Thank you very much for the question—very timely. Clearly the money is there, which is why we have called into question the motivation of this government with regard to Bill 28. There is no need to bring forward this piece of legislation, which has obviously been in the works for months now, because you just don’t pull a piece of legislation out of thin air like this.

And it’s very true: The FAO, an independent officer of the Legislature, has said that the government will have run a surplus of $25.3 billion over the next six years, that there is an unallocated contingency fund of $44 billion. This is money that the government did not spend on keeping classrooms safe during the pandemic. This is federal transfer money that the government squirrelled away.

I was actually asked this question last week. I want to say to the government, that money needs to go to public services. There is no reason for this standoff to be happening with education workers—or health care workers, for that matter. You need to repeal Bill 124 and pay the people who do public services in this province adequate salaries and show them some damned respect.

Shame on all of you.

My question is to the member for Waterloo. Last month, the Minister of Finance actually announced that the Ontario government ended the fiscal year with a $2.1-billion surplus, a far cry from the $33-billion deficit that was projected. Following shortly afterwards on October 27, the FAO then criticized the Conservative government for not being transparent of how they were going to spend the money over the next several years. Then they revealed that there’s a $44-billion unallocated contingency fund and about $40 billion in programs unspent. The FAO says the contingencies are not generally used to address these shortfalls.

My question, Speaker, to the member is: If the provincial cupboards are bare, as claimed by the Ford Conservative government, why are they misleading Ontarians with the austerity budget and punishing education workers with legislated poverty by taking away their collective bargaining rights and disrupting human rights?

Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the submissions by the member from London West, and it was very, very, very clear that the member is willing to entertain the possibility of a strike and a close-down of schools. It’s very clear. We’ve enunciated on this side of the House that we will not entertain a disruption to the children’s learning. We’ve made that very clear. So the positions are very clear. They’re very diametrically opposed: one side, the opposition, being willing to entertain the possibility of closing down the schools, and the government not willing to entertain that possibility.

The member from Ajax pointed out that there are many vulnerable students who will suffer if the schools are closed down, students who have missed out on learning and students who, in her words, don’t want to be subject to uncertainty or missing out.

My question is as follows: Will the opposition join us in protecting those vulnerable students?

I really do appreciate that question. My phone was ringing off the hook. We got lots of texts the last two days. I’m going to read one—I brought a lot of these examples here, but I only had six minutes to talk and not 20, so I couldn’t use them: “A caretaker at the board for 14 years, I’ve barely seen my wages increase—only a 31-cent increase an hour over the past 14 years.” She currently makes under $39,000 a year. She told our office that if she didn’t have additional income supports right now she’d be forced to go to the food bank, something she knows some of her colleagues have to do every week. The working conditions are similar in her case as right across the board.

I thank you for that question, but there are cases and cases and cases like that being called to everybody’s office. I’d be surprised if they’re not calling your offices as well. You guys might not answer the phone or emails, but they are definitely calling—

I appreciate the question. I think that all of us on this side of the House have been very clear that workers deserve to be fairly compensated and they deserve to bargain the compensation that they’re going to receive at a bargaining table through fair and free collective negotiations. This government has decided to invoke an imposed contract on these workers rather than sitting down in good faith to talk about what kind of a deal will compensate them fairly and preserve the supports that our children receive in Ontario classrooms.

Our education workers provide a vital, essential service in this province. They deserve to be fairly and adequately compensated for that.

I’d like to thank my colleagues for their excellent presentation, and painting a very clear picture of the impact of Bill 28 on everyone, but, most importantly, on students and families. I’ve heard from many constituents in the last couple of days really expressing their concern. These are parents, family members, people with kids in their schools, who understand that this legislation is going to hurt everybody. One constituent wrote to me saying that “Using the ‘notwithstanding’ clause to keep people in poverty in a climate of record inflation is an affront to the principle of democracy and basic human decency.”

I’d like to ask the member from Niagara Falls what he is hearing from his constituents, parents of children in schools.

We’ll now go to questions.

Further debate?

Thank you to the member from Guelph. The Conservative government, all morning now, for five hours, as the colleague had said, has been saying that there’s no way to stop a strike unless they mandatorily take away their collective bargaining rights and force them to continue using food banks.

Do you believe there’s any way that we can negotiate a way to keep schools open and elevate the wages of these workers so they aren’t going to food banks?

I rise in this chamber to voice my full support for our government’s plan to catch up and for the actions we are taking to ensure our province’s children can enjoy a normal school year.

I speak to you not only as a minister and as an MPP but also as a mother. My children have always been blessed with amazing education workers in their schools.

But why we’re here today is to ensure that children are staying in school.

For the first time in two years, children are back in their classrooms and they’re experiencing an academic year expected to be free of disruptions.

Ontario schools are safe for in-person learning, thanks in part to the over $3.2 billion in COVID-19 resources we provided to school boards since the start of the pandemic and the major improvements we have made to air quality and ventilation in schools in every corner of the province.

Hard-working parents in Simcoe North have made their expectations clear. They want their kids in school and learning alongside their peers right up until the academic end of year in June.

I was speaking to Kim last evening, a grandmother, and she was explaining how important it is for her grandson to stay in school. She also commented that this has been going on since the times when her daughter was in school. Students need to be in the classroom.

I believe that Simcoe North families, and indeed all families across Ontario, deserve a normal school year after two years of pandemic-related disruptions.

Today, Madam Speaker, Ontario students are back in the classrooms where they belong. The 2022-23 academic year is two months’ old and is going very well so far. Moreover, students are benefiting from the full school experience, including sports, band, field trips and after-school extracurricular clubs and activities.

The purpose of education is, of course, to prepare our young people for the jobs of tomorrow, but school is also about spending time with friends, sharing a laugh or two and, of course, achieving personal goals. Those goals might include displaying excellence on the football field, mastering an unfamiliar song, captivating an audience by acting in the school play, or raising money for a worthwhile community cause.

Madam Speaker, I hope that everyone in this chamber can agree that in-person learning is essential for the mental and physical health, as well as the overall well-being, of Ontario students.

It is true the pandemic demonstrated the usefulness of online or remote learning, and I definitely saw that in my own ministry. Remote learning certainly has a role to play in the delivery of education, but the pandemic also demonstrated its limitations. I know every member in this chamber has heard from constituents of ours about the difficulties during the pandemic with online learning, and especially with young children at home.

For the past two years, our kids were isolated. Many students had trouble adapting to remote learning, and some even experienced physical and mental health challenges—and that’s for those people who had access to Internet, and stable Internet. I know many of us were working from home, had children trying to learn from home—and in rural ridings, we know that can be difficult. It’s not surprising, considering the COVID-19 pandemic was a frightening time for all Ontarians, but especially for children, who lost two years of normal school experience.

Thankfully, Ontario’s Plan to Catch Up includes significant investments to help students cope with these anxieties. In fact, we are delivering a $90-million investment in student mental health supports. That includes $10 million in new funding, and it represents a 420% increase in student mental health funding compared to the previous NDP-backed Liberal government’s plan in 2017-18.

The simple truth is that mental health is health. We cannot begin to fix all the damage caused by the pandemic without acknowledging this fact and providing meaningful mental health supports for our young people.

Student mental health is just one issue that needs to be addressed. The reality of this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic meant students would face new obstacles in their education. Now, as we emerge from the pandemic and return to our normal lives, we need to be prepared to help those young people who bore the weight of many public health restrictions.

Students are excited to be back in the classroom, to see their friends and their teachers, and to be back to normal activities. Although I don’t have young children at home anymore, I know, from watching the news on back-to-school day and seeing the young kids who were super excited to be out there talking to the reporters—even their parents—how excited they were to return to normal and to see their teachers, to see their friends, and to have those fun learning activities in class.

A global trend emerged, and it has become visible in the United Kingdom, the United States and across Canada. Students across the country and around the world experienced similar challenges with remote learning and other pandemic-related disruptions to education. In a nutshell, we are seeing steep declines in math, reading and writing.

As the recently released EQAO results demonstrate, that trend is unfortunately visible here in Ontario as well. As the Minister of Colleges and Universities, I find it troubling as that continues, possibly into high school and into the post-secondary world—the possibility of that.

The EQAO assessments showed a decline in every subject field except for grade 6 reading. Grade 3 students experienced a four-point decline in reading, a seven-point decline in writing, and a small drop in mathematics. Grade 6 students saw a further three-point decline in math, from 50 to 47. This is a real problem, and it is even more profound for French-language students, who saw a 33-point drop. Grade 9 followed the same trend, with math scores dropping 23 points for English-language students and 25 points for French-language students.

Learning gaps created by the pandemic are a significant problem, but it is important to put things in their proper context. In Colorado, for instance, only 27% of students tested in the spring of 2021 met or exceeded state math standards, while here in Ontario 67% of grade 3 students met or exceeded provincial math standards. In a comparative sense, Ontario is in better shape than other jurisdictions, and I want to make that clear. But it does not mean that we can afford to rest on our laurels. More work needs to be done.

It is for that reason that Ontario’s Plan to Catch Up includes the largest tutoring program in Ontario’s history. Our government is investing $176 million to expand access to free, school-based tutoring so thousands of Ontario students can utilize learning resources in their communities to help them succeed. Since April of this year, over 150,000 students as well as over 18,000 special-education students have accessed local board-provided tutoring supports. In addition, many parents have taken their own initiative and invested in tutoring supports for their own children.

Our government believes parents should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to their children’s education, and we were elected to make life more affordable for hard-working families in my riding of Simcoe North, as well as across Ontario. For those reasons, our government recently announced the availability of catch-up payments to parents. As you know, Madam Speaker, our government delivered over $1.6 billion in direct payments to parents through three dedicated support programs to help families cover the costs of child care and at-home learning created by the pandemic.

I am proud to say that we are going even further by investing $365 million in direct financial relief to parents, who could use some extra support in uncertain times to help their kids catch up. Through this program, parents with school-aged children up to 18 years will receive $200 per child. Parents with school-aged children with special-education needs up to 21 years of age will receive $250 per child. Being at home this weekend, I talked to many constituents, when I was out, who mentioned that they had already signed up and were accessing the program and were very happy about the additional supports.

I am told that over 970,000 applications for catch-up payments have been submitted, which amounts to over one third of eligible students in our province. Applications for catch-up payments will remain open until March 31, 2023. Madam Speaker, I hope that you and all honourable members of this House will encourage parents of school-aged children in our respective ridings to apply as soon as possible. We need these additional supports.

As an aside, I think another big reason Ontario students may have weathered the pandemic storm a bit better than students in other jurisdictions is that our government is strongly committed to improving public education, and we are delivering tangible results. Our government is providing school boards with $26.6 billion in total funding for the 2022-23 school year, which is the highest investment in public education in Ontario’s history. Average per pupil funding through the Grants for Student Needs program has risen to over $13,000, which is an 2.7% increase over last year and yet another record high.

Our government has also been busy updating the curriculum to ensure it does a better job of preparing young people for the jobs of tomorrow. We are taking these actions because the world is changing, and the stakes could not be higher. As technology advances, the global economy is increasingly becoming a digital economy. We must adjust to the reality or run the risk of getting left behind. It is estimated that more than 40% of jobs in Canada are at elevated risk of getting disrupted by technology and computers.

Moreover, Ontario is in the middle of a skilled labour shortage of nearly 370,000 unfilled jobs just here in this province. And one of the most crucial labour shortages is in the skilled trades. We will need at least 100,000 additional trades workers over the next decade to build desperately needed housing for Ontarians. By 2025, it is estimated that one in five jobs in Ontario will be in the skilled trades, but the average age of people entering the trades is 29.

Madam Speaker, since our government was first elected in 2018, we have addressed this challenge by reviewing and updating the province’s curriculum. More specifically, this has meant making financial literacy and digital fluency key priorities, investing $200 million to support a four-year math strategy; teaching valuable transferable skills such as leadership, communication, collaboration and critical thinking; improving science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM learning; and my favourite, promoting the skilled trades as a top-choice career path for young people and increasing awareness of and access to apprenticeship programs.

Two years ago, we launched an updated elementary math curriculum that teaches coding skills starting as early as grade 1. Mandatory learning on coding from grades 1 to 9 will further enshrine Ontario as a STEM leader.

Last year, our government launched a destreamed grade 9 math course that builds on earlier skilled trades-related learning and drills down on financial literacy, including interest rates and budgeting.

And earlier this year, we introduced a new science and technology curriculum, including a destreamed grade 9 science course.

Madam Speaker, our government is making progress improving STEM learning in schools and in promoting skilled trades as a first career choice.

In my former ministry of women and children’s issues, I was an advocate for women entering the skilled trades and starting this in early grades and really allowing girls to have the opportunity to use their hands. We have a great opportunity to increase the number of women in skilled trades and promote the great opportunities and advantages they will have.

These are key reasons why I believe Ontario students will effectively catch up and overcome any learning gaps created by the pandemic. Mind you, my assessment is based on there being no further disruptions to student learning this school year.

Unfortunately, the leadership of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, or CUPE, has threatened a strike that could put over 55,000 education workers, custodians, early childhood educators and administrative staff on the picket lines at the worst possible time.

Let me be clear, Madam Speaker: Our government deeply respects Ontario education workers and the valuable work they do. I see it every day. I’ve seen it in my own children’s learning over the years. We have the utmost respect for them. School custodians and early childhood educators are excellent examples of unsung heroes who performed their jobs magnificently during the pandemic.

That said, it is completely irresponsible for the leadership of CUPE to rile up its members by making completely—

To the member from Guelph, thank you for your comments.

I’ve heard a lot of concern about the mental health of students, but I’m wondering if the member from Guelph would like to speak to the mental health of the workers. I wonder about what their mental health will be like when they have their human rights overridden, when they have their charter rights overridden, when they are taking second and third jobs to survive, when they are accessing food banks, when they don’t have the money to look after their own children. I wonder what kind of mental health we can expect from them when they are working with the most vulnerable of our students.

I appreciate the opportunity to interact with the member from Guelph. His party hasn’t gone through the stresses of having to govern and having these battles with the education unions, so I was wondering if he might be able to offer us his insights on this matter.

When the NDP was in power, they legislated 0%. When the Liberals were in power, they legislated 0%. We are giving the lowest-paid education workers a 10% raise over four years. Is that a better deal than what the other parties have given?

I rise to participate in the debate on Bill 28, a bill that takes a chainsaw to the charter rights of education workers.

To quote the CCLA: “The notwithstanding clause was never meant to be used in contract negotiations, or as a casual tool to disrupt basic human rights safeguarded in our charter. This misuse, and the flagrant disregard for individual rights is wrong.”

But here we are with a government trampling on charter rights instead of negotiating in good faith.

The sad situation is, this negatively affects our children, because students lose when the Ford government doesn’t care about the people who care for our children; who get up every morning and make sure our schools are open, clean and safe; who provide support for children with special needs and create a stable learning environment for all students. These education workers do extraordinary work under very difficult conditions. But it’s hard to do that work as well as they can because many of these workers are struggling so much in their day-to-day lives to pay the rent and put food on the table, because they are doing it on salaries averaging $39,000 a year.

Speaker, half of these workers have to work a second job just to make ends meet. Many of them are going to food banks to put food on the table. They are simply asking for an extra $3 an hour to be able to do their jobs and pay the bills.

So I want to speak directly to parents and students. I want schools to be open. Education workers want schools to be open. And if we want those open schools to be safe, clean and full of fairly paid workers who can and will focus on student support and success—that will not happen with a government attacking education workers and forcing them to work for wages that don’t pay the bills.

We are experiencing, right now, the tragic results of disrespecting front-line workers and underpaying front-line workers in our collapsing health care system. We cannot allow the Ford government do that to our education system.

So I say to the members opposite: Roll up your sleeves and get to work. Do your job. Bargain fairly. Reach an agreement that puts our students first and keeps our schools open by ensuring that the people who care for them are paid a fair wage.

If they don’t do that—that is why I’m voting against Bill 28.

Speaker, if we want to address the mental health needs of both students and education workers, let’s pay education workers a fair wage so they can pay the bills and serve our students at the same time.

Here’s the bottom line, Speaker: No government in Canadian history has used the “notwithstanding” clause to take away the bargaining rights of education workers. The “notwithstanding” clause—that is something this government is going to have to live with. That’s why I’m saying to negotiate. These workers deserve a fair deal. If we want our students to work in a supportive environment that puts students first, we need to put the education workers who care for and support those students first as well.

There are many examples—as a matter of fact, I believe some members have cited the fact that 98% of negotiations at the table reach a bargain that both sides can live with.

Speaker, if we’re really going to put students first—and I know there are so many parents out there right now who are concerned about schools staying open, who are concerned about the learning gaps their students have experienced during the pandemic—the best way we can create an open, stable and successful learning environment for students is to actually pay education workers a living wage so that they don’t have to go to food banks, so they can actually pay the rent and pay the bills. That’s the decent and right thing to do.

Any of us who say we’re going to put students first—then we have to pay those workers fairly so they can care for our students and create the stable, successful learning environment that our students need and deserve. That is why I’m voting against Bill 28. That’s why it’s wrong.

Get to the table and negotiate an agreement that’s fair to both sides. That’s what’s good for students.

Much like the member from Windsor–Tecumseh, I too wish to congratulate all of the candidates and those elected or re-elected in municipal elections across Ontario, but in particular in my riding of Durham, in the municipalities of Clarington, Oshawa and Scugog.

Congratulations to Clarington mayor Adrian Foster, who was re-elected for another term. And congratulations to regional councillors Granville Anderson and Willie Woo and ward councillors Sami Elhajjeh, Lloyd Rang, Corinna Traill and Margaret Zwart.

In Oshawa, I congratulate re-elected mayor Dan Carter, councillors Robert Chapman and Rosemary McConkey, and the other elected and re-elected councillors.

In the township of Scugog, we have retiring mayor Bobbie Drew being replaced by incoming mayor Wilma Wotten. I recognize Regional Councillor Ian McDougall and local councillors David LeRoy, Janna Guido, Robert Rock, Harold Wright and Terry Coyne, elected in ward 5.

I congratulate all the trustees elected and re-elected to our public and Catholic boards in the riding.

And I convey my gratitude and admiration for all who stood for public office in these past municipal elections in Clarington, Oshawa and Scugog. This is what makes our democracy strong—when good citizens come forward and put their names on the ballot and debate thoughtfully with fellow citizens.

Thank you. I apologize for interrupting the minister.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

I’m delighted to rise in the House today to extend my sincere congratulations to the members of municipal councils and school boards newly elected in the city of Windsor and the town of Tecumseh:

—in the city of Windsor, Mayor Drew Dilkens and councillors Fred Francis, Fabio Costante, Renaldo Agostino, Mark McKenzie, Ed Sleiman, Jo-Anne Gignac, Angelo Marignani, Gary Kaschak, Kieran McKenzie, and Jim Morrison;

—in the town of Tecumseh, Mayor Gary McNamara, Deputy Mayor Joe Bachetti, and councillors Alicia Higgison, James Dorner, Rick Tonial, Brian Houston, and Tania Jobin;

—at the Greater Essex County District School Board, trustees Connie Buckler, Sarah Cipkar, Cathy Cooke, Gale Simko-Hatfield, Kim McKinley, Christie Nelson, and Linda Qin;

—at the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, trustees Kim Bouchard, Mary Heath, Joe Iacono, Jason Lazarus, Bernard Mastromattei and Fulvio Valentinis;

—au Conseil scolaire catholique Providence, les conseillers et conseillères Christine Brooks, Janine Brydges, Jacques Kenny et Pauline Morais; et

—au Conseil scolaire Viamonde, la conseillère Emmanuelle Richez.

I want to acknowledge and thank every person who put their name on a ballot during this past municipal election. We in this House can truly relate to your experience, and we know you will all set a strong foundation for serving our community well.

This past weekend, along Yonge Street, Iranian community members, friends, family and allies from near and far stood together in solidarity, lining the streets in the name of justice—justice for Mahsa Amini, and justice for Iranian people everywhere. I witnessed the car horns, the cheers, the Iranian flags surfing the wind and chants for peace, freedom and democracy. I also witnessed the heavy hearts of people worried about their family and friends back home in Iran and abroad.

Speaker, I stand in solidarity with women. I stand in solidarity with Iranian women who advocate against the policing of women’s bodies and who are fighting for their right to choose what they wear, how they wear it and when they wear it.

I stand in solidarity with allies who recognize that to ensure the progress of all members of our communities, we must galvanize to ensure women’s safety against all forms of violence.

I stand in solidarity with the Iranian-Canadians for Justice and Human Rights, a non-partisan and non-religious organization of community activists, not to mention countless numbers of students who have organized peaceful protests for women’s rights, justice and freedom from systemic oppression.

Mahsa Amini should still be on this earth. This 22-year-old Iranian woman was killed in her prime because the Guidance Patrol, Iran’s “morality police,” didn’t approve of how she wore her hijab. Mahsa Amini and protesters before and after her across the globe who have been killed in pursuit of human rights should still be here.

We must never forget. We can never forget our responsibility to stand up against gender-based violence—

Today it’s my honour to talk about an amazing organization operating in London–Fanshawe. This past summer, I had the honour of touring the Wright Clinic, a dental clinic founded by Dr. Ken Wright and the London Community Dental Alliance to provide affordable dental care to low-income individuals and families. Dr. Wright’s vision for this clinic started many years ago when he saw the need in our community for affordable dental care.

Operating out of the Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre, the clinic is able to serve some of the most vulnerable members of our community. While social assistance programs often provide coverage for dental care, the allotments fall short of most fees. The Wright Clinic offers truly affordable care, regardless of resources. This clinic is a one-of-a-kind model, able to hire a full-time staff and supplement their services through volunteer dentists and hygienists. The clinic also works with Western University and Fanshawe College students, giving them valuable training opportunities.

This model of service is what compassionate care looks like. The Wright Clinic is a testament to the power of community and what can be accomplished through vision, determination and co-operation. This clinic is a beacon of hope to many who previously believed oral care was beyond their reach. I am so proud to have this dental care clinic in my community.

Congratulations to the Wright Clinic.

Again, I’ll remind members to make their comments through the Chair, not directly across the floor of the House.