Good morning, Speaker. Remarks in Oji-Cree.

My question is to the Premier. First Nations across Ontario have stated their opposition to Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, due to the clear violation of First Nations’ constitutionally protected, inherent and treaty rights. Chiefs of Ontario, representing 134 First Nations in Ontario, have said, “First Nations are not stakeholders; we are sovereign nations and are entitled to proper consultation.”

Speaker, it’s 2022. It is very colonial for Ontario to abuse their power by making these bills without consultation or engagement with First Nations.

Are you going to consult First Nations affected by this bill?

People from across Ontario have contacted my office because they oppose Bill 23. Municipalities are speaking out against Bill 23, and now all First Nations across the province have said they don’t want this bill. That is a lot of people to listen to. Will this government start listening to people who are protecting the lands and the waters, instead of their developer friends?

Absolutely. This legislation contained support for so many different sectors: agriculture, trucking, construction, forestry, mining. It streamlined and consolidated rules and requirements for quarries, for farming, for waste management, and created a one-stop shop for trucking safety and emissions inspections and hydroelectric dam approvals—the nuts and bolts of those people, those hard-working men and women, who ensure that the goods are able to get from here to there, and those who keep the lights on.

We weren’t done. In July 2020, even in the midst of a challenging pandemic, we were able to bring forward the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act. It was the first step in our government’s plan for growth, renewal and recovery. It was designed to get crucial infrastructure projects built faster, while positioning Ontario as a modern regulator. To help address infrastructure backlogs for businesses and communities, this act cut red tape by also streamlining and modernizing the environmental assessment processes. Through this change alone, approval timelines for some projects that had been as high as six years were cut in half, to three years, and a greater number of important infrastructure projects can move forward because of this legislation. In fact, there are projects that are under way today because of the changes that act made.

To reduce delays for sewage and stormwater projects, crucial in all of our communities, that act was updated to also provide a single consolidated environmental compliance approvals process for low-impact municipal sewage collection and stormwater management projects. This change is allowing simple, routine changes by municipalities, such as alterations, extensions, enlargements or replacement projects, to be preauthorized so that construction can start without needing separate approvals for each and every single project—as there was before.

In addition to helping people and businesses in the construction sector, this act made it easier and faster to update the building code, to ensure that we’re reflecting the changes that are needed. Streamlining the building code development process, supporting harmonization with national construction codes and allowing Ontario to respond faster to the needs of the construction sector helped keep more people working and communities operating safely across this province during what was a very, very difficult time.

In November of the same year, 2020—a year I’m sure few of us will forget—the Legislature passed the Main Street Recovery Act. This was part of Ontario’s Main Street Recovery Plan, which was supporting small businesses and modernizing rules that would help them innovate and pursue new opportunities. The purpose of the bill was to support the small and main street businesses, the ones that are in each and every one of our communities—in Fonthill, in Fenwick, in Campden, in Jordan, in Vineland, in Beamsville, in Grimsby, in Smithville, in my riding of Niagara West—that fuel our economy and bring life to our communities.

One important measure in the Main Street Recovery Act, 2020, was making sure that 24/7 truck deliveries to retailers, restaurants and distribution centres were permanent. There had been temporary changes that had been brought in to keep store shelves full through the first wave of the pandemic, when many retailers were experiencing low supplies.

And you know, Speaker, one of the important changes that we made, as well, was that, from this act, we allowed an increased diversity of products to be sold at the Ontario Food Terminal—a very appropriate mention, given the important announcement that was made there this morning by the Minister of Agriculture and Minister Gill. Of course, thousands of small businesses, including independent shops and restaurants, rely on the terminal for their supplies, so this was a crucial measure to ensure that Ontario’s agri-food economy was supported.

We brought forward three red tape reduction packages to better support small businesses in 2020.

In December 2020, the Legislature passed the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2020, which strengthened Ontario’s economic recovery and supported businesses. Changes included requiring gas and electric utilities to adopt Green Button technology so utility consumers could better understand their energy consumption and reduce costs. It allowed single traffic studies for an entire specified highway corridor or area to reduce duplication and enable developers to get shovels in the ground faster. It made it easier to get environmental information that home builders needed by moving from a manual paper-based process to a much faster digital delivery platform—as well as cutting red tape for inter-community bus carriers to improve transportation options in rural communities and in northern Ontario, making it easier for workers and families to access more transportation options.

Last year, in June 2021, the Legislature passed the Supporting Recovery and Competitiveness Act. This comprehensive package that contained over 90 legislative and regulatory actions helped position businesses for new opportunities as the economy reopened. The bill launched innovative pilot projects that supported our autonomous vehicle industry, brought more ServiceOntario services online to make life easier for people accessing services, and supported the not-for-profit sector and other corporations by allowing them to hold virtual meetings. It also removed the requirement for high school students to submit paper-based forms on community involvement activities. By allowing students to submit this important diploma requirement activity online, we’ve saved time and frustration for students and administrators alike. It’s a great example of a simple fix that just makes sense, and it shows how regulatory modernization and burden reduction can really benefit all Ontarians.

In December of last year, the Legislature also passed the Supporting People and Businesses Act, 2021, which made it easier for people to become volunteers by providing free police checks. And it laid the groundwork for licensed restaurants and bars to extend their outdoor patio spaces last year, when they needed it most. I heard from many small businesses, especially in the restaurant and service sector, that really appreciated that change. It also enabled additional supports and a simplified application process for the Second Career program—a program that helps those looking for employment train for occupations that are in high demand.

Speaker, the Fewer Fees, Better Services Act, 2022, introduced in February, was our eighth red tape reduction bill. The package brought financial relief to millions of Ontario vehicle owners by removing the requirement for and providing refunds for licence plate stickers and renewal fees. It gave drivers in Durham region a break by removing the unfair tolls on Highway 412 and 418, an issue long advocated for by the member for Whitby—tolls that were unwillingly imposed on those communities by the previous Liberal government. It also began the process of establishing a single window for business, including the development of service standards so businesses will be able to know how long it will take them to get the information they need from government, as well as the Building Ontario Business Initiative, which will strengthen supply chain resiliency and provide Ontario businesses with greater access to public procurement opportunities through the Supply Ontario agency.

Finally, in the 2022 budget, we responded to calls by the CFIB to track burden reduction for citizens by committing to cut more red tape to support individuals—and I know that this is a passion for the Premier and for our whole team at the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction, including Minister Gill. We are starting to track these achievements. Beginning in September 2023, the government will ensure that we are tracking every reduced administration burden for citizens and publicly reporting on this progress, to ensure greater accountability and reduced regulatory and administrative burdens.

Speaker, as I’ve already talked about, the reductions that we’ve brought forward as a government and as a team have saved Ontario businesses, since 2018, over half a billion dollars each and every year. And while we’re proud of these savings and the impact that they will have on Ontario’s competitiveness, we know that there is more work to do.

Smart, modern regulations that can improve how people go about their lives and that can make it easier for them to interact with important public services are important. That’s why, through the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act, we continue to update regulations and reduce burdens in ways that save people time and money.

Speaker, I can’t stress enough how many people and businesses in Ontario have benefited from our efforts to reduce red tape and administrative burdens since 2018.

Dennis Darby, the president and CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said, “Unnecessary, duplicative processes and red tape can plague all critical elements of doing business in Ontario—from hiring, to building a new facility or exporting. It has been refreshing to see the government of Ontario set a specific objective for regulatory burden reduction—$576 million over the last four years, and then meet that objective.”

Nadia Todorova, executive director of the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario, said, “RCCAO commends the government of Ontario for continuously working to streamline and modernize regulations and facilitate economic competitiveness in the province.”

Ryan Mallough of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said, “Great to see” the government’s “continued commitment to reducing red tape! Positive measures in the package on going digital/streamlining processes. Great to see they’re pushing the red tape portal....”

That reminds me of an important point. In recent months, both the Minister of Red Tape Reduction and myself have been consulting with stakeholders. We’ve been trying to help identify and solve the burdens that they face while operating their businesses. I hosted a series of round tables focused specifically on addressing the challenges in Ontario’s supply chain. That work helped inform the important measures in the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act.

But we’re always looking for new ideas and solutions to make Ontario a better place to live, work and start a business—and we know that people and businesses are those who are best positioned to bring forward lasting solutions. It’s why we’ve relaunched the province’s red tape reduction portal, which can be found online at ontario.ca/redtape. Go there with your ideas. It’s a quick and easy way for people to share their concerns, ideas and, most importantly, solutions directly with our ministry, the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction. I also encourage all members in this House to share this link with their constituents and gain that feedback.

The 28 initiatives in this legislation will bolster Ontario’s competitiveness, build a stronger supply chain, support agri-business, shore up our workforce, and make it easier to interact with government by cutting red tape.

I now look forward to hearing from the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, who will speak about the Grow Ontario strategy within this legislation and the other measures in this package that will build a stronger agri-food supply chain.

I want to thank my honourable colleague on the other side for that important question.

I do want to highlight the fact that our minister, the Attorney General of Ontario, obviously has been doing a tremendous, tremendous job over the last four and a half years modernizing our justice system.

I’m sure the member opposite would understand that the previous Liberal government, for 15 years, and the mess they left us with—obviously, it does take a little bit of time to clean all of that up. I would also point out the fact that we all know that the opposition spent most of those 15 years supporting the Liberals’ inaction on a lot of those items.

As I mentioned in my remarks, the province we inherited when we formed government in 2018 had the largest regulatory burden in the province. So, yes, we are working each and every day diligently, and we are working to address some of the challenges that—

It’s an important question about the consultation. Absolutely, consultations on any changes that our government proposes to introduce are a big part of our mandate. Her question is related to the consultation to do with the veterinarians. Of course, we will be holding very comprehensive consultations, and I hope that each one of our colleagues in this Legislature can play a role in them. Any input that can be provided, whether it’s from stakeholders or whether it’s from industry leaders, is always welcome. We always look forward to it because, ultimately, individuals who deal with situations on a day-to-day basis are obviously the best ones to provide us input so we can get the best bang for the buck.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. It’s good to see you in the chair. It’s my first time in the House when you’re there.

I want to say, it’s always a pleasure to stand in my place in Ontario’s Legislature on behalf of the good people of Waterloo and bring their perspective to the floor.

This is an interesting piece of legislation, in some regard, Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act. I’ve had a little bit of time to review some of the stakeholders that have actually provided some feedback. This is from OSPE. They say, “This act, if passed, will implement measures to strengthen provincial supply chains”—this is an interesting component—“make government services easier to access, and boost Ontario’s economic competitiveness.” I’m going to focus on the competitiveness piece, because I do see this government moving in a direction which actually runs counter to the competitiveness piece.

And I will say that the “working with Indigenous partners” component—and I think that it was really powerful this morning when our member from Kiiwetinoong schooled the Minister of Municipal Affairs and said you can’t call Indigenous people “our people.” They don’t belong to us, and it’s an important reminder that language really does matter in this place.

On the assessment from OSPE: A component of Bill 46 is working with Indigenous partners. “The government will work with Indigenous businesses and communities to better understand and address barriers to accessing government business support programs and procurement opportunities.”

I found that this is pretty important. I don’t know if you remember, but I’ve recently become very fascinated by procurement because it can really drive the economy. It can diversify the economic opportunities of folks across the province. Yet the government, as I mentioned, sort of runs counter to this philosophy. We heard this morning the member from Kiiwetinoong challenge the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and say, “Listen, First Nations people have not been consulted on Bill 23.” So you have a red tape bill that says you’re going to listen and you’re going to work with Indigenous peoples and then you have a massive, damaging piece of legislation, like Bill 23, on which you didn’t even bother to consult First Nations people.

This is the letter that the Chiefs of Ontario wrote to the government and wrote to the minister. This just actually happened on November 23, so just late last week. It reads, “The Chiefs of Ontario express their full support for First Nations leadership in their opposition to Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, due to its clear violation of First Nations constitutionally protected, inherent and treaty rights and its inevitable adverse environmental impacts on First Nations ancestral and traditional territories.”

It goes on to say, “The government of Ontario’s tabling of Bill 23 is a blatant violation of First Nations’ inherent, domestic, and international rights over their ancestral and traditional territories.” This is a direct quote from Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare. “Bill 23 will inevitably harm Ontario’s environmental heritage and weaken land and water environmental protection.”

So you have to wonder why the government bothers to put a very symbolic schedule in Bill 46 when your actions speak louder than a red tape bill ever will.

This letter goes on to say, “First Nations have been given no opportunity, nor the adequate capacity to be consulted regarding the tabling of Bill 23 and its significant changes to Ontario’s legislative and policy landscapes. It is deeply concerning to the Chiefs of Ontario that the mandate of the Indigenous Affairs Ontario (IAO) office, which is to ensure collaboration amongst ministries engaging and consulting with First Nations on policy and legislative changes, continues to be unfulfilled.”

We would be very supportive of a piece of legislation which actually solidified and embedded a respectful relationship with Indigenous peoples in Ontario.

The letter from the Chiefs of Ontario goes on to say, “Unilateral legislative and administrative changes within Bill 23 without consultation or engagement with First Nations are unacceptable and an abuse of power.” Abuse of power—this is from the Chiefs of Ontario. “The unprecedented steps taken by the government of Ontario to violate existing treaties and their will to systemically sell off resources will have dire consequences for First Nations and future generations.”

Then it goes on to say—and this follows the questioning of our member from Kiiwetinoong this morning: “First Nations are not stakeholders; we are sovereign nations and are entitled to proper consultation based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ... and mutual respect.”

Then, finally, just to close this loop of inconsistency of the PC government in Ontario: “The government of Ontario can no longer avoid its duty to consult with First Nations by delegating responsibilities and obligations to municipalities, developers, and project proponents. The government’s requests for after-the-fact commentary from First Nations regarding the conception of Bill 23 do not discharge the crown’s duty to consult. To move forward, First Nations require a clear commitment from the government of Ontario to honour its duty to consult and to honour, respect and uphold First Nations’ inherent rights and jurisdiction.”

They have asked—and they’ve had to ask after the fact, Madam Speaker. They want to meet with the Minister of Indigenous Affairs, the Premier and the minister responsible for Bill 23, “to discuss the impacts ... and the value of protecting Ontario’s natural ecosystems, lands and waters from irreversible losses and damage for our future generations.”

So there you have it. You have the Chiefs of Ontario basically calling out the PC government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, for being completely inconsistent and disrespectful of Indigenous peoples in Ontario. And why is this relevant to Bill 46? Because Bill 46 actually embeds a component that says that we’re going to try to better understand and address barriers. Do you know what they need to understand? It’s that Indigenous peoples in this province have a right to be consulted, and the government has a duty to consult. So you can put whatever you want into a red tape bill, apparently, but at the end of the day, when you disrespect Indigenous peoples in Ontario, your actions speak louder than words.

The procurement opportunities that this government says that they want and care about in Bill 46—if you were serious about this, you would have passed my private member’s bill, which was diversifying the procurement chain and the supply chain to make those supply chains more local, to make our local economies more resilient, to diversify the people who are interacting with the public service.

At the end of the day, Bill 46 is primarily a series of housekeeping amendments, although we’re still waiting for some stakeholder feedback on the carbon sequestration because the government has said that this will be environmentally neutral. Well, we’re going to take the word of folks who actually have a track record of believing in measures to address climate change, which this government clearly does not. In fact, they have lost in court on several of these initiatives.

The other thing that the opening preamble for the legislation talks about is that it’s going to strengthen the economy. Listen; there is a time and a place for regulations. We sometimes disagree with the government on where they cut regulations because we’ve seen, and we should learn from, the history of this government on things that they have cut when they’ve reduced regulatory measures, especially around health and safety. We have the classic example of Walkerton. We should be learning from that example every day.

But on the stated economic goals of Bill 46, I have to say that the economy requires investment in people. What we have seen from this government is that they don’t fully comprehend how important people who deliver public services are. If they did, they would have already repealed Bill 124. Bill 124 is a piece of wage-suppression legislation which is driving health care workers out of Ontario.

We were in committee just last Thursday, myself and my counterpart from London, and we heard first-hand from a nurse who’s working in the emergency room in Ottawa. They had recruited 28 new nursing students, but they have lost 42 experienced nurses. So the government can say, “But we have 28 new nurses,” but you have 42 nurses who had a connection with that community, who had knowledge that you cannot learn from a textbook. That knowledge transfer, that mentorship that happens in the nursing field, it doesn’t seem to resonate with this government.

The other piece, though, is that we do support progressive infrastructure development and investment, I have to say, because we follow the money. We follow the money very closely over here. It is a rare, rare day that I can take a quick quote from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, but this association—I’m going to read their open letter to this government on infrastructure and transit projects, because it really is telling of how sloppy this government is with regard to the finances of the people of this province. This is the letter, and it’s a really good parable, if you will:

“Imagine you’ve hired contractors to do a home renovation project. You’ve finally saved up enough money to add that second bathroom you’ve always wanted. What would you do if, halfway through the job, the contractors came to you and said that costs had suddenly doubled, and the only explanation they had was inflation?

“Most people would probably fire the contractors on the spot and look for someone else to do the job. Inflation is a factor, but double?” You cannot rationalize a doubling of the cost of infrastructure projects because of inflation. “And, even if you decided to keep those contractors to finish that one job, you certainly wouldn’t hire them” again—but that’s what happens in this place. And it turns out that the Premier apparently has no problems with this.

The Premier “decided to put Metrolinx, a crown agency, in charge of overseeing the construction of the government’s major new subway projects.”

We’ve heard about a lot of these projects that were carefully drafted on the back of a napkin, and Metrolinx will be leading the charge, even though the agency to date has a—I would not say a very good record. You just have to point to the Eglinton Crosstown project and the public-private partnerships that Metrolinx, as the contractor, oversees. So when these projects were first announced three years ago—at the heart of the plan is the Ontario Line. This Ontario Line is supposed to connect the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place. Let’s not talk about Ontario Place today, because it is very, very problematic. I don’t think anyone thought it would end up as a spa.

The Ontario Line’s “cost was originally pegged at $10.9 billion. Metrolinx was put in charge of overseeing the project.

“Just a few days ago, news broke that the Ontario Line, which is still at least five years from completion”—if we’re lucky—“is now set to cost taxpayers at least $19 billion.” That’s almost double.

“That’s a 75% cost increase.

“That extra $8 billion could have paid for seven brand new hospitals”—it could have.

“The Ministry of Transportation is covering for Metrolinx and blames inflation for the increased costs.

“While inflation has certainly hit the province hard, Ontario hasn’t seen 75% inflation over the past three years.

“The Ontario Line is not the only example....”

Metrolinx was tasked by a previous government with “overseeing the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown line through the heart of midtown Toronto.” That project is now $325 million over budget.

“That’s enough money to hire over three thousand nurses”—or pay the nurses in Ontario a fair wage. What a concept that would be.

It goes on to say that Burlington and Oakville—municipalities which this government has been, quite honestly, insulting through the course of Bill 23 and Bill 39—decided that they were going to do a rail underpass together, and Metrolinx said that’s going to be $60 million. Well, they just got a quote for $177 million.

It’s the contractor that goes over budget—and you would think that the government would want to tackle this issue, because infrastructure investment does create jobs, but over-budget infrastructure projects that never get done on time or on budget are a drag on the economy. The only people who benefit from these kinds of projects, when there is no financial oversight or accountability, are the people who are at the table, in the backrooms, making the deals and making the money.

The fact that they’ve claimed that Bill 46 is somehow an economic competitiveness bill, not addressing the importance of accountability and efficiencies in infrastructure development, is not shocking, but it is problematic. A huge reset button needs to be hit on these public-private partnerships, which are not serving the people of Ontario very well.

I’m not going to hold my breath that this government is going to take on P3s. They’re very determined to go in that direction. At the very least, though, the Minister of Transportation should take responsibility. You can’t outsource your responsibility as a minister of the crown—I guess you can, because she is, but it is not in the interest of the people we serve.

So there are obviously inconsistencies with Bill 46, and we have some concerns with that.

Also, the fact that the government claims that they care about red tape, that they want to reduce red tape, is really an oxymoron, because they just passed this morning—we voted against it, for the record, for very good reason—Bill 23. Bill 23, in the region of Waterloo, is going to create twice the red tape that we’ve ever seen—

My question is to the member opposite, who spent that full 20 minutes breaking down some of the bill, which is an omnibus bill—essentially housekeeping. I think I’m heartened to know—sometimes it’s hard as a member in this House in opposition to thoughtfully break down stuff that is fine; there are some pieces in here that are fine. There are other pieces that—we look forward to hearing from stakeholders—may be problematic or we would want to bring forward amendments.

So I would like to ask the member—who talked about lots of stuff, some not even remotely connected to the bill. But connected to the bill, I would like to ask the member: What is he hearing from stakeholders? Real ones—I don’t mean the ones that the government minister was talking about at that level, but from his community, his community stakeholders for whom this bill is relevant in their lives?

Thank you to the member opposite for that wonderful question.

Talking about my stakeholders in Mississauga–Malton, it’s one of the biggest and the best ridings in the GTA. We have 78% visible minorities; 61% of the residents of Mississauga–Malton are born out of Canada.

There are a lot of small businesses in Mississauga–Malton, and each and every one of them, especially during the pandemic and even before that, because of the burden, has been struggling. Every time we went to them, we asked them, “What can we do for you?” And the first thing, the most important thing they always asked is, “Reduce the red tape. Reduce the government cost.” When you reduce the cost with the same revenue, we will become sustainable, and that’s what we’re doing through this bill.

Speaker, if the member could help us understand an issue very important to my stakeholders and to stakeholders throughout Ontario: Why is the ministry proposing to modernize the ARIO Act?