I have a petition here that has been sent by folks in Caledon and Kleinberg.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the proposed Highway 413 will produce over 17 tonnes of CO₂ emissions by 2050; and

“Whereas the proposed Highway 413 will cost the Ontario taxpayers upwards of the 2018 figure of $6 billion to save 30 to 60 seconds; and

“Whereas 400 acres of greenbelt and 2,000 acres of farmland would be paved over, habitats that support at-risk and endangered species would be damaged, and affected rivers and streams would be polluted;

“Whereas building more highways does not reduce traffic, but actually encourages more vehicle use; and

“Whereas there will be real harm to historic Indigenous sites;

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

“Stop the plans for building Highway 413.”

Of course, I support this petition. I’ll affix my signature and be glad to send it with page Malini.

I have a petition that has been sent in by Jim McEwan and some of his neighbours.

“Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas young adult stroke survivors in Ontario continue to be denied provincial government-funded physiotherapy on the basis of age, after completion of their initial rehab programs; and

“Whereas, as a consequence, these young adults are prevented from recovering to their best potential and possibly returning to work or continuing their post-secondary studies; and

“Whereas, to date, both Liberal and PC governments have failed to permit such funding, although both parties have previously taken steps to publicly support its implementation;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, hereby petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to expand Ontario’s government-funded community physiotherapy clinic program to include stroke survivors between the ages of 20 and 64 with a doctor’s referral, and after completion of initial rehab programs.”

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

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

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

“Whereas Premier ... and Health Minister ... 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.”

Speaker, I support this petition. I will affix my signature and send it to the table with page Malini.

I would like to applaud my colleague for an excellent hour and a very comprehensive breakdown on a massive bill with huge implications. I have so many thoughts and questions, but in terms of the definition of affordable housing, I get a bit twitchy when the government defines it. I’d like the government to listen to the folks in Oshawa, who would define it, I’m sure, quite differently. Some of those folks in Oshawa and across communities are being bullied out of their barely affordable rent, especially seniors. Often these renovictions are being used to trick seniors into signing away their right to return.

I’d like to know what we see in this bill in terms of protections—there’s 135 pages; I’m sure there’s stuff in there—for seniors unable to afford rent across my community but across communities generally.

The government seems to be responding interestingly about development charges, but I’m going to stay the course here. With the development charges and exemptions, I do worry that municipalities are going to have to share that cost or move that cost onto the ratepayers and our neighbours in the community, but that’s not what I’m going to ask about.

I’m going to ask about the permits that the developers get and sit on when municipalities have plans and they’re trying to plan for growth. How come there’s no “use it or lose it” in this bill? The developers hold on to these permits, they don’t use them and it’s gumming up the works. Why don’t we see that here? Do you have anything to say about holding developers accountable so that this housing does indeed get built?