Let me use just one example of what we are doing different. Back when I was a court clerk, the NDP were in charge of this province. If the court collapsed in two hours, I got paid two hours and sent home. It was precarious employment. When they were done with what they were doing, the Liberals took over. You know what they did? They did absolutely nothing.

You know what we’re doing, Mr. Speaker? We’re offering full-time employment to those workers. We’re increasing their pay. We’re making sure we have the resources in place. It took this government to pay attention, to invest in the justice system to make that happen.

Speaker, through you to the Minister of Health: My office continues to hear from constituents, including seniors, across Niagara suffering through unthinkable wait times for crucial surgeries. Elizabeth Cook, 83 years old, is in perilous condition as a result of a gastrointestinal issue that is causing fecal matter to leak through her reproductive organs. Two recent surgeries scheduled to occur at the Niagara Health System were cancelled, and she is again waiting for surgery after four years of dealing with intestinal issues.

What does this minister have to say to Elizabeth and the thousands of patients who are suffering through unacceptable wait times in Niagara and across Ontario?

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Minister of Northern Development. The Liberal carbon tax is making life more unaffordable for all Ontarians, especially those in northern Ontario. That’s not a publicity stunt; that’s reality. Northerners already pay more at the gas pumps than in the rest of the province. They need relief, not a punitive tax burden.

As many Ontarians continue to struggle with rising costs, the independent Liberals and opposition NDP remain silent. They don’t care that this regressive tax adversely affects Ontario businesses and our economy.

Speaker, everyone in the province has had enough of the carbon tax. The federal government must scrap the tax. Can the minister please elaborate on the negative impact the carbon tax has on northern Ontario?

Unlike other areas in our province, northern Ontario has distinctive challenges related to fuel costs that need to be considered. While the Liberal and NDP members opposite continue to ignore the repercussions of the carbon tax on rural, remote and northern communities, our government will not stop calling for an end to this disastrous tax.

Speaker, can the minister share with the House the detrimental effects that the carbon tax is having on northern businesses?

I am pleased to rise today to table this petition with over 230 signatures, collected by COPE 527, which represents education workers in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. These education workers are deeply concerned about the rates of violence within our schools, which they note are shockingly high, and that many education workers are suffering profound injuries, and yet many of these injuries are going unreported.

But we also know that increasing the number of educational workers in our schools and in our classrooms would help to reduce the levels of violence, making sure that there are enough adults to provide care, that children are not being frustrated and that their needs aren’t going unmet. So the petitioners call upon the Legislature to increase the number of education workers in classrooms across Ontario.

I am very proud to support this petition, will add my name to it and will send it to the table with page Simon.

Order.

The supplementary question?

Interjection.

The division bells rang from 1141 to 1146.

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

Second reading agreed to.

The House recessed from 1151 to 1500.

What I would say to Elizabeth and the many individuals across Ontario who want to get their critical diagnostic and surgeries done faster is, first of all, why is your representative, why is your NDP member, opposed to innovation in the health care system? Why does your NDP member continue to rail against innovation in our hospital sector, whether that is expansion of surgical and diagnostic centres in our communities so that we, yes, can continue to decrease wait times for diagnostic and surgical interventions?

It is really unfortunate that we have a member who represents a party who is diametrically opposed, philosophically opposed, to innovation in our health care system. We need to encourage that innovation to make sure that your constituents like Elizabeth, organizations and individuals across Ontario get access to that—

Interjections.

And again, I will say an organization and an NDP—

Speaker, this government has had six years to fix it, and it’s gotten worse, not better. That’s not innovation.

An Ontario Health Coalition report released yesterday uncovered the extent to which private clinics are using deceptive tactics to charge patients extra fees for OHIP-covered surgeries. In the case of cataract surgeries, they found clinics charging for extra eye measurements, tests, special lenses and unnecessary add-ons they say are better than OHIP-covered services. Seniors reported being charged for appointments, membership and administrative fees for primary care, as well as user fees.

Why is this minister ignoring the fact that seniors across Niagara and across Ontario are being ripped off by private, for-profit clinics?

Speaker, my question is for the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. Just a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hosting the minister in my riding of Essex, where we visited towns like Kingsville and Amherstburg and LaSalle. It was an opportunity to gather with seniors from communities and talk about the importance of staying active and staying connected.

Combatting social isolation is important for the health and well-being of our seniors. Our government must continue to invest in initiatives that help seniors stay fit and active and healthy in their own communities.

Speaker, can the minister share with the House what our government is doing to help seniors stay fit and active and healthy in Ontario?

We often hear the minister say that social isolation is enemy number one for seniors. They need access to programming that enables them to be engaged with their communities.

Speaker, can the minister share the importance of the seniors active living centres and how they are helping seniors in Ontario stay healthy and stay active and stay socially connected?

My question is for the Premier. In Waterloo region, 770 acres of prime farmland in Wilmot township are at risk of being expropriated for an undisclosed industrial site. Waterloo’s regional official plan accommodated all anticipated growth until 2051 without significant farmland loss. This is very important for the people of the region of Waterloo. Yet a month ago, farmers in Wilmot were offered an insulting cash offer per acre and given seven days to accept an offer or face expropriation.

This government’s current legislation makes it possible for what is happening in Wilmot to happen anywhere in Ontario, with no transparency and no community consultation. We don’t need any more Vegas deals on Ontario land in this place.

My question to the Premier, why is this government undermining the farming sector and encouraging backroom deals with developers?

We lose 319 acres of farmland every single day. This entire process has been without transparency, without process, is outside the official plan and is indicative of where this government is going with regard to encouraging sprawl and decimating farmland.

I fully support this petition and will affix my signature.

Just a very brief introduction: I noticed that we’ve been joined this afternoon by a variety of rabbis and leaders who are here as part of Education and Sharing Day, which marks the work of Rabbi Mendel Schneerson. I want to thank you for your leadership in Ontario. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Deferred vote on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 185, An Act to amend various Acts / Projet de loi 185, Loi modifiant diverses lois.

The ayes are 88; the nays are 10.

Actually, we’re doing no such thing. I suggest the member speak to the regional municipality if she has specific questions.

What she references in the bill, of course, is an issue that came before this House when the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade was trying to encourage the Volkswagen plant to operate or to establish itself in St. Thomas. The member will recall that a bill was brought forward into this House seeking to provide that community with the ability to provide incentives to help us land that. To the best of my recollection, that was passed unanimously by all members, including the member opposite. So if the member opposite and the party have a problem with what they unanimously passed, I would suggest that they chat with themselves about why it is that they would want to put at risk massive investments like the VW plant, like Stellantis and all of the other investments that we’re bringing that helped us create 700,000 jobs for the people of the province of Ontario.

I would like to welcome back to the Legislature this afternoon folks from Ontario public health labs and OPSEU members Shannon Morris, Sara Fraser and Cody Williams. Welcome back to the Legislature.

These people have signed these petitions to ensure that we stop these closures in six communities and that the government invest in the infrastructure of Public Health Ontario labs.

I will sign my name to it and give it to page Aislyn, because I wholeheartedly support this.

I’d like to welcome a few special guests this afternoon: first and foremost, Jeffrey Roode—welcome to the Legislature; as well as Jane Kovarikova, Shaida Maleki, Kimiya Zamani, David Steele and Shauna Buttivant and other members of my team who will be joining me very soon. Thank you so much for being here.

Mr. Parsa moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 188, An Act to amend the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 and various other Acts / Projet de loi 188, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2017 sur les services à l’enfance, à la jeunesse et à la famille et diverses autres lois.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

First reading agreed to.

Motion agreed to.

I move that the following change be made to the membership of the following committee:

On the Standing Committee on Government Agencies, Mr. Smith (Scarborough Centre) replaces Mr. Bouma.

I have friends and family in the gallery I would like to introduce. I’m joined by my son Thomas, my daughter Ella, as well as Ella’s friend Emma Corcoran and her mom, Roxanne Corcoran. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Just as a summary of it, this is a real major concern. There are conversations about possibly closing six of the 11 public health labs in Ontario. The minister, obviously, today during question period, said that there’s no conversation about that at this moment. But it does make people nervous, especially in rural areas and northern Ontario. You would know the distances people have to travel.

The concerns people have are about medical testing as well as water testing. It’s what we swim in, what we drink, but also, just coming out of the pandemic, they do the testing for COVID; they do the testing for all medical procedures that come through. Having access or having the ability to get those samples to different labs and transportation, especially in the winter in northern Ontario, is a major concern for these members and what they’re doing.

As well, the consequences of closing down these labs if we hit another outbreak—you think of H1N1; you think of COVID-19; you think of measles rising recently. If we have a major outbreak and we’re unable to process the labs because they share work internally—because we’ll be cutting more than half of them if we close these down. That really is what their members are talking about and the concern they have and that access to lab testing especially in northern Ontario and rural areas.

I support this wholeheartedly. I’ll affix my signature and provide it to Duncan for the table.

Your privatization is killing people. It’s disgusting.

This is asking that Ontario Works and ODSP rates be doubled because right now, it’s $733 a month for somebody on Ontario Works. There’s no way anybody can survive in the province of Ontario on $733 a month. The Ontario disability support payment plan is $1,300 a month; of that, $556 is for housing. There is nowhere in Ontario where you can rent a room for $556. There was a room advertised recently online for $800 for a bed in a kitchen.

These Ontario Works and ODSP rates are leaving people with disabilities in Ontario living in destitution. Many are choosing MAID, and that is one of the things that we are seeing in the news as well. So we’re calling upon the government to provide at least a doubling of ODSP and Ontario Works rates. It will save lives, and it will show the people in Ontario with disabilities that we have respect for them and that we want them to be able to live productive lives.

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature and pass it to page Shiara to take to the table.

I’m proud once again to table a petition, “Vulnerable Persons Alert,” calling on the government to move Bill 74 through committee and back to the legislative floor to ensure that we have a system to bring people home safely when they’re vulnerable and they’ve gone missing in our communities.

This petition stems from the death of a young boy, Draven, who had autism, went missing and was very vulnerable, and unfortunately died and was not brought home safely. Also, a woman in Hamilton, Ms. Shirley Love, had dementia, was in her eighties, went missing—very cold weather elements—and was found four days later.

The alert system would ensure that the geographical area that the person went missing in was notified that there was a vulnerable person missing in their community and they would be able to keep an eye out for them.

As I’m sure you’re aware, Speaker, I wholeheartedly support this petition. I’m going to affix my name to it and give it to page Simon to give to the Clerk.