Last Thursday our government, under the leadership of the Premier and the Minister of Finance, tabled the 2023 budget, Building a Stronger Ontario. It’s a serious budget for serious times, a plan that navigates ongoing global economic uncertainty with a responsible, targeted approach to help people and businesses today while laying a strong fiscal foundation for future generations. It’s a plan for building a strong province as well as a stronger Niagara, a plan that is working.

Highlights for the Niagara region include:

—expanding GO rail service to Niagara by increasing current service levels and building four new and improved stations, as well as supporting local transit-oriented communities to build more attainable housing;

—twinning the Garden City Skyway over the Welland Canal in St. Catharines; and

—supporting the redevelopment of the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital as well as the new South Niagara Hospital.

Speaker, I could go on. The bottom line is this: Our government and our government alone is building a strong Ontario, whether it’s more mental health funding, more new schools, more new local roads and bridges, more supportive housing, more jobs for auto workers, more nurses for our hospitals or more support for our rural economic development.

A strong Ontario means a strong Niagara, and this plan is a plan that supports the people of Niagara and our province, today and into the future. Together, let’s work to support and pass Bill 85 as soon as possible so that we can get to work and continue building a stronger Ontario.

It’s a great day for Niagara Falls today. Our page captain today is Claire Fish, from my riding. Claire, welcome.

I’d also like to welcome her family who are also here today: Stephen Fish, Kathleen Taylor, Evelyn Fish. Welcome to Queen’s Park. Claire is doing an absolutely amazing job on behalf of all the pages, so thank you very much.

I have another stack of petitions from folks in south Niagara to save the Welland Hospital emergency department.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the current Niagara Health system restructuring plan approved by the Ontario Ministry of Health includes a removal of the emergency department, emergency surgical services and associated beds and ambulance service from the Welland hospital site once the Niagara Falls site is complete, creating inequity of hospital emergency service in the Niagara region and a significant negative impact on hospital and emergency outcomes for the citizens of Welland, Port Colborne and all Niagara;

“Whereas the NHS is already experiencing a 911 crisis in EMS, a shortage of beds and unacceptable off-loading delays in its emergency departments across the region;

“Whereas the population in the Welland hospital catchment area is both aging and growing;

“Whereas the Ontario Legislature passed a motion by Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch on April 13, 2022, to include a full emergency department and associated beds in the rebuild of the Welland hospital;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To work with the Ontario Ministry of Health and the Niagara Health system to implement motion 47 to maintain the Welland hospital emergency department and adjust its hospital plan accordingly.”

I will sign it and send it to the Clerk.