Absolutely.

The busiest stations that we’re going to connect are going to be Union station, Bloor-Yonge station and Eglinton station. This historic investment in Toronto’s transit system will reduce gridlock and get commuters from point A to point B safely and quickly and give more people access to rapid transit within walking distance of their homes, accommodating up to 388,000 riders per day. The progress we have made to date wouldn’t be possible without working in collaboration and co-operation with our partners at the city of Toronto.

Construction for the Ontario Line is currently under way at Exhibition station, at the site of the future Corktown and Moss Park stations, and in the joint rail corridor east of the Don River. Contracts have been awarded for the southern portion of the line, which will include four new underground stations, two new underground stations that will connect to existing subway stations, and one above-ground station that will integrate with the Exhibition GO station.

In April, our government reached another milestone in our plan to deliver fast, reliable transit for the greater Toronto area. We began issuing requests for proposals to design and build the Pape tunnel, underground stations, and the elevated guideway and stations for the Ontario Line. The contract for the Pape tunnel and underground stations will deliver three kilometres of twin tunnels and two new stations, one at Cosburn Avenue, another at Pape Avenue, where the all-new Ontario Line will connect to the subway’s existing Line 2.

The contract will also include the construction of two new portals where the Ontario Line will transition between above-ground and underground operations, and the contract of the elevated guideway and stations includes a three-kilometre elevated guideway, emergency exit buildings and five above-ground stations, two within Metrolinx’s existing rail corridor and three along the elevated guideway on the northern part of the route. This is important progress on the Ontario Line, on this monumental project—again, progress that would not have been possible without working in close collaboration with our partners.

Speaker, building our province through critical public transit projects such as the Ontario Line is vital to supporting our economy, alleviating the gridlock on our roads, and creating thousands of well-paying local jobs. The Ontario Line alone will support 4,700 jobs annually during construction over the next decade. It will reduce commute times and connect more people to housing across the greater Golden Horseshoe and beyond. We are making it faster and easier for everyone to access reliable transit in their own neighbourhoods by improving connections to other subway, bus, streetcar, light rail transit and regional rail services. And we’re working with municipal partners in Toronto and surrounding regions to make sure this important work gets done quickly.

Madam Speaker, our government recognizes how important it is to build transit that will connect communities and create new travel options for people across the greater Toronto area. Another milestone initiative that will help us achieve that goal is the Yonge North subway extension, which will extend the TTC’s Line 1 subway by approximately eight kilometres up into Richmond Hill. The extension will include an approximately 6.3-kilometre tunnelled segment, as well as an above-ground segment that will run along the existing rail corridor on the northern section of the route.

Once complete, the Yonge North subway extension will connect with local transit services and GO transit, improving access to public transit for area residents; reducing travel time for the residents; contributing to our economy by creating jobs and connecting Ontarians to employment opportunities; and reducing gridlock and gas emissions. Once complete, this vital piece of infrastructure will accommodate more than 90,000 daily trips and bring faster transit to more communities across York region and Toronto. The Yonge North subway expansion will put 26,000 more people within a 10-minute walk of transit and is expected to reduce daily travel times for commuters by up to 22 minutes. The extension will create thousands of jobs during construction and generate over $3.6-billion worth of total economic benefits to help stimulate the economy, and it is a key part of our plan to deliver vibrant, complex and mixed-use communities around transit stations for the people of Toronto and York region.

Earlier this spring, we got one step closer to breaking ground on the Yonge North subway extension. In April, the province issued a request for qualifications for the extension’s advance tunnel contract. This marked another significant milestone in our plan to reduce gridlock, connect people to jobs and make travel between York region and Toronto faster and easier. The advance tunnel contract focuses on designing the tunnels and building the launch and extraction shafts that will be used for the tunnel-boring machines, and that contract also includes the design and construction of headwalls for stations and emergency exit buildings.

To deliver the new subway as quickly as possible, tunnelling will begin first, followed by a separate contract to build the stations, rail and systems. Early progress on the Yonge North subway extension is currently under way at Finch station, where workers are making upgrades to accommodate the future subway service. This is a great step forward for the Yonge North subway extension and the overall multi-billion dollar transit expansion under way across the GTA.

All said, the progress we have made to date demonstrates what we can achieve when we work together with partner agencies and municipal governments to expand transit for our residents. A project of this magnitude has far-reaching benefits for local jobs, for the economy, for the environment, and for commuters. By building critical transit like the Yonge North subway extension, we are ensuring sustainable growth for the region, providing future generations with the means to move freely and giving people access to more choices and more opportunities.

Speaker, York region is a fine example of one of our province’s rapidly growing communities. Every day, more families, businesses and commuters are moving to York region, and they’re choosing GO transit to get to their destinations. Throughout the summer, we continued to deliver on critical infrastructure upgrades for public transit systems by collaborating with our local partners in York region and investing in major infrastructure upgrades for the Aurora GO station.

By 2041, the Aurora GO station is expected to serve more than 5,000 commuters per day.

By 2055, GO rail will become one of the busiest railways in North America, with more than 200 million annual riders.

To address this explosive growth, we were thrilled to announce major infrastructure upgrades at the Aurora GO station just last month. These upgrades aim to provide commuters with better service, more transit connections, and future two-way, all-day service between the Aurora GO station and Union Station in Toronto. The infrastructure upgrades at the Aurora GO station will include a new, second platform, a new pedestrian tunnel with elevators, additional parking spaces, and rail signal upgrades. Once complete, the new station will improve accessibility for riders and support Ontario’s plans for 15-minute two-way all-day service on the Barrie line, better serving communities such as Aurora, East Gwillimbury and Newmarket, connecting Ontario residents to new opportunities and creating vibrant, connected neighbourhoods throughout the region.

In our spirit of collaboration and co-operation with our municipal partners and transit agencies, we are living up to a promise to bring more GO Transit trips and more frequent services to communities across the entire GO network. Alongside our municipal partners, under the leadership of Premier Ford, the Ontario government is delivering a fast, frequent and reliable transit network to keep the province moving for generations to come. We do this through our continued collaboration with our municipal partners like York region and other parts of the province.

The new and improved Aurora GO station will accommodate a growing number of people who call York region home, while connecting more people to jobs and housing across the greater Golden Horseshoe.

The investments we are making today will ensure that our growing communities are well served by the public transit system for decades and for generations to come. These investments will also encourage even more people to rely on transit to get where they need to go, reducing gridlock, benefiting the environment and improving the quality of life for Ontarians throughout York region and beyond. The investments we are making today will pay dividends for years to come.

While we were busy announcing major upgrades to our GO network this summer, we were also busy completing others.

Commuters in Scarborough deserve the same access to reliable public transit as people living in downtown Toronto. And our government is making the critical investments needed to make this a reality. Just recently, on September 13, we were proud to announce the completion of major infrastructure upgrades at the Milliken and Agincourt GO stations along the Stouffville line. Enhancements at Milliken GO station include an additional track and platform, two new pedestrian tunnels, and additional vehicle and cycling lanes on Steeles Avenue.

People are getting to their destinations with greater ease. Their lives are improving. The gridlock on our roads is starting to ease. These improvements could not have come at a more crucial time. With more people choosing to call Ontario home every year, building reliable public transportation has never been so important.

There is no greater champion for public transit than our government, under Premier Ford. We have a bold vision for the future of the province—a vision which we share with municipalities across Ontario. We are working together to build a world-class, fully integrated transit network that seamlessly connects people to all of their destinations—their homes, their jobs, their schools, and their hospitals.

Ontarians want choice in how they travel on public transit, and that’s what we are giving them by offering debit card and credit card payments on our busiest transit systems, saving people time during their busy commutes and making their lives much more convenient. That’s why we are rolling out our fare integration, our service integration, across the greater Golden Horseshoe.

We are working hard to upgrade existing infrastructure and get shovels in the ground on long-overdue transit projects to tackle gridlock, boost the economy and create well-paying jobs throughout the construction. We are not afraid to do the hard work that’s needed to get transit built, and neither are our municipal partners across the province.

We could not be prouder of our many priority transit projects in the GTA area, because these historic investments in public transit are game-changers for commuters across the region, and across the surrounding regions. They’re also key to economic growth in our province. Every $1 billion we invest in public transit supports 10,000 jobs and adds another $1 billion to our GDP. The subway projects we have under way in the GTA area alone will support more than 16,000 jobs annually.

We are so proud of what we have accomplished to date, but the best is yet to come. We’ll continue to work with our municipal partners to deliver world-class transit for the people of Ontario. We look forward to working with the city of Toronto on transit fare and service integration that will benefit Ontarians for generations to come.

I hope all the members of this House on both sides support this bill to make life more affordable and convenient for the people of Ontario.

Thank you to the member for the question. It is a fair one.

I think that all of us in this House deeply express our gratitude to the front-line workers, the transit workers who kept transit going during one of the most difficult times. Certainly, we recognize how many sacrifices they had to make in order to make sure that nurses could get to hospital and society continued to operate.

That being said, we are mindful and respectful of collective bargaining, which is why I think the intention of this bill that’s before us is really to work with the city, to work with the TTC, in order to look for ways in which we can make transit more convenient for riders—and respectful of the collective bargaining that is occurring.

I am very proud to be part of a government that accomplished something that people didn’t believe could be done: expanding the subway system after so many years, under Minister Mulroney’s leadership, the Premier, Minister Cho’s leadership and, of course, all of the local members from Scarborough, Etobicoke and the city of Toronto who really advocated for that.

The subway expansion will improve the quality of life for people. People won’t be forced to buy a car, because they can hop on the subway. But we’re not just doing that. Madam Speaker, we’re building housing around our transit stations, as well, to provide a place for people to live, which will also include affordable housing options and other community amenities.

I want to thank the member from outside of the GTA for his passion. I really appreciate the comments.

We are actively having those discussions with the city of Toronto in terms of what quantity, number of units, may exist within that particular TOC. But keep in mind that we are building housing, we are providing for a grocery store, and we are providing for additional public realm space within that community as well. It is my understanding that city planning staff are quite satisfied with the draft planning that has occurred to date. So we will continue to work with the city of Toronto, and we will continue to keep the local community apprised.

I listened to my friends in the government intently, for both of those addresses. Thank you for those this morning.

My major concern as we looked through Bill 131, when it was given to us on Monday morning of this week, is that—the women and men who work in our transit systems do really difficult jobs, and they’re very proud of the working conditions they’ve built up in those jobs over decades. They’ve contacted me this week with concerns that schedule 1 of Bill 131 is an unnecessary intrusion into their bargaining rights; that there is an aspect of their collective bargaining agreement that allows service integration to happen between transit agencies; that the government doesn’t have to go back to this particular provision of making the contracting-out language of their collective bargaining agreements null and void, as it did under Bill 2. So my question to the minister and to the parliamentary assistant is, are you prepared, this week, to work with those transit partners who could help you get to where you want to go without going down that road?

To the Minister of Infrastructure: You touched early on in the hour leadoff this morning about some of the different experiences you’ve had when you’ve been overseas; namely, in Japan and some parts of Europe.

One thing I think we can all agree with here in Ontario—and, really, Canada, from a broader perspective—is that our rail transit is way, way behind, when you look at some of these other jurisdictions around the world.

I wonder if you could touch a little bit more on what you’ve seen in your travels, how that helps people get around a lot more efficiently, and what that will mean here in Ontario.

I want to thank the minister and the associate minister, this having been his first opportunity to rise in this House and address the house as the new associate minister. Congratulations on a wonderful speech this morning.

When our government was elected in 2018 under Premier Ford, we embarked, led by Premier Ford, on a mission and a commitment to make historical investments and bring transformational change to public transportation here in the GTA, which is such an important part of our great province of Ontario. At every step along the way, we have made massive improvements—and I want to thank you for articulating in your speeches this morning just what they’ve done, because sometimes we take them for granted ourselves. We forget from time to time just how many advancements and improvements are ongoing. So I really appreciate that.

But what bothers me is, for everything we have brought forward to this province in public transportation, our friends on the opposite side vote against it. I’m asking you—maybe you understand better than me—why it is, when we are bringing forth such progress in—

Questions?

I have a question for the minister. She references the transit-oriented development at Gerrard Street, in my riding. As far as I’ve been able to tell, so far there is no allocation of affordable units in those towers that are planned; the city of Toronto councillor I deal with can’t find any evidence of it. I know that in my riding people support more housing, but if they can’t afford it, if they are simply going to be locked out of it—it doesn’t really help the people who are right now stuffed into basement units, not being able to afford anything else. So I want to know—in case that information is incorrect—how many of the units in those developments are going to be affordable, what is affordable defined as, and when will people be informed that they can buy or rent a unit in those places?

Ce week-end dernier, le 24 septembre 2023, j’ai assisté à une cérémonie de lever du drapeau dans la ville d’Aurora à l’occasion de la journée des Franco-Ontariens et Franco-Ontariennes. J’ai été invitée à prendre la parole par Lori-Ann Seward, directrice exécutive, et Jean Bouchard, président de la Communauté du Trille blanc.

J’étais privilégiée d’observer ce magnifique drapeau vert et blanc hissé. Sa présence en tant qu’emblème officiel de l’Ontario témoigne avec élégance du fait que nos rêves, nos espoirs et nos dynamismes exceptionnels flottent avec ceux de toute notre province.

Le président de la Communauté du Trille blanc, son équipe, ainsi que les résidents de Newmarket–Aurora ont en effet déployé des efforts considérables pour mettre sur pied des renseignements pour honorer ce drapeau. Merci.

Mais c’est tout au long de l’année que les équipes de la Communauté du Trille blanc et autres leaders associatifs, comme l’AFRY, se mobilisent pour nous proposer de multiples occasions de nous rassembler, d’échanger et de célébrer notre francophonie.

Je tiens à souligner et à remercier tous nos enseignants et éducateurs qui enseignent le français à nos enfants pour perpétuer notre patrimoine et notre culture française dans cette province.

Perhaps the member opposite didn’t have time to read the bill in full, because actually the whole purpose of this bill is to help build new stations predominantly outside of Toronto. We’ve done this in consultation with municipalities.

I would like to thank the region of Durham, for example, which was very pleased with our latest government announcement, led by Minister Mulroney and Minister Cho, for the Lakeshore East extension—eager to build four new stations along that GO rail line, which could quite possibly bring to fruition approximately 35,000 housing units within that area.

I would just kindly say that perhaps the member opposite should take a look at the bill one more time.

Question?

My question is to the minister.

This government has a growing list of broken promises.

The Conservatives’ GO Transit pilot to London was doomed to fail from the beginning—the round trip nearly taking two times what it should, eight hours.

All morning, we’ve heard the Conservatives say GTA, GTA, GTA, completely neglecting rural partners.

On May 12, 2022, this government produced election ads promising to spend “an additional $160 million to improve the speed and frequency of GO train service between London and Toronto.” After the election, this promise was broken. GO service to London will end soon.

When will this Conservative government get out of their Toronto bubble, improve regional transit, and support rural communities in southwestern Ontario?

Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to wear ribbons in recognition of September 27 being Rowan’s Law Day.

The leaves are starting to turn, and you can feel that chill in the air. That can only mean one thing,: It is time for fall fairs.

First, the community answered the call of “Come one, come all” for the 170th—170th, colleagues—Wellesley Township Fall Fair.

The New Hamburg Fall Fair took place earlier this month, with the theme of “Farm Gate to Dinner Plate.” Guests enjoyed midway rides, exhibitions and the ever-popular demolition derby.

Coming up, the Wellesley Apple Butter and Cheese Festival famously starts this weekend. Come on out to Wellesley and enjoy a pancake-and-sausage breakfast, and be sure to visit the new hard cider tasting, which I’m sure, Mr. Speaker, you’re very interested in.

And Oktoberfest is back. The official keg-tapping will take place on Friday, October 6 in the Willkommen Platz Biergarten. Raise a stein, grab your lederhosen, and come join me for a polka at the world’s largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany.

There is plenty to see and do across the region of Waterloo and my riding of Kitchener–Conestoga. I invite all my friends, family and colleagues to come down and enjoy.

Ontario Place is a scandal on the scale of the former Conservative government’s sell-off of the 407, which sentenced Ontarians to 100 years of paying unlimited tolls on what has become one of the world’s most expensive toll highways. It’s on the scale of the Liberals gas plant, Ornge and cash-for-access scandals and their privatization of Hydro One and eye exams. No wonder that Ontarians cannot afford housing, food, student debt payments and hydro bills. Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have pillaged this province and given away our public assets and services to their donors.

Ontario Place is one of the most valuable public parklands in Canada, but this Conservative government is giving it away to a private, for-profit Austrian mega-spa for free and throwing in 650 million taxpayer dollars to boot. Every Ontarian is contributing approximately $100 in tax dollars to this mega-spa company, even though most of us will never use it.

Last week, in the same week that he apologized for breaking his promise not to touch the greenbelt, Premier Ford broke his promise to respect the city’s planning process on Ontario Place. The Conservative government announced that they will begin obliterating the trees and wildlife on the West Island in defiance of the city’s planning process.

What does an apology mean if the Premier continues to break his promises? How can anybody have any trust in anything that Premier Ford says?

Thank you very much.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

It is great to be back at Queen’s Park after a busy summer with my constituents in Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry.

It was recently announced that the Ontario government is investing more than $4 million in victim support grants to Ontario police services through the Victim Support Grant Program. I am pleased to share that three local police services in Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry—the Cornwall Police Service; the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry OPP detachment; and the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service—are each receiving $100,000 to support victims and survivors of intimate partner violence, domestic violence, human trafficking, and child exploitation.

Mr. Speaker, this funding is extremely important to my constituents and law enforcement officers in Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry and across the province. I’ve heard first-hand from my constituents about their concerns about abuse and violence. These stories serve as a reminder of the important work that has been started by child abuse survivor Erin Merryn, through Erin’s Law, which educates on the importance of knowing the signs of child sexual abuse and ensuring children are taught age-appropriate content to protect themselves.

One week from today, my private member’s bill, Erin’s Law, will be up for second reading, with consideration to bring an additional level of education and support to our children in schools across Ontario.

I rise today to advocate on behalf of the men we love—our grandfathers, fathers, sons, brothers, nephews, all of whom should have access to OHIP-covered PSA testing. As a female, I have access to early detection tests, yet Ontario refuses to alter the current OHIP coverage for PSA testing, allegedly due to national guideline recommendations, yet eight other provinces have managed to make this change.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer amongst Canadian men, and the PSA test is an early step in early detection. This government covers a PSA test for those whose practitioner suspects prostate cancer or those who have already been diagnosed. That’s not the definition of early detection.

I was honoured to speak recently at the Ride for Dad, a charitable motorcycle ride with the mission to save men’s lives—20 years of advocacy and nearly $40 million later, and yet this government spins its wheels on the issue. On the day of the ride, we heard stories from survivors who were blessed with early detection, but also tragic stories from those who lost a loved one.

The cost to treat cancer is far greater than the $3 million projected for regular PSA testing for men over 50.

Our colleague from Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie brought this issue forward last year, and today I am joining him in the fight to do the right thing.

I want the men in my life to be around for Christmas, birthdays and summer barbecues.

It is great to be back at Queen’s Park after the summer break, in the midst of one of the best times of the year in Flamborough–Glanbrook: fall fair season. It’s my pleasure to rise today to recognize the people who make the fall fairs such a memorable time of the year in our communities.

In the month of September, the people of Flamborough–Glanbrook enjoy both the Binbrook Fair and the Ancaster Fair.

This year was the 170th Binbrook Fair, and I’m proud to have sponsored the demolition derby for the fourth year in a row.

And as Thanksgiving is fast approaching, we are preparing for the annual Rockton World’s Fair. Since 1852, the Rockton World’s Fair has been a Thanksgiving tradition for many in not only Flamborough–Glanbrook but from surrounding areas as well.

These fairs are an opportunity for us to recognize our commitment to agriculture and to bring people together.

I encourage everyone to make your way to the Rockton World’s Fair, October 5 through October 9, to support our community and to enjoy livestock shows, live entertainment, demolition derbies, a variety of vendors, and much, much more.

On Monday, the Premier claimed Ontarians are 1,000% better now than they were when he took office in 2018.

We have an affordability crisis, a housing crisis, a health care crisis, and an environmental crisis. We have a government that’s wrapped up in scandals while Ontarians are struggling to make ends meet. The Conservative government has had five years to make things better for Ontarians, but instead they are only working to benefit their rich developer friends and donors. Life has gotten harder and harder for everyone else.

This government is solely focused on selling off and privatizing vital land and public services: the greenbelt, Ontario Place, highways, health care, and social services.

The greenbelt giveaway was never about housing. This government’s own housing task force stated that the goal to build 1.5 million homes is possible without opening up the greenbelt.

We are all elected to serve the people of this province, to make their lives better, but the Conservative government is withholding billions of dollars for health care, mental health and addiction care, social assistance, women’s shelters, and the list goes on.

We need ODSP and OW income rates at least doubled.

We need profit out of long-term care and home care so quality care comes first and seniors, our loved ones, can live with respect and dignity.

We need better, faster and more reliable public transit.

We need to respect Indigenous voices, concerns and consent.

Better is possible, and as New Democrats, we’ll continue to fight for better, because we believe in putting people over profit.