It’s always an honour and a pleasure any time I have an opportunity, obviously, to rise in this House and represent my constituents of Milton—and the opportunity, this morning, to speak to Bill 36, Progress on the Plan to Build Act.

Just before I get started, I want to mention that I will be sharing my time with the honourable member from Carleton.

The Progress on the Plan to Build Act was recently introduced by our great Minister of Finance. I want to thank him for the tremendous work he has done, and his two PAs, who have put a lot of time and effort into this—the member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound and the member from Oakville—in collaboration with all of our colleagues here in the chamber. It’s a bill that has been introduced during, I would say, some of the most challenging times. We understand the economic uncertainty that’s going through the global world. The work done by this government over the last four and a half years—we had an election recently, and we took this very plan to the voters, to Ontarians, to let them have their say in terms of what they think, and I think we can all agree that it was a resounding success. They gave our government an even stronger mandate to continue to implement the plan that we have been working on over the last four years, and they want us to continue to build.

Interjection.

Madam Speaker, over the last four and a half years—let me just talk about some of the things that we have been able to do in my community. Milton has been able to benefit from the investments we have been making not just in Milton but right across this province. As most would know, Milton is one of the fastest-growing communities in the province. We’ve got lots of young families; we’ve got lots of young kids, so with that, of course, there come challenges, and the government of the day is expected to help residents with those challenges and work with our municipal partners and others to make sure the residents’ needs are being met and are being addressed. I am proud to say that we have been delivering on that.

Let me share some examples with you, Madam Speaker. In my previous term of four years, 2018 to 2022, our government invested in nine new schools—where the previous Liberal government was busy shutting schools down right across our province. Just in my riding of Milton, we introduced nine brand new schools and five expansions. You might ask what something like that would cost. That was over $250 million in investments into education—just the capital infrastructure to build new schools and expand. That, of course, included public; that included Catholic; that included French. Those nine new schools and five expansions would accommodate over 7,000 new student spaces just in my riding of Milton alone. That was obviously much needed; we recognized that after we formed the government. The mandate was given to us to get it done. I worked with my colleagues, the Minister of Education, our government to make sure those investments were delivered to my great riding of Milton.

Let me speak about another topic. Anybody who drives the 401 corridor along Milton understands the impact of gridlock and traffic congestion every single day. One of the asks was, of course, the expansion of Highway 401 right from Mississauga up to Milton. We delivered on that. Those new lanes are now in the process of being opened, and some of the residents and, obviously, the commuters who are driving through that stretch of the highway are realizing the benefits of the investment we made—and why we also ran as a party in the election, in terms of wanting to build more highways, like Highway 413, which is also going to connect our residents, our town of Milton, with the other municipalities.

These are the investments that are very, very much needed. That investment that I talked about—the expansion of Highway 401 that stretched from Mississauga to Milton was worth over half a billion dollars. These are all necessary. Parents, workers understand that if they need to get from point A to point B, they need to be able to—not every person living in downtown Toronto who has the luxury of a great public transit system—and might I add, we’ve also been investing billions of dollars in that. But in smaller towns, especially in the rural parts of Ontario, not everyone has that luxury. Not as a luxury but as a necessity in life—they are dependent on cars. They don’t have any other option but to drive their kids to school, drive themselves to work, to meet the needs of their day-to-day lives.

Another issue relevant to my riding that I’m proud to say our government has delivered on is rural broadband. Not a lot of people know, but my riding of Milton does encompass a large part of rural folks who don’t have access to the Internet—and especially during COVID-19, we saw that when students had to stay home and had to study online. Businesses and farmers, obviously, had to operate from home, and without having reliable access to Internet—it makes life very challenging.

I also happen to live in a rural part of my riding where we don’t have reliable high-speed Internet and we are dependent on satellite in some cases. Obviously, the speed is next to nil. But the investment that our government has been making over the last four years is proving to be very, very fruitful. Residents in my riding, in the rural parts, are now, finally, for the first time, getting access to high-speed Internet, reliable Internet, so they can run their businesses online and their kids can study online, if need be. We know the importance of high-speed Internet in this day and age, how it affects our lives, and how much we are dependent on that—small things.

I heard the members opposite talk about our reduction in the gas tax by 5.7 cents a litre, which was introduced initially for few a months, and now we’re extending it for another year. As I mentioned earlier, for residents in a riding like mine, where people are dependent on cars—they have to drive. You should talk to somebody in my riding and ask them what that 5.7-cents-a-litre reduction in the gas tax means to them. It may not mean a whole lot to the members opposite.

I understand the opposition has a role to play and their main job is to oppose everything that the government is putting forward. At the same time, they also need to learn to be reasonable. When the government is putting forward a good piece of legislation with good policies that benefit all Ontarians, they need to get behind it. They need to work with the government. They need to support some of the measures. They can’t sit on the other side and criticize the government all day long and continue to vote against some of the important measures that are in every piece of legislation, and then stand up and say, “Why isn’t the government doing anything? Why isn’t the government delivering on priority A, B or C?” Yes, we absolutely are—but if they fail to see it, if they fail to support the government in our progress and what we’re trying to do, then that’s really unfortunate.

I know I’m close to my 10 minutes, Madam Speaker, so, with that, I want to thank everyone for the opportunity. I’ll turn it over to my colleague for the rest of the 10 minutes.

The legislation proposes doubling the Guaranteed Annual Income System payment for all recipients for 12 months. Will the member opposite support this direct relief measure for seniors in Ontario?

Questions?

We have two seconds—so GAINS is good, but other parts of this bill make it unacceptable.

The member from Carleton.

I’d like to thank the minister for sharing his time with me and for his very excellent speech. I’d like to continue on what the minister was speaking about.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of Bill 36, the government’s proposed Progress on the Plan to Build Act (Budget Measures), 2022.

Le document comprend le tout premier rapport d’étape du gouvernement sur son plan pour bâtir l’Ontario, ainsi que de nouvelles mesures ciblées pour faire avancer son programme visant à bâtir l’économie, à s’attaquer à la pénurie de main-d’oeuvre dans la province, ainsi qu’à aider les familles et les entreprises à garder les coûts bas.

Faits saillants relatifs aux mesures ciblées qui font progresser le plan du gouvernement :

—lancer un registre de crédits pour l’énergie propre, volontaire, pour stimuler la compétitivité, attirer des emplois et offrir aux entreprises plus de choix quant aux moyens d’atteindre leurs objectifs en matière d’environnement et de développement durable, grâce aux mesures législatives proposées;

—accorder aux petites entreprises de l’Ontario un allégement de l’impôt sur le revenu de 185 millions de dollars au cours des trois prochaines années, dont profiteront environ 5 500 petites entreprises grâce à l’élargissement proposé de la fourchette d’élimination progressive du taux de l’impôt applicable aux petites entreprises.

Amid uncertainty due to global geopolitical conflict, elevated inflation, rising interest rates and ongoing supply chain issues, Ontario’s economy has proven resilient. Through its flexible and responsible plan, the government is working to support a long-term plan that will ensure the province is in a strong position to maintain risks in a challenging global economy, while investing to build a stronger Ontario. By preserving flexibility, the government is prepared to provide targeted supports to people and businesses, while maintaining a responsible plan to eliminate Ontario’s structural deficit.

Our government’s priority is to ensure long-term economic growth, while addressing the labour shortages and keeping costs down for families and businesses. We will continue to help grow the economy by getting boots to shovels in the ground to build key infrastructure projects and investing in skills training for Ontario workers and newcomers.

We’re also providing an update on our economic and fiscal outlook, highlighting how its flexible and responsible plan is positioning the province to be ready to manage any hurdles that come our way. In fact, the government is now projecting a $12.9-billion deficit in 2022-23, nearly $7 billion lower than the outlook published in the 2022 budget. The road ahead will not be easy, which is why now is the time for governments to show restraint. Whatever the economic uncertainty may bring, our government has a plan, and I am confident in the resilience of Ontario’s economy, its workers and its people.

Our government is helping to manage rising costs for low-income people with disabilities by planning to adjust core allowances under the Ontario Disability Support Program. The changes made under this plan would allow a person already on ODSP to keep more of the money they earn, by increasing the monthly earnings exemptions from $200 per month to $1,000 per month. This would allow the approximately 25,000 Ontarians currently in the workforce to keep more of their earnings, and it could encourage as many as 25,000 more Ontarians to participate in the workforce.

In the spirit of boosting our economy and giving businesses and consumers more choice to be environmentally conscious, our government is launching a voluntary clean energy credit registry, which will boost competitiveness and create more jobs.

For small businesses in Carleton and across Ontario, we’re providing $185 million in income tax relief over the next three years, benefiting about 5,500 small businesses through the proposed extension of the phase-out of the small business tax rate. And we’re automatically matching property tax reductions for small businesses in all municipalities that adopt the small business property subclass.

As already announced over the weekend, we’re proposing to extend the cuts to the gas tax and fuel tax rates so that the rate on gasoline and fuel would remain at 9% per litre until December 31, 2023.

By eliminating the licence plate renewal fees for passengers and light commercial vehicles, drivers in southern Ontario will save up to $120 per year and northern Ontario drivers will save up to $60 per year.

Our Ontario seniors, who have worked hard all their lives, deserve to retire in dignity. That’s why we’re helping to manage costs for about 200,000 of Ontario’s lowest-income seniors by proposing to double the Guaranteed Annual Income System payment for all recipients for 12 months, starting in January. That’s a maximum increase of almost $1,000 per person in 2023.

Since the announcement of the 2022 budget, the government is enhancing its plan to catch up by increasing direct payments to parents by $140 million, bringing total investments this year alone to over $365 million. This funding will help make life more affordable for parents and ensure students receive the support they need.

Building upon the government’s plan-to-catch-up investments, Ontario is providing further supports with these recently announced initiatives:

—math action teams deployed to underperforming school boards;

—early reading enhancements that further the government’s response to the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read report;

—new digital resources to support parents, students and educators; and

—new universal screening for reading for Ontario’s youngest learners.

Ontario will soon be approaching that time of year when we all have to file our income tax. Our government will continue to support families by offering the following tax credits:

—the Low-income Individuals and Families Tax Credit, also known as the LIFT tax credit;

—the Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit;

—the Ontario Staycation Tax Credit;

—the Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit;

—the Ontario Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses tax credit; and

—the Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit.

This government is unleashing the economic potential of critical minerals, including those in the Ring of Fire, with Ontario’s first-ever Critical Minerals Strategy and a commitment of close to $1 billion to support critical legacy infrastructure such as all-season roads to the Ring of Fire. To show how serious we are about this and our commitment and dedication to this, our government even has a Minister of Mines. When was the last time that Ontario even had a Minister of Mines? That goes to show the dedication and commitment of this government.

While our province experienced strong economic growth throughout 2021 and in the first half of 2022, we are now in uncertain times, and these are factors that are beyond our government’s control. That’s why the Ministry of Finance has developed faster-growth and slower-growth scenarios that the economy could take over the next several years to provide more transparency about how any of the scenarios could impact Ontario’s finances.

Our government is committed to eliminating the province’s structural deficit and is redoubling its efforts to bring Ontario’s finances back to balance. Our fall economic statement clearly shows that our government has a responsible plan with targeted new measures to help navigate these economic challenges.

Madam Speaker, the people of Ontario re-elected us with a super majority because they believed in our plan; they believed in the budget that we had put forward. They have seen in the past four years how much we were able to accomplish after 15 years of Liberal waste and mismanagement that was propped up by the current opposition; it’s for that fact that the Liberal Party still doesn’t even have party status. After four years, the people of Ontario could not forget, did not forget. And yet, there are so many members of the government that we don’t even all fit on one side of the House. I think that goes to show the commitment and the dedication that this government has shown in the past four years and will continue to show in the next four years.

It is my hope that all parties in this House will join with the government and vote in favour of this bill.

Whatever the economic uncertainty may bring, the people of Carleton and Ontario can rest assured that our government will always be prepared and will always have their backs.

I thank the member from Milton for his earlier comments on investments in education, building schools instead of closing schools, the Highway 401 expansion and expansion of highways in general, and broadband, which is very important in my riding of Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston.

I’m wondering if the member could tell us how the proposed measures in this legislation fit into the government’s larger plan to build Ontario and invest in the priorities that matter to the people of this province?

Questions?

A few weeks ago, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing introduced legislation that deals directly with the issue of affordable housing.

And our government, during the election, committed to building 1.5 million homes in the next 10 years. That’s something that we are in fact doing with the legislation we have proposed. This is actually great news for my riding—because one of the biggest issues was that the city of Ottawa refused to allow the village of Greely to expand. The village of Greely is so important, in fact, that I have been advocating for this, and we finally got the approval, because our government is here to listen to the people.

We will continue focusing on building homes, because the more homes we have, the more affordable it is for Ontarians to live in them.

Our government is delivering on the promise to help manage rising costs for low-income people with disabilities. We announced an increase to ODSP core allowances and the maximum monthly amount announced for the assistance for government plans.

We’re making significant changes that would allow a person with a disability on ODSP to keep more of the money they earn, by increasing the monthly earnings exemption from $200 to $1,000 per month. For each dollar earned above $1,000, the person with a disability would keep 25 cents of income support.

These changes are practical results—and the practical result is that approximately 25,000 individuals currently in the workforce will be able to keep more of their earnings, and it could encourage as many as 25,000 more people to join the workforce.

I want to thank my honourable colleague on the other side for that important question and for recognizing the fact that there are wonderful supports in this piece of legislation that will go to help individuals who need the help the most.

I would encourage all of my colleagues in this Legislature to really go through this fall economic statement and read the bill through. There are so many different supports that are available for every single individual, whether you’re a small business, whether you are a family member, whether you’re a senior, whether you’re on ODSP, whether you’re a child care worker, whether you’re a nurse—on and on and on. Obviously, it’s hard for me to highlight all of them, but there’s a whole suite of different initiatives worth billions and billions of dollars.

In my remarks, I mentioned the importance of making decent investments, especially when it comes to education. In my community of Milton, which is one of the fastest-growing communities, the number of new schools that I’ve had the opportunity to announce over the last four and half years—nine new schools, five expansions worth $250 million, over 7,000 new student spaces, and that’s just in my riding of Milton. We’ve been doing that right across this great province—spending billions and billions of dollars, not just building new schools, but also investing in education, making sure that our kids have the necessary resources to succeed in life.

As a proud parent of three, I understand first-hand the importance of making investments in education, in health care and every single sector. I’m proud to be part of this government that has been laser-focused on doing all of those things.

I want to go back to the member from Carleton. I really like what she just finished off with. I want to ask her a question on behalf of Donna Behnke from Elliot Lake.

You’re planning to raise the annual income for people on ODSP from $200 to $1,000—when will that take effect? Also, it’s great that you’re doing that for some, and you’re also providing additional funding for parents with children. However, there are some single individuals out there who just cannot work. What are you doing for them? What is in this fall economic statement that is available for them? When are you planning on helping those individuals, who need help as well?

Also, the second part of that question that I asked is, what are you going to do for those individuals who don’t have the ability to work? They also need support, and that is not in this fall economic statement. Try not to go off and say there’s pixie dust where there’s not. Those individuals need help, too.

I want to ask the member about the economic statement. I have a long-standing issue in my riding, and I’m sure everyone here in this chamber has heard that elderly parents, senior parents who have adult children with development disabilities—there is no housing plan for supportive housing for these adult children. These parents are looking after them. I have such a story that I want to share, but I won’t have time today—basically, they aged out. The parents had to go to long-term-care homes. Their daughter, who has an adult development disability, cannot get into Community Living supportive housing. Where is that in this budget? Can the member please talk about that?

We are going to move on to further debate. The member from Essex.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

In 2021, this government introduced, for the first time, and passed an act to proclaim November 16 COPD Awareness Day.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a serious and progressive disease that causes lung damage and blocks the airways. It is the fourth-leading cause of death in Canada, and it is a leading cause of illness.

The Ministry of Heath has taken significant action on COPD care and prevention, aligned with Health Quality Ontario’s advice, including increasing access to smoking cessation programs for patients in both hospital and primary care settings, including patients with COPD; increasing access to influenza and pneumococcal vaccines among COPD patients; and investing in early detection and treatment to slow the progression of this extremely serious lung disease.

One of our most promising investments has been in the Best Care in Primary Care program, recognized by clinicians and patients as a highly effective, made-in-Ontario, team-based, patient-centred care model. Best Care has successfully reduced emergency room visits by 63% and hospitalizations up to 60% among COPD patients. This program has improved mental health among chronic disease patients who are receiving whole-of-person care for the first time. As demonstrated in peer-reviewed studies, Best Care in Primary Care has saved our health system millions of dollars in cost, alleviated pressures on capacity and significantly improved the quality of care and life for Ontarians living with COPD.

On this World COPD Day, I want to recognize the work of health care professionals, from physicians to nurses to respiratory therapists, who support people living with COPD every day and encourage Ontarians to remember that your lungs are for life.

I want to thank the honourable colleague on the other side for that question again. What I would say to that is, we understand and recognize the importance of helping those who need help the most—part of the reason why this has been introduced in this important piece of legislation.

If the member opposite really cares and really wants to get this going and deliver these supports that we’ve introduced as quickly as possible—talk to his other colleagues on the other side and get them to support this piece of legislation; get them to move this along quickly so we can get the necessary supports to Ontarians. We’re doing our part on this side, and I would encourage the members opposite to get behind it. Let’s continue the important work that has been given to us, assigned to us by Ontarians and the mandate that was given to us on June 2. We are focused on that, and we will continue to do it.

Good morning, Madam Speaker. It’s a pleasure to see you in the chair today.

I’m going to be addressing the chamber and this assembly on Bill 36, which is the Progress on the Plan to Build Act, and as is my tradition, I’m going to start my address with a very short story that is going to tie directly into the subject of debate and assist us in illustrating what I’m talking about today.

As I’m wont to do, I’m going to start this story on the second concession of Anderdon township, because that’s where I grew up. On the second concession of Anderdon township, there is a row of lots. All of the lots are one-acre lots, because there’s no sewer line on the second concession; you have to put in septic tanks. Immediately behind the one-acre lots, there’s a railroad, the Essex Terminal Railway. It’s still in operation today. On the other side of the railroad, there’s a subdivision, and that’s where I live. I literally live about half a mile from where I grew up. I grew up on the east side of the railroad, and now I live on the west side of the railroad. Some people have an expression—they say sometimes that they grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, but that does not apply to me. I grew up on the right side of the tracks. In truth, in Anderdon township it doesn’t matter if you grew up on the east or west side of the tracks; you always grew up on the right side of the tracks, because if you grew up in Anderdon township, where I grew up, you always had opportunity, and if you worked hard, you knew you were going to make it. We all knew that. I certainly knew that. I always had a summer job. I went to school, I went to university—more than once.

I eventually decided to go to law school. I became a lawyer and opened a law office. I opened up that law office right in the town of Amherstburg, eight minutes from my house. So my commute to work was eight minutes—from my house beside the railroad tracks in Anderdon to my law office in Amherstburg.

Running a law office for 24 years was great. I had lots of clients. I had great people to work with. I had two full-time employees. I was making a good—

Last night, London inaugurated our new city council. I want to take this time to thank all of them for stepping up to serve the city of London and to wish them all well in leading our great city to meet its potential.

It’s deeply concerning that councillors are being sworn in on the same week this government is going out of their way to strip them of their powers with Bill 23. This new legislation takes power away from cities right when they need it the most. It costs municipalities hundreds of thousands in lost revenue and gives the minister sweeping powers they’ve never had over bylaws and local planning. It’s also a direct attack on conservation authorities.

Ontario is losing almost 320 acres of prime farmland per day, but this government wants to make the incredibly rich even richer.

This bill hurts the environment, renters and weakens democracy. It jeopardizes affordable housing stock, and it’s a gravy train giveaway to politically connected developers.

I worry that this government’s party with the public purse is completely out of control.

Speaker, our city councillors were elected by the people of London to lead our community; this government was not.

Ontario cannot go backwards on the environment, democracy, and protections for people who need them the most.

I hope that this government will listen and learn what municipalities require, and collaborate rather than dictate.

Madam Speaker, I would like to inform the chamber today of a tremendous community organization in my riding of Newmarket–Aurora called Inn From the Cold, whose mission is to meet the needs of people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. They provide emergency shelter in harsh winter conditions and offer a drop-by program which is open seven days a week, where community members are served meals and have access to shower and laundry facilities as well as to computers and the Internet.

I am very pleased to announce that this year our government has supported Inn From the Cold with two Resilient Communities Fund grants, for a total of $277,400, through the Ontario Trillium Foundation. These grants helped Inn From the Cold with staffing costs, including the hiring of a systems navigator. The grants also helped with the costs associated with building a new website to improve its digital presence, as well as to implement a health and wellness strategy and organizational risk management plan.

When touring the facility, I had the privilege to meet their systems navigator and volunteers, while witnessing first-hand the many vital services they provide.

I would like to thank Ann Watson, the executive director, and all the volunteers at Inn From the Cold for the great work they do in our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about one of Manotick’s most charming and whimsical shops, the Gingerbread Man. Many from the historic village of Manotick and those who have travelled from far and wide to see the one-of-a-kind shop will remember the gingerbread aroma that fills the shop, the incredibly detailed gingerbread showpieces, the multitude of gingerbread cookies for every occasion, the famous butter tarts, the delicious Kawartha ice cream, and so much more.

Richard Palframan started the Gingerbread Man in 1998 in Toronto. In 2001, he moved his home and business to Manotick. The shop has grown with the village of Manotick and has had the pleasure of watching neighbourhood families grow and of having their gingerbread houses become part of Christmas traditions.

The shop is also where Richard met his wife, Kaori. Kaori helped the business grow with her fantastic shortbread, banana bread and intricate decorating skills.

Unfortunately, on November 4, Richard and Kaori were devastated by a massive fire that took away their home and business. The 150-year-old building, which was one of the first houses ever built in Manotick, will have to be torn down. The weeks before Christmas are the busiest time of year for them. The loss of business means loss of revenue to pay their bills and support the community, and the loss of their home means that they are left with a hole in their hearts.

Mr. Speaker, this is a huge loss for the village of Manotick.

I send out my condolences to Richard and Kaori. And if anyone wishes to support them, please check out their website.