Thank you very much, Speaker, and good morning, everyone. It’s always a pleasure to be with you here in the beautiful chamber—

Interjection.

Thank you very much, Speaker. I—

It is a great pleasure to rise today to speak to Bill 149, An Act to amend various statutes with respect to employment and labour and other matters.

I regret that the labour critic for the official opposition, the member for Sudbury, is unable to be here, and that is because the government called this bill at—I think it was close to midnight on Thursday, which is when the member for Sudbury had the opportunity to begin his leadoff remarks on this legislation. He has done extensive consultation with stakeholders in labour, with unions, with worker advocates, to get their feedback on this bill. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete his one-hour remarks, which would have been, I think, very helpful for the government to be able to hear, because he has done the kind of extensive consultation that this government has repeatedly failed to do—if they really want to understand the issues that working people in this province are facing, and if they really want to bring forward legislation that would actually address the issues that workers are struggling with in this province.

Bill 149 amends four separate pieces of legislation. It amends the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022, which, interestingly, is not even in force yet. Once again, we see this government passing legislation—quite recently; that legislation was debated in this House, passed in this House, back in 2022. It’s not even in force, and yet the government is bringing forward amendments to its sloppy legislation that they had drafted initially, that already requires revisions. This bill also amends the Employment Standards Act—and I’ll have quite a bit more to say about the amendments to the Employment Standards Act. It amends the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act, 2006. And finally, it amends the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.

I’m going to start with the final schedule, schedule 4, the amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. This legislation finally provides the presumptive coverage for esophageal cancer in firefighters. We heard lots of boasting from this government about how they were going to be moving ahead with these changes in their last employment omnibus bill. They made that commitment. We fully support that commitment. Through the efforts of my colleague the member for Niagara Centre, we actually led that initiative to provide that presumptive coverage, and I want to thank and congratulate my colleague for his efforts, for his advocacy on behalf of Captain Craig Bowman, and for the private member’s bill that he brought forward, Bill 127, which had first reading in June 2023. The government could have moved forward with this change several months ago, with that private member’s bill; they could have moved forward with this change when they introduced their previous employment omnibus bill, but they didn’t. But here we are today, and we appreciate that change. It is a long-overdue change that is well past due in this province.

We also want to highlight that this presumptive coverage is not just important for firefighters who work in municipal fire services across this province, but it should be extended to include wildfire fire workers. That category of firefighters is excluded from the definition of firefighters that is covered by presumptive clauses under the WSIA.

That change is not included in this legislation, and I have to question why. We know that with the impact of climate change we are seeing severe weather events on a scale that we haven’t experienced before in this province. We all remember the smoke that was coming from the wildfires in Quebec and northern Ontario and the impact that was having on our air quality here in Ontario and well down into the United States. Wildfire fire workers have been combatting these consequences of climate change to an extent that we haven’t seen before, and yet they are excluded from this ability to access presumptive coverage under WSIA.

Not only did the government exclude wildfire fire workers from this legislation, but they have cut the number of fire crews that we have in this province when they reduced funding for wildfire management programs by 67%. A 67% reduction to funding for wildfire management programs as we are in the midst of—or in the summer, certainly—a wildfire crisis across the province. We are 50 fire crews short because of this government’s decision to cut that funding for wildfire management programs.

Otherwise, Speaker, the changes that are set out in the first three schedules of this bill will have some impact on workers in the province, but they are very much baby steps. They are the kind of incremental changes that workers don’t deserve. Workers deserve a government that is going to listen to the challenges that they are facing and make the kind of changes that would really have an impact on their lives.

I’m going to now go to schedule 1 of the bill, the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022. A new section is added that requires that a pay period as set out in the act not exceed the prescribed number of days. What does this section do, Speaker? What this does is it waters down the already flimsy minimum-wage protections of the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act by adding the clause “Unless the regulations provide otherwise” to section 9(2) of the act. That section of the current legislation sets out that employers must pay minimum wage for assignments. In other words, the minimum-wage provisions only apply when a gig worker—a digital platform worker, an Uber driver, a Skip the Dishes delivery person—the minimum wage only applies to when that worker is in the process of delivering. It does not apply to the time between assignments and to the time it takes to get to an assignment or to the next assignment. What that means is that these workers are effectively protected by the minimum wage provisions of this bill just an estimated 60% of the time that they are on the job.

Speaker, I think that you were a member in this House when I brought forward a private member’s bill called the Preventing Worker Misclassification Act, which was also legislation that would protect digital platform workers, the gig workers. We have seen an erosion of the quality of work in this province. We have seen an explosion of the gig economy, with too many workers forced to patchwork together gig jobs, contract jobs, jobs which, until the government introduced its bill, had no protections whatsoever in terms of labour.

This is at a time when we are seeing, internationally, recognition for gig workers to be recognized as the employees they are. We’re seeing decisions in Spain, the UK, New York City, other jurisdictions, where the courts have ruled that digital workers are employees and should be covered by all of the protections and benefits of the Employment Standards Act, and that’s what my bill would have done.

My bill addressed worker misclassification. It addressed the reality that too many gig workers are doing work that should be legitimately covered by the Employment Standards Act but are completely excluded. It created a new test for how you identify an employee under the Employment Standards Act, so that those gig workers would not be misclassified as independent contractors; those gig workers would be recognized as the employees that they are, and therefore entitled to minimum wage protections—fancy that, Speaker. They would be entitled to vacation pay. They would be entitled to scheduled breaks in the days that they work. They would be entitled to protections around hours worked.

And so that legislation that I introduced was debated in this chamber, and the government refused to support that direction. The government refused to acknowledge the rights that digital workers should have and that the courts, as I said, are recognizing in other jurisdictions. Instead, they went ahead with their own Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act.

So let’s talk some more about digital platform workers. They spend, on average, as I said, about 40% of their work time waiting for deliveries or rides, and that is the 40% of their workday that is not going to be covered, now, by any of the protections of the government’s Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act. It would also allow large international companies like Uber and Lyft to avoid paying workers, as I mentioned, for the time that they are not actually on assignment.

The amendments to this act do not protect platform worker wages from being further reduced below minimum wage, because when 40% of your workday is not covered by any minimum wage protections, you can imagine that, over the course of a workweek, a digital platform worker, when it’s all averaged out, will actually be earning much less than is required by Ontario’s minimum wage laws.

In the short time I have left—it’s surprising how quickly 20 minutes go—I want to talk about the schedule of the bill that the government claims is going to provide some pay transparency. Speaker, I don’t think you were elected at the time, but when the Liberal government, just prior to its ouster by the people of this province in 2018—just prior to that election, the Liberal government of the time introduced a Pay Transparency Act.

I have to commend and acknowledge the hard work and the efforts of the Equal Pay Coalition, and in particular, the two lawyers who have been driving forces behind the Equal Pay Coalition and driving forces behind advocacy to get the government to move forward with pay transparency legislation. Those two lawyers, that I’ve had the great privilege of working closely with, are Fay Faraday and Jan Borowy. They have been formidable champions of equal pay and pay equity and pay transparency.

Again, we have seen in other jurisdictions, other countries, that pay transparency is a critical tool to help close the gender wage gap in Ontario. It is a critical tool to ensure that women are no longer earning 75% of what a man earns.

Every year, Equal Pay Day is recognized in Ontario—not by this government, of course; they don’t want to draw any attention to the fact they have failed to do anything effective to help close that gender wage gap, but on this side of the House, we certainly highlight Equal Pay Day each year, which marks how much further into the next year a woman has to work in order to earn the same amount that her male counterpart would have earned in the previous year. And, Speaker, typically, that day falls somewhere at the end of March or early April, because that is the reality for women in this province—in particular, it is the reality for racialized women, women who are living with a disability, Indigenous women. Equal Pay Day for some women actually falls much closer into the middle of the year, or even the following autumn. That is how underpaid certain groups of women are in this province. So pay transparency is, as I said, a critical tool to help close the gender wage gap.

So what this bill does is it requires employers to post information about expected compensation levels for any position that they are hiring for. Does this address the goal of the previous legislation, the Pay Transparency Act, Speaker? Not in the slightest. This very modest, simple requirement will not go anywhere as far as we need to go, which was set out in the previous Pay Transparency Act.

In fact, Speaker, instead, we could have saved the government some time. Instead of working on a schedule—a change that’s included in the bill—the government could have enacted the Pay Transparency Act because that legislation was introduced, as I said, just prior to the 2018 election. It was debated in this House for second reading, went to committee, it was debated in this House for third reading—it was passed, Speaker. It got royal assent, Speaker. Has it been enacted, Speaker? No, it has not. This government pulled that legislation and has been sitting on that legislation while they claimed to be doing a consultation with employers about that bill.

Now, that would have been something that would have really made a difference for women workers in this province—had the government announced that they were going to actually enact the Pay Transparency Act. It’s the provisions in that Pay Transparency Act which—again, I want to credit Jan Borowy and her efforts for helping improve that legislation at committee and ensuring that those measures that were included in that bill would actually start to close that gender wage gap that has been so damaging for women in Ontario.

That is time.

We we’re going to move to further debate. I recognize the member for Niagara West.

I’ll recognize the member for Beaches–East York.

I will then apologize, and I will go back to the member for Niagara West for further debate.

Orders of the day?

Interjection.

Mr. Gill has moved third reading of Bill 139, An Act to amend various Acts. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

Be it resolved that the bill do now pass and be entitled as in the motion.

Third reading agreed to.

Resuming the debate adjourned on November 16, 2023, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 149, An Act to amend various statutes with respect to employment and labour and other matters / Projet de loi 149, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne l’emploi, le travail et d’autres questions.

Thank you to the member from London West for her insightful comments.

I’d like to move back to wildland firefighters. According to Minister Smith and Minister Fedeli, Ontario is experiencing challenges with the ability of skilled and experienced candidates—to get people to fill those positions. But according to Noah Freedman, a forest fire leader from Sioux Lookout, “We don’t have issues bringing new fire staff into the program—we can’t retain people. When the season is over, and our backs and lungs are destroyed, staff look at their bank account and ask, ‘Why did I do this?’” We know that they are still not covered for presumptive cancers. And, frankly, what do we do when the government itself is the bad actor?

I see a lost opportunity. I also see a betrayal in what is not covered in this bill. I wonder if you could speak to that.

There’s so much I can say in response to that question and the kinds of protections that hospitality workers in this province deserve, but I certainly agree with the member that hospitality workers should not have to pay when there is a so-called dine-and-dash situation. That is already prohibited in the Employment Standards Act.

One of the ongoing challenges, of course, with the Employment Standards Act is that it requires complaints to be made, and that has always been a real barrier to ensuring that the protections of the act are available to all workers in this province, because too often employees don’t know their rights and are exploited by unscrupulous employers.

Yes, I totally agree; it is beyond insulting for the government to leave wildfire firefighters so poorly compensated and poorly supported and excluded from legislation like this. As a result, as the member points out, we are unable to retain those essential workers, who are going to be even more important as the impacts of climate change continue to be felt.

Certainly, I have heard a lot since 2019, in fact, about Bill 124, and that is the government’s infamous legislation that capped the wages of public sector workers. Of course, a big part of our public sector workforce is health care workers. The government did this, they implemented this legislation, just prior to a global pandemic. In a global pandemic, the last people you want to see leaving their professions because they are not compensated appropriately are health care workers. What we would have liked to have seen is the government drop its challenge of the court decision on Bill 124 that found that legislation unconstitutional and do something to increase the wages of health care workers.

I listened intently. I want to thank the member opposite for her submissions.

I was looking at statistics, and apparently 6.1% of individuals in Ontario are now working in the food industry or food services, accommodation; in my riding of Thornhill, it’s probably far greater, because we’re the food capital of Canada—that’s just my own opinion.

One of the things that we’re going to be implementing is something that will make it much better for the people who work in the hospitality industry. I have teenagers. I think many of us in this room understand that there are sometimes bad actors. Sometimes people are asked to do unpaid shifts and forced to pay in dine-and-dash situations. Does the opposite member think that’s fair? And does the opposite member think that industry workers deserve more protection from bad actor employers? And what does she think of that aspect of our bill?

Thank you to my friend from London West for her presentation.

I want to ask about health care workers. A lot of what’s not in this bill is very important. It’s a missed opportunity. In my riding, I have health care workers contacting my office who worked on the front lines but never received their pandemic pay.

What are some of the things that could have been in this bill to help health care workers in London?

It’s my pleasure to rise today to highlight an exciting initiative announced yesterday at Brenn-B Farms in my riding of Flamborough–Glanbrook.

Speaker, I’m sure you’ll be delighted to learn that our government, through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, is investing up to $25 million to expand production capacity and boost energy efficiency in the agriculture and food sector. The money will be provided to eligible farm and food processing businesses to help them invest in innovative technology, equipment and processes.

Shawn Brenn, president of Brenn-B Farms, said, “Today’s announcement ... is welcome news for the agriculture sector. Growers are continually looking to innovate in order to manage constantly rising input costs, address labour shortages and market instability in an effort to keep their farms sustainable for the long term.

“Cost-share supports like” this “will help jump-start these investment decisions and support the viability of locally grown fruits and vegetables. I applaud our government’s forward thinking and encourage ongoing collaboration that aligns with keeping our farms and agri-food sector resilient and strong now and into the future.”

I would like to thank Shawn and all of Brenn-B Farms for hosting the event and for sharing his thoughts on this exciting opportunity for the agriculture community across Ontario.

The Haliburton County Development Corp. has been a trailblazer for businesses in Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock. The HCDC is a dedicated group of individuals who are committed to helping entrepreneurs fulfill their dreams by connecting local innovators with the resources they need to start, maintain and grow their ventures. In fact, they are one of the province’s biggest success stories for supporting local businesses. In the last three years alone, HCDC has moved over $15 million in capital financing, which has developed over 890 jobs across the area.

It is my pleasure to congratulate them on their new venue, the Link. The Link will be home to a business incubator, the chamber of commerce, the arts council, tourism and economic development staff, and services from the Business Development Bank of Canada. The HCDC has created a space that will be foundational in supporting businesses with one-stop shop convenience for local entrepreneurs.

Never afraid to think out of the box, HCDC recently partnered with the county’s Places for People to launch a new community bonds program to help bring more affordable housing units to Haliburton county.

I would like to thank the hard work and dedication of executive director Patti Tallman and board chair Pat Kennedy and their teams for providing leadership for community economic development in Haliburton county.

Next question.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

I just referenced Bill 124 in a previous question. You know who else has been impacted by Bill 124? I talked about the impact on health care workers, who are leaving the profession in droves—

Interjection: Firefighters.

We are seeing, across the globe, a growing recognition of gig workers as employees, as workers who deserve to be covered by employment standards legislation so that they have access to minimum wage, so that they have vacation pay, so that they have severance, so that they have everything that workers in this—

I listened with great interest to the member opposite, and I have to call into question some of the information that she is putting out there and some of this rhetoric that she’s stating here. As a 21-year firefighter in my community, serving both wildland firefighting and house firefighting, and as the mayor of my community for 31 years, we advocated with previous governments for a long time to bring in legislation that provided this protection to our firefighters. We have—

Interjection.

Thank you to the member for London West for her excellent presentation. I know and I recognize the huge amount of work you’ve done to improve workplace conditions. I’d like to get your perspective on the government’s changes to digital workers. Where are they falling short?

I stand here today as a grandmother filled with pride, celebrating my grandson Greyson’s fifth birthday. His smile, his energy are captivating.

Grandchildren provide a line of sight on issues that may otherwise go unnoticed by grandparents, shining a light on a pressing issue affecting families across Ontario—the challenge of securing child care.

In our province, despite promises of new child care spaces, families continue to struggle due to the slow and unclear rollout of these initiatives. The reality in the Niagara region, and everywhere, is a growing wait-list of over thousands of names, sounding an alarm bell to the urgent need for accessible, affordable child care options.

This struggle is compounded by the fact that while some steps have been taken, like wage increases for early childhood educators, we still see a significant gap in support and resources for all child care workers. The slow rollout in Ontario is primarily responsible for the lack of subsidized spots, severely impacting the availability and quality of care.I know there are many grandparents in this chamber. So from one grandparent to another, we must accelerate our efforts, provide clear direction, and ensure that every family in Ontario has access to the child care they desperately need.

Happy fifth birthday, Greyson James Walter Uhryn. You are a symbol of the bright future we are fighting for. Grammie hopes all your wishes come true.

Today I’m rising to show my love and gratitude for the 110th Grey Cup Festival, which happened this past week in Hamilton. Thank you to the Hamilton tourism and Grey Cup committee, who did not miss a single detail. They worked tirelessly to bring fans from across the country to the Hammer.

I was honoured to be part of the Stampede pancake breakfast, hosted by the Calgary Grey Cup Committee and Legion 163 in my riding of Hamilton Mountain. They served up the true spirit of community, with music, laughter and fun.

Later in the day, I continued to be amazed at the Calgary VIP events at Shoeless Joe’s—great energy, with local leaders, CFL fans and Calgary’s mascot horse, Tuffy, who was piped into the bar for a cold refreshment.

Saturday started with the Spirit of Edmonton breakfast, featuring all of our CFL cheerleaders, sluice juice and fans of every team and colour.

Our annual Santa Claus parade was next on the list, which also had a Grey Cup theme. Thank you to Santa and Mrs. Claus for sharing your special arrival and for bringing smiles to the faces of children of all ages who lined our streets. James Street North was the daytime place to be, with so many interactive events for families to enjoy and experience the magic of the CFL in all its glory.

Special thanks to the convention centre, who hosted nightly entertainment with team-themed experiences to lead us up to the big game.

I know I’m out of time, Speaker, but a huge congratulations to the Montreal Alouettes for bringing it home for the east. I’m looking forward to being in BC. See you next year with the Cats.

November marks Hindu Heritage Month, and I’m proud to represent members of this community in my riding of Thornhill. I recently had the privilege of attending the Diwali celebrations hosted by the Thornhill Senior Citizen Club. This club is one of the many organizations in Thornhill keeping our amazing seniors engaged and active. Speaker, there’s nothing more effervescent than their Diwali celebration: their smiling faces, beautiful traditional clothes, fantastic food and the music.

For many years now, the president of the club, Kashmir Sangha, and his vice-president, Jitu Parikh, have been doing a great job of bringing everyone together with creative dance and theatre performances, not only keeping their minds and their bodies active, but also preserving a connection to their culture and keeping their rich heritage alive and vibrant. But what struck me most was that the spirit of Diwali was not just in the festive decorations, but in their genuine connections they’re forging between individuals, bridging together generations and creating a family within a community.

The senior citizens group have made me feel welcome, truly. They accepted me into their family, and celebrating with them is one of the highlights of my year. As we celebrate Hindu Heritage Month, let’s not only revel in the beauty of the lights and the joy and the music of Diwali, but also the community spirit that shines brighter than all the lights and candles combined.

Good morning. I am honoured to rise today to pay my respects to a pillar of the Brantford–Brant community, Harry “the Admiral” Chatzis. Harry “the Admiral” passed away earlier this month at the age of 86, leaving a hole in our community. He founded Admiral Submarine in Brantford, a culinary staple in the late-night food scene, known for its incredible sub sandwiches and the famous “Junkpile.”

I had the privilege of being served personally by Harry, and, Speaker, the sandwich I had was more than worth having to duck to enter the building.

Having grown up in Greece under Nazi occupation, Harry became all too familiar with the feeling of being hungry. After moving to Canada when he was 17, Harry worked to ensure that no one in his community would experience the hunger that he had experienced in his youth. Harry never hesitated to feed those who couldn’t afford food, and as his son Gus said, “He believed that if he could fill someone’s belly, that person could then focus on other things.”

Other than for the delicious food, Harry will be remembered for the many lives he touched with his kindness and generosity. Harry’s presence will be deeply missed by the Brantford community, but the impact he had on the people of Brantford will endure for years to come. Rest in peace, Admiral—all of Brantford–Brant salutes you.

It’s a pleasure to rise today and welcome the Motta family from my community. One year ago, merely days before World Diabetes Day on November 14, the Mottas received a shocking diagnosis that their own young daughter, Noemi, had type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects children and adolescents, requiring a lifetime of vigilant management. In Ontario alone, thousands of young lives are impacted by this condition, and the numbers are growing.

Since receiving this diagnosis, the family dedicated much of their time to supporting other families affected by this condition and raise awareness. At home in our community, young Noemi decided she wanted to mark World Diabetes Day this year by organizing an awareness event at her school, and last week, with the incredible support of her friends, who I know also wanted to be with her today, a beautiful display of blue ribbons was constructed by students from all grades at her school to raise awareness and start conversations about the condition.

Noemi, today I’d like to recognize you for your extraordinary efforts in raising awareness about diabetes at your school. Your dedication and commitment to this cause have not only educated many but also inspired many others to take action. Despite challenges, you have turned your personal experience into a powerful tool for advocacy, a testament that age is no barrier to making a significant impact. Your outstanding efforts in raising awareness has empowered your peers with knowledge and your actions have truly made a difference in your school and community. So thank you for being a beacon of hope and an inspiration and a role model for all of us.