That’s a significant departure from the truth in terms of what the budget reflects. As much respect as I have for that member, he might want to read the budget a little bit more carefully.

Of course, our investments in education involve supporting the construction and renewal of schools and child care spaces. This includes new schools in Atikokan, Ontario, in Iroquois Falls and North Bay, and school renewals and expansions in Chelmsford and Sudbury. I’m going to limit my discussion to northern Ontario; I’m sure there are myriad other examples. In fact, contrary to the previous government, where 600 schools were closed—many of them with the support of the NDP, in a minority situation—we’re moving ahead to ensure that we have better education infrastructure so that the safety and security of our students is paramount and reflected—

One of those key areas that I’ve been working on is food security and food sovereignty. Costs are high enough in northern Ontario by comparison. I don’t dispute that costs of things like food are already high here in southern Ontario—but the farther north you get, the more expensive; this couldn’t be more exemplified in our isolated communities. That’s why we’ve been paying particular attention, through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, to food security and food sovereignty. What we’re building here is an exciting capacity, born from the leadership of these Indigenous communities, from micro-farming to community gardening, to ensure that they have some carriage and control of their ability to grow fresh fruits and vegetables.

I’m happy to have a quick 10 minutes to put many, many things on the docket about the budget.

The first thing I want to mention is that although there are billions of dollars going into road construction, Highway 69, which links Sudbury to Toronto, has been needing a four-lane highway forever. It was a promise that was made in the 1990s, in the 2000s, in 2014. It’s not even mentioned in the budget. There are 69 kilometres of two-lane highway between Toronto and Sudbury on Highway 69. Those 69 kilometres of two-lane highway are shut down at least once a month because of a fatal injury.

How many more northerners will have to die on Highway 69 before we see it in the budget? When I talk to the people at MTO, they are doing the work, but there’s no money to improve this highway in northern Ontario.

There’s another one: the corner of Regional Road 55 and Highway 17. Regional Road 55 is a low road that comes out of Walden and, bang, you come on to a four-lane highway. Most people who drive that road for the first time have no idea that they’re about to come on to a four-lane highway because there’s a big turn and—you guessed it—many people die because you suddenly cross a four-lane highway with people going 120 kilometres an hour, most of them big trucks.

The studies have been done. MTO has had community consultation. They have shown us the map: “Here’s how we’re going to make this safe.” All we need is money to do it and there is no money in the budget.

How many more people from Nickel Belt will have to die at the corner of Regional Road 55 and Highway 17 before something is done? We’re not talking billions of dollars, Speaker. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars that will save the lives of northerners, but it’s not in the budget. It’s not being done, although the plans are ready, everybody agrees. All we’re missing is the money, but it’s not in the budget.

I could go on. There are many others, but I only have 10 minutes.

The Critical Minerals Strategy: It’s great to see it in the budget, but do you know what? When you say you will extract the critical minerals from northern Ontario and send them down south to make batteries, you are actually disrespectful to the people of the north. We know how to build batteries in northern Ontario. We’ve had battery plants in northern Ontario before. How about we extract the minerals in northern Ontario, use the hydro power that is green, renewable and cheap, and build the batteries right there in northern Ontario? We don’t need to send them to the south—no offence to the south. They do lots of things really good, but when you put it in the budget that you won’t even look at putting those in the north, you are not really respecting the people of the north.

Another thing about northern Ontario—I thank you for bringing PTSD care for first responders, but you have to realize that by putting only one such care in Toronto you’re making it next to impossible. If you live with PTSD because you are a first responder—thank you to all of our first responders; I know many of you whose life is completely turned upside down because of PTSD—I know you are not able to drive to downtown Toronto where care will be available. It will be good for this type of care, which is top-notch.

I thank you for funding this, but there are first responders outside of Toronto. If you live in Nickel Belt and if you live in northern Ontario, having to come to Toronto is stressful. When you’re dealing with PTSD, you do not need more stress to gain access to care. You need to make those services available to all Ontarians. I’m looking forward to seeing that in the budget.

I also thank you for the expansion into medical schools. There are medical schools in northern Ontario. Medical schools will be able to get 100 students rather than the 64 we have now, but why wait until 2025? The dean tells us that we have thousands of applicants. We can easily select 100 students for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University right here this fall. Why do we have to wait? We need as many health care professionals and physicians in northern Ontario. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is really, really successful at bringing us physicians to the north.

You make the announcement, but then the announcement won’t come till 2025. We all know that it takes seven to eight years to get a family physician. From the start of study to actually taking on patients—why delay one more year? Let the Northern Ontario School of Medicine go up to 100 students this fall. Don’t wait any longer.

Then, again I thank you. There is a 5% increase to mental health and addiction community providers in this bill. They need 8%, but 5% is better than nothing. But, then, it is the restrictions that you put on. It is only for the mental health and addiction providers funded by the Ministry of Health. We know full well that many community-based mental health and addiction providers are not funded by the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services funds at least 300, or 200, children’s mental health. We have everybody that deals with the women facing abuse. We have many, many ministries who fund community-based mental health. Only the ones funded by the Ministry of Health will get 5%, rather than 8%. It’s a tiny step in the right direction, but the mental health crisis is also for children. The mental health crisis is also for women facing violence. But none of that is in your budget.

Then, we see contract rate increases for the home and community care sector. Everybody knows that even if you give Bayshore 56 bucks an hour rather than $52 to provide PSWs, they are still going to pay their PSWs minimum wage. You have to make the link between the two. It is not by increasing the amount of money in the contract that you will make a PSW job a career. They need permanent, full-time jobs with a minimum of $8 over minimum wage. They need benefits. They need a pension plan. They need 10 paid sick days, and they need a workload that a human being can handle. None of that is in the bill. The bill tells us that we will give Bayshore, the care partners and all of the for-profit home care providers more money. That does not guarantee that the hard-working PSWs will see a single penny of that money.

Interjection.

I was hoping that I’d hear something from the member about the bill, but I only heard this dissertation and this indictment of the WSIB and the worker’s compensation plans.

But then I heard from the member from Sudbury talking about recruitment into the police forces. I can tell you, when I talk to people who are considering a career in policing, it isn’t the compensation, because they’re well compensated. Police are well compensated. But I’ll tell you what they’re concerned about. They’re concerned about getting into a career when people like the NDP continue to go around and call for the defunding of the police and look for every opportunity to attack the brave members of our police forces across this province and across this country.

If you want to attract people to the police forces, stop attacking them every chance you get and end with your ridiculous campaign of defunding the police. That’s what you need to do.

Thank you to the member from Sudbury. I know how important workplace safety is to him, and it is for every one of us.

I think that looking at this from a committee perspective so that we can have those types of numbers is reasonable. In fact, I’m quite curious about it myself. I think that it really can be a demonstration of the efficacy of a lot of the work that’s being done.

But the challenge I find, and it is just the greatest challenge ultimately that I see in work sites, is ensuring that the individuals there appreciate the nature of their rights and appreciate the nature of standing up when they need to. A lot of the work that we are doing is trying to ensure that people understand that, appreciate that, and that employers also recognize that their stakes are quite high if they do not have that type of an environment.

I’m very pleased to be able to be a part of a government that recognizes that importance. I’m not sure if I’ve answered; my apologies.

I do want to say—

But I do want to say that this is the third Working for Workers Act, and that is how committed our government is to ensuring that we’re getting it right for the people of the province—