The member mentioned the election last night and how that election resulted in an NDP government taking power in Manitoba. I think that makes me feel hopeful.

As the official opposition in Ontario, the NDP and our leader, Marit Stiles, have been trying to get to the housing scandal and fix housing so that people actually have affordable homes.

I want to ask the member: In 2026, when we actually have an NDP government in this province, can you summarize how the NDP government will fix the housing crisis in this province so people can afford homes, and stop tinkering around with the Conservative bills that don’t fix the housing crisis?

I listened intently to the member on his speech, and I didn’t hear very much about Bill 134 until the last couple of minutes when, out of the blue, they announced that they’re going to support the bill, as they did Bill 63.

If you remember when Bill 63 was going through the Legislature here, what tipped the scales in favour of the NDP supporting was the calls they received from union leadership that said, “You’re toast if you don’t support this bill redefining the boundaries around St. Thomas,” because it was integral and of paramount importance to be able to establish an EV battery manufacturing facility in the St. Thomas region. So again, they were taking their marching orders from their stakeholders—not necessarily the people of Ontario—who will support this bill without question.

Bill 134 is so important to people in my riding who do have lower-than-average incomes and pay more as a percentage of their income to pay for housing. Thank you for supporting it. It’s about time you got behind this government’s entire—

Thank you to my colleague from Niagara Centre. It’s always a pleasure to hear you speak in the House.

Three times they interrupted you during your speech, even though you were speaking dead on to the bill. They’re always trying to change the subject, or at least change the channel.

Coming from northern Ontario—and you spoke a bit in your discussions on this bill—do you see anything in there that will help us build more affordable, supportive and co-op houses? Because this is what’s lacking in my area. People have nowhere to go. There’s a lack of housing, and plus, we know there are programs that qualify if you have 100,000 in population, yet in northern Ontario, we don’t see very much over 100,000. So can you speak on this, please?

Thank you to our member for impactful conversation on the government’s bill. This bill is entitled, I believe, the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act. It certainly is an improvement that the government is proposing to define affordability based on income as opposed to strictly based on market value.

But the question I have—particularly in St. Paul’s, where rent is soaring—is, why will the Conservative government not commit to real rent control? We have tenants in St. Paul’s who had to leave the community, actually. The rent was $2,500 a month. The landlord proposed $3,500 a month and then they went to $9,500 a month for a two-bedroom condo. This wouldn’t be able to happen if we had real rent control in Ontario.

Can the member discuss why real rent control—

Sorry, maybe you could communicate with me later. I have no idea what you’re referring to; I’m saying that honestly.

But I can tell you that I just talked about sunset clauses on developers, making sure that, as the government House leader himself has proposed to the media—putting a sunset clause on developers so that they start building rather than speculating and sitting on approvals, according to the big city mayors, would create hundreds of thousands of units of housing. That’s something we can do without spending any taxpayer dollars.

But the answer is no, there’s nothing in this bill that will create any housing at all. It changes a definition of what is affordable housing and talks about an EV battery plant in St. Thomas.

We just saw this week people protesting about renovictions and the situation is just horrible, so hopefully one day the government sees the light. It would be a big deal for renters, but it wouldn’t be a big deal for them just to put rent control back.

I recognize the member for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke.

I had a very productive break from the House. I spent the summer connecting with the community and joining a wide variety of events.

One of the most remarkable aspects of our country and our province is the wide diversity of cultures. The social fabric of our province gives us, as elected officials, the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a wide variety of beautiful cultures and traditions.

A couple of notable events that I participated in over the summer included the Brampton Boat Race, Ride for Raja, Jalsa Salana, and the Taste of India Food Festival. The Brampton Boat Race is a beautiful display of the Malayalee culture that originates from the Kerala region in India, organized by the Brampton Malayalee Samajam. The Ride for Raja is an event organized by the Sikh Motorcycle Club with all the funds going towards helping children and youths in Peel region. The Jalsa Salana is an event organized by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at that promotes the religion of Islam through preaching peace and inclusivity. The Taste of India Food Festival is an amazing event that displays the unique cultures of India through food and music.

This summer provided an opportunity for me to immerse myself within the community, enriching my knowledge about the various cultures that make up our society.

I rise today to amplify the voices of so many Ontarians who are struggling daily to make ends meet and are reaching out with nowhere to turn. Instead of hearing meaningful solutions to legislated poverty from this government, they are seeing headlines which are filled with scandal after scandal—scandals which are helping developers and certainly not them. Many calls to my office point out how life is getting harder, not better.

Just over a year ago, some of my caucus colleagues and I shed light on what small amount of money was left to buy food on the social services diet. You may recall I spent $57 for two weeks of food. This was the reality for so many on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program day in and day out. It was tough. It was physically and mentally draining. The lessons we learned in those two weeks opened up conversations with thousands of people struggling to get access to housing, much-needed medications and food.

Fast-forward to today. I wonder what that same amount of money would buy off the shelves. What would I have to leave behind: the loaf of bread, the can of tuna or the cucumber that was the only fresh item in my basket? As we continue to listen and learn, we hear the challenges. History doesn’t have to repeat itself. We can make change.

I will continue to call this government to action and demand social service rates keep people safe, fed and hopeful for a better way forward.

Thank you very much, Speaker. Your voice is so soft compared to mine, I didn’t hear you right off the bat. But I certainly appreciate the opportunity.

However, I do want to say, Speaker, because there’s so little time and I would prefer not to have my address today split in two, I’m going to move adjournment of the debate.

“It can’t be done”: Don’t bother using those words when speaking to an O’Brien. When folks told Del O’Brien some 50 years ago that establishing an airline in Pembroke wouldn’t work, he proved them wrong.

Well, his son Jason has done it again. Against conventional thinking that you couldn’t establish a vineyard in Renfrew county, he and his wife Lioutsia have done just that. On September 2, I had the honour of attending the official opening of WOW, the WhiteWater O’Brien Winery. Nestled on the shores of Lake Allumette, the vineyard stretches for a quarter of a kilometre and basks in the constant westerly breeze blowing off over eight kilometres of open water. The westerlies ward off late spring and early fall frost and act as air conditioning in the summer. This enhances the moderating effect of cool nights and hot days, which is similar to many of the great vineyard locations around the world.

The vineyard is part of the 700-acre O’Brien farm, which has been in the family since the 1830s and is one of the earliest and largest certified organic farms in the Ottawa Valley. WhiteWater O’Brien Winery is currently producing four varieties: two whites, one red and a rosé. Speaker, I can tell you they are all very, very good.

I want to congratulate the O’Briens on their grand opening and let everyone know that in addition to being available on site, an online delivery service is under development. Renfrew County’s WhiteWater O’Brien Winery is on the march and the O’Briens are leading the charge.

I’ve got here the NDP plan—well, we’ll call it a plan—on what they would like to do to build more affordable and, I believe, non-market rental homes, to the tune of 250,000 homes in the province. Using some basic math, what it costs, roughly, to build a home right now is around $500,000. For 250,000 homes, we’re talking about—what is it? A billion and a quarter, something along those lines? I’m just wondering what taxes you would raise to be able to pay for those homes.

Further questions?

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

All those opposed will say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

Call in the members. This is a 30-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1008 to 1015.

Pursuant to standing order 49(a), the Speaker interrupted the bells and deemed the debate to be adjourned.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

I want to ask the member about the second half of this bill. The member spoke of having General Motors in his region, a fine automotive manufacturer here in the province of Ontario. In my region, we have Stellantis and Ford, other fine automobile manufacturers. This bill talks about Volkswagen and its historic $7-billion investment in the province of Ontario, brought in part through the incredible efforts of the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

I am very excited about that investment and what this bill talks about, because it means, in my riding of Essex, people are going to have good, solid jobs for life, well-paying jobs. And I’m wondering, since the member has General Motors in his riding, is he excited about this bill and that $7-billion investment by Volkswagen? Because it’s going to have great effects in his riding too.

I’m happy to share some projects in my riding of Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock that received recent Ontario Trillium Foundation grants. From environmental stewardship to funding for high-tech machinery, to investments with the Alzheimer Society for their Minds in Motion program and the Kawartha Victim Services to help those in crisis, the Trillium Foundation grants have been foundational in driving positive change.

Existing facilities also benefited to help promote an active lifestyle, whether it’s new flooring at the Highlands Squash Club, upgrading the decks and shelters at the Bobcaygeon Lawn Bowling Club, outdoor rinks in Harcourt and West Guilford, a new playground in Haliburton, or expanding a natural horsemanship program—all new opportunities for people to get and stay active. Cultural initiatives like those offered at Abbey Gardens have been awarded grants to improve accessibility and increase economic and recreational opportunities as well as to increase their venue capacity for their communities. The Grove Theatre in Fenelon Falls expanded their local arts programs and lineup for the 2023 season and entertained us all.

Thank you to all those organizations that applied to the Ontario Trillium grants program and to the OTF staff for all their support in communities in my riding.

When I’ve had the opportunity to rise in this chamber for a member’s statement, I have always tried to highlight some of the great people or great events in my riding, but today I’m going to deviate a little bit from that. I’m not going to talk about a person or an event. I’m going to talk about a dog—two dogs, actually: police service dog Gryphon and police service dog Isaac. These two dogs are invaluable resources for our community.

Just a couple of weeks ago during a single shift, Gryphon helped nab armed suspects in two separate incidences, two hours apart, and ensured no officers were injured.

This past winter, PSD Isaac tracked a man in his seventies who had taken his own dog for a walk in a wooded area when it started to snow. The man got lost during the snowstorm, but Isaac was able to track him and find him even though more than 15 centimetres of snow had fallen and covered his footprints.

These two dogs are amazing. It’s not just me who says that. They have the proof to back it up.

This year at the Canadian police dog championship, Isaac finished fourth in all of Canada in drug detection, while Gryphon finished fifth in drug detections as well as fourth in building searches. Well done, PSD Isaac and PSD Gryphon. Everyone in Peterborough is proud of you.

It is said that two decades ago, beneath a historic cottage on the banks of the Humber River here in Toronto, a miraculous healing occurred. And so, at this special place a shrine was built, and people were welcome to come and gather and pray. It is called the Marian Shrine of Gratitude in honour of Holy Mother Mary, whose name was invoked at that desperate time of need.

So the people came, countless thousands, day after day, year after year, in rain and in shine, sometimes in the night with the stars above and the sounds of nature all around. They came in the coldest of months in the winter too because, you see, the iron-wrought gates of this special place would never close, because only God knows a person’s time of need. The people would come to bask in the feelings of peace and calm the spiritual oasis provided. Many would come to pray for a miracle in their darkest hours and swear that doing so changed their lives forever.

But this summer, the place was abruptly sold—its gates now closed, with guards casting people out with tears in their eyes; barriers erected to keep them away.

Today, the faithful are now called squatters, because they still come to pray every night at 8. The welcomed are now called unwelcomed and mocked—the very same people who loved and maintained this special place for so many years; the great statue to Mother Mary torn down along with other religious artifacts, statues, monuments and more.

This summer, I called on the government to review the heritage significance of this special place and put an urgent stop to the damage. Over 20,000 have signed petitions to save this special place. I will be presenting many of their names to the government this afternoon, hoping they will be moved to step in and help in this hour of need.

Today I’m excited to share a heartwarming story from my riding of Cambridge. Jamie Colwell dedicated much of his spare time this past summer to assisting those with food insecurities. With the help of a team of volunteers, Jamie was able to collect 4,200 pounds of food and more than $6,000 for the Cambridge Food Bank. It’s amazing.

It’s not the first summer he’s done this. He spent weekends collecting donations outside of grocery stores. Last year he did the same thing, raising $5,400 for the food bank to buy healthy snacks for kids heading back to school.

The support Jamie has shown for the Cambridge Food Bank comes at a critical time. Dianne McLeod, executive director of the agency, said the need for food assistance is increasing every month and volunteers like Jamie help meet the ends of what these people are really requiring.

Recently, Jamie was presented with a volunteer award of merit at the food bank’s annual general meeting. I’d like to congratulate Jamie for his hard work and for being a citizen of Cambridge.

Ce jour-là, le 18^e monument de la francophonie a été inauguré dans un petit village de 1 200 habitants qui fait partie d’une municipalité d’environ 10 000 de population dans l’Est ontarien. Ça a été un honneur pour moi de prendre la parole en tant que représentant du gouvernement de l’Ontario à cette inauguration, qui a eu lieu dans le petit village d’Alfred, qui se trouve à être mon village natal, monsieur le Président. Près de 1 000 personnes ont pris part aux célébrations. Plusieurs résidents d’Alfred accompagnés de plusieurs élèves et de professeurs des écoles francophones environnantes étaient présents.

J’aimerais profiter de l’occasion pour féliciter le comité du Monument de la francophonie d’Alfred pour leur travail incroyable. Il y a 18 monuments de la francophonie, puis sept de ces monuments sont dans ma circonscription, monsieur le Président. C’est quelque chose dont je suis fier.

Chaque année, les 80 000 francophones et francophiles de ma circonscription ont l’opportunité de participer à plusieurs levers du drapeau franco-ontarien et de célébrer leur fierté d’être francophone. Félicitations à tous les Franco-Ontariens, Franco-Ontariennes et francophiles qui ont pris part aux célébrations de lever du drapeau franco-ontarien ici même à Queen’s Park et partout à travers la province de l’Ontario.

This is Ontario Agriculture Week, and I want to express my sincere gratitude to Ontario farmers. As we gather with our families on Thanksgiving, I know many of us will be enjoying the incredible local food we grow in Ontario.

Ontario has the best farmers and some of the best farmland in the entire world, but Ontario unfortunately is losing that farmland at an unsustainable rate of 319 acres per day. This threatens our food security and our $50-billion farming economy, yet this government is planning on losing even more farmland by imposing expense sprawl on Hamilton, Ottawa, Halton, Waterloo and so many other places. It’s greenbelt 2.0.

I want to say to the people of Ontario: Thank you for standing up to protect our greenbelt. From all of us who enjoy local food and support Ontario farmers, we say thank you.

I want you to know that I will be standing with you to protect farmland all across this province. I’m focused on solving the housing crisis by building homes that people can afford on land already approved for development, not paving over farmland to enrich wealthy insiders.

I encourage everyone to buy local for Thanksgiving and to renew your commitment to supporting Ontario farmers and protecting local farmland across Ontario.

Good morning, everyone. I’d like to introduce my powerful page—wherever he is—from beautiful Beaches–East York, James Gillespie, and I encourage him to get a good night’s sleep because he will be page captain tomorrow. Welcome to the House.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Ontario Agriculture Week, it’s wonderful to have the Beef Farmers of Ontario here with us: President Jack Chaffe and his gang, Craig McLaughlin, Joost van der Heiden, Jairus Maus, Thomas Brandstetter, Evan Chaffe and Darby Wheeler. And I saw Richard Horne was in the House as well.

Ladies and gentlemen, after you’ve been to the Somali reception, please come to the front lawn and enjoy a beautiful beef barbecue.