First, thank you to the union workers who I hope will be doing that work. But I’d also like to point out that there is nothing in the discussions about the manufacturing of electric vehicles that addresses the undoing of environmental policies that took place during the last government. I think it’s fantastic that we will be building these vehicles, but what are we doing about making sure that our building processes guarantee that future generations will have a livable world to live in? That has to be a part of every project, and so far I have not heard that from this government.

I will certainly be listening and fighting hard for what we need. We have recently gone through an exercise in which ambulances have been cut from the region. This means that people in Beardmore, for example, are at least two hours away from getting any assistance in an emergency.

Now, Beardmore, for people who don’t know, is on Highway 11, mostly a two-lane highway that has thousands of trucks travelling on it every day—many truck drivers, who unfortunately have not been well-trained and who are under a great deal of pressure to get where they’re going fast. More reputable employers actually don’t put the same pressure on their drivers, but what we are seeing is a constant number of trucks going off the road, and some of these accidents can be severe.

When I think of the area near Beardmore and Rocky Bay, which is just down the highway, there is no turning lane, and yet a school bus has to go back and forth from Rocky Bay to Thunder Bay or to Nipigon, which is about an hour, and there’s no safe way for that bus to get in and out of that community. So I will be—

We could also use money to improve snow clearing. I believe it was brought to this House last term that we need to change to an eight-hour snow-clearing cycle, and not the 16-hour one that we currently have.

We certainly want to see money invested in health care, and I would support this bill if I truly believed that that was what was happening, but what I see is that there is punishment taking place of the workers who are there right now, the workers who have been there during the pandemic and are being punished—for what? For being there—while private services continue to be funded excessively out of the public purse. That’s why I don’t support it.

Thank you very much.

Questions?

The next question.

I want to thank the member—or, first, to congratulate her on her election. I know how tough it was for you to actually get here. This is not your first crack at the polls. Your perseverance is what got you here, and your perseverance is what is going to keep you here.

You know what needs to happen. You basically need to listen to the voices that brought you here, and I know you realize that. Your constituents are going to be the guiding force and the strength that you’re going to need each and every day when you take your place in this House. It’s also going to be very enjoyable to listen to that lens that you bring to northern Ontario-based issues, because it’s not that we’re asking for more, but we’re certainly not going to accept anything less for our communities and our constituents in northern Ontario.

My question to the member is, what can your constituents expect from you in the years to come, and what are you going to be doing in order to make sure that you stay engaged and have the pulse of your constituents in your riding?

Speaker, I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity, so congratulations on being re-elected as Speaker. I know all of us here are delighted that you were successful in the chair, and I wish all the best to your contested opponent that didn’t make it.

I want to congratulate the member from Thunder Bay–Superior North for getting elected this session. She mentioned in her speech many very relevant things about the north, and one of the comments she said was that sometimes the north is an afterthought. We’ve heard that a lot from our northern members.

She highlighted that the first working group of injured workers was developed and created in Thunder Bay, and I wondered if she could speak to the challenges of how they get pushed into poverty, into ODSP, and the challenges around finding housing. I know in London it’s really difficult to find affordable, geared-to-income housing, especially when you’re on things like ODSP and OW.

And then the other thing that I hear a lot, and I wonder if it’s a commonality in the north, is about access to doctors. I’m getting, almost daily, constituents saying that Health Care Connect is not working and they cannot get a doctor.

Thank you to the member opposite. Welcome to the Legislature. It’s good to have you here. I know your predecessor was here for many years, a very honourable gentleman.

My question relates to the statement you made about the environment. You mentioned that in the budget, there were no words related to that. I did want to just get your thoughts on what we’ve done with respect to electric vehicle manufacturing in the province.

The previous government had a subsidy for multi-millionaires to go and buy $80,000 vehicles, and get money for vehicles that were built in California. What we’ve done as a government is to put a focus on manufacturing right here in Ontario, so we can have good-quality jobs—in my community of Oakville, but also in other parts of the province—and build the vehicles here, which is (a) good for business, (b) good for local communities and (c) good for the environment. I just want to get your thoughts on the government’s proactive approach to getting electrical vehicle manufacturing right here in the province of Ontario.

I, too, want to take the opportunity to welcome the new members to this wonderful House of democracy. I think I speak for all of us that it is a huge privilege and a very humbling responsibility that all of our voters bestowed on us when they voted us into the 43rd Parliament.

But, Speaker, I wanted to ask the member, because she mentioned that it takes her a long time to get here when she commutes to get to Queen’s Park: Bill 2 would see over $158 billion invested in highways and key transit infrastructure over the next 10 years, as well as other critical infrastructure including hospitals, long-term-care homes etc. Could the member across explain why her party does not support these measures to get shovels in the ground as soon as possible to get Ontarians moving and grow Ontario’s economy? We are saying yes on this side of the House, and we’re encouraging members opposite to join us in saying yes to building Ontario.

Further debate?

I’d like to congratulate the member from Guelph for his recent re-election. I wanted to address his remarks on the topic of health care, because he’s saying that our budget is not addressing health care issues in Ontario and I couldn’t disagree more. In fact, yesterday I received an email from the CNO in my inbox and it reads, “CNO Sets New Record for Registering Internationally Educated Nurses.

“As of June 21, 2022, the number of new internationally educated registrants reached 3,967—a 132% increase compared to this time last year.

“‘This record marks the sixth consecutive year of increasing registrations for internationally educated nurses,’ says Carl Timmings, CNO’s acting executive director and chief executive officer.”

My question to the member is, what is his suggestion to increasing our health care? Because on this side of the House we have a multi-pronged approach through internationally trained nurses, through giving free education to PSWs, to increasing the standards of care to four hours a day in long-term care. What are his suggestions? Because so far, all we’re hearing is complaints but no tangible solutions.

Thank you very much and congratulations to my good friend on your re-election. Keep up the good work. I’ve got a couple of softball questions for you because I know you’re probably a little tired from the election. Do you support Highway 413, and if you don’t, why? Do you support Bill 124, and if you don’t, why? Why do you think this government will not repeal Bill 124? And my understanding is, because I’m not always correct, inflation was running at 8%, their raises are capped at 1% and that’s a pay cut to our most important nurses—not just nurses; paramedics, corrections officers, education workers—a pay cut of 7%. Why do you think this government will not support repealing Bill 124?

It’s always an honour to rise in the House and today, to participate in the debate on Bill 2, the government’s budget bill.

Speaker, since the budget was first introduced back in April, there have been significant changes in the province of Ontario that are not reflected in the new budget the government has presented. First, we are facing an unprecedented health human resource capacity issue that is not addressed in the re-introduced budget. Second, inflation and housing costs are especially hitting the most vulnerable, especially those on Ontario Works and Ontario disability support, making it impossible for them to pay the bills while living in legislated poverty, and the government has failed to address that. And third, the costs of the climate emergency are escalating. We had a city in Ontario, the city of Ottawa, go without power for weeks because our infrastructure is not ready for the hammer blows of the climate emergency, and the budget fails to make the necessary investments to address that.

I want to start with health care. Speaker, the budget talks about buildings and beds. It doesn’t talk about the people who deliver care. If the government truly wants to address the health care crisis, they need to repeal Bill 124 and allow nurses and other front-line health care workers to negotiate fair wages, fair benefits and better working conditions.

Instead of talking about privatization, let’s actually invest in our public health care system. The bottom line is the province of Ontario spends less per capita on health care than any province in the country. No wonder the system is in crisis, especially when the government underspent their health care budget by $1.8 billion last year.

Speaker, people with disabilities are being forced to live in legislated poverty. Poverty costs this province $33 billion a year, so it’s not only the right and moral thing to do to bring people out of poverty, it’s the right thing to do for the fiscal health of our province. Homelessness and poverty are putting huge pressure on our health care system, which is why so many health care leaders are saying they want to write prescriptions to end poverty and end homelessness. This budget fails to do that.

Finally, instead of spending billions on highways to go to million-dollar homes that people can’t afford, let’s build climate-ready communities that are affordable, livable—where people can people can live, work, play and shop locally.

Over two years ago, the Ontario Greens put forward a retention and recruitment strategy to deal with the health human resource capacity crisis we’re facing. I don’t know why it’s taken the government so long to finally start to act. There are between 15,000 and 20,000 internationally trained health care providers, according to the RNAO. They’ve been pushing the government to fast-track their accreditation. It’s fantastic that there are now 3,967, but if we had started this two years ago, what about the 15,000 to 20,000 who could be working in our emergency rooms right now, taking pressure off of the system? What about paying nurses’ wages so we don’t have to spend millions on private agencies when we could be hiring full-time permanent nurses?

Speaker, there are many solutions, and it starts by supporting publicly funded, publicly delivered health care in this province.

On Highway 413: I don’t understand how any government can call themselves fiscally responsible and spend $10 billion to $12 billion on a highway that all the independent experts say will save 30 to 60 seconds. It will pave over 2,000 acres of prime farmland. And I want to remind the members opposite: The food and farming sector in this province contributes $50 billion to the province’s GDP, employing over 880,000 people in this province. Why would we pave over the asset base of all that prosperity and all of those jobs, especially at a time when global geopolitical events and climate-fuelled droughts are driving up food prices? If we want to keep food prices low in this province, let’s protect farmland and let’s support the local farmers and the local supply chains that feed people in our communities.

Further debate?

Mr. Speaker, it’s always a pleasure to rise in the House to speak about what our government is doing to support hard-working Ontarians. The plan to build is the blueprint to prosperity, with ministries coming together with a common goal to build a better Ontario—in post-COVID times, a stronger, prosperous Ontario. Mr. Speaker, I call this “Team Prosperity.”

The budget is about how we are ensuring that Ontario is the best place to live, work, raise a family and thrive. In the last four years under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’ve seen—and I was attentively listening to the member from Peterborough–Kawartha when he was reading the petition. He talked about creating an environment where the government has delivered an estimated $8.9 billion in cost savings and support for Ontario employers. Then he talked about hard work and good policies, building an environment for economic growth. Because of that, we have actually attracted over $12 billion in new investment in electrical hybrid vehicles, including Canada’s first full-scale electrical vehicle battery plant in Windsor.

Mr. Speaker, these are some of the things that we do, and the results are obvious. The results are in terms of how when we started in 2018 and when we finished the first term in 2022, there were 500,000 new cheques and new opportunities for families across the province. That’s what was the result was out of that.

Last week, I remember that all of us—most of us on this side—were at AMO, the municipalities conference. We had an opportunity to meet many municipalities, so I just want to take a moment and thank the municipalities that I had the opportunity to meet, including Bonnechere Valley Mayor Jennifer Murphy, Mayor Sandy Brown and councillor Joe Andrews from the town of Orangeville, Mayor Barb Clumpus from the municipality of Meaford, Mayor Bonnie Crombie from my city of Mississauga–Malton and Mayor Brian Bigger from the city of Greater Sudbury.

Mr. Speaker, when we were there, as I was listening attentively to them, they were applauding the efforts that we’ve done and talking about the issue which the majority of them were talking about: the shortage of labour and more opportunities for the skilled trades. That’s something which, when I was thinking about what I should talk about today—because in this plan or this budget we’re talking about, there’s a lot of things that it has and a lot of things we can unpack.

But what I want to talk about is something that resonates with me as an immigrant who landed on January 15, 2000, and started my first full-time job as a lab technician, as a worker. I had an opportunity to get the micro-credentials. I went back to school, so I know the value of the skilled trades. I know the value of training and how this benefitted me. So I thought what I would be focusing on today would be employee training and skills development, areas overseen by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skill Development. These areas are a critical part of Ontario’s pathway to a more prosperous future, as well.

Mr. Speaker, what we’re doing in this budget is that we are actually making an investment of $89.5 million in Employment Ontario over the next three years. This will assist in Ontario’s economic recovery. Then, along with this, as I said earlier, when we created this environment, which has attracted a lot of investment, it increased the number of jobs that have been created. But another thing we have seen is that at this moment, as we’re talking, there are over 350,000 jobs that are unfilled. As we all know, each one of them is a paycheque waiting to be collected, and that’s something which, through this project, we want to address as well.

Things that we’re doing—there are multiple tools. The first tool which I will really talk about is addressing the problem through immigration. We have a program called the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. In this budget, we are making a historic investment to fund and develop this program. What’s going to happen is this investment will allow the program to meet and exceed integrity requirements for its immigrant nominee targets as set by the federal government and position us for continued growth.

I just want to draw every member’s attention to this: At this time, through the OINP program, we are receiving 9,000 immigrants, and if you really look at the total number of immigrants who come to Ontario, it’s about 200,000. So if you really do the math, it is about 4.5% of the immigrants we get, the province has a say in that. When you take a look at the contrast just next door, in Quebec, wherein it is about 52% of the immigrants, the Quebec provincial program has a say in it. So if you really put these together, all I’m trying to say is that we need to have more say, and our ask is very simple and small. Our Premier and the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development are continuously advocating to the federal Liberal government to increase the number of immigrants we get, wherein we have a say. From 4.5%—we’re not asking for 50% or 52%—we’re just saying from 4.5% to 9%. That is equal to 18,000.

At this time, I will urge all the members, whenever you meet and see your member of Parliament, who has a seat and a say with the Prime Minister, ask them to support it. Why? Because it is the right thing to do. We know, by having those people and getting them here, getting them to fill those jobs, that they’re actually able to contribute more to the government. Thereby, we will be able to contribute more to society through service. I think what is good for them is good for Ontario. So I will encourage, again, one more time—I would appreciate, all of us, every time you meet with your member of Parliament, please do share this story with them.

Talking about the OINP program, what we’re doing at our own end: We are making a robust online application system, added 26 full-time employees and investing $4 million more in the program so that we are able to welcome newcomers with the skills we need to build our province. As I said earlier, we are facing a historic labour shortage. With these measures and investments, I’m glad to see that we are on a mission to build a better Ontario.

Some of the other things which we’re doing: There’s another one called Better Jobs Ontario, wherein we’re investing $5 million in the Ontario Workers’ Plan, which will allow for workers to upgrade their skills and find good jobs. Under this program, the applicants—including the self-employed, gig workers, youth and newcomers—will be eligible to get up to $500 per week in financial support for basic living expenses. This program will pay up to $28,000 if you take short-duration micro-credential courses for job-specific training.

Another thing which I quickly would like to add—I know time is flying—is about the OYAP program. The name stands for Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program. Skilled trades are so important that we are starting to reach out to our youth while they’re at school. The OYAP program is a specialized program for high school students to explore apprenticeship and consider careers in skilled trades. I would encourage, again, all the members to reach out to the high schools in your own riding. This is a great program. You’re able to support those young leaders for the future.

Another program, another tool which I want to talk about is the Skills Development Fund, wherein we’re investing about $34.8 million in the Skilled Trades Strategy, along with programs like the Hammer Heads. Along with the other over 140 successful organizations, the Hammer Heads Program was created by the Central Ontario Building Trades in 2009 to support at-risk youth. It is a skill- and employment-based training within the construction industry. As we all know, there are over 100,000 jobs in the construction industry which are unfilled as we are speaking. What it does is it brings these at-risk youths with the specific training in the skilled trades and gets them job-ready.

These are some of the things that we are doing, Mr. Speaker, in this budget. Our government is making these investments because it is what people in our province need to thrive. This budget outlines our government’s priorities and continues the legacy of our government, which is creating for the workers. I want to say, let’s work together to make Ontario the best place in the world to live, work, raise a family and thrive. Let’s seize the opportunity to grow. I encourage everyone: Let’s support this budget.

I would like to congratulate my colleague from Mississauga–Malton on his re-election. I think the residents of Mississauga–Malton made the right choice, and the commitment that the member brings will serve them well.

I want to touch upon the major investment that Bill 2 is doing in health care. We have seen some of these commitments in the Scarborough area, especially in Scarborough–Agincourt, and I’m sure that the residents of Scarborough will immensely benefit from this investment. But can the member elaborate more on how those major investments in health care will keep Ontario safe and open?

Thank you to the member from Mississauga–Malton. I am also very happy to be hearing about skilled-trades opportunities for young people, and for international people interested in becoming permanent residents.

I do worry about worker health and safety, however. We know that workers keep dying at Fiera Foods, we know that young truck drivers are dying on the highways—many of these come here as temporary foreign workers—and we also know that WSIB is not there when workers receive a permanent injury. So what I’m wondering is, what is in the plans? What will this government do to protect the health and well-being—in other words, the safety—of workers, whether Canadian-born or here hoping to become permanent residents, when businesses are warned of inspections before they take place?

Questions?

I enjoyed my member across the way here, his comments especially when it comes to labour and when it comes to the shortage of labour in this province. Whether you’re in Mississauga–Malton or in Elgin–Middlesex–London, we have a labour crisis in this province.

I would ask the member, through you, sir, how do you see Bill 2 helping alleviate that dilemma in this province and the labour shortage that we have?

Mr. Speaker, through you to the member opposite from London–Fanshawe, thank you for bringing that important thing. You definitely talked about the clog in the system at the OINP program. That’s exactly what we’ve done: We have moved on to the online tool that we are using right now with an additional 26 employees. Full-time employees have been added on so that we can take care of those issues.

Definitely, I understand and agree with you that we need to do more because at this time, we have over 350,000 jobs being unfilled. We need more immigrants to fulfill those jobs. Thank you for the question.

I always say this, Mr. Speaker: People need jobs and jobs need people. But what is the missing link between the two is the skill set required for the people to do those jobs, and this is exactly what this bill is doing: helping and supporting those Ontarians to get those skills and fill those jobs. Those jobs are extremely important. When they bring in a cheque, they’re not only bringing financial stability to themselves; they’re actually contributing to our society.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, member, for the wonderful question.

My thoughts are always with those families of those who have been injured in a workplace accident, and those who have in fact passed due to a workplace incident. Mr. Speaker, I truly believe everyone deserves to come home after a hard day’s work. One life lost is too many, in fact. This is why I truly believe that we have a responsibility at our ministry. Our government is making sure it’s doing everything in its power to keep workers safe, and this includes boots on the ground. Today and tomorrow, we actually have—that’s the reason we actually had invested heavily through Working for Workers Acts 1 and 2, and hiring a lot of those inspectors, as well.

So to the member opposite, I want to assure you that we are a government that works for the workers. The health and safety of our Ontarian workers will always be a top priority.

Talking about health care, Mr. Speaker, our government continues to ensure that its health care system is prepared to respond to any crisis and protect the health and well-being of the people of Ontario. We are investing an additional $3.3 billion in 2022-23, bringing the total additional investment in the hospitals to $8.8 billion since 2018-19.

The member talked about the investment; we are actually building up a hospital in Brampton. We are redeveloping a hospital in Mississauga with Trillium Health Partners. These are critical investments, and to build on the 10,600 health care workers added to the system since the winter of 2020, the government is investing a vital $230 million in 2022-23 to enhance the existing program.

Mr. Speaker, we believe the health of Ontarians is our top priority. We are investing into it. We will keep investing the important, vital dollars into this health care system.

Thank you to the member from Mississauga–Malton on his debate on the Plan to Build Act (Budget Measures). He talked a lot about the Ontario nomination immigration program, which I really appreciate because at one point I was a critic on that file. I remember back when the Auditor General actually did a report on that and how that ministry really needed to be corrected and fixed. So I’d be interested to find out if some of those recommendations under that Auditor General’s report were actually fixed, while we are now talking about bringing more nominees into the province, which we all want. We want to see them thrive and build our workforce, because we do need that. We don’t have enough population in Ontario to continue that. So that is one of the things I urge you to look at and find out: As you’re asking for more immigration and nominees to come, have those problems been fixed in the Auditor General’s recommendations?

There was also a question I had—I get oftentimes emails about the delays of the nomination program in Ontario. Can you speak to that, about how that’s being repaired?

A quick question, the member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas.