Thanks to the member from Flamborough–Glanbrook for the question. She’s absolutely right: Investments to support children with special needs are important, and so is the innovation and trying new things that will help create programs for the future and for the need for now. That’s why I was happy to launch a new pilot program last week. The Integrated Pathway for Children and Youth with Extensive Needs program will connect children and youth with complex special needs to the care that they need. They and their families will connect to a team of professionals, including physicians, social workers and behavioural consultants who work together to provide a tailored approach, based on the individual needs of the child or youth and their families.

We are investing in creative and innovative solutions that will improve the lives and outcomes of our most vulnerable children and their families.

Starting in April 2023, this program will be offered at McMaster’s Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, and the surrounding regions. This exciting new pilot complements our investments to build service capacity and simplify early intervention through children’s treatment centres and Surrey Place.

Together with my colleague the Minister of Health, our government knew that the status quo was not working, and programs like this innovative integrated pathway will help to ensure children with complex special needs get the care that they deserve.

My question is for the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. All children and youth deserve to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. However, the reality is that children and youth living with complex health and special needs, along with their families, encounter extraordinary challenges in their daily lives and in accessing the care and the services that they require.

While our government has made significant investments for early intervention and has implemented a range of programs to support children and youth, more must be done to make it easier for families to navigate the system. Access to health care and social services should be seamless, coordinated and designed to address the individual and unique circumstances of children and their families. Will the minister please describe what action our government is taking to expand access to services for children and youth with complex needs?

This program announcement is a step in the right direction, but it is vital that the care and services provided by hospitals and local community agencies ensures that our most vulnerable are not left behind. Speaker, will the minister please explain how the Integrated Pathway for Children and Youth with Extensive Needs supports children in our province?

To reply on behalf of the government, the government House leader.

Interjections.

Restart the clock. The next question.

My question is to the Premier. Premier, last year you promised to crack down on developers who cancel or jack up the price of pre-construction homes. There are five people at Queen’s Park today who listened very carefully to that promise. In 2022, Briarwood Development Group told these families they could either take their deposit back or pay up to $175,000 more for their home than they originally agreed to in the original contract. It’s been nearly a year since then, and these families are still waiting for justice. Their homes are not built. The developer has not been fined. Their licence has not been suspended.

Premier, are you going to keep your word and protect homebuyers from bad-actor developers like these?

Speaker, I’ll speak a bit personally to this. My father died when I was quite young, and my family relied on survivor benefits for a number of years. But you know what helped us out a lot too, Mr. Speaker? When there was a government in place that actually looked after the things that were important to us, when costs went down so that our family could afford to do things that we otherwise couldn’t have. We lived through that high-inflation period that was in the 1980s, that high-inflation period of the late 1980s.

So what we’re trying to do is build an Ontario that reflects the needs of the people of the province of Ontario. Whether you’re young, whether you’re old, Ontario should be what it used to be: the place where you can grow and have a family, where you can afford to live, where you have a home for you, where that senior doesn’t have to worry about the high cost of hydro—in essence created by the Liberals, by the party that he actually represents, Mr. Speaker.

We have turned the table on all of that. We’ve increased ODSP rates in the province of Ontario. We’ve cut taxes and eliminated them for the lowest-income-earning people in the province of Ontario. We’re giving people a hand-up, because that’s what Ontario—

Mr. Speaker, today in this House we have the Minister of Infrastructure’s father. Here’s a person who came to this country, fled a communist dictatorship, to build a better life for himself and his family. It wasn’t easy, but they came here. Do you know why? Because there was hope; there was opportunity. You had an opportunity to grow and prosper. He has the opportunity to sit here and watch his daughter serve in one of the largest governments in North America where we prosper.

So I beg the opposition: Get on board, help us build a bigger, better, stronger Ontario—

Mr. Speaker, a deceased man’s CPP survivor’s pension is taxed at 50% before it can help his disabled widow. Linda McGinness is my constituent, and she needs help. She’s on ODSP, but $400 a month of that is clawed back because of an $800-a-month CPP survivor’s pension provided by her late husband. So she ends up with a monthly income of $1,400, which is pretty much used up by shelter costs of $1,000 a month and $300 a month for utilities in winter. She’s been overlooked by this government’s stingy approach to ODSP in the face of rising costs of living. Would the government extend the $1,000 threshold for earned-income clawbacks to CPP survivors’ pensions?

Linda McGinness, the same constituent—her shelter situation is enormously impacted by this. She has the burden of living three houses away from Kingston’s Integrated Care Hub. That’s a consumption treatment centre with health care and social services. It anchors a community of people struggling with addictions. Unfortunately, the neighbourhood is also beset by drug-dealing and petty theft. To change this, municipalities need province-wide, predictable and sustained funding for supportive housing where treatments can be followed. While we wait, Linda McGinness is stuck. She can’t afford to move. She can’t afford to sell her house at a vastly depressed price. Will the government’s budget respond to this crisis and address Linda McGinness’s dilemma?

In TDSB alone, which the member opposite represents, funding is up $38 million relative to 2017 with the Liberals in power, yet enrolment is down 16,000 students. Even still, funding is up.

Now with respect to the question on anti-racism, we take that seriously. I find it ironic, though, that when the members opposite could have supported what the research clearly states, that the educator that better reflects the classroom helps improve graduation rates—we abolished O. Reg. 274 because we believe in a meritocracy of hiring: the best educator, not seniority as supported by the opposition, ideologically blind to the research which is clear. Let’s put an educator that reflects the classroom. Let’s find someone who is highly talented, who is racialized, who reflects the experiences of often-diverse diasporas in this community and in this province. We’re going to stand up for those kids and ensure they get a job, they graduate, they own a home and they achieve their potential in this country, Speaker.

I’d like to welcome Kathleen Lynch, the president of Confederation College in Thunder Bay, to the House today.

I look forward to meeting with you later this evening.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Housing. For too many Ontarians it remains a major challenge to find the right home. Recent reports reveal that Mississauga is one of the most expensive cities to live in Canada with the average housing price remaining close to $1 million. Affordability and the housing shortage are serious concerns for the people in my riding of Mississauga–Erin Mills, and this is a problem impacting other regions across our province.

Ontarians are counting on our government to support them in achieving their dream of home ownership. We must continue our robust efforts to build more homes faster and tackle the housing crisis. Can the associate minister please explain what our government is doing to create the conditions necessary for building more affordable housing across our province?

As global inflation continues to impact the cost of living for Ontarians, we are also seeing the rise in rent prices in our province. Housing experts continue to anticipate that the cost of rent could continue to raise in the coming months. For example, in Mississauga it costs over $2,000 per month to rent a one-bedroom unit.

Our government must take urgent action now to increase the availability of rental units in order for the hard-working individuals and families in Ontario to have a place to live. Speaker, can the associate minister please explain how our government is increasing the options for affordable rental housing?

Minister, if it is not tolerated by this government, then why are these people still waiting for their homes to be built at the price they originally agreed to? These families are proof that this government does not adequately protect homeowners from bad developers who cancel or jack up the price of pre-construction homes.

To the minister: What concrete next steps are you going to take to ensure these homebuyers get the homes they were promised at the price they originally agreed to?

World Water Day is tomorrow, and it’s critical that we do everything we can in the Legislature to protect the water quality of our precious Great Lakes water system.

Earlier today, when I introduced the Cardus delegation, unfortunately I omitted the name of one more person, a religious leader. His name is the Very Reverend Vartan Tashjian. The Cardus delegation will be in room 228 to meet members of the various political parties and representatives to dialogue with them. Thank you very much.

I know he’s watching today because it is his 55th birthday. I want to wish a happy birthday to my brother Jeff Smith.

Ms. Bell moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 83, An Act to amend the Environmental Protection Act with respect to microfibre filters for washing machines / Projet de loi 83, Loi modifiant la Loi sur la protection de l’environnement en ce qui concerne les filtres à microfibres pour machines à laver.

“Whereas in the First and Second World Wars, over 7,000 First Nation members, as well as an unknown number of Métis, Inuit and other Indigenous recruits, voluntarily served in the Canadian Armed Forces; and

“Whereas countless Indigenous peoples bravely and selflessly served Canada at a time of great challenges for Canada; and

“Whereas this spirit of volunteerism and community marked the life of the late Murray Whetung, who volunteered to serve in the Second World War; and

“Whereas many First Nations individuals lost their status after serving in the wars off-reserve for a period of time; and

“Whereas despite this injustice, many continued to recognize the value in continuously giving back to their community; and

“Whereas the values of volunteerism and community are instilled in the army, air, and sea cadets across Ontario; and

“Whereas the Murray Whetung Community Service Award Act establishes an award for the cadets and tells the story of Indigenous veterans’ sacrifice and mistreatment;

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

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the passage of the Murray Whetung Community Service Award Act, 2022.”

I fully endorse this petition. I will sign it and give it to page Ryan.

Alors, je voudrais simplement souhaiter la bienvenue aux récipiendaires de l’Ordre de la Pléiade que nous avons eu l’occasion de voir un peu plus tôt aujourd’hui. Parmi les six récipiendaires, il y a quand même deux personnes d’Ottawa que je veux souligner, M. Denis Chartrand et M. Mark Power, qui sont également accompagnés de visiteurs qui sont des amis et des anciens collègues à moi : M^me Edith Dumont et Isabelle Girard de l’ACÉPO. Merci et bienvenue à Queen’s Park.

Thank you. I’d like to rise on a point of order.

On March 21, we celebrate World Down Syndrome Day, also known in some circles as Rock Your Socks day. It’s a chance to wear outrageous socks, which I am doing, thank you very much.

Really, World Down Syndrome Day is an opportunity to advocate for the rights, inclusion and well-being of people with Down’s syndrome around the world.

This year, Down Syndrome International has chosen the theme “With Us Not For Us,” a—

I would like to welcome page Artur Cordovani’s family, who are here today. We have Ligia, Daniel and Vicente Cordovani. They’re the parents of our page from Hamilton Centre. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

It’s an honour to present the following petition entitled “Invest in Ontario’s Arts and Culture Sector.” It reads:

“Whereas the arts and culture sector contributes $28.7 billion to Ontario’s GDP and creates over 300,000 jobs; and

“Whereas the Ontario Arts Council budget has not been increased at Ontario’s rate of inflation, exacerbating the income precarity of artists and cultural workers, some of whom are earning less than $25,000 per year, and still less for those from equity-deserving groups; and

“Whereas the income precarity was worsened during the pandemic through issues of regulatory unfairness in the arts and culture sector, disproportionately impacting the performing arts and OAC-determined priority groups, including BIPOC, Indigenous, women, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ artists, and cultural workers;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to maintain the Ontario Arts Council budget of $65 million in the 2023 provincial budget, adequately invest in the arts and culture sector, including supports for equity-deserving groups, small, medium and grassroots collectives in our communities, and individual artists to ensure their personal and economic survival.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature and deliver it with page Cole to the Clerks.

I’d like to present this petition on behalf of Lynn Mayhew from families of incarcerated women and girls at the Andrew Mercer Reformatory, on behalf of Tina Hendson.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas current legislation does not provide access to post-adoption birth information ... to next of kin if an adult adopted person or a natural/birth parent is deceased;

“Whereas this barrier to accessing post-adoption birth information separates immediate family members and prohibits the children of deceased adopted people from gaining knowledge of their identity and possible Indigenous heritage;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to extend access to post-adoption birth information ... to next of kin, and/or extended next of kin, if an adult adopted person or a natural/birth parent is deceased.”

I fully support this petition. I’ll sign it and give it to page Evelyn to give to the table.

While our children struggle to catch up, their mental health is in crisis and violence is increasing in our schools, this government is underfunding education by stealth. They’ve committed $6 billion less than what we actually need to fund schools and they’re not even getting promised funding out the door.

Now the Toronto District School Board will have to cut 522 staff members, while the Ottawa-Carleton school board is looking at cuts of up to $39 million. Parents, school boards, principals, teachers and education workers are calling for more funding. Will the government listen to them, so that our children get the support they deserve in Thursday’s budget?

I want to thank the member opposite for the question. I can absolutely confirm that we are going to continue to increase investment in public education in this budget and in every budget, because that’s been the track record of our Progressive Conservative Party, with $650 million more in this school year alone.

With respect to TDSB, as the member opposite cited that question, they are up in funding $38 million, notwithstanding a significant decline in children in their schools—16,000 kids are not in schools. Now, the members opposite are urging the government to continue a fund they opposed. The irony is not lost on Progressive Conservatives, but yes, we will continue to increase investment, increase resources and staffing to help these kids get back on track.

We also will continue to make the case that children should be in school without disruption right to June, and I hope the members opposite will agree.