Members will please take their seats.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Start the clock. The next question.

Let’s just be clear: not sorry, just sorry they got caught.

This question is, again, for the Premier. Speaker, one of the reasons why this government is under RCMP investigation is because they put their friends and insiders ahead of the needs of everyone else. Since 2018, this government has given countless patronage appointments and even seven-figure contracts to their friends and donors.

Exhibit A: They tried to appoint the Premier’s friend—remember that?— Ron Taverner to head up the OPP.

Exhibit B: They appointed the Premier’s friend Mark Saunders as a special adviser to Ontario Place. Our FOI found no proof he did any work.

Exhibit C: Another friend and honoured wedding guest, Carmine Nigro, made LCBO chair and Ontario Place chair.

More to come, I’m sure.

Speaker, back, to the Premier: Why is the government stacking the deck with their unqualified insiders?

Interjections.

But it doesn’t stop there, because a majority of senior members on Ontario’s major tribunals have connections back to this Conservative Party. Massage tables, “boys’ trips” to Vegas, luxury spas—this government and their friends are living it up while people in this province suffer.

My question to the Premier is, how many times must your government get caught before there’s a moral reckoning in this province?

Interjections.

A significant visit on so many levels. The province of Ontario stands ready to respond. Regional economic support promoting Ontario’s northern development couldn’t be more critical for a new centre of gravity that is emerging in that municipality and the surrounding First Nations communities.

The focus of that visit with the Premier and I was training, employment, commercial infrastructure and community enhancement. We announced investments in Nedaak, to build a training complex for First Nations to participate in the forest sector; the Minodahmun Development incorporation, to build a commercial plaza right at the heart and soul of where the corridor to prosperity will begin; and some community enhancement projects throughout the municipality of Greenstone, sprucing up some of their arenas and other recreational infrastructure.

We have an enormous opportunity here. The province stands ready. The municipality of Greenstone and the surrounding First Nations communities recognize that.

We also announced the ability of Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services—based in Thunder Bay, but it has more than seven participating First Nations communities all throughout the central corridor of northern Ontario—to provide Red Seal training for young First Nations people.

There’s a lot of work to do. I talked about the infrastructure that we’re building in that corridor. I know the Minister of Energy is really excited about the corridor, which will not only supply Greenstone but move up into the corridor to prosperity. This is a great opportunity. It’s even more awesome to know that it’s going to be built by First Nations young people.

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development.

The previous Liberal government, propped up by the NDP, drove jobs out of Ontario and failed to unlock our province’s full economic potential. Instead of support, the north endured insults from the previous Liberal government, who called them a “no man’s land.” That is why our government must recognize the incredible opportunities that exist in northern Ontario and the First Nations communities as we continue to partner with them for their economic growth.

I understand that the Premier recently made a historic visit to the municipality of Greenstone in northwestern Ontario, to witness the incredible economic transformation that is taking place there. Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is promoting economic development projects in northern communities, especially in towns like Greenstone?

That is why it is vital that our government continues to make investments that will promote training, education and skills development to fill current and future job vacancies in this important region. Speaker, will the minister please explain how our government is investing in the workers of tomorrow to build up northern communities?

To the Premier: The NDP has obtained a document showing that this government had been planning to build a massive, government-funded parking garage at Ontario Place nearly two years before telling the public. The parking garage will cost half a billion tax dollars, for the benefit of Therme, a private luxury spa. But the original RFP stated that bidders to redevelop Ontario Place would need to work with the existing parking and that the government would not pay for additional parking facilities.

This government is under criminal investigation by the RCMP for the greenbelt grab, and this is yet another suspicious deal. Did the government give Therme preferential treatment by accepting a bid that required a taxpayer-funded parking garage?

Interjections.

It should be no shock to anybody here that the NDP don’t think that two superior police officers—people who have served their community for what, 150 years combined?—are qualified to continue to serve the people of the province of Ontario. That highlights, in itself, the difference between the NDP and the Liberals, Mr. Speaker.

What we do is, for qualified people who have served their community for generations, we ask them to continue to serve. What do they do? They shout them down. They protest them. That is the legacy of the Liberals and the NDP. They do it every single day.

That is why they’re standing in the way of building a better, stronger Ontario. That is why they want carbon taxes, because it’s not about making people more prosperous. For them, it’s about making sure that the people of the province of Ontario rely only on government.

For us, we want to give people the tools to succeed each and every day. That means providing more money in their pockets, providing supports for families and building houses for them. While they get in the way, we’ll remove them as an obstacle, and we’ll move forward for the people of the province of Ontario.

They have members who bring around signs that say, “F the police.”

At their convention this weekend, when brought forward with policies that they didn’t necessarily agree with, they said, “We don’t have to care about anybody else. It’s just about us.” They brought policies to increase taxes, Mr. Speaker.

You have an option. You could tell your friends in Ottawa who hold the balance of power, don’t take your example. Do the right thing. Bring down a government that is costing the people of the province of Ontario billions of dollars, that puts our economy at risk, that harms us in terms of affordability, and that’s causing high interest rates. Will you do the right thing and tell them to bring them down so that we get a government that respects the people in Ottawa?

Interjections.

The planning process followed all of the rules established by this Legislature, as a matter of fact.

I know the member is upset. She’s upset because of the changes that we have made that have seen jobs come back to the province of Ontario, her region, because of the hard work of the Progressive Conservative members of the provincial Parliament. They’re seeing jobs and opportunity come back like never before. Because of the hard work of the Minister of Colleges and Universities, that sector is thriving there as well.

It’s an odd thing: When more people want to come to an area they want to have a place to live. Because of that, we are ensuring, by working with our municipal partners, that there will be places for people to live in Kitchener-Waterloo.

We’re going even further than that. We’re asking our partners across the province to join with us in building 1.5 million homes for the people of the province of Ontario—large communities, small communities. I’ve heard from small-town mayors in northern Ontario who have said, “Don’t count us out. We can build five, six, seven—we want to be a part of it.” And you know what? We’ll make sure that they’re a part of that, Mr. Speaker.

My question is to the Premier. Last week, we learned that this government is under another criminal investigation by the RCMP and that the Auditor General’s office is investigating the Conservatives’ shady MZO process. The government’s pattern of fiscal and environmental irresponsibility is finally coming to light.

In Waterloo region the forced expansion of 2,200 acres of precious green space and farmland to development is cause for legitimate concern. This threatens the Waterloo moraine, the main source of drinking water supply, and once again disrespects First Nations who supported our responsible regional plan. No process, no consultation, no transparency, no due diligence with no plan to address the housing crisis: Who is driving these decisions? Because it certainly will be costly on all fronts.

At the same time as the RCMP criminal investigation on the greenbelt land scandal, an auditor is investigating the MZOs “R” Us model of land use planning. These forced boundary expansions are profoundly undemocratic and won’t address housing or affordability concerns.

Why is this Premier and this government so beholden to land speculators, so eager to bend to their wishes, that they’re willing to cast aside good governance and the duty to consult?

My question is for the Minister of Energy. Under the previous Liberal government, Ontario saw an exodus of more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs. But thanks to the leadership of the Premier and the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, our province is witnessing a revitalization and expansion in our manufacturing sector.

Our government has announced significant new investments being made here in Ontario, particularly in electric vehicle production and battery manufacturing. While all of these investments are great, they also mean an increased demand in our electricity network. That’s why it’s so vital that our government take action to meet the current and long-term electricity needs of residents and businesses.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what our government is doing to ensure that Ontario has sufficient energy capacity to meet our growing needs?

It’s encouraging for the people of Ontario and for businesses that are looking to invest here. Our province is well positioned to provide clean, affordable and reliable energy. As our province moves toward an electric future, with a strong electric-vehicle supply chain network, the need for reliable, low-cost and clean power has never been greater. That’s why our government must remain focused. Actions to ensure that our energy supply will continue to meet the needs of a growing population and industrial expansion are critical.

Can the minister please elaborate on what energy policies our government will advance to help build a stronger Ontario and strengthen our competitive advantage?

Thanks to the member from Peterborough for the tough but fair question this morning. He’s absolutely right when he says one thing: Under the previous Liberal government, supported every step of the way by the NDP, we saw hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs leaving our province. Since we brought in some economic stability to Ontario, under the leadership of our Premier and our Minister of Economic Development and everybody working so hard to remove red tape and make this a sought-after jurisdiction, we have multi-billion-dollar electric vehicle platforms that are coming back to Ontario, Mr. Speaker—EV battery manufacturing.

The folks from Dofasco are here with us today. They’re putting in electric arc furnaces at their facilities in Hamilton, just like they are at Algoma in Sault Ste. Marie.

For the first time since 2005, we’re seeing increased electricity demand in our province to make sure that we’re powering those businesses and those homes that we’re going to be building as well, Mr. Speaker. We know that millions of people are coming to Ontario because this is the place where they want to do business and, earlier this summer, I unleashed our plan to power Ontario’s growth and I’ll have more to say in the supplementary.

Under the plan we’re investing in 4,800 new megawatts at Bruce Power on the west coast of Ontario, taking that world-leading facility to an even bigger emissions-free generating facility for our province. We’re not just building one small modular reactor on the site at Darlington with OPG; we’ve announced under the Powering Ontario’s Growth plan that we’re going to be building four small modular reactors there. That’s enough clean power to power 1.2 million homes. We’re making the investments that we need in large-scale and small-scale nuclear reactors. We have the largest energy procurement in the country going with our battery-storage facilities located across Ontario, and we’ve invested $1 billion into energy-efficiency programs. We’re going to have the power that Ontario needs.

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?

Members will take their seats.

Minister of Infrastructure.

Minister of Infrastructure.

The next question.

The next question.

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?

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—

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?

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.

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.