First, I’d like to offer our genuine hope that your mom has a full recovery. I think that that’s very important.

But I will say this government continues to deliver one disappointment after another. The people of this province are facing extremely tough times, Speaker, and it seems to me everyone but this government understands that these are extraordinary times. Cost of living is through the roof. The cost of living has been going up and up and up, and rent and housing prices are simply out of control.

Ontarians are fed up. They’re stressed, and they’re worried. And this government just doesn’t seem to get that. They’re so preoccupied with making their insider land-speculator friends richer, they’re simply not able to see how hard people have it right now.

Just last week in this House, Theresa, 92 years old—being renovicted, considering medical assistance in dying. Those are real people with real issues, and this government is making a choice not to make her life easier. They’re making it harder.

During economically harsh times like these, we wanted to see more from today’s fall economic statement, but it delivered absolutely nothing to shift away from the status quo. All the people of this province got today was ordinary and bland. Nothing in today’s statement met people where they’re at. Nothing spoke to the struggles of the people of this province—ultimately, nothing meaningful to allay their concerns and win back the trust this government has eroded over the past five years.

While we managed our expectations, people thought that this government would recognize that keeping people housed in rental units during a housing crisis should be prioritized. Did this government listen to that? No, they did not. We’ve been calling on this government to reverse the rent control that they removed. That decision has hurt so many people in this province. Housing costs continue to be the biggest drivers of affordability in this province—more than ever, in fact. Rent control is a step they can take right now, today, to help Ontarians. But no, this government did not choose to do that.

People are struggling with high grocery costs and, while CEOs rake in billions, this government is not doing a thing to tackle price gouging. In fact, we have a bill before us which misses the mark entirely.

I mean, housing and food costs are the cost drivers for Ontarians right now and this government couldn’t even mention the word “farmer” in the entire nearly 200-page report. Farmers are an important part of the economy in the province of Ontario.

This is certainly not a government that’s making life easier. In fact, it’s really shocking—it is really shocking, Speaker, that the government has made a choice to not invest in critical services, but they are bloating up their contingency fund to the tune of $5.7 billion in the face of emergency room closures, in the face of a child care crisis, autism—I mean, you name it—emergency off-loads for ambulances.

A fiscally responsible government would not hoard billions of dollars while cities across the province are seeing days without any ambulances. We see historically long wait times at emergency rooms, child care, students—four to five students in a one-bedroom apartment because they can’t afford the rent. This is a big issue in Kitchener-Waterloo.

The people of Ontario know that this government has been in the driver’s seat for five years and, for five years, they have actively chosen to help their insider friends over the people that we’re elected to serve. The contingency fund is downright irresponsible, hoarding money instead of investing in key critical services people rely on like health care, nurses, PSWs, child care, child care workers.

One quick example: 2.1 Ontarians do not have a doctor. The Ontario Medical Association has requested an investment in reducing administrative burden that would free up 2,000 more doctors—19 hours a week they spend on administrative duties instead of seeing patients. This is a solution right before you.

So, Speaker, this government clearly is completely and utterly out of touch with the people of this province, and this is what we are faced with even while an RCMP investigation is criminally investigating this government. Today’s fall economic statement was an opportunity to win back trust, to see their struggles and see people that we serve. This government made a choice not to do that, but don’t fear: The Ontario NDP is on your side. We see you and we’re going to keep fighting for you.

Yes, I heard a clap.

In the meantime, I’m announcing a new investment of $200 million over three years in a new Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund.

This fund is another step in helping to unlock new housing opportunities by ensuring water infrastructure that is necessary for new housing developments gets built.

To the people of Ontario listening today, I want you to know that building a strong Ontario together means your government is working for you.

Bâtir un Ontario fort ensemble signifie que votre gouvernement oeuvre pour vous.

It means more training for workers to fill in-demand job, better public services for more people, and keeping costs down for your and your family.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve spoken a lot about building the economy and infrastructure, as has the Premier, as has everyone of my colleagues, and it is workers who are getting it done.

We are working for workers.

We have invested over $1 billion so more people can get a head start.

We are partnering with private sector unions to train people for in-demand careers.

And we are also helping workers plan for their retirement.

Target benefit pension plans are offered by a union or association to ensure their members have a secure retirement.

They are common for workers in the skilled trades.

Mr. Speaker, the previous government overlooked and undervalued target benefit pension plans by refusing to put a permanent regulatory framework in place for these plans. Our government is changing that.

We are proposing a much-needed new permanent framework for target benefit pension plans.

The new framework would help to protect the retirement security of workers, while making a career in the skilled trades even more attractive.

While we are working to safeguard the retirement security of workers in the long run, we also acknowledge the significant impact of inflation on people today.

When inflation began to rise globally, we acted quickly and early to put money back in people’s pockets.

We eliminated licence plate renewal fees and stickers, saving the average family $600 thus far.

We increased the minimum wage.

And of course, Mr. Speaker, we temporarily cut the gas and fuel tax rates.

Inflation remains elevated. People and businesses continue to feel the pinch, particularly as the federal carbon tax makes everyday life more expensive. That is why today we are proposing that the gas tax cut be extended through to June 30, 2024.

That way we can put more money back in people’s pockets, where it belongs.

Mr. Speaker, growing communities need housing.

Since last fall, we have been calling on the federal government to remove the HST builders pay on new purpose-built rental housing.

Mr. Speaker, I’m glad to inform the House that the federal government answered Ontario’s call and as we committed, our government is removing the provincial portion of the HST on these projects.

By encouraging builders to build more rental units, our government is helping people in Ontario find and afford a place to live.

Mr. Speaker, as we help keep costs down for people, we are also providing more convenient and better services.

Like in health care.

Through our actions, pharmacists can now prescribe treatment for 19 common minor ailments.

And, Mr. Speaker, through the leadership of the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, the wait-list for surgeries has been reduced by more than 25,000 from the peak in March 2022.

And beginning in fall 2024, women age 40 to 49 will be able to self‐refer for a mammogram to screen for breast cancer.

Our government continues to build a more connected and convenient health care system for the people of Ontario.

But let me tell you, Mr. Speaker—and to the people of Ontario—the road ahead will not be easy.

The economic challenges on the horizon underscore the need to remain fiscally disciplined and responsible.

And by maintaining our path to balance, that is what our government is doing.

We have seen what the people of Ontario can accomplish when we come together.

Nous avons été témoins de ce que les Ontariennes et Ontariens peuvent accomplir lorsqu’ils s’unissent.

Together, we can overcome any obstacle.

Together, we can face this economic uncertainty.

Together, we can build the critical infrastructure we need to support our growing communities.

Mr. Speaker, we can build a strong Ontario, together.

Thank you very much.

This petition is entitled “Support the Port Colborne Urgent Care.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Niagara Health System reduced overnight service hours at urgent care centres in Fort Erie and Port Colborne starting July 5, 2023;

“Whereas the current Niagara Health System restructuring plan approved by the Ontario Ministry of Health does not include Port Colborne urgent care centre, creating inequity of health care services in south Niagara;

“Whereas the NHS is already experiencing a 911 crisis in EMS, a shortage of beds and unacceptable off-loading delays in its emergency departments across the region;

“Whereas the population in the Port Colborne urgent care catchment area is both aging and growing;

“Whereas the Ontario Legislature passed motion 47 from the 42nd Parliament by Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch on April 13, 2022, to provide a firm funding commitment and clear timeline for capital and operational support of the Niagara Health System as part of an overall effort to serve the growing population of the region, increase hospital capacity, create jobs and offer the important, high-level front-line service” the people of Niagara need;

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

“To work with the Ontario Ministry of Health and the Niagara Health System to ensure 24-hour services are maintained at the Port Colborne urgent care centre.”

I affix my signature and send it to the Clerk.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the current Niagara Health System restructuring plan approved by the Ontario Ministry of Health includes removal of the emergency department, emergency surgical services and associated beds and ambulances service from the Welland hospital site once the Niagara Falls site is complete, creating inequity of hospital and emergency service in the Niagara region and a significant negative impact on hospital and emergency outcomes for the citizens of Welland, Port Colborne and all Niagara;

“Whereas the NHS is already experiencing a 911 crisis in EMS, a shortage of beds and unacceptable off-loading delays in its emergency departments across the region;

“Whereas the population in the Welland hospital catchment area is both aging and growing;

“Whereas the Ontario Legislature passed a motion by Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch on April 13, 2022, to include a full emergency department and associated beds in the rebuild of the Welland hospital;

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

“To work with the Ontario Ministry of Health and the Niagara Health System to implement motion 47 from the 42nd Parliament to maintain the Welland hospital emergency department and adjust its hospital plan accordingly.”

I’ll affix my signature and send it to the Clerk.

Point of order, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker, if you seek it, you’ll find unanimous consent to move a motion without notice concerning the appointment of the next Financial Accountability Officer of Ontario.

This petition is titled “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 $1,308 for ODSP;

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

“Whereas small increases to ODSP have still left 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 thank all of those in St. Paul’s for signing this. I’ll affix my signature and hand it over to Clara.

On behalf of my constituents in Parkdale–High Park and citizens across Toronto and Ontario, I would like to table this petition titled “No More Gas Plant Expansion.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas our planet is undergoing significant warming with adverse consequences for health, for agriculture, for infrastructure and for our children’s future;

“Whereas the costs of inaction are severe, such as extreme weather events causing flooding and drought;

“Whereas successive governments over the last two decades have expanded gas plants despite public pushback;

“Whereas Ontario must reduce our province’s reliance on fossil fuels and instead invest in new renewable energy projects to ensure we meet our provincial climate targets;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to stop expanding Ontario’s gas plants and reliance on fossil fuels, and invest rapidly in lower-cost, proven renewable energy and conservation technologies.”

I couldn’t agree more. I will affix my signature. I also want to give a special shout-out to my constituent and climate activist Rita Bijons, who’s watching. Thank you.

This petition is entitled “Fix WSIB Now...;

“Whereas the purpose of workers’ compensation is to provide income replacement and other benefits to workers or their survivors when workplace accidents and occupational diseases harm or kill workers; and

“Whereas section 43(4) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, operates to deny benefits to permanently injured workers, even when they do not actually have any new jobs and income; and

“Whereas this statutory provision has caused unjust and irrational financial loss, hardship and ruin to persons suffering from permanent disabilities;

“Therefore we, the undersigned residents of Ontario, call upon the Legislature of Ontario to support injured workers by adopting Bill 57, Respecting Injured Workers Act (Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment), 2022, introduced December 7, 2022, by Wayne Gates, NDP (MPP—Niagara Falls).”

I’d like to thank the citizens of Thunder Bay for supporting this petition. I fully support it and will give it to Saniyah to take to the table.

I’m proud to present this petition on behalf of the good people of Toronto Centre.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas this government knew exactly what was coming with the Omicron wave—we all did. But they marched us right into it without preparing hospitals and long-term-care homes;

“Whereas hospitals are so understaffed and overrun that people are left to worry if they can get the care they need;

“Whereas front-line health care heroes are exhausted, run off their feet on every shift, getting sick at an alarming rate, and doing it all while being disrespected by the government;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

“—scrap Bill 124 and increase health care workers’ wages;

“—increase hospital funding that matches inflation, population and the community’s needs;

“—give all workers 10 permanent paid sick days;

“—expedite recognition of nursing credentials of 15,000 internationally trained nurses;

“—create new jobs for late-career and recently retired nurses in supervisory roles and mentorship roles;

“—implement a funded return-to-nursing program to bring back the over 4,000 nurses who have left the profession.”

Sorry, Speaker, I’m just not feeling well. I proudly affix my signature to this petition and send it back to the Clerks’ desk. Thank you very much.

“Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas health care and support services are increasingly understaffed workplaces; and

“Whereas health and care services rank second highest for lost-time injuries (LTIs) among all sectors in Ontario; and

“Whereas complex care is increasingly prevalent with a growing and aging population; and

“Whereas recipients of care prefer services outside of large institutions and close to or inside their homes, whether group homes, retirement homes, or other residential care facilities; and

“Whereas personal support workers (PSWs) are the backbone of retirement homes and home and community care settings that deliver care for seniors; and

“Whereas developmental support workers (DSWs) are the backbone of group homes and similar residential care facilities that deliver care for people with exceptionalities; and

“Whereas bites, cuts, broken bones are all-too-common injuries when doing this work; and

“Whereas all group home and residential care workers deserve workplace protections as we ask them to care for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities; and

“Whereas it is not currently mandatory for employers to provide WSIB protections to PSWs and DSWs, particularly in retirement homes and group homes where a majority of workers like them provide care; and

“Whereas approximately 25% of health and care workers have no WSIB protections under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997; and

“Whereas efforts to expand WSIB coverage to PSWs and DSWs and all workers like them have received yes votes from members of all political parties represented in the Legislature in the past; and

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

“Legislate or regulate an expansion of mandatory WSIB coverage to all health and care service workers in Ontario by categorizing all those who operate a group home or residential care facilities or home/community care, including retirement homes, rest homes and senior citizens’ residences a schedule 1 employer.”

I want to thank the good people of SEIU for canvassing and collecting the signatures for this petition.

I have this petition here titled “To Raise Social Assistance Rates,” and it’s been signed by constituents in many Conservative ridings: Burlington, Hamilton, Mississauga, Binbrook, Lynden and so many different areas—a lot of Conservative ridings. It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and woefully inadequate to cover the basic costs of food and rent;

“Whereas individuals on the Ontario Works program receive just $733 per month and individuals on the Ontario Disability Support Program receive just $1,169 per month, only 41% and 65% of the poverty line;

“Whereas the Ontario government has not increased social assistance rates since 2018, and Canada’s inflation rate in January 2022 was 5.1%, the highest rate in 30 years;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized through the 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 increase social assistance rates to a base of $2,000 per month for those on Ontario Works and to increase other programs accordingly.”

“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 well below the poverty line, both they and those receiving the frozen OW rates are struggling to live in 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 couldn’t agree more. I will affix my signature to it.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I think if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to see the clock at 6.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: ...

“Whereas a growing number of people in Ontario suffering from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) have to seek out-of-country treatment at their own expense because doctors in Ontario don’t have the knowledge or skills to understand EDS symptoms and perform the required delicate and complicated surgeries; and

“Whereas those EDS victims who can’t afford the expensive treatment outside of Ontario are forced to suffer a deteriorating existence and risk irreversible tissue and nerve damage...; and

“Whereas despite Ontario Ministry of Health claims that there are neurosurgeon doctors in Ontario who can perform surgeries on EDS patients when surgery is recommended, the Ontario referring physicians fail to identify any Ontario neurosurgeon willing or able to see and treat the patient;

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

“Require the Minister of Health to provide funding to hire”—at least—“one neurosurgeon who can and will perform neurosurgeries on EDS patients with equivalent or identical skills to the international EDS neurosurgeon specialists, including funding for a state-of-the-art operating room with diagnostic equipment for treatments for EDS patients; and meet the Canada Health Act’s requirement to afford equal access to medical treatment for patients, regardless of their ability to pay for out-of-country services.”

I support the petition. I thank my St. Paul’s community for signing and will hand it over to Ananya for tabling.

I just wanted to correct my record: During my response to the fall economic statement, I said 2.1 Ontarians don’t have a doctor; it’s 2.1 million Ontarians who don’t have a doctor.

I recognize the member for Waterloo.

Orders of the day?

The House adjourned at 1351.

Ballot item number 69, private member’s notice of motion number 67: Ms. Jama.