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

Thank you to the member opposite for that question.

The question is, how are we making sure to keep Ontario open? What is our plan to keep Ontario open? So that’s what I’m going to talk about. What we’re doing is—Ontario’s progress against COVID-19 has been hard-fought. Our province has fared well compared to the other places.

I want to say thank you for the tireless efforts of our health care workers on the front line and for your everyday sacrifices.

Again, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks for giving me the—

Thank you for your debate here today. You talked about health care, and you said that your government is ready to respond to any emergency. But the people of Ontario need to know that you underspent your own health care budget by $1.8 billion. You underspent what you planned to spend, in a health care crisis.

In Hamilton, we’ve had already, to date, 200 code zero events where there is no ambulance available to respond to an emergency; that’s double the number for all of 2021, so far this year. We heard from the member from Niagara Falls, who had a constituent who called for an ambulance through Life Line, was told she had to wait six hours, only to have a taxi cab sent to her home. This is really not a situation where you’re responding to emergencies.

The health care system is in crisis. People need to be able to rely on ambulances when they have an emergency. What is your government going to do to make sure there are no more code zeroes in the province of Ontario?

I’m happy to have this opportunity today to rise and speak about the budget on behalf of my constituents in Ottawa West–Nepean.

Ontario is facing multiple crises right now. Our health care system is collapsing around us. The rapid increase in the cost of living is hurting working families, forcing them to cut down on essentials and, in some cases, to choose between food and rent. Poverty is increasing. Visits to food banks are increasing. Homelessness is increasing. We see it in our ridings and communities every day, urban and rural. We have a system right now that is letting the majority of Ontarians down.

This budget was a chance for the government to meet the moment and address these challenges, Speaker. They have failed. There is nothing to fix the health care crisis, nothing to fix the cost-of-living crisis that is hurting so many families, nothing to fix the housing crisis that is making it so hard to find a place to call home and pushing so many people out onto our streets.

Budgets are moral documents; they show our government’s priorities. One thing this government and this Premier have been consistent about is that their priority is their wealthy and well-connected buddies, not ordinary Ontarians, not vulnerable seniors, not people living in poverty, not people with disabilities, not our health care workers and not Ontarians who need to call an ambulance or go to the emergency room—what a lost opportunity to help those who need help the most.

This budget is essentially the same one that was tabled just a few months ago. However, since then, our situation in Ontario has significantly changed. Our health care system—which was already under stress, and let’s be honest, should have received significant investment already back in April—is collapsing after years of being underfunded and ignored.

Our health care heroes who got us through COVID have been so worn down by this government, so disrespected and so poorly compensated that they are now leaving the profession, switching to agency work or cutting down on shifts. It’s not because they don’t want to be nurses working in our public hospitals—they absolutely do—but the mistreatment they’ve suffered, the conditions they’ve been forced to work in every day, and the significant cut in wages that they’ve endured with a 1% wage cap when inflation is over 8%, have led many of them to leave.

This significant increase in inflation is affecting everyone, Speaker. People across the province are being squeezed when they go to the grocery store or pay their bills. Prices are exploding and working people are the ones paying the bills. As I’ve knocked on doors over the past year and talked to thousands of constituents, I’ve heard again and again the struggles that people are facing because incomes aren’t keeping up with prices. Everybody is feeling the squeeze.

So does this budget do anything to address these problems? Absolutely not. This is a stay the course, nothing is wrong, everything is fine budget that maintains the status quo. No problems to see here. But that isn’t true, that’s not what I hear from folks across Ottawa West–Nepean every day. It’s not what I see when I go to the grocery store or fill up my tank. It’s not reflective of reality.

The Premier and his government seem to be living in a different reality than my constituents. This is an Alice in Wonderland budget, Speaker, where up is down and wrong is right. They keep on saying there are record amounts of money going into our health care system, but no one on the ground can see it as they wait 12 hours for care at the Queensway Carleton Hospital.

They say they’re building record amounts of new housing, but McMansions that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars aren’t affordable for everyday Ontarians, and they’re certainly not providing any help to my constituents earning minimum wage or on social assistance.

This was an opportunity for the Premier to show that he understood the problems that we are facing and to do something about it. Now, it’s those who can least afford it who are being asked to pay the price for the Premier’s inaction.

Take the health care crisis for instance. People are waiting 12 hours to be seen at the emergency room at the Queensway Carleton Hospital. The Queensway Carleton staff, meanwhile, are trying to deal with a situation where some days there are more patients in the ER who have been admitted but are waiting for a bed in the hospital than there are beds in the ER. Patients are receiving emergency care in the hallway and in the waiting room. Only 60% of the hospital’s surgical capacity is being used even though we have this massive backlog of surgeries and procedures because there are no nurses to assist the surgeons.

And if you call 911 in Ottawa, Speaker, there’s a good chance you may be waiting several hours for an ambulance. The number of hours where there is no ambulance available at all in the entire city is increasing.

I spoke to one constituent this spring who called an ambulance because of chest pain and dizziness. She waited two hours, worrying the entire time that she would die before the ambulance got there. Her daughter finally came and collected her and took her to the ER. If we don’t do something about this soon, someone is going to die before the ambulance gets there.

Our nurses and doctors and other health care workers are so burnt out. They were here for us during the height of the COVID pandemic. They fought for us and now it’s time for us to pay them back and be there for them when they need it. I know how hard they work because I’ve needed emergency care myself over the past few years thanks to long COVID. I saw how hard these folks work day after day, the personal sacrifices they make to ensure that people like me get the care they need even when the emergency room was packed and there was only one doctor on shift and not enough nurses. But they’ve gotten no respect and no help from this government.

If the government wants to start showing that they are taking this crisis seriously, they could start by repealing Bill 124. They could start implementing the recommendations of the Ontario Nurses’ Association and the Ontario Medical Association. These are the experts. They’re the ones on the front line every day—not the Premier, not the health minister. These people, who save countless lives of Ontarians every day, they’re the ones who know the true needs of our health care system.

When we talk about numbers in the budget, we forget at our peril that budgets are about people. They’re about what happens every day to people in Ontario. And the decisions within budgets can have massive consequences for people. I hear it every day from my constituents, so I want to share some experiences that illustrate the human cost of this do-nothing budget for people across Ontario so that the government can understand how their lack of action is hurting people.

Sherry, a constituent in my riding of Ottawa West–Nepean, reached out to my office because she’s extremely worried about the state of our health care system. Recently, she had to take her 92-year-old mother-in-law to the ER at the Queensway Carleton Hospital. After waiting hours to be seen, her mother-in-law was finally taken in for a CT scan. The results of the scan were inconclusive so she was sent home with the impression that everything would be okay. After two days of not eating or drinking anything, it was obvious that there was something seriously wrong.

Sherry took her mother-in-law back to the ER, this time at the Ottawa Hospital, where they waited seven hours before she was finally seen. She then spent two days in the ER, which she described as a nightmare, with incredible crowding and disgruntled patients waiting six to eight hours to be seen by a doctor. And when patients are admitted, there are no beds available for them. Just imagine waiting days and days for a bed in a little ER cubicle, with bright lights, the impossibility of sleep and the difficulty of obtaining food.

When Sherry’s mother-in-law had her second CT scan, they discovered lymphoma in the brain. After doing an MRI late in the afternoon, she was finally admitted to a room but had to shuffle between hospitals for the next five days while undergoing radiation treatment.

As the mother of a doctor, Sherry sees unequivocally that nurses and health care workers are suffering, and many are leaving the profession because this is just such a difficult time. They do not feel supported by this government.

Another constituent of mine, Peggy Mansyk, recently moved to Ottawa West–Nepean from Niagara with her husband. She was unable to get an appointment with a nephrologist to continue her husband’s care for his condition. When she booked two appointments to see the doctor in July, they were cancelled each time and she was then told that they would be unable to rebook an appointment this summer. Why? Because the clinic is too busy. Because there aren’t enough staff to see the volume of patients required. It will now have been over six months since Peggy’s husband has seen a nephrologist for his care, and they can’t get a family doctor either. The story is shocking and unacceptable, but unfortunately I hear similar stories every day.

Another constituent in my riding suffers from Crohn’s disease. As a result of complications, she has been hospitalized five times in the last two years. In January 2021 she was referred to a colorectal surgical group at the Ottawa Hospital. Because of the great deal of pain she was experiencing, she was eager to have this done as soon as possible. But her consultation was booked for six months later. However, shortly before the consultation she started feeling severe abdominal pain and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery to remove two thirds of her colon. Post-surgery her colon flared up, which resulted in another two-week stay at the hospital. She was booked for another surgery in February 2022 to have the rest of the diseased colon taken out, but again it was delayed and rescheduled for April of this year.

Two months later, while visiting family in BC, she was hospitalized once again because of a post-surgical infection and internal abscess. She was treated with antibiotics and told to consult with her health care team once she returned to Ottawa. She was also told to keep an eye on her symptoms for anything similar and that she would need to go straight to the ER if anything similar happened.

Now, with recent ER closures in the Ottawa area, she’s living with the constant fear of being unable to access the health care she needs if she finds herself in an emergency once again. It is also very likely she will need another major surgery in the next few years, but is quite concerned about when that surgery might be scheduled, given the state of hospitals in Ottawa, and what impact this might have on her care.

A key point that I need to make, Speaker, is that the privatization of our health care system that the Premier wants to force on Ontario will only make matters worse. The health minister just announced this morning that the government’s response to our crisis is going to be privatization. What does this mean for Ontarians? It means, instead of getting the quality health care services you deserve through an efficient and highly professional public system, you’ll have to get worse care for more money. Health care costs will soar because middlemen investors will now be pocketing profits on top. The only people that benefit from this will be shareholders making more money at the expense of taxpayers.

Let’s deal with the argument being parroted by the government that outsourcing and privatization will lead to shorter wait times. They absolutely do not. In fact, what is already happening—and if this government’s plan is pushed through, it will get even worse—is that the crisis of short staffing will continue. The public system will bleed doctors, nurses and other health care workers away to the private system. We will continue to have a chronically understaffed public system that lacks the resources it needs to serve the public.

Will the private system that is being foisted on Ontarians serve the public with higher-quality service? Absolutely not. Wait times won’t go down, but private shareholders will make more money. This isn’t scaremongering, because we have a clear example of what a private, everyone-for-themselves health care system looks like. It’s the system used by our neighbour to the south, which is consistently ranked as having some of the worst health outcomes of any Western country. In fact, it is often used as an example of what a health care system shouldn’t look like because it leads to high costs for patients, poor health care services and a huge amount of money for private companies, who make extraordinary profits at the expense of working and middle-class families.

The evidence is clear: Privatized health care leads to poor services. Just look at our long-term-care system and what happened there during the pandemic and what continues to happen to our seniors, persons with disabilities and loved ones living in long-term care. Companies like Chartwell homes put profit and their shareholders before people. Shame on them, and shame on a government that wants to do the same thing to our health care system that they did to our long-term-care system.

Let’s also talk about the cost-of-living and affordability crisis that is hurting families in my riding of Ottawa West–Nepean. Again, this budget does nothing for them. It has nothing in it to protect working people from the rapidly rising price of groceries and rent, with inflation devastating families’ purchasing power. This is a do-nothing budget.

One of the biggest problems we are facing is that large corporations are now using inflation as an excuse to gouge working people. The oil and grocery companies are making record amounts, yet you don’t see gas or groceries coming down. Where in this budget are measures to make these companies accountable to Ontarians? They are nowhere.

For working people and families, this means that every month their paycheques lose more and more of their buying power. This is forcing families to choose between basic necessities, pushing back getting their car repaired, not being able to sign up their kids for a summer camp, not sure if they’re going to be able to get their kids’ school supplies this year.

Everyone, not just those on low incomes, is having to cut back on their grocery shopping. For those on Ontario Works and ODSP, it’s even worse. They have now officially been legislated into poverty. A 5% rise only for those on ODSP is an insult to those who have already been pushed to the brink. They face a situation that’s gone from bad to worse. This will mean that seniors and children are going hungry and homeless. That will be this budget’s legacy and record: profit for those at the top and cuts in real terms for everybody else.

On housing, this government’s answer is simple: give developers more money and let them build more unaffordable McMansions. That doesn’t do anything for my constituents who are struggling to get by. They are being exploited by predatory landlords, with their rights and protections increasingly eroded and disregarded by a Premier who cares more about developers making money than actually fixing the housing crisis and building genuinely affordable homes. I’m hearing stories every day from vulnerable constituents who are paying the price for this government’s inaction.

To give you just one example, a constituent in my riding has been in contact with my office with concerns about safety in her community and a request to transfer housing. She is pleading for help. This constituent has been targeted because of her advocacy for LGBTQ2+ rights in her community, and she is a survivor of multiple assaults. After a recent midday shooting in her small community, she has requested a transfer with Ottawa Community Housing and has been listed on the urgent safety priority list.

Speaker, the current wait-list for urgent safety transfers with OCH is averaging two and a half years. Non-urgent transfers are up to eight years.

This constituent has stated that she is overwhelmed with stress because of the fear for her safety, and incredibly concerned for her mother’s health, who was recently diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. She is on Ontario Works and cannot afford to leave community housing because rent in Ottawa is simply unaffordable. She needs the transfer, but fears the harm that the stress will cause both herself and her mother if she has to wait another two and a half years before she gets one.

I hear stories from constituents every day about the unending wait-lists. In Ottawa alone, 500 families are living in motels, including children, because there just isn’t enough affordable and safe housing for them to access. That means parents washing their children’s clothes in the bathtub. It means the only option to prepare food is a microwave. Just imagine 500 families living in these conditions. This is a disgrace. This government should be doubling both Ontario Works and ODSP rates so that people can actually afford to live in this province.

I urge the government to go back to the drawing board and to come up with a plan that will actually address the challenges facing Ontario. It’s not too late to save our public health care system. It’s not too late to help people living in poverty or experiencing homelessness. It’s not too late to support people with disabilities. It’s not too late to invest in genuinely affordable housing. It’s not too late for the government to side with ordinary Ontarians and the issues that matter most to them. Thank you.

I’m very pleased with some of the comments the member is bringing to the floor of the Legislature, particularly from the perspective of her riding. That’s really important and key, and it’s a reminder to all members. It’s so important for us to learn from each other by bringing those stories.

I want to bring some stories from my area of Algoma–Manitoulin. Our seniors across this province, and in northern Ontario, many of them are on fixed incomes. They’re very limited as far as what they’re getting on their pensions. They budget everything to the last penny that they spend every month. The increases in gas that they’ve experienced in order to get to and from either Sudbury or Sault Ste. Marie in getting to a doctor’s appointment has had an impact on their budget. The small increase they received on their CPP has now made them ineligible—by $40—to get dental coverage and others now, the big whammy that’s really hit them, have received a 25% increase on their propane costs where they’ve done everything to try to eliminate the high cost of hydro.

I’d like to hear from you what seniors in your area are experiencing?

I listened intently to our new member from Ottawa West–Nepean and her comments on the budget. One thing I think a lot of people don’t understand is what really the dangers of privatization are in the health care system. Why a contract nurse is so much more expensive to the system than nurses employed in the public system. Can you please elaborate on what that extra cost is?

Questions?

I thank the member for the question. I’ve heard from many of the food banks and service agencies that are located in my riding of Ottawa West–Nepean that they’ve seen an incredible increase in demand over the past few months. I’ve heard the same from Meals on Wheels and other organizations that are serving seniors. I’ve met with the community health centre, that says they’re seeing a real increase in need for their programs and services. I’ve met with tenants who are living on Ontario Works or ODSP who are terrified that they’re about to be squeezed out of the only housing that they’ve been able to afford. I’ve spoken with people who have their kids living with them at home because they can’t afford to move out. There are incredibly desperate needs across Ottawa West–Nepean for a government and a budget that actually takes the affordability crisis, that actually takes poverty seriously and I know that my constituents would only want me to vote in favour of a budget that actually addressed the challenges that they are facing.

I also had the opportunity to meet with the nurses of Local 83 in Ottawa last week from the Ottawa Hospital, and they explained to me in clear terms there’s only a set number of health care workers and nurses and doctors in Ontario. We can’t magically expand it with a wave of a wand because we’ve created a private system. So now that same number of workers has to spread out over a private system and a public system—a private system which can refuse to take those patients who have the highest care needs, who have the greatest complexities, who actually need doctors and nurses the most. Those private care companies can focus only on those with the easiest problems to address and solve. So now those patients are ahead of the line and the lineup for care at our public hospitals and at our public clinics is even greater. This is a solution that will only make the crisis much, much worse.

The need is absolutely great. Not a single constituent that I spoke to in Ottawa West–Nepean over the course of a year said, “Please privatize our health care system.” What they said was, “Please fix our system. Please support our hard-working health care heroes so we can actually get the health care we need, when we need it.”

I’ve heard from Meals on Wheels and Jewish Family Services, which provides Kosher Meals on Wheels, that there’s an increased demand for these services, but unfortunately the government’s funding for these services has been frozen and isn’t keeping pace with the need. So they’re afraid they’re going to have to raise prices, which means that some of these seniors are going to go hungry rather than actually getting the food services they need.

I think the refusal to address the challenge with dental care for seniors because of the rise in CPP is an example of being penny-wise, pound foolish because we know that these seniors will now go without dental care, but we also know that when dental problems aren’t addressed, they result in other health care problems, including heart problems, which means that some of these seniors are going to end up in our emergency rooms when the problem could have been addressed early on if they could have simply afforded to see a dentist.

Thank you to the member opposite for her commentary and congratulations on being elected here. I do take issue with—you did mention affordability, and, in your view, the government’s lack of action on that. I want to remind the member of a few things that we’ve done and that are part of the budget and get your thoughts on it.

Number one: In this budget, we’ve expanded the LIFT tax credit. The LIFT tax credit we brought in a few years ago; it was the largest provincial tax cut for low-income families in the history of the province. We’re expanding that now and that’s going to be over $300 million in savings to over one million lower-income Ontarians. So we are providing relief on taxes to low-income individuals. We’ve cut the gas tax by 10 cents a litre to help consumers. We’ve eliminated the renewal fees for vehicles on the stickers—$120 a year, $60 to those in northern Ontario. Removing highway tolls—we’re providing more affordable public transit, which I strongly believe in, by allowing those who take local public transit with the GO train to pay lower fares—for kids 12 and under, lower fares on the GO train.

These are just a few of the initiatives we’ve taken. We are working hard; we know inflation is an issue. I think we all agree on that. We’ve taken a lot of steps here to help families, low-income individuals—why would you be opposed to these steps?

The government must have run out of speaking notes to be able to ask questions to our member.

I’m always happy to have the opportunity to be able to stand in this Legislature. We’ve definitely heard from a lot of folks on social assistance, ODSP and Ontario Works, who are struggling day in and day out, and I’m pretty sure the member touched on that in her speech, talking about how people were struggling to not only make the rent, but to have a little bit extra at the end of the day for food. We’re clearly hearing from many folks who have little more than $50 a week to be able to feed themselves.

How does the member think that is for folks on social assistance? Does she think it’s the right thing for this government to give a meagre 5%, and will that actually make a difference for people living on social assistance in this province?

Further debate?

I thank the member from Hamilton Mountain for this question. It is something that I hear about constantly from constituents in Ottawa West–Nepean.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Ottawa is $1,160. Unfortunately, that’s about the amount of ODSP for a single individual. That means you pay the rent and you have no money left over. Ontario Works is even less, which means that you can’t even find a place to live if you collect Ontario Works, let alone have enough money for food and for anything extra.

I have a friend who is living on ODSP, who is not only struggling to make ends meet, but also lives in constant fear that this government is so mean-spirited that they are going to find additional ways to claw more benefits back from him. I think it’s incredibly cruel. I think it’s time that the government actually address poverty by doubling Ontario Works and ODSP rates.

Mr. Speaker, in this, my inaugural speech, I just want to congratulate you on your re-election as Speaker. I hope you serve many, many more years.

I rise today with gratitude toward the people of Kingston and the Islands, who have given me the opportunity to serve as their representative in the Ontario Legislative Assembly, and gratitude towards Ontario and Canada, which have given me peace, safety, education, health and opportunity. These were received gratefully on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee.

J’aimerais également rendre hommage aux députés précédents de la circonscription de Kingston et les Îles : Syl Apps, Keith Norton, Ken Keyes, Gary Wilson, John Gerretsen, Sophie Kiwala et Ian Arthur.

This sense of gratitude motivates how I approach politics. It makes me continually ask: “How I can support and improve this society which nurtured me, and what responsibilities do we have toward each other?” Gratitude makes me believe in this idea of a common good.

Speaker, 50 years ago my Chinese immigrant parents could never have imagined that their son would be elected to the Ontario Legislature or the House of Commons. Even 12 years ago, when I entered politics, many were still surprised. Why? Because I was a scientist, and not many scientists enter politics. My science training has taken me from Atomic Energy of Canada in beautiful Chalk River, Ontario, to working overseas as a financial executive and to heading an eastern Ontario sustainable energy association.

Science gave me a practical tool, the scientific method. The scientific method has worked in so many places and times because it welcomes criticism. When you honestly respond to criticism, your ideas change and grow, and they become stronger. My scientific background also motivates how I approach politics. I believe that a government that welcomes criticism is more honest, and an honest government makes better decisions for a better future.

Scientific humility makes me continually ask, “Could I be wrong? Is there a person with a viewpoint I haven’t heard from? Have I tried to understand experts, but also thought for myself?” I believe that the people we serve through politics would benefit from this approach, adopted by as many as possible.

Today I also rise with pride as part of the Ontario Liberal caucus, and to say that the members of this small but nimble team have a spring in their step, fire in their belly and purpose in their heart. We hear you, Ontario, and we will fight for you. We have experienced parliamentarians as well as community leaders, bringing diverse experiences from outside politics to hold this Conservative government to account for all the people. We will remember that thoughtful spending of taxpayer money can foster economic growth and, at the same time, weave a strong social fabric.

We believe that good government is thoughtful, not knee-jerk partisan; listens to all voices, not just those who pay to play; and makes both bold and plain decisions depending on what the circumstances call for. Good government doesn’t wait for a crisis. Good government doesn’t lead from behind.

Speaker, I know it is a difficult time to govern. There haven’t been so many simultaneous disruptions to society for generations. To the Premier: If you want to be the captain of this ship called Ontario, look ahead, not backwards. This ship doesn’t steer like a canoe. You must steer early to avoid the icebergs. Don’t wait until you have a crisis on your hands.

Let me give some constructive criticism of this government’s plans. Health care is in a crisis. I’m glad the health minister has become very visible in the last few days. In the Kingston area, up to 30,000 people are without a family doctor—30,000 people, three times the provincial average. Province-wide, the shortage of nurses and other workers is causing hospitals to ration care. Stories like double shifts for several days in a row are common, so it’s not surprising that workers are still contemplating quitting or retiring. My forward-looking advice to the Premier is this: Don’t think it can’t get worse. As the captain of the ship, it’s not too late to tack hard. Repeal Bill 124 and don’t try anything like that again.

Meanwhile, long-term care, on its current path, is unsustainable. That’s what the math says. To the Premier: Look ahead to when more baby boomers will be needing elder care. Don’t rely on your current plan of just building more of the same institutional, for-profit, long-term-care facilities. Have a plan for home supports. Have a plan for community-based care. Have a plan for supporting cost-effective ways to increase physical activity and socialization.

When it comes to housing, everyone knows we are neck deep in a crisis, especially in Kingston. House prices may have stalled in their dramatic rise, but rent continues to rise by double digits. The government’s plan to rely on suburban sprawl to satisfy housing demand isn’t sustainable. I welcome and acknowledge that this government has continued to develop the skilled labour force we so sorely need to build housing, but it should also be investing in innovation to bring down costs and speed up delivery. An example connected to this very body: Former Kingston and the Islands MPP Ian Arthur has a new business using 3D printing to build houses. Technology like this could provide more housing, while bringing down the cost of living. This government has tried to deal with the cost of living in the short term by taking from the treasury and giving it preferentially to people with cars. But I urge the Premier to understand that, in the long run, it’s productivity gains which raise income and push down the cost of living.

There’s hardly a family or a person out there who isn’t doing a double or triple take at their grocery bill. Overall inflation has abated slightly, but rent and food inflation are still high. Inflation is at about 9% for groceries. It’s hurting those with the least means first and worst. It’s time to raise ODSP and OW to a decent amount. It’s time to bargain in good faith with those who work on the front lines.

When it comes to affordable child care, I think the Conservatives should apologize to families with young children. With an average cost of child care at $20,000 a year in Toronto, it’s shocking that this government made us the last province to sign on to the federal child care deal. It was slow to give municipalities and operators clear instructions and complete information. And now, because of that delay, the Conservative government has had to push back the opt-in deadline to November. Premier, to not fall behind on making life more affordable for struggling young families, I would say: You’ve got to look ahead, not lead from behind.

And finally, to the Premier: I cannot stress enough, look ahead on energy and the climate crisis. The province was stunned to watch the Conservatives cancel renewable energy projects and allow electric vehicle infrastructure to be dismantled, and then proceed to not invest in storage, conservation or demand management. These were not the forward-looking actions of a leader. They put Ontario two steps behind on the energy and climate crisis, and we’re trying to catch up now.

I know this government has made a partial turn recently, taking advantage of the federal government’s leadership on electric vehicles and low greenhouse gas steel production. But this ship needs to complete the 180 degree turn to address the climate crisis. Ontarians should look out for electricity shortages in the years to come if nothing is done, as well as a potential propane price squeeze this winter.

I remember tangling at the House of Commons with the then federal natural resources minister Joe Oliver, back in the winter of 2013-14. He was caught off guard and could only propose that a study be done. I say to the Premier: Don’t wait until winter to unveil another crisis. Don’t let Ontarians go without a plan for affordable propane this winter. Don’t leave them behind.

Speaker, I’d like to acknowledge that I did not get here on my own. The people of Kingston and the Islands have given me their trust and faith, two things more precious than gold in today’s world. It’s volunteers and supporters like the ones I would like to mention now who show the world what it means to believe in democracy.

I’d like to especially thank Ann and Nicole, who co-managed my campaign and held full-time jobs. Thanks as well to their families: Josh and Lydia; Curtis, Lucas and Hayden.

I want to thank my family: Tara, my wife, who helped to lay the keel of the political ship I sail today. And thanks to my daughters, Ella and Vera-Claire; my parents, James and Marjorie; and aunt Linda and uncle Ta-Fang.

At the risk of leaving somebody out, I want to mention some names of people, some of whom put in hundreds of hours of volunteer time:

—Dianne and Gary; Ben, Teresa and Larry;

—Andy, Leonore and Dianne;

—Bert, who started recycling wood for signs a year before the election with Kevin and David;

—Alastair, Gabriela and Melinda;

—Jill, Nicole and the phone canvassers, especially Gayle and Elizabeth;

—Mike, Brian and the door-knockers, especially those who came out day after day after day in the cold and the rain, like Peter, Josette, Ryan, Kelly, Shivanand, Becky, Ayden, another Aiden, Ibrahim and Queen’s University students;

—Jane and the other volunteers who cooked hundreds of meals;

—Bruce and the 150 volunteers who came out for advance polls and election day;

—Bittu and other members of my riding association; and

—hundreds of donors who put their faith and trust in me.

I’d like to thank all of the volunteers for all parties in Kingston and the Islands, as well as the rest of Ontario. Tens of thousands worked together to volunteer millions of hours because of their faith and trust in their candidates and their parties. They believed in the importance and legitimacy of elections, and in today’s world this simply can’t be overlooked.

Mr. Speaker, today we face an array of challenges that simply haven’t flared up simultaneously in a long time. It will take us all working together, treating each other with respect, to achieve solutions. It will take strong and thoughtful leadership in Ontario to carefully assess the facts and make tough calls. Let’s get to work. Let’s get ahead of these challenges. There’s no time to leave them behind.

Report continues in volume B.