My question is to the Premier. At pre-budget consultations, the executive director of the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex told the committee that, as of October 2023, London had “six youth in care who were not otherwise in need of protection, but for lack of access to” mental health services.

Is this government aware that children are being placed into protection simply so they can access mental health services? And what can the Premier say to families who are living with the pain of surrendering a child because they need access to mental health services?

I would like to thank the Canadian Federation of Students for this petition to fight the fees.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas since 1980, whilst accounting for inflation, the average domestic undergraduate tuition has increased by 215%, and the average domestic graduate tuition by 247%; and

“Whereas upon graduation, 50% of students will have a median debt of around $17,500, which takes an average of 9.5 years to repay; and

“Whereas the average undergraduate tuition for international students has increased by 192% between 2011 and 2021, and in colleges, they pay an average of $14,306 annually compared to the average domestic fee of $3,228; and

“Whereas the government of Ontario made changes to OSAP and student financial assistance in 2018-19, resulting in over a $1-billion cut in assistance to students; and

“Whereas the so-called Student Choice Initiative was defeated in the courts, students need legislation to protect their right to organize and funding for students’ groups;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, support the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario’s call and petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to commit to (1) free and accessible education for all, (2) grants, not loans, and (3) legislate students’ right to organize.”

I support this petition. I’ll affix my signature and will provide it to page Mesapé for the table.

I thank the member for the question. Speaker, every single child, every single youth in this province deserves to have a chance at a life, to succeed and thrive in their communities, and we take the protection of every single child and every youth very seriously. That means making sure we provide them with the right supports and services, and protection throughout that state, and that means having the investments to protect youth in every corner in this province.

Speaker, if you look at the Ready, Set, Go Program, if you look at the program that we have set, we are providing supports for children and youth in care, as young as 13 years old, with the life skills to succeed in our communities at 15 and with financial support right up to their 23rd birthday. That is support that never existed, and that’s because we said from day one that we will never leave anyone behind in this province, Mr. Speaker, whether you’re in care or not.

Mr. Speaker, I did not get a chance to do this earlier, but I’d like to be able to introduce a party and welcome to the House today Katie Blunt, CEO, and Allyson Schmidt, chair of the board of Habitat for Humanity in Sault Ste. Marie. I know they were just in the room and left a little bit early, but I just want to thank them for being here and look forward to seeing them later today.

Your committee begs to report the following bill without amendment:

Bill Pr32, An Act to revive Allied Contractors (Kitchener) Limited.

Bill Pr36, An Act to revive Eastern Children of Israel Congregation.

Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I just want to welcome Stephen Pickett, who works in my office, who’s in the gallery today as well. I just want to welcome him to the House.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and move its adoption.

A petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas people waiting for complex spinal surgeries, including for scoliosis, are forced to wait years in debilitating pain for the care they need, risking lifelong consequences and deterioration in function;

“Whereas surgeons are willing and able to help, but the system puts up many barriers. Surgeons face the difficult choice of offering routine spinal surgeries—which guarantee compensation—over complex spinal surgeries, further lengthening the wait times for patients with complex cases;

“Whereas the lack of collaboration between the Ministry of Health adjudicators and providers has led to challenges in conducting fair and accurate assessments of complex cases;

“Whereas Ontario’s funding for complex cases for spinal surgeries, derived from the general funding bucket, deprioritizes complex spinal surgeries, over routine/simple surgeries;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

“—address the ever-increasing wait times and make complex spinal surgeries available in a timely manner;

“—immediately improve access to surgery for complex spinal conditions by increasing and equitably funding spine care in Ontario hospitals.”

I agree with this petition. I’m going to sign it, and I’m going to give it to page Mercy.

I have a petition from the Canadian Federation of Students.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas since 1980, whilst accounting for inflation, the average domestic undergraduate tuition has increased by 215%, and the average domestic graduate tuition by 247%; and

“Whereas upon graduation, 50% of students will have a median debt of around $17,500, which takes an average of 9.5 years to repay; and

“Whereas the average undergraduate tuition for international students has increased by 192% between 2011 and 2021, and in colleges, they pay an average of $14,306 annually compared to the average domestic fee of $3,228; and

“Whereas the government of Ontario made changes to OSAP and student financial assistance in 2018-19, resulting in over a $1-billion cut in assistance to students; and

“Whereas the so-called Student Choice Initiative was defeated in the courts, students need legislation to protect their right to organize and funding for students’ groups;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, support the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario’s call and petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to commit to”—I fully support this petition, and I will give it to Ella to bring to the Clerks’ table.

I cannot actually believe we are having this debate, that we’re having to debate this topic, especially on a day like today, February 27, when temperatures are soaring—just another balmy day of plus 12 degrees, in the middle of winter. Does this government read weather forecasts, UN warnings, newspapers, health reports or even tea leaves? The climate emergency is all around us.

Today, I come before you with a sense of urgency and deep concern regarding Bill 165, the so-called Keeping Energy Costs Down Act, a piece of legislation that threatens any environmental progress and will actually increase the price of gas for consumers. This bill seeks to undermine the authority of an independent energy watchdog and, as is routine for this government, prioritize corporate interests over the well-being of Ontarians.

To the people of Ontario: I am so sorry that you are being misled time and time again by this government.

Interjections.

Further debate?

Yes. I’m going to ask the member to withdraw the unparliamentary comment.

I apologize; I need to interrupt the member. I do have a point of order.

The member for Nepean.

The Minister of Environment.

Point of order, Speaker.

The member of the opposition talked about the Ontario Energy Board. While the Ontario Energy Board makes hundreds of decisions a year—and to their credit, almost all of them I’ve agreed with—this one particular decision did some raise concerns about public engagement in the decision-making process. One commissioner noted that this decision, which could have a significant impact on electricity demands, was reached without input from the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator. It is concerning that members of the commission didn’t know the impact of the decision before signing it off. Therefore, we’ve proposed to increase public engagement.

Does the member opposite agree that increasing public engagement is the right thing to do?

Point of order, Speaker.

Withdraw.

Okay, where do we begin? The Ontario Energy Board, an independent, arm’s-length regulator mandated to protect the interests of energy customers, released a landmark decision telling Enbridge Gas to stop subsidizing its plans to expand infrastructure for methane-heavy natural gas by charging buyers of new homes for connections. I agree with this decision. It should have been done and dusted after the board made that bold and brave choice—a forward-thinking choice, I might add.

Well, here is the problem: This government has an obsession with fossil fuels and heating up the planet. They just love it. This decision got them really heated, so to speak.

Enter Bill 165: Not only is it poor environmental and energy policy; it overrides the sound decision from a regulatory body. Why not just stay out of it? Do you think you know it all? Obviously.

The government’s insistence on pushing forward with methane-heavy natural gas expansion, despite its detrimental effects on global warming, is deeply troubling. What side of history does this government want to be on?

Trust me when I say that future generations will look back on these decisions with astonishment and disdain, in seeing that their government knowingly put their futures at stake.

The climate crisis is here and now. Wake up, dinosaurs.

With this bill, the government is attempting to overrule the Ontario Energy Board—

With this bill, the government—

Interjections.

With this bill, the government is attempting to overrule the Ontario Energy Board, an independent regulator mandated to safeguard the interests of energy consumers in order to appease Enbridge Gas. Here we have the Ontario government taking an unprecedented step, overruling an Ontario Energy Board decision designed to protect homeowners and ratepayers in order to benefit a fossil fuel giant. Come on.

The Minister of Energy told reporters this legislation was needed because the board’s decision was “rushed” and “irrational.” Whoa.

Do you want to talk about rushed and irrational decisions? Everything this government has done is rushed and irrational. Let me remind you. The greenbelt: rushed, irrational, reversed and revoked, not to mention now under a criminal investigation by the RCMP. The “notwithstanding” clause: rushed, irrational, reversed and revoked. Bill 124: rushed, irrational, reversed and revoked. Severing farmland: rushed—

I could go on, but I only have 10 minutes.

According to the minister, “This was a wrong decision that was made without proper consultation.” Hmm. Let’s see about that.

Thanks to the Narwhal for reporting on this and the quote I will now read:

“The Ontario Energy Board’s year-long decision-making process involved tens of thousands of pages of documents analyzed in public hearings and dozens of interviews with experts across the energy industry. It also heard from stakeholders such as the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario and the Building Owners and Managers Association. The board considered the perspective of the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator, including its policy on decarbonization and the energy transition.” That sounds like a heck of a lot of consultation to me.

Why don’t we ramp up heat pumps? The Minister of Energy actually told us that he even has one in his own home. How great is that? A leader. The minister actually believes in renewable energy for himself and yet axes that opportunity for others. Ontario has the lowest per capita rate of heat pumps, sitting at just 2% of households using a heat pump as its primary source.

Under the Canada Greener Homes Grant, Ontario residents are eligible for a rebate for a heat pump and a home energy audit. While the rebate has slowly helped Ontarians make the switch, the program is set to end in March, with no commitment from this government and no support for future incentives. Will the government continue providing the rebate and promote heat pumps, or ramp up natural gas production to continue to dirty the province’s once 94% emissions-free electricity grid? If it’s good enough for the Minister of Energy’s house, I’m sure it’s good enough for all the people of Ontario.

Why is the government so opposed to addressing the climate crisis and implementing more renewable energy sources?

A little history lesson for all of you: Back in 2018, when the Conservatives took office, what did they do? They killed the Green Energy Act and spent over $230 million to cancel 758 green energy projects in wind and solar energy. Most of these initiatives were already in the building process, and the government axed them.

The government continues to move away from the biggest economic opportunity of the century: green jobs and green energy. It is the future. Look at the rest of the world. We are missing out on a global opportunity. This government continues to drive in reverse—cancelled, reversed and revoked.

At the end of the day, you want to trust your government to create forward-thinking, smart, fair policy decisions. The people of Ontario are losing confidence in this government, because they continue to revoke, reverse and override.

Bill 165 will make energy bills more expensive for ratepayers, will work to destroy Ontario’s chances at reaching our emission targets to combat the climate emergency, and will force us to lose out and fall behind in the global green economy.

In her remarks, was the member proposing that we go back to the green energy deal that the former Liberal government proposed—the same green energy deal that saw the cost of energy three and a half times more expensive in Ontario than our U.S. counterparts; that made people in Ontario choose between heating and eating—and one of the primary reasons that the former Liberal government lost government?

We were brought in, and we stabilized electricity prices; we stabilized the grid. We’re diversifying our energy; we’re reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting our targets, versus our federal counterparts, who are not. And we’re doing this without a carbon tax, unlike the federal government.

And their staff.