It gives me great pleasure to welcome people from Durham, including Kris Kennedy as well as Dawn McNab, who are the co-chairs of the Save the Durham Hospital Committee. Thank you for being at Queen’s Park and thank you for fighting to keep Durham hospital open.

MPP Wong-Tam moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 196, An Act respecting the use of correctional facilities and mental health crises / Projet de loi 196, Loi concernant l’utilisation des établissements correctionnels et le traitement des crises de santé mentale.

What happened, Speaker, is that the hospital in charge of the Durham hospital—it’s in charge of four different hospitals—has decided to, first, move all of the in-patient beds out of the hospital. The hospital in Durham used to have 24/7 emergency care; they’re now reduced to 10 hours a day, seven days a week of urgent care. We have seen this before.

The good people of Durham are here today. Many of them are part of a vulnerable population. They are at least 30 kilometres away from the nearest other rural hospital. This hospital has been there for over 100 years, and they want it to continue to be there. They want to have equitable access to our health care system.

We know that medicare consists of hospital services and physician services. Those services are offered to us for free. If the hospital in Durham is no longer there, it will mean longer transportation time to a hospital further away.

The people of Durham want to be able to speak to the Minister of Health, want to be able to speak to the Premier, so that they fully understand that they need to keep their hospital open.

I support this petition, Speaker, will affix my name to it and ask page Sophie to bring it to the Clerk.

We also have a birthday on this side of the House. We would like to congratulate the terrific member for Toronto–St. Paul’s on her birthday today.

I just want to wish the great member from Ajax and my great colleague a very happy birthday.

The ayes are 62; the nays are 35.

Thank you.

Supplementary?

The next question.

I have now three members that want to raise points of order, they have informed me.

Okay. We’ll move on.

Deferred vote on the motion that the question now be put on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 165, An Act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 respecting certain Board proceedings and related matters / Projet de loi 165, Loi modifiant la Loi de 1998 sur la Commission de l’énergie de l’Ontario en ce qui concerne certaines instances dont la Commission est saisie et des questions connexes.

The division bells rang from 1142 to 1147.

On May 7, 2024, Mr. Smith, Bay of Quinte, moved third reading of Bill 165, An Act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 respecting certain Board proceedings and related matters.

On May 14, 2024, Mr. Dowie moved that the question be now put.

All those in favour of Mr. Dowie’s motion will please one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Mr. Smith, Bay of Quinte, has moved third reading of Bill 165, An Act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 respecting certain Board proceedings and related matters. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard some noes.

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

Call in the members. This is a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1151 to 1152.

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.

The House recessed from 1156 to 1500.

First reading agreed to.

This petition is entitled “Bring Back Rent Control.” It’s addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

It notes that the Ford government cancelled rent control on units built after November 2018. And the cost of housing in Ontario, both of renting and buying, has never been higher, and it’s causing many people hardships. There are 50,000 people a year who leave the province of Ontario, largely because they cannot afford housing. People are being forced to leave their communities.

The ask here is for the Legislative Assembly to protect tenants from predatory rent increases and pass the NDP Rent Control for All Tenants Act today to ensure that renters can live in safe and affordable housing.

I fully support this petition. I will pass it to page Diya to take to the table.

I want to welcome Alvin Mason, who is with us this morning. At 90 years young, Alvin is one of the—if not the—eldest Ontarian we know with an active skilled trades licence, starting back in 1958, proudly from the riding of King–Vaughan. Welcome to yourself, as well as your amazing son and your grandson, Perry, who is with us. Thank you for being with us. Welcome to the Legislature.

I’m glad to present this petition to support access to spine care in Ontario. There are many people suffering from complex spinal problems that require spinal surgery, including things like scoliosis, that could be debilitating for people. We have surgeons that have the skill, that have the knowledge to do those surgeries, but they face many barriers. The biggest one is that they cannot get access to our operating rooms in our different hospitals because of how the hospital is compensated: paid by procedure. Surgeries take precedence because they bring more money to our hospitals that are always stretched for dollars.

Some of those people, including children, have been waiting for years to have those surgeries. This is not fair. They deserve equitable access. So I support them in their call for this petition, will affix my name to it and ask Rhys to bring it to the Clerk.

More and more data are showing us that although the government pays for those surgeries, they pay more if it’s done in a private clinic. Plus, many private clinics will have add-ons where people need to pay thousands of dollars to gain access to those surgeries. They also show that other jurisdictions that have introduced private clinics for routine surgery did not decrease the backlog in hospitals—that Ontario hospitals have many operating rooms sitting empty that could do those surgeries if the money was to flow to our hospitals rather than to the private clinics. So they petition the government to make sure that all medically necessary surgeries are allocated exclusively to public hospitals.

I support this petition, will affix my name to it and ask page Charlise to bring it to the Clerk.

The petition is about improving the care for people with amyloidosis. This is a disease that affects many people in Ontario. It is an incurable disease, but there are new treatments that are finally available to help people who suffer with that disease.

They ask for the Legislative Assembly to make sure that Ontario follows suit with other provinces: to make the diagnosis more seamless and make the treatments that are available also available to people who live in Ontario. They would like March to be recognized as an awareness month for amyloidosis, so that more people know about it and receive the treatment that they need.

I support this petition, will affix my name to it and ask my good page Charlise to bring it to the Clerk.

This one is a petition entitled “To Raise Social Assistance Rates.” It points out the Market Basket Measure poverty line and the OW, Ontario Works, rates are far, far apart. The Ontario Works rate is $733 a month, and no one in this province can possibly survive on $733 a month. You cannot even rent a room for $733 a month. ODSP is just over $1,300 a month. Again, you cannot survive on that. And so there’s been an open letter to the Premier and to cabinet ministers, with signatures of 230 organizations that are asking that the OW and ODSP rates be doubled. There have been some small increases, but they do not even keep up with the rate of inflation since this government took power in 2018. In fact, the rate of inflation has been 17% since this government took power and the increase in ODSP rates has been only 5%.

They’re asking for a doubling of this—of basic survival. Basic income set with CERB was $2,000 a month. They’re asking for an immediate doubling of social assistance rates to end the destitution of people living on Ontario Works and ODSP.

I fully endorse this petition and will pass it to page Sophie to take to the table.

I have a petition entitled “Stop Bill 166.” This is legislation, of course, that was passed yesterday in this Legislature, despite the opposition of the official opposition. The reason we opposed that bill is set out in this petition. It’s because it directs anti-racism and mental health work on campuses without the involvement of those who have expertise in this area, at a time when there have been significant cuts to community mental health services and, also, an effective dismantling of the Anti-Racism Directorate.

It also notes that our post-secondary institutions are facing a very serious fiscal crisis, and the inadequacy of the government’s funding for post-secondary education is going to mean cuts to staff who work in mental health and anti-racism services on campus. The petition raises concerns about the political interference in university research and education in Ontario through Bill 166, and notes that the protection of universities from political interference is lauded as a cornerstone of democracy and, therefore, calls on the government to not move ahead with Bill 166.

I fully support this petition, affix my signature and will send it to the table with page Harry.

This petition notes that the pressure placed on our education system has led to a dramatic increase in reports of violence in our schools, as well as an increase in the severity of the violent incidents. The petition recommends that classroom sizes be reduced, that additional supports be funded for schools, including mental health resources. It calls for an end to violence against education workers, teachers and EAs and other education staff. It calls for improved workplace reporting and more support staff.

Those are the kinds of measures that would be needed to address violence in our schools. Those are measures I fully support, and I will affix my signature and send the petition to the table with page Harry again.

I have a petition here that speaks about support for access to spine care in Ontario. To summarize it, if you have a complex spinal condition, your access to surgery is hampered simply because of the OHIP fee schedule and the way that the funding formula works for surgeries. So people aren’t getting access to critical care that they need, and it’s causing a lot of suffering.

What they’re asking the government to do is to simply take a look at how they can fund complex spine surgeries in a fair way, compensate surgeons fairly, and ensure that anyone who needs this service gets access to it.

I agree with this petition, and I’m going to give it to page Soyul.

That concludes the time we have available for petitions this afternoon.

I will be sharing my time this afternoon with the member from Mississauga Centre.

Monsieur le Président, en tant que présidente du Conseil du Trésor, c’est un privilège de prendre la parole aujourd’hui dans le cadre de la troisième lecture de la Loi de 2024 visant à bâtir un Ontario meilleur (mesures budgétaires).

But before I begin, I’d like to acknowledge two bright young Ontarians, Colby Farrell and Noah Loreto, who are present with us today. Colby and Noah have joined my office as summer interns and I am delighted to welcome them to this third reading.

Speaker, members have already heard how this budget will deliver on our government’s plan to build.

Je tiens aujourd’hui à rappeler les actions concrètes et les mesures prudentes mises en oeuvre par le gouvernement pour bâtir une meilleure province.

First, no budget is delivered overnight. This is why it’s necessary to briefly outline the conditions, the context, that helps shape our plan.

Monsieur le Président, l’Ontario n’est pas à l’abri des soubresauts économiques mondiaux.

The province continues to deal with the very real ramifications of considerable inflation, global instability and high interest rates.

Il ne s’agit pas là de simples problèmes d’ordre macroéconomique. Nous parlons ici de véritables problèmes qui ont une incidence sur la vie quotidienne des Ontariennes et des Ontariens qui travaillent dur, and these are challenges that must be addressed directly by the government in its fiscal planning.

C’est pourquoi je me réjouis que, dans ces circonstances, le gouvernement tienne son engagement de continuer à bâtir pour l’avenir.

Speaker, now is the time to meet these economic challenges head-on: actions such as targeted investments to build more homes to accommodate our growing population; actions like attracting good-paying jobs in growth industries; and actions like making sure that there is more money in Ontarians’ pockets by keeping costs down for families.

Le budget de cette année est soigneusement équilibré.

It calls for significant investments in infrastructure without raising taxes. It includes investments in new highways and roads like the Bradford Bypass, which the great people of my riding of York–Simcoe have been asking for for almost 50 years.

Speaker, our budget goes beyond roads and highways. It also represents the largest public transit expansion in North America, all without increasing taxes. And why are we doing that? Because in these challenging times, it would be unfair to impose additional burden on the people of this province.

Le gouvernement a le devoir de présenter aux familles un plan responsable, transparent et rationnel pour l’avenir. C’est ce que fait le budget de 2024.

It adopts a long-term perspective on our future.

Il tient compte du fait que la population ontarienne devrait enregistrer une nette croissance au cours de la prochaine génération.

Of course, this is a great compliment to the place that we all call home. I believe, Speaker, that it can also be seen as a vote of confidence about where this province is headed. But the expected increase in population is not without its own challenges. It means that the status quo just won’t cut it.

L’Ontario a besoin de plus de logements, de meilleurs moyens de transport en commun, d’infrastructures municipales améliorées, ainsi que de services efficaces dans les domaines de l’éducation et de la santé.

Ontario needs to provide for all of its people, today and tomorrow. There’s a great deal to cover in this budget, so I will not be exhaustive, but I would like to point out a few highlights.

Tout d’abord, le gouvernement investira plus de 190 milliards de dollars au cours des 10 prochaines années pour construire des infrastructures essentielles, comme celles servant pour le transport en commun, l’élargissement des routes ainsi que l’amélioration de la couverture des services Internet haute vitesse.

There is $1 billion of investment in the new Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program. This funding will help municipalities get shovels in the ground on critical infrastructure that is so needed to increase housing stock across the province. Cities and towns have been asking for this funding to unlock more housing. Our government listened. As well, the budget calls for an investment of $825 million in municipal water infrastructure projects.

Le budget comprend également les premiers investissements dans le Fonds pour l’accélération de la construction. Ce nouveau programme triennal de 1,2 milliard de dollars comprend un nouveau soutien financier majeur accordé en fonction des résultats qui sont obtenus par rapport aux objectifs provinciaux établis en matière de logement.

Speaker, this new fund will ensure that more municipalities have the tools they need to build homes faster, to help alleviate the affordability crisis in housing across our province.

Monsieur le Président, l’accent mis sur les transports est un autre pilier essentiel de ce budget.

Gridlock costs this province every single day of the year. People need to spend more time at their destinations and less time in their cars. That’s why the government is making significant investments in projects like the Bradford Bypass and the new Highway 413. As well, the government is expanding existing highways, like Highway 7 and Highway 401.

But it’s not just about car traffic. The budget also calls for significant improvements in GO train and GO bus services to create cohesive and comprehensive transit across the province, and includes the long-overdue restoration of passenger rail service to northern Ontario.

La concrétisation de cet investissement représente la plus importante expansion du transport en commun en Amérique du Nord.

Speaker, I mentioned how the budget will also keep costs down and keep more money in the pockets of Ontarians. I’d like to highlight a few initiatives that will do just that.

À travers tout cela, le gouvernement maintient son engagement d’accompagner les collectivités les plus vulnérables de l’Ontario.

This includes our low-income seniors, those of us living with addiction and mental health challenges and the many who are dealing with inconsistent housing.

The budget also highlights changes in the Ontario Electricity Support Program that will make electricity more affordable for thousands of low-income families. As well, the government has already proposed the extension of the existing gasoline and fuel tax rate cuts until December 21 of this year. That’s 10 cents off at the pumps, Mr. Speaker. This will put more money in the pockets of drivers at a time when they need it most.

With this aim in mind, the government is proposing to freeze fees on drivers’ licences and ban any new tolls on new and existing provincial highways.

Monsieur le Président, les économies réalisées grâce à ces initiatives sont à 66 millions de dollars au cours des cinq prochaines années. Nous faisons ainsi économiser de l’argent aux familles.

In closing, I’d like to emphasize that this budget is a great example of the balanced, responsible and careful approach that our government is taking as we look towards the future.

Le gouvernement procède à des investissements judicieux dans le logement et l’infrastructure, pour soutenir une province qui est en pleine croissance. De plus en plus de gens élisent domicile ici en Ontario.

At the same time, the government is protecting the most vulnerable amongst us and keeping costs down despite economic pressures.

Le gouvernement a mis de l’avant un plan robuste—a plan that supports the contention that Ontario is the best place to raise a family, the best place to work and the best place to live.

Thank you for the time today, Speaker.

I respectfully ask that all members support the Building a Better Ontario Act, 2024.

Point of order?

Point of order, the member from Nickel Belt.

Resuming the debate adjourned on May 15, 2024, on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 180, An Act to implement Budget measures and to enact and amend various statutes / Projet de loi 180, Loi visant à mettre en oeuvre les mesures budgétaires et à édicter et à modifier diverses lois.

I am so proud to rise today to speak to our government’s 2024 budget, Building a Better Ontario, which funds programs and projects that will no doubt meet the needs of hard-working Ontarians during this time of global instability.

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that we are celebrating PSW Week in Ontario. So to all of our wonderful PSWs working across different health sectors, but especially in long-term care, thank you for your contributions—and a very happy PSW Week in Ontario.

Madam Speaker, make no mistake, this budget is an investment into our children, parents and grandparents. It uses a proactive approach to tackle the ever-changing challenges Ontarians face.

I want to reflect on the Minister of Finance’s words on budget day—how his father bravely immigrated to Ontario from war-torn Europe, never to see his parents again; how through his hard work and the privileges afforded to him in this great province, he achieved his dreams of going to university, marrying the woman of his dreams and raising three children. And Madam Speaker, I can attest that at least one of those three children turned out pretty well. Wouldn’t you agree?

When I moved to this country at the age of 12, I could not have achieved my dreams if I wasn’t afforded the same opportunities as everyone else—if I didn’t have access to world-class primary, secondary and post-secondary education. My home country was under an authoritarian regime up until 35 years ago, where people were not guaranteed their freedoms.

Let’s not forget and let’s appreciate that we live in a country with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms that allows us to pursue our dreams, speak freely and worship as we choose.

In the same way the minister spoke fondly of his father achieving the Ontario dream, I can say the same for my mother, my brother and myself.

Madam Speaker, this budget is for the 16 million Ontarians who have their unique hopes and dreams, who proudly call this province home and want to live, work and play and raise a family in our great province of Ontario.

Speaker, let’s not forget that over 80,000 residents in Ontario live in a long-term-care home. Just like a house, a condo or an apartment is a home, so is a long-term-care home, where residents live out the last precious years of their lives.

Just two weeks ago, I attended a gala held by Copernicus Lodge, a non-profit long-term-care home that was founded 45 years ago to serve Toronto’s Polish community. Having known this home and their staff for many, many years, I can attest that the lodge provides a loving home to their many residents, using a holistic and resident-focused approach in their work. And they don’t just provide regular programming for residents but also cultural programming for the Polish residents, including those who are World War II veterans.

That being said, it is only right that we invest in these homes, ensuring that the Ontarians who need them have access to a safe, modern, state-of-the-art, comfortable place to call home.

Thankfully, our government has made groundbreaking investments and improvements to our long-term-care sector since forming government, and this budget had even more wonderful news.

Madam Speaker, Mahatma Gandhi once said the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable persons.

Our elders cared for us, so it is only proper that we take care of them.

Caring for our most vulnerable seniors, including those with dementia, is why I tabled my private member’s bill, with the member for Thornhill, to reform our government’s approach to dementia care. Right now, 250,000 Ontarians are living with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is expected to triple by 2050. Caring for this community requires our utmost attention, so I was glad to hear that we are investing $46 million into not only the continued operation of 59 behavioural support units but also to have 200 more total BSU beds across the province so we can provide care to our beloved seniors with complex needs. It’s the right move for our province, which is predicted to see a huge spike in our senior population, the “silver wave,” as my colleague across likes to call it.

There’s a report that shows a 23% increase in our over-65 population by 2029. Speaker, we know that many Ontario residents are waiting to be placed in a long-term-care home and, rest assured, our budget is addressing that need. We are making progress on our goal to build 58,000 new and upgraded beds by 2028 and already have 18,000 that are either open, under construction or have approval to start construction.

As of now, we succeeded in building 4,500 new and upgraded beds. This is fantastic news for Ontario families with loved ones expected to be placed into a home. With more beds, we will be able to serve the needs of vulnerable seniors in our province.

Sur les 110 foyers en cours de développement, 12 prévoient d’offrir des programmes et des services culturels et linguistiques à la population francophone de l’Ontario. Le fait que notre gouvernement donne aux opérateurs nouveaux et existants les moyens d’établir des foyers francophones est vraiment louable, car cela répond aux besoins de la riche diversité de la population de l’Ontario.

Dans toute la province, nous avons des foyers qui accueillent les résidents dans de nombreuses langues différentes, y compris Ivan Franko, qui dessert la communauté ukrainienne locale.

This budget is providing $155 million to increase the construction funding subsidy top-up, supporting the cost of developing or redeveloping a long-term-care home. Eligible projects will receive an additional construction funding subsidy of up to $35 per bed per day for 25 years. And we want to support our newly built and existing homes so they can operate without issue, which is why we are responding to higher costs in the sector by increasing operating funding to support the financial stability of these homes.

And I want to mention one more home. Through the incredible work of our government’s Accelerated Build Pilot Program, we were able to create over 600 new beds with the opening of Wellbrook Place, a new state-of-the-art long-term-care home in Mississauga. This six-storey facility took only two and a half years to build. Speaker, that is a remarkable accomplishment and a testament to our government’s ability to build more homes for those in need of them.

C’est pourquoi ce budget prévoit 4,9 milliards de dollars pour embaucher et maintenir en poste 27 000 personnes dans le secteur des soins de longue durée, ainsi que 100 millions de dollars pour former des préposés de soutien à la personne et des infirmières dans le cadre du programme PREP LTC. Ce programme attribue des stages cliniques aux étudiants, ce qui leur permet de recevoir une formation pratique adéquate.

And that’s not the only program; we also have the BEGIN initiative, which our budget is investing $100 million into, which provides tuition grants for nursing students with the aim of adding 2,000 more nurses to our long-term-care sector by 2025. Speaker, just last week, our government announced $4.1 million towards GeriMedRisk, a program that makes it easier and faster for seniors living with complex needs like dementia to access coordinated care and get connected to geriatric specialists and pharmacists. This helps our seniors avoid unnecessary trips to the emergency room and allows them to stay at home to better manage their health.

Speaker, the members opposite who accuse us of mismanaging health care and mismanaging long-term care, I ask them: Look at the evidence. It is our investments that are supporting our seniors. It is our investments that are supporting and growing our long-term-care sector and it can only be achieved through budget 2024.

On a personal note, I just want to conclude by saying that I feel it’s a privilege of a lifetime to be working together with the Minister of Long-Term Care and the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. We are all immigrants to this country, and I do believe that it is very, very inspiring that it is in our mandate to be travelling across the province, building modern, state-of-the-art long-term-care homes where seniors who have spent their entire lives building the province can live out the last days of their lives in beautiful, modern, welcoming homes. Because, Madam Speaker, they are truly homes.

Further debate?

It’s always a pleasure to be able to rise and ask questions of my colleagues across the way. I listened to your presentation—both presentations, actually—this afternoon.

I guess my question is, in a time when rich, well-connected people in Ontario are benefiting from this government and the working family continues to struggle, how can the government defend a budget that fails to address the soaring costs of living and their duty to build affordable housing, which even our federal counterparts are pointing out Ontario is desperately failing at, and which is affecting real people in all of our communities, especially across Niagara?

Great presentation from the member for Mississauga Centre. I’ve had a lot of constituents in my riding reach out to me, concerned about the rising crime, auto thefts. I’ve seen it in my own neighbourhoods. People are actually scared to walk in the streets and to leave their kids at home at night because there have been many, many break and enters. There’s a WhatsApp group that was formed and it literally went from zero to 1,000 people in 24 hours. There is no doubt, unfortunately, that there is a growing crime problem.

The federal government controls the Criminal Code, so we’re not able to have any say in that, beyond obviously talking with and suggesting to the federal government that they do make changes. I wondered if you could add your voice to what is being done by the provincial government in this budget to fight crime.