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.

Specific to the question with respect to that formula, we understand. It is something that the Minister of Agriculture was immediately alerted to—and contacted Health Canada and federal officials to ensure that there was a stable supply for the people of the province of Ontario.

I think the question in itself, though, highlights some of the other challenges that we’re having. The member highlights that when there is a lack of supply, prices increase and things become unaffordable. It’s at the heart of everything that we’ve been doing since 2018, here in the province of Ontario, because we understand that the way to bring costs down for the people of the province of Ontario is, in part—when it comes to housing, for instance, having more supply will reduce the costs for the people of the province of Ontario. And they have not been in favour of that.

We also understand that when it comes to red tape—by reducing red tape and obstacles, it helps bring the costs down.

At the same time, we brought in things like doubling of the ODSP.

We brought in, of course, the LIFT tax credit. We are there.

The Minister of Education, of course—bringing in a nation-leading child care program which is half the cost for the people of the province of Ontario.

So—

Speaker, I have a petition here to “Develop an Ontario Dementia Strategy,” and I’m very pleased to read it to the House.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas it currently takes on average 18 months for people in Ontario to get an official dementia diagnosis, with some patients often waiting years to complete diagnostic testing;

“Whereas more than half of patients suspected of having dementia in Ontario never get a full diagnosis; research confirms that early diagnosis saves lives and reduces care-partner stress;

“Whereas a PET scan test approved in Ontario in 2017 which can be key to detecting Alzheimer’s early, is still not covered under OHIP in 2022;

“Whereas the Ontario government must work together with the federal government to prepare for the approval and rollout of future disease-modifying therapies and research;

“Whereas the Alzheimer Society projects that one million Canadians will be caregivers for people with dementia, with families providing approximately 1.4 billion hours of care per year by 2050;

“Whereas research findings show that Ontario will spend $27.8 billion between 2023 and 2043 on alternate-level-of-care (ALC) and long-term-care (LTC) costs associated with people living with dementia;

“Whereas the government must follow through with its commitment to ensure Ontario’s health care system has the capacity to meet the current and future needs of people living with dementia and their care partners;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, call on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to develop, commit and fund a comprehensive Ontario dementia strategy.”

Speaker, I fully support this petition, will affix my signature to it and give it to page Ryan to take it to the Clerks.

Resuming the debate adjourned on April 6, 2023, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 91, An Act to enact two Acts, amend various Acts and revoke various regulations / Projet de loi 91, Loi visant à édicter deux lois, à modifier diverses lois et à abroger divers règlements.

My question is, would you agree that we have to make sure that we cater to or we are very careful about making it accessible to those who may not have everything electronic? A lot of people actually didn’t qualify for grants that were available to small businesses because they didn’t have that documentation or couldn’t meet the deadline to put in everything electronically and therefore qualify for a grant. What are your thoughts on that?

I know many seniors now who are on pensions. They’re not just using a computer for Hoyle’s book of games and solitaire; they’re actually doing their business online. Every person needs access to electronic files these days, and this is one of many measures in the bill that makes lives better for Ontarians and gives them access to information in the manner that they need it.

What our government has done through this bill and through other bills in the past has been the reduction of business costs. So far, there’s been historic progress, saving businesses nearly $700 million per year in net annual regulatory compliance costs, so that’s $120 million more than the 2022 burden reduction report. There have been 450 actions so far to reduce red tape for businesses and individuals without compromising public health, safety or the environment.

Thank you for the question.