Speaker, through you to the Premier: Yesterday, in a move no one asked for or recommended, this government, with absolutely no consultation, tabled a bill that would allow them to appoint regional chairs in Niagara, York and Peel. Just four years ago, in the middle of the municipal election campaign, this government cancelled regional chair elections in these regions—elections in which citizens were electing their chairs-at-large. They didn’t trust citizens with free and fair elections. Now they don’t even trust democratically elected councillors to choose a chair. Now the Premier is going to hand-pick who he wants to rule in his stead, as he hands them additional powers to do his bidding.

Why is the Premier showing such disdain for municipalities and turning local democracy into his own personal sandbox?

Member for Eglinton–Lawrence.

The next question.

I’m just going to remind the House that we’re not going to ask the pages to deliver notes during question period anymore.

Start the clock.

Minister of Education.

Final supplementary.

Start the clock.

The member for Sudbury has the floor.

Interjection.

Interjections.

Start the clock.

The member for Sudbury still has some time.

Once again, I’m going to ask the minister to refer to members by their riding names—the same courtesy that each of us would expect of each other.

Interjections.

Supplementary question.

My question is to the Premier.

Do you remember when the Premier promised up and down that he would never touch the greenbelt? I do, too.

Yesterday this government tabled a bill to repeal the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve Act. This repeal will end the protection of 4,500 acres of prime greenbelt farmland in Durham. About one third of this land is reportedly owned or controlled by the powerful landowner Silvio DeGasperis, who acquired these farm properties for next to nothing two decades ago. Mr. DeGasperis has donated boatloads to the PC Party since the Premier’s election, including to the Premier’s leadership campaign and his riding association. The only thing standing in the way of Mr. DeGasperis’s ability to make untold millions of dollars is the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve Act, and the Premier’s government just made that go away. Mr. DeGasperis is about to get much, much richer from land that until yesterday was protected in perpetuity. Does the Premier understand how shady this looks?

The damning articles from the Toronto Star and the Narwhal highlight just how rotten things have gotten.

In addition to the Durham agricultural lands, Mr. DeGasperis and his well-connected family are poised to profit immensely from other lands that are also being removed from the greenbelt. According to the CBC, the DeGasperis family owns three parcels of land in Richmond Hill that the Premier wants to remove from the greenbelt. And just last year, a company controlled by the DeGasperis family bought greenbelt land in Vaughan that is also being removed—remarkably lucky timing.

This Premier has frequently accused the previous government of political corruption.

So my question is, what does the Premier think we should make of these questionable greenbelt deals?

Premier Ford made it crystal clear to Ontarians that the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act was just the start, that we wanted to ensure that by the time those two new mayors were sworn in in Ontario’s two largest cities, Toronto and Ottawa—he made it crystal clear that that was the start.

The announcement yesterday, in Bill 39, which it’s pretty obvious New Democrats don’t support—just to add to the litany of housing initiatives this government has done; we’ve done over 90 since 2018. And every single time we try to increase housing supply and actually provide an opportunity for a young person to realize the dream of home ownership, New Democrats vote against it. So it’s no surprise that this member and their party, under the leadership of Marit Stiles, is going to not support—

We’re going to stand up for the dream of home ownership.

Speaker, in the supplementary, I will talk about the significance of that minimum of 50,000 homes in relationship to our 1.5 million homes.

Brampton has been a key auto-assembly jurisdiction for decades, which is why our government led the Stellantis conversion to EV, shoring up thousands of jobs for further decades. We also fund the parts makers through our Ontario Automotive Modernization Program. In Brampton East, O-AMP supported Nahanni Steel, Tipco, RPPL and SHW Pumps, with more than $385,000 in funding. This boosts our supply chain competitiveness, getting them ready to build the cars of the future.

Since 2019, O-AMP has leveraged $36 million in private investments from 150 companies, creating over 820 jobs.

To the member from Brampton East: Let your businesses know that O-AMP has opened another intake just this week to assist even more businesses in Brampton to create good-paying jobs.

That’s why our government has consistently reduced red tape, lowered taxes and fixed that hydro debacle. Businesses are now saving $7 billion in costs every single year. Now we provide entrepreneurs all the tools they need to grow their business.

In Brampton, we fund their small business centre with over half a million dollars annually. We provide over $200,000 to their Summer Company and Starter Company Plus, to help students and young entrepreneurs start their businesses. We’ve provided over $165,000—

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

The 2021 census listed the city of Brampton as Canada’s fastest-growing urban centre. Yet for over a decade, under the previous Liberal government, citizens of Brampton felt abandoned. We would continuously raise our health care challenges and increasing unemployment rate.

After a decade of empty Liberal promises, last year our government delivered on the long-promised second hospital for the people of Brampton.

The people of my riding are finally starting to see that Brampton is getting its fair share, but questions remain about employment and jobs in the city.

Speaker, what is our government doing to ensure that my constituents have good, secure, well-paying jobs not only for themselves but for generations to come?

It’s great to hear that our government is focusing on Brampton’s automotive sector, but these are big investments which only apply to a small number of large businesses. While these large businesses provide employment for hundreds of people in my riding—what about small businesses and start-ups? Small businesses and start-ups bring dreams to a reality. I personally know many constituents who rely on their small businesses to provide food for their families. We all know that starting a business is hard work and filled with risk.

What is our government doing to help entrepreneurs in the city of Brampton to start and grow their businesses?

Again, the land the member talked about in the first part of the question will provide a significant opportunity for housing. It’s a property that has been discussed for many, many years. The outgoing mayor of Pickering actually wrote to the government and suggested that this property should be part of a future development. This property has been debated in public since the early 2000s, regarding its opportunity to provide housing. The specific Cherrywood property will provide up to 25,000 of the 50,000 homes that the government is proposing with this posting on the greenbelt. To put it into perspective, the best housing start year since 1987 was last year, with 100,000 homes. The average amount of homes being built in Ontario, over 30 years, is 67,500.

So I think the member can understand the significance of why we—

Interjection: All about the money.

My question is to the Premier. The Premier and his Minister of Education have created ongoing chaos in our education system, and confusion for everyone. They have put students, parents—everyone—through the ringer. Their heavy-handed approach with the “notwithstanding” clause to force an agreement upon CUPE was shameful and heavy-handed.

This government did the right thing with the repeal of Bill 28, and our faith in democracy has been restored. But now we need to see a fair deal that is reached at the table. CUPE asked for $100 million to improve the conditions in the classrooms. This is so that they can have more ECEs in every kindergarten classroom and improve the learning environment in our schools that is so desperately needed.

Speaker, will the Premier be willing to work for the majority of Ontarians and put an offer to CUPE that increases the services to our students so that we can have peace in our public schools?

My question is for the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity. The COVID-19 pandemic has left many families across Ontario dealing with many challenges. Sadly, the pandemic has increased the frequency and severity of domestic violence for many women in our province.

According to the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, there have been 43 femicides in Ontario within the past year.

Living a life free from violence is a fundamental human right, but gender-based violence continues to be a significant barrier to achieving gender equality in Ontario. Can the minister update this House on our government’s work to end gender-based violence?

Can the associate minister please share further details on how the Investing in Women’s Futures program expansion will proceed?

My question is to the Minister of the Environment.

This House hasn’t heard much from the Minister of the Environment lately, and no wonder; his government’s record on the environment and climate change has sunk to new lows. This government is gutting conservation authorities. It’s going to allow development on flood plains during a climate crisis. It’s ramping up greenhouse gas emissions from our electricity system. It’s doubling down on unnecessary highways that will make congestion and emissions worse. And it’s destroying the greenbelt on behalf of a few powerful landowners and PC donors.

What wisdom can the environment minister share at the climate conference in Egypt when he’s enabling some of the worst attacks on the environment I’ve ever seen here in Ontario?

After the minister returns from Egypt and is back on the job, will anyone in Ontario even notice?

I’d like to respond to His Majesty’s opposition—he has greetings from the minister from COP27. He’s glad to be there representing Ontario and, indeed, Canada.

I will take no lessons from the opposition when it comes to our climate change plan. We’re very proud of our climate change plan. In fact, we are on target to meet or exceed our commitment for 2030, reducing emissions by 30% below 2005 levels.

Some of the things we have done, for example—electric vehicle production in Ontario. We’re going to lead the world. We have massive investments in EV battery production taking place in the Windsor-Essex area. We are changing furnaces to arc electric at the Sault Ste. Marie and Hamilton steel mills, which will be the equivalent of taking two million cars off the road.

So I say to the Leader of the Opposition, we are well on target to meet or exceed our guarantees for 2030, and we’re very proud of our made-in-Ontario climate change plan.

I want to expand on that. Yes, we are making sure that the environment is a number one priority. However, let’s be clear: We were elected in a massive majority by answering the call that Ontarians gave us to build Ontario—and we’re going to. I say to the leader: The two are not mutually exclusive. We are able to build Ontario and provide what is needed for the increase in population coming over the next couple of decades, and we are able to do that while respecting and protecting the environment. We’re able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

I understand the people on the other side—unfortunately, all they want to talk about is blocking our efforts to do what is necessary to make sure that Ontario continues to lead.

We will get both done, and we’ll protect the environment at the—

I want to thank the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Colleges and Universities for your commendable work in providing wraparound supports in mental health for our youth.

Mr. Speaker, over the break, I had the privilege of attending the 40th annual meeting of the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women, which was capped by the announcement of the first National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

Ontario’s endorsement of the 10-year National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence includes a framework for anyone facing GBV to have reliable and timely access to protection and services, no matter where they live. The action plan is anchored by five pillars: support for victims and survivors and their families; prevention; a responsive justice system; implementing Indigenous-led approaches; and social infrastructure and enabling environment. I’m really happy that this agreement marks a milestone investment on Ontario’s path to ending gender-based violence.

That’s why I was really proud to be able to announce, alongside the Minister of Finance and my colleagues from Durham, that our government will expand the Investing in Women’s Futures program by up to 10 additional service sites. The call for proposals has just closed, and I can share with the House that we received about 136 applications. My ministry is currently reviewing those applications.

Building programs that give women wraparound supports to overcome barriers, build their skills and gain employment is a key step for women entering and re-entering the workforce.

This investment of $6.9 million over the next three years for the—

Order.

The next question.

Interjections.

The next question.

Interjections.

Start the clock. Next question.

I want to thank my friend and colleague for the chance to highlight and honour the contributions of individuals and organizations across Ontario who have been recognized through the Attorney General’s Victim Services Awards of Distinction.

We all know, in the face of unprecedented challenges, dedicated professionals around Ontario—generous volunteers, outstanding organizations—they’ve all demonstrated an irrepressible drive to raise awareness of victims’ issues, increase access to crisis intervention services, and provide compassionate service and support in times of need. This esteemed recognition highlights the dedication and compassion of professionals, organizations and volunteers working to support people who have experienced victimization due to crime. The award also recognizes the courageous efforts of individuals who have been personally impacted by crime and are now working to raise the profile of victims’ issues in this province, including in rural, northern and Indigenous communities.

Last year we gave awards to individuals and organizations in Thunder Bay, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Oshawa, Sarnia, Thornhill, St. Catharines, Burlington and Whitby; this year, I hope and expect that we’ll have nominations from as broad a field again.

I can confirm to the member opposite that we’ve increased funding in public education by $3 billion since the Liberals were in power. We’ve hired nearly 7,000 more workers from when the Liberals were in power. We have another 1,000 educators in our schools from the last time the Liberals were in power. We’ve done that, Speaker, because our government and our party believe in publicly funded schools.

It’s why we are increasing investment each and every year. And it’s why, in this proposal before the union, we’re increasing their salaries by $335 million more. We’re increasing opportunities for benefits, for compensation, for pensions and, of course, for sick leave, which we know is generous in this province, especially when compared to the other provinces. It leads the nation. We are hiring more staff. We are increasing wages.

As the member opposite rightfully recognized, we’ve withdrawn Bill 28. We did our part. It’s now up to the union to do theirs: to stay at the table and not walk away from our kids so the children in this province can stay in school.

It is always perplexing when I don’t hear the Liberals or New Democrats raise a question to the government about the impact on children, families and the economy when strikes take place. It’s as if you could decouple the impact on children from all of your questions this entire week, and yet we know the impact on children, on special education families, and on those who need physical or mental access benefits from our schools. That’s why, Speaker, we brought forth a plan, as we committed to the people of Ontario, to withdraw Bill 28, to increase funding and spending for wages by $335 million more week over week. We’ve also committed to a flat rate, which they required, which we have moved on. And we are maintaining their sick leave, their pensions and their health benefits, which few in the private economy can say they have as well. We’re brought forth a program that’s designed to respect our workers and keep kids in the classroom.

Minister of Education.

Minister of Education.

The government House leader will come to order.

Start the clock.

The Minister of Finance can reply.

Speaker, back to the Premier: In my riding of Scarborough–Guildwood, Helen says, “My grandson in grade 3 is behind. He is in grade 4. There are no EAs in the whole school!!! I am sure there are many who could use extra support. After COVID, many are behind. Many will get lost. Yet we never hear about this in the news. We need to support education workers for all children. Tutors are not the answer.”

Speaker, this minister just said that they believe in public education, but that is not what their actions confirm. In fact, this government, on the morning of an election, gave Ontarians who have cars $2 billion in cheques issued to them. Recently, in your fall economic statement, $1.2 billion was returned in the gas tax.

So, Speaker, if this—

Interjections.

The 2022 Daily Bread Food Bank report paints an alarming picture for the city, but especially for Scarborough. We have seen a 29% increase in food bank visits in Scarborough; that’s over 554,000 visits in 2021. Some 28% of adults reported missing a day’s meal because they did not have enough money for food—

Interjections.

Some 49% were skipping meals to make up for the cost of housing or transportation. This is one of the richest provinces—

Interjections.

Interjections.