I’d like to introduce Zoe MacKeracher from the riding of Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas. She’s a student at McMaster University. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Tuesday, September 6 is back-to-school day in the province of Ontario. We have over two million elementary school students and secondary school students who are going back to school after two years of pandemic disruptions that they went through with their parents. Now is the time for us to get back to normal.

I want to thank the Minister of Education, on behalf of parents like me and parents across the province, for making it absolutely clear that we want our kids in school, in person, full-time, with sports and a full array of extracurricular activities. We want for our children the full school experience.

Let me take this opportunity now to wish all the students and staff members across the province of Ontario, and especially my folks in Essex county, a very successful academic school year.

Speaker, I want to welcome Bill McBain to the Legislature. Those in these ranks know this extraordinary organizer.

Bill, welcome to the House.

In the Speaker’s gallery today, we have guests from the riding of Wellington–Halton Hills: a councillor from the township of Guelph/Eramosa, Mark Bouwmeester, and his son Casey Bouwmeester. Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

Also with us in the Speaker’s gallery is Anne Sargent, the deputy clerk of the legislative council of the Parliament of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. Anne is visiting us over the next two days and will be meeting with me and assembly officials to discuss the operations of our respective Parliaments, in furtherance of the Ontario-Victoria partnership agreement established several years ago.

I rise today to say it’s an honour to represent the people of Ajax.

This past weekend, I had the privilege of attending a family fun day put on by the Islamic Society of Ajax. The Islamic community and faith-based groups continue to grow and build strong ties within our community.

The Islamic Society of Ajax completed construction for the first masjid in the town of Ajax in 2016. The masjid is located on Harwood and is led by imam Waqqas Syed.

The Ajax masjid has become a focal point for Muslims of Ajax. It is centrally located in the midst of the Muslim community and services the social, economic and recreational needs of that community.

The family fun day event this past weekend was tailored for families and children of all faiths, but they also put on events for our seniors.

A few weeks ago, they were able to take a group of seniors to Niagara Falls, and the tales and stories are amazing. These trips offer more than entertainment for our seniors, as it’s a chance to socialize and break out of norms, which has a huge benefit for their mental health. Social isolation among seniors is a growing issue, not just in Ajax, but across Ontario.

Groups and organizations like the Islamic Society of Ajax are some of the main reasons that the Ajax community is growing continually strong.

Under the Premier’s leadership, we hope this government will continue to encourage and support opportunities for these organizations that are playing an integral part in our communities. I’m confident that our government’s continued involvement in organizations and groups like this will make Ontario a global destination to work, live and raise a family.

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome a new team member to Team St. Catharines, who was born on June 16, 2022, to his proud parents, Jesse and Kasey, and his proud big sister, Elise: Jack Reginald Michor. Welcome to our team.

I would like to welcome Dr. Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, Honourable Minister of State in Abuja, Nigeria; and my good friend Ms. Bose Odueke, CEO of Alpha Oasis International Inc., who is organizing these wonderful delegates to Ontario, Canada; and members of Canada-Nigeria Business and Investment Expo 2022. Welcome to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Speaker, I can’t let this moment pass without welcoming the first Tamil chief of police in Ontario, Nishan Duraiappah. I was just with you at Tamil Fest in Scarborough. Welcome to the Legislature today.

My friend Dewitt Lee, thank you so much for all you’ve done for the Black community in Canada and for bringing Emancipation Month to us here in the Legislature.

Also, Halima Patel, a constituency assistant, is here at Queen’s Park, watching these proceedings for the first time. Welcome, Halima Patel.

Well, Mr. Speaker, it’s not about the cost; it’s about giving proper health care to people who should be in long-term-care homes. It’s differentiating between sticking your loved one in a hospital bed—imagine that: a hospital bed for one of your loved ones, when alarms are going off, bells are going off all night, compared to giving them a beautiful home to stay in, a long-term-care home, which will have proper care.

Mr. Speaker, let me remind the opposition: They were preaching at the top of the mountain, saying, “Get people out of the hospitals.” They kept going on and on, and many of them were quoted in the media. All of a sudden, now they change their tune. They can’t have it both ways.

The right place to put people who have been discharged from the doctor is in a proper home, for proper care, to make sure they have a better quality of life.

We aren’t being political. We’re making sure we’re taking care of the people who need support, who need patient care. They’re going to get much better care in a long-term-care facility than sitting in a hospital bed. Even one of the CEOs said this is not good for the ALC patients. What is good is to make sure they get the proper care, and that’s what we’re going to give them.

As the Minister of Long-Term Care said, we’re building 58,000 beds for these seniors.

Mr. Speaker, in fact, the only people who have been talking about a fee like that for seniors who are going into long-term-care homes have actually been the opposition. They’re the only ones who have talked about it—the Leader of the Opposition, the critic, and the members of the Liberal Party, and, of course, the media, but only as they’re reporting what they have been saying.

We have been saying right from the beginning that the goal of this is to ensure that those who are waiting to go into a long-term-care home, who have been discharged or are about to be discharged from a hospital, have a better opportunity, better outcomes. That is what this legislation was all about.

This is another step, yesterday was another step on the road to improving health care in the province of Ontario—a step that started with Ontario health teams, a step that continued with 58,000 new and upgraded long-term-care beds in every region of the province, with the addition of 27,000 health care workers for long-term care alone, with new hospitals in every part of the province. It is another step to making Ontario have the best health care system in the country and in North America.

They say that it’s a new problem, but let’s look at the Auditor General’s report of 2012: “Given our aging population, developing alternatives to long-term care and implementing more efficient processes for placing people in” long-term-care homes “in a consistent and timely manner is critical.”

She went on to say, “Numerous studies have shown that remaining in hospital longer than medically necessary, including waiting in hospital for” long-term care “can be detrimental to a person’s health for various reasons, among them the potential for a hospital-acquired infection such as C. difficile, and, for older patients, a decline in physical and mental abilities due to lack of activity.”

She went on to say that five provinces have a first-bed policy. This is back in a 2012 report, based on 2011.

What was done in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018? Nothing.

What is true: more resources and better care. We’re standing up for seniors who want better care, who are on a long-term-care waiting list. They want to be in a home. Experts agree it is better to get that care in a long-term-care facility.

This is another step on the way to finally tackling the challenges in health care—that include staffing, that include more hospitals, that include better long-term-care homes.

They should get on board because the status quo is working for nobody.

To the Premier: Yesterday, the Premier was asked about the fees his government wants to impose on seniors to force them into long-term-care homes that they don’t want to go into. He said, “I’ll pretty well guarantee it’s not going to be $1,800.”

Will the Premier make an absolute guarantee today that no senior will be charged that fee?

These numbers, these charges may not matter much to the Premier, but it’s literally a matter of life and death for many seniors across this province.

The government is ramming Bill 7 through today with virtually no debate. They refuse to hear from families and front-line workers who say this bill will be devastating.

And now the Premier is literally not giving any guarantees about what people will be charged.

If we can’t get a guarantee that $1,800 is not on the books—how much does the Premier think seniors should be charged?

Will the Premier do the right thing, admit that this dangerous scheme was rushed, and pull Bill 7 today?

I’d like to welcome to the Legislature a young man from my riding, Mugis Awon. He was instrumental in my campaign. He’s a very intelligent young man, just starting grade 10 of high school and already having great conversations about politics, education and what that will look like. Welcome.

It goes without saying that we welcome all of our visitors to the Legislature.

I would ask and remind members, when they’re making their introductions, to keep them brief and devoid of political statements.

Ma question est pour le premier ministre.

At hearings held by the NDP this week, front-line health care workers sounded the alarm about the Ford government’s Bill 7. The bill does nothing to address the human resources crisis in our health care system, but it will force frail seniors into private long-term-care homes miles away from their circle of care and their family.

This raises the question: Is the goal of the bill to help patients, or is it to force frail, elderly seniors into private, for-profit long-term-care homes that no one wants to live in?

To the Premier: The long-term-care homes with the most available beds are the ones with the worst records of caring for seniors.

Orchard Villa is a private, for-profit long-term-care facility in Pickering where the Armed Forces found residents living in horrifying conditions. Durham police have not ruled out criminal charges. It’s no surprise that their wait-lists are short—literally 42 times shorter than not-for-profit homes of comparable size.

My question is, if a patient doesn’t want to be moved to a private facility like this, why would the government force them?

My question is for the Solicitor General.

Speaker, Peel has experienced an increased number of gun-related crimes—and I would also like to welcome Chief Nish and Director Payette of Peel police, and congratulate our brave men and women in uniform from Peel on leadership on issues like combatting human trafficking, mental health and community safety.

Interjections.

Unfortunately, it is not rare to hear the news about innocent Ontarians being caught in a crossfire, both figuratively and literally.

Monsieur le Président, Mississauga a connu une augmentation de la violence et de la criminalité des gangs.

What is the Solicitor General doing to combat gang-fuelled violence and smuggled guns in Peel?

My question is for the Solicitor General.

My constituents in Brampton West are deeply concerned about crime in Peel, especially when smuggled guns and illicit drugs are involved. Every day, Mr. Speaker, they hear on the news about the gang violence fuelled by smuggled guns and drugs.

Can the minister tell us about our government’s plan to combat the drug flow in Peel?

Under our watch, Mr. Speaker, we have seen the level of care increase in this province like it has never happened before. Under our watch, his own riding is getting $55 million more for care in the homes that he has. Under our watch, I have approved over 500 new long-term-care beds for people in his riding alone. Under our watch, investments in health care have grown to the highest level in Canadian history. Under our watch—a new hospital in Mississauga. Under our watch, small and medium-sized hospitals finally get budgets that are equivalent to large hospitals. Under our watch—the largest investment in health care in Ottawa’s history. Under our watch—new hospitals in Niagara. Under our watch—four hours of care for seniors. Under our watch—58,000 new and upgraded long-term-care beds. Under our watch, we’ll get it done.

Final supplementary?

To reply, the government House leader.

Interjections.

The next question.