I would like today to talk about Suomi Koti, a non-profit seniors’ residence that has been providing our elders in Thunder Bay–Superior North with exemplary independent living residences for over 30 years.

Suomi Koti is one of the few organizations in Thunder Bay that offers independent living for seniors at not-for-profit rates. It is affordable, beautifully maintained, close to amenities, surrounded by trees, and I would be very happy to live there myself.

Suomi Koti has plans to build an additional 60 apartments, 20 of which will be reserved for low-income seniors, but to do this, they must rely on donations and government funding to create this new and much-needed housing. There is currently a five- to seven-year wait-list to get into this and the two other non-profit homes in the city, so the need is clear.

The board of Suomi Koti has worked with the most respected designers and planners to put together their funding and building plans. Unfortunately, federal and provincial funding levels are no longer what they were when Suomi Koti was first established, and they are struggling to access funding even though this type of housing is clearly needed.

Speaker, I look forward to meeting with representatives from the provincial government to advocate for financial support for Suomi Koti so that they can continue to do what they already do so well: provide first-rate, affordable housing that seniors in Thunder Bay–Superior North need and deserve.

First, I would like to acknowledge the Clerks, who have been so supportive of me as a rookie MPP. They literally reminded me that it’s my turn to speak now.

On this last day of the legislative week, we have the special opportunity to look ahead with anticipation to a long weekend, because this Monday is Labour Day. For some people, this may be an opportunity for rest. For the residents in Don Valley East, it is anything but, because we will be a beehive of community activity.

For example, the residents of Flemingdon’s Sunny Glenway community will be hosting an enormous outdoor community fun fair that will include a barbecue, live music, a magic show and a variety of activities for children.

The Canadian Community Services Organization, supported by the North Toronto Cluster of Churches and East York Town Centre, will hold a back-to-school event in which they deliver somewhere between 500 and 600 backpacks, for free, along with kits of personal protective equipment. Families across the riding will enjoy the warm company of friends and family.

But we mustn’t lose sight of the bigger picture. I invite all of us to remember and celebrate what Labour Day is all about. It is about honouring workers and about all those people who fought for us to secure better rights, higher wages and safer working conditions. We’ve come a long way, but there is still farther to go. In the midst of a pandemic, the people of Ontario still need 10 paid sick days. They mustn’t have their wages capped to 1% by Bill 124, and they need to believe that their workplace is safe.

To everyone in this Legislature, in Don Valley East and across our great province, I wish you a safe, happy, restful and inspiring Labour Day weekend.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Helen Chinnery and her son Stephen Warner to Queen’s Park this morning.

Having had the opportunity to work with Stephen, it’s also bittersweet that after working with the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore, the Ministry of the Solicitor General, the Premier, and finally, at health, Stephen is departing Queen’s Park to study law.

Stephen has always approached his work here with commitment, enthusiasm, a great sense of humour and, most importantly, a passion for public service. I am grateful for his friendship, and I will miss him deeply.

I have a number of visitors to introduce today, so please bear with me.

First, I would like to welcome, from Punjab, India, Dr. Gurbir Singh Gill, who’s well known for his contributions and efforts in demonstrating the importance of making health care accessible to all. His dedication and hard work in improving the health care system in Punjab, India, has resulted in him perfecting a groundbreaking technique in cardiology that has already positively impacted the lives of his patients and set a precedent for future generations in the medical field. Dr. Gill has successfully performed—and treated over 21,000 patients without the use of stents. He has been recognized for his contributions and achievements by the health minister of Punjab and has received the international health care award for the year 2022.

I would like to welcome Dr. Gill to the Legislature here today.

It is my pleasure to rise today to announce the triumphant return of fall fairs to the great riding of Kitchener–Conestoga. I want to give a heartfelt welcome back to the Wellesley Township Fall Fair: one night only on Tuesday, September 13—and folks, it’s free admission. Their theme this year is “Reconnecting Communities.” They will be celebrating by raffling off the newly finished community quilt project of 2021.

Next, the New Hamburg Fall Fair; it runs September 15 through 18. The theme this year is “Back to our Roots,” a celebration of our agricultural community. New attractions include the Ultimutts stunt dogs and Reptile Kingdom.

We can’t forget, of course, the Wellesley Apple Butter and Cheese Festival, which returns on September 24, and it is a team effort. The Lions Club sells sausage on a bun, the Optimists sell schnitzel on a bun, the Lutheran churches sell apple dumplings and Mennonite churches sell apple fritters—which I know you’re a big fan of, Speaker.

Last, but not least, Oktoberfest: It’s wunderbar, and it’s back, running from September 23 to October 15. The official keg-tapping will be Friday, October 7. Come raise a stein and polka around the largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany.

All of these fall fairs cannot run without the help of countless volunteers, so thank you to all the volunteers for all their hard work and helping to celebrate our region’s proud history.

Every Premier who has served has always had a great OPP detail, and there’s usually a sergeant who’s in charge of the detail. My sergeant—it’s his birthday today. He has served every Premier, back to Leslie Frost—at least, that’s what I hear; at least, he looks like he has served every Premier, back to Leslie Frost. He told me I was his favourite Premier, but I talked to other Premiers and he said the exact same thing to every single Premier he has served.

Happy birthday, Homi. I wish you all the very best.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome Sharline Wang and Lei Zhang, the parents of our brilliant young page Sophie Zhang of Thornhill.

That concludes our members’ statements for this morning.

I feel the obligation to remind the members that the members’ statements are 90 seconds in length, not two minutes, and remind them as much as possible to adhere to the time that the standing orders provide. I’m reluctant to interrupt members who are concluding a good statement, but we have to keep in mind the standing orders.

Applause.

I rise once again to share some great news from the amazing riding of Hastings–Lennox and Addington. I want to highlight a wonderful event. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to join with four different branches of the international Lions Club to welcome a group of European Lions members as they ran over 1,000 kilometres across two countries, from Chicago to Montreal, in support of advocacy, awareness and fundraising for the people of Ukraine. Their motto, modified from the international Lions Club’s, is “We Run, We Serve” and, in 2022, “We Serve the Ukraine.”

I want to express my gratitude to the Bath and District Lions Club, the Madoc Lions Club, the Amherstview Lions Club and the Odessa Lions Club for their invitation to join this event and for their support of this amazing effort. Of course, I want to thank the runners themselves for their dedication to service.

The Lions Clubs across this country and around the world provide a fantastic opportunity for local people to come out and serve their communities.

I’m happy to introduce my friends from Germany: Zhou Jing and her husband, Bernd Wohlfart, and her daughter Melanie Rose Wohlfart. Welcome to Queen’s Park, and enjoy your trip in Canada.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome my compatriot and good friend His Excellency Vít Koziak, ambassador of the Slovak Republic, who is here to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Slovakian constitution.

I would like to invite all members to join us for the flag-raising today at noon.

I’d like to welcome Derek Fox from Bearskin Lake First Nation and Melinda Meekis from Deer Lake First Nation. Derek Fox is Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation—and also, his assistant. Meegwetch for coming. Thank you.

I want to welcome Josh Young to Queen’s Park today. Josh has been an intern in our office at the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. He is attending law school in Dundee, Scotland, this month. I wish him all the best and thank him for serving working people in this province.

This question is for the Premier. Students are going back to school next week, to what we all hope is going to be a more normal school year. Experts have been clear that addressing the impacts on their learning and their well-being is going to require serious interventions. But instead of a serious plan backed up with real investment, this government is shifting millions away from schools and into direct, one-time payments, forcing parents to buy their own supports.

Since there have been no further details of this new voucher-style program, will the Premier commit instead to investing that $225 million into our schools where it can do the most good?

My question is to the Premier. Ontario’s health care crisis is getting worse by the day. Over the last week alone, there were overnight and weekend closures at Chesley hospital, Durham hospital, Walkerton and St. Mary’s, which was closed for a week. And just this morning, the Kemptville District Hospital announced its ER would be closed for the next six nights.

Doctors and front-line health care workers are very clear: This is a staffing crisis, and forcing seniors into private long-term-care homes is not going to solve that crisis. Why is the Premier saying no to front-line health staff who want to solve the staffing crisis?

Will the Premier start taking steps today to address this crisis, starting with a repeal of the disastrous Bill 124?

The Premier talks about the status quo. There’s nothing more status quo than Conservatives privatizing health care. Asking nurses and health care workers to accept cutbacks and pay freezes has been the status quo that this Premier has created. Public hospitals need proper funding and resources to maintain quality of care and to maintain safe working conditions. Nurses and health care workers need support, not wage freezes.

How many ERs have to close before this government gets it?

We can do even better, Speaker. We can increase it by $689 million for this September, for publicly funded schools, to ensure kids get back on track with a learning recovery plan that actually gets them on track.

But in addition to increasing investments in publicly funded schools—yes, we do believe, as Conservatives, that we need to help parents through this economic difficulty. That should be the default position of every single one of us. For whatever reason, the NDP and the Liberals have continued to oppose $1.6 billion in direct financial relief. We did it with a $200 payment. We doubled it to $400. And now we’re providing an additional $225 million to parents directly to help them with this economic challenge.

All of us agree that there’s economic instability, and we want to help families through it. In addition to supporting parents, we have a plan, Speaker, to help these kids catch up. It starts with them being in school this September. Normal and stable and more enjoyable: That is our vision. It is our priority, and we will do whatever it takes to ensure your kids stay in school right to June.

That is our commitment: to keep them in school, to help them learn and recover from this pandemic, and focus on the life and the job skills that are going to set them up for success when it comes to getting those jobs of the future. We have a vision for these kids to be ambitious and bold, and it starts with stability in schools, with a full learning experience—the life and the job skills that come with that as well, through clubs, sports, extracurriculars—the leadership we want in the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders.

We have a plan. We have invested over $175 million in tutoring expansion. When it comes to mental health, as the member opposite noted, we have increased investments from when the former Liberals were in power by 420%, underscoring our commitment to the health and safety of all children in this province.

The only part that I will agree with the member opposite: It is concerning when an emergency room closes temporarily, whether that is for an hour, a shift or, in fact, over a weekend, which is why Ontario Health works so closely with our hospitals to make sure that individuals who could perhaps do a locum are matched with a hospital that is facing a short-term closure. We’re doing that work. We have done a lot of work with Ontario Health to make sure that those matches are done, and frankly we avoid many closures as a result of that work. That work will continue.

But I also want to remind the member opposite: You talk about the shortage of health care workers. It was actually under the NDP government, when Bob Rae was Premier, that you cut residency spaces for doctors in the province of Ontario. So I will take no lessons from the member opposite or the NDP on how to better provide health care services in the province of Ontario.

I’d also like to introduce two more sets of groups, so just really quickly. I’d like to recognize Jagjit Dhillon, a police officer from the Toronto police 23 Division; I would like to welcome Mejor Natt, a local community businessman who always gives back to the community; Amarjit Rai, a local, well-known news media personality in the Punjabi community; and I’d also like to introduce my father, Jagdish Singh Grewal.

On Monday, I gave a member’s statement that recognized the community of the Bayridge Block Party. I shared in my member’s statement last Monday that they, just on their street, fundraised over $10,000 for SickKids Hospital. All the young boys and girls are here with us today in the public gallery, just above me, so please join me in welcoming them all to Queen’s Park today.

Supplementary question.