I’m the former minister of universities and colleges and trades. Our previous government opened the Northern Ontario School of Medicine because we wanted to have more doctors in the north. When I was in government—supporting the expansion of the medical school into Scarborough was something that I noticed as a gap. I helped to support a proposal which later came into fruition under your government. I think that’s a good example of what works—that you start something and it carries on and it’s sustained. So I’m very, very proud of the work in my local community and of the work that we did when I was the minister responsible.

I listened with great intent to the member for Perth–Wellington as he laid out some of the incredible investments that Premier Ford and this government are making in communities across Ontario. Frankly, I know communities like his, in parts of rural Ontario, for many years, were neglected by the previous Liberal government, propped up by the NDP.

In my riding of Niagara West, we had a bit of a similar experience. I know that prior to this government coming to office in 2018, we saw the abandonment of rural communities, such as Wainfleet, Grimsby, Fenwick, West Lincoln and Lincoln, that for so long had consisted of people who worked hard and got up every morning to contribute and raise their families, to be able to build stronger communities, and who just wanted a government that worked for them and heard what their needs were and responded to those needs. Unfortunately, they hadn’t seen that for many years. That changed in 2018, when our government came to office, building investments in our communities, from rural broadband access to natural gas expansions to the new hospitals in every corner of the region to expansions in mental health, and, of course, jobs—making sure that manufacturing that had been leaving Niagara once again returned because of the billions of dollars in savings through tax cuts, through reducing the cost of skyrocketing hydro rates which we’d seen under the former government and, of course, red tape measures which are so important to ensure that businesses are able to move forward without duplication and unnecessary regulation.

Earlier this year, in the lead-up to the June election, when I went out and spoke with people in my constituency about the investments they saw, the people in my riding were thrilled. They were excited to see that a government was listening to them. There was a government in Toronto that understood—with great respect to my colleagues from the rest of the GTA—that the world didn’t end at the Burlington Skyway, that the world was beyond the GTA stretch of this province. Rural communities, for the first time in many years, were being heard, were being listened to, and were being invested in.

I think as a result of those types of actions, we saw a strong mandate return to this House, with my colleagues from every corner of Ontario—they were able to return and continue the work we started.

Today’s legislation that we’re debating, the Progress on the Plan to Build Act, builds on, really, the commitments and the themes that I heard front and centre from my constituents over the course of the spring conversations. I had a wonderful opportunity to speak with people from every background when I was out door-knocking. It’s one of the best parts, I believe, of our work as elected representatives: to go out, to pound the pavement, to hear from the people, the everyday folks who are working hard to raise their families and build up our communities, about what their concerns were.

I heard some really key themes come through. I heard about the need to ensure that we were rebuilding our economy after the challenges of COVID. I heard about the need to have a government that worked for workers—that recognized the increased cost of living and was working to ensure that everyone had the skills they needed to succeed and thrive today and tomorrow, with the jobs that not just currently exist but those that are coming, with investments in things like the electric vehicle manufacturing space and in so many other areas.

I heard the theme that came through constantly about the need to address the cost of living, and people were very pleased to see that our government had taken action to cut the licence plate sticker fees and, of course, to cut the gas tax.

Interjections.

We also heard about that need to build highways, to ensure that key infrastructure in every part of this growing province was reflecting that growth and that those investments were going to be made.

We saw also this spring a clear message from Ontarians that they wanted to see Ontario kept open, and I think that on June 2, we saw an overwhelming endorsement of our response to the themes that people brought to us. I really believe that that’s what led to our success in the spring and it’s the work that we are now continuing in this fall economic statement.

The budget is a really, really important document. It’s one that lays out the priorities that the government has, and it’s one that ensures that the people of Ontario understand how their government is being responsible and good fiscal managers, ensuring that they’re not passing on the costs of today’s services to future generations, but are acting in a responsible manner. And I believe that that’s a budget that we passed earlier this year that demonstrated those commitments.

But in between budgets, which come around once a year, we have the opportunity to table an update, to provide a progress report to our constituents, who, of course, are interested in knowing what we’re doing here, working on their behalf. And one of the really, really important ways that we can do so is through this document, through the Plan to Build and the Progress on the Plan to Build Act. At that time, we also have the opportunity, as we’ve done in this legislation, to build on the commitments that are made in the budget.

So I think some of the measures in this document that are so important are really ones that continue on those themes that I spoke about, that we heard from our constituents, themes around ensuring that we have a strong economy. And so, taking place in this legislation are measures such as providing Ontario’s small businesses with $185 million in income tax relief over the next three years, benefiting over 5,500 small businesses through the extension of the phaseout of the small business tax rate, building on previous work that had been done in this way; and automatically matching property tax reductions for small businesses within all municipalities which adopt the small business property subclass, an important way for small businesses to save money and to reinvest in their businesses to hire more people and to grow our economy.

But also, Speaker, one of the things I heard from my community was the need to ensure that governments are compassionate. And that’s why I’m so proud to see that our government is making a change to ensure that those who are on ODSP not only get a 5% increase across the board, but also will have that support program that really helps some of the most vulnerable in our society, with a program that’s indexed to inflation, recognizing the changing needs of an uncertain economy.

But something that I believe is also really important and something that I heard from constituents time and time again was the change to allowable earnings and to be able to see that go from $200—not to $500, not to $600, not to $700, but to $1,000 a month before any clawbacks begin. I believe it’s something that the Minister of Finance and the Premier have demonstrated exceptional leadership in, and I want to thank them on behalf of the people of my community.

Interjections.

Speaker, we’ve also seen, unfortunately, that for many years, the previous government ignored the needs of skilled trades workers. But that, under this government, is changing. That’s something we sent a clear signal to in some of the very first actions that we took when we came to office, recognizing that people, no matter what their work is, are doing valuable work, are doing work that adds to their dignity and that is worthy of recognition. An area that, unfortunately, had been overlooked for many years was the area of skilled trades. So this legislation builds on the important work that the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development had done in this space, and it invests an additional $40 million in the upcoming fiscal year, for a total of $145 million, through the Skills Development Fund, helping to train tens of thousands of people across this province in those crucial skills, which is also helping to build the capacity to make these investments in infrastructure that we are making.

I think again of my riding of Niagara and the three new hospitals that are being built, the dozens of new roads and new bridges that are being redone, the incredible investments in broadband and in natural gas that are happening. It takes a lot of people to make this work happen. Unfortunately, we didn’t see, under the previous Liberal government propped up by the NDP, investments into the types of skilled training that would make sure we had the workforce to make these investments. You would hear big plans, perhaps, sometimes from the opposition or the Liberals. They wanted to strike another committee, issue another report about their plans, but they didn’t do the real work that needed to happen to make the investments that we are now making.

I want to thank the Minister of Finance for including this important point in our fall economic statement.

I spoke about the importance that the people of my riding brought to cost savings when it comes to the gas pump. When we came to office, we fought the federal government, and have continued to fight all the way to the Supreme Court, on the carbon tax. But the Minister of Finance built on that work by announcing that our gas tax cut that we put in place earlier this year is being extended for a whole other year, saving people in the province of Ontario hundreds of dollars when they gas up at the pump.

Speaker, as I wrap up, I want to thank my colleagues for the work they’re doing in this House to ensure that the voices of their constituents are being reflected in the legislation that comes forward. At the end of the day, it’s important that each and every one of us takes those ideas and ensures that they’re reflected in the government’s priorities, and I believe that the fall economic statement does that. It builds on the work that we announced in our budget, and we’ll continue to do that work to ensure each and every one of our communities is supported.

The member from Niagara West.

Thank you to the member opposite for bringing forward the feedback you’re hearing from constituents and their questions. I would say to your constituent, and as I’ve spoken with my constituents about these issues, it’s the importance of cumulative changes and ensuring that our government is taking actions in a number of different areas to make life more affordable. That gas tax cut has an impact on the cost of food, on the cost of transportation and also on the ability of your constituent and my constituent to be able to get from A to B in a reasonable time frame. So whether it’s the gas tax cut, whether it’s also fighting the increases that we saw under the ideological Fair Hydro Plan, as it was called—but really the unfair hydro plan—of the former government and the changes that we’ve made to stabilize hydro rates to ensure that someone like your constituent is able to see a reasonable hydro bill as opposed to a very high hydro bill—and also taking action to build more housing, to ensure that rent rates are stabilized in order to ensure that there are more savings that are put in the pocket of your constituent.

We know that we need 1.5 million homes in the province of Ontario. We know that the status quo wasn’t making that happen. And when our government took action to make the changes, to make it happen, she voted against it. My question to her would be, how can you vote against legislation that would have solved the housing crisis?

That’s where I think the big contrast between what we saw under the former Liberal government—again, propped up by the NDP for many, many years—was where they spent billions and billions and billions of dollars, and at the end of it, what did we have to show for it? As the Minister of Finance has said, we had a health care system that was in crisis. We didn’t have long-term-care homes built in the province of Ontario. We didn’t have new hospitals. We didn’t have new roads.

And that’s, I think, a fundamental difference under this government. Our government is ensuring that each and every dollar that’s being spent for the taxpayers of this province is going into ensuring we have good infrastructure that is focused on economic recovery and jobs for today and tomorrow.

Thank you very much to the members for their presentation. I think we can all agree that homelessness has reached a humanitarian disaster, especially in the province of Ontario. We’re seeing encampments grow in big cities as well as small communities and communities of in-between sizes.

And yet we know that the housing crisis that the government has spoken about is going to be addressed through some of their measures, but I believe that the housing crisis that largely remains unaddressed is the affordable housing crisis, so therefore, those who can afford less than the $2,000 average rent that we’re seeing in some areas. I’m curious to know, why is the government cutting $85 million from the homelessness program compared to what they spent last year?

Questions?

Report continues in volume B.

Thank you to my colleague for his wonderful presentation. Speaker, in their remarks, they have mentioned that the government continues to have grown the economy by getting shovels in the ground to build key infrastructure projects, such as subways, hospitals, GO trains, roads and bridges etc. and investing in skills training for Ontario’s workers and newcomers. We know that Ontario is facing labour shortage challenges now. Could the member from Niagara West or Perth–Wellington tell us about how this legislation will support the government’s efforts to address the labour shortage in Ontario?

A quick question related to what is not in this bill: that is, a clear path to support nurses and front-line health care workers who are feeling burned out, a clear path to support hospitals that want to retain this important staff.

Earlier today my questions were ignored when I asked about supporting nurses, front-line staff and patients. The fact is that the FAO, the Financial Accountability Officer of the government of Ontario, reports that you are imposing a giant inflationary cut on our health care services.

So my question is, failed policies like these are making the crisis worse. Do you believe that Bill 124 has made hiring and retaining nurses harder for hospitals in Niagara, and will you amend this or any legislation to repeal it?

Thank you to my honourable colleague for that great question, and to rise and talk about some of the initiatives. Just so the House is aware, my riding, the catchment area, has the lowest unemployment rate in Ontario—2.6%, I believe, was the last statistic. So if you know anyone who needs a job, please tell them to come to my riding. If you can walk and talk and show up on time, they will give you a job and they will train you. It can be a variety of jobs.

Our government, obviously, is hearing this from businesses across Ontario, and so the investments in the Skills Development Fund, the $40 million extra in that, I think demonstrates our government’s commitment to going above and beyond to meet that demand and continue to build Ontario and working with our federal colleagues, as has been alluded to earlier today in this House, to get more new Canadians to come to Ontario and have a bigger say over the provincial nomination program.

The learn and stay grant, which we announced earlier this year, is making a significant impact in our rural hospitals. It’s attracting nurses and health care workers to our hospitals. In rural Ontario, prior to the COVID pandemic—it’s hard to think of way back then, prior to 2020, in March. But in my area where I’m from, and I’m sure similar to Niagara West, I’m assuming, there was already a shortage of health care workers because it was hard to attract and retain health care workers.

Our government is doing our best to address that issue through the learn and stay grant, encouraging people and providing money for them to pay for their tuition, to relocate to those communities and to work in our rural hospitals.

I really enjoyed the comments the member from Niagara West offered this evening. He’s quite articulate. I always enjoy being in the House listening to him, and I’m glad that he touched on the ODSP rates.

My question to him is—as the member from Algoma–Manitoulin, I always try to bring to the floor the questions of people across my riding, and today’s question that I’d like to put to you is on behalf of Donna Behnke. She’s in Elliot Lake and she actually texted me a question this morning. She says, “Listen, Mike, I’m on ODSP. I do not have kids so I have not been benefitting from any of the surpluses that have been provided to individuals and families on ODSP.” And she’s quite happy that they were successful in that. She says, “I cannot work, just like many people on ODSP who cannot work. How is it that this fall economic statement is going to be benefitting me, because I can’t go out and work to supplement my income to what the government has done to $1,000?”

What can we tell this constituent of mine as far as, what is this government going to do to help her?