Let the honourable member take her seat.

As a result of the recent by-election in Kitchener Centre, the number of members sitting as independents has increased by one since the House last met in December. Our practices must now be adjusted accordingly to ensure that these members have a reasonable opportunity to participate in our daily proceedings and in debate.

During question period, I will recognize the new independent member to ask a question during each eight-day period, allowing us to accommodate all 15 eligible independent members into the rotation. This means that one independent member will be recognized to ask a question each day, with a second independent member recognized on alternate Mondays as well as every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Each independent member recognized during question period will continue to have the opportunity to ask one question and one supplementary question.

Additionally, the member for Kitchener Centre will be allotted three minutes of speaking time for debates on second and third reading of government bills and on substantive government motions. This time may be banked but not shared.

Finally, with regard to members’ statements, there will continue to be one statement allotted to an independent member every sessional day. However, each eligible member will now be entitled to participate in this proceeding once per 15-day period instead of once per 14-day period.

To respond, the Premier.

The supplementary question?

Premier.

The final supplementary?

Just consider for a moment, Speaker, how many times this government has let Ontarians down. We are starting this session with another example of that, another policy reversal.

Here’s the thing, though: There are consequences. Because of Bill 124, the privatization of health care and the growth of these for-profit nursing agencies has absolutely exploded. Ontarians want reliable, publicly delivered health care, not a publicly funded revenue stream for private companies.

Back to the Premier: If the government is going to continue backing up the policy train this session, can they make reversing their privatization of health care their next signature policy reversal?

Interjections.

Speaker, the government has had to backtrack on almost all of their major policy decisions because they met with tremendous public opposition: the greenbelt grab, unilateral municipal boundary changes, the dissolution of Peel, licence plates you can’t read, cuts to public health during a pandemic—all bad ideas that we warned you about. At this rate, they’re going to spend more time reversing their own legislation than taking the actions that would make life better for the people of Ontario, the people that they were elected to serve.

Speaker, back to the Premier: How many reversals, how many flip-flops, how many backtracks does he have to be forced to make before he realizes that his insiders-first agenda is failing Ontario?

Interjections.

I want to take, for a moment, the plan to sell off our critical services at ServiceOntario to yet another American big box corporation, like Staples and Walmart. Ontarians are so on to you. They are so on to you, and they can tell that this is another privatization scheme, Speaker, that is going to make corporations richer and not serve the people of this province.

My question is for the Premier: How exactly did Staples get a sole-source contract to open ServiceOntario kiosks?

Speaker, to the Premier: Since the Legislature was last in session, Ontarians want to know, how many government officials, including ministers’ staff and staff in the Premier’s office, have spoken with the RCMP as part of their investigation into the greenbelt scandal?

The greenbelt grab was an $8.3-billion scheme intended only to carve up vital resources in the province of Ontario for wealthy developers with connections to this government. And I will remind everyone in this room again: They are being criminally investigated by the RCMP for that scheme. It has cost this government at least two cabinet ministers. An RCMP investigation, I will remind you again, is under way. And we are still no closer to improving access to affordable housing in this province.

Today in Ontario, housing starts are down from last year, the cost of housing is skyrocketing and rents are worse than ever. Encampments have become the norm in most cities. Will the Premier finally act, support our proposal to build the affordable, non-market housing that people desperately need and bring back real rent control?

Interjections.

Speaker, I want to be very clear what the Leader of the Opposition is asking for. She is asking that 17,000 people who received cataract eye surgery and minor eye surgery last year are still on wait-lists. That is what you are asking for.

When Premier Ford announced an expansion of cataract surgeries in the province of Ontario in January 2023, that meant 17,000 people are back reading to their children, are back volunteering in community, are back driving their vehicles. That’s what we are doing to make sure people are looked after in the province of Ontario.

Members will please take their seats.

The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

Premier?

To respond for the government, the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery.

I find this so ironic. Their government, the NDP government, supported the Liberals. They fired 1,600 nurses. We’ve registered 17,500—80,000 since we’ve been in office. We’re building 50 new hospitals, as I said—either building them or expanding the hospitals, adding 3,000 beds. We’re going to add another 3,500 beds when these new hospitals go up.

But one of the best was a couple of weeks ago when my Minister of Health added $110 million to connect 300,000 more patients to family physicians—and, by the way, it’s the lowest in the country, Mr. Speaker.

We’re going to continue investing into health care. Just the pharmacies alone served over 700,000 people that didn’t have to go to primary care docs in less than a year. That’s what we’re doing for health care. As they continue to vote against health care, we continue to fund it and expand health care.

Another great thing since we took office—the Liberals and NDP chased 300,000 jobs out of this province because they were going to the service sector. Do you remember that? Well, there’s 700,000 more people working today than there were five and a half years ago. That’s what we have done.

Our ministry officials took the opportunity, with expiring contracts at some ServiceOntario locations, to reach out to a dozen potential retail partners. This is part of a tradition that goes back a century. Every party that has ever formed government here at Queen’s Park has embraced and expanded the private service delivery model, to the point where we now have 71% private sector delivery models in this province, and it works. The retail partnership model has proven so successful with Canadian Tire, IDA and Home Hardware that we’ve expanded it:

—longer hours—up to 9 p.m. on weeknights;

—more parking;

—more accessibility;

—ability to make appointments online, so you can get in and out of interacting with government in just 15 minutes; and

—of course, all-day Saturdays, 9 to 5.

This is what Ontarians have embraced and appreciate. It’s about convenience. It’s about putting the customer first. The people of Ontario come first. That’s why we’re doing this.

Mr. Speaker, I think that’s a question better asked to the authorities. We’re continuing to work with them, but at the same time, we are continuing to focus on things that matter to the people of the province of Ontario.

Look, there can be no confusion about the fact that we inherited a housing crisis in the province of Ontario. We’ve heard that from former Liberal ministers who have been testifying in front of the regional government review committee, who talked about the crisis that was created under the previous Liberal government.

We’re undoing those obstacles, Mr. Speaker, and we’re seeing, month after month after month, a trend is continuing in a very positive way, despite the high inflation, high interest rate policies of a federal Liberal government bent on hurting the Canadian economy. We’re seeing strength in the province of Ontario.

Now, these are the same policies, of course, federally that we saw here in the province of Ontario—colleagues, you will know this—high interest rates, high inflation, out of control debt, spiralling costs for the people of the province of Ontario. That is what we’ve put back on track. We’re ensuring that people have jobs and opportunity, and we will not stop on that mission, Mr. Speaker.

The member from Thornhill is absolutely right: After 15 years of previous governments neglecting their duty to build infrastructure, transit and highways across this province, our government is getting it done. Our population is growing rapidly—over a million people in the next two years—and we need to build that infrastructure now. That’s why, in 2019, our government made it a priority to introduce the Building Transit Faster Act to ensure that we can better connect the people in the GTHA, and faster.

Speaker, we know that more transit is needed today, and it couldn’t come soon enough. Whether it’s highways or transit, our government is committed to building Ontario, which is why later today our government will introduce legislation that tackles unnecessary delays and makes it easier and faster to build. We are the only party working to save Ontarians money while fighting for fast and reliable infrastructure.

We’re also giving commuters more certainty by permanently banning tolls on provincial highways. We know we are the only party standing up for Ontarians. We are the only party focused on making life easier for people and building our future. That is why we have removed vehicle val tags. That is why we have reduced taxes by over 10 cents per litre at the gas pumps and that is why we will also continue to fight for the people of Ontario and keep costs down.

My ministry and our government are always looking for alternative service delivery models, building on a century of private sector delivery models. Small business will always be part of that, but the retail partnership process is also such a great success, with the extended hours, with the convenience and the community hubs associated with it. Every single location that was due to expire anyway, every single one of those employees is eligible for employment at any one of the retail partnerships, including that of Staples Canada.

This is good news for Ontarians. They welcome the longer hours—up to 9 p.m. weeknights, all day Saturday—more accessibility, more parking and the convenience of online booking. That is interaction with government that puts the customer first. The people of Ontario come first every time with ServiceOntario.

As I have indicated, there are no job losses whatsoever on the government side. Everyone on the private side has the opportunity and are eligible for employment at the extended-hours locations of the nine Staples Canada locations.

Speaker, through you to the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery: This month, 11 small business people in Ontario were told they would lose their business. Their ServiceOntario contracts were ripped away without a tendering process and handed to Staples, a big box American corporation that is in the process of laying off staff. These businesses were then sent a threatening email telling them not to speak to the media.

What followed was an interview between this minister and Richard Southern, from CityNews, that can only be described as a dumpster fire inside a train wreck. This minister couldn’t produce a business plan and was not aware of the costs or basic details of the sole-source contract.

When will this government stop pandering to big box corporations and apologize to small business owners who feel they’ve been slapped in the face?

Interjections.

But she told CityNews she feels she’s been treated like garbage and said, “I’ve been a PC member my entire life. I’ve stuck by them my whole life. I’m finally done.”

Did the Premier have prior knowledge that small business owners like Klaudia were going to be used and abused in this manner, or is this yet another example of incompetence in the offices of the Premier and his cabinet?

Members will please take their seats.

Interjections.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

To reply, the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery.

I want to say a heartfelt welcome back to all my friends and colleagues in the House.

My question is for the Minister of Transportation. Residents in my riding of Thornhill have been extremely vocal about the need for more infrastructure to support the rapid and consistent growth of Ontario’s population. In 2018, our government promised to get people moving and better connected to communities across the province. We’re keeping our promise and building new highways, roads and transit, but at this time, these projects just can’t come soon enough.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what steps he is taking to build infrastructure faster?

Speaker, we know that in order to ensure Ontario remains the best place to live in Canada, to work, to raise a family, we also need to ensure that costs remain low for Ontarians. People in my community and across this province need stability and certainty. Can the minister please explain what steps our government is taking to make life more affordable for communities and businesses?

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. When the Liberals were in office, Ontario was known for its high-tax, overly regulated and uncompetitive business environment. Companies that were here left in droves and companies abroad would not even consider Ontario as a place to expand their businesses. Thankfully, when we got in office, we immediately reversed course. We are tearing down the unnecessary red tape that the Liberals put up. As a result, we’ve seen investments flood in from across the globe.

I understand that the minister just came back from a trade and investment mission to India where he spoke with companies who are intrigued by what Ontario has to offer. Can the minister provide an update on how Ontario’s mission to India went?

Can the minister elaborate on why companies in India and abroad are choosing Ontario to invest and expand in?

In this tumultuous world, our message to India was clear. The fundamentals in Ontario have not changed; our value proposition has not changed. In Mumbai, we met with Piramal pharmaceuticals, who produce ingredients for cancer, eye and kidney disease treatments in the member’s riding. They invested $4.7 million to modernize their plant in Newmarket–Aurora. We joined CSM Technologies to announce their brand new Toronto office—150 brand new tech workers. This comes on the heels of other announcements from XLScout and BSIT, both who are opening tech facilities in Toronto, creating hundreds of new jobs.

Speaker, companies from across the globe are choosing Ontario to invest and expand.

Unlike the Liberals’ high-tax, high-cost regime, we will continue to create the conditions to attract more companies and bring even more good-paying jobs to our families.

And the supplementary question?

The supplementary question?

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Transportation. Once again, the Conservatives are only showing up when it’s convenient for them. Many of us on this side of the House have been advocating all-day, two-way Milton GO service for years, and the federal government offered to provide funding for this project three years ago. The minister’s predecessor declined that offer.

But it’s obvious that this government is only reversing course on that because of the upcoming by-election in Milton. It appears that the only way to get this government to invest in a riding is to have the PC MPP jump ship from their caucus—and don’t get me started on how much time the Premier has spent in Mississauga since December 3.

Speaker, can the minister explain to the people of Milton and Mississauga why they have had to wait this long for the government to move forward with all-day service on the Milton line?

In 15 years of the previous Liberal government, absolutely nothing got built in this province. This government undertook the largest investment in public transit under the leadership of this Premier, and guess what, Mr. Speaker? That Liberal member voted against every single one of those transit investments, every single time, whether that’s the Milton GO or whether that’s the Scarborough subway extension in her own riding, in her own area. She voted against that multiple times.

When the Associate Minister of Transportation introduced One Fare, those members over there voted against it. Mr. Speaker, every time we put more money into public transit, there’s one common theme: The Liberals do not vote in support of it and don’t support our investments that we’re making across the province. We’re seeing record population growth. Our government is getting it done, and we’re getting shovels in the ground, and we will take no lessons from the previous Liberal government that did nothing—

Interjections.

My question is to the Premier. Today, I’m joined by former patients of a family doctor at Taddle Creek Family Health Team. They, along with 1,600 other patients, were left scrambling when their family doctor moved to an executive health private medical clinic called MD Direct. MD Direct charges patients an annual fee of up to $4,995 a year to see a doctor.

The Canada Health Act is very clear. Canadian health care providers are prohibited from extra-billing and user charges for medically necessary services, like primary care.

My question is to the Premier: Does the minister think it is legal that patients are being required to pay $4,995 a year to see their family doctor?

My question, back to the Premier and the Minister of Health: I am worried about the Conservatives’ push for a two-tier health care system. It is distressing and dangerous for people to be without a family doctor, yet there are 2.2 million people in Ontario who do not have one. Ontarians should not have to go to busy emergency rooms to get access to basic care, and they should not have to pay $4,995 a year to access their family doctor.

My question, again, to the minister: Does the minister think it’s acceptable for patients to be required to pay $4,995 a year to see their family doctor?

Thank you very much, Speaker—

Interjection.

Interjections.

Two weeks ago, we were able to announce 78 new expanded primary care practitioner teams in the province of Ontario. As part of that announcement, Speaker, we actually also set aside an investment of $20 million for existing primary care multidisciplinary teams in the province of Ontario.

Speaker, would I, would Premier Ford, like to do more? Absolutely. The challenge is that we had a previous Liberal government that actually cut medical seats in the province of Ontario, so we are now dealing with a shortage courtesy of the previous Liberal government. If they had not cut those 50 medical seats, we would have 200, almost 300—

Now, the member opposite is talking about the need for extended and added services in our primary health care space. I absolutely agree. Ontario actually leads Canada in terms of individuals who are matched with a primary care practitioner, but I know that we can do more, which is exactly why we have expanded 78 new expansions of primary care practitioners. It is something that we have not seen in the province of Ontario since multidisciplinary teams were started.

And, yes, there are primary care expansions in Toronto. There are primary care expansions in Sault Ste. Marie. There are primary care expansions in London, in Woodstock, in Innisfil and on and on. We know that we want to make sure that everyone who wants a primary care practitioner can get attached to one in their community.