Since 2018, we’ve registered over 12,500 new physicians in Ontario, with almost 10% of those being family physicians. We’ve also registered 80,000 new nurses and 2,400 new doctors last year alone.

Speaker, last year was a record-breaking year for nurses. We registered over 17,500 new nurses last year. We’ve registered over 33,000 new nurses in the last two years, and we have another 30,000 nurses that are enrolled and studying at a university or college in Ontario.

But we are not stopping there. We want this year to be another record year. We’re investing another $740 million to address the immediate staffing needs, supporting the expansion of over 3,000 new nursing seats at Ontario colleges and universities.

Speaker, we’ll continue to do what’s needed to ensure that the people of Ontario have the best publicly funded health care when and where they need it.

Just one year after our government launched our Your Health plan, we’re making steady progress to connect more people to convenient care. We started the year with an investment of $110 million to create 78 new and expanded interprofessional primary care teams. And in this year’s budget, we expanded that to $546 million over the next three years to ensure that 600,000 Ontarians have access to primary care.

We’ll continue to make the investments that are needed to ensure that all people of Ontario have access to the care that they need when they need it.

I apologize; I’m going up for the second time, but I noticed Daniel Grubb from Brock University came in with April Jeffs as well as Zach Dadson.

I just want to welcome you, as well, today. Thank you for coming.

And Niagara Week—come on down to the reception, 5 to 7, down in the legislative committee room, and enjoy some Niagara craft beer and wines.

Speaker, as I’m sitting here, I’m realizing there are so many familiar faces in the room, I can’t even keep up. But I would really be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the presence of the long-time national president of ACTRA, Ferne Downey, a dear friend of mine who’s in the room today too.

Stand up, Ferne.

A quarter of patients in Sault Ste. Marie without a family doctor—not a major concern? Thirty thousand patients in Kingston without access to primary care—not a major concern? These comments are not only insensitive, considering the 2.2 million people in this province without a family physician; they are dangerous.

I will ask the Premier, will he stand by the minister’s dangerous and insensitive comments?

Imagine—imagine—being in an emergency room. You go there because you’ve had these problems; you’ve been putting it off because you don’t have a family doctor. And then you sit there and you’re told not only do you have cancer but that it’s metastasized—in an emergency room.

I want to ask the Premier again to stand in this place and tell us whether he is going to continue to stand by his health minister’s insensitive comments.

Interjections.

This government, if they are recruiting any physicians, we can’t keep them. They are leaving faster than we can recruit them.

The Minister of Health said last week this is not a major concern for her government. I want to hear from the Premier himself, who is sitting right here today. I want to hear him speak to this. Do you stand by your comments? Do you stand by your minister’s comments, or are you going to remove her from her role? Are you going to remove this Minister of Health from her role for those insensitive comments?

Mr. Speaker, the opposition leader wants to hear from me; I’ll tell the opposition leader, as she sat in this House with the support of the Liberals, fired—let me repeat that: fired—1,700 people, and you support it: 1,700 nurses.

Again, as our great member said, we have put in over $300 million in investment for not only pediatric care but $546 million for 600,000 Ontarians, to match them up with primary care. But that’s not all we did. We’re making sure we’re building medical universities that, again, neither of your parties have ever built in 30 years. York University, they’re going to graduate primary care doctors. The Brampton university, they’re going to focus on primary care doctors. University of Toronto is going to focus on primary care doctors.

As our great member said, over 12,500 doctors have been hired and registered and working here in Ontario since we’ve been in office; 80,000 nurses—

It has been over two years since 28,000 ACTRA members have been locked out of the national commercial agreement by the ICA. ICA walked out on negotiations. This illegal lockout has been propped up by this government’s hiring of union-busting ad agencies to create ads that further stab ACTRA members in the back by using non-unionized replacement workers, pitting workers against one another.

Speaker, there are over 100 ACTRA members here today advocating. They’re actually fighting for their livelihood. The question is to the Premier. Will the Premier and Ministers of Labour and Culture attend the We Rise Up Rally here at Queen’s Park and hear how their illegal lockout is affecting ACTRA workers, help get ICA back to the table to negotiate, stop using union-busting ad agencies and support our Bill 90 to protect these workers, some of the most precarious workers in Ontario?

Stand up and save the workers.

Mr. Speaker, we have hired 3,000 additional educators under our Premier’s leadership and 9,000 additional education workers, as confirmed by the school boards in the province of Ontario. We’ve added a 22% increase in funding when compared to the former Liberals, billions of additional dollars in public expenditure.

But, Speaker, this goes back to the refrain of the Leader of the Opposition: In order to achieve—according to her, the benchmark of success is investing dollars, as if that is the only way by which we can improve outcomes for kids—one of which was delivering stability for four years of peace for children in Ontario. That delivers a better outcome for our kids.

Mr. Speaker, we reverted to merit-based hiring. Common sense should prevail, making sure the best educator is hired for when we teach our kids. We made a variety of curriculum reforms to instill math and literacy and core fundamental skills back into the curriculum. That’s how we lift standards in Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve added thousands of additional educators—thousands; 9,000, no less, additional education workers, even though the student population has largely been flat. Having said that, Speaker, funding per pupil is up to $13,852. In our rural communities, it’s over $15,000. In our northern communities, it’s over $19,000 per child. In our French school boards, it’s over $22,000 per child.

We are increasing investments, but we’re also holding school boards to account to demand better outcomes on the fundamental skills. That’s what parents expect in this province.

The Premier may want to talk to the family doctors who have a petition going right now to have that health minister fired.

Speaker, in spite of this government’s claim of historic spending in education, the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association has said that this year’s funding is the lowest level of per-student funding in more than a decade. They warn that these funding shortfalls are going to be felt in classrooms.

Since this government came into office, it’s not only family physicians and nurses and PSWs that we’re losing, we are also losing and we have lost 5,000 educators.

My question to the Premier is, will he commit today to reversing these historic cuts to education?

Let me be perfectly clear: A budget that ignores inflation is a budget that ignores reality. This is a reality, Speaker, where the cost of a computer a year ago is not the same that it is today. The difference? Well, Mr. Speaker, that is called a shortfall—a $1,500 shortfall for each and every student in this province, and our children and our parents are feeling it. In greater Essex, math and English help are on the chopping block. In Peel, specialized communications classes and literary coaches—gone.

So, my question again to the Premier is, how much more support are our kids supposed to give up?

When schools face cuts, it’s the kids who are the most vulnerable who are going to suffer the most. That’s the truth. Westdale in Hamilton lost their breakfast program. That’s on this government.

These supports are not just add-ons; they play an absolutely essential role in our children’s mental health, in their confidence. A kid who goes to school hungry is not going to be able to do as well. They’re not going to be able to concentrate in class. We all know that as parents.

We’re going to debate a motion later on today to get things right. Will the Premier, sitting right there, support our opposition day motion today to ensure that every child receives the high-quality education they deserve, regardless of their family’s income?

Interjections.

Interjection: Oh, come on.

Thank you.

Interjections.

The next question.

The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Please stop the clock. I have to interrupt question period to say once again that it has long been the established practice of this House the members should not use props, signage or accessories that are intended to express a political message or are likely to cause disorder. This also extends to members’ attire, where logos, symbols, slogans and other political messaging are not permitted unless the House grants unanimous consent. This Legislature is a forum for debate and the expectations in the chamber are that political statements should be made during debate rather than through the use of props or symbols.

I must ask the member for Hamilton Centre to come to order.

I must warn the member for Hamilton Centre.

I will now name the member. Sarah Jama, you are named.

The member is currently not eligible to be recognized in the House, pursuant to the order adopted on October 23, 2023. As a result of being named, for the remainder of the day today, the member is ineligible to vote on matters before the assembly, attend and participate in any committee proceedings, use the media studio, and table notices of motion, written questions and petitions.

Sarah Jama, you must leave the chamber for the day.

Ms. Jama left the chamber.

My question is for the Minister of Energy. During a period of rising costs and high interest rates, it’s important for all governments to make life more affordable for the people of Ontario. But the Liberal carbon tax is making life more difficult for Ontarians.

I keep hearing from people in my riding of Oakville about how much their gas and grocery bills have increased on a regular basis since the implementation of this tax. They’re concerned about how much more it will cost to feed their families and whether they can continue to take their kids to hockey, baseball or soccer practice. That’s simply unacceptable.

The federal Liberals and their provincial counterparts need to listen to what we’ve been saying from day one and stop the carbon tax.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how the Liberal carbon tax is creating financial hardship for everyone here in the province of Ontario?

The carbon tax is burdening Ontario families that are already struggling to make ends meet. But the Liberals in this Legislature, much like their federal counterparts, want to see this tax hike even higher. Ontario families and businesses need relief, and they need it now.

Unlike the carbon tax queen, Bonnie Crombie, and her minivan caucus, our government is focused on making life more affordable for the people of Ontario. It’s time the federal government do their part to get rid of the carbon tax once and for all.

Speaker, can the minister explain what our government is doing to protect the people of this province from the costly carbon tax?

I want to thank the ACTRA members who are here today. I had a good conversation with a number of them prior to question period. Speaker, I think it’s important to note—while I did mention to them, and I will say to the members opposite—this dispute is currently before the Ontario Labour Relations Board, which is a quasi-judicial body, and I know that that member wouldn’t ask me to interfere in that work.

Having said that—

Interjection.

Interjections.

However, I recognize, as I’ve said in my first answer, that government and the subsequent agencies and the ads that they’re hiring are having an impact, and that’s why I’m going to be calling all three agencies following question period. We want a deal here between both bodies. I recognize the important work that Chair O’Byrne and the OLRB are doing, but I also recognize the perception here with these three agencies, and so we’ll be speaking with them after question period.

Members of the nurse practitioner association came to Queen’s Park today. They came to share solutions with the Minister of Health for the 2.3 million Ontarians without access to primary care. They are ready, willing and able to care for thousands of orphan patients. Unfortunately, although all 24 nurse practitioner-led clinics are willing to help, they represent only four of the 78 teams announced by the minister.

Will the minister listen to the solutions brought forward by NPAO, open positions for nurse practitioners and give Ontarians access to primary care?

When will the minister start showing respect for hard-working nurse practitioners and, at a minimum, close the salary gap between nurse practitioners in hospitals and other care settings?

I remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.

The Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

Supplementary question? The member for Sudbury.

I’ll remind the members to refer to each other by our riding name or ministerial title, as applicable.

The next question.

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. We have invested significantly into primary care. We invested $110 million, and we’ve topped that investment with another $546 million over the next three years to expand to another 600,000 Ontarians to have primary care.

We’ve also expanded the Learn and Stay grant, which pays for tuition, pays for the books and pays for supplies for nurses and other health care workers who work in underserved areas after graduation.

We’re also funding the largest expansion of medical school spots in over a decade, adding 1,212 undergraduate and 1,637 postgraduate seats across Ontario. Speaker, 60% of these spots will be dedicated to family medicine.

We’re building a new medical school at York University, specialized in training family physicians.

We have a plan to rebuild Ontario’s health care, and we won’t stop until everyone receives the care that they need when and where, Speaker.

Speaker, under the Liberals, propped up by the NDP, they cut the amount of residency school spots. We are 1,000 doctors short, combined between the NDP and the Liberals, when they cut their residency school spots by 10% and 50 spots under the Liberals. We will continue to ensure that the people of Ontario have the health care they need, when and where they need it.

Right now, currently, almost 90% of Ontarians have a family care doctor or primary care health team. But we know there’s more that needs to be done, and we will continue doing what needs to be done to ensure that all people of Ontario have the health care they need, whether it’s in the north, east, west or south.

The question is also for the Premier.

Speaker, for more than two years, thousands of ACTRA Toronto performers have been locked out by the Institute of Canadian Agencies. For more than two years, the Conservative government has continued to use taxpayer dollars to buy government ads from the advertising agencies who have locked out these workers. And for more than two years, I have asked the Premier, several times, to stand with these workers and stop buying these ads. He keeps failing them.

It has been 25 months, more than two years. Enough is enough.

My question is, will the Premier finally side with the thousands of ACTRA commercial workers, stop buying government-funded ads from the advertising agencies who have locked out these workers—not just a phone call, but stop buying them, stop supporting them, get on the side of these workers?

Speaker, it’s no surprise to anyone, especially the member from Oakville, that the federal Liberal government’s carbon tax is making life more expensive for the people of Ontario and the people of Canada. That’s why we’re taking a different route. We’re procuring clean energy.

Just last week, I was down at the Power of Water Canada conference in Niagara, announcing a new small hydro program, a new northern hydro program, for 10-megawatt facilities and larger. It’s why I was in Cornwall with the great member from Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry on Friday, announcing that we were refurbishing the Saunders dam, a huge facility connecting Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes system to the Atlantic Ocean and providing clean electricity for over a million homes in our province. That work has started to refurbish that facility. Last week was a busy week when it comes to procuring clean energy for our province.

The one thing that our Powering Ontario’s Growth plan doesn’t include is a carbon tax because we don’t need it. All it does is punish the people of Ontario.

There’s only one party in this Legislature that’s opposed to a carbon tax, and that’s Premier Ford and our team. Instead, we’re doing the kinds of things that I talked about earlier: procuring new clean, non-emitting generation. That includes refurbishing our nuclear facilities that we have across the province, including at Pickering and at Darlington and at Bruce, and building small modular reactors at Darlington.

Last week, we had the largest procurement in Canada’s history for clean energy storage. Another 1,800 megawatts are being added right across our province to ensure that our system remains clean and reliable. Our plan, Powering Ontario’s Growth, which is working—

Interjections.

My question is for the Premier. Speaker, the public still remembers the bread price-fixing scandal where grocers reached a secret agreement to inflate the cost of bread for more than 14 years. They said they were sorry, but since then big corporations’ profits continue to reach all-time highs while Ontarians’ monthly budgets get tighter, and shrinkflation means we’re literally getting less for our money.

Speaker, something just doesn’t smell right in Ontario’s grocery stores. Can the Premier tell Ontarians what he’s doing to hold big corporations accountable and put a stop to price gouging?

It’s time to stop cozying up to powerful billionaires and start taking a much closer look at their business practices. Speaker, what is the Premier doing to investigate price gouging and make sure Ontarians aren’t getting ripped off on groceries?

My question is for the Premier. We all know that we have the most expensive Premier’s office in the history of this province, by far. The Premier has doubled the budget and tripled the number of staff that have six-figure salaries. That’s right, Speaker, tripled. Their average salary is more than double the median family income. That’s right, Speaker, double the median family income.

At a time when Ontario families are just struggling to keep their heads above the water, this Premier and his office, they’re swimming in gravy. Speaker, through you, when will this Premier stop the gravy train that is his office?

Speaker, let me tell you, the most expensive Premier’s office in the history of this province was the one that preceded this government, the Kathleen Wynne Premier’s office. You know why? Because it cost us 300,000 jobs. It cost us massive amounts of economic development. It cost us job creation. It cost us trade. It hurt our students.

Remember when our students were discovering math instead of learning math? That was under the previous Liberal government.

You know all of those doctors that aren’t practising right now? That was because they closed the medical schools. Instead of thinking about it 15 years ago, they closed the medical schools. They didn’t hire nurses; they laid them off.

We built long-term-care homes. We’re building more hospitals. We’re building roads, transportation—700,000 people have the dignity of a job who didn’t under the previous Liberal government.

That member can talk about gravy train all he wants, but the only thing we’re doing is building an economy out of the ashes of what was left behind by the previous Liberal government.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. The Trudeau Liberals continue to hike taxes and raise costs, despite businesses and workers pleading to them to stop. You would think that when people are struggling to deal with higher costs, governments would act to lower costs and provide relief, as our government has done.

Instead, the Liberal solution to higher costs is to make things even more expensive with their carbon tax. They’re running the same playbook as Ontario’s previous Liberal government, but it seems they haven’t asked them how it worked out for our province, and particularly for my community of Windsor–Tecumseh. Can the minister explain to the Liberals why keeping costs low is crucial for economic growth?

We need the federal government to recognize that the Liberal experiment of high-tax policies has repeatedly been tested and has failed each and every time. At 17 cents a litre, the carbon tax is already putting a strain on household budgets, while forcing businesses to make difficult choices. Can the minister explain why the Liberals should scrap their carbon tax and focus on measures that reduce costs, not raise them?