I want to acknowledge my friend Macrina Perron from Cystic Fibrosis Canada and congratulate her on her philanthropy award from Nipissing University.

While I have a few horses in the World Cup race, my number one steed is, of course, Team Canada.

I’d like to ask unanimous consent for all members in the House, if they so choose, to wear any Team Canada swag to support our team. Go, Canada, go.

That concludes the time we have available for introduction of guests.

Speaker, we learned that the mayor of Toronto and the Premier were having these backroom conversations as far back as this summer. This is how the government operates—secret conversations behind closed doors. We saw that with the cuts to the greenbelt. Backdoor meetings led to results for wealthy donor developers at the expense of the interests of the people of Ontario.

Will the Premier stop his backroom deals with donors and serve in the interests of the public?

Hate in all forms has no place in Ontario, and to be clear, this includes anti-Semitism. We will not let anti-Semitism disrupt our way of life, especially here in Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, this is very personal to me. I’m proud to serve a Premier and a government who have used our diversity as our greatest strength. The proof of our diversity is right here—all those who sit around me, in our party, working together.

So what can we do? We can call it out. Anti-Semitism is toxic to our democracy, and when we combat anti-Semitism, we protect our human rights and our human dignity for all, and we protect our common values in our communities. It doesn’t matter where we come from or how we got here; it’s about doing the right thing and calling out hatred for what it is. It has no place in Ontario, and we will not tolerate it.

Interjections.

We’ve invested over $25 million to protect against hate-motivated violence, racism and hate.

Just two weeks ago, I was proud to be with our Minister of Education and our caucus members at an important announcement of mandatory Holocaust education in the grade 6 curriculum, commencing for the first time next year.

Some things have to matter: the rule of law; our ability to live safely in our own communities one to another, free of hate and discrimination. Mr. Speaker, this must matter.

The final supplementary.

Restart the clock.

The next question.

Restart the clock.

Supplementary question.

Anti-Semitism has no place anywhere here in Ontario. This chamber must be united in condemning anti-Semitism. Those words must not be hollow. When anti-Semitism is left unchallenged, it has a direct consequence for the safety of the Jewish community, not only here in Ontario but across Canada.

According to recent Statistics Canada data, Jewish Canadians continue to be the most targeted religious group of hate crimes in this country. We must not allow that hatred to be fuelled, especially by individuals in power and responsibility. There must be consequences for anti-Semitic behaviour.

I understand that words matter, but actions matter more.

So I’d like to know what our government is doing to stand up and combat anti-Semitism.

On this side of the House, the government has a strong record of combatting anti-Semitism by introducing things like Holocaust education in our school system as young as the age of grade 6.

But let’s be clear: More needs to be done. As we continue to invest resources to combat all forms of hate, we cannot allow the normalization of anti-Semitism to take place in Ontario. We cannot take a casual approach. And we all have a responsibility to act.

I’d like to ask the minister, the Solicitor General, how we are freeing Ontario of anti-Semitism.

Again, to the Premier: The Public Order Emergency Commission published an email yesterday detailing a conversation between the Premier and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino on Wednesday, February 9. During the call, the Premier said that Dr. Moore would announce the end of vaccine passports on Thursday, and on Friday the Premier himself would announce the end of mandates. Coincidentally, it was at this exact same time that the Premier was alleged to have been speaking with convoy leaders, vowing to “pull these passports” and telling convoy leaders he would be making an announcement on Friday.

Will the Premier finally admit today that he was speaking to both federal government officials and convoy leaders during the occupation of Ottawa?

Will the Premier tell the people of this province who and what he is hiding from?

I think what the member is referring to is the federal commission into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act. We have been working, of course, with the commission, as I’ve said on a number of occasions.

I’m certainly glad that the member opposite highlights the very good work of health care professionals across the province of Ontario throughout the last year to get us in a position in the province of Ontario where we were able to remove some of the mandates. That helped us so much in getting us to the position where we’re at today—and part of that, of course, goes to the Minister of Health and the good people who work in that area, who undertook one of the largest vaccine rollouts in the history of this country. I think over 90% of Ontarians have gotten their first and second dose.

The member is quite correct; we were working to remove mandates as quickly as we possibly could, always putting the people of the province first, putting the health and safety of Ontarians first. Because of the investments that we made, we were able to remove those mandates. And I’m very, very happy that the member opposite recognizes that good, hard work.

We actually had two debates in this House when those states of emergency in the province of Ontario ended, and on both occasions, although we had set aside four hours, assuming the opposition wanted to talk about it, debate collapsed after I think only about an hour on one, an hour and a half on the other, because the opposition had had enough.

The reality is that we worked very hard to keep the people of the province of Ontario safe. The people of the province of Ontario deserve all of the credit for that, as do our front-line health care workers who brought—

Brantford is a manufacturing powerhouse and one of the most competitive places to do business. That is why global companies continue to invest and grow there.

Ferrero Canada is investing $44 million in Brantford. This sweet project will increase production capacity to help meet the growing demand for one of the world’s most favourite products. It will create 124 well-paying jobs, which is why we invested $1.5 million through our Southwestern Ontario Development Fund. In total, this program has created over 1,300 jobs and attracted over $736 million in investments, with much more in the pipeline.

This is our commitment to the people of Brantford and to families in Ontario.

In fact, we provide Brantford’s small business centre with close to $500,000 every year, and we support their Summer Company and their Starter Company Plus programs with over $85,000 annually to help young entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. A further $35,000 was invested this year in Digital Transformation Grants, and that helped local Brantford businesses put their businesses online.

The dream of entrepreneurship is once again within reach of thousands of families in Brantford and all across Ontario.

Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services to reply.

My question is to the Premier. Bill 23 does not create the safe, affordable homes that people need. Bill 23 will cost the city of London’s taxpayers $97 million while wealthy developers laugh all the way to the bank. AMO showed this bill will let private developers run away from a billion-dollar tab—a tab paid for by everyone else.

Will this government listen to the chorus of Ontarians and municipalities opposed to Bill 23 and stop squeezing the little guy?

The NDP would like to add $116,000 to the cost of a home by defending the status quo. My question back to them is, have they learned nothing from the last election? They’re actually supporting adding costs to the system, making it harder for young families to realize the dream of home ownership.

That’s the contrast—the NDP are always going to stand up for increased costs; on this side of the House, we want to give Ontarians a break and we want to ensure that we reduce the cost of housing so that Ontarians can realize the dream of home ownership.

My question is to the Premier.

Ontario’s child welfare system takes children and youth into their care who have experienced abuse, who have complex mental health needs, or who are orphaned. Cassidy Franck was one of those kids. She was sent to a for-profit group home in Hamilton run by Hatts Off, the second-largest operator of youth group homes in Ontario. It was there that Cassidy witnessed harsh physical abuse, awful food and horrific conditions.

When the opportunity to live with a Hatts Off staff member arose, Cassidy jumped at the opportunity, hoping for an escape. But weeks later, she was removed by Hamilton Police Service’s human trafficking division.

Tragically, Cassidy was not alone in her experience. A months-long investigation into Hatts Off homes found that allegations of human trafficking went ignored, staff were extremely unqualified, children were being overmedicated and physically restrained at disproportionately high rates.

Why is this government sending children and youth like Cassidy to live in abusive conditions?

Speaker, every day this government doesn’t implement and enforce stronger child welfare rules is another day a child is subject to abuse within a system that is supposed to protect them.

Global News obtained a secret government draft report flagging the issues at Hatts Off years ago. Some of the devastating allegations include a staff member holding a girl on the floor over pieces of broken glass and another spitting in a child’s face as he was restrained.

Will this government finally take responsibility for the kids in their care, investigate Hatts Off. and take action so that no child spends another minute in these horrific conditions?

Thank you to the member opposite for the question.

This scenario is horrific, and our government is absolutely committed to making sure that we leave no room—no room—in our system for providers who are not operating in compliance with the requirements set out.

Our aim is for families and communities to be strengthened and supported through preventive services and early intervention.

That’s why we are implementing a redesign of the child welfare system in Ontario. We acknowledge that there are issues and there have been long-standing issues. And we are the government that is taking action to address this issue in so many ways.

To improve the oversight of licensees, we have added 20 new staff to support enhanced inspections of the children’s residential services system. Since January 2022, we’ve boosted the number of inspections at licensed group homes. We’re improving data collection and measurement tools to improve service, and we’re backing that up with investments.

Our priority is to make sure that every individual child and youth has a safe and loving home. We’ll continue to make these important changes, continue to back it up with investments. This is important to our government, and we’re—

Let me be clear and state again that there is no room in our system for providers who refuse to provide the quality care that’s necessary. This is horrific.

In the history of the child welfare system, we know that there are very hard-working people trying to make this better, but the issues that you mention exist. That’s why we’re addressing the inspections. It’s why we’re improving inspections. It’s why we’re improving oversight. It’s why we’re improving the data collection. It’s why we’re improving public transparency. It’s why we’re making sure that the measures that are needed to address this issue are being implemented.

We’ll continue this very, very important work.

I thank the member for her question.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

My riding of Brantford–Brant is home to some of our province’s most notable manufacturing operations, many of which are multinational companies. These companies positively impact my local community, where they operate and contribute to our province’s diverse and growing manufacturing sector. But to remain competitive, businesses must be assured that our government will continue fostering the right environment for their continued growth.

Will the minister please explain how our government supports manufacturers and businesses that are helping to deliver good-paying jobs for the people of Brantford?

There is no doubt that initiatives like the Regional Development Program help support businesses that continue to power our province’s economy.

I am proud that a distinguished company like Ferrero continues to make large-scale investments and is expanding its operation right here in my community of Brantford.

While it is positive that our Open for Business strategy continues to attract global manufacturers, we must also ensure that conditions are right for entrepreneurs to continue to succeed right here at home. Our entrepreneurs and small business leaders employ thousands in Brantford and help to keep Ontario’s economy competitive.

Will the minister please share how our government supports entrepreneurs as they start and grow their local businesses?

Supplementary question.

Back to the Premier: A news flash for the minister—after four years, this government is the status quo. They need to actually build affordable housing, not leave it up to the private industry.

My constituent Sandra wrote, “Bill 23 will strip democratically elected municipal governments ... the ability and tools to ensure that growth and development will indeed pay for itself ... It” does not “pay for maintenance. This financial black hole will grow exponentially if Bill 23 becomes law.”

Bill 23 destroys development charges which the city uses to create more affordable housing. Bill 23 stops city council from creating affordable housing. How will this government make up the difference?

The number one cost of climate change to ordinary people is the cost of flooding—flooded basements, flooded businesses.

The Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program—a federal program which operates through the province—closed applications on September 16. Applications were evaluated based on planned development. But with Bill 23, plans have suddenly changed.

The Conservatives now want to develop the greenbelt. A new section in the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System means wetlands and wetland complexes can be re-evaluated and developed. Le changement climatique redéfinit continuellement ce que sont les phénomènes météo extrêmes. So obviously, if the Conservatives care to look ahead, there are new areas which will be a high priority for flood plain and flood hazard mapping.

What plans has the government made, and what funds have been set aside for new flood plain and flood hazard mapping?

Suppose your wetland evaluation is missing information about hydrological functions? Well, the Conservatives deleted that section of the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System which tells you what to do. Now it’s, “Advance to go; collect $200.”

If wetlands are re-evaluated and developed, and trees are cut, fields are paved over, then flood hazard maps will change. This has a real impact on family budgets.

Is this government prepared for families who have to pay more for flood insurance or lose insurance altogether?

Le nouveau Système d’évaluation des terres humides de l’Ontario de ce gouvernement conservateur élimine le rôle des scientifiques du ministère des Richesses naturelles.

Can they be trusted to ensure that flood hazards are evaluated with the best science and that the people of Ontario will have access to the results?