Over a year ago, I learned that nursing students were quitting the profession immediately after their hospital placements because of the relentlessly exhausting workload they both experienced and witnessed during their placements.

Fortunately, there are still a few new nurses entering the profession, but this week I was told about entire hospital units that are being staffed entirely by new nursing graduates because there are no senior nurses left to supervise or mentor them. Surely this is a health and safety risk for patients and for the new nurses.

The mass exodus of experienced nurses is surely a direct consequence of this government’s continued attacks on public health care workers.

What I would like to know is—

What is this government doing to attract experienced nurses back to our public health care system?

At one hospital, 66 nursing graduates were just hired who did a significant amount of their clinical training online. You heard that correctly: new nursing graduates with next to no hands-on experience. Again, this calls patient safety into question.

How long do you think new nurses will stay in the profession when what few mentors they have had leave the profession out of compassion fatigue and exhaustion?

Again, this situation is a direct result of the government’s strategy to undermine public health care.

Will the government stop wasting public dollars on its appeal of the unconstitutional Bill 124, revive the late career initiative, and create a strategy to attract experienced nurses back into our hospitals?

A direct consequence of your fearmongering.

My question is for the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility.

Across our province, seniors deserve to live fit, active and socially connected lives. It is important that our government prioritizes support for our seniors to remain healthy, to socialize and take part in community life.

The support demonstrated by this minister for investments that help seniors is commendable and appreciated in communities across our province. I know that many communities are appreciative of the funding provided by our government from the seniors community grants. These funds will certainly benefit seniors in their communities, through programs and educational activities.

Can the minister please describe the importance of investments made by our government to support seniors in our communities?

Ontario’s seniors are the province’s fastest-growing demographic. By the end of this year, there will be three million Ontarians over the age of 65. With the investments made through the support of this minister, our government is taking real action to further empower seniors in their own communities.

Our government must continue to prioritize providing seniors with high-quality supports that contribute to their physical, mental and social well-being.

Can the minister please elaborate on the benefits of these grants for our seniors in communities across the province?

Same vote.

Yes, the same point of order.

Thank you, Speaker. I know that during question period you had made a comment with respect to your ability to adjudicate such things.

I would also remind the House that, in many circumstances in debate in this place—on both sides of the House—things that we may disagree with have been levelled across the floor. We spent a good number of weeks early on in this session talking about a wedding, for instance. We may disagree on things, but it is the opposition’s right to bring that forward.

As you said at the beginning, when that was raised, it is not within your purview to assert what a member has or hasn’t done. If the member has some issues with that, then he is certainly welcome to take that up outside of question period with the appropriate authorities that are available to him.

Let me again just thank all members for what has been a very productive week in the House.

If I may just take a moment to also congratulate my assistant Rolando Ong Jr.—this is his last day in the underpass today as my assistant. He is receiving a well-deserved promotion, Mr. Speaker. I hope you’ll indulge me. This is a kid who comes in every day, two hours, from Barrie to be at the House leader’s office at 6:45 every morning—and has been just an absolute awesome person. I wish him very well in his well-deserved promotion. Congratulations.

Of course, the Attorney General and I can talk about him stealing my great staff, but anyway—

Interjection: Solicitor General.

On Tuesday, March 21, in the morning and afternoon sessions, we will be debating a bill which will be introduced. And in the evening, we will be debating Bill 70, Seniors Month Act, standing in the name of the member for Newmarket–Aurora.

On Wednesday, March 22, both in the morning and in the afternoon sessions, we’ll be debating a bill which will be introduced. And in the evening, we will be debating the member for London–Fanshawe’s motion number 34.

On Thursday, March 23, in the morning, we will continue a bill which will be introduced; and in the afternoon, at 4 o’clock, the Minister of Finance will present the 2023 provincial budget.

Deferred vote on the motion that the question now be put for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 71, An Act to amend the Mining Act / Projet de loi 71, Loi modifiant la Loi sur les mines.

This petition’s entitled “Implement the Renfrew County Inquest to End Femicide in Ontario.”

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas since 2015, the same year of the tragic femicides of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk, and Nathalie Warmerdam in Renfrew county, there have been at least 273 women killed in acts of femicide in Ontario;

“Whereas the Renfrew county inquest was published in June 2022 outlining 86 recommendations, 68 of which are under provincial jurisdiction, in order to respond to and prevent intimate partner violence and femicide;

“Whereas the provincial government has yet to respond to the Renfrew county inquest recommendations in any meaningful way;

“Whereas Black women, Indigenous women, racialized women, trans women and non-binary folks, unhoused women, women with disabilities, and women living in rural or remote communities are at a greater risk of femicide due to systemic discrimination and structural inequities that make accessing resources far more difficult;

“Whereas femicide is an epidemic;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to respond and report publicly on the findings of the Renfrew county inquest with specific and timely plans of action and accompanying budget to support implementation of the report’s recommendations to eliminate intimate partner violence in Ontario.”

I fully support this petition and I will pass it to page Charlotte to take to the table.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas in the First and Second World Wars, over 7,000 First Nation members, as well as an unknown number of Métis, Inuit and other Indigenous recruits, voluntarily served in the Canadian Armed Forces; and

“Whereas countless Indigenous peoples bravely and selflessly served Canada at a time of great challenges for Canada; and

“Whereas this spirit of volunteerism and community marked the life of the late Murray Whetung, who volunteered to serve in the Second World War; and

“Whereas many First Nations individuals lost their status after serving in the wars off-reserve for a period of time; and

“Whereas despite this injustice, many continued to recognize the value in continuously giving back to their community; and

“Whereas the values of volunteerism and community are instilled in the army, air, and sea cadets across Ontario; and

“Whereas the Murray Whetung Community Service Award Act establishes an award for the cadets and tells the story of Indigenous veterans’ sacrifice and mistreatment;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the passage of the Murray Whetung Community Service Award Act, 2022.”

I affix my signature to this petition and I will give it to the page Vedant.

The ayes are 75; the nays are 22.

The works of the Group of Seven are internationally recognized. They are all recognized as artists from the early part of the 20th century. The works have captured the magnificent landscape of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, if it pleases the House, my bill will proclaim that Group of Seven day be declared annually on the 7th day of July. This date is to acknowledge the legacy and the works of the Group of Seven artists and their contributions to the province of Ontario from a cultural and artistic and historic perspective.

Ms. Ghamari moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr18, An Act to revive 2253697 Ontario Inc.

The Supply Act is one of the key acts in the Ontario Legislature. If passed, it would give the Ontario government the legal spending authority to finance its programs and honour its commitments for the fiscal year that is to close at the end of March.

Mr. McCarthy moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 78, An Act to proclaim Group of Seven Day / Projet de loi 78, Loi proclamant le Jour du Groupe des Sept.

The supplementary.

Call in the members. This is a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1150 to 1155.

On March 7, 2023, Mr. Pirie moved second reading of Bill 71, An Act to amend the Mining Act.

On March 8, 2023, Mr. Saunderson moved that the question be now put.

All those in favour of Mr. Saunderson’s motion, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Mr. Pirie has moved second reading of Bill 71, An Act to amend the Mining Act. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard some noes.

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

Call in the members. This is a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1200 to 1201.

All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Second reading agreed to.

Deferred vote on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 62, An Act to provide for the development of a farmland and arable land strategy and an advisory committee on farmland and arable land / Projet de loi 62, Loi prévoyant l’élaboration d’une stratégie en matière de terres agricoles et de terres arables et la création d’un comité consultatif des terres agricoles et des terres arables.

Call in the members. This is a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1205 to 1206.

All those in favour will please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

Second reading negatived.

Interjection.

The House recessed from 1209 to 1300.

Report deemed adopted.

Mr. Sarkaria moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 77, An Act to authorize the expenditure of certain amounts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023 / Projet de loi 77, Loi autorisant l’utilisation de certaines sommes pour l’exercice se terminant le 31 mars 2023.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

Motion agreed to.

Point of order.

While I didn’t have to stand today to ask for unanimous consent on anything, I would like to take this opportunity to remind the House that two years ago, almost to this day, we all agreed and voted in favour of having the Franco-Ontarian flag displayed permanently in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a reminder of the important symbol and the importance of our Franco-Ontarian community. I think it’s a moment we can all be proud of. So thank you very much. Merci à tout le monde.

Thank you to the hard-working member from Markham–Thornhill for asking such an important question. Seniors are the backbone of this province, and the member is doing a great job for seniors to get the support they need.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the leadership of the Premier, we have created the programs and services to break down barriers of social isolation and fight against ageism. Since 2018, our government has invested almost $22 million into over 1,200 seniors community grant projects across Ontario to fight social isolation.

Seniors have invested their energy to help build this province, and we stand with them.

Mr. Speaker, seniors are the backbone of this province and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. They are the ones who helped build the best province, Ontario. That is why we have invested into programs that keep seniors active, healthy and socially connected.

Since 2018, our government has invested $59 million in 300 seniors active living centres across Ontario to promote healthy, active and socially connected living for seniors. Programs like this are key to the fight against ageism.

This petition is titled “To Raise Social Assistance Rates.” It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and woefully inadequate to cover the basic costs of food and rent;

“Whereas individuals on the Ontario Works program receive just $733 per month and individuals on the Ontario Disability Support Program receive just $1,169 per month, only 41% and 65% of the poverty line;

“Whereas the Ontario government has not increased social assistance rates since 2018, and Canada’s inflation rate in January 2022 was 5.1%, the highest rate in 30 years;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized through the CERB program that a ‘basic income’ of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to increase social assistance rates to a base of $2,000 per month for those on Ontario Works, and to increase other programs accordingly.”

I fully support this petition and will affix my signature to it. I want to thank Sally Palmer for sending me these petitions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I beg your indulgence for this point of order. I failed to introduce a page from Kingston and the Islands, Yonglin Su. I wanted to just thank him for his work this week, as well as the other pages. We really appreciate it.

Point of order.

I think instead of the fearmongering that the member is bringing to the floor, we need to celebrate the opportunities that we’re seeing—a record number of students entering into the nursing profession; as I mentioned, building on the 14,000 nursing registrants in the province last year alone. There are currently over 5,000 internationally educated nurses residing in Ontario whose applications are at various stages, who are able to enter the workforce sooner as a result of the changes that this government is making. We are breaking down registration barriers so that more health care professionals trained in Ontario and other provinces or internationally can practise here in Ontario.

We have a real opportunity here. We are seeing more and more nursing students entering into the profession—the work that our universities are doing, our stand-alone bachelor of science in nursing program now offered at colleges here in Ontario. We’re seeing it across the province—a record number of students who are able to work in our rural and our underserved areas and stay close to home, in the hospitals and long-term-care centres that need those nurses.

This petition is titled, “Real Rent Control Now.” It reads, “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas average rent has increased by over 50% in the past 10 years;

“Whereas average monthly rent in Ontario is now over $2,000; and

“Whereas nearly half of Ontarians pay unaffordable rental housing costs because they spend more than a third of their income on rent;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pass the Real Rent Control Act to establish:

“—rent control that operates during and between tenancies, so a new tenant pays the same rent as a former tenant, with allowable annual rent increases calculated by the government of Ontario and based on annual inflation;

“—a public rent registry so tenants can find out what a former tenant paid in rent;

“—access to legal aid for tenants that want to contest an illegal rent hike; and

“—stronger enforcement and tougher penalties for landlords who do not properly maintain a renter’s home.”

On behalf of all of the tenants in Parkdale–High Park and across Toronto, I fully support this petition and will affix my signature to it.

Report continues in volume B.

I have a petition here that reads, “Support Gender-Affirming Health Care,” to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas two-spirit, transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse, and intersex communities face significant challenges to accessing health care services that are friendly, competent, and affirming in Ontario;

“Whereas everyone deserves access to health care, and they shouldn’t have to fight for it, shouldn’t have to wait for it, and should never receive less care or support because of who they are;

“Whereas gender-affirming care is life-saving care;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the reintroduction of a private member’s bill to create an inclusive and representative committee to advise the Ministry of Health on how to realize accessible and equitable access to and coverage for gender-affirming health care in Ontario.”

I want to thank the residents who gave me this petition, and I send it with page Adam to the Clerks’ table.