The teacher shortage in our education system is causing chaos for students, families and workers. The government created this problem with its cuts to education, its wage suppression bill and its disrespect for teachers. We now have thousands of teachers leaving the sector, many of them not waiting for the end of the school year, because of the working conditions.

Instead of big words and band-aid solutions, will the Minister of Education actually solve the problem by significantly investing in education and providing every child with the support they need?

School boards have already had to cut teacher and education worker positions because of this government’s underfunding, and now they’re looking at even more cuts this year. The Toronto District School Board has to cut $20.8 million. Peel announced they’re closing special education classes and laying off teachers. This government’s underfunding is pouring gasoline on the fire of the teacher shortage. If the minister wants to address the problem, why not start with adequate funding for education?

Mr. Speaker, every single voice in the education system is on the same page here, with the exception, apparently, of the New Democrats, Liberals and teacher unions who opposed a common-sense recommendation supported by every principals’ association, supported by every trustees’ association, supported by common-sense families who want experienced retired educators to be at the front of the class to fix short-term absentee issues.

We have educators in this province, on average, taking 16 days off in the 184 days of work. We have a problem, and we have a solution in the short term: Use experienced retirees. Everyone’s on the same page, but the teachers’ unions—of course supported by the NDP, who are ill prepared to stand up for kids; they’re always prepared to stand up for the special interests. Why not advance a simple request of ensuring we can leverage retirees to keep qualified educators at the front of class?

Today we have put forth a simple request to leverage experienced educators to fill short-term absences, and the opposition have affirmed today that they oppose a common-sense provision that every principals’ association, every trustees’ association, English and French, Catholic and public—we are all on the same page, except for the opposition. They’re going to have to explain to parents why they would rather protect pension entitlements instead of advancing quality, consistent in-person learning for every child in this province.

Thank you.

Supplementary question.

My question is for the Solicitor General. It is clear to everyone but the federal Liberals and their provincial counterparts that the carbon tax is hurting Ontario families and businesses. It is not only driving up the cost of goods, but it is also driving up the cost of fuel and gasoline for everyone in our province.

I’ve heard from people in my riding of Newmarket–Aurora who are concerned about the effects of the carbon tax on the public safety system. They want to ensure the police and firefighters who keep their communities safe are not being impacted by this regressive tax.

Speaker, can the Solicitor General please explain the consequences of the federal carbon tax on our province’s public safety system?

People in my riding of Newmarket–Aurora are concerned about the rising levels of crime in our province, including in my riding. They want to see police services have the support and resources they need to protect their communities and my community instead of paying an additional fuel cost because of the carbon tax. The people of Ontario have spoken time and time again. The federal government must eliminate the carbon tax now.

Speaker, can the Solicitor General please explain further on the negative impacts of the carbon tax on law enforcement and public safety agencies across Ontario?

I want to thank the member from Newmarket–Aurora, and she’s right. Last weekend, I knocked on doors in my riding, and I listened to the business owners who are so concerned about public safety. You know, Mr. Speaker, Bonnie Crombie served on the board of the Peel regional police service board. She knows first-hand that there are no exemptions. Nobody is exempted, from police or fire or anybody in Ontario, to avoid paying the carbon tax. Every vehicle that is fuelled up pays the tax.

Mr. Speaker, it’s obvious people in Ontario demand public safety. They have a right to feel safe in their own homes and communities and watch their kids go to school safely. What we don’t need is a tax that penalizes those that keep us safe. The Liberals can help today. Pick up the phone and say, “Cancel that tax.”

I want to again thank the member opposite. The carbon tax, which most people don’t understand, affects public safety. Ontarians have demanded that they have a right to feel safe in their communities, and this government, under Premier Ford, has made it a priority. But when we have, as an example, the OPP spending over $4 million a year, unnecessarily, to pay the federal carbon tax, do the math on how many extra officers, boots on the ground, they could have.

Just this morning, I was in Peel, together with our great member for Mississauga—Malton. We were at the Auto Theft Summit. The chiefs told us that every cent is precious to fighting crime, to getting those violent and repeat offenders off our streets.

The carbon tax doesn’t help at all; it hurts. The Liberals can do something right away: They can call their leader, who can call the Prime Minister and say—

Thank you to the member for the question. That is a member, though, that voted against building the Ontario Line in the first place—our transit plan back in 2019, which doesn’t just include the Ontario Line, but Eglinton West and Scarborough and Yonge North. We developed a transit-oriented communities program that does build housing around our transit, and we are anticipating building 54,000 new homes for Ontarians on our subway lines.

We are building the Ontario Line. Construction is under way. And as part of the Ontario Line construction, we are also building complete communities at our stations, which will include 54,000 new homes for residents in the city of Toronto.

Joining us in the members’ gallery today is Mr. Dan VanderLelie. He’s the zone 3 director of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association. Dan has been a firefighter for over 25 years and currently holds the rank of platoon chief with the Burlington fire department. He is also a member of the Burlington Professional Firefighters Association, where he has served as president for the past 18 years.

Dan, we thank you for your service and joining us today. Dan is here to support the tabling of my private member’s bill for first reading.

Mr. Vanthof, on behalf of Ms. Stiles, moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 176, An Act to amend the Government Advertising Act, 2004 / Projet de loi 176, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2004 sur la publicité gouvernementale.

Mr. Blais moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 178, An Act to amend the Taxation Act, 2007 to provide for a non-refundable tax credit to encourage children’s extra-curricular activities / Projet de loi 178, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2007 sur les impôts pour prévoir un crédit d’impôt non remboursable afin d’encourager les activités parascolaires des enfants.

It’s the End the Public Funding of Partisan Government Advertising Act, 2024. I will read the explanatory note.

The Building Ontario Up Act, 2015, made numerous amendments to the Government Advertising Act, 2004. Among amendments made were changes to the rules that apply when the Auditor General reviews government advertising. The bill amends the act to reverse those amendments, so that the act reads substantially as it did before the 2015 amendments.

Mr. Yakabuski moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 177, An Act to proclaim Test Your Smoke Alarm Day / Projet de loi 177, Loi proclamant la Journée du test des avertisseurs de fumée.

The minister will please take his seat.

Next question?

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 3 p.m.

The House recessed from 1154 to 1500.

Nous avons aujourd’hui, dans la tribune du Président, un groupe de Franco-Ontariennes et de Franco-Ontariens qui ont été sélectionnés par un comité multipartite de parlementaires pour recevoir l’Ordre de la Pléiade. Ces personnalités sont reconnues pour leurs contributions exceptionnelles envers la francophonie ontarienne.

The recipients are; les lauréats sont les suivants : Ronald Bisson, Lise Bourgeois, Melinda Chartrand, Claudette Gleeson, Abel Maxwell et Denis Poirier. Please join me in warmly welcoming our guests to the Legislature and congratulating them for this important achievement. Félicitations.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The bill, the Promoting Leisure Activities for Youth act, or PLAY, would provide for a $1,000 non-refundable tax credit for children’s youth activities in sports and other extracurriculars.

I’d like to thank Lindsay from my home township of Douro-Dummer for the work on this petition.

“Whereas the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario was created in 1962 as an agency for the province of Ontario, accountable to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and

“Whereas the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario last received major amendments in the 1990s and these amendments focused on formalizing the operational structure of the agency; and

“Whereas in 1962 when the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario was created robotics used in agriculture was not a technology that was even envisioned; and

“Whereas advancements in robotics for dairy farms has resulted in dairy farmers in Ontario having a competitive advantage by producing more milk with a smaller herd of cattle; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would allow for more research to occur in this new technology; and

“Whereas in 1962 when the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario was created genomics was not a technology that was envisioned as something that could be used in the agriculture and food industry; and

“Whereas agricultural genomics is a rich field that contributes to advances in crop development to assist Ontario farmers in producing some of the highest-quality crops available in the entire world; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would allow for more advanced genomic studies to occur in Ontario to ensure that Ontario farmers have access to this technology; and

“Whereas in 1962 when the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario was created autonomous vehicle technology did not exist and therefore was not a focus of any research in Ontario; and

“Whereas autonomous vehicle technology has seen advancements in tractors, drones, seed planting, weeding and harvesting robots and are several of the technologies currently under development that will transform agriculture and help alleviate food shortages by improving sustainability and productivity of agricultural activities; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act will help facilitate further research in autonomous vehicle technologies in Ontario so that Ontario can get that research out of the lab and into the field more quickly; and

“Whereas in 1962 when the Agriculture Research Institute of Ontario was created, artificial intelligence was not a technology that existed; and

“Whereas by modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act, Ontario will be able to enhance this invaluable research into technologies that can help explore the soil health to collect insights, monitor weather conditions and recommend the appropriate application of fertilizers and pesticides to ensure maximum crop yields and reducing the amount of waste created by over-fertilizing or applying the inappropriate amount of pesticide to a crop; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act is a key component of the Grow Ontario Strategy that aims to strengthen Ontario’s agriculture and food supply chain; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act also aims to increase agri-food technology and adoption; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act also aims to attract and grow Ontario’s agri-food talent; and

“Whereas by modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act, Ontario would further its status as a world leader in agriculture; and

“Whereas by modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act, Ontario would help the development of the industry’s unique technologies; and

“Whereas by modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act, Ontario would increase its competitiveness and productivity in the agriculture and food industry; and

“Whereas by modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act, Ontario would help in the development and adoption of new technologies in the agriculture and food industry in support of the key goals set out in the Grow Ontario Strategy; and

“Whereas the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario owns 14 research stations across the province that provide industry with the latest in agricultural and food-specific research; and

“Whereas Ontario needs to take action to strengthen the agriculture industry by proposing to amend the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act by expanding the current scope of research to be more relevant today and serve the future needs of the entire agricultural and food value chain; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would allow research in Ontario to move at the speed of business; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would allow for the results of the research to be distributed to Ontario’s agricultural and food industries in a more accessible way; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide appropriate information directly to the fingertips of the farmers of Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on aquaculture being performed at the research institute location in Alma, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on equine, poultry and swine being performed at the research institute located in Arkell, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on vegetables being performed at the research institute located in Bradford, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on horticulture crops being performed at the research institute located in Cedar Springs, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on beef, dairy and swine being performed at the research institute located in Elora, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Elora, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Emo, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Huron, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on beef, field crops and horticulture crops being performed at the research institute located in New Liskeard, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on general animal facilities and sheep being performed at the research institute located in Ponsonby, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Ridgetown, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on horticulture crops being performed at the research institute located in Simcoe, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on horticulture crops being performed at the research institute located in Vineland, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Winchester, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Woodstock, Ontario;

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

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to fully support and endorse Bill 155, the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Amendment Act, 2024, introduced by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on November 27, 2023,” which has already gone through second reading and committee and has been referred back to the chamber for third reading.

I fully endorse this petition. I will sign my name to it and give it to page Tyler.

J’aimerais remercier M^me Nicole Sabourin de Hanmer dans mon comté pour ces pétitions.

« Loi concernant les briseurs de grève.

« Alors que les grèves et les lock-out sont rares : en moyenne, 97 % des conventions collectives sont négociées sans interruption de travail; et

« Alors que des lois contre les travailleurs et travailleuses de remplacement existent au Québec depuis 1978, en Colombie-Britannique depuis 1993 et en Ontario sous le gouvernement néo-démocrate, la loi a été renversée par le gouvernement conservateur de M. Harris; et

« Alors que les lois anti-briseurs de grève ont permis de réduire la durée et les dissensions des conflits du travail; et

« Alors que le recours à des briseurs de grève pendant une grève ou un lock-out est préjudiciable au tissu social d’une communauté à court et à long terme, ainsi qu’au bien-être des résidents et résidentes; »

Ils et elles demandent à « l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario d’adopter le projet de loi concernant les briseurs de grève afin d’interdire le recours à des travailleurs et travailleuses de remplacement lors d’une grève ou d’un lock-out. »

J’appuie cette pétition. Je vais la signer, et je demande à Reyan de l’amener à la table des greffiers.

Nor will I, John.

It is my honour to present the following petitions on behalf of Dr. Sally Palmer, chair of the Hamilton Social Work Action Committee.

“To Raise Social Assistance Rates.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and $1,308 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas small increases to ODSP have still left these citizens below the poverty line. Both they and those receiving the frozen OW rates are struggling to survive at this time of alarming inflation;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a ‘basic income’ of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and deliver it to the Clerks.

“Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to restore 24/7 urgent care services at the Fort Erie and Port Colborne hospitals:

“Whereas it is within the legislated powers of the Minister of Health and Ontario Health to require public hospitals to provide particular services and the level of those services;

“Whereas the Niagara Health System has closed the urgent care centres at the Douglas Memorial Hospital and at the Port Colborne Hospital from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m.;

“Whereas the Welland Hospital has also had recent service cuts resulting in no emergent and urgent care from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday to Friday and none on the weekends;

“Whereas these cuts and closures result in poor or no access to urgent care for more than 100,000 people in south Niagara overnight;

“Whereas more than 20,000 people living in Fort Erie, Port Colborne and southeast Wainfleet do not have a family doctor;

“Whereas there is limited taxi service and none at night and no public transit services at night. These, combined with increased travel time and long waits in the emergency departments of the remaining hospitals in north Niagara, mean that residents from Fort Erie, Port Colborne and the southeast region of Wainfleet face serious health risks due to the time to get medical help at the St. Catharines and Niagara Falls hospitals, as well as financial hardship;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly to immediately work with Niagara Health to restore the urgent and emergent care services in the NHS hospitals in south Niagara to operate 24/7.”

I fully support this petition. I will sign my name to it and send it with page Anne to the table.

That concludes the time we have available for petitions this afternoon.

I should perhaps remind members that, while we have had a long-standing practice of allowing members to read petitions verbatim, another alternative is to summarize the petition more briefly than that if they choose to do so, but they can’t do both.

Welcome back, Mr. Gilchrist. It’s great to have you here.

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 20, 2024, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 171, An Act to enact the Veterinarian Professionals Act, 2024 and amend or repeal various acts / Projet de loi 171, Loi visant à édicter la Loi de 2024 sur les professionnels vétérinaires et à modifier ou à abroger diverses lois.

Bon après-midi, monsieur le Président. Je vais commencer mon discours en souhaitant à tout le monde une bonne journée de la Francophonie.

Beaucoup de personnes ne savent pas que je peux parler français. Je peux comprendre tout, mais c’est très difficile pour moi de parler français sans bière. Malheureusement, aujourd’hui, je n’ai pas bu de bière, so je vais continuer de parler en anglais. Merci beaucoup.

I had a few minutes this morning to start the opposition’s response to the debate on Bill 171. I would like to commend the member from Peterborough. That petition was almost longer than the whole debate on the ARIO Act. Just to clarify, we are all in favour of that act, and we hope that it goes through the Legislature as quickly as possible.

This is also an agriculture bill, An Act to enact the Veterinary Professionals Act, 2024 and amend or repeal various acts. Basically what this act is doing is replacing the veterinary act of 1989. I said this morning that we are also in favour of this. The veterinary act needed renewal. We have many things to oppose this government on. They have made many mistakes, some grave ones. They have had to rescind many pieces of legislation. I think they hold the record on rescinding legislation.

But they have, on this act—and I said it this morning—at least on this act, which we support, they did full consultations. They took this piece of legislation seriously, and I commend them for it. That’s one of the reasons why we are supportive.

And veterinarians and vet techs—because this act also recognizes vet techs as a registered profession, and that’s very important. I’ve been a farmer my whole life and none of my neighbours would ever consider me a vet tech. They would never, never, never—

No.

I’m trying to find a way to say this. I said it this morning: Veterinarians play a key role not only with companion animals, with service animals—the minister herself mentioned service animals this morning, and that was a good thing to talk about—and livestock and exotic animals. There are exotic animals in the province as well. But the relationship between the vet and the animal and the caretaker or the owner is different with the different types of animals. Anyone who owns an animal wants to take care of it, has not only a respect for it but certainly a love, in many cases. But the relationship between a companion animal and an animal that’s farm livestock and a vet and the owner is different. I know that because our families had both for many years.

The working conditions for veterinarians and vet techs are also different in many cases for livestock and for small animals, companion animals. I think that’s one of the reasons that we are facing in this province a shortage of veterinarians across the board, but that shortage is more pronounced in rural Ontario and even more pronounced in northern Ontario. And that can have grave consequences.

Now, this act itself does not address that, but I think to have a good conversation about veterinary medicine in the province, you need to think about that. This act basically sets out the parameters of how veterinarians and vet techs are to be regulated, to make sure that they perform at a certain quality level, that they have an administration body to ensure that their members perform at a certain quality level. That’s very important. It’s important in all jobs but certainly when you’re dealing with living things, it’s incredibly important. That’s basically what this act does. It helps the animals that are in the care of the veterinarians—it improves their care.

But if you’re going to talk about improving the care of any type of animal in the province, you will also have to think about how there need to be enough vets, because lack of access to a veterinarian or a vet technician also impacts the health of the animal, as it does with our current human health care system. We have a lack of doctors. There are 22.2 million people in Ontario who don’t have access to a primary care doctor—