My question is to the Premier.

Speaker, last week, the federal immigration minister said that comments about the international student cap made by the Minister of Colleges and Universities were “complete garbage.” Now, we may never know what really happened between those two ministers, but we do know that the cap was announced on January 22, and it’s now March 6.

Meanwhile, the application process for international students in this province is at a complete standstill until the government makes a decision on how the cap will be allocated and how attestation letters will be issued.

Speaker, how much longer do Ontario colleges and universities have to wait?

Can the minister at least tell this House how the cap will be allocated? Will the government take into account the track record of individual institutions in their approval rates for international study visas and in the supports they provide to international students?

Interjections.

I have a question for the Premier.

Paying for blood and plasma donations is banned in Ontario, but incredibly, this government is allowing a Spanish company to open a centre in Hamilton that will pay for plasma. Ontario’s Voluntary Blood Donations Act prohibits payment for blood. This is a law which the Minister of Health herself voted in favour of.

So my question to the Premier: Will you stand by and allow a for-profit plasma industry, or will you enforce the law?

To respond, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

Interjection.

If this persists, I will start warning members. Do you hear me?

Start the clock. The Premier has the floor.

Order. The Premier will come to order. The member for Ottawa South will come to order.

Start the clock. The next question.

My question is to the Premier. Once again, this morning, there’s been a lot of talk about like-minded appointments, but while this House has had their eyes set on judicial appointments, I’ve had mine set on the Ontario Land Tribunal.

Just before Christmas, I hit refresh on the Public Appointments Secretariat page, and exactly as I had expected: the appointment of the former mayor of Haldimand county, Ken Hewitt, to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

Keep in mind, this is a tribunal meant to protect public good. Speaker, I respectfully ask if the Premier can articulate what skills and qualifications one must possess to be considered an appointee to the OLT?

But it gets worse: A developer friend of the Premier’s plans to build a seasonal cottage development on agricultural land at Lowbanks in Haldimand county, and just days before that developer is to appear before council, he coincidentally cancels and says he’ll take his chances at the OLT.

It’s difficult not to conclude that the tribunal has been hijacked. The Hamilton Spectator reported in 2022 that the OLT rules in favour of developers 97% of the time. Speaker, through you, to the Premier: Is the OLT in place to protect the public good or is it in place to accelerate development and feather the nest of developers and friends of this government?

Interjections.