I heard a thank you.

As well, we are proposing amendments to the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit. The proposed amendments to the Taxation Act, 2007, would expand eligible expenditures for the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit. We are proposing that eligible expenditures include location fees to help attract domestic and foreign film and television production to Ontario to help incentivize more on-location filming in communities across this great province.

In relation to the Securities Act, we are introducing rule-making authority to the access equals delivery initiative. This proposal shows how Ontario is moving ahead with modernizing the way public companies communicate with investors and the market to reduce regulatory burden and support the digitization of the economy.

We are also proposing amendments related to the framework for target-benefit pension plans. These proposed amendments are intended to clarify that written funding and governance policy would be required for target-benefit plans upon proclamation of the permanent framework, while also maintaining this requirement for other types of pension plans in the future.

One area where we are determined to advance progress is in attracting investment and bringing good manufacturing jobs back to Ontario. Our government is using the strength of Ontario’s supply chains to support globally competitive homegrown manufacturing, and we are helping to see things built right here in Ontario, such as the next generation of hybrid and electric vehicles and batteries. Those batteries and those cars will be sold right across North America. Manufacturing, as many know, is Ontario’s legacy and it is its future. Pour les vendre partout en Amérique du Nord—le secteur manufacturier est à la fois l’héritage et l’avenir de l’Ontario.

This is why we are proposing the creation of a provincial clean energy credit registry. This new proposal would see the launch of a voluntary clean energy credit registry in 2023. A voluntary clean energy credit registry would help boost Ontario’s competitiveness and attract jobs. It will also provide businesses with more options in how they pursue their environmental and sustainability goals. The voluntary clean energy credit registry is among the number of new things we are exploring as we make the province the destination of choice for global investors.

We are also focused on cutting red tape to help clear up supply chain delays, as well as supporting Ontario’s agri-food system so we can get goods and services to customers faster and help create more jobs.

Madam Speaker, we understand that main street Ontario matters, and that is why we’re proposing to increase the number of small businesses that could benefit from the small business tax rate. This change will lower costs for small businesses, providing $185 million in income tax relief over the next three years.

Madam Speaker, our government is building Ontario’s economy, building Ontario’s workforce, building Ontario’s infrastructure and keeping costs down for Ontario families and businesses. Each and every day, in every corner of our immense province, we are getting it done.

Et maintenir les coûts bas pour les familles et les entreprises—chaque jour, aux quatre coins de notre immense province, nous y parvenons.

But, Madam Speaker, we find ourselves in uncertain economic times. All around us, we are seeing emerging economic and fiscal challenges. Ontario is not an island; it is not immune to these pressures. In 2022, Ontario’s consumer price index reached highs not seen since the early 1980s. We are seeing these 40-year price spikes because of the consequences of the worldwide pandemic and because of Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine that is causing supply disruptions across various industries. And while inflation may have eased slightly, the Bank of Canada remains steadfast on the need for further interest rate increases.

Madam Speaker, the cost of groceries and everyday goods that we all rely on continues to remain stubbornly high. Economic turbulence, economic uncertainty and challenges are surely going to continue in the months ahead. Understandably, Ontario seniors, families, workers and businesses are feeling financial pressure and are worried about their budgets. We know this reality is stressful for many. This is why we have built a flexible and responsible fiscal plan, one that takes a targeted approach as we navigate together these uncertain times. It’s the right plan, because no matter what lies ahead, I am confident in our resiliency. Ontario’s economy, its workers, its businesses and people are tough and resilient, and I have confidence in our plan.

Ontario is proud of its central place in Canada and the federation. Maintaining a close relationship with our federal and provincial partners remains critical as we continue to build Ontario’s economy during this difficult time. Ontario expects the federal government to be a full partner for the Ring of Fire, to respect provincial jurisdiction and, at minimum, to match Ontario’s investments to support critical infrastructure in seizing this generational opportunity. It will happen. It can happen. It should happen.

Effective federal-provincial fiscal transfers are a key factor in Ontario’s long-term fiscal sustainability. Canada and Ontario worked well together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring federal funding was timely and responsive to provincial needs. Over the next year, Ontario will be engaging with the federal government on a number of significant federal-provincial transfer agreements, from health to training to infrastructure. As Canada emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is opportunity and time to focus on long-term arrangements to create a principle-based transfer system, with agreements that are flexible, adequate and fair, and that respect provincial jurisdiction.

Notably, this includes the Canada Health Transfer. Ontario is looking forward to working with the provinces and territories and the federal government to secure an enhanced partnership that helps address the pressures facing the health care system now and provides a foundation for adequate long-term funding.

Awareness of these challenges and the need for resiliency informed our work preparing the 2022 fall economic statement and the fall bill. We are resolved to our task. To conclude, the policies and the measures I have discussed today, which are key in the fall bill and the 2022 fall economic statement, present a clear picture. We have a responsible, flexible plan that is helping businesses, helping workers, helping families and helping seniors across this province as we navigate this period of uncertainty together. Whatever the economic uncertainty may bring, our government has a plan.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would now like to pass it over to the member for Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound to share more details on our government’s plan.

Thank you.

It is one of the largest rural ridings in southwestern Ontario and includes the beautiful and iconic Bruce Peninsula. Rural and northern communities are the backbone of this great province. Our government understands the unique way of life and unique challenges that come with living in municipalities outside the big urban centres.

Maintaining a close relationship with our municipal partners remains critical as we continue to build Ontario’s economy during this time of economic uncertainty. We are working in partnership with them to build and strengthen our province. Our government has been increasing ongoing support to municipalities; for example, through doubling the annual investment in the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund program to $400 million—that’s an additional $1 billion over five years—and investing up to $15 million annually over five years in northern municipalities to support infrastructure projects through the Northern Ontario Resource Development Support Fund.

Ontario is also working closely with the federal government to ensure municipalities continue to receive financial support for the critical infrastructure they need to accommodate growth such as new roads, waterworks and transit, including through the new Housing Accelerator Fund. This is in addition to the support provided via the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, or OMPF. The OMPF targets funding to municipalities facing challenging fiscal circumstances and supports areas with limited property assessment.

Incentivizing more on-location filming in communities across Ontario by expanding the list of eligible expenditures for the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit is another way our government is working to support rural and northern communities. We are also proposing amendments to the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit, under the Taxation Act, 2007. If this is approved, eligible expenditures would include location fees to help attract domestic and foreign film and television production to the province. It would also help incentivize more on-location filming in communities across Ontario, providing new business and opportunities for growth in rural communities.

Madam Speaker, now I’ll pivot to Bay Street. In relation to the Securities Act, we are introducing rule-making authority in respect of the access equals delivery initiative. This proposal reflects the way we are modernizing how public companies communicate with investors and the market. This will both reduce the regulatory burden in the sector and further support the ongoing digitization of the Ontario economy.

Another proposal in the fall bill is creating a provincial clean energy credit registry. This proposed change would see the launch of a voluntary clean energy credit registry Ontario in 2023. The registry would help boost Ontario’s competitiveness, attract jobs to the province and provide businesses with more choice in how they pursue their environmental and sustainability goals.

In the 2022 fall economic statement, the government announced that it intends to launch, this winter, a stakeholder consultation on proposed regulations necessary for implementing a permanent target benefit pension framework in Ontario. Target benefit pension plans are intended to provide a person with a monthly stream of income in retirement with predictable contributions for employers. These kinds of pension plans are especially good for workers in sectors with a high number of small businesses, where workers may work for a number of companies over their careers, often in the trades. If passed, we look forward to these consultations so the government can learn what tools can be implemented to help these industries better support their members and employees with good pensions.

As for business in the fall bill related to Queen’s Park in the Legislature, we are also proposing to extend the freeze on salaries of members of provincial Parliament. You see, Madam Speaker, our government understands, everywhere they look, the people of Ontario see reasons to be concerned about the state of the world and their place in it. Our plan is flexible, responsible and focused on positioning the province to confront today’s realities. We continue to offer many meaningful solutions to support workers and families.

We have introduced targeted measures allowing us to maintain our flexibility as we navigate the uncertainty that lies ahead. We understand that a core area of uncertainty is in the realm of personal budgeting and spending. That is why, to help keep costs down for families, in March, we eliminated the licence plate stickers and refunded drivers who had already paid the cost. This created savings to vehicle owners of an average of $120 in southern Ontario and $60 in northern Ontario each year. That is why we helped families and businesses by temporarily cutting the gas tax rate by 5.7 cents per litre and the fuel tax rate by 5.3 cents per litre, and we’re proposing to extend this relief by another 12 months, until December 2023.

Interjections.

Statistics Canada reported that these tax cuts contributed to the drop in gas prices in Ontario, which we saw in July, and it helped lower the rate of the overall consumer price index this summer as well.

Another one of our measures, the Ontario Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses tax credit, is supporting eligible families with up to 75% of their eligible child care expenses. This credit is providing, on average, $1,250 in child care support for this year. These targeted measures are helping to keep costs down for families and businesses.

Ontario is no exception when it comes to the ongoing labour shortages and supply chain disruptions. The challenge is getting goods and services across our province or around the world. It’s a contributing factor to the higher-than-usual inflation. That is why we are seizing opportunities every day.

We are helping to develop the Ring of Fire and capitalize on Ontario’s critical minerals, which remain a strategic necessity for all of Canada. A key part of our Critical Minerals Strategy is the corridor of prosperity, the roads to the Ring of Fire. These roads will help bring critical minerals to the manufacturing hubs in southern Ontario, which will help bring prosperity to northern Ontario and help unlock economic potential.

We are building roads, bridges, subways and highways to make sure people, goods and services can move freely and boost our economy.

We’ve invested in the province’s automotive and manufacturing supply chains, making Ontario a North American leader in building electric and hybrid vehicles and battery manufacturing. Through strong and prudent economic management, we can attract investment and remain a leader in steel manufacturing and other industries.

Attracting more Ontario investment means we need more skilled Ontario workers. Our government has provided support so that thousands of workers can train for the skilled trades and rewarding careers, workers who can help build the critical infrastructure we are investing in all across Ontario. As you can see, this measured and sensible approach is supporting workers and businesses in a targeted way. This leaves government room to build as Ontario navigates emerging challenges.

Madam Speaker, I will close by saying this: Our government has a plan that is ready for whatever uncertain economic times may come Ontario’s way. We are rebuilding the economy and bringing good-paying manufacturing jobs back to the province. We are getting shovels in the ground to build highways, hospitals, transit and other key projects that will give a boost to our economy and bring improvements to the day-to-day lives of the people of Ontario. By investing in skills training and helping recent immigrants and newcomers put their skills and talents to use, we are working for the workers of Ontario. Together we have been getting it done. We have more work to do. Let’s get it done. Let’s build Ontario.

Let’s be clear: For the last year, as our public accounts showed, we increased funding to health care by $5.2 billion in base funding. That is the largest increase in the history of this province.

What does that mean? That means that since March of 2020 this province has added over 12,000 health care professionals in Ontario. This year alone, the Ontario college of nurses has registered over 12,800 nurses. This is because the investments that this government is making to shore up our health human resources are working.

We’re going to continue to make those historic and unprecedented investments into health care to ensure that we have the support across this province.

Under the leadership of this Premier, we are delivering the largest transit expansion in Canadian history, all while investing in high-quality, high-paying, homegrown jobs. In the last three years alone, Mr. Speaker, our government has invested almost $500 million to support Thunder Bay workers at the Alstom plant. We currently have nine open contracts with Alstom for projects across the province. We’ve recently ordered 60 new streetcars and the refurbishment of 94 GO train coaches to maintain 300 good manufacturing jobs at the Alstom facility.

As part of our largest transit expansion plan in Canadian history, the city of Toronto has been provided with the opportunity to redirect more than $5 billion in its state-of-good-repair funding to the existing TTC network, which will then include the purchase of new streetcars and new subways. Mr. Speaker, this means real opportunity for the province of Ontario, and the member opposite’s party voted against that deal.

Part of the deal with the federal government and the city of Toronto and York region involve the redirecting of $5 billion of funding to the state of good repair. The NDP and the Liberals voted against that deal. That is the way we’re going to continue to send more orders to the Alstom plant in Thunder Bay to make sure that those high-quality, good-paying jobs are there for years and years to come. But, Mr. Speaker, we’re putting forward the plans and the members opposite keep voting against them.

I appreciate and I thank the member for her comments. I want to start by thanking her for mentioning the ODSP changes as well as the GAINS changes as elements of Bill 36 that, if I heard correctly, she could support.

I want to ask, though, about health care funding, because she commented in her remarks about it being a resource issue. On this side, we acknowledge that and would say that we’re spending more on health care in Ontario than has ever been spent before. The budget increased by a whopping $5.6 billion year over year, which is about 7%. Doesn’t that allow the member to say, “Yes, we have the resources here,” and support Bill 36?

It’s my honour to rise today to speak in regard to Bill 36. A budget is a statement of values. A budget is also a moral document. A budget outlines the priorities, the principles, the values. It addresses inequities. It provides a road map to the future.

Now, Speaker, if you listen to this government, they would spin it and claim that there is no crisis in hospitals, that there’s no need to be concerned about the greenbelt being auctioned off to the biggest Conservative donors. They claim that their meagre Band-Aids were helping families being crushed under the increasing cost of living, and that they weren’t deliberately putting students and education in peril with their cuts and underfunding.

This road map, if you can call it one, does not invest enough in people and public services. This bill does not offer people hope and help. We face unprecedented challenges in the cost of living, housing, health care, education, seniors’ care, autism and so many more. But since this was drafted, we’ve seen very little change. We’ve seen that they didn’t change this. They didn’t adjust to the new circumstances.

Since this was drafted, children’s hospitals are cancelling surgeries. Wait times have ballooned to over 20 hours before you’ve even been seen. Can you imagine taking a child who is sick and in pain and having to wait almost a day? How do you explain that to that child? How do you make that okay? That’s on this government. But worse than that is that it’s 20 hours until you’ve first been seen; that doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed a bed after those 20 hours, Speaker.

It’s not a surprise, because we warned this government, with their imposition of Bill 124—nurses have worked so incredibly hard throughout the pandemic, and then to be kicked in the teeth again by this government after they kept our families safe—nurses have not had an improvement in their wages in over 10 years.

Despite numerous calls from health care professionals, this government refuses to address the health care human resources crisis that we have across our province. As His Majesty’s official opposition, we brought forward a collaborative plan to get Ontario’s hospitals back on track, but this government simply does not want to do the work, or they would much rather deliberately sit on their hands as hospitals crumble. This government is not listening to health care workers.

While Bill 36 does provide licensing for internationally educated nurses—something I’m very thankful for, because that’s something His Majesty official opposition has been calling for for a number of years—the NDP would also put a stop to privatization, which I believe should be called US-style health theft. We would like to see the bridging programs that are available expanded and compressed so that those who have years of experience in the health care sector may upgrade their skills and enter a new job field.

Ontario’s last Minister of Health told the media that private hospitals would help clear the surgery backlog. Our current Minister of Health scratches out parts of her speech where there is a promise not to continue the Liberal privatization of our public health care system.

If you believe this government, they will claim that they’re investing. But they’re not investing in people. They care about the furniture; they do not care about the people on the front lines. Hospital beds are of no use when there isn’t a caring, talented and respected health care worker to provide care.

Bill 36 does not address health care in a way that is responsible, effective or responsive to the struggles of Ontario’s public health care sector. This government is doing this on purpose, paving the way for privatization. Privatization means the most important consideration is profit. It’s the antithesis of our public health care system, in which the most important consideration is care.

According to the Financial Accountability Office, Ontario will be short $6.2 billion in health care spending through 2024-25. Yet this government have shown that they’re willing to violate the charter. When the Supreme Court tells them that they’ve made a mistake, that they’re guilty of overreaching and undercutting nurses with Bill 124, what do they do? They get ready to launch an appeal. They’re going to lose this, likely, yet again, but this Conservative government never gets tired of throwing taxpayer money at losing legal battles—losing legal battles which are based on a flawed, problematic ideology. It’s not only fiscally imprudent, but it’s an insult. It’s an embarrassment. Health care workers deserve our respect. This government has no right claiming they have anything but disregard for health care workers with this routine pattern of treatment.

The Red Cross again having to come to this government’s rescue is, quite frankly, unconscionable. I’m glad that there are good people out here who recognize that this is a crisis and they’re willing to help. But, Speaker, I’m not quite certain that those who donate to the Red Cross are doing so because this Ontario Conservative government has cut and underfunded hospital care so much. I don’t think that the Red Cross should have to use their resources to mitigate a crisis the Ford government has wilfully caused.

It’s like the situation with COVID. This government promised an iron ring for seniors, and yet the reality was that the military had to rescue seniors who were malnourished and dying of dehydration, while trays of food scattered across the floors gathered vermin, and people covered in their own urine and feces languished on beds with no sheets, crying out for help—crying out for anyone to help them.

The fact that this government routinely requires panic-mode assistance should make us all wonder why they simply can’t seem to get anything right.

Ontario deserves a budget that takes powerful action to end the hospital crisis.

Stop the appeal to Bill 124, lift wages, fix working conditions with a health care human resources strategy, and listen to front-line health care workers, who have great solutions and should be treated like partners by this province.

Re-tabling this tired budget will only make things worse—and making things worse seems to be all according to plan for this government.

When we look at the cost of living, inflation is at an all-time high. Grocery and energy prices continue to escalate, while this government refuses to step in and stand up for families. People are working harder than ever, but the cost of everything is going up, and wages are falling far, far behind. We see some tinkering around the edges with Bill 36; we see some small band-aids. But band-aids won’t stop the bleeding that many families are feeling. Bill 36 does not deliver any relief from inflation whatsoever.

I remember back when our Premier claimed that he would be an 800-pound gorilla—but that comes up as pretty weak and stuffed with fluff.

This bill does nothing to hold to account the corporations that gouge people. Inflation is never an excuse to make money off families who are already struggling. We’ve seen new words coined, such as “shrinkflation,” “greedflation” and others. This should show that this is a crisis across the board. Is it too much to ask this government that they finally do what they’ve promised and make companies that gouge people accountable?

With wage suppression tactics like Bill 124—we also see Conservative attacks on education workers recently. They used the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as an escape hatch. They have continued their attack on female-dominated professions by trying to impose a contract on education workers.

Further, if we want to look forward to solutions, 28 times His Majesty’s official opposition has brought forward legislation for 10 paid sick days—something everyone can agree will help mitigate crises like the COVID-19 pandemic—yet 28 times this government has told workers that they don’t deserve it. This Conservative government does not respect workers. When you stay home, others aren’t put at risk. Concerns of regular families don’t matter to this government. They’re disconnected—and by voting that down, they’re uncaring.

Another crisis that we are facing right now, which we see many words on but few real concrete actions, is the housing crisis. The dream of owning a home has become yet more unattainable over the last five years because of this government’s actions. They play pretend with measures that they call affordable, but then they cut up the environment for their wealthy donors. The reality is, this government cannot hide their love affair with wealthy developers.

This Conservative government cut rent control for buildings that were occupied after November 2018. What did that do for the affordability crisis? What did that do for people who lived in a new place for a year and then found that their rent was going to go up astronomically? Was that affordable? Did that help people? That was on this government. It’s completely ridiculous that their excuse at that time would be that that would somehow create more affordable housing. It created a gigantic loophole for people to be exploited by landlords and property owners. It’s not more affordable if people’s rent can go up without any restraint.

Much of the Conservatives’ entitlement shows through in their legislation. We see so much that is pro-developer and against working people.

Furthermore, when we consider the incursions on the greenbelt—the earth is everyone’s home, and we cannot go backwards. People across Ontario are furious that Premier Ford broke his promise about not touching the greenbelt. We’ve heard them try to excuse this environmental destruction by saying, “This will be affordable housing.” Nobody believes this ridiculous, posturing, bait-and-switch nonsense.

If you follow the money, the Narwhal and the Star showed how developers purchased one parcel of greenbelt land for $100 million—I believe it was in September—at 20% interest, and then the parcel became suddenly developable. It would have been really painful for that developer, at that punishing rate, if the government had not done them a solid by opening up this protected land. What is this government’s claim on that score—that this developer made a good guess? I don’t think so. This absolutely stinks.

This government could address affordability by actually creating the homes that people need. They could listen to the working people and families who need a safe place to call home by implementing NDP plans to build and deliver new affordable and non-market housing. They could stand up for working families by ending exclusionary zoning. They could protect tenants from gouging and stabilize the market. But instead, they choose to help their wealthy buddies.

Wetlands are interconnected, and they help filter water. They’re like the kidneys of the Great Lakes. Conservatives have actually fallen for the line that you can pave over a wetland and make up another one somewhere else. You cannot re-create a wetland with the same rich biodiversity and environmental significance. It’s like a chain; if you compromise one of the links, it compromises the entire chain.

Ontario is losing 320 acres of prime farmland every year. Overall, Ontario has lost one fifth of its total farmland.

I call upon this government to listen to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s Home Grown campaign. They said, “We can continue to develop Ontario without paving over our most precious natural resource—fertile farmland.” The OFA also pointed out that $47 billion is contributed to the provincial economy and employs nearly one million Ontarians through skilled labour, trades, technology, innovation and more. Ontario’s farmland must be protected. I call upon this government to join the 50,000 people who have signed on.

In terms of health care understaffing, the RNAO has made recommendations which I’d like this government to consider and implement: Stop the appeal of Bill 124 and refrain from extending or imposing future wage-restraint measures; increase the supply of RNs by expediting the process for IENs; increase nursing school enrolments and corresponding funding; compress RPN to bachelor of science in nursing bridging programs; support nursing faculty retention and recruitment; develop and fund a “return to nursing now” program to attract RNs back to the nursing workforce; support nurses throughout their careers by expanding the Nursing Graduate Guarantee program and reinstating the Late Career Nurse Initiative; and finally, have a task force to make recommendations on matters related to retaining and recruiting RNs.

I met recently with some local nurses in London, and they explained to me that graduates who are sometimes only in the field for two months are becoming the heads of departments. They’re also having to mentor students themselves, after two months. It’s ridiculous.

Before the pandemic, Ontario was 22,000 RNs short compared to the rest of Canada. This is something that needs action immediately.

My concern, as well, with this government and their decimation of our public health care system is the move towards privatization as being the only option.

When we take a look at the Auditor General’s report, private, for-profit in the home care sector has destroyed the sector—it’s somewhere where nurses and PSWs make far less, because the care isn’t there. It’s simply looking at making as much money as possible.

In Bill 36, as well, we see few measures for small businesses that have struggled so much with the disastrous Ontario small business support program that left so many people out in the cold.

Here’s a comment from the Toronto Star: “They are always saying that small businesses are the backbone of the economy, so the fact that they did nothing here to help small businesses like restaurants was really surprising.”

And then, “‘Coming out of the pandemic and into the middle of massive construction products could be lethal for some of our members....’

“Groups including the CFIB and Restaurants Canada had called for the government to either forgive the deferred taxes or let them be paid in instalments.”

This government could also take action on the predatory third-party delivery apps that take far too much out of an already lean sector. The margins in restaurants are already so low, and those organizations are, quite frankly, predatory. This government could take action. Will it? That’s a good question.

Further, we don’t see any solid investments into mental health. There has been historic underfunding in the community-based mental health and addictions sector. I think this government has a lot that they could do.

I’d like to mention, of course, for the record, that the London Health Sciences Centre is currently discussing creating a new emergency room where people who are suffering from a mental health episode can enter in a different location. This is a brilliant plan that’s going to be finalized in 2023—in July, I believe—and it’s going to cost $3 billion. But this government is already downloading the cost onto the municipality, onto the city of London. They’re asking the city of London to pay $300 million, and they haven’t even seen the plan yet. That is the worst thing.

We don’t see any supports for students.

We see very little supports for the justice system.

There are so many more things that I could discuss that this government has not been responsive to, that it has not listened to.

Ultimately this bill, Bill 36, is a statement of values, a statement of morals. It was an opportunity to course-correct. It was an opportunity to address all of the rampant needs and concerns of families and workers across this province, and I would say they have missed the mark.

I think it’s important to mention, as well, the Auditor General’s report—an absolute bombshell—where it was discussed that $3.5 billion of the $7 billion spent on COVID-19-related contracts was for non-competitive procurements. They didn’t even try to hide the fact that they were rewarding their friends.

There’s so much that needs to be done.

I’d also like to mention that on September 8, the estimates were made available to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. On September 20, I wrote a letter to this government, suggesting that we meet. That letter was never answered. So from September 20 all the way up until the second week in November, the standing committee had never met to publicly look at and consider those estimates. Normally, there are 15 hours of consideration given; we received 20 minutes of questions, total—out of 15 hours, 20 minutes. That’s not accountable. That’s not transparent. That is a deep concern for the people of Ontario.

I want to reiterate that the Ontario Line is 75% beyond its budget—above budget. That is a huge, huge, huge deal of money and a huge deal of wasted time with delays that this government is not taking account for.

I understand that the $8 billion that it will take to finish, hopefully, this Ontario Line project, could have paid for—what is it—seven brand new hospitals. I’m really wondering how much does this government actually care about health care and the human beings that help keep our loved ones safe and well when we have ERs that are bursting at their seams and they’re not getting the funding they need for health care? What is happening? What does this government have to say?