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.

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.

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.

Again, Mr. Speaker, let’s look at what the opposition want us to do. They want us to nationalize long-term care. They want us to spend billions of dollars buying real estate. Instead, what we’re going to do is put the toughest regulations in North America, which we’ve done; back that up with the highest inspector-to-home ratio in North America, which we’ve done; and increase the level of care to four hours, which we are doing—this year an additional $1.2 billion, next year an additional $1.8 billion, which we are doing.

We’re going to hire 27,000 additional health care workers for long-term care alone and we’re making sure that we’re getting the homes built, because the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is giving me MZOs so that I can get those homes built.

The Minister of Colleges and Universities is training PSWs and nurses to ensure that we can get it done.

The Minister of Labour is training the people who are building these homes across Ontario.

We’re building homes and staffing them, we’re giving them the highest level of care—something that they have voted against every single time.

Thank you to the member from Eglinton–Lawrence for this important question. The members from Toronto west are doing a marvellous job to make sure seniors are getting the funding they deserve. Social isolation is enemy number one. We must keep seniors connected and active to fight social isolation. That is why our government has invested over $22 million into almost 1,200 seniors’ projects across Ontario. This is one of the many ways we are working for you to build a better Ontario.

Since 2018, Toronto West has received almost $2 million for Seniors Community Grants to stop social isolation and fight ageism. These grants support educational activities, improve mental health and support low-income seniors to live a better life in their communities. This program is one of the ways we are working for you to serve the needs of Ontarians.

I thank my honourable colleague for the very important question. She’s absolutely right. We are working very hard to make sure that there are more homes available across the entire province, which is why if you look at our record the last couple of years, we had a number of housing starts that we haven’t had since 1987. And we’re not going to stop there, Mr. Speaker. We’re going to continue to go forward. Why? Because of the jobs that we’re creating for the people of this province. We don’t want to be second to any jurisdiction. We have the best and brightest living right here in this province. We think we’re number one in everything. We’ll make sure we have the houses for the jobs that are coming to this province, thanks to the help of this minister and our Premier. Rest assured, we’ll make sure that we’ll even break the records of previous years. We’ll get to our 1.5 million homes so we don’t let your constituents down.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Interjections.

I would like to recognize Mr. Sarabjeet Singh Arora from Punjabi Arts Association, who has come to Queen’s Park for the first time. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Katie Dean as well as her son Logan Dean. Katie is the founder of the Viewer Discretion Legislation Coalition.

I’d like to also provide a warm welcome to members of my constituency staff, including Marie Rioux, Suhaib Al-Azem, Madeline Vrolyk and Alex Wild, who are visiting Queen’s Park today.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

This legislation has been passed in London and Woodstock—and hopefully in St. Catharines soon—by municipal councils.

I’d like to thank Katie Dean for all of her work, her advocacy and for sharing her strength and her story.

Ms. Skelly moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 81, An Act to proclaim Croatian Heritage Day / Projet de loi 81, Loi proclamant le Jour du patrimoine croate.