To the member opposite: The government is continuing to support K to 12 education, investing over $23 billion, including $16 billion in capital grants over the next 10 years to build more schools and child care spaces, including a new joint French and English public school in Blind River, a new elementary school, a new secondary school in Ottawa, and additional in other areas, including one in my riding. This includes $1.4 billion in funding for the current school year to support repair and also renewal needs of the schools.

Since the government keeps investing in education, is the member going to support this budget so that we can move forward with the public education sector?

I appreciate the member opposite’s question. I do think we need more funding for recreational facilities, and I think that’s a good measure in the budget.

But, Speaker, what municipalities also need is to ensure that those facilities are built in a way that withstands the increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather events, fuelled by the climate crisis. We’re already spending billions more in insurance costs and to deal with the uninsured losses due to the increasing frequency of climate-fuelled extreme weather events. The Financial Accountability Officer has shown that just public infrastructure alone will face additional costs of $26.2 billion this decade—I think I said seven years. Actually, it’s 2024 now; it’s six years.

The budget didn’t meet that moment. When we build these facilities, we have to make sure they’re ready for extreme rain, heat and freeze-thaw cycles, and there’s nothing in the budget that provides a dedicated funding stream for that—

Secondly, I can’t not answer that question without talking about post-secondary education because the University of Guelph, like many universities, is facing incredible financial pressures, because the province of Ontario is dead last when it comes to funding colleges and universities. I was meeting with a plant scientist who was telling me that two of her colleagues will be leaving and won’t be able to be replaced, which is going to have a direct impact on our agricultural economy, because of the research they do, let alone the students.

So I just want to close with, I know I’m out of time—

It’s impossible for somebody to live on $1,300 a month or $731 a month, so let’s more than double that. Let’s bring them up to the low-income cut-off level to help eliminate poverty in this province.

Speaker, last week, I was glad to join Premier Ford’s funding announcement of $9 million for the establishment of York University’s school of medicine. This new medical school will be the first in Canada to focus on training family doctors that will work towards ensuring Ontarians have access to the connected and convenient care they deserve. It stands as a significant milestone, underscoring our government’s steadfast commitment to improving health care, accessibility and quality across our communities.

I firmly believe that nurturing a new generation of primary care physicians will not only serve to strengthen our communities but also contribute sustainably to the overall health and well-being of Ontarians.

I would like to commend the university for its unwavering dedication to addressing the health care needs of underserved regions.

Furthermore, I am enthusiastic about the forthcoming opening of York University’s Markham campus this spring. This strategic move will embed the university in the vibrant heart of Markham–Unionville, one of the most diverse and dynamic urban communities in our province and country.

As MPP for Markham–Unionville, I pledge my full support to York University’s endeavours in nurturing talent for our province and nation, and I remain committed to advocating for their continued success.

My question is for the Premier. Yesterday, I asked why the government was suddenly ruling out missing-middle housing options like fourplexes and risking losing billions in federal funding in the process. In response, the minister told us that they needed more details—more details before they would decide if they would accept the money.

The research has been done. The studies are clear and there’s no time to waste. So I have to ask again: Why is the Premier risking billions in badly needed federal funding by ruling out higher-density options?

Why is the Premier ignoring the experts, ignoring the people of this province and standing in the way of getting housing built?

Speaker, people don’t want padded housing numbers. They want a decent place to live. If the Premier can’t get housing built, will he at least get out of the way so somebody else can do it?

Speaker, every Ontarian should also be able to see a doctor. They should absolutely be able to see a doctor when they need it, but right now, 2.3 million Ontarians do not have a family doctor, and that number is expected to nearly double in 2026. That’s going to be more than a quarter of the population in Ontario.

Despite the need, community health clinics haven’t seen a base budget increase in 15 years. They were forgotten in this year’s budget, too. While local clinics are being left to scrape by, the Premier’s budget for his office has somehow doubled since 2018. Does that seem right to the Premier?

This question again is for the Premier. Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Canada Health Act, which enshrined into law the principle of universal public health care in this country.

Interjections.

Can the Premier tell us what directives he has issued to prevent unfair billing for primary care?

The member spoke very eloquently about the importance of funding for children with special needs. I was recently speaking to a colleague of mine, who has two children on the autism spectrum and is struggling with the lack of accessible services and the lack of funding that’s coming for that program specifically with the children in school feeling like they’re not accessing the same quality of education other children would be able to.

Why would the government—I lose track of the hashtag that has been #40KIsNotOkay, #50KIsNotOkay, #60KIsNotOkay, I don’t know if it’s up to 70 now, but why has this program been broken for so long?

I remember in 2018, Doug Ford promised these parents they would never have to protest on the lawn of Queen’s Park, but it keeps getting worse and worse, and why couldn’t that be in this budget?

Speaker, when I looked at the budget, there was mention of $16 billion in capital grants over 10 years to build, expand and renew schools and child care spaces, but that’s pretty much it. They’ve left so much out of the child care sector. They haven’t given concrete numbers on creating new child care spaces to achieve $10-a-child-a-day child care. There’s no effort to repair the funding formula for child care, which has left child care operators at risk of closure, and I’ve heard this time and time again—I’ve met with operators—that the funding formula needs to be fixed.

Quite frankly, Speaker, the fact that this government hasn’t had a wage adjustment for the child care workers—the government previously announced increases in wages for early childhood educators of $23.86, but they’ve made no comment on wages for non-ECEs, and we’ve called for salary increases to a minimum of $25 for non-RCEs, and $30 for registered RCEs.

Why has this government abandoned the child care sector, the operators and the families?

Speaking of natural disasters, I do want to remind the member that we did have a derecho in Ottawa and the Premier has not made good on his promise for emergency funding for not just Ottawa, but for, as the member from Glengarry–Prescott–Russell would know, those people who were so affected. It would have been good to see that in the budget. It would have been a bit of a relief for them. I see some members smiling over there because they know that I’m right.

I would like to ask the member if she could explain to me why the Premier’s office grew from 20 staff on the sunshine list to 48 staff on the sunshine list, all earning more than the median family income in Ontario—some of them double, some of them triple, some quadruple. How in any way on God’s green earth is that helping Ontario families?