I’m kind of in-line with what the previous member was asking as to—people have some worries. People would like the government to get it done on things that matter to them. The number one thing that matters to a lot of people is fixing our health care system so that the 2.2 million Ontarians that don’t have access to primary care do, so that the hundreds of thousands of people waiting for surgery get the care that they need. There is also a housing crisis that people would very much like the government to focus on as well as an affordability crisis.

Do you see anything in this bill that will address the priorities of Ontarians with health care, with housing, with affordability?

Thank you to my colleague from Sudbury, who used to be my wingman here on the other side. I think that your insight to the people of Ontario in trying to really explain how we can make life more affordable from this side is really, really a good way of putting it. And considering the high level of performative and talkative pieces in the Get It Done Act or the latest attempt from the Conservative government to bring forward a bill that maybe should be called “trying to get it right for once,” what alternative measures would you propose to effectively tackle the pressing issues of real affordability, like housing affordability, health care accessibility and the cost of living for all Ontarians? How would we really tackle that?

I rise to acknowledge that, throughout the month of February, Ontarians celebrate Black History Month for the many great accomplishments and contributions of people of African descent to Ontario’s economy and safety in the areas of research and development, medicine, business, education, sports, festivals, politics and much more.

We celebrated these accomplishments through our ancestral ways of libation, singing, dancing, drumming, poetry and merriment together only last Tuesday at Queen’s Park, with many in attendance, from our Premier, Doug Ford, to our stakeholders, constituents, members of the Legislative Assembly, legislative staff and many community members, including staff and volunteers. I thank you all for supporting the event with your presence, efforts and speeches to make the event a resounding success.

I would like to use this opportunity to thank our sponsors: Mr. Chris Campbell of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America; Mr. Ivan Dawns of the international union of painters; Mr. Roodney Clarke of the plumbers and pipefitters union; Ms. Danielle Cantave of Ubuntu Arts; Mr. Chef TEE of Greelz; and Mrs. Julia Bebiem of Grandieu Events and Management.

I’d like to thank all—

Cancer is a debilitating disease. A lot of us have personal experiences with it and so I do empathize with the patient. Our government will continue to work to ensure Ontarians have access to the care they need when they need it.

In Ontario, take-home cancer drugs are funded both by the New Drug Funding Program and the Ontario Drug Benefit Program. In 2022, our government spent over $1.7 billion on cancer drugs, 58% of which went toward take-home cancer drugs.

According to a recent report, while Ontario has the second-highest incidence rate of new cancer cases compared to other provinces and territories, we’re doing a good job on treating them because we have the third-lowest mortality rate for cancer in Canada, and that’s thanks to our great health care providers.

As part of budget 2022-23, an advisory table was struck with a mandate to explore improvements to access for take-home cancer drugs and we’ve already taken action, expanding the use of safe and effective biosimilar drugs while allowing our government to reinvest in new drug therapies to support more people receiving more accessible care.

As I indicated in my answer, in 2022, for example, our government spent over $1.7 billion on cancer drugs, 58% of which went toward take-home cancer drugs. So we’re continuing to work with our stakeholders and partners on further discussions and we’ll continue to look at that.

But our government is also making health care more accessible for everybody closer to home, and I know this is welcomed by cancer patients. For example, we funded 49 MRI operations in hospitals in small and rural communities, which is very much appreciated, so people can get a diagnosis easier.

We’re also funding community paramedicine. As I mentioned earlier, we have the pharmacist funding with 700,000 assessments in the pharmacies happening just this year alone. So we’re doing everything we can, in addition to our primary care expansion at $110 million, to make sure that care is closer to home for everyone.

You know, it took Ontario years of neglect by previous governments to get into this situation that we’re in now, but our government has been taking action and delivering results for Ontarians. Our government is very proud to have one of the largest publicly funded health care systems in the world, a system that we’re investing over $80 billion in this year alone. With our Your Health plan, we’re reducing wait times for surgeries and procedures across the province by connecting Ontarians to the care they need when they need it.

Just yesterday, there was an article in the Ottawa Sun, February 28, with a patient, Deb Paterson, who had knee replacement surgery at the Riverside hospital last year. She said she had an excellent experience. Five months after being told that she would have to wait for a couple of years, she received a call asking if she wanted to have the surgery through this new program. She had surgery four months later, after being assured it was covered by OHIP. She summarized her review of the service with this: “This sure went well for me.”

I remember another story from the Thunder Bay–Superior North riding, where a man had his surgery done much quicker. What we’re doing is seeing that patients are getting back to their lives, to living a fulfilling life much more quickly because they have these surgeries much more quickly. There are countless stories of life-changing impacts across this province: 17,000 people have had cataract surgery already because of the clinics that we opened. They wouldn’t have had that surgery had we not opened those clinics.

We’re delivering for patients in Ontario so they get the care they need when they need it.

This government continues to award contracts without a competitive bidding process, make legislation without a consultation process and has given away $8.3 billion in greenbelt land to their rich insiders without any evaluation process at all. All these examples are evidence of an extremely flawed decision-making process. What has been the result? Walk-back after walk-back and flip-flop after flip-flop. They have wasted years of precious time that should have been used to help Ontarians.

Now we’ve just learned that the Attorney General made the decision to appoint a former Conservative staffer and gun lobbyist to be chair of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee. Is appointing a gun lobbyist who will lobby against gun control what the Attorney General and the Premier meant by appointing like-minded candidates?

The Attorney General said in this House that he has an obligation to the public to make appointments in the interest of the public. Does the Attorney General believe that it is in the best interest of the public to bring American-style political appointments to our Ontario courts?

Interjections.

My question is to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. With the forest fire season around the corner, we can’t help but reflect on last year’s fire season. In 2023, Ontario and Canada experienced one of the most challenging fire seasons in recent memory. That’s why our government must not lose our focus on the importance of keeping Ontarians and our natural resources safe. It is essential that we do all we can to protect communities across the province in supporting the brave men and women who are on the front lines responding to wildland fires.

Speaker, can the minister please tell the House what actions our government has taken to strengthen Ontario’s fire ranger workforce?

Speaker, can the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to improve fire ranger recruitment and retention?

I want to start by wishing everyone and all the members in this House and all Ontarians a very happy Black History Month. Today, I have been given this distinct honour of delivering the remarks. I want to be able to speak about Black excellence and the incredible Black communities and the Black leaders who call Ontario their home.

I want to start by recognizing the incredible work done to pave the way for today’s Black leaders, leaders in this House who have stood before us, such as Zanana Akande, Alvin Curling, Lincoln Alexander, Rosemary Brown and so many more. I want to recognize the former president of the Ontario Black History Society, Rosemary Sadlier, as well as the leadership around her, who lobbied the many levels of government to get Black History Month finally recognized by government and institutions right across Canada. And who can forget—who can forget—the Honourable Dr. Jean Augustine, the very first Black woman to serve as a federal minister of the crown and member of Parliament in Canada?

In my riding of Toronto Centre, we have an incredible number of communities, including those who live and identify as Black residents and Black people. They truly represent the very best. They live in neighbourhoods such as Regent Park and Moss Park and they are thriving; they have a very diverse Black population. Black residents are at the forefront of organizing for community benefits for their neighbourhoods as they undergo tremendous revitalization.

They are also leaders for incredible grassroots organizations such as Youth Gravity, which empowers young people to become leaders; Shoot for Peace, who promote non-violence and unity through photography and the arts; and Mothers of Peace, a very important peer-led organization which is very close to my heart. They are a grassroots group of mothers in the neighbourhood who came together after a horrific summer of gun violence in our community, which affected so many families. They carry out school supply drives; they create education opportunities, work with community partners, support social enterprises and organize respite opportunities for their members. Their work is a model for positive community building and I am in absolute awe of them.

I also want to give a shout-out to the neighbourhood of Little Jamaica in my colleague’s riding of Toronto–St. Paul’s. Little Jamaica is a thriving and culturally rich neighbourhood full of small, family-run businesses serving uniquely Jamaican products to the community. But the community of Little Jamaica has been struggling for years. The core of the business district is along Eglinton Avenue, so it’s safe to say that you probably will know what I’m about to say.

The businesses of Little Jamaica have been hidden behind construction hoarding board for 13 years as the Eglinton LRT is being built and then rebuilt and then repaired. Their businesses have suffered tremendously and some of them have closed under this uncertainty. They’ve received, unfortunately, not enough government support, and definitely not enough respect from Metrolinx. This government needs to do so much more to support the community through the strains of these closures, as well as the flooding and pandemic impacts that this community has faced. But through all of it, the community is resilient. I am so encouraged, and I want to encourage all of you: Every single one of us should be visiting and supporting Little Jamaica and we should all go out to all our respective communities right across our ridings to support Black-owned businesses.

There is so much critical work being done by Black folks in communities to uplift marginalized voices. My friend leZlie lee kam and other Black and queer seniors are working so hard, Speaker, to address the issues of homophobia and transphobia in long-term-care spaces, which is vital to make sure that queer and trans elders don’t have to go back into the closet as they enter the long-term-care phase of their life.

As we talk about Black history, we also need to talk about today’s Black realities and Black futures. I want to give a shout-out to Black CAP; African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario; Friends of Ruby; Supporting Our Youth; Pride Toronto, especially their Sankofa fest celebrating Black artists and performers. I want to thank them for all the work that they do in Toronto Centre day in and day out.

We cannot celebrate Black history in Ontario without recognizing today’s Black realities, that black students are being left behind also in overcrowded and underfunded schools; when Black girls and women, including Black trans women, are most susceptible to gender-based violence and misogynoir; when Black men and boys are overrepresented in foster care, youth detention centres and jails; when Black maternal health is overlooked and intentionally deprioritized.

Next week, Speaker, is Black Mental Health Week. I want to take this opportunity to thank—

I am pleased to stand here and debate this government’s Get It Done Act, or, more accurately, let’s say the “get it not-so-done act,” because, as Ontarians know, actions speak louder than words. The members opposite say that this legislation will help build highways. That’s strange, because I read this bill up and down and there isn’t anything about building highways. As my colleague from Beaches–East York put it so well, all that’s in there is stripping environmental protections.

I came back from a tour of the north as a member of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. I learned a lot. The north is so beautiful, and the people are so warm and kind. Transportation-wise, I heard a lot about the importance of twinning highways up there. The highways up there are particularly dangerous, with only one lane per direction. That’s tight driving, especially in wintertime. There is not much room to manoeuvre, and accidents are far too common. When a lane is shut down, that’s the whole highway being shut down, and guess what? That is added pressure to their daily economic productivity.

I want to share with you the accidents that recently happened on Highway 69:

—a 65-year-old passed away in November after a collision on Highway 69, north of the Magnetawan River Bridge, which is an untwinned portion of the highway;

—a nonfatal crash in March on the same section; and

—two seniors died in a crash in February of 2022 in the untwinned portion south of Pointe au Baril;

On Highways 11 and 17:

—a pedestrian was killed by a pickup truck on untwinned Highway 17 two days ago in the Sault Ste. Marie area;

—a Thunder Bay woman was killed in untwinned Highway 17 crash with a commercial vehicle last month;

—two teens were killed on untwinned Highway 17 crash in October;

—one person is dead after a two-vehicle collision in the township of Calder on untwinned Highway 11 in July.

I could go on, because it’s not done, but I hope you get the point about why we’ve got an issue with this Get It Done Act. This government has slowed down the twinning of Highways 11, 17 and even Highway 69. Not one kilometre started under this government’s watch.

Everyone in the northeast wants to see Highway 69 twinned: the municipalities, the Sudbury and Timmins chambers of commerce, everyone. But this government legislation is a missed opportunity to actually focus on expanding these crucial highways and to follow through with this government’s commitments. But we’re not going to see shovels in the ground from this bill, only more empty promises.

Furthermore, this legislation is taking a proud stance against highway tolls. Here’s the problem: There is only one toll road in Ontario, and this bill won’t do anything about it. Highway 407 will continue to charge Ontarians an arm and a leg, especially during an affordability crisis—and this government is A-okay with that? But of course they are, because it was the Conservatives who privatized it in the first place.

The members opposite claim this legislation will prevent tolls on the Gardiner and Don Valley Parkway. That’s funny because only one person ever proposed tolling those roads: former Conservative leader John Tory. This is just another bill for this government where the only purpose is to reverse the Conservatives’ bad ideas, just like the greenbelt.

Ontarians deserve serious legislation to address serious problems, not these performative stunts. Everyone wants things to get done, so stop wasting crucial legislative time on bills like this and introduce bills to actually get the work done. Just because it’s in the name doesn’t mean it’s true.

To the member, thank you for that question. I’m going to state again that the toll on the 407 is very expensive. Ontarians are facing a massive affordability crisis, and removing those tolls is just going to better the families of Ontario. It’s going to put more money into the people of Ontario’s pockets. Open up the 407—it’s going to help with the gridlock—and get off of Highway 413.

Thank you to the great member from Mississauga–Erin Mills, my neighbour riding. I wanted to ask the member to talk a little bit about affordability. Our government has a great track record with bringing in measures that are helping Ontarians in their everyday lives, whether it’s the sticker fees that we put through, lowering energy costs, the low-income tax credit, the gas tax cut, we have a track record and we have a track record because we’ve talked to the people of Ontario. You’ve talked to the people in your riding; I’ve talked to the people in my riding. The people on this side are talking to the people on the street.

My question to the member opposite is, what is in this bill that’s going to help the people of Ontario?

I appreciate the remarks from my colleague the member for University–Rosedale. She talked a bit about the cost-of-living pressures that people in her community and across the province are experiencing. She talked about the tolls, for example, on Highway 417. Now, this bill prohibits tolls on provincial highways that don’t have tolls. So I wondered what her opinion is on whether that provision to remove tolls from highways that don’t have tolls is going to really help Ontarians deal with the affordability crisis that we are seeing in this province.