Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Supplementary question. The member for Toronto–St. Paul’s.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Minister of Health.

Back to the Premier: Toronto elected 25 city councillors, but under Bill 39 only eight plus the mayor will make decisions, effectively silencing 17 councillors and the communities they represent.

Toronto’s council is the most diverse in its history, with 27% of councillors being racialized. This is a step in the right direction but still a far cry from Toronto’s full diversity, where 55% of folks here are visibly racialized. But now, because of the Premier’s secret deal with Mayor Tory, their voices would be silenced through this bill’s minority rule. When progressive women and BIPOC city councillors achieve historic elections in city council, the government changes the rules and strips them and the voters who elected them of their power.

Will this government withdraw their dangerous, undemocratic and inequitable Bill 39 and actually allow racialized Torontonians—all Torontonians—to have power on city council with the councillors they elected?

Interjections.

I want to thank the member for Humber River–Black Creek for the question. I’m glad he brought up elections—because I’m glad that he, Niagara Falls and Kiiwetinoong are still in the race for NDP leader. In fact, the member opposite mentioned that he’s still kicking the tires.

Well, I’ve got news for you, man: You keep with these policies, and the wheels are falling off during the election; there are no more tires to kick.

You need to stand up for realizing the dream of home ownership. You need to support municipalities—like Mayor Tory—who have asked for new tools. And you need to understand that this kind of status quoism is adding over $100,000 to the price of a new home in Toronto. You’re literally putting a generation of Ontarians out of home ownership because of your failed policies.

The member opposite from St. Paul’s, who just asked that question, actually said in this House that building more housing won’t solve our problems, which I can’t believe she would actually put in Hansard—

Interjections.

My question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

First of all, I want to thank the minister for coming to Etobicoke–Lakeshore and touring the William F. White movie production and business centre in the great riding of Etobicoke–Lakeshore. This company equips Ontario and Canada’s film and television industry with the most extensive and technologically advanced retail and rental inventory in the country.

William F. White is a tremendous success story that contributes to our economy and provides great-paying jobs to thousands of people across the province and right in my riding of Etobicoke.

But with other jurisdictions battling Ontario to bring film and TV to their respective areas, Ontario needs to do more to keep such a vital industry and the many jobs created right here.

Can the minister please share with us what the government is doing to encourage and to cultivate the expansion of on-screen-based industries in Ontario?

Seeing local landmarks in a film or sitcom can undoubtedly spark a strong sense of pride from the community being showcased. I know when we watch our movies sometimes we see little snippets from our community. I know the northern communities have of a lot of film business there as well—but we still want them to come to Etobicoke.

Ontario’s film and television industry faces increased competition from outside production companies and national and global markets. Our government must step up and provide leadership in supporting our film and cultural television industries as they compete with other jurisdictions that have taken significant and strong measures to enhance their landmark attractions. We want to keep those jobs right here in Ontario.

Can the minister explain what our government is doing to give Ontario’s domestic industry a leading edge over the competition?

And I must say: Go, Team Canada!

When we talk about investments in the health care system, we are talking about true dollars. In terms of our most recent budget, in August, which this member opposite chose not to support, we invested an additional $5 billion in our health care system. We have already added 3,500 new hospital beds in the province of Ontario.

We will continue to work with all of our partners in hospitals, in primary care, in public health units.

Let me assure the member opposite and the people of Ontario that our government is making the investments that, bluntly, the Liberal government and the NDP government before did not do.

Go Canada!

I’d like to thank the member for Etobicoke–Lakeshore for the question as well as for joining me in that very important meeting, and for all the work that you do in your community in helping the rest of Ontario.

From meetings and conversations I’ve had with stakeholders in areas among diverse regions, it’s evident that the sector has a footprint across our province. Whether it’s in Toronto, London, Hamilton or the north—North Bay—film and television is thriving across Ontario. Last year, we had our highest economic activity to date, with almost 400 productions bringing in close to $3 billion in spending and almost 50,000 jobs. We’re going to expand on that. This province and our Premier want to build on this industry.

Ontario is a great place to do business and a great place to showcase—

We have just expanded the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit to include location fees to help attract domestic and foreign film and television and encourage more on-location filming in communities across our great province. This means you’ll be able to see more of Ontario on TV—never a bad thing. Further, as more and more productions are geared toward platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, we’re keeping up with the changing times and viewing habits by modernizing our tax credit to include productions that are distributed exclusively online.

We want the world to know what a great place Ontario is to do business in. Our Premier stands behind that statement—as we do behind him.

My question is to the Premier.

I want to read two recent headlines within the last 24 hours. Headline number one: “Doug Ford is Looking to Cut Costs in Healthcare Staffing, Documents Show.” Second headline: “Child with Pneumonia Waits ... 40 Hours in Ontario ER.”

Speaker, our health care system is on the verge of collapse. There are no available beds for children—not even for children.

Why is the government cutting even more funding when every Ontarian is crying out and asking you to do what it takes to solve the health care crisis?

On this side, too.

To the Premier: During the recent Toronto election, the Premier and Mayor Tory made a secret deal so that Mayor Tory would be able to govern the city with only one third of city councillors; that’s eight out of the 25 who were elected. I’ve been wondering, if you’re going to override democratic majority rule, why one third—why not one quarter or one sixth or one tenth?

I did some research, and of the recently elected 25 councillors in Toronto, Mayor Tory endorsed seven and Premier Ford endorsed two. That makes nine—one third plus one.

My question is, did the Premier look at the results of the Toronto election and then decide that a one-third minority would allow Mayor Tory to govern the city with the votes of only their endorsed candidates?

I have a petition that reads, “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and soon $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent small budget increase of 5% for ODSP still leaves these citizens well below the poverty line, both they and those receiving the frozen OW rates are struggling to live in this time of alarming inflation;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a basic income of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I agree with this petition, Mr. Speaker, will affix my signature and give it to page Camilla to bring to the table.

Thank you to the member for asking such an important question and for all the marvellous work you’re doing for your riding of Oxford.

We are helping seniors by proposing to double the Guaranteed Annual Income System in 2023. This will now provide $166 per month, $1,992 per year, directly into the pockets of our seniors most in need.

Our government stands with our seniors.

On behalf of all seniors, I want to thank the Premier and the Minister of Finance for their leadership in providing the kind of financial support our seniors need.

As I mentioned, our government is proposing to give close to an extra $1,000 per year to support seniors in need. We have also invested almost $22 million in over 1,200 seniors community grants since 2018. We also fund 299 seniors active living centres all across the province. Many of the programs we fund offer both in-person and virtual options.

Our government will continue to work with local partners all across Ontario. When we work together, we can ensure that seniors can access the quality programs and services they need and deserve.

Deferred vote on the motion that the question now be put on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 39, An Act to amend the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the Municipal Act, 2001 and to enact the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve Repeal Act, 2022 / Projet de loi 39, Loi visant à modifier la Loi de 2006 sur la cité de Toronto et la Loi de 2001 sur les municipalités et à édicter la Loi de 2022 abrogeant la Loi sur la Réserve agricole de Duffins-Rouge.

I respectfully have to disagree. There are some things that we have done and can do quickly. One of those things is through the College of Nurses of Ontario—directing them to, say, when people have applied who are internationally trained, get those assessments done and get them into the system quickly. We’ve seen that historic numbers are already practising in our province.

The member opposite talked about SickKids and a pediatric nurse—absolutely incredible work that SickKids are doing. Do you know what they’re doing right now? Those SickKids nurses are training other community health nurses. SickKids doctors are training and explaining how to deal with RSV so that community hospitals will have that same depth of experience, care and compassion that we see every single day in our hospitals across Ontario.

As I said, I’m not going to presuppose this afternoon’s debate. I look forward to it.

What I hear from the people of Ontario is, “How do we make sure that we have a publicly funded health care system that continues to provide exceptional care to the people of Ontario? How do we make sure that those individuals who, perhaps, do not have to have that operation in a hospital—for example, cataract surgery—can do that seamlessly in their own community?”

We’ll continue to do that work. We’ll continue to find those innovative solutions that will make sure that surgery backlogs, when they occur, are able to ultimately be dealt with in an appropriate manner, using your OHIP card.

Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé.

Minister, today we will be debating my bill, Health Care is Not for Sale Act, which, if passed, would ensure that none of our province’s private, for-profit health clinics charge patients unfair or illegal fees.

Canadian Doctors for Medicare, the Canadian Medical Association, the Auditor General of Ontario, and the Ontario Health Coalition all have documented proof that shows that Ontario has ineffective oversight of private, for-profit clinics.

Minister, will your government support my bill to ensure that no patient in this province is charged unfair fees?

Will the minister support my bill to protect patients against unfair fees charged by private, for-profit clinics?

My question is again to the Premier.

I recently heard from my constituent Derek, who told me:

“I work as a pediatric emergency nurse at SickKids hospital.

“I love my job and have said even before the pandemic, that if I could be paid a reasonable wage to live in this city, I would work until my body tells me not to.

“The HR and nursing shortage cannot be solved quickly. Short-term action is of the utmost importance. Improving nurses’ compensation is the best thing that we can do to improve retention.”

This government has been in power for almost five years, enough time to solve just about any problem.

Will this government admit that Bill 124 is driving the remaining number of nurses out of the province?

I just want to take a quick moment to recognize a number of members of my team from the ministry. We have Evan here with us. We have Kosta. We have Corey, Harjot, Brittany and Kamel. I just want to welcome them to the Legislature.

The 28 across-government initiatives in this fall 2022 red tape reduction package build on our government’s progress to date. The initiatives in this legislation, if passed, will increase Ontario’s competitiveness, build a stronger supply chain and make it easier to interact with government by cutting red tape. These initiatives will continue to lead the province of Ontario to a path of greater economic certainty, confidence and stability.

Simply put, this bill will help build a stronger Ontario, where people and businesses can thrive, now and into the future.

Ms. Pasma moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 47, An Act to amend the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 and the Condominium Act, 1998 to require emergency power generators / Projet de loi 47, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2006 sur la location à usage d’habitation et la Loi de 1998 sur les condominiums pour exiger la présence de génératrices de secours.

We’ve heard from both sides of the House. I want to refer the matter to the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy.

I neglected to include a Windsor–Essex real estate agent visiting us today, Rose Laflamme. She joined the delegation this morning and I wanted to recognize her in the House.

Mr. Gill moved first 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.

Je remercie ma collègue pour cette excellente question.

L’adhésion de l’Ontario à l’Organisation internationale de la Francophonie comme membre observateur soutient certaines des priorités clés de notre gouvernement, soit la stratégie pour les services en français et la Stratégie de développement économique francophone. Notre présence au sein de l’OIF nous permet de mettre en valeur la francophonie ontarienne sur la scène internationale, de faire connaître l’excellence de nos institutions postsecondaires et aussi le savoir-faire de nos gens d’affaires.

L’Ontario s’est engagé à promouvoir et à valoriser le rôle de la francophonie dans notre province, notre pays et dans le monde entier. Je suis ravie d’avoir pu représenter l’Ontario à l’OIF et d’avoir créé de nouvelles connexions avec des francophones du monde entier au profit de la francophonie en Ontario.

La participation de l’Ontario à ce forum économique donne à notre province l’occasion d’explorer des liens de collaboration internationale et de promouvoir les atouts économiques de la province auprès des états et des gouvernements membres de l’OIF.

D’ailleurs, c’est lors de ce voyage que l’Ontario a aussi pu signer un protocole d’entente avec la Wallonie-Bruxelles. Ceci, monsieur le Président, est une première entente internationale de l’Ontario en matière de francophonie.

“Health Care: Not for Sale

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

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

“—legislating 10 employer-paid sick days;

“—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’m pleased to sign this petition and I’ll send with page Kalila to the Clerks’ table.

My question is to the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility.

With the cost of many essential items remaining too high, the issue of affordability is a significant concern for many of my constituents, especially seniors on fixed incomes. They’re worried about rising costs due to global inflation.

For our most vulnerable, food cost inflation can have a detrimental impact on what they are able to buy. The impact of high prices on essential food items is felt first and hardest by the most vulnerable, including low-income seniors.

Could the minister please explain how our government plans to ensure financial support for our seniors who are most in need?

Aside from financial challenges, research shows that approximately 30% of Canadian seniors are at risk of becoming socially isolated. Social isolation can lead to serious adverse health effects and reduced quality of life for our seniors. We must protect our seniors and support them in continuing and expanding their participation in our society.

Can the minister please tell us how our government is helping our seniors in Ontario to stay active, healthy and socially connected in their communities?

Earlier this year, the derecho knocked out power in parts of Ottawa for up to 12 days, leaving residents with mobility issues trapped in apartments because elevators couldn’t run and leaving many residents without clean drinking water, as water pumps failed. This bill requires landlords and condo corporations to install backup power generators that are capable of running at least one elevator, lights in common areas and water pumps for up to two weeks in cases of emergency power failures.