Thank you.

The next question.

The next question.

The next question.

All women deserve security and safety, and particularly that is in our thoughts on International Women’s Day. Our government is constantly working to ensure that women, children and all Ontarians can live free from fear of threats, exploitation and violence, and we’re working to prevent and address violence against women in all forms. We’ve made investments, we’ve launched programs and we’ve passed legislation aimed at ending violence against women in its many forms, and we’ll continue to do that important work: standing up against gender-based violence and supporting those affected by these crimes.

Our investment is helping survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking find and maintain housing, and it’s helping them transition to independence. It also connects them to socially and culturally responsive wraparound community supports like safety planning, counselling, health and wellness, education, legal and immigration services, financial resources and child care services.

Our investments also include holistic, culturally responsible services for Indigenous women. We will continue this important work, and I thank the member for—

Je voudrais présenter l’Association franco-ontarienne des conseils scolaires catholiques. Bienvenue à Yves Lévesque, Melinda Chartrand, Suzanne Salituri et Émilie Tomory. Bienvenue à votre maison. Merci.

Interjections.

I beg leave to present the first interim report on the study of the rehabilitation and restoration of the legislative precinct from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and move the adoption of its recommendations.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank committee members for their work to date. The committee extends its appreciation to the Deputy Clerk, the director of precinct properties branch, and House of Commons officials for appearing as witnesses.

The committee thanks Queen’s Park precinct properties branch staff and House of Commons staff in Ottawa for providing the committee with guided tours of their respective precincts and openly sharing their knowledge and expertise.

The committee also thanks its federal counterparts for the meeting that they hosted in Ottawa during the committee’s travel last month.

Finally, the committee acknowledges the assistance provided during the hearings and report-writing deliberations by the Clerk of the Committee and staff from both legislative research branch and table research office.

I would also like to note that the interim report that is tabled today is the first of a yet-to-be-determined number of reports. This is the English version, and the French version will follow shortly once translation has been completed.

With that, I move adjournment of the debate.

I am pleased to stand in the House today to recognize International Women’s Day. On this day, Ontario joins communities around the globe in celebrating women for their contributions to making the world a better place.

As Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, I am proud of the achievements our province has made. This includes women rising to the top in their fields and gaining recognition, like Nabeela Ixtabalan, chief operations officer of Walmart Canada; Rupi Kaur, Brampton native, New York Times bestselling author and poet; and Hayley Wickenheiser, four-time Olympic gold medallist and assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs; as well as the many women whose contributions are lesser known but who work hard each and every day to support their families and communities. From academia, sports and business leaders to carpenters, caregivers and farmers, women are at the heart of our province.

The UN’s theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is about the great potential technology has to foster a new era of women in the workplace and society.

According to a recent UN report, women’s exclusion from the digital economy in developing countries has cut $1 trillion in GDP over the last decade.

We are at a crucial point where we can use technology to bring more women into the digital economy and achieve greater gender equity, boost innovation, and strengthen our economy. But there is still more work to be done to help us get there. Women still face barriers to hiring, retention and achievement in traditionally male-dominated occupations. These barriers include things like gender bias, inequitable workplace practices, pay gaps, lack of mentors and role models, and work environments where women do not feel safe.

Our government’s vision for the future is for women across the province to thrive everywhere—at home, at work, and in their communities.

Helping women participate in the workforce and achieve financial security is the foundation to their prosperity and independence. We know that when women do well, their whole family does well.

Women are equally critical to helping Ontario address many of the pressing labour shortages that our economy faces.

For example, women currently make up only a fraction of the skilled trades workforce. Over the next decade, Ontario will need 100,000 workers in the construction sector alone. These careers are exciting, diverse and in demand, with good pay and benefits. As our Premier likes to say, when you’ve got a trade, you’ve got a job for life. That’s why I am on a mission to get more women into the trades.

Our government continues to encourage young women and girls to enter the skilled trades and break down the workplace barriers they face. We have made a historic investment of more than $1 billion over four years into the skilled trades strategy. Many of the initiatives in this strategy will support women and girls in exploring the skilled trades.

Whether as tradespeople, executives, small business owners, or in other vital sectors, women contribute to our province at every level.

We are also modernizing our school science and technology curriculum to place an emphasis on critical life and job skills and better prepare students for jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics—including young women.

Under our Premier, we have invested in empowering women, supporting them to enter and re-enter the workforce. The results speak for themselves. We are getting more women into jobs than ever before. Overall employment in January was up 346,000 jobs, 4.6% higher than the pre-pandemic high in February 2020. Women account for many of these gains.

The number of women not in the labour force has dropped considerably, and the participation rate for core-working-age women is steadily climbing, from the pre-pandemic high of 81.5% to 84.5% in January.

Economic empowerment isn’t only about jobs; it’s also about creating the conditions for entrepreneurs to thrive in this province. Our plan is to make Ontario the best province to do business in, and women are an integral part of that as well. One of the ways we are doing this is by supporting economic empowerment programs for women in communities across the province.

For example, over the next three years, my ministry is investing $25 million in two important programs: Women’s Economic Security and Investing in Women’s Futures. These programs help women facing socio-economic barriers to build the in-demand skills they need to gain and secure employment. These programs have a proven track record of success.

In 2021, the Investing in Women’s Futures Program served more than 5,400 women and helped more than 1,300 women secure employment, start their own businesses, or pursue further training and education.

We have found that women are eager to enter new fields like the trades, but some are discouraged because of stigma or, in some cases, lack of safety at work—and I’m not referring to PPE, but women’s physical and mental safety.

I’m thinking of a woman I recently met at Building Up in Etobicoke, who shared her experiences with me. I will call her Sandra for her confidentiality and privacy. Sandra has been in the trades since she was 16, but when she arrived in Canada, her caseworker discouraged her from pursuing her dreams in the trades. While she was on the work site, she also experienced severe harassment. But things changed for her when she found an organization that was willing to train her and provide a safe space for her and other women like her. She told me, “They made us feel comfortable. This has been our door to life.”

Mr. Speaker, there are many stories like Sandra’s. That’s why it’s important for us to continue to find ways to listen to women and support and encourage them, so that all jobs and opportunities are equally available to all the women of Ontario.

There are, of course, other supporting factors that contribute to women’s economic empowerment, and our government is making progress in those areas, as well.

For instance, women need to be safe to achieve economic independence and prosperity. That’s why our government is preventing and addressing violence against women in all forms. It is so important that women who are affected by violence and exploitation receive the support they need, while offenders are held accountable through our justice system. In 2021, we invested nearly $200 million in services and supports, as well as $11 million in violence prevention initiatives. This is in addition to the more than $300 million we are investing over five years in our anti-human trafficking strategy.

We also continue to implement Pathways to Safety, which is Ontario’s plan to respond to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and address the root causes of violence against Indigenous women. Ontario’s government-wide strategy was developed in close partnership with Indigenous communities and organizations and the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council.

Another key area we are addressing is child care. This is a crucial piece to removing barriers for women to enter the workforce—trust me, I know; I’ve had five children. It has always been a barrier. We recognize that under the former Liberals, for over 15 years, child care became totally inaccessible and unattainable—it increased by 400% for an average family in the province of Ontario. We knew that when we came to power, under our Premier’s leadership, we had to act to make life more affordable for working parents. That is why we signed a deal—a better deal—with the federal government, the Canada-wide early learning and child care system. This historic agreement will support Ontario to achieve child care fees of $10 per day for children under the age of six by 2025. In fact, as of January 1 of this year, child care fees have been reduced by 50%, on average, saving anywhere between $6,000 to $12,000 a year per child. It’s significant. This is a massive step forward to the affordability program and agenda our government has undertaken for the upcoming year.

A second important factor is access to a safe, stable and affordable place to call home. When I speak to Transitional and Housing Support Program staff, they all say they can’t get women out of their shelters because there are no homes for women to move into—if they can find a home, it is not in their community. That’s why our government passed Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, which eliminated development charges for affordable, non-profit and select attainable housing. These changes will get more affordable and attainable housing built faster all across our province so that women can have a safe place to move to.

Women also need mental health and addictions supports, which is why in 2020 we launched the Roadmap to Wellness, our provincial strategy that takes a whole-of-government approach to address long-standing mental health and addictions needs. This is a historic investment of $3.8 billion over the next 10 years.

As we celebrate this International Women’s Day today, Ontario can be proud of the steps we are taking to advance the status of women and to better empower them. I know we still have a long way to go, and we still have ways that we need to communicate—to put partisanship aside and focus on partnership, to address these issues. We also need to continue to reflect on what more needs to be done so that women and girls in Ontario can reach their full potential, pursue their dreams, and achieve the success that they fully deserve, because—I’ve said it in this House—when women succeed, Ontario succeeds.

I’ll add something more: When women prosper, we all prosper.

Members will please take their seats.

To reply, government House leader and Minister of Long-Term Care.

The supplementary question: the member for Windsor West.

Restart the clock. Member for Windsor West has the floor.

That concludes our question period for this morning.

The Minister of the Environment has a point of order.

The division bells rang from 1146 to 1151.

MPP Bell has moved private member’s notice of motion number 27. All those in favour, please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

Motion negatived.

There being no further business, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1155 to 1300.

Does the member wish to make a brief statement?

Debate adjourned.

Speaker, as you know, today is International Women’s Day, and I just listened to the Minister of the Environment tell one of my women colleagues to “pipe down” when she was standing up for the environment—

Interjections.

Interjections.

Interjection.

Interjections.

With Bill 28, the lowest-paid education workers were attacked by the Conservatives using the “notwithstanding” clause to take away their right to free and fair collective bargaining. Bill 124, which was deemed unconstitutional by the courts, has done the same to workers in health care, developmental services and education—again, largely women-led professions.

Speaker, will the Premier commit today on International Women’s Day to stop his government’s appeal of Bill 124, pay the women workers the wages they deserve and respect their collective bargaining rights?

Of course, we’ll allow the process to continue on. I think that’s very important. We can’t, on the one hand, ask for the government to stay out of the lives of people and, on the other hand, legislate. So we’ll wait and see how that process unfolds.

But at the same time, Mr. Speaker, I think what you’re seeing across the province of Ontario—look, I was in Blyth and Goderich just last week and I was doing a ground-breaking for another 160 long-term-care beds in that community, and it was just a wonderful opportunity in that community to see more health care coming to different parts of Ontario that have never had it before, Mr. Speaker, and that builds on top of the things that we’re doing in health care.

When you talk about midwives, when you talk about building Ontario health teams, it’s about building a blanket of care, so regardless of whether you need a midwife, whether you need a long-term-care home, whether you need a primary care doctor, whatever other services—home care—you will be covered in the province of Ontario through these new Ontario health teams—

But it goes beyond that. The Minister of Labour has been working hard since the beginning, and they voted against it every single time. They voted against those opportunities that we put in place to have more women in the trades. They voted against it. When we have brought measures in front of this Parliament to have thousands more people participate in the health care system, they voted against it. When we brought in $3 more for our PSWs, they voted against it. When we brought hope and opportunity to families with better daycare, they voted against it.

It’s not just on International Women’s Day. It’s every day. Try doing it once in a while—

The ayes are 34; the nays are 67.

It’s children recycling. Relax.

I am so happy to introduce my good friend and great community leader and also a Gandhian leader—he’s always teaching me the Gandhian principles in Markham—Mr. Indrakant Patel, and Mrs. Daxaben Patel. Thank you for being here.

Mr. Speaker, they took a picture with you. They are so excited to be here. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Responses?

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is #EmbraceEquity.

I’m honoured to speak on behalf of our caucus, as our critic for women’s social and economic opportunity.

Equality is giving everyone the same thing, regardless of their needs.

Equity is giving people exactly what they need, when they need it, without barriers and without stigma or blame.

I’d like to remind this Conservative government that it is impossible for them to embrace equity if they continue taking nurses, who are disproportionately women—and Black women and racialized women, at that—to court. This Conservative government must give our front-line health care workers what they need to be successful. Embrace equity. Bill 124 was ruled unconstitutional, yet this government continues their appeal against this ruling, attacking yet again some of the very women workers who have been disproportionately hit over these last challenging years.

This Conservative government’s privatization and profitization of health care in Bill 60 is gutting our public health care system by yet again attacking predominantly women, our front-line health care workers. We cannot recruit, retain and return nurses to a public health care system that has been grossly underfunded and understaffed by this government.

Embracing equity is properly funding public health care, so that people have fair and equitable access to exactly what care they need in Ontario—not in the States; just saying.

I want to make it clear that derailing front-line health care workers also derails the families of sick patients. Make no mistake: Society’s gendered division of labour is still very much in place. It is women, yet again, who must often take care of their loved ones, children, partners and aging parents when they fall through the cracks—cracks this government has widened, a crisis this government has worsened due to their Darwinian health care approach. These informal family caregivers are mostly women, doing this unpaid work at their own financial ruin, many without vacation time, without equal pay for equal work, without pay equity, without paid sick days, without supports for their injuries from WSIB, without any access to a caregiver benefit program like what we, the official opposition, proposed to help put some money back into the pockets of folks caring for their loved ones. Some of these women who are caregivers are escaping gender-based violence themselves.

Speaker, our communities are built on the backs of strong women, and it’s high time that this government not just commend women for being resilient, but that they invest in our community-based, non-profit programs, for instance, that are inextricably linked to the health care outcomes of our communities.

I want to extend my thanks to Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario CEO Marta Hajek for her leadership and her advocacy.

I want to say a special thank you to our local community member in St. Paul’s, Jane Teasdale, who is working tirelessly, advocating for the rights and protections of aging adults.

There has been a 250% increase in elder abuse, yet we’ve seen this government, the Conservative government, cut supports for elders during a pandemic—the same elders that mostly women are caring for out of pocket. They need stable funding, and it cannot be below the inflation rate. Funding below an inflation rate is actually a cut.

I want to also recognize that March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, courtesy of legislation spearheaded by our former MPP for Toronto Centre, Suze Morrison, and the official opposition leader, Marit Stiles. Endometriosis impacts one in 10 women, one in 10 people who menstruate. As I learned from endowarriors Leah Haynes and Tami Ellis, founders of Endometriosis Events, and my fellow panellists there, it simply is not enough for the government to say they care—“thoughts and prayers”—while there’s no funding for endometriosis. We need more funding for research. We need more training for doctors and surgeons to properly diagnose. Many with endometriosis have to go out of province and pay out of pocket.

Health care needs to be publicly funded.

Let’s be clear: Diseases that disproportionately impact women are often not the priority of this government. We only need to look at the health care wait-lists for eating disorders, for instance. We only need to look at our fight—we’ve been begging this government to cover take-home cancer drugs 100%. That’s another disease disproportionately impacting women—still crickets from the government.

So on International Women’s Day, while we celebrate the gains, let us remember the realities for far too many women in Ontario. We need help, and no amount of resilience can pay the rent, put food on the table, keep your housing secure—in an affordable housing market created by this government.

It is up to this Conservative government to do right by women and girls, because yes, when women win, we all win.

I’m honoured to rise today, on International Women’s Day, to recognize and celebrate the achievements and resiliency of women, girls and gender-diverse people.

When I look around this House and when I go to my constituency office or my office here at Queen’s Park, I’m thankful for the strong, smart women I have the opportunity to work with each and every day who are making a difference and improving people’s lives.

And while I would like to say that we have come a long way, I also want to say that we have much more work to do.

This year’s International Women’s Day focus is on gender equity because simply aiming for equal opportunity is not enough. Equity is an act of inclusion. It is something that each and every one of us is capable of incorporating into our day-to-day lives. Paving a path for gender equity is not limited to women. They need allies—they need allies who identify as men, like I do—working together to forge a path that propels the social, economic and political advancements of women in our words, actions and laws.

Speaker, the caring professions are disproportionately comprised of women workers, who tend to be paid less and are especially negatively affected by laws such as Bill 124—which is why, today, I ask all of us in this House that we make a commitment to work with all sectors and communities to eliminate the barriers women face.

We can do better, we must do better, and we will do better.

I move that the Standing Committee on the Interior be authorized to meet on Thursday, March 9, at 2 p.m.

It is a pleasure for me to rise on International Women’s Day, on behalf of the people of Scarborough–Guildwood, who have elected me for the last 10 years.

As we reflect on this year’s theme, “Embrace Equity,” we understand the importance of honouring the struggles and celebrating the achievements of all women who contribute to the history of this province and who continue to shape the values and traditions that we share today. It is both a day to celebrate the achievements of women and girls and to focus on the challenges that we still face as we work towards gender equality. In continuing these important efforts and building on the success of the pioneering women who came before us, we carry forward the critical mission of embracing equity. We must ensure that every young girl and woman has equitable access to resources in this province. We must ensure that every young girl and woman has access to the opportunities that fit their unique needs and circumstances. Our role is to empower them, because they are the trailblazers who will make the bold changes that we need in our world today.

As we mark International Women’s Day 2023, it is important to remember that this day is rooted in the collective actions and movement of women who came together on March 8 for the goal of equal participation in society.

Women have made important gains in representation in recent years, and while the bar has been raised, the pursuit of equality—through equity—continues.

Women make up 50.7% of Canada’s population. And here in Ontario, women make up the majority of the essential front-line workers in sectors that include health care and social services. Women also represent the majority of workers in the education and child care sectors, which are vital for our children’s well-being.

It has been established that women were and continue to be disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, both economically and socially.

We must be mindful of women’s participation at all levels and in all sectors of the labour market. This includes the need for women in leadership roles in corporate Canada—and today, I joined women at the Bay who are the leaders in that corporate space, representing gender parity in their leadership ranks. Making this happen requires support and meaningful assignments along the way, at every stage of a woman’s career.

I want to note the Prosperity Project’s annual report card, which tracks women in leadership positions in Canada’s largest public and private companies and crown corporations. It raises the concern that nearly 35% of corporate director roles and nearly 32% of corporate executive roles are being filled by women—this is about the same or slightly better than the previous report card. This tells us that we have a long way to go. The report finds that there is serious under-representation of women who are Indigenous, Black or 2SLGBTQIA+, as well as a decline in women having moved to senior management roles. We have to ensure that the pipeline is ready to be filled.

I want to thank the women who stepped forward in all aspects of society, including those found in my local community of Scarborough–Guildwood.

This petition is titled “Make Registered Psychotherapy Services Tax-Free.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas mental health care is health care;

“Whereas the mental health crisis facing Ontarians has gotten worse with the pandemic;

“Whereas BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+ folks, women, and people with disabilities have historically faced significant barriers to accessing equitable health care services due to systemic discrimination;

“Whereas registered psychotherapists provide vital mental health services, especially as an early intervention;

“Whereas a 13% tax added to the cost of receiving psychotherapy services is another barrier for Ontarians seeking this vital care;

“Whereas registered psychotherapists are still required to collect HST from their clients, while most other mental health professionals have been exempted;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to” immediately make psychotherapy tax free.

Ms. Khanjin has moved that the Standing Committee on the Interior be authorized to meet on Thursday, March 9, at 2 p.m.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

Motion agreed to.

I want to thank the thousands of people across Niagara who are signing this “Petition 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 removal of the emergency department and associated beds and ambulances service from the Welland hospital site once the Niagara Falls site is complete, creating inequity of hospital and 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;

“Therefore, be it resolved that we call on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 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 sign my name and send it to the Clerk through the page.