The general operating funding to child care programs, which is a provincial responsibility, is lower this year than it was in 2018, even before adjusting for record-high inflation.

Without dependable operating funding that increases with the cost of living, and without immediate action, more families like the ones with us today will be without affordable child care.

Families from Ola Daycare have been left scrambling. Their choice is to pay hundreds of dollars more each month or lose their child care spots.

Will the minister commit to, at the very least, increased funding to keep pace with inflation so operators don’t leave the program?

To reply, the Minister of Education.

I’ll remind the members once again to please make your comments through the Chair.

Secondly, I’m going to ask the Minister of Education to withdraw his unparliamentary remark.

Supplementary?

The supplementary question?

First of all, this is the government that cut child care fees for those families by 50%, saving them $8,000 to $10,000 a year—for context, under the former Liberals, child care increased by 400%, and under Liberal leadership, the city of Toronto was a child care desert.

We have a commitment to build 19,000 net new spaces between now and the year 2026, and we are on track to do it.

You raised a serious concern about the federal program—a concern we share. The difference is, when it came to voting in this House to stand up for for-profit operators like those in your riding, you opted to side with the federal Liberal government to preclude a third of our parents, who are here today, who want government on their side and off their back.

Instead of trying to speak from both sides of your mouth, vote for choice. Respect—

We are the only political party in this House that did what the Liberals could never have done, which is to cut fees, increase spaces and stand up for the choices of all families in this province. Those are the facts.

While we increase wages for workers, we’re going to continue cutting fees for working families.

What we’re not going to do is to allow ideology to triumph over the right of all families to have choice and affordable child care—because the Liberals and New Democrats would have precluded them all.

Mr. Speaker, we are going to remain focused on affordability during this national crisis by cutting fees, creating more spaces and supporting all families in all regions of this province.

The Premier boasted last week that the funding for post-secondary education announced on Monday would be “fabulous.” It’s not fabulous; it’s famine. The funding just proposed is less than half of what the government’s own blue-ribbon panel recommended. In turn, that recommendation, under a mandate to be fiscally responsible, only partly restored what this government has allowed to erode away with inflation.

On Monday, the minister was repeatedly asked how her “fabulous” announcement was even an adequate response to her own blue-ribbon panel. The minister fell back on blaming Ottawa for her government’s mismanagement. And then we learned yesterday that they did not attend meetings with their federal counterparts.

Mr. Speaker, when will they get it done right and deliver adequate funding for Ontario colleges and universities?

Recently, we learned that the PCs and the Minister of Colleges and Universities have been hosting, over the last few years, fundraisers attended by many officials of for-profit private career colleges that have boomed under this government.

Only after the federal government took the drastic step of capping international student visas, a month ago, did this government put a moratorium on new public-private partnerships and begin a review of international student programs.

Why did the Conservative government hold back and let the situation get so completely out of hand?

When they’re under criminal investigation by the RCMP for the greenbelt scandal, how can we take seriously the Premier’s words at a news conference—“No one can influence our government; no one can influence any minister at all”?

I will take no advice from that member of the Liberal Party on post-secondary education in this province.

In fact, under the leadership of the Liberal government, tuition rose to the highest in Canada.

Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we decreased tuition by 10%, and it remained frozen—we announced it just the other day—and we are continuing to freeze tuition in this province. We are making post-secondary affordable for students in this province.

Mr. Speaker, I announced a historic investment, $1.3 billion, the largest investment in post-secondary education in more than a decade. We will ensure that our institutions have stability and predictability, and not on the backs of Ontario students.

While this Premier freezes tuition, the leader of the Liberal Party wants to hike tuition.

We are ensuring that tuition is affordable for every student in this province. There’s an affordability crisis—the price to heat, to eat, to rent. We are going to ensure that every student has access to affordable post-secondary education in this province.

Mr. Speaker, we made a historic announcement—$1.3 billion to ensure sustainability and predictability for our institutions in this province.

I’m pleased to hear that the member in the opposition is actually talking about investments in our health care system. It is disappointing to suggest that the 50-plus hospital capital builds that we already have in the system have been voted against consistently—every time we have a budget, every time we have estimates, the member opposite votes against those.

So I would hope that, as the process continues with the new Whitby hospital—and I have to say, there is not a day that the member from Whitby does not talk about and give me an update on what is happening in his community.

And the other Durham members know, as all of us are, that we are very excited about the capital builds that are happening in our hospital systems across Ontario.

I am very seized with the Whitby hospital, in particular, and I know that, with the support of the members’ opposite—I hope that you vote for it when it comes forward.

As Ontario’s population ages, as Ontario’s population increases, we are there as a government—whether it is expanding health human resources or seats in colleges and universities, whether it is directing and making sure the people who want to practise in the province of Ontario have a seamless pathway to do that, or whether it is an expansion of the North Durham Family Health Team that we announced two weeks ago.

I trust that, while the member advocates for her region, she keeps in mind that every time she votes against these projects, she is suggesting to her community that they are not worthy.

I want to thank the people of Kitchener-Waterloo for sending this petition to legalize missing-middle and mid-rise housing in Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario is facing a housing crisis; and

“Whereas the government has a goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031; and

“Whereas sprawl development has been shown to be more expensive and more environmentally destructive than infill development within existing urban boundaries; and

“Whereas current provincial zoning laws prohibit the construction of most missing-middle and mid-rise housing developments; and

“Whereas we can address both the housing and climate crises by building missing-middle and mid-rise housing in existing neighbourhoods;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly to amend the Planning Act to allow for fourplexes and four-storey buildings province-wide and mid-rise housing ranging from six to 11 storeys on main streets and transit corridors as of right.”

I support this petition, I will sign it and ask Jeremy to bring it to the table.

J’aimerais remercier Alexandre et Henriette Sauvé de Chelmsford dans mon comté pour ces pétitions.

« Réparons les subventions aux résident(e)s du Nord ... pour frais de transport à des fins médicales....

« Alors que les gens du Nord n’ont pas le même accès aux soins de santé en raison du coût élevé des déplacements et de l’hébergement;

« Alors qu’en refusant d’augmenter les taux des subventions aux résidents et résidentes du nord de l’Ontario pour les frais de transport à des fins médicales ... le gouvernement Ford impose un lourd fardeau aux Ontariens et Ontariennes du Nord qui sont malades;

« Alors que le prix de l’essence est plus élevé dans le nord de l’Ontario; »

Ils et elles demandent à l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario « de créer un comité ayant pour mandat de corriger et d’améliorer » le programme. « Ce comité consultatif ... réunirait des fournisseurs de soins de santé du Nord ainsi que des bénéficiaires ... pour faire des recommandations à la ministre de la Santé qui amélioreraient l’accès aux soins de santé dans le nord de l’Ontario grâce au remboursement adéquat des frais de déplacement. »

J’appuie cette pétition. Je vais la signer et je l’envoie à la table des greffiers avec ma page Mercy.

Thank you. The next question.

Deferred vote on the motion that the question now be put on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 165, An Act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 respecting certain Board proceedings and related matters / Projet de loi 165, Loi modifiant la Loi de 1998 sur la Commission de l’énergie de l’Ontario en ce qui concerne certaines instances dont la Commission est saisie et des questions connexes.

The division bells rang from 1153 to 1158.

On February 26, 2024, Mr. Smith, Bay of Quinte, moved second reading of Bill 165, An Act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 respecting certain Board proceedings and related matters.

On February 28, 2024, Ms. Kusendova-Bashta moved that the question be now put.

All those in favour of Ms. Kusendova-Bashta’s motion, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerks.

Mr. Smith, Bay of Quinte, has moved second reading of Bill 165, An Act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 respecting certain Board proceedings and related matters. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard some noes.

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

Call in the members. This is another five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1202 to 1203.

All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Second reading agreed to.

Government House leader?

The House recessed from 1208 to 1500.

Report adopted.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on Justice Policy and move its adoption.

It is being referred to the Standing Committee on the Interior.

Speaker, I’m proud to rise to talk about a fund—a fund that, sadly, the opposition voted against: the Skills Development Fund. It’s over a billion dollars, and it has helped train half a million Ontarians.

Let me tell you two quick stories—one, Shanika. I met her at the newcomers’ centre in downtown Toronto. She talked about purpose-driven careers, thanks to work this government is doing supporting Sara Asalya and the team there with the Skills Development Fund investment. Thanks to that, she has gotten out of dead-end jobs; she has now got purpose in her life, because we’re lifting her up—something the opposition would never do.

Another story: Phil Fournier, Ironworkers 759—again, working dead-end cash jobs, not paying taxes; now a contributing member of the north. He’s inspiring. He’s training the next generation of ironworkers. He has joined the union up there, again, thanks to the Skills Development Fund.

This government is going to continue investing in the skilled trades because we’re actually building things. After decades of neglect, we’re getting it done for highways, roads, bridges—you name it. We’re getting it done and training—

I have two wonderful students from our riding of Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill participating in the Model Parliament here: Tina Li Yuan Jia and Ethan Yuefan Xu. Enjoy the experience. I look forward to meeting with both of you later on today.

The ayes are 73; the nays are 36.

Bill 157, An Act to amend various Acts in relation to the courts and other justice matters / Projet de loi 157, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne les tribunaux et d’autres questions relatives à la justice.

I want to thank the member opposite for that important question.

If she has had an opportunity to read the Roadmap to Wellness, she’ll see that we’re building a plan for the province of Ontario focused on children and youth, focused on adults and focused on seniors. In the process of doing that, we’ve invested $525 million annually, and we’ll continue to do so.

Mr. Speaker, we’re focused on children and youth. We know how important it is to invest in children and youth to ensure that they have the supports they need so that, as adults, they could live their lives the way everyone else does—and those investments are being made, whether it be through the pediatric fund that was created and was just announced by the Premier and the Minister of Health, whether it be through the nearly $500 million that was invested and we continue to invest in children and youth.

There’s a lot of work to be done, but we are making progress and we are building a system that is making a difference in the lives of everyone and providing services in each of the areas where people live throughout the province.

My question is to the Premier.

Due to a lack of mental health supports in Windsor for children and youth with complex needs, parents are surrendering their children to the children’s aid society, hoping much-needed help will finally be given. In some cases, the families are being forced to send their kids up the 401 to London or Ailsa Craig where they get put on a wait-list for supports.

With no foster families to support their complex needs, kids, some as young as six years old, are put in unlicensed placements—a hotel, Speaker. Some kids will age out before they ever get the help they need, some kids are being trafficked and some are being targeted by drug dealers.

Speaker, this is a very dire situation in my community and communities around the province. We should not have to send children from Windsor to London or Ailsa Craig or anywhere outside our community to get the supports and services they need. It is absolutely despicable.

When will the Premier act to ensure that children and youth with complex needs in Windsor have the mental health supports they need in Windsor?

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

All seniors in Ontario deserve access to the care and support they need when they need it.

Despite numerous calls from experts and advocates, the previous Liberal government failed to acknowledge the critical importance of investing in long-term-care facilities and services.

In contrast, our government has made record investments in building and rebuilding long-term-care homes across this great province.

Speaker, with Ontario seniors entering long-term-care homes later than ever before, and often with more medically complex care needs, we must ensure that all residents receive safe, quality care.

Can the minister please tell the House what our government is doing to support long-term-care homes and connect long-term-care residents to more convenient care?

People with cognitive conditions like dementia often require more specialized care in long-term-care homes. They often face more challenges in being connected to long-term-care services.

Our government must do all that we can to provide people with complex needs the care they need and deserve in the comfort of a home instead of a hospital.

Can the minister please tell this House what other steps our government is taking to ensure seniors get the care they need in order to live comfortably and with dignity?

“Whereas to support students and their families, Ontario is extending the tuition fee freeze for publicly assisted colleges and universities for at least three more years. While increasing tuition for out-of-province domestic students;

“Whereas colleges and universities will have policies in place relating to mental health and wellness supports and services. Every college and university is required to have policies and rules to address and combat racism and hate, including but not limited to anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia; and

“Whereas providing information about ancillary fees and including costs for textbooks and other learning materials. This could include ensuring that fees are published by institutions in a consistent manner the province will also engage with colleges and universities to create tuition fee transparency to help students and their families better understand how tuition fees are used; and

“Whereas to help more students find jobs, the province intends to allow colleges to offer applied master’s degrees in areas of study that will help students graduate with in-demand skills, expertise and credentials. This approach will also provide employers access to more industry-ready employees that meet labour market needs in specialized fields such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and animation; and

“Whereas introducing measures to protect students and improve the integrity of career colleges. The province will better integrate enforcement efforts across ministries to strengthen oversight of career colleges and will ensure timely responses to concerns and complaints by improving data management, documentation processes and the efficacy of compliance investigations; and

“Whereas launching a career portal to help students understand labour market needs and make informed decisions on post-secondary education. This will consolidate various sources of information to help students and newcomers access education and careers in Ontario;

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

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to take on a responsible approach to allow flexibility amid a challenging financial climate, while protecting students and parents from additional costs.”

Speaker, I am happy to sign my name to this petition and hand it to Mesapé.

I’m sure that hard-working member will agree with me when I say that we don’t always see eye to eye with the NDP and the Green Party over there, but I was glad to hear over the weekend that the NDP and Green Party agree that long-term-care homes are indeed homes.

Well, Speaker, that just leaves one party in this Legislature that doesn’t seem to get that picture. And I guess it’s no surprise, right? The Liberals, when they were in power for the better part of two decades, made a goal. They said they were going to build 35,000 long-term-care spaces, an admirable goal; I think that was in 2007. But do you know what happened when they exited government in 2018? They had built a net new 611. So it’s no wonder, I suppose, that the Liberals don’t want to consider these homes homes, because they failed miserably to actually build them.

This Premier is getting it done with a record investment in capital and the health human—

Speaking of behavioural specialized units—a $5.5-million investment announced just recently for three BSUs in homes in Brampton, Timmins and Etobicoke.

This is the game-changing investment that we need for our seniors. It’s not just about capital, which we are investing to record levels; it’s not just about health human resources, which we are investing to record levels—it is about targeted approaches to making sure our seniors get the right care in the right place.

Let’s contrast that. We talked about the past record of the Liberal government. Today, they have a leader in Bonnie Crombie, somebody who promises to build but fails to deliver and doesn’t even consider a long-term-care home a home for its residents.

I challenge the Leader of the Liberal Party and every single one of those Liberal members to walk with me into their ridings, into those homes and tell those hard-working seniors who built our communities, who gave us our lives as we know it, that they are not living in a home. This government disagrees. We’re going to continue to invest into those who took care of us—

My question is to the Minister of Health.

The region of Durham is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada. New neighbours are joining us every single day, and we need the health care infrastructure to support them. Durham needs a new hospital and we are ready to go, with the proposed site in Whitby selected by an expert panel two years ago. For two years, families have been left waiting for hours at our overburdened care centres.

Seven MPPs represent the Durham region; six of them are government members. I support a new Durham hospital.

Minister, do you agree that Durham needs a new hospital?

In the last couple of budgets, we have not seen planning grants.

Minister, all we need to get started is a planning grant. Will it be approved, and when can we expect it?