Mr. Speaker, what we accept is matter of fact: that over 30 years in this province, irrespective of the Premier and the party in this chair, unions in this province—teacher unions and education unions—have striked and withdrawn services throughout those 30 years. That is the truth in the constant of a life of a child in this province, and parents are sick of this experience, tired of this experience every three years. It’s about time someone stood up for them and gave them a voice in this discussion.

Parents know that this government and our Premier will stand up for kids so they have stability, normalcy, and the enjoyable experience that they deserve in this province.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, since 2002, we have literally 40,000 more workers in the province—and there are not more students in the province over that period of time. There are literally 10,000 more early childhood educators. There are 19,000 more education workers. There are 17,000 more teachers and 440 more principals and VPs. All this could only be achieved by increasing investment.

This September, for this school year, kids are going back to a more normal, stable and enjoyable school year, with 650 million more dollars of publicly funded investment to ensure education quality is retained for these children. We want it to be positive, and we want them to be safe. That’s why we put in place an investment that is historic—another 5,000 more staff, additional investments for custodians and cleaning and ventilation, to help make sure these kids are safe and get back on track in the province of Ontario.

I appreciate the question, and I want to thank the member from Essex.

Indeed, the people of Essex are very happy this morning because, under the member’s leadership—a $26-million investment—the North Star High School finally opened, under our government. We’re so excited for the 800 students who are going to benefit from this modern, state-of-the-art school.

What’s happening in Essex is taking place across our province. We have a $14-billion, 10-year commitment to rebuild and renew our schools. after the billions of dollars of deferred maintenance backlog that rose under the former Liberals. Under our Premier’s leadership, we have a hundred new schools that have been built, 88 additions and renovations are complete, $2 billion in active capital projects—working with my friend and colleague the Minister of Infrastructure, as we build modern schools with Internet and ventilation and accessibility, which every student in this province deserves.

Mr. Speaker, there are 200 school construction projects that have been approved since 2018.

We’re getting shovels in the ground. We’re moving mountains to ensure the next generation of kids have modern schools to learn—

With respect to staffing, we join others in celebrating the staff within our schools, and we’re proud that since—

Interjections.

When compared to the former Liberals, we are investing and getting the job done for students right across our province.