I thank the minister for his presentation today, and the other members who presented today.

I’m very excited about this proposed legislation because it’s something that people in my riding of Essex have been asking for; I know it because I’ve heard their requests. I’m so proud that this legislation has been tabled, and I hope it will pass so that these great measures can be implemented.

My question to the minister is this: Who else is supporting this legislation?

The Minister of Labour said he won’t tolerate scumbag employers. What did he do to stop the employer who passed Bill 124 and Bill 28, which trampled on workers’ corrective bargaining rights, forced wage caps, working conditions on largely women-led sectors—the same employer that won’t end deeming for injured workers or won’t pass anti-scab legislation?

My question to the minister is pretty simple: What has the minister done to stop that scumbag employer?

My question is to the minister.

The minister started his remarks by boasting about the temporary and inadequate paid sick days program that his government was forced to introduce, but he has told the media that the program has filled its purpose and it is expiring at the end of the month.

The legislation that we have here today would have been a perfect opportunity to amend the Employment Standards Act and finally bring in a permanent paid sick days program, like they have in BC, to cover all Ontario workers not just for COVID, but for any other illness or infectious disease that means that they have to stay home from work. Why did the minister not include that in this bill today?

I want to thank the Minister of Labour and his whole team for this incredible movement in terms of labour legislation. This is part of a huge series of changes that his team, with our government, is making.

One of the changes that is very vivid for my community—we have Base Borden, close to Barrie. When I speak to reservists—and of course, I speak to our local Legion in Belle Ewart—they talk about the mental health impacts of anyone in the Armed Forces.

So what is this bill doing to show respect and honour to not only our veterans, but everyone in the Canadian Armed Forces, and really move the labour pendulum for those workers?

I’m proud that we were the first in the country to bring in job-protected leave to ensure that if there’s a worker out there who is sick, obviously, from COVID, staying home to look after a loved one, having mental health issues—it’s really a flexible job leave—that workers can’t be fired for that. We brought in paid sick days, which the member opposite supported. I think I referenced it; it was probably the fastest bill that ever passed in this chamber since I’ve been here. It has been very successful. Over half a million workers have accessed that, which is good—again, very flexible.

I guess what I don’t understand from the NDP is—I think of our past Working for Workers bills that brought in naloxone kits to workplaces, that improved labour mobility so unionized construction workers could come to Ontario, that brought in foundational rights for gig workers. You opposed those. Why?

The member from Essex is doing such a great job being a champion for folks in his riding, especially around the skilled trades. I’ve been with the member from Essex a number of times, meeting with building trade union leaders from the Windsor-Essex region who are doing a great job. They’re going to be building that new hospital down there, they’re working on the bridge, expanding Highway 3—the list goes on and on and on.

Those men and women who are wearing hard hats every day are heroes. I say that proudly, because for too long in this province, people looked down their noses at people in the skilled trades. They’re heroes. That’s why I’m proud that this government is the first in history to do an inspection blitz to clean up washrooms once and for all for construction workers and to get more women into the skilled trades.

He asked, “Who’s supporting this bill?” I want to pay tribute—and I will do this in the next question—to Joe Maloney, the former head of the international boilermakers union, who is supporting this bill. He now runs Helmets to Hardhats. I’ll speak about him shortly. Unfortunately, he is retiring, but he has gotten men and women who have served the country into the skilled trades.

We will work every day to ensure that the health and safety of every worker is protected.

I do want to get back to my good friend Joe Maloney, who unfortunately is retiring from Helmets to Hardhats. He founded this organization. Joe was the former international vice-president of the boilermakers union, and he did a great job promoting boilermakers as a first career choice for many young people out there. Joe said, “Helmets to Hardhats welcomes the expansion of job-protected leave for military reservists. Reserve force members are a vital component of the Canadian Armed Forces but are also crucial in their civilian careers, including careers within the unionized construction industry. Allowing additional job-protected leave will support retention in the military and the workforce while ensuring Canadian reservists can return to work safely and sustainably.”

Joe, on behalf of the province of Ontario, thank you for your work with the boilermakers’ union and being the founder of Helmets to Hardhats.

Questions?

Question?

A quick response.

The Burlington Teen Tour Band is Canada’s oldest and largest youth marching band. For over 75 years, the band has been a symbol of pride for the city of Burlington. They are known for their high-energy performances and their ability to captivate audiences with their intricate formations and synchronized movements.

The Burlington Teen Tour Band has had the privilege of performing at some of the world’s most prestigious events, including the Rose Bowl parade, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, the 75th anniversary of D-Day, and the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbour.

Earlier this week, the band returned from their tour in Ireland, where they were in attendance for the St. Patrick’s Day parade and were named best band overall.

One of the things that sets the band apart is their dedication to excellence. The band spends countless hours perfecting their music and choreography. They are a tight-knit community of young people who share a passion for music and performance. Through their involvement in the band, these young musicians—my daughter was one of them—develop important life skills, such as discipline, teamwork and leadership. These skills will serve them well for the rest of their lives.

Today I’m here to speak about Attawapiskat First Nation and the disappointing neglect they have been facing with the government for over 30 years. I was just up in Attawapiskat last week with my staff to offer a clinic and to meet with chief and council. Chief Sylvia and the council are very discouraged, as were their predecessors. They have been asking for help to address their housing crisis and the development of their community for years. Multiple meetings and emails have been exchanged, with no advancement.

In 2014, a joint task force was established with Attawapiskat First Nation and both federal and provincial governments to address their requirements. In 2018, the joint task force established a memorandum of understanding to govern their meetings. In 2019, a renewed relationship commitment was signed to ensure the advancement of this working relationship—signed by the Honourable Minister Rickford, Minister O’Regan and Chief Ignace Gull. In 2023, here we are, in the same place, with no advancement and nothing to show other than an exchange of words.

The community is currently landlocked given its geographical disposition. There are only two ways for them to expand: option 1, remove the dispute on the road due to the De Beers mine; option 2, relocate the airport.

They’re offering solutions so that they can expand their community and address their issues, yet it’s falling on deaf ears.

They are facing a housing crisis, to the point where they do not have a single piece of land to expand their home and infrastructure on their traditional territory—quite ironic.

It is time to respect the—

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.

First off, I’d like to thank the minister for all his hard work, as well as the parliamentary assistants today for their speeches.

I’d like to give an example of something the minister mentioned today about encouraging women to join the skilled trades. In my community of Newmarket–Aurora—I spoke to this before in a member’s statement—we have a Blue Door enterprise called Construct. I spoke specifically with a young woman who started this program. She was on social assistance—

Since 1993, March 22 has been observed by all UN member states as World Water Day.

Our province is blessed to be a world leader in fresh water with more than 250,000 lakes—roughly 20% of the world’s fresh water. The word “Ontario” itself is said to derive from portions of the Huron word for “great lake” and the Iroquois word for “beautiful water.” Our government has and will continue to protect Ontario’s waters.

For example, in 2020, Ontario partnered with Pollution Probe to collect plastic waste from the water at marinas around the province using innovative plastic capture technology.

In 2020-21, our government invested almost $11 million in more than 98 projects to help improve the health of the Great Lakes, including cleanup projects which prevented over 250,000 pieces of litter from entering Lake Ontario.

We enhanced Ontario’s water-taking program and issued new guidance on managing water-taking in areas where sustainability is a concern.

Additionally, the Wetlands Conservation Partner Program has invested $15 million to protect, restore and rehabilitate over 2,600 hectares of wetlands across Ontario.

The Great Lakes provide drinking water directly to 60% of Ontarians. Ontarian’s drinking water protection framework received an A rating from Ecojustice Canada’s drinking water report card as it implements “the most ambitious source water protection program in Canada,” with some of the strongest protections available.

On this day and every day, we will work to protect this great resource for future generations.

I invite all members and all Ontarians to raise a glass to toast Ontario’s fresh water. Happy World Water Day.

Constituents in my riding are struggling to make ends meet. More families are accessing food banks because the cost of food has skyrocketed. Many people are living in deep poverty. Seniors are cutting pills in half or skipping doses. They can’t afford their medication and rent or food.

We have a housing crisis in Windsor-Essex and across Ontario. Housing remains unaffordable and unattainable for many. Young people and families are unable to buy a home in the community they grew up in. The cost of rent has increased dramatically because rent control was scrapped by this government.

More people are experiencing homelessness, yet shelters in my community aren’t receiving the funding needed to provide supports. The Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families says that 61% of the individuals accessing supports are children and youth. The largest predictor of future shelter use is the children accessing those shelters now, yet this government gives no thought to young people and their future.

The people of Windsor West and across Ontario deserve a government that supports them and takes action to make life better for everyone, not just the wealthy friends and donors of the Conservatives. We need a budget that will bring relief for the rising cost of living.

The Conservatives want the people of Ontario to settle for less, to think that this is normal. We must demand better, because better is possible.

We can double social assistance rates to lift people out of poverty. We can build more affordable housing while protecting green space. We can protect workers’ rights and ensure that good-paying jobs are available to everyone.

Budgets are all about priorities. This upcoming budget is an opportunity for the Conservatives to prioritize the people of Ontario. Maybe they’ll—

Thank you very much.

Members’ statements?

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?

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.

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—

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.

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.