SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
April 17, 2024 09:00AM
  • Apr/17/24 10:30:00 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, we launched the largest GO expansion in over a decade: a 15% increase in weekly trips; 300 new weekly trips for trains and for commuters across many lines, whether that’s Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, the Stouffville line, the Kitchener line. This is our government’s commitment to get people moving. And of course, the NDP wouldn’t support that, just like the previous Liberal government, for 15 years, did absolutely nothing on public transit. I expect nothing less than when we launched the largest expansion of GO rail transit in over a decade that they would oppose that, just like they’ve opposed every one of our investments into public transit and getting people moving faster.

We will continue to invest in public transit and increase services across our networks.

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  • Apr/17/24 10:40:00 a.m.

Let’s recap what the NDP and Liberals have voted against on public transit—the largest investment in North American public transit. The NDP and Liberals have voted against the Ontario Line. The NDP and Liberals have voted against the expansion of GO Transit like we have here today, infrastructure improvements that support the expansion of 300 new trips per week. They voted against the west extension that we just announced the RFQ process on a couple of weeks ago. They have voted against the Scarborough subway extension. The Eglinton Crosstown West extension, when that is built, is going to take over six million cars off the road. Guess what? The Liberals and NDP have opposed that. Their record on public transit is horrible.

Our government has a mandate to build and to get people moving, and that’s exactly what we are doing when we are putting these investments forward.

Interjections.

Our government is getting it done. We’re building transit. We’re investing in public transit—$70 billion over the next 10 years—when the previous Liberal government failed to do so. We’re making it more affordable. I hope the NDP and Liberals will support this government’s investments in public transit. Until this day, they haven’t, and that’s a shame.

I urge that member and the Liberals to get out of the Queen’s Park bubble, get onto the roads of Milton, of Brampton, of Mississauga, of Vaughan, and see first-hand the gridlock and the necessity for this project.

Flashback to June 2, 2022, Mr. Speaker, when this government received one of the largest majority governments based off their commitment and promise to build the 413, and we will get shovels in the ground.

Interjection.

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  • Apr/17/24 10:40:00 a.m.

Actually, the official opposition believes that people going to work deserve reliable and affordable transit. And you know what? That is why we in the NDP had to fight to integrate the UP Express into communities after the Liberals envisioned it as just this boutique line.

People don’t want a government that’s actively making their lives harder by just recklessly changing their transit routes overnight. Had the minister spoken to a single commuter—a single commuter—he wouldn’t have even put this forward.

Why does this government keep putting forward policies without consulting a single person impacted by their decisions?

The Minister of Health herself has acknowledged that the province can take action to stop this predatory practice, but has chosen not to—has chosen not to. Why has this government chosen to sit back instead of taking action to protect patients?

Interjections.

Not only are these clinics charging patients thousands of dollars just to get through the door, but patients are also being misled and upsold. It’s illegal and these clinics are knowingly breaking the law because they’ve been given the green light by this minister to expand in Ontario. Now she’s pretending that there’s nothing she can do about it, except for writing a letter, and that is pathetic, Speaker.

Why won’t this government show some leadership to stop this predatory practice once and for all?

We’re seeing the expansion of these so-called executive health clinics that provide primary care only to patients who are willing to pay really hefty fees. We saw this starting under the Liberal government, but it has totally taken off under this government. These for-profit clinics are taking advantage of the primary care crisis that has left 2.4 million patients in this province without primary care physicians.

My question to the Premier is, again, when will this government address for-profit clinics that are taking advantage of worried and anxious patients in this province?

If we can’t get this information through an environmental assessment, Speaker, maybe the Premier will finally tell us here. To the Premier: How much will Highway 413 cost Ontario taxpayers?

The government’s expert panel said Highway 413 would save drivers only 30 to 60 seconds per trip. The same experts said that if this government used Highway 407 better, it would solve the problem.

But when the NDP put forward a solution to relieve the burden of tolls for trucks on the 407, the Conservatives said no. This Premier won’t even say how much this highway through the greenbelt is going to cost the taxpayers of Ontario.

So I want to know: Why is the Premier ignoring solutions that would save drivers money and time today in favour of a project that will only be complete in decades and has no price tag?

Interjections.

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  • Apr/17/24 11:10:00 a.m.

Again, not only are we going to upload Highway 174, we’re going to make sure that transit and transportation in Ottawa actually work. For 15 years, the members opposite had the opportunity to do anything, but they did nothing.

But we’re not only doing that. On the advice, of course, of the members of provincial Parliament from the Ottawa area, we heard about the need to make investments in law and order in some of the parts of Ottawa, in social housing in those areas. I want to thank the member for Nepean and for Carleton for bringing those forward. They played a critical role in helping us negotiate a deal with the city of Ottawa, which the city of Ottawa has said will move that city forward, will ensure that we have a national capital that we can continue to all be proud of. We’ll have safer communities. We’ll have better transit and transportation.

The member for Nepean was fighting for how many years to get an interchange off of—what was it?

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