I want to remind the members of the opposition that the people spoke loud and clear. Thanks to many of my new colleagues in the House today—the member for Brampton East, the member for Brampton North, and the member for Brampton Centre—we put this question to the people of this province, the people of Brampton, and they resoundingly told us loud and clear to build Highway 413.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve got one of the fastest-growing populations in the entire country. The Peel region is one of the fastest-growing regions in the entire province. We need to be able to build infrastructure. If it was up to the NDP and the Liberals, we would get nothing built.

We’re going to build Highway 413. We’re going to build the Bradford Bypass. We’re going to build the Ontario Line and the Scarborough subway extension. And we won’t let these members opposite stop us from building Ontario.

My question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

Today, on Rowan’s Law Day, we remember and pay tribute to Rowan Stringer’s life and legacy. Rowan’s Law, introduced and championed by the great member from Nepean, Lisa MacLeod, was named for Rowan Stringer, a high school rugby player from Ottawa who tragically died in the spring of 2013 from swelling of the brain as a result of experiencing three concussions over six days while playing rugby.

I’m pleased to join the members of this assembly by wearing a purple ribbon to honour Rowan’s legacy, promote safer play in sports, and ensure that athletes and coaches have the information they need about concussion safety.

Speaker, through you: Can the minister please provide information on the measures implemented by our government to raise awareness about concussion risks, to make sports safer in Ontario?

Thank you for the question. And I’d like to thank my colleague for all the work she does in her riding. I’m happy to support whenever I can.

Ontario is an international leader in concussion safety. Ontario is the first and only jurisdiction in Canada to pass concussion safety legislation. We’ve made important investments to support concussion awareness and prevention since 2018. Funding and other supports to the Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada, Coaches Association of Ontario, Canadian Mental Health Association, and Special Olympics—they’ve all made a massive difference in working towards safety around youth and head trauma.

We continue to work with our partners and sport organizations to increase concussion safety and awareness, which I’ll talk about a little bit more in the supplemental.

I’d also like to thank everyone in this House for their support around Rowan’s Law, our working group, who have worked for years to get this right, and, of course, my colleague from Nepean, who championed the successful passing of Rowan’s—

Speaker, over the summer we were thrilled to welcome many job-creating investments across the province through our government’s various regional development programs.

Numesh announced an almost $40-million investment to build a brand new facility in Brantford. They are the largest Canadian manufacturer of welded steel and wire mesh used in concrete reinforcement. With nearly $3 million in support from our government, the new facility is creating 56 new, well-paying jobs in Brantford.

Siltech Corp., a silicone-based chemical manufacturer, announced a $100-million investment to build a new state-of-the-art facility in Fort Erie. The new facility was supported by a $5-million investment from our government. That boosts Siltech’s manufacturing capacity, and they’ve hired 50 new workers.

Speaker, these investments will strengthen our world-class manufacturing sector and create jobs for hard-working families in Ontario.

Breadsource Corp., a family-owned company that produces absolutely delicious baked goods, announced an $18-million investment to build a new baking facility in Scarborough. The new facility was supported by an almost-$3-million investment from our government. It will triple the company’s production and create many well-paying jobs.

Speaker, we are creating the conditions for job growth in every single region of the province by lowering the cost of doing business by $8 billion every year. These game-changing investments are just the beginning.

Well, Mr. Speaker, I know the NDP and the Liberals don’t believe in building roads. They don’t believe in building highways or infrastructure of any type at all.

We’re going to continue our focus on infrastructure, building the 413, building the Bradford Bypass and Highway 7, and widening Highway 3. But guess what? I will guarantee you those same NDP members and the Liberals will be on that highway, driving on the 413 when we build the 413.

Interjections.

My question is to the Premier.

Hamilton city council and the people of Hamilton voted overwhelmingly to meet our housing targets within existing urban boundaries, but this government forced an undemocratic urban boundary expansion on Hamilton. Just as we saw with the greenbelt scandal, the ministry’s review of Hamilton’s official plan gave insiders preferential treatment. The Integrity Commissioner’s report revealed that developers were privately consulted on the urban boundary changes even before the city of Hamilton.

Instead of enriching favoured insiders, when will this Premier do the right thing and reverse the forced expansion of Hamilton’s urban boundaries?

The member ought to know that an expansion of the urban boundaries in and of itself does not necessarily mean that housing will be built on that expansion. The city still remains in control of the process. The city will determine when homes or if homes will be built in that expanded area. The city determines if the land will be serviced and when it will be serviced. That is the reality with an expansion of the urban boundary.

It really all comes down to the same thing—over and over and over and over again, it is “no homes.” The legion of doom and gloom over there have one thing in common: Neither one of them wants to work on behalf of the people of the province of Ontario.

We are going to continue to do our job for all of the people of the province of Ontario, because people deserve to get out of their parents’ basements and live in homes. That is their dream, and we’re going to make sure that they can have that dream come to a reality.

The city of Ottawa is still in control of that decision. The city of Ottawa will still be in control of whether those lands will be serviced. The city of Ottawa is still in control of when homes will be built in that area. That is the reality—

Interjection.

This minister has built more in your riding than you built in 15 years. That’s your record. You closed hospitals. You didn’t build—

Interjections.

I will be bringing forward legislation in this House that will do what the Liberals never did, and that is codify the boundaries of the greenbelt in legislation and not regulation, so that we don’t have what the Liberals did—going in and out 17 times under the cover of darkness and making changes. We’re not going to do that.

We also are not going to be providing any compensation with respect to any potential changes that were contemplated. The Premier said very clearly it was a policy decision that the people of the province did not support. That is why we’re returning those lands to the greenbelt, and that is why we’re adding 9,400 acres to the greenbelt as well. But there is no compensation that will be made available to any of the people who might have been building in that area.

We’re building subways. Why? Because they couldn’t build subways. We’re building roads. Why? Because they couldn’t build roads. We’re building long-term care. Why? Because they didn’t build long-term care. We’re renewing our hospitals. Why? Because they didn’t build hospitals.

On every single matter that matters to the people of the province of Ontario, the Liberals failed. They drove away jobs. This minister is bringing it back. And do you know why? Because this Premier had a vision to restore the province of Ontario to the economic engine of the country, and 700,000 jobs and billions of dollars in investments show that it’s working. So will we turn our back on that? No. We’ll continue to move forward because that’s what—

As noted by the minister, Rowan’s Law was passed in 2016 and has been strengthened by our government since taking office. Rowan’s Law remains a piece of groundbreaking legislation that not only honours the legacy of Rowan Stringer, but has also changed the way Ontario’s sport organizations identify and address potential concussions. Over the past five years, since Rowan’s Law was implemented, we hear that there has been a considerable increase in the awareness, prevention, detection and management of concussions.

However, we know that educational programs, protocols and codes of conduct only go so far. These must be implemented and enforced in order to create a safer culture in sport across our province.

Once again, through you, Mr. Speaker: Can the minister please provide an update on the effectiveness of Rowan’s Law in fostering a safer sport environment for all participants?

Again, thank you for the question. One of the key words in that question was “culture.”

Our government recognizes the importance of being able to measure the effects of concussions. That is why we are partnering with select sport organizations on a pilot program to collect and report concussion data on and off the field of play—or any surface, quite frankly.

Additionally, stakeholders are telling us that Rowan’s Law is making a difference. I can tell you first-hand, at all levels, Rowan’s Law is making a difference.

I have coached in the community of Burlington and Hamilton for a number of years. Just a couple of years ago. coaches were mandated to take a course, understand concussions and awareness and then, before players in my sport of football could take the field with equipment, they had to go through a full practice with the coaches understanding getting the head out of contact. It is helping in all sports.

Ontario Cycling is doing something. Any time a rider goes down and there is contact, they examine them before they get back into play. This is really important and—

Thank you very much. The next question.

The member for Ottawa South will come to order. The member for Brampton North will come to order. The member for Kitchener–Conestoga will come to order—

Interjection.

I will remind members to make their comments through the Chair, not directly across the House. I will remind members that all interjections are out of order.

Start the clock. The next question.

Back to the Premier: Last November, this government unilaterally added 654 hectares of land inside Ottawa’s urban boundary. According to media reports, the main beneficiaries of these urban boundary expansions are donors to the PC Party. The forced expansions included land no one had even considered for development but had been purchased a year earlier by five people who had donated thousands to the PC Party.

Does the Premier support giving preferential treatment to insiders, or will he reverse this forced urban boundary expansion?

Thank you very much. The next question.

Hamiltonians, the mayor and city council have been clear. We want you to reverse the urban boundary expansion and stop the sprawl.

Speaker, the Conservative government has no real solution to their housing crisis. We know that the greenbelt land grab was never about housing.

Hamilton has already exceeded its housing goals without touching the urban boundaries or the greenbelt lands; 134% of actual growth targets have been met within our former boundary.

Will the government respect our local autonomy and reverse their decision on our urban boundaries today?

In fact, I will say that at AMO, I had a wonderful conversation with Mayor Horwath. She was very gracious, and we talked about not only, at the time, long-term care but building homes in Hamilton. She agreed that we do have to get on with the job of building homes for the people of the province of Ontario, including in Hamilton. So I am very excited to continue to work with her.

This is something that the member for Flamborough–Glanbrook has been talking about since 2018, really. Since 2018, she has been talking about the need to build homes in and around Hamilton. She has voted in favour of removing obstacles to build homes in that community. That’s what she has done. The members opposite have voted against every single one of those measures.

So I would say to the member opposite, I appreciate your support for building homes in your community. We now have the member for Hamilton Centre and we now have the member for University–Rosedale endorsing the work that we’re doing to build more homes.

I see a trend happening here, Mr. Speaker. Who knows? By the end of this week, we might actually get the entire NDP caucus on board to build more homes for the province. This has all been done in such a short period—

But imagine this member getting up and asking a question about housing. When the Minister of the Environment was ensuring that we had clean steel being made out of communities in Hamilton and in Sault Ste. Marie, that member voted against it. When this minister and this Premier were signing big deals to return the automotive sector to Ontario and manufacturing to Ontario, that member and that party voted against it. Do you know who will be making the steel for those cars? It will be the members from Sault Ste. Marie and Hamilton—her riding that will be making the steel for those cars. That member votes against everything. It’s not surprising to me that, unlike University–Rosedale and Hamilton Centre, that member is still not on board with building more homes.

But don’t worry; you and I will work together with those—

Having said that, unlike Ottawa where, for instance, on an SNC or something like that, the Prime Minister’s office directs his people on what they should do; here at the Legislative Assembly, a cabinet minister, a Premier, or other members of the executive council do not direct the work of committees. They make those decisions on their own. I would suggest to the member that that is the principle by which we will maintain ourselves here at the province of Ontario.

This question is to the Premier.

Hamilton is currently exceeding its housing targets for this year despite the greenbelt fiasco. Hamilton city council and many organizations such as Environment Hamilton have been loud and clear in saying that we need both more homes in our urban centres and to preserve our farmland.

Will this government let Hamilton get on with its plan to build the new homes we need, stop creating chaos and enriching favoured speculators, and reverse the forced expansion of Hamilton’s urban boundary?

Thank you to the member for the important question. Also, I’d like to thank him for the incredible tour of his riding this summer.

I’m proud to say that because of our government’s unprecedented actions to strengthen the health care workforce through expanding education for those on the front lines, almost 2,600 students have started classes as part of the first ever Ontario Learn and Stay Grant cohort. This means that thousands of students have entered into nursing, medical lab technician and paramedicine programs in priority communities at over 20 institutions across the province, with full, upfront funding to cover the cost of tuition, books and other expenses in return for working locally and caring for the people in the region where they studied for a term of service after they graduate.

Mr. Speaker, we inherited a health care crisis thanks to the previous government, but through our work, alongside the Premier and the Minister of Health, our government is taking meaningful and concrete action to improve the health care system today.

To the member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington: I’m proud to say that in your region of southwestern Ontario alone, there are over 1,000 confirmed students beginning their studies as nurses and medical lab technologists—students who will go on to make immediate impacts in local hospitals and health care facilities like Windsor Regional Hospital and Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.

In eastern Ontario, there are almost 800 enrolled nursing students across six institutions, like St. Lawrence and Algonquin College.

And in northern Ontario, there are over 700 students enrolled in nursing, med lab tech and paramedicine programs.

Speaker, this means that in regions ranging from Thunder Bay to Chatham-Kent to Ottawa, students are beginning to pursue critical degrees across Ontario, which will directly address the health care shortages felt in Ontario’s underserved regions, the ones that need the support the most.

These outstanding numbers speak for themselves. Students are eager to begin lifelong careers in the health care sector, and our government is supporting them every step of the way.

My question is for the Minister of Colleges and Universities.

September marks the beginning of a new academic year, and our post-secondary students are already well into their studies at campuses across Ontario.

With the continuing demand for professionals in the health care human resources sector, students enrolled in health care-related programs are needed in communities across the province.

Our government has a strong track record of making meaningful investments that prepare students to enter the workforce with rewarding, good-paying jobs right here in Ontario. That’s why our government must continue to prioritize measures that support students and prepare them for careers which will strengthen our entire health care system.

Can the minister please share what actions our government is taking to prepare Ontario’s post-secondary students to enter the workforce?

Financial supports available through this grant program are a positive step in building up our workforce. However, Ontario’s health care system is in desperate need of more health care professionals to provide this essential care.

In my riding of Chatham-Kent–Leamington, my constituents are looking for connected care and services closer to home. Our government must continue to take decisive steps to educate and retain more health care workers across our province—something I heard loud and clear at my health care round tables that were also co-hosted by the amazing member from Newmarket–Aurora.

Can the minister please explain how the investments made by our government into the Learn and Stay grant program will benefit communities across Ontario?

My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

My fundamental belief is that the key to our democracy—indeed, the guiding principle of everything we do here—is truth and integrity. There are still too many unanswered questions about how this government allowed a small group of insiders to obtain a significant financial advantage.

Not long ago, my colleague from Beaches–East York put forward a motion to the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy asking for a full parliamentary investigation into the dealings of the $8.3-billion greenbelt land deals. The motion called on government ministers and staff to testify before a committee and for a report to be tabled. It was an opportunity for this government to be fully transparent with Ontarians, but unfortunately, the government members defeated the motion.

Will the new minister do the right thing and allow a committee to investigate the entire truth?

I’m not going to overrule a committee. That’s not the job of the executive, and I don’t think that is the job—that parliamentarians would expect how their committees would work. We’ll let committees decide what it is they want to study and when they want to study it.

I know in the fullness of time, the report of the Auditor General will make its way to public accounts. That is the process that happens here. That will be studied, in fact, here at the Legislature. Public accounts does actually review reports of the Auditor General. They are mandated to do that work. They will do that work, regardless of whether there is a motion or not.