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—

I have a question for the Premier.

The arts industry plays an important role in our everyday life, whether we realize it or not. All those moments we’re not working, we’re somehow consuming art, and it improves our well-being and the economy.

We know that the arts industry has suffered incredibly during the pandemic, and it’s still struggling to recover. Just because we are in a post-pandemic economy doesn’t mean our artists don’t need our support anymore. The current high inflation makes it particularly difficult for artists to continue their work, let alone expand.

With the new budget coming out, people have been reaching out to express their concerns about proposed cuts. They’ve been writing to the Minister of Finance and also to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, so they know about it.

How is it reasonable to encourage our youth to get educated and follow their dreams while cutting funding in venues they could earn a living with?

Will this government ensure the survival of creative industries and support the artists who drive them?

L’Association des auteures et auteurs de l’Ontario français et le Conseil des arts de l’Ontario travaillent sans relâche pour promouvoir et enrichir les oeuvres culturelles, y compris la littérature, les spectacles et les expositions d’art visuel de l’Ontario. Leur travail est crucial pour la croissance et la vitalité d’un secteur qui contribue à notre divertissement et notre économie.

Les coupures envisagées—ou le même budget, qui ne sera pas suffisant—aux individus et associations impliqués dans le secteur des arts, seraient particulièrement inquiétantes pour les communautés francophones de l’Ontario, qui dépendent du financement des arts pour promouvoir et préserver notre langue et culture.

Nous avons fait des progrès dans la francophonie. Nous devons continuer de protéger et d’étendre notre culture francophone. Sans le financement nécessaire, nous allons faire face à un recul.

Est-ce que le gouvernement s’engage à assurer la vitalité de la culture francophone et la viabilité du milieu culturel en maintenant le financement dans le domaine des arts de l’Ontario?

Thank you again, Minister, for that wonderful response. It is welcome news to hear that our government is focused on supporting the north and investing in communities like mine, in Sault St. Marie.

Mr. Speaker, let me say, through you to this House: Our government has been so incredibly committed to communities like mine across the north. Just in my own community—I can say the minister has been in my riding I can’t even count how many times; the Premier has been to the riding I can’t even count how many times. It’s such a welcome thing for our community to see these investments and the real attention that this government is putting in our community and throughout northern Ontario—unlike the previous Liberal government—because our government is optimistic and it does recognize that funding is very, very critical to contributing to building our local and regional economies.

Can the minister please explain how investments by our government will continue to help businesses in my riding to prosper?

I thank my honourable colleague for the very important question.

What we did is, we brought three older legacy programs and combined them into a new program, the Homelessness Prevention Program, to streamline the process so that service managers spend less time on paperwork and more on helping the people of Ontario who need support. We also increased the funding of this program by $25 million annually across the province.

Mr. Speaker, on our side, we’ve been very clear: We’ve said that we are in a housing supply crisis in our province and it hurts our most vulnerable. It hurts everyone across the board. We’re working towards solutions to make sure that we increase the supply across the province.

It’s only the opposition that continuously opposes housing in this province—well, it depends on what time at question period. They’re for housing at some points during question period and—