Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé.

Minister, in July, you received a letter informing you of the closure of the Gogama nursing station on September 1. Gogama is a small, isolated community. Residents rely on the nursing station as their only access to health care. September 1 is fast approaching. Can the minister reassure the people of Gogama that they will not find themselves without any health care services at the end of the month?

I want to thank the member opposite for the question. On the contrary, In fact, we have enhanced the mandatory learning within the science curriculum in every single grade when compared to 2017 under the former Liberal government. Every single grade in the science curriculum now has enhanced mandatory learning as part of our commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and our commitments to Indigenous, First Nation and Inuit peoples.

Part of the first response of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission actually called us to complete what the Liberals did not do. In the social science curriculum, we will have mandatory learning in this province from grades 4 to 6, but not grades 1 through 3. I enjoin the Minister of Indigenous Affairs, on behalf of the Premier of the government, to actually fix that gap. And, for the first time this coming September, 2023, students in Ontario will learn—from grade 1 right through 8—about residential schools and what the Premier called “the dark chapter” in Canadian history. We know there is more to do, and I am open to his feedback and his leadership to get this right.

Supplementary.

Congratulations and welcome to the member from Brampton East.

For too long, Ontario had a government that never met a fee increase or a tax that they didn’t like. Cap-and-trade tax schemes, licence sticker fee increases, road tolls in Durham—they loved those. But our government knows the best way to support the people of Ontario is to put more money back into their pockets, not out of their pockets. That’s why we signed a deal to bring down the cost of child care and enhanced our Child Care Tax Credit to make it even more affordable for families. We have enhanced the LIFT tax credit to deliver an average of $430 in relief in 2022 for low-income workers and families and we will raise the minimum wage to $15.50 per hour on October 1. We will never stop investing in our workers, our seniors and our families.

Thank you, Minister.

Speaker, for 42 years under a Progressive Conservative government, Ontario became a manufacturing powerhouse, able to compete with any jurisdiction. Yet, under the previous Liberal government, jobs began to leave when high taxes, red tape and out-of-control electricity prices made Ontario one of the least competitive jurisdictions in North America. The result: 300,000 people lost their jobs when Liberal policies forced manufacturing right out of Ontario.

With growing instability in Asia as China attempts to destabilize the region, businesses now more than ever are seeking strong, stable partners when it comes to manufacturing operations. Now is the opportunity for Ontario to regain our rightful spot as a manufacturing powerhouse. We must be taking every and all necessary actions to get this done.

What is the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade doing to bring back manufacturing jobs to Ontario and to my riding?

Our government listened to businesses, like those in that riding, and we learned about the support that they needed and all those regional challenges that they had after a decade of Liberal neglect. That’s why we launched the $100-million Regional Development Program to attract investments to southwestern Ontario, southeastern Ontario and rural Ontario. We knew that this would benefit those many communities who could expect to see growth, job creation and economic opportunities for years to come.

To date, those very businesses have invested $716 million into Ontario and created 1,200 jobs in their own communities. We are demonstrating that small towns in Ontario can sustain and attract those businesses. We’re bringing back that lifeblood to these rural communities, all after the Liberals chased those businesses out of the country.

Our province is supporting Greenlid’s project with a $500,000 investment through our Regional Development Program. This is a made-in-Ontario success story. Greenlid produces compostable products like cups and lids and bowls. Their products are found in 14,000 stores across the continent, and they’re made here in Ontario. This is just one of the thousands of examples of products that are made in Ontario, and manufacturing that’s coming back to rural Ontario.

But we won’t stop there. We’re going to continue to fix that Liberal mess and bring the jobs back to where we need them most.

From gas to groceries, rising prices continue to impact Ontario workers and Ontario families. Food prices have gone up by almost 10% from a year ago and rent prices are also rising. In Brampton, Regeneration Outreach Community’s local food bank is seeing a rise in families coming through the door at a time when donations are typically lower. There are nearly 400 families coming to them for groceries—a number that has doubled in the last two years. With Canada’s inflation rate reaching a nearly 40-year high, households across the country are facing increasing pressures to make ends meet. According to Food Banks Canada, one in five people report going hungry, meaning some households are foregoing buying groceries in order to pay other bills, including rent, hydro and fuel.

What is the Minister of Finance doing to help provide financial support and relief for the people of my riding and all other Ontarians?

It gives us an opportunity to talk about the hard work that the Minister of Education and my ministry have done to ensure a couple of important things: first of all, that Indigenous students are armed with the fundamentals of a good education that includes science, technology, engineering and mathematics. That’s embedded in their curriculum, and we support the Indigenous-led education authorities across this province to that end.

Further, Mr. Speaker, as the minister spoke about that: Since the last curriculum update in 2007, no government has taken the steps, by comparison, that we have to ensure a strengthened Indigenous learning opportunity. For far too long, many of us in this House learned about our history with words like “colonization,” “war” and “conquer.” Today, we are talking about reconcili-action, ensuring that our students come home and talk to their parents about some of the darkest chapters of our history and, at the same time, ensuring Indigenous students across this province have a fair shot at a great education and a prosperous community to live in.

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. The Premier has stated that we will support those in need, and our government is taking meaningful steps forward in this very way. That’s why we’re implementing the largest increase to ODSP in decades. Ontario is one of the only provinces aligning ODSP payments to inflation. By aligning ODSP rates to inflation, we will help meet the future needs of individuals facing additional financial pressure. And that’s not all. We also brought in the LIFT and CARE tax credits to support individuals with low incomes and we brought in dental care to low-income seniors.

Supporting our most vulnerable requires all levels of government to come together to achieve real change. We are working with our municipal partners to reform social assistance to focus on people over paperwork. We’re also working with our federal partners to help them deliver on the Canadian disability benefit.

I will continue to work with Minister McNaughton to make sure that we allow people to become job-ready and get people into the workforce as needed.

You mentioned very important aspects of efficiencies. We are a person-centred, efficient and responsive transformation process. That’s what we’re doing: creating a person at the centre of everything we do, to allow people to be job-ready and part of our economy, as we help those who cannot work.

The supplementary question.

Geopolitical tensions continue to shake the global economy, but Ontario has every advantage to lead. With a skilled workforce, critical minerals and the manufacturing capacity, Ontario is becoming a global leader in electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturing.

Mr. Speaker, in uncertain times you need a plan. We know the opposition’s plan: more regulations, more red tape, higher taxes and higher fees. This government has cut red tape and business taxes to bring investment and good jobs back to Ontario. We got rid of the cap-and-trade tax and cut the gas taxes and fuel taxes to give families and businesses relief at the pumps. We have removed the tolls the Liberal government placed on Highways 412 and 418 to give drivers relief. Our government’s plan will build a stronger Ontario and put more money back in the pockets of the hard-working people of this province.

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, who I’d like to congratulate on being appointed once again. The farmers of my riding tell me they appreciate your attentiveness and your willingness to meet with them.

In my riding of Haldimand–Norfolk, it is proposed that a city of 40,000 be built upon 42 acres of farmland. This farm and woodland serve as a buffer zone around the Nanticoke industrial park near Port Dover. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture warns Ontario is losing in excess of 319 acres of productive farmland each day to development. This is unsustainable. With the announcement to expand powers for mayors, with the ultimate goal to accelerate housing development, Speaker, my question is, what is the ministry doing to protect agricultural lands from developers?

In other jurisdictions, Alberta for example, they have a provincial agricultural land commission to ensure land is preserved for the future. If we want one thing grown here at home, it must be our food. Speaker, I’m wondering if the ministry is willing to establish such a committee to preserve the lands that feed us.

My question is to the Premier. Next month, the government will increase ODSP funding by a mere 5%, or $58 per month, to just over $1,200 a month. Meanwhile, Ontario Works recipients will receive no increase, with the government expecting them to live on $733 per month. Think about that: $733 a month. When pressed last week, the Minister of Finance refused to say whether he could live on such meagre rates. It is clear that the government members know it is not possible to survive with any dignity on these rates, but they choose to legislate people into poverty anyway. Will this government do the right thing, change course today and double the rates for OW and ODSP?

It’s also important to note that the civil service already has a mailroom. Why are we contracting out to another private organization to sort the mail which they are bungling, and then people aren’t getting the resources that they need. The question is, will the government stop the contracting out of ODSP’s mail sorting today?

Thank you, Minister. The increasing price of gas is driving up the cost of everything from food to groceries and services. In Peel region, and in particular Brampton, my constituents are struggling to deal with these increased costs. Interest rates are climbing, putting further pressure on household budgets. The people of this province want to build a stronger Ontario, but you cannot build for the future if you’re worried about bills for today.

Under the previous Liberal governments, we saw the price of housing skyrocket. We saw carbon tax schemes devastate our economy and drive up the cost of everything. We saw red tape strangle opportunity for Ontario businesses and Ontario workers. How is this government rebuilding Ontario’s economy and keeping costs down for families?

I appreciate the question very much, and I do appreciate how hard the member opposite works on behalf of our agricultural communities in her riding.

With that said, we are all working very, very hard to ensure that we have food security that people can trust across this province, across Canada and throughout North America. And with that spirit, we are working on innovation and opportunities to increase yield right here at home so that good-quality food is available to Ontarians when they need it, at the right price. We’re looking to introduce a food strategy plan later this fall that will speak to the importance of secure supply chains so that we can ensure that we’re increasing our yields right here at home and intensifying our production so that we can maximize the opportunities that we have in our lands across this province.

We’re going to have a balanced approach. Minister Clark has a very good path forward in terms of making sure that we are addressing the housing needs—affordable, attainable housing needs that we have across this province. We’ll be balancing it with the importance of food security and enabling our farmers to be the best across Canada. Certainly, that’s something that I can pick up in terms of a conversation and follow up with the minister in Alberta to better understand what they have and see if it’s appropriate here, in the spirit of making sure that we have the balanced approach to making sure we are achieving our goal to meet housing needs, all the while ensuring that we have food security right here close to home.

My question is for the Premier. Last week, a heartbreaking story of a mom and her daughter was published in the Hamilton Spectator. Nicole is the mother to 10-year-old Alexa, who has a rare neurodegenerative condition and is receiving palliative care at home. Nicole has had to perform complex, specialized care that neither she nor her husband are trained for because they can’t get the hours of care that they need to care for Alexa. Instead of spending time with their daughter, they’re filling the gaps of this broken home care system.

Can the Premier explain why a child who needs, and is eligible, for 24/7 care is not eligible and able to get it?

Families like Nicole’s are being expected to just deal with it and figure it out on their own because they don’t have a choice. This is completely unacceptable.

When will this government properly invest in our health care system so families can expect to receive the promised necessary hours of care that their family members need?

Thank you for the question. Our government is supporting those who need it most, addressing this current period of economic uncertainty and preparing for future ones. That’s why we’re making the largest increase to ODSP rates in decades. We understand that, due to global factors, inflation is rising. That’s why, in our 2022 budget, we are aligning ODSP rates with inflation so that when the cost of living increases during times of high inflation, rates will too.

It is important to our government that the people of Ontario are able to pay for life’s essentials, especially our most vulnerable.

Our investment to align ODSP with inflation means that annual spending to meet inflation will occur, and that’s on top of regular annual funding like the $8.9 billion in payments issued in 2021-22. This is more money in the pockets of people who need it most to spend on the essentials of life.

Upon passage of the budget, the increase of ODSP rates and their alignment with inflation would be implemented for September, with recipients receiving the new rates from then on. Thank you for the question.

Supplementary question?

The supplementary question.

My question is to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment has been talking a lot about green steel. I wonder if the minister can tell this House, what is green steel and what is the electric arc furnace? How will this change the way steel is produced in both Hamilton and Sault St. Marie, and what impact will this have on jobs and economic growth in both of these municipalities?

The minister well knows, greenhouse gas emissions are how we measure the impact of climate change. As the minister knows, there are many people who believe that only a carbon tax can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, what we have seen is this: High gas prices lead to higher costs, higher inflation and the cost of everything going up. Speaker, as you know, there are also many members in this chamber on the opposition benches who advocated for a $200 carbon tax per tonne.

My question to the minister is this: How will this change impact greenhouse gas emissions in the province of Ontario?