My question is to the Premier. For years, my constituents have been contacting my office looking for help to find a doctor. Over 2.2 million people in Ontario are without a primary care provider. The government has made announcement after announcement, but yet, we haven’t seen doctors.

My constituent Kathleen has not had a family doctor for over nine years. She has MS and has recently lost her doctor who specializes in MS care and cannot find another neurologist. Can the Premier tell people like Kathleen where she can find a doctor?

Kathleen, along with millions of Ontarians, had been languishing for years on Health Care Connect. They spend hours calling every doctor in London. As soon as the word gets out there’s a new doctor taking patients, they’re inundated with applications. People with pre-existing conditions find it even harder to access primary care.

Doctors are telling you that they need help with increased workloads, so they can take on more patients. Premier, will you implement the NDP’s health care strategy today to increase the number of staff supports for doctors so they can spend time treating patients instead of pushing paperwork?

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development.

Individuals and families across Ontario, especially in northern and Indigenous communities, face unprecedented economic challenges due to additional costs arising from the Liberal carbon tax. Residents in the north rely more heavily on their vehicles for work and for other everyday essentials; it’s not fair that they’re being hit the hardest at the gas pumps.

Unlike the opposition members and independent Liberals, who remain silent even after last week’s 23% hike, our government will continue to stand up for all Ontarians and call for the end of this tax.

Can the Minister please share with the House the negative impacts of the disastrous carbon tax on the northern and Indigenous communities?

As the former Liberal MP Bonnie Crombie stood resolute with Prime Minister Trudeau as the carbon tax received royal assent, that would make her the queen of the carbon tax.

The NDP’s position has been a little bit more higgledy-piggledy. It’s not clear. They support it; they’re against it. We don’t really know.

I went on a zetetic exploration to understand from the people in Sudbury how they felt about this. One owner of a roofing company said that the carbon tax has made its way into every aspect of building materials, making it more expensive to repair homes and making it more difficult for people to decide to repair those homes.

Another fellow, Richard Diotte, the owner and president of Barné Building, said the cost for residential upgrades and repairs has gone out of control. He puts it squarely on the carbon tax. That’s not good for families, as the member for Kanata–Carleton said—

I would like to welcome to the House Mrs. Phoebe Wasfy, the principal for Philopateer Christian College, which is celebrating 25 years of excellent education in Mississauga. She is here today with Gloria Doss, the school registrar. Thank you for coming to Queen’s Park and congratulations on your 25-year anniversary. I wish you many years of success to come.

I’d like to welcome today—she’s actually just stuck in traffic, but here shortly—Sumeeta Kohli, a constituent of mine. It’s also her birthday today, so happy birthday, Sumeeta.

Interjection.

I would like to welcome to the House a long-time friend, publisher of the Uthayan Tamil newspaper and member of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, Logan Logendralingam. Welcome to the House.

I’d like to welcome Tiffany and Scott and their family, parents of Lyra, a page. They join us and visit us from my riding of Kitchener Centre. Welcome to your House.

The ayes are 95; the nays are 0.

Order.

The supplementary question.

That concludes our question period for this morning.

Deferred vote on the motion for 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.

The division bells rang from 1142 to 1147.

On April 10, 2024, Mr. Leardi moved third reading of Bill 155, An Act to amend the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act.

All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Be it resolved that the bill do now pass and be entitled as in the motion.

Third reading agreed to.

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1152 to 1300.

Report deemed adopted.

On the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Mr. Bailey replaces Mr. Harris and Mrs. Martin replaces Mr. Leardi—

Interjection: Dispense.

Is there any debate?

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? The motion is carried.

Motion agreed to.

Again, I’d ask members to keep the presentations with regard to the petitions as brief as possible.

I do want to correct my record. When speaking to an answer earlier in the week, I had said that the Liberals had lost 300,000 jobs. In fact, it was greater than 300,000 jobs that were scared away in the province of Ontario by the Liberals. And, in fact, it’s actually over 700,000 jobs that have come back to Ontario since we were elected and not the 699,000—

On Monday, April 15, in the afternoon we will continue debate on Bill 185, Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act.

On Tuesday, April 16, in the morning and in the afternoon we will concentrate on Bill 185 again. At private members’ business we will have the member for Kitchener South–Hespeler’s private member’s motion number 85, reducing distractions in schools.

On Wednesday, April 17: Bill 159, Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act; in the afternoon, third reading of Bill 151, Improving Real Estate Management Act; at 6 p.m., a private member’s bill standing in the name of the member for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, Bill 177, the Test Your Smoke Alarm Day Act, 2024.

On Thursday, Bill 155, Improving Real Estate, we’ll continue with that; Bill 159 in the afternoon, the Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act; and at 6 p.m., we will have private member’s Bill 179.

I want to welcome back to the Legislature Patrick Porzuczek and Cathy Mauro from the Save the Minden ER group. Welcome to your House.

I move that the following changes be made to the membership of the following committees:

On the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Mr. Bailey replaces Mr. Harris and Mrs. Martin replaces Mr. Leardi; and

On the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Mrs. Martin replaces Mr. Cuzzetto, Ms. Dixon replaces Mr. Kanapathi, Mrs. Wai replaces Ms. Smith (Thornhill), and Mr. Ke is removed; and

On the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, Ms. Barnes replaces Mr. Byers, Ms. Hogarth replaces Ms. Pierre, Mr. Harris replaces Mr. Smith (Scarborough Centre), and Ms. Bowman is removed; and

On the Standing Committee on Justice Policy, Mr. Bouma replaces Ms. Hogarth, Mr. Riddell replaces Mr. Bailey, Mr. McGregor replaces Ms. Kusendova-Bashta, and Mr. Blais is removed; and

On the Standing Committee on Social Policy, Ms. Pierre replaces Mrs. Martin, Ms. Smith (Thornhill) replaces Mr. Jordan, Mr. Pang replaces Ms. Gallagher Smith, Mr. Grewal replaces Mrs. Wai, Mr. Shamji is removed, Ms. Brady is removed, and Ms. Clancy is added; and

On the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, Mr. Bresee replaces Mr. Grewal, Mr. Smith (Peterborough–Kawartha) replaces Mr. Coe, Mr. Byers replaces Mr. Pang, and Ms. Clancy is removed; and

On the Standing Committee on the Interior, Mr. Jordan replaces Mr. Bresee, Mr. Cuzzetto replaces Mr. Riddell, Mr. Dowie replaces Mr. McGregor, Mr. Holland replaces Mr. Smith (Peterborough–Kawartha), Ms. Gallagher Murphy replaces Mr. Sarrazin, and Mr. Schreiner is removed; and

On the Standing Committee on Government Agencies, Mr. Fraser is removed; and

That the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be authorized to meet at the call of the Chair; and

That all the changes enumerated above shall come into force at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, April 12, 2024.

On the Standing Committee on Social Policy, Ms. Pierre replaces Mrs. Martin, Ms. Smith (Thornhill) replaces Mr. Jordan, Mr. Pang replaces Ms. Gallagher Smith Murphy—oh, sorry, Ms. Gallagher Murphy; just added a “Smith,” excuse me—Mr. Grewal replaces Mrs. Wai, Mr. Shamji is removed, Ms. Brady is removed, and Ms. Clancy is added; and.

I’m proud to be able to introduce this petition which has been floating around for more than a few months now, since the introduction of Bill 74, vulnerable persons alert. This bill was created to create a vulnerable persons alert to help police and community in a time where a vulnerable person goes missing.

It started, unfortunately, with the death of Draven Graham a young boy with autism who went missing in his community and, unfortunately, was found deceased when they actually were able to find him, as well as Shirley Love, a senior in the Hamilton community who had dementia and was missing for days before she, unfortunately, was found deceased also.

The missing persons alert would help the community have the opportunity to see first-hand when a person goes missing in their geographical area and help the police aid in ensuring that a vulnerable person comes home safely to their loved ones in a very timely manner.

So I wholeheartedly support this bill, will affix my name to it and give it to page Simon to bring to the Clerk.

I’m pleased to present a petition with regard to the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare board of directors, from the people, that requests that the director’s request to the Ministry of Health be disregarded at this time.

I share this petition with Shivanshee, and I will pass it in.

I’m not that surprised that this motion is being tabled. I am, however, questioning its validity. I thought that the committee organization and membership was to be discussed at the procedure and House affairs committee, so I would definitely request that this be clarified and if this motion is actually in order or out of order.

I agree with the petition, will affix my name to it and give it to page Erwin to bring it to the table.

It’s an honour to rise in the House to deliver this package of petitions with some 4,006 signatures, added to the 10,797 that were brought in September, for a total, with other petitions as well—there have now been 38,622 signatures asking this government to reopen the Minden ER.

Just about a year ago, on June 1, 2023, without notice, the emergency room in Minden was closed, and this has caused a number of problems. The main one is that the nearest emergency room is 20 minutes away, and so people have to travel in an emergency situation an extra 20 minutes by road, often in the winter.

What this petition is asking is that—they’re saying this closure is jeopardizing lives, and they are asking this government to reopen the Minden emergency department as soon as possible in order to save the lives of the residents of Minden and the surrounding community.

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature and pass it to page Armaan.

This petition is about transgender. This petition is about the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, which was funded by both the federal and provincial ministries of health. It describes how patients who presented themselves to the institute for help with transitioning were then subjected to the harmful practice of conversion therapy and treated as seriously mentally ill sexual deviants.

The close to 3,000 people who signed this petition are asking for the Legislative Assembly to issue a formal apology to all transgenders who were subjected to this mentally tortuous process.

I’m presenting a petition from ACORN Canada entitled “Petition for Full Rent Control.” This is so important to be heard now at this time of absolutely unaffordable rents paid by tenants across all of the province and certainly in Humber River–Black Creek.

This petition asks this government—in fact, demands the government—to apply rent control to all units, to end vacancy control and, certainly, to close the loophole that allows for excessive rent hikes above annual increases.

It’s an honour to sign this, and I’ll be presenting it to page Duncan.

I, too, would like to present a petition today to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario calling on this Conservative government to reopen the emergency department at Minden hospital. It was closed without any public consultation. Communities need emergency rooms. If there was a life-threatening event, residents of Minden would have to travel over 20 minutes. Sometimes—it can take longer in the winter, and they do not have a local emergency room.

This petition here is signed by residents not only of Minden but residents from across Ontario, because we all understand the importance of having an emergency room in our communities.

I will affix my signature to it and join the calls from the people of Ontario to ask the government to immediately reopen the Minden emergency department.

The Ontario Works rate has been frozen for over two decades. For Ontario Disability Support Program, it has only increased by 3%, Speaker. It’s time to double the social assistance rates. I support this petition and will affix my signature to it.