We are getting more women into jobs, more than ever before. We are investing heavily in employment training and support so women have access to in-demand skills and opportunities. In fact, we’ve seen an increase just in December alone of gains for women in full-time employment of up to 63,000. So we are building Ontario, and women are at the forefront of that.

But, Mr. Speaker, I think what the members opposite may be failing to understand is that in order for women to have access to the support, to be in a healthy mindset to get jobs, maintain jobs, they need to feel safe. And women are not feeling safe, mainly because they don’t have a safe home to go to. We are working to build homes faster in Ontario.

Many women are staying in shelters longer, because they don’t have places to go. We’ve heard this in shelters across Ontario. I’ve been to Hastings, Oakville, Burlington—they’re saying the same thing. So, Mr. Speaker, if the members opposite really want to support women and put women’s safety and priority first, they’ll support Bill 23, our government’s—

We’re also breaking barriers for women so that they feel free to enter male-dominated jobs—

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, wraparound supports, job training, entrepreneur supports—we’re making investments. Women are at the forefront of the post-pandemic economy, and we’re seeing women get into jobs more than ever before.

Thank you to the member from Brampton North for the important question. Commuters deserve nothing less than a transit system that will get them where they need to go every day. That’s why, in February, I was thrilled to announce that our government is investing over $379 million for public transit in 107 municipalities across Ontario.

What does this mean for the people of Brampton, Mr. Speaker? It means that we’re providing $16 million to support public transit in the city of Brampton alone. The funding can be used to extend service hours, buy new buses, add routes, improve accessibility or upgrade infrastructure for local public transit services, including Brampton Transit and Züm.

Our government is providing municipalities with the supports that they need to succeed. We’re investing in public transit across Ontario, including in the great city of Brampton.

My question is to the Premier. I have tabled a motion today that will have a great impact for people across this province. It is time that Ontario takes an important step towards gender and reproductive equality and commits to covering prescription contraceptive care under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan. We need to guarantee access to contraceptive care at no cost for anyone who needs it. This will ensure better gender equality and lead to better health outcomes. It will lower barriers to access, enabling people to make better decisions about their health and family planning. It is my sincere hope that this government will support this motion today, on International Women’s Day.

To the Premier: Will the government follow British Columbia’s lead and introduce a no-cost prescription contraceptive policy for all residents in Ontario?

No, I don’t think it’s acceptable. I think that as we get diagnostic imaging and as we get diagnosis and information in community, we need to get those tests back quickly so that if and when there is further intervention that is necessary, that is available quickly.

We all understand—I’m sure the member opposite understands—that the faster that a person has access to treatment and testing, the faster that they can move forward on their diagnosis and treating of it. I have been working closely with our lab partners to make sure that they have a plan to ensure that those tests that are taking, frankly, too long to come back are expedited so that we can get appropriate care in Ontario.

My question is for the Premier. Every day, women in this province are expected to step up and fill a gap left by this government. A mother recently reached out to my office because she had to leave her job as a teacher to care for her child with autism. She was forced to switch careers, take on financial barriers and become a behavioural therapist so she could actually give her child the services that she could not get in Ontario.

A parent should be able to be a parent. They should not have to become the service provider that this government is not providing.

The Premier and his government seem to be okay with mothers having to step up and run their own program. Can the Premier tell us if this is the new expectation for mothers in Ontario?

Some 689,000 people in Ontario have eating disorders and they disproportionately impact women and girls. Sherri is one of them. Sherri has been waiting for a publicly funded adult in-patient bed since 2021. Why? Because there are only 20 publicly funded beds in Ontario. People who cannot afford to pay $30,000, $50,000, $60,000 for private care are dying on wait-lists. Last we spoke, she was still on a wait-list that was closed. I don’t want Sherri to die.

My question is to the Premier. Will this government increase adult ED beds, address the specialized staff shortage, make the temporary 14 pediatric beds permanent and create billing codes to ensure ED survivors and families aren’t paying out of pocket for the physical and mental health care they so desperately need?

My question is for the extraordinary Attorney General of Ontario. Ensuring our courts and justice system are up to date and modern is essential for a properly functioning justice system. Our government—and the Attorney General, in particular—has overseen a tremendous transformation in how courts function in Ontario. There are many modernization achievements.

Last week, our government announced the long-awaited opening of a new courthouse in downtown Toronto. The project has been in development for over nine years and replaces six justice buildings. Individuals are interested in how this new consolidated building will impact the delivery of judicial and court services.

Speaker, can the Attorney General please elaborate on how this new courthouse will provide improved justice services going forward?

Unfortunately, the previous Liberal government did little, really, to improve and modernize our court system, which was outdated, bureaucratic and, frankly, inconvenient. It is essential that our government provide leadership and implement a new strategy that brings Ontario’s justice system into the 21st century. Our government must focus on creating modern court services for Ontarians that work for them, especially in an increasingly digital and accessible world.

Speaker, could the Attorney General please explain how this new courthouse is accessible and better serves all Ontarians.

Speaker, through you to the Minister of Health: Jane Wigmore, a retired OB/GYN nurse from Port Colborne, reached out to my office concerned about the unacceptable four-month wait for Pap test results. She said, “It is of the utmost importance for women to get their results as soon as possible because the chances of survival depend on early detection so that treatment for diseases like cancer can begin as soon as possible.”

Jane would like to know, is it acceptable to this minister that women in this province are waiting over four months for the results of a Pap test?

I want to thank the excellent member from Eglinton–Lawrence, and although I’m just the regular Attorney General, I’ll answer the question nonetheless.

By building, upgrading and modernizing our infrastructure, including the ways we deliver justice, we’re ensuring that Ontario is built to last, today and for the future. I’m honoured to talk about the new Toronto courthouse—a modern, accessible, state-of-the-art building. It brings together criminal courts from throughout Toronto, 73 judicial hearing rooms, modern technology that allows for virtual and hybrid hearings in every courtroom and upgraded security features throughout the building. It’s truly a courthouse of the future.

The new Toronto courthouse is designed to support victims and accommodate the unique needs of drug treatment, Gladue and youth and mental health courts.

Mr. Speaker, it was our government, it was this infrastructure minister, it was this Premier, that got the courthouse of the future built. I’m very proud to stand with my colleagues on this momentous occasion.

Whether it was tens of millions invested in virtual and hybrid hearings or the new Toronto courthouse, it has been our government delivering for this province through transformation of the justice system. The new Toronto courthouse is an embodiment of this strategy. We are harnessing the power of technology, accessibility and state-of-the art design. We are providing justice while housing essential social services and providing supports to protect victims. With the opening of the new Toronto courthouse, we are once again showing that Ontario will simply not let the justice system remain status quo. We are getting it done.

Supplementary?

The supplementary question: the member for Niagara Centre.

Thank you to the minister for her response. A little louder for those around: “the great city of Brampton.”

It is welcome news that our government is so significantly investing in public transit. As we know, Brampton is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. As more people turn to public transit, there is no disputing that now is the time to invest in this key infrastructure. The gas tax funding will help to ensure that communities have the resources they need to continue to deliver safe and reliable transit service. After 15 years of neglect from the previous Liberal government, backed by the NDP, it is essential now that all governments work collaboratively together to provide the quality of transit service that our communities so rightly deserve.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is working with our municipal partners in supporting effective public transit?

Thank you to the member opposite for that question. She and I have had many discussions about eating disorders and the work that needs to be done. Quite frankly, COVID-19 saw a surge in severe eating disorders among children and youth due to increased isolation, school disruption and social media exposure—as well as in adults.

The AG report in 2016 showed that the Liberals spent $10 million to send 127 kids to the United States for eating disorder treatment. We spent $16.5 million—and we spend that annually—to make sure that they can be treated closer to home, right here in the province.

Our investments are building the supporting treatments and beds and spaces across Ontario: $8.1 million, seven beds at CHEO, five at SickKids, two at McMaster; $11.1 million annually for 20 treatment spaces in underserved communities like Sudbury, North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie.

We are making investments to ensure that anyone who needs support in the province of Ontario gets it where and when they—

My question is to the Premier. Ontario has a serious problem in recruiting and retaining staff in licensed child care centres. The wages of child care educators, who are overwhelmingly women, are not competitive with other occupations that require a college education. To have enough educators to offer good-quality care, there is no real alternative to raising the wages—simple as that.

The Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario has urged the Conservative government to develop and implement a province-wide salary scale for registered ECEs and child care staff to address recruitment and retention issues. On International Women’s Day, will the Premier commit to that?

Thank you to the member for the question. Challenges such as inflation, rising costs of products, materials and supply chain disruptions are all real challenges that we’re facing here in Ontario, but also across the world. Our government, as a team, made a decision to face these challenges head on and forge ahead and continue to build Ontario.

Last week, we updated the P3 pipeline, which includes 38 major infrastructure projects which include an estimated value of $35 billion. Mr. Speaker, there’s some good news here, as two projects previously in pre-procurement now have gone to the market, where builders can make their submissions to Infrastructure Ontario: the Garden City Skyway twinning in Niagara, as well as the Ottawa Civic Hospital, one of our larger hospital expansion projects. Mr. Speaker, this is not a time to hesitate or delay. It is a time to build Ontario.

Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Supplementary question: the member for Parkdale–High Park.

The next question?

Happy International Women’s Day to the member opposite.

Our government doubled the Ontario Autism Program budget. Nearly five times as many children are receiving services than under the previous government. That’s approximately 40,000 children receiving services.

The reality is, we are in constant communication with families, with people across Ontario about autism. And the fact that we are improving the system from what it was before—about 75% to 66% of families and youth and children with autism were not going to get any service under the previous government’s efforts, and that was supported by the NDP. So I’m questioning why you didn’t speak up earlier. This is something that our government—

Interjection.

Interjection.

My question is to the Premier. The Greater Toronto Hockey League is a non-profit organization comprised of many hockey teams providing youth with the opportunity to participate in Canada’s official winter sport. The GTHL is part of the Ontario Hockey Federation, the governing body of amateur hockey in Ontario and a provincial sports organization that receives operational funding from the province.

Parents teach their kids that team sports are a great way to have fun and learn important skills that can last a lifetime. And that’s what parents buy into when they invest in their kids, these teams and the league, financially.

However, what we are seeing is that non-profit teams within the GTHL are quietly being sold and bought, under the cover of darkness, for millions of dollars.

Can the Premier tell us what kind of financial oversights are in place for the provincial sport organizations they govern, including the GTHL?

Parents want their children to be healthy, happy, safe and active. They trust that when they provide them with an opportunity to participate in Canada’s game, there will be transparency and accountability. Will the Premier show Ontario taxpayers, parents and kids the respect they deserve and shed light on these significant transactions? Because it’s not clear who is benefiting, and parents want to know. Will the Premier help us follow the money trail?

My question is to the Minister of Infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Premier and this minister, our government continues to deliver on our commitment to actively build infrastructure projects in communities across the province. The essential work being done by the province’s construction sector is critically important, yet they are encountering some challenges.

Within the current economic climate, it is all but certain that project costs could escalate due to a number of external factors. Nevertheless, it is essential that our government continues to prioritize projects that modernize our province’s public assets.

For the good of Ontario’s economic prosperity, job creation and the health and well-being of Ontarians, can the minister please explain how our government is investing in infrastructure projects while navigating the effects of global economic uncertainty?

Thank you for the question, and I couldn’t agree with you more with respect to when it comes to our youth and sport. One of the biggest drivers for the development of young people in sport: learning how to deal with people, teammates, understanding direction, understanding that things aren’t easy and they’ve got to work through things.

When we talk about the funding of the PSOs, which we do in a very successful way in Ontario, we allow them to get better at the levels they want to—that they need to provide the services that they provide.

You asked about oversight. We don’t feel a need at this point to go into the books to find out what every minor hockey, football or soccer organization does. If there’s a problem, we will look into it, but at this point, it’s only speculation. So I can’t get into that right now with specifics, but I will tell you that our ministry supports minor sport for all the right reasons and will continue to do so in the province of Ontario.