Thank you. The supplementary question? The member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas.

[Inaudible] withdraw the unparliamentary comment.

Interjection.

Everyone knows that the Premier’s so-called housing policies have nothing to do with housing. The Premier ignored his own housing task force and focused instead on enriching his speculator friends, who made huge profits from zoning changes without building a single home.

I’ll let the minister know that in Hamilton we are exceeding our housing targets, and we’re doing it within our previous boundaries. This means, for Hamilton, complete, sustainable communities. This means lower infrastructure costs. This means more affordable housing options.

Will the Premier stop making it harder to build homes in Hamilton, stop trying to enrich his speculator friends, and reverse his forced and harmful expansions of Hamilton’s urban boundaries?

Interjections.

No, Mr. Speaker, I will not reverse the expansion of the urban boundaries. The urban boundary expansion, of course, was done in Hamilton. The planners in Hamilton identified that they did not have enough space to meet future demands in their community—

As you know, the official plans also contemplate intensification within the existing urban boundaries before additional boundaries can even be contemplated. The municipalities remain in control of when that additional territory would be used, if it would be used.

The good news for the people of Hamilton is that, despite the objections of the opposition, this government has put policies in place that will see thousands of additional people moving into that community to be included in the economic growth we’re seeing in Hamilton.

My question is to the Minister of Transportation.

Scarborough deserves the same support for transit that the rest of Ontario experiences, but I’m not sure this government agrees. The outdated Scarborough RT has been shut down, but the Scarborough subway extension to replace it—which this government loves to brag about, despite it being a project commissioned by the previous Liberal government—is only set to open by 2030.

The TTC wants to build a busway in the RT route, but they need provincial funding to get it done. We need this busway so that thousands of Scarborough transit users can get to work and school on time and spend more time with their families.

Will the minister commit to treating Scarborough with respect and funding the busway?

We had a subway derailed and shut down for good in Scarborough, and the province will not lend our beautiful city a hand. Why does the minister find it acceptable for this to happen and not provide any support to the people of Scarborough? We matter.

I want to make it crystal clear: After 15 years of inaction by the former Liberal government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, Scarborough is no more a forgotten part of the city of Toronto.

We are building the Scarborough subway, after the Liberals did nothing. We are building the first ever medical school in Scarborough after almost two centuries now. We are building a brand new hospital. We are redeveloping a new emergency department.

And Mr. Speaker, I’ll tell you one thing: We will continue to build transportation; we will continue to build hospitals; we will continue to make Scarborough a better place for everyone—it doesn’t matter where they come from.

Under the leadership of Premier Ford, Scarborough is thriving and Scarborough is on the map.

The former Liberal government had 15 years to build transit in Scarborough. What did they do? Absolutely nothing. They talked a lot, but they did nothing.

Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we have shovels in the ground on the Scarborough subway extension.

The people of Scarborough were ignored for long enough under the Liberal government.

We’re building subways, we’re building hospitals, we’re building a new medical school in Scarborough.

We will take no lessons from the members opposite in the independent Liberal Party on how to invest and build transit in Scarborough.

Ma question est pour le premier ministre.

Yesterday, the Financial Accountability Officer confirmed what we already knew: This government is starving our public health care system. Instead of strengthening our public health system and supporting people who are sick, who are injured, who are in need of care, this government hides health care money in slush funds.

Will the Premier listen to the people of Ontario telling him that their health care system matters, that they want him to keep his promises and spend the money on the care they need?

What will it take for this government to go from words to action, to stop sitting on health care money and get people the care they need?

My question is for the Minister of Red Tape Reduction.

Small businesses are essential in helping to build a stronger Ontario. They provide much-needed jobs and help to support economic growth in our communities. Unnecessary and outdated regulations cause frustrations and delays, and they compromise Ontario’s competitive advantage over other jurisdictions.

That’s why our government must continue to make things better for people and businesses by reducing regulatory burdens, encouraging greater investments, and boosting Ontario’s overall competitiveness.

Can the minister please explain how our government is supporting Ontario businesses to prosper and thrive?

Five years ago, the Premier was caught on video promising to take land out of the greenbelt.

Three years ago, an aide of the Premier and a developer arranged to meet in Las Vegas.

One year ago, an envelope with instructions was handed in at a dinner.

Then, $8.3 billion was given to friends and donors.

Two weeks ago, the Premier apologized for opening up the greenbelt with “a process that moved too fast,” but since they’ve been plotting this for years, it’s like being sorry your getaway car got a speeding ticket. He apologized for going too fast to avoid apologizing for the real problem: corruption.

To the Premier: My question is very—

But for clarification, if I refer to a process, is that okay or not?

Interjections.

People are struggling, and it’s the job of this government to help them and not demoralize them, by enriching their friends.

The greenbelt scandal has clearly been years in the making.

Mr. Speaker, my question—through you to the Premier—is, very simply, when did you lose your way?

As we’ve said many times, the FAO opinions are not actually representative of actual government spending—but don’t take it from me; just look back at all of the past predictions, which have been wrong. Anyone waiting and wanting to see accurate numbers has only to look at the public accounts. The public accounts show that health care spending has increased $2.7 billion last year and that this government has increased health care spending by $16 billion since coming to office in 2018.

After years of neglect by previous governments, we are investing in health care infrastructure, getting shovels in the ground on over 50 hospital developments—including 3,000 new hospital beds across the province over the next 10 years, and we’re also investing in health human resources and education supports to build those health human resources.

Our government has a plan to improve health care in Ontario, and we’re getting it done.

Our plan has reduced the surgical backlog to below pre-pandemic levels—but we haven’t stopped there. We’ve added our community surgical diagnostic clinics—19,000 cataract operations have happened in the last year alone at those clinics—and the NDP voted against that.

In our 2023 budget, we announced an investment of $30 million to expand and create up to 18 new primary care teams in communities with the greatest need.

And through our Your Health Act, we are cutting red tape to allow health care workers from across Canada and international workers to be qualified to practise here in Ontario.

We have a plan, and it’s working.

The parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health, the member for Eglinton–Lawrence.

Let me just acknowledge the incredible leadership of the member from Carleton, who has been standing up and holding the school board and, particularly, OSTA to account.

We have taken action from the beginning.

We launched an audit of this board to understand the long-term fiscal sustainability, to make sure parents have reliable, dependable transportation services for their children.

We increased wages to $23 an hour—a significant lift in wages for workers, particularly for our bus drivers; we increased statutory benefits, providing 13%—which did not exist in the past; we’re paying for 10 statutory holidays, which didn’t exist in the past; we’re paying for four days of annual training and dry runs; we are increasing respect for the workers, which is why the Ontario school bus association has endorsed our plan.

For Ottawa, specifically, we provided $75 million, and yet they couldn’t get the job done. The French school boards in the same region, with larger territories and fewer kids, are able to do it. So we’ve now made a clear message to the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority and the school board that we’re auditing them, we’re expecting better, and we’re going to ensure the better delivery and more consistent delivery that the families of Ottawa deserve.

My question is for the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility.

I want take this opportunity to highlight funding provided through the Seniors Community Grant Program to the Markham Museum, a wonderful organization in my riding. Thanks to this investment, the Markham Museum received over $24,000 that will be used to offer programs to help seniors keep healthy and socially connected.

Throughout their lives, seniors have helped build and contribute to Ontario’s quality of life. They deserve opportunities to be involved in activities and programs in their local communities—

Interjections.

Can the minister please share more information about the Seniors Community Grant Program and how it is making a difference for our seniors?

Under the leadership of the Premier and the minister, the Seniors Community Grant Program is making it possible for local organizations to have a direct impact on the lives of seniors in Ontario.

Seniors Community Grants are an amazing way to support unique, community-driven projects. Constituents always contact my office asking about what programs are being offered for seniors and how to access the tools and resources available for them.

Can the minister please share further information about how people and organizations can learn about the programs and services that are available for seniors?

Thank you to the marvellous MPP from Markham–Unionville for the question. He is doing an incredible job in advocating for seniors and making a difference in his riding.

I’d like to thank you again for inviting me to celebrate this exciting news at the Markham Museum. All the staff and volunteers have done an excellent job to create a wonderful attraction for the whole community to enjoy. They will now be able to offer more hands-on programs, like pottery classes for seniors. They are creating opportunities for seniors to get creative, to learn together and be together. What exciting news for our seniors.

I want to thank the hard-working member for Burlington for that important question.

I don’t think I need to remind the members in this Legislature or Ontarians about the failed policies of the previous Liberal government for 15 years—of course, supported by the official opposition NDP—when we saw jobs were fleeing, businesses were leaving the province, and Ontario was becoming uncompetitive to do business in.

Thanks to the government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, since 2018, we’ve been working hard to reverse that trend—thanks to the 11 different red tape packages that we have introduced in the Legislature, which has helped to reduce 16,000 different kinds of pieces of red tape. That is now saving Ontario businesses nearly $950 million in annual compliance cost savings.

We know we have more to do, and we will continue to work hard each—

On this side of the House, our government understands the importance of helping businesses, which are the backbone of our economy, and what it means to continue to make our province competitive and continue to allow our businesses to compete on the world stage.

Thanks to the initiatives that our government has brought forward to date, just last year alone there were 85,000 new businesses that started in the province of Ontario; there are over 700,000 jobs that we have created since taking office in June 2018.

We recognize the importance of making sure our businesses are spending time creating jobs, investing money into their businesses, rather than having to worry about filling out unnecessary forms.

We will continue to work—

Our government must continue to implement measures that clear the unnecessary burdens placed on job creators. Whether you’re a business owner looking to expand and grow, or trying to access government programs and services—the last thing anyone wants to do is to navigate a needless web of complicated processes and paperwork.

While the previous Liberal government operated under the assumption that more red tape is better—starting and growing a business is hard work.

By eliminating unnecessary red tape, our government is creating an environment that drives new investments and helps to grow the economy without compromising public safety and environmental protections.

Can the minister please explain how cutting red tape is supporting economic growth in the province of Ontario?

Thank you. Supplementary.

I apologize to the member for Markham–Unionville, who has the floor.

Start the clock.

You can finish your question.

The good news for tenants across the province of Ontario is that we have the highest starts with respect to purpose-built rentals that we have seen in over 15 years.

One of the real reasons we’ve had such challenges in the rental market is because people just were not getting into building.

Most people who have rental apartments, frankly, are the moms and pops out there who make investments, whether for their futures—and they bring on new allocations. I know that was something my parents did. They wanted to come here. They worked very hard. They sacrificed a lot. They bought little stores in East York with two apartments on top, and that is how they planned for their retirement.

We have to do our best to support landlords. We have to do our best to support tenants. But the best thing we can do is to bring more supply on. We have rent control across the province of Ontario, which is going nowhere. At the same time, we’re building more supply so that we can bring down the costs, because—it’s a simple fact—when there is more to choose from, those rents will come down.

Most of the landlords across this province are people just like my parents were. Do you know what my parents did? They worked very, very hard seven days a week, and they bought two small properties with apartments on top. Do you know what we did when we were kids? We didn’t go away for March break. We went to those apartments and painted; we fixed them up. That is what we did. My parents weren’t greedy landlords, just as the 80% of landlords who are out there, who do the exact same things that my parents did, are not greedy.

That is the difference between them and us—we don’t think that hard-working people who make investments are greedy. We thank them for the investments that were made. But what we do do is ensure that we hold everybody responsible—both tenants and landlords.

We’re working together to bring more supply online. I know that the Attorney General also increased resources at the landlord and tenant tribunal. Do you know why? Because we can do more for all people in Ontario.

To the Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism: There’s a rent strike in his riding, with thousands of tenants coming together to form a tenants’ union. They are fighting expensive, above-guideline rent increases by their corporate landlords. His tenants are feeling unprotected, and they are desperate and angry because the rents have become so unaffordable over the past six years in Ontario. They know that this Conservative government voted against real rent control and took away their final tenant protections.

To the minister, on behalf of your struggling tenants and those across Ontario: Will you bring back real rent control for all homes, including those built after 2018?

People are struggling. They are frustrated with surging rents, broken elevators, mouldy walls, leaky faucets, and many other maintenance issues that are plaguing their buildings, that are not being fixed by greedy corporate landlords. This is leading to hundreds of demoviction applications in the city of Toronto alone. This is going to displace tens of thousands of people from their rent-controlled homes—the cheapest, most affordable apartments in Ontario.

To the minister: What will you do to stop the housing affordability crisis in Ontario? And will you protect everyday Ontarians from greedy corporate landlords?