This bill proclaims the week beginning on the third Monday of September in each year as Harvest Season Road Safety Week.

Mr. Pang moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr36, An Act to revive Eastern Children of Israel Congregation.

The supplementary question.

The next question.

The supplementary question.

The next question.

Call in the members. This is a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1141 to 1146.

Mr. Mamakwa has moved private member’s notice of motion number 66. All those in favour, please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

Motion negatived.

This House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1150 to 1300.

Mr. Harris moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 143, An Act to proclaim Harvest Season Road Safety Week / Projet de loi 143, Loi proclamant la Semaine de la sécurité routière pendant la saison des récoltes.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

On the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Ms. Taylor replaces Ms. Bell; and

On the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, Mr. Kernaghan replaces Ms. Begum and Ms. Hazell replaces Ms. Brady; and

On the Standing Committee on Social Policy, Ms. Andrew replaces Mrs. Gretzky; and Mr. Gates is removed; and Ms. Brady is added; and

On the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, Ms. Armstrong replaces Ms. Andrew; and

On the Standing Committee on the Interior, Mr. Bourgouin replaces Ms. Stiles and Mrs. McCrimmon is added; and

On the Standing Committee on Government Agencies, Mr. Glover replaces Ms. Begum and Mrs. Gretzky replaces Mr. Bourgouin.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

Motion agreed to.

Thank you to the minister for his response. This is exactly why our government spoke up about that carbon tax and why we fought it tooth and nail, because we knew it would increase the cost of everything in our communities. The most concerning part about the carbon tax is that it will only get worse; the federal government and opposition parties want to nearly triple the tax by 2030.

Speaker, can the minister please explain why Ontario families cannot afford the tax increase the Liberals and the NDP are planning and pushing for?

My question is to the Premier. Data recently released by the Landlord and Tenant Board shows that applications for personal-use evictions are up 77% in Toronto. Disturbingly, the data also show that the Landlord and Tenant Board has only issued 11 fines for bad faith evictions in nearly four years. Tenant lawyers are saying that number is staggeringly low and reflects a failure by the province to protect tenants. Tenants are losing their homes in record numbers.

What is this government going to do to end bad faith evictions and keep tenants housed?

What tangible actions will you take to put an end to bad faith evictions and keep tenants housed?

I’ll tell you what the government is going to do. The government is going to continue to do what it has been doing, which is putting resources, change processes, double the number of people who are adjudicators. We have changed absolutely every part of it. We are chunking away at the backlog because we paused evictions during COVID.

Mr. Speaker, what is the common theme among all of these things, investing in people, processes and technology? The opposition voted against every single one, every single time.

Mr. Speaker, the NDP supported these Liberals in letting the system go fallow. We are going to make sure the people of Ontario, both landlords and tenants, get the hearings that they need and deserve.

My question is for the Minister of Energy. We’ve heard today about our government’s work to make life in this province more affordable. One of the programs that we put in place to help Ontarians is the Clean Home Heating Initiative. This program will help make home heating not just more affordable but also cleaner, by providing grants to support the purchase and installation of hybrid heat pumps.

Speaker, through you to the Minister of Energy: Has the federal government reached out at any point to inquire about topping up this program with federal dollars to make home heating more affordable for Ontarians?

We’ve heard loud and clear today that the federal government must take broader action to help all Ontarians who are experiencing the impact of rising costs. My constituents remain concerned that the federal government is not exploring opportunities that will lead to real solutions. In fact, the federal government has doubled down on their failed program by keeping the carbon tax on all other forms of home heating.

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on what benefits could be provided to Ontario families as part of the hybrid home heating system?

My question is to the Minister of Agriculture. As I’ve made the House aware many times, we have a former dairy lagoon in the district of Timiskaming, which is now used to house raw human sewage. Now that sewage is being spread on farmland, farmers need a nutrient management plan for their agricultural waste, but we’ve been unable to find the non-agricultural source material plan that agriculture needs when raw human sewage is spread on a farm. Is that plan needed when raw human sewage is spread on agricultural land from which crops are sold that could be very well used in human food?

I appreciate the opportunity to talk about the Environmental Farm Plan that we have in Ontario, because, really and truly, we lead North America with the Environmental Farm Plan that dates back to the 1990s. We have demonstrated time and again that we are the best stewards when it comes to the efforts that have been put forward by farmers.

Back in the 1990s, I’m sure the member opposite himself ran to OMAFRA offices to take part in the winter courses that improved the knowledge and the ultimate application on farms when it comes to environmental farm plans.

With that said, I can tell you with absolute certainty that OMAFRA is working with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change in a proactive way to address this matter.

The ayes are 34; the nays are 67.

The Trent University political science students are up in the gallery now. We have an opportunity for members to meet them in room 247 over lunch, if you’d like to come down, meet the political science students and inspire our next generation of MPPs.

I move that the following changes be made to the membership of the following committees:

On the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Ms. Taylor replaces Ms. Bell; and

On the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, Mr. Kernaghan replaces Ms. Begum and Ms. Hazell replaces Ms. Brady; and

On the Standing Committee on Social Policy, Ms. Andrew replaces Mrs. Gretzky; and Mr. Gate is removed; and Ms. Brady is added; and

On the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, Ms. Armstrong replaces Ms. Andrew; and

On the Standing Committee on the Interior, Mr. Bourgouin replaces Ms. Stiles and Mrs. McCrimmon is added; and

On the Standing Committee on Government Agencies, Mr. Glover replaces Ms. Begum and Mrs. Gretzky replaces Mr. Bourgouin.

It’s my great honour to present the following petitions on behalf of the hard-working Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario Thames Valley Teacher Local teachers. It is entitled “Keep Classrooms Safe for Students and Staff,” and it reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario,

“Whereas students and education workers deserve stronger, safer schools in which to learn and work;

“Whereas the pressure placed on our education system has contributed to an increase in reports of violence in our schools;

“Whereas crowded classrooms, a lack of support for staff, and underfunding of mental health supports are all contributing to this crisis;

“Whereas the government of Ontario has the responsibility and tools to address this crisis, but has refused to act;

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

“Take immediate action to address violence in our schools;

“Invest in more mental health resources;

“End violence against education workers and improve workplace violence reporting.”

I fully support this petition. It’s my honour to sign it and deliver it with page Clara to the Clerks.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease affects over 250,000 people in the province of Ontario;

“Whereas it is estimated that approximately 400,000 individuals will be diagnosed with dementia by 2030;

“Whereas by the year 2050, more than 1.7 million Canadians are expected to be living with dementia, with an average of 685 individuals diagnosed each day;

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging and is irreversible;

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

“To urge the government to work on improving dementia care, support, and equitable access to services for those living with Alzheimer’s disease through the passage of Bill 121, the Improving Dementia Care in Ontario Act, 2023.”

I commend my colleagues from Mississauga Centre and Thornhill. I’m pleased to sign it.

This petition is entitled “Petition to Save the Spot”—Minoogawbi, La Place, the Spot:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Sudbury’s overdose death rate is three times the rate of the rest of Ontario;

“Whereas an application was submitted to the government in 2021 for funding of a supervised consumption site in Sudbury called the Spot;

“Whereas the Spot is operated by Réseau Access Network with municipal funding that ends on December 31, 2023, the province must approve funding very soon, or the Spot will close putting many people at risk of death;

“Whereas in 2023 alone, the Spot had 1,000 visits, reversed all 17 on-site overdoses, provided drug-checking services and prevented many deaths;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“Immediately approve funding for the supervised consumption site in Sudbury to save lives.”

This is a very important issue in my riding. I support this petition. I’ll attach my signature and provide it to Kate for the Clerks’ table.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease affects over 250,000 people in the province of Ontario;

“Whereas it is estimated that approximately 400,000 individuals will be diagnosed with dementia by 2030;

“Whereas by the year 2050, more than 1.7 million Canadians are expected to be living with dementia, with an average of 685 individuals diagnosed each day;

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging and is irreversible;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To urge the government to work on improving dementia care, support, and equitable access to services for those living with Alzheimer’s disease through the passage of Bill 121, the Improving Dementia Care in Ontario Act, 2023.”

I support this petition. I’ll affix my signature thereto and give it to page Margo to bring to the table.

Speaker, I have a short and sweet petition that affects a lot of us, to break the stigma against Alzheimer’s.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease affects over 250,000 people in the province of Ontario;

“Whereas it is estimated that approximately 400,000 individuals will be diagnosed with dementia by 2030;

“Whereas by the year 2050, more than 1.7 million Canadians are expected to be living with dementia, with an average of 685 individuals diagnosed each day”—that’s how much it’s going to affect us, Mr. Speaker.

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging and is irreversible;”

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To urge the government to work on improving dementia care, support, and equitable access to services for those living with Alzheimer’s disease through the passage of Bill 121, the Improving Dementia Care in Ontario Act, 2023.”

I fully support this petition. I am going to sign it and give it to Sachkaur.

I’d like to thank all the Londoners who signed this petition entitled “Pass the Safe Night Out Act.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas we are experiencing a sexual violence epidemic, with Statistics Canada reporting in 2021 that sexual assault was at its highest level in 25 years and community support organizations reporting more crisis calls than ever;

“Whereas 65% of women report experiencing unwanted sexual advances while socializing in a bar or restaurant, and incidents of sexual assaults involving drugs and alcohol most often occur immediately after leaving a licensed establishment or event; and

“Whereas there is no legal requirement for the people who hold liquor licences and permits, sell and serve liquor, or provide security at licensed establishments and events to be trained in recognizing and safely intervening in sexual harassment and violence;

“Whereas servers in licensed establishments also face high risk of sexual violence and harassment from co-workers and patrons;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately pass the Ontario NDP’s Safe Night Out Act to make Ontario’s bars and nightclubs safer for patrons and staff by requiring training in sexual violence and harassment prevention, by strengthening protections for servers from workplace sexual violence, and by requiring every establishment to develop and post a policy on how sexual violence and harassment will be handled, including accessing local resources and supports.”

I fully support this petition, affix my signature and will send it to the table with page Clara.

“To Raise Social Assistance Rates.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent small increase of 5% for ODSP still leaves these citizens below the poverty line, both they and those receiving the frozen OW rates are struggling to survive at this time of alarming inflation;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a ‘basic income’ of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens ... petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and send it to the table with page Fallon.

This petition is entitled “Pass Anti-Scab Labour Legislation.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the use of replacement workers undermines workers’ collective power, unnecessarily prolongs labour disputes, and removes the essential power that the withdrawal of labour is supposed to give workers to help end a dispute, that is, the ability to apply economic pressure;

“Whereas the use of scab labour contributes to higher-conflict picket lines, jeopardizes workplace safety, destabilizes normalized labour relations between workers and their employers and removes the employer incentive to negotiate and settle fair contracts; and

“Whereas strong and fair anti-scab legislation will help lead to shorter labour disputes, safer workplaces, and less hostile picket lines;

“Whereas similar legislation has been introduced in British Columbia and Quebec with no increases to the number of strike or lockout days;

“Whereas Ontario had anti-scab legislation under an NDP government, that was unfortunately ripped away from workers by the Harris Conservatives;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To prohibit employers from using replacement labour for the duration of any legal strike or lockout;

“To prohibit employers from using both external and internal replacement workers;

“To include significant financial penalties for employers who defy the anti-scab legislation; and

“To support Ontario’s workers and pass anti-scab labour legislation, like the Ontario NDP Bill 90, Anti-Scab Labour Act, 2023.”

I support this petition. I’ll provide it to page Danté for the Clerks’ table.

“Support the University of Sudbury.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Franco-Ontarians have fought and organized for a century to see a French-only higher education institution developed for, by and with Franco-Ontarians in the north through the University of Sudbury; and

“Whereas 65.9% of Franco-Ontarians believe the province should fund the University of Sudbury towards this French-language-only programming for higher education; and

“Whereas Franco-Ontarians are still fighting to see their charter right protected and have the same higher education given in the French-minority language; and

“Whereas studies have shown that at full capacity, the University of Sudbury will generate $89.3 million for the region; and

“Whereas there are 8,500 Franco-Ontarians in the region aged between 10 and 19 who could enroll in higher education in French close to their home in the next 10 years;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To provide the needed funding as requested by University of Sudbury of $10 million a year to ensure the future of University of Sudbury, a higher education institution made for, by and with Franco-Ontarians, starting now.”

I support this petition. I’ll affix my signature and provide it to Beckett to bring to the table.

The petition I’d like to read is entitled “Health Care: Not for Sale.

“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,” and;

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

I fully support this petition and will deliver it with page Michael to the Clerks.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas children and youth across Ontario experience mental health and addiction issues that impact their lives and the lives of those around them;

“Whereas the demand for community child and youth mental health services is increasing ... 50% of them are waiting over six months and 20% ... for longer than a year for services;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly to properly and equitably fund community children’s mental health services immediately to improve access to timely services for children, youth and families in our communities.”

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