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?

Early in September, the Premier claimed that teachers and school boards are indoctrinating children. The Premier’s words do matter. My constituent Rebecca reached out to me after the protest last week: “I am the parent of a trans child. I was called garbage, a pedophile and an indoctrinator when I joined the counter-protest. One chant recited, ‘Trans kids are not kids.’” This constituent broke down and cried.

Speaker, the Premier must correct the record. It is the government’s own curriculum that the schools are actually teaching. Will he apologize and correct the record that Ontario schools are not indoctrinating our youth?

Thank you to the member from Burlington.

Mr. Speaker, this past summer, I had the privilege of meeting with hundreds of women who are entering the workforce thanks to the programs and investments made by our government in supporting training and skills development. This includes promoting a wide range of fields and careers to women and girls, especially in sectors where the need is greatest, like STEM and the skilled trades. That’s why our government is investing $1.3 million to prepare women from under-represented groups for in-demand careers such as the trucking industry. Only 2% of Ontario’s truck drivers are women, which is why this program will reimburse up to $4,500 for child care and other living expenses for women who enter.

We are making workplaces safer for women, and we’re building a province where everyone can thrive once again.

I’m so proud to share that we are already seeing positive impacts from our investments. Last year, labour force participation rates for Ontario mothers reached the highest levels on record since 1976, and the labour participation rate for mothers with children under the age of five increased by 2.4 percentage points.

Colleagues, our government is on the right track. Last year, Ontario achieved an historic increase in skilled trades apprenticeship registrations, including a 28% increase in registrations for women alone.

Mr. Speaker, it’s never been clearer that when women succeed, Ontario succeeds, and we’re getting it done for the people of Ontario.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity. Our government must build a province where all women and girls are empowered to succeed. We know that Ontario and our economy benefit by supporting more women in the workforce, especially in leading-edge industry, including occupations in the skilled trades. Unfortunately, the number of women employed in the skilled trades sector is well below their male counterparts. With more than 100,000 unfilled skilled trades jobs, it’s critical that we attract more women to pursue good-paying jobs in these sectors.

Speaker, can the associate minister please explain how our government is helping women across Ontario develop their skills so that they can enter these in-demand careers?

Speaker, can the associate minister please elaborate on how our government is removing barriers and creating more economic opportunities for women and girls?

Thank you again to the member opposite. By providing funding to municipalities, local leaders have the freedom to choose projects that will work best for their own communities. It puts the decision-making in the hands of those who know their neighbourhoods best. We are investing another $42 million through the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit to support municipalities across the province by providing urgent assistance to the rapidly growing number of asylum claimants.

This housing crisis requires all hands on deck. We are getting it done for seniors; we are getting it done for students, for newcomers and first-time homebuyers. We are getting shovels in the ground and building the homes all Ontarians deserve. We remain committed to building at least 1.5 million homes by 2031. That is our duty. That is our mandate. It’s results that count, and we will get the job done.

We believe every single student in Ontario, irrespective of their differences in their faith or heritage, sexual orientation or gender, place of birth, colour of skin—it does not matter. Every child should feel affirmed, respected and safe. We absolutely agree with that conviction.

Now, we also believe as Progressive Conservatives that parents have a foundational role to play in the life of their kids. Those concepts must co-exist. We believe parents are at the centre of Ontario’s publicly funded school system. With respect, we don’t claim to know better than the NDP. We actually believe and trust parents to love and support their kids. We will stand up for them and ensure every child is safe in the province of Ontario.

We also believe, as Progressive Conservatives, as Canadians, that parents have a fundamental role in the life of their children. They are the centre of Ontario’s publicly funded school system. We just passed a bill, Bill 98, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, that literally strengthens and enshrines the voices of parents. The NDP and Liberals actually voted against that principle. How can you explain to your constituents that parents should not have more involvement in the lives of their children?

We will stand up for parents, we will, yes, stand up for human rights and we will ensure kids and schools get back to basics—

Interjection.

Supplementary question? The member for Toronto–St. Paul’s.

Conclude your question.

Interjections.

Start the clock. The next question.

The government takes road safety and the safety of all users on the road very safely. Ontario has some of the safest streets in North America, and we’re working hard to keep it this way.

I look forward to engaging with the member opposite on continuing to build safer roads across the province. The former Minister of Transportation introduced a very important piece of legislation in this House known as the MOMS Act, which included harsher penalties for those not obeying safety on our roads, and we’ll continue to work towards our collective goals, as that member mentioned, to keep our roads safe.

We take road safety very seriously, and I look forward to working with all members of this House and speaking to and hearing from their experiences about how we can continue to make these roads safer, because Ontario does have some of the safest roads in all of North America, and we will do everything we can to uphold that safety on our roads.

My question is for the Premier. Good morning, colleagues.

Speaker, I just had occasion to ride my bicycle from Ottawa to Toronto, as a measure to try to find out at a community level what people are talking about with road safety. What I heard concerned me, in places like Ottawa, Kingston, Brighton, Oshawa, Scarborough and right here in the great city of Toronto.

I talked to a paramedic who, while he was responding to a call, had his paramedic bus hit and one of his colleagues injured as they were trying to save someone’s life. I talked to the family of a young girl, Serene Summers in Ottawa, whose life will be forever changed due to a brain injury from someone who hit her and left the scene. And what I’m hearing from road workers, from seniors like Peggy Hawthorn from the United Senior Citizens of Ontario, is that you can alter someone’s life—you can even take someone’s life—but there are no meaningful consequences in the province of Ontario.

People on all sides of this House have worked on this for 10 years, and we still don’t have justice for people and families. So my question to the Minister of Transportation and to the Premier is: Is this a priority for your government, and are you prepared to work with me on it?

What we’re proposing in Bill 40 is an immediate one-year licence suspension, an immediate focus not on vilifying the person who causes an accident, but helping people be better drivers, helping people be better cyclists, helping people be better operators of whatever device they use in our communities—restorative justice, Speaker.

We’ve been working on it for 10 years. It’s an opportunity for us to do something unique in this place: work together. My question to the minister: Are you prepared to have this dialogue with us? Look into Bill 40. Let’s get this thing passed. Let’s work on it together.

Twenty-five.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. It’s a reality that every year, more than one million people in Ontario experience mental health and addictions challenges.

In 2020, our government introduced the Roadmap to Wellness initiative, a strategy that builds and strengthens access to quality mental health care and addictions services in our province. This initiative was created with the goal of improving mental health care for everyone across Ontario.

Our government must remain committed to building an Ontario where everyone is fully supported in their journey towards mental wellness. Speaker, can the associate minister please provide an update on the progress that our government has made to improve the delivery of critical mental health services?

Speaker, the opioid crisis is creating serious impacts on rural, remote and northern communities across our province. In northern Ontario, the population has unfortunately experienced higher rates of overdose than any other region in Ontario. With transportation being a significant barrier to accessing mental health and addictions services, many Ontarians who live in the north are looking to connect with care that’s closer to their homes. Our government must do all that we can to address the ongoing challenges in accessing service in northern communities.

Speaker, can the associate minister please share what our government is doing to ensure that all Ontarians have access to high-quality mental health and addictions care?

Thank you to the member for that very important question and for the opportunity to talk about how we’re rebuilding and modernizing Ontario’s mental health care and addictions system. The Roadmap to Wellness, our plan to build Ontario’s mental health and addictions system, will improve mental health services for communities across Ontario and support patients and families living with mental health and addictions challenges. Investments through the roadmap and Addictions Recovery Fund are allowing us to build a recovery-oriented continuum of care that’s focused on giving people their lives back, and that’s extremely important.

For instance, Mr. Speaker, we’ve opened 22 youth wellness hubs, provided over $40 million to create mobile crisis response teams and expanded care for rural communities by creating new mobile mental health clinics. I’m proud to say that by the end of 2023 those investments will have supported the creation of over 500 new addiction treatment beds across the—

This summer, I had the privilege of visiting Sioux Lookout for the opening of a new 37-bed treatment facility funded by a $4-million investment by our government. These new beds will allow local residents as well as members of the numerous Indigenous communities in northwest Ontario access to life-saving treatment and addictions services closer to their homes and to their loved ones.

Speaker, our goal is to ensure that everyone in Ontario has the support needed to live a happy and healthy life free from the pain of addiction. We’re going to continue making investments that are evidence-based, culturally appropriate and recovery-oriented, because we believe in ensuring that people with addictions get the support and the care they need where and when they need it, no matter where they are in the province.

I beg leave to present a report on Chapter 2: Court Operations (Volume 3: 2019 Annual Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario) from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and move the adoption of its recommendations.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the permanent membership of the committee and substitute members who participated in the public hearings and report-writing process. The committee extends its appreciation to officials from the Ministry of the Attorney General. The committee also acknowledges the assistance provided by the Office of the Attorney General, the Clerk of the Committee and legislative research.

With that, I move adjournment of the debate.

I beg leave to present the First Report on Regulations 2023, from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and move the adoption of its recommendations.

With that, I move adjournment of the debate.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Justice Policy and move its adoption.

Your committee begs to report the following bill, as amended:

Bill 41, An Act to amend the Consumer Reporting Act and the Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking Act, 2017 with respect to certain debts incurred in relation to human trafficking / Projet de loi 41, Loi modifiant la Loi sur les renseignements concernant le consommateur et la Loi de 2017 sur la prévention de la traite de personnes et les recours en la matière à l’égard de certaines dettes contractées dans un contexte de traite de personnes.

Bill 65, An Act to amend the Remembrance Week Act, 2016 / Projet de loi 65, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2016 sur la semaine du Souvenir.

Your committee begs to report the following bill, as amended:

Bill 31, An Act to provide for an award for exceptional cadets / Projet de loi 31, Loi prévoyant la remise d’un prix aux cadets exceptionnels.

Bill 81, An Act to proclaim Croatian Heritage Day / Loi proclamant le Jour du patrimoine croate.

Bill 93, An Act to enact Joshua’s Law (Lifejackets for Life), 2023 / Loi édictant la Loi Joshua de 2023 sur le port obligatoire du gilet de sauvetage par les enfants.

Bill 78, An Act to proclaim Group of Seven Day / Loi proclamant le Jour du Groupe des Sept.

Bill 99, An Act to provide for safety measures respecting movable soccer goals / Loi prévoyant des mesures de sécurité pour les buts de soccer mobiles.

Chaque 25 septembre, nous soulignons les nombreuses contributions sociales, économiques et culturelles que les 650 000 francophones de l’Ontario apportent à leurs communautés, enrichissant ainsi la province dans son ensemble.

Notre gouvernement considère les francophones, et la communauté francophile aussi, comme un atout inestimable pour notre province. C’est pourquoi nous continuons à mettre en oeuvre notre stratégie pour les services en français et notre Stratégie de développement économique francophone. Ces deux stratégies travaillent ensemble pour renforcer la communauté francophone de l’Ontario grâce à un éventail d’initiatives de développement culturel et économique.

Je suis également heureuse de signaler une étape importante que nous avons franchie cette année avec l’entrée en vigueur, en avril 2023, du règlement sur l’offre active de services en français. Ce règlement prescrit neuf mesures précises que les fournisseurs de services financés par la province doivent prendre pour offrir de façon proactive des services en français. Ainsi, les francophones et les francophiles des régions désignées peuvent recevoir les services dont ils ont besoin dans la langue officielle de leur choix, dès le premier contact avec un fournisseur de services les proposant au nom du gouvernement de l’Ontario.

Je tiens aussi à souligner que cette année scolaire marque le 25^e anniversaire des 12 conseils scolaires de langue française de notre province. En effet, c’est en 1998 que les francophones ont obtenu le contrôle de leurs propres conseils scolaires, garantissant ainsi que ces institutions seraient gouvernées par et pour les francophones.

Monsieur le Président, il s’agissait là d’une étape importante pour l’éducation en langue française. Nos conseils scolaires de langue française, le Consortium Centre Jules-Léger et de nombreux autres partenaires jouent un rôle inestimable en aidant les élèves francophones à grandir, à apprendre et à s’épanouir. Ils contribuent également à former la future main-d’oeuvre francophone et bilingue dont l’Ontario a besoin.

Notre gouvernement s’est engagé à veiller à ce que la francophonie ontarienne dispose des outils dont elle a besoin pour réussir. Cela comprend l’accès à l’éducation en langue française de haute qualité que méritent les francophones. Nos communautés francophones, dans toute leur diversité, permettront à l’Ontario de continuer à prospérer pendant de nombreuses années.

Merci beaucoup et bonne journée des Franco-Ontariens et des Franco-Ontariennes à toutes et à tous.

Minister of Transportation.

The House recessed from 1158 to 1300.

Does the member wish to make a brief statement?

Debate adjourned.

Debate adjourned.

Report adopted.

Report adopted.

Report adopted.

Report adopted.

Report adopted.

Report adopted.

Report adopted.

Miss Surma moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 131, An Act to enact the GO Transit Station Funding Act, 2023 and to amend the City of Toronto Act, 2006 / Projet de loi 131, Loi édictant la Loi de 2023 sur le financement des stations du réseau GO et modifiant la Loi de 2006 sur la cité de Toronto.

First reading agreed to.

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the nays have it.

Call in the members. This will be a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1310 to 1315.

Ms. Stiles has moved that leave be given to introduce a bill entitled An Act to reverse changes to the greenbelt and that it now be read for the first time.

All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be counted by the Clerk.

First reading negatived.

Yes, I will. The intention of the bill, the Transportation for the Future Act, 2023, would help unlock transit-oriented communities along our GO rail system and then, of course, make transit a more convenient service for transit riders and residents in the GTA.

Ms. Stiles moved first reading of the following bill:

An Act to reverse changes to the greenbelt.