I feel compelled to once again remind members that members’ statements are to be 90 seconds in duration.

Good morning. I’d like to welcome the representatives of the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science to Queen’s Park today. These laboratory specialists are a critical part of Ontario’s health care system and were vital to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. Lab specialists from the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science are a trusted partner of the Ontario government and our work together is directly benefiting Ontarians. They will be meeting with MPPs throughout the day to discuss their policy recommendations, and will be hosting a reception in the legislative dining room from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. this evening. Welcome.

My question’s to the Minister of Finance. I spent much of this winter travelling across the province, listening to Ontarians tell us what should be in the budget to create a stronger, more care province.

The Canadian Cancer Society told us about the need to expand access to take-home cancer drugs since that’s what over half of the new oncology medications are actually developed for. Currently, OHIP doesn’t cover these medications, which are costly and difficult to access without private insurance or employment benefits. Increasing access to take-home cancer drugs frees up valuable hospital resources and makes life a little bit easier for everyone who is battling cancer, no matter their income.

Will the government do the right thing in this budget, do the compassionate thing and do the fiscally responsible thing and provide OHIP coverage for these life-saving medications in this year’s budget?

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. Our government is always listening to good ideas from all of our health care stakeholders, and we certainly will look at all of the ideas being brought forward.

As I said yesterday, Ontario is actually leading the country in access to family health providers and primary care practitioners, with 90% of people having access. But we know we must do more, and we will do more. That is why we are taking the steps we can, including currently adding 720 positions in 2022-23 for doctors in those family health organizations and another 480 in 2023-24. We’re taking the steps necessary to make ensure that we have family health primary health care for all Ontarians.

That’s why we’ve invested, amongst other things, over $41 million in Indigenous organizations and communities to support culturally safe mental health and wellness services for children, youth, families and communities in Ontario. Our government has made it clear that we will do everything we can to protect our most vulnerable, which includes Ontario’s Indigenous populations.

I’m happy to address the question from the Leader of the Opposition. When I think about why I got into government: For 15 years, we saw a record amount of spending, supported for three years by the NDP, I submit—from 2011 to 2014—as I have mentioned many times, in the history of Confederation up to 2003, $130 billion of debt; the next 15 years, almost $200 billion in debt.

Did those spending dollars go into health care? Did they go into building highways so people could move goods and people to market? Did the spending go into building more subways to connect the hundreds of thousands of people that move to Ontario every single year? Where are those people going to live? Where are they going to live? They have to live in housing. That’s what this government is accelerating to make sure we get it done.

That being said, let me also think about almost a year ago, when we tabled our budget for the people of Ontario and we took that budget to the people of Ontario. It included gas tax relief, because the cost of gas and the cost of everything was going up. It included a doubling of the low-income individuals and families tax credit so that the lowest-income workers in this province got a break. It helped seniors with the seniors’ home affordability tax credit.

But did we stop there? No. In the fall economic statement, what did we do? We increased ODSP funding by 5%. We indexed it to inflation for the first time ever. And we didn’t stop there. We increased the earnings exemption. We provided the GAINS, the doubling of support for seniors and the guaranteed annual income. Also, we continued the gas tax relief for another year.

To reply, the Minister of Finance.

That is just typical of this government. When people need help, all they get from this government is rhetoric. Out there in the real world, people are tired of it. They’re tired of it.

The fact is things are far from normal in a lot of places in this province. The services and supports that build strong and caring communities have been watered down, whittled away or just allowed to collapse altogether. Now, the finance minister is warning them to prepare for more “restraint” in this budget.

I would love to hear from the Premier on this question. I would really like to hear from the Premier on this question. Will the Premier tell Ontarians which services they rely on will bear the brunt of this so-called restraint?

Back to the Premier of this province, who I hope will answer our questions: At pre-budget consultations, MPPs heard ideas that would make a real difference in people’s lives. So many people in this province don’t have a family doctor. MPPs heard from the Ontario College of Family Physicians that Ontario could add the equivalent of 2,000 family doctors to our health care system and serve two million more patients simply by providing funding for around 19 hours a week of administrative support.

Will the government include administrative support for family doctors in the next budget?

The committee heard a proposal to create a Peterborough community health centre—a very specific proposal—to ensure that people receive the wraparound health care they need to achieve their goals. That means people can keep their jobs, kids can focus on learning in school and families can spend more quality time together.

Access to this kind of comprehensive health care is a priority for Ontarians. Is it a priority for this government? Will you be funding the proposed Peterborough community health centre in the upcoming budget? My question’s to the Premier.

Speaker, the committee heard from the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre who told us that they are serving the Owen Sound community, along with two sizable Indigenous communities, with only one physician working part-time. They have over 100 people on their wait-list, which is 12 to 24 months long. They are severely backlogged for cancer screenings, and 45% of their diabetic clients have not seen a doctor in two years.

They’re doing the hard work and all they’re asking for is an increase from half a doctor to two. Will you fund Indigenous health services in the upcoming budget, including the proposals from Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre? To the Premier.

I want to thank the member opposite for the question. We do believe we need to build new schools, and build these schools faster in the province of Ontario. It’s why the Premier has allocated $14 billion over the next 10 years to finally build modern schools that are accessible and Internet-connected, with the highest standards of ventilation in Ontario. This investment has helped us deliver over 100 capital projects under way today—200 approved in the pipeline, and there’s more to go.

The Auditor General recommended to this province and government to allocate 2.5% on renewal to make sure that schools remain operationally sound for all children of all abilities, and we have done so, allocating $1.3 billion each and every year in our budget.

In addition, the special education budget to help the most vulnerable children in our province is up to the highest levels ever, $3.2 billion—$90 million more today than just last year. We appreciate that the needs are rising, and our government and our province will be there for these kids.

Back to the Minister of Finance: I had the opportunity to travel across the province with the finance committee, hearing from people about what this government’s priorities should be in this budget. Many of the proposals we heard were small investments that would produce significant long-term savings.

The Canadian Celiac Association brought to our attention that celiac testing is not covered by OHIP, which contributes to a higher rate of late diagnosis. Better access to this test would increase the quality of life for thousands and save millions in health care dollars by reducing unnecessary X-rays, ultrasounds, iron infusions and hospitalizations.

Will this government do the right thing—and the smart thing—by covering celiac testing under OHIP?

Thank you.

The supplementary question: The member for London North Centre.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Mississauga is home to large, knowledge-based industries including a robust life sciences sector that employs thousands of Ontarians. But we know that Mississauga needs to remain competitive if we are going to continue attracting these critical, life-saving investments.

Speaker, will the minister please provide an update on what our government is doing to continue creating highly skilled, well-paying jobs and attracting investments in life sciences?

Speaker, will the minister please elaborate on what our government is doing to secure Ontario’s standing as a global pinnacle of innovation in the life and health sciences sector?

Thank you to the member opposite for that question. Last week, I highlighted that the budget date would be March 23, so I would encourage the member opposite to join us on March 23 when she will find out the historic and the unprecedented investments that we’re making, not only in health care, but in infrastructure, in jobs, in labour and right across the board, Mr. Speaker.

This is a good point in time to highlight a very, very important point, something that happened last week on Thursday. You know what happened last Thursday? Under the Premier’s leadership—and the Deputy Premier—Ontario was the first government in Canada to sign the Canada Health Transfer agreement. The Premier broke the logjam in this country and that allowed for us to get it done, because people don’t want to hear governments just yapping and yapping. They want actual results. They want no backlogs in surgeries. They want better health care. They want access. They want—

Do you know what we heard? We heard, Mr. Speaker, our investments and our plan to build—we heard, “Keep going. Keep making those critical investments in subways, highways, in hospitals, in long-term care, in human health resources.” This government is listening and that’s why most of us are on this side, because we listen to the people of Ontario, and we’re going to get that job done.

During pre-budget hearings in Ottawa, we heard from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board about the resources they need for a strong education system that meets the needs of Ontario students. In particular, we heard that schools are unlikely to meet the 2025 deadline for full accessibility set out by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act because funding for building repairs and retrofits has fallen short over the last 25 years.

Making sure that every student has equal access to education is a priority for Ontarians. Will this government provide the necessary funding to make schools accessible in this year’s budget?

The finance committee also heard about the importance of ensuring that children can access mental health programming through their schools. Unfortunately, a new report has shown that less than one in 10 schools have access to a regularly scheduled mental health specialist or nurse.

Ensuring that children have the support they need to succeed in the classroom and that teachers and education workers have the support they need to do their jobs is a priority for the people of Ontario. Is it a priority for this government? Will they include funding for mental health supports in schools in this budget?

Speaker, yesterday Premier Ford welcomed AstraZeneca’s latest investment. They were thrilled to announce the establishment of their Canadian research and development hub. AstraZeneca’s investment in Mississauga will create 500 new well-paying jobs here in Ontario. This will enhance Ontario’s competitiveness and leadership in our booming life sciences sector.

Speaker, Ontario has attracted record investments and jobs with nearly $3 billion in life sciences alone in just two years, and we now have more than 70,000 life sciences employees working in Ontario. This is all a result of reducing the cost of doing business by $7 billion annually. This is what we’re doing to attract investment to Mississauga.

Yesterday’s announcement demonstrates that we’re well on our way to achieving that goal. Ontario now has everything we need in the global life sciences sector to help them innovate and succeed—a thriving research ecosystem, one of the most highly sought-after workforces in the world. This is where medical breakthroughs are discovered.

Thank you for that question. Mr. Speaker, children and youth have the highest mental health care needs of any age demographic. This informs every investment that we’ve made as a government and will continue to make.

In fact, in 2022, in addition to the investments made in the Ministry of Education, we invested another $31 million in new annual funding to reduce wait-lists and support the mental health and well-being of children and youth. These investments are in the community sector.

We’re also innovating on new ways to treat children and youth, and use new means for them to access care. We invested $3.5 million in Step Up Step Down, a live-in treatment program helping move kids through levels of intensive treatment, and $2.1 million in virtual walk-in counselling, connecting youth to a clinician by phone, text or video chat. Dollars were invested in 22 youth wellness hubs in the province of Ontario.

We’re going to continue making investments because this government is more prepared than any other government to ensure that our children and youth get the mental health supports they need, where and when they need them.

To the Premier: At the pre-budget consultations, Red Lake came to ask the government once again for funding to build a new multi-purpose recreation and cultural centre. This is a request that they have been making for more than 10 years.

Red Lake generates over $4 million in provincial and federal income tax with a municipal tax base of 5,000 people. This project is a priority for Red Lake residents, but Red Lake needs this government’s support to start building.

Will there be funding for this multi-purpose centre in this budget?

This multi-purpose recreation and cultural centre will benefit existing residents and will help the community grow. While many people come to Red Lake to work in mining, they often take the money they earn back to the south. The area struggles to attract workers who need to support our population, including health care workers. Recreation and cultural centres are important to families when they’re deciding where to live, which makes this centre important to the future of Red Lake.

Again, I know the answer is “yes,” but there’s a “no” in there.

Will this government commit to providing funding for this project in this budget?

I want to thank the member for the question. The answer is yes, and the answer has been yes for some time now. I’ve spoken to the mayor of Red Lake on a number of occasions, and we stand ready with the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, as we’ve demonstrated across the province, making investments in recreational infrastructure to improve and ensure the quality of life is there for the families that not just live in those communities, but that it serves—in particular, in the instance of Red Lake, a number of Indigenous communities, particularly during the winter, through winter road access.

We’ve made those offers to the mayor of Red Lake. We stand ready to support his application as long as it fits within the parameters of a very generous Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, which is responding to the surge in incredible economic growth in major sectors, including mining, across northern Ontario.

One of the nice things about the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund is its ability to stack. This is widely known for communities across the province, but particularly in northern Ontario, to leverage local investments, to leverage private sector investments, for mining operations—local there—and, as well, for the federal government to be involved in that. In many instances, we work on larger-scale projects with FedNor, a portfolio that I was the minister of in my federal days. It’s easily done.

The mayor of Red Lake is well aware that we stand ready to support him and his community as they set out to build this important piece of recreational infrastructure.

There are countless examples across northern Ontario of where we’ve had this kind of success. We’re going to continue to invest in the quality of life for the communities across northern Ontario.

First of all, I want to thank the leader of the opposition for that lob ball—considering you changed it 17 times. Who were you taking care of 17 times when you changed the greenbelt? You didn’t have a housing crisis.

I can tell you what we’re doing. We’re going to build the 1.5 million homes. There’s going to be long-term care. There are going to be hospitals. There are going to be houses for people who can’t afford houses—but again, we’re doing it to make sure that we build homes for people who can’t afford it. We aren’t changing it 17 times, like the opposition changed it, endorsed by the NDP throughout the whole process.

My question is to the Premier.

First off, I’d like to say it’s good to be back. I did get a chance to see yesterday’s question period. Scandal, espionage, accusations of racial bias—I had to check to make sure I wasn’t watching CPAC. We don’t need a big show—just the facts.

In 2018, the Premier was caught on video telling friends he was going to crack open the greenbelt, and then, for the next four years, he swore up and down that he wasn’t going to do it.

Now he has cracked open the greenbelt and he’s giving it away. To be fair—

Interjections.

Why did the Premier break his promise to the people of Ontario?

The fact is, too many people who benefited from the Premier’s decision to crack open the greenbelt were, by the Premier’s own admission, his close friends.

More facts: The Premier hosted a private fundraiser at his home—one that directly benefited a member of his family. Developers, their lobbyists, people doing business with the Ontario government were invited. Invitees were asked to buy tickets and reportedly donate up to $1,000, all to benefit a family member.

The Premier has confirmed the tickets were $150—thank you, Premier. Then, when he was asked about who was invited, he said, “Well, the boys took care of that.” Not sure who the boys are.

Simple, straightforward facts: Will the Premier admit this was indeed a conflict and disclose the list of developers and people doing business with the government who were invited?