I would like to welcome a friend and a huge advocate of tourism in Ontario, Kevin Eshkawkogan, who is here on behalf of TIAO. Welcome to your House.

I’d like to welcome Masani Montague to the House. She is the CEO and president of Rastafest Incorporated. Masani is doing a wonderful event for World Mental Health Day on October 10 in Little Jamaica. We would certainly welcome every member of the House to join. She is such a trailblazer in Ontario tourism. If you get to meet her today, you are very, very lucky.

I would also like to welcome to the House Lyn Adamson, one of our very own community members in St. Paul’s. She’s with ClimateFast. There isn’t a bigger climate justice activist in this world, probably, than Lyn Adamson.

I’d like to remind people about the Sarnia–Lambton day today. Two or three special guests who are here—the warden of Lambton county, Kevin Marriott, a good friend of mine; accompanied by Dave Ferguson, the mayor of Brooke-Alvinston; and his wife, Gabrielle Ferguson; along with 37 other people.

I’d like to welcome my dear friend Phil Gillies to the House. I recognize that he has just been recognized—but I wanted to say hello to you, and also to Suze Morrison, the former MPP from Toronto Centre and my predecessor, who I understand is here. Welcome.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome back.

I want to welcome the bubbly Beaches–East York team who are here to crusade for the planet. We’re a very green riding. Thank you for all you do.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Chris Bloore, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, and Alexander Miceli, manager of policy and government affairs at the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. Also, it was wonderful to meet with Dr. Jessica Ng, director of policy and government affairs at the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario.

Thank you to all the fine folks who are here today on behalf of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. Welcome to your House.

I’d like to introduce Karissa Singh. Karissa is the new legislative assistant in my office. She is also a recent OLIP graduate, so I feel lucky to have hired her.

OLIP is a great program. The deadline is October 6. May the best MPP get an OLIP intern.

I have some guests in the gallery today who are here for the debate of Bill 54, WSIB Coverage for Workers in Residential Care Facilities and Group Homes Act. From the SEIU, I have Andrea Gordon, Erica Valentine, Sandee Green, Vivienne McDougall, Jacqueline Haynes, and Michael Spitale. From CLAC here today, I have Ian DeWaard, Mira Ponomarenko, Carol Bartley-Fray, and Julie Garner. Thank you very much for being here.

Today I take a moment to honour a hero in life: Constable Rick O’Brien, who served at the Ridge Meadows detachment of the RCMP in British Columbia. Constable O’Brien was 51 years of age and was serving as a front-line uniformed officer in his seventh year of service. On Friday, September 22, Constable O’Brien was shot and killed in the line of duty while executing a warrant in relation to a drug investigation in Coquitlam, BC. He is the 11th police officer to be killed in the line of duty since last September.

Constable O’Brien entered the profession later in life than most, and the challenges he endured in realizing his dream likely contributed to the skills he displayed while serving in the community and his natural ability to relate to youth and those struggling with mental illness.

Very early in his career, Rick was awarded the medal of valour, the highest honour, and a commissioner’s commendation for his efforts in successfully disrupting a violent home invasion, which led to both a hostage rescue and the arrest of four armed suspects.

Rick was a husband to Nicole, a father to their beautiful blended family of six, and an active contributing member of his community.

Words from his friend best capture this tremendous loss: “This man, his children, this family, was the definition of love.”

Rick was a hero in life, not death. May he rest in peace.

I’m pleased to inform the House that we have a former member of the Legislature with us today: the member for Brantford in the 32nd and 33rd Parliaments, Phil Gillies.

Welcome back to Queen’s Park.

That concludes our members’ introduction of guests. I’m going to remind members that, to the greatest extent possible, we would ask them to keep their introductions as brief as possible and also to avoid any political commentary.

It is my honour and privilege to introduce this group of legislative pages: from the riding of Hamilton Centre, River Almanzor; from the riding of Mississauga Centre, Lucia Alonzi; from the riding of Oakville, Sophia Crawford; from Ottawa West–Nepean, Kian Denissen; from Scarborough–Agincourt, Muhammad Huzaifa Farooq; from Mississauga–Lakeshore, Isabella Forodi; from Beaches–East York, James Gillespie; from Glengarry–Prescott–Russell, Justin Guindon; from Kingston and the Islands, Vera-Claire Hsu; from Spadina–Fort York, Jaden Tristan Joseph; from Brantford–Brant, Ella Knill; from Markham–Stouffville, Bella Li; from Vaughan–Woodbridge, Devyansh Marya; from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, Erin McCloskey; from Thornhill, Constantine Papadakis; from Oakville North–Burlington, Minuka Premaratne; from Scarborough Southwest, Emilia Rashid-Cabezas; from Niagara West, Sophia Rose; from Burlington, Clara Tiong; from Toronto–Danforth, Sofia Turco; and from the riding of Carleton, James Wereley.

Welcome.

Applause.

I recognize the leader of His Majesty’s loyal opposition.

Yes. I am seeking unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 100(a)(iv), five minutes be allotted to the independent members as a group to speak during private members’ public business today.

I seek unanimous consent for the House to authorize the Speaker to issue a warrant to command and compel Silvio De Gasperis and Michael Rice to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts within 30 days regarding the Office of the Auditor General’s Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt.

Speaker, to the Premier: When did he first find out that his minister was living it up in Vegas with people who have business before his government?

I can’t blame the Premier or the House leader for having some difficulty with the dates, because they’ve changed a few times since these individuals were first interviewed, under oath, by the Integrity Commissioner.

The former minister, Mr. Massoudi and Mr. Truesdell all suspiciously told the Integrity Commissioner that their trip was in 2019, when it actually occurred months later. The greenbelt speculator Shakir Rehmatullah, someone this Premier knows very well, was at the same hotel on both set of dates. The minister said he was only in Vegas once since being elected; he has now admitted it was twice. That’s three different people giving the wrong date for the same trip.

So, my question, again, to the Premier: Can the Premier explain how three different people could mistakenly give the wrong date for the same trip?

I’m delighted to welcome page captain Emilia Rashid-Cabezas and her proud family members. Her mom, Alejandra Cabezas, her dad, Iftekher Rashid, and her brother Andrés Rashid-Cabezas are here today.

Also, I would like to introduce Robert Kim and his mom, Alysa Kim. Robert is the host of the Robert at Children’s Climate Championship YouTube channel, so check it out if you get a chance.

I, too, would like to take this opportunity to introduce a former member and former Minister of Colleges and Universities, John Milloy. He is here with his fourth-year master’s students from the political science program at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Welcome, everyone. I look forward to meeting with you this afternoon.

Remarks in Anishininiimowin. Good morning. I want to welcome Chief Rudy Turtle of Grassy Narrows, Head Councillor Cecilia Begg from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Deputy Chief Stanley Anderson from Wapekeka, Elder Alex Moonias from Neskantaga, and other guests who are up there—Stanley Moonias, Sherry Ackabee, Bear Copenace, John Clint Kokopenace, Arnold Pahpasay, Judy Da Silva, Joseph Fobister, Mike Fobister, Chrissy Isaacs, Harriet Cutfeet, Jacob Ostaman, Samuel McKay, Joshua Frogg, and others I have missed. Meegwetch for coming.

I appreciate the question.

Obviously, the Integrity Commissioner has weighed in on that and is looking at the additional information that has been provided by the former minister.

At the same time, of course, we are not going to do what the opposition will want us to do. This is all about the same thing for them—it’s about stopping people from having what all of us wanted and what all of us have: a home for themselves.

I was speaking to somebody just yesterday whose wife delivered their first child. He did everything right. He bought his first condo when he was just out of school. And now all he wants is a home for his family, but 21 offers later, he still doesn’t have that home. All he wants—what he said to us—is this: “I want what you had. I want the opportunity to have my first home for my family.” That’s what he wants, and that’s what we will deliver.

My question is to the Premier.

Speaker, the people of this province have questions about what happened in Vegas between the Premier’s former principal secretary, his former director of housing policy, his former minister, and greenbelt developer Shakir Rehmatullah. They all stated that the Vegas trip was in 2019; none of them clarified it may have been in 2020 until they were backed into a corner.

The minister from Mississauga East–Cooksville changed his story about only going to Vegas once since being elected; now we know that he has been there twice. I don’t know how you forget that. I know that I would remember a good-luck ritual massage.

Does the Premier believe that one of his ministers and/or members of his staff lied to the Integrity Commissioner?

To the Leader of the Opposition: It was very clear that the Integrity Commissioner cleared myself and cleared my office. The Auditor General cleared myself and cleared my office.

Our intent is to build homes—build homes for new Canadians and build homes for young families who come here who can’t afford it.

If it was up to the NDP and the Liberals, nothing would get done. We go back another 15 years and talk about scandals, be it the eHealth scandal or every other scandal that they had—nothing got done. We had the highest hydro rates in North America, the highest taxes, more red tape, more regulations—and they wonder why, under their rule, 300,000 people lost their jobs.

As we stand today, there are 700,000 people who have jobs, who will have an opportunity to pay their rent, who have an opportunity to get a mortgage and buy a home. That’s our intent. We’re going to continue making sure we build the 1.5 million homes.