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.

I’ll withdraw.

I’m going to ask the member for Spadina–Fort York to withdraw.

The next question.

My question is to the Premier. If you were a resident of a private, for-profit long-term-care home in Ontario during the pandemic, you were nearly twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as in a not-for-profit home. But this government is helping for-profit long-term care to expand even after 5,400 people died. Extendicare announced an agreement to buy Revera’s shares in 18 homes and manage the remaining 31, pending the approval of this government.

My question to the minister is simple. Why would this government allow one of the worst actors in long-term care to get more control of and make more profits from this sector?

Interjections.

What will it take for this Conservative government to start caring for the well-being of people in long-term-care homes above corporate profits and friends and donors, and protect and stop the dying in long-term-care homes? Some 5,400 died, most in for-profit homes.

Allow me to take a moment to thank the member from Perth–Wellington for his exceptional leadership in the ministry and in this province. He has moved the yardstick forward on a major file of modernizing our curriculum, because we want our young people to learn the life and job skills that have been missing in the curriculum under the former Liberals.

For a decade of inaction, while the economy changed around the world, Ontario’s students were learning a stagnant curriculum, disconnected from the job skills necessary. Because of our government and our leadership, we are now ensuring a modern curriculum in math, in science, in computer sciences, in technology. Right across the STEM curricula, everything has been modernized with an emphasis on mandatory learning on financial literacy and on life skills. Things like learning about taxation and about credit and debt, about learning how to save for a home—these are real skills that are necessary that are now infused. In addition to hiring the best educators based on their merit, together we’re giving these kids their best fight of—

Mr. Speaker, to ensure those companies can fill their workplaces with skilled labour, we’re ensuring for the first time, starting in September 2024, that every student in grade 9 or 10 will now be required to take a technological education course, opening up their horizons and their opportunities to these good-paying jobs and meaningful careers where they exist.

Mr. Speaker, there are a wide variety of options for young people, and most especially, as the minister of social and economic opportunities for women had said just weeks ago, this is going to create a greater pathway for more women to enter the trades, enter tech and get the best-paying jobs in this economy.

To respond, the Minister of Health.

The supplementary question.

Merci pour la réponse de la ministre, mais on a entendu beaucoup de paroles et, encore, le problème persiste, parce que nous avons toujours les mêmes choses qui arrivent. Les commettants qui viennent à nos bureaux, ils se plaignent toujours—des plaintes à cause de manque de services en français.

Alors, je vous re-pose la même question : comment est-ce que le ministère fait pour recueillir les données et répondre aux besoins de la communauté franco-ontarienne?

Notre gouvernement prend très au sérieux les services en français en santé, en éducation, et à travers les services du gouvernement. Nous avons modernisé pour la première fois la Loi sur les services en français dans la province de l’Ontario—la première fois depuis que la loi a été promulguée en 1986. Le parti de l’opposition a voté contre la modernisation de la loi sur les services, et c’est vraiment quelque chose de très décevant parce que c’est vraiment un projet de loi de base pour les francophones en Ontario.

Monsieur le Président, en ce qui concerne les soins de santé, je travaille en étroite collaboration avec ma collègue la ministre de la Santé, et j’ai eu la chance aussi de parler à l’AFO la semaine dernière concernant leurs recommandations pour la modernisation de la loi et la provision des services en français. On va continuer à travailler avec la communauté et avec le ministère de la Santé.

My question is to the Minister of Education. I also want to personally thank him for his advice and friendship in our time working together.

Ontario’s population is growing rapidly. Our government is ensuring that we’re building houses, but we also must ensure that we’re providing the next generation of Ontario students with the skills they need to succeed. For over a decade and a half, the previous Liberal government neglected to prepare our students for the jobs of tomorrow that are absolutely required to build and sustain Ontario. In the construction sector alone, we know we will need 70,000 workers by 2027 to meet our province’s growing infrastructure needs. New knowledge and skills must be taught to our students so that they will be successfully prepared to fill the jobs that are so desperately needed.

Can the minister please explain how our government is equipping our students for lifelong careers that will build Ontario for generations to come?

Speaker, can the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to ensure that our students are exposed to the opportunities that are available in the skilled trades and other technology fields?

You know, it is really important that when we look at the expansions that we are doing with Bill 60, we also understand where the needs and the areas of expansion have to happen. Of course, one of those processes for assessment will be how we can better serve the francophone community in the province of Ontario. That is why I am so excited about Bill 60, because we now have a formalized process that ensures where the needs are in the community, close to community, will be part of the application approval process. And it will ensure, to the member’s point, that when we are looking for areas that have traditionally not been served as well and perhaps have longer wait-lists, we now have a process through Bill 60, if passed, to ensure that we can expand those surgical community and diagnostic areas.

Mr. Speaker, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that question because the member opposite has voted against every single initiative that we’ve put in place to improve long-term care across the province of Ontario.

Just Friday, colleagues, I was at the Rekai Centre in Toronto, a wonderful not-for-profit, announcing an additional $1.2 billion to increase the level of care to three hours and 43 minutes across the province of Ontario. Ironically, that member and that party voted against that investment, Mr. Speaker.

Now, we’ve also brought in, through the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, the toughest—the toughest—regulations across the province and across this country. We’ve also doubled the amount of inspectors to have the highest inspector-to-home ratio not just in Canada, but in North America. All that time, that member and that party voted against it, Mr. Speaker.

My question is to the Premier. A recent CMHC rental report found that new rental supply is not translating to lower rents. In fact, households on Russell Avenue in St. Catharines are being gouged with a 17% rent increase. This is because this Conservative government has cut rent control on new builds. These are young families. These are professionals with good incomes.

Question to the Premier: Can you explain why your housing plan is leading to a transfer of profits from young families in Niagara to outside developers? Will you take these double-digit rent increases seriously by implementing real rent control today to put families first?

In many communities in Thunder Bay–Superior North, it is impossible to recruit educators and health care workers because there is nowhere to house them. We can even offer to pay them $150,000 but they still might not be able to find a place to live. With new mines coming, if there is no new housing built within existing communities, workers will be stuck living in camps, leading to increased isolation, high rates of addiction and risks to neighbouring communities.

Will the government provide direct funding to support the building of housing in northwestern Ontario that also takes into account the higher costs of building in smaller, northern communities?

I want to take a second to recognize Kyle Fritz, who’s here today from my policy team in the minister’s office. He has done such tremendous work with all of our policy folks around the legislation that we’re set to introduce. Welcome.

Our proposed changes would expand on the successes of the Working for Workers Act, 2021, and the Working for Workers Act, 2022, that are already helping millions of workers across Ontario.

Mr. Kernaghan moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 80, An Act to regulate the mailing of images of fetuses / Projet de loi 80, Loi réglementant l’envoi d’images de foetus par la poste.