I would like to welcome all the participants of Women In House. I’m glad to see you here. We need more of you here.

I would also like to welcome Alexander Koutakos, a participant in the Ontario model Parliament from St. Paul’s.

And I’d also like to welcome Ontario Trial Lawyers and say a special shout-out to Gerry Antman and Jeffrey Shinehoft as well, from our community of St. Paul’s. Welcome to your House.

Last weekend, CityNews shared documents obtained via freedom of information revealing that the Premier and the Minister of Transportation are directing Metrolinx to withhold information from the public about what has gone wrong with the Eglinton Crosstown P3 project. Little Jamaica and midtown business and residents have endured over 11 years of construction disruption in Toronto-St. Paul’s, and now this P3 project is delayed yet again and this government refuses to tell us why.

My question is to the Premier: Will the Premier and the Minister of Transportation stop keeping secrets from the public, stop gaslighting my own community and tell us why the P3 project is once again delayed and when it will finally be completed?

This petition is entitled “Stop Ford’s Health Care Privatization Plan.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of their wallet;

“Whereas Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones say they’re planning to privatize parts of health care;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of their public hospitals, making the health care crisis worse;

“Whereas privatization always ends with patients getting a bill;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to further privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 and recruiting, retaining and respecting doctors, nurses and PSWs with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario, who wait years and pay thousands to have their credentials certified;

“—making education and training free or low-cost for nurses, doctors and other health care professionals;

“—incentivizing doctors and nurses to choose to live and work in northern Ontario;

“—funding hospitals to have enough nurses on every shift, on every ward.”

I couldn’t agree with the petition more. I’ve affixed my signature to it and will hand it to Mary for the table.