I want to welcome to Queen’s Park this morning Julie-Anne Gill from the town of Port Perry within my riding of Durham—a very skilled mediator, solving disputes peacefully and effectively.

A point of order, Mr. Speaker: I want to take this opportunity to wish a happy birthday to the great member from Whitby, Mr. Lorne Coe, who is celebrating his 47th birthday today.

Applause.

I’m so grateful to have my team from the constituency office here. They are doing all the great work on the front lines. I want to welcome Lana Barkan, Mandana Hezar, Debbie Davidson, Priscilla Danson, and Katherine Chabot.

I also want to welcome the good people from Perimeter Institute to Queen’s Park this morning. We had an amazing reception—thank you so much—with full representation from all parties, which is truly a sign of the respect that this institute has in the province of Ontario.

I want to wish my 13-year-old—she’s 13 now—daughter Nayomi a very happy birthday. I know you’re going to be watching this.

I have the pleasure to welcome my good friend Jason Grossman and his better half, Miriam Sussan, to the Legislature of Ontario. Welcome.

I have the great pleasure to introduce some great friends from the ridings of Parry Sound–Muskoka and Burlington: Sandra St. Germain, Fred St. Germain, Craig St. Germain, and Sandy Lane.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to introduce Lucia Alonzi, a page from the great riding of Mississauga Centre.

Thank you for your great work.

Coming up on October 12, it will be World Sight Day as showcased by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. This year’s campaign focus is to bring attention to the importance of eye care in the workplace.

As a practising optometrist—I remember vividly, like it happened yesterday—I was working at the Saginaw Valley Special Needs Vision Clinic. A mother brought in her little two- or three-year-old non-verbal daughter. I was fortunate as the little girl sat still enough for me to determine that she had a very, very strong prescription. I can remember taking a little trial frame and putting these lenses in it, and as we put it on her face, she dropped the little toy that she was holding up right in front of her on the floor and looked around the room, seeing for the first time. That was one of the single most gratifying experiences and, as it turned out, one of many to come in my field of medicine.

Our government is committed to improving access to glaucoma and cataract care across our province, and our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, has signed the first agreement with optometry in over 30 years.

Colleagues, the hashtag this year is #LoveYourEyes—they are the only set you will ever have.

Point of order: the member for Carleton.

Welcome back, Jean-Marc.

From the riding of Burlington, I’d like to introduce Jenny Choi and James Tiong. Jenny and James are the parents of today’s page captain Clara Tiong.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

The annual Panda football game was played this weekend, with the University of Ottawa beating Carleton in a thriller.

I would like to acknowledge that the Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sport, Neil Lumsden, an Ottawa Gee-Gees legend as a fullback and kicker, still holds the Panda Game scoring record with 25 points in one game and 61 career points.

My constituency assistant, John Jeffrey Morris, who played for the Carleton Ravens and holds the Panda Game record for longest punt and longest kickoff, informed me that Minister Lumsden is the greatest player in the history of Canadian university football.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Good morning, page captain for Beaches–East York, James Gillespie—with family members Barbara, Adam and Leah Gillespie and Gillian Stevie here in the gallery.

Let’s welcome them today.

Today the page captain, I believe, is Bella. Her parents, Bill and Daisy, are in the gallery somewhere, and I just wanted to welcome them to Queen’s Park.

We have some great folks here from the Perimeter Institute, all the way from Waterloo region today. I’d like to welcome Rob Myers, Paul Smith, Mark Healy, Mayura Stratopoulos—that’s a good Greek name; holy smokes—Mike Klander, Kendrick Smith, Roger Melko, Mike Brown, Kelly Foyle, Marie Strickland, and Emily Petroff.

Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

The public accounts were published last week, and we got to see a detailed overview of the government’s revenue and expenses for the year. Public agencies are supposed to publish their financial statements at the same time, but, strangely, Ontario Place did not. In fact, Ontario Place has not published a single annual report since the Conservatives took office five years ago.

Speaker, to the Premier—can the Premier explain why his government is hiding the financial statements of Ontario Place?

The government doesn’t want to admit they’re hiding these, but journalists had to file freedom-of-information requests to get the 2022 financials. This government wants Ontarians to believe that Ontario Place is derelict and abandoned. The Minister of Infrastructure even told this House before that it is “not enjoyed” by Torontonians or Ontarians. But these newly released documents reveal that Ontario Place actually attracted 2.9 million visitors last year alone, just in one year, and they made a record profit. That 2.9 million visitors is almost as many visitors as the Statue of Liberty—so it doesn’t sound like tumbleweeds to me.

Back to the Premier: Why is the Premier hiding the facts about Ontario Place?

Interjections.

The NDP believes this government should be investing to get people the health care and education and housing they need, not spending $650 million on luxury spas.

Will the Premier stop the transfer of public funds into private pockets and cancel the Therme deal?

Interjections.

As the truth leaks out about this Premier’s secret 95-year deal with Therme, the worse it smells.

Normally, with a large procurement like this, Infrastructure Ontario would appoint a fairness monitor to ensure fairness and integrity. The NDP submitted a freedom-of-information request to get the fairness monitor report for the Ontario Place procurement. It turns out no such document exists.

Back to the Premier: Why wasn’t there a fairness monitor for this particular procurement?

I wish the Leader of the Opposition had shown the same enthusiasm and passion when their partners in the previous Liberal government left this historic place in a state of neglect and disrepair. Mr. Speaker, this will not happen under the watch of this Premier and this government, because we believe in getting things done and built—not neglected. There’s no better time to bring this iconic destination back to life, and our government remains committed to redeveloping Ontario Place in a sustainable way, respecting the historical and natural features.

Our government is bringing Ontario Place back to life, making it a remarkable, world-class, year-round destination. The improved Ontario Place will provide people of all ages with something to enjoy, including enhanced public spaces, increased access to the waterfront, pools, waterslides, health and wellness services.

The new site will feature upwards of 50 acres of free parks and public spaces for everyone to enjoy, including trails, green space and parkland, playgrounds, fountains, beaches, boardwalks, spaces for festivals and markets, as well as an updated marina with opportunities for waterside cafes and year-round restaurants.

Mr. Speaker, let’s not pretend that millions of Ontarians descend on Ontario Place to walk around on the giant asphalt pad that currently takes up most of the east island. Due to the lack of vision and action by the previous Liberal government, the only major draw for Ontario Place currently is to see a concert at Echo Beach and Budweiser Stage.

With the redevelopment of Ontario Place, we are supporting economic growth and prosperity and providing an open and enjoyable destination for all. Our investments in Ontario Place will create approximately—

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the importance of Ontario Place as a historic, unique destination for all, and we’ll continue to engage with the public and stakeholders to ensure all perspectives from across the province are recognized and considered; not only that, we have hosted extensive public consultations on the redevelopment project, and I’m pleased to share with the House that over 9,200 people participated in this process to share their input and ideas for the future of Ontario Place.

As I’ve said, by redeveloping Ontario Place we are supporting economic growth, prosperity and providing an open and enjoyable destination for all. Our investments in Ontario Place will create approximately 5,000 new jobs during both the construction and permanent operations stages, millions of dollars in rental payments for the province, and will attract an estimated—

This is the government that is taking action. Not only are we doing the redevelopment of Ontario Place, but we’re also investing $184 billion in infrastructure over the next 10 years. This is the government that believes in taking action, and we are taking action. We are committed to redeveloping Ontario Place in a sustainable way, also respecting the historical and natural features.

As I’ve said, once Ontario Place is open, it will create approximately 5,000 new jobs, and it will attract four million to six million visitors each year. This is a place for family and friends to enjoy.

I want to welcome a good friend, Anthony Ricciardi, and his wife, Cassandra, who are up in the galleries. Anthony is a world-renowned artist. He has displayed his art around the world. He’s also the recipient of the CIBPA’s NextGen 2023 award for his success and his amazing art and talent.

Welcome to your House.

I’d like to thank the members who came today—co-founders Carmine Pizzurro and Himanshu Sudan—for their first visit to the Legislature to be here with us. Thank you very much.