We’re working for workers every single day. That’s why we’re bringing forward not just nation-leading changes to our labour laws to rebalance the skills, to help those everyday heroes out there, but a lot of the changes we’re doing haven’t been done across North America.

I think of what we’re going to do around portable benefits. There are millions of workers today in the province who don’t have health and dental benefits. We’re going to be the first in North America to bring in a portable benefits plan.

Speaker, I think of the support we have for this legislation. The head of the provincial building trades, who represents literally hundreds of thousands of unionized construction workers in this province, is supporting this legislation—to clean up washrooms on job sites, to create a washroom on a large site specifically for women, to ensure that there’s adequate lighting, to ensure that these washrooms that don’t have covers on them are banned in the province of Ontario.

For the life of me, I do not understand why the NDP are objecting to this legislation—it’s to help people. This should be a non-partisan issue. All of the changes we’re bringing are to improve the lives of workers in this province.

We’re going to clean up washrooms for every construction worker. There are 16,000 women and men today working on job sites in the province—we’re going to clean it up for them. They’re heroes in this province.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

Today, I want to sing the praises of two young ladies from my riding. On March 5, Tatum Hutchison and Taylar McCallum won the Ontario youth bowling championship. They will be headed off to Regina in May for the Canadian championships. These young ladies are only 10 years old. They’re the youngest bowlers from Peterborough to win an Ontario championship. Both Tatum and Taylar started bowling around the age of four or five.

For Taylar, this must be in her genes, because she’s following in her father’s footsteps, who is also a former provincial champion.

The girls have been bowling together for the last five years and have become great friends and partners. They attribute their success to collaboration, friendship and the ability to not put too much pressure on themselves or one another. That’s a recipe for success that we can all learn from.

Every Wednesday, they come down to Lakeview Bowl to practise.

I know they’re excited to represent not only Peterborough but all of Ontario.

I truly don’t want to put too much pressure on them, but Taylar and Tatum, I know I speak for everyone in Ontario when I say this: We are very proud of you, and we believe in you. No matter what happens in Regina, you are champions. From not only me but everyone here in the Legislature, good luck.

Imagine waking up to the sound of cracking thunder and pouring rain in the middle of the night. You just can’t sleep, so you tiptoe downstairs to the basement to watch some television. Here, you are met with ankle-deep water and maybe even sewage soaking your freshly carpeted floors. This comes as a complete shock. You don’t live near any flood plains, rivers or streams, so you never expected a flood in your home. Why would you? You try your best to subdue the damage by using towels and sandbags, but there is nothing you can do besides wait for the downpour to be over. You sit and watch your possessions decay and await the $43,000 price tag to clean up your basement.

Basement flooding is not normal, but it is common. All of this could potentially have been averted if Bill 56 was law. It’s time for proactive solutions, not reactive measures.

Flooding is the most common disaster in Canada, and it now costs Canadians more than any other natural disaster.

Bill 56 will save your constituents and you from unnecessary hardships—financially and physically and mentally. I know this issue is close to home for many of you, as you have shared your basement flooding stories with me personally. By implementing this bill, money can be saved and headaches can be avoided. Ontarians—

Thank you very much.

Je veux profiter encore une fois de l’occasion pour souhaiter une joyeuse Semaine internationale de la Francophonie, non seulement aux Franco-Ontariens mais à tous les francophones à travers la planète.

Merci à la ministre des Affaires francophone, son adjointe parlementaire et son équipe pour avoir organisé une rencontre lundi ici même à Queen’s Park. Ça a été une belle occasion de rencontrer des représentants de plusieurs organismes francophones de différents secteurs et de différentes régions de notre belle province. Merci à mes collègues députés et leurs adjoints qui font partie d’un groupe de nombreux d’Ontariens qu’on appelle des francophiles. Je suis très reconnaissant pour leur participation à cet évènement.

J’ai aussi participé à un évènement lundi en soirée à l’Université de l’Ontario français. J’ai eu l’occasion de me joindre à mes collègues et à plusieurs membres de différents organismes qui font rayonner la francophonie dans notre province.

Vous savez, monsieur le Président, il y a beaucoup d’activités cette semaine par rapport à la francophonie. Hier encore, j’ai pris part à la cérémonie de l’Ordre de la Pléiade dans la suite de la lieutenante-gouverneure ici même à Queen’s Park pour reconnaître des personnes exceptionnelles qui ont grandement contribué à la francophonie de notre province. Vous avez vous-même, monsieur le Président, eu la chance de recevoir ces invités : M. Donald Lemaire de Hearst, M^me Claire Forcier de Hearst, M. Denis Chartrand d’Ottawa, M^e Mark Power d’Ottawa, M^me Lauraine Côté de Mississauga et M^me Ursule Leboeuf de Pointe-aux-Roches.

Je tiens à réitérer mes sincères félicitations aux récipiendaires pour leurs contributions exceptionnelles aux communautés francophones de l’Ontario et à l’ensemble de la province. Leur travail acharné et leur dévouement ont eu un impact significatif et durable sur la vie de nombreuses personnes.

This morning, I was on the phone with Gimaa Craig Nootchtai, the Chief of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek. His people’s traditional territories are home to almost all of the mines in Nickel Belt—mines that play a big role in this government’s upcoming budget.

Gimaa Nootchtai and his council were invited to an information session on Bill 71, the Building More Mines Act. They put in a lot of time and effort preparing for this information session, as Bill 71 will have multi-generational implications for their people. Gimaa Nootchtai and his team were shocked when the government declared after the start of the information session that this virtual meeting would satisfy the government’s duty to consult First Nations on Bill 71.

Gimaa Nootchtai said, “I told them that ‘consultation’ should have started when the proposed changes were first conceptualized so that we could truly participate in drafting legislation that directly affects our lands and rights.” I agree, Speaker.

This government has a duty to consult First Nations. Why are they not taking this responsibility more seriously? Why is it that this government seems bound and determined to continue to treat First Nations with such disrespect? This has to change.

When will this government consult Atikameksheng Anishnawbek on the changes to the Mining Act?

Giving back to the community and charity work is something that’s truly close to my heart.

Throughout the week of March break, my Brampton West Youth Council held a food drive.

As we all know, food is a basic necessity of life, and yet there are so many people in our community who struggle to put food on the table every day.

Fortunately, we have the power to make a difference. By donating non-perishable food items and volunteering our time, we can ensure that everyone in our community has access to healthy and nutritious meals. By coming together as a community, we can make a real difference in the lives of our neighbours.

Mr. Speaker, I’m so proud to have such wonderful volunteers as part of our team. Their willingness to help and their unwavering support has been instrumental in making this food drive a success.

I would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for your incredible efforts during our Brampton West food drive, and all of those who helped out either by donating or volunteering. Thank you for making such an impactful change in the community through your kind actions.

I rise today to appreciate the rich diversity of our Richmond Hill community. From celebrating the winter carnival to observing Nowruz and Ramadan, our community comes together to honour our inclusiveness.

I want to acknowledge the Richmond Hill Winter Carnival that took place on February 4. Despite the frigid weather, our residents came together to celebrate this winter tradition and have fun. This is the tradition that residents in Richmond Hill have been celebrating for 54 years.

Last week, I joined the Iranian community for various celebrations. I was happy to join Minster Parsa, Mayor Tom Mrakas and guests to celebrate the second anniversary of Bill 271 to recognize Persian Heritage Month. I also attended the ICTC Youth Foundation Nowruz event.

Today marks the beginning of Ramadan. May I wish the Muslim communities in Richmond Hill and across Ontario the very best during this time of spiritual strength and personal reflection.

Let us continue to embrace our diversity and work towards a brighter Ontario.

I recognize the Minister of Energy.

Order.

Interjections.

Start the clock.

Final supplementary.

To reply, the government House leader.

I would like to welcome Travis McDougall, from Truckers for Safer Highways, who is joining us today.

Welcome to your House, Travis.

I do, Mr. Speaker, and I thank you for your attention and your indulgence.

I am seeking the unanimous consent of the House that, notwithstanding standing order 100(a)(iv), the independent members be permitted to share the five minutes allotted to a single member for the debate on private member’s notice of motion number 34, standing in the name of the member for London–Fanshawe.

There’s a person who sits here almost every day in the members’ gallery, and his name is Michau van Speyk. It is his 28th birthday today. I want to wish him a happy birthday.

There is growing public opposition to this land grab, there’s an ongoing ethics inquiry, and there are new federal interventions.

So will the Premier finally stop his attack on our greenbelt?

Back to the Premier: Parks Canada said the government’s greenbelt carve-up is going to cause irreversible harm to wildlife. The federal government says the risks are real. This government muzzled the Greenbelt Council. It’s becoming increasingly clear that consultation did not happen—not at all.

So my question to the Premier is, beyond the guests at his family function, who did he consult on the impacts of his greenbelt carve-up?

Ontarians know that this government’s greenbelt grab has nothing at all to do with housing. They are not convinced by any of this. It has everything to do with a handful of very well-connected insiders making a lot of money.

Speaker, the reality is, this government’s plan won’t build a single new unit of affordable housing.

If this government truly cared about making sure that Ontarians had good places to call home, they’d be ending exclusionary zoning and investing to build non-profit, co-op and supportive housing.

My question to the Premier is, instead of bulldozing the greenbelt, will you invest in truly affordable housing on the land we already have?

Interjections.

It’s a great privilege today, Mr. Speaker, to introduce to you and to all the members of the Legislature—as parliamentary assistant to the Solicitor General, I’d like to introduce Chief Kai Liu, chief of the Treaty Three Police Service, and his wife, Heidi, who are joining us in the members’ gallery today.

Thank you for joining us. Welcome to Queen’s Park. Thank you for all the great work you do for this province.

I had the honour and privilege of welcoming the people from the JIAS Toronto LINC school of York region. They will be in the chamber very shortly, but I wanted to make sure that they knew that they were welcome. They’re an amazing organization that has been working very hard for the people of not only York region but Toronto as well. Welcome to them.

I can say this: The provincial government, this government, is steadfast in its commitment to continue to build houses for the people of the province of Ontario. The federal government can either assist us in this motion or they can simply get out of the way. We have made it very clear since 2018 that we needed to build more houses in the province of Ontario. It has also been very clear that the opposition is against this.

What we’re seeing in Ontario is hope and optimism returning to this province for the first time in a long time, Mr. Speaker. Do you know why? Because we’re bringing more jobs back to the province of Ontario. We have more jobs than people to fill those jobs, and we’re asking for over 300,000 people to come to Ontario to help us build a more prosperous Ontario. And do you know what they need? They want to have a home. So we will continue to do that. And I can’t say it more clearly: The federal government and the opposition can either work with us or they can get out of the way so that we can continue to build a better Ontario.

So I say very clearly to the leader of His Majesty’s opposition: Either work with us to build new housing or get out of the way.

Interjections.

Thank you, Speaker. I recognize you too. It’s good to see you this morning.

I would like to welcome a couple of dear friends of mine from Riverview, New Brunswick, my hometown. Believe it or not, I was the best man at their wedding a long, long time ago, when I was a younger, slimmer, more handsome man than I am today, if you can imagine that. I’d really like to welcome Peter and Heidi Foster.

Government House leader.

Government House leader.

I’ll remind the members to refer to each other by their riding names or their ministerial title, as applicable.

Start the clock.

The final supplementary.

The government House leader.

The Minister for Seniors and Accessibility.

Listen to the question of the Leader of the Opposition. She just stated that she wants to get in the way of having new homes for the people of the province of Ontario. There are the next generation of Ontarians who just want the same thing that all of us have. They want to have the opportunity to have their first home. That is why people have come to this province for so many generations. But the NDP want to stand in the way of that. They want to stand in the way of the incredible work that the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade has done to bring thousands of jobs back to the province of Ontario.

So what are we doing? We are building a bigger, better, stronger province of Ontario, and we are doing it by working together across government to make sure that that happens for the people of the province of Ontario. And they’re seeing the results, Mr. Speaker. Paycheques are getting better. It is getting easier to do business in the province of Ontario. Do you know who else is seeing the results? The billions of dollars of companies that are flocking to the province of Ontario to join with us in building a better, stronger—

What are we doing in health care? We are spending billions of dollars in every part of this province to build a bigger, better, stronger health care system. We’re building massive amounts of investment in Niagara—and not only in new hospitals. We looked at their small hospitals and we decided that we have to do a better job of funding their small and medium hospitals. So we’re doing that—the largest investment in hospitals in Ottawa. We’re doing that in long-term care. We work with the Minister of Colleges and Universities to make sure that we have the staff to support all of this massive investment.

And hey, go figure, we want to do things differently so that the people of the province can have a better health care system going forward. But do you know who’s standing in the way of that? It’s the Leader of the Opposition, because they’re stuck in the 1940s. I thought Dr. Horwath was bad enough, but now we have Dr. Stiles, who knows everything. But despite it, we’ll get the job done—

Interjections.

Do you know how we get it done in the province of Ontario? First, what we do is, we make sure we put policies forward, and the people of the province of Ontario elect a Progressive Conservative government to get the job done. And then we look and we say, “How can we improve Ontario?” We say the first thing we’ve got to do is get rid of the red tape regulation that was killing this province. We did.

Then we said we have to stabilize our energy sector. We did it.

We have to reinvest in infrastructure. We are doing it.

We have to reinvest in our health care system to build better communities. We’re doing it.

Do you know who votes against it all the time? It’s the Leader of the Opposition and that party.

Imagine a Leader of the Opposition, an NDP party, trying to suggest that they hold the high bar in ethics. I wonder how Kevin Yarde feels about that high bar on ethics—who was drummed out of the party because of that. This is a party that elected a leader because nobody else wanted to get into the race—but now we’re finding out that there was never going to be a race because the decks were cleared.

I think it’s fair to say that this government and this Premier have been under a cloud of suspicion—lucrative patronage appointments doled out to Conservative donors, cozy relationships with developers who stand to gain from carving up the greenbelt, a revolving door of lobbyists from ministers’ offices. And while ordinary Ontarians are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table or get the health care they deserve, this government is doling out gifts to everyone that they know.

My question is to the Premier: Are the interests of regular people in this province taking a back seat to the interests of their friends and donors?

Again, to the Premier—I’d appreciate a real answer: Doesn’t the government realize how this looks? How do you explain it?

To the Premier: Ontarians want to know, is this a return to cash for access in Ontario? Is this how we get it done in Ontario again, under the Conservative government?

Thanks to the member opposite for this important question.

Mr. Speaker, “Nothing without us”—our accessibility community wants their voice heard. This is why people with disabilities are involved in the design and evolution of program and service delivery in Ontario. Their voice matters.

We welcome the feedback from Rich Donovan to improve accessibility across Ontario.

Under the leadership of this Premier, we are the first provincial government to have a ministry and cabinet position dedicated to advancing accessibility in Ontario. We are building a more accessible Ontario together.

When David Onley gave me his report on the AODA, he told me, “Raymond, the number one thing you can do to create a more accessible Ontario is to help people with disabilities get meaningful jobs.”

I want to thank my good friend the Minister of Labour for the investment into the Skills Development Fund. We are making sure that people with disabilities have the right programs, services and training to find meaningful jobs.

When it comes to leadership here, there is no better advocate for accessibility than this Premier.