You need people with skilled trades, I say to the PA for health. She’s on top of this one. You can’t build the hospitals or anything else if you don’t have the skilled tradespeople. And what are we doing? Well, Minister McNaughton is changing the game completely in how we develop and produce skilled workers in this province.

So where are we going in this province? We’re shooting for the moon, folks. In the 1960s, when the race was on to the moon in the United States, and President Kennedy said, “We’re going to have a man on the moon”—he did say a man. Today, we would be putting someone of any gender on the moon—“We are going to put a man on the moon and we’re going to get there before the Russians,” and they did because they were committed to doing just that. Well, we’re committed to reaching for the moon, reaching for the stars here in Ontario, because we are sending a message to the world that there is no better place—no better place—to establish than right here in Ontario.

Now, I’ve got to tell you a little—so some of the things—I’m going to run out of time, believe it or not. Public transit: I have been listening to the Minister of Infrastructure talk about public transit like it’s—my wife would say, “Veik ir pika.” She never stops. “Veik ir pika,” she’d say—German words; I don’t know exactly what they mean—but when I’m talking too much, my wife will say, “Veik ir pika.”

But the minister never stops talking about public transit and how we’re building that here. When we came into government in 2018, people were wondering how we’re actually going to move people here in the city of Toronto. This is a world-class city, Toronto, and it’s got a world-class, soon-to-be Stanley Cup champion hockey team, and I’m looking forward to that parade. I’m looking forward to that parade. It’s a world-class city, but you can’t be a world-class city without a world-class transit system.

So when Premier Ford was elected, he came out, and the minister, with an ambitious plan to make our transit system part of that world-class city, and that’s what we’re doing. So people can say, “Not only do I have a city that I can be proud of, a city that, down the road, years from now, decades from now is still going to be on the cutting edge”—because they saw the future.

Cellphone gap and high-speed Internet: What a change that is making to people’s lives here in Ontario—what a change. Every home connected by 2025—that’s ambitious, but we’re on schedule. In fact, I think we may be ahead of schedule.

I want to tell you a story about the Internet. So I called a little lady yesterday for her birthday. We were talking about a number of different things, and she was articulating to me a number of stories. One of them was a little private joke between her and her daughter about five dollars. I’d have to tell you the whole story and I won’t have enough time for that, but it was just an interesting story about the dynamic between a mother and daughter and the five dollars.

And then she was telling me a story about when she had leaking pipes in the basement and the two fellows that came to repair them. Somehow, she got to saying that, “It doesn’t matter what you call me. You can call me ‘Hey, you,’ if you want.” And the guy thought her name was “Hey, you”—just an interesting story.

But this is what I was talking about to this lady, and we started to talk about how the world has changed—how the world has changed in her lifetime. I was on the phone with this lady for 15 minutes—nice, robust voice; never missed a beat; right on top of things—telling me that her daughter cut my father’s hair when he would be in Renfrew. When he would be in the constituency office—his constituency office was in Renfrew—her daughter would cut my father’s hair, and my father has been gone since 1987.

But anyway, in the process, then, of wishing this absolutely wonderful woman—she only goes by Peg. I didn’t call her “Peggy”; she goes by Peg, or “Hey, you,” if I chose to, she said. But she’s talking about the Internet and different things, and how it has changed. And now the Internet is such a vast, different, but important thing for people today.

Oh, by the way, did I tell you that Peg Clemow of Renfrew, Ontario, was 103 yesterday? Just so you understand the vitality of our citizenry and the people, and how blessed we are to have people like that among us who can talk about—they can’t talk about what they read about life in the Depression; they can actually tell you about life in the Depression.

We don’t experience those kinds of things today, because we have governance in a different way that builds in protections, backstops and supports for those vulnerable and less able to take care of themselves. We don’t have those kinds of impacts today that we had back then, but we still do have ups and downs in the economy.

I’ll tell you what people want: They want a government they trust enough—that has their finger on the pulse, as my dad used to say, to understand and not just react, but to be ahead of the game, so to speak, so that when those times come, they’ve already laid down and laid ahead the road map for recovery. You’re constantly in a state of recovery and decline in economies today, and bouncing back. The future here in Ontario—we know that these are troubling times and troubled times, with war in Ukraine and Russia seemingly intent on taking over a sovereign nation that is a neighbour, not respecting the borders of another nation, which is impacting us all over the world, particularly in Europe. But none of us is immune to the events of the world today.

I think the Speaker used a word today that was basically implying the nature of our world today being so small. We want to continue to be a player. It’s a big world on one hand, but a small world on the other, and we want to make sure that this province continues to be an important player in that world. That’s why we are making the necessary changes to legislation in Ontario.

I say to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: How courageous, knowing that there would be pushback for those who don’t understand or don’t want to understand the importance of building homes if you’re going to attract more people to your province. If the population is going up, Minister McNaughton, with Premier Ford and many other ministers—Minister Dunlop, with skills development—we’re making sure that we’re producing the people to fill those jobs. With Minister Fedeli, Minister Surma and others, we’re making sure that we’ll have the jobs.

But if we’ve got the people and we’ve got the jobs, we’ve got to have a place for them to live. Minister Clark, through the Premier’s plans, is making sure that people who come to this province—half a million people are going to be coming to Canada each year according to the federal government. The vast bulk of those are coming to Ontario. We’ve got to make sure that we have a place for them to stay. This government is forward-facing, forward-looking and forward-planning, so that the Ontario of the future is the best Ontario that you will ever see.

Unfortunately, we are out of time for questions and answers.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

This year, I launched the first-ever member’s statement writing competition for high school students in Parkdale–High Park. Students could submit a statement on any issue they wanted. This competition is designed to empower young people and foster youth participation in politics by bringing their voice directly to Queen’s Park and speaking about issues in their own words.

The winner for 2023, as selected by an independent committee, is Ian Snider from Humberside Collegiate. Here is Ian’s statement:

“Ontario is in a housing crisis.”

Premier “Ford’s solution: Allow suburban developers to create overpriced, car-dependent suburbs. This isn’t so much a solution as a capitulation to those who caused the crisis in the first place.

“It is the increasing sprawl that has raised housing prices, especially in the city, where the poor have been priced out in favour of the highest bidder.

“The demand for walkable neighbourhoods is there, yet the government refuses to hold developers accountable to build the housing needed in Ontario: walkable, affordable, mixed-use development.

“Today, more and more Ontarians favour living in the city over the suburbs. As public transit is expanded in anticipation of new residents” Premier “Ford is unwilling to build destinations.

“As young couples are forced between living in the city and starting a family,” Premier “Ford refuses to build affordable housing. As food prices rise,” Premier “Ford lets cul-de-sacs replace farmland.

“Our neighbourhoods make all the difference in our lives. With walkability comes healthy living, a greener environment, and a sense of community. We can build our cities to support their residents, but this government is doing the opposite just for the profit of a few developers.”

Recently, alongside the Associate Minister of Housing, I had the opportunity to meet with Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin and staff from the Halton Catholic District School Board to learn about their tiny home youth build program. This program provides hands-on building experience for Halton region high school students who are learning construction and skilled trades, all while making an impact for families and communities in need. These student-built tiny homes can be a solution for emergency shelter, seniors, laneway homes and can be part of the solution to the housing crunch. This project is a fantastic way to introduce students to the trades, giving them hands-on work experience and exposure in real-time under the instruction of trained professionals.

Led by Allan Nason, Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School has seen incredible interest in the program, with students transferring from neighbouring schools just to participate. This year alone, there were more than 90 students on the wait-list for Allan’s construction class, with more than 50% female.

Participating students are also eligible to complete college credits in the skilled trades as part of the Dual Credit Program. A partnership with Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation are the housing partners on the pilot project, and five tiny homes are now fully site-serviced and operated by the Chippewas community.

The build program trains students in an interesting and practical way which, in turn, will lead to in-demand, meaningful jobs, building a better and brighter Ontario.

Today is March 1. It’s the sixth annual Professional Engineers Day in the province of Ontario. P.Eng. Day recognizes the vital role that professional engineers play in designing, creating and safeguarding our province, and I’m truly proud to be a P.Eng. serving the people of Ontario here at Queen’s Park each and every day.

It’s equally fitting that representatives of the University of Windsor, a wonderful home to engineering graduates, join us today at Queen’s Park. The University of Windsor’s commitment to establishing strategic and meaningful partnerships with local industry remains steadfast, and countless examples exist of these pioneering relationships, including the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation, as well as the new wine and spirits lab facilitated through the esteemed faculty of science. These partnerships concurrently benefit both the students and our local economy, and our community is left better off because of them.

Whether it be the forthcoming Windsor-Essex acute care hospital, with shovels projected to be in the ground by 2026 or the new Stellantis/LG Energy Solution EV battery manufacturing plant set to be operational by 2024, Windsor and Essex county are on the brink of a generation-defining era for expansion and innovation.

The University of Windsor has and continues to play a key role in ensuring that our homegrown talent is preparing today for both the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. I again wish a very warm welcome to the University of Windsor team here today.

Recently, I had the privilege of joining my colleagues in London to tour the new Carepoint Consumption and Treatment Service building. Evidence shows that consumption and treatment services provide many benefits to those who access services and benefits the neighbouring community, including reducing overdoses as well as a proven track record of successful connections to health and wraparound social services. In London, this program has reversed 713 overdoses and served over 1,000 clients. This new site will provide more opportunities to expand these programs and save even more lives.

Carepoint has had a long and difficult uphill battle, but we’ve really seen the London community open their minds and hearts, recognizing the importance of supporting marginalized people. I would like to thank Brian Lester, Dr. Sonja Burke, Megan Van Boheemen, Lily Bialas, Dr. Alex Summers, Shaya Dhinsa, Dr. Chris Mackie, Scott Courtice, Dr. Sharon Koivu, Dr. Andrea Sereda, Pam Hill, Linda Sibley, John Pare, Ed Holder, Karen Burton and many more.

After an exhaustive search for an ideal location, the retiring owners of John Bellone’s Musical Instruments, John and Moira Bellone, kindly offered their building to support the community to save lives.

What will always remain with me is Dr. Sonja Burke’s emphasis that every person has value, meeting them where they are, hugging each person and educating our community about harm reduction. Welcome to the neighbourhood.

Je prends l’opportunité ici en Chambre aujourd’hui pour remercier mes collègues de l’APF, l’Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie. Ça a été un plaisir pour moi de me joindre à eux récemment pour participer à ma première réunion du bureau à titre de chargé de mission pour la région Amérique.

Plusieurs parlementaires francophones de partout à travers le monde se sont joints à nous du 29 janvier au 2 février à Papeete, dans la capitale de la Polynésie française. Ce fut une expérience enrichissante d’avoir des discussions avec mes collègues députés francophones de plusieurs pays.

J’aimerais remercier le président du pays, M. Édouard Fritch; le président de l’assemblée, M. Gaston Tong Sang; ses collègues députés ainsi que les membres de l’administration du gouvernement pour leur accueil incroyable. Je crois que la gouvernance de leur pays est unique. Leur passion pour l’environnement et la culture est exceptionnelle.

En tant que Franco-Ontarien, tout comme le président de l’APF, la promotion et la protection de la langue française, notamment au sein des communautés francophones en situation minoritaire, sont des enjeux qui me tiennent particulièrement à coeur.

C’est donc avec beaucoup de fierté que j’ai l’opportunité de représenter les intérêts de ma région au courant des deux prochaines années en tant que chargé de mission, région Amérique.

En tant qu’adjoint parlementaire du ministre de l’Énergie, j’ai aussi eu l’occasion d’avoir des discussions très intéressantes au sujet de l’avenir de la génération d’électricité et de l’électrification des véhicules dans leurs pays. La Polynésie française pourrait éventuellement être ajoutée à la liste de pays qui aimeraient travailler avec notre province dans le futur pour discuter du dossier de la production d’énergie.

Last night, I attended the East Scarborough boys and girls club AGM, and I met a single mother and her daughter. I asked her what she is hoping for, and she said that, one day, she wants to be able to raise her daughter in a house where she can play freely outside. As an immigrant to Canada from Jamaica, this reminded me of the dream my parents had for our family. I now serve as the MPP for Scarborough–Guildwood and have fulfilled that dream.

Toronto is a magnet for newcomers, and this city must be a place where people can continue to dream and have a chance to fulfill their dreams. The beauty of Toronto is that it has the potential. However, affordability remains a challenge. People need to be able to afford to put food on the table and a roof over their head. Toronto needs strong leadership that will make that happen—strong leadership for a stronger Toronto. All levels of government must work together to achieve this. Toronto is going through some uncertain times, not the least of which is a budget gap of $1.5 billion. For Toronto to continue on an upward trajectory, the solutions will involve the provincial and federal governments playing a role to help close this gap. As Toronto emerges from the pandemic, we must all work hard to keep our capital city strong so that it will continue to be the economic engine for the province and the country.

I love Toronto. It’s where I live, and I have countless opportunities in this city. Toronto needs to be a city where all its people are included and have an opportunity to fulfill their greatest dream.

Wawatay radio has been essential to life in the Far North since broadcasts began. Wawatay means “northern lights.” The Wawatay Native communication service was created in 1974 and is a communication lifeline to the people in treaty number 9, number 3 and number 5.

Wawatay is an independent, self-governing media organization dedicated to telling stories from the First Nations that make up the First Nations in northern Ontario. They operate a monthly newspaper printed in Ojibway, Oji-Cree and Cree that is distributed to First Nations across the north. The overall news coverage and distribution of this service reaches a population of about 58,000 people.

Waawaate Nandotamowin, or the Wawatay Radio Network, offers local and national news, music, community announcements, call-in shows and language programs, as well as special programs for women, elders and youth. The Wawatay Radio Network is the only source of news in our languages.

As an example, over the March break, the Northern Bands Hockey Tournament will get played in Dryden and will be broadcast across the north, play by play, in our languages for everyone to listen.

These radio programs are an essential resource for the preservation of our languages. Wawatay has been a communications lifeline for the people for the past 49 years.

Remarks in Oji-Cree.

Booshoo and wachiyeh to the elders this morning.

I’d like to talk about a group of people from my riding who have inspired me on so many occasions to do more. One of the things that I’ve instilled consistently in my children is, if you can do more, then do it. If you can help someone, then help them. If you can make a difference in someone’s life, then step forward and make that difference.

Four ladies in my riding started something for their adult children, because there wasn’t a social entrepreneurial program for people with Down syndrome. It started in Norma’s backyard as the Down syndrome business group and has grown to its own charity now called Hearts 4 Joy. At present, it’s 16 artisans with varying exceptionalities who come together and create some truly inspiring art. I’m sure all of you have heard of Elf on the Shelf, but did you know about Gnome in Your Home? Maybe you have tiki lights on your deck and you’d like to replace them with hand-painted lanterns that look like stained glass.

On February 10, I had the pleasure of being at their official opening of their new shop in the Charlotte Mews. The new space will allow for a retail outlet for the group to sell their crafts and a great space for the artisans to do their masterpieces.

Norma, Debbie, Sharon and Irene, what you have done for Emilia, Allyson, Derek, Julie, Nicole, Carly, Tyler, Connor, Jessica, Josh, Jory, Luke and Kacee can’t be measured. You inspire everyone who meets you to do more and to be a better person.

I rise today to recognize and appreciate the immense contributions of the non-profit sector in Ontario. The non-profit sector plays a vital role in our communities by providing essential services and resources to those in need, supporting social causes and enhancing the quality of life for everyone.

I’d like to extend my gratitude to the staff and professionals of the non-profit sector. They are the community champions who have dedicated their time and effort to make a positive impact on our society. They have worked tirelessly to provide much-needed support and assistance to the most vulnerable members of our communities.

I thank the government for supporting Non-Profit Sector Appreciation Week, and I appreciate all the members here going around in their communities thanking each of them. Definitely they deserve our appreciation. I commend their unwavering commitment to making a difference in the lives of Ontarians. Their selfless dedication and hard work deserves recognition and appreciation.

Page Lindsay Matheson from Parkdale–High Park is page captain today, and I’d like to give a warm welcome to her parents Lauren and Donna Matheson who are sitting in the members’ gallery.

Also, we have Ian Snider, member’s statement writing competition winner for 2023, from Humberside Collegiate Institute, and his mother Elin Goulden. Welcome.

I beg to inform the House that the following document has been tabled: a report entitled Expenditure Monitor 2022-23: Q3, from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario.

I have the honour today of introducing to the House Dr. Trevor Hall, his wife Tanya Staples, Jadyn Hall, Julian Hall and Marlaena Hall. Thank you for coming today.

I’d also like to welcome AMAPCEO to Queen’s Park, Ontario’s professional employees. This is their Queen’s Park lobby day. They’re having a reception later on today. Please join them.

Including the guests who the member for Guelph just introduced, I’d also like to welcome Grant Burns, who’s also with AMAPCEO and my former EA in my office.

It’s a great pleasure to welcome Marta Hajek and the Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario team to the Legislature. A number of us had a chance to have breakfast with them this morning. Thank you for the important work you do for older adults in Ontario.

I would like to welcome representatives of AMAPCEO, Ontario’s professional employees, to the Legislature for their Queen’s Park day. Joining us in the chamber this morning are Dave Bulmer, Cynthia Watt, Angela Freeman, Colleen Walsh, Suzanne Conquer and Jennifer Harewood. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I, too, would like to welcome the amazing group from Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario and thank them for their breakfast and all the great work they do to keep our sensational seniors happy and safe across Ontario, and also to thank Minister Cho for his joyful, joyful comments this morning and encouraging us all to smile, which we could do a lot more of in the chamber.

I’m really excited today to welcome Malcolm McLean to Queen’s Park today. Malcolm is the grandfather of legislative page Charlotte Tamminga. I’ve actually known Malcolm since I was a legislative page back in 1991. Welcome to Queen’s Park.