It’s my privilege to rise here today to highlight the amazing work of a constituent in my riding of Perth–Wellington: Jacqueline Ussher, a paramedic with Perth county emergency medical services. She recently won the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs—OAPC—Humanitarian Award. The award was introduced in 2012, and it recognizes acts of unselfish donation of time or money by paramedic or emergency medical services professionals to relieve the suffering of humanity.

Jacqueline has shown an unwavering commitment to the well-being of the community of Perth county, particularly during the tough times of COVID-19. Not only did Jacqueline serve our community as a paramedic, but during the chaos of the pandemic, she identified a local issue that was exacerbated by the pandemic: food security. Jacqueline proceeded to dedicate her time and effort, working with the House of Blessing to ensure a continuous supply of food for people in need in Perth county.

Her volunteerism and dedication to the well-being of our community is commendable, and she is a great role model for many who want to see our neighbours and friends prosper.

I know I speak for our community when I say that we are grateful for the hard-working and caring people in Perth–Wellington, like Jacqueline.

Jacqueline, thank you for making our community a better place to live and raise a family.

Last night, I had the great pleasure and privilege of attending the Order of Ontario ceremony, for the province’s highest civilian honour. I was attending specifically to join Elizabeth Witmer and her family, but I must say, I was so pleased to bear witness to the strength and intelligence of the 26 appointees.

Elizbeth Witmer, as you know, is well-respected in Waterloo region. She was our first female MPP and is known as a quiet trailblazer who always carried a spirit of thoughtful leadership and reform. She continues to serve the public and is currently the chair of KidsAbility.

Elizabeth was in good company—amongst others, Marva Wisdom, Cindy Adams, the Honourable Rosemary Moodie. She was also joined by former MPP Dianne Cunningham from London.

Some of the appointees have spent their entire lives working to make Ontario a better, healthier and more inclusive place: Arthur Lockhart, who established the Gatehouse—included advocacy to move the shame of sexual abuse to a place of courage; Pauline Shirt, who is described as a wisdom keeper; Eric Lindros, for his charitable work and game-changing advocacy on concussion reform, through Rowan’s Law; and restaurateur Biagio Vinci, who is involved in the Out of the Cold program and extended his work to feed hot meals to front-line health care workers during the pandemic—he does so to honour his mother—and last night, it was said that his greatest dish is compassion.

Speaker, there are too many to highlight.

Many of the Order of Ontario recipients were visibly uncomfortable in the spotlight. They are just good people doing good work, and our province is a better place because of them.

Next question.

Third reading debate deemed adjourned.

People are hungry. Feed the Need in Durham is seeing unbelievable increases in visits. In 2019, they had 75,000 visits, and they are on track to hit 240,000 this year, so the growth is exponential. And despite the generosity of our community, food and funds cannot match the demand, which has grown so quickly. I have faith in the great work that Ben Earle, his team and all the volunteers are doing, but the needs are overwhelming our safety nets. More clients are fully employed and own homes. They just cannot make ends meet as their cost of living has increased over the past few years. We are seeing this across the country.

Speaker, 96% of food bank users in Durham indicate that the reason for their visit to the food bank last year was due to the rising cost of food needed to support themselves and their families. One in four food bank users last year were first-time clients.

The bottom line is that Feed the Need, like food banks across Ontario, is being asked to respond to challenges that are the result of policy failures at the provincial level. Social assistance rates are woefully insufficient, to say the least. Housing policies will not actually address the challenges faced by residents in Durham. And employment standards do not ensure good work that pays, at minimum, a living wage.

Carolyn Stewart, the CEO of Feed Ontario, answered reporters at Queen’s Park about what the government can do to support food banks. They don’t want government funding for food banks; they want government to fund people. They want better policy that addresses underlying causes of poverty, and to look at social assistance and a proper housing plan.

So, Premier, please invest in communities, people and the systems they rely on so people can feed themselves.

On Saturday, I was proud to attend the grand opening for the new Art Shelter in the sunflower field at Lakeview Village. Thanks to the $103,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to the dance-theatre company Frog in Hand, this will be an exciting new community space for local art programs.

Since last summer, I had the opportunity to announce over $3 million in OTF grants to over 20 local non-profits in Mississauga. This includes $411,000 for DEEN Support Services to expand their program for people living with intellectual disabilities. This includes $350,000 for Armagh House, the only transitional shelter for domestic violence victims in Peel region. This includes $149,000 for Team Unbreakable to expand their free mental health program. The Eagle Spirits of the Great Waters received $21,000 for Indigenous workshops; $191,000 went to the Don Rowing Club; and $99,000 to the Mississauga Canoe Club, where I volunteered as property manager a long time ago.

Earlier this month, our sprint canoeist Katie Vincent won gold at the Pan Am Games in Chile. She was named one of Canada’s flag-bearers for the closing ceremonies.

On behalf of all the members, I want to congratulate Katie. And I want to congratulate all our non-profits for receiving these grants and on everything they’re doing for our community. I want to just congratulate them all for all they’re doing.

Today, I would like to tell the assembly about Isabel. Isabel is a grade 12 student, and Isabel is enrolled in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program. Isabel takes classes at the Carpenters Union, where she learns the basics of math and reading and writing, but she also takes programming with regard to skilled trades. Isabel is going to have all of the basic skills that she needs when she graduates to enter into an apprenticeship program. At the same time, she’s going to get her Ontario secondary school diploma—all at the same time.

All of this is made possible by a great partnership between the Greater Essex County District School Board and the Carpenters Union, which has contributed approximately half a million dollars to make this program possible. And, of course, it’s also made possible by the excellent policies of this provincial government.

Mr. Speaker, I want to encourage Isabel and the thousands of students just like Isabel who are going to finish their Ontario secondary school diploma and get great apprenticeship training through the programs offered by this government. Please, Isabel and all your friends, keep up the great work.

I beg to inform the House that, pursuant to standing order 9(g), the Clerk has received written notice from the government House leader indicating that a temporary change in the weekly meeting schedule of the House is required, and therefore the afternoon routine on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, shall commence at 1 p.m.

Today I’d like to welcome Francis Garwe and Roselyn Sagar-Lal from the Durham Community Health Centre. Thank you for being in the House today.

I’d also like to acknowledge Nancy Henry, councillor for Ward 2 in Ajax—it’s nice to see you—and Mayor Kevin Ashe, his wife Karen, and his group from Pickering as well. Thank you for coming today and thank you for the discussion on mental health.

Recently, I had the pleasure of joining members of the Blenheim Medical Health Foundation, who unveiled plans to develop a local health hub which will provide primary, multi-disciplinary health care to a catchment area that extends well beyond the community of Blenheim to include rural areas of South Kent, Ridgetown and surrounding areas. This facility will house a wide range of health care professionals and services, including family physicians, nurse practitioners, diagnostic imaging personnel, laboratory, physiotherapy, pharmacy and mental health care services all under one roof.

I’m so proud of this community-driven grassroots movement, and I want to acknowledge members of the foundation, including Mr. Ed O’Brien, Ms. Joan Hackett, Ms. Cathy Smith, Dr. Andrew Lanz-O’Brien, and the countless Blenheim-area residents and businesses who supported them all.

I also want to acknowledge the extreme generosity of Peter and Annie Timmermans, who selflessly donated the beautiful 26,000-square-foot building—the former Andersons agri-business and research building on Hyland Drive—to house our future health care hub and make this dream of comprehensive rural health a reality. The collective effort will create a warm, welcoming, comprehensive and professional space to better support all rural residents, from young families to seniors, who are all being supported by a central integrated whole-person health care facility.

I was pleased to attend the recent swearing-in ceremony of 45 new Ontario provincial police officers at the headquarters in Orillia. It was a momentous occasion, one that signifies the commitment and dedication of these individuals to serve and protect our communities.

Among these dedicated recruits is my good friend Curtis Trotz, who has made the transition from the city of Thunder Bay police force to serve at the OPP station in Armstrong. Curtis’s decision to join the OPP is a testament to his unwavering commitment to public safety and his willingness to embrace new challenges in the pursuit of a safer Ontario. Congratulations, Curtis.

I’d also like to extend my congratulations to Natasha McLellan, who will be serving right here at Queen’s Park. Your presence and dedication to serving in the heart of our province’s governance is truly commendable. Your service here, safeguarding the very institutions that shape our great province, is of immense importance. Welcome, Natasha.

I want to recognize the sacrifices made by the families of our police officers and the vital role that they have in supporting their family members as they serve our communities.

In closing, I want to thank all officers for their dedication to upholding the law, protecting our citizens. And once again, I offer my congratulations. May you all return home safely at the end of every shift.

Affordability: Our neighbours in Niagara are feeling the crunch on the affordability crisis, and it’s hitting hard—especially around housing. Our municipalities in Niagara are falling short on housing targets at no fault of their own. The council in Niagara Falls hit the nail on the head, including Councillor Pietrangelo who said this: “We can approve them, but we can’t ensure that they’re going to be built. It’s nice to have a plan, but it’s better if it’s realistic and achievable and I don’t know how to make sure that it is achievable.”

The Conservatives’ housing plan is failing this province after wasting years cutting deals with their friends in the greenbelt. They promised 1.5-million homes. In Niagara Falls, it’s a 21-year wait-list for a one-bedroom apartment; nine years in Fort Erie.

Food bank usage has skyrocketed; 800,000 adults and children accessed a food bank in Ontario this year, an increase of 38%. Those on social assistance are facing legislated poverty.

Enough with the lip service. We need solutions. It’s time for this province to roll up its sleeves, get back to building homes and tackle the affordability crisis head on. How can the Premier tell the people in Ontario we are 1,000 times better off from when he became Premier? Family, friends, grandkids are going to bed hungry every night in the province of Ontario. We deserve better.

From the post-secondary sector, I’d like to welcome the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance as well as the delegation from Western University, my alma mater.

I would also like to welcome the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association, who I’ll be meeting with later this afternoon.

Finally, from a health care perspective, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Home Care Ontario as well as the Carion Fenn Foundation, which hosted a great reception this morning.

As a purple and proud graduate of Western University, I’d like to add my welcome to the delegation here today from Western, as well as to the amazing leadership of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, who are here today to meet with MPPs.

Thank you to the member for the question.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t know if you know this, but in fact, legislators in this House have been talking about what to do with Ontario Place since the late 1980s. Since the late 1980s, legislators have been talking about what to do with declining attendance and what to do with the increasing subsidies at Ontario Place.

Mr. Speaker, we are at a point where we’ve submitted our development application to the city. We have done everything that is required by us, by law, and now we have to make a decision and move forward. This is a government that gets the job done, and we will bring Ontario Place back to life, finally.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, I will never be afraid to present legislation in order to build infrastructure in the province of Ontario and finally, after over 30 years of debate in this House, get it done and bring Ontario Place back to life, a place that families can enjoy 365 days of the year.

Mr. Speaker, we legislators have been debating this issue since the late 1980s. It is time to get the job done and this legislation will help us do it.

As the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health, I’d like to introduce Home Care Ontario, who are holding their annual awareness day today at the Legislature.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Introduction of visitors. The Minister of Finance.

Interjection.

The supplementary question.

Minister of Infrastructure.

To reply, the Minister of Infrastructure.

I would like to welcome members of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance who are here today: Abby Samuels from McMaster University; Katie Traynor from the University of Waterloo; Carleigh Charlton from Brock University; Simi Olufowobi from Laurentian University; Riley Ambrose from Trent University; and Victoria Mills from Queen’s University. Welcome. I look forward to meeting with you later.

This question is for the Premier.

The Conservatives have had to roll back major policy after major policy because they got caught rigging the system for their friends. And while they promised to be more transparent around land use planning after the greenbelt scandal, here we are again, a few weeks later, and the Conservatives are muddying it even further when it comes to Ontario Place. They’re doing everything they can to ram their private luxury spa through, even skirting their own rules. They’ve proposed exempting the project from environmental assessment laws and the heritage act.

To the Premier: Is he overriding his own rules to avoid accountability under the law?

To the Premier: Is he just making it easier to give preferential treatment to his friends?

Back to the Premier: Why is this elite luxury spa his number one priority?

Interjections.

This government can pat themselves on the back all they want, but they know as well as we do that this was never about Toronto. The fight has always been right here at Queen’s Park to protect public interests and expose their dirty deals.

The government is spending over half a billion dollars on a luxury mega-spa to hand public funds directly over into the profits of private companies. If this isn’t about giving preferential treatment and avoiding public accountability, surely this government has a plan to invest in other municipalities.

To the Premier: Which other municipalities will get a deal from this province?

I’m very pleased to have met with OFVGA this morning. I somewhat share a farmer with my colleague from Oxford county: Mike Chromczak of Chromczak Farms, who produces some of Ontario’s best asparagus and watermelon.

Welcome to the House, and thank you for all your hard work.