Right now, my community is facing a crisis of mental health, addictions and homelessness. My office works with unsheltered and underserved constituents, and I recognize just how impossible it is for many in the community to navigate health care and support systems while struggling with addictions and mental health issues. For some people, it’s nearly impossible to survive.

I’ve been glad to work alongside the Back Door Mission, which is a centre of care and service without equal in the province. Please understand, many of the vulnerable clients they work with, who are served at the Back Door Mission, can’t access appropriate care elsewhere. More than 50% of them don’t have health cards. They can’t be served by a private clinic. They need the help and the care of a place like the Back Door Mission, which sees people who have little or no income, with no place to stay, who require treatment and medicinal support for their mental health and their medical needs. They also need a place to stay. They need nurses who have the time to show them that they matter and are cared for, case managers who provide empathy and understanding, and volunteers and peers who make them feel protected as part of the community. They get that at the Back Door Mission. At the Mission United hub in Oshawa, this model of care happens every day; it’s practised every day. It does so because of the commitments of CMHA.

At the beginning of the pandemic, other people shut their doors, but CMHA Durham found a way. They partnered with the Back Door Mission, which at that time was a local charity providing food and respite. Now, almost three years later, they’re operating a high-functioning clinic for homeless individuals, literally keeping people alive on a daily basis. I appreciate the work of everybody connected to this project and across communities.

I talked to Nathan Gardner, the executive director at the Back Door Mission, and he wanted me to share this when I told him that we were asking for funding for CMHA to do the work that is so required across our communities: “It is clear that what is needed to support programs like Mission United and organizations like CMHA Durham is more. More funds to make sure employees have consistent access to training, respite and resources to support them. And more people, more workers with specialization in mental health and addictions to ensure” that they do not have to handle this on their own. “The people we serve who suffer from mental illness are some of the most complex and misunderstood we see today, and they require a commitment of our respect and dignity. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial that we support those who work with them every day, and show them the same respect.”

Government, support this motion. Increase CMHA funding today to support our neighbours in need.

It’s an honour to stand today on behalf of the folks in St. Paul’s.

I want to thank the John Howard Society for the outstanding work that they do for our community every single day.

I’m really hoping that the government will support our motion calling for this government to increase the base funding for each branch of the CMHA by 8% as an immediate emergency stabilization investment into our local community mental health supports.

Approximately one in five—and counting—children and youth in Ontario have a mental health challenge. I’ve heard 91% of Ontario schools report they need mental health supports. That’s over 90% of Ontario schools in desperate need of mental health supports from psychologists, social workers and other mental health specialists to help support the crisis in our schools that I have to say is also a crisis in our communities—a crisis that, frankly, was created under this government because of Bill 124, because of underfunding, and because of understaffing in these essential, crucial parts of our community.

Last month, the Ontario Principals’ Council conducted a survey among public school principals and VPs, and 1,868 of them responded, indicating their desperate need for supports due to chronic and worsening staff shortages, increased behavioural issues in classes, safety concerns, and the overall mental health of their students and caregiver adults.

We’re seeing an increase in eating disorders here in Ontario. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate, second only to the opioid addiction crisis. I have to share that there are only 20 publicly funded beds in Ontario. If you can’t get one of those beds—and really, people can’t these days—you’re on a wait-list for at least a year, if not more.

All of these challenges that I’ve outlined above are disproportionately impacting our most vulnerable children, whether Black, Indigenous or rural students, students with disabilities, newcomer and immigrant students, and certainly those within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

The government has billions of dollars at its disposal—$6.4 billion, to be exact. We’re asking for $24 million to help our schools, to help our communities so they can survive and thrive.

Please, government, say yes.

I was actually fully intending this afternoon to start this speech and kind of read the notes in front of me and talk about the $3.8-billion Roadmap to Wellness, the historic investment that our government has made. I was going to talk about $77.35 million in supportive housing since 2019-20. I was going to talk about 60,000 nurses that have been trained under this government, and health care workers. I was probably going to make a few partisan points about how the members of the opposition voted against all of those investments. I was going to talk about education and how we’ve made a 420% increase in mental health supports for kids in our school system.

But after hearing a lot of speeches and hearing about the importance of this issue, I’m not going to do any of that today. In the spirit of non-partisanship, I want to thank the Leader of the Opposition for bringing this forward. Any day that we talk about mental health in this House is a good day for Ontario.

I want to talk a little bit about just some personal experience. I was inspired by some of the stories that we heard from other members in this House. I’ve recently been going to therapy myself. I try to go every two weeks. I don’t always make it every two weeks, but I do it. I do it to deal with my anxiety and some past traumas in my own life. And I really believe that that therapy that I go through makes me a better brother, a better son, a better partner, probably a better legislator—the opposition might disagree sometimes, but I think I’m doing an okay job sometimes.

I just want to say to anybody that’s watching at home that thinks that their brain is broken and wakes up every day trapped in their own head—I know what that feels like. Members of our caucus know what that feels like. Members of this Legislature on all sides of the House know what it feels like. We all have family members; we all have friends. We all have experiences, lived or supported, of our family members where mental health has really kicked us in the butt or kicked our family members in the butt. I just want to say you’re not alone. Go get help. It is a very strong thing to seek help for your mental health, and I encourage everybody to take care of that.

Experience in my own life about—I’ve got a friend of mine that I grew up with—I’ve known him for over 20 years and I’m not very old, so you can talk about what kind of friend that is—who lost his sister a few years ago to suicide. I remember being over there that evening and seeing the pain on his and his father’s faces as they went through that. It was a problem that we never saw coming.

Now, this friend of mine also dealt with different drug addictions—ketamine and some others—as well as alcohol abuse, and that same friend of mine tried to take his own life a few years ago. I’m so thankful that the attempt was unsuccessful and that he’s here with us. But I remember speaking to not only my friend but speaking to his father, who I also consider a friend—I won’t name you—and just seeing the fear in his eyes that not only was he going to lose one kid but lose his second kid a few years later.

So I think it’s important that—I’m new to being a legislator. I’m new to being an MPP. I just want to make sure that these real stories get put on the Hansard because these are issues that we deal with. So if anybody is sitting at home thinking that mental health is a bubble issue that only you deal with, you’ve heard stories from other legislators, you’ve heard some of the stories I’m sharing now. You’re not alone. There is help, and things will get better.

I’ll wrap up the remarks that, look, regardless of the results of this particular vote and regardless of partisanship, I think we can all agree that mental health is in a much better place today than it was a few years ago. As I said, I just want to thank the opposition for bringing it forward. Any time that we talk about mental health in this House is probably a good day for certainly my constituents but certainly for Ontario as well.

I know what it feels like to not want to wake up in the morning, to not want to get out of bed, but I encourage all my constituents and anybody watching: Get out of bed, drink some water and go get the help you need. Tomorrow will be better.

Further debate?

Point of order: the member from Nepean.

Further debate?

I rise on behalf of the thousands of people I represent in Scarborough Southwest. I’m really glad that I’m having a chance to speak to this important motion, the motion that our leader has brought forward to increase funding for the mental health support that we need across this province.

Last Friday, I met with Stephen, who came to ask for support for his wife, Lillian. He showed me pictures of the way she looked when they went away on a trip, and how beautiful they looked, and how healthy and happy, and what has happened since her brain injury, and the mental health support that she needs after. Just the stories of being tossed from one hospital to another to rehab agencies, and how difficult it has been for them—I just saw Stephen, this older gentleman who sat in front of me in tears, and we both talked about how painful it has been for their family.

That’s just one story, and I wish I had more time to share with you the amount of stories I hear about youth mental health and the support they need. I ask anyone here to just look at the data of our schools and the amount of violence we have had across our schools, and the amount of calls that we’ve made to 911 by parents, by teachers, by students. Those calls were not for an incident that was isolated for mental health; it was somebody who was going through struggles because of mental health, and they have resorted to violence. It was a parent who does not know how to control their young daughter, their child, their son, who is going through difficulty after COVID.

Just a few months ago, I was in this House talking about the amount of funding that CMHA receives. It was just about 3.9% over the last 11 years: That’s the amount of funding increase that they have received, regardless of the amount of increase that we have in the need for mental health supports, and yet we have had failures by government after government in really addressing the crisis and that increase in that need.

So today, when I look at this motion, it’s a very solution-oriented motion which is asking for this one specific thing, which is exactly what CMHA is asking for. The Canadian Mental Health Association is asking our government just for a little bit. When you look at the $6.4 billion of unspent funding that we have right now in our coffers, from that, we’re asking for half a per cent. Just half a per cent of that funding is what the Canadian Mental Health Association is asking for from this government, so that they could do the work that we need for our adult mental health needs, for our youth, for those across this province who are dealing with mental health and addictions.

So I beg, I implore the House, every legislator who spoke for the need—we had members talk about how you need to wake up in the morning, look at the sunshine and hope for a better day. But if you don’t have the supports, if you don’t have the funding, if you don’t have the workers—the youth and child mental health support workers; the social workers—you can’t do that. You need the funding for those agencies to function, and that’s what we’re begging this House for, so I’m asking this government: Please, do the right thing and vote for this motion.

Not only does this government need to be supporting the work of community mental health organizations; it needs to address the stressors that are causing mental health breakdowns across the population in the first place. Let’s take the mental health of hospital staff—people we call heroes—on the one hand, while choking the physical and mental-health life out of them through repressive legislation; or our schools, where teachers and EAs are understaffed and under-resourced, paying for school supplies for their students out of their own pockets; or the university and college students mired in debt, working several part-time jobs because tuition fees are absurdly high; or children with disabilities and their parents desperately trying to navigate a hostile system that keeps children on wait-lists years after year with no communication, no guidance and no help in sight. And let’s not forget the adults with disabilities thrown under the bus, those abandoned by the WSIB along with others, forced to give up almost every asset so that they can access the few crumbs of ODSP the government throws out to them.

These are social and economic determinants of health, and they are also the determinants of mental health. When it is easier to get MAID than to find the supports to live, people get a very strong message that no, actually they are not worth it. That is the message they are given, and that is a very significant part of people’s suffering.

Individuals trying their best to provide support services are also breaking down themselves, as they are forced to reapply for funding every year, never knowing whether they will actually even have a practice.

And then, I want to say, Indigenous children and families who are that much geographically removed from municipalities—well, they don’t have access to water; they don’t have access to health care. What is the message to them? The message again is, “You’re not worth it.”

I want to give my support to this motion. I’m happy that there is a conversation going on across the aisle. We may not always agree in our analysis of what is contributing to so much mental health distress, but I think we can agree on the need for support.

It’s an honour to rise today to add my voice to the official opposition leader’s motion today to do something incredibly important, incredibly timely, something that is not only a good choice for humans but is a good choice fiscally.

Mental health is apolitical. We’ve heard stories across the aisle today—really impactful, important stories. Like no other time before, it is as though the government and the opposition are on the same page. We have the opportunity today to employ a positive, proactive solution to the struggles that many people face across this province.

Middlesex-London Health Unit indicated that 48% of the population indicated that their mental health was declining as a result of the pandemic. We’ve seen cost of living going through the roof, whether it’s the cost of housing, food, child care. People are also worried about possibly paying more for their health care. We have seen many people in the small business community living on a razor’s edge, not sure if they were going to get the supports to make it through the pandemic, and employees that were worried every time that they showed up to their place of work whether the doors would be locked. It’s not even to mention the folks who are on really terrible social assistance rates, because being on those rates exacerbates mental health conditions even more when you’re worried about the bottom line every single month.

This government also—as I had the opportunity to travel with the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, my colleagues and I heard from many CMHA branches that they have had only a 2% base funding increase in the last 10 years. We have an opportunity today to address that with only $24 million. Think about the lives that can be impacted. We as a Legislature can show that we believe in the great work of the CMHA. We as a Legislature have the opportunity today to make sure that we support all of those people in the communities who are on the front lines doing that life-changing work, and we as a Legislature can show today with our vote that we want people to get the mental health supports when and where they need them in their communities.

I urge this government: Let’s get this done. Please vote in support. Vote for mental health.

I just rise on a point of order to correct my record. My husband texted me to tell me I said a word I absolutely hate, and I think during the debate labels are very important when we’re having this conversation. I would like “commit suicide” stricken from the record and replaced with “died by suicide” or “died by depression” as far more important to categorize that. It is not a crime to die by suicide. So I apologize and would like that corrected.

Further debate? Further debate?

The leader of the official opposition.

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed to the motion will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the nays have it.

Call in the members. There will be a 10-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1517 to 1527.

MPP Stiles has moved opposition day number 2. All in those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Motion negatived.

Mr. Gill moved 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 wanted to start by thanking all of the members here today from all sides who spoke in response to this motion. I think it’s so important that when we are sharing our own experiences, we’re listening, we’re learning. And then I really do appreciate that so many of the members spoke about their own experience, their family’s experience, what’s happening in their communities, and raised so many examples.

I started off by saying I really hope that this government will support the motion that’s before us, because I believe it’s very reasonable. We’ve talked a lot about our mental health and addictions plan for Ontario, but we intentionally chose a very specific ask today, because we think it’s something that any government should be able to agree to, especially in this moment. It’s so achievable. We’re talking about $24 million, which really, in this day and age and in this moment, given the size of this crisis, how many people it’s affecting and how broadly—really, there’s an opportunity here for the government to do the right thing. It is achievable.

We know that the kind of work that the Canadian Mental Health Association does in our communities is so critical. It reaches so many people. But it is just one little piece, and so I will add by saying that I just came out of meetings, like so many of us here today, with some of our correctional officers. I will say that many years ago—oh gosh, it was almost 20 years ago now. I was working with Peter Kormos at the time, a former MPP here. I’ve mentioned this to others before. We went and did one of these inspections of a correctional facility, and the reason we went in was to look and see who was in solitary confinement. Everyone in solitary confinement was under suicide watch. Every single one of those people was some-body who actually needed mental health support and had not received it in the community and had not received it again and again and again. Talking with the correctional officers at that time, 20 years ago now, it really struck me how we were failing so many in our communities.

Well, today the crisis is deeper and wider, but the solutions are still not there. What we’re seeing in our correctional facilities, what we’re seeing in our hospitals, what we’re seeing all throughout our communities is something that we could fix. There is a fix. We need to give people the support they need.

I’ll just go back, because I’m running out of time. I just want to say I would really implore the government to support our motion. We don’t have many opportunities in this House, in this place, where we get a chance to work together to do something truly transformational. That $24 million is less than half a per cent of what this government has put aside—has not spent, let’s just say—in money that was already allocated. That would go a long way. It won’t solve everything, but it will help to solve some of the problems that we’re facing right now in our community.

I thank everyone for joining in this conversation today, and thank you, Speaker, for the opportunity to speak again.

The ayes are 32; the nays are 65.

I’m very pleased to be leading off third reading debate on Bill 46, Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act. I want to say that I’ll be sharing my time with my parliamentary assistant, the member for Niagara West. I want to thank him for his ongoing support and assistance in moving this important piece of legislation forward, and all of his tremendous work leading up to and since, especially during some of the committee hearings.

The Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act is the first red tape reduction bill of this mandate, and our ninth red tape reduction bill since forming government in 2018. It’s focused on improving Ontario’s competitiveness in several key areas. It includes measures to strengthen our supply chains so more goods can get to more places. It supports our farmers and agri-businesses, laying out a path to produce and grow more food right here in Ontario. It helps grow Ontario’s labour force so businesses can find the right people to grow and expand. And it makes government easier to interact and work with by simplifying administrative procedures across government to improve customer service and reduce compliance costs.

The bill, as well as related policy and regulatory changes, add up to 28 individual measures to reduce burden and red tape in our province. And it’s never been more important for us to continue this important work, because red tape is anything, as we know, that causes frustration, expenses, delays and complications in everyday life. It is a significant barrier to our productivity and our economic competitiveness. It discourages investments and innovation.

We have heard these complaints from people and businesses across Ontario loud and clear. That’s why we’ve passed eight red tape reduction bills since forming government. Combined, these bills and related packages have included more than 400 individual actions to reduce red tape and cut regulatory burden. This has, of course, led to a reduction in Ontario’s total regulatory compliance requirements by 6.5%. That translates to annual savings of $576 million in compliance costs for businesses, not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, school boards, hospitals and the rest of the broader public sector. That’s more than half a billion dollars each year that is no longer being spent on filing outdated paperwork, paying fees to renew licence plate stickers or complying with duplicative regulations that exist across multiple levels of government.

We’re very proud of this progress, of course, but there is far more work that still needs to be done. Ontario’s people and businesses continue to face challenges: Two thirds of Ontario businesses across various sectors have reported last year that their supply challenges got worse, and more than one third of businesses say that labour-related obstacles will continue to limit their growth.

We know that it is incumbent on government to play a supportive role in solving challenges like what we’re currently seeing with the labour market and our overall competitiveness. That’s why we have brought forward this important piece of legislation. Bill 46, if passed, will build upon our government’s previous work to save Ontario’s people and businesses time and money. It will lead Ontario to more economic certainty, confidence and stability. Simply put, this package will help build a stronger Ontario where people and businesses can continue to thrive now and into the future.

Last month, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business released their annual Provincial Red Tape Report Card where they grade each province in an effort to reduce red tape and regulatory burden over the last year. This year, Ontario was right near the top among all provinces for efforts to reduce red tape. I am proud to say that this is the highest placement that our province has ever received in the 13-year history of the CFIB red tape reduction report card. It’s fair to say that our efforts to reduce red tape are being noticed.

This year, Ontario was proud to receive a Golden Scissors “One to Watch” award from CFIB for our efforts to implement regulatory modernization in permitting and licensing, including predictable timelines for licence and permit applications, approvals and information requests across our government. But we have ambitions to do even more next year, and make no mistake, under this government, Ontario will always show strong leadership on every front, including reducing red tape.

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

Second, to prioritize the important issues. We do this by assessing which regulations cost the most time and money while making more innovative ways to ensure rules stay effective and efficient.

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

Fourth, to listen to the people and businesses of Ontario on an ongoing basis to learn what we can do to remove obstacles that are in their way.

And our fifth principle is to take a whole-of-government approach. This is 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 that unnecessary, duplicative and outdated regulations are the problem. That’s a problem we’re committed to solving, no doubt.

Let me take a few minutes to review some of the pro-posed initiatives in this package. One of the more impactful initiatives being proposed in this bill has to do with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Our government is proposing an amendment to the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act that is the first step toward eliminating barriers to adoption of carbon capture and storage technology in our province. If passed, our colleagues at MNRF would begin establishing a clear framework to safely regulate this activity as part of a phased approach to implementation.

As we’ve heard at committee, carbon storage is an essential tool in supporting a low-carbon economy here in Ontario. As just one example, Trevor Harris from Stelco said the following: “Stelco views the adoption of a carbon capture and storage program as a vital part of this decarbonization pathway that will require both regulatory and financial support from all levels of government. We see the passage of schedule 5 of Bill 46 as an important step in the development of our made-in-Ontario low-carbon economy.”

The phased approach proposed by our government will help to open the province to carbon storage projects in a responsible way. It’s also good for the economy. Existing carbon capture and storage projects in Canada and around the world support thousands of construction jobs and help ensure the continued viability of critical industries as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy.

This is a critical time for Ontario’s businesses. Acting now to enable carbon storage projects will allow them to take advantage of existing federal incentives and funding opportunities and provide greater investment certainty. Delaying these important measures, as some on the other side of the House have suggested, will lead to Ontario businesses missing out on significant incentives and funding opportunities that are already available in other parts of our country. As with all the burden reduction measures in our bill, we will take the necessary steps to ensure that any carbon capture activity is done in a responsible way, with all appropriate measures in place to safeguard people and, of course, the environment.

Speaking of jobs, I’d also like to discuss how the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act proposes to cut red tape and support competitiveness of Ontario’s energy sector. If passed, the proposed legislation will make it easier to build electricity transmission lines by exempting customer-funded projects from the Ontario Energy Board’s leave-to-construct process. Proponents of these projects will continue to have the right to apply to the OEB to cross a highway, a railway or a utility line in circumstances where an agreement cannot be obtained. Our government is also proposing changes that would simplify the gasoline volatility regulations, aligning Ontario’s regulations to national standards.

I also want to touch on a number of modernization measures for the agriculture and food industries, which are a central part of this proposed bill. We are proposing to amend the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act and the Innkeepers Act to give beef farmers more flexibility and improve the competitiveness and profitability of their businesses, helping to ensure a stronger and more resilient food supply for the people of Ontario.

The legislative amendments in this bill are in addition to announcements we have made to the larger red-tape-reduction package. Also included are policy changes and consultations in the agri-food sector to support research that better promotes innovation that enables farmers to implement new technologies and techniques that will increase the competitiveness and sustainability of the agri-food sector.

Additionally, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act proposes to amend the Animal Health Act to provide authority for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to take temporary actions to protect the health and well-being of the public and animals when faced with a potential animal health crisis such as an animal disease outbreak. These measures aim to enhance animal-disease emergency preparedness, help mitigate risks to animal health and human health, as well as boost the competitiveness and resiliency of Ontario’s livestock and poultry sector. Ultimately, it will help to ensure Ontarians continually have a reliable, safe and stable food supply.

Our red tape reduction package also includes the OMAFRA growth strategy, which is the province’s comprehensive plan to build consumer confidence and support famers and Ontario’s food supply. The plan focuses on three key priorities:

The first is to strengthen agri-food supply-chain stability by increasing both the consumption and production of food grown and prepared in Ontario by 30%, increasing Ontario’s food and beverage manufacturing GDP by 10%, and boosting Ontario’s agri-food exports by 8% annually by the year 2032.

The second is to increase agri-food technology and adoption by boosting research infrastructure; advancing the uptake of new technologies; growing the market for Ontario’s innovative technologies, both domestically and globally; and growing the use of data to support efficiencies in the agri-food sector and value chain. This, of course, includes beginning consultations on modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act to fuel innovation and support efforts to provide modern, relevant research information to farmers and agri-food businesses.

The third priority is to attract and grow Ontario’s agri-food talent by increasing the province’s total agri-food sector employment by 10% by the year 2032; as well as increasing awareness of modern, high-tech agri-food careers, opportunities for mentorship and hands-on job training; and supporting efforts to increase veterinarian capacity in underserviced areas of our province. As a first step, the province has launched public consultations to explore opportunities to modernize the Veterinarians Act as part of the plan to increase access to veterinary care in Ontario.

These are important measures, of course, to support our agriculture sector and build a stronger Ontario.

The next set of proposed changes I would like to discuss, Speaker, supports Ontario’s workplace insurance and compensation system. The proposed legislation will make several updates to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act to streamline and modernize outdated practices within government to make life easier for Ontarians.

The proposed changes would:

—ensure injured or ill apprentices receive loss-of-earnings benefits at the same amount as journeypersons employed in the same trade would receive;

—provide more flexibility on how often the WSIB board of directors must meet by changing the requirements to meet to a minimum of four times per year versus every two months;

—update the requirements of WSIB-governance documents to ensure they are consistent with, and do not duplicate, other government directives;

—streamline the requirements for WSIB office lease transactions by excluding them from the LG in Council approval requirements; and

—ensure the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, does not reference repealed statutes.

The WSIB is one of the largest insurance organizations in North America. These are simple but reasonable changes that will help reduce administrative burden. They will enable the WSIB to operate more efficiently, creating an agile system that is able to better focus on meeting the needs of Ontario’s workers.

The proposed Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act also includes several changes to modernize and reduce administrative burdens in the justice sector. These proposed changes will help improve customer service and make it easier for Ontarians to interact with our justice system. Our government is proposing to amend the Provincial Offences Act to make life easier for Ontarians by helping reduce the backlog at Provincial Offences Court. The proposed amendments will allow court clerks to reopen certain proceedings if they believe the defendant missed a notice or was unable to attend a meeting or hearing through no fault of their own.

We’re also 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 a retired judge can work.

Lastly, the proposed legislation will also reduce administrative costs and make it easier for prospective jurors to participate in the court system through updates to the Juries Act.

The bill, if passed, would also introduce a pilot program that makes the jury questionnaire available online by default. This proposal will allow us to test the feasibility of moving away from sending hard copies of jury questionnaires through the mail, providing Ontarians with a modern, convenient, streamlined way to participate in the justice system while reducing costs and administrative burden. Piloting this approach will help the government assess the impact on response rates in different communities. In all cases, the right to receive a paper questionnaire will be maintained.

Bill 46 also proposes legislation to confirm the continuation of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. If passed, the legislation would confirm the OSPCA’s corporate status and associated regulation-making authorities, which would support the charity in continuing to deliver their important work across government.

Speaker, I’m pleased to have introduced the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act and to have the opportunity to continue debate today at third reading. Through the 13 legislative initiatives in this bill that stretch across government, we are creating the conditions that let businesses thrive and people prosper. And as a result, if passed, the proposed legislation would benefit Ontario’s people and businesses.

Finally, Speaker, I just want to offer a quick reminder for anyone that might be watching at home that our government is always looking for good ideas to reduce red tape in Ontario. People and businesses can submit their ideas directly to us through our online portal, ontario.ca/redtape.

With that, Madam Speaker, I’d like to turn it over to the PA and member from Niagara West.

The member from Niagara West.

Well, thank you very much, Madam Speaker, and such a pleasure and honour to be able to stand today in the House. I just want to thank the Minister of Red Tape Reduction for his incredible speech already this afternoon. You know, all of us have important events in our ridings over the weekends. I know we have the opportunity to speak with constituents about the issues that matter to them, and we hear from them about the things that they care about, the ways they want to see their governments making changes and responding to the needs of the people. I know I come fired up and ready to go on Monday to hear about red tape reduction, and I think that the speech that the minister gave spoke so eloquently to the needs of the people of this province and how our government is stepping up to that challenge.

So my thanks to the minister and his entire team as well as my team at the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction, who are continuing that work led by, of course, Premier Ford, first and foremost, who understands the importance of ensuring that businesses and people are able to access the services they deserve in a rapid fashion and that they’re able to rely on that, but also the leadership shown by so many previous Ministers of Red Tape Reduction who demonstrated their commitment to reducing the red tape here in the province of Ontario, and then Minister Parm Gill stepping forward and leading the charge today as only he can do. So my thanks to the minister here for speaking about what is in the legislation that I have the privilege of contributing to debate on this afternoon.

Bill 46, Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act, is an important piece of legislation that builds on a legacy. I know all of us who come to this chamber come here for various reasons, but all of us come to ensure that our province is being built up. I look around and I see members from every corner of this beautiful province. I see some who have been here perhaps not that long, but I see others who have been here for quite a time—in fact, some from, you know, prior to the time that I was even born. I see the member for Oxford over there, elected in 1995 as part of a government that wanted to get things done as well, if I remember correctly, the Common Sense Revolution coming in and ensuring that people were getting money back in their pockets, that the proper role of government was being restored by perhaps being removed from the lives of some of the people in Ontario and that taxpayers were being respected. I know he has also led the charge on reducing red tape here in the province of Ontario.

Unfortunately, we saw for some 15 years governments that didn’t care. We saw a Liberal government come in to this chamber, actually sit on this side of the House, on the governing benches, and for 15 years just slap on red tape after red tape and regulation after regulation. You know, we would see the Canadian Federation of Independent Business release reports about Ontario having the most regulations of any province in Canada, and the Liberals didn’t care. The Liberals wanted more red tape. They seemed to enjoy tying up the entrepreneurs and the hard-working people of this province with this red tape. And we saw them: They were choking out when it came to business leaving this province. We saw our job creators flee. We saw them move to the United States. We saw them move to other jurisdictions. We saw them even move to other provinces.

I have to say, growing up in that environment, for most of my life only ever experiencing a provincial Liberal government, was disheartening. It was disappointing. And so much of that was tied up with red tape. What I heard from my family members who started small businesses or were the sons and daughters of immigrants, people who came here to Canada to build a better life—they would talk about just the onerous regulations, the ridiculous rules and measures that were being put into place. It frankly disheartened me. It disheartened me, and so when I was first elected in 2016 on a promise of hard work and hydro, to make sure that I was addressing the issues that the people in my riding cared about, one of the things that I spoke about already at that time was reducing red tape.

I’d had the privilege of serving as a policy adviser in Ottawa. At that time, I did some work, actually, on the standing committee for the scrutiny of government regulations, a federal committee that then had the opportunity to go through these regulations which the new Liberal government of Justin Trudeau was bringing in—red tape upon red tape, regulation after regulation; I mean, just a repeat of what we saw here for 15 years in Ontario.

I think I’m not the only one to say that there were many in our constituencies who were losing hope that there would be a government that would listen to them—challenging times. But that changed. In 2018, we saw a government elected to this chamber that said, “We’re going to take leadership. We’re not going to take the status quo as the answer. We believe that better is possible, and we’re going to make better our reality.”

Today, some nine months into a new mandate, having been sent back here with the largest majority in some 30 years, I believe—the largest returning majority since the 1920s, again if my memory is correct—we’re continuing the legacy of cutting red tape, putting money back into the people’s pockets, reducing the time it takes to access government services and unleashing the creative potential of the people of this province.

I know that that’s what the minister spoke about so eloquently. He spoke about the ways that this legislation is going to accomplish that, and I think he spoke very well about the changes to the various acts that the legislation is going to have, but I’m going to be speaking a little bit about some of the perhaps non-legislative ways that our government has made changes.

With that, Speaker, I speak to the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act, 2023, by highlighting the fact that we’ve brought forward two high-impact red-tape-reduction bills every single year since coming to office—one in the spring; one in the fall—and that has been going on now for coming close to five years. Since July 1, 2018, our government has reduced the number of regulatory compliance requirements affecting businesses by 6.5%.

Now, that might not sound quite as large as you want it to be, and I think we agree. That’s why we continue to bring forward measures to say, “No, we can do better. We can keep cutting red tape.” But you have to remember, this is after an institutionalized inertia that was within government after 15 years of Liberal mismanagement that grew red tape year after year after year. The ship of state doesn’t turn on a dime. It doesn’t turn around like one of these tops that people play with. It’s something that takes a lot of time and a lot of effort to spin around.

The reason I say that, Speaker, is that I do think 6.5% is actually a high number, because if you look at how many regulations are coming out on an annualized basis, how much red tape was being introduced into this House, to not only slow that growth—which is what I often hear governments say: “We’re not necessarily growing the state as much as it was before. We’re not nationalizing as many things as there were before. We’re not taking over whole industries and sectors, like we know the NDP want us to do.” That’s good enough, right? No. We said, “We’re not just going to slow down the creep of the bureaucratic state. We’re not just going to slow down the growth of red tape. We’re actually going to stop it, turn it around and start cutting that red tape.”

Now, of course, it’s not the rules and the regulations that are protecting the health and safety of our hard workers, and ensuring that the environment that we all enjoy, cherish and participate in when we’re out for walks with our family or when we’re enjoying a glass of clean water—it’s ensuring that those things are being maintained, that we have good regulations in place, that we have practical protections in place, but not ones that are onerous and burdensome, that are duplicative and don’t accomplish their intended, or at least stated, reason for existence.

Actually, reducing by 6.5% is a rate of reduction that compares very favourably with other leading jurisdictions. It’s above what we’re seeing in other jurisdictions, and it has provided significant and sustainable relief for Ontario’s business. That’s because this Premier and this government made a commitment to grow good jobs and investment in Ontario by making it less expensive, by making it faster and easier to do business, and to set out one of the best regulatory service standards in North America. Under the leadership of the Premier and of Minister Gill, we have delivered on that.

We also made a commitment to save Ontario businesses when we first came to office. We made a commitment to save them some $400 million a year. This wasn’t $400 million in one-time costs, and that’s something I’ve spoken with my constituents about. They said, “Well, $400 million seems like a lot of money, but I guess if you do $100 million a year over the course of four years, that’s $400 million, so yes, that seems doable.” No, no, no. We’re talking about $400 million a year in annualized savings, so $1.6 billion over the course of our mandate. It seems like quite a lofty goal, and it’s one that I’m very proud to be able to tell this House we not only achieved, but in fact exceeded—exceeded substantially. Our red tape reduction measures have so far saved businesses, not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, school boards, colleges and universities, hospitals—the institutions that we all expect to be functioning well in our society—more than $576 million per year in compliance costs.

Interjections.

Yes, and give yourselves each a round of applause for that, because at the end of the day, it’s the members who have come forward, after listening to stakeholders in their ridings, with ideas about how we can reduce red tape and how we can incorporate best practices and ensure that we have a lean government that responds to the needs of the people. It’s each and every one of you who are here in this House today who have helped to make a better reality.

It’s more than half a billion dollars every single year being poured back into our economy in savings and services that are able to be delivered by these businesses, municipalities, hospitals and other organizations. Now, it wasn’t an easy feat. I know now, when we sit here and we look back, we think, “Yeah, it makes sense. Seems good—6.5%. Let’s do it. Let’s go.” But that wasn’t something that just happened on its own.

Again, I’m going to go back to that constant regulatory creep that we saw under the Liberal government, just cajoling the expansion of the state into more and more aspects of life—more regulations, more red tape, more ways of interfering in people’s lives. And frankly, that puts a stark contrast with our government’s approach of reducing unnecessary regulations and burdens on Ontario businesses.

Now, in the past, Ontario had a reputation as being the most regulated province in Canada. Businesses were being suffocated by red tape. It’s why we introduced over eight reduction bills that included over 400 different measures. And these measures have included changes to legislation, regulations and policy across the entirety of government.

The minister spoke about this briefly, but I want to encourage the members who are in the chamber today to speak with their constituents about ontario.ca/redtape. One of the most important ways that our government can solicit ideas to reduce the burden on the people of Ontario is through the government’s red tape reduction portal. Again, that’s ontario.ca/redtape, where people and businesses can quickly share their ideas with our team at the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction.

Every single submission through that portal is reviewed and shared across government, working with all stakeholders and all ministries to help identify effective and lasting solutions. This is important because the people who run businesses, who apply for permits and licences, or interact with government each and every day are the experts in identifying red tape. They are the front lines when it comes to engaging with government red tape. And it ensures that the efforts we have put in place to reduce red tape have the maximum impact for the people we all serve.

We’re going to continue our efforts to proactively consult with people and businesses right across this province, so that we can really focus our efforts on the types of changes that will make a real difference.

Again, the minister did speak about the legislative proposals brought forward in Bill 46 in his remarks, but I want to take a few moments to speak about some of the other policy and regulatory changes contained in the package.

In the fall, our government proposed regulations that will reduce red tape for things like the operators of certain types of hotel spas and hot tubs, such as in-suite hot tubs or a tub on a private balcony or deck intended for the exclusive use of its guests, by exempting them from the public pools regulation. Signage requirements will still remain in place to ensure that the public is aware of any risks.

But Speaker, we have also listened to concerns raised by stakeholders and have amended the Mandatory Blood Testing Act and the Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act to speed up application processing for those who are victims of crime, first responders, correctional services staff and others. We proposed to remove the costly and resource intensive tissue testing requirement under the Public Hospitals Act regulations, and this is based on scientific advice and health sector stakeholder recommendations.

We’ve proposed to provide authority to local medical officers of health to order rabies testing of deceased animals that were under observation after biting a person, and to recognize rabies vaccination status from other jurisdictions that have similar rabies standards. What this means is that bite victims may no longer have to undergo unnecessary post-exposure rabies vaccinations, since a deceased animal’s rabies status will be known, and animals brought in from other jurisdictions will still need to be revaccinated in Ontario.

We’ve also been making improvements to some of the essential but often invisible functions of government. At the end of the day, so many people I speak with in my community—and I’m sure you all have the same experience—don’t want to hear about the standing committee on XYZ. They don’t want to hear about the policy priorities and the red tape even just within this chamber that it takes to accomplish the things that they send us here to do. We understand the necessity; I’m all for due process and ensuring that we have proper checks and balances. I think it’s a very important role that we have here in our democracy. It’s crucial that we have oversight over the decisions that are made. But at the end of the day, they want to see that they’re able to access their services rapidly. They want to see that they’re able to have a responsive, nimble government, one that is easy to access and that they’re able to rely upon. They want to see good management. At the end of the day, Ontarians are people of peace, order and good government, and that includes wanting to see that the little processes that can be so frustrating when they go wrong aren’t going wrong and that they’re able to continue to live their lives and have a government that is providing that service.

That’s why we’re bringing many government programs and related IT systems onto the Transfer Payment Ontario system. The process to become a transfer payment agency, to have these transfer payment agreements, is burdensome, it’s cumbrous. I’ve spoken with many small service providers in my communities who feel that that process that they have to go through, sometimes on an annual basis, even just to be receiving the funds to provide the services that we vote upon in our budgets and through the fall economic statement, can be an onerous one. So to reduce paperwork and administrative burdens for government-funded organizations, we are creating Transfer Payment Ontario, which is ensuring that all of those services are being provided in a rapid, consistent and streamlined fashion.

We’ve also extended certain temporary corporate governance rules to the end of September 2023 while the government continues to analyze consultation results and explore potential permanent changes. These temporary rules were put in under legislation including the Business Corporations Act, the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act as well as others, including the Condominium Act. This will allow meetings, votes and elections to be conducted virtually under certain circumstances. It allows notices to shareholders, directors and members to be sent electronically, and allows a corporation to store records electronically and have them examined electronically.

It’s important that we continue to provide flexibility and predictability while taking the time needed to consider changing these governance rules permanently.

Speaker, we’ve also heard from Indigenous businesses and economic advisers that information about the full range of government supports and services available to them is not widely known and can be difficult to obtain. That’s why our government is working with Indigenous partners to better understand how we can increase awareness of and access to government initiatives.

Speaker, I’m going to briefly talk about the proposals in this package which will help make the transportation sector more competitive and keep our supply chains moving. I don’t know about any of you, but this was something—

Interjections.

Yes, absolutely. This was something that has come up so often over the last couple of years. Frankly, at some points, I wasn’t even sure if I believed it. I would hear from people: “Oh, we have supply chain challenges.” Sometimes you would have a conversation, trying to order—I don’t know—you’re trying to get a new black lock for your door or something like that, and there are supply chain challenges. I never figured out why Home Depot would have the challenge and Lowe’s next door wouldn’t. Anyway, it’s neither here nor there.

The point is that supply chain challenges plagued many of our supply chains throughout COVID, and we saw the necessity of responding to that. I actually had the opportunity to work on a consultation with the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction to hear from stakeholders, including from our ports, the trucking authorities’ organizations, hearing from those who are working in logistics. The interconnectedness of our economy in terms of providing the resources that we rely upon in just-in-time sectors is truly remarkable, and also quite fragile, but also resilient in terms of the ability for these structures to respond to the challenges that COVID had in ways that really still were remarkable. I don’t think any of us had to go without something that was crucial to us. I know that we saw governments also step up to the plate when there were unique challenges in areas like baby Tylenol and some of those particular areas where we saw supply chain challenges come to a challenging place. But that’s why our government is making improvements to Ontario’s Highway Corridor Management System. It will provide a seamless and integrated online platform for approvals and permits along provincial highways. No more goods being tied up, waiting for permits before they’re able to move forward and deliver those much-needed products to you in your community. Work is also ongoing to allow applicants, including home builders and municipalities, to submit, track and receive all their Ministry of Transportation approvals online, which will save substantial amounts of both time and money.

The Highway Corridor Management System has already significantly reduced the burden on Ontario businesses and individuals by streamlining the permit application review and approval process. Sometimes these kinds of pieces, where we’re talking about moving something into the 21st century—it’s 2023, I think, at the beginning of March, and we’re sitting here. This is stuff that could have been online decades ago that we should have seen previous governments take rapid action on as just a matter of course, as a best practice. But no, it took the election of Premier Doug Ford and this government to get that done, to make sure that we’re moving these very reasonable processes—that are frankly just part of the dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s and getting your permits—online. This is something that our government is taking the lead on because we know it reduces that headache for small business owners and at the end of day ensures that the goods that you rely on are getting to you faster and more affordably.

These new improvements will also reduce red tape for businesses and organizations interacting with the Ministry of Transportation. But we’re also reducing the weight given to the corporate performance rating when the Ministry of Transportation evaluates bids for engineering services. We’re doing this to improve the fairness and efficiency of the procurements process, ensuring value for taxpayer dollars and making the bidding process more competitive for all participants.

Finally, during the spring thaw, some Ontario roads are designated and signed to limit the weight of trucks that can use them. This reduced load period helps to limit the damage that might otherwise occur to the roadway weakened by spring thaw. I know this very well as the street that I live on is one of these. You’re not allowed to get any loads of gravel or anything brought up and down that road between, I think, November and May. But that’s why our government is now working with the Ontario Good Roads Association to improve frost-depth prediction models, which will allow municipalities to optimize the timing of these periods on our roads and to be responsive in real time to the needs of the local community and recognizing that frost might be different in terms of an area like Niagara than it is in other areas. Perhaps Halton region has a slightly different road variation in terms of their soil structure and how frost is impacting the road patterns in those areas, and we need to be responsive to that, ensuring that we’re not creating artificial barriers to people being able to transport goods and services. This will hopefully include shortening the period when conditions permit, enhancing our supply chains by allowing more goods to reach places during those crucial summer months.

Let’s take a look back at some of our past red tape reduction accomplishments. I could spend more time going through the aspects of this package; I think it’s very important, but I recognize we’re all busy people and we want to make sure we’re moving on. So I’m going to try and make sure that I can walk through very quickly just a brief refresher for those members who are newer in this chamber and perhaps even for those of us who have become more seasoned veterans, so to speak.

The first red tape reduction package was in fall of 2018, when the Legislature passed the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, which removed onerous regulatory burdens introduced by previous governments. I’ve heard from many members, including some of the members from Brampton, that they wish they had actually been elected at that time in order to be voting for that legislation. They thought it was such an important piece of legislation. This is the bill that also addressed the backlog in Ontario’s skilled trades by replacing Ontario’s outdated model with a 1-to-1 person-to-apprenticeship ratio for every trade for which ratios applied, which aligned Ontario with other territories and provinces. I know this change was massive for so many young people especially who were sitting on that stack of papers that—people were waiting to get into an apprenticeship. There was a stack of papers, but they didn’t have maybe enough journeymen to have those apprentices brought on and to be able to bring more people into the skilled trades. This was a massive change.

In April 2019, the Legislature passed the Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act with 31 actions, which cut red tape in 12 sectors and had numerous regulatory changes which cut business costs, harmonized regulatory requirements with other jurisdictions, ended duplications and reduced barriers to investment.

In December 2019, the Legislature passed the Better People, Smarter for Business Act, which was part of a broader package of more than 80 actions to cut red tape and modernize regulations to make life easier for people and businesses. This included support to various business sectors, including agriculture, trucking, construction, forestry and mining. It streamlined and consolidated rules and requirements for quarries, farming and waste management—before you applaud, just hold it to the end, because man, there’s a lot more where this came from—and it created a one-stop shop for trucking safety and emissions inspections and hydroelectric dam approvals.

And then, of course, just a few months after we introduced the third red tape package in late 2019, COVID hit. Ontario has long been the manufacturing engine of Canada. The pandemic made it clear that we are a supply chain economy.

The fact is, Ontario supplies components to businesses across Canada and right across North America. We can’t afford to let our costs get out of line because we’re up against competition from suppliers in other regions.

Nope.

We need to keep operating costs for Ontario businesses as low as possible, while maintaining and strengthening those standards that are essential to keeping people healthy and protecting the environment.

The biggest single way we can support Ontario businesses is to make regulations easier and faster and less costly to comply with. We’ve been working very hard to do that so we can intensify our work to modernize regulations so that businesses can stay open and grow.

Interjections.

To help address infrastructure backlogs for businesses and communities, that act cut red tape by modernizing and streamlining the environmental assessment processes, while ensuring protections were still maintained. This was accomplished by updating the almost-50-year-old environmental assessment program to focus resources on projects which would have had the most impact on the environment. Through this change, approval timelines for some projects have been reduced from upwards of six years to three, and a greater number of important infrastructure projects have been able to move forward without unnecessary delays. To reduce delays for sewage and stormwater projects, the act was updated to provide a single consolidated environmental compliance approval process for low-impact municipal sewage collection and stormwater management projects. And this change is allowing simple, routine changes by municipalities, including alterations, extensions, enlargements or replacement projects, to be preauthorized so that construction can start without needing separate approvals for each project.

In addition to this, to help people and businesses in the construction sector, the act made it easier and faster to update the building code. Streamlining the building code development process by supporting harmonization with national construction codes and allowing Ontario to respond faster to the needs of the construction sector helped keep more people working and communities operating smoothly across the province during a very challenging time.

I think one thing we can all agree on is the importance of speeding up construction projects to keep people working and, especially during the current affordability crisis, to build more homes for all Ontarians.

In November 2020, the Legislature passed the Main Street Recovery Act to support the small and main street businesses that fuel our economy and bring life to our communities. It was part of the main street recovery plan to support small businesses and modernize rules that would help them innovate and meet the challenges of today so that they could pursue new opportunities. Small and main street businesses all over Ontario dealt with urgent and unexpected pressures related to cash flow problems, customer limits and physical distancing since the onset of the pandemic. The last thing they needed as they navigated a profoundly disruptive event was outdated and unnecessary rules that slowed them down and cost them more money.

One important measure in the Main Street Recovery Act was making 24/7 truck deliveries to retailers, restaurants and distribution centres permanent, building on temporary changes that had been brought in to keep store shelves full through the first wave of the pandemic, when many retailers were experiencing low supplies. Benefits of this measure include reducing rush hour traffic—something we all want to see—lower fuel costs for businesses, as well as reducing greenhouse gas and other emissions. It’s a simple solution that helps boost productivity, cut costs, and give businesses the flexibility they need to be successful and grow.

Other examples from this act include increasing the diversity of products sold at the Ontario Food Terminal and allowing the terminal to promote local food. These changes help support main street retailers, restaurants and shoppers by giving them greater access to the products they need. Thousands of small businesses, including independent shops and restaurants, rely on the Ontario Food Terminal for their supplies. It helps support the growth of Ontario’s agri-food economy, and it gives the terminal support in competing in a crowded marketplace.

In December 2020, the Legislature passed the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act to strengthen Ontario’s economic recovery, support businesses on the ground, and help governments deliver clear and effective rules that promote public health and safeguard the environment without sacrificing innovation, growth and opportunity. Changes in the act, along with other measures, included:

—requiring gas and electric utilities to adopt Green Button technology, which allows utility consumers to automate the secure transfer of their energy use so that they can understand their energy consumption and reduce costs;

—allowing single traffic studies for an entire specified highway corridor or area to reduce duplication and enable developers to get shovels in the ground faster for crucial infrastructure projects, like the 413, that we all rely upon;

—making it easier to get environmental information that we need by moving from a manual, paper-based process to a much faster digital delivery platform; and

—cutting red tape for intercommunity bus carriers to improve transportation options in rural and northern Ontario, making it easier for workers and families to access more transportation options.

In June 2021, the Legislature passed the Supporting Recovery and Competitiveness Act to help businesses and governments deliver clear, modern and effective rules that promoted public health, safeguarded the economy and created jobs. This was a comprehensive package of some 90 regulatory and legislative actions and announcements to position businesses for new opportunities as competition ramped back up and as the economy reopened. Among other things, this red tape legislation was intended to help consumers save money on electricity, to help innovative pilot projects that supported our automated vehicle industry—a fledgling industry, but one that’s taking off—bringing more Ontario processes and services online, such as the sticker renewal for commercial vehicle licence plates. I would also note this was around the same time that we got rid of licence plate sticker fees for regular vehicles, which I think is a very important step towards affordability. And it also supported the not-for-profit sector and other corporations by allowing them to continue virtual meetings.

In December 2021, the Legislature passed the Supporting People and Businesses Act to continue our work cutting costly red tape and reducing unnecessary administrative burdens. Highlights included making it easier for people to become volunteers by providing free police checks. And the act laid the groundwork for licensed restaurants and bars to extend their outdoor patio spaces last year, when they needed it most. It also laid the groundwork for additional financial supports and a simplified application process for the Second Career program—a program that helps those looking for employment training for occupations in high demand.

The Fewer Fees, Better Services Act introduced last February was our eighth red tape reduction bill. It consisted of legislative changes and policy announcements designed to support businesses and individuals with the certainty for successful economic recovery as Ontario emerged from the pandemic and moved beyond. This package included financial relief for millions of Ontario vehicle owners, including removing the requirement for and providing refunds for the licence plate renewal fees. It also gave drivers a break by removing tolls from Highways 412 and 418. It also put Ontario businesses front and centre for government procurement; established a single window for business services that set service standards so businesses will know how long it will take them to get the information they need from government; as well as unlocked the value and optimized the use of government real estate to attract investment, identify social benefit opportunities and support communities across Ontario.

In March of last year, we announced the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative, strengthening supply chain resiliency.

And in the 2022 budget, we committed to cutting more red tape to support individuals.

Speaker, I am running out of time.

Interjections.

Nope.