The federal Liberals are playing politics with our children’s future by making it harder for parents to invest in their children’s success. But here in Ontario, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we understand that parents, not governments, know what is the best for their children. Parents should not have to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families. That’s why we extended the gas tax cut of 10 cents a litre and scrapped the licence plate sticker fee, saving hundreds of dollars, which supports parents who drive their kids to school—money that they can use to help keep the lights on and heat their homes and schools while their children work, play and study.

We introduced the Ontario Childcare Tax Credit, allowing families to claim up to 75% of their child care expenses, putting more money back into their pockets to invest in their children’s future.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, time and time again, the opposition, propped up by the Ontario—

My question is for the Minister of Education. The Liberal carbon tax is increasing the cost of everything for everyone in this province. Not only is it forcing Ontarians to pay more for their groceries and their home heating, but it is driving up prices for building materials and transportation.

Speaker, our government has made historic investments to support the building of critical infrastructure in Ontario like new schools and child care spaces. Unfortunately, the Liberal carbon tax imposes significant financial hurdles for the people who are building our province. It’s time for the federal Liberals to do the right thing and scrap this tax.

Speaker, can the minister please tell the House how the federal carbon tax is making building more schools more expensive?

Interjections.

Ontario families need economic stability to ensure that they can properly invest in their children’s educational success. That’s why our government must continue to advocate for Ontarians and call on the federal government to scrap this tax.

Speaker, can the parliamentary assistant please tell the House how our government is making life more affordable—

I want to thank the member for their question. She’s right, Ontario needs more state-of-the-art schools and more child care spaces. Over the next 10 years, our government is investing an historic $16 billion in capital grants, including a doubling of capital school funds by 136%, from $550 million to $1.3 billion for the 2023-24 year, to ensure these capital investments are brought online in half the time it took to build schools under the Ontario Liberals.

But, Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is right: These historic investments in education are being hindered by the federal Liberals’ failed carbon tax. A report from the Canadian Energy Centre found that Ontario industries such as mining, utilities, concrete, iron and steel will bear the highest impacts of the federal carbon tax.

As our government increases its spending on critical capital files in education, the federal Liberals are taking Ontario backwards by overtaxing the industries we need to support our new and redeveloped—

Thank you to the member opposite for that question.

When we talk about the mental health of children and youth, it doesn’t begin and end during the school day. We know that we need to have supports in place. Those supports have to be there, they have to be reliable but they also have to be there beyond the time that the kids are in school.

Since 2019, we’ve increased annual funding for children and youth by $130 million through the Roadmap to Wellness—in addition, in the last two budgets, another $43 million. Unlike previous governments, we’re actually innovating and collaborating with partners to support children and youth. We’ve opened 22 youth wellness hubs, and an additional five will be opening this year. This fund includes the virtual supports, the One Stop Talk program.

Our plan for children and youth—and there is a plan for children and youth mental health—is clear: early interventions to keep kids from harmful behaviours, easy accessibility to them. Children and youth are our future—

My question is to the Premier. Parents have been calling me, distressed with the skyrocketing costs of baby formula. We all know that the cost of groceries is a huge burden on Ontario families. Baby formula prices are completely unaffordable. Sadly, families in Ontario in all of our ridings are forced to water down formula to make it last longer. While food prices continue to soar, continue to rise, grocery stores like Loblaws continue to post massive profits—straight-up price gouging.

So my question to the Premier is, why are you hiding from the pleas of parents and sitting on your hands while powerful retailers profit at the expense of our Ontario families?

I would remind the House, through the Speaker, that my question was about feeding babies, and this government chose to hide behind the carbon tax.

Ontarians see through your excuses. Ontarians are fed up with this government taking the side of powerful billionaires. They see skyrocketing grocery costs while at the same time corporations like Loblaws are shamelessly making record profits. And they—

Interjections.

I appreciate that. I hope we can go further.

I was taught that you measure what you value, and you change what you measure. In recent years, kids are struggling from a lack of support for their mental health and development in the community and at school, which makes education work overwhelming. Folks are leaving the profession and recruitment is a challenge, which I know as a former school social worker. Boards are struggling to hire EAs, bus drivers, teachers. The vacancy rates in the Waterloo region and across the province are breaking records. This, and the budget shortfall mean that support staff ratios are alarmingly low. In the elementary schools alone, the ratio of support staff to students is 1.73 per 1,000 students.

Will the Premier value and measure the realities of workplace violence and the increasing needs for student supports and create a plan to change this trend?

Je voudrais remercier ma collègue pour cette question excellente. Je suis fier de soutenir nos pompiers et tous ceux qui assurent la sécurité de l’Ontario tous les jours. Ce sont des gens formidables qui nous protègent au quotidien.

Bonnie Crombie, as mayor of Mississauga, knew proof positive every time a fire truck in Mississauga had to fill up its truck—an average truck is about 200 litres—and if you do the math, at 21.5 cents for diesel, that’s $43—$43—a fill-up, which is ridiculous. It’s time for Bonnie Crombie, as mayor of Mississauga, who had to approve the fire department budget, to come clean with Ontarians and say, “I am against this tax. It’s affecting our firefighters.”

I am pleased to rise today to introduce the Cutting Taxes on Small Businesses Act. This bill would provide essential tax relief for Ontario’s small businesses by cutting the effective small business tax rate in half, from 3.2% to 1.6%, and by increasing the income threshold for this deduction from $500,000 to $600,000. If passed, this bill will be deemed to have come into effect on January 1, 2024, and will save small businesses up to $17,900 annually.

Some 450,000 Ontario small businesses employ over three million people—two thirds of workers in the private sector—and are vital to our economy and communities.

This bill will give small business owners more opportunity to thrive and grow, fostering economic prosperity and innovation across our province.

The other three parties have all talked about lowering taxes on small business; I am doing that today.

I hope all members will show their support to small businesses in their communities and across the province by supporting the Cutting Taxes on Small Businesses Act.

Thank you, Speaker. I wish I saw the same kind of passion from this government for babies that can’t be fed properly in this province.

The people of Ontario see this government doing nothing, absolutely nothing, to help them feed their babies.

So, my question to the Premier, to this government: What will you do today for struggling parents to ensure that their babies do not go hungry?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, I move that, pursuant to standing order 77(a), the order for second reading of Bill 189, An Act to enact Lydia’s Law (Accountability and Transparency in the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases), 2024, be discharged and the bill be referred to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy.

Cowards. You’re all cowards.

Interjections.

Mr. Jones, Chatham-Kent–Leamington, has moved that, pursuant to standing order 77(a)—

I am asking the member from Waterloo to come to order.

Interjection.

Interjections.

Mr. Jones, Chatham-Kent–Leamington, has moved that, pursuant to standing order 77(a), the order for second reading of Bill 189, An Act to enact Lydia’s Law (Accountability and Transparency in the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases), 2024, be discharged and the bill be referred to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy.

Interjection.

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

Motion agreed to.

Interjections.

I’ve got a petition with 2,252 signatures, and this petition is being put forth by Nicole Crellin, who happens to be good friends with the member from Toronto–Danforth.

Over 40 people are in the Legislature today for this petition calling for mandatory human rights education—

Interjections.

What the member opposite and her party can do is vote for the budget, which has the backs of the people of Ontario. In that budget is cutting the gas tax—continuing the cut in the gas tax. That budget has the integrated One Fare. It has guaranteed annual income supplements for our seniors so that their payments are indexed to inflation.

Do you know what the member opposite could do? Do you know what is really shameful? Watching 300,000 manufacturing jobs—the tail lights—leave Ontario. But do you know what’s really good? The 700,000 headlights of jobs that are coming into Ontario.

This member opposite’s party supported the Liberal government that raised taxes. They invented red tape over there. They drove jobs from Ontario. We’re building Ontario. We’re supporting the workers and we’re protecting the taxpayers.

Interjections.

My question is for the Solicitor General. Firefighters hold an essential role in our communities. They risk their lives to keep us and our loved ones safe. I want to give a shout-out to the men and women of stations number 431, 432, 433, 434 and 435, from Etobicoke–Lakeshore. Thank you for your service.

Speaker, the Liberal carbon tax is placing additional financial burdens on our public safety system. People in my riding of Etobicoke–Lakeshore are concerned about how this punitive tax is impacting first responders in our province. They want to ensure that Ontario’s firefighters have the support they need to protect our communities.

Speaker, could the Solicitor General discuss how the carbon tax is impacting firefighters’ efforts in Ontario?

Unlike the carbon tax queen, Bonnie Crombie, and her party of nine, our government knows that this tax makes life harder and more expensive for hard-working families and businesses throughout our entire province. Not only does it increase the cost of goods, but it’s also driving up the cost of fuel and gasoline for everyone in this province, including our firefighters and those trucks that drive right in front of me along the Gardiner on their way to the food terminal every day.

We have heard how the NDP and the Liberals won’t stand up for our public safety heroes, but I know we, this party led by Premier Ford, will always stand up for our public safety heroes.

Speaker, can the Solicitor General further elaborate on the importance of cancelling the carbon tax for Ontario’s firefighters?

There is no government in the history of Ontario that has had the backs of the firefighters as our government, led by Premier Ford. And do you know what, Mr. Speaker? We’re proud of this.

I speak to Greg Horton; I speak to Rob Grimwood, the association presidents of the chiefs and the professional firefighters. We have volunteer firefighters in this Legislature: the member from Brantford–Brant, the member from Sarnia–Lambton and others who have come forward to keep us safe.

But Bonnie Crombie, as mayor of Mississauga, knew to the last cent how much the carbon tax was affecting the firefighters. It is absolutely proof positive Bonnie Crombie needs to come clean and say this is the most regressive tax that is affecting our public safety. It’s affecting our fire safety and she should say, “I’m not in favour of it. I will support cancelling it.”

I would like to thank Joffre Labelle from Hanmer in my riding for these petitions. The petitions are called “Make PSW a Career.”

As the document that we received from the ministry showed us, Ontario is short 38,000 PSWs right now. Every year, we will add 10,000 more PSWs to this shortage list. Why? Because the working conditions of PSWs are not adequate. A quarter of them leave their profession every single year. They love what they do. They want to care for us. They’re good at what they do. But if they work as a PSW, they can’t feed their kids and pay the rent. It’s as simple as that.

Thousands and thousands of people have signed the petition, and they ask Premier Ford to make PSW a career; make sure that they have a permanent, full-time job that is well-paid; make sure that those jobs have sick days and vacation days and benefits and maybe a dream of a pension plan. We did this for nurses, way back in the 1970s. We mandated that 70% of jobs for nurses had to be permanent, full-time, well-paid. We can do this for PSWs. We can change the shortage of 50,000 PSWs to care for our loved ones in home care, in long-term care, in hospitals. We can change this today by passing this petition.

I fully support it. I’ll affix my name to it and ask Victoria to bring it to the Clerk.

I’m putting forth this petition in the Legislature today on behalf of Nicole Crellin, who happens to be a dear friend of Peter Tabuns, the member for Toronto–Danforth.

Speaker, there are about 40 people in the audience today who have come to hear this petition.

Here in Ontario, we are a diverse, multicultural, multi-ethnic community, and at our best, we value equity and inclusion and human rights for all; not just for a select few.

Toronto, as we all know, is the most diverse city in the world. Our differences, when respected, are our superpower.

The United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 as the first international recognition that all human beings are entitled to fundamental rights and freedoms which must be respected and protected by all nations of the world. It is crucial that all Ontarians are aware of the fundamental human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; too many are not.

For those who are watching, the government changed the rules on petitions, so we can’t read the petitions. So I can’t read the actual words on these petitions that have been signed by 2,252 people.

The petition calls for the Ontario government to implement consistent and robust mandatory human rights education through events, campaigns, publications and other methods, so every Ontarian knows the universal declaration and can be deeply rooted and invested in our collective pursuit for freedom, justice and peace in this province.

It’s rather an ironic day, but I will affix my signature on this petition, and I am handing it to Lise for tabling.

And I would be remiss, Speaker, if I did not say hello to Rosemary Sadlier, literally one of our icons in the province of Ontario, if not our country, and someone who initiated much of the work done around Emancipation Day, recognized in this province, and Emancipation Month, recognized in this province, and most certainly Black History Month, as well.

Welcome to your House.

This petition is calling for the Ontario government to do everything in its power to support victims of sexual violence. Women who have been raped, women who have experienced gender-based violence do not need to be retraumatized, reviolated by a “justice system” that is grossly underfunded, under-resourced, understaffed, to the point where there were 1,326 cases of sexual assault in 2022 withdrawn or stayed before trial. That means the perpetrators walked.

I stand in full support of this petition to adopt recommendations 1 and 3 of the Auditor General’s 2019 annual report, to make the ILA program more accessible for survivors, and to review the Victim Quick Response Program to ensure it’s meeting its mandate.

There are several of us in this room, in this Legislature, who are women—across party lines. We should be absolutely ashamed of this government’s lack of treatment when it comes to women and survivors of gender-based violence.

I happily affix my signature to this petition—probably more angrily—and I table it with Alexander.

I apologize.

I am calling the member from Hamilton Mountain—you have been warned.

Interjections.

I apologize to the member from Toronto–St Paul’s—please, people, come to order. This is the Ontario Legislature.

The member from Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas has been warned.

The member from Toronto–St. Paul’s, you have the floor.