I agree with the member when he says, “Wow,” and that’s what companies across the world are saying about Ontario’s post-secondary education when they’re looking at coming to Ontario.

I’m a strong believer in what the member has said: To be the best, you need to set the standard. Programs like Learn and Stay, micro-credentials and three-year college degrees are all examples of what our government is doing, taking leadership in new and exciting areas in post-secondary education that are being replicated across Canada and the world.

We have made investments in the research being done on our campuses that are leading to constant innovations and new ways of thinking that are shaping the future of education and work, and the world is taking notice. That’s why global businesses are lining up and setting up shop in Ontario—because they know the education and skill set of our graduates is second to none.

Speaker, if the members of this House still aren’t convinced, I suggest they join me tomorrow at the Ontario College Fair, where they can see first-hand how Ontario colleges are ready to continue to prepare students for the jobs of the future.

To the Premier: The Premier refuses to disclose the terms of the government’s 95-year lease with Therme, but we know the agreement forces Ontario taxpayers to pay at least $650 million for a new parking garage and site preparation. This is a 95-year deal with an Austrian company that was facing bankruptcy just three years ago.

Normally, Infrastructure Ontario discloses who is putting up the financing for its projects, but not in this case.

So my question to the Premier is, what is the source of Therme’s financing for its Ontario Place development?

Thank you to the member for the question. Mr. Speaker, what we are trying to achieve here is to have good tenants on the site that will have activities for families to do all year round, and Therme does that. What we are also trying to achieve on the site is to build parking so that we can make it accessible for families across Ontario to visit the site that belongs to the people of Ontario—that’s 15 million people.

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to make progress on the site and bring it back to life so that it will once again be enjoyed by families all the time. It is not today.

Mr. Speaker, Ontario Place has fallen into disrepair; everyone knows it. Everyone who goes there, everyone who drives by knows that the island is in need of love and care. And now we will have a wonderful tenant that will have activities for families, that will also be contributing to annual maintenance of the site so that it can be enjoyed for years and years to come.

My question is for the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery. I hear from people in my riding that they are concerned about media reports of everyday Ontarians becoming victims of predatory business practices. People are afraid of scams that involve notices of security interest—or NOSIs, for short—that can end up costing thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars.

This type of fraud and exploitation is unacceptable, where vulnerable people are often targeted. No one who is renting or financing something as essential as a water heater or furnace should have to be afraid of predatory providers looking to charge exorbitant fees.

Mr. Speaker, through you: Can the minister explain what actions our government is taking to protect consumers and citizens?

Thank you.

Supplementary question.

The next question.

Minister of Transportation.

Speaker, you bet I can.

I’d like to thank you for your support in the Burlington community and the industry, including tourism, that is driven partially by what you do in Burlington, so thank you.

When we talk about a thriving and growing industry, tourism really touches all of us—all of us in this Legislature—and it’s because of the people across Ontario: those who are in tourism, those who are in the businesses of tourism and those that are driving results. That comes from leadership, Mr. Speaker. Leadership comes from taking a situation like the pandemic, stepping back, realizing what you can do and do well, get better at it, and then when everything opens up and the sun shines, you get better and better and better, and that’s what’s going on in tourism.

Ontario is the most visited destination in Canada, and I can tell you, just coming back from St. John’s, Newfoundland, at our federal-provincial-territorial meeting—shout-out to Minister Crocker, who did a great job hosting—we’re in great shape. Things are improving and more people are starting to come in.

I’ll fill you in a little bit more—

A great example: Monday night, I was invited to Ripley’s Aquarium for their 10th anniversary, got a chance to meet the leadership group and looked around to see the people who arrived. It’s hard to believe in 10 years, 17 million people have gone through that aquarium; 17 million people have paid to go through that aquarium. Then you think about what are the reasons why. Well, it’s a fantastic facility. If people in this Legislature haven’t gone in, go in and buy a ticket.

But the other part of it is, it’s where they are. When you bring things together like the Rogers Centre and CN Tower and restaurants, when you bundle things, people come, and they stay longer—

My question is to the Premier. Last week, I asked the committee on government agencies to call Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster to answer questions about the failing Eglinton Crosstown LRT. Unfortunately, the government members voted against that motion.

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT is a billion dollars over budget and three years late. It has at least 260 deficiencies, right down to the rails. Taxpayers have spent over $500 million as the partners building this project have been suing each other under Mr. Verster’s watch, but we found out this morning, through disclosure, that his contract has been renewed for three years. Why?

Wasn’t this the government, Speaker, that said the party with the taxpayers’ dollars is over? If that’s the case, if they believe that, then why are they rewarding Metrolinx executives who are failing the province of Ontario? Why can’t we ask them questions at the committee and why, for heaven’s sake, are they putting up ministers to defend a failing executive? Why is Mr. Verster still employed by the province of Ontario?

Interjections.

My question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. My community of Burlington is located between Toronto and Niagara Falls on the shores of Lake Ontario. Many local businesses in my riding are eager to benefit from visitors enjoying our hospitality while their businesses contribute greatly to the local economy.

While we see that the tourism industry is improving, impacts of ongoing global economic uncertainty continue to present challenges. That’s why our government must remain committed to ensuring tourism remains a priority for ongoing support, ensuring communities like mine continue to thrive.

Can the minister please explain what our government is doing to encourage and promote tourism across Ontario?

The growth we’ve seen in Ontario’s tourism sector is encouraging. Just recently, we all had the privilege of meeting with representatives from the Tourism Industry Association regarding the good work they’re doing for this sector.

The tourism sector contributes significantly to Ontario’s economy and benefits many other industries as well. The importance of tourism cannot be understated. It’s vital that our government continues to address challenges that many tourism-related businesses face.

Can the minister please elaborate on the long-term outlook for tourism in Ontario?

We have launched the largest transit expansion plan in the history of this province—

Let’s look at the city of Toronto. We’re building the Scarborough line, where we actually have shovels already in the ground, and the Ontario Line—just visiting that with the Premier and the Minister of Infrastructure a week ago. We’ve got shovels in the ground on these historic projects.

What are the facts here? The members opposite, both the opposition and the Liberals, have voted against each of those investments. They voted against getting shovels in the ground on the Ontario Line and the Scarborough subway extension—$70 billion of transit expansion and investment that we have done, the members opposite have voted against. We will continue to build transit across this province.

Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re getting this province moving and we’re building world-class transit. We will take no lessons from the NDP on how to build transit.

Thank you to the member for Carleton for that excellent question and her superb work on behalf of her constituents. Mr. Speaker, every Ontarian deserves to feel safe when purchasing something as essential as a water heater. Our government will not stand by and let bad actors leverage tools like NOSIs, in bad faith, to empty hard-working Ontarians’ pockets.

That is exactly why our government has begun the necessary work to restore confidence to consumers by launching a vital round of consultations that will inform our ongoing work to put an end to the harmful misuse of notices of security interest, otherwise known as NOSIs. Let me be unequivocally clear—very clear, crystal clear: This government and this Premier will not stand idly by and let our most vulnerable consumers be taken advantage of by bad business practices. We are taking decisive action to protect consumers.

Thank you very much for the question. Again, it’s an opportunity to thank our firefighters who have done an outstanding job during the 2023 fire season.

Mr. Speaker, when I was in Timmins last week, we announced $20.5 million to further expand our ability to fight wildfires in this province, and part of that was a recognition, again, of the fantastic job that our firefighters do: recognizing that we need more strategies around recruitment and retention for firefighters; recognizing that they require mental health supports because it is a tough and demanding job.

And my door has been open to the firefighters. We have met. We have discussed their concerns. We have talked about how we can make things even better in Ontario, how we can take this great force and work together to protect Ontarians, protect communities and protect the infrastructure in our communities. Those conversations will always continue, Mr. Speaker, because I have the utmost amount of respect for wildland firefighters in Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, we strive to make working conditions better for our firefighters in Ontario. They are doing a great job, and we’ll continue to work with them and make sure that job is something they’re always proud of, because we sure are proud of them.

Supplementary question?

Mr. Speaker, through you, thank you to the minister for his crystal clear response. I’m very pleased to see that the minister has started consultations to address this important issue and the negative effects it has on so many Ontarians. That being said, the most important voices that our government should listen to on this subject are the people of Ontario themselves.

Speaker, through you: The people of Ontario expect that their government will protect them from fraudulent schemes. They deserve our respect and protection from harmful and illegal business practices. That’s why it is vital that those most impacted by this predatory misuse must be included in the consultations.

Can the minister please elaborate on how our government is conducting consultations and what actions will follow to protect consumers? Thank you.

Thank you once again to the great member from Brantford−Brant for yet another fantastic question thrown my way.

We knew through the More Homes Built Faster Act, we would be opening up opportunities to build more affordable homes, but we also knew that high development charges, in some communities over $100,000 per house, was making the price of affordable housing—in fact, all housing—out of reach for many Ontarians.

Speaker, we had to eliminate these development charges from affordable housing. We listened and we acted. So what did we do? We opened up new possibilities for seniors, for students, for newcomers to this country and this province and for first-time homebuyers. What are the results we’re seeing? More purpose-built rentals, more multi-generational homes and starter homes for first-time homebuyers.

Every Ontarian deserves a roof over their head. Our pathway is bringing keys to thousands of Ontarians who deserve housing stability and a chance to own their own home.

As outlined in Bill 134, we’re proposing changes as well to help smaller communities around the historic St. Thomas investment with Volkswagen. By the way, Speaker, I just learned today, it’s the fourth-largest manufacturing site in the world—it will be when completed—and we’re excited about that. What does that mean? It means economic prosperity to important parts of this province: 3,000 new jobs, 30,000 tertiary jobs.

This government has a mandate to act. We’re not only going to create economic prosperity, we’re going to build homes to match these jobs.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Housing. For too many Ontarians, finding an affordable home they can call their own seems out of reach. At the same time, many municipalities struggle to attract new jobs and businesses due to various challenges. Our government recognizes the critical importance of both increasing housing supply and spurring economic development in communities across our province.

This Legislature recently debated Bill 134 which, if passed, will help more Ontario families realize the dream of home ownership while also empowering municipalities to boost local employment opportunities.

Can the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to make housing more affordable and to better support our municipalities in attracting new jobs and industries to their regions?

As we work towards building more housing, a thriving supply chain is crucial for both urban and rural communities across our province. Municipalities will play a key role in strengthening our supply chain networks at the local level. However, not all municipalities have the same capacity and resources which can create challenges when applying for provincial programs and incentives. It is vital that our government recognizes the importance of municipalities as equal partners.

Can the associate minister please explain how our government is supporting municipalities to benefit from provincial supply chain programs and provincial supply chain strategies?

Mr. Speaker, through you again: The member is absolutely right. The most important stakeholder we have are the people of this great province, and we need to be speaking directly with them and to listen to them to build a solution that protects them from bad actors using NOSIs to drain their pockets.

But I want to take this opportunity and also thank our member from Markham–Unionville for bringing forward his motion to investigate this issue more deeply because of consumer concerns, as well as the great member from Kitchener–Conestoga for his work with the Waterloo Regional Police Service to raise awareness of this widespread fraud.

Speaker, this is why my ministry is consulting with consumers, businesses and experts alike to determine the best solution possible, and this is only the first of many steps to come for our fellow citizens.

To the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, through you, Speaker: There have been a record number of wildfires in the province this year—738—and none have been more affected than the forest rangers who put their lives and health on the line for us by fighting these fires. They need to be reclassified so they will be recognized, compensated, and receive the same WSIB protection as all other firefighters.

Will the minister commit to the reclassification of these wildfire workers today?

Minister, they don’t want your thanks; they want the reclassification.

To the minister: The closed-door press conference the minister held last week excluded front-line forest fire workers. These workers called out the minister for his statement that he was unable to reclassify their position.

The ability to retain and, in fact, encourage new hires in forest firefighting is essential to meet the challenges of climate change. Minister, you can reclassify and deliver fair working conditions to these firefighters with a stroke of a pen. Will you do the right thing and commit to reclassification now?

Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé. Last week, health ministers from across the country met in Prince Edward Island. I, like many Ontarians, am quite anxious to find out what kind of progress was made for people suffering from rare diseases. Can the minister share with us?