I’m honoured to rise today to highlight the amazing people-powered organizing that is taking place all across this province right now.

Last weekend, I participated in a day of action with hundreds of people—knocking on doors from Thunder Bay to Windsor to Ottawa and cities in between; speaking with neighbours to talk about how vital it is to protect the farmland that feeds us, the nature that protects us; and calling on the Premier to keep his promise not to open the greenbelt for development. In a few hours, people collected nearly 4,000 petition signatures and identified hundreds of sign locations, calling on the Premier to keep his greenbelt promise.

This weekend, there will be rallies again all over the province.

Organizers like Environmental Defence, GASP, Water Watchers and Stop the Sprawl are mobilizing to defend the greenbelt, calling on the Premier to “keep your hands off our greenbelt” and to keep his greenbelt promise, because we know people power works.

Speaker, a healthy democracy requires citizen engagement and mobilization.

I’m inspired by the people taking the time out of their busy lives to demand that the government maintain the integrity of the greenbelt.

I will be there this weekend with the people, defending the greenbelt and calling on the Premier to keep his promise.

I have a “Petition to Protect Ontarians from Catastrophic Floods.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the government’s More Homes Built Faster Act ... continues to erode the powers of Ontario’s conservation authorities; and

“Whereas the government’s recently tabled housing legislation will repeal no fewer than 36 regulations that give conservation authorities oversight over development in order to protect Ontarians from catastrophic floods; and

“Whereas the work of conservation authorities reduces the risk of flooding, which is only getting worse due to climate change;

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

“To instruct the Ontario government to please amend your housing bill and repeal all the changes you have introduced since coming to office that limit the important role of conservation of authorities.”

I support this petition, will sign it and ask page Hussain to bring it to the table.

I’d like to thank Leadnow for this petition. It reads, “For Meaningful Climate Action Withdraw Bill 23.

“Whereas our planet is undergoing significant warming with adverse consequences for health, for agriculture, for infrastructure and our children’s future;

“Whereas the costs of inaction are severe, such as extreme weather events causing flooding and drought;

“Whereas Canada has signed the Paris accord which commits us to acting to keep temperature rise under 1.5 degrees” centigrade;

“We, the undersigned, call upon the government of Ontario to withdraw Bill 23 and to create a new bill to meet our housing needs that is compatible with protecting the greenbelt, creating affordable housing in the current urban boundaries, and meeting our climate targets.”

I fully support this petition and will affix my signature to it.

“Whereas about 200,000 to 300,000 people in Ontario are injured on the job every year;

“Whereas over a century ago, workers in Ontario who were injured on the job gave up the right to sue their employers, in exchange for a system that would provide them with just compensation;

“Whereas decades of cost-cutting have pushed injured workers into poverty and onto publicly funded social assistance programs, and have gradually curtailed the rights of injured workers;

“Whereas injured workers have the right to quality and timely medical care, compensation for lost wages and protection from discrimination;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to change the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act to accomplish the following for injured workers in Ontario:

“Eliminate the practice of ‘deeming’ or ‘determining,’ which bases compensation on phantom jobs that injured workers do not actually have;

“Ensure that the WSIB prioritizes and respects the medical opinions of the health care providers who treat the injured worker directly;

“Prevent compensation from being reduced or denied based on ‘pre-existing conditions’ that never affected the worker’s ability to function prior to the work injury.”

I fully support this petition and will affix my signature to it.

“Whereas reports show that the Ontario” government’s new laws “allow landlords to evict tenants faster and use private bailiffs to enforce eviction orders;

“Whereas there is an affordable housing and rental crisis in Ontario;

“Whereas many tenants who have lived in their units for years are being pushed out of their homes through renovictions and other loopholes, allowing their” rent to be doubled or tripled;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario ... to: Reject any proposed changes that give” more “power to evict” honest “tenants more quickly; close all loopholes that give landlords incentive to drive people out of their units so they can rent at new, much higher rents, including action in above-guideline rent increases and renovictions; and commit to immediate action to increase access to affordable housing in Ontario by building more affordable housing, social housing, supportive housing and increasing rent supplements, etc.”

I support this petition and I will affix my signature to it.

Resuming the debate adjourned on December 1, 2022, on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 26, An Act to amend various Acts in respect of post-secondary education / Projet de loi 26, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne l’éducation postsecondaire.