It is a pleasure to be able to rise and talk about some of the incredible investments we’ve been able to do since 2018. There is no doubt that we were left with a system that Kathleen Wynne, in an exit interview, said, “if we had only, as the Liberal Party, not frozen the health care budget; if we had only not cut those residency positions for physicians.” Imagine where we would be, Speaker. We would have an additional 100 physicians being able to practise in Ontario.

But we have not let that deter us. We have a plan and it is working. There are so many pieces of it. I’m looking forward to talking about some of the innovation that we have able to do working with, for example, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, to make sure that individuals who want to practise in the province of Ontario can do that without additional barriers.

When we brought forward those expansions of cataract surgeries in January—we now have 14,000 people who can read to their grandchildren, who can go back to work, who can volunteer in their community, because those surgeries were done in community, publicly funded, using their OHIP card.

Ma question est pour le premier minister. Premier, this morning on our first day back, people from across Ontario woke up early to get on buses to come to Queen’s Park. The good people of North Bay, Renfrew, Cornwall, Barrie, Bracebridge, Midland, Orangeville, Parry Sound, Chatham, Peterborough, Durham—the list goes on—are joining thousands of people on the front lawn. They are speaking with one voice.

Does the Premier know why thousands of people are on our front lawn?

It doesn’t matter what you call those private clinics. The Auditor General already did the work: 97% are for-profit. They are there to make money for their investors. They poach valuable health care workers from our public system, the system that this government turned on its head with Bill 124.

Are the Premier and Minister of Health ready to listen to the people who made the journey to come to Queen’s Park to represent millions of Ontarians, and reverse the privatization of surgical suites as well as all hospital services?

Interjections.

We had an extraordinary opportunity to go visit towns and cities across northern Ontario, to invest in their economies and invest in their local infrastructure. We started out in Sudbury, with the YES Theatre. The Blind River Beavers were celebrating a new roof and dropping the puck against the Elliot Lake Vikings. We weren’t there just to fix the roof; we were there to raise the roof, Mr. Speaker. They went on to win that game.

Making improvements to the Legion in Spanish—and then we swung through Little Current—no pun intended—and announced a brand new two-lane swing bridge, and then off to Echo Bay for a new roof in their arena.

What do they have in common, Mr. Speaker? There was so much enthusiasm about these local infrastructure projects. I had to tell them that their member of provincial Parliament voted against the projects, but they wouldn’t let that rain on their parade. They’re excited about northern Ontario towns, cities and First Nations communities and what our government is doing to invest in them.

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

Companies from around the globe are looking to Ontario for their future, and our government must be a champion that will support our industry leaders and innovators. It is essential that we continue to attract new investments that will ensure Ontario’s economy will grow and thrive. This summer, the minister led an international trade and investment mission to South Korea and Japan to strengthen economic partnerships, foster pre-existing relationships and forge new alliances.

Speaker, at a time of economic and geopolitical unrest, can the minister please explain how his leadership in spearheading this investment trade mission is helping to strengthen Ontario’s overall economic environment?

The minister mentioned that he met with companies in an array of sectors. Speaker, can the minister please expand on other companies he met with while on his trade and investment mission and shed light on any news that we can expect following it?

In order for Ontario to be a decisive, confident international leader, we must ensure that every region of our province is thriving economically.

Speaker, can the minister please explain to this House what our government is doing to ensure that northern Ontario businesses and communities can prosper?

Even the Liberal Party, during one of their leadership debates, acknowledged that northern Ontario’s economy is booming because of the actions taken by our government—thank you.

While these are positive developments, we know that during this time of global economic uncertainty, many northern and Indigenous businesses continue to face unforeseen challenges. That is why our government must ensure that we are making meaningful investments that will help create jobs and support opportunities to modernize business practices.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what our government is doing to ensure that Indigenous entrepreneurs can participate in Ontario’s growing economy?

Supplementary question.

Minister of Health.

Our recent sales mission to Asia focused on strengthening relationships with our partners and attracting new investments in key sectors, including electric vehicles, life sciences and tech.

While in South Korea, we joined LSK Investment to announce their new $100-million life sciences fund for Ontario companies. This new fund will support early-stage life sciences companies with a focus on developing new therapeutics. LSK also announced their plans to open the first overseas office worldwide—and their first North American office—here in Toronto. This investment will strengthen Ontario’s growing life sciences sector. With Ontario’s talented workforce, the best R&D facilities and 65,000 annual STEM grads, more overseas companies are coming.

Speaker, companies around the world continue to choose Ontario for their future because our government has reduced the cost of doing business by $8 billion every single year.

School bus cancellations have thrown thousands of Ottawa families into chaos this September, because the Minister of Education cut $6 million in transportation funding to Ottawa school boards. When the boards rightfully complained, the minister offered just $1.8 million in a one-time transfer, but only if the boards agreed to use key messages praising the government.

Why does the minister think it’s okay to demand praise while Ottawa parents scramble every day to get their kids to school?

The minister created this problem with his funding cut. What is he going to do to fix it?

My question is for the Premier. Last week, the Premier’s $8.3-billion gravy train derailed, and Speaker, what a mess: three cabinet ministers lost in a month, and the Premier’s office is right in the thick of it. Amin Massoudi and Jae Truesdell were both on that infamous Vegas trip with that developer friend of the Premier’s. And then the Premier’s ex-executive assistant, Nico Fidani-Diker, was working with Mr. X to crack open the greenbelt, and that same Mr. X, an unregistered lobbyist, was passing brown envelopes. And of course, we have the Premier’s hand-picked chief of staff for the minister of housing, Ryan Amato, the one who the Premier wants us to believe was the lone wolf in this whole thing.

Speaker, it’s clear to all of us here and all Ontarians that all roads lead to the Premier’s office in this scandal. Why won’t the Premier apologize to Ontarians for trying to pull an $8.3-billion fast one on them?

So what is this really all about? It’s about how the Premier thinks he can do business in this province. It’s all about what his priorities are, and it’s very clear his priorities are rich, well-connected insiders and putting them ahead of all Ontarians.

So I’m going to ask once more: Why won’t the Premier just apologize and admit that he was wrong? And let’s actually put this to committee, so we can have some witnesses in about what happened in this greenbelt scandal.

Supplementary question.

Interjections.

Interjection.

Interjection.

Start the clock.

Interjections.

Start the clock. The supplementary question.

It’s equally imperative that we make targeted investments in First Nations communities across northern Ontario. In the fiscal year 2022-23, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund invested $17 million in more than 61 First Nations projects, leveraging $30.9 million and creating or sustaining more than 110 jobs.

What does this look like on the ground, Mr. Speaker? The Biigtigong Nishnaabeg outdoor arena and upgrades to their community centre to improve their training capacity, the Matawa Wellness and Training Centre, the Mattagami First Nation Fishing tournaments and improvements to their waterfront development, and the list goes on.

What’s changed about a new-look Northern Ontario Heritage Fund is that we’ve gone from just under 1% in the previous government to up to 19% of those investments annually into First Nations communities in northern Ontario. We’re changing the game, Mr. Speaker, investing in their businesses and investing in their communities for a greater sense of prosperity across northern Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, when our government increased funding for student transportation by $111 million, what did the NDP and Liberals do? They voted against the investment.

When our government increased funding to Ottawa school boards, $75 million this school year, what did the member opposite do when given the chance to support her own community? She voted against it.

Interjection.

What did we do, Speaker? We increased funding across the board. We increased funding specifically to accommodate the increase in inflationary costs with respect to commodities. In addition, we increased drivers’ pay by 17%. In addition, we gave $1.8 million to Ottawa specifically, and the French school boards in Ottawa were able to deliver transportation, but not the English.

Why doesn’t the member opposite stop politicizing an issue that disrupts parents’ lives, get on board, hold the school board to account and demand better for the people of Ottawa?

Instead of justifying the inaction of the board and consortium, stand up for constituents and demand better for Ottawa students.

Interjections.

Thank you to the member for that question. Students, their families and the taxpayers of Ontario deserve to know that when their hard-earned dollars are invested in Ontario’s post-secondary system, that investment pays off.

Our decision to not fund the Université de Sudbury’s proposal to become a stand-alone French-language university was one that was not made lightly. The university’s proposal did not reflect current demand and enrolment trends or the existing capacity of post-secondary institutions to offer French-language programs in the Greater Sudbury area and across Ontario.

I must remind the member that we have 10 francophone and bilingual institutions across Ontario, and students have the choice to make. I would remind you: Collège Boréal, collège La Cité, University of Ottawa, Laurentian University, Université de Hearst, Dominican University, Glendon College, Université de l’Ontario français. We have options for students across Ontario. As the minister, it is my duty to respect the taxpayers’ dollars.

We are also taking meaningful action to address the shortage of French-language teachers in Ontario. In fact, just last month, I was with the Minister of Education and the Treasury Board president and Minister of Francophone Affairs, where we announced an additional—

Interjections.

Interjections.

The supplementary question.

First, I’d like to congratulate my good friend the member from Willowdale on becoming the Minister of Long-Term Care—and now I’m going to grill him with a question.

In June, I was privileged to have the Minister of Long-Term Care come to my community of Peterborough to announce the construction of 416 new long-term-care beds at the Marianhill Nursing Home and Extendicare in Peterborough. These critical investments by our government are positive and are welcomed by the people of both Peterborough and Pembroke, but there’s still more that needs to be done to increase capacity in long-term care to help support Ontario’s seniors. That’s why it’s so important that our government continues with our plan to invest in the infrastructure that’s needed to care for our seniors.

Speaker, can the Minister of Long-Term Care please explain how our government is increasing the number of long-term-care homes across Ontario?

However, rising interest rates and construction costs are making it more expensive to finance crucial infrastructure projects. With pressing needs in communities across our province, it’s positive that our government introduced an additional top-up to the construction funding subsidy to support the costs of developing or redeveloping long-term-care homes.

Speaker, can the minister please provide an update on the benefits of this funding strategy in supporting solutions that will meet the needs of our seniors in Ontario?

Le 30 juin dernier à 17 h, avant le jour du Canada, comme pour passer inaperçu, la ministre des Collèges et Universités refuse officiellement le financement d’une université par, pour et avec les Franco-Ontariens et Franco-Ontariennes : l’Université de Sudbury.

Le gouvernement dit qu’il se base sur plusieurs rapports, dont le rapport final du PEQAB, pour justifier le refus du financement. Pourtant, lors d’une demande d’accès à l’information de mon bureau, nous nous sommes vu refuser l’accès au même document qui devrait justifier la réponse du gouvernement.

Alors, pourquoi ne pas autoriser le partage du rapport du PEQAB pour que la communauté comprenne la décision du ministère? Madame la Ministre, qu’avez-vous à cacher? Est-ce encore une autre situation comme la ceinture de verdure?

Let’s start with what a shift this is, under the leadership of this Premier and this wonderful former Minister of Long-Term Care, building record homes in this province.

Let’s just take Peterborough, Pembroke and surrounding areas as one example: 416 new, safe, modern long-term-care beds. This is the tip of the iceberg, though, Speaker, because our government is supporting another six projects in Renfrew county and four more in Peterborough county. That’s a total of 1,400 new and upgraded long-term-care beds. What a stark contrast, just in that area alone, compared to what the Liberals did for the better part of a decade, a net 611 new beds.

In fact, I have a bigger update for this House, Speaker. Since taking office, under the leadership of this Premier, since 2018, 18,000 beds have been completed or are under construction. That is fantastic news for our seniors. They took care of us; we’re going to take care of them.

The program he’s speaking of is the construction funding subsidy, or the CFS. Some 67 projects have been approved under the CFS. This will add over 11,000 new and upgraded long-term-care beds across the province, despite the challenges they’re having with the construction issues.

This is one of the largest long-term capital development projects in this province’s history, in this country’s history, part of a larger plan to build 30,000 new long-term-care beds and improve 28,000 additional, for nearly 60,000 in added capacity. Compare that to the track record of the last government.

But more importantly, we need to make sure these beds are actually staffed: $4.9 billion to establish four hours of daily care per resident in our great province.

Speaker, I’ll say it again: Our seniors took care of us. It is our responsibility to take care of them.

Thank you for the question from the great member of Carleton, a great friend indeed. The member is absolutely right. We’re in a housing supply crisis that we’ve never seen in this province ever, ever. That is why, on the first day of my job, I was joined by Mayor Vrbanovic and MP Chagger where we provided more residents of Kitchener an affordable place to call home at the historic St. Paul’s church.

Speaker, we are providing over $1.4 million to support the construction of 21 affordable housing units that will give seniors in their community a safe and affordable place to call home. Projects like St. Paul’s are exactly what we need to improve the housing crunch in Kitchener and, indeed, across this province. We all know there is much more work to be done. This government will keep cutting red tape, and we will keep working with all partners to get the job done. And yes, Speaker, we will succeed as we act, as we achieve and remain accountable to the people of Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Associate Minister of Housing. For too many Ontarians, including young people, newcomers and seniors right here in Ottawa, finding the right home is still a major challenge. While our government is taking meaningful measures to address housing supply through new legislation, the scale of this problem calls for continued action and leadership. More resources are needed to build upon the work already under way and to bring forward more measures to address this serious issue. Finding solutions means working in partnership with all levels of government in order to produce results.

So Speaker, through you, can the associate minister please explain how our government is getting more homes built?

While it is encouraging to hear about the progress our government is making to advance housing construction, there is still more work that needs to be done, not just in Ottawa but across the province.

The commitment by municipalities and the federal government to work collaboratively with our government in developing strategies that will provide real and long-term housing solutions is important and essential. In order to meet our goal of significantly increasing our housing supply, decisive action need to be taken.

Mr. Speaker, through you: Can the associate minister please explain how our government is supporting municipalities across our province, including the great city of Ottawa, so they can deliver on their housing commitments?

Le gouvernement conservateur prend ses décisions en secret, sans consulter et surtout sans tenir compte de la réalité des Ontariens du Nord. La réalité, c’est que les Franco-Ontariens du Nord veulent une université par, pour et avec les francophones à Sudbury, pas à quatre heures de Sudbury.

Ma question est pour le premier ministre : quand est-ce que le gouvernement conservateur va financer l’Université de Sudbury?