I know the member for Beaches–East York is very concerned about the climate and the climate crisis.

I also know we’re debating a budget document right now which sets the priorities for this government—where they want Ontario to go, who they care about, who or what they care about less.

What do you see in this budget that charts a course towards a sustainable climate response for Ontario?

I appreciated the speech from the member from Beaches–East York. She did speak about long-term care. It made me think, because in the eight years before 2018, the previous government built 78 long-term-care beds in my community, averaging less than 10 per year, and in the last four years, we are now building 840 new and redeveloped beds in Brantford–Brant. So I was wondering if she was willing to stand on the record of her party in the previous government or if she’s supportive of the fact that my residents are now getting 840 new long-term-care beds, after a poor record before by her party.

I listened very thoughtfully to the member opposite, and I, too, share your concern about the most vulnerable.

To that end, our government is doubling the Guaranteed Annual Income System payment for recipients for 12 months.

Will the member opposite commit to fixing things and supporting expansion of the GAINS to help about 100,000 additional eligible seniors?

It’s my pleasure to rise in the House today to share some great news once again from London, Ontario.

Yesterday, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency announced the team of four astronauts who have been selected to orbit the moon on NASA’s Artemis II mission. One of these individuals is astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who hails from London, Ontario. Jeremy and his team will be the first astronauts to journey to the moon since the end of the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. A colonel and CF-18 pilot in the Canadian Armed Forces, Jeremy Hansen is a highly accomplished Canadian. At the age of 47, Jeremy will become the first non-American to travel beyond low-Earth orbit. They will be travelling 1,000 times farther than the International Space Station and will set the stage for deep space exploration.

I wish Jeremy and his colleagues great success on the Artemis II mission, which will launch in November 2024.

I think I’ve mentioned this in the House—my friend’s Irish mom saying, “Start as you mean to go on,”

We started with the throne speech, without having the words “climate change” in it once—“environment” was in it, but it was “business environment,” so it wasn’t talking about sustainability.

And it’s the same with this budget—we have “emergency preparedness.” That’s great; I will throw a bone there. EVs are great too, but they’re not the be-all and end-all; neither is clean steel.

We’re hearing from stakeholders and communities and builders and developers. They want deep green retrofits. They want green infrastructure. They want renewable energy. The rest of the world is going ahead, doing this. Continually, Ontario is lagging behind. We used to be a leader, but we’re not going to solve it—

I put forth an idea to create an all-party climate change committee. How easy is that? Everyone gets to be on it. I was speaking to the House leader about that umpteen times, including making it reflect the House, where the government had more seats and more say on the committee than anyone else. How generous is that? How fair is that? But it got shot down—the same as my private member’s bill last week, which would have helped your residents.

After the next flood, I want you to look your residents in the eye when they call you, upset, devastated, distraught, with raw sewage in their basements, all their prized—

Toronto needs a fast, reliable, safe and affordable TTC, where riders can get to their TTC stop and quickly board that bus or streetcar or train that transports them to where they want to go, at an affordable fare. Getting a seat would be a nice thing, on occasion. It needs to be safe, as well, because no one wants to go from A to B and risk being assaulted just because they’re trying to get to work or go to the doctor or go to school.

I wish the TTC was that fast, safe and affordable transit system, but it is not.

Yesterday, on April 3, transit riders got a fare hike.

A week ago, the TTC started rolling out big service cuts. In my riding, we saw service cuts on Queen Street, on the Dufferin line, as well as line 2, the subway line.

I fear that next month there will be more service cuts, which is deeply concerning, and that is because the federal government and the provincial government have not stepped in to fund transit at the levels that it should be funded. When we fail to fund transit, we create a death spiral. When we cut service, riders leave, they take their fare revenue with them, and then there are more service cuts as a result. We’ve seen this before on the TTC. We do not want to go there again.

I am calling on this government to properly fund transit systems, including the TTC, so that everyone in Toronto can get from A to B safely at an affordable price.

I’m pleased to speak about some important events happening in my riding of Niagara Centre.

This week, Port Cares in Port Colborne is having its annual soup fest to raise funds for their food bank. The number of people who rely on this food bank has skyrocketed to almost 2,700. Port Cares reports that their food bank is helping at least one out of eight local residents in Port Colborne, and 34% of those are children.

For the week of April 17, at the Seaway Mall in Welland, the Hope Centre, Open Arms Mission, Salvation Army and Holy Trinity church are teaming up to hold a week-long food drive.

Municipalities are crying out for help. Just last week, the city of Welland passed a motion calling for the province to do more to address homelessness. They stated: “The homelessness crisis is taking a devastating toll on families and communities, undermining a healthy and prosperous Ontario.” They went on to say that this crisis is the result of the “underinvestment and poor policy choices of successive provincial governments.”

I join them in demanding that this government “acknowledge that homelessness in Ontario is a social, economic, and health crisis” and commit to working with AMO, our municipal partners and not-for-profits like these fantastic organizations I’ve just mentioned, who are working so hard to feed so many individuals and families in my community.

The message is clear. The solutions are there at the grassroots level, but the provincial government must be willing to partner and provide the legislative and financial supports to make them work.

Premier, the rate of natural gas is at an all-time high, and people in northern Ontario are struggling. Residents are seeing an over 50% increase in their bills. Small businesses and non-profit organizations are at risk of shutting their doors. After speaking with Enbridge and the Ontario Energy Board, their hands are tied. The province cannot prosper and grow if everyone starts to close their doors and move away.

The rate for natural gas in northern Ontario for a residential account is set by a calculation based on an average consumption of 2,200 square metres. In the north, we surpass this usage in less than nine months. This is unfair, and we’re paying the price.

Une jeune dame de 86 ans de Smooth Rock Falls : sa facture est partie de 160 $ par moi à 360 $ par mois. La Maison Verte, une entreprise sociale qui pousse des semis pour la transplantation forestière, ont vu des factures de 80 000 $ pour deux mois, même après avoir investi 300 000 $ en bouilloires intelligentes juste pour réduire leur consommation. Le Kap friendship centre, un autre organisme à but non lucratif, ne peut pas budgéter avec des factures de 18 000 $.

Le gouvernement dit toujours que les coûts sont élevés à cause de la taxe de carbone. Par contre, c’est eux qui ont perdu la décision en cour. Alors, monsieur le Premier Ministre, arrêtez de blâmer le fédéral et utilisez votre pouvoir et venez en aide aux familles et aux entreprises du Nord et offrez des réductions significatives aux consommateurs pour mieux encourager ces derniers à vivre en prospérité tel que mérité.

As the independent member concerned about the budget—she spoke about the budget.

People ask me why the previous Liberal government cost Ontario so much debt. What did they build? I told them the strongest structure that the previous government built was structural debt, structural deficits—while our government has proposed a capital plan in Ontario history, by investing more than $180 billion over the next decade to build roads, highways, public transit, hospitals, schools and long-term-care homes.

So I want to urge the member of the opposite previous government to support—she just shared with us her insight—this government bill.

On Saturday, two weeks ago, I attended a charity gala hosted by the Carefirst Seniors and Community Services Association, which has been serving seniors in the GTA for over 40 years. The gala has successfully raised funds for their new long-term-care campus in York region, which will be completed next year.

The same evening, I also attended the charter and officers installation ceremony of the York Region GRACE Lions Club. With different chapters across the world, the Lions Club is well known for their charitable activities and relief work. I’m glad that the newly established York Region GRACE Lions Club will continue this meaningful work and bring a positive impact to the community.

The next day, I was invited to join the 100th birthday celebration of Mrs. McNeilly. It was a special and joyful celebration with Mrs. McNeilly’s loving family and friends.

That evening, I also attended Honouring Our Heroes: A COVID-19 Commemoration Concert and Fair, hosted by the Frontline Community Centre. We recognized the incredible achievements made by front-line workers during the pandemic and commemorated the third National Day of Observance for COVID-19—

April marks BeADonor Month here in Ontario. One organ donor can save up to eight lives and enhance the lives of 75 others through tissue donations. Everyone has the potential to be an organ or a tissue donor, regardless of their age or health status.

In Ottawa, a former nurse whose liver was damaged by hepatitis C, following an accidental needle-stick during her shift in 1990, was in vital need of an organ donation transplant. Although her husband launched a public petition last August for a liver donation, for months and months and months she waited, without any luck, for an eligible donor. Thankfully, she just received a life-saving organ transplant, thanks to a donor who read about the story in the local newspaper and graciously stepped up to donate. The donor said that he hopes that more people will consider organ donations, and he said that he’s “not sure there are many actions you can take in life that are more impactful.”

Currently, there are 1,400 people in Ontario waiting for life-saving organ donation transplants. Ontarians are generous, and that’s why I know they will continue to step up. We need to continue to publicize the stories of people waiting for organ transplants.

I’m proud that over four million Ontarians have formally registered to consent to organ and tissue donations.

I hope that everyone will join me in spreading the word to promote April as BeADonor Month. Have your friends, family and neighbours sign up for organ and tissue donation.

It is my great pleasure and it is with pride that I rise today in this House to acknowledge the 130th anniversary of the grand opening of this building. Ontario’s Legislative Assembly, the Parliament of Ontario, the beacon of democracy in this province.

Queen’s Park officially opened on April 4, 1893, after six years of construction. Premier Sir Oliver Mowat was the first of 82 elected members, at that time, of the Legislative Assembly to walk through the main doors of the building, up the grand staircase and into this chamber, where 82 seats and desks were placed into a horseshoe pattern for improved ability of members to hear each other during debates. Historians have noted that much of the original Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture and amenities is still present in the building today.

It is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and is a gathering place of many First Nations communities.

Just about 1,969 citizens of Ontario have ever served as members of provincial Parliament.

We are coming together, with Bill 75, to restore Queen’s Park, because we remember our history and we are investing in our future, as we celebrate 130 years of this building today.

Last week, the city of Kawartha Lakes hosted the Spotlight on Agriculture awards. Sharon and Bruce VandenBerg of Mariposa Dairy won the Excellence in Agriculture Award. From their humble beginnings in 2005, their dedication and talent enabled them to grow from a small farm operation to something much greater. After just 18 years, they are now the second-largest goat cheese manufacturer in North America, employing upwards of 200 people at a plant in Lindsay, producing 100,000 pieces a day. They receive half of Ontario’s goat milk produced on 140 farms, and 80% of their income stays right here in Ontario, most within only 100 miles of their plant in Lindsay. It is their sense of responsibility to give back to their staff and community that has propelled them to such success.

The Thurston family—Keith, Sandra, Jeff and Nicole—won the agriculture Farm Family Award for outstanding contribution to agriculture. This award recognizes the legacy contributions of farms that are economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible. The Thurston family have been a farming family in the county of Victoria for over 175 years. They are leaders in their industry through their steadfast values and extensive community engagement—from 4-H leadership of agriculture and homemaking to mentoring international students, coaching sports teams, and many local and provincial agriculture committees.

Both award recipients earned their prestigious awards and embody the values of community, partnership, capabilities, commitment, and vision for the future.

One of the most important investments in our communities is our hospitals. Thanks to the dedication of the hospital foundation, the unwavering support of the local community, the Premier and Health Minister Sylvia Jones, construction is under way on the new MRI site at the Smiths Falls campus of the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital.

When a hospital receives state-of-the-art equipment, people take notice. They move to these communities knowing that their health care needs are being looked after. Doctors, nurses and specialists take notice when given the opportunity to access the tools they need to achieve the highest standards of care. And the Ontario government takes notice by supporting these investments.

In December 2022, the province announced that it was working to improve access to diagnostic imaging services and reduce wait times by investing in operating funding for 27 new MRI machines.

Mr. Speaker, a groundbreaking ceremony will take place at the Smiths Falls site of the hospital on Friday, June 23. Patients will be using the MRI by this fall.

Margot Hallam, executive director of the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital Foundation, says the MRI magnifies care close to home. The foundation has committed to a three-year campaign to facilitate the MRI project.

The Ontario government continues to lead the way with investments in health care. And with all the rural communities in my riding, the best care, close to home, is what we all take notice of.

Holy Week, which began with Palm Sunday, is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity.

This weekend, I will be joining the Catholic community of Mississauga Centre in celebrating the Easter three holy days of Last Supper Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. On Saturday, I will be joining the parishioners at St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church for the traditional blessing of the Polish Easter basket—which is one of my most favorite days of the year.

Easter is one of the most religious celebrations for Catholics and Christians across the world and in Ontario. It is a time of hope, renewal and rebirth. It is a time when families can come together and recognize their faith on a set of shared values, embedded in the sacred principle of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Kusendova-Bashta household, we are fortunate because we get to celebrate both Christmas and Easter twice, in the Catholic tradition and in the Orthodox Christian tradition. Yes, this involves a lot of delicious food and multiple church services in multiple languages. But above all, we get to celebrate the birth, life, death and resurrection of one God, Jesus Christ, twice.

From my family to yours, I wish everyone happy Easter, joyeuses Pâques.

Remarks in Polish.

On behalf of the NDP, I’d like to welcome Patty Coates, the president of the OFL, as well as Chandra-Li Paul, the OFL director of women’s rights, and Mina Amrith, SEIU Healthcare vice-president. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to acknowledge Darrell MacInnis, who is in the east visitors’ gallery this morning. Darrell started with the Legislative Assembly in January 2010, and he has been the media studio coordinator since 2017. During that time, he has been the friendly face of the media studio, even when that face was behind a mask. He will be retiring on April 6.

Interjections.

I know Darrell has family in Guelph, so I’m sure we’ll be joining each other on some dog walks during his retirement.

On behalf of the members of the Legislature and the Queen’s Park press gallery, I would like to thank you for your incredible service and wish you all the best, Darrell, in your retirement.

I want to introduce Jessica Rotolo, who is with us today. Jessica is an amazing model, artist, dancer and actor. She was born with Down syndrome and is a role model and self-advocate for the Down syndrome community. I’m very excited to introduce her; her father, Joseph; and her mother, Dorlean, to the Legislature.

Welcome, and thank you for inspiring us all.

It gives me great pleasure today to introduce members of the Equal Pay Coalition: Patty Coates, Chandra-Li Paul, Mina Amrith, and Maide Yazar.

Thank you for being here today, and thank you fighting for equal pay for women in this province.

I’m delighted to congratulate Madison Wong from Oakville, who is page captain today, and welcome her parents, Agnes Lim and David Wong, who are here in the Legislature today.