My question is to the Minister of Finance. Today the Financial Accountability Office released a very interesting report, their fall Economic and Budget Outlook. It details projected funding shortfalls of $40 billion across all sectors over the next six years: a $23-billion shortfall in health; $6 billion in education; $4 billion in children, community and social services—if you want to keep children safe, I would invest in them—$2.6 billion in post-secondary; and a $2.3-billion shortfall in justice. Meanwhile, the government will be sitting on $44 billion in unallocated contingency funds.

Will the government be transparent with the people of this province and allocate these contingencies to ensure that there are no painful program funding shortfalls? Answer to the people.

The FAO report confirmed that Ontario has the funding to invest in this province. Ontario is projected to run $25.3 billion in surpluses over the next six years. Despite this, the government thinks it’s acceptable to cry poor and hold wage increases for our lowest-paid education workers at 1.25%, or continue to enforce their destructive Bill 124, all while food bank usage hits an all-time high for children and for seniors in Ontario. These policy choices are unconscionable. They are irresponsible.

Will the government commit today to paying education workers a fair wage, repeal Bill 124—you can do it; you can pay those people what they deserve—and double the ODSP rates? This is about choices. This government is making the wrong choices for the people of this province. Do your job.

I just want to welcome Nathan Core, the president of the Waterloo Region Occasional Teachers’ local, as well as my friend Jeff Pelich from ETFO. Welcome to your House.

I’d like to introduce two constituents: Tracy MacDonald—she is the CEO of Trillium Mutual—and Julie Garner; she is the board chair with Trillium Mutual Insurance. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

My question is to the finance minister. Speaker, this government has a history of underspending on the public services that people rely on. Today, the independent, non-partisan Financial Accountability Office released their second-quarter update, and it’s no surprise to see that, once again, the province is spending less than planned in key areas, including $859 million less in health, $413 million less in education and $244 million less in children’s and social services.

Why does this government have such a hard time investing resources that they promised to?

Speaker, budgeting is about choices. The government at one point acknowledged that this money had to be spent. There was a need for it, and they failed to do it. Why did the government choose to underinvest in public health by half a billion dollars?