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.

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?

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?

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.

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 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 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.

Thank you to the member for that important question. Over the past few years, it’s been an absolute privilege for me to be able to work so closely alongside the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and so many Indigenous leaders and communities across the province to discuss how our government can help improve mental health and addictions outcomes for Indigenous people throughout the province of Ontario.

Trauma-informed care, low-barrier addictions medicine, services closer to home, and culturally safe and appropriate care are critical to ensure that we have the system that works for everyone. These are things that I have consistently heard from members throughout the province of Ontario.

I’m proud to say that through the $7-million investment, we will be funding new land-and-water-based healing programs in First Nations communities across the province. From Kettle and Stony Point in the south to Kashechewan in the north and points beyond, we’re working to ensure Indigenous people struggling with mental health and addictions issues have the care and access they need wherever they are in the province of Ontario.

Au premier ministre : les temps sont difficiles pour les travailleurs de l’Ontario. Chaque mois, ils se voient confrontés à des coûts de la vie plus élevés combinés avec les diminutions des services publics. Les gens nous disent qu’ils sont épuisés et qu’au lieu de voir un gouvernement qui leur vient en aide, ils voient un gouvernement les deux pieds dans des scandales sans fin.

Monsieur le Président, les révélations de la mainmise du gouvernement sur la ceinture de verdure, à la hauteur de 8 milliards de dollars, s’aggravent. Les Ontariens méritent des réponses. Le premier ministre peut-il confirmer que son gouvernement fait actuellement l’objet d’une enquête criminelle de la GRC?

Ce premier ministre a dit aux électeurs qu’il était différent. Il a déclaré que son parti ne prioriserait pas leur cercle d’amis comme l’ont fait les libéraux. Il a promis de mettre fin au copinage qui a fait tomber le gouvernement libéral. Cinq ans plus tard, Ford et son gouvernement font l’objet d’une enquête criminelle de la GRC.

Monsieur le Président, au premier ministre : comment les Ontariens peuvent-ils faire confiance à leur gouvernement alors qu’il fait l’objet d’une enquête criminelle active?

My question is for the Solicitor General. Across Ontario, police services are experiencing a substantial increase in mental-health-related calls. Many situations are complex and call for resources that go beyond what police officers may be able to provide in responding to an incident where an individual is in distress. Individuals who are experiencing a mental health or addictions crisis need specialized assistance. They may also need to be connected to health care and to community supports. That is why our government must do all that we can to help those most in need, no matter where they live in the province of Ontario.

Speaker, can the Solicitor General please explain what our government is doing to help our front-line officers in supporting people who are experiencing a mental health crisis?

Investments into mobile crisis response teams will go a long way to helping to improve safety and care for individuals who are in distress. The reality is that these situations are affecting all communities large and small, rural and urban. We need to ensure that investments by our government are reaching all regions of Ontario.

Speaker, can the Solicitor General please elaborate on how funding for mobile crisis response teams is being allocated and how their work will translate into improved outcomes?

Indigenous leaders have been clear that the intergenerational impacts of the residential schools program continue to affect the mental health of their communities across the province. Our government’s $3.8 billion Roadmap to Wellness is rebuilding and strengthening the mental health and addictions system to expand health services and supports. However, we know that Indigenous peoples and communities have faced many barriers to accessing safe, effective mental health and addictions care.

Can the associate minister please explain how our government is supporting Indigenous communities in Ontario with the mental health care and services that they need?