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.

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.

Thank you for asking that good question.

Mr. Speaker, the member from Windsor–Tecumseh is doing a marvellous job advocating for seniors in his riding.

Our government is working for all seniors in the province so they can live comfortably with dignity.

Thanks to the leadership of the Premier, we are proposing to expand the Guaranteed Annual Income System program. Thanks to the leadership of the Minister of Finance, we are providing financial support to more low-income seniors. This program will make sure that when their costs go up because of inflation, our support for them will go up as well.

Our government takes the well-being of seniors very seriously. Increasing our investment will help our vulnerable seniors. They deserve to have steady and reliable programs, services and income supports. That is why we are proposing, through the budget, to invest an additional $1.5 million into seniors community grants.

Our government will always be here to provide services that build a strong Ontario that supports seniors.