How many seats do we have in Brampton?

How many seats do you have in Brampton?

But I do want to sort of digress back into what we’re here to talk about today. That, of course, is the official opposition motion that is before us. This is an issue that I’ve certainly risen in the House to talk about on many occasions, because it is certainly near and dear to my heart and of course near and dear to my constituents’ hearts, that being because I obviously represent a portion of Kitchener. Of course, I’m always going to stand up to the call for expansion of services along the Kitchener GO line. That is why I’m proud to be part of a government who is actually getting the important work done on this project.

We haven’t really heard much from the opposition today about the actual things that are happening, but a lot of rhetoric, a lot of conjecture, and a lot of personal opinion—in fact, the member quoting herself multiple times in the different iterations of her speech. I don’t want to go back too far in history; I want to focus more on the road map to the future and where we were at over the last five or six years to where we’re at now. But it was the NDP that scrapped the GO train from Guelph in 1993, so I just want to make sure that we got that on the record today, because I think that’s important if we look back in history.

Also, under the previous Liberal government, the Kitchener line—and this is in 2017, just before we took power in 2018—only had eight trips per day. There were only eight trips per day on the Kitchener line. I’m proud to say that we have increased that service to 19 trips per day on the Kitchener line.

Since 2018, Metrolinx has completed—we’re going to get into some of the factual stuff here, and I do hope that the members opposite are listening to this, because these are facts and I think it’s important that we get the facts into the conversation today. Since 2018, since we’ve taken power, Metrolinx has completed track upgrades on the Kitchener line so people can get to where they need to go 15 minutes faster.

In 2021, engineering crews worked on track through the city of Guelph, and this is an interesting one. I’ve talked about this—actually, I think I talked about it a couple of weeks ago. Poor track conditions and multiple crossings had reduced train speeds, Madam Speaker, to 16 kilometres per hour, if you can believe that. That’s slower than some people can run through the city of Guelph. Due to the work that Metrolinx has done under our leadership, those trains now travel that same stretch of track at 40 kilometres an hour.

The total travel time between Kitchener and Toronto, thanks to these types of improvements, will soon reach just 90 minutes. Prior to us taking power, it took over two hours to get from Kitchener to Union Station, and that’s of course going to make it a much more attractive option than having to take Highway 401. This work, of course, is very critical to getting more trains and moving them faster.

So we’ve gotten a lot of work done, and of course we’re not going to stop here, Madam Speaker. Metrolinx has undertaken several improvements and is working towards achieving two-way, all-day GO service between Kitchener and Union Station.

Transforming the Kitchener line into a two-way, all-day rapid transit line is a massive undertaking made up of many different packages of work. The first phase of work supporting the Kitchener extension beyond Bramalea is under way, and that includes constructing a second platform at the Guelph Central GO station, building a new storage track for maintenance vehicles west of Guelph and constructing a passing track in Breslau, just east of Kitchener, to allow trains travelling in opposite directions to pass each other. We are also expanding the Shantz Station Road bridge, which is well over a century old.

Work is also under way to expand the segment of rail corridor between Union Station and Bramalea to accommodate two-way, all-day service. Once completed, it will allow more trips from Kitchener GO to operate express, which is very important, and I did hear the member from Waterloo talk about that. It is extremely important to have those express trains, and that’s why those passing tracks are extremely important.

The Kitchener line between Bramalea and Georgetown GO is owned by CN Rail, and GO trains must share those tracks with freight traffic, so to enable two-way, all-day service on the Kitchener line, additional infrastructure is needed to accommodate both freight and passenger operations, and agreements with CN are required. Metrolinx continues to work with CN to deliver increased service to Kitchener, and there will be more information to share on those negotiations in the future.

Speaker, you’ll also remember that in October, GO Transit ran additional trains between Kitchener and Toronto on back-to-back Saturdays to accommodate students before and after reading week, and I did also hear the member from Waterloo reference that specific situation, where we did understand that there was an increased need and we were able to provide those services for those students.

This month, our government included a brief section on Kitchener GO rail extension in the fall economic statement, and I want to quote from page 48 in the 2023 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: “Following its contract award in May 2022, Metrolinx has begun work on the Guelph Central GO station to construct a second platform, a new storage track for maintenance vehicles and a passing track in the community of Breslau to allow trains moving in opposite directions to pass each other. Metrolinx has begun work on a new fourth track between Lansdowne Avenue and Dupont Street and to realign the West Toronto Railpath, which will facilitate the new track to be installed and allow for more trains to be added to the Kitchener line.” That was from the fall economic statement that was just released a couple weeks ago.

So I will say, Madam Speaker, it does seem like there is indeed quite a lot of work being done to get us towards that two-way, all-day service that we in Waterloo region are desperately looking for. There is clearly work being done. I did not hear any of that from the members opposite. And one wonders a little bit on the timing of why this motion might be introduced. Some people—not me, Madam Speaker, but maybe some more cynical people may notice that they waited until a by-election in Kitchener Centre was called to introduce this motion.

Unlike the NDP, we don’t wait for by-elections to get things done. We’ll continue to work for the people of Ontario, and we are going it get it done.

I’m curious to get the member from Don Valley West’s take on a balanced budget. That is something that previous Liberal governments were not able to do, and it is something that, through the fall economic statement, we’re looking forward to in 2025. So I wanted to get her thoughts on whether she thinks that’s important, because I know a lot of people I talk to, not only in Kitchener–Conestoga and Waterloo region but across the province, are very keen to see that happen. I would like to get her thoughts.

Hear, hear.

Well, thank you very much, Madam Speaker, and I just—I’m not using this as a prop. I just want to make that clear. I’m just making sure I get everything out here.

On page 68 of the fall economic statement, it says, “On October 1, 2023, the government increased the general minimum wage from $15.50 to $16.55 per hour”—a 6.8% increase, Madam Speaker. A worker who is working minimum wage for 40 hours a week will see an extra $2,200—$2,200—added to their paycheque.

For the member opposite to stand up in her place and say that a 6.8% wage increase is not a factor, I don’t understand how that can be the case, because I’m pretty sure that anyone across Ontario would be very happy to see an extra $2,200 deposited into their bank account.

I actually think Bob Rae removed rent control back in the mid-1990s, if I’m not mistaken—the one chance the NDP ever had at government.

But I do want to talk a little bit about ODSP because the member did bring that up as well. I just wanted to let her know that, since 2022, there’s been an 11.5% increase in ODSP rates, and not only that but for the first time in the history of the province it’s actually tied and indexed to inflation.

So when we look at what we’re doing around minimum wage, when we look at what we’re doing around supporting low-income earners by removing the provincial portion of income taxes, when we look at what we’re doing to support people on ODSP, when we look at what’s happening in the fall economic statement, we are on the right track to helping Ontarians, we are on the right track to bringing more money back in their pockets, and I just can’t understand why the member opposite wants to stand in the way of that.

Just quickly: You touched a little bit during your time on the new long-term-care builds that are happening in Mississauga–Lakeshore. The previous Liberal government was only able to build—what was it?—611 beds in their province in their tenure over 15 years. It’s great to hear we have a new long-term-care home being opened in Mississauga–Lakeshore that actually eclipses that in just the one building. I’m hoping you can touch a little bit more on what that means to your constituents.