What I will say to the people of Ontario is that we have your backs. We are expanding primary care in the province of Ontario. We are expanding the number of seats available for nurses, for PSWs, for physicians in the province of Ontario.

We have programs in place that ensure that, if you would like to practise in Ontario, you can do that with new legislation—which, respectfully, you voted against—that says if you have a licence anywhere in Canada, you can come to Ontario and immediately start practising while you await your Ontario licence.

We have directed the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and the College of Nurses of Ontario to quickly assess, expedite and ultimately review and, when appropriate, license internationally educated and trained physicians and nurses. We have done—

Thanks to the member opposite for the question. I know that the farmers of Brant county truly appreciate his genuine advocacy on their behalf.

I hope everyone in this House took a meeting with our representatives of Ontario Pork this past week, because if you did, I’m sure that you would hear loud and clear that they are supportive of the removal of carbon tax from propane and natural gas used on farms. This is imperative, that we move forward and come together and collectively support their ask, because the reality is that the carbon tax imposed upon us by the federal Liberal government is doing nothing but driving the cost of production through the roof.

I’m sure if you had had proper consultations with Ontario Pork, you would hear specific examples to your home areas. For instance, in Huron–Bruce, we heard about a farmer who saw his propane bill go up 21% solely because of the federal Liberal carbon tax. That erodes his ability to invest in biosecurity. That erodes his opportunities and ability to invest in new technology—

Talking about greenhouses, like the member opposite mentioned, we have seen the cost of energy go up for a particular greenhouse in Ontario by $150,000. I’m going to repeat that: Carbon tax has caused one greenhouse grower to pay an additional $150,000 this year alone. How is anyone ever supposed to be able to carry that? Again, it’s eroding his ability to be competitive.

You know, ladies and gentlemen, over 70% of all vegetables and produce grown in—

My question is to the Premier.

There are countless residents in the city paying unaffordable market rent and hanging on by a thread—residents like Rahima, who is living with a disability and spent 26 years on a wait-list for affordable housing. This government is only really interested in market-rate homes, which will leave so many without real housing options.

Will the government support the NDP plan for real rent control and build 250,000 new affordable rental homes, or will they stick with their failing policies that have led to skyrocketing rents and more people left unhoused on their watch?

I think we’ve been pretty clear that we will not support the NDP plan. We actually voted against that plan, Mr. Speaker. It was a plan that severely underestimated the costs, Speaker. Advocates across the sector said it would be unaffordable and would lead to the bankruptcy of the province.

So, what we’re doing instead, Speaker, is we’ve updated the definition of “affordability,” which received unanimous support from all parties in this House, which has been very well received by our municipal partners. One would wonder why, again, a Progressive Conservative government had to come to the table to improve housing in the province of Ontario. It should have been done a long time ago, but we’ve started to untangle the mess and the burdens that were put in place by the Liberals and the NDP—the NDP, who just like to talk about housing. They don’t actually like to accomplish anything, Mr. Speaker, but the policies that we have brought in have seen purpose-built rentals to their highest level in over 15 years. That is such good news for people who are looking for rental housing, and I’m proud to say that it continues on that trajectory.

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. I love to talk about all the great things that our government is doing to improve health care in Ontario.

Last year, health care spending in Ontario increased by over $2.7 billion. That was just last year, and that was just the increase. This government has increased spending on health care by $16 billion since we came into office. To be clear, our government has increased health care sector spending in Ontario by 6.1% per year on average—a much better record than the former Liberal government.

Our government knows the status quo is not working. That’s why we are taking initiatives, why we are innovating and why we brought in our community surgical and diagnostic clinics, which we’re expanding too. We’re getting it done so the people of Ontario can get the health care that they deserve.

None of these things have done anything to keep ERs closed and have ignored entirely the root causes of what we’re facing, because right now patients cannot get access to primary care. They can’t get access to family doctors and family health teams. When they try to get out to nurse practitioners, many of them can only be accessed by paying $400 mandatory subscription fees.

This is about doing things like dropping the appeal of Bill 124 and putting in the work to retain health care workers with proper wages, benefits and mental health supports. This means regulating temporary nursing agencies. It means investing the billions of dollars this government is instead stashing away in contingency funds. We cannot afford to fail on this.

In September, three teens were stabbed at a house party in the middle the night. Rushed to the nearest emergency department, they found that it was closed. In the last month, there was a 10-day period where the emergency department in Chesley, Ontario, was open for only 10 hours.

What does the Minister of Health say to the people Ontario who live with the anxiety of not having an emergency room open in their times of crisis?

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This week, Ontario pork farmers visited Queen’s Park, showcasing information about their quality products. Pork farmers contribute to making Ontario a world-class exporter for growing international markets. To my friends who are pork producers, thank you for feeding Ontario and for feeding the world.

While their contribution to our province’s economy is significant and important, the carbon tax is putting homegrown pork at a competitive disadvantage. This regressive tax, not only places a heavy economic burden on pork farmers, it also impacts the global standing of the agricultural sector.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how the carbon tax is impacting the pork sector’s contributions to Ontario’s economy?

The carbon tax only serves to harm farmers and limit their potential to grow Ontario’s agriculture and food industry. Since the introduction of the carbon tax, production costs for our farmers, greenhouse growers and food processors 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, hard-working businesses and hard-working farmers. It provides no value other than taking money from families.

Speaker, could the minister please provide an update on the status of Bill C-234 in the Senate and what actions must be taken by the federal government to provide support to our farmers—

The ayes are 72; the nays are 32.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Small Business. Small businesses across Chatham-Kent–Leamington and throughout our rural and northern communities continue to share their concerns about the punitive impact of the federal carbon tax. Small family-run furniture stores like Gabriele, Main-West and Devos are suffering, as are the sawmills and contractors, who are seeing higher costs for raw materials like lumber. Speaker, this unfair tax forces them to choose between absorbing the cost themselves or passing them on to customers like you and I.

Unlike the opposition, our government clearly recognizes that rural and resource-based businesses must remain viable for communities to thrive. Can the minister please explain how the carbon tax is impacting rural businesses and our entrepreneurs?

I appreciate the member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington for his important question. Small businesses in rural Ontario play a vital role as a source of employment within their communities. These businesses provide valuable job opportunities, helping to stimulate economic growth and support the livelihoods of individuals and families.

Rural entrepreneurs face unique challenges already, and having the carbon tax drive up the price of obtaining and delivering goods only compounds the issues they already have. That’s why our government has been tirelessly working to alleviate the financial burden imposed on small businesses even as the federal government persists in escalating the carbon tax year after year after year. Unlike the Liberals and the NDP, we won’t be silent as the federal government punishes our farmers, our workers, our businesses and our families.

Speaker, this Premier, this caucus have been clear from day one. We call on the federal government to do what’s right for our businesses, our economy, our families: scrap the carbon tax now.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My point of order: I want to wish a friend of mine, and I do consider her a friend, Cynthia Mulligan from CityNews, a happy birthday. And Colin D’Mello’s birthday was yesterday. Mine was the day before. Now I know why they’re so tough on me, because we’re all Scorpios. Anyways, I want to wish her all the very best.

My question is for the Premier. A while ago, I came across a young man sleeping on the street. He needed medical attention because of a mental health issue, and also because he’d been beaten up. He had a broken cheekbone and a broken rib. I called shelter services, but there were no beds available.

The city of Toronto is reporting that 320 people a day call shelter services with no beds available. The lack of shelter and medical care has caused the number of people dying on the streets to double from 100 to 200 per year under this government. The city of Toronto has developed a housing plan with a target of 65,000 new rent-controlled homes but will need $3.7 billion from the provincial government.

Will this government continue to let this crisis worsen, or will they help fund Mayor Chow’s plan?

We actually stepped in when the federal government wouldn’t step in. If you ask municipal partners across the GTA what the biggest challenge is that they have right now, it is asylum seekers who have come to this province and do not have the space, and the fact that the federal government has literally abandoned them.

Now, this Premier and this government stepped up to the plate and provided additional funding for all of our partners in the GTA. In fact, in yesterday’s FES, if I’m not mistaken, the federal Liberal government decided to provide more to support the media than they did to support asylum seekers and shelters in Toronto. That is the priority of the federal Liberal government.

So I say to the member opposite, if you’re really concerned about this issue, you have an opportunity. You didn’t do it here. Call your friends in Ottawa who hold the balance of power and say the status quo in Ottawa is not working. Tell them to vote against the FES and take down this federal Liberal government so that we can get a government that actually cares about the people of the province of Ontario.

The Standing Committee on Social Policy.

Supplementary question? The member for Spadina–Fort York.

The next question.

The division bells rang from 1146 to 1151.

On November 21, 2023, Miss Surma moved second reading of Bill 151, An Act to amend various statutes regarding infrastructure.

All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Second reading agreed to.

I’ll look to the minister for a committee referral.

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1155 to 1300.

Report continues in volume B.

Just in that vein of wishing people a happy birthday, today is the birthday of Madeleine Meilleur, a champion of francophone-Ontarian rights. A former member here for 13 years and for 10 years preceding that she served on Ottawa city council, Vanier city council and Ottawa regional council—we have a lot of councils back east. It’s a great day for her and I want to wish her a very, very happy birthday.