The homelessness crisis is worsening, encampments are growing, and it’s taking a devastating toll on people in communities across this province. It has gotten so bad that in Toronto hospitals, cold-weather ER visits by people experiencing homelessness skyrocketed by nearly 70% in the last few years. These are people who are in the waiting area of emergency departments. They don’t need medical attention, but they’re there because they need a safe place to stay warm. There’s nowhere else for them to go. Hospitals are becoming shelters. What is also worrisome is that there are thousands more who are just a few hundred dollars away from losing their home and ending up on the streets.

There is such an urgency on this issue, and yet this government is so consumed with things like delivering a luxury spa. You’ve completely lost touch with reality. Your priorities are not what people need you to be working on.

As we recess the House for the winter, I ask Conservative members to reflect on this and ask yourselves, are you up to the task? This is not a partisan statement. You have the opportunity. You have the power. You have the majority votes. You have everything it takes to solve this problem.

We know the solutions. Stop wasting time and energy on things that are not helping people, and just do the right thing.

Good morning, everyone, and Merry Christmas. Christmas is, of course, the season of love and hope. Last week the Premier professed his hope for Toronto, the city he grew up and the city he loves.

I grew up in Ottawa and I love my city, and our city has problems just like Toronto. We have problems with homelessness. We have problems with transportation. We have problems with our city running deficits. In recognition of the season of love and hope, when will this government show some love for the city of Ottawa?

Now that there is a precedent to upload highways to the province, will the government commit to uploading Highway 174 back to provincial responsibility so the city can spend that money improving local roads, investing in public transit and reducing commute times for Orléans residents?