We are firmly committed to the safety and security of those very children, which is why, in the most recent budget, we increased the staffing and increased the funding for special education. Speaker, to the member opposite, we’ve now increased spec ed funding to the highest levels in provincial history. It is up over $110 million this year compared to last year.

There are 3,500 additional EAs within our schools as a consequence of our Premier and government’s investment. This year, we launched a new investment to train our staff specifically dealing with a plan of care co-created by the school and the parent for children that have prevalent medical conditions—a new investment we announced some months ago and put in place.

We are committed to the success and safety of children. The funding is there. We’ll continue to increase it and the staffing and the training to keep our kids safe in our schools.

The school board in question, as required by the province, has a plan of care. They actually have a plan for any child with medical conditions. They are required to implement it. This year, to the member’s question of what’s new, we added an investment specifically to deal with consistent training of our staff when we’re talking about children that have these issues. We’ve developed training modules and new investments put out this year to help those very children in our schools.

I appreciate the advocacy of the member from Kiiwetinoong and the Minister of Education and, frankly, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, who collectively have worked with us to build a very effective partnership with Nishnawbe Aski Nation. We recently committed $2.6 million in funding to support a number of activities to ensure that children in school, especially from the Far North, get the mental health supports that they need.

Part of that funding went to Keewaytinook Okimakanak to lead the NAN Hope program that provides community-driven, culturally appropriate services for young people in crisis. Other supports included students who have come from the isolated communities to places like Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay and ensuring, whether it’s crisis teams or just partnering with a mentor, they have the resources in those schools for mental health supports.

Of course, to the member’s question about the immediacy of support, especially for youth in crisis, part of those resources was dedicated to make sure that Nishnawbe Aski Nation as an organization had the vehicles necessary to get to locations to meet students coming from the north or in cities—

I’m not aware of there being issues with respect to funding CMHA. As a matter of fact, we spend a great deal of money working with CMHA to provide the great services they do throughout the province of Ontario.

In fact, we partner up with them in many of the services that are being provided. Whether it’s the mobile crisis response teams, whether it’s providing the supports and services in our children and youth sector, whether it’s in the youth wellness hubs, whether it’s their centres where they’re dealing with crisis, whether it’s in the crisis centres that they’re operating for us around the centre, we are investing. And this government continues to invest in building a continuum of care that’s based in all the communities, so that the supports and services are provided close to home to individuals.

The government has made incredible investments—over $500 million a year—to build this system, and it’s continuing to build the system, notwithstanding the neglect of the past government, supported by the NDP. The government is making investments and creating that continuum of care, and it is making a real difference, thanks to the partnerships—