I want to thank the member from Thornhill for her exceptional leadership, standing up for all families in this Legislature. And, Speaker, I celebrate with her what this child care deal means for working people in this province. We averaged this year $4,000 in savings as we hit 25% on average in a reduction, and 50%—we’re still on track to achieve that by December 31 of this year, roughly $12,000 in the bank, because our Premier had the fortitude to stand up for non-profit and for-profit child care operators and the children and the families who depend on them.

The member from Thornhill is right: Operators were looking for more certainty from the various municipal service providers in the province. So we have done that, following the best advice of for-profit and non-profit child care to deliver on the priority of this government, which is money in the bank and savings for working people. That’s why we extended the deadline to November 1. It’s why we’ve streamlined the guidelines for operators. It’s why we’ve reduced the red tape, all to build confidence as we continue our effort to reduce fees and make life more affordable for the parents of this province.

As this is the first time I rise in this chamber, I want to thank the hard-working people of Thornhill for bringing me here.

Mr. Speaker, as the cost of living rises, the effects can be felt by young families in my riding. My constituents are seeking support from our government to ensure they are getting fair rates and much-needed financial support when it comes to child care, but they are worried. They’re worried that the daycare operation will miss the opt-in deadline of the $10-a-day program, which will result in them missing out on a program that will provide them with financial relief during these times of global economic uncertainty and high inflation.

Will the Minister of Education please inform the House how our government is supporting families in my riding and make sure that they aren’t left behind on this deal?

The supplementary question.

First of all, I think I better point out that all of us have multiple responsibilities and it doesn’t help decorum to refer to another member’s efforts as being part-time. Secondly, I’m going to ask the member to withdraw his unparliamentary comment at the conclusion of his question.

The Minister of Long-Term Care can reply.

I realize the government House leader and Minister of Long-Term Care was reading from an article, but it would still be better if we could try to refer to each other by our riding name or a ministerial title, as applicable, on both sides of the House.

Start the clock. Next question.

The member of course will remember that in the last Parliament, we passed the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, which extended the highest standards, frankly, in North America, not just on the for-profit but on municipal and not-for-profit—because it really shouldn’t matter where you are; the standards should be the same.

Now, as part of that, Speaker—and remember, they voted against it—we increased staffing to a record, a North America-leading four hours of care, billions of dollars of support to get to that four hours of care. We have doubled inspections. This is all part of the Fixing Long-Term Care Act. Of course, the members voted against it. We have also brought in 58,000 new and upgraded beds to add to the system in the member’s own riding and ridings across the province of Ontario. We’re well on our way to having the best long-term-care system in North America, and I’m very proud of the fact that we can play a part in building an integrated health care system in Ontario.

This member is no stranger to getting things wrong, Mr. Speaker. In fact, last week, he asked a question of the Premier with respect to a citizen in his riding and ambulance care. Now, of course, the headline in the papers: “MPP Wayne Gates’ Recent Attack on Niagara EMS Unfounded, According to the Region.”

What’s wrong with it? I quote from the article: “It appears that the ... member for Niagara Falls had some of his facts mixed up.

“First of all, paramedic services ... are the responsibility of” the region.

“Second, the Fort Erie resident did not call 911....”

“Third, and most importantly, according to” the incident report, when paramedics were dispatched, service was done, the person was assessed all within 35 minutes, and did not need to go to the hospital to have that care.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Sous l’ancien gouvernement libéral, nous avons vu comment les circonscriptions rurales et francophones comme la mienne ont été ignorées alors que des fonds étaient déversés dans des villes urbaines et métropolitaines.

L’ancienne députée de ma circonscription a perpétué cette situation en négligeant d’appuyer ses électeurs. Mes électeurs sont toujours confrontés à des défis alors que nous sortons de cette période d’incertitude économique mondiale causée par la pandémie, une pandémie qui a affaibli de nombreuses petites entreprises de ma circonscription.

Contrairement à ma collègue avant moi, j’ai l’intention de mettre sur la carte les circonscriptions rurales et francophones comme Glengarry–Prescott–Russell, et de faire en sorte que nos voix soient entendues ici même à l’Assemblée législative.

Monsieur le Président, la ministre des Affaires francophones peut-elle expliquer comment notre gouvernement reconnaît la francophonie ontarienne comme un atout économique?

Voilà pourquoi nous avons mis sur pied la Stratégie de développement économique francophone, qui gravite autour de trois axes :

—l’entrepreneuriat et l’innovation francophones;

—une main-d’oeuvre qualifiée bilingue; et

—la promotion de la francophonie ontarienne comme atout économique.

Depuis son adoption, nous avons mis sur pied plusieurs initiatives pour épauler nos entrepreneurs et nos entreprises francophones. Grâce à cette stratégie globale et évolutive axée sur la francophonie ontarienne, 38 programmes permettent maintenant de mieux appuyer les entrepreneurs et entreprises francophones de la province.

Yesterday, the part-time long-term-care minister said 100% of residents have access to AC, but of course that doesn’t mean their bedrooms when they’re in quarantine or asleep. In fact, he was proud that one in 10 long-term-care residents don’t have AC in their bedrooms through the summer heat where they have to stay for 24 hours a day when there’s a COVID outbreak. He also said consent is required to move patients from hospitals to long-term-care homes that they don’t want to.

He asked me to read the bill, so I thought I would: “This new provision authorizes certain actions to be carried out without the consent of these patients. The actions include having a placement co-ordinator determine the patient’s eligibility for a long-term care home, select a home and authorize their admission to the home.”

It also says—because I’ve read language before. Subsection 60.1(4) of his own bill says actions can be “performed without consent if reasonable efforts have been made....”

So given he made two inaccurate statements twice in one morning, will the minister explain why he thinks misleading residents is a better strategy—

Interjections.

My question is for the Premier.

Speaker, you may remember the case of Mr. Vibert Britton, who I spoke about in December. At the time, Vibert was suffering from large bed sores, and his sister, Pamela, fought to have him taken to the hospital for life-saving treatment. Now, several months later, matters have gone from bad to worse, and he has been in and out of the hospital. His sister tells me she believes this is a result of his private long-term-care home not following hospital orders.

Sadly, this situation is all too common. Seniors are spending their hard-earned savings on inadequate care in private LTC homes which lands them in and out of hospitals. This burdens our emergency rooms and is adding to the health care crisis. This has to stop.

When will this government ensure adequate standards of staffing and care in private long-term-care homes? Vibert and so many others don’t have the time to wait.

I again want to thank the member from Thornhill for this important and timely question.

The first thing we did, part of our response to child care operators to incentivize participation and thus reduce fees for parents, was reduce the amount of days operators can take to get the savings to parents. It was 60 days; it now will be 20—part of our mission to reduce costs and move quickly to make life a bit more affordable.

What we didn’t do, though, is leave $2.9 billion on the table. We didn’t leave an extra year of funding certainty on the table. We didn’t leave for-profit, parents and their kids behind, as the Liberals and New Democrats would have recommended, taking the first deal. We set up for a better deal that creates opportunities for all families, and part of this mission is to reduce fees, a significant reduction of $12,000 next year down to $10 a day by year 2025.

In the words of the private operators group, “POG is grateful for the Ontario government for listening to us all the way through and making the appropriate changes. Hard work pays off.”

We’re going to continue our efforts to reduce fees, increase access and make life affordable for Ontario families.

Supplementary.

Interjection.

Start the clock.

The member for Don Valley North.

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

The division bells rang from 1139 to 1144.

On August 18, 2022, Ms. Khanjin moved government order 2 regarding the appointment of presiding officers and revisions to committee membership. All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Motion agreed to.

The House recessed from 1150 to 1500.

Report deemed adopted.

Madame Gélinas moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 11, An Act to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act to protect workers who speak out about workplace violence and harassment and to require hospitals and long-term care homes to publicly report on workplace violence and harassment / Projet de loi 11, Loi modifiant la Loi sur la santé et la sécurité au travail pour protéger les travailleurs qui dénoncent les violences et le harcèlement au travail et obliger les hôpitaux et les foyers de soins de longue durée à rendre publics les incidents de violence et de harcèlement au travail.

First reading agreed to.

It’s a great pleasure that I have 70 pages of petitions here, given to me by Marlene Haley, who is one of the co-owners of the Merry Dairy ice cream store back in Ottawa Centre. I’m sure you might have been there once or twice, Speaker, when you’ve been in Ottawa. It reads:

“I Support Small Ice Cream Shops in Ontario.

“Whereas small ice cream shops offer customers a delicious treat, dairy producers valuable clients, and offer staff jobs;

“Whereas the Milk Act prevents small ice cream shops from local wholesaling, even if the source of their dairy ingredients comes from a certified dairy plant. In fact, the Milk Act currently restricts the wholesale of any products made with dairy ingredients, not just ice cream;

“Whereas small ice cream shops that wholesale without their own certified dairy plants are subject to thousands of dollars in fines...;

“Whereas consumers have the right to choose from a variety of safe dairy products...;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to allow small ice cream shops access to local markets for wholesaling, provided all ingredients are fully traceable, and all dairy ingredients come from certified dairy plants in Ontario.”

I wholeheartedly thank Marlene for her work here. I will be signing this petition and sending it to the Clerks’ table with page Elya.

The bill amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act in two ways:

(1) The provisions of the act protecting workers against reprisals are amended to include protections against reprisals against workers who speak out about workplace violence and workplace harassment. The amendments provide that a reprisal is any measure taken against a worker that adversely affects the worker’s employment. Examples of reprisals are provided.

(2) The provisions of the act addressing violence and harassment against workers are amended to provide that an employer that is a hospital and an employer that is a long-term-care home shall, at least once a month, publicly report on its website the number of incidents of workplace violence and workplace harassment that took place at the hospital or the long-term-care home, as the case may be, during the immediately preceding month.

“Improve Winter Road Maintenance on Northern Highways....

“Whereas highways play a critical role in northern Ontario;

“Whereas winter road maintenance has been privatized in Ontario and contract standards are not being enforced;

“Whereas per capita, fatalities are twice as likely to occur on a northern highway than on a highway in southern Ontario;

“Whereas current MTO classification negatively impacts the safety of northern highways;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows: “to classify Highways 11, 17, 69, 101 and 144 as class 1 highways; require that the pavement be bare within eight hours of the end of a snowfall and bring the management of winter road maintenance back into the public sector, if contract standards are not met.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my name to it and ask my good page Ria to bring it to the Clerk.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, pursuant to standing order 113(b).

Well, I’d like to wish my grandson Hawk a very happy 11th birthday from Nan.

I would like to wish my wife a very happy birthday today.

I thank the unbelievably hard worker from Don Valley North for the great question.

Simply put, Ontario is in a housing crisis that requires strong leadership and bold solutions.

As I said yesterday here in this House, we have an ambitious plan to build 1.5 million new homes in the next 10 years, and our plan is working. Just last year, we had over 100,000 housing starts in our province—that’s the highest in over 30 years—13,000 of which were rental units.

Ontarians have seen the dream of home ownership start to slip under the leadership and governance of the previous Liberal government, always backed by the NDP, but that is going to change under the leadership of this Premier and this government.

Pour attirer des travailleurs, il est important de travailler avec les entreprises et les organismes francophones afin qu’ils puissent contribuer à la prospérité de l’Ontario. Lorsque j’étais président des comtés unis de Prescott et Russell, l’une des difficultés que j’ai constatées pour de nombreuses entreprises de ma circonscription était qu’elles étaient souvent confrontées à des refus de contrats, car il n’y avait pas assez d’employés pour faire le travail requis.

Je sais que la ministre des Affaires francophones est une championne de la communauté francophone et de ma circonscription depuis quatre ans, et j’ai hâte d’avoir l’occasion de travailler avec elle pour livrer la marchandise pour les gens de ma circonscription.

Monsieur le Président, sur ce, la ministre peut-elle décrire les mesures prises par notre gouvernement pour aider les entrepreneurs et les entreprises francophones de ma circonscription à s’assurer qu’ils puissent réaliser leur plein potentiel?

En tant que ministre des Affaires francophones, je travaille en étroite collaboration avec mes collègues au niveau de la formation et du recrutement d’une main-d’oeuvre bilingue et qualifiée, de l’élargissement de l’offre de services de première ligne en français et de l’appui aux entreprises francophones et bilingues pour maximiser leur apport dans notre développement économique.

Nous appuyons notamment des initiatives pour aider les entrepreneurs et les entreprises francophones de l’Ontario à profiter des occasions qui s’offrent à eux dans les marchés francophones extérieurs, comme le Québec et la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

Nous avons procédé à des investissements ciblés, et une enveloppe de 1,5 million de dollars sur trois ans permet d’élargir le soutien aux entreprises et aux entrepreneurs francophones de l’Ontario.

We have approximately 6,239 invitations issued. We’re creating the capacity for providers to do the work for us, capacity grants to make sure that the providers are there. This has not stopped and I would encourage parents and families to register their child when the invitation comes. We will continue to push out invitations, to make sure that the wait-list is reduced and that children can get the services that they need.

We have created a program—created by the community, for the community—to make sure that children who were not receiving the services under the previous government, supported by you, get the services that they need.

Childhood budget funding: 8,685 families have received the support. Families who accessed foundational family services: 24,305. Caregiver-mediated early years programs: as of June 30, 2022, 1,590. I could go on.

The reality is that we have created a world-leading program—never been done before—from the ground up, where there was no capacity because the previous government did not make the proper investments. We are doing it. We are the government looking after these children. And we’ll continue to do it.

Interjections.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Housing.

Speaker, housing affordability in Ontario has eroded at a significant rate, making it challenging for first-time buyers to become homeowners. In fast-growing, high-density areas in Toronto, housing affordability continues to be at an elevated level of crisis. Almost half of all households rent their homes, limiting their spending on other life necessities.

A report from the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force demonstrated that average house prices in Ontario have climbed 180% while average incomes have grown roughly only 38%.

Can the Associate Minister of Housing tell us how our government will address the housing affordability crisis and ensure that we help young families fulfill their dream of home ownership?

My question is for the Premier. Sara is a mother of a nine-year-old boy who has been on a wait-list for autism services since July 24, 2017. She tells me about the lack of trust that families have for this government. Out of 8,000 children who have been promised to be enrolled, few are signing on. Many would rather wait to be forced into the program in the spring of 2023 than accept the invitation and risk changes to the current services that their children are currently in. This leaves families like Sara’s on a stalled wait-list.

Speaker, when will this minister and the government be forthcoming and transparent with parents, clear the backlog, and ensure that children receive the services and supports that they need, when they need them?

Families are enduring high levels of stress, years of neglect, abuse of power, and withholding of promised funding. Parents are tired, and they need their government’s help.

Can the minister explain to families like Sara’s, who are sitting on stalled wait-lists for more than five years, when they can expect to move on the list to receive the letter for the AccessOAP program?

I want to thank Brock for doing this petition and getting the signatures on it.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas as part of Ontario’s commitment to building a stronger health care workforce, the government is investing $142 million, starting in 2022-23, to recruit and retain health care workers in underserved communities, which will expand the Community Commitment Program for Nurses, up to 1,500 nurse graduates each year to receive full tuition reimbursement in exchange for committing to practise for two years in an underserved community; and

“Whereas starting in spring 2023, the government will launch the new $61-million Learn and Stay grant and applications will open for up to 2,500 eligible post-secondary students who enroll in priority programs, such as nursing, to work in underserved communities in the region where they studied after graduation. The program will provide up-front funding for tuition, books and other direct educational costs; and

“Whereas the government also proposes to make it easier and quicker for foreign-credentialed health workers to begin practising in Ontario by reducing barriers to registering with and being recognized by health regulatory colleges; and

“Whereas to address the shortage of health care professionals in Ontario, the government is investing $124.2 million over three years starting in 2022-23 to modernize clinical education for nurses, enabling publicly assisted colleges and universities to expand laboratory capacity supports and hands-on learning for students; and

“Whereas Ontario is accelerating its efforts to expand hospital capacity and build up the province’s health care workforce to help patients access the health care they need when they need it;

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

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to continue to build on the progress of hiring and recruiting health care workers.”

I fully endorse this petition, will sign it and give it to page Samreen.