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?

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.

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.

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 Marg Szabo for sending this petition.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas all Ontarians have the right to adequate housing;

“Whereas to ensure an adequate supply of housing, Ontario must build 1.5 million new market and non-market homes over the next decade; and

“Whereas the for-profit private market by itself will not, and cannot, deliver enough homes that are affordable and meet the needs of Ontarians for all incomes, ages, family sizes, abilities and cultures;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to implement a comprehensive housing plan that ensures the right of all Ontarians to adequate housing, including:

“—ending exclusionary zoning and enabling access to affordable and adequate housing options in all neighbourhoods;

“—stabilizing housing markets and stopping harmful speculation; establishing a strong public role in the funding, delivery, acquisition and protection of an adequate supply of affordable and non-market homes;

“—protecting tenants from rent gouging and displacement, and ensuring the inclusivity of growing neighbourhoods; and

“—focusing growth efficiently and sustainably within existing urban boundaries, while protecting irreplaceable farmland, wetlands, the greenbelt and other natural heritage from costly and unsustainable urban sprawl.”

I fully support this petition and pass it to page Gurkaram to deliver to the table.

It gives me great honour to present the following petition entitled “Health Care: Not for Sale.” It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of your wallet;

“Whereas Premier ... Ford and Health Minister ... Jones say they’re planning to privatize parts of health care;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals, making the health care crisis worse;

“Whereas privatization always ends with patients getting a bill;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 and recruiting, retaining, and respecting doctors, nurses and PSWs with better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario, who wait years and pay thousands to have their credentials certified;

“—10 employer-paid sick days;

“—making education and training free or low-cost for nurses, doctors, and other health care professionals;

“—incentivizing doctors and nurses to choose to live and work in northern Ontario;

“—funding hospitals to have enough nurses on every shift, on every ward.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature and deliver it with page EJ to the Clerks.

I would love to introduce two beautiful Beaches–East Yorkers who are here crusading for the amazing Ontario Place, and also my new co-op student from Danforth tech high school, a fantastic east end high school, Will.

Ms. Stiles has moved opposition day number 2.

I look to the Leader of the Opposition to lead off the debate.

Mr. Speaker, I’m pleased for us to be able to debate the following motion:

Whereas Ontario Place is public property intended for the public benefit; and

Whereas there has been no meaningful public consultation on how Ontario Place should be developed; and

Whereas there is evidence to suggest that the bidding process gave an unfair advantage to specific companies and there was no fairness monitor in place to oversee the process; and

Whereas the government has refused to release details of the reported 95-year lease for a private spa; and

Whereas the government is spending at least $650 million of public money to provide private benefits for the spa; and

Whereas people are experiencing an affordability crisis and feeling the impacts of this government’s cuts to health care, education and housing;

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the government to terminate the lease with Therme Canada and stop the transfer of public funds to private profits.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to tell this government how the people of Ontario are doing. They’re deeply struggling. The relentless rise in the cost of living, housing, rent, mortgages, groceries and gas is forcing Ontarians to make very tough choices. They’re making meal choices depending on what grocery items are on sale.

And while Ontarians are stressed about how they’re going to stretch their paycheque till the end of the month, or whether renoviction and potential homelessness is around the corner for them, in these tough financial times, what we have is a Premier and a government who are busy trying to get a luxury spa built on public land in downtown Toronto. I’m talking about the Premier’s illogical plan for Ontario Place and what he believes is—I want to quote him here—a “bold vision.” That’s the Premier’s own words, not mine—definitely not mine. Let me tell you, there is nothing bold about a plan that is handing hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to a private company for a luxury spa that most people will not even be able to afford, because most people right now are struggling to afford the basic necessities of life. The only thing that’s bold about this plan is how arrogantly this government is steamrolling over a public park, ignoring the interests of Ontarians and blatantly disregarding taxpayers.

Speaker, just like with the greenbelt, the official opposition won’t stop asking questions until this government gives us and the people of this province some answers and until trust and transparency and accountability are returned to Queen’s Park. In this effort, the official opposition NDP has asked the provincial Auditor General to conduct a compliance investigation and value-for-money audit of the government’s plans. We also submitted a freedom-of-information request to Infrastructure Ontario to get answers for Ontarians—answers and transparency this government has been denying the people of this province.

Today, I can reveal that the Ontario NDP has obtained documents Infrastructure Ontario provided that contain mounting evidence of a rigged process for the Ontario Place redevelopment—a rigged process that ultimately saw this public parkland handed over to Therme. These documents, Speaker, include a parking study from Infrastructure Ontario from January 2021, and that mentions Therme and its half-billion-dollar parking garage nearly two years before the public even knew about it. It suggests that the Premier gifted a publicly funded, half-billion-dollar parking garage to Therme and hid it from the public for nearly two years and throughout an entire election. That’s half a billion dollars of Ontarians’ money spent on an elite luxury spa while people were pleading—pleading, Speaker—for investment in emergency rooms in this province and schools. The greenbelt smelled bad from the very beginning and so does this one.

Ontarians know a bad deal when they see one. That’s why we banded together to stop the greenbelt grab in its track. Now we are looking at a government that is under criminal investigation by the RCMP. Madam Speaker, if the Premier has nothing to hide, then why won’t they give us more details of the rushed and secretive deal that this government has cut with Therme, a private European company? The Ontario NDP is committed to making sure that this land is publicly accessible not just today, but in perpetuity.

We’ve learned through recent media reports—through the media, but not, by the way, through this government, despite many, many requests—that Minister Surma was informed by Carmine Nigro, chair of Ontario Place Corp.—and, by the way, I want to point out again, a major donor and a friend of the Premier’s and a donor to this party, but also somebody that not only is the chair of Ontario Place, but was made the chair of the LCBO because, you know, one’s not good enough. That site had 2.8 million visitors in 2022. That’s according to Carmine Nigro, the chair of Ontario Place Corp.: 2.8 million visitors in 2022. They turned a record profit.

You know what? I checked. That’s actually almost on par with the number of visitors to the Statue of Liberty in a year. That’s no small thing. So why is it that Minister Surma never shared these numbers with the public? Why did she instead choose to keep Ontarians in the dark and insist that Ontario Place is not enjoyed by not just Torontonians, but by Ontarians? The people of this province are being kept in the dark about what this deal is costing them. They’re being kept in the dark about the facts of who goes and how many visitors go to Ontario Place. And let me tell you that the number of what this deal is costing the people of this province keeps on growing.

Initial estimates put taxpayers on the hook for $650 million for the parking garage—a parking garage—but also, yes, I’ll grant you, for some site preparation. But we’re now seeing that that is a low estimate. It appears that taxpayers are also going to be on the hook for the upgraded water and sewer systems to fill this private luxury spa’s pools and to treat their sewage water.

Commercial property in downtown Toronto sells for approximately $200 per buildable square foot. With 700,000 square feet, that means the West Island at Ontario Place is worth about $1.4 billion. Not only is this government handing over this prime, valuable, public parkland to an Austrian corporation for free, they’re also giving this corporation hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money. We, the official opposition, want this project and this sketchy deal cancelled.

My NDP colleague and our infrastructure critic, Jennifer French, has asked the minister and the Premier some really tough questions about their Therme project and the details, and their response has only been, “Just trust us.” I’m going to tell you, “Just trust us” isn’t going to cut it with Ontarians. Ontarians need to know how much of their hard-earned tax dollars are going to a private company to make this luxury spa so that rich people can get expensive massages. The Premier has asserted that there’s no taxpayer money on the line. Well, I really wish that were so—I really do—but it is not going to be the case.

I just want to point out, Speaker, while we’re on the topic, that we are seeing a troubling pattern of this government’s obsession with massages.

Interjection.

I’d like to thank Terri Rinta, a proud steelworker from USW Local 2020, who helped collect these petitions during Labour Day. It is a petition to enact anti-scab labour law.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas strikes and lockouts are rare: on average, 97% of collective agreements are negotiated without work disruption; and

“Whereas anti-replacement workers laws have existed in Quebec since 1978, in British Columbia since 1993, and in Ontario under the NDP government, it was repealed by the Harris conservative government;

“Whereas anti-scab legislation has reduced the length and divisiveness of labour disputes; and

“Whereas the use of scab labour during a strike or lockout is damaging to the social fabric of a community in the short and long term, as well as, the well-being of its residents;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario...:

“To pass the anti-scab labour bill to ban the use of replacement workers during a strike or lockout.”

I wholeheartedly support this, Speaker. I affix my signature and provide it to page Clara.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas anti-2SLGBTQI+ hate crimes and harassment are increasing across Ontario;

“Whereas drag artists have been specifically targeted for intimidation by anti-2SLGBTQI+ extremists;

“Whereas drag performance is a liberating and empowering art form that allows diverse communities to see themselves represented and celebrated;

“Whereas drag artists, small businesses, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities deserve to feel safe everywhere in Ontario;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pass the Keeping 2SLGBTQI+ Communities Safe Act so that 2SLGBTQI+ safety zones can deter bigoted harassment and an advisory committee can be struck to protect 2SLGBTQI+ communities from hate crimes.”

I support this petition. I’ll affix my signature and provide it to page Yijie for the Clerks’ table.

This petition is entitled “All-Day, Two-Way (Including Weekend) GO Trains for Waterloo Region.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the government of Ontario is responsible for investing in building, maintaining and upgrading GO Transit trains and rail routes throughout the province; and

“Whereas the government of Ontario has repeatedly made commitments to invest in and improve GO Transit trains for the purposes of improving connectivity, increasing transit ridership, decreasing traffic congestion, connecting people to jobs, and improving the economy; and

“Whereas a lack of reliable transit options impedes quality of life and growth opportunities for commuters and businesses, including the tech sector, in Waterloo region;

“Whereas Waterloo region is home to three post-secondary institutions, the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Conestoga College, whose students and staff require weekday and weekend train options; and

“Whereas dependable, efficient public transit seven days of the week is critical to the growth of our region;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to provide a firm funding commitment and a clear timeline for the delivery of frequent, all-day, two-way GO rail service along the full length of the vital Kitchener GO corridor.”

It’s my pleasure to affix my signature to this petition on behalf of the people of Waterloo region and give it to the Waterloo page, Trent.

J’ai une pétition intitulée « Appuyez l’Université de Sudbury.

« À l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario :

« Attendu que les Franco-Ontarien(ne)s du Nord ont travaillé pendant un siècle pour la création d’une institution d’enseignement supérieur francophone pour, par et avec les Franco-Ontarien(ne)s à travers l’Université de Sudbury; et

« Attendu que 65,9 % des Franco-Ontarien(ne)s croient que la province devrait financer l’Université de Sudbury pour la mise en place de sa programmation d’enseignement supérieur en français; et

« Attendu que les Franco-Ontariens se battent toujours pour leur droit d’obtenir la même qualité d’enseignement donné dans la langue minoritaire française que dans la langue majoritaire tel que garanti par la Charte; et

« Attendu que des études ont démontré qu’à terme, l’Université de Sudbury générerait 89,3 millions de dollars pour la région; et

« Attendu qu’il y a 8 500 Franco-Ontarien(ne)s âgés entre 10 et 19 ans qui auraient l’option d’intégrer un établissement d’études supérieures en français seulement près de chez eux dans les 10 prochaines années;

« Nous, soussignés, pétitionnons l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario :

« De garantir le financement nécessaire de 10 millions de dollars par année tel que demandé par l’Université de Sudbury pour assurer l’avenir de l’Université de Sudbury, un établissement d’enseignement supérieur fait pour, par et avec les Franco-Ontariens, et ce dès maintenant. »

Je supporte cette pétition. Ça me fait plaisir de signer la pétition et la remettre au page Yijie pour l’amener à la table des Clerks.

We know. But if they really want to see this spa built, then the city of Toronto mayor, Oliva Chow, has graciously proposed an alternative: the Better Living Centre, which would also, I think, perhaps be a better fit.

All the people of this province want to know is, how much is this really going to cost them? The official opposition NDP care as well about public accountability for their hard-earned tax dollars.

But Ontarians also want to know why, since 2018—that’s five years of this Premier’s government—an annual report for Ontario Place has not been published once, not once—all of a sudden, no published reports. They’ve kept secret how much revenue has been brought in from tenants like Live Nation or expenses that Ontario Place has incurred during this time. These reports are supposed to be published around the same time as public accounts every year. Ontario Place Corp.’s financial results are consolidated annually by the government of Ontario. Let me be clear what that means: This government knows. They know, but they aren’t going to tell us. Why? Why is this government so bent on hiding facts and the truth from the very people who pay their salaries, from the very people who will be paying for this absolutely nonsense deal? We see absolutely no transparency, no responsibility from this government, and I think the people of Ontario are asking, “What are they hiding?”

We’ve got them under investigation by the RCMP right now for a deal that was bad—a bad deal. I want to say, the people of this province have said enough is enough. They want to know what this Premier has signed them up for, why he won’t release the terms of the 95-year lease of our public lands, our waterfront, that he is gifting to a private foreign company. Why the secrecy?

The questions just keep coming. Who stands to benefit? Who stands to benefit from this backroom deal? Because it certainly isn’t the people of Ontario. This deal shows us that, once again, insiders are everywhere when it comes to this government. I’ll let you connect the dots, Speaker.

We have Mark Lawson, Therme Canada’s highest-profile executive, who worked in Premier Ford’s office and, guess what, before that, as chief of staff for the Minister of Finance. Then there’s Edward Birnbaum, a new hire announced about a week ago, who came from—also a friend of the Premier—Mayor John Tory’s staff. Finally, there’s Simon Bredin, a Therme spokesperson, who has worked formerly for Navigator, connected to the Conservative Party. Spacing magazine has noted that Therme’s top strategy consultant is John Perenack, another Conservative Party insider whose clients have included EllisDon, the general contractor for the Ontario Place site services replacement project.

Through freedom-of-information requests and questions before the legislative committee, the NDP has learned that there was no fairness monitor for the Ontario Place procurement. I want to remind the people of Ontario: This is standard practice for large procurements, because it’s there to ensure fairness and integrity. Why wasn’t there a fairness monitor?

The government has also been unable to show any scoring criteria used to assess the bids, or the scorecards for each bid. Without the scorecards, we don’t have any way of knowing whether the contract was awarded based on evidence or preferential treatment. Preferential treatment, Speaker: I suspect that’s going to be the real issue here.

Journalist John Lorinc—who, I think, actually is a resident of my riding, a constituent—was writing for Spacing magazine, and he found that the procurement process “lacked ... detail about project financing and public information on other proposals for the site.” I wanted to quote him here. He’s an award-winning journalist, and he writes, “What’s more—and this seems like a highly salient detail—the 38 other bidders were told, in the Call for Development document, that the site had adequate parking, and that they should fashion their proposals accordingly. It was only after the government (via Infrastructure Ontario) selected Therme that it announced the construction of a massive five-level parking garage—an unambiguous commercial benefit to Therme that was never made available to the other bidders.”

Speaker, none of this looks right. It doesn’t sound right. It doesn’t smell right. This government is tanking in trust and accountability—

I think it’s my opportunity to speak to the motion.

Madam Speaker, Ontario Place is a site that is not living up to its potential and only has one remaining major attraction, Budweiser Stage.

I am glad to stand in this House today to speak to the facts.

In 2012, the Liberal government made the decision to close portions of Ontario Place, including the water park, amusement rides and Cinesphere. They did this because dismal attendance numbers had left the once-iconic destination a liability rather than an attraction. When announcing the closure, the then tourism minister, Michael Chan, even said himself during a press conference right here at Queen’s Park that “Ontario Place has been a drain on the government treasury for many years ... it’s no longer sustainable.” Those are not my words but rather the words of a Liberal minister. John Tory was then named chair of the Ontario Place revitalization committee, who exercised a procurement for Ontario Place. Dalton McGuinty was Premier and the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party at that time.

And, in 2018, Kathleen Wynne also wanted to revitalize Ontario Place and solicited proposals.

Criticisms as of late by the Ontario Liberals over our government’s redevelopment plans could not be more disingenuous. It’s clear that even the governments of McGuinty and Wynne were able to recognize that Ontario Place was falling into disrepair and that no one was going there anymore and that this had to change.

More than half of visitors to Ontario Place this year are attending concerts at Budweiser Stage, the one remaining major attraction.

These are the figures. These are the facts.

Following the partial closure of Ontario Place in 2012, Ontario Place Corp. began to experiment in 2016 with how the site could be programmed leading into and up to the redevelopment of Ontario Place—public engagement, visitor attraction, and to help offset some of the costs associated with keeping the site open.

Record Lake Ontario water levels in 2017 led to severe flooding across the site. Marina slips were under water and not available to rent. The flooding issues were so bad that even Live Nation amphitheatre attendance was impacted.

In 2018, Ontario Place Corp. could resume its programming post-flood.

In 2019, we saw attendance grow thanks to the great shows at Live Nation’s Budweiser Stage and a successful run of Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria—a contract the government of Ontario secured—and, of course, viewing parties for the Toronto Raptors championship run that year.

The story for 2020 is well-known, with the pandemic leading to the cancellation of the Budweiser Stage concert season, to the closure and eventually limited reopening of the Cinesphere, and to a delayed opening of the marina. Life stopped. People were encouraged to protect themselves and stay at home. One of the few safe activities, of course, was being outdoors.

While the return to mass gatherings was cautious, OPC visitation in 2022 reached its highest levels since the closure given that the pandemic was ending and people were finally able to enjoy life again. Cirque du Soleil’s Kurios and record concert attendance for Live Nation concerts, which included Echo Beach, Budweiser Stage and Rolling Loud, were once again enjoyed by the public.

As early work commenced on the site’s utility upgrades and restoration of the pods and bridges continued in 2023, parts of the site including the marina, parking lot P2A and the path through the marina that connects Trillium Park and West Island were closed to ensure safety for the public.

Madam Speaker, the lack of attendance at Ontario Place has been a challenge since the 1990s. The only real draw to Ontario Place is the Budweiser Stage. Flooding has been an ongoing issue in need of a resolution.

It seems like the NDP is the only party that does not want to bring Ontario Place back to life. Dalton McGuinty, John Tory and Kathleen Wynne all wanted to redevelop Ontario Place; the difference between us and them is that this is the government that will get the job done.

Together with the 9,200 people who have been consulted on this project to date, we are building a world-class destination with over 50 acres of free public spaces and parks that will have attractions and activities to bring people back to Ontario Place: a new marina that’s more inclusive for everyone to enjoy; a new science centre with more and modern exhibition space that will be open all year round; Therme’s health and wellness facility and family water park, again, open all year round; a new all-season concert venue; and so much more—like annual dollars from our tenants for annual maintenance to keep the site in a state of good repair, clean and beautiful, and shoreline repairs which are desperately needed to protect the island from future floods.

If the members opposite want to know who goes to Ontario Place, just ask any random person on the street who does not live in walking distance. I already know what they will say.

Speaker, I move adjournment of the debate.

The ayes are 61; the nays are 31.

It’s indefensible.

The member from Waterloo is right: This is indefensible.

They now have a criminal investigation at their door. We can’t trust a word they say. They have to show us the papers. They need to open the books, because the people of this province deserve answers. So I ask: Why won’t the Minister of Infrastructure show us the business case that she says showed it was more expensive to renovate the Ontario Science Centre than build a new one at Ontario Place?

Interjection.

Will the Premier and his government leave Ontarians on the hook to pay for something for the next 100 years that they never wanted in the first place? Should the Therme spa fail, what happens then? Can this foreign company do what they want on our public lands? Is this another shady deal that’s tapping into the public coffers of this province to benefit private interests? I’ll tell you, it has all the makings of one.

Speaker, I want to end by saying that the last thing this government needs is another criminal investigation. That’s why we, in the official opposition NDP, are asking this government to just cancel this ridiculous deal; get realistic about revitalizing this important public land, this important waterfront; keep it public; and stop this pattern of handing out secret backroom deals to corporations over the public interest. Will they step out on the right side of governance today and pass our motion?