I want to take an opportunity today to speak to the Building a Strong Ontario Act, Bill 85, as it’s enumerated.

I want to thank the Premier for his extraordinary leadership. Of course, our entire caucus colleagues go to extraordinary efforts to make sure that not only our voices are heard—but the opportunities in our various constituencies, and that they’re reflected year in and year out in the objectives of the budget and the resources that are attached to them.

Budget 2023, Ontario’s plan to build a responsible, targeted approach to help businesses and people today, is a reflection of a post-COVID world. Everyone agrees that there are still lingering challenges, both clinically and from a business perspective—an impact of COVID, as it was for a couple of years. I guess the question, and the opportunity moving forward, is really about how a government would respond, how we mobilize to ensure that we improve the lives, the perspective, the outcome, the opportunity for people and our communities that make this great province, our businesses, and the vibrancy of a dynamic economy that appears to be now and very much on the horizon for this province.

Still, there’s no question that there’s ongoing global uncertainty. At the same time, Ontario is trying to understand, moving forward, how we fit in as a sub-sovereign government to all of the challenges faced around the world. So with that as my pivot point, I’m going to take a northern perspective, obviously, and try to reflect on things in this budget that talk about the opportunity in Ontario, particularly in northern Ontario—folks from Capreol to Kenora want to know what’s relevant about this budget—but also, of course, in context, are the very serious crises around the world that Ontario could and should and, as a result of this budget, will see as an opportunity to bring solutions to some of those challenges.

That would start, obviously, with mining and forestry. Resource continues to drive local economies across our vast region and, of course, the financial support for the Ring of Fire is important—as I like to say, “critical,” with no pun intended. This is an opportunity that I’ve been working on now in two chapters of my political career, and it sure is nice to see that the resources attached to the Ring of Fire are focused on the opportunity for governments, the work that we should be doing. Things like building a corridor to prosperity, from the Trans-Canada Highway into the central part of the most northern part of northern Ontario, aren’t just about an opportunity to extract critical minerals. In fact, one might argue, having lived and worked in many of these isolated communities proximal, it’s an opportunity to develop important economic, social and health benefits for those isolated and remote communities.

Of course, other features like the junior exploration program take a look at a conversation we need to develop even more, and that is the critical mineral opportunities outside of the Ring of Fire, which are moving fairly quickly. We saw that yesterday with the celebration of Taykwa Tagamou Nation and their partnership with Canadian Nickel Co.

None of this can be done without a clear commitment from energy, keeping energy costs lower for people—things like the Northern Energy Advantage Program, something that I started some time ago to make sure that our industries are competitive. It’s not just about our resource sector; it’s about things like steel production. My friend at Sault Ste. Marie with—the Algoma electric arc furnace is going to transform the sector in partnership, down here in southern Ontario, with a similar operation, but also to create green steel. Having grown up in the steel belt in my younger days, that’s important. I think we’ve made a quantum leap there. These kinds of investments in energy competitiveness help to keep steel production in northern Ontario as good as or better than anywhere else in the world.

I want to take a little time to talk about roads. Our budgets operate in combination with some multi-year planning, so in previous budgets, as in this one, there are plans over the course of a number of years. This year, we highlighted an additional $5-million investment in the northern roads. This is an important road network for people all across northern Ontario to be connected, especially through the winter months. We acknowledge that the effects of climate change, as they are, and the uncertainty around weather make the length of those winter roads a moving target, if you will. Some innovations, drainage, bridges etc., are often realized in different locations where we previously hadn’t anticipated—or further fortifications, in an effort to keep those winter roads. They’re valuable. They’re important not just for people to move between the communities, but for us to get critical infrastructure into those places.

I want to talk a little bit about hospital infrastructure. Over the past couple of years, investments have been made in hospitals and health care facilities in Kenora–Rainy River riding; we are at the precipice of some more significant ones in the not-too-distant future. The commitment by the Premier, through this budget, to understand and recognize this opportunity will track very well for us in the coming years. The Lake of the Woods District Hospital, or the All Nations Hospital, as it’s called, represents an extraordinary opportunity, and upgrades to some other health care facilities in our region.

Training and the capacity to do work will always be at the forefront of northern Ontario’s community needs. I would just point to Greenstone right now—150 jobs available, 250 homes required to be built. Bricks-and-mortar training centres are required across the north. Whether it’s through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, where we’ve made another investment of $100 million, or through the larger ministry allocations, there is no question that when it comes to training dollars, we stand well-positioned to build out in our communities where mining and forestry are on the move.

Madam Speaker, I want to use the last minute and a half or so to talk about a couple of other important pieces.

Agriculture in northern Ontario is on the move. It represents the largest arable land potential for agriculture activities in our province. We were delighted to hear that Lakehead University will become the third school in this country to offer a veterinary medicine program. Big-animal veterinary services are a critical piece for our agriculture sector to grow. The Rainy River district is in fact the beginning of the Prairies proper that span across western Canada. And the Clay Belt region, in and around Thunder Bay, extending out to Dryden—they are long-standing agricultural districts.

Homelessness and mental health, addictions—they should be read together given how closely they are attached. With more than half a billion dollars dedicated, in combination, I think we’re going to be able to take a quantum leap forward to help people on our streets and with mental health and addiction. In Kenora, where I live, we have made a lot of great strides, but there’s more work to be done. We’re encouraged by some of the projects in the hopper now, in the government’s consideration, through this budget.

And of course, finally, for health human resources—this is something that affects us province-wide, and I’m delighted to see a plan for new doctors, new capacities in nurses’ training and ensuring that northern Ontario and northwestern Ontario have the tools they need to move forward in a vibrant, integrated economy.

I hope all colleagues will join with me and turn their attention to the Speaker’s gallery, where we have Deputy Minister Nancy Matthews and executive assistant Greg Robinson. These are two individuals who have provided close to 60 years of service to the people of the province of Ontario, and in Deputy Minister Matthews’s case, to the city of Toronto as well. They are taking their retirement very, very soon. They have both been absolutely instrumental, not only in making Ontario one of the best places to live, work and invest over the last number of years that they have been here, but in helping guide us through the COVID pandemic.

I hope all members will join with me in thanking them for their incredible service to the people of the province of Ontario.

Applause.

I’m grateful to the member from London West and for all of the perspectives that she brings to the Legislature, particularly on paid sick days and the importance of having 10 paid sick days. Maybe she wants to just, in the quick 30 seconds, touch a little bit further on the importance of that for people who are still facing COVID?

I’m pleased to see that there will be fines there for people who take away people’s passports and so on, but it does worry me, about enforcement. I also worry that perhaps people from the other side haven’t actually visited many of these places where foreign workers are employed. The living situations are often very crowded, unsanitary, and we know that COVID broke out in those places and that workers died, and yet OHIP is being denied to those workers. They also pay into WSIB, and they’re not eligible to collect.

What I would like to know is, what will be there in terms of health care for these workers from this government?