I’m surprised to hear that the member for Don Valley East is not aware of the fact that since 1979 hospitals have actually been able to charge for alternate-level-of-care patients. I guess that’s perhaps part of the problem.

At the same time, Mr. Speaker, what we are doing is, we are using—when a patient in a hospital acute care setting has been seen by a doctor, and that doctor has said that their time in an acute care facility should come to an end because they would be better serviced in the community or in a long-term-care home, we are facilitating that for them. That is what we’re doing. We’re listening to medical professionals across the province of Ontario, who all agree. And I think the member opposite—in some of his statements—agrees as well that when you are ready to be discharged from a hospital, when you are on the long-term-care waiting list, the best place for you is in a long-term-care home. We are going to make that happen.

Yes. The Ministry of the Solicitor General, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Health: All of us understand the value and importance of next-generation 911, which is why we are making those investments. We are working with the dispatch to make sure that everyone across Ontario has access to 911, when and where they need it.

I completely agree with the member opposite. We are doing that work. It is in process.

The supplementary question.

Mr. Speaker, Bill 7 is flawed at its core because it violates patient rights. True patient consent must pass three tests: (1) The patient must be capable; (2) they must be fully informed; and (3) they must give their consent voluntarily and freely.

When it comes to transmitting confidential health information and authorizing admission to a long-term-care home, Bill 7 doesn’t even pretend to ask for patient consent. It’s not required. And after all that, if a patient is given space in a faraway, culturally inappropriate long-term-care home, although patients don’t have to say yes, there’s a steep cost to saying no.

To quote the Minister of Long-Term Care on August 24, “Are there instances where the hospital will be charging? Absolutely, if someone refuses to move into a home.”

Will the Minister of Long-Term Care explain why he is choosing to entirely circumvent informed patient consent and instead violate patient autonomy?

Additionally, while I agree that patients need and deserve to be in long-term-care homes, it should be under their own terms and under their own circumstances, not by violating their rights in the process.

You know, this bill is actually so bad, so unethical and so immoral that it actually apologizes for itself. It says, “Despite subsection 3(2), this section ... shall not be interpreted or construed as being inconsistent with the residents’ bill of rights,” even though it does. It fails to pass the three tests of patient consent, it fails to protect patients’ confidential health information and it fails to respect patients’ express wishes.

So I ask again: Will the minister withdraw his bill and instead focus on the root causes of our ALC crisis, such as the mass exodus of health care workers created by Bill 124 in the last four years?

Interjection.

This is to the Premier. The Centre for Social Justice estimates that almost half of the 16,000 Ontarians experiencing homelessness have a disability or mental illness. When this government was elected in 2018, 94 people experiencing homelessness died on the streets of Toronto. Last year, in 2021, the number was 216 Ontarians who died on the streets of Toronto experiencing homelessness. People cannot afford housing, and the government’s promise to raise the ODSP housing allowance to $522 a month does not provide rent for a room anywhere in this province.

So my question is, will this government double ODSP rates so that Ontarians with disabilities have a place to live, or will the number of people dying on the streets of Toronto and across this province experiencing homelessness continue to rise under this government’s watch?

Today, we’re joined by some Ontarians with disabilities. One of them, Leslie, requires a special diet. She says, “The broccoli that used to cost 99 cents is now $5.99.” She says, “It’s obvious that this government doesn’t care.” She says, “I might as well eat garbage and die because no one seems to care.”

My question is to the government. Stop the spin. Stop the rhetoric. People with disabilities in Ontario are dying under your watch. Will you double the ODSP rates so Ontarians with disabilities can live a decent life?

Under the previous Liberal government, people and jobs in my region were abandoned; the east was neglected. Like many areas of this province, manufacturing is a major industry. We are no strangers to the negative impacts of 300,000 manufacturing jobs lost under their watch because of reckless policies.

What is the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade doing to ensure that the residents in my riding and others in Ontario will have good, secure, well-paying jobs for themselves and for their children for years to come?

Entrepreneurs and those with small business ambitions need support, too. Small businesses and start-ups bring dreams to reality. I know many residents in my riding provide food for their families through their small businesses. Speaker, what is the minister doing to help entrepreneurs in my riding start and grow their businesses?

Thank you for the question. Our government is continuously working across ministries to make sure that vulnerable people can get the supports that they need. And our government has invested more in social assistance than any provincial government in history, and I refuse to accept the no-noes across the way.

Our government has made a historic investment in ODSP. We are aligning that with inflation—and that’s not the only thing. We’re working with the federal government to create the Canadian disability benefit. We are urging them to do that on an urgent basis. It’s also across ministries, like I said. It’s the micro-credentialing strategy. It’s the Roadmap to Wellness. It’s the LIFT tax credit. It’s the CARE tax credit. It’s the child care spaces and education.

These are multi-billion-dollar investments, and we’re going to continue to do this important work, despite that the members opposite will continue to say no.

I will not take any lessons from the opposition or from the previous government. We are working on behalf of the most vulnerable people in our society.

Interjections.

Order.

Minister of Long-Term Care.

First and foremost, let me just say this: The problem in acute care in the province of Ontario has been a problem for many, many, many years; a problem that was not addressed by the previous Liberal government, and that was, of course, before Bill 124, Mr. Speaker.

But having said that, we have made significant investments into long-term care—significant investments into long-term care. I will let this medical professional explain to the people who have been discharged from a hospital, who are on the waiting list for a long-term-care home, why, all of a sudden now that he has a seat in this Legislature, their needs are better met in an acute care setting as opposed to a long-term-care setting. Because he will be alone on that, because medical professionals we have talked to and who have been advising us—even patients themselves have said that they want to be in a long-term-care home after they have been discharged from hospital. We are going to make that happen, and we can make that happen because of the investments we’ve made in long-term care and in nursing and in health care across the province.

Yes, the Liberals and the NDP did in fact lose 300,000 manufacturing jobs in Ontario because of their outdated policies, their red tape and their high taxes. In 2018, we promised families that our government would do things differently, and we did. We listened to the businesses, like those in Ajax, and developed plans to support their unique challenges. We introduced a $40-million advanced manufacturing and innovation competitiveness program. This AMIC program supports manufacturing businesses to invest, grow and remain competitive on a global scale and will continue to support Ajax’s manufacturing supply chain through the attraction of billions of dollars in investments, just like we’ve done in the last four years.

Speaker, 500,000 jobs have returned to Ontario, and we will continue to bring back even more jobs—those jobs that the Liberals sent running from this province.

Ajax entrepreneurs now have all the tools they need to grow their businesses. We’re providing $732,000 to the Durham-Oshawa Small Business Enterprise Centre and another $187,000 to support Durham’s Summer Company and Starter Company Plus programs. Those help students and young entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. All of that is proof positive that Ontario is open for business.

Thank you for the question. As you know, and as I’ve said on numerous occasions, our government respects mental health, and we have done and made incredible investments. The meeting with respect to the mayors of the large cities in the province—we have met with many of the mayors one on one. We’ve had many discussions, and our investments in the province have been unprecedented when it comes to investments. We understand the need to build a system and the fact that, for building a system, you also need to make investments, and those investments are being made to the tune of $525 million annually.

In addition to that, we also understand that, as a result of COVID, money needed to be invested—additional funds—into addictions recovery, and so we built a fund of $90 million that’s invested across the province of Ontario to ensure that people that need help are able to get it when and where they need it. That’s what we need to do, is ensure—

Again, thank you for mentioning the social services relief fund, $1 billion that was helping groups and organizations throughout COVID-19, but it’s much more than that.

The food stability, the food security issue is related to a whole poverty-reduction strategy. That involves the micro-credentials strategy, the mental health strategy, the Roadmap to Wellness, the new child care spaces, the Ontario Child Benefit, the dental care for eligible seniors, the LIFT tax credit, the CARE tax credit, the Feed Ontario programs, the student nutrition programs, the Ontario Trillium fund, Resilient Communities Fund, the Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, the minimum wage enhancement.

This is a vision that we have working with municipalities, because we understand how important it is to help give people the support that they need when they need it, and to help those who can work get back into the labour market, and working with the—

This question is to the Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, families in Thornhill and across this province are anxious yet excited for the return to class. We know, as parents, that nothing else matters more. Many kids are gearing up, families buying school supplies and new routines are being created. This is happening in my own household right now.

When our kids go back, many will be behind. We see it as parents, teachers see it and I know this minister gets it. In short, what is the minister doing to help these kids, to ensure they get back on track as they return this September, right until June?

In addition to catching up in class, many families have safety and health in school top of mind. Speaker, the benefits of in-person learning are so clear to all of us, and yet with the backdrop of union escalation, it raises a concern with so many parents. The Premier and the Minister of Education have strongly advocated for a disruption-free return to school with the full school experience, one that includes extracurricular activities.

Will the minister outline his vision for September right till June? Tell us more about these protocols and supports in place for Ontario students and their families.

Speaker, I believe the associate minister understands the seriousness of this crisis, but I do not believe the government understands the urgency needed, the scale and scope of the crisis, the funding that is necessary. Ontario’s Big City Mayors called for a meeting—an emergency meeting—this summer because they’re saying that cities and communities across this province are being overwhelmed with a crisis of homelessness, mental health, safety and addictions. Every $10 invested in permanent supportive housing saves government $21.72 in other costs.

The government has pulled out all the stops to push seniors out of our hospitals. Why won’t they pull out all the stops to make the investments in our communities the Ontario big city mayors are calling for? I ask the Premier: Will the Premier at least meet with the mayors to discuss how to respond to this emergency?

The Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

The supplementary.

I do want to thank the member from Thornhill for this question. I think many parents of this province have perhaps never been more excited for these kids to get back to class, as are the children of this province. It’s been two difficult years. I think the number one thing we can do as a Parliament is to ensure the kids get to school in September and they stay in school without disruption right to June. That requires all of us to work together to ensure the kids have a plan in place to catch up, to get back to basics on the fundamentals of learning, reading, writing and math.

That’s why, Speaker, we’ve unveiled a plan that puts a greater emphasis—that restores the full learning experience: the clubs and sports, the extracurriculars, music and arts, the elements that create well-rounded leaders in this province.

We’ve also unveiled a nation-leading tutoring expansion plan, $175 million—the largest in this country—designed to help kids have the support they need, and a mental health investment building on the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions’ response. We have a 420% net increase, all this designed to ensure kids get back to a normal and stable, more enjoyable—

We deserve that. Our parents and our children deserve that, Speaker. It’s why, when we look at September, we’re really restoring the same experience they had in June. We’ll continue to provide rapid tests. We’ll continue to have 100,000 HEPA filters in schools, the largest ventilation improvement in the nation. We’re also ensuring that screening takes place, enhanced cleaning of our schools and buses. And likewise, we have another $300 million provided by the Premier specifically to hire literally over 2,000 additional custodians and EAs and educators to make a difference in our schools.

Mr. Speaker, we’re excited for September. We’re going to stay focused on keeping kids in school right to June.

My question is for the Premier. Good morning, Premier.

Marilyn Matheson, the executive director of the Caldwell Family Centre, runs a community kitchen and food bank in the west end of our community. The centre has benefited from COVID-19 disaster funding relief, and it’s used that to feed people in need.

It’s a success story for our province. It feeds up to 600 meals a day right now for people who are suffering from the prices of high rent and high food. But last week, Marilyn said they may have to shut their doors if that funding doesn’t continue, which will end early September, and that will disadvantage, as she was saying at the time to the media, 340 families and almost 1,000 individuals that she was serving in that particular week.

Speaker, this is a success story to deal with poverty. I’m wondering if the Premier today can commit to us that these sorts of community food agencies will have consistent, stable funding going forward.

J’aimerais remercier M^me Simone Mathieu de Gogama dans mon comté pour ces pétitions.

« Centre de soins infirmiers de Gogama....

« Alors que Gogama est une communauté isolée au nord de l’Ontario avec de nombreux aîné(e)s et résident(e)s qui ont besoin d’accès à des soins primaires;

« Alors que le Centre de soins infirmiers de Gogama a donné accès à des soins primaires de qualité pendant des décennies, mais que le service est inconsistant et irrégulier depuis le début de 2018;

« Alors que les résident(e)s des communautés isolées du nord de l’Ontario méritent un accès équitable aux soins de santé; »

Ils pétitionnent « l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario de s’assurer que le Centre de soins infirmiers de Gogama soit financé, doté en personnel et pleinement opérationnel pour fournir des soins primaires de qualité », et ce, « de façon constante. »

J’appuie cette pétition, monsieur le Président. Je vais la signer et je la donne à Liliana pour l’amener à la table des greffiers.

This is a reintroduction of my bill from the previous session, and it amends the Highway Traffic Act. If a person causes or contributes to causing an accident which causes death or serious bodily harm and, at the time, the person was contravening the Highway Traffic Act or its regulations, then the person is guilty of an offence.

The court may sentence the person to a fine of up to $50,000 or to imprisonment of up to two years or both. The court may also suspend the person’s driver’s licence or permit.

We all know that bad things can happen on the roads when people violate the Highway Traffic Act. However, as it stands now, in the event that someone dies or is significantly injured as a result, there is not a significant penalty that can be given upon sentencing.

This bill would increase penalties if someone on the road breaks a driving law and hurts or kills someone. This bill would give the court options during sentencing so that families might no longer suffer insult after suffering injury.

Ms. Vaugeois moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 16, An Act to amend various Acts with respect to racial equity / Projet de loi 16, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne l’équité raciale.