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.

To the minister across the floor. Minister?

Pursuant to standing order 36(a), the member for Ottawa South has given notice of his dissatisfaction with the answer to his question given by the Minister of Health concerning operating rooms. This matter will be debated today following private members’ public business.

The House recessed from 1152 to 1500.

Introduction of visitors? The Minister of Colleges and Universities.

We have with us in the Speaker’s gallery today a group of Franco-Ontarians who have been selected by an all-party panel of members to receive l’Ordre de la Pléiade, an internationally recognized medal of l’Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie. These individuals are being recognized for their outstanding contributions to French-speaking communities across the province.

Nous avons aujourd’hui, dans la tribune du Président, un groupe de Franco-Ontariens qui ont été sélectionnés par un comité multipartite de parlementaires pour recevoir l’Ordre de la Pléiade. Ces personnalités sont reconnues pour leurs contributions exceptionnelles envers la Francophonie ontarienne.

The recipients are:

Les lauréats sont les suivants :

—Denis Chartrand;

—Lauraine Côté;

—Claire Forcier;

—Ursule Rondot-Leboeuf, whose daughter Denise is accepting the award on her behalf;

—Donald Lemaire; and

—Mark Power.

Please join me in warmly welcoming our guests to the Legislature and congratulating them for this important achievement. Félicitations.

Introduction of visitors? The member for Thunder Bay–Atikokan.

First reading agreed to.

I rise again this afternoon to introduce some of our college presidents who have joined us here today for colleges day at Queen’s Park. I promised I wouldn’t list all 24 this morning, but I do have some guests here.

I’m also delighted to welcome Linda Franklin to the House, and it is with mixed emotions that I share that this is Linda’s last colleges day. After 16 years of leading Colleges Ontario as the president and CEO, Linda Franklin, who I know many of you know, will be retiring at the end of this month.

Thank you, Linda, for your strong leadership and tireless dedication to the sector and to Ontario’s college students the past 16 years. I wish you all the best on your well-deserved retirement.

I’d also like to welcome Claude Brulé from Algonquin College, Shawn Poland from Cambrian, Gervan Fearon from George Brown, Rob Kardas from Lambton, Sean Kennedy from Niagara College, Audrey Penner from Northern College, Ron Common from Sault College, and Mark Kirkpatrick from Loyalist College.

Thank you for being here today—and again, welcome to everyone to join the reception this evening.

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. Under Premier Ford, this government vowed to stop bad developers from trying to make extra money on the backs of hard-working Ontarians, which is why we announced new changes to strengthen the regulatory tools available to address this serious issue. These changes include doubling to the maximum fine for unethical builders who unfairly cancel contracts. Under these new changes, bad developers could now be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for each infraction.

Speaker, we have heard stories, unfortunately, of builders who have cancelled projects or who have ripped off individuals, and that’s why Premier Ford has said this is unacceptable. This type of appalling behaviour will not be tolerated by this government.

Speaker, it is this government that is doubling the maximum fine for unethical builders who unfairly cancel contracts. It is this government that is providing money from these penalties straight to the victims for the very first time in the history of this province. It is this government that is putting bad builders who rip off Ontario’s homeowners—they can have their licences permanently suspended. It is this government that is recovering our hopes by doubling the maximum financial penalties for repeat offenders of the New Home Construction Licensing Act.

Speaker, we understand. Hard-working Ontarians can rest assured that this government has their backs. We won’t rest until that message is heard loud and clear across the province.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas our government was elected with a plan to stay open by investing in hospitals, long-term-care homes and home care and Ontario’s health care workforce; and

“Whereas to accomplish this our government is:

“—investing $40 billion in capital over 10 years for hospitals and other health infrastructure to meet the challenges that may lie ahead;

“—spending $764 million over two years to provide nurses with up to $5,000 retention bonuses;

“—investing $42.5 million over two years, beginning in 2023-24, to support the expansion of 160 undergraduate and 295 postgraduate positions, including at the new medical schools in Brampton and Scarborough;

“—investing an additional $1 billion in home care over three years;

“—shoring up domestic production of critical supplies and ensuring Ontario is prepared for future emergencies by committing, as of April 2022, more than $77 million of the Ontario Together Fund to leverage almost $230 million in investments to support manufacturing of Ontario-made personal protective equipment;

“—investing $3.5 billion over three years to support the continuation of over 3,000 hospital beds put in place during the pandemic, and $1.1 billion over three years to support the continuation of hundreds of new adult, pediatric and neonatal critical care beds added during COVID-19;

“—a new refundable Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit to help seniors aged 70 and older with eligible home care medical expenses to help people stay in their homes longer; and

“—a province-wide expansion to the community paramedicine program, enabling community paramedics to provide key non-emergent health care services within homes for eligible seniors;

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

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to continue to make strategic investments in support of A Plan to Stay Open.”

I fully endorse this petition. I will sign my name to it and give it to page Cole.

“Whereas army, sea and air cadets are some of the best of our youth; and

“Whereas the young men and women of Canada’s cadets volunteer and serve their communities with honour and distinction; and

“Whereas their development and service within our community are admirable and should be emulated; and

“Whereas their teamwork, dedication, and discipline are qualities worthy of recognition; and

“Whereas the Murray Whetung Community Service Award Act, if passed, would create an annual award for a nominated cadet from within each local cadet corps or squadron to celebrate their remarkable acts of citizenship;

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

“That the Legislative Assembly of Ontario vote on and pass the Murray Whetung Community Service Award Act, 2022.”

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

This is a petition from the national chronic pain society.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas one in four Ontarians over the age of 15 suffer from chronic pain, with 73% reporting that the pain interferes with their daily lives and more than half reporting issues with depression and suicidal thoughts; and

“Whereas pain is the most common reason to seek health care, with chronic pain making up approximately 16% of emergency room visits and 38% of frequent visits, adding to the already lengthy wait times and delaying treatment; and

“Whereas the Ontario Health Insurance Plan ... is proposing to limit the number of nerve block injections a pain sufferer can receive to 16 per year, regardless of the severity of the patient’s condition or the number of injections needed, and seemingly without any consultations with patients or health care workers; and

“Whereas the most common treatment for pain provided by family doctors and hospitals is opioids, despite the current national crisis leading to an estimated 20 opioid-related deaths in Canada every day during the COVID-19 pandemic;

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

“Prevent OHIP from applying a one-size-fits-all solution to the issue of chronic pain, and allow for consultations with health care workers and pain sufferers to determine the best way to treat chronic pain without resorting to opioids.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature to it and give it to page Evelyn with my thanks.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas one in four Ontarians over the age of 15 suffer from chronic pain, with 73% reporting that pain interferes with their daily lives and more than half reporting issues with depression and suicidal thoughts; and

“Whereas pain is the most common reason to seek health care, with chronic pain making up approximately 16% of emergency room visits and 38% of frequent visits, adding to the already lengthy wait times and delaying treatment; and

“Whereas the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) is proposing to limit the number of nerve block injections a pain sufferer can receive to 16 per year, regardless of the severity of the patient’s condition or the number of injections ... and seemingly without consultation with patients or health care” professionals; “and

“Whereas the most common treatment for pain provided by family doctors in hospitals is opioids, despite the current national crisis leading to an estimated 20 opioid-related deaths in Canada every day during the COVID-19 pandemic;

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

“Prevent OHIP from applying a one-size-fits-all solution to the issue of chronic pain, and allow for consultations with health care workers and pain sufferers to determine the best way to treat chronic pain without resorting to opioids.”

I’m proudly affixing my signature to this and sending this to the table with page Ethan.

I’m pleased to have the opportunity to speak during this third reading debate on Bill 46, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act. I’ll be sharing my time with the member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington. I want to thank the Minister of Red Tape Reduction and his parliamentary assistant for their dedication on moving this important bill forward.

The Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act is the first red tape reduction bill of this mandate—and the ninth red tape reduction bill since forming government in 2018.

Our government’s focus has been and continues to be building Ontario. Bill 46 will contribute to the goal by strengthening our province’s competitiveness in key areas. It will strengthen our supply chains so that more goods can get to more places. It will support our farmers and agribusinesses by laying out a path to produce and grow more food right here in Ontario. It will help grow Ontario’s labour force and protect our workers, so businesses can find the right people to grow and expand their operations. And it will make governments easier to interact with and work with by simplifying administrative procedures, improving customer service, and reducing compliance costs.

In total, this bill, as well as related policy and regulatory changes, will add up to 28 individual measures to reduce burden and red tape in Ontario. This is important because red tape is a significant barrier to efficiency.

When I was a little girl, I loved to swim, but it didn’t happen naturally. So, after a near-drowning experience when I was maybe three years or four years old—I’m going to get to the point—my family, who were all lifelong swimmers, were determined to make me a better swimmer. I thought about this when I was looking at the act. I was determined to become an efficient swimmer. I want to swim quickly. I wanted to get to where I was going, whether it was in the pool or the lake, quickly and efficiently, without any lag behind me. First, I learned to float, dog-paddle and then, finally, I was a swimmer—along with water wings. But once I was a skilled swimmer, I realized that water wings aren’t the fastest way to get around. They’re a barrier to swimming quickly and efficiently. I learned that removing those water wings made a more efficient swimmer of Laura. I listened to my instructors, I gained endurance, and by the time I was 10 years old, I was able to swim across the lake and back with no assistance from anything or anyone. I avoided the weeds in the lake because those things could slow me down or drag me down, which was also dangerous.

Later, in my high school and university years, I worked as a lifeguard. There, my team and I prioritized important issues like younger children in the pool and keeping them safe, which is also relevant in this bill. We opened up early and we stayed open late for the swimmers who needed the extra time. We had a harmonized workspace. We created a better-run pool that the entire community could safely enjoy.

Learning to swim was the one thing that I could do, but learning to swim effectively with more speed and less drag made it possible for me to save lives—and a couple of adults, I should add.

That’s what we’re doing. We are taking the water wings and getting the weeds of red tape away from us, making it so that Ontarians can get where they need to go faster and with less drag.

When it comes to our work, there are five principles that guide our efforts to reduce tape. The first principle is to protect public health, safety and the environment. We do this by easing regulatory burdens in a smart and careful way that always maintains or enhances important health, safety and environmental protections.

The second principle is to prioritize the important issues. We do this by assessing which regulation costs are the most time-effective—while looking for innovative ways to ensure rules stay effective and efficient.

The third principle is to harmonize rules with other jurisdictions, including the federal government, where we can. This is one of the most efficient ways to reduce compliance costs across the board.

The fourth way is to listen to the people and businesses of Ontario on an ongoing basis, to learn what we can do to remove obstacles in their way—the weeds and the water wings.

Our fifth principle is to take a whole-of-government approach. This is the key to delivering better services to people and businesses, making it easier for them to access the information, programs and services they need to succeed.

To be clear, Speaker, we do not believe that rules and regulations themselves are the issue. But unnecessary, repetitive and outdated regulations are a problem. And it’s a problem we’re committing to solving.

As someone who previously worked within the judicial system, I can tell you how happy I was to hear that the act also included a number of changes to modernize and reduce administrative burdens in the justice sector.

Firstly, our government is proposing to amend the Provincial Offences Act to help reduce the backlog at provincial offences courts. Often, I hear from law professionals within my riding who tell me that the backlogs left over from COVID-19 are substantial—and I experienced them myself. Ontario needs to have access to justice within reasonable time frames. The proposed amendments would allow the court clerks, rather than a justice, to reopen certain convictions if satisfied that certain conditions are met, such as having a missed notice or being unable to attend a meeting through no fault of their own. This change would help to address the backlog by using court resources more efficiently and freeing up judicial time for other serious matters.

Secondly, we’re proposing to create more judicial capacity and alleviate backlogs in criminal cases at the Ontario Court of Justice by temporarily raising the limit on the number of days that retired judges can work. Creating more “per diem” judiciary capacity enhances the scheduling capacity and efficiency in the courts. This will help resolve the backlog more quickly and ensure faster access to justice for Ontarians.

Lastly, the proposed legislation will also reduce administrative costs and make it easier for prospective jurors to participate in court systems through updates to the Juries Act. If this bill is passed, it would introduce a pilot program that would make jury questionnaires available online and help us assess the impacts and response rates in different communities. Recipients of the online questionnaire would be able to request a paper version if need be, but this proposal would allow us to test the feasibility of moving away from sending hard copies of jury questionnaires through the mail. When I was in the judicial system, we dealt with paper constantly, and I was very relieved to see when our courts were finally moving forward. Getting rid of paper is something that brings us into this century, and it is long overdue within the judicial system, providing potential jurors or Ontarians a modern, convenient, streamlined way of participating in the justice system while reducing administrative burdens and costs.

I would also like to discuss some improvements that we’re making to some of the essential but often invisible functions of government.

TPON, also known as Transfer Payment Ontario, is a single-enterprise digital solution for delivering government transfer payment programs. Participants such as municipalities and not-for-profit organizations use TPON for everything from applications to payments and reporting. Our government is bringing the vast majority of all its government programs and related IT systems into this one platform, resulting in more efficient and effective program delivery at a lower cost to the taxpayer. For transfer payment recipients, the system provides a seamless user experience, reducing their administrative burden and freeing up more time to deliver their services and programs to their communities.

Speaker, I’m incredibly proud of the work the government has done so far to reduce regulatory burdens on people and businesses. I’m excited to see the changes proposed by this legislation in action. For businesses, some items could increase regulatory effectiveness, ease of operation and reduce the cost of doing business. For individuals, some items would reduce the cost of living and streamline interactions with government in Ontario.

All of us benefit when businesses can grow and thrive. A competitive business climate brings economic growth, jobs and new investments. These are investments that will not leave or go south—or even begin in Ontario. We want the businesses to start in Ontario; we want them to remain in Ontario. We don’t want them to go south.

Building on the previous red tape reduction bills and packages, the cumulative impact of these measures is expected to help modernize Ontario’s regulatory system. Our government needs to remove the red tape, like the weeds or the water wings, to move forward. We need to move forward with supports. The province’s economic competitiveness and ability to create and retain high-quality jobs is imperative. We have to make Ontario an attractive investment climate and make things easier. Those combined measures ultimately seek to build a stronger Ontario. People and businesses will thrive now and in the future.

I invite the member for Chatham-Kent–Leamington to speak on the further impacts of this bill.

Error! Bookmark not defined.“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario has one of the most dedicated and highly trained health workforces in the world. Over 60,000 new nurses and 8,000 new doctors have registered to work in Ontario; and

“Whereas hiring more health care professionals is the most effective step to ensure Ontarians are able to see a health care provider where and when you need to; and

“Whereas starting in spring 2023, the government will expand the Learn and Stay grant and applications will open for eligible post-secondary students who enrol in priority programs, such as nursing, to work in underserved communities in the region where they studied after graduation. The program will provide up-front funding for tuition, books and other direct educational costs; and

“Whereas with new as-of-right rules, Ontario will become the first province in Canada to allow health care workers registered in other provinces and territories to immediately start caring for you, without having to first register with one of Ontario’s health regulatory colleges. This change will help health care workers overcome excessive red tape that makes it difficult for them to practise in Ontario;

“Whereas we are investing an additional $15 million to temporarily cover the costs of examination, application, and registration fees for internationally trained and retired nurses, saving them up to $1,500 each. This will help up to 5,000 internationally educated nurses and up to 3,000 retired nurses begin working sooner to strengthen our front lines;

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

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to continue to build on the progress of hiring and recruiting health care workers.”

I fully endorse this petition. I will sign my name to it and give it to page Claire.

Further debate?

This is a petition from the National Chronic Pain Society. It is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas one in four Ontarians over the age of 15 suffers from chronic pain, with 73% reporting that the pain interferes with their daily lives and more than half reporting issues with depression and suicidal thoughts; and

“Whereas pain is the most common reason to seek health care, with chronic pain making up approximately 16% of emergency room visits and 38% of frequent visits, adding to the already lengthy wait times and delaying treatment...; and

“Whereas the most common treatment for pain provided by family doctors and hospitals is opioids, despite the current national crisis leading to an estimated 20 opioid-related deaths in Canada every day during the COVID-19 pandemic;

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

“Prevent OHIP from applying a one-size-fits-all solution to the issue of chronic pain, and allow for consultations with health care workers and pain sufferers to determine the best way to treat chronic pain without resorting to opioids.”

I’ll be signing this petition and giving it to page Madison.

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 21, 2023, on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 46, An Act to enact one Act and amend various other Acts / Projet de loi 46, Loi visant à édicter une loi et à modifier diverses autres lois.

I want to thank the member from Thornhill for sharing her time.

I also want to thank our Minister of Red Tape Reduction for the great work that his ministry has done on this bill to create the conditions for all businesses to thrive in Ontario.

Our government understands that to create the conditions for success, we must reduce the regulatory burdens that all businesses face here in our province.

Speaker, when it comes to reducing red tape, our government has taken 400 individual actions to reduce red tape and reduce our total burden by 6.5%. These efforts are saving businesses and organizations $576 million a year. This bill, if passed, will continue to build on our government’s commitment to ensuring businesses are provided the best environment to grow and meet the demands of a growing population and a growing economy.

It’s essential to growing our economy to understand the critical contribution and economic power of our agri-business sector. In Ontario, the agri-food sector contributes $47 billion to Ontario’s GDP, $19.6 billion in agri-food exports, and 750,000 people work in this industry here in Ontario—that’s one in 10 jobs. This sector is continuing to grow. In 2022, total farm cash receipts in Ontario were almost $21.3 billion. That’s 12% higher than the previous year.

Speaker, you cannot grow this economy without growing our agri-food sector. This is why it’s so important for our government to continue to reduce regulatory burdens for our farmers, processors and the broader industry to support and secure growth in the agri-food sector for generations to come.

Last fall, our government was proud to introduce the Grow Ontario Strategy right here at our local food terminal in Etobicoke. The Grow Ontario Strategy is our plan to strengthen the entire agri-food sector and ensure an efficient, reliable and responsive food supply. The strategy focuses on three pillars: strengthening the agri-food supply chain; increasing agri-food technology and adoption; and, finally, attracting and retaining the crucial talent across the sector. By focusing on these three pillars, our government is aiming to increase the consumption and production of food grown in Ontario by 30%; increase our food and beverage manufacturing capacity—our GDP—by 10%; and increase agri-food exports by 8% annually. This is a bold vision of pride and trust in the quality and quantity of food grown and processed right here in Ontario—in all of our ridings. It’s also our government’s response to creating a stable and secure food supply chain for generations to come.

Speaker, our government is well on its way to ensuring we can meet these goals. In the last two months, we’ve announced over $2 billion in investments for agriculture and food production.

We just secured $1.77 billion through the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership, an agreement between the province and our federal government. This agreement will provide programs to support farmers, processors and the entire sector. It will position Ontario as a world leader for environmentally, economically and socially sustainable agriculture.

We’ve invested $343 million through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, an agreement with the University of Guelph and ARIO, the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario, that supports food research and innovation to help generate new knowledge that provides real and practical solutions across the sector.

Our government has secured the right investment by listening to our farmers and our growers, our processors and our industry stakeholders. This bill, if passed, will build upon these successes and create long-term accomplishments for the entire sector.

Through this bill, we’re also proposing changes to the feeder cattle loan guarantee program. The province’s feeder cattle loan guarantee program supports beef cattle farmers by facilitating access to low-interest loans through their local feeder cattle co-operatives. The proposed changes will permit co-op members to custom-feed one another’s cattle, give them more flexibility, and improve the competitiveness and profitability of big and small businesses. This action follows months of discussions with our stakeholders and our partners and program users in the programs themselves. To quote Don Badour, a representative of the Beef Farmers of Ontario, on the benefits of these changes: “It will maximize flexibility for co-op members to make decisions on custom-feeding to help expand their beef operations under the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program to improve their competitiveness and profitability.” These are small farms and big farms alike. This is good news for all of Ontario’s beef farmers. It will help secure our entire agri-food industry.

We’re also proposing changes to the Animal Health Act. In the event of an animal health emergency, it’s critical to have the tools necessary to take immediate action to protect the health and safety of the public and our animals. Through the lessons learned in the past few years alone, these proposed changes will enhance our government’s animal disease emergency preparedness. The changes will provide an additional critical tool for our Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to take immediate action through a temporary order to require time-sensitive action to be taken by our farmers, our food processors and other stakeholders in the event of an emerging animal health event. This may include temporarily stopping animal movement and adopting specific biosecurity measures to protect health and safety. This will enhance our level of animal health preparedness and better position us to minimize the potential costs and risks of the impacts of a significant animal health event, and ensure we can take immediate action to do what we can to establish longer-term measures.

Our government listens to and understands our farmers and our food processors, and these proposed changes target burdensome government processes within the agri-food sector and beyond to continue to maintain regulation that keeps Ontarians safe and healthy and our food supply system safe, healthy and reliable.

The future is bright in Ontario for our food processors, our growers, our farmers. The passage of this bill will allow our government to ensure good things continue to grow in Ontario.

The member for Chatham-Kent–Leamington to continue.

To the member opposite: I’m glad that you raised the topic of WSIB. Workers who experience a permanent disability are turned down routinely by the WSIB for compensation and left to appeal year after year after year to get the meagre benefits that they’re actually entitled to. This government also gave employers money back that should have gone to workers, to widows, to people who need that money. It’s not normal to give back the insurance premiums when you’ve already paid them, so I don’t understand why that money was given back to employers.

What I’d like to ask is if you will also be removing the red tape and barriers that keep injured workers from accessing the support that they deserve and that is paid for by businesses and workers.

Members touched upon the justice system and how we need to modernize it, finding different resources so that they’re not disparaging people who are seeking justice.

One of the government’s initiatives in this bill—I believe it’s schedule 5—is to hire retired judges back into the system. That’s a temporary solution.

I’d like to ask the member, what is the long-term plan to actually hire new judges to fill the void for cases that are long predating the pandemic, that need to be dealt with? Can the member speak to if they do have that commitment in place so that new judges are hired—and not just recycling the retired judges?

I enjoyed hearing the remarks, particularly from the member from Thornhill. I enjoyed the metaphor—there are lots of swimmers in our family, too, and water wings and weeds and the like.

I wonder, given the discussion the bill is having around red tape, if you could help me understand, from the standpoint of persons with disabilities—I spent four years, in the previous Parliament, working with people with disabilities. I learned that their lives are absolutely encumbered by red tape. I’ll give you an example that I’d appreciate a response to. If one is on the Ontario Disability Support Program and enters into a relationship, immediately your income as a disabled person is reduced by virtue of who you fall into a relationship with. That seems to me like inordinate red tape that this bill could address.

I’m wondering if the member from Thornhill has considered this and has any thoughts to share about that.

Thank you to the member across for his comments.

This bill is all about removing red tape. We’re focusing on reducing barriers to improve services. This includes a whole-of-government plan, including the elimination of administrative overlaps.

Just as an example, currently, the WSIB is required to create both a five-year strategic plan and an annual business plan spanning three years to come. The strategic plan and the business plan duplicate content for governance and oversight. Requiring the WSIB to submit both is burdensome and a matter of red tape—and yes, those are weeds. So removing, in that circumstance, the five-year strategic plan while keeping the business plan will eliminate red tape and ensure that the WSIB focuses less time on paperwork and more time on helping the workers.

As mentioned, I did work within the system for several years. We were constantly dealing with paper. Papers get lost; people lose them. Those notices were actually sent out to people, and they would lose them; it would never get back to them. They could get into trouble. Eliminating that paperwork will modernize the court system. We do still have a requirement that—people can still ask for paper.

But actually modernizing the system and the justice system is a long time overdue, absolutely.

Following up on what I was talking about earlier, as we continue to modernize regulation, our government is committed to taking action that reduces that red tape. We’re proposing to repeal the five-year strategic plan for WSIB, and we’re focusing and proposing that this be done by providing a five-year strategic—the WSIB, also allowing them to submit a business plan that spans three years or more. This strategic plan, this business plan is not a duplicative—

TPON is utilized, I believe, by all of our not-for-profits and we want to keep them whole. The enterprise Transfer Payment Ontario system, TPON, is used for the end-to-end administration of transfer payments, from application to payment to reporting. Continuing to implement TPON will provide ministries with standardized, streamlined processes to manage and administer their transfer payment programs, resulting in more efficient and effective program delivery at a lower cost to the taxpayer. For transfer payment recipients, this system will provide seamless user experiences, reducing their administrative burden and freeing up more time to deliver key services for the people of Ontario. Through this initiative, there is a concerted focus on bringing all government transfer payments and programs and related IT systems onto TPON and driving an enterprise-wide efficiency and process.

My question deals with the proposed legislation that would fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery; specifically, the enterprise Transfer Payment Ontario system, the TPON system. What specific changes are being proposed to that system?

Further questions?