I was really hoping they would be in the gallery. I have students and staff here at Queen’s Park from St. Demetrius. I just want to express my sincere gratitude to both the students and staff. St. Demitrius school alone has taken in 170 children from Ukraine and have welcomed them in Etobicoke Centre, so my sincere gratitude.

My question is for the Minister of Colleges and Universities. In my riding of Chatham-Kent–Leamington, St. Clair College is a vital education leader, with a long history of exceptional athletics and academics. In fact, this past weekend, they captured the OCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.

Like all post-secondary institutions in Ontario, St. Clair College serves a critical function to prepare our students for today’s jobs and the economy of the future. Unfortunately, worldwide economic challenges and rising inflation costs are now impacting the financial stability of post-secondary institutions. My constituents want to ensure that fine institutions like St. Clair can continue providing high-quality education for future generations. Our government must take bold action now to ensure stability in this sector.

Speaker, can the Minister of Colleges and Universities please explain what actions our government is taking to help maintain the financial stability of Ontario’s post-secondary education sector?

Students who attend institutions like St. Clair in my riding are curious about what they can expect from this panel. My constituents want to know further details about how this new panel will work to make a real difference in the post-secondary education sector.

Speaker, could the minister please elaborate on the structure and function of our government’s blue-ribbon panel?

Our post-secondary institutions and research institutions are important sources of job creation, skills training, research, innovation, commercialization and obviously great athletes as well, making them leading contributors to our overall economic growth.

I am thrilled to stand up today to talk about what our government is doing to support the sector and our students, including launching our new blue-ribbon panel. Announced last week, the blue-ribbon panel will provide advice and recommendations for keeping the post-secondary education sector financially stable and focused on providing the best student experience possible. Led by Dr. Alan Harrison and an incredible group of panel members, this team will support my ministry in keeping Ontario’s post-secondary institutions on stable footing, now and into the future. As we all know, Ontario’s institutions—like St. Clair College in the member’s region—support the province’s economy in a number of ways, including by preparing people for the labour market, engaging in research and supporting the prosperity of local communities.

Thank you to the member for being a great advocate for St. Clair College. Over the coming months, the blue-ribbon panel will conduct research and consultations with key stakeholders about the actions Ontario can take to improve the financial sustainability of the post-secondary sector to support colleges and universities in developing a skilled workforce and to promote economic growth and innovation. Specifically, the panel members will work to provide advice on how we can enhance the student experience and increase access to education, reward excellence within the sector, improve labour market alignment and find ways to keep education affordable for students and their families. This will help support the quality, accessibility and sustainability of the post-secondary education sector now and into the future so learners can continue to get the skills and education needed to get good jobs and meet labour market needs.

Again, I’d like to congratulate the men’s basketball team from St. Clair College on their recent gold medal win.