I appreciate the opportunity to stand in support of the member from Scarborough–Guildwood in her point of privilege today. I believe the member has established that the comments made by the minister presume passage of Bill 28. But I also contend that the minister’s actions, in addition to the minister’s words, presume passage of the bill, because the government has simply refused to go back to the negotiating table. If the government were not presuming passage of the bill this week, I believe it would be in the best interest of the government and the people of Ontario for the government to continue to negotiate with education workers in this province.

All of us have an important role to play in this House. Yes, we are members—well, most of us are members—of political parties, but at the end of the day—

Interjections.

At the end of the day, we represent our constituents. We represent the people of our ridings, the people who elected us. To presume that partisan politics plays a larger role, and then that role of us as members of this House—

Interjection.

It is an important role to play. We’re looking at the first Westminster government—Parliament right now has shown what can happen when you presume passage of legislation that your own party members don’t support. That’s an important role that governments play, that’s an important role that individual MPPs play in this House.

The government may be taking a chainsaw to charter rights with this bill, but they should not violate parliamentary privilege by presumption of passage of legislation before every member of this House has had the opportunity to vote on it.

Again to the Premier: Let’s be clear, if this government cared about children in our schools, they wouldn’t beat up on the people who are looking after them.

Yesterday was a dark day for Ontario workers. Bill 28 not only disrespects education workers but also tramples their collective bargaining rights by imposing a contract, denying them the right to strike and levying fines against those who dare defy the Premier’s orders. This government’s use of the “notwithstanding” clause is massive overreach and a clear message to workers that their concerns just don’t matter.

New Democrats call on this government to reverse course, withdraw Bill 28 and return to the bargaining table to bargain in actual good faith. Will the government commit to doing that today?

The supplementary question.

I realize this is out of order, but I want to welcome the schoolchildren who are here in the east and west public galleries. We’re glad to have you here to observe question period.

I know all members will join me in wanting to impress those schoolchildren today.

Start the clock.

Next question.

Les travailleurs et les travailleuses en éducation ont soutenu nos enfants chaque jour pendant les deux dernières années. Ils étaient à l’école, même quand les écoles étaient fermées, à cause du travail important qu’ils font. Ils aiment leur travail. Ils veulent continuer de le faire. Mais ils ne peuvent plus le faire et payer leurs factures en même temps.

Le projet de loi du gouvernement attaque ces travailleurs si importants qui ne peuvent plus joindre les deux bouts. Pourquoi le premier ministre insiste-t-il pour imposer une politique de faibles salaires et les forcer à recourir aux banques alimentaires, au lieu de négocier une convention juste et raisonnable?

Crystal, who lives in Ottawa West–Nepean, is a library tech, supporting over 600 kids at two different schools. She works long, exhausting days, then comes home to a diet of canned beans and rice because that’s all she can afford. She does yard duty in shoes with holes in them because she can’t afford to replace them. She still loves her job and she can’t fathom doing anything else, but this government is driving workers like Crystal away.

Instead of trampling on the rights of workers like Crystal, will the Premier actually step up to support Crystal and the 620 kids she supports by scrapping this shameful bill and coming to the table to negotiate a fair deal?

Le projet de loi 28 est de l’intimidation envers les travailleurs et les travailleuses de l’éducation. Il limite leurs salaires et, dans certains cas, les force à aller dans les banques alimentaires. Les actions de ce gouvernement vont enlever des adultes de nos salles de classe, et ce sont nos enfants qui vont en payer le prix.

Le premier ministre va créer une crise des ressources humaines dans nos écoles, de la même façon qu’il l’a fait dans nos hôpitaux, avec leurs politiques de bas salaires.

Est-ce que le premier ministre va faire marche arrière avec le projet de loi 28, soutenir les travailleurs et les travailleuses de l’éducation et retourner à la table des négociations?

I want to thank the member for Mississauga–Lakeshore for that question. He’s absolutely right. We know that the status quo is not working. The members opposite have even acknowledged that fact. If we continue down the path that this province has been on, there is going to be a generation that will never realize the dream of home ownership.

The proposed legislation takes several very important steps to make sure that Ontario has the additional housing supply it needs, by permitting more gentle intensification, through allowing three as-of-right units. Our proposed changes will lay the foundation for more missing middle housing.

Additionally, we’re reducing building costs to incentivize the construction of affordable housing, not-for-profit housing and inclusionary zoning units right across this province.

What we’re asking is that the opposition put partnership over partisanship and stop—

While the NDP and Liberals sit on the sidelines, this government will stand up for students and keep them in class. That is what a responsible government would do.

Mr. Speaker, we believe in a simple principle, as communicated by the Premier: that children should be in the classroom. It has been a very difficult past few years. It started with strikes, followed by a global pandemic. We have a moral obligation to ensure they are in school, in front of their teachers, with their friends, learning skills—not at home on a Friday or any day this school year.

We’ve been very clear in our intention to stand up for students—and parents—and ensure they’re in school every day.

We are very committed to keeping kids in school. We’ve heard the voices of parents who have told us of the difficulty and the hardship they faced with respect to the pandemic and the strikes that preceded just a short few years ago.

While we remain committed to getting a deal with any willing partner in education to provide stability, we will not tolerate impacts on kids. We will not accept a child being out of school for even one day. We’re taking action to stand up for children while we continue in good faith with our labour partners to get a deal so that we can all bring forth a program that is fair for workers, whom we respect. It’s why we are hiring 1,800 more of them in this program. It’s why this Progressive Conservative government has hired nearly 7,000 more education workers, to date, in our schools.

Mr. Speaker, we’ll continue our work, listen to parents, stand up for students and keep these kids in school.

Interjections.

The Premier is right: We stand alone on this issue, and we will fight every day to ensure these kids remain in school.

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to keeping kids in the classroom. That is our priority. That is what is driving this legislation. It is why we are here today, because CUPE has decided, on Sunday, to announce a five-day strike.

CUPE alone put themselves on this footing. After all, it was CUPE that decided to proceed with a strike mandate even before the government tabled our first offer in the summer. This was their intention all along, and it is regrettable we are here. We shouldn’t be here. We should have had a voluntary deal signed on Sunday that preserves stability and offers a reasonable offer to the workers: 10% over four years; maintaining the benefits, the pensions, the sick leave, which we believe is competitive—11 days paid at 100% and 120 days at 90%, the only program of its kind in the country.

Mr. Speaker, our commitment is to preserve those benefits to incent more of them to work and to ensure they show up on Friday, because our kids are depending on them to be there every day in this province.

I’d like to thank the member opposite for her leadership and advocacy to support a critical need in housing. We heard it through the last election and we know that our municipal counterparts heard it through theirs. For years, Ontarians have struggled to find attainable home ownership. Parents and grandparents are looking in the eyes of their children, wondering if they’ll ever have a place to call home. And if we’re going to be honest with ourselves, Speaker, that means we need to build the critical infrastructure to support that housing growth. Simply put, Ontarians deserve reliability and strong environmental oversight for simple actions like turning the faucet on or flushing the toilet.

It’s not sexy, I know, but for years, the previous Liberal government ignored this critical infrastructure needed to give people the dignity of a roof over their head and a place to call home, and for years, these regions struggled to meet their population growth numbers because of neglect by the previous Liberal government. Well, I’m proud to say that under the leadership of this Premier and this Minister of Housing, we’re solving the problem. We are getting shovels in ground on the roads, the bridges, the houses and, yes, the critical water and waste water infrastructure needed so that people can have a place to call home in the province of Ontario.

And finally, they’ve done the important work of looking at optimizing existing infrastructure. They’ve done excellent work, and that’s why our ministry is here, providing certainty for both regions, to support the growth, working with Indigenous partners to meet important duty-to-consult requirements. And, Speaker—

Experts are projecting that Ontario’s population is expected to increase by two to six million over the next 20 years. As many newcomers arrive in Ontario, in communities like mine, Newmarket–Aurora, York region is viewed as a favourable jurisdiction to settle down, raise a family and own a home. Many of my constituents have settled in this area, and to meet the future needs of my community’s growing population, our government must ensure environmentally sustainable growth for the great people of York region. Under the previous Liberal government, we saw how they chose to dither, delay and neglect when it came to proper environmental planning and housing development for my region.

Can the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks please explain what our government is doing for housing development in York region?

Can the minister please elaborate on how this decision was made and why this is the right choice for all of Ontario and my community of Newmarket–Aurora in the great region of York?

Again, I want to thank the member from Mississauga–Lakeshore. He’s a true home-believer and a true champion for housing in his riding.

Our government is making sure that first-time homebuyers have access to the homes that they can afford. It’s imperative that we use every tool that’s available to us, including the creation of our new attainable housing program. It’s going to reduce costs on affordable housing. It’s going to parcel surplus provincial lands and take advantage of innovative technologies and also alternate housing-ownership models.

Speaker, Ontarians need and they deserve peace of mind when it comes to making the biggest purchase in their life. That’s why I was proud, last week, to stand with Minister Rasheed, the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, as we introduced the strictest consumer protection in Canada.

The opposition was right when they said we need all hands on deck. We just need them to change their approach. They have to start saying yes to creating new housing supply.

My question to the Premier. Good morning, Premier. I want to tell you about Daniel Rancourt. He’s an education support worker. His dedication to our children is absolutely immense. For 29 years, Daniel has kept our schools clean and safe for students and for staff. Unfortunately, his child has type 1 diabetes and that requires medication and medical supplies, and covering the cost of those necessary medical supplies is a huge struggle for Daniel.

Workers who are working 12 hours a day, five days a week, should be able to afford necessary medical expenses for their child, but Daniel said, “Put yourself in our shoes. With the rising cost of living, would you be able to live off our salary? This, Mr. Ford and Mr. Lecce”—I’m quoting—“means that as a father and a husband, I don’t get to spend a lot of time at home.”

My question: Will the Premier scrap this harmful bill, finally acknowledge the lives and struggle of the education support workers they’re hurting, and direct his minister to sit down and finally negotiate a fair deal?

Let me tell you about Charity. I keep telling the Premier about Charity. She is a full-time education support worker who earns so little from the Conservative government that she goes to food banks. Yesterday, I asked a question about it and got ignored by the Premier. I’m hoping to get an answer today. Charity doesn’t understand why the Conservative government continues to attack workers like her. She called me yesterday and she said, “I am so scared right now. I’m honestly terrified. My kids are wearing the same Halloween costumes from last year because we couldn’t afford new ones. I just want to go grocery shopping. We deserve better than the food bank.”

Will the Premier finally answer and tell Charity why he doesn’t care about her children or about workers like her?

Minister of Education.

My question is for the Premier. I want to be clear: I want students back in school in clean, safe—

Interjections.

Speaker, we are experiencing the negative consequences of Bill 124, underpaying and disrespecting front-line health care workers in our health care system. So why would the government repeat the same mistakes in our education system?

I want to say to the parents of this province: If you want your students to be in safe, stable classrooms, with good learning environments, then the government needs to negotiate fair wages with the lowest-paid workers.

My question to the minister is: Why is the government refusing to negotiate in a reasonable, fair way with low-paid education workers asking for a few extra dollars an hour to be able to pay the bills?

We’re committed to keeping kids in the classroom, where they belong. We think that is the priority of all parents in this province, who have seen the hardship, the disruption and the regression in learning, in mental and physical health, and social and emotional well-being. We have to stand up for these kids and give them a voice in this debate. They have been on the sidelines for too long. Strikes have been imposed on them for over 30 to 40 years. I think it’s absolutely appropriate for the government to use every tool at our disposal to ensure stability and to protect the in-class learning experience these kids deserve in Ontario.

Interjection.

Mr. Speaker, I will note to the member opposite that of education workers in this country, here in Ontario they are paid the highest: $27 an hour. They have benefits. They have the best pension. They have 131 paid sick days, part of their sick leave. And as you know, Speaker, we continue to provide more investment in schools, more staffing—part of this contract has proposed 1,800 more workers—to ensure our kids are better supported.

What we will not accept is the idea of children being out of class for even one more day. They have paid the price of this pandemic, and we have a responsibility to ensure they stay in school in front of their educators, learning the skills they need to succeed in this economy.

We believe, in our judgment, that kids should be in school. They should be in a stable, safe environment, supported by their staff and with their friends. That’s why, Speaker, we’ve increased investment in public education. It’s why we’ve offered a better deal, with 10% over four years while maintaining those benefits and pensions I spoke of earlier.

We are doing this because we want to get to a deal. It requires the union to withdraw the strike. It requires the union to bring forth a reasonable offer, not a nearly 33% increase in salary, nearly 50% increase in compensation when you add it all up. That is not reasonable to any observer.

We’re going to continue to work hard and stand up for kids and keep them in schools, Speaker.

My question is for the Minister of Infrastructure.

Speaker, communities across eastern Ontario have been ignored for far too long under the previous Liberal government when it came to providing access to reliable, high-speed Internet.

As a former IT guy and a former member of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, I am very aware of both the need and the efforts the local people have put into accessing broadband.

Residents and businesses rely on reliable Internet systems for their day-to-day work, for children to learn and for residents to communicate with people across the world, among many other things. For those in remote and rural communities, the continued lack of reliable Internet services prevents many from achieving their full economic potential.

Our government recently made an announcement highlighting the investments made in high-speed Internet infrastructure.

Can the Minister of Infrastructure please update the Legislature on how our government is closing the digital divide for all Ontarians, no matter where they live?

This question is to the Premier. The Conservative government introduced back-to-work legislation that disregards the value of 55,000 CUPE front-line education workers in our schools, many of them the lowest-paid workers in education, who are disproportionately women and BIPOC people. This government legislation blocks workers’ bargaining rights, and charter and human rights. These are workers who make an average of $39,000 a year as custodians, bus drivers, librarians, education assistants supporting students with disabilities and behaviourals, lunchroom supervisors, hall monitors and early childhood educators. They’re also parents.

My question is to the Premier. The Premier’s salary is over $208,000 a year. The Minister of Education’s is over $165,000 a year. Their salaries keep going up despite inflation. Why do the Premier and the minister think their work is five times more valuable than education workers caring for Ontario’s children in our schools? Why are PCs paying education workers below inflation?

This pre-emptive strike legislation, similar to Conservative Bill 124 that produced a mass exodus of nurses from health care, will push education workers out the door, never to return. You cannot keep students in class without the caring adults, the education workers, who are the backbone of our education system, helping them every step of the way.

My question is back to the Premier; it’s nice to see you today. Will you stop this attack on education workers, get back to the bargaining table and honour our students, our future leaders, and education workers with a fair deal? That $39,000 is not enough.

Thank you.

The next question.

To reply, the Minster of Education.

Start the clock. The member for Guelph.

My question is to the Premier.

Yesterday, this Premier and his government decided to take away the bargaining rights of education workers who are amongst some of the lowest-paid unionized workers in Ontario. My office spoke with an education worker who called this action undemocratic and unfair.

Why are the Premier and his government refusing to respect workers’ rights and bargain a fair collective agreement?

Investing in our educational workers means investing in our children’s futures, because without them, our children are set up for failure. The education workers who are being disrespected by this government are the same workers who keep our schools clean and functioning properly. They need an environment that is safe, and without them, that can’t happen.

Why does this Premier think that it’s not important to invest in our children’s futures?