I have a petition that has been collected across the province and refers to over 100,000 signatures that have been collected in support of Bill 74, which is the missing persons alert. It comes on the unfortunate death of Draven Graham, a young boy with autism who went missing in his community and unfortunate circumstances left him to be gone too long and unfortunately perish; as well as the death of Shirley Love, who was a senior in the city of Hamilton who was missing with dementia.

Many organizations across the province are calling on this, as well as many municipalities, and they’re asking that Bill 74, the missing persons alert, be called to committee immediately.

I wholeheartedly support this petition and will give it to page Nate to bring to the Clerk.

People on Ontario Works have not seen a raise in decades; they’re living on a mere, measly $733. We know that this cannot even pay for the cost of housing. People on ODSP have seen very meagre increases, but again, not enough to be able to even pay the rent and to be able to buy a meal at the end of the day. So I wholeheartedly support their petition to double the social assistance rates for both Ontario Works and ODSP, and hope that the government sees fit to do so also, with all of the hard work that has been put into ensuring that this petition is on each and every one of our desks, that we’re able to read.

I support this petition. I’m going to affix my name to it and give it to page Lyra to bring to the Clerk.

This petition is specifically asking for the government to implement evidence-based recommendations to retain and recruit nurses, to ensure that there are enough nurses on the floor to be able to work those long hours, those long, stressful hours, and that they have the appropriate pay to go with it, because we know that they’ve been held back for years. Hopefully, they’re starting to see the payback of Bill 124 in ensuring that those lost wages are recouped, but it’s still not enough. We need to have a better position and program in ensuring that we’re retaining and recruiting into fair and equitable compensation for the nurses of Ontario.

I wholeheartedly support this petition, will affix my name to it and give it to page Ruby to bring to the Clerk.

This is a petition from my constituents and the surrounding communities that calls on the government to reduce the clawback on ODSP recipients who have an income-earning partner. This is about people who are poor, who are living near the poverty line. A really easy way to help them: Don’t penalize them for having a partner who has income.

I have a petition here calling for the government to raise social assistance rates. Folks who are on social assistance, both Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program, are receiving amounts that are far below the poverty line. People who are on OW are receiving rates that have been frozen for over two decades, and those on ODSP have seen a very small increase to their rates and are still below the poverty line. This petition here is calling for the government to double OW and ODSP rates.

The rent control laws did exist for all units, but under the current Conservative government, that was cancelled, and so a lot of tenants in my riding and across Ontario are currently living in apartment rental buildings that are not covered under rent control. As a result, they’re seeing, year after year, their rents increase by double digits for absolutely no reason other than that the landlord can simply do it.

This is causing, of course, a tremendous amount of stress. It is a highly precarious situation for a lot of people in terms of their housing because how much rent can increase by is unpredictable. And so, in this petition, the residents are calling on the government to pass a bill that I’ve tabled in the House called “rent control for all units,” and I fully support and will affix my signature to this petition.

Speaker, health care services are exempt from the HST—including many health care services; however, psychotherapists are still required to charge HST. It makes no sense, for such an important health care service like psychotherapy, that Ontarians should be taxed on it. So this petition simply asks that the government of Ontario take that first step in removing the HST.

Speaker, I have several names here on a petition that calls on the government to provide relief to families from the federal carbon tax. The petition asks for the government to stop collecting the carbon tax on home heating by following Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s lead.

I fully support this petition and thank all those who signed it. I will affix my name to it and send it to the table with page Jerome.

I have a petition here entitled “Save Ontario Place,” again, signed by residents of Parkdale–High Park and, of course, supported by residents from across the province, not just in Toronto.

Speaker, this petition basically calls on the government to halt any further redevelopment plans when it comes to Ontario Place. It also calls on the government to engage in meaningful public consultation, which has not been done for the current redevelopment plan, and to conduct a comprehensive, sustainable environmental assessment for Ontario Place, and for it to be carried out in a manner that values public space, that has proper oversight and public input, and that respects the democratic process.

I fully support this petition.

Mr. Leardi, on behalf of Ms. Thompson, moved third reading of the following bill:

Bill 155, An Act to amend the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act / Projet de loi 155, Loi modifiant la Loi sur l’Institut de recherche agricole de l’Ontario.