The supplementary question?

My question is for the Premier. People love the greenbelt. They want the Premier to keep his many promises, not to pave over the places they love, the farmland that feeds us, the nature that protects us, especially when we already have enough land slated for development to address the housing crisis—land in places where people want to live, close to where they work, their family and transit; not in unaffordable places with long, expensive commutes.

We know that developing the greenbelt will help a few land speculators turn millions into billions.

Why is the Premier breaking his many promises not to pave over the greenbelt when his own housing task force clearly stated that we do not need to open the greenbelt for development to address the housing crisis?

Thanks very much to the member opposite from Brampton for the great question this morning.

Our government knows that a reliable and affordable electricity grid isn’t just good for the economy; it’s also great for the environment.

We’ve stabilized electricity prices since the harmful days of the previous Liberal government, through programs like the comprehensive electricity plan, which has stabilized rates. It has allowed manufacturing jobs and new investment to come back to our province, like the $3.6-billion investment at Stellantis in the member opposite’s riding and down in the Windsor region as well—but it’s more than just that. Stabilizing our electricity rates also means that companies can now invest in electrifying their industrial businesses, like we’re seeing with the green steelmaking processes coming soon to Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie.

It’s because of a stable, reliable, affordable electricity grid that we will see reduced emissions in other parts of our economy, while at the same time watching our economy in this province grow.

The comprehensive electricity plan is reducing electricity costs for more than 50,000 industrial and commercial customers by 15% to 17%. To the member’s question: Why is that program necessary? Well, I can tell you, it’s necessary because of a decade of Liberals mucking up the energy policy in our province. They signed contracts under the Green Energy Act, locked in for 20 years, many at 80 cents a kilowatt hour, when our clean, reliable, affordable nuclear power was available for eight cents a kilowatt hour and our hydroelectric was available for four cents a kilowatt hour. The Liberals kept signing these contracts that were driving up the price of electricity and were going to continue to drive up the price of electricity by 6%, 7%, 8% year over year, through the end of the decade. The comprehensive energy plan is meant to fix the problems that were created by the Liberal government.

We are bringing back a stable electricity system to our province so that our economy can thrive.

I thank the great member for Sarnia–Lambton for his question. We are improving our services to make life easier for all Ontarians, especially those with accessibility needs. I’m happy to say that Ontarians are able to apply for, renew and replace lost or stolen accessible parking permits online from the comfort of their home.

I had the opportunity to visit ErinoakKids, a leader in medical and support services for youth with physical and developmental disabilities in Mississauga, and witness first-hand how bringing more accessible parking permit services online will help families, caregivers and organizations supporting those with disability needs.

Under Premier Ford’s leadership, our government is working with individual organizations and communities to identify, prevent and remove barriers for all persons with disabilities.

These online options are saving people precious time and letting them focus on what matters most in their lives. I encourage everyone to take advantage of these services at ontario.ca/renew.

The supplementary question.

The House recessed from 1144 to 1500.

Report adopted.

Mr. Bourgouin moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 43, An Act to amend the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act to make northern Ontario highways safer / Projet de loi 43, Loi modifiant la Loi sur l’aménagement des voies publiques et des transports en commun pour accroître la sécurité des voies publiques dans le nord de l’Ontario.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for letting me rise on this special day to wish my grandson Greyson James Walter Uhryn a very happy fourth birthday.

Happy birthday, Greyson. I hope you have a wonderful day. Grammie and G, Mini and Rodger love you to the moon and back.

I’m pleased to be here to reintroduce my private member’s bill, which is intended to make it safer for northern Ontarians to travel our highways during the winter months.

The bill seeks to reduce the number of winter closures on Highways 11 and 17 that are oftentimes caused by poor road conditions and maintenance standards that are not on par with those on southern Ontario highways.

The bill amends the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act in relation to standards for road maintenance in winter. New section 100 sets out a classification system for Ontario highways consisting of five classes of highways. The section classifies all 400-series highways, the QEW highway and Highways 11 and 17 as class 1 highways. The section also sets out the time within which snow must be removed from each class of highway after each snowfall. Class 1 highways have the strictest requirements for snow removal, requiring that the pavement be bare of snow within eight hours of the end of a snowfall.

Mr. Schreiner moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 44, An Act to amend the Planning Act with respect to residential unit policies in official plans / Projet de loi 44, Loi modifiant la Loi sur l’aménagement du territoire en ce qui concerne les politiques relatives aux unités d’habitation contenues dans les plans officiels.

Your committee begs to report the following bill, as amended:

Bill 23, An Act to amend various statutes, to revoke various regulations and to enact the Supporting Growth and Housing in York and Durham Regions Act, 2022 / Projet de loi 23, Loi modifiant diverses lois, abrogeant divers règlements et édictant la Loi de 2022 visant à soutenir la croissance et la construction de logements dans les régions de York et de Durham.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy and move its adoption.

With winter impacting our cities, more people depend on our already busy public transit system. We know the GTA will become home to another million people over the next 10 years. Our transit system is strained, and people are feeling the impact of the neglect by the previous Liberal government. Quite simply, transit expansion needs to occur right now.

I understand that the government’s investment in the Ontario Line will deliver transit relief to the city core and connect my constituents in Scarborough Centre to downtown from the TTC’s Line 2.

Can the Associate Minister of Transportation please provide an update to everyone in Ontario?

Interruption.

After 15 years of the Liberals and NDP failing to get shovels in the ground, the Ontario Line presents a tremendous opportunity to expand transit. At the same time, building the Ontario Line and other major transit projects will benefit not only riders but all of Ontario.

Can the associate minister explain what our government is doing to ensure that this critical transit project is delivered for the people of my riding of Scarborough Centre?

Thank you, Speaker. To you and through you to the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery: People with disabilities face many challenges and obstacles in their daily lives. Ontarians with accessibility needs should not have to worry about spending endless hours filling out repetitive paperwork to obtain accessible parking permits. For far too long, complicated bureaucratic processes have created confusion and unnecessary hardship for those who already face many difficulties.

Can the minister please explain how our government is providing relief and making life easier for Ontarians with disabilities?

Could the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery please elaborate on what other measures we are implementing to make services more accessible for everyone?

Here’s what this guy has voted against when it comes to the housing file: He voted against our housing renewal strategy, which has provided over $4 billion to our community housing advocates to deal with rent supplements, bolstering homeless shelters and supportive housing—something that he has talked about but always seemed to vote against. What else has he voted against? The social services relief fund, which provided our municipal partners $1.2 billion to improve homeless shelters, to protect staff, and to support vulnerable people. He also voted—and I can’t believe that he actually did this—against our creation of the Homelessness Prevention Program, where we added $25 million, where we consolidated a number of supportive housing programs to try to make it streamlined and to be able to have a coordinated municipal response.

It doesn’t matter whether it was $4 billion for community housing, $1.2 billion for the social services relief fund or $25 million for homelessness—each and every time, the Green Party and this leader voted against that measure.

Part of what we’re doing in Bill 23 is we’re again incentivizing the construction of rental accommodation by eliminating the development charges so we can get shovels in the ground faster. So the tenants in London, the tenants across Ontario will have affordable rental opportunities. That’s exactly why the government put this policy in place.

But again, Speaker, I want to highlight that this government has made some significant tenant protections as part of our strengthening community housing and protecting tenants in Ontario.

And I want to again let those tenants know what New Democrats did when they had an opportunity to stand up for increased fines against unethical landlords: They voted against it.

Thank you very much for the question—and those are the great people of Scarborough calling the member. He’s doing great work. He’s answering that call.

Speaker, we recently marked a crucial milestone in the building of the Ontario Line, the crown jewel in our multi-billion-dollar GTA transit expansion plan. I’m glad to inform the member that on November 9 our government awarded the Ontario Transit Group the contract to design, build and finance the south portion of the Ontario Line, from Exhibition and Ontario Place to the Don Yard portal. We also recently issued two qualification requests for the Ontario Line’s northern segment to support underground station and tunnel building between the Gerrard portal and the Don Valley bridge, as well as the construction of three kilometres of elevated tracks in Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park.

Speaker, for 15 years, Torontonians were stuck with zero transit growth from the NDP-backed Liberals. Well, with this milestone, our government is filling the transit gap that we inherited from the Liberals by building a world-class relief line that will connect riders to the grid and get them from point A to point B.

What’s more, Speaker, riders from Thorncliffe Park, who have needed transit for way too long, will be finally able to commute to the downtown core in speedy time: 26 minutes, from 42.

To the member’s point, it’s called the Ontario Line, and it benefits all Ontarians by supporting 4,700 jobs a year during construction, cutting overall fuel consumption by more than seven million litres a year and generating up to $11 billion in economic activity for our province. In fact, every $1 billion invested in transit helps support 10,000 jobs and boosts Ontario’s real GDP by another $1 billion.

Unlike the Liberals and NDP, we’re saying yes to building transit, yes to connecting the grid, yes to the people of Ontario and to the great people of Scarborough.

I voted against the government’s housing bills because they won’t solve the housing crisis. I want to vote for bills that actually solve the crisis. Let’s be clear: Dismantling environmental protections, attacking local democracy, paving over farmland, wetlands and nature, downloading costs onto property taxpayers, and forcing people into long, expensive commutes will not solve the housing crisis.

I’ve put forward plans that show how good planning with zoning changes that allow four-plexes and walk-up four-storey apartments, mid-rise apartments along transit corridors and arterial roads, clamping down on housing speculation, investing in deeply affordable co-op and non-profit housing—those are the solutions that will solve the housing crisis.

Will the minister say no to what the land speculators want and yes to the solutions that will actually deliver housing that’s affordable in the communities people want to live in?

Mr. Schreiner moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 45, An Act to amend the Planning Act to require official plans to authorize midrise housing developments in specific circumstances and to make related amendments / Projet de loi 45, Loi modifiant la Loi sur l’aménagement du territoire pour exiger que les plans officiels autorisent l’aménagement d’immeubles d’habitation de moyenne hauteur dans des circonstances particulières et apporter des modifications connexes.

I have a petition that reads:

“Support Gender-Affirming Health Care.”

To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas two-spirit, transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse, and intersex communities face significant challenges to accessing health care services that are friendly, competent, and affirming in Ontario;

“Whereas everyone deserves access to health care, and they shouldn’t have to fight for it, shouldn’t have to wait for it, and should never receive less care or support because of who they are;

“Whereas gender-affirming care is life-saving care;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the reintroduction of a private member’s bill to create an inclusive and representative committee to advise the Ministry of Health on how to realize accessible and equitable access to and coverage for gender-affirming health care in Ontario.”

Speaker, I’m happy to sign this. I will be sending it with page Aiden to the Clerks’ table.

I would like to thank Rhéo and Michelle Courchesne from Blezard Valley in my riding for these petitions.

“Health Care Not For Sale.

“Whereas Ontarians get health care based on their needs, not their ability to pay;

“Whereas the Ford government wants to privatize our health care system;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals and will download costs to patients;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows: “to immediately stop all plans to privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 to help recruit, retain, return and respect health care workers with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario;

“—incentivizing health care professionals to choose to live and work in northern Ontario.”

I support this petition. I will affix my name to it and give it to Oriana to bring to the Clerk.

“Let’s Fix the Northern Health Travel Grant.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas people in the north are not getting the same access to health care because of the high cost of travel and accommodations;

“Whereas by refusing to raise the Northern Health Travel Grant (NHTG) rates, the Ford government is putting a massive burden on northern Ontarians who are sick;

“Whereas gas prices cost” way “more in northern Ontario;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows: “to establish a committee with a mandate to fix and improve the NHTG;

“This NHTG advisory committee would bring together health care providers in the north, as well as recipients of the NHTG to make recommendations to the Minister of Health that would improve access to health care in northern Ontario through adequate reimbursement of travel costs.”

I support this petition. I will affix my name to it and send it to the Clerk with the page.

I’d like to present the following petition:

“Whereas we know that building critical infrastructure is crucial to delivering better services, moving people faster and generating long-term sustainable economic growth; and

“Whereas under the leadership of Premier Ford our government is making historic investments to build and repair infrastructure in every region of Ontario; and

“Whereas at the heart of the plan is a capital investment of $158.8 billion over the next 10 years, with $20 billion in 2022 and 2023 alone, and includes plans to invest in trains, roads and subways; and

“Whereas our plan includes $25.1 billion in capital over 10 years to support planning, building and improving highways, including Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass, the 401 and Highway 7; and

“Whereas part of this capital investment includes $61.6 billion in capital over 10 years for public transit, including expanding GO rail services to London and Bowmanville; and

“Whereas our government plans to invest in hospital infrastructure with a $40-billion, 10-year program; and

“Whereas these investments will increase the capacity in our hospitals, build new health care facilities and renew existing hospitals and community health centres; and

“Whereas in education, our government is investing $21 billion, including about $14 billion in capital grants over the next 10 years to support the renewal and the expansion of school infrastructure and child care projects;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows”—and I will affix my signature and give it to page Nicholas.

“Stop Ford’s Health Care Privatization Plan.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of your wallet;

“Whereas Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones say they’re planning to privatize parts of health care;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals, making the health care crisis worse;

“Whereas privatization always ends with patients getting a bill;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to further privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 and recruiting, retaining and respecting doctors, nurses and PSWs with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario, who wait years and pay thousands to have their credentials certified;

“—making education and training free or low-cost for nurses, doctors and other health care professionals;

“—incentivizing doctors and nurses to choose to live and work in northern Ontario;

“—funding hospitals to have enough nurses on every shift, on every ward.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and send it to the table with page Isabelle.

I had about 700 or 800 education workers show up at my office a little while ago. They signed these petitions and asked that I read them and submit them, which I’m happy to do.

A petition “to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: Negotiate in Good Faith with Education Workers.

“Whereas the government has launched an unprecedented attack against democratic rights of workers to collectively bargain and to strike; and

“Whereas the government’s refusal to adequately fund our public education system at the appropriate levels to provide a high-quality service has resulted in staffing shortages and a lack of supports available for students who need them when they need them; and

“Whereas the government has the power to invest in public education so that our kids can get the education they deserve, and the workers who make schools run can have a decent standard of living and safe working conditions;

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

“Immediately repeal Bill 28 and Bill 124; and

“Negotiate in good faith with education workers through their union;

“Invest the funds necessary in public education to address the staffing crisis and support children’s learning.”

Speaker, I wholeheartedly support this. I will affix my signature and send it to the table with Mabel.