Well, I thank the member for Ottawa Centre. We’ll have to see about that meeting with my mother-in-law. I’ll say to that meeting, not so fast. Anyway, I always appreciate his questions. I understand his passion, and I respect him for that. But at the same time, he doesn’t understand how we’re actually going to get it done. We’re going to get more housing built—more affordable housing, more housing for everyone—by eliminating the unnecessary red tape, eliminating the obstacles, the barriers that keep us from doing things in a timely fashion.

We don’t have 30 years to build 1.5 million homes. It doesn’t matter whether they’re affordable or not. If we don’t get them built, they don’t exist. We have to get them built, and we’ve got to move some things out of the way to ensure that we don’t lose sight of that goal. We can’t get caught up on NIMBYism or BANANAism or whatever. We need to make sure we get the homes built, and we’re going to get it done.

Getting things built is the key. I didn’t reference it in my speech, but I know sometimes that my friends from the NDP—when you mention the word “developers,” I see smoke coming out of their ears because they get so upset with the word. They attach the word “developers” with some kind of evil. But it’s developers who are going to build those homes.

We have to work with developers. We have to work with builders. We have to work with planners. We have to work with municipalities. We have to work with the people. Everybody has a role to play in ensuring that when we hit the 10-year mark, we actually have 1.5 million—maybe even more. If we’re going to accommodate the growth in this province, if we’re going to be able to accommodate the needed people to keep this economy rolling along like it is, keeping us the engine of Canada, we’re going to need those houses built for those folks.

This bill, like every bill that this government brings forward—its genesis is based on where we know Ontario needs to be, where Ontario needs to go, and building more homes to accommodate the people, as I began to say in the last response, to be able to support the people who are going to provide the economic activity of the future, to fill the vacant jobs. We have about 400,000 jobs today already that aren’t being filled. We have to be able to fill them, and we have to be able to build those homes so the people will have them.

I am quite comfortable that our government did what it always—we know we did. Most of the homes that are going to be built are going to be in Ottawa and Toronto. We know that—the biggest number. We reached out to the people and said, “What can we do to help remove the gridlock in these two cities?” For a start—a strong mayor. A strong mayor will help us get those homes built. That’s what we need to do.

What a treat to hear my friend from up the Ottawa River this morning. It’s nice to be accused of being a half-baked pretzel.

What I’d inspire the member to think about is—we can all hold forth in this place as much as we want about housing, but you’re missing an adjective that I’d like the member to reflect upon. We need affordable housing. And how will we have affordable housing? That’s the question. I almost want to have the member’s mother-in-law come in here and say, “Not so fast. You’re proposing a piece of legislation you haven’t talked to the people in Ottawa about.” Member, not so fast. How are you going to build affordable housing, member? That’s the question.

I always like listening to my buddy over there. But I’ll correct him on one thing: I actually have a very good rapport with developers—and not all NDP don’t talk to developers.

You made a statement around your bill with mayors. We’ve got a problem in Niagara that—I don’t believe we have anybody who supports your bill. If it was a good bill and they’re out campaigning, I would think they’d be out there saying, “Hey, we need this bill done.” I’m not getting that. They’re not calling me.

But what I do know is, Niagara Falls, which you guys know—a lot of you guys visited my riding during the campaign, because it’s so lovely down there. Mayor Jim Diodati said no to the bill. The Welland mayor said no to the bill. You said, “Well, they’re running campaigns.” I have a mayor in St. Catharines—a very talented, very young mayor. I’m actually disappointed he’s not running again. He’s not running for the position, but he was very clear, on his way out—he’s saying he doesn’t support the bill.

The mayor from Ottawa doesn’t support the bill.

My question is pretty easy, I know, for you, but some of your members might not know the answer. Can you give me a list of all the mayors who were consulted on this bill before it was brought to this House?

The member for Ottawa Centre.

I heard the speech from the opposition.

One of the things about my community of Peterborough is that it has been a test community for all of Canada for a long time, more than 50 years. We’re a microcosm of what goes on. In our city, we had a number of developments that were put forward that were blocked by council because of NIMBYism. They went to LPAT and, lo and behold, the developers were given approval. They added three and a half years to it. I’m being told by developers that it takes 12 years to get something done. We know we’ve got 1.5 million people coming in in 10 years, so we cannot have status quo.

How is this bill going to speed up that process so that it doesn’t take us 12 years to start the construction on the 1.5 million houses we must have over the next 10 years?

Quick question, quick response.

Two weeks ago I toured the Ottawa Carleton plowing match, hosted by Dave and Bonnie Ostrom on their farm in Ashton, along with Bill Tupper and Rich MacDonald and many more from the Ottawa Carleton Plowmen’s Association.

Plowing matches have been a part of Carleton’s agricultural history for well over a century. They’re a great opportunity for farmers to put on display their plowing skills and teach the importance of soil conservation.

It was a pleasure to once again attend the VIP plowing match, and although I didn’t win, hopefully in future years my furrows will be straight enough to win first prize at the Ottawa Carleton plowing match.

In just a couple of weeks, Kemptville will be hosting the International Plowing Match and rural expo. It is the biggest plowing match of its kind in North America, and it’s a wonderful celebration of agriculture and rural living.

I am proud to be part of a government that supports our agricultural industry—especially when the pandemic first hit us. In fact, back in March, the Richmond Agricultural Society received a grant of $55,500 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to ensure that they were able to pay the utilities, rent, salaries, insurance and more, as well as renovate and remodel their fairground office.

I encourage all MPPs to attend the International Plowing Match in support of Ontario’s agricultural sector this month. I’ll be cheering for all contestants, especially those from Carleton. I know you’ll do us all proud.

It’s the first day back to school, and this morning I was standing in front of Jean Lumb Public School and Bishop Macdonell Catholic school in CityPlace, welcoming students and parents. It was so nice to see the smiles on the children’s faces.

I want to thank principals Judith Kramer and Jaime DiGirolamo and all of the staff at those schools and all the schools across Spadina–Fort York for all of the work you’ve done over the summer to get our schools ready for our students.

Parents, I encourage you to get involved in your school council. I was the co-chair of Dewson Street Junior Public School when my kids were there. Together, we organized fun fairs, arts and music and tech activities for the kids. We helped with sports teams, and we advocated for the funding that our schools need.

I was speaking with a teacher this morning who says he’s really looking forward to the extracurriculars, but they need some funding. They need funding for sports uniforms, for equipment, for transportation, and for supply teachers to take over when the teachers go out to coach a team.

The CCPA shows that when you take inflation into account, school funding in Ontario has fallen an average of $800 per student per year during this government’s first term in office. In order for students to have the kind of school year they need, we need the government to restore that funding that has been lost, and we need them to make a fair deal with education workers.

I urge the provincial government to work with the teachers and parents to ensure that our students have a great and full school year.

Our government was re-elected with a strong mandate to help more Ontarians find a home that meets their needs and their budget.

During the election, when I was knocking on doors, many of my residents were saying that their sons, their daughters, who are still living at home in their thirties, need to buy a home. They feel that it is out of reach for them.

When we look at the majority that our government received from the voters, not only in my riding but across this province, the people did vote for our plan to build 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 years.

My question is, how will these changes in the strong-mayors act build off the previous success that our government has had in addressing the housing supply crisis?

I heard the member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke saying that we’re doing something wrong by asking questions about what is not in the bill. Then he talked about NIMBYism. He actually said that we’re NIMBYs over here.

So a little bit of history here: I remember a Premier—Premier Ford—who said that when it came to children with developmental disabilities in his community, he didn’t know they were going to go outside, and he was going to buy their home and throw them out of his neighbourhood. He said that poor people should not be living in affordable homes—

The people of my community want to protect local endangered species and natural heritage areas, aid flood mitigation efforts, create publicly accessible green space, and encourage ecotourism in Windsor-Essex.

Tomorrow, motion 1 will be up for debate which, if passed, would begin the process of negotiation leading to the transfer of ownership of the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve to Parks Canada, a necessary process in the creation of Ojibway National Urban Park, something my community wants to happen.

Windsor Port Authority has signed an MOU to transfer lands to Parks Canada, and the city of Windsor is in the process of transferring municipally owned land as well. The land for the proposed urban park is home to hundreds of endangered species that rely on migration through surrounding local parks for survival. It serves not only as a home and larger ecosystem to these species, but it also provides mitigation of flooding due to climate change in natural heritage areas that our community and visitors can enjoy.

Ojibway National Urban Park has broad support at all levels of government—including a bill by my federal colleague Brian Masse, which passed second reading in the House of Commons and is supported by MPs across party lines.

There’s significant support from local Indigenous and environmental groups, including Caldwell First Nation, Walpole Island First Nation, and the Wildlands League.

I ask that all members of this House support motion 1, respect the wishes of the people in my community, truly work towards reconciliation by honouring the wishes of Caldwell First Nation, and protect green spaces in Windsor-Essex.

This Saturday, September 10, is World Suicide Prevention Day. Bringing much-needed attention to an issue that claims the lives of more than 4,000 Canadians each year, the intention of World Suicide Prevention Day is to destigmatize conversations about mental health.

Today in Canada, 10 people will end their lives and up to 200 others will attempt suicide. For each death by suicide, it is estimated that 100 people are deeply affected by their loss. Today in Canada, 10 deaths by suicide will leave up to 1,000 people in a state of bereavement. In 2017, I was one of those people—twice.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 911 or visit an emergency department. For non-emergencies, call 211 to connect with local services. You can also visit Ontario.ca/mentalhealth to learn about the free virtual call and walk-in resources that are available to all Ontarians.

For Indigenous people across Canada, the Hope for Wellness helpline is a mental health counselling and crisis intervention service.

We must educate all Canadians on the risk factors and warning signs of suicide, just as we have done with physical illnesses like cancer and heart disease.

There is no health without mental health.

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.

I want to talk about something that’s close to my heart and the hearts of many in my community. September is Guide Dog Awareness Month. A guide dog is not just an animal. They’re also the eyes for someone who has a visual impairment. They enable safe movement throughout our communities, from crossing the street to buying groceries or even walking the kids to school.

I want to recognize a constituent of mine who I also consider a friend. Jason King works tirelessly as a member of the Council for Persons with Disabilities to educate others. He runs the program called Time in My Shoes. Jason and his guide dog, Zauny—yes, that’s from the Blue Jays—visited my office last year and put my staff through the TIMS program. We briefly experienced what it was like to navigate our world without eyesight, hearing or speech. To paraphrase Jason, it’s an eye-opener to see the world from the perspective of a blind man and his guide dog.

Guide Dog Awareness Month is more than just a reminder; it’s a call to action for all of us to learn more, to listen with compassion, and to build a more accessible and inclusive Ontario for generations to come.

I encourage everyone to reach out to the Council for Persons with Disabilities and experience Time in My Shoes so we can build on the good work of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and our great Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, Raymond Cho.

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.

As members of this House may know, myself and four other colleagues embarked on what we call the “social assistance diet” for the next two weeks. I want to say from the top of my remarks this morning to this House that it is not about us; it is an expression of frustration from me and my colleagues, from watching our neighbours suffer for four years. There hasn’t been a day in this place, I’m told, when someone hasn’t stood up and talked about how people are suffering in our communities before our very eyes.

When I heard the Premier say this week that a 5% increase is fantastic and unprecedented and adequate—I ask any one of us to follow what we’re doing, to join us in what we’re doing, and ask if $57 extra a month is actually going to help someone living in legislated poverty.

I’m going to ask us also to consider, as we do this two-week journey together, that there are countries in this world that actually say there’s a minimum level of income, and those countries that have basic income in their communities have healthier communities. They spend less on health care and correctional and police services. People have a dignified opportunity to live and be their fullest self.

That’s what we’re asking for in this place. We’re asking for an awareness that compassion is not only an ethical consideration; it’s an economic consideration, it’s a respect consideration.

I will not go into this House for one more day without making at least an attempt to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I welcome the Premier and the minister responsible to do it with us.

The Agawa Canyon Tour Train is a world-class attraction in my riding of Sault Ste. Marie. This one-day, 228-mile scenic rail adventure begins in the beautiful Paper Mill District of the Soo. Made possible in part through a $5-million investment through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, a charming new train station was designed and built to mimic the surrounding sandstone buildings of the historic St. Mary’s Paper Co., which was previously the Sault Ste. Marie Pulp and Paper Co. Adding to this great tourist destination, the station hosts an outfitter store, a craft brewery and a restaurant.

But back to the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, Mr. Speaker: The train leaves the station bright and early and heads north for a four-hour, 114-mile excursion showcasing the rugged beauty that is exclusive to the eastern shores of Lake Superior. The northern Ontario wilderness begins to unfold, with mixed forests of the Canadian Shield popping with autumn colours, and the beauty of many northern lakes and rivers. These are the same rugged landscapes and majestic views that inspired the Group of Seven to create some of Canada’s most notable artwork. The Agawa Canyon Tour Train begins to descend into the canyon at mile 102. The rail line hugs the top of the canyon wall, and you descend 500 feet over the next 10 miles to the floor of the Agawa Canyon. Upon arrival at the park, riders have the opportunity to have a picnic or climb some steps to watch the panoramic views on the lookout trail and randomly be able to go through all these different trails—through Black Beaver Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.

It is an incredible, incredible excursion, and I encourage everyone to come out and enjoy the fall colours on the tour train. All aboard, Mr. Speaker.

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.

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.