I would like to welcome page James Teng from the great riding of Mississauga–Erin Mills and his parents, Jeniffer Teng and Michael Teng, who are here today in the gallery of members. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Again, I’d like to welcome back to Queen’s Park long-time assembly staffer Rick Boon; his wife, Gina; and Rick’s dad, Mr. John Boon, who at 90 years young has many talents and gifts, but above all, is an incredible musician. Welcome back to Queen’s Park. Enjoy your day together.

I’d like to welcome Astrid Krueger, who has been my OLIP intern for the past few months. Team Ottawa West–Nepean is really, really going to miss you, Astrid. Thanks for all your hard work, and good luck in your next placement.

I want to give a warm welcome to École élémentaire Paul-Demers from my riding of Don Valley North. I hope you enjoy your trip at Queen’s Park.

I’d like to welcome to the Legislature some journalism students and staff from Durham College in my riding. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Good morning, powerful people. It’s lovely to see you all again.

They’re not in the chamber but they’re coming, so hopefully we’re behaving when they come. It’s my clever and creative kids from sensational Secord public school in the east end.

I, too, want to join in welcoming the Bowman family who are here this morning for Bill 149 third reading, in addition to members of the Welland firefighters who are here. We value the work that that they do.

Greg Horton, I believe, just joined us, from the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association. Under Greg’s leadership, firefighters have done so much over the last few years in presumptive coverage, and I thank him for his advocacy. Thank you for being here today.

As the Speaker of this provincial Parliament, I’m pleased to have a colleague at the far side of the chamber today. In the lower gallery is my friend the MLA from Olds–Didsbury–Three Hills, Speaker Nathan Cooper of the province of Alberta. Speaker Cooper is currently one of the longest-serving Speakers in Canada. He is joined by the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Shannon Dean; his chief of staff, Lianne Bell; and parliamentary and engagement coordinator Andrew Koning. Welcome to Queen’s Park. We’re delighted to have you here.

Minister of Colleges and Universities.

It gives me enormous pleasure to welcome members of my family, the Bowman family. I want to welcome Alisen, Lexi and Colin. They are the family of our fallen hero, Captain Craig Bowman.

I just would like to share that my dad and your dad, Carol, came together on the boat when they first came from the UK, so we have long ties, and it’s really wonderful to see you here. I’m going to thank the minister for the work that he’s done on behalf of firefighters.

Good morning, Speaker. Our public colleges and universities are nearing the breaking point after decades of underfunding, while for-profit career colleges have been seeing a massive expansion under this government.

Yesterday, we got a hint about why in a report that was done by Trillium. They found out that government members have raked in more than $151,000 in political donations from private college operators since 2018. One of the biggest beneficiaries? The local campaign of the Minister of Colleges and Universities herself. That’s thousands of dollars in donations from the very same insiders who stand to benefit directly from her decisions as minister.

To the Premier: Is it acceptable for the Minister of Colleges and Universities to take donations from people lobbying her office on behalf of private colleges?

Interjections.

Private colleges have existed for years, but under this government, they have exploded, so much so that even the Auditor General flagged it. Speaker, is this really how things are going to be done in today’s Ontario?

Interjections.

I’d like to talk about the international students and the chaos that the federal government has caused in the post-secondary sector across Canada—absolutely no consultation with the provinces or the institutions themselves.

I am hearing from ministers on this side about the impact that this is going to have in their ministries. In fact, the Premier and the Prime Minister just signed a historic health care deal. Where do you think the PSWs and the nurses are going to come from that the Minister of Long-Term Care and the Minister of Health are going to need? Where are we going to find the skilled trade workers that the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Infrastructure are going to need to build the houses, the roads, the schools, the hospitals in this province?

Mr. Speaker, absolutely no consultations with the provinces or these institutions themselves—absolutely disgusting from the federal government.

Speaker, it’s pretty clear who can get it done under this government: anyone willing to fork over the cash. They started handing out licences to private health care companies after receiving thousands of dollars in donations from clinic owners and investors looking to set up private hospitals. And now, here we are. We can connect the dots again: massive donations to the PC Party, massive expansion of private colleges.

How can the Premier defend a return to the bad old days of Liberal cash-for-access culture, where policies are decided by how much you’re willing to hand over to the governing party?

Interjections.

My question is for the Premier. What exactly are attendees getting out of spending $1,000 to attend the minister’s mental health mixer?

To the Premier again, and I hope he answers this question: Why is this government and this minister playing a cash-for-access game with the mental health of Ontarians?

Interjections.

I think the government needs to wake up. Ontarians have caught on to this government’s backroom deals and their insider favours. There are communities all across this province that are waiting for an answer from this government about funding for critical services, and that minister is holding a mixer tonight—$1,000 a pop—to raise money for his own campaign coffers while the mayor of Belleville is so desperate they’re willing to go it alone.

Is this how people are supposed to finally get action on the mental health crisis facing their communities, or the education crisis, the university students? I mean, my goodness.

My question to the Premier is, what next? Are toddlers going to have to give up their toys for child care spaces? What is next? That’s my question to the Premier.

I don’t know if the Leader of the Opposition has done anything to lobby for additional seats in this province, but we on this side have been working hard at that. In fact, I’ve met with the tourism industry and the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. The number of workers that your ministry needs alone—look at March break coming up: the resorts, the front desks, the ski hills. The workers that we need in this province—it’s absolutely incredible.

We are disgusted with the federal government for dropping this on the provinces with no consultation. The Minister of Labour and I tried to meet with the minister months ago and were not able to because they kept cancelling on us. We have been there, working with our stakeholders, the colleges and universities, to ensure that we have a pathway forward as we deal with the disgrace that the federal government has dropped on us.

Mr. Speaker, I sympathize with the Leader of the Opposition. She is correct that under the previous Liberal government, these types of programs became endemic, and we didn’t see, of course, any results with the previous Liberal government.

I remind the Leader of the Opposition that she and her party supported the Liberals throughout that time when they actually held the balance of power. What is so disappointing about that is that during that time of support, we didn’t see investments made in health care, transit, transportation. We didn’t see investments made to build new subways. In fact, they left us the most indebted sub-sovereign government on the planet. They left us the most over-regulated jurisdiction in Canada. They scared away 300,000 jobs. Throughout all of that, the NDP supported them. That’s the legacy of the previous Liberal government.

I’m glad the Leader of the Opposition finally recognizes the destructive nature of the—

There are so many people who have come to me—and I’m very passionate about this—and talked about the failings of the previous Liberal government which have left their families, their children without the ability to get care. And through it all, the NDP supported them.

Interjections.

Members will please take their seats.

Minister of Colleges and Universities.

I’m having difficulty hearing the Leader of the Opposition ask her question, so I’d ask the House to come to order so that I can.

Restart the clock. To respond for the government, the government House leader.

The government House leader will respond.

Start the clock. Supplementary question.

The Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

The final supplementary.

We answered this question yesterday, but I’m going to try to answer it again. One of the first things we did was speak to the mayors, speak to the first responders, speak to CMHA to find out what the immediate needs were. And we were there. We made those investments.

We also went out to Belleville and had the opportunity to meet with all the first responders and with the mayor and we discussed a plan that needs to be put in place. I drove out to Belleville and I spent the time with the mayor and the other service providers. Where were you? Where was the NDP at that point in time? You were busy making cat videos, I assume.

But let’s just talk about the reality of what’s happening in Belleville and everywhere else in the province. We are the first party that is making substantial investments in creating continuums of care in the communities, looking after everyone, and we’re doing it in a culturally safe way, not just in southern Ontario but—

It’s six years of failure, Premier.

My question is to the Associate Minister of Transportation. In my riding of Scarborough–Agincourt, constituents have raised concerns over the steep transit costs. At a time when many individuals and families feel like they are struggling to get ahead, paying a double fare is another added expense to their household budgets.

Speaker, commuters who travel daily to make a living are looking to us to make public transit more convenient and affordable. We must act now to lower transit costs. Can the associate minister please share what our government is doing to make transit more affordable across Ontario’s fast-growing communities?

Our government must remain committed to delivering real, tangible relief for Ontarians. Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on how one fare will keep costs down for the hard-working people in my riding and across Ontario?

My question is to the Premier. In the Auditor General’s annual report released last December, it was revealed that this Conservative government spent about $25 million on partisan ads. “The primary objective of these ads ... was to foster a positive impression of the government,” the report stated—$25 million spent on ads while Ontario experienced 203 emergency department closures; $25 million on ads while 2.3 million Ontarians did not have a family physician; and $25 million on ads while regions across northern Ontario declared a health state of emergency.

This government added insult to injury by opting for a Super Bowl ad, the most expensive ad on television, Speaker. Will the Minister of Finance or will the Premier please tell the citizens of this great province exactly how much of their money was spent on these fictional Super Bowl ads?

Interjections.

Speaker, not just one commercial from this government was aired during the Super Bowl; there were several commercials, which he’s bragging about.

In Waterloo region, I had—

Interjections.

Not just one commercial, Speaker; several. Money was flowing out of the Treasury Board from this place instead of people having access to doctors or to education.

In Waterloo region, I have a constituent who’s been waiting six months for a mammogram. Mammograms save lives. Is that a priority of this Premier? No, it is not. There are almost 300,000 people on a wait-list for mammograms. These tests save lives.

So I want to ask this Premier, who’s bragging about commercials in the LAX airport, can he explain to Ontario why he’s spending public money praising himself over the people of the province who you are elected to serve?

Interjections.