I have to share the compliments of my minister, Monte McNaughton, and PA Anand for working together as a team in making certain that Bill 79 becomes law in Ontario.

I’m pleased to rise in the House today for the second reading of Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023.

I have been working with the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to further support and protect workers and their families.

I would also like to thank and acknowledge our Premier for his tremendous leadership and support for this bill and our last two pieces of Working for Workers legislation. These acts have been helping millions of people, and we will continue moving Ontario forward. Earlier this week, we announced further changes that would, if passed, expand on those successes.

Ontario is experiencing unprecedented labour shortages. Our proposed changes would help increase labour supply and ensure that workers have the right skills for in-demand jobs. The way we work has been changing and evolving for some time, and the last few years have accelerated these changes. Where we work, how we work and the meaning we find in what we do all need to adapt, because an economy that doesn’t work for workers doesn’t work for all. Our government is planning for the workplaces of the future. We are proposing changes to spread opportunities and give Ontario workers a better deal and employment experience.

Nowadays, it’s possible never to go in to an office in a physical location. Technological advances have uncoupled geography from employment. These changes have resulted in globalized competition for highly skilled workers and revealed gaps in our labour and employment laws.

The legislation we introduced, if passed, would make employees who work solely from home eligible for the same enhanced notice of termination as in-office and other employees in a mass termination situation. Ontario’s Employment Standards Act provides for greater notice or pay in lieu of for employees affected by mass termination. Mass termination provisions generally apply if 50 or more employees are terminated at an employer’s establishment within four weeks. Depending on the number of employees terminated in the case of a mass termination, an employee could be entitled to eight, 12 or 16 weeks of notice. Under the Employment Standards Act, an employee’s private residence is not considered part of the employer’s establishment, so fully remote workers may not be included in the employee count when determining whether the 50-employee threshold for mass termination has been reached. The proposed changes in Working for Workers Act, 2023, would help fix this gap. If passed, the changes would broaden the definition of an employer’s establishment to include employees’ private residences if they solely work remotely. This could entitle employees who exclusively work remotely to a longer notice period or pay in lieu of layoff notices.

We have all read about workers employed by billion-dollar tech companies learning that they have lost their job via the media, and that shouldn’t happen, ever. Mass terminations can make it for difficult for employees to find alternate employment, and by providing these protections, our government is standing up for workers who are terminated.

Putting workers first means giving them the tools they need to stay safe. It also means protecting them from bad employers and recruiters.

Ontario relies on foreign workers to help fill labour shortages in our province. However, despite the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act prohibitions, some employers continue to take foreign nationals’ passports and permits. This increases the possibility of exploitation of vulnerable foreign workers.

That is why our government is proposing to strengthen protections for foreign workers by introducing changes that would, if passed, establish the highest maximum fines in Canada—fines that will apply to employers and recruiters who are convicted of taking or retaining a foreign national’s passport or work permit. If amendments are passed, individuals convicted of taking or retaining a foreign national’s passport or work permit would be liable for either a fine of $500,000 or up to 12 months in prison, or both, and corporations will be liable for a fine of up to $1 million. The proposed increase in maximum fines aims to prevent labour trafficking in Ontario. Anyone can be a target of labour trafficking, but migrant workers and newcomers to Canada looking for work can be at higher risk. Our legislation would support government efforts to protect vulnerable workers essential in building up our province’s economy.

Our government is committed to the health and safety of every worker in Ontario. Employers have significant responsibility for health and safety in the workplace. They must keep a safe and well-maintained workplace. Workers need to feel safe on the job, and businesses must be held accountable when violating the health and safety laws of Ontario.

That is why this legislation would amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act to increase the maximum fine for corporations convicted of an offence under the act from $1.5 million to $2 million. This would give Ontario the highest maximum corporate fine under Canada’s workplace health and safety legislation. Corporate fines under the Occupational Health and Safety Act have not been increased since 2017, when the increase was from $500,000 to $1.5 million. The increased fine proposed in the Working for Workers Act, 2023, would, if passed, deter violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act by corporations. It would reinforce the importance of putting workers’ safety first. Workplace injuries and death should not be a cost of business.

Speaker, our government is proud to protect workers who protect us. This includes military reservists, who put their lives on the line for us. Thousands of people in Ontario are reservists. These courageous men and women are integral to the Canadian Armed Forces. They put their full-time career on hold in their communities to join important military missions at home and abroad.

Yesterday, our government introduced legislation that, if passed, would provide better protection for our reservists and remove barriers to their deployment. The proposed legislation, if passed, would reduce the length of employment needed before going on a reservist leave to just two months of continuous employment, down from the current three months. And there would be no length of employment requirement if the leave is due to deployment to assist during a domestic emergency. The proposed legislation would also expand the reasons for taking the leave, to help our reservists recover from injuries after deployment—reasons that include physical or mental treatment, recovery or rehabilitation related to a military operation or specified activity. These proposed changes build on job-protected leave already in place for reservists, including protections we introduced last year. These changes, if passed, would cover all military reservists in Ontario covered by the Employment Standards Act who participate in Canadian Armed Forces military skills training, are deployed to assist in a domestic emergency, or are deployed abroad. In introducing these changes, we are standing up for our front-line heroes while they protect us. We are trying to give them peace of mind that their job will await them when they return. We are proud to propose changes to make Ontario reservist leave among Canada’s most flexible and comprehensive.

I want to take this moment to talk about another group of heroes, our firefighters, and measures the Ontario government intends to take through regulations to make sure we are leaving no one behind. Firefighters risk their lives to enter smoke-filled buildings to rescue people, battle out-of-control blazes and respond to other emergencies. Their work touches the lives of so many people and communities across Ontario. They are there for us in our greatest need, and we should be there for them.

Firefighters die of cancer at a rate up to four times higher than the general population, with 25 to 30 passing away yearly in Ontario. We owe it to them to ensure they have easy access to compensation for these work-related illnesses. The Ontario government plans to propose a regulatory change to make it easy for firefighters, fire investigators and their survivors to access Workplace Safety and Insurance Board—WSIB—compensation by expanding presumptive cancer coverage for firefighters to include primary site thyroid and pancreatic cancers. By presuming thyroid and pancreatic cancers are work-related, firefighters and fire investigators could get easier access to benefits and the support they need to recover. If approved, they would apply to full-time, part-time and volunteer firefighters, firefighters employed by First Nation band councils, and fire investigators. We want Ontario to know that we have the backs of the brave men and women who protect and serve us daily.

I will conclude by calling for all in this House to support the Working for Workers Act, 2023. The measures we’ve outlined will position Ontario as a front-runner in charting the way forward as workplaces and how we work evolve. By giving workers a better deal, we are not only protecting them, but we are both keeping and attracting more workers to the province and ensuring our economy remains strong.

I hope all members of this House join me in supporting this bill. So please help us vote on Bill 79 as it comes forward.

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.

It’s an honour to rise this afternoon and to speak in support of Bill 79, the third Working for Workers Act, introduced by the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. I’d like to thank him and his team, including his parliamentary assistants from Mississauga–Malton and Scarborough Centre, for their great work on this bill and on the first two Working for Workers Acts.

I was proud to speak about these historic reforms in the House. If passed, Bill 79 would expand on other reforms which are already helping millions of people across Ontario.

Yesterday, the President of the Treasury Board and I had an opportunity to visit the Medical Innovation Xchange in Kitchener with the member for Kitchener–Conestoga. This facility, which is supported by grants from the Ministry of Labour’s Skills Development Fund, is developing made-in-Ontario medical technology that’s being used now in our hospitals and in long-term care. I want to thank the executive director, Elliot Fung, and the CEO of Intellijoint Surgical, Armen, for the meeting and the tour. Their director of corporate affairs, Tim Dutton, said—and I agree—that Bill 79 as well the previous two Working for Workers bills show that the Ministry of Labour is one of the most forward-thinking policy-makers in the country.

Speaker, before I begin my remarks today, I also want to take the opportunity to thank the Premier and the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade for their leadership on Bill 63 and all the other changes we made that led to this historic announcement last week that Volkswagen has chosen St. Thomas, Ontario, to build the first electric-vehicle battery gigafactory outside of Europe. This will be the single largest investment in the auto sector in the history of Canada, and Volkswagen is the first auto manufacturer to set up major operations in Ontario since 1980. As the minister said, this is a major vote of confidence in all the work that we’re doing across government to position Ontario as a global leader in the supply chain for electric vehicles.

A very important part of this is our work to close the skills gap and to build a stronger, more competitive labour market. As the minister said, we’re in the middle of the largest labour shortage in a generation. The Conference Board of Canada reports that Ontario’s skills gap costs our economy over $24 billion each year, or about 4% of Ontario’s provincial GDP. We know there are about 300,000 jobs left vacant across the province, including many in the skilled trades. In fact, we expect that over one in five job openings in Ontario will be in the skilled trades by 2026.

The government is working to increase Ontario’s supply of skilled labour through training, through bringing new skilled workers into Ontario and through making it easier for them to work in the field that matches their skills and experiences. I’ll speak briefly about each of these.

Just yesterday, Speaker, the Premier and the minister announced an investment of $224 million in a new capital stream of the Skills Development Fund to allow businesses, unions and industrial associations to build new training centres or to upgrade their current facilities with state-of-the-art design and technology. This will build on the previous investment of $700 million through the Skills Development Fund since 2020, including an investment of $1 million that the minister and I announced in Mississauga–Lakeshore to help the Christian Labour Association of Canada offer free, online and flexible training for construction workers. It was great to meet them again earlier this month during their lobby day at Queen’s Park.

Speaker, the mayor of Vaughan, Steven Del Duca, said “I want to thank” the Premier “and Minister Monte McNaughton for their continued efforts on this critical province-building priority.... Our highly educated, multilingual population already ensures businesses from all industries have a qualified and ready labour pool, and the government’s new investment in the” skilled trades development fund “means that pool will grow even larger.”

As the minister announced Saturday, we’re also doubling the number of economic immigrants that Ontario can nominate each year through the Ontario immigration nominee program from 9,000 to 18,000 by 2025 to help fill the skills gap.

The two previous Working for Workers Acts removed barriers for internationally trained professionals to allow them to match their skills with jobs they need to fill here in Ontario. Speaker, this was critical because up to three quarters of internationally trained immigrants were working in jobs that didn’t match their skills or experience. As I said before, members of our caucus experienced this when they first came to Canada. The members from Mississauga–Malton and Mississauga–Erin Mills came to Canada with degrees and experience in chemical engineering and information technology, but they weren’t able to work in jobs matching their skills. As we continue to recover from COVID-19, this is a problem Ontario simply cannot afford.

If passed, schedule 3 of Bill 79 would amend the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act to continue to remove barriers for internationally trained professionals looking to register here in Ontario. This includes a new section to clarify that Canadian experience can only be accepted if there are international alternatives as long as they meet certain criteria. Speaker, this will make it easier for engineers, plumbers, mechanics and many other internationally trained professionals to register here in Ontario and to fill in-demand jobs, to help drive economic growth and our recovery from the pandemic.

As my friend Tonie Chaltas, the CEO of Achēv, said, “We need to make it as easy as possible for newcomers to Ontario to find jobs, settle into their communities and build a life here. Streamlining the credentialing process for skilled immigrants is a great step in supporting that journey.”

Speaker, recently I had the opportunity to visit Mike Yorke and the Toronto’s Carpenters Union Local 27 in Woodbridge. They were looking forward to another change. Starting this fall, students in grade 11 will be able to enter a full-time, skilled trades apprenticeship program and still earn their secondary school diploma. These changes mean that high school students will be able to enter the skilled trades faster than ever before. And I know the minister and his team will be consulting with our partners later this year about other options to make it even easier for young people to enter the skilled trades.

Speaker, if passed, Bill 79 would also update the Employment Standards Act and various other laws to reflect the changing nature of our workforce after COVID-19. In the last quarter of 2022, about 2.2 million Ontarians worked from home, including 1.4 million people who worked from home full-time and 800,000 people who worked from home part-time. If passed, schedule 2 of Bill 79 would update how workplaces are defined in Ontario’s labour laws to extend fundamental protections to people who work from home. For example, employees who work from home would become eligible for the same eight-week notice as in-office employees in mass terminations.

Speaker, the minister is also proposing changes to the regulations that would require employers to give new employees information about their jobs in writing, including pay and hours of work but also work location before their first shift. These changes would help to provide certainty for both employers and new employees.

Yesterday, I joined the President of the Treasury Board and Jamie Wallace, the CEO of Supply Ontario, for an event at Communitech in Kitchener, which supports a community of over a thousand high-tech companies, from new start-ups to rapidly-growing companies. Many of these depend on employees who work from home or from other locations around the world. The CEO and president of Communitech, Chris Albinson, said, “We applaud Minister McNaughton for taking steps to ensure that all workers in Ontario are afforded the same rights and protections, regardless of their workplace setting.”

It’s also worth mentioning schedule 2 of Bill 79 would make Ontario’s job-protected leave for members of the Canadian Army Reserve the most flexible and most comprehensive in the country. If passed, schedule 2 would ensure that their jobs are protected when they’re sent into emergency operations, even when it is their first day on the job. And for any other reason, they would qualify for a job-protected leave after only two months so they can take the time they need to recover from physical or mental injuries. Major-General Charles Sullivan said that this “will allow our proud and dedicated reservists to serve their country at home and abroad knowing they will be able to return to their places of employment and be entitled to care after they return home.”

Bill 79 would also strengthen the protection of vulnerable and migrant workers. If passed, schedule 1 would introduce the highest maximum fines in Canada for employers convicted of taking or withholding a foreign national’s passport or work permit: up to $500,000, plus up to $200,000 for every worker whose rights are violated. This will be another important tool to help our police fight human trafficking, which is a growing problem in Peel Region and across the province. My friend the Mexican consul general in Toronto, Porfirio Ledo, offered his support, as Mexican workers have been victims in the past.

If passed, schedule 5 would also introduce the highest fines in Canada for companies that don’t follow our workplace health and safety laws. If convicted, officers and directors of businesses that don’t provide safe work environments that lead to a worker being severely injured on the job could face fines of up to $2 million under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, up from the current $1.5 million.

Unfortunately, we know that some businesses treat fines as just another business expense, and they continue to put their workers at risk. But injuries or death should never be just another cost of doing business. This new penalty will help send a strong message about the importance of worker health and safety and compliance with workplace laws and regulations.

Earlier this year, members of the Mississauga Fire Fighters Association visited my community office in Port Credit. Their top request was that we support an addition of thyroid and pancreatic cancer to Ontario’s presumptive coverage for firefighters. Firefighters die of cancer at a rate four times higher than the general population. On average, 50 to 60 firefighters die of cancer each year here in Canada and about half of them right here in Ontario.

The changes the minister is providing would assume thyroid and pancreatic cancers are work related and streamline workplace injury claims for firefighters. This would make it faster and easier for them to access the compensation and the support they deserve. These changes would be retroactive for claims back to 1960, and it would follow similar changes in other provinces like British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The minister is also proposing changes to the regulations to ensure that construction sites are safe and welcoming for everyone. For example, it would ensure women have access to properly fitting safety gear and clean, women-only washroom facilities with proper lighting and hand sanitizer.

Victoria Mancinelli of LIUNA said—and we agree: “Ensuring women have access to the tools to reach their full potential in the construction industry will strengthen retention, eliminate barriers, attract talent, and” ensure that they will stay on the job.

Lastly, Speaker, the minister has proposed to expand employer services to five new communities—London, Windsor-Sarnia, Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie, Durham and Ottawa—to make it easier for job seekers across the province, especially those on social assistance, to find better jobs.

Speaker, in closing, I want to thank the minister and his team for all the work they’re doing on Bill 79 and for everything else they do.

Meghan Nicholls, the CEO of the Mississauga Food Bank, was here on Monday for the Feed Ontario breakfast. She is working to support over 600 new refugees who are coming to Mississauga from Ukraine per week, every week. The minister and his staff are working to connect them with resources, jobs and a safe place to live here in Ontario. So again, I just want to thank the minister and his team for doing everything they can to help.

Speaker, Bill 79 will help prepare Ontarians for the jobs of the future. It will help protect some of our most vulnerable workers, and it will help ensure that our labour laws can keep pace with new technologies and with the new reality of working from home. It would continue to position Ontario as a top destination for global talent and innovation and as the best place in the world to live, work and raise a family. I look forward to voting for Bill 79, and I urge all members to support this important bill.

I am pleased to be able to stand in this House on behalf of the constituents in Oshawa and broadly across Durham region that I hear from regularly. Here we are today talking about Bill 79, which the government has presented as the Working for Workers Act. We’re the ones—

The meat and potatoes in this bill—unfortunately, there are lots of opportunities that are missed. This is Working for Workers, but if they were actually working with workers, year-round, there would be a lot more in this bill. There’s a bit of disappointment there because we’re all hearing from constituents, from workers across communities, about improvements to their workplaces in terms of safety. They’re hearing about the need for paid sick days. They’re hearing from community members about the improvements needed in training. Again, we’re missing things from this bill.

The Ontario Federation of Labour has been a wonderful voice for workers across this province, and they have a new campaign that says, “Enough is Enough.” This government is hearing that a lot from folks, that they’ve had it up to here, that they are fed up. This campaign has five demands that we’re hoping the government will really listen to and understand, and that we might see in the budget some of their needs addressed: real wage increases; investing in schools and health care and keeping them public; and affordable groceries, gas and basic goods. I mean, the cost of living is just going up and up and up. Workers are part of that group that have to pay and they’re not supported. We want to see rent control and affordable housing, making banks and corporations pay their fair share. There’s a whole bunch that goes into creating that kind of ecosystem where workers can thrive.

And so I would encourage the government to spend more time working with workers as they’re developing their legislation, because there are some missed opportunities.

Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to speak about the need for anti-scab legislation, so talking about replacement workers. We have, for a long time—since the original Mike Harris years, when they got rid of anti-scab legislation real quick—been fighting for it to come back in this province. When both parties are bargaining in good faith, agreements are reached without further job action. So this government and previous Conservative governments who have allowed the use of replacement workers—that doesn’t serve anyone. It can be quite unsafe. But it’s not in good faith and it really does extend these strikes. And strikes are one of the only options that workers have to balance the scales when it comes to that power dynamic with them and the employer, and it applies economic pressure. I think the government can appreciate that there is an imbalance when it comes to workers and employers.

When an employer brings in replacement workers, that is in bad faith and we saw that not too long ago. In north Oshawa, there was a strike outside of the campus; it was a privately contracted company that brought in replacement workers. So the custodial staff and janitorial staff were out on the lines, and as they explained to me, they were having to use Google Translate with the replacement workers who were being dropped off in vans and running in between the townhouses to get to work. They were using Google Translate to try and warn them about some of the chemicals in the level-2 labs; they were trying to talk to them about training; they were trying to keep these replacement workers safe and also telling them, “Stop getting in there. This is our job.” It was ugly and it was not right, and this government allows that to happen.

I raise these issues because this is a bill in front of us that says, “working for workers.” Well, the government has an opportunity to undo the harm that was done by the Harris government that came in and did away with the anti-scab legislation and could bring it back in, could be responsible to workers who could make that change. And, Speaker, because it’s not in this bill, I know that my colleagues and I are looking forward to making sure that that gets done. We’re going to continue to raise that issue in this House through legislation until this government steps up and is a better version of itself.

Something else I want to talk about, about this bill: There is a need for paid sick days in the province of Ontario. We have champions on this side, none other than the illustrious member from London West, who time after time after time has introduced legislation and has fought tirelessly for paid sick days in the province of Ontario. And this government hears it, and they know it, and they’re hearing it from people in their community. We’re still getting emails from folks. People all over the place are saying that they and their families are getting sick more often and it’s taking longer to get better. If these people can’t stay home when they are sick, they’re going to spread that sickness to people in their community, in their community of work, in their families. That is not how we keep this province well.

Often when we talk about the medically vulnerable or folks with disabilities, it’s usually within the context of health care settings, if we’re talking about the need for paid sick days. But many of these people who are medically vulnerable are also workers and they are even more impacted when their co-workers come in sick. This is a government that keeps talking about folks with disabilities getting into the workplace, but the very least they could do is to take steps to ensure that workplaces are actually accessible and places where people who may already be medically compromised can stay well.

Earlier in this pandemic, we were also calling for indoor air quality standards and upgrades to HVAC systems to make safer workplaces, and guess what? That never materialized. Improved air quality will go a long way to stopping the spread of airborne illness, resulting in fewer people needing to take time off for being sick. So what better way to work for workers than by keeping their working conditions safe?

Here’s an email from Corwin in Oshawa, who has said that they support the Stay Home If You Are Sick Act, and they had written:

“We need 10 permanent paid sick days plus 14 days during public health emergencies. The Worker Income Protection Benefit ... is inadequate in that it provides a meagre three days over a 700-plus day period.

“Health workers and public health experts have been clear that paid sick days curb infection, increase vaccination rates and reduce visits to the emergency room.... Ten permanent paid sick days would ensure workers and their families have access to preventative care instead of relying on emergency departments.”

They go on to say, “Denying workers permanent and adequate paid sick days goes against public health advice to stay home if sick. The reality is that most workers can’t afford to stay home without pay. Especially now, with inflation at an all-time high, losing a day’s wage to recover from the flu could mean not being able to pay grocery bills.” That’s from Corwin in Oshawa.

This is a bill that says that it is working for workers, but it is, again, not taking the opportunity to keep workers safe in their workplaces in a way that has been brought to their attention multiple times with experts and health care folks making the case. So I don’t understand why the government, again, has missed this opportunity to keep people well.

Speaker, Bill 124 is something that we talk about a lot in this space. And probably, if we were to go to the average convenience store and talk to our community members, they might not know what Bill 124 is. But they all, outside of this space, know that nurses are not being treated fairly. They may not understand the ins and outs of it or be familiar with the legislation or this government’s stubborn refusal to back down on Bill 124—even though it has been ruled unconstitutional, they’re appealing it and fighting nurses in court—but it’s nurses and health care workers whose wages are being suppressed by this bill.

There is not a competitive wage that a hospital can offer its own employees. Instead, the hospital is being forced to go to private agencies, who will charge the hospital exorbitant amounts and pay the nurses more than they would make at the hospital. I mean, the agencies are still keeping a lot of that money for themselves. The hospitals are essentially held hostage. They need staffing; they need nurses. And when they don’t have enough of their own—because nurses are leaving in droves and they’re going to these agencies and they’re going to Alberta—this is a government that says, “You’re not allowed to pay them any more. We’re going to keep our foot on your neck, and you’re not allowed to. We’re going to keep those wages suppressed, but we’re going to allow agencies to charge whatever the heck they want because”—I don’t know why; competition?

That is unbelievable, but it’s creating this crisis. It’s creating a circumstance where, I think, ultimately it’s union-busting at its finest. At its core, this is union-busting, because as these nurses and folks who are unable to earn a fair wage because of Bill 124 are going to these private agencies, they are leaving unionized workplaces with benefits and pensions. They may be early in their career, so pension benefits may not be at the forefront of their planning right now, but they are leaving unionized work environments to go somewhere where they might make more money now and have different flexibility for scheduling, as we’re hearing, but they’re ultimately not protected. So this Bill 124 is, I think at its heart, a union-busting initiative.

Anyone who is listening over there is kind of looking at me like, “Come on. It seems a bit far-fetched.” Does it? I don’t think it does, because we are seeing this happening in hospitals, and hospitals are losing the staff that they need.

Here’s an email from Wendy, and part of her email is, “Ontario desperately needs more nurses and health professionals to provide high-quality and timely care in our public hospitals. But, every day, they face impossible working conditions that have only worsened during the pandemic. And their wages and basic rights have repeatedly been attacked with legislation like Bill 124. This is leading more nurses to leave their jobs, and even the profession.”

She goes on to say, “I support” the nurses’ “demands for:

“—safe staffing;

“—better pay;

“—better working conditions.

“Investing in nurses and health professionals is the best way to improve access to timely, safe and quality hospital care. Unless you act now, we will continue seeing nurses leaving the profession, leading to worse nurse-to-patient ratios and a lower quality of care. This is unacceptable.” That’s from Wendy.

People understand what is happening, that this is a created crisis of this government’s making. And they could reverse course, but they won’t.

Speaker, Bill 124 is not only about nurses. It’s about many folks in the public sector. As the transportation critic for the NDP, it has been my privilege to hear from many folks doing important work across the province. One such group is the OPSEU Local 428 members who work on the Glenora and Wolfe Island ferries for the Ministry of Transportation. I met with these folks a while back. I know that our labour critic is talking with them. They are facing a serious understaffing issue, which has caused reductions and cancellations of services on both of the ferries, and again, this is because of Bill 124. Because of Bill 124, which artificially suppresses their wages—well, not artificially; it’s forcing them to be stuck at this level and not able to bargain increased wages. But because of that, they can’t recruit and retain ferry operators. They can’t bring in ferry workers, because the broader world pays something that is fair.

The Ministry of Transportation knows this. They have actually been bringing in agency workers from out of province. They’re not willing to pay them more than this 1% increase. This government will not allow them to be paid more, but they are willing to write a cheque to agencies in other provinces where we’re paying the transportation cost to bring them in, a daily stipend and accommodation, in addition to their wages. At some point, that’s going to become more expensive than just paying them what they are worth—but, again, stubbornly refuses to change course.

This has been an issue, certainly, that the ferry workers have raised, the conservation officers have raised, nurses have raised—just about everywhere you look in the public sector has raised the fact that they are not paid what they are worth and they’re not able to fairly and collectively bargain fair wages. And here we are debating a bill that says “working for workers.” I have to think, what are they doing that is benefiting workers?

Speaker, all of us had the opportunity recently to meet with corrections officers, to meet with probation and parole officers. They came to Queen’s Park, as they have been doing for years, and had their morning breakfast to go over a host of issues. They are having significant recruitment and retention issues across all of their front-line positions. When you don’t have adequate staffing in jails, when you don’t have adequate staffing in probation and parole offices, you have dangerous circumstances for the workers, for the inmates, for everybody involved. That is not what anybody wants. It is not good for recidivism. It is not good for anyone who is doing the job.

The corrections folks came and asked for support for mental health. They asked for improved training. They asked for more permanent full-time staff. More officers mean fewer lockdowns and less violence. More probation and parole officers and staff mean better supervision and support, less recidivism, safer communities. They came and talked about the canine unit, which is very important when it comes to keeping the workplaces safe in terms of managing or dealing with drugs in institutions. Speaker, correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s their understanding and my understanding that the canine unit pilot project is the longest-running pilot project in the history of Ontario. When it has been, I think, nine years, at what point does it become permanent? At what point does the government say, “Yes, this is worth continuing. We will invest in that.” That could have been in this bill. Maybe next year, right?

This is about working for workers, and one of the things that this government does is announce new hires, and corrections is no exception. But new hires that are not full-time permanent and are backfill, so that if a corrections officer is away that person may or may not be called, are not adding to the complement on the floor. It’s not adding to the support in the facility, in the jail. It’s spinning numbers about, “Look at all the new hires,” but those new hires are not more people in the workplace. They’re more part-time folks waiting by the phone wondering if they are going to get called. They’re more part-time people who are afraid to rock the boat because they are glad to have some kind of employment, but they don’t have the benefits; they’re not full-time, permanent. So, again, this is a chance where the government could improve the legislation and make safer workplaces—this is in terms of corrections, but broadly across the province.

Speaker, I have been very proud of the work that I have done as the community safety and correctional services critic years ago, and some of the work that I had done was on behalf of firefighters to keep them safe out in the community, to do right by them when they are hurt, when they are sick. The government has made a commitment about adding thyroid and pancreatic cancers to the list. We were hoping we would see that in this bill. I would ask the government to clarify that, and hopefully we’ll see it added.

It is surprising many times when I see two people on one thing thinking differently—some people like sugar, some people like salt. But, here, when the member from Orléans started the conversation, he started with saying, “Oh, this is Working for Workers Act 3,” and he talked about this lack of creativity on deciding the name of the bill. But, Madam Speaker, I think it’s exactly the opposite. I think it is the commitment for the worker, that is why we kept Working for Workers Act 3. So I just wanted to share this.

But my question again to the member is the same. This bill protects leave for military reservists, it’s expanding cancer coverage for firefighters, it’s enhancing the fines to protect workers, it is making sure there are clean washrooms on construction sites, and it is providing work protection. So this bill is actually working for workers. To the member opposite: Do you not support this?