My question is for the Premier—

Interruption.

This week, Global News revealed that the government is withholding information about the Ontario Line transit project, a public-private partnership which has skyrocketed past the government’s original cost estimates—from $10.9 billion to $19 billion.

Yesterday, the Premier said, “We aren’t hiding anything.” But his officials have redacted documents, so financial disclosure on the Ontario Line is impossible for people from Global News.

I have a simple question: Why won’t this government disclose the financial costs of the Ontario Line?

It wasn’t that long ago that companies were fleeing Ontario. Speaker, 300,000 manufacturing jobs were lost, and our economic future was teetering.

Thankfully, the government of Premier Ford was elected and declared Ontario open for business. Taxes were lowered, energy rates were lowered, and the burden of red tape was reduced. This brought companies pouring back to Ontario.

Now, with budget 2023, there is even more great news for Ontario manufacturers: the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit. If passed, it will provide companies with a 10% tax credit, up to $2 million a year, on investments in buildings, equipment and machinery.

Those companies will innovate, become competitive, and create even more great jobs for our families.

Thank you. The supplementary question.

Solicitor General.

Things are bad in our jails and have gotten much worse at Vanier Centre for Women and Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre. Because the Solicitor General is not honouring the original contracts with the Elizabeth Fry Society, it has had devastating consequences. Instead of having program support when dealing with sexual assault or human trafficking, women and gender-diverse inmates are handed crossword puzzles to deal with their trauma because there’s nothing else—not even pencil crayons anymore. Women used to have support while incarcerated that followed them into the community, and now they get a crossword.

My question is, will you negotiate a contract with Elizabeth Fry, and will you stop your ugly attack on women and recommit programs’ funding?

Mr. Speaker, we’ve been clear. As soon as contracts are awarded, the values of those contracts are posted. They’re publicly available for anyone—for taxpayers and Global News—to examine as they wish.

What I know is, that member opposite and the Leader of the Opposition will do anything to make sure that we don’t build transit in the greater Toronto area. We’ve put out the largest transit expansion plan anywhere in North America, and that party voted against it. We brought forward measures to accelerate the delivery of transit, because we knew we had to address the transit deficit that was left by the previous Liberal government, who could not get transit built in the city of Toronto. We brought that forward. And what did they do? They all voted against it. It’s clear that this is why they are in opposition—because not only are they against transit; they’re against building it faster. It’s clear that they don’t even know how to get it—

I would tell the Premier and the minister, if she will respond to the second question I have here, that you can’t have financial disclosure in the dark.

This is what we know: We know the southern portion of the Ontario Line, as the government has currently proposed, is going to cost nearly a billion dollars per kilometre—nearly a billion dollars. But the Spadina subway extension that was completed in 2017 cost $384 million per kilometre. So what has happened? We can’t simply blame the pandemic, because an April 2020 report reported that subway costs had doubled under this government.

What I see, sadly, at Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario are a lot of public-private partnership consultants—former staff members of this government who seem to be enriching themselves at the expense of the Ontario public.

So I ask the Premier, are you going to rein in these private consultants, these P3 financiers, and get our subway costs under control?

My question is for the Premier.

We have seen a scary trend in Hamilton of not-for-profit service providers closing their doors due to budget constraints.

The Hamilton branch of the Elizabeth Fry Society is the latest organization to announce their closure. One volunteer said, “This is very distressing and sad news. The services provided by EFry are so amazing and it is sad to think of all of these women who now have no support as they go through court systems and try to get back on their feet.”

What’s happening in Hamilton is a clear example of the direct consequences of this budget, and it’s obvious who is getting left behind.

Can the Premier explain, where are the supports in this budget for programs like Elizabeth Fry in Hamilton?

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

My riding of Carleton is home to a number of manufacturers that continue to make investments in cutting-edge technology to stay ahead of the global competition—manufacturers like LTR Industries, which I visited with the minister; Fortran Steel; and Marathon Underground, which is Canada’s leading specialty underground contractor, located in the great community of Greely. These manufacturers are the lifeblood of communities not just in Carleton but across the province. But these investments are both expensive and risky, and we know that business owners know that success is not always guaranteed.

Through you: Will the minister please explain how our government continues creating the conditions for manufacturing businesses in Carleton and across the province to grow and succeed?

The minister noted that the government’s plan is working. Ontario has more jobs than ever, and the string of landmark investments is reverberating around the world. That’s right; the world is taking notice. We cannot let this momentum slow down, as investors look to safe and reliable jurisdictions like Ontario to set up shop and expand their businesses.

Mr. Speaker, through you: Will the minister elaborate on the plan to build Ontario’s economy and how this is benefiting the province’s manufacturers?

My question is to the Solicitor General.

The state of violence in our streets and communities is increasing daily. People are concerned, and with more and more stories of random attacks, they have good reason to be. The day-to-day lives of individuals and families are being impacted by criminal activity targeting them and their loved ones.

Everyone in this Legislature needs to take this matter seriously, and we need to work together to support those on the front lines who are responding to these violent attacks.

It’s wrong for the Leader of the Opposition to say that advocating for more front-line police officers is considered out of touch.

What is our government doing to support our front-line officers and people encountering these attacks?

Thank you.

Interjections.

Restart the clock.

Supplementary question.

Since 2018, we’ve actually had 1,800 new physicians practising in the province of Ontario. It’s not enough, and we need to do more. And we are doing more. In the short term, we’ve already directed the College of Physicians and Surgeons to expedite, review and, ultimately, approve and license internationally educated physicians who want to practise in the province of Ontario.

Of course, with Bill 60—if the member opposite supports Bill 60, she will see that there is an as-of-right that allows physicians who are practising in other Canadian jurisdictions to be able to begin practising in Ontario immediately while their licence is transferred to the CPSO.

We’re doing so many things, and I’m very happy to share some of the longer-term plans that we have in the supplementary.

We’ve had the largest expansion of undergraduate and postgraduate education in over 10 years, and that is before we opened two new medical facilities in Scarborough and in Brampton.

We are absolutely seized with understanding and actioning what we see. We see an increased and aging population in the province of Ontario.

You have a government that is making the plans and implementing the plans to expand all health care practitioners, not just physicians.

Thank you, Minister, for that response.

As a former front-line uniformed police officer, I’m so proud of the accomplishments achieved by my fellow officers in the line of duty.

Interjections.

Sadly, we’ve lost good women and men while responding to horrific incidents, while serving to protect individuals and families.

It’s disheartening to hear members from the official opposition call for defunding and abolishing police services.

In light of this growing concern about violence in our communities, we need to support the work undertaken by our officers and provide them with the resources they need.

Can the Solicitor General please reiterate his and our government’s support to our dedicated front-line police officers and the work they do?

Thanks to the member from Ontario’s clean energy capital, the Durham region, for the question this morning.

I was pleased to join another member from that Durham caucus at Toronto Metropolitan University this morning to announce that Ontario is leveraging our world-class electricity grid by launching a voluntary clean energy credit registry. This registry is going to help boost competitiveness and attract jobs to Ontario, helping businesses meet their environmental and sustainability goals.

We know that global businesses are looking to expand in jurisdictions like Ontario with clean and reliable electricity.

Along with our well-trained workforce, which we have thanks to Toronto Metropolitan University, and competitive tax credits, which we have thanks to the Minister of Finance, and an exemplary R&D ecosystem, and clean energy in the province, the credit registry announced this morning is just one more reason for those big companies that the member mentioned to continue investing in Ontario.

I want to thank our great member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington for the great work he is doing in his community.

Mr. Speaker, no words are adequate to console the family who recently lost their son Gabriel to senseless violence, and we mourn his passing.

Everyone in this House should agree that violence on transit or anywhere is unacceptable. The level of impunity is sickening. The behaviour lacks basic civility.

That’s why, on this side of the House, we continue to support our men and women in uniform. Due to the work they do, and because of the work they do, they need our support, and not contempt for their profession that we see from ranks in the opposition.

All our provincial colleagues agree that the federal government must introduce bail reform now to reinstate law and order in this country, and we urge Minister Mendicino and Minister Lametti to do it now so we have—

For this government, nothing is more important than our public safety, and we understand that our police services across our province are the front line that keep Ontario safe. We’re fed up with calls from the opposition that we should abolish and defund the police. This is not the policy of our government. What we saw yesterday were more excuses from the opposition in their call to defund and abolish the police.

On this side of the House, we have one message: We have the backs of everyone who keeps us safe, today and every day, and we will do everything we need to do to help keep Ontario safe.

My question is for the Minister of Energy. Ontario’s clean electricity system is a major selling point when companies are looking to invest and grow their businesses.

Thanks to the hard work and leadership of the Premier and many ministers in our government, Ontario is attracting tens of billions of dollars in new investments from companies like Volkswagen, Stellantis, Umicore and others.

Our government’s commitment to the economy and the jobs needed for the future is grounded in the values of sustainability, responsibility and co-operation.

Under the previous Liberal government, reckless policies, excessive red tape and mismanagement drove manufacturing jobs out of our province.

I understand the Minister of Energy is developing more strategies to encourage jobs and growth in Ontario.

Can the minister please describe the measures that will increase Ontario’s competitive advantage?

It is great news, indeed, that our government is taking action and utilizing Ontario’s clean energy advantage to help us attract even more major investments. I am aware that competing jurisdictions in the United States, including New York and Texas, currently offer clean energy credits for sale. It is a positive step that our province has levelled the playing field and is demonstrating optimism about new opportunities for the future that will help build a strong Ontario.

Can the minister please describe how clean energy credits will benefit Ontario’s electricity grid, Ontario’s economy, and Ontario’s environment?

The government’s so-called plan to address the doctor shortage is not working.

My constituent Thu Le has been on the wait-list with Health Care Connect for over a year to get a family doctor. Her son has a disability and, without completed forms from a doctor, they cannot access the disability tax credit program.

The government has announced 8,000 new doctors. How many of these new doctors are operating in the London region?

Referring people to Health Care Connect is not a solution. Referring them to another long wait-list is not a solution.

When will this government take real action to ensure that there are effective and timely referrals to family doctors and not get put on the health care—I’m going to call it—disconnect?

Well, Mr. Speaker, I’m very proud to confirm that since the former Liberals were in power, our government has increased investment in public education by 27%—a massive increase of investment. The member opposite has systematically opposed every single increase of investment. They voted consecutively to oppose an increase of staff by 7,000 education workers. They opposed the hiring of 800 more teachers. They opposed the hiring of 200 more principals.

We just added $16 billion to renew and rebuild schools, after they crumbled after the cuts of the former Liberal government—the closure of 600 schools, which families today continue to pay the price of.

We have a plan focused on getting kids back on track through modern schools, a modern curriculum, an increase of investment. You can count on our Premier to continue to deliver that to the kids of this province.

We are committed to getting kids back on track. We just unveiled in the budget a $2.3-billion increase overall—$1.3 million in a baseline funding increase to help the very children in Scarborough and in communities across this province; a plan to strengthen literacy of $25 million, the only jurisdiction to screen every child from senior kindergarten to grade 2 in the nation; doubling math coaches by an additional $30 million, so we improve numeracy skills; and, in the Minister of Finance’s budget, a specific increased commitment to strengthen financial literacy in the classroom. This is going to leave a legacy and help kids get back on track.

My question is for the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

Across the province and particularly in my riding of Windsor–Tecumseh, it is evident that our government is working hard to build Ontario for the next generation. Many construction projects are under way across the region, both residentially and as business ventures. The pile-driving we’re hearing across the riding says it all. Local investments are driving a number of initiatives. With the investments made by our government for employers and for infrastructure projects, there’s a lot of activity taking place that will help our neighbourhoods of Windsor–Tecumseh succeed. However, in order to see these projects through to completion, we need to make sure we have the people to do the work.

Can the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to attract more workers to the construction sector?

In my riding of Thunder Bay–Superior North, parents of children with autism face years of uncertainty because they can’t access a diagnosis. Then they wait many more years because they can’t access treatment dollars—and that’s if they can find a service provider remotely close to where they live.

With not even a mention of the word “autism” in the budget, Minister, what will your government do to make diagnostic and clinical services available to parents in northwestern Ontario now, so that their children are not missing out on crucial early years of support?

When providers are not available locally, therapy dollars go to travel, leaving less money for treatment.

Adrianna had to quit her job in Manitouwadge and live with her son in Thunder Bay for months so that he could access essential therapy. Once completed, and Adrianna and her son moved back home, they had to travel back and forth, four hours each way, to continue receiving therapy in Thunder Bay.

Will the government provide incentives to bring practitioners to our region and, whenever distance is a factor, provide travel grants so that all autistic children can access timely diagnoses and treatments?