Speaker, the member suggests that this is something new. But look, we have a report dating back to 2011 that was commissioned by the former Liberal government where their own commissioner begged them to do something about ALC and to work with long-term care in order to make that happen. This is dating back to 2011.

We then have a further report from the Auditor General in 2012 which highlighted the dangers of having our seniors in hospital who should be transitioned into long-term care. In addition to the potential for C. difficile, they talked about older patients’ decline in physical and mental abilities due to lack of activity as being one of the dangers.

That’s what this bill fixes. It allows us to work with long-term-care homes, it allows us to work with the patient who wants to become a resident, see what services are available in the homes around their choice, and if their choice is not available, they stay at the top of the priority list for their home of choice, but at the same time get better care in the home while they wait for that.

What we’re able to do is, we’re opening up 500 spaces for respite care. I’ve talked about how important that is, and I hope all members would agree that that’s important. We’re able to bring on 1,000 beds that have been set aside for isolation purposes—1,000 of the 2,000—and put them back into service, so that people can have access to those beds.

We’re able to work with long-term-care homes and the patients: “What is your preferred choice? Is it available? If it’s not, what homes in and around your preferred choice are available? Will that home work for you? If it doesn’t, what do we need to do to make it work for you? Do we need to put in kidney dialysis? Do we need behavioural supports for you, or specialized nursing for you?” This bill allows us to do that.

The regulations that I introduced a couple of days ago eliminate ward rooms. It reiterates the fact that there are no more ward rooms. We talked about the $60 million going forward. It’s better for patients, and we won’t stop—

The government is rushing the passing of Bill 7—not allowing the government to hear the concerns of Ontarians because there will be no public hearings. We understand that hospitals are under enormous pressure and that we need to find measures of support and relief, but moving patients out of ALC into inappropriate long-term-care facilities is displacing the issue, not solving it. The Premier himself said yesterday that patients deserve proper care, so why not invest in more home care?

The bill does not contain details regarding the implementation, and not knowing how far this government will go to free beds in hospitals really worries families.

My question is, how will the government ensure that patients’ rights to consent to proper care will be guaranteed?

Les gens sont inquiets, car le projet de loi ne donne aucune assurance que le consentement, la volonté et les besoins des patients et des familles seront respectés. Selon la loi, le patient doit être libre de consentir au traitement ou de le refuser. Le consentement doit être obtenu sans contrainte, ni coercition.

Est-ce que le ministre peut garantir aux Ontariens que la réglementation de mise en oeuvre du projet de loi 7 va respecter leur droit de consentir librement aux soins?

Supplementary question.

Next question.

Speaker, the pandemic has exacerbated the growing nursing shortage in Ontario’s health care system. Nurses and personal support workers are the cornerstone of the health care system, and that’s why we must address this problem.

To do that, we have to improve access to post-secondary education. Many young people want to become part of the solution and enter this revered profession, but are concerned about barriers such as limited selection in accessing high-quality local education.

Mr. Speaker, what is the Minister of Colleges and Universities doing for my constituents that wish to receive a nursing degree close to their home?

Speaker, Indigenous communities also urgently need more nurses and PSWs. Unfortunately, Indigenous people have long faced barriers in accessing effective and culturally safe health care. With enrolment in Indigenous institutes increasing by 43% since 2018, we must ensure that students receive culturally relevant, high-calibre education.

Speaker, what steps has the ministry taken in expanding enrolment in PSW and nursing programs at Indigenous institutes?

Thank you to the member from Markham–Thornhill for that important question. We all can agree—we know how vital nurses are to the health care system. I’m proud to say that we’ve created the conditions where a record number of Ontario students are excited to enter the nursing field and begin their postgraduate nursing education.

Our innovative approach to connecting students to nursing programs closer to home is delivering real results so we can keep Ontario open for all. Since 2020, we have allowed stand-alone nursing programs at 14 colleges and universities across Ontario to keep up with this demand. This means that students across the province, from St. Catharines to Ottawa to Sault Ste. Marie, have greater choice than ever before. This means getting them through the system quicker and getting them into the workforce.

In addition, our $61-million investment into the Learn and Stay program will provide life-changing financial supports to students right here in Ontario. These investments and programs are making real change in Ontario, and we will continue to provide students with the education and skills they need to address health care needs in this province.

Through an investment of $34 million over four years to Indigenous institutes, we are increasing enrolment at PSW programs at six Indigenous institutes. This investment is expected to directly train over 400 PSWs in the next four years, and will support the enhancement of Indigenous knowledge and language in students’ learning.

Together, we are working to overcome the unique challenges facing our health care system and our students. We will continue to work collaboratively with Indigenous communities, so that students receive culturally relevant, high-calibre education and Indigenous people can continue accessing effective and culturally appropriate health care.

Look, this government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, will always have the backs of workers across this province. That’s why, Mr. Speaker, we were the first province in Canada to bring in job-protected leave. If anyone had to stay home because of COVID-19, they can’t be fired for that.

Furthermore, we became the first province in the country to bring in paid sick days during the pandemic. I recently extended those paid sick days until the end of March. But let me be clear to all workers in this province: We’ll continue to have their backs every single day.

I’m also proud to say, unlike the NDP plan that would bankrupt thousands of small businesses in this province, under our paid sick days, we’re reimbursing businesses for the cost of those paid sick days. Mr. Speaker, we’ll continue every day working for workers in this province and we’ll continue to have their backs.

My question is for the Minister of Education. Industries and businesses across all of Ontario are struggling to find employees to fill jobs they’re offering. A company in my riding of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry, SigmaPoint in the city of Cornwall, is facing extreme difficulties finding engineers that they need to seamlessly run their business.

This labour shortage is hampering our economy. It is often the case that our young people are not aware of, or qualified, to work in these sectors. As legislators, we cannot accept this. We need to ensure that our students, starting with the youngest learners, including my own young children, know about the jobs of the future and are equipped to fulfill the jobs.

Mr. Speaker, through you, to the minister: How will this government ensure that our children are prepared to enter the workforce and fill our employment gaps?

The answer is simple, Speaker: Our young people were not adequately prepared for the current demands of the job market. For 15 years, the previous Liberal government was distracted trying to teach discovery math and other items that failed to help our students find employment with good paycheques.

We need to ensure that our children, including children of my riding of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry, are being taught relevant subjects that are continuously updated so that they can access and be aware of well-paying jobs. To the minister: How is the updated STEM curriculum going to prepare our next generation for the jobs of the future?

The Minister of Labour.

Supplementary question.

Order. Member for Niagara Falls, come to order. Government side, come to order. That shouldn’t have happened.

Start the clock. I recognize the member again.

Restart the clock.

Speaker, everyone except the Conservative government seems to know that paid sick days help workers. It helps them keep their families safe, their co-workers safe and help keeps our community safe. But instead of 10 paid sick days, the Conservative government had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, in the middle of the pandemic, to offer a measly three temporary paid sick days. Workers can only use those for COVID-19 and nothing else, and if a worker used them in the past two years, those are gone forever.

My question is, why doesn’t the Premier care about workers who get sick with something other than COVID-19, and why are workers who get COVID-19 and have already used their paid sick days not able to have more?

Front-line workers deserve to recover from illness at home without fear that their bills won’t get paid. I’m not talking about protected leave; I’m talking about paying your bills and putting food in your belly.

My question is, will the Premier commit to 10 permanent employer-paid sick days so that Ontario can keep workers, families and our communities safe?

Thank you to the member for that question. It’s true: We have hired thousands of health care workers, and we have thousands of students now wanting to enter the nursing profession. Today’s report showed 25,000 students wanting to enter the nursing profession in Ontario’s publicly funded colleges and universities, world-class—

Interjections.

I want to thank the member from Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry for this critical question, because as our government is seized with safeguarding our future prosperity amid global change and disruption, we have a plan to ensure the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders in our province have the skills they need to get those good-paying jobs.

Mr. Speaker, the fundamental problem we have to define is that this curriculum the children are learning in this province, from math to science, was outdated and static. The last time the former Liberals updated the curriculum was 2005 in math. YouTube had not been launched, Twitter had not been released, the first iPhone had not been released on the market, and yet, kids were learning skills totally disconnected from the global economy. Clearly, we must do better, which is why we’ve modernized our math and science curricula with a real emphasis on life and job skills: Coding, financial literacy, teaching kids about mortgages, budgeting, credit and debt—these are the skills generations of young people wished they learned and, under our government, they will this September.

We’re also, for the first time, speaking about artificial intelligence, with the emergence of new jobs within those sectors.

Financial literacy is now a mandate. It is a compulsion of graduation, starting in grade 1 with learning basic money skills, all the way to grade 8, where they’re literally building a budget for the year after their graduation.

We have a plan to help these kids succeed and get good-paying jobs, and it starts with keeping them in school this September right to June.

This question is for the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity.

Our national and economic security depends on a robust cyber security system. With the recent news of a data breach at DoorDash, I know that many people in my riding of Richmond Hill are now aware of the critical role that cyber security oversight has for everyone’s protection. Unfortunately, there appears to be a lack of diversity and inclusion for women in this important field. It is reported that they make up a small percentage of the cyber security workforce, at roughly 11% of the jobs globally.

What is our government doing to highlight the growing need for women in cyber security?

Unfortunately, many women have experienced roadblocks and challenges trying to enter the cyber security industry.

One of the major concerns is that the field often isn’t on the radar of girls and women as they pick post-secondary programs or consider new careers. Another challenge women face is the perception that only those with a programming background can get a job in the field.

With today being International Women in Cyber Day, as the minister mentioned, what is our government doing to advocate for a more significant presence of women to be leaders in this industry?

With the GTA population expected to increase by between two and six million in the next 20 years, Ontario needs to have a plan. We will need the necessary infrastructure to accommodate more residents, and most importantly, we will need enough housing. We can’t afford delay and red tape. A population increase of this magnitude requires immediate action. Experts and advocates are calling on the federal and provincial governments to address the crisis and move aggressively to support the oncoming population increase.

Speaker, can the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing explain how the strong-mayors legislation will help expedite priority projects and housing so that we can keep up with population growth?

—those 25,000 applications to the nursing programs right here in Ontario.

Let’s look at the opposition’s record. You admit you need more nurses. Let me see: a $61-million investment in the Learn and Stay program, which would bring 3,000 nurses in the next four years—did this opposition support it? No.

Interjections.

The Ministry of Long-Term Care’s investment of $35 million to increase enrolment to allow for over 1,000 RPNs and over 800 registered nurses—did the opposition support us? No.

The Ministry of Long-Term Care’s investment of $100 million to support upskilling and training of nurses and registered practical nurses—did they support that? No.

Our investment of $342 million to add over 5,000 registered nurses and 8,000 PSWs—did they support this? No.

This government is making the investments and providing the opportunities for students to enter the nursing profession.

Let’s elevate our language.

The Minister of Colleges and Universities—

The member for St. Catharines, come to order. The member for Kitchener–Conestoga, come to order. I have to be able to hear the minister in her reply.

Restart the clock.

The Minister of Colleges and Universities.

My question is to the Premier. The Ministry of the Environment has approved the use of a former dairy farm lagoon in Armstrong township for the importation, storage and spreading of raw sewage from Quebec. I have made the minister, the ministry and this Legislature aware several times of the issues involved with the approval process and have been unable to get answers, so I’ll make them here.

Could you please confirm that adjacent property owners need to be consulted as part of the EA process?

When my office contacted the ministry regarding the use of a former dairy lagoon, the ministry responded that the site did not contain an abandoned lagoon, even though it obviously does. When my office contacted the ministry regarding the well that provided water to the former dairy farm, the reply was that no prior well existed on the property. Once again, that is not accurate.

The community is losing faith in the role of the ministry in the approval of this project. Minister, will you commit to releasing all documents pertaining to your ministry’s approval and monitoring of this project?

I want to thank the member for Eglinton–Lawrence for that tremendous question. I think it’s so very important, especially during the time of a municipal election, that we’ve got to make sure that we get that plan in place. Municipal governments play a crucial role in determining housing supply.

But the member is right. As Ontario’s population has grown, housing—new construction, the supply of housing—hasn’t kept pace. We’re now facing a housing crisis that freezes too many young families out of the market. Our proposed strong-mayor system will empower municipal leaders to work more effectively with the province on provincial priorities like building more housing.

On this side of the House, we understand that municipalities play that critical role in ensuring our success, but we have to—and I have to implore the opposition to really look at this. This is so important, that we give the mayors in our two largest cities the tools that they need to get the job done. That’s exactly what our proposed bill will do.

Speaker, let me just say that I won’t be able to give him specific answers to that, so I will take it under advisement and meet with him after question period.

Moreover, Mr. Speaker, we know how important agriculture is to the province of Ontario. It’s something that the Minister of Agriculture has been talking about constantly. We will continue to work with our farmers, we will continue to work with communities, and we’ll continue to work with this member to ensure that what we are doing each and every day is highlighted, respecting the fact that we need to protect our environment, making sure that the rules that are in place protect not only our communities but protect the people who work within our communities, and ensuring that our farmers and our agriculture community are respected in that process.

As I said, Mr. Speaker, at the conclusion of question period, I will sit down with the member and take some additional advice from him and hear some of his specific concerns.

Thank you to the member from Richmond Hill for that excellent question.

You improve the security of an organization when you have diverse mindsets.

Today, September 1, is International Women in Cyber Day. It is a day set aside to bring awareness of the challenges women face and to celebrate women’s achievements within the cyber security industry.

To better address the growing demand for jobs in the cyber security field, we have to encourage a diverse set of voices throughout the field and in leadership positions.

I’m really glad the Minister of Education highlighted the importance that our government is making in changing the face of STEM for young kids—because we are modernizing our science and technology curriculum to place an emphasis on STEM that will encourage more young girls and women to explore cyber security.

Mr. Speaker, women can be at the forefront of this industry and can change the landscape in cyber security while increasing their representation.

In the world of cyber security, it is becoming increasingly evident that our sensitive and private information is vulnerable.

The women involved in this industry are our front-line heroes, keeping us safe in an environment of new technology and cyber attacks. The same as a firefighter or a police officer, women in cyber security have the same ability to protect and serve our communities as well.

The industry is booming today and growing in exponential ways. I recently had a meeting with the Ontario Centre of Innovation and learned about the work they are doing to elevate women in the advanced technology industry to start up and scale up their businesses.

Mr. Speaker, now more than ever, I am excited to highlight and encourage young women to consider a career in cyber security. Our government will highlight women’s achievements and cast down barriers as an ally alongside them because women belong in every place, at every table and in every space.