Thank you to the member from Elgin–Middlesex–London for his important role in bringing Volkswagen to his riding of St. Thomas. Rob, you did spectacular work.

Last week, we landed an historic investment from Europe’s largest automaker: This is Volkswagen’s first overseas EV battery manufacturing plant, right here in Ontario. Speaker, they had sites all over the globe to choose from, but they selected Ontario because they saw that we are transforming Ontario’s automotive supply chain to build the cars of the future. They saw that we lowered the cost of doing business in Ontario by $7 billion annually, and that brought $17 billion in auto investment. They saw that we’re building an EV auto sector, and they wanted to be an important part of that. This Legislature says, “Welcome, Volkswagen.”

Interjections.

From our talented workforce, our clean energy, to Ontario’s comprehensive EV ecosystem, our abundance of critical minerals, our message has been clear: Ontario has everything companies need to succeed.

Speaker, this investment is a major vote of confidence in Ontario’s position as the global EV supplier to the world.

Back to the Premier: Mr. Pranesh Das, a single parent who has been living in a basement apartment for a decade with his adult son and teenage daughter, has been waiting since 2014 to get a response on their RGI application with TCHC. His children grew up, started high school and university, his wife passed away, all while being stuck on a wait-list and being under-housed. This family is losing hope. I really hope that the minister won’t give me his talking points or how he’s going to rip apart the greenbelt.

My question is: With the budget day coming up, will this government financially commit to increase the stock of deeply affordable housing and social housing for all Ontarians like Mr. Pranesh Das?

The only people who are committed to getting it done are the Ontario PC party. Let’s remember, when we increased the Homelessness Prevention Program, they did not support that. New Democrats did not support that. When we created the by-name lists, which the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness recognizes is fundamental to being able to identify and to be able to deal with the homelessness problem in our country, they did not support that. New Democrats said no. We continue to provide the necessary dollars.

I’ve said this in the House, and Minister Smith was the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services when we made that first Social Services Relief Fund announcement right here in the Legislature three days after the pandemic was called. Those dollars in our most vulnerable helped food banks, helped PPE, made sure that our most vulnerable in the middle of that pandemic were supported.

We’re going to continue to work with our partners, but we need the federal government and we need New Democrats to support us when we ask—

But, again, what we’re talking about is affordable housing, non-profit housing. I spent last week touring developments that would ultimately save hundreds of thousands of dollars to create more housing opportunities for our most vulnerable. This is the type of housing that we want to incent, and that’s why we’re providing that development charge relief. So for the member to say what she just said in the House, I invite her to say it outside.

We’ll take your question at face value. We’ll reach out to Toronto Community Housing, which has all the operational decision-making for your constituent. But the fact of the matter is this: The NDP supports taxing affordable housing. They support increased taxes for affordable housing. They support increased tax on non-profit housing.

We need to build more non-profit housing for Toronto Community Housing. We need all 47 service managers and our two Indigenous program administrators to work with us to get shovels in the ground faster. They’re committed to doing that. But again, Speaker, there’s one partner that’s on the sidelines, and that’s the NDP.

The final supplementary.

The next question.

Restart the clock. Supplementary question.

This government can give each other as many gold stars as they like, but I would like to ask them to listen to the people in the galleries today, who are representing the folks that are experiencing this right now. We know they know that this Conservative government is failing Ontarians when it comes to affordable housing. Their inaction on homelessness isn’t just a moral crisis; it is an economic failure. It is costing every one of us more in emergency room visits, in shelter services, in lost economic participation. Speaker, this government has abandoned its goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2025.

My question to the Premier is, will he recommit to this goal and invest the funds required to get it done?

Our government is working across ministries to create the supports and implement the supports that people need when they’re at their most vulnerable, and that’s exactly why, during COVID, we invested $1 billion in the Social Services Relief Fund. It’s why we also have been investing $83 million through the Ontario Trillium Foundation to provide grants to help eligible non-profit organizations, including food banks, recover and continue to deliver vital programs.

As part of Ontario’s effort to support children, youth and families, we’ve also provided millions of dollars in funding to Feed Ontario. That funding assisted Feed Ontario in producing and distributing pre-packaged hampers and supporting the great work that food banks do across the province. The Student Nutrition Program is another example of another ministry supporting the exact needs that the member opposite described. We will continue to do this important work.

Thank you very much for the question.

I would certainly be happy to meet with the member’s constituent.

It is for Sarah and for others across the province that we are working so hard to ensure that we can bring jobs and opportunity to the province of Ontario. It is why the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has been working so hard to bring more housing to Ontario. That includes affordable housing, and if you look across the government, what the Minister of Education did to ensure that we had the best child care deal in the country, because we want Sarah and we want people in communities across this province to not only have hope today but hope for tomorrow, so that they can have a job, they can have opportunity, they can live in a safe province of Ontario—one that is booming. That is exactly what we’re doing, whether it’s the broadband infrastructure investments we’re making, investments that we’re making in housing across the province of Ontario, and why we are working so hard with our partners in the municipal government to ensure that, especially, purpose-based rentals and—

Securing this game-changing Volkswagen investment was an all-of-government effort. Thank you to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for getting the land under one jurisdiction; the Ministry of Infrastructure for the land assembly; the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury Board for providing the resources to make this deal happen; the Ministry of Energy, making sure we have the clean and adequate energy to run this plant; the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs for their valuable role in our duty to consult; the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Natural Resources—both making certain that all permits are defined and progressing. Many more, Speaker, will come in the supplementary, but it’s obvious: This was a whole-of-government team working together to make this deal happen.

Thank you to every ministry here—red tape, ServiceOntario, agriculture, women’s economic opportunity, children’s services, health, mental health, long-term care, citizenship, seniors, tourism. Speaker, every single minister was consulted and contributed at the cabinet table and made this historic deal happen.

Six hundred thousand people accessed Feed Ontario food banks last year. Two thirds of the people who access food banks are on Ontario disability support or Ontario Works. The government has left food banks to deal with our homelessness and hunger crises because they have refused to double ODSP and OW. Will this government do what is right and double ODSP and Ontario Works to ensure that food banks are not left to deal with the homelessness and hunger crises in this province?

Deborah, who is in the House today, was cut off ODSP support when she turned 65. Now her rent, which is geared to income, has increased, and she’s lost most of her health benefits. This has left her in an even more precarious situation than when she was on ODSP. She has no option but to go to a food bank for support.

Feed Ontario has become increasingly concerned that this government will consider federal CPP benefits as a subsidy to ODSP. Will this government commit to doubling ODSP and Ontario Works and not cutting off people like Deborah when they turn 65?

Government House leader.

The supplementary question: the member for Windsor West.

The next question.

To the minister: In five years of Conservative government, housing insecurity and homelessness have increased, food insecurity and food bank use have skyrocketed. Meanwhile, the minister just stood over there and sang the praises of his government. I don’t think that’s something you should be proud of.

My question is to the Premier.

In the first quarter of 2023, 51 families in my riding were supported by the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women. Of the 166 total family members, 61% of them were children or youth. Executive director Lady Laforet says the biggest predictor of our future homeless population is the children accessing shelters today. Shelters continue to hear announcements of record funding increases to supports for children and youth who have experienced violence and who are entering the shelter system, but the front lines aren’t seeing it. In the 20 years that Lady has worked in the system, she hasn’t seen a single cost-of-living increase to the Homelessness Prevention Program.

My question is this: When will the Premier and his Conservative government stop the photo ops and empty funding announcements and actually do something to end the cycle of homelessness and provide these families with the supports they need?

My constituent Sarah has been forced into homelessness with her six-week-old infant. Sarah is trying desperately to find a space in a shelter—any space. She has been calling shelters consistently for weeks and still cannot get placed, not even with a newborn.

Sarah is here at Queen’s Park today to watch this debate. She wants the Premier to know that she will lose her child if she does not have access to safe shelter and housing for baby Mia.

Premier, where will Sarah and her baby, Mia, be sleeping tonight? Will his budget deliver the money for shelters and real affordable housing? Where will she go? When can she get a permanent home? Can she get one by the end of this week?

My question, once again, is to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

As we know, the investment from Volkswagen represents a truly significant deal by attracting a new major global automotive manufacturer to our province. But landing this highly competitive—and we’ve talked about that—sought-after investment required support from many offices and many teams. Speaker, will the minister please elaborate on how broader government efforts contributed to last week’s announcement?

I also want to thank our municipal partners, who stepped up and showed tremendous leadership as part of this process securing a major investment from Volkswagen. Whether it was St. Thomas, Central Elgin, all of Elgin county or, in fact, the city of London, they all did a wonderful job in supporting the efforts.

Unfortunately, in previous years my riding and others in southwestern Ontario were associated with job losses in manufacturing. This investment sends a strong signal that our community and all of southwestern Ontario is back in business. Without a doubt, many members of this government helped to bring this good news last week to fruition. Speaker, will the minister continue to elaborate on the efforts and successes we had in the last week?

Speaker, I want to thank the member for Niagara West for the great tour that we had in his riding last week. You sure know what a great job the member is doing when you spend some time in their riding, meeting with their constituents.

I’ve said it many times—this morning, actually in the House—that our government does not believe that non-profit and affordable housing providers should be charged huge, unsustainable fees when looking to build affordable housing for vulnerable Ontarians. That’s why, through More Homes, Built Faster, Bill 23, our government is eliminating development charges for affordable, non-profit and select attainable housing.

I’m hearing from housing providers from all corners of the province about the immediate and the positive impacts that these changes are having, with affordable and non-profit housing providers now being able to reinvest these savings into their projects and create more opportunities for their residents. I’ll have more to say in the supplemental.

Earlier that week, with the member for Whitby, I toured a Habitat for Humanity build, along with the Durham Region Non-Profit Housing Corp.’s new affordable housing that they hope they will open later this year. Their savings was over $500,000 on that affordable housing project.

Our government is committed to lower the cost of housing, to get shovels in the ground faster and to support some of the great non-profits like Habitat and like United Mennonite Home. Thanks for the question.

My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. It was my pleasure to welcome the minister to my riding last week as we visited the United Mennonite Home in Vineland. Walter Sguazzin and the team at United Mennonite Home offer exceptional care, long-term care, supportive housing and independent living for seniors in my community. We reviewed their plans to expand and offer more supportive and affordable housing for seniors in Niagara.

Now, I know our government’s recent update to development charges will open new opportunities for organizations like United Mennonite Home, and I’m wondering if the minister could speak a little bit about how these changes will make it easier for not-for-profits to build affordable housing and deliver critical services to vulnerable Ontarians, such as those in my riding who are looking forward to these investments continuing to be made.

We know from the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force that we’ve seen some municipalities raise development charges by some 900% over the last 20 years, a completely ridiculous number. Our government must urgently respond to their recommendations and implement measures which will address the housing supply crisis and get more homes built faster.

At a time when Ontarians are struggling with a rising cost of living, we know that the fees that are put onto these builds, especially not-for-profits and affordable housing, only push the dream of homeownership further out of reach for so many and harm some of the most vulnerable, including our seniors. Speaker, could the minister please elaborate to the House what our government is doing to incentivize more affordable housing here in the province of Ontario and in my riding?

The truth is that our government is providing more for social assistance than any government in the history of this province. We have increased ODSP in an amount that has not been done for decades. We have increased the earnings exemption threshold by 400% to allow more people to be able to work and retain more of the dollars that they need to live in dignity. We’ve been working with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills—

Interjection.

We have been working across ministries to make sure that we develop the programs that are necessary to support people. ODSP is one program. As you’ve heard, the food bank programs are there as well. This is something that is taken in combination with other programs that are available, and I’m very proud to say that our government—

Lors des consultations prébudgétaires, mon collègue le député de Timiskaming–Cochrane a demandé au président de l’assemblée de la francophonie, M. Fabien Hébert, de nous dresser un portrait et une évaluation des services de santé en français depuis la réforme de 2019 et de comment les initiatives du ministère de la Santé, du ministère des Soins de longue durée et de Santé Ontario se transposent en résultats pour les services aux patients francophones. Sa réponse? Il ne savait pas parce qu’il n’y a pas d’indicateurs de performance.

Alors, ma question pour le premier ministre : pouvez-vous nous dire quels sont les résultats de cette réforme pour la santé des francophones et à quels indicateurs vous vous fiez pour en tirer un portrait juste?

I want to ensure this House that we are doing everything we can to protect the safety of Ontario’s people, population and communities, especially in southwestern Ontario.

I had a meeting with Mayor Martin from Norfolk at the ROMA conference in January, and she came to say thank you for the investment that this government has made in a well that was problematic in their community. The conversation went on, and we had a great talk about what we can do.

We are continuing to work on legacy oil and gas wells and continuing to have conversations to invoke a strategy that will make a meaningful difference, but absent is federal dollars that have gone to other jurisdictions. In 2020 and in 2022, my office wrote the federal government and asked that Ontario be made a partner and to have these dollars available to us, and we continue to wait for a response to that to help with our plans here in Ontario.

I think it’s really also important to note that for the folks in Wheatley, who have been through a devastating and difficult time, this government has been there every step of the way. Premier Ford was there for them every step of the way, and my visit in October, to be able to speak with homeowners, business owners and officials—as I said, we would use this as a learning experience. We mean that and we are going to implement that in the solutions going forward.

My question is to the Minister of Natural Resources. The Globe and Mail recently published a report about gas wells in Ontario, the first petroleum-producing province. While today there is a responsible natural gas industry, there is a problem with legacy dormant wells, and southwestern Ontario is ground central.

In Norfolk county alone, there are 2,634 dormant wells, one of which has been in the news for years. The county lacks the expertise to remedy or monitor the situation. One more problem well could financially destroy the municipality. We know, in Wheatley, the issue was acute, with an explosion, and experts predict it’s just a matter of time until another explosion occurs. Southwestern Ontario is literally a powder keg ready to blow. Where will it be: Chatham-Kent, Lambton, Elgin, Norfolk?

Speaker, to the minister: What is the ministry’s plan to address legacy wells in Ontario?

Speaker, I hope the ministry can find a more positive way forward for my farmers and farm families, especially in Haldimand county, who rely on these wells. But at the same time, the ministry must take action on legacy wells.

A recent McGill University study looked at abandoned wells, testing levels of hydrogen sulphide and methane. The study concluded the methane levels were underestimated. Methane is a greenhouse gas, and hydrogen sulfide can be toxic. This problem is bigger than the province of Ontario, and I’m heartened to hear, Speaker, that the minister is putting pressure on the federal government. I’m asking what additional pressure the ministry will put on the federal government to ward off a pending environmental and catastrophic disaster.

I’ll withdraw.