I am happy to table this petition once again and to thank Dr. Sally Palmer from the social action committee.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and soon $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent budget increase of 5% for ODSP, with nothing for OW, could be experienced as an insult to recipients, who have been living since 2018 with frozen social assistance rates and a Canadian inflation rate that reached 12%;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its 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 double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I wholeheartedly agree with this. Thanks again to all the folks who have been signing this right across the province. I’m going to affix my signature to it and give it to page Lindsay to bring to the Clerk.

Resuming the debate adjourned on February 27, 2023, on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 63, An Act respecting the adjustment of the boundary between the City of St. Thomas and the Municipality of Central Elgin / Projet de loi 63, Loi concernant la modification des limites territoriales entre la cité de St. Thomas et la municipalité de Central Elgin.

We know that the economic effects of the pandemic are still affecting people, and we must get people out of poverty now more than ever. That’s why we have numerous parts—and we’re working across ministries, across governments, across layers of government to make life better for people.

With the impacts of COVID-19 still having an effect, we’ve launched the micro-credential strategy. We’re improving mental health with the Roadmap to Wellness: $3.8 billion over 10 years for mental health supports. We’ve committed $1 billion to build thousands of new child care spaces. We launched $1.2 billion last year for the Ontario Child Benefit. We’re investing $90 million to provide dental care to low-income seniors. We’ve got the CARE tax credit, which will provide about 300,000 families with up to 75% of their eligible child care expenses. We’ve got the low-income individuals and families tax credit, the Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit.

We’ve got the minimum wage increase. We’ve raised ODSP rates. I could go on—