In 2018, the Premier promised to complete the four-laning of Highway 69. At the time, there were 68 kilometres left to be tendered. And four years later, after many, many broken promises, not one kilometre has been tendered.

Meanwhile, preventable accidents continue. People continue to be injured. People continue to be killed. I’ll tell you, just this month, Speaker, there were head-on collisions on August 2, August 8 and August 15. That’s three collisions in 15 days—multiple injuries and one preventable death in 15 days.

My question, Speaker, is, when will the Premier finally keep his promise to complete the four-laning of Highway 69?

If the Premier is not going to keep his promise to finish the last 68 kilometres of Highway 69, will he come to my riding to explain to those families who have been affected by this why it’s not a priority for him?

The supplementary question?

I’d like to thank the member for Mississauga–Erin Mills for that question, but most importantly for all the work that he did in our first Working for Workers legislation to recognize international credentials, Mr. Speaker.

Our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, is really on a mission to make our families and all of our communities stronger. One of the many ways we’re achieving this is through our brand new program Better Jobs Ontario. Mr. Speaker, we’re offering training to who wants to train for in-demand jobs in any community across the province. This includes those on social assistance, those who are self-employed, gig workers, youth and newcomers. Better Jobs Ontario offers up to $28,000 for tuition costs and up to $500 a week for basic living costs like rent and mortgages.

Mr. Speaker, we’re all in for Ontario’s workers, and we’re just getting started.

We launched our flexible Skills Development Fund, which supports innovative programs that help workers learn the skills that local employers want.

And over the past number of years, it’s no surprise that training has really taken off. We’ve launched almost 400 training projects across the province and supported nearly 400,000 workers with the skills they need for better jobs and bigger paycheques.

Mr. Speaker, with game-changing investments like these, we’re helping workers, businesses and everyone in their communities succeed.

Thank you, Minister. The future of our economic recovery and the success of our businesses rely on Ontario becoming a skilled trades and training leader. Our province badly needs carpenters, electricians, plumbers and a full array of skilled trades and blue-collar workers who will help us overcome our housing shortage, reconstruct our infrastructure and help restore our economy.

Our workers are the best in the world, and they deserve to have a government that values the contributions they make day in and day out.

Mr. Speaker, can the minister tell us what our government is doing to help level up skilled trades for our province’s workers, which will help return our economy and businesses to their previous position of strength?

Any tragedy on the roads is of deep concern to this government. Our hearts go out to the families and friends that are affected by those incidents on Highway 69.

Speaker, when it comes to this important highway—widening—that project is a priority for our government. We said that from the beginning in 2018, despite the lack of movement on that by the previous Liberals.

I want to remind the member opposite that 70 kilometres are already complete on Highway 69, and MTO is working diligently to get the approvals needed to complete the remaining 68 kilometres of the corridor.

In December, Minister Mulroney announced the opening of a 14-kilometre extended stretch between Highway 69 in the French River area. Speaker, work continues to complete a 14-kilometre four-laning project south of Alban, and this is expected to be done by the end of the year. We’re continuing to work diligently to build the rest of the highway and negotiating with the First Nations, an important piece of getting this process done, and the environmental assessments that are necessary. But we’re going to finish the job.

But also curious from the members opposite is the tone when it comes to building highways. On the one hand, they say no to Highway 413. But when it comes to Highway 69, Highway 7 in Waterloo and Highway 7 in Guelph, they’re all for the widening of highways, they’re all for the building of new highways. It’s almost like they acknowledge that we need to expand the transportation network across a growing province, a world-class province like the one we have here in Ontario.

We’re not only going to build that Highway 69, we’re going to make sure we build Highway 413 and prepare the future generations of Ontarians to come.

Thank you for the question from the member for Chatham-Kent–Leamington.

By working with First Nations, we are ensuring that consultation is done the right way. Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations are leading environmental assessments for road projects and are integrating Indigenous principles with the provincial process. Just last week, the Webequie Supply Road Project team held another open house session for Indigenous community members to learn about their project.

Our government stands shoulder to shoulder to shoulder with the First Nations partners. During my recent visit to Webequie First Nation, I offered our government’s full support to assist with consultation. When we consult the right way, we get things done, and we will make real progress on economic reconciliation.

Our message is very simple: There is no green economy without mining. We need the critical minerals in the Ring of Fire to meet our climate goals. That’s why our government is getting it done by working with the First Nations to build the “corridor of prosperity” that leads to the Ring of Fire.

Our government committed almost $1 billion to support road development, broadband infrastructure and other community projects. Environmental assessments for two of the road projects are already under way. We can accomplish anything when we build strong partnerships with the First Nations, and that is exactly what our government is doing.

You can see how he made the connection from cigars to convenience.

It cannot be more contradictory when the Liberals oppose having a strong-mayor system despite their track record of supporting one. In 2008, Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty was on board with Toronto mayor David Miller’s request for additional power, saying, “I’m in support of a strong-mayor system. My support remains there.”

With our province in a housing crisis, the members of the opposition must put aside their partisan politics, and we should all stand together to ensure we are building more affordable homes for hard-working Ontarians.

Can the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing share with the House how a strong-mayor system will be valuable in moving housing projects forward so that more families can achieve their dream of becoming homeowners?

Speaker, former Toronto city councillors of all political stripes have touted a strong-mayor system for its ability to give more decisive direction to the bureaucracy about priorities and shift resources in that direction.

To quote former Toronto city councillor Kyle Rae from 2008 on the need for stronger mayor powers, “Toronto is an economic engine, and that’s beginning to get in trouble. If that engine starts to break down, those fabulous neighbourhoods are going to stop working.”

We are already seeing that prediction come true regarding the need to build more housing faster and cut through red tape on the priority projects of my constituents.

What are the minister and all members of the Legislature doing to get this done?

I just want to congratulate the world-leading lacrosse centre of Peterborough for once again, last night, defeating the Six Nations Chiefs to win the MSL and represent Ontario for the Mann Cup for an unprecedented second four-peat. And I’m requesting unanimous consent for my seatmate, who represents Ohsweken, where the Six Nations Chiefs play, to consent to wearing my Peterborough Century 21 Lakers jersey.

Thank you for the question. In fact, our government is aligning our increases—historic increases—of ODSP to inflation. That’s exactly what we’re doing, and we’re taking an all-of-government approach. We’re listening across the board. We are making sure that those who can work are receiving the job readiness programs and the training they need, and for those who cannot work, we are supporting those individuals, those also in financial crises, the municipalities, and making sure that the social service providers have the resources they need. That was exactly what the $1-billion social services relief funding was for.

We are getting the funding to the communities, the people who need it, through the micro-credentialing strategy, the Roadmap to Wellness, the new child care spaces, the Ontario Child Benefit, the dental care for low-income seniors, the CARE tax credit, the LIFT tax credit, the Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, and the minimum wage increase. We are continuing to listen, continuing to do what is necessary to support our most vulnerable and to help those who can work get back into the workforce.

The supplementary question.

Call in the members. This will be a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1142 to 1147.

On August 25, 2022, Mr. Mantha moved an amendment to government notice of motion number 4 relating to allocation of time on Bill 2 and Bill 7.

All those in favour of Mr. Mantha’s motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

We’ll now deal with the main motion.

Ms. Khanjin has moved government notice of motion number 4 relating to allocation of time on Bill 2, An Act to amend Budget measures and to enact and amend various statutes, and Bill 7, An Act to amend the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 with respect to patients requiring an alternate level of care and other matters and to make a consequential amendment to the Health Care Consent Act, 1996. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard some noes.

All those in favour will please say “aye.”

All those opposed will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

Call in the members. This is a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1151 to 1152.

Motion agreed to.

The House recessed from 1155 to 1300.

First reading agreed to.

I will take this opportunity to highlight yet again the five-point plan that, together with the Minister of Long-Term Care, we brought forward a number of weeks back. It included—speaking directly to your constituent Howard—investing over $300 million as part of the province’s Surgical Recovery Strategy, bringing the total investment to $880 million over the last three fiscal years.

Specifically related to doctor shortages, we now have 400 new practising physicians in the province of Ontario in rural and remote communities. We also are working with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to ensure that any individuals who have applied to practise in the province of Ontario have that opportunity to go through the assessment and ultimately receive their licence, when appropriate. We will do this work because we know how important it is.

We’ve done all these things, working with our partners, because we know that innovation is here in the province of Ontario and we want to make sure that when we see these best practices, like the Niagara paramedic model, we encourage other communities to do the same.

I want to thank the member for Scarborough–Agincourt for that question. The member is absolutely correct: Former Premier Dalton McGuinty mulled proposing a strong-mayor system, but it is this government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, that’s actually going to get it done.

Speaker, under our proposed changes, the mayors of both Toronto and Ottawa, our province’s two largest cities, will have new tools to help them be able to move priority projects, like housing projects, faster.

This past election, Premier Ford committed to the people of Ontario that he was going to keep costs down and he was going to ensure that we put a plan in place to build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years, and I can assure the honourable member and the people of Ontario that we’re going to get it done.

I’ve said many, many times in this House that we need to get shovels in the ground faster; we need to build more housing of all types, of all shapes and all sizes. Too many families are frozen out of the housing market because there simply are not enough housing options for them across the province. That’s why our government made the commitment in the last election, under the leadership of Premier Ford, that we’re going to build 1.5 million homes over the next years.

But, Speaker, the opposition would rather have us wait. They would actually rather have us delay. They’d rather us sit around for 15 more years to start building homes. That’s why we made that clear commitment. We looked people in the eye during the election and said, “Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we were not going to do as the Liberals had done for 15 years before.”

Regardless of what is being proposed, the hateful eight is not going to make us wait.

Speaker, through you to the Minister of Health: From hospitals to urgent care to doctors’ offices, people across this province and in my home community of Niagara are facing dangerously long wait times. My constituent Howard Disher, a 79-year-old from Welland, has an enlarged prostate that is of great concern to his family doctor. He was referred to a urologist. However, not only are they still facing a serious backlog from COVID, Niagara is also facing a doctor shortage. Howard was told not to expect an actual consult appointment for over a year. To complicate matters, Howard’s family doctor is expected to retire soon.

Can the minister explain to Howard how it is acceptable in the province of Ontario to have to wait over a year to have a serious medical concern addressed?

Will this government finally implement the recommendations we brought forward back in March and remove the barriers for the internationally trained doctors and health care workers we want and need in this province?

It is, once again, a true honour to rise in the House today. Today it is in recognition of the second annual Convenience Store Week in Ontario. Last year, our government passed the Convenience Store Week Act to recognize the important role convenience stores play in our day-to-day lives. We’re very proud to be here today to kick off this important week and celebrate the hard-working employees in the convenience store industry and their significant contributions.

When we think about convenience stores, we often think about shops in our own communities, the corner store staples that we pick up, the people we see when we are visiting. We remember those friendly faces at the cash register, aisles with all of our daily necessities, and that familiar sense of community that you get when you enter a convenience store. But all of that would not be possible without the dedicated business owners and the employees who work around the clock to ensure that their stores are open and ready to serve all of their customers.

Convenience store owners and their employees are some of the hardest-working people in our communities. Many of them, as we all know, work seven days a week; they’re open 365 days a year, all to make sure that they can meet their customers’ needs. And this is especially true in rural and remote communities, where convenience stores are often the only source of fresh food and other daily necessities. I think of the Trout Creek convenience store that’s owned by Sam and Tariq—and that’s it. There’s nothing around Trout Creek. There’s not another place that you can go into and get fresh food, produce and things like that. Sam and Tariq are some of the hardest-working people I’ve met. My wife, Patty, and I have had a great opportunity to have dinner with them, with supplies, by the way, that were purchased at their Trout Creek store. It’s a great little spot.

On behalf of our government and all of the people of Ontario, we say thank you to the thousands of convenience store owners and their workers for the incredible impact they have on all of us each and every day. Ontario is home to more than 8,500 convenience stores that employ more than 78,000 people across the province. From Cornwall to Kenora, from Wawa to Windsor, you probably know somebody in a convenience store, especially your local convenience store.

We know that small businesses, like many convenience stores, are vital to our communities and critical to Ontario’s economic growth. Our government is quite proud of our support for these hard-working men and women. That’s why we have consistently cut red tape and made it easier for people in Ontario to start a business. And that is why we continue to put money back into the pockets of our business communities. Since the day we took office, we’ve lowered the cost of doing business in Ontario by $7 billion a year—I think I’ve stood in this Legislature and said that almost every single day I’ve ever stood up. We’ve cut red tape, fixed the Liberals’ hydro mess, lowered taxes so that businesses in Ontario have more money to invest in growth and invest in their people. We’re creating jobs and opportunities in every single corner of the province.

In July, Ontario had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the past 30 years, at 5.3%. That tells you we are strengthening the economy. We’re building these vibrant communities for all of the people in Ontario.

Convenience stores remind us that there are opportunities right across the province for everyone and anyone. We hear stories all the time about these hard-working individuals who open their own stores and hire people in their communities. Many of these stores have 10 or less employees, including their own family members.

To me, these aren’t just talking points; this is the story of my own family. My dad, Hub, opened Hub’s cigar store on Main Street in North Bay, right across the street from my office, in the 1960s. Employed there were my mom, my grandmother and my aunt Emelia. They worked there every single day. My dad then expanded to open Hub’s Hilltop, and as it sounds, it was on top of the hill in North Bay. It was a really popular convenience store—although I never understood the word “convenience” then. We opened at 10 in the morning, so I don’t really know what was convenient about that. But we closed at 10 at night. We were open for 12 hours a day. This was long before there was ever such a retail category—

I see Minister Monte McNaughton nodding. He comes from a small business family in a small town—which we visited together, at your store. You know exactly what we’re talking about. This is how our families bonded.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can tell you that around our kitchen table at dinner every night, there were discussions on courier rates and Bus Parcel Express times. That was the kind of thing we talked about—

Interjection.

I’d like to introduce my wife, Brendah-Leah. We celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary last Monday.

It’s my pleasure and honour to introduce Guru Hari H.D.H., Prem Swaroopdas Swamiji and Pujya Tyagvallabh Swamiji from Yogi Divine Society, a worldwide organization performing many social activities and uplifting youth worldwide.

Mr. West moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr1, An Act to revive Sapore Di Calabria Inc.

This petition is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas our government was elected on commitment on keeping costs down and putting more money back in Ontarians’ pockets by increasing housing supply, making it less expensive to drive or take transit, and by providing relief on everything from child care to taxes; and

“Whereas the government is delivering on that commitment by:

“—reducing 5.7 cents per litre on the gas tax for six months starting July 1;

“—$120 each year in savings in southern Ontario and $60 per year savings in northern Ontario by eliminating licence plate renewal fees for passenger and light commercial vehicles;

“—$300 in additional tax relief in 2022, on average, for 1.1 million lower-income workers through the proposed low-income individuals and families tax credit enhancement;

“—scrapping tolls on Highways 412 and 418;

“—cutting child care costs by 50% on average by December of this year; and

“Whereas the government is reducing the cost of housing by:

“—increasing the non-resident speculation tax rate from 15% to 20% and expanding the tax beyond the greater Golden Horseshoe region to apply province-wide and closing loopholes to fight tax avoidance;

“—implementing reforms that reduce red tape associated with new housing builds, making it easier to build community housing, and speeding up the approval process; and

“Whereas this plan is working—last year, over 100,000 new homes began construction, the highest in more than 30 years in the province of Ontario;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the housing action plan of the Ontario PC government.”

This petition was circulated by Aaron, and I will affix my signature and submit it.

I have a petition.

“To Raise Social Assistance Rates.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and woefully inadequate to cover the basic costs of food and rent;

“Whereas individuals on the Ontario Works program receive just $733 per month and individuals on the Ontario Disability Support Program receive just $1,169 per month, only 41% and 65% of the poverty line;

“Whereas the Ontario government has not increased social assistance rates since 2018, and Canada’s inflation rate in December 2021 was 4.9%, the highest rate in 30 years;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized through the CERB program that a ‘basic income’ of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to increase social assistance rates to a base of $2,000 per month for those on Ontario Works and to increase other programs accordingly.”

I agree with this petition, I’m going to affix my signature to it and give it to bring to Arushi to bring to the Clerk.