I have a petition that reads as follows:

“I Support Serious Climate Action Now.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the climate crisis remains an urgent and existential threat; here in Ontario we are seeing record-breaking heat waves, floods, tornadoes, and even forest fires;

“Whereas the Rideau Canal Skateway could not open for the current winter season for the first time since it opened in 1971 due to warmer-than-average winter temperatures;

“Whereas Ontario needs to take bold steps to fight our climate crisis and create thousands of good jobs through investments in energy-efficiency retrofits, affordable housing, a public intercity bus program, renewable energy, infrastructure, electrified transit, child care and other low-carbon sectors, and” paid for “by taking on big polluters;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to stop the development of greenbelt lands, invest in public”—all caps, for “public”—“transit projects, curb urban sprawl, and commit to real action on green energy, housing, transportation and jobs.”

I am honoured to sign this petition and I’ll be sending it with page Yonglin to the Clerks’ table.

I have a petition here that I’m pleased to present.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Bill 124, titled Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019, caps salary increases at 1%, at a time of historic rates of inflation and interest rates;

“Whereas the nursing crisis has compromised patient safety and the functioning of our public health care system;

“Whereas emergency rooms are closing and even ICUs are at risk of having to close because of health care staffing shortages;

“Whereas the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruling released on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, by Justice Markus Koehnen says that the law infringes on the rights to collective bargaining and freedom of association and declared the act to be ‘void and of no effect;’

“Whereas the courts have declared this legislation to be unconstitutional;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately repeal Bill 124, Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature to it and give it to page Riya Azaredo, who will take it to the Clerks.

I have a petition here from the residents not only of Kingston, but of Verona and Sydenham and other places north of Kingston.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the province of Ontario is experiencing a severe shortage of health care professionals; and

“Whereas the shortage of health care professionals includes the inability of many Ontarians to access family physicians; and

“Whereas this shortage of health care professionals is placing a strain on hospitals’ emergency departments, including the enormous increase in patient off-load times from ambulances at those emergency departments thereby taking paramedics out of service; and

“Whereas the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care drastically reduced the funding for virtual medical care effective December 1, 2022; and

“Whereas virtual medical programs have been the source of 40% of primary care visits; and

“Whereas this reduction in funding has now resulted in the denial of medical services for many Ontarians, especially in rural Ontario, and contributes to an increase to ever-strained hospital emergency departments;

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

“The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care shall immediately reinstate full funding to the virtual care medical program while it works with the Ontario Medical Association and pharmacies across Ontario to provide health care services to all Ontarians especially in rural communities where access is most difficult.”

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Ontario government has underfunded optometric eye care for 30 years; and

“Whereas the government only pays on average $44.65 for an OHIP-insured visit—the lowest rate in Canada; and

“Whereas optometrists are being forced to pay substantially out of their own pocket to provide over four million services each year to Ontarians under OHIP; and

“Whereas optometrists have never been given a formal negotiation process with the government; and

“Whereas the government’s continued neglect resulted in 96% of Ontario optometrists voting to withdraw OHIP services beginning September 1, 2021;

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

“To instruct the Ontario government to immediately commit to legally binding, formal negotiations to ensure any future OHIP-insured optometry services are, at a minimum, funded at the cost of delivery.”

This petition is titled “Protect Vulnerable Road Users” and it reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas vulnerable road users are not specifically protected by law; and

“Whereas Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act allows drivers who seriously injure or kill a vulnerable road user to avoid meaningful consequences, facing only minimal fines; and

“Whereas the friends and families of victims are unsatisfied with the lack of consequences and the government’s responses to traffic accidents that result in death or injury to a vulnerable road user;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

“—direct the government of Ontario to commit to reducing the number of traffic fatalities and injuries to vulnerable road users;

“—create meaningful consequences that ensure responsibility and accountability for drivers who share the road with pedestrians, cyclists, road construction workers, emergency responders and other vulnerable road users;

“—allow friends and family of vulnerable road users whose death or serious injury was caused by an offending driver to have their victim impact statement heard in person in court by the driver responsible;

“—pass the Protecting Vulnerable Road Users Act.”

I support this petition and will affix my signature to it.

This petition is titled “Raise Social Assistance Rates.” It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent small budget increase of 5% for ODSP still leaves these citizens below the poverty line, both they and those receiving the frozen OW rates are struggling to live in this time of alarming inflation;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a ‘basic income’ of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I fully support this petition. I would like to thank Sally Palmer for it. I will affix my signature to it.

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 8, 2023, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 71, An Act to amend the Mining Act / Projet de loi 71, Loi modifiant la Loi sur les mines.

I have a petition entitled, “I Support Serious Climate Action Now.” I want to thank the MPP for Ottawa Centre, MPP Harden, for this petition.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the climate crisis remains an urgent and existential threat; here in Ontario we are seeing record-breaking heat waves, floods, tornadoes, and even forest fires;

“Whereas the Rideau Canal Skateway could not open for the current winter season for the first time since it opened in 1971 due to warmer-than-average winter temperatures;

“Whereas Ontario needs to take bold steps to fight our climate crisis and create thousands of good jobs through investments in energy-efficiency retrofits, affordable housing, a public intercity bus program, renewable energy, infrastructure, electrified transit, child care and other low-carbon sectors, and pay for it by taking on big polluters;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly to stop the development of greenbelt lands, invest in public transit projects, curb urban sprawl, and commit to real action on green energy, housing, transportation and jobs.”

I’d like to say the Rideau Canal belongs to all of us, it’s a national treasure, so that’s why it is important that I read out this petition today.

I fully agree with this. I’m going to sign it and give it to page Mary to take to the Clerks’ table.