I am, of course, standing today to speak about the proposed Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act.

It’s no unusual news to any of us here that red tape causes a significant amount of frustration, unnecessary expense and complications in everyday life, not just for governments, but for regular people in Ontario—for our non-profit organizations, individuals, families etc. It stops productivity, it reduces our economic competitiveness and development, and it also tends to put a chilling affect on innovation.

It’s a bit of a niche reference—but what’s the point of having the floor if you can’t throw in a niche reference here and there? I’m a big fan of Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. When I think about red tape, I’m reminded of the Vogons in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which Adams describes as one of the most unpleasant populations in the galaxy due to their bureaucratic and officious nature. I’ll quote it directly: The Vogons “wouldn’t even lift a finger to save their own grandmothers from the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal without orders signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighters.” That sounds a lot like some of the red tape that we’ve been cutting through.

To go to another great, Oscar Wilde said, “The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.” That is what we are trying to stop here.

It also reminds me of one of my favourite questions to ask when I meet with stakeholders or constituents. I’ll say, “We’ve talked about a lot of the big issues, the overarching academic issues. Now can you please tell me the little tiny thing about a government process that makes you want to bang your head against the wall? Because we don’t necessarily know about it, and we won’t be able to do anything about it unless you tell us.”

Really, that’s what this bill is—this bill is the result of the government having a very clear mandate and acting on that to consult, to learn, to listen and to identify those things that make people want to bang their heads against the wall. It’s about red tape. It’s about bureaucracy. It’s about not burying everything in soft peat and recycling it as firelighters.

I’m going to talk about a few of the parts of this bill that are of specific relevance to me, whether in my position in energy or some of my more personal interests and projects.

One of the aspects of this bill—I’m parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Energy—is about the leave-to-construct thresholds. Currently, under the Ontario Energy Board Act, the OEB will review leave-to-construct applications for these electricity transmission projects and will grant leave, or permission, to carry out the work if it’s in the public interest to do so, looking at the needs of the project, the proposals, their price etc.

Prior to what is set out in this bill—or what this bill will change, if passed—electricity transmission projects that are greater than two kilometres in length have to go through the leave-to-construct proceedings. That includes self-funded connection lines for generators as well as industrial load consumers such as electric vehicle battery manufacturing plants or mines that are trying to connect to the grid. My ministry, energy, has heard time and time again from businesses and various industry groups that this poses an unnecessary regulatory burden, as these projects don’t impact ratepayers, whereas reliability, quality etc., are assessed through other mechanisms. It’s important to understand that the costs associated with these proposed exempt projects are not recovered from electricity ratepayers; they are customer-funded. They also remain subject to any environmental assessment processes and other approvals, which is important to understand.

One of the things that’s so important about this simplification of the leave-to-construct procedures is, we’ve made it clear time and time again that Ontario’s economy is booming, and we want to keep it that way. Making Ontario a province that is attractive to companies choosing to come here, and attractive to companies that want to have a green initiative, is incredibly important.

I know it can sound dry to hear a Conservative yet again speaking about the economy, but the truth is, it is the economy and the workers and the taxpayers who provide all of the wonderful things that our province has to offer, including the projects that fund those who are struggling, those who are dealing with disease, those who are dealing with poverty and systemic inequalities. It’s through our economy, through attracting these businesses, that we become the type of province that is actually able to turn around and make sure that we are caring for Ontarians.

We’ve heard stories in the past about electricity concerns preventing investment in Ontario, and that’s really what we are focused on dealing with. This sort of minor change is a really important part of that, and something we should be proud of. As I said, it’s really an example of this government and of the ministry listening and paying attention. But the other aspect of that is, again, when I’m talking about making sure that we are attractive to businesses—this specific project about the leave to construct has a lot to do with electrification. Electrification is a really essential part of our journey to net zero and our environmental commitments. We won’t be able to get down to net-zero energy uses without these types of projects, without identifying these problems, focusing on them, and making sure that we are removing them. So, while it may sound like a somewhat dry topic, the leave to construct energy lines more than two kilometres—it’s actually an important fact, and it’s definitely evidence of this government listening.

I also want to talk a little bit about two other parts of this bill that have nothing to do with energy but that I find particularly heartening. One of those is the invitation to open the 1989 Veterinarians Act. We are dealing with a significant veterinarian shortage in this province that impacts everybody. It impacts our farmers and our agri-food sector, but it also impacts people like me who consider themselves “pet parents,” who have gone through the struggles of trying to find a veterinarian. We have veterinarians who are struggling or burning out. We have vet techs who are capable of a vast amount of care, who are incredibly skilled, intelligent, caring people, but who are limited by a very archaic—1989—definition of the stratification of work within the veterinary sphere. Once again, this is definitely an example of this government listening. I think the College of Veterinarians of Ontario, back in 2016 or 2017, put out a request for input from their own veterinarians. They’ve been working on some policy suggestions since then. This, again, is evidence of our government listening to that, listening to stakeholders and saying this is important—“Your opinions are important; your input is important”—and making sure that we are getting that.

Finally—these aren’t related, but it’s of interest to me, what this bill is proposing to do when it comes to the Provincial Offences Act and convictions in absentia. As many know, I was a crown attorney. I’ve worked in a couple of small jurisdictions where I was also a provincial offences prosecutor, so I prosecuted Highway Traffic Act offences. In the Highway Traffic Act, you can be convicted in absentia. A trial can be held without you; you can be convicted in your absence. With COVID, we had a very challenging balance between trying to keep cases moving while understanding that there were a lot of legitimate factors that might be preventing people from accessing court services, understanding the process was still ongoing, that type of thing.

What the case was until what’s proposed in this bill—if a conviction was registered, the only person who was able to essentially vacate that conviction was a justice of the peace, which put a huge amount of burden on our JPs, who are already extremely overtaxed by the sheer volume of cases in our Provincial Offences Court. What this proposes to do is to give the clerk of the court the authority—obviously, following the same process—to vacate that conviction, which is going to be incredibly helpful. That’s something that we did see a lot of during COVID. Again, I’m very pleased to see it, as it’s evidence of this government listening and learning.

By cutting red tape and lowering the cost of doing business in Ontario, our government has created an environment where we are seeing record job creation and growth. These successes are powered by reliable access to energy.

Does the member opposite agree that as we continue to grow the economy, it will remain critical that we remove red tape barriers that prevent access to energy for our businesses and job creators?

No fault of their own.

I really enjoyed the member’s comments this morning.

I looked at this bill quite intently, and a lot of it is just housecleaning, and some of this red tape bill will help some individuals.

I looked at the changes that are being done under schedule 4, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act, providing the opportunity for others to be eligible for certain programs. That’s good news.

I will go to schedule 9. Here was a perfect opportunity. Many times we raised in the House the challenges that a lot of injured workers are facing in this province when it comes to deeming.

Would a review, would us looking at what deeming is, having that hard discussion—would that benefit anyone in this province?

The member for Algoma–Manitoulin.

Thank you to my colleague from Kitchener South–Hespeler for the wonderful presentation.

Madam Speaker, my colleague from Peterborough–Kawartha mentioned the more than 350,000 regulations and the regulatory burden on businesses, impacting our businesses.

This red tape reduction bill is trying to make things easier for our small businesses, fairly clearly.

There are over 1,800 small businesses in my riding of Markham–Thornhill.

I’d like to thank the minister for introducing this bill, and our government and our Premier.

My question to my colleague: You passionately talked about the energy industry. How would this proposed bill bring changes to the energy industry?

Thank you to the member from Kitchener South–Hespeler—and my congratulations on talking about The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as part of debate.

Very often, the Conservative Party, when they talk about removing red tape—in another cultural reference, I think of Thanos doing the snap and getting rid of half, and the danger of just eliminating red tape.

I think for the most part in this bill, we’re just cleaning things up. But when I think back to removing red tape and what happened in Walkerton and the deaths that happened there—how do you ensure a balance between that? Very often, when there is consultation for bills, the notification comes out at the very last minute; people have to register within a short amount of time, and there’s only five hours to hear discussion from stakeholders. So how do you ensure that you have good debate, you have good bills, and that the bills and the red tape you’re removing don’t cause issues like we had in Walkerton?

My point would be the same: We are talking about a red tape bill. It’s not just housecleaning; it’s an essential part of government business. It may not be particularly exciting, and it may not make for the best headlines, but this is material that is incredibly important for Ontario. It shows that we are taking our duties to Ontario very seriously and that we are listening.

When we’re talking about larger issues—they’re valid issues, but they’re not the purpose of what we are discussing here.

Again, I would say that it’s not just housecleaning, it’s not just housekeeping. Those things are actually very important—or we would be living in quite a disaster. That’s what we’re here to do—to clean house.

Yes, it’s definitely something I’m passionate about.

You’re correct; it has been in place for a very long time, since 1989, when I was two. So it’s really time to look at it. What’s important to understand is that this is a call to veterinary professionals to give their opinion on a—there is no sort of specification about what, in particular, they must give input on. What we’re looking at is streamlining it, making sure there’s a reduction of compliance burden for our already overworked veterinarians, vet techs and vet clinics. We’re also looking at how we deal with complaints, quality assurances, that type of thing. But ultimately, the overarching goal is improving access to care for animal owners. This isn’t something that’s like a top-down imposition of change; it is a request from that community—to say, “What do you need changed? Come tell us.”

Per diem judges, bringing them in—part of access to justice is access to swift justice, to actually getting your case resolved. That’s incredibly important.

I’d also comment again about the POA matter. Convictions in absentia were a huge issue as far as access to justice because of people not having representation, not understanding the process. By allowing clerks of the court to vacate convictions, it means that provincial prosecutors are able to deal directly with individuals and basically cut through all of the red tape that would prevent us from reopening their cases and dealing fairly with their matters.

I’d like to thank the member for Kitchener South–Hespeler for her comments today on this red tape bill.

She spoke ever so eloquently about the Veterinarians Act, so I would like to ask a question about what the ministry is consulting on—and why is the ministry modernizing the Veterinarians Act? I do understand that it has been 30-plus years since this act has been looked at. If she could comment on that, that would be great.

Further questions?

It’s a pleasure to rise today, on behalf of the people I represent in London West, to participate in this debate on Bill 46. Just so people understand the context, this bill is part of a red tape package of measures that the government just introduced, which includes 28 different initiatives; some are legislative, some are more policy-related. Given the limited time I have this morning, I just want to highlight a couple of those measures that are included in the red tape package, and specifically, the ones that are of most concern to the people of London West.

One of the initiatives that the government has announced with this bill is the Grow Ontario Strategy. We heard the Minister of Agriculture talk about the strategy as the province’s plan to build consumer confidence and support farmers and Ontario’s food supply.

I have to say that there are a lot of concerns about what this government is doing, in fact, to undermine Ontario’s food supply and to undermine the ability of farmers to continue to feed the people in this province.

As we know from the committee hearings on Bill 23, Ontario is one of the few jurisdictions that actually is able to produce surplus food so that it can be sent to other jurisdictions to help feed people.

A couple of days ago, we all received a media release from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture showing that more than 50,000 people have signed on to the OFA’s campaign to support farmers and Ontario’s food supply, which they are calling the Home Grown campaign. They are highlighting the fact that every day in this province we are losing 319 acres of farmland. That is equivalent to losing nine family farms every week—and the reason we are losing this is because of the policies that are brought forward by this government. We have seen, over the last five years, a doubling of the rate of farmland loss that is occurring in this province. That is not the way to support farmers and ensure that Ontario has a sustainable food supply.

On the one hand, the government is announcing a Grow Ontario Strategy, but on the other hand, they’re opening up the greenbelt, they’re paving over farmland, they are bulldozing forward with the 413, and all of these initiatives are going to continue to expedite the loss of farmland in this province.

The next feature of this bill that I want to comment on is the commitment to open up the Veterinarians Act. I did want to give a shout-out to Dr. Martha Harding, a London veterinarian who established the East Village Animal Hospital. That East Village Animal Hospital now has locations not just in London, but also in Kitchener and Sudbury and Hamilton. Dr. Harding runs the East Village Animal Hospital as a veterinary service that low-income people can take their pets to to get very low-cost basic veterinarian services. One of the barriers that Dr. Harding has encountered in providing this service is that, currently in Ontario, there is no ability for a veterinary clinic to be registered as a non-profit. There are a lot of people across the province who would like to support veterinary clinics like the East Village Animal Hospital, to provide those low-cost services to people on low income. Everyone should have access to a pet. We know the benefits of pets. We hear of low-income people who have to surrender their pets because they can’t afford the veterinary fees. So I urge the government to look at introducing that non-profit status for veterinary clinics like the East Village Animal Hospital.

I also want to comment on one of the schedules of this bill that temporarily allows retired judges to work longer in the court system. This is in schedule 4. It allows retired former provincial judges serving on a part-time basis to go from 50% of full-time service to 75% of full-time service, but that is only until April 2024, I believe.

In London, we have a crisis in both Small Claims Court and in civil courts. I heard from a labour lawyer in London who uses the Small Claims Court many times to pursue wrongful dismissal cases on behalf of workers in the community. He said, “I have a case where the claim was filed in 2019, a settlement conference was held pre-COVID and, for over two years since, it has been radio silence from the court.”

The Small Claims Courts are simply not able to deal with the huge backlog that has grown, and as a result, people are not getting justice through the Small Claims Court process. I have concerns that schedule 2, allowing retired provincial judges to serve a little bit more time in the courts, is not going to effectively deal with that backlog in our court system—and it’s not just Small Claims Court; it’s also the civil courts.

Earlier this fall, we had a number of prominent lawyers from almost every single major law firm in the city of London write to the Attorney General, Doug Downey, to urge him to take action on the trial backlog in the civil courts in London and southwestern Ontario. They pointed out that the regional senior justice declared in a ruling that trials of over two weeks have no prospect of being heard until late 2024. They gave some examples of the consequences of the backlog in the civil court system. They said, “A business making $50 million a year with dozens of employees failed because the court could not find time to hear a dispute about the ownership and control of the business....

“A small business was lost while a contracted dispute remained unresolved.”

Clearly, dealing with the backlog in the civil court system is something that would—that is red tape reduction that would really help businesses move forward.

These lawyers who sent this letter to the Attorney General have called for a couple of things. They’ve called for two more Superior Court justices to be appointed to the regional court and two more justices to London specifically to deal with civil matters. They also argue in support of a specific earmarked civil legal aid fund. We know that the cuts to legal aid have really had a major impact on people’s ability to pursue justice through the courts.

In the limited time I have left, I want to highlight the irony of this government saying that it is moving forward with red tape reduction when other things that they are doing are adding red tape. They are adding barriers to businesses and municipalities in the province. I want to use the example of Bill 23. We had a letter from the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, and they pointed out that when “municipalities are prohibited from seeking advice from conservation authorities, they will need to acquire additional resources and expertise related to natural heritage review, protection and management to replace the substantial technical and science expertise provided by conservation authorities. This will increase costs and delay development.”

So on the one hand, the government says they’re all about red tape reduction—they’re bringing forward this bill—but other bills like Bill 23 have actually added red tape and added barriers to businesses in the province.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

To my colleague from Waterloo region, from Kitchener, my next-door neighbour: It’s great to have you elected here in this chamber. You bring a wealth of experience when it comes to these things.

And I’m glad the member for London–Fanshawe is bringing up things that we see with our provincial courts and our Provincial Offences Act.

I’d like to give the member for Kitchener South–Hespeler a few minutes to talk a little bit more about some of the things that she sees in this bill, in regard to the Ministry of the Attorney General, that she thinks are going to help the people of this province.

The member talks about housekeeping, cleaning house, all that kind of stuff.

I have to say, schedule 2, the Courts of Justice Act, where they’re going to cut some red tape by having retiring judges coming back and helping clear that backlog—that’s good. But what they don’t understand is that by cutting legal aid by 30%, they’ve affected the most vulnerable people.

When you talk about saving money and that kind of issue when it comes to red tape—how does cutting 30% from legal aid help the most vulnerable people access a basic right like justice?

The Christmas parades are back, and the world is better for it. All across the valley, communities are getting together to do something that everyone loves but that has been missing for the last couple of years. In my riding of Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, each and every parade is a special experience that speaks in a very visual way about the people, the organizations, the businesses and their expressions of community spirit.

This past weekend, I was able to attend parades in both Cobden and Pembroke.

The Cobden parade is a daytime parade that brings out people from all around the area and sends out the message that Christmas is near. As the first parade of the season in our area, that is most appropriate.

For many years now, the Pembroke parade has been an evening parade, and this year’s edition was truly spectacular. As many as 70 floats took part in the parade, witnessed by the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen in Pembroke.

The floats and the work that goes into them are something to appreciate, and my hat goes off to all those who work so hard to make these parades so very special.

But what really is the most wonderful part of the Christmas/Santa Claus parades is the joy and excitement shown by the children as they anxiously await the arrival of the jolly old elf. As I move along the parade routes exchanging greetings with so many people, it is the reactions of the children that leave the most lasting impressions. The joy of children—isn’t that what it’s all about? I look forward to experiencing more of it this weekend.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

The holiday season is upon us, and today I would like to take the time to commend the communities in my riding for their efforts in offering wonderful activities for the residents. Here are a few events I had the opportunity to attend, just to name a few:

Centre de Loisirs had their annual craft expo, with merchants and artists selling their goods, and a visit from Santa.

La ville de Hearst avait la Magie de Minuit pour encourager l’achat local, ainsi qu’un village des fêtes pour les familles avec du curling, du hockey, du chocolat chaud et une rencontre avec le Père Noël.

La ville de Moonbeam a organisé un souper et une soirée musicale pour célébrer les commerces et leurs employés.

The Rotary Club of Kapuskasing had its second annual Winter Wonderland Parade this past Sunday. Many local businesses participated in the floats and gave out candy to children and families along the road.

There is a lot more to come, with markets and craft shows in Fauquier and Val Rita, holiday office parties for the communities, and the festival of lights in various towns across the riding.

It is time to spread some holiday joy and reflect on what we are thankful for this past year. Remember to support your local businesses.

This time of year is difficult for many families and individuals, so let’s not forget about our food banks, our angel campaigns and our toy drives. I urge you all to be kind and donate where you can. A simple gesture can go a long way.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Je vous souhaite, tous et toutes, une belle fête.

Members’ statements.

Speaker, I rise today in the chamber to tell you about an event in my riding of Newmarket–Aurora that happened earlier this month. The Central York Fire Services invited me to attend their annual recognition ceremony. I had the honour of speaking at this great event and congratulating our community’s unspoken heroes.

I would like to begin by thanking Chief Ian Laing and Deputy Fire Chief Rocco Volpe for all their great work and the encouragement that they provide to the Central York Fire Services team.

Thank you to all our firefighters and all our first responders for your selfless commitment and dedication to the safety of our community.

During this event, Captain Chris Airey, an expert in ice water, rope and high-angle rescues, was recognized for his contributions in leadership and supporting the training of his fellow firefighters and community members by being awarded the Jim Allen Award. This award was introduced in 2018 to honour Captain Jim Allen for his dedication and contributions over his 37-year career.

This event was also the first time the fire services awarded “wings” for their new air division, which uses unmanned aerial drones to assist in the firefighting process. I would like to personally recognize the Central York Fire Services for embracing technology to modernize their service and approach to firefighting.

To all the firefighters at the Central York Fire Services, thank you.

I rise today to speak about a constituent of mine from Stittsville, Cara McNulty. Through her advocacy group, Life Jackets for Life, she is a tireless and hard-working advocate for children’s safety. Her group’s goal is to change the law to require children to wear life jackets on small vessel boats. Just over four years ago, her 11-year-old son, Joshua Steinburg, passed away in a drowning accident. The 26-foot speedboat he was riding hit a wave, and Joshua had removed his life jacket just minutes before the accident.

Joshua’s story is not the only one—hundreds of boat drowning accidents happen each year. According to the OPP in 2020, over the last decade, 80% of the people who died in investigated boat drowning incidents were not wearing a life jacket.

These deaths are preventable.

Norm Miller, the former MPP for Parry Sound–Muskoka, introduced legislation in this House, in the form of a private member’s bill, in order to make the wearing of life jackets mandatory. That bill never made it through the House. I’m hoping that I can work with members from all sides of the House and all parties to reintroduce Norm Miller’s legislation.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Cara and every person who has lost a loved one to drowning: Whether you are fishing or riding your speedboat, always wear a life jacket. It saves lives.

That’s a bit of a tough act to follow this morning.

As we embark upon the Christmas season, we all have memories that are stirred by certain decorations, events, foods and drinks. I have fond memories of being bundled up so warm and so tight I could barely move, as my entire family made its way to Simcoe to walk through the River of Lights at the Simcoe Panorama. My brother and I looked forward to the night, especially when there was enough snow that we could be pulled in our little wooden sleigh.

This Saturday night, in my riding of Haldimand–Norfolk, the 60-year tradition riding continues as Simcoe Panorama flips the switch to over 200,000 lights, numerous displays and hundreds of decorated trees. Downtown Simcoe and its parks will be transformed into a magical winter wonderland. Horse-drawn trolley rides, character meet-and-greets, a festive market and, of course, a cup of hot chocolate await.

Hundreds of volunteers do their part to ensure the month-long River of Lights shines each and every night, but there are also those who work behind the scenes throughout the year to ensure displays are retouched and lights are in working order. The past few years have been difficult for the Panorama, given the challenges the pandemic presented, but this tireless group of volunteers have soldiered through, and I know they are looking forward to this season for a return to a full slate of festivities.

Panorama runs from this Saturday, December 3, until January 1, from 6 to 10 each day.

Thank you to all who make this winter wonderland happen.

And to all members, I invite you to come take in this extraordinary exhibit. It’s sure to make even the grinchiest of members feel the warmth of the season.

Merry Christmas to you all.