Point of order, Speaker.

The team staff includes coaches Wes Sudsbury, Mark Guergis, Lee Archer, Chris Maisoneuve, Lindsey Neil, Marcello Seminara, and James “Bones”, with Christine McColl as manager.

Congratulations, team, and congratulations to the roster of teammates: Landon Maisoneuve, Will Mutrie, Owen Poliziani, Colton Archer, Teagan Tiffin-Seminara, AJ Luczyk, Jack Hussey, Nolan McColl, Ben Sudsbury, Callum Roach, Jonathan Tallarigo, Logan Munshaw, Colton Proc, Eli Hardy-Plummer, Cooper Suggit, Blake Barter, and Jack Whipp, who delivered the golden goal.

Congratulations. Way to go, team!

Ms. Kusendova-Bashta has moved that the question now be put.

There has been more than 12 hours of debate, and 38 members have spoken to this motion. I am satisfied that there has been sufficient debate to allow this question to be put to the House.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard a no.

All those in favour of the motion that the question be now put, please say “aye.”

All those opposed to the motion that the question be now put, please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

A recorded vote being required, this vote will be deferred until after question period today.

Vote deferred.

The House recessed from 0933 to 1015.

I represent the great city of Mississauga, and I am privileged to stand here in this chamber as their elected representative to speak to the third reading of our government’s budget bill, Building a Strong Ontario Act. Mississauga is a large and rapidly growing city that exemplifies the best of what Ontario has to offer. From its thriving economy, beautiful skyline, and diverse and inclusive communities, there are many reasons why Mississauga is truly a great place to live, work, worship and play. I was honored to be elected by the people of this great city, and that is why I am proud to be speaking today about Bill 85 and how our government is investing in the future of our constituents.

As representatives entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding the interests and welfare of our constituents, it is our duty to examine and discuss the financial plan that will shape the future of our beloved province.

Let me begin by reminding Ontarians of the great progress we have achieved by being fiscally prudent and evaluating the return on every taxpayer dollar invested. After all, budgets do not balance themselves.

We are on a prudent path to shrink the deficit to $2.2 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, then down to $1.3 billion in 2023, and we are projecting a modest surplus of $200 million in 2024.

Through challenging times, our government was tasked to deliver a sustained balanced budget, and well-established global integrated risk assessment firms like Moody’s have assessed that our government succeeded in a quicker return to and the maintenance of balanced budgets than Moody’s previously forecasted. The lower debt burden—we are currently at 37.8% net debt-to-GDP ratio, which is down 3.6 percentage points—and a nearly balanced budget also provide for greater shock absorption abilities than the province previously possessed, should Ontario be required to implement policies to address a markedly slowing economic environment.

I commend our government for our diligent efforts in formulating this budget as it represents a comprehensive blueprint for Ontario’s progress and prosperity. Crafted during challenging times, this budget addresses the complex issues facing our province with a resolute focus on economic growth, social well-being and fiscal sustainability for future generations.

So let me be clear and repeat: Budgets do not balance themselves. It takes vision, discipline and hard work to balance budgets, and only Conservative governments with great leaders like the one we have in Premier Ford know how to get it done.

Le fondement de ce budget consiste à favoriser la croissance économique et la création d’emplois. Il décrit un plan pour revitaliser notre économie, soutenir les entreprises locales et fournir une aide indispensable aux personnes les plus durement touchées par la pandémie. J’applaudis l’engagement de notre gouvernement à investir dans des projets d’infrastructure qui non seulement stimuleront l’activité économique, mais amélioreront également nos réseaux de transport, nos établissements de soins de santé et nos établissements d’enseignement.

Madam Speaker, we are also unlocking the potential of northern Ontario by committing $1 billion to build the road to the Ring of Fire and other crucial infrastructure that will connect the rich critical mineral deposits in the north with Ontario’s world-class manufacturing sector.

We want Mississaugans to get to work as fast and conveniently as possible, reducing gridlock traffic. We want to build accessible public transit so less people are in cars and more people are riding LRTs and GO trains. We want to invest in local employers so Mississaugans don’t have to travel to a neighbouring city for work. We want Mississaugans to have a world-class health care system where wait times are low and beds are readily available. Our budget has a well-detailed plan for all of these demands.

I would like to bring up the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit. Our government is working to lower the cost of doing business, attracting investment, reducing red tape, and getting key infrastructure built. This tax credit also allows companies to hire more workers and stay competitive by saving them an estimated $8 billion this year.

A local example in my riding is Microbix, one of many life sciences manufacturers and exporters, which received support from our government through its $840,000 grant through the Ontario Together Fund. This funding will expand the manufacturing capabilities of a made-in-Ontario business which will be expanding its capabilities and capacity for manufacturing specialized products related to diagnostic testing for infectious disease. The project will create and support dozens of new life sciences well-paid manufacturing and product development jobs in Mississauga.

Further pharmaceutical investments in Mississauga occurred earlier this year as we invested to support pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca, which will bring 500 new jobs to Mississauga. This major expansion of their research and development hub focuses on clinic studies in areas such as breast, lung, prostate cancer, as well as chronic kidney disease. These investments are saving lives.

One can take a further look at the vibrant manufacturing industry that Mississauga is home to—such as the Bombardier jet manufacturing plant opening up at Pearson airport later this summer. It is expected to provide jobs to 2,000 people and is one of many businesses that will benefit from our government’s budget.

Just last year, our government supported a $21.4-million investment by Cyclone Manufacturing, a leading supplier of aerospace components and subassemblies with manufacturing facilities in Mississauga. I want to congratulate CEO Andrew Sochaj, who truly embodies the success story of a Polish immigrant coming to Canada—an engineer with vision, with drive. And many years later, he is one of the leading employers in Mississauga. When he graduated from college with his technology degree, my brother was actually employed at Cyclone Manufacturing, as his very first job. So this is truly a success story and exemplifies what Canada and Ontario can do when we have governments that support the job creation space. This is one of many examples of our government supporting the growth of Mississauga and helping strengthen Ontario’s advanced manufacturing sector and further growing the province’s economy.

Our government is also advancing our Critical Minerals Strategy by expanding mineral exploration and development as well as strengthening our supply chains from workers in northern Ontario to manufacturers in southern Ontario. Our province’s rich endowment of valuable minerals should be leveraged and used to support our made-in-Ontario supply chain of growing industries like electric vehicles and batteries.

As our finance minister said, in 10 years, people will be choosing between an electric vehicle and an electric vehicle. And it is our job to ensure that that electric vehicle is made—where?

Interjection.

We have a competitive advantage of minerals in this province, and our government will be utilizing them to the best of our ability.

If you are one of many residents in my riding who commutes with GO Transit, you may have recently ridden a new electric GO bus that was manufactured right here in Ontario. Three days ago, our government rolled out electric vehicle GO buses to our existing fleet for the first time, as part of our plan to reduce emissions and expand clean and green transit options across our province.

The future is electric, and we are leading the charge. Of course, the recent announcement by Volkswagen of its planned EV plant in St. Thomas is yet another example of this.

These cars of the future are creating the jobs of the future. And our government understands that the potential of these investments relies heavily on Ontario’s ability to produce electricity.

With that, Madam Speaker, I move that this question now be put.

In fact, the Middlesex-London Health Unit just wrote to this government a couple of weeks ago with the finding that households with low incomes in our community cannot afford to buy food, and that’s why we’re seeing record numbers of people accessing food banks—record numbers of new people accessing food banks in London and across the province.

What would have really made a difference is a doubling of social assistance rates, which is what social service agencies have been calling for for several years.

I appreciated the comments from my colleague from London West.

We’ve heard about balancing budgets. The other day when I was in here and we were debating this bill, someone from the government side said they are fiscally responsible and responsive in this budget, and I can’t help but point out to the government side again that Feed Ontario recently released a report talking about the sharp increase in the number of people in this province accessing food banks. It’s at an all-time high, and it has continued to grow exponentially since the Conservatives formed government in 2018. That’s actually stated in the report. That’s not me saying it; that’s the actual Feed Ontario report.

We know that there are more people who are experiencing homelessness. We had a story the other day of an 80- or 85-year-old woman being renovicted from her apartment.

We know we have a crisis in our health care system. We’re seeing it all over the province, not just in my riding or in London.

I’m wondering if the member from London West could share her ideas on what would actually be fiscally responsible and fiscally responsive, when we’re talking about a budget and supporting people in this province who are struggling in incredible numbers under this Conservative government.

The member for Windsor West.

My question for the member for London West is this—Bill 85 contains a responsible, transparent plan to a balanced budget by 2025.

The record of the Liberal government, supported in part by the NDP, was a record of tripling the debt and leaving us in the situation where the third-highest spending envelope is interest on the debt as a result of that sorry legacy.

Your federal party ran on a balanced budget platform in 2015. If the plan is to vote against this bill, does that mean that the NDP do not care about debts, deficits and passing on debts and deficits to our children and grandchildren?

I appreciated the comments from my colleague from London West on the budget. As she pointed out, the word “women” was mentioned four times in this budget.

We all know and have discussed in this room that violence against women is both insidious and increasing across communities. When we hear from victim services—in Durham region, and across the province—we know that they haven’t seen a significant increase in core funding in way too long. The burnout and low, uncompetitive wage for such important work is not retaining the people doing such important heavy lifting and caring, and what they’re having to do with not enough is just unbelievable.

What could have been seen in this budget that would have made a difference in the fight to end violence against women?

I appreciate my colleague from London West’s advocacy for homelessness in London.

Like you, I share London as part of my riding and understand it’s not just a crisis; it’s a pandemic in itself, and it continues to plague our city, our downtown and the people who are affected.

As such, I hope she would acknowledge—through you, Chair—that London received a 63% increase in its allocated budget for homelessness this year, along with Middlesex county. While it’s always never enough, and I respect that, would she not agree that 63%—which is above the Ontario average, which is still over 40%—is a generous amount to help this pandemic in the city of London?

I want to thank the member for her question, and also for her advocacy for paid sick days over the years.

Certainly, we know that a low-wage worker—many women saw the gender wage gap that was highlighted in the FAO report. Women in low-wage professions, when they have a child who is sick, when they are sick, are faced with this impossible choice: Do they forgo a day of pay, stay home unpaid so that they can care for their sick child and recover from the illness that they themselves are suffering? Or do they go to work, send their child to school and risk spreading illness to others in the workplace or in the school? We know what happens when they make that choice, which is understandable. They risk spreading illness to others, who go to our hospital and add pressure to our overextended health care system.

I know the member is aware of Indwell, a 72-unit building that recently opened in our city. Those 72 units came at a big price tag, much more than the additional funding that the government has provided.

London is not the only community across this province that is facing the crisis of homelessness. We need a much more significant investment from this government to address the crisis.

There are many non-profit agencies—in my community, we have Anova, we have the London Abused Women’s Centre, we have Atlohsa—across this province that provide support for those experiencing gender-based violence. Staff at those agencies are burnt out. There has been no increase in base funding for years. Those staff are dealing with wages that are so low that it is challenging for them to find housing in our communities, with rents increasing so dramatically. An increase in base funding, the stabilization of support that non-profit agencies require to serve people who are experiencing violence or who are experiencing any kind of challenge, would make a huge difference. And let’s not forget, most of the workers who work in the non-profit sector are women, so that increase in base funding would make a huge difference for women in this province.

We know from the Financial Accountability Officer that this government has a track record of not allocating funding. There has been record numbers of unallocated pots of money. There has been a huge increase in contingency funds, and there is no transparency whatsoever as to where those funds will be allocated. Budget after budget, we have seen monies allocated on paper but not actually spent.

The people of this province deserve a lot more transparency in where public dollars are being invested.

We all know that the pandemic has been really hard on all of us. It has been really hard on workers, and it has been really hard on much woman-dominated work. They have come to this government, they have come to us, asking for paid sick days, so that when they don’t feel good, they know that they’re going to be able to stay home, pay their rent and feed their kids, and not spread whatever made them sick to the rest of the workforce. I know that the member has worked hard on this—if she could explain the difference it would make to our hospitals, to our schools, to many areas where people gather, if every worker had paid sick days.

Questions to the member for London West?

It’s always a pleasure to rise in this House and speak on behalf of the people I represent in London West. Today I want to offer some thoughts on the Conservative government’s 2023 budget and the budget bill that is before us this morning.

This budget provided the government—its first budget following the election. It provided the government an opportunity to be bold, to take bold action to address the very significant challenges that Ontarians are facing, that Londoners are facing, that people in communities across this province are facing. I have to say, as many have pointed out—the editorial board of the Toronto Star, media commentators, and people who came to committee—this budget failed to do that in any significant way.

We frequently quoted the description of this budget: that if it was a Christmas gift, it would be a six-pack of white tube socks. It’s basically a meh budget that really does not rise to the occasion and meet the moment. I’m going to outline some of the ways that it fails to do that.

Interjections.

I want to begin with a very thoughtful analysis of the budget that was provided by YWCA Ontario. They point out that in a more-than-100-page document, the word “women” is mentioned four times, the words “girl” and “poverty” are mentioned once each, and the word “gender” is not mentioned at all.

We know that the pandemic has been challenging for everyone in this province, but in particular, women have been hard hit. We saw that earlier this week with the FAO report on the persistent gender wage gap that has not closed at all under this government.

There would have been an opportunity in this budget to take meaningful action to address the gender wage gap on issues like child care.

There was no money whatsoever allocated within this budget to create a workforce strategy. We know that ECEs who have been trained in early childhood education, whose passion is to work with children, are leaving the profession because the wages are so low. They cannot afford to feed their families, and they cannot afford housing on the salaries that they are making. We need a significant investment in wages for early childhood educators in order to fulfill the promise of $10-a-day child care. This budget could have provided that workforce strategy but did not.

We also saw in this budget no mention of paid sick days. That is an issue that I have advocated on since the beginning of the pandemic, actually. We know that women workers in caring professions, in cleaning and catering, in those care roles—PSWs, child care workers. Those are the careers that are least likely to have paid sick days. Access to permanent paid sick days through the Employment Standards Act would make a huge difference to those workers and to all workers in Ontario. Almost more than half of workers don’t have access to paid sick days through their employer, and providing those paid sick days would be a real step forward to creating decent work for people in this province.

On health care and homelessness: My community, the city of London, has launched an unprecedented, one-of-a-kind strategy, a whole-of-community response to health and homelessness. Homelessness is an urgent issue across this province, and nowhere more than in London. We have seen over 200 unhoused people die on the streets in the last couple of years, and this has motivated an unprecedented coming together of agencies and community leaders to look at how to ensure that everyone in our community has access to decent and affordable housing, and supportive housing, if necessary.

What we saw in this budget was a modest increase to the homelessness support; we saw $202 million. We saw cabinet ministers coming to London and announcing that London would get, out of that $202 million, an additional $8 million for London-Middlesex. So $1 million of that is going to Middlesex, which leaves London with about seven million additional dollars, but the challenges our community is facing will require a much greater investment than that. We are fortunate to have had a benefactor, an anonymous donor family, come forward and commit to a $25-million gift to help launch the plan that has emerged from our community. And we expect the Ontario government to come to the table with much more significant dollars than what has been allocated.

I know that this is not just a London problem. There are 444 municipalities across this province that are dealing with similar challenges. The $202 million that the government has allocated is nowhere going to meet the need of those 444 municipalities—and certainly not the additional $7 million that London has received.

There’s nothing in this budget to deal with the challenges that tenants in our province are facing. We did not see in this bill any new measures to protect tenants, to move forward with rent control on buildings that were built after 2018. This is a big problem in London West—across the city, actually. There are new towers going up, and every new tower that goes up, every new unit that is added to our housing supply is exempt from rent control. What happens is that tenants move into those units and they do not realize that the landlord basically has carte blanche to increase the rent on those units to whatever level they want because those new units are exempt from rent control. So people are economically, financially evicted, basically, because they cannot afford double-digit rent increases; they did not budget for double-digit rent increases. At a time of unprecedented inflation, this lack of rent control is particularly difficult—especially when you can’t afford the rent in the unit that you have signed a lease on, when the landlord tells you that it’s going to increase at a double-digit rate, and there’s no other option. There are no other affordable options in the city, and I hear that more and more from people in my community.

On health care: This budget doubles down on the government’s plan to privatize. Instead of making investments in hospitals across this province—like we have in London at LHSC; we have the Nazem Kadri centre for ambulatory care, which is a model of how we can provide outpatient support for those less-complex surgeries, with all of the oversight and protections in place that are offered in our public system. Instead of moving in that direction, instead of making those investments in hospitals across the province so that other hospitals could establish centres like the Nazem Kadri centre, this government is instead ramming forward with its plan to privatize health care and put those profits in the hands of for-profit corporations.

This is a budget that has failed Ontarians.

My friend from Mississauga–Malton and I heard the same delegations, and we got such different information, apparently, because the fact of the matter is, on the autism file, autism isn’t even mentioned one time in this budget—or even in your prop, I’m sure. But I have to say, we heard very clearly from Bruce McIntosh from the Ontario Autism Coalition, who said, “Listen, this is a bureaucratic mess. Red tape is preventing children from receiving services.”

My question is an honest question to the member: You have families with autism in your riding. The wait-list now is at 65,000. Why did this budget not address the desperate need for autism services across the province of Ontario?

The member from Mississauga–Malton will know that we’re investing over $182 million this year in the hospital infrastructure renewal fund and the Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund to support critical upgrades and repairs at 131 hospitals and 65 community health care facilities across the province. Can the member from Mississauga–Malton speak about the effect of the budget funding and the effects and impacts on his families in his riding?

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. When we talked about supporting Ontarians and I said that supporting all Ontarians—and you actually answered it somewhat as well, that we have increased support by 5%, and not just supporting only one time with a 5% increase. It is actually connected to inflation, so that going forward, whatever the inflation rate is, it gets increased by a similar amount.

Madam Speaker, that is what we’re doing with this budget: We’re actually investing. We’re making an historic investment in the whole community, and we will continue to do so to build a stronger Ontario.

Madam Speaker, the member was talking about the youth and the services, so I just want to quote some of the quotations. I’m going to read from the CEO of Safehaven, for example: “Safehaven is incredibly grateful for the funding commitment from” the minister and Premier Ford. This government’s support of the most vulnerable will impact the lives of many children, “ensuring that Safehaven has the capacity.”

And then another one, from the Child Welfare PAC and a former youth in care: “By implementing the Ready, Set, Go framework, the Ontario government is beginning to break down the complex barriers faced by the youth from care” whose experience is helping and supporting the people in Ontario.

Madam Speaker, these are some of the things we’ve been doing—

I’d like to thank the member from Mississauga–Malton for his presentation.

During the pre-budget consultations, we heard from many different organizations and individuals who were deeply concerned about the current housing allotment under the Ontario Disability Support Program. They advocated for an increase to that because the cost of living is so much higher than it has been in the past, but also—before this member answers and goes to the talking points about the paltry 5% increase—what we heard from people was that many people are struggling to afford basic necessities. Why has this government chosen to only support people living with disabilities by 5%, still leaving them underneath the poverty line?

Questions?

Further questions?

Report continues in volume B.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wanted to hear from you the best riding: Mississauga–Malton, the home of the greater Toronto airport—you’ve been there, I’m sure.

It is always a pleasure to rise in the House to discuss the important work that we are doing, like today, budget 2023, and all the things this government, under the leadership of this Premier, is doing for the workers and the families of our great province.

Madam Speaker and colleagues, every day when I drive to Queen’s Park, I see the infrastructure. I see the beautiful buildings. But I have to say this: It didn’t happen overnight. It didn’t happen by itself. It was built by hard-working Ontarians over many, many generations.

So as always, I’d like to start by thanking the Indigenous community for taking care of this land for thousands of years. Thank you for allowing us to meet here. And thank you to all the immigrants who came to Canada before I landed and after I landed, especially those who came 300 or 500 years back and worked hard to build our country. Many of their descendants are the MPPs, my colleagues here, so I just want to say thank you as always to your ancestors for their hard work.

Madam Speaker, since 2018, that is exactly what this government is also doing: building a strong Ontario, an Ontario which allows everyone to realize our dreams. But it’s not going to happen by itself; to do this, we need to build. To build, we need skilled workers, and to ensure workers are given every opportunity, pathway and skill they need to secure better jobs with bigger paycheques.

Through this bill, government is working with workers by committing an investment of $224 million in the upcoming fiscal year to establish a groundbreaking initiative within the Skills Development Fund, a new capital stream to help build the necessary infrastructure to ensure Ontario’s economic potential. This transformative capital stream would harness the power of sector-specific expertise and bolster our existing training infrastructure, including union training halls, to create more accessible and flexible training opportunities for our valued workers.

Madam Speaker, in this rapidly evolving world of work, it is essential to equip our workforce, including those who are thinking about upskilling and advancing their careers, with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in the ever-changing job market. Through the Skills Development Fund’s new capital stream, we will expand the capacity of training centres across our province, ensuring that workers get the skills they need for these in-demand careers. Our investment will not only support the expansion of physical infrastructure, but also fuel the development of cutting-edge training programs. Investing in our training centres and union training halls equips students with the hands-on learning opportunities needed to develop the skills of our future.

And why is this important, Madam Speaker? It is important because it impacts all of our members. It impacts all of Ontario. Why? Because every worker deserves the opportunity to reach their potential, and this investment reaffirms our commitment to provide accessible, flexible and high-quality training options.

As a first-generation immigrant, I know how difficult it is sometimes to adjust to a new place. Family reunions and far distance are some of the big challenges. I’ll give you an example. My mother, for example, is in India, and last month she was not feeling well. Well, as I was celebrating Mother’s Day, I was happy I spoke to her, but I was concerned about her health. But I couldn’t travel because of the commitments with work and family here. These are some of the challenges we see, and we have to make the balance.

Another example I was thinking about is that whenever we talk about every day passing that brings us one day closer to the end of our lives, it is a reminder to cherish each day and make the most of the time we have.

Madam Speaker, I believe in personal heroes. They’re like a GPS, helping us to navigate through our life. My personal hero, for example, is Bhai Kanhaiya, “a soul so kind, served all the love, with no one left behind.” He believed that God lives in all of us. If we want to serve God, the best way is to serve people. When we serve people, we serve God. That is why it is important, when we come here, that we work and we’re able to get opportunity to serve the people.

Under the leadership of this Premier, our government is investing an additional $25 million over the next three years to enhance the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. Ontario has long been recognized as a destination of choice for skilled immigrants, and with this enhanced program, we aim to further strengthen our position as a hub of talent and innovation. The investment will allow us to streamline and expedite the immigration process, making it more efficient for skilled workers to come to Ontario and contribute to our vibrant labour market. Madam Speaker, receiving the important investment, we’re able to help over 18,361, which is double what we have today under this program.

Providing the Ontario bridge training program with $3 million this fiscal year will help internationally trained immigrants find jobs in their field. We’re also investing $32.4 million over the next three years to support 6,500 high-quality research internships.

Madam Speaker, health care is another big focus for our government. We are providing an additional $425 million over three years to connect more people to mental health and addictions services; accelerating investments to bring funding in 2023-24 to $569 million, including nearly $300 million to support contract rate increases to stabilize the home and community care workforce; and investing $3.3 million over three years for expanding health-care-related courses for 1,400 secondary school students.

Simply put, this budget delivers a loud and clear message, a message that we, as a government, are building up this province of Ontario with prosperity.

To everyone watching across the globe, if you’re looking to invest, then this is the province. This is the place where you have a business environment that is welcoming and you have a government that is progressive.

If you’re an immigrant looking to build a life, come to Ontario. We have a government that is providing support to you and will help you upskill and build a life you will be proud of. We can’t wait to welcome you to join us in this journey to make Ontario stronger.

Madam Speaker, I encourage everyone in this House, if you want to build a better Ontario, a strong Ontario, vote in favour of this bill to build a stronger Ontario.

This question is for the member. The previous government has a long history of spending way more than its income. In 2003, when they were in government, the provincial debt was $138.8 billion, and when they stepped down in 2018, the provincial debt was $323.8 billion; it increased 133%. Their accumulated debt is way more than the accumulation of hundreds of years of debt. Theirs is such a record of spending and no investment, and this is a budget that can effectively bring in billions, billions, billions of dollars of investment, so I want to see why the member opposite is not supporting this budget.