Interesting question, Mr. Speaker, because the member is right. On two occasions we, of course, had a state of emergency in the province of Ontario, and by the terms of the provincial state of emergency and the reopening Ontario act, we created a select committee to review the reopening Ontario act.

At the conclusion of both of those states of emergency, a report was presented to the House outlining why the government of Ontario went with a state of emergency. On both of those occasions, a four-hour debate then ensued on the government’s use of a state of emergency in the province of Ontario. Now, the debate never lasted four hours because, after one or two speakers, the opposition decided to sit down and not continue the debate on that.

That is why I continue to say to the member opposite: This is not a political issue; this is a policing matter that happened in Ottawa, that happened in Windsor, and that is why we are assisting the federal inquiry of the federal government’s use of the federal Emergencies Act. That is why the Deputy Solicitor General has been put forward. That is why the commissioner of the OPP has been put forward, and that is why we are assisting by providing cabinet-level documents that are important to the commission’s work at that time.

Now, in doing so, it is important to note that we’ve ensured that the commissioner of the OPP and OPP officials are present to assist the commission in doing its work because, ultimately, this was a policing matter.

The member should know that the Ontario government does not direct its police in how to undertake its activities. That is why the commission is investigating. That is why they brought forward the commissioner of the OPP. That is why we are providing the Deputy Solicitor General, that is why we are providing the Deputy Minister of Transportation and that is why we are assisting by proactively sending important cabinet documents to the commission so that it can help in doing its work.

At the conclusion of the state of emergency in the province of Ontario, of course, a report was presented to this House, and a four-hour debate was convened to investigate the Ontario government’s use of the state of emergency at that time. Of course, debate on that collapsed when the opposition felt that it no longer needed to review the government’s decision to have a state of emergency.

Having said that, we want to assist the commission in its work on the federal government’s first-ever use of the Emergencies Act. That is why we’re proactively sending cabinet-level documents, frankly, to assist the commission in doing its work as it reviews the decision of the federal government on the policing actions during that time.

Having said that, the federal government has a different process. The federal government invoked the Emergencies Act, and by the terms of invoking the Emergencies Act for the first time, their process is that there has to be an inquiry into the Prime Minister’s invocation of the act. That is why we are providing cabinet documents to assist, that is why the commissioner of the OPP is there, and that is why top officials from transportation and the Deputy Solicitor General are appearing before the commission.

My question is for the Premier, and the people of Windsor would appreciate it if the Premier would actually stand up and answer it.

Speaker, while protesters shut down the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, the Premier chose to sit on his hands and do nothing, much like he is now. The city of Windsor, along with the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association and the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, had to file an injunction in an attempt to end the blockade. This was after the mayor and chief of police wrote to the Premier and Minister Jones requesting additional supports. Again, this government chose not to act.

My question is in two parts. Why won’t the Premier and Minister Jones appear before the Emergencies Act inquiry committee and explain why they refused to help the people of Windsor? And the commission wants to know, why did this government, the provincial government, delay using provincial emergency orders?

The final supplementary.

Again I’ll note that to say this is a police matter, when I asked what the Premier was thinking when he said what he said, is not exactly being open and straightforward.

If the Premier keeps hiding from the inquiry, we’ll ask just two of the many questions the commission has for him—we’ll ask him right here and save him the bother and expense of having to go all the way to Ottawa. He can answer them here.

First, why did the government wait two weeks to invoke provincial emergency powers? That’s not a police question. And why did the Premier decline to participate in at least two of three tripartite meetings between the city of Ottawa and the federal government?

Last week we learned from the commission hearings in Ottawa that while the Premier was busy hiding from his political responsibilities, the occupation of our city forced kids with cancer to miss chemo and radiation treatments at CHEO. Families of sick children were also forced to pay out of pocket for hotel rooms to ensure they weren’t late for surgery.

This was a crisis, and the commission wants to ask the Premier what solutions he had in mind to address it. Ottawa residents want to know too. Is the Premier fighting the summons so he doesn’t have to admit he had no plan?

Workers in Ottawa lost thousands of dollars in income because the occupation shut their workplaces down for 28 days. They used up all their savings, struggled to pay rent, had cellphones cut off and defaulted on student loan payments.

One of the questions the commission wants to ask the Premier is why he wouldn’t attend tripartite meetings on the situation—and guess what, Speaker, Ottawa residents want to know that too. Why does the Premier think he doesn’t owe Ottawa workers any answers?

The occupiers harassed schoolchildren and their parents and threatened to drive circles around local elementary schools. They trapped people with disabilities in their homes, preventing Para Transpo from getting downtown. They took food from a homeless shelter.

The commission wants to know why the Premier waited until February 11 to declare a provincial emergency—stop me if you’ve heard this one before, Speaker—but Ottawa residents want to know that too.

So will the Premier quit hiding, come to Ottawa and testify and give Ottawa residents the answers we deserve?

Two weeks later.

La crise de santé s’aggrave à tous les jours, et nous avons un gouvernement qui n’offre pas de solution immédiate et qui n’appuie pas nos communautés et leurs propositions.

L’Hôpital Notre-Dame de Hearst, en collaboration avec Kapuskasing et Cochrane, a soumis une demande d’appui pour un programme d’anesthésiste et de praticien/praticienne pour alléger le fardeau sur le seul anesthésiste permanent dans la région et enlever la pression sur l’hôpital et les travailleurs de ce milieu.

Monsieur le Premier Ministre, votre ministre a dit à plusieurs reprises aux hôpitaux de partager leurs idées et de présenter des solutions pour améliorer le système. Cette demande a été déposée au mois de mars 2021. Alors, pourquoi est-ce que votre gouvernement n’a pas donné de réponse pour ce projet?

Monsieur le Premier Ministre, ce n’est pas tout. Qu’est-ce qu’il en est au sujet de la demande d’Ontario Health North East vis-à-vis le projet de loi 7 pour qu’elle prenne l’Hôpital Notre-Dame en considération spéciale pour une redésignation des lits NSD pour ne pas vider notre deuxième plancher et fermer les services de soins pour notre communauté? Est-ce que votre gouvernent va répondre aux demandes de nos hôpitaux afin qu’ils puissent desservir notre population adéquatement?

The supplementary question.

Government House leader.

Interjections.

Please start the clock. Next question.

The next question.

We know that every hour of the Ambassador Bridge blockade caused a catastrophic impact to our local economy with ripple effects on both sides of the border, yet the Premier took days to intervene. When it comes to Ottawa, he was at the cottage on a snowmobile for part of it.

Premier Ford and Minister Jones skipped out on several intergovernmental meetings while the blockade in Windsor and the occupation in Ottawa raged on. This Premier claims to be the most accessible and transparent Premier ever in history, so why did the Premier and Minister Jones continue to hide instead of coming clean about their delays and inaction?

Interjections.

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. Unlike previous governments in Ontario, which were supported by the opposition NDP, our government has taken many steps to improve the physician supply, including expanding medical education, Ontario’s international medical graduate program, using other non-physician health care providers to provide team-based primary care, the northern and rural recruitment initiative and the northern Ontario physician retention initiative as well as locum programs.

I know you’re speaking about your situation in your community in the north. We’ve expanded education for medical students, as I said, including at Lakeridge hospital, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine as well. And we have those northern initiatives, as I indicated, that help provide physicians in the north. We’re certainly going to continue to work on improving the physician supply in northern communities and all other communities in Ontario.

I have a very important question for the Minister of Long-Term Care. From 2011 to 2018, the Liberal government actually produced only 611 long-term-care beds—that’s all that was added to our system. And you know what, for many years, the Liberal government, propped up by the NDP, overlooked the realities of Ontario’s aging population and were indifferent to their needs.

As the needs of our aging population become more prominent, the failure of past governments to plan ahead was not only neglectful but disrespectful to Ontario residents and our seniors who need care. Their inaction and failures have contributed to the gaps that are evident today.

What is this minister doing to address the growing needs for long-term-care beds in this province?

Speaker, as Ontarians age, their health care needs grow, and these needs are felt throughout the community, through increased demand for hospitals, retirement homes and long-term-care and emergency services. The parliamentary assistant mentioned that the government is building approximately 60,000 new and upgraded long-term-care beds across this province, and I am pleased and very thankful that 256 new beds are coming to my riding of Etobicoke–Lakeshore.

With many Ontarians nearing the age of retirement and with many others already requiring long-term care, it is important that these beds are built quickly and efficiently. Speaker, can the minister please provide an update on the status of these projects?

Thank you to the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore for the question. After years of neglect from successive governments, we have made a commitment to fix long-term care. Our government is investing $6.4 billion to develop new beds, as well as redevelop existing beds to meet modern standards. Currently in the development pipeline, we have over 60,000 net new beds and upgraded beds, but this is only one component of our plan to fix long-term care.

We are also improving the quality of life and care for residents. We are doing this by hiring and retaining personal support workers, installing air conditioning in every resident’s room and increasing care to a new standard of four hours per resident per day. This is up from just over two hours.

Our government is making historic investments to fix years of Liberal neglect and get it done for the seniors of Ontario.

But building these beds is only one part of our government’s plan to fix long-term care. We recognize that many Ontarians need additional support right now to stay in their homes, which is why we have invested in community paramedics. Through this service, paramedics conduct in-home visits and remotely monitor the health of Ontarians.

Just this morning there was a testimonial in the Northumberland News which said, “This program has helped keep my mom out of the hospital. Since we have been on the program, ... her anxiety is down, and she is doing much better.” The Northumberland chief of paramedics said, “Working with our community partners, this is another opportunity to make health care services more easily accessible to vulnerable residents.” This is exactly—

My question is to the Premier. Devon Freeman, a young man from Georgina Island First Nation, was 16 when he disappeared from the group home he was in and died by suicide. His body was found six months later. At the inquest into Devon’s death, Mimi Singh, a lawyer for Ontario, said that this government could only endorse “the spirit” of the provincial recommendations.

Speaker, is it the position of this government that recommendations designed to prevent the deaths of Indigenous children misconceives democracy?

Why is this government not properly supporting these recommendations from the inquest into the death of Devon Freeman?

Thank you very much for the opportunity to reply.

The death of a child is a tragedy, and first and foremost, I want to offer our government’s and my thoughts to Devon Freeman’s family and loved ones.

Our government wants every child and youth to have a safe and loving and stable home, and for families to be strengthened and communities to be strengthened and supported through preventive services and early intervention. That’s why we’ve embarked on the child welfare redesign, and we will continue that work.

Knowing the importance of these recommendations, our government is taking the time to review and properly consider them so that we can offer the right solutions that make the lives of children and youth better.

I also want to say that I am grateful and our government is grateful to the jury, to the participants who were involved in this very difficult inquest.

We are reviewing the recommendations, and we look forward to them informing our continued work in this child welfare redesign and in this case.

My question is for the Premier. Last February, the residents of Ottawa endured three weeks of lawlessness in their downtown core. People’s personal safety and public safety were both under threat. People suffered. Women couldn’t walk to work and feel safe. Families couldn’t enjoy their neighbourhoods. They couldn’t go to a park. Businesses were closed. And for two weeks, this Premier did nothing.

Families want some answers as to why the Premier did nothing for two weeks. They deserve answers and, quite frankly, they deserve an apology. They deserve the Premier saying, “I’m sorry that you had to endure that, and my inaction caused it to go longer.”

Speaker, the question is simple: Will the Premier stop his court action, apologize to the citizens of Ottawa and give testimony in front of the inquiry?

Thank you again to the member opposite. I haven’t seen the letter that you referred to, but our government is responding. As I was saying, the things we’re doing in the north include the Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative program, which began earlier but offers financial incentives to physicians to establish practices in rural and northern Ontario, and they grant about $80,000 to $117,000, paid out over four years, while a physician establishes a practice there. They’re available in any community defined as rural using the rurality index, and in all five of Ontario’s northern urban rural reference centres: Timmins, North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay.

We have also got the Northern Physician Retention Initiative, which provides eligible physicians in northern Ontario with a $7,000 retention incentive paid at the end of the fiscal year if they continue to practise full-time in northern Ontario beyond an initial four years.

We are going to keep working on initiatives to make sure we have the physician supply we need in the north and elsewhere.

I want to thank my hard-working colleague from Richmond Hill for that wonderful question and certainly for her tireless work in our community.

We know housing prices have skyrocketed. We have seen report after report saying the same thing, which is why we have committed to introducing a housing action plan every year to address the crisis that we are currently in.

Our most recent bill, More Homes Built Faster Act, which was introduced just earlier this week expanded on our agreement to work with municipalities by introducing as-of-right policies. These new measures allow up to three units to be added on a residential property without needing a bylaw amendment or having to pay development charges. This means basement apartments, main residence, the garden house can be converted into a home without any barriers. It will immediately increase supply and provide some relief for local residents like those in Richmond Hill.

Speaker, this is just one of the many ways our government under the leadership of Premier Ford is getting it done for Ontarians to build 1.5 million homes in the next 10 years.

Speaker, we will be building more homes and building them faster by reducing unnecessary costs and expenses that are passed down directly to the consumer.

We’re making it easier and more predictable for builders to determine project costs and timelines so more homes can be built on budget and on time. We’re also setting local municipal housing targets in 29 of the largest municipalities to encourage home construction and development.

For example, right here in the city of Toronto, we’re asking the city to build 285,000 more homes in 10 years, and in my riding—which I am proudly sharing with my colleague from Richmond Hill—we’re asking the same, for the city to build more than 27,000 new homes in that same time period.

Mr. Speaker, we are taking the necessary, bold steps that are needed to get more homes built faster. Our most recent bill adds to the foundation that is required to build 1.5 million homes. We are laser-focused on making sure Ontarians have a house to go to every single night—one that is loving and safe for them—and we will not waver from that commitment.

The supplementary question.

My question is to the Associate Minister of Housing. Recently, a report from the Union Bank of Switzerland stated that Toronto and the GTA have one of the riskiest housing markets in the world. According to the study, the report says that home prices have increased by 17% in Toronto and the GTA compared to a year ago. The study also highlights low levels of housing under construction and that local housing prices are rising rapidly due to high demand of speculation.

The price of housing is becoming more and more unaffordable for people who want to move into Richmond Hill. Speaker, can the minister please share what our government is doing to help build more homes and provide housing opportunities for my constituents in Richmond Hill?

My constituents in Richmond Hill are concerned about their economic future and the ability to own a home. They are worried about rising interest rates and the lack of houses being built. They are concerned about what kind of housing options will be available for them, and if they will be able to live in the communities they grew up in.

We are at a critical juncture to address this problem for future generations. That is why we need our government to take urgent action today and ensure that houses are being built. Speaker, once again to the associate minister: What is the government doing to help build homes and build the homes faster?