Thank you to the member for that question. Speaker, 700,000: That’s how many more people woke up today with a paycheque thanks to the leadership of this Premier. One of the most successful funds to get people into those jobs, to upskill, to get bigger paycheques, is our Skills Development Fund.

I was proud to be in northern Ontario, a place my Liberal predecessor called no man’s land. I was proud to be up there to announce a $7.3-million investment through the Skills Development Fund to help 1,700 people find better jobs, bigger paycheques. And I was honoured to meet with a number of Indigenous youth and a number of Indigenous men and women who are going to be beneficiaries of the Skills Development Fund, who are going to be supported into getting better jobs, bigger paycheques, to support the skills development in those growing communities in the north.

Speaker, I’ll give you another number: 17,000 jobs go unfilled in northern Ontario in construction, in health care, in tourism, in logging, in mining.

Under the leadership of this Premier, we’ve invested almost a billion dollars through the Skills Development Fund to help people get a leg up. But what’s most exciting is that these projects are led by partners in the north. They’re led by partners—unions, for example—that have been beneficiaries of this.

I was with ironworkers in the north to announce that $7.3 million, and I heard Phil’s story. Phil was at a Safeway. He was working dirty jobs with low pay, and thanks to the Skills Development Fund, he now has a better job and a bigger paycheque.

We’re transforming lives in the north. We’re unlocking the potential. It’s no longer no man’s land. We’re unlocking that potential—

To reply, the government House leader.

Government House leader.

Please start the clock. The government House leader still has the floor.

The next question. Start the clock.

My question is for the Premier. Last week, Ontarians got some news that comes as a relief for many, news that the RCMP is launching an investigation into the failed $8.3-billion backroom deal that was going to benefit wealthy, well-connected insiders, or, by the Premier’s own admission, his friends. Cabinet ministers and senior political staffers have already been interviewed by the Integrity Commissioner, and it’s clear from his report that they all lawyered up.

As the Premier knows, lawyers are expensive, so can the Premier tell us today that not one penny of taxpayer dollars for any government members or staffers caught up in this $8.3-billion scandal will be spent?

Interjection: Yes, he can.

We know that members of the government, former cabinet ministers, senior staffers in the minister’s and the Premier’s office and the Premier himself are all likely to be questioned by the RCMP in this investigation, and folks, they’re all going to need a lawyer. So Ontario taxpayers want to know that none of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars will go for any members of this government or any political staffers caught up in this scandal. Can the Premier commit to that today? Please rise in your seat and tell Ontarians that.

This is a member who replaced the leader whose chief of staff and members of his party went to jail—to jail, Mr. Speaker. This is a member who has a leadership candidate who still wants to build on the greenbelt. This is a member who, under their watch, saw the province lose thousands of jobs, gave up on manufacturing, didn’t build long-term care, ruined our hospital sector, destroyed education, starved post-secondary education, couldn’t build transit, didn’t build roads. On every single count, they failed.

Now, for two elections in a row, even the NDP have beaten them at the polls, and that’s saying something. So we’ll continue to do what’s right for the people of the province of Ontario: grow the economy for everybody.

Now, what we didn’t do is what the previous Liberal government did. They then paid billions of dollars to try and help their members win elections on a public policy decision that nobody supported. Remember the gas plant scandal? That scandal actually cost the people of the province of Ontario billions of dollars. In that party, people went to jail. That party has been reduced—

Interjections.

Interjections.

My question is for the Minister of Red Tape Reduction. Ontario’s businesses are a key part of Ontario’s economy. They play a vital role in driving innovation, creating jobs and fostering vibrant communities across our province. Our government must be focused on removing burdens that impact their operations. Taking action to reduce red tape supports our small businesses through direct cost savings, which, in turn, fuels job creation and growth.

Businesses expect our government to follow through on our commitments and leave no stone unturned when it comes to cutting red tape. Speaker, through you, can the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to help businesses remain competitive?

However, there’s still more to do in creating an environment that drives new investment and growth across the economy. Speaker, through you, can the minister please elaborate on what actions our government is taking to deliver better services for people and reduce costs for businesses?

My question is for the Premier. My office has received several calls from mothers desperate for help. They’ve told me about their daughters who have had psychotic episodes or been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Faced with the unknown, these families have tried everything in an endless loop of referrals which go nowhere. When their children are left isolated and alone overnight with minimal interaction, they often get released from hospitals with no supports, no follow-up and, the worst possible scenario, released to homelessness.

Speaker, when will the Premier give these families the attention they need instead of focusing on his insider friends?

I want to thank my colleague from Carleton for that important question. Our government is supporting Ontario’s competitiveness by keeping costs down. One of the most important ways to do that is eliminating unnecessary red tape. The actions that we have taken to cut red tape have helped Ontario businesses save nearly $950 million each and every year.

Thanks to our efforts—the 11 different red tape reduction packages—we have removed over 16,000 different kinds of red tape pieces to keep our businesses competitive on the world stage. The results speak for themselves. There are over 700,000 people that are working today that were not under the Liberals, supported by the NDP.

Later today I will be introducing our 12th red tape reduction package. It will continue our government’s effort to make sure our businesses are positioned to succeed and are competitive in the world. It will show that our government is working around the clock to get it done, driving economic development, encouraging job creation and demonstrating why Ontario is the best place to live, work and raise a family.

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. This is a very important issue for our government. We understand the importance and the needs of children and youth, and ensuring that supports and services are there for them. We developed the Roadmap to Wellness and, starting in 2019, invested $130 million into children and youth mental health services through the road map. The road map slates another $170 million over three years in education, $90 million for school-based supports and $20 million for an across-the-board 5% funding increase, something that has not been seen before by previous governments.

And we’re extremely proud of the youth wellness hubs that we’ve developed: 22 of them across the province of Ontario, making a huge difference in the lives of so many of our young people. We’re continuing to invest with early interventions to keep kids from harmful behaviours, which are giving us a great return, easy accessible care, investments—

But you know, Mr. Speaker, I sit here on this side of the House and I listen to some of the rhetoric from the other side, and I wonder if they’ve stopped for a moment to think about what they did when they were in power and how they permitted another government to do absolutely nothing. Under their watch, 9,645 hospital beds for mental health were closed.

Our government, with $90 million, opened 400 new beds, 7,000 treatment spots, and we’re continuing to build a continuum of care to look after the needs of everyone in the province of Ontario to ensure they get the help they get, where and when they need it, no matter where they are in the province: the north, the south, the east or the west.

Back to the Premier—but respectfully to the minister, I wasn’t speaking of children; I was speaking of adults in a system that is absolutely in a horrifying mess, and we see that in all of our communities.

I also wanted to bring a message to the Premier today from Kitchener Centre about their struggle with the access to mental health care. One constituent wrote, “The provincial government keeps touting its investments in health care and its focus on mental health for young people. But what is actually being done? It seems to be that all that is being done is fancy press releases, while single moms like me have to figure out how to make it work, and more often, have to live with the guilt of not being able to provide my teen with the care they need to become a healthy and productive citizen.”

Can the Premier tell us if he will stop spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a parking garage in a spa for downtown Toronto, and instead start investing in mental health care in Kitchener and across the province?

Interjections.

To reply, the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

The supplementary question.

Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

Thank you to the member for that question. Actually, after question period, I’m heading down to the college fair, and I’ll be meeting with students, faculty and colleges but also with our team from OSAP and hearing directly from those folks who are working on the ground, dealing directly with students.

What’s interesting is, under the former Liberal government, this province had the highest tuition in Canada, but it was our Premier who said, “No more.” In 2018, we decreased tuition by 10%. We want tuition to be affordable for all students across the province, and that’s why we continued to freeze that tuition. And we’ve kept OSAP as a needs-based assessment, so that students in 10, 15, 20 years will have access to the OSAP system. In 2021 alone, we invested $4.2 billion in direct aid to 385,000 full-time students, with 80% of Ontario’s funding provided as grants, opposed to the 54% of federal student support.

My question is to the Premier. A report last month from the Ontario Real Estate Association quoted CEO and former PC leader Tim Hudak saying, “Student debt is not merely a financial burden; it’s the biggest barrier to the ... dream of home ownership for many young Ontarians and their families.”

The report stated that students with debt want to own homes, but they are losing hope; 70% are worried it will never happen, and student loans are the main reason.

Speaker, this government’s changes to OSAP have left more students drowning in debt than ever before. Why is this government denying post-secondary students the dream of home ownership?

My question is for the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. When I connect with seniors in my riding of Ajax, they tell me that isolation is a major concern. The minister has always said it is the number one enemy for seniors. Thanks to the commitment of the Premier and this minister, investments made by our government are helping seniors stay active, healthy and socially connected.

In my community of Ajax, several organizations have received funding from this government to provide opportunities for seniors to get together, learn and stay active. Our government is making excellent progress in helping our seniors stay connected. However, we must continue to support initiatives that will help keep our older adults engaged in their communities.

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on how our government is supporting the quality of life for seniors in Ontario?

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is supporting senior centres and organizations in communities across Ontario?

Thank you to the hard-working MPP for Ajax. We have invested over $70 million since 2018 to fund nearly 300 Seniors Active Living Centres across Ontario.

As a senior myself, I know what a difference it makes to be surrounded by people and to have activities to look forward to. When I get to go out across the province and spend time with other seniors, I see the important role these seniors’ centres have. They are building networks for seniors, bringing people together and preventing loneliness. These centres promote life in the community and support the health and well-being of seniors across Ontario.

From Ajax to Atikokan, Kingston to Kearney, Wasaga Beach to Whitby, seniors have access to these programs right in their community. These centres are vibrant places for people to gather, get active and feel supported close to home.

Thank you to the member for Burlington for the work you’re doing, not just to see women survive, but thrive.

Mr. Speaker, the FAO report is actually saying that we’ve done significant work to see more women entering the workforce because of the actions of our government, because we know that women are an integral part to the development of Ontario’s economy. The FAO’s study found that the labour participation rate of mothers with children between the ages of zero to five years increased from 76.5% in 2021 to 78.9% in 2022. That’s a 2.4% increase in one year under our government, and it’s the first time we’ve seen an increase since 1976.

Mr. Speaker, that’s because our government secured a historic agreement for child care, an agreement that is better than any other province across the country: a billion extra dollars and an additional year of funding, guaranteed, that no other province had. We know that women are—

Just recently, I was in Newmarket–Aurora with the wonderful local member there, where we announced the expansion of the Investing in Women’s Futures Program to the Women’s Centre of York Region with an investment of over $325,000 for their First Steps Program. This program will address the intersectional, economic and personal barriers that women have to overcome. It will offer over 250 women, each year, the services they need to leave abusive situations and develop economic opportunities for them to thrive. That’s why we have expanded our Women’s Economic Security Program, and these programs together have seen over 10,000 women access its supports.

Mr. Speaker, we are not going to leave women behind, because we know—

Frankly, it’s because our health care system was ignored for too long when the Liberals were in power and you were propping them up.

But, specifically, I want to talk about some short-, medium- and long-term goals that we have already put in place. Now, we have a plan and it is working. In fact, in northern Ontario we now have a paramedic Learn and Stay program that ensures individuals who want to train to be a paramedic and serve in communities that need that additional assistance, get the ability to do that with two years’ training. We cover their tuition and their books, and they ensure that they are practising in northern communities, including your own.

Those are the initiatives that we are working on. I would ask, respectfully, why you did not support the Learn and Stay program when it was voted on.

Having said that, we have done some things in the short term that have made a real difference. And that, of course, is, as an example, 911 models of care, so that individuals who do not need to go from a paramedic service into an emergency room have options available to them. As we roll out those programs, as communities apply for that, we have seen a dramatic increase in satisfaction at the patient level and, more importantly, making sure that individuals who use those 911 models of care—so that they can go to palliative care. They can go to a long-term-care home. They can go to serve in mental health facilities and have the option to do that. And the patients love it, and the paramedics love it.

My question is for the Premier.

Speaker, like most people in Ontario, I’m very concerned about the current state of our health care system. This week, we heard from a family in Ajax who waited several hours for an ambulance—hours for an ambulance, Speaker. This is a new low; it is unacceptable that anyone in Ontario in need of urgent emergency care has to wait for hours before the ambulance arrives to bring them to the hospital. The son who called the ambulance and waited with his father for hours said, “Our health care system is in a permanent state of collapse. It didn’t have to be like this. I blame the Ford government 100%.”

To the Premier: Why are families waiting hours for an ambulance?

Speaker, people waiting for ambulances—this is not an isolated event. Many other Ontarians have shared similar experiences.

Interjections.

To the Premier: Will you increase municipal funding for EMS and ambulances to ensure people are not left waiting in their times of need?

Speaker, all this government has done is destabilize the post-secondary sector. Listen to OREA. Listen to what Tim Hudak is saying. The OREA report found that 42% of students carrying debt are considering leaving Ontario after graduation so they can repay their student loans and find a place of their own.

This represents a huge loss to our province, but it can be easily fixed. Make OSAP easier to access. Convert loans to grants. That is how to make the dream of home ownership a reality for young people. Why does this government think that selling off the greenbelt to enrich their friends was a more important housing strategy than giving young people the ability to afford to buy a home?

The supplementary question.

And the supplementary question.

The next question.