After navigating two long years of COVID restrictions on festivals and events, the World of Jazz Festival celebrates its sixth annual festival with a triumphant return to downtown Brampton on September 10 and 11. This two-day music festival will play host to more than 100 musicians, 17 ensembles and eight venues, featuring some of Canada’s finest jazz musicians as well as local Brampton musicians, students and emerging artists. The festival hosts restaurant and community performances, a late-night jam session, a family fun zone, and food vendors. It wraps up on September 11 with two stages hosting non-stop, free music from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Gage Park.

The festival overcame the obstacles of COVID-19 and was able to pivot to both live and virtual performances over the last two years without cancelling.

The World of Jazz Festival is hosted by B-Jazzed, a not-for-profit organization in the city of Brampton curating performances, education, and philanthropy of jazz music and its musicians. Annually, B-Jazzed curates over 100 performances, compensating nearly 300 musicians, with over 70% of those residing in Brampton. They’ve created a scene and an ecosystem for music and musicians that has simply never existed before in Brampton, and their visibility in our community has allowed their stylistic programming vision to expand beyond the jazz genre, hence the World of Jazz title.

The World of Jazz received a Reconnect Ontario grant in 2022, and I thank the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport for this honour.

Please visit worldofjazz.ca for the schedule—September 10 and 11. I know the minister of women’s economic and social development will be there. I’ll be there as well. Come on down to Brampton. Let’s have a good time.

More than a week ago, Bill 7 rocketed through this Legislature without any attempt at consultation or public input.

At the same time, I listened to the Premier muse about $1,800 a day not being right, not being fair.

Respectfully, to the Premier: Saying that you think something is not right and not fair when you have the power to change things doesn’t amount to very much.

The threat of the huge hospital bill that coerced Deanna Henry of Ottawa to go to a place where she didn’t want to go, a place where she didn’t feel safe, is just not right.

What the Premier needs to do is make his words match his actions, or make his actions match his words.

Motion number 14 is on the order paper, and it calls on the government, essentially, to ensure that no patient waiting for transfer would be charged more than their co-pay in Ontario’s long-term-care homes. The Premier has the power to do this. It’s the fair and reasonable thing to do. It’s the right thing to do. I call on this government to do this.

Speaker, displaying empathy and telling people you feel for them, but not taking the action necessary to mitigate their pain, their suffering—that’s just not right.

Merci de m’offrir l’opportunité de vous adresser ici en Chambre. J’espère que tous les gens ont bien profité du long week-end de la fête du Travail. Pour plusieurs élèves, aussi, un bon retour en classe et un retour à la normale.

On a commencé à voir aussi beaucoup d’enseignes de candidats pour les élections municipales à travers la province. J’aimerais féliciter les candidats d’avoir posé leurs candidatures. On sait tous que c’est important d’avoir des gens pour représenter les citoyens, et le gouvernement municipal est celui le plus proche des gens. Je profite de l’occasion pour leur souhaiter une bonne campagne électorale, et bonne chance à tous les candidats et candidates le 24 octobre prochain.

Sur une autre note, nous avons perdu quelques collègues qui ont été impliqués dans le secteur municipal récemment. Je voudrais souhaiter mes condoléances à la famille et les amis de M. Marc Clermont, qui est décédé le jeudi 1^er septembre à l’âge de 56 ans. Marc était directeur des travaux publics des comtés unis de Prescott et Russell durant les 27 dernières années. Il avait plus de 30 ans d’expérience dans le domaine municipal. C’était non seulement un collègue mais aussi un ami.

Mes condoléances aussi à la famille de M. Raymond Fredette, de la municipalité d’Alfred et Plantagenet, qui nous a quitté le 30 août à l’âge de 80 ans. M. Fredette a été au service des résidents de la municipalité d’Alfred et Plantagenet. Il a servi pendant plusieurs années en tant que conseiller municipal.

En terminant, j’aimerais remercier tous ces gens qui ont travaillé et ceux qui travaillent encore pour nos citoyens.

I’d like to welcome Michau van Speyk back to the Legislature from the Ontario Autism Coalition.

I’d like to welcome to the Legislature today the president of the Amherstburg Taxpayers Association, Mr. Bob Rozankovic.

I believe I see Alex Corelli over in the members’ gallery today, so we’ll make sure we embarrass him. Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

It’s my pleasure to welcome Ali Demircan, who is a survivor of the Danforth shooting and part of Danforth Families. Please welcome him.

I’d like to welcome a new member of my constituency office team, Caroline Kotler, for her first time at Queen’s Park today. Welcome.

I’m pleased to welcome Bruce Chapman, former president of the Police Association of Ontario, and Timea Nagy, bestselling author, survivor and CEO of Timea’s Cause, a human-trafficking organization. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

On behalf of the official opposition, I would like to welcome beef farmers of Ontario from across Ontario. I hope everyone will join them on the front lawn this morning for some of the best beef this country has to offer.

Today I want to welcome my new executive assistant, Cassandra Bianchi, to the House.

Today in the Speaker’s gallery, we have with us a group of delegates from across Canada taking part in the Parliamentary Visitor Services Association conference. Visitor Services supports the work that we do not only in making our Legislatures more open and accessible to the public, but by educating them about the important role Parliament plays in our democracy. Please welcome our guests today as they would welcome us in all of their Parliaments.

I’d also like to introduce some special guests who are here in the visitors’ gallery. This year’s cohort of the Ontario Legislative Internship Programme, or OLIP, as we know it: Lucas Fisher, Sharon Lee, Alia Mufti, Teah U-Ming, Leah Wilson, Karissa Singh, Sky Shi, Esma Boztas and Sophie Williams. They are joined by Dr. C—the OLIP academic director, Dr. Peter Constantinou—and program manager, Munnka Vajpai.

We in the Speaker’s office strongly support the OLIP program. For members who may not know, OLIP is a 10-month, non-partisan opportunity for recent university grads to gain practical experience in the daily workings of the Ontario Legislature. The interns complete two placements over the course of their time at Queen’s Park, one with a government member and one with an opposition member. It is non-partisan. I would encourage all members to apply to have one of these enthusiastic, dependable, brilliant and hard-working interns in their office this year.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

That the bill should be ordered for third reading; and

That the order for third reading shall be immediately called and the Speaker shall immediately put the question on the motion for third reading without debate or amendment. Agreed? I heard a no.

It is now time for oral questions.

I would like to join the member opposite in welcoming the Beef Farmers of Ontario. Again, this is an exciting day because I think this is the first true advocacy day that we’ve hosted at Queen’s Park since March 2020.

Specifically, I would like to welcome Craig McLaughlin; Jason Leblond; Charlene Yungblut; Thomas Brandstetter; Jack Chaffe, president of BFO, and his son Evan; Richard Horne, executive director; Jason Reid; Rob Lipsett; Darby Wheeler; Barb’s husband, Don Badour; Don Hargrave; Darrell Russett; Joe Dickenson; and David Millsap.

Again, I would like to remind everyone that they’re hosting lunch right after question period today, so please go to the front lawn and enjoy amazing, good-quality beef grown here at home in Ontario.

They’re not here, but I know they’re watching on TV, so I want to wish a happy 56th anniversary to my parents, Ron and Wilma Smith.

Thank you very much, Speaker. On my point of order, I seek unanimous consent that, notwithstanding any standing order or special order of the House, the order for second reading of Bill 18, An Act to proclaim Consent Awareness Week—a timely and urgent bill that makes the third week of September Consent Awareness Week—shall be immediately called and the Speaker shall immediately put the question on the motion for second reading without debate and amendment; and

That the bill should be ordered for third reading; and

That the order for third reading shall be immediately called and the Speaker shall immediately put the question on the motion for third reading without debate or amendment.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce nurse Angela Preocanin—she is the Ontario Nurses’ Association First Vice-President—as well as Erica Woods, also from ONA. Welcome to Queen’s Park, ladies.

Over the last month, seniors, their families, physicians, nurses and health experts have all warned that government Bill 7 will do nothing to stop emergency room closures, nothing to hire or retrain more nurses or to end the crisis in our health care system. An opinion poll in today’s Globe and Mail confirms that a majority of Ontario families agree.

Why is the government plowing ahead with this dangerous plan?

I’d like to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Victor Hu from Markham–Unionville, our page Evan Hu’s parents.

My question is to the Premier. Yesterday, the Minister of Education claimed that he wanted to avoid disruptions this school year. Does the Premier understand that his government has responsibility for avoiding disruptions?

Will the Premier commit today to working respectfully with education workers and not causing the disruption we all want to avoid?

Will the Premier—and I ask again, please—commit to recognizing the incredibly important job our educators do and work with them, not against them, to improve our schools?

The supplementary question.

The Minister of Colleges and Universities.

Interjections.

Restart the clock.

Final supplementary.

The private, for-profit home care providers cannot retain and recruit a stable workforce. They cannot do the work right now.

Patients are already feeling this pressure from hospitals. Vulnerable people are being told their best option is to move into an expensive retirement home or a long-term-care home that they don’t want to go to.

The government should be supporting people in their own homes. That’s what they want. They should be fixing our home care system, which was privatized by the previous Conservative government, by strengthening the home and community care system.

Why is the government pushing frail, elderly people into long-term-care homes against their will and without their consent?

The crisis in the health care system will not be solved by pushing our elderly away from their families into for-profit, long-term-care homes that nobody wants to live in.

The health care system needs permanent solutions to recruit and retain valued health care workers, like permanent paid sick days, like repealing Bill 124, like giving nurses a chance to negotiate a fair wage after two and a half years of hell.

Will the government stop pushing risky plans that are opposed by the majority of Ontarians and commit to solutions that actually address the crisis in our health care system?