Mississauga–Malton.

Mississauga–Malton. Thank you. His daughter is actually in her first year at the University of Windsor and is part of the Ontario Learn and Stay program. It’s exciting to see a new young nurse will be graduating into the Windsor area to help with the nursing that will be needed at the new Windsor hospital and all the that’s work being done in their community.

Interjections.

This type of program can truly make the difference between a student who has maybe never even considered post-secondary education because they believe that they can’t afford it and a student who has the opportunity to train for and land an in-demand job when they graduate, with many of their education costs completely paid for.

I’ll tell you, Madam Speaker, when I was in my riding last spring at the high school graduations that were happening, I was paying special attention to the students who were going into nursing programs, paramedics and lab tech programs. I actually went over to one young lady and her family after because I remembered the school she was going to, and she was going into nursing. I said, “Have you heard of Ontario Learn and Stay?” Her mom said, “Yes, and we are registering for it.” It’s good to see these young people getting their tuition paid for and helping to serve in those underserved areas.

Specifically, the grant will support students entering eligible nursing, paramedic and medical lab tech programs in underserved communities across Ontario. Once the students finish their training, they are incentivized to remain in the underserved regions of Ontario for a period of service—places where they will have already started laying down their roots, making friends, supporting local businesses and building connections with the community, maybe even meeting that special someone there and deciding that this is where they want to continue after those two years are over. They might find themselves working at a local health care facility or directly for one of the local ambulance services.

The Ontario Learn and Stay Grant gives students a helping hand in their decision to not just study in underserved communities but also stay there to begin rewarding careers and make an impact in the communities. We need a strong, sustainable system with a trained and professional workforce ready to support underserved regions, bolstering the province’s health care system to support the people of Ontario now and in the future. Training health care workers will add much-needed capacity to our health care system, ensuring our families, friends and loved ones get the level of care they need and deserve, no matter where they live in this province. The grant is a win-win for both post-secondary students as well as communities and folks across Ontario. I look forward to seeing the first round of graduates coming out of these programs within the next few years.

Madam Speaker, up until now, I have talked about removing barriers to post-secondary education and how to support learners once they get there. But now I’d like to touch on some steps our government is taking to ensure students can successfully transition from post-secondary education into the workforce. It is up to us, in partnership with all of our post-secondary institutions, to establish the pathways to help set students up for success.

Like the rest of the world, as we continue on our road of economic growth, Ontario continues to face challenges. To navigate this ongoing global economic uncertainty, our government has a plan—a plan to build an Ontario that the people of this province can be proud of, not only today but in the future. The goal of this plan is to make sure students are prepared for the jobs of a modern economy, with the skills to be adaptable lifelong learners in an ever-changing world.

People are keener than ever to explore faster pathways to meaningful and rewarding careers. They want to ensure that the training they put their time, their money and their effort into is going to pay off. That’s exactly what micro-credentials offer—a faster, affordable and more flexible pathway to employment. We know that lifelong learning is becoming more and more commonplace across sectors, as the skills and knowledge needed continually change. We also know that lifelong learners are busy people and need to be able to hit the ground running to make an immediate impact with their employers or to pursue new job opportunities. Offering micro-credentials alongside degrees, diplomas and certificates opens the doors of opportunity to those who are looking to develop new skills quickly and empowers learners with options. They also provide businesses with the talent they need. We know that Ontario’s economic growth and future prosperity are dependent on a workforce that is nimble, adaptive and responsive to an evolving labour market.

Speaker, our government is committed to supporting learners at all stages of their careers and recognizes the significance of micro-credentials and the value they provide to the growth and development of the province’s economy.

That’s why we are proud to have announced over $60 million in Ontario’s first-ever micro-credentials strategy, a bold, forward-thinking plan to support the expansion of Ontario’s micro-credentials—the kind of flexible training that people truly want and the kind of training opportunities that prepare them for the in-demand jobs of today and tomorrow.

I’m proud to see the many micro-credentials being offered at our institutions across the province, including Indigenous institutes and career colleges, from the fields of technology to research to manufacturing and more. As micro-credentials gain momentum worldwide, it is critical that we home in on this type of training option right here in Ontario.

This year, Ontario invested $5 million to launch a second round of the micro-credentials challenge to support the creation of more micro-credentials projects. This investment is stemming from the success of the first round of the challenge fund, when post-secondary institutions and industry worked together to create over 300 new micro-credentials to support approximately 6,000 learners across the province.

As we work to expand program offerings, we want to keep our learners in mind and make sure that micro-credentials are affordable and accessible so that anyone who wants to take this training can, regardless of their circumstances or financial situation.

Madam Speaker, I’m going to show you a list of some of the micro-credentials that I think maybe you might have some interest in, in your Durham area—maybe after politics. There’s a micro-credential using construction tools—maybe something you might even want to pick up during politics.

The London members: Fanshawe College has some digital literacy micro-credentials. They also offer a Microsoft formulas credential.

Our Toronto members: Rotman “health care analytics: AI, big data and digital transformation” at U of T. So lots of great micro-credentials that you could be studying now, because they are micro, but things you can look forward to maybe after politics, because learning is a lifelong adventure.

To that end, I’m proud to say that Ontario is the first jurisdiction in Canada to offer student financial assistance for micro-credentials. So you could even be eligible for OSAP if you decide to take these micro-credentials. As of today, more than 1,900 micro-credentials are approved for OSAP loans and grants, with more being added regularly. So whether it’s the mid-career parent looking to move from health administration to coding, or a new post-secondary graduate interested in honing their skills in AI, or a politician who is looking at their next career, there is a micro-credential for everyone.

As more people discover micro-credentials, we move closer to a world that recognizes and embraces flexible, labour-market-driven learning. Madam Speaker, we know that Ontario’s economy is becoming more knowledge-based and technology-driven, so a skilled workforce is an important driver for the province’s economy and competitiveness. That’s why, as we announced last Monday, Ontario is investing $100 million in 2023-24 to help cover the operating costs of science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs at publicly assisted colleges and universities that have enrolments above their funded levels.

On average, STEM graduates have better post-graduation outcomes than their non-STEM counterparts, with lower unemployment and higher wages. Therefore, it makes sense to provide enhanced support for these programs, as they will help post-secondary students secure good, in-demand jobs.

Our government has also recently announced a new way to connect students to rewarding careers by creating a career portal. This portal will help students understand labour market needs and make informed decision on their post-secondary education journey. There are so many sources of labour market information out there; it can be overwhelming to navigate and choose the best educational path. The creation of a government portal will help to strengthen how students, workers, employers and newcomers access education and career pathways in Ontario. Obviously, we’ll be working very closely with our post-secondary education sector and various ministries to identify the needs and the paths to get to those in-demand jobs.

I hope to share more details about the portal with everyone soon, as we work through our consultations. I am looking for a great portal that’s going to help students to navigate that pathway, to look at the jobs that are available, because sometimes we don’t even know the things that are out there—but how to look at those programs, the courses you would take, the schools that offer those programs, and the outcomes.

Madam Speaker, students deserve the best opportunity to gain the skills they need to get good-paying, high-quality jobs. So our government is taking steps to help our post-secondary institutions offer more in-demand programs and adapt to changing labour market needs.

Pending regulatory changes, we are planning to allow colleges to submit applications to offer applied master’s degrees. These programs would give students more choice when it comes to innovative applied master’s programs that lead to in-demand jobs, helping them to graduate with the skills, the expertise and credentials to successfully transition to the workforce. It will also give employers access to more industry-ready employees who can immediately meet labour market demands in specialized fields, fields such as advanced manufacturing, computer science, artificial intelligence and animation. Again, finding new ways like this to prepare students for great careers is a win-win for all of Ontario.

Actually, when I was in the riding last weekend, I was talking to a gentleman; his son is a student at Sheridan College in the animation program, doing the degree program. He was saying how much his son loves his program and the opportunities that were going to be out there for him upon graduation, but he was also excited about more learning opportunities. We made the announcement last Monday, so I heard from him afterwards about the applied master’s, because Sheridan will be offering this in their animation program, and how excited his son was to be able to continue his education and do the applied master’s.

As you can see, Ontario is putting students first, with a continued focus on removing barriers to post-secondary education and ensuring that learners are equipped with the skills and experience they need to successfully transition to the workforce. However, it’s important to recognize that the supports that we put in place for students are only as useful as the strength of Ontario’s post-secondary system as a whole.

Our government provides more than $5 billion annually to Ontario’s publicly assisted colleges and universities. We do this because we recognize they are important contributors to the economy of our province, to our local communities and the individual impact that higher education can have on Ontarians. That said, we are continuing to focus on efficiency, accountability and financial sustainability within the system. Why, Madam Speaker? To ensure our post-secondary institutions can deliver high-quality education for years to come and generations to come.

We recognize that our colleges and universities were hit hard during the pandemic. On our part, we took action to support institutions during that time in as many ways as possible:

—providing $25 million in 2020 to assist colleges, universities and Indigenous institutes with immediate COVID-related expenses;

—investing another $106.4 million to help them address COVID-related financial impacts; and

—providing $5 million to help institutions transfer in-person career services to virtual.

Today, our post-secondary institutions continue to navigate the increasing costs of delivering programming, as well as some significant recent changes to the education landscape across Canada. Therefore, Ontario is taking further action to ensure the continued viability of the post-secondary education system in a responsible way, a way that supports students and post-secondary institutions today, while building an even stronger foundation for future generations. That’s why, to bring financial sustainability to post-secondary institutions, our government announced this past Monday that we’re providing nearly $1.3 billion in new funding. This funding includes the $100-million investment in STEM costs that I mentioned earlier.

We are also creating a three-year post-secondary education sustainability fund valued at approximately $903 million. This fund will provide $700 million in broad-based support for all institutions and will offer $203 million in additional top-up funding for institutions with the greatest financial need. This funding will help institutions address their immediate critical costs, so they can continue delivering high-quality education to students.

We’re also supporting the world-class research being done in our post-secondary institutions, with more than $65 million to support the continuation of research and innovation. And to help post-secondary institutions provide modern and safe learning environments for students, faculty and staff, we are providing over $167 million in additional funding for capital renewal and equipment. These capital investments will allow institutions to address their deferred maintenance backlog, undertake critical repairs, modernize the classrooms, update the technology and improve their environmental sustainability, while continuing to offer a safe experience for students, staff and faculty on campus.

Madam Speaker, it is not lost on us that our northern and smaller post-secondary institutions face unique financial challenges. They are more reliant on operating grants and domestic tuition. In 2022-23, our government provided $409 million in operating grants to northern institutions. In 2023-24, we’re providing northern colleges with $83 million through the Small, Northern and Rural Grant and $16 million for northern universities through the Northern Ontario Grant. Our government appreciates the special role that our post-secondary institutions play in northern Ontario, providing learners with access to high-quality education close to home and helping to prepare them for in-demand jobs in their local communities and beyond.

Madam Speaker, I don’t know if you’ve ever had a chance to travel up to northern Ontario to visit some of those schools, but I have. I was actually talking with the folks at Boréal at PDAC the other day, and some of the great work that they’re doing—not just in northern Ontario, but also here in Toronto, where they will be offering the new stand-alone nursing program in French in both areas. I know they’re doing great work in the health human resources as well as skilled trades. I had an opportunity to chat with them there—some great work at our northern institutions.

I also announced last Monday that our government is providing a one-time additional investment of $10 million in 2024-25 through the Small, Northern and Rural Grant and the Northern Ontario Grant. This will help northern universities and small, northern and rural colleges to maintain a full range of programs and provide students with local competitive choices for post-secondary education.

I want to be clear about something, Madam Speaker. Our government’s approach to ensuring the financial sustainability of our post-secondary sector does not just include infusing more money into the system. We know that taxpayer dollars need to be spent wisely while still maintaining the high-quality level of education that Ontarians deserve. That’s why, to further support publicly assisted colleges and universities to operate in an efficient, accountable and transparent manner, our government also announced on Monday that we’re creating an Efficiency and Accountability Fund. The fund will provide institutions with $15 million over the next three years, starting in 2024-25, to support third-party reviews. These reviews will identify actions that institutions can take to drive long-term cost savings and positive outcomes for students and communities.

Ontario will continue to work with all post-secondary institutions to create greater efficiencies in operations and program offerings because, at the end of the day, our government will hold colleges and universities accountable and ensure they are taking the necessary steps to operate as efficiently as possible.

Madam Speaker, as I’m in my last minute of time, I had better start to wrap up. In the weeks and months ahead, I look forward to continuing to work with all of our post-secondary institutions and partners to continue finding solutions that will ensure our province remains home to the best education system and workforce possible. I feel optimistic about the historic changes being proposed as part of the Strengthening Accountability and Student Supports Act, 2024. I appreciate everyone’s support as we move forward.

As we are approaching the last few weeks of the school semester, I want to wish good luck to all of the students out there as they are quickly coming into exams, but a special good luck to my youngest daughter, who is graduating from Western University and looking forward to her last couple of weeks.

Questions?

Thank you for adding a student mental health policy in the legislation, but I will say this: In Kiiwetinoong in the north, Ralph Rowe in the 1970s and 1980s is probably the most unknown, the most prolific pedophile that this country has ever known. He was an Anglican minister of Canada. He was a Boy Scout leader of Canada as well. He had his own plane. He’s a former OPP officer. And he abused 500-plus boys where I come from.

This bill needs to do more. How will you go further for First Nations students?

I know the minister mentioned it in her remarks, but one of my favourite places to visit in the riding is at Six Nations Polytechnic institute, the Indigenous college and university in my riding. Visiting there with the minister is wonderful. That’s not to knock Conestoga or Laurier, because they do great work in our community too, but I really appreciate the responsiveness and support and the partnership that I have with that stakeholder in my community.

To see languages that were practically gone being brought back to life at Six Nations Polytechnic, but not even that—the STEAM Academy, where high school students get a whole new way of being taught on a college campus and even the other programs. To visit with the minister and see how we are providing training to fill the gaps, is so appreciated. I look forward to more programming coming out to support Indigenous students at our colleges.

I’m wondering if the minister could comment on that a little bit further.

Thank you to the member for that question. As I said before, we can always do more. I am meeting with the Indigenous institutes coming up shortly, where we’ll be consulting on what more we can be doing. The blue-ribbon panel did address some of the issues that Indigenous institutions are facing, and that’s why we have decided to specifically consult with all the institutions together on what more we can be doing on campus.

Indigenous institutes are very important in the communities, important for accessible education for First Nations learners, but also, they’re an economic driver for communities. Ensuring that they do offer the program that is needed for local labour market needs—so addressing the needs of learners being close to home, but also the needs of the local labour market, ensuring that those students are rolling right into jobs.

I look forward to consulting with the First Nation institutes to ensure that we can be doing more to support those institutions.

We have had the chance to visit. Actually, I had mentioned earlier about the welding program. I remember that programming was funded specifically through the associate minister of women’s economic empowerment, a specific fund that was set up for students as well as the institution that provided all the wraparound supports for those students. That included things like associated costs of transportation and daycare. It was really setting these women up for success. They were working with mentors as well. In the welding situation, they were entering into programs that are highly male-dominated and setting those women up for success.

I appreciate the work that Six Nations is doing, as well as all of our institutes in Ontario, setting students up for success.

To your comment about the blue-ribbon panel: The panel also stated that it was a shared responsibility of students, of institutions and of the government. The government stepped up. We did our part. We provided $1.3 billion in new funding for the sector. But to help institutions, we also provided the efficiency fund of $15 million so that they can apply directly to the fund to be able to do those audits. The shared responsibility for the students—we didn’t see a tuition increase as the panel had suggested as being something that we were interested in doing. We want to ensure affordability for students and—

I listened with interest to the minister in her lead speech on Bill 166. As the minister said, this bill was introduced as part of a package of announcements that the government claims would stabilize colleges and universities, who are facing a financial crisis in this province as a result of years of chronic underfunding and cuts that have been made by this government.

The government’s financial investment was $1.3 billion over three years, which is half of what the government’s own expert panel said was needed just to keep the sector afloat, which was before the international student cap was announced, which will make the financial pressures in the sector even worse.

My question to the minister is, why did this government ignore the advice that they received from the expert panel that they struck?

Today, I rise to recognize International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8, and want to reflect on an exciting day in my riding of Leeds–Grenville we had last month.

Our region is rich with women entrepreneurship, and that was evident on Monday, February 12, when I welcomed the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, the Honourable Charmaine Williams, the 10th ministerial visit to my riding since Labour Day.

The visit began with an informative “women in business and entrepreneurship and skills development” round table discussion. Speaker, it was very successful, with 16 women leaders across our region sharing very meaningful feedback as women in business.

We followed that up the same day. The minister and I toured our riding, presenting congratulatory scrolls to five women-owned businesses. We were welcomed by Lynn Libbos at Echo Clothing Co.; Cynthia Peters at Maison Maitland; Brenda Visser at Flowers of the Field; Jenni Stotts at Tandem Unified Wellness; and Kathy Lewis at the Boboli Cafe, where we enjoyed a delicious soup and sandwich.

I’m so grateful for the women who make a difference in Leeds-Grenville and communities across Ontario through their skilled work, their resiliency and their leadership.

Happy International Women’s Day.

Thank you to the member. You have some great institutions in your area. I appreciate visiting and meeting with not only administration but also with the students. I love the student experience on campus when I get to chat directly with them about how they ended up at that institution and the program they were in.

I know, for myself, I was interested in STEM when I went to university. But then, when I got there—I thought I wanted to be an engineer—I realized that physics in university was much harder than physics was in high school, and my STEM career suddenly changed.

But the number of engineers, for example, that we’re going to need in this province alone—Minister Fedeli is bringing these companies. They are needing thousands and thousands of STEM workers. We wanted to ensure that government wasn’t going to be a barrier to training more STEM workers. We were hearing from institutions that the interest in STEM programming at their schools is very high. That’s because it’s very high in in-demand jobs for those students. We wanted to ensure that we were providing the funding for those students in those labour demand programs.

We’re going to work closely with Colleges Ontario and Council of Ontario Universities in ensuring that there is a standardized approach to reporting incidents of hate or racism on campus. Whether you are at U of T or a George Brown campus, it’s the same policy in place. We want to ensure that—because I was hearing from students that they weren’t reporting incidents because they said, “There’s never any follow-up. Nothing happens.” We want to—

This bill requires colleges and universities to develop and implement policies on student mental health and also anti-racism and hate. The government has committed $8 million over three years for the student mental health piece, which, with 47 institutions in Ontario, means $57,000 per institution for each of those three years. There’s no additional funding for colleges and universities to implement the anti-hate policies.

How does the government expect institutions to be successful in developing and implementing these policies when there are no additional resources, and our sector is already in such a financial crisis?

Further questions?

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

I want to thank the minister for this and for the investment that she and our government have made in our community in Waterloo region, totalling almost $30 million in STEM funding, which is very important. I know she has spent a lot of time engaging with Laurier, University of Waterloo and Conestoga College and many of our other educational partners in the region.

I’m wondering if she could expand a little bit more—I know she talked about it in her lead, but just what that specific carve-out for the STEM funding means and how that’s going to help these universities and post-secondary institutions train the next in-demand jobs.

Il n’y a pas une semaine qui passe sans qu’au moins trois ou quatre citoyens de mon comté viennent me voir au sujet du « northern Ontario travel grant ». Dans la dernière année, alors que la clinique d’accouchement de l’hôpital de Hearst annonçait devoir fermer ses portes jusqu’à ce qu’elle trouve un médecin obstétricien, plusieurs femmes se faisaient diriger à la clinique la plus proche, à Kapuskasing, qui n’avait pas de place. Ces mêmes femmes se sont fait envoyer à Timmins et on leur disait de rester à Timmins durant le dernier mois de l’accouchement—à trois heures de chez elles.

Quand on demande au gouvernement comment aider ces femmes et enlever le stress financier pendant leur grossesse, il les réfère au « northern travel grant ». Le « travel grant », c’est 550 $ maximum pour se loger durant le mois. Trouvez-moi un hôtel à ce prix; vous n’en trouverez pas. Ça coûte cher, avoir un bébé dans le Nord. Ça, c’est un exemple parmi des centaines et des milliers.

À Kapuskasing, une ville de 8 000 habitants, la liste d’attente pour un médecin de famille est de 2 500 personnes. À Hearst, on parle de la moitié de la population. Mais, un « travel grant », ça s’applique juste si vous visitez un médecin spécialiste.

Quand le gouvernement a vu un projet de loi pour améliorer le « travel grant » et vraiment servir la population du nord de l’Ontario, il a décidé de faire de la partisanerie et de laisser tomber les Ontariens du Nord. Si seulement la ministre de la Santé pouvait mettre ses deux pieds dans le Nord et voir que l’accès à la santé est à deux vitesses pour nous, peut-être qu’elle pousserait son gouvernement à changer le piètre état du « travel grant ».

This past Saturday, I had the honour of serving as a judge at the Newmarket Lions Club Effective Speaking Contest. The Lions Club is a network of community-minded volunteers who continue to live up to their motto, “We serve.” The effective speaking contest is the largest bilingual contest of its kind in Canada. The goal is to promote competitive speaking to stimulate independent thinking among students.

I was asked to judge speakers in the French portion of the contest—junior, grades 4 to 6, and intermediate, grades 7 to 9. Students delivered a prepared speech, followed by intermediate students presenting an impromptu speech. Topics ranged from the importance of teaching history to animal companionship, to the impromptu speeches on who they admire most and the impacts of social media. Criteria for assessment included subject selection and organization of material, how the student kept the interest of the crowd, the delivery of that speech etc.

Congratulations to the intermediate French speaker, Riley, and the junior French speaker, Romy, for their outstanding speeches, earning first-place accolades. They will go on to compete in the regional contest and perhaps to the provincial contest this May.

Congratulations to all the volunteers.

Friday is International Women’s Day, a global annual holiday drawing attention to women’s human rights, but this year, it’s hard to celebrate.

On October 7, Hamas terrorists made systematic sexual assaults and barbaric sexualized torture and violence a weapon of war, and the evidence has been available from that moment. The terrorists broadcast their depraved actions. The world saw the footage of multiple women being carried away on vehicles with telltale bloodied sweatpants, and many “bodies that speak” were recovered.

On November 14, a young woman reported to international media that, hiding in the bushes, she witnessed a horrific gang rape, mutilation and murder. Corroborating physical evidence of this assault was found at the scene.

After that report, there was no excuse for any women’s or international group to equivocate, and yet many have been shamefully silent or worse. According to the #MeToo movement, we’re supposed to believe all women who testify about sexual violence, but this year, we learned that apparently for some, that does not apply to Jewish or Israeli women.

This week, a UN report found evidence of sexual violence by Hamas on October 7 that was conflict-related, and there are indications sexual violence continues to be carried out against those still being held hostage by that group, which includes 14 Israeli women.

On October 7, 2023, and its aftermath, we’re marking a very dark period in the history of the international women’s rights movement as women in Israel have been betrayed by many. Women’s bodies are not a battleground on which to wage war. There’s no excuse for sexual assault. It cannot be contextualized. There is no “yes, but” when it comes to rape. Now more than ever, women need to stand together to support all women, because they are human beings.

On March 1, I had the pleasure of introducing a brand new form of hockey to Peterborough. Volt hockey is played using specially designed power wheelchairs. The stick blade is attached to the front of the chair and a big whiffle ball is used for the puck. It’s played on a basketball court with pond-hockey-style nets.

I was first introduced to it by Karen Stintz from Variety Village when I attended the North American championships. I had the opportunity to speak to a family from Boston whose daughter was a quadriplegic. Their daughter was able to play volt hockey because the controls were adapted to work with the movement of her head. Her parents told me that they never thought that she would be able to play a team sport, and yet, here she was at the North American championships. They described it as life-altering. I knew instantly that I needed to find a way to bring this to my community.

Speaker, we worked with Variety Village, Five Counties Children’s Centre, the YMCA of Eastern Ontario, the Kawartha Komets, community alternatives and the council for people with disabilities to create the team. The final hurdle was the start-up funds. But, Speaker, Sanj Sukumaran, Deanna Hayes, Peter Lemelin and Glen White from the Under the Lock Hockey Tournament—the tournament I founded and chaired for 10 years—agreed to donate all of the proceeds from Canada’s most inclusive hockey event to start volt hockey.

Thank you to everyone who helped bring this vision to help kids with disabilities play Canada’s favourite game.

I want to talk to you a little bit today about NOSIs. A notice of security interest, commonly referred to as a NOSI, is a tool similar to a lien that can be placed on the land registry system by a business on personal property without the individual’s knowledge. This NOSI placed on the title of the home creates an encumbrance on the title that they must clear before they sell or refinance their home.

Scammers target vulnerable people and can leave them with massive debt. This is an issue right across the province, but Waterloo regional police have been dealing with it for years. Detective Adam Stover, who is here joining us today, whom I’ve had the pleasure of discussing this issue with, is an expert on the subject.

Over the past few years, these scams have evolved, Mr. Speaker. A recent CTV News article stated that Kitchener resident Ian Craig has seven NOSIs on his property, totalling more than $150,000. He’s fighting to make sure others aren’t scammed too. Ian said in the article, “This is not right, for people who have invested in their homes, that somebody comes along and puts [NOSIs] on it for” more than “half of it. The way they can take advantage of people is just disgusting. This is why we need protection.”

Speaker, it’s not right, and that’s why we are fighting back. The Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery recently ran consultations to get to the bottom of this issue. I want to thank the Minister, Waterloo region police, PA Riddell and the entire team at the ministry for their hard work. Let’s stop this unscrupulous practice. Let’s say no to NOSIs.

Today, I would like to use my platform to amplify the concerns expressed by those in the child care sector regarding issues attracting and retaining staff and early childhood educators. I share these concerns on behalf of child care providers across the province, but specifically, one child care provider in my community. They are losing 15 ECE graduates of Fanshawe College, because they are leaving Ontario. They are relocating to take advantage of the better immigration pathways for ECEs in other provinces.

The loss of these workers directly impacts the care and education of 120 preschoolers who would benefit from their expertise. Without immediate action, we risk compromising the quality of early childhood education in our communities and hindering the future success of our children.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program serves as a gateway for individuals with the skills and experience that our economy needs to obtain permanent residency in Ontario. We must recognize and take proactive measures to retain and attract skilled professionals to this vital sector. I call upon the Ministers of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development; Education; and Colleges and Universities to address this urgent matter by implementing a comprehensive provincial immigration pathway tailored explicitly to early childhood educators.

Investing in our educators and prioritizing the quality of early childhood education is not only essential for the well-being of our children but also for the prosperity and success of our province as a whole. Together, let’s work to create a more equitable and prosperous future for all Ontarians.

I rise today with a heavy heart, full of sadness. We mourn the loss of a truly remarkable leader. Brian Mulroney was a visionary and principled Prime Minister of Canada. He dedicated his life to pursuing Canada’s national interests and humanitarian issues worldwide.

Mr. Speaker, when I came to Canada in 1983, I was inspired by Prime Minister Mulroney and what he represented to people like me coming from a war-torn country. His compassion, his leadership and his dedication to freedom, democracy and social justice improved the lives of millions of people around the world. He was truly a dynamic leader for Canada—a transformative force for positive change.

During the 1983 pogroms against the Tamil people during the civil war, thousands of Tamils came to Canada seeking asylum and a better place to live. Prime Minister Mulroney faced strong pressure not to accept such refugees. As a man of principle and strong moral conviction, he simply replied that Canada is “not in the business of turning away refugees.”

Prime Minister Mulroney didn’t shy away from international pressure either. Despite the opposition he faced from his allies, Prime Minister Mulroney’s support of Nelson Mandela against the apartheid government of South Africa helped bring about the end of that ugly regime. He was always committed to doing the right thing, not the popular thing.

Mr. Speaker, leaders are never born, they are made. Prime Minister Mulroney’s spirit burns bright, a candle that will light the world forever.