Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Merci beaucoup, monsieur le Président. I would like to note that I will be sharing my time with the member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound, who I see right behind me, and the member from Oakville, who I also see right there, in that order.

Today, it gives me great pleasure to speak to the second reading of Building a Strong Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2023. Last week, I introduced the 2023 budget: Building a Strong Ontario. The budget and this spring budget bill before us today move our plan forward to build a strong province. It is a plan for building a strong economy for today and tomorrow. It is a plan for more roads, more highways, more transit, more broadband, right across the province.

Our plan profiles support for employers. It provides more training opportunities for skilled workers. It’s a plan that sees us moving forward the critical minerals sector in Ontario’s north and connecting the north and its minerals with our globally competitive manufacturing sector in the south. It is a plan to make life more affordable for those that need it the most, with better health care and public services for everyone who calls Ontario home, a plan that makes streets safer and protects you and your family.

C’est un plan qui nous permet de faire progresser le secteur des minéraux critiques dans le nord de l’Ontario; un plan pour relier le Nord et ses minéraux à notre secteur de fabrication de classe mondiale dans le Sud. Il s’agit d’un plan pour rendre la vie plus abordable pour ceux qui en ont le plus besoin, avec de meilleurs soins de santé et services publics pour l’ensemble de la population ontarienne, un plan qui rend les rues plus sûres et qui vous protège, vous et votre famille.

It is a plan to do all of this while at the same time returning Ontario to a balanced budget.

The plan is rooted in strong fundamentals, a long-term vision on real actions, actions not only in the face of the current turbulence we see around us in the global economy, but actions that will help us tomorrow and, from this period of turbulence, to emerge stronger than ever. I know we can and we will do it. I say this confidently because we have the discipline to stay true to a plan that is working, that maintains flexibility to navigate the ongoing economic uncertainty.

The numbers are so important. For government, just as for a family, a business or an individual, the numbers mean everything. I’m pleased to report that in the 2022-23 fiscal year, the deficit is projected to shrink to just $2.2 billion. This is thanks to robust revenue growth, our disciplined and prudent planning, and setting very clear priorities. In 2023-24, we plan to further reduce the deficit to $1.3 billion.

And, Madam Speaker, I have some more good news. I’m pleased to stand here today and say that, starting in 2024-25, we project Ontario returning to the black, with a surplus of approximately $200 million. But it gets better: We have anticipated surpluses into future years.

While uncertainty persists, these numbers demonstrate Ontario is in a position of greater fiscal strength. In fact, as shown in the budget, Ontario’s net debt-to-GDP ratio is now forecast to be 37.8% in 2023-24. This is down 3.6 percentage points from the net debt-to-GDP ratio of 41.4% projected in the 2022 budget. With this progress on the net debt, the people of Ontario can have confidence that tomorrow will be better than today. Measures contained in the spring budget bill support this plan.

Madam Speaker, it is a hallmark of governments that they always face tough choices. The opposition would argue that the only plan to balance a budget is to impose higher taxes, more tolls and fees, or deep cuts to the programs and services people count on. As the Minister of Finance of this government, I say sincerely we reject that way of thinking. In this budget we are showing it is possible to balance a budget while investing more in health care, more in housing, more in highways, more in transit, more in manufacturing, more in the north and more in the skilled trades.

Ontario is facing the day from a position of budgetary strength, but I will be frank: The world today is a more unsettled and uncertain place. Ontario is part of the global economy and it is not immune to the impact of global forces: geopolitical tensions, such as the Russian aggression against Ukraine, China’s economic reopening and the energy transition before us.

L’Ontario fait partie de l’économie mondiale et n’échappe pas à l’impact des forces mondiales : les tensions géopolitiques, telles que l’invasion russe en Ukraine, la réouverture de l’économie chinoise, la transition énergétique and policies that have global trade impacts, such as the United States Inflation Reduction Act.

It is undeniable that more and more global trading partners are pivoting to looking inward. As a result of these realities, supply chains have become disrupted or strained. The wallets of families and businesses have become squeezed by the elevated inflation that defines this post-pandemic environment. People are finding it harder and harder to obtain affordable housing and to pay for groceries and for everyday household goods. In the face of these stresses, our government is doing its part for the people of Ontario. It does this through a responsible, targeted approach that starts with building a more resilient and more competitive economy right here at home.

Take the Ring of Fire, Madam Speaker, one of the most promising mineral deposits in the world—critical minerals that are essential to batteries, electronics, electric vehicles and other clean-tech that are core to the global economy today. The Ring of Fire is our ticket to reducing our dependency on unstable or unfriendly foreign regimes.

Le Cercle de feu est l’un des moyens dont dispose l’Ontario pour réduire sa dépendance à l’égard de régimes étrangers instables ou hostiles.

In particular, we are working hand in hand with the First Nations in northern Ontario to build true partnerships that will ensure Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike can benefit from these untapped riches beneath the surface.

Of course, building the roads to the Ring of Fire is not by itself the solution; we have to get the minerals out of the ground. You’ve got to put your effort into those mines. Our government is once again taking this challenge head on. We are taking a comprehensive approach to accelerate the safe development of the north’s mineral resources. And while we are going ahead with investing $1 billion to unlock the critical minerals in Ontario’s north, we continue to call on the federal government to match our commitment. I’m very hopeful, based on tomorrow’s budget by the finance minister of Canada, because—do you know what, Madam Speaker?—what is good for Ontario is good for Canada.

Et tandis que nous investissons 1 milliard de dollars pour l’exploitation des minéraux critiques du nord de l’Ontario, nous continuons à demander au gouvernement fédéral de nous emboîter le pas, parce que ce qui est bon pour l’Ontario l’est aussi pour le Canada.

One of the pieces of our plan, detailed in this budget, is the proposed new Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit. This credit, if passed, would provide a 10% per refundable corporate income tax credit to help local manufacturers lower their costs, invest in workers, reinvest in their business, innovate and become more competitive, because we’re not an island here in Ontario; we’re part of a global economy.

When combined with other business measures our government has delivered since 2018, we are helping improve competitiveness by enabling an estimated $8 billion in cost savings and support for Ontario businesses in 2023. This includes proposing to expand access to the small business corporate income tax rate, by increasing the phase-out range. This change would provide Ontario’s small businesses with additional Ontario income tax relief of $265 million in 2022-23 to 2025-26.

Our budget also includes measures to train more people in the careers that are in the greatest need of workers. This includes providing $224 million in 2023-24 for a new capital stream of the Skills Development Fund. These investments will leverage private sector expertise and expand training centres, including union training halls, so they can provide more accessible, flexible training opportunities for workers.

Our government took action early to help make life more affordable for those who need it the most. We are helping by putting more money back in their pockets, whether it is at the gas pumps or on electricity bills. We’re also eliminating double fares for most local transit services in the greater Golden Horseshoe when commuters also use GO Transit services like Brampton Transit, like MiWay, like Durham Region Transit—I have a colleague who took that this morning and will benefit from the integrated fares. Our government is expanding this initiative to support more people using public transit who come to Toronto, because many, many people in this province rely on public transit.

We are providing financial support to more low-income seniors. We are proposing changes to expand the Guaranteed Annual Income System program—also known as GAINS—starting in July 2024, to see 100,000 additional seniors be eligible for the program and see the benefit adjusted annually to inflation. Madam Speaker, our government will give a hand up to those that need it the most.

Sadly, many around us do not have a roof over their head or a place to call home. That is why we are investing in supportive housing with an additional $202 million each year in the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program. And thank you for the leadership of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on that. Madam Speaker, this is to help those experiencing or who are at risk of homelessness, those escaping intimate partner violence, and struggling with mental health and additions.

Our government is also investing more in health care. We are investing every single dollar we receive from the federal government’s recent health care funding down payment, and a whole lot more, into better health care services. While we will receive $4.4 billion in additional funding over the next three years from the federal government under the recent agreement in principle, negotiated by our Premier, our government will also invest $15.3 billion into health care over the same period to improve health care in Ontario.

Madam Speaker, this includes accelerating investments in home care to bring funding in 2023-24 up to $569 million, including nearly $300 million to support contract rates increases to stabilize the home and community care workforces. We are also investing over half a billion dollars, including an additional $425 million, over three years in mental health and addictions supports. This includes a 5% increase in the base funding of community-based mental health and addiction service providers funded by the Minister of Health and the Ministry of Health.

Our government also understands that it is a challenging time for Ontario residents in medical school to find residency spots here at home. That’s why we are adding an additional 154 postgraduate medical training seats to give first priority to Ontario residents trained at home and abroad, beginning in 2024 and going forward. We will also see an additional 100 seats for medical undergraduates and continue to prioritize Ontario students for these spots.

Now, Madam Speaker, Ontarians can know they have a provincial government that is determined to get the important things right. Our plan is responsibly investing more for people and businesses while continuing with prudence and planning assumptions that leave us the flexibility for future surprises.

Madame la Présidente, les Ontariennes et Ontariens peuvent compter sur leur gouvernement provincial pour s’occuper de ce qui compte vraiment. Notre plan consiste à investir plus d’argent de façon responsable au profit des particuliers et des entreprises, tout en continuant à faire preuve de prudence et en adoptant des hypothèses de planification qui nous laissent une certaine marge de manoeuvre pour faire face aux surprises dans l’avenir.

Our government never assumes the extremes, the best-case or worst-case scenarios. For example, we are always prudent and a little more cautious than the average private sector views in our economic and fiscal assumptions. And, Madam Speaker, while much has changed since the last budget, economic circumstances have confirmed our plan was, and is, the right one. In fact, our plan is already showing results. When you look at the top-line economic numbers, they offer evidence of how good things are in our province. Manufacturing investment is up. Jobs are up. The population is up. Over 14 million people now call Ontario home. Over 275,000 more people a year are moving to Ontario—over a million people every four years. Madam Speaker, this is all good news. With this growth, we are seeing stronger communities right across Ontario.

I am as confident about the province’s future as I have ever been. And while I do see a brighter future ahead for all of us, success in life is not automatic or guaranteed. And that’s why we have a plan to build a strong, more resilient and more competitive economy right here at home. Building a Strong Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2023, is an important piece of legislation that will enable to us put this plan in action.

I urge—let me repeat that—I urge all members to vote for this plan to build Ontario’s economy, to build highways and other infrastructure, to work for workers, to keep costs down and to serve the people of Ontario.

Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers.

Mr. Bethlenfalvy moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 85, An Act to implement Budget measures and to amend various statutes / Projet de loi 85, Loi visant à mettre en oeuvre les mesures budgétaires et à modifier diverses lois.

Exactly.

The numbers for transit over 10 years are staggering: $70 billion invested in transit. That’s what makes our economy go. That’s what contributes to a better environment. We are getting that done with a huge investment in transit—so important.

We also have a plan to build vibrant complete mixed-use communities at or around transit stations. Transit-oriented communities will help increase transit ridership, create sustainable communities and build more homes, including more affordable housing around GO Transit, light-rail transit and subways. This is a sensible solution. It’s happening and we are going to make it happen even more.

We are also building new schools, child care spaces, hospitals and long-term care. In terms of education infrastructure, $22 billion over 10 years—again, a record amount, so important. We’re building new hospitals and expanding existing ones, like the redevelopment of St. Mary’s General and Grand River hospitals in Kitchener–Waterloo, and I’m looking forward to the opening of the Markdale Hospital in our great riding of Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound this year, on time, on budget. In total, our 10-year health care infrastructure spend is $56 billion, an incredible investment for today, but more importantly, for tomorrow, for our generations yet to come. Their health care is why we’re doing that.

Safe and comfortable long-term care homes are going up in communities across the province, including Owen Sound in my riding of Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound.

In total, there’s $184.4 billion of investment in infrastructure in all these sectors over 10 years. This is a historic commitment to our province that our government has made, and we will ensure we get that done. I’m so proud to be part of this team that’s investing so heavily in this amazing infrastructure commitment.

Madam Speaker, among our government’s priorities is ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone who calls Ontario home, and this approach to safety and well-being includes protecting people as consumers. In the spring budget bill, we are proposing changes to enhance consumer protections when interacting with a financial professional. These specifically are proposed legislative amendments to the Financial Professionals Title Protection Act, 2019. You see, Madam Speaker, people deserve to have confidence when they are seeking out financial advice that they are dealing with someone who has the adequate training, expertise and credentials. These amendments, if passed, would give the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, or FSRA, the power to make a rule about the use of protected titles by credential holders when a credentialing body’s approval has been revoked or an approved credentialing body ceases to operate.

The title protection framework would also give financial planners and advisers the confidence that there is a plan for their future if their credentialing bodies are no longer able to operate. This is a very important enhancement to investor protection in the province of Ontario.

Madam Speaker, we know that these are challenging times, but our plan is working. It is the right plan to not only get us through these challenges, but to emerge from them as a stronger Ontario. So if the members of this House support building Ontario’s economy, building highways, transit and infrastructure, working for workers, keeping costs down and better services, then vote for this bill. Pass this budget so that together we can get to building a strong Ontario.

Madam Speaker, I’ll now share my time with the fantastic member for Oakville and parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Finance.

I also travelled across the province of Ontario and listened to many concerns around ODSP.

Our government announced last year that it would increase the ODSP rate by 5%. Now, in the budget of 2023, we have confirmed that ODSP will be indexed to inflation. Could the member highlight why this is an important move to help Ontario’s most vulnerable?

You know, budgets are about choices. The member from Oakville and the member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound travelled around the province with us hearing from Ontarians. What we heard was that cost-of-living pressures are top of mind for people; people are in crisis across this province. High rents—we have record evictions, but the government still has not done anything about rent control, and so people are being evicted—more and more senior women. Minimum wage—one fellow said to us, “I can’t survive. I’m losing hope.” They were looking for medical assistance in dying because there was no dignity in their lives. And the nurses—Bill 124, still on the books—told us how demoralizing it is.

So my question for either member: Did you even try to get these issues in this agenda, in this budget? Because the finance minister and the President of the Treasury Board clearly did not hear these voices, but you did.

My question for the member is—as they may well be aware, the city of Toronto’s transit system has just announced very significant cutbacks. Those cutbacks reflect the financial difficulties the city finds itself in. It reflects the difficulties that the Toronto Transit Commission finds itself in.

I don’t see relief in this budget for the city of Toronto or its transit system. The members are well aware that as people use less transit, they will be using more cars. It will drive up greenhouse gas emissions in this province. Frankly, as you’re also well aware, these cuts will disproportionately hit the people who are most vulnerable, the people with the lowest incomes, the people we depend on to actually make sure that this society runs.

What steps are you going to take to amend this budget so that the city of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission are protected?

Budgets should reflect the needs of the people that were elected to serve. During budget consultations, we heard from Ontarians who presented solutions to the major issues facing Ontarians who are facing record evictions, barriers in access to family doctors or even access to an open emergency room in this province. People in Ontario are hurting, but there was no sense of urgency in budget 2023. In fact, one editorial said, “If this budget were a Christmas present, it would be a three-pack of white socks. Not entirely useless. But an exercise in going through the motions.”

Why didn’t this government listen to the people of this province? Because they presented solutions to our health care crisis, to a housing crisis and, yes, to a climate change crisis.

Municipalities were promised to be made whole by the minister after Bill 23 removed the development charges and compromised cities’ abilities to actually produce housing in the province of Ontario. In fact, budget 2023 contains a $124-million cut.

Education: School boards are facing millions in shortfalls with depleted reserves, and OSSTF notes that the entire budget change for the education sector comes from the federal child care money—which leads to a general question about transparency in the budgeting of this government.

Will this government be amenable to fixing this budget? Because we are focused on solutions on this side of the House.

Thank you for the question. I, too, want to congratulate the member from Hamilton Centre and welcome her to the House.

Mr. Speaker, my great parliamentary assistants from Oakville and Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound criss-crossed the province to listen to people—me, too. We went around the province and we heard from the people of Ontario. And do you know what they said? They said, “Yes, times are tough. The price of everything is going up. Thank you for acting in the budget of 2022.” And, by the way, Mr. Speaker, what did the opposition do on that budget? They voted no.

Well, then, we went to the fall economic statement, where we continued the gas-tax cut and increasing the minimum wage; lower taxes for the lowest-income workers of this province; ODSP, GAINS—I could go on. Which way did the opposition vote? Yes or no?

As we listened right across Ontario, do you know what they asked for? They asked for health care. Well, this budget gets $4 billion from the federal government over the next three years—which is true; we’ll give you that. Do you know how much we’re investing in the people of Ontario in health care? It’s $15 billion over the next three years—this government. And do you know what that $15 billion does? It goes to pay nurses; it goes to pay personal support workers, physicians, therapists—you name it. We are supporting our health care workers. In fact, we put in an additional $80 million over three years to expand our nursing education for 1,000 registered nurses, 500 registered practical nurses and 150 nurse practitioners.

Please join us and vote for the budget and support our health care workers.

Mr. Speaker, these are uncertain times; there’s no question. We are working hard to build a more certain future for future generations by focusing on the economy, the infrastructure and our workers in this province.

Last week, I talked about a road trip that we took around the province. We made multiple stops around the province, and one of the stops that we should have made was in Brampton. Do you know what is happening in Brampton, Mr. Speaker? We are supporting auto manufacturing in Brampton, which had left, which was leaving the province—300,000 manufacturing jobs leaving the province over the last decade and a half. Guess what, Mr. Speaker? They’re coming back. They’re coming back to Brampton, to Oshawa, to Oakville, to Windsor—right across this province.

I thank the member opposite for the question. I am very proud to confirm that the budget increases funding in the public education school system by $2.3 billion, of which $1.3 billion specifically in baseline education funding is up from the year prior, Mr. Speaker. This year, compared to last year, it’s up $671 million. Every single year, we’ve increased funding.

In fact, under the Premier’s leadership, funding is up, compared to the former Liberals, by 27% in the Ministry of Education. That is an investment in children.

We’ve hired 8,000 more staff. We have 200 more principals. We have another 800 more teachers.

Mr. Speaker, we just announced a $15-billion investment to build new schools after the systematic closure of schools under the former Liberals. We’re going to con-tinue to invest and ensure these kids get back on track.

Mr. Speaker, the special education budget this year is up to $3.2 billion. That is the highest level it has ever been in our province’s history. I assure the member opposite that for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, we are working together across the ministry to ensure they have the supports, the resources and the staff in place to succeed in our schools.

A glorious morning, everyone, and welcome to the new member from Hamilton Centre.

Housing is an issue that is top of mind for most Ontarians. For many, owning a home is completely out of reach, and finding a home to rent is also a struggle. There are simply not enough homes to go around and not enough that are affordable.

Enter the government, with their impressive, albeit lofty, goal to build 1.5 million homes in the next 10 years.

Last week, we received the 2023 Ontario budget. The government projects over 80,000 housing starts a year for the next three years. This is a substantial decrease from the forecast in last year’s budget, and if we continue this way, we’ll need to build almost 200,000 homes a year thereafter. This will be next to impossible, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Premier explain to Ontarians how the government plans on achieving the goal of 1.5 million homes in 10 years based on the numbers we saw in the budget last week and considering we are already behind schedule?

We know people want to live in existing communities, in urban centres and vibrant neighbourhoods, with access to infrastructure they need to enjoy a fruitful life: schools, public transit, parks, hospitals, shops. We should focus on creative solutions—building up and not building out, not creating more sprawl. It can and should be done. Homes don’t have to be built in the greenbelt. They don’t have to be built on flood plains and wetlands. They don’t have to be built in areas where you need to access everything by car.

Mr. Speaker, my question is, will the government be focusing on building in existing communities, and if so, what are some of the solutions that they are exploring and how will they do so quickly, efficiently and sustainably?

I move that:

Whereas the independent Financial Accountability Office found that the government failed to allocate $600 million in COVID-19 response funds and underspent its education budget by $432 million in the 2022-2023 fiscal year; and

Whereas the funding provided to school boards has been inadequate to cover pandemic-related expenses; and

Whereas this has resulted in an estimated budget shortfall of at least $100 million for school boards across the province; and

Whereas school boards are proposing hundreds of staff layoffs due to this budget shortfall;

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the government to cover all pandemic-related expenditures for school boards, including the programs and infrastructure needed to support students following three years of learning disruption.

Speaker, on Thursday, this government failed students. Their budget failed education workers, and it failed parents. The Premier and members opposite failed Ontario’s public education system, and with that, they snatched away a bright and prosperous future from thousands, indeed, millions of kids across this province. This government gave us a budget with nothing meaningful for the public education system, its workers or its students.

It has been a really tough few years for schools. I think we all know that. The pandemic caused serious disruptions in learning. So many students across this province face learning difficulties and mental health challenges. But where was this government? They were missing in action—missing in action just when our kids needed them most. I was the education critic during the pandemic, so I know that school boards had to dip into their own reserves to meet expenses. The Premier and the education minister sat on $600 million in COVID-19 response funds. They underspent the education budget by $432 million in 2022-23.

And now that kids are finally back in school, we needed this government to ramp up those supports, not cut them down. But do you know what they did, Speaker? They took an axe to them. In fact, I’m going to quote Press Progress here. They say that the Premier made “a sneaky move to quietly cut education,” leaving school boards with a gaping hole of millions of dollars.

This government would have us believe that they’ve increased funding for schools. They’d really like us to believe that, but the truth is, they’ve shortchanged students, shortchanged teachers, shortchanged parents by $47 million.

Thanks to this government, more school boards are looking at funding shortfalls again this year. According to the independent Financial Accountability Office, this year alone there is a $400-million shortfall, and over the next six years that gap is going to grow by $6 billion. That’s $6 billion less for students, less for schools and for the workers who keep them running. This government is leaving kids without the supports they need to get back on track, and we all know what that means: It means cuts to staff, the education workers and teachers and educational assistants, the admin support our students and staff so desperately need. The repair backlog is going to continue to grow. It grew so much—a billion dollars under this government—poor ventilation, classrooms sweltering hot in warmer months and cold as ice in the winter, crumbling schools. It means no financial or human resource support to address the growing issue of violence in schools, no new investments in early childhood educators or mental health professionals. They say they plan to recruit more math coaches in schools, but they’re struggling to hire any educators whatsoever because they can’t compete when it comes to wages. And this means no new funding for base investments in education supports.

Without proper funding, schools are going to be forced to make really tough decisions, and they’re looking down the barrel right now of staff cuts and layoffs.

Here in Toronto, the Toronto District School Board is projecting the elimination of 522 staff positions, including 65 teachers, 35 special education workers, 35 child and youth workers, and 40 school-based safety monitors. I’ve got to tell you, Speaker, if I go to the doorstep and talk to parents in my community about that, they’re going to say, “What are they thinking?”

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is looking at cuts next year of between $9 million and $39 million.

Last year, school boards were already forced to make cuts due to underfunding. The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board cut 65 support workers, including educational assistants. The Trillium Lakelands District School Board cut 77 educational workers, including EAs.

I’m going to say it again: All these cuts are resulting and will result in bad and worse, and worse still, outcomes for our kids and for the future of Ontario.

This government seems to have no issue finding public money when it comes to their insider friends, but when it comes to students in our province, they always seem to come up short.

School boards need the government’s support to give our kids a good education. It really is that simple. It’s a cliché for a reason that today’s youth are the future of tomorrow. What Ontario are we heading towards when we aren’t investing our highest dollars in students right now?

This government talks a lot, and they did in their budget, about the need to attract and recruit new workers, newcomers into Ontario. But how are we going to convince families to come to Ontario and to stay here if they see that we have a public education system in crisis? We talk a lot on both sides of this House about the situation in health care right now. The health care situation is absolutely a staffing crisis; it is a human resources crisis. But that’s what we’re seeing in education, as well.

I’m hearing from boards in the north who are saying that they can’t—small boards, and they’ve got 40-plus positions opened up for educational assistants. That means that our kids are not getting that support that they need—the kids who are struggling the most. We have kids in our public school system across this province still struggling with the challenges that they faced during the pandemic. We know that they’re having trouble, in many cases, catching up. We know that education workers are really struggling with the stress of the day-to-day work, because they face those struggles of those kids every day when they can’t help them. How heartbreaking is that? We’re hearing increasingly about boards going out and hiring unqualified staff because they can’t find qualified staff who will work for these wages in this situation.

There’s only one solution: You have to stop squirrelling away those dollars for a rainy day. The rainy day is here right now.

Speaker, this is why we put forward this motion today. I want to also acknowledge our amazing education critic, the member from Ottawa–Nepean, for her incredible work on this. That’s why we put this motion forward—to help our kids get back on track, to help all those families out there who are struggling.

I want to say to those families who are watching this today: We have got your back. We’re not going to let this government get away with this.

Do you know what they want to do, Speaker? Do you know where they want this to go? This government wants to do the same thing they’ve done with health care. They want to manufacture a crisis, where things get so bad that—what’s the solution? “Oh, yes, I’ve got this buddy over here. He’s got this plan. He’s got this private company that can come in and ride in and save the day.” They’re going to come up with some kind of voucher system. We’ve called it; I know it’s coming. That is not the answer. Look at the research. Look at what has happened around the world.

We have a public education system in this province that we are proud of. I moved to this province 30 years ago from Newfoundland. I stayed here and I raised my family here because we had a public education system that my kids could believe in, that I could believe in, that would be there when my kids were struggling, that would help lift them up when they fell down. We cannot afford to lose that system. We will be the laughingstock of the world.

This government needs to and should absolutely cover all pandemic-related costs for school boards. Parents across this province are looking at the Premier and they’re looking at the Minister of Education to step up; our children sure need them to.