of jobs being brought back to the province.

I could go across any single riding of the PC government members, and they would all say the same thing: Ontario is on the right track, because we’re attracting businesses.

VW would not be here if it was not for the work of this government, the leadership of Premier Ford and the leadership of Vic Fedeli—sorry, the member from Nipissing, the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade—