I appreciate the question very much, because it allows me, in this House, to stand up and speak on behalf of Ontario farmers. They’ve told me over the last couple of weeks that cost of production this year alone has jumped 20% to 30%. That translates into horrendous prices at the grocery store.

You know, a farmer told me once that he can manage fluctuations in commodity prices; he can adapt to changing weather conditions, but what worries him and keeps him up at night is bad ideology. And let me tell you very clearly, there’s no worse ideology than the Liberal carbon tax.

We need to face the facts: Right now, the carbon tax is at a rate of $65 per tonne. Under the Liberal federal government, in six short years, they want to see that rate increase to $170 per tonne. We can’t afford life under the federal Liberal government now, and their carbon tax—God help us all if that Liberal federal government is allowed to continue. We need to scrap that tax—

To respond, the Minister of Energy.

Minister of Health.

Thank you very much, to the member opposite, for the question. Just yesterday, the Premier was out talking about the fact that we’re extending the gas tax rebate by 10 cents a litre. We know that the federal carbon tax is driving that up by 14 cents a litre every year.

Our government is the one that removed licence plate sticker fees, saving motorists all across the province a significant amount of money every year. That’s something that the federal government can’t get their hands on, so that was a tangible thing that’s in the pockets of the people of Ontario.

The Ontario Electricity Rebate, which was announced a couple of weeks ago, is reducing the cost of electricity for customers all across the province by 15% to 17%. That’s farmers, small businesses and homeowners. And we also have the CER, which reduces the cost of electricity for our industrial customers.

It was very disheartening on Thursday last week when the Prime Minister came out and announced a carve-out from the carbon tax for only Atlantic Canadians.

Green steelmaking, Mr. Speaker: We have a great track record on reducing emissions and reducing the cost of business, and putting Ontario back on the map. But the federal government has to come to the table and realize that they’re not just hurting Atlantic Canadians, they’re hurting Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and that includes here in Ontario. It’s time to scrap the tax.

My question is to the Premier. New Democrats know that dental care is health care. All Ontarians should have access to timely dental care with their OHIP card, not a credit card.

Heather, who lives in Windsor, was told there was a year-long wait-list for her to see a dentist through the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program. After seven months, she received a call to tell her she no longer qualified for the program because she makes too much money. Heather makes $90 over the $22,200 income limit for seniors, a situation many seniors in my riding and across the province are experiencing.

Speaker, when will the Conservatives prioritize seniors’ health care and increase the income limit for the seniors dental care program?

Speaker, Heather’s income is well below the poverty line, yet the Conservatives think she earns too much and doesn’t deserve dental care. Francis Hart had a similar experience with the seniors dental program. Francis hadn’t seen a dentist for years because he couldn’t afford to. In July, after waiting months for an appointment through the government’s program, Francis had to have all of his upper teeth removed. He was told to come back in a few months for dentures. When he returned, he was told he no longer qualified for the program. The government basically said, “Tough luck. Either live on liquids or live in even deeper poverty by earning less.”

My question is, when will the Premier stop treating dental care as a luxury that seniors must try to save up for or go without?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Since the introduction of the carbon tax, production costs for farmers like Graham Green of Abby Hill Farms in Richmond, greenhouse growers like Devon and Ben Allin of SunTech Greenhouses in Manotick and food processors all across the province have risen substantially. The delivery of every single consumer good in our province, particularly fresh and processed food, is being affected by one of the most economically harmful taxes our province has ever seen.

The carbon tax harms hard-working individuals, businesses and farmers. It provides absolutely no value other than taking money from families. The carbon tax increases the cost of transporting inputs like seed, fertilizer and packaging and drives up the cost of transporting fruits and vegetables to market.

Speaker, through you, can the minister please explain what impact this harmful and regressive tax is having on our agricultural sector?

I have a 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 Paxten.

Just a reminder to the members of the House that the Remembrance Day torch is in the Legislature today, and immediately after question period, it will be on the front steps of the Legislature. Any members who want to get a picture with the torch and the people who founded it can come out to the steps.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Haliburton Highlands Health Services board of directors has, without consultation with the affected stakeholders, closed the emergency department located in the municipality of Minden Hills, Ontario, on June 1, 2023;

“Whereas the loss of service is jeopardizing the lives of residents in the community;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to direct the Minister of Health to use her powers under section 9.1 of the Public Hospitals Act to immediately reopen the Minden emergency department.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and pass it to page Simran to take to the table.

I would like to thank Chris Galloway from Capreol in my riding for these petitions.

“Enact Anti-Scab Labour Law....

“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;”

They “petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

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

I support this petition, will affix my name to it and ask page Beckett to bring it to the Clerk.

Thank you.

Supplementary question.

Again, I’ll remind members to make their comments through the Chair.

The next question.

The House recessed from 1147 to 1500.

Report adopted.

MPP Wong-Tam moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr34, An Act to revive Bongo Studios Inc.

First reading agreed to.

Your committee begs to report the following bill as amended:

Bill 131, An Act to enact the GO Transit Station Funding Act, 2023 and to amend the City of Toronto Act, 2006 / Projet de loi 131, Loi édictant la Loi de 2023 sur le financement des stations du réseau GO et modifiant la Loi de 2006 sur la cité de Toronto.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy and move its adoption.

She wasn’t in the House when I was able to acknowledge her, but she’s here now: Rangina Kargar, who was my staff, who was a member of Parliament in Afghanistan who had to flee Afghanistan when the Taliban took over the country, making it extremely unsafe for women to lead and for women to live. I’m so thankful to have Rangina serving here in Ontario with her family. Thank you, Rangina.

I agree with the member opposite. Our farmers throughout Ontario are being punished by a ridiculous Liberal ideology that is driving this carbon tax to increase the cost of production and ultimately the cost of everything, and it is unsustainable.

Do you know what’s really worrisome for me? That ideology is being sustained, because just last week, Liberal-leaning senators absolutely gutted C-234. That was a bill that would have seen farmers exempted for heating barns and drying grains and oil seeds. That would have saved hundreds of millions of dollars across this province and Canada. Quite frankly, with that gutting of C-234, cost of production is going to continue to rise.

Ladies and gentlemen, do the honourable thing. Join our government and stand up against bad Liberal ideology that’s doing nothing but driving up the cost of living in—

Interjections.

Please join us for a picture on the stairs right after this.

I know this is an issue that is very important to the member opposite, as it is to all of us in this chamber. We will continue to follow that clinical guidance.

But I do agree that early detection is so important, which is why I was so proud to be able to stand earlier this week and announce that mammograms for women 40 to 50 are going to be available for self-referral. It truly is all about early detection and empowering individuals to make decisions based on their health. We’ll continue to work with clinical advice and experts to make sure that as we move forward, those types of decisions, when they are appropriate, will be announced.

My question is to the Premier. Today is the first day of Movember, when people across the world raise awareness of health issues affecting men, such as prostate cancer.

In 2022, close to 25,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, and close to 5,000 lost their lives. Those are our dads, our brothers, our uncles and our grandparents. Early prevention and detection saves lives—100% of men live five years with early detection—but this government voted down my motion to expand PSA testing for prostate cancer, which is critical to early detection.

It’s been nearly a year since the Conservatives voted down my motion. Since then, 4,600 men have died.

Eight provinces and three territories cover the cost of the test, and nine in 10 Canadians support increased government health care spending on the test for early detection. Why are the Conservatives ignoring the recommendation of doctors, experts and patients with prostate cancer by refusing to cover the PSA test as men die every single day?

The reality is, under the carbon tax system, farmers, processors and grocers are forced to raise their prices because of this harmful and regressive tax. In 2022 alone, Ontario’s greenhouse growers were assessed and forced to pay an additional $12 million under the federal carbon tax regime. This resulted in a tax of approximately $3,400 per acre on fresh fruits and vegetables. This is unacceptable and simply not fair.

Unlike the independent Liberals and opposition NDP, who are content with hurting our farmers by supporting this regressive carbon tax, we believe that Ontario-grown food must remain on the shelves without interruption.

Speaker, through you, can the minister please explain why our food producers are being punished with a carbon tax?

I would like to thank Dr. Sally Palmer for her tireless advocacy for people on OW and ODSP.

“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 of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I fully support this petition. I will sign it and give it to Ananya.

The member from London West.

I would like to thank Claire Quenneville from Azilda in my riding for this petition. She is one of 1,170 people to have signed this petition.

“Save ‘the Spot’ Supervised Consumption Site ...

“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” of this year, “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;”

They “petition the Legislative Assembly ... as follows:

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

I fully agree with this petition, will affix my name to it and ask Saniyah to bring it to the Clerk.

« Sauver des organes pour sauver des vies ... »

« Alors que l’Ontario possède l’un des meilleurs programmes de greffe d’organe au monde;

« Alors qu’il y a 1 600 personnes en attente d’une greffe d’organe en Ontario;

« Alors que tous les trois jours, une personne en Ontario meurt parce qu’elle ne peut pas obtenir une greffe à temps;

« Alors que le don d’organes et de tissus peut sauver jusqu’à huit vies et améliorer la vie de jusqu’à 75 personnes;

« Alors que 90 % des Ontarien(ne)s appuient le don d’organes, mais seulement 36 % sont enregistrés;

« Alors que la Nouvelle-Écosse a connu une augmentation du nombre d’organes et de tissus destinés à la transplantation après la mise en oeuvre d’une loi sur le consentement présumé en janvier 2020;

Ils et elles demandent à l’Assemblée législative « de changer la loi pour permettre un système de don basé sur le “consentement présumé” tel qu’énoncé dans le projet de loi 107, commémorant Peter Kormos (Sauver des organes pour sauver des vies) ... »

J’appuie cette pétition. Je vais la signer et je demande à ma bonne page Saniyah de l’amener à la table des greffiers.

“Protect Kids from Vaping....

“Whereas very little is known about the long-term effects of vaping on youth; and

“Whereas aggressive marketing of vaping products by the tobacco industry is causing more and more kids to become addicted to nicotine through the use of e-cigarettes; and

“Whereas the hard lessons learned about the health impacts of smoking, should not be repeated with vaping, and the precautionary principle must be applied to protect youth from vaping; and

“Whereas many health agencies and Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada fully endorse the concrete proposals aimed at reducing youth vaping included” in my bill;

They “petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To call on the Ford government to immediately” implement the bill, “Vaping is not for Kids Act, in order to protect the health of Ontario youth.

I support this petition, will affix my name to it, and ask my page Saniyah to bring it to the Clerk.

« Doubler les taux d’aide sociale ...

« Alors qu’il y a plus de 900 000 Ontarien(ne)s qui sont obligés de dépendre sur l’aide sociale;

« Alors que le gouvernement Ford a promis d’augmenter les taux du Programme ontarien de soutien aux personnes handicapées (POSPH) de seulement 5 %, et n’a fourni aucune aide supplémentaire aux personnes qui bénéficient du programme Ontario au travail (OT);

« Alors que l’inflation n’a jamais été aussi élevée depuis 40 ans et que les personnes à revenu fixe sont obligées de faire des sacrifices tous les jours, simplement pour survivre;

« Alors que les bénéficiaires ... vivent dans une pauvreté profonde imposée par la loi, une maigre augmentation de 58 $ ... et aucune aide supplémentaire aux bénéficiaires d’OT ne feront pratiquement rien pour améliorer la vie des personnes vivant de l’aide sociale;

Ils et elles pétitionnent l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario « de doubler immédiatement les taux d’aide sociale, afin que les gens puissent vivre une vie digne et saine. »

J’appuie cette pétition, monsieur le Président. Je vais la signer, et je la donne à Saniyah, ma page qui est très bonne avec moi, pour l’amener à la table des greffiers.

“Improve Ontario’s Children and Youth Mental Health Services....

“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, in Sudbury-Nickel Belt, 50% of them are waiting over six months and 20% for longer than a year for services;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows: “to tell the Ford government 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 name to it, and ask my very patient page Saniyah to bring it to the Clerk.

Resuming the debate adjourned on October 31, 2023, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 142, An Act to enact the Consumer Protection Act, 2023, to amend the Consumer Reporting Act and to amend or repeal various other Acts / Projet de loi 142, Loi visant à édicter la Loi de 2023 sur la protection du consommateur, à modifier la Loi sur les renseignements concernant le consommateur et à modifier ou abroger diverses autres lois.