Kennedy Dabner is our page captain today. Kennedy’s father, Jamie Dabner, and Kennedy’s grandmother, Val Kennedy, are in the gallery with us. A proud day for them and for Kennedy.

I would also like to recognize Melanie Ducharme in the gallery; she’s the executive director of the Pavilion Women’s Centre in Temiskaming Shores and a newly elected councillor in the city of Temiskaming Shores. Welcome.

Once again, that concludes our 90-second members’ statements for this morning. It’s a subtle reminder that we should try to rein our statements in and try to respect that standing order to the greatest extent possible.

I just want to give a special shout-out and welcome as well to Sly Castaldi, OAITH board member and executive director of Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis. Thank you for the great work you do in our community, and welcome to Queen’s Park.

My colleague the Minister of Agriculture introduced Clint Thomas, who is a wily veteran from the back halls here at Queen’s Park, but I’d like to welcome all of the members of Canada’s Canadian Nuclear Association to Queen’s Park today. They do have a reception in 228 and 230 later this afternoon.

This past Saturday, I had the honour to participate in the opening of the Adult and Teen Challenge community office in Thunder Bay. The Adult and Teen Challenge provides a year-long program for those dealing with addictions. I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with some of the students at the women’s home, where the office is being run out of, about the program. The individuals were more than happy to share their journey with me. I spoke with women that graduated three years ago and are now mentoring others and spoke with others that were a mere two weeks into the program. Regardless of the length of time these students spent in the program, the message was the same: Adult and Teen Challenge saved their lives.

They spoke of the family atmosphere at the facility, along with the sense of belonging that was instrumental to their recovery. I was able to speak with several men present that are part of the men’s program across town. As successful as the program has been for many struggling with addictions, the leaders of the program, many recovering from addictions themselves, realized that there was more that they could do. They set their sights on those members of the community who were not able to commit a full year of their lives to the live-in program but who were still looking to change their lives.

After many discussions, their vision of a community office was realized, and we cut the ribbon on Saturday to officially recognize the new services in Thunder Bay. The community office is the first point of contact for anyone dealing with addiction. The space provides pastoral counselling, along with family and outpatient small group support programs and mentoring. It facilitates action in the fight against addiction by supporting and referring people to life-changing help and creates a foundation for graduates to succeed when returning to the community.

I want to thank Adult and Teen Challenge for the part they are playing to bring hope and change to the lives of those dealing with addictions. You truly are changing and saving lives. I look forward to continuing to work with this group and others in Thunder Bay as we address this crisis. I want to remind those in need that you are never alone. Please seek help when you need it.

It’s an honour to welcome Marlene Ham, the executive director of OAITH to Queen’s Park, along with staff members Lauren Hancock, Amber Wardell, Sherece Taffe, and board members Abi Ajibolade, Sue Weir, Melanie Ducharme, Jessie Rodger, Jeanine George, Christy Savage, Tessa McFadzean, Sly Castaldi, Jennifer Chamberlin, Sandy Watson-Moyles and Jyoti Singh. Thank you for being here at Queen’s Park today. I can’t eyeball all of you, but thank you for your work advocating for women’s lives free from violence.

I’d like to welcome a number of board members and staff from the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, who are here to mark their Wrapped in Courage campaign for Woman Abuse Prevention Month. Here today, we have Abi Ajibolade, Sue Weir, Melanie Ducharme, Jessie Rodger, Christy Savage, Tessa McFadzean, Sly Castaldi, Jennifer Chamberlin, Jyoti Singh, Marlene Ham, Lauren Hancock, Amber Wardell, and Sherece Taffe. I really want to thank you so much for all the important work that you do. I look forward to meeting you all on the staircase for a picture to recognize everything that you do.

I’d like to welcome the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses for the Wrapped in Courage campaign. I also want to welcome the Council of Canadian Innovators, and I’d like to thank Harry Zarek, Hugo Navarro and Sunita Chander for some wonderful conversations this morning.

Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to wear purple scarves and ties in support of the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses’s Wrapped in Courage campaign to end violence against women.

At the end of the day, the posting that the government has on the Environmental Registry of Ontario will grow the greenbelt by over 2,000 acres and provide an opportunity for the government to have a minimum of 50,000 homes built to get us closer to our goal of 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years.

The reason that minimum of 50,000 homes is so important is because our best year in over 30 years was last year, when we had 100,000 starts in the province of Ontario. We made a promise to the people of Ontario during the election that we would table a plan in place to ensure that we get to that goal. That’s exactly what the government has done.

We are in a crisis, Speaker. We needed to take bold and transformational action as a government. That’s why our building homes faster act puts a plan in place to make sure that we do this. And this is exactly why the government has posted on the Environmental Registry the comment period regarding these lands. We have a plan to grow the greenbelt, to add over 2,000 acres of protected land into the greenbelt, but at the same time, having that minimum 50,000 homes in the ground by 2025.

The current mayor, Mayor Kevin Ashe, in Pickering has said it better than I could, Speaker. I’ll quote him now. He said that that land was put in based on “political science,” not “real science.” That is exactly why the government has put forward a plan that will grow the greenbelt and that will add urban river valleys, which I think all members of this House will support. It will add property in the Paris-Galt moraine.

But at the end of the day, we’ll have an opportunity to build a minimum of 50,000 homes. I’m with former mayor Ryan. I’m with Mayor Ashe. I’m not going to deal with political science. We’re going to deal with real science on this side of the House.

Our government was crystal clear with Ontarians during the election that we wanted to build more homes, provide more choice, give mayors stronger powers and have a plan in place to build 1.5 million homes.

I’ve said in this House countless times that I will meet with anyone—a municipal official, a not-for-profit, Habitat for Humanity, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, people who build one home a year, people who build 1,000 homes a year. We need every partner non-profit in the public space, every partner in the private space if we’re going to build—

Interjections.

I am seeking the unanimous consent of the House that, notwithstanding standing order 40(e), five minutes be allotted to the independents as a group to respond to the ministerial statement by the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services on the Wrapped in Courage campaign for Woman Abuse Prevention Month.

To the Premier: Over the weekend, CBC published new information about the amount of protected Pickering farmland owned by the De Gasperis family, who are powerful landowners and PC Party donors. CBC found another 475 acres bought by the De Gasperis family in 2020 for about $24,000 an acre. They own at least 1,775 acres of greenbelt land within the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve. They bought this land cheap because it was protected as farmland in perpetuity.

How much does the Premier suppose an acre of this land would be worth after the Premier removes it from the greenbelt and makes it available for development?

How much speculative profit is the Premier giving his friends and PC donors by removing their Pickering farmland from the greenbelt?

Does the Premier finally understand how corrupt this looks?

My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. On November 16, the minister said he spoke with developers prior to announcing that lands would be removed from the greenbelt. The minister needs to clarify his remarks. Did the minister or any other government or PC Party official share with any landowner information about the government’s plan to remove lands from the greenbelt before it became public?

I’d like to welcome Lorris Herenda, CEO of Yellow Brick House. Thank you very much for all the work that you’re doing. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’ll keep it short: I would like to welcome representatives from Faye Peterson House in Thunder Bay to the House. I look forward to meeting with you later today to discuss our priorities on ending violence against women. Welcome.

I beg to inform the House that the following document has been tabled: a report entitled Expenditure Monitor 2022-23: Q2, from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario.

Minister of Municipal Affairs.

Supplementary.

I would like to welcome my friend from the riding of Oakville, Sajid Anjum. He is joined by his team from Nisa Homes: Yasmine Youssef, Shiba Anjum and Razan Omar. I look forward to meeting with you after question period. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

This member looked in the camera yesterday and said that Bill 23 cut affordable housing dollars—not true. In fact, Bill 23 actually works collaboratively with the Minister of Infrastructure to create a new attainable housing program on government-owned lands, something that everyone can agree on.

I’m not going to take any lessons from the NDP’s jiggery-pokery in terms of how we’re going to put housing forward.

The plan is simple, Speaker. The plan is simple. We’re going to add to have a net gain of over 2,000 acres to the greenbelt, and the 15 properties involved will provide us with a minimum of 50,000 homes to help get to the 1.5-million home target over the next 10 years.

The government has said—all of the bills we tabled; yesterday was my 10th—that we we’re going to put forward a plan that’s going to get us closer to that. Every policy, every posting, every opportunity we’re providing for comment in this Legislature puts us closer to that 1.5-million goal to allow the families who want to realize the dream of home ownership, the seniors who want to downsize and the new Canadians who want to have a home that meets their needs and their budget—that’s what every policy we’re putting forward as a government gets us closer to.

My question is to the Premier. In two days, on December 1, the Connect-Clinic, a virtual-only health clinic, will have to close its door entirely to its 3,500 trans patients who live across rural and urban Ontario. These individuals need gender-affirming health care.

Connect-Clinic’s lead physician and founder, Dr. Kate Greenaway, wrote to me: “Because of the changes to the physician services agreement, we will no longer be able to provide our life-saving care. We are expecting to need to close the clinic in response.”

Speaker, will this government help save the clinic? Will they help deliver the alternative funding plan that’s needed to stop the cut to ensure that gender-affirming care continues in Ontario? Yes or no?

Although the physician services agreement is finalized, this government must reverse the funding cuts to Connect-Clinic through an alternative funding plan. It’s an option before the government.

I’m looking for an answer. We have two days to save this clinic. We have two days to save this health service. Will the government help us do this?