To my colleague the member for Durham, who is doing a terrific job as well in his riding: I believe you can do both. You can build Ontario; you can support the economy; you can build infrastructure—almost $50 billion of infrastructure for hospitals, almost double than when we got in.

We are building the infrastructure not just for today but for tomorrow: subways, highways, public transit, GO rail system, housing, broadband, long-term-care facilities. We have to build. We got almost half a million people into this province last year. Where are they going to live? How are we going to move them around? That’s why we’re taking action. The member highlights very wisely that you can do both. You can build Ontario by being targeted and responsible and transparent, while at the same time being fiscally responsible for this generation, for the next generation and the next generation after that.

My question for the Minister of Finance is—he speaks of, I believe, striking the right balance. How is it important to do so by investing in both health care and education with this proposed budget bill in this time of economic uncertainty?

I can still remember the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP. They built a very strong structure, which was structural deficit, resulting in billions in debt for the province.

I want the minister to share with us why it’s so important that we need to work hard to rebuild the finances and also balance the budget.

We all know that there are close to two million Ontarians without access to primary care; in my riding, it’s 30,000 people who don’t have access.

We also have some underemployed nurse practitioners, right here, right now, who would love to go pick up a thousand people from Capreol, from Coniston, from the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre, yet there is very little money in the budget to do this. Why is it that after all of them came and presented for the budget, telling us that we need investment in nurse practitioner-led clinics, in Aboriginal health access centres, in community health centres so that they can hire the nurse practitioners who live in Ontario right now and would love to take on a roster of primary care clients, the budget didn’t deliver?

What have you got to say to those thousands of Ontarians who know that they could get access to primary care if only your government would be willing to fund nurse practitioner-led clinics and community health centres and Aboriginal health access centres?

I want to thank the minister for his very thoughtful presentation.

I’m very fortunate to have a great group of team members. The minister engaged me in my own riding of Thornhill, and I was happy and very proud to be able to bring him to my community. We stopped, we got a bagel, we talked about the local economy and we talked about manufacturing. Thornhill has a thriving manufacturing business that circumferences the entire riding, but we’re worried about losing a lot of these businesses to our neighbours down south.

Could the member please explain to the House why the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit is so important to bolster our economy and create more jobs, including those in Thornhill?

Madam Speaker, through you: I thank the member opposite for that question.

I categorically reject the statement by the member opposite that we are being deliberate, hurting our children.

I would ask the member opposite to actually read the budget; in fact, read last year’s budget—the historic and unprecedented investments in our education system, over $2.3-billion increase this year. What does that money go for? Of course, that money goes for more funding per pupil, and that’s a fact, but that money also goes for more mental health and addictions supports for our youth, right in the classroom.

In fact, the Minister of Education just made mandatory in grade 10 mental health lessons—the first time ever by any government. We’re taking action.

I do want to correct the record, Madam Speaker. We also got some butter tarts.

Madam Speaker, it’s a very serious question. Government doesn’t create jobs; we create the environment for risk takers, both small businesses and large businesses, to risk their own capital, hire people, train people, retain people, train workers. That’s why it’s so important to support our businesses—in this case, private corporations in the manufacturing space in Ontario. This will allow them to keep more money so that they can reinvest in their equipment, they can reinvest in their workers. What a concept: that they can invest in their workers so that we can grow the economy, have better jobs and bigger paycheques in this province.

What’s so critical about what the member from Thornhill said is—you think about the $25 billion of auto manufacturing and battery in this province. Well, everyone—or everyone who took an economics class—knows there’s a massive multiplier effect. Economists say for every job created, nine more jobs, so that’s why we need—

I want to make sure that the member opposite has read our budget, because if she has—and I believe she has—she would know that the increase in health care funding over the next three years is over $15 billion. It’s the largest increase in the history of the province. We are providing support for our health care system.

Let’s talk about family physicians. Let’s talk about nurse practitioners. I visited Kitchener very recently and went to a nurse practitioner-led office—great concept, supporting that. Why don’t we talk about the medical schools in Brampton and Scarborough that we’ve launched to have more doctors in this province? We’re taking action. Why don’t we talk about my own community of Durham, where Queen’s University and Lakeridge Health have launched an innovative program for 20 new medical seats, working in partnership, fully dedicated to streaming family physicians?

We are taking action, we’re providing the funds, but we’re not accepting the status quo anymore. The status quo is done. It’s gone. We’re innovating. We’re working creatively—and we’d ask the member opposite to work with us to create the conditions for the health care system, not just for today, but also for tomorrow.

I think often of, at the beginning of the pandemic, when the Premier came to me and said, “Minister, we have a pandemic. We don’t know how long it’s going to be, we don’t know how hard it’s going to be, but we can spare no expense in protecting people’s lives.” Think about if I had said to the Premier, “We don’t have any money. We’re tapped out.”

That’s what the previous government left us with—the highest debt-to-GDP in the history of the province, since 1867. What kind of fiscal management is that? You’re not preparing the finances of the province for whatever risks are out there.

Working together, we’ve been able to lower the debt-to-GDP so that we can give to our children a better fiscal house than we inherited.

I’d like to thank the minister for his presentation.

During the pre-budget consultations, presenters spoke about the explosion of violence in schools and were concerned that the Ontario government has continued to ignore this explosion of violence. In fact, one educator said, “It really does feel like we are being broken on purpose.” According to a recent survey, 80% of educational staff reported witnessing violence at levels they’ve never seen before.

This government and this budget have deliberately ignored school violence. In fact, it isn’t even mentioned once in the budget.

When is this government going to get its act together and invest in children, invest in smaller, safer classes, and invest in school-based mental health supports?

We’ll move to questions.

I’m pleased to rise and speak to the Building a Strong Ontario Act, 2023, a plan that takes a responsible and targeted approach to supporting people and businesses while outlining a path to balance next year, so that future generations can inherit a strong Ontario. This plan is our blueprint for building a strong province during a time of global challenge and change.

Our work to deliver our plan for building a strong province starts now. It starts with a path to a balanced budget. Thanks to robust revenue growth, our prudent plan and our disciplined planning have led us to a path to balance. I am proud to say that starting next year, we will return Ontario to the black with a modest surplus of $200 million. While uncertainty persists, this puts us in a position of fiscal strength. In fact, Ontario’s net debt-to-GDP is now forecast to be 37.8% in 2023-24, down 3.6 percentage points.

Our budget assumptions are based on an in-depth analysis and inputs from leading private sector economists whom we consulted a great deal with. In our budget modelling, our government never assumes that the extremes will necessarily come to pass. Instead, we take out either the best-case scenario or the worst-case scenario so that we have more of an average. For example, in our economic and fiscal assumptions, we are always prudent. We will always be a little bit more cautious than the average of private sector forecasts.

Recently, I was very pleased to see that Moody’s has changed Ontario’s credit outlook to “positive” from “stable,” something that we have not seen in almost two decades, ladies and gentlemen.

Interjection.

This reflects our government’s commitment to prudent, responsible fiscal management and a strong economy. By taking a disciplined approach, our budget has ample room to react to uncertainties that may lie ahead. To be frank, the world is a much more uncertain place today than it was last year, and, despite the turbulence of the past year, Ontario continues to be resilient. Today, because of the leadership of our government and our targeted and responsible approach, we are in a better position than most. Today there are parts of the world that are showing they have no intention of being reliable or fair trading partners. This means Ontario needs to increase its self-sufficiency and lower its dependence on imports.

Il y a aujourd’hui certaines parties du monde qui ont démontré qu’elles n’avaient pas l’intention d’être des partenaires d’échange fiables ou équitables, madame la Présidente. Le fait est qu’aujourd’hui, l’Ontario doit accroître son autosuffisance et diminuer sa dépendance envers les importations.

This is good news. It’s good news that Ontario is well positioned to pivot its approach to this shifting landscape.

Take the Ring of Fire: The Ring of Fire can help reduce Ontario’s dependency on unstable or unfriendly foreign regimes by tapping the potential of the north and getting these minerals out of the ground. With the support of the First Nations in northern Ontario, we can decouple economically from these adversarial regimes and thrive in doing so. While Ontario is investing $1 billion to unlock these critical minerals in our north, we continue to call on the federal government to match our commitment, because what is good for Ontario is good for Canada.

Our government is determined to get the important things right. Getting the important things right is a core concept in the 2023 budget.

Madame la Présidente, le gouvernement provincial est déterminé à faire ce qui doit être fait et à bien le faire. C’est là un concept fondamental du budget de 2023.

These are serious times, and serious times call for a serious budget, like the plan our government has put forward, which this legislation—of which I am extremely proud.

It is no secret, as I said, that these are uncertain times. Our province is not immune to the impact of global forces, including geopolitical tension provoked by Russian aggression against Ukraine, the reopening of China’s economy, the energy transition, and policies such as the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act. Families and workers are feeling the squeeze of inflation on their wallets. Our 2023 budget takes a responsible and targeted approach to navigating this uncertainty while supporting people and businesses.

Despite the global challenges around us, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. While much has changed in the past year, economic circumstances have confirmed that the government has the right plan. And it is already showing results.

Ontario is seeing an increase in manufacturing and jobs all around the province. Take Oshawa as an example, a city that is benefiting from part of GM’s more than $2-billion investment that will protect thousands of jobs. Or Richmond Hill, where Tesla is manufacturing equipment to help make the batteries of the future. Or Alliston, where Honda is making a $1.4-billion investment to make hybrid vehicles. Or take Oakville—please, take Oakville—where Ford is making a $1.8-billion investment to produce electric vehicles. ArecelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton is making a $1.8-billion investment in producing green steel, including for the auto sector—green steel, Minister of Energy. What do you think of that? In Cambridge and Woodstock, two very proud auto towns, Toyota has invested $1.4 billion to make vehicles, including hybrids. Or Ingersoll, where General Motors is building Canada’s first-ever full-scale EV manufacturing plant. Or St. Thomas, the future home of Volkswagen’s first-ever overseas battery plant.

Madam Speaker, this province is the heartland of Canada’s electric vehicle manufacturing revolution. In two and a half years, Ontario has attracted some $25 billion in investments from global automakers and electric vehicle batteries and battery material suppliers.

As the Minister of Economic Development says, we weren’t even on the map when we took over government. We’ve gone from zero to second place in the world. When we work together, Ontario and Canada can achieve amazing things.

We’re not stopping there. By supporting this bill, the members of this House would be saying yes to the new Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, a tax credit that would provide a 10% refundable corporate income tax credit to help local manufacturers expand and grow, creating new jobs and opportunities right here in Ontario.

This, along with all the other steps our government has taken since 2018, would enable an estimated $8 billion in cost savings and support in 2023, making Ontario more competitive for both large and small businesses. As much as $3.6 billion of these savings and supports would be going to small businesses. These measures include the proposal to expand access to the small business corporate income tax rate by increasing the phase-out range. This change would provide Ontario’s small businesses with an additional $265 million in provincial income tax relief from 2022-23 to 2025-26. Think about that: helping small businesses expand, risk their capital, create jobs, and create prosperity in this great land.

Madam Speaker, we need to build the infrastructure to support these growing communities. That is why we are continuing to deliver on our historic $185-billion capital plan, the most ambitious in the history of this great province. As part of our historic 10-year infrastructure plan, we are investing almost $28 billion in highways, like the new Highway 7 from Kitchener all the way to Guelph, and Highway 413, and the much-needed Bradford Bypass. This is very much an investment in more livable and affordable communities that allow safer, more comfortable and more convenient commutes.

We’re also continuing to make large new investments in transit, including increasing GO service to Niagara from Union Station and bringing back the Northlander from Timmins to Toronto. We are making progress on the Ontario Line and the Yonge North subway extension.

We are also investing in new schools, new child care spaces, new hospitals and, of course, new and more long-term care. Our plan is to build both new hospitals and expand existing ones. It is a plan to build safe and comfortable long-term-care homes across the province.

This ambitious infrastructure plan needs workers. Through the Skills Development Fund, we are training workers with the skills they need so they have stable careers in the skilled trades and other in-demand jobs. We are working with private sector unions and other partners to upgrade their training facilities so that workers get the best possible training from the experts on the ground. What a concept: experts on the ground with reliable partners like the trade unions.

Our $224-million investment in the capital stream of the Skills Development Fund will leverage private sector expertise and expand training centres, including, as I said, and very specifically, union training halls, so they can provide more accessible, more flexible training opportunities for all workers in Ontario.

Notre investissement de 224 millions de dollars dans le volet immobilisations du Fonds pour le développement des compétences permettra de mettre à profit l’expertise du secteur privé et d’étendre les centres de formation, y compris les salles de formation syndicales, afin d’offrir aux travailleurs des possibilités de formation plus accessibles et plus souples.

Our government is continuing to support those who need it most, like families whose children are receiving pediatric care.

While we are investing more than $200 million to connect children and youth to care at hospitals in the communities, we are also supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities in Ottawa. When they need it most, Ronald McDonald House Ottawa provides families whose children are receiving care at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario with a place to call home. With our government’s investment of $3.1 million to expand Ronald McDonald House, they will be able to double their capacity from 55,000 to 115,000 overnight stays per year. I’ll say that again: from 55,000 to 115,000 overnight stays. Think about the impact on families and their children through their most trying time. That’s why we are there to help more families and children. By the way, I was in Ottawa a few weeks ago and went to visit the Ronald McDonald House. You can’t believe the people who volunteer their time, the board, all the funding, at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. And this $3 million allows them to go forward with the $22-million expansion. We’re so grateful that we could help them so they can help the families and the children.

During a time of economic challenge and change, our government is also supporting those who have fallen on hard times, such as those who are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing homelessness. We have increased funding for our homelessness prevention programs by more than 40%. Our government is now investing an additional $202 million annually in homelessness prevention programs to help those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and to support community organizations delivering supportive housing. This is part of a bold and transformational change we’re implementing to tackle the housing supply crisis and get more homes built faster across Ontario, including supportive housing for those who need a hand up.

As the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services often says, we’re there for all Ontarians.

This new funding will be provided through the Home-lessness Prevention Program and the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program. It builds on the government’s investment of nearly $4.4 billion over the past three years to grow and enhance community and supportive housing. This includes an investment of $11.5 million each year in the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program to provide Indigenous-led, culturally appropriate long-term housing solutions and support services to Indigenous people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

We are using the measures in the 2023 budget and in the spring budget bill to make changes and deliver investments and services that bring more peace of mind and more security to families, to workers, to businesses and to individuals.

Nous nous appuyons sur les mesures énoncées dans le budget de 2023 et dans le projet de loi budgétaire du printemps pour effectuer des changements, réaliser des investissements et fournir des services qui offriront une tranquillité d’esprit et une sécurité accrues aux familles, aux travailleurs, aux entreprises et aux particuliers.

I am as confident about the province’s future as I have ever been. While I do see a brighter future ahead for all of us, we know success in life is not automatic nor is it guaranteed. That’s why we will continue to work extremely hard for the people of Ontario and to deliver on our plan.

Madam Speaker, let me conclude by saying that the budget and spring budget bill capture what our government is doing to build a strong province. We are building Ontario’s economy, investing in infrastructure, working for workers, keeping costs down, and providing better government services. For today and tomorrow, we are doing more to support employers, more to support a better deal for workers, and more to support a strong health care system, all the while balancing the budget.

Supporting this bill means supporting better jobs and bigger paycheques for all Ontario workers. It means supporting payments for more low-income seniors. Supporting this bill supports people and businesses today while laying a strong fiscal foundation for future generations.

Madam Speaker, this is the right plan. This plan, led by the right Premier with the right team, is the right plan for all Ontarians.

Colleagues, let’s get it done for all the people of Ontario.

On January 9, 2023—governments enjoyed broad immunity against civil lawsuits, generally, and a 2022 Ontario law was passed barring all types of COVID-19 legal action against long-term care. A judge overruled that and said that there could be a class action lawsuit against the atrocious—actually, against the government. How do families feel about that decision that was recently passed?

I will concur with the member from Niagara West about the dollar. The Canadian dollar was higher than the US dollar for a very short period during the financial crisis of 2008-09, but that’s neither here nor there. It’s ancient history.

Let’s move forward. We all want to get manufacturing jobs back in the province of Ontario. I think we all agree on that. I would hope the opposition would agree with that.

So my question to the member opposite—there may be parts of the budget you’re not supportive of; that’s fine. You’ve mentioned that in your speech.

But with respect to the manufacturing tax credit that we’re providing small, private manufacturers to incent them to buy new equipment so we can have good, high-paying, in many cases union jobs right here in Ontario—is this a part of the budget that you can see yourself supporting?

Thank you to the member from Niagara Falls.

One of the things that he was talking about in terms of leases and housing and affordability is that there’s this offer for a private company to have this 99-year lease, or for long-term care, a 30-year lease; meanwhile, in terms of new builds, for anything built after 2018, there’s no rent control.

Why is there this change where rent control can be wide open for people who are trying to find housing in places built after 2018, but if one of the developer friends wants to have a lease for long-term care or other developments, it’s 99 or 30 years locked in?

I did want to ensure that the member opposite knew that in 2015 the exchange was 76 cents, on average, and in 2022, it was actually 76 cents. So to claim, in a revisionist history, that the only reason we’re seeing investments in the auto parts sector here in the province of Ontario is because of the parity with the American dollar is revisionist in a way that I can’t say I’ve seen a lot of in this House. Having been here six years, I’ve heard the member opposite—but that is such a disrespect to the people who have negotiated in good faith with the auto parts sector to make sure that they are coming to our province, those who have put forward policy idea after policy idea to make sure that we’re able to attract and retain good jobs here in the province of Ontario; $25 billion worth of investments in auto parts manufacturing, let alone the spinoff economic activity that has happened as a result of that. And the member opposite attempts to tie that to something that has essentially remained unchanged for the past eight years? I don’t buy it.

Question?

Question?

Report continues in volume B.

I actually have a 20-minute speech that I could do for you. I think the key issues that I didn’t get to are the things I talked about, in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, in my area—and I’m not blaming anybody, but mental health is a huge issue in Niagara. The opioid crisis that we’re all facing in every one of our communities—I don’t think there’s anybody over there who isn’t facing an opioid crisis in the province of Ontario. These are two things that I think we have got to do better on. That’s for sure.

And Bill 60—I didn’t get to tell you what happened to the Americans. Do you know, today, in the United States of America, because of the cost of health care—45 million people today claimed bankruptcy because of health care costs in the United States, and people died, particularly those who are on the lower scale. They die earlier because of the cost of health care. We can’t go down that road.

You want to talk about Oshawa? They had 21,000 working in that Oshawa plant when I was president of the local union in 1999. Do you know what they’re down to now? A few thousand.

What about Brampton?

Do you want me to go on? Do you want me to talk to the parts sector?

I can talk about every sector—and it was because of the high Canadian dollar. The reason why they’re coming back is because of the dollar. There’s no doubt about that. You can’t argue—

Your second question was about—what was it? Help me out here.

Think about it: Every new build since 2018 can charge whatever they want.

We’ve already said as a party—I’ve said it many times here—we should have rent control on all units—

Interjection: And when people move out?

Why did it change? Because they made sure that they helped their corporations and developer friends—that they could make money, to a point that they can’t wait to build rental units because they’re going to make more money on the rental units, because they’re charging $3,200, $3,500. And it won’t be long before it will be $4,000 to get a rental in Toronto.

I know the Speaker is from Toronto. Your area is probably one to talk about, quite frankly, when you get a chance to talk over here.

We need rent controls. We need to make sure we take them off new builds from 2018. And we’ve got to make sure that we take care and get rid of renovictions, which is really, really—

I’m going to tell you that when I was the president of the local union, I was arguing for incentives for small businesses, quite frankly, and small manufacturers. As a matter of fact, when we got our V6 plant in 1997 bargaining, it came with incentives. The same way that you’re doing with the Chrysler plant now in Windsor, where you’re giving them X number of dollars to invest here—well, we did the same thing at the bargaining table in 1997. It’s one of the reasons why the Big Three stayed in Canada.

Even though, in 1997, we bargained the collective agreement—no, sorry; it was 1999—and we were number three in the world of manufacturing of auto parts and auto assembly; we dropped to 21. A lot of it had to do with the cost of the dollar and some of the bad policies that were brought forward by the Liberals—I’m not blaming it all on one. The Liberals were not very good at handling that, as well, when it came to jobs.

So I appreciate that, and I agree with you. Check the date. Write it down. We agree on it.

To the member from Niagara Falls: I want to give you an opportunity—you were so passionate, and I’m sure there are many things that you didn’t get to talk about that are very concerning to you that this government is failing to address when it comes to the budget.

You talked about long-term care.

You talked about the privatization of our health care that’s happening under this government’s watch. People are going to find it even more difficult to access health care, and they’re going to have to pay for it.

Is there another thing that you want to add, in one minute, that you didn’t get to in your very impassioned speech?

Does the member opposite know what the exchange rate was in 2015, with the US and Canadian dollars?

Questions?

The Conservatives sold it.

It’s gone forever. That will be your legacy. That’s what we’re going to remember about you guys—well, there’s going to be another thing: I believe you’re going to get defeated on the private health care.

The one that tears at my heart—and I know some of my colleagues kind of make fun of my voice or whatever when I get passionate around long-term care. I want to be clear, because the Minister of Long-Term Care said that the NDP doesn’t believe in building long-term care. That’s a lie. I supported building long-term care long before you guys came into government in 2018. I can hold up picture after picture where I was cutting the ribbon in Fort Erie, again in Fort Erie, in St. Catharines. We supported long-term care, but what we didn’t support and we still don’t support is the fact that it’s for-profit.

Regional homes—which Mayor Redekop would know about; he’s a regional councillor as well as being a mayor. He knows all about this. But let’s talk about the one that I raised the other day. I challenge anybody—you can ask me a question on this; I’ll write it for you, if it helps you out. Orchard Villa, a long-term-care facility, privately run—I want to be clear: I’m not blaming the staff; I support the staff. But the problem with that place is that it was about profit, not about care. They didn’t have enough staff to take care of those residents. People were dying. And guess what we had to do? We had to call in the Canadian military into a long-term-care facility. Madam Speaker, here’s what they found: 80 people died in the long-term-care facility, some from dehydration. You see this water here? That would have kept them alive. They didn’t have it. They sat in soiled diapers for days. They found somebody dead 24 hours after that person had died. They had rotten food. So when they brought a proposal forward to the Pickering city council, they turned it down because the government was going to give them a 30-year lease—the same company that had to have the military called in where 80 people died.

I’m asking my colleagues over there: Does anybody think that’s fair and reasonable? Would you want that to happen to one of your parents? Your mom, your dad, your grandparents, your brother, your sister? I hate to break it to you, but there’s a good chance that a lot of us are going to end up in a long-term-care facility, and it should be at a point and time in our lives when we can enjoy the last part of our lives. It shouldn’t be a place where I’m going to be mistreated, disrespected, allowed to die from a simple thing of not having a drink of water. So yes, I’m opposed to building that and I’m supporting the council. I’m supporting that area. But I actually think it’s fair and it’s reasonable and it’s consistent with what I’ve been talking about for the last eight or nine years that I’ve been here. So I’m saying to my colleagues across there: Don’t support that.

The other part I don’t support: I don’t think we should be handing out 30-year leases, or 99-year leases, by the way, at Ontario Place. We thought we would have learned our lesson with the 407. That was another 99-year lease that, quite frankly, is a disgrace. Have you ever tried to drive down there? You have to get a loan to go from one end of it to the other with how much they’re charging us, because we didn’t put any safeguards in place. We didn’t put anything in where we can buy it back. I remember that it was the Conservatives who said, “If we get in this government, we’re going to buy it back.” Actually, it was the Liberals; I apologize. It was the Liberals who said that.

What else do I have on my page? I’m not going to get to my speech; it’s pretty obvious. Oh, Bill 124: spending taxpayers’ money over and over and over again in the courts fighting Bill 124, as you say that nurses are heroes. How do you say that when you bring in Bill 124 and attack their collective bargaining rights? As a matter of fact, even in their bargaining rights, they don’t have—in their agreement, they had mental health, but because of Bill 124, they don’t have that now. And they capped their wages at 1%. And when my colleagues stand up and say, “Hey, everything is great in the province of Ontario,” they got capped at 1%. Inflation was running at 6.5% to 7%. It looks like it has cooled down a bit, but at the end of the day, can you afford a mortgage at 5%, 5.5%, 6%, 7%? Can you now buy a car that’s now running at 7%? Can you afford that? The answer is no—but Bill 124.

The last one I’ll talk to—I’ve only got a minute—is Bill 60. This is the worst piece of language. I thought privatizing hydro was terrible—even though the Conservatives started it—under the Liberals. Bill 60 is the worst bill ever. You’re going to privatize our health care system. I’ll give you an example of exactly what’s going to happen in hospital after hospital that’s publicly funded. Take a look at the Ottawa: 21 doctors put together a corporation. They’re now operating on the weekends in a publicly funded hospital with the same nurses that are working Monday to Friday. The difference is they’re being paid more money or they’re agency employees, agency nurses that, by the way, are between $150 to $300 an hour. Some friends of the Conservative government are probably getting pretty rich under that deal.

And then what really tops it off—I’ve got 30 seconds left—on the Friday night before they do the operating on Saturday, guess what staff they use to clean the operating rooms? Public nurses and public cleaners. And on Sunday, after they finish doing their operations, guess what they use? Publicly funded, publicly delivered nurses and janitorial workers. It’s a terrible bill.

I’ve still got a few more that I’m not going to get to. I do appreciate the intense listening by my colleagues. I’m looking forward to any questions they may have.

But I can tell you exactly when—you guys are standing up talking about the 300,000 jobs that you lost. I can tell you what it was—the dollar was $1.10 when they lost the jobs. Do you know why I know that? I was the president of a local union, and I had to go to Edshaw and watch them lose 300 jobs because the German company said, “We can’t afford that, to continue doing that work.” I had to watch as some of our plants closed in the province of Ontario because the dollar was a $1.10. And you can’t deny that. It was a petrodollar. All it did was support the west, and it divided Ontario into a manufacturing crisis that we had—and we’re just starting to get it back now. Do you know why? The dollars is at 72 cents. If it had been at 72 cents, I wouldn’t have lost Edshaw, I wouldn’t have lost those manufacturing plants, because they would still be working there. People would have retired out of those plants. I wouldn’t have had to go get them other jobs.