I’d like to welcome my cousin to the House today, Karson Holland. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

If there are no objections, I would like to continue with introduction of visitors.

I want to acknowledge that we are meeting on lands traditionally inhabited by Indigenous peoples. We pay our respects to the many Indigenous nations who had gathered here and continue to gather here, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, meegwetch.

This morning we have with us, in the public gallery, the Bishop Strachan School choir from the riding of Toronto–St. Paul’s to perform O Canada and God Save the King. Please stand and join them in the singing our national and royal anthem.

Singing of the national anthem / Chant de l’hymne national.

Singing of the royal anthem / Chant de l’hymne royal.

Applause.

First, let me just congratulate the leader of the Green Party and the new member of provincial Parliament here, for Kitchener. It’s never easy turning a seat that has been historically Liberal and NDP, but you were able to accomplish that. I congratulate the both of you for doing that.

I would also suggest to the Leader of the Opposition that she might want to take a look at the results of the by-election. Yet another safe NDP seat has been lost, Mr. Speaker, and you know why that is? Because the Leader of the Opposition isn’t focusing on the things that matter to the people of the province of Ontario. When we reduce costs for people the Leader of the Opposition votes against it. When we put more money back in the pockets of the people of the province of Ontario, they vote against it.

The Liberals have just elected a leader who spends—

Interjections.

To reply, the Minister of Infrastructure.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and government House leader.

This question is for the Premier.

This government is fast-tracking its luxury spa bill, Bill 154. Last week, the opposition tried to find out why exactly the government is trying to pre-emptively block people from suing them for misrepresentation or misconduct when it comes to the Ontario Place scheme. We didn’t get much of an answer from the minister, so I’m hoping the Premier can shed some light on this.

Why does his government need the power to commit acts of misfeasance, bad faith, breach of trust, and breach of fiduciary obligation while building this luxury spa at Ontario Place?

Speaker, Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights gives the public the right to be consulted and heard on matters that affect our environment—matters that would include exemptions to the Environmental Assessment Act that are being included in the luxury spa act, Bill 154. But in an extraordinary step, the government won’t even send Bill 154 to committee for public hearings.

Why is the Premier so afraid to hear what the public has to say about this bill?

Speaker, this government’s luxury spa act, Bill 154, is another attack on democracy and basic norms of lawfulness and good governance. It specifically blocks people from suing the government for misrepresentation or misconduct. It specifically blocks remedies for people who have been harmed by this government. What’s more, it gives a new minister the power to issue ministerial zoning orders, which this government has already, as we know, widely abused.

With this government currently under active police investigation by the RCMP, why is the Premier fast-tracking a bill to give his government the power to ignore the law?

Speaker, when the NDP brought forward positive solutions like paid sick days and free contraceptives, the government seemed to signal some support for those things. When push came to shove, though, they said no.

To the Premier: Don’t Ontarians deserve better than a government mired in scandal and focused solely on their insiders?

The NDP put forward a proposal to close the loopholes that let unscrupulous landlords gouge tenants. The government said no. We tabled a motion to invest in desperately needed non-market and affordable housing options. The government said no.

To the Premier: Why does he keep saying no to solutions that would actually help people keep a roof over their heads?

Interjections.

Interjections.

Thank you very much to the member for the question.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve had a successful number of weeks in this House. We landed a historic deal with the city of Toronto to provide more supports for the TTC, be it in operations or safety. We released the business case which clearly defined everything our government has been saying for the last year and a half about the fact that it will save $600 million of taxpayer money to move the science centre to Ontario Place. And now we’re presenting legislation so that we can get on with it and start construction at Ontario Place, so that we can bring it back to life and make it a place that families can enjoy once again.

As we submitted our development application to the city of Toronto, we also submitted 40 different studies that cover everything from air to wind to soil to stormwater—conservation plan, heritage impact assessment.

Mr. Speaker, government believes that we have done our due diligence and now it’s time to move on and bring Ontario Place and the science centre back to life.

What this bill also does, Mr. Speaker, is provide operational dollars to the TTC for the new transit lines that we are building. It also provides money for new trains. It also provides money so that people can be safe on the TTC when travelling to work.

We landed a historic deal and we’re also making extreme progress on Ontario Place so that we can once again enjoy the site after years of neglect.

What about fare and service integration to make it easier for transit riders to cross boundaries, saving them $1,600 a year? What about building more transit stations in the greater Toronto area? I would say we have had quite the productive session this fall session and we look forward to continuing on in the next two weeks.

Well, Speaker, there you go again, right?

I’m glad to see the Premier finally join us this morning. This government—

Interjections.

Interjections.

Let’s take the rising cost of energy, shall we? New Democrats proposed a smart solution to help people reduce the cost of heating and lower emissions at the same time. The Conservatives said no. Their solution? Write a letter to Ottawa and hope someone else does something.

You’ve been in power for five long years. People are struggling. There are real issues that people deserve answers to.

Speaker, as we head into the holidays, when will this government start saying no to their insiders and start saying yes to regular Ontarians?

Interjections.

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs.

Speaker, the carbon tax is essentially a tax on everything and the residents of northern, remote and Indigenous communities feel the effects of this tax most severely. For more than a year, the Chiefs of Ontario have been calling on the federal government to consult with them on the effects of this harmful and regressive tax on their com-munities. Sadly, the federal government has failed to consult with Indigenous communities and properly address their concerns.

The Chiefs of Ontario have recently filed for a judicial review into the application of the carbon tax in Indigenous communities in Ontario, calling this tax both anti-reconciliatory and discriminatory. Speaker, can the minister please comment on the judicial review process of the federal carbon tax for Indigenous communities in Ontario?

In an effort to take the grin off the Leader of the Opposition’s face on this question—it’s actually shifted to a very serious tone. We saw a federal government choose, hand-pick, a region of Canada for relief from the carbon tax. For weeks, we’ve been talking about the hardship of this tax on all Ontarians, but particularly vulnerable populations in regions of Ontario. Premiers across the country have chimed in with policy solutions to address this tax. Now, Mr. Speaker, that debate is moving into a courtroom.

Last Thursday, the Chiefs of Ontario said in their statement that Canada has refused to enter into good-faith conversations to resolve the harms caused by the carbon charge. The federal government, of course, responded by saying, “We are pledging 0.7% relief from the carbon charge to Indigenous populations in Canada.” Mr. Speaker, that is a mere pittance.

The people of Ontario, including our Indigenous communities, deserve relief from this. The Prime Minister must now scrap the tax before the court does.

Mr. Speaker, this, of course, is an NDP leader who has to battle with her own executive council to retain her job as the leader, who ran unopposed and has just lost a by-election in one of the safest NDP seats in the province of Ontario, and she says we’re not connected with people? We have put 700,000 people to work who didn’t have the dignity of a job before.

This is a leader who could call Jagmeet Singh right now and say, “Bring down the Liberal government in Ottawa if you don’t take away the carbon tax.” Will she do it? I doubt it, Mr. Speaker, because for the NDP it’s about increasing taxes. It’s more red tape and regulations. That’s what they do best. The people of the province of Ontario have turned their backs on that like her party has turned their backs on her and like the people in Kitchener did just on Thursday.

Interjections.

My question this morning is for the Premier.

Phil Verster, the million-dollar CEO of Metrolinx, missed yet another deadline last week with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. In September, Mr. Verster told us we needed to give him some space, and he would get back to us with an update in two months on this failing project. What was that update, Speaker? That we would find out 60 days before the Eglinton Crosstown might open.

A simple question, Premier: Were you satisfied with that answer?

Why does Mr. Verster still have his job? Why does he still have 78 executives serving him, soaking up the sunshine list? Answer the question this morning. Lean into the microphone. Are you happy with the answer Mr. Verster gave us or are you going to fire him like a competent government would?

Interjections.

We have launched one of the largest investments into public infrastructure and transit in the history of North America. In fact, that member and the leader of the official opposition have voted against every single one of those measures, including the Kitchener line. The NDP has just lost one of their safest seats in Kitchener, Mr. Speaker, and that’s because they have voted against the Kitchener line and the upgrades and the investments that we have made into the Kitchener line every step of the way.

It’s about time that the NDP support public transit and the investments that we are making—$70 billion, whether it’s the Crosstown, whether it’s the Ontario Line, whether it’s all-way, two-way GO, Mr. Speaker. It’s time for the NDP to shift focus and support this government as we build public transit across this province.

Stop the clock.

The Leader of the Opposition has the floor. She has the right to ask a question. I need to be able to hear it.

I apologize to the Leader of the Opposition for the interruption. Start the clock. Leader of the Opposition?

The Leader of the Opposition.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The member for Kitchener–Conestoga will come to order. The member for Mississauga–Malton will come to order.

Interjection.

Start the clock. I apologize. The member for Ottawa Centre.

The Minister of Transportation can reply.

To reply, the Premier.

Now, the Premier has the floor. He has the right to answer the question. I need to be able to hear him.

Premier.

Interjections.

The next question—

Interjections.

The next question.

Brought to you by Grimms’ fairy tales.

Interjections.

That member’s question is very well timed because last week, on November 23, alongside General Jones, we announced $300 million in provincial funding to help recruit thousands of PSWs in the long-term-care community—that’s $25,400 in incentives to PSW students and recent graduates. Here’s how it breaks down: $10,000 to those who commit to working in a long-term-care home or community care for at least 12 months; another $10,000 to help with relocation costs for those who commit to working in rural, remote or northern communities for 12 months; plus a $5,400 allowance to students while they complete their clinical placement in a long-term-care home or community care.

Speaker, by recruiting thousands of new PSWs into the sector, we are ensuring that people who need care in the long-term-care setting have the best care available to them—working towards that four hours of daily care for residents.

We’re getting it done for seniors in Ontario.

We are also providing $100 million to help PSWs who want to become practical nurses and advance their careers and practical nurses who want to become registered nurses to do the same—an opportunity to scale up and to continue to prosper and succeed while they help our seniors, Speaker. Our efforts are leading to results: 2,000 new nurses to the long-term-care sector will be added by 2025, which will ultimately help reach our goal, as the member said, of four hours of daily care per resident.

Let’s remember, Speaker: Seniors built our lives as we know it. They built our communities. They took care of us; we have a moral imperative to take care of them. That’s exactly what this government is doing by investing in them, Speaker. We’re getting it done for seniors.

Thank you to the member for that question. We are taking our time and reviewing the 31 recommendations from the blue-ribbon panel’s report. We’re working very closely with Colleges Ontario and the Council of Ontario Universities as well. We’re putting working groups together to work directly with my ministry on those recommendations.

But we launched the blue-ribbon panel because we wanted independent and expert-driven advice to help form a practical and principled way forward for the sector. I’ll tell you, if we wanted to waste tax dollars, we would have called it the orange or the red panel.

But while the Liberals and NDP blew their chance to prioritize students when they held the balance of power, our government will always put the needs and future of students first. Unlike our blue-ribbon panel that focused on a shared approach to supporting post-secondary education in Ontario, the Liberals and NDP previously partnered in blowing through spending, blowing off the needs of students and blowing off their responsibility to the taxpayers of this province. That is why our government struck a blue-ribbon panel to ensure that the student experience and access to education—

My ministry has already begun working with institutions on a financial accountability framework that will allow for early detection of financial challenges and require immediate action to correct bad practices. In order for our sector to be sustainable for the long term, institutions need to take leadership and review their operations from top to bottom. From governance practices, program offerings, day-to-day operations, and everything in between, colleges and universities across the province need to become the best possible version of themselves. This is not a change that will happen overnight, but it is one that is necessary so that students, families and of course the taxpayers can have confidence that every dollar is being allocated appropriately and with complete transparency.

My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care.

Our government must ensure that Ontario’s seniors receive the quality of care they need. By building 30,000 new long-term-care beds and upgrading 28,000 beds, seniors in communities across the province will receive care that is close to home. Seniors and families in Richmond Hill are relieved.

However, our government must continue to make investments that will expand programs and provide specialized services to our seniors. That said, in order to implement specialized services and increase the number of direct care hours per day, there must be sufficient staff.

Can the minister please explain what steps our government is taking to deliver high-quality care to residents in long-term-care homes?

However, it takes an entire team of care providers to ensure that our residents receive the care and services they need. This includes nurses, who are vital in order to meet the growing needs of Ontario’s seniors.

By recruiting and investing in additional staff, our government is ensuring that our seniors receive the high quality of care they deserve.

Can the minister please elaborate on how our government is supporting long-term-care homes to deliver safe and effective care?

My question is to the Premier. Since this government came to office, the post-secondary sector has seen a 12% decline in operating grants. Per-student funding now accounts for less than one third of university operating revenues—by far the lowest in Canada—while the need for investment in student mental health, housing and other supports has never been greater.

Last week, the Council of Ontario Universities released a report on the extensive efforts already being made by the sector to find efficiencies and cost savings. Speaker, how can this government possibly think that the funding crisis they created can be magically solved by universities just finding more efficiencies?

At the same time, Ontario university tuition fees remain among the highest in Canada. Students should not have to make up for this government’s failure to properly fund universities, especially during an affordability crisis.

Will this government commit today to a sustainability plan for the sector that increases operating grants without increasing student tuition?

Supplementary?

The next question.

Supplementary question?