I have a question to the member from Durham. He talked about Internet capability, and there are some changes here that nibble around the edges. We’ve been talking about public versus private. The member has stated that he wants Internet for everybody in Ontario. How is that going to happen with a private delivery model, when it’s not economical for any of those companies to locate in many areas of the province?

Please continue the debate.

I congratulate the newly elected member from Hamilton Centre on her election on March 16 and joining us in this 43rd Parliament—although the newest member of the provincial Parliament, we will all be in the picture for the 43rd Parliament, with our names on the wall, after this Parliament is complete.

I just want to ask—I get teased about this: I ran a couple of times to try to get here, before I got here. It looks like the member successfully ran and won the first time. Going way, way back, I was in student politics, student government at the University of Toronto, right next door. How many elections has the member run in, compared to me—student included?

I thank the speaker for her passionate remarks this morning. I could hear that passion across the aisle. All of us choose to seek elected office in their own timing and pace, and for some it happens later in life, even those with grey hair like mine. I wonder if the member could explain to the House when her decision first arose and when that passion first started for her.

It is now time for questions.

Thank you for the question.

I’ve been pretty involved in politics for some time because I see it as a form of harm reduction. I don’t believe in removing ourselves from the space. I co-managed the successful campaign of Councillor Nrinder Nann. I’ve been involved in the provincial and the federal levels of the NDP for some time.

I made the decision to run when my predecessor announced that she would step down. My friends and I worked together to sign up over 600 people to the party, to show that people want to re-engage in politics. People have been disengaged for a long time, in general. Voter turnout is abysmal, in general. I think in deciding to run, it was a statement of, it’s not just me taking this seat, but it’s a lot of us who care about wanting to be involved.

I listened intently to my new colleague from Hamilton Centre.

I would just like her to describe a feeling that we have all felt the first time that we were in this Legislature as an elected official.

I think it’s safe to say that few, if any, of us have faced the challenges that you have getting here—and if you could just describe what it was like coming into the Legislature, as an elected MPP, for the first time.

To the new member for Hamilton Centre: I’m very glad to see you here today. You spoke with such passion. Your commitment to the causes that you spoke to was overwhelming. It was literally one of, if not the best, inaugural speeches I’ve heard, going back to our first class in 2018.

You mentioned misogynoir; I know that a lot of people, if not everyone in this building, doesn’t know what you’re talking about. I’m wondering if you could explain what misogynoir is and also how that impacted you as you were running, how you feel it may impact you in this House, and what tools, what practices or what communities you will lean on to be supported. This House, as you said, was not built for you and I, but we are here, and we are doing as good as we can for the people of Ontario. I’m wondering how and what your support system looks like whenever you bump up against misogynoir or other systems of oppression.

I want to thank the member from Hamilton Centre for being here. Congratulations on your victory.

I ran in my riding in 2017 for the nomination. My family has been in that riding since 1950. I was told by people that I wasn’t good enough for that community, as the son of an Italian immigrant. I ended up winning the nomination, and I defeated probably the toughest Liberal opponent—the finance minister—in that riding.

What was your toughest challenge getting here?

Thank you to the member for that passionate story you told for this House.

I came as a political refugee, and I never thought that one day I was going to be in this House.

Thank you for sharing your stories.

I left a war-torn country—same as you and your native land. You left your war-torn country in East Africa. I know you brought a different perspective as a woman, diverse—and you’re going to put in so much value and so many ideas to this House.

I would ask the member, what made you choose to come to this position? What voice do you want to bring to this House? I’d like to hear that from you.

Further questions?

I hope it means that they’ll consider running one day.

These spaces were not built for a lot of us. They were built for a very small number of people who understand how these colonial processes work. Every day I come in here, I’m still very confused about why you all are clapping or banging your desks. I’m figuring it out.

What it means is that this process becomes more accessible and that everyday people can decide that they will choose to run one day.

When I talk about policing, it’s because I know people who have died.

When I talk about Palestinian human rights, it’s because, literally, I know Palestinians who have been affected.

The media and people in this House have taken my stances and vilified the person instead of talking about actual issues, so I found that really, really difficult to navigate, because it erased my humanity and the humanity of the very people I was talking about during the entire course of the campaign.

I rise to highlight just what kind of work our government has done. It is this government that is building to ensure this province is a leader, not only in Canada, but across the world.

Our government introduced the Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act, 2023, which, if passed, would help businesses grow, pave the way for better services, and save people valuable time. As many of my colleagues have already stated, our government’s plan is taking significant actions to drive growth by building Ontario’s economy. Our government made a commitment to get it done when it comes to cutting red tape across the province, and we are doing just that.

In 2018, when we formed government, we knew that we needed to remove the unnecessary and outdated regulations holding this province back, and we did.

Since 2018, this government has reduced the number of regulatory compliance requirements affecting businesses by 6.5%, a pretty astonishing figure, Speaker, if you truly think about it.

This government increased jobs and investment in Ontario by making it less expensive, faster and easier to do business—and to set one of the best regulatory service standards in North America.

To date, our government has thoughtfully taken more than 450 actions to reduce red tape without compromising public health, safety or the environment—a proud accomplishment.

The Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act will, if passed, pave the way for better services, help Ontario businesses grow and save everyone time.

We have made historic progress so far by saving businesses nearly $700 million per year in net annual regulatory compliance costs. This is an increase of $120 million in savings since the 2022 Burden Reduction Report. Speaker, $120 million is a significant amount of savings for our business community, especially at a time of global uncertainty. Every small business owner I’ve spoken with during my time in business, and now as a member of provincial Parliament, wants to see all levels of government work efficiently with and respect tax dollars. This $120 million more in savings will allow businesses to reduce debt at a time of high interest rates, invest into equipment, staffing, and their communities.

Putting money back into Ontario businesses keeps our economy competitive amongst other provinces and nations around the world.

Speaker, this work is so important because under the leadership of the former Liberal government, Ontario was the most heavily regulated province in the country—nothing to be proud of.

Reducing red tape is an important part of building a stronger economy and improving services for all the people of Ontario.

The 2023 red tape reduction package adds to our track record of improving access to government services and making it easier to invest and build in Ontario. Ontario’s spring red tape reduction package includes 42 new initiatives that, when fully implemented, are estimated to save businesses, not-for-profits and the broader public sector $119 million in net annual regulatory compliance costs.

Key items from the package include—the first one, and this one excites me the most, coming from a rural riding—amending the Building Broadband Faster Act to help speed up the delivery of high-speed Internet access to every community by the end of 2025. I know many in my riding of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry will be excited to hear of the expedited time frame.

Other key items include strengthening occupational health and safety in the mining sector by changing regulations to reflect modern technology and better protect workers; enabling the next phases of carbon storage innovation by piloting technology that has the potential to store 30 years’ worth of carbon emissions; implementing The Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support, reducing frustration for families involved in the province’s child and spousal support order system by enabling enforcement of support orders in more than 55 countries; and improving the safety of Ontario roads by updating the Highway Traffic Act to prohibit drivers from overtaking a working snowplow unless there’s a full lane available.

Speaker, I’d like to echo what my colleague the Minister of Red Tape Reduction said: “Reducing red tape is not just about counting the number of regulations and trying to reduce them; it’s about the impact those changes are having on real people and businesses across our ... province.”

I can say with confidence that the bill we are debating today proposes substantial changes that will have those real impacts for people—changes like accelerating the time frame for municipal approvals for broadband projects, supporting our goal of bringing high-speed Internet to every community in Ontario by 2025—again, coming from rural Ontario, after the pandemic, this is extremely important to the residents of my riding; helping the business community embrace new technologies so they can improve safety standards for their workers or reduce their carbon emissions; saving people time and frustration when they access government programs by offering more services online so people don’t have to wait in line—even myself, who likes the human interaction, enjoys the online side of things. To be brutally honest with this House, my wife does all my online stuff. I am not comfortable with the Internet; I don’t trust it, but a lot of people do, and the Internet is a great form to be able to be effective and efficient.

The work done is the product of continuous collaboration across all of government with our ministry partners, as well as extensive consultation with a range of stakeholders and people across the province to develop an inventory of red tape reduction ideas.

The legislation we are debating today, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act, is our 10th and our largest burden reduction bill. It sets out measures to build a stronger economy, improve services, and save Ontarians their most valuable resource: time. It’s an important part of our larger spring 2023 red tape reduction package, which contains additional regulatory amendments and policy changes that contribute to a common goal of reducing red tape. This bill, if passed, would streamline processes and modernize outdated practices across multiple areas of government in multiple sectors of Ontario’s economy.

It is not wrong to say that we find ourselves in uncertain economic times. We all see it in the daily headlines when we watch the news or look at inflation coupled with rising interest rates. While Ontario has remained resilient, we cannot take anything for granted.

That’s why it’s so important that we continue our efforts to streamline Ontario’s regulatory climate to make it easier to invest and to do business in our province. How we work together to address regulatory burden will affect us now and for future generations to come.

Having young children of my own, I want to ensure that we are using taxpayer dollars wisely and making sure that there are no burdens on small businesses and businesses across the province. My children will need a healthy economy to be able to thrive when they grow up. My oldest is 10 years of age, and I know she’s very passionate about art and about the restaurant that I own. She has decorated cakes on many, many weekends; it’s to help build her confidence; whereas my son, who is a little too confident, comes to the restaurant and does a bit more cleaning work: sweeping, doing the bathrooms, doing the tables and stuff like that. I’m trying to build them up similarly, to make sure that they’re both ready for the future, which is fraught with a lot of unknowns.

To ensure that my children are ready for the future that’s in front of them and to ensure that our economy is ready for the next generation is extremely important.

And this red tape reduction bill will make Ontario one of the most effective economies in not only Canada but across the world.

With the competition that’s out there—we saw this with Volkswagen, with the super mega sites that we brought to Ontario; a lot of states in the US were jealous and wondering what we did differently than them. Removing barriers for business is important so that we can ensure that businesses thrive.

Without a healthy economy, we can’t have healthy people. Ultimately, we need to have those good-paying jobs that are going to ensure that people can go home at night and have a comfortable place to live—but also a job that’s going to be able to keep up with inflation and ensure that they’re able to look after their family and their children.

I bring up my children quite often in the House because most of what I do is for the future. I want to ensure that what we do in this House, when my children look back in 20 years—because they’re not paying attention right now—that they’re not embarrassed by what I’ve done or bills I’ve stood for. At this point, I’m very proud of our government’s record.

Again, coming from the restaurant industry, there’s a lot of paperwork, and to bring some of that paperwork digitally—even though I am hesitant to do anything online, I will still see the burden reduction at the business side of things. Nowadays, as I’m trying to juggle my family life, my role as a member of provincial Parliament and as a business owner, some efficiencies in how I do things at the restaurant is a good thing. Some of my five managers have been getting me on online payments and certain things like that, so I don’t have to necessarily run back to the store and write a cheque, but I’m still stubborn, and I still push back any time my managers are trying to change things too quickly for me.

As much as I am a millennial, technology and me don’t get along, but ultimately, I do know we need to do things more efficiently when it comes to doing business. Representing small businesses in this House—I’m extremely proud of that fact. When I go out into my community and other communities, I hear from the small businesses. I hear their pressures. I understand their frustrations with staffing, with the supply chain and with time. Time, as a business owner, is a challenge. You always feel like you should be at home when you’re at work and like you should be at work when you’re at home.

Prior to becoming a member of provincial Parliament, I used to work seven days a week at the restaurant, especially during the pandemic, knowing that we had supply chain challenges and staffing challenges. I’m going to step up, and I want to lead by example with my staff, so their seeing me in the restaurant every day and trying to work just as hard as them—I believe it’s leading by example.

Most of my staff know that I started at my restaurant as a clean-up kid. I am an introvert—I always debate it with my colleague to the right of me. I truly am an introvert, and as I started at the restaurant, I was too shy to be able to interact with customers and make eye contact. The only reason I actually was successful in that first job was that the old owner was my neighbour, and one of my brothers worked there and was a manager at the time. So they took a chance on me at 14. Again, I cleaned toilets. I think it was a great way to start, because everyone in the restaurant knows that I’m not above doing anything.

Even in my previous months working, before I got elected to this chamber, I would change garbages more than anything. I would do the dishes and clean the parking lot, because (1) it allowed me some personal time to understand what priorities I needed to work on; and (2) I always want to lead by example. It was one of my business partners who forced me not to cut the lawn at the restaurant.

This red tape reduction bill will truly make it more efficient for business owners who are pressed for time, right now and into the future, to be able to do things more efficiently and ensure that they don’t waste time on needless paperwork, because paperwork does pile up.

Previous Minister Fullerton—it’s “people over paperwork” that she mentioned at the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. I believe that this bill does stand on that statement as well, because ultimately, it’s going to be a few years before we have a more stable labour market, and the red tape we are reducing will allow businesses to feel less pressure during a time of high pressure, during a time of global uncertainty with the war in Ukraine, with the storms that have just come through.

I’m from eastern Ontario, and we had a severe ice storm yesterday. It did not hit Toronto, but it was almost to the stage of ice storm 1998, which was pretty significant when I was young. We were weeks without power. Our energy minister has been upgrading our infrastructure on the energy side, and we don’t have as many power outages. In 1998, there were months that people in my riding did not have power. I believe, in 1998, the army came to Toronto to help out as well. There are many without power, but the worst of it is a lot of trees that are down. The power system seems to have handled it fairly well, and that is something I’m proud of—that our government has invested in the resources. Speaking to my wife yesterday afternoon—she was very concerned that we were going to be without power. I live in the country. She didn’t fill up the bathtub before going to school yesterday with water, so she was very anxious that we may not have water, being on a well. With saying that, again, there were many tornadoes that went through the US yesterday. That storm was very significant.

So to ensure that we are reducing red tape and barriers, whether it’s for public services, for business, for the mining sector—I think it’s extremely important, because we are in such a competitive environment that, ultimately, we need any advantage we can have over other jurisdictions, in Canada and across the world.

We know that Ontario is a place to live and it’s a place that many people are choosing to call home. That’s something that I’m very, very proud of—that ultimately we are a place of choice for many immigrants to come. When they come to Canada, the majority of them will settle in Ontario. Ontario is one of the best jurisdictions—I’m very biased; obviously, I’ve lived my whole life here.

Something that we need to ensure is that we’re not burdening the small businesses and business in general with onerous red tape. Ultimately, red tape can cause everything to inflate. Ultimately, if there’s more red tape and I need to shuffle through that red tape—businesses are in it to make a profit, and if red tape is slowing down the business owners or the staff of the businesses, it’s going to make it that we need to recover those costs. If we can make business much more efficient for all the businesses across Ontario, we’re all going to win with that—and that includes my children and, to be honest, my future grandchildren, to think further ahead. When the economy wins, we all do win.

Ultimately, that’s what this bill is trying to do—is to make it that we can do things more efficiently here and that we don’t have barriers and we don’t have overlap in certain regulations. I’m pretty proud of Minister Gill’s ministry for bringing this forward. I’m also impressed with the amount of savings to small businesses. Ultimately, small businesses and businesses in general invest into their communities. With $120 million of extra savings with this bill, businesses will be able to donate more to their communities. Ultimately, communities thrive when the businesses thrive.

I mentioned it earlier, but with rising interest rates, a lot of businesses took on extra debt during the pandemic—so to be able to remove some of these tax burdens with the red tape that we’ve done and to save that extra $120 million will allow those businesses to possibly pay down more debt, so, ultimately, they can push forward on the best financial standpoints so that they can employ more Ontarians.

To me, it’ all about ensuring that people have jobs and that they have a steady income.

The reducing red tape act will help businesses to hire more people to be more productive with their time and, ultimately, to grow our GDP here in Ontario.

I’m very proud to stand behind this bill.

I look forward to some questions.

Last Friday, I was proud to join the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Long-Term Care and my colleagues from Mississauga at the Village of Erin Meadows in Mississauga to announce an investment of almost $500,000 in three long-term-care homes in Mississauga–Lakeshore, through the Local Priorities Fund, to help seniors with complex medical needs, like dementia and bariatric care, connect to specialized care and support in their long-term-care homes instead of in the hospital. Partners Community Health will receive $250,000 for wraparound support for residents at Camilla Care until they’re able to relocate later this year into two new, state-of-the-art homes on Speakman Drive—which were just named Wellbrook Place last week. They will open later this year for 632 new residents. Erin Mills Lodge will receive $122,000, and Sheridan Villa will receive $110,000 for a variety of medical equipment.

These three major projects in Mississauga are part of a $20-million investment in long-term-care homes right across Ontario. Providing these services in long-term-care homes will give seniors more convenient access to the services they need and also help to reduce the pressure on our hospitals so that all Ontarians have better access to care.

I want to thank my friend the Minister of Long-Term Care for his outstanding leadership and all the work he is doing to fix long-term care, after 15 years of neglect from the Liberal government, so our seniors can get the quality of care they deserve.

Unfortunately, we are out of time.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

Today is the 100th anniversary of Canada’s naval reserve, and we are honoured to have senior representatives from the seven Ontario naval reserve divisions in the gallery with us today. They will be attending question period, going on a tour, attending an NDP reception, and then meeting with other MPPs.

On the 31st of January, 1923, the government of Canada authorized the organization of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve. It was seen as a great way for our young navy to build support across the nation by establishing naval reserve divisions in major Canadian cities, to bring the navy to Canadians living far from the coastlines.

From World War II to peacekeeping missions in the former Yugoslavia, Somalia and the Sinai peninsula, the naval reserve has played a critical role in Canada’s safety and security as a vital element of the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Armed Forces.

Today, as it celebrates the 100th anniversary, the naval reserve has 4,100 sailors across 24 naval reserve divisions, from Victoria, BC, to Saint John, New Brunswick. They have been pillars in their communities, whether they’re training for service at sea or coming to the aid of their neighbours in need.

Can we all join in and give a round of applause for the 100th anniversary of Canada’s naval reserve?

Applause.

Speaker, it’s an honour to rise in the House to share the stories and the voices of the people of Toronto Centre—people who are seeing their lives get harder and harder while they’re being shortchanged by this government’s budget.

I shop locally, and I talk to my neighbours in the grocery aisle, and we lament the costs of a $5 loaf of bread, a $10 stick of butter or a $6 carton of eggs. For goodness’ sake, Speaker, if you can find baby formula, you will see that you’re paying $60.

Prior to the pandemic, the GTA’s 128 food banks saw about 65,000 clients a month—today, that number has quadrupled to 270,000 people, the highest number in its 40-year history.

Speaker, Ontarians have learned that Galen Weston’s wage increased by over $1 million last year.

But this budget does nothing to stop grocery chains from price gouging hard-working Ontarians.

The Daily Bread Food Bank has reached a breaking point, and they are spending an unsustainable $1.8 million a month to buy food to feed hungry Ontarians. Its CEO is calling on the province to step up and help to fight the high cost of groceries.

The budget doesn’t even deliver the help that food banks are asking for.

It’s time for real leadership in Ontario. Make the minimum wage a living wage, double ODSP, and crack down on the “greedflation” forcing Ontarians to use food banks.

I rise today to say it’s an honour to represent the people of Ajax.

In my riding of Ajax, the Ajax Homelessness Task Force, which is comprised of non-profits, service agencies and places of worship is working to address immediate needs as well as identify long-term solutions to address homelessness in Ajax.

I have connected and worked with partners in the community who are supporting the ongoing needs of the unhoused community in Ajax.

I would like to thank Ivan Dawns and the IUPAT team for doing turkey dinners at the Back Door Mission.

I’d also like to thank providers like Storehouse Community Food Bank by Southside Worship Centre, as well as the Salvation Army, who both provide hot meals and mobile food programs.

Thanks to all those who help the unhoused community.

Homelessness is a serious and complex issue, and our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, is committing to continuing to work with municipalities and local service providers to provide solutions for the unhoused. Our government—and I’m glad to support this—is providing an additional $202 million to help homelessness.

I look forward to the supportive housing initiatives that are upcoming in my community.

We need to invest in our schools. In fact, the lack of support for Ontario school boards, including the Toronto District School Board, in the 2023 education budget is deeply concerning. Our government’s failure to provide reimbursements for pandemic-related expenses not only affects the financial stability of the board, but it also has a direct impact on the education workers who provide vital support to our students.

With the potential cuts to nearly 500 positions, we risk losing the expertise and support of educational assistants, child youth counsellors and administrative staff, who are critical to the success of our students.

Many of my constituents have shared their worries about the already underfunded education system and how further cuts would only make things worse.

A parent in my riding, Bethany Lynn-Rice, shared that her son, who has an IEP and is diagnosed with ASD, hasn’t received adequate support due to staff shortages, leading to an unsettling year. Bethany also shared about her daughter, who has been facing bullying, especially at recess, because there aren’t enough supervising staff to supervise during recess. Bethany and so many other parents are worried that cutting more staff positions will only make things worse for her children and for many children across this province.

We have seen far too many school safety issues over the past year as students transition back into in-person learning.

With these funding cuts, we also risk losing important mental health support staff, who are critical to the well-being of our future generation—