Back to the minister: There are too many irregularities with the Ontario Place procurement process that awarded the development rights to Therme. There was no fairness monitor appointed to verify fairness and integrity. There was no public information about what scoring criteria were used, if any, and the government can’t show the scorecards evaluating the bids.

There is no evidence that the government performed due diligence to confirm the source of Therme’s financing, and the entire process—more like lack of process—was overseen by a close friend of the Premier. We’ve seen this before. The government is already under criminal investigation by the RCMP for the greenbelt grab.

Will the Premier cancel the shady Therme deal?

Speaker, through you to the Premier: The government wants us to believe that their greenbelt grab was just a sloppy process resulting from negligence and mismanagement, but last week we learned that it’s much worse—the government is under criminal investigation. And that’s just one scandal. Now we’re starting the process all over again with a new Auditor General investigation into this government’s many ministerial zoning orders, which municipalities have long said favour the interests of influential land bankers over the interests of the public.

Can the Premier tell us if this new Auditor General’s report will lead to a new criminal investigation?

My question is for the Minister of Education. Parents in Ontario expect their children to receive a world-class education in our school system. They expect our government to prioritize the foundational subjects of reading, writing and math when it comes to their children’s education.

That is why the Premier and the Minister of Education must continuously support and commit to strengthening math studies in our school system. By doing so, children in schools will be able to learn the skills they need to be ready for the jobs of the future.

Can the minister please explain how our government is strengthening math studies in our schools?

It’s evident that our government is committed to ensuring that students are learning the important skills they need to succeed. The 2022-23 EQAO assessment results are showing an improvement in comparison to the previous years. These test results demonstrate the positive proof that our government’s focus on the back-to-basics approach is working. In fact, with respect to math and literacy, as a mother, I can appreciate that test scores—they have increased in both English and French school boards across this province.

While it’s clear that our government is on the right track, we must remain focused on what is most important: ensuring our students receive the best education possible.

Can the minister please elaborate on what actions our government is taking to continue to improve academic achievement and the well-being of our students?

The RCMP recently launched a criminal probe into the government’s backtracked $8.3-billion greenbelt land swap. According to Michael Kempa, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, “The main concern ... on this file, is in the area of breach of trust ... where elected officials abuse their position either by giving out patronage appointments or favourable contracts or insider information that could prove profitable to their friends and donors....” Speaker, we know that’s exactly what happened with the $8.3-billion greenbelt land swap, and this government has lost the trust of the people of Ontario.

My question to the Premier: Will the government press pause on the decisions they have made on the Ontario Place spa, the science centre and Highway 413 to prove to the people of Ontario that those processes are not flawed too?

In my riding of Don Valley West, constituents are asking if flawed processes were used to cut corners to allow dense high-rise developments when the city says that children in those developments won’t attend nearby schools because they’re full.

Speaker, this government has a history of fast-tracking decisions under the guise of getting housing built when we know from the AG report that the main result was to benefit their friends.

My question to the Premier: Will the Premier press pause on MZOs until the Auditor General completes its full review of the province’s process for using them?

I just want to take a moment to thank the member from Thornhill for her exceptional leadership in standing up against anti-Semitism in this province and in her community. We are very grateful.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important question about how we strengthen numeracy skills amongst young people in the province. And we have a plan. I’m proud to confirm to you that we have now hired the full number of math coaches, which we doubled, right across Ontario; we’ve completed the hiring of a math lead in every single school board, as per Bill 98, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act—all designed to improve accountability and outcomes of students when it comes to math skills.

We now require every board to submit three times a year their math achievement action plan, with metrics used to hold the directors and school boards to account, to lift outcomes and improve the pathways of young people into STEM careers.

We have doctors with us, and engineers—

We want young people to have the skills they need to succeed in the modern economy and to achieve good-paying jobs here in Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, the second premise, and the key contrast with members opposite, is that we believe as Progressive Conservatives, when it comes to the quality of teachers, that the merit and qualification of new educators should reign, not their seniority in a union. We will always ensure the best educator has the job. We ensure qualification, diversity and experience are the key attributes when we bring new educators and promote them in Ontario.

We’ll stand up for the rights of kids, stand up for students and for—

The answer is absolutely not. We will be bringing Ontario Place back to life, because right now, it is an asset that is not enjoyed by 15 million Ontarians. We will not stop our work in building the 413 because we know how important it is for people to get to their families faster and reduce congestion.

We are investing $184 billion to build infrastructure that’s desperately needed in the province, and we will get it done.

Minister of Infrastructure.

The next question.

The next question.

The plans went before the people, and they had the opportunity to have their voices heard.

She talks about MZOs. Let’s talk about MZOs for a second, if we can, because I know that when I was Minister of Long-Term Care, I brought municipal zoning orders, I requested them for long-term-care homes in communities that refused to build long-term-care homes. What’s wrong with that, Mr. Speaker? Now, I know they are ideologically opposed to that, because when they were in cahoots with the Liberals, they built 611 long-term-care homes. Now, this Minister of Long-Term Care is ushering 58,000 new and upgraded homes across the province of Ontario.

We’ve said very clearly to our municipal partners, if you’re going to stand in the way of long-term care, we’ll remove the obstacle. If you’re going to stand in the way of students, we’re going to remove the obstacle. If you’re going to stand in the way of transit and transportation, we will remove the obstacle. If you stand in the way of building a bigger, better, stronger, safer Ontario, we’ll remove the obstacle and get it done for the people of the province of Ontario.

So, very clearly, I say to the member: Every single municipality across this province will work with us. We will remove obstacles, and we will build 1.5 million homes. They don’t want them built around transit. They want us to stop that. They don’t want us building long-term care. They don’t want us building homes for students.

Well, I say very clearly to the member for Don Valley West: No. We will continue to do whatever it takes to build more homes for the people of the province of Ontario and untangle the mess that 15 years of Liberals left this—

Interjections.

But make no mistake about it, Mr. Speaker—I understand what the NDP are trying to do. They are trying to put as many obstacles as they can in the way of building homes. This member himself, in his own community—he sat on a council, and he could have helped avert the crisis that we’re seeing in housing in his own community. Did he do it? No, Mr. Speaker. Because for the NDP and the Liberals, it’s not about helping people, it’s about holding them back so that they can only rely on government.

We’re different, Mr. Speaker. What we want to do is give the people the power to succeed. Part of that is ensuring that we have 1.5 million homes. I will not stop in that mission, Mr. Speaker. I will remove obstacles. We, this entire caucus, will get it done for the people of the province of Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve been very clear that I am in the process of developing a policy that will be use-it-or-lose-it—I have no interest in having developers sit on allocations.

But at the same time, perhaps the member can tell me, is it the Innisfil long-term-care home that I issued an MZO on that he’s unhappy with, or is it the Clarington long-term-care home? Is it the Toronto hospital expansion which we issued an MZO on that you’re unhappy with? Maybe it’s the mixed-use housing development in Brampton that you’re unhappy with, or maybe it’s the modular homes that the city of Toronto asked us to provide an MZO with—maybe he’s unhappy with that one.

Maybe it’s the Ajax long-term-care home, maybe it’s the Mississauga long-term-care home, maybe it’s the Toronto mixed-use development that the city of Toronto asked us to develop, maybe it’s the second Ajax long-term-care home, maybe it’s the Aurora long-term-care home, maybe it’s the Oakville long-term-care home, maybe it’s the Hamilton long-term-care home, maybe it’s the Vaughan long-term-care home, maybe it’s the Toronto long-term-care home.

Which of those MZOs—I’ll give him the opportunity to stand in his place—are you unhappy with?

Interjections.

The supplementary question.

Order. Order.

Start the clock. The next question.

The supplementary question.

Back to the Premier: The government has issued an unprecedented number of minister’s zoning orders, which are now being investigated by the Auditor General. By now, we’ve all heard of Mr. X, who has made a whole career out of lobbying the government for these zoning orders which make his clients rich. But does this lead to more affordable houses? No. With no sunset clause for development permits, these land speculators just sit on properties until they can get the highest price.

The greenbelt grab has led to a criminal investigation. Will the government come clean about the MZO backroom deals, or will they need the RCMP to intervene again?

Looking across the way, it looked like the member had a question. I’m glad it’s for me this morning. Thank you very much for that.

Speaker, the list of shortcomings from the last Liberal government is a long one, whether it’s transit, transportation, building homes, the environment, reducing red tape, affordability—we can go on and on. It’s also true when it comes to the long-term-care sector. In fact, the last Premier, Premier Kathleen Wynne, said one of her biggest regrets was not investing more into our seniors in long-term-care.

This government is doing things differently, but the track record of the Liberals still remains. When it came to the four hours of daily care, the Liberals missed that mark by an astonishing hour and 15 minutes when it came to our seniors. We think, on this side of the bench and those government members there, that our seniors deserve better. That’s why we’re not only investing a record $10 billion to expanding capacity when it comes to building new homes—58,000 beds—but $4.9 billion to make sure we have the staffing to carry those four hours. We’re going to take care of our seniors—

Speaker, the member asks an important question: What other updates have been provided? Well, not just an astonishing amount of $10 billion to build those 58,000 new beds—but I’m proud to tell this House that, since 2018, 18,000 beds have been completed or are under construction today. I was just in the great north—from Sud-bury to Timmins to Matheson, all the way down to Huntsville and Gravenhurst—to announce the creation of these brand new beds, led under the leadership of the last Minister of Long-Term Care.

The hours of care that we mentioned earlier—let’s talk about the Liberal record on this. In nine years, they provided an extra 21 minutes of care per resident; that’s like two and a half minutes per resident. We did in one year what the Liberals took nine to do.

We’re on track to hit that four hours of daily care. Our seniors took care of us; this government is going to take care of them.

Our Premier, the Honourable Doug Ford, is second to none in terms of his outreach to the citizens of this province, his availability to meet with and communicate with all of our citizens, and in that sense, he stands as one of the great Premiers of the province of Ontario, with that kind of representation.

I do want to say specifically to this question that this government vowed to stop bad actors from trying to make extra money off the backs of hard-working Ontarians, which is why we announced new changes that strengthen the regulatory tools available to directly address this issue. The Home Construction Regulatory Authority is one of 12 administrative authorities under the jurisdiction of my ministry, and we will work with that administrative authority to make sure that bad actors are stopped in their tracks.

The member opposite has a lot to say about helping Ontarians, but when push comes to shove, the members opposite choose to play politics rather than vote for real supports for Ontarians. They voted against stronger consumer protections for new home buyers. They voted against higher fines for bad developers. And they voted against providing families across the province with the supports they need to purchase a new home. We’ll take no lessons from this gang opposite us.

My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. For nearly a decade, the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, failed to plan ahead for the needs and care of our seniors. As a result, only 611 long-term-care beds were added across our province, and 40,000 Ontarians were left waiting for a place in a long-term-care home. The health care needs of Ontario seniors are becoming more complex. That’s why our government must act right away to ensure that they receive the quality of care they deserve, both now and in the future.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is ensuring that Ontario’s seniors are receiving the care that they deserve?

Seniors across our province are benefiting from additional investments made by our government.

However, more needs to be done and must be done to ensure that we remain focused on implementing measures that will improve the quality of life for residents in long-term care.

Can the minister please elaborate on what our government’s strategies are to increase the amount of direct care provided to residents in long-term-care homes?

My question is to the Premier.

Five years after they paid deposits for new homes, my constituents are being held hostage by a developer. They do not even have a timeline for construction, let alone a new home. Despite multiple appeals, they have gotten no help from this government.

On June 8, I hand-delivered a letter to the Premier asking him to meet with my constituents and hear their stories. They are still waiting for a response, but they are here today in the gallery to hear directly from the Premier. Will he meet with them? Yes or no?

It has been five years and the ground hasn’t even been prepared for building; 26 months and counting since a complaint was filed with the HCRA and no action.

The Premier said he doesn’t support bad developers, but time and time again his actions suggest otherwise.

When are we going to see real measures to hold bad developers accountable?

This act designates the first week in November as a time to heighten awareness regarding the essential early planning for the future living arrangements of our seniors. It is a recognition of the invaluable contributions made by our senior population in Ontario, with the primary goal to enable them to live in environments that best cater to their needs.

By fostering proactive discussions among families, friends and caregivers, this initiative is aimed at lessening the possible challenges associated with unprepared transitions. In essence, this act serves to ensure that all seniors in Ontario can savour their silver years with the dignity and respect that they deserve.

I’d like to welcome to the House Maddy Torres, who is a Durham College student who is interning in my office. I’d also like to welcome, from Ontario Place for All, Norm Di Pasquale, Cynthia Wilkey, Erika Wybourne, Christine Hutchings, Faith Jones, Rosemary Merkley, Julia Sasso, Debbie Green, Anne Low, Andrea Crawford, Heather Brooks, Joanne Enser, Sara Audrain, Heather Johnston, Julie Foley, Guillaume Gogo, Alex Wilmot, Jane French, Paul French, John Scott Tripp, Judi Walsh, Anahita Mahdi, Lisa Neighbour, Matthew Herbert, Jennifer Wood, Lazzell Gelias, Alexandra Horsky, Geoff Kettell, Tai Fu Wong-LaRose, Sara Winnett, Robin Wordsworth and Oliver Waddington. Welcome to your House.

Mr. Calandra moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 136, An Act to amend the Greenbelt Act, 2005 and certain other Acts, to enact the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve Act, 2023, to repeal an Act and to revoke various regulations / Projet de loi 136, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2005 sur la ceinture de verdure et d’autres lois, édictant la Loi de 2023 sur la Réserve agricole de Duffins-Rouge et abrogeant une loi et divers règlements.

Supplementary question?

Next question.

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1150 to 1300.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

I want to thank my colleague from Brantford–Brant for everything that he does for this community and standing up against hate.

And I want to thank our first responders, who keep our communities safe every day. That’s why our government is working to provide our police with the tools and resources they need every day, and we’re investing more than $4.5 million to help police services provide specialized support to people who are experiencing a mental health or addiction crisis. The Mobile Crisis Response Team Enhancement Grant enables police to do work with trained crisis workers when responding to those in need. These crisis workers help de-escalate distress situations.

And at the end of the day, everyone that keeps Ontario safe will know, and do know, that our government will always have their backs.

Mr. Speaker, I’m proud to say that our recent announcement includes investments to 39 police services, both municipal and OPP, and in all regions of Ontario. We will always have the backs of everyone that keeps Ontario safe.

Monsieur le Président, nous investissons de manière proactive, ciblée et précise afin de lutter contre la criminalité et d’assurer la sécurité de nos collectivités. Et, monsieur le Président, de plus, nous continuerons de faire ce qui est difficile pour assurer la sécurité de l’Ontario.

Look, the member will know that we made a public policy decision that was not supported by the people of the province of Ontario and that is why we are presenting legislation later on today to return those lands to the greenbelt.

The member asks why we brought a decision like that forward. Well, principally because we want to build 1.5 million homes for the people of the province of Ontario, and that includes in his own riding. I’ve actually been heartened by the responses that I’m getting from northern Ontario thanks to the hard work of the Minister of Northern Development, who was telling me—and communities, frankly, reaching out to me saying that they want to participate in building homes for their communities. They’re seeing jobs coming back to their communities, and they want to participate in that.

It is true that the member opposite voted against, for instance, Mining Act changes that would have brought even more jobs and opportunity to his community. But I can say to him and people in this riding that we won’t let them down. We’ll continue to work towards improving that economy and building homes for the people in his riding as well.

Well, you know what, Mr. Speaker? The people of northern Ontario returned more Progressive Conservatives to this legislature following that election. But this member, he doubled down. He doubled down: He voted against the Mining Act changes that would bring more jobs and opportunity to his community. He voted against legislation that would bring more housing to his community.

So I say to the member this: I know you’re going to get up in your place and every single day vote against the people of the province of Ontario. But fear not. We have the members from northern Ontario in this caucus who will stand up for the—

The legislation would also restore protections previously provided by the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve Act, 2005. It would strengthen immunity provisions. And, finally, it proposes to maintain the 9,400 acres that were added to the greenbelt in 2022.

Mrs. Wai moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 137, An Act to proclaim Planning for Your Silver Years Awareness Week / Projet de loi 137, Loi proclamant la Semaine de sensibilisation à la planification de l’âge d’or.