We’re very excited, on this side of the House, that the government has signalled they may support a motion by our caucus and the amazing member from St. Catharines to provide full coverage for birth control under OHIP. This could be a game-changer for so many women in Ontario who can’t afford or have easy access to contraception.

Our leader has said, “There’s no doubt that lowering the barriers to accessing contraception can have a huge impact on people’s ability to have control over their family plans and their bodies. It’s long overdue, and it’s just common sense.” I would add that it certainly is worth fighting for—and truly encouraging that the government is considering supporting.

After all, as MPP Stevens has said, “This isn’t just about health; it’s a matter of gender equality.”

Advocates have said that ensuring women don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars a year on birth control will offer more protection for victims of sexual violence, provide women with autonomy over reproductive health, and act as yet another step towards gender equality.

Many people don’t know that “in abusive relationships, violence often escalates during pregnancy,” says Krista MacNeil, the executive director of Victim Services of Durham Region. “The cost of unwanted pregnancies in Canada [is] in excess of $320 million. By contrast, no-cost contraception represents a fraction of that cost and the lives of women are worth this investment.”

Let’s hope that we can work together to expand contraceptive health care for women in the province of Ontario. Let’s get it done.

I too would like to welcome back our former caucus colleague and friend to this very peaceful place: Welcome to your House, Taras.

Of course, it’s always a pleasure to stand in this House, especially when we’re proposing solutions to the government.

This motion actually has a lot of merit. It does value the experience that we’ve all had in our communities.

Certainly, my seatmate in here and I spent January and February listening to front-line health care workers—particularly in mental health, particularly in community care—and they told us about the humiliation they feel with Bill 124. They talked about the emotional labour that they experience because of this wage-suppression legislation and how demoralizing it is for them. So I want to thank them for showing up day after day. But the fact of the matter is, that’s not sustainable.

The motion that our leader has put forward on behalf of the caucus is a short-term-gap solution which will prevent the further bleeding out of workers from this sector.

I also want to talk about the economic reasons to support this motion. In Canada, 500,000 Canadians each week do not go to work because of mental health issues. The economic burden of mental illness in Canada is estimated to be approximately $51 billion—$6.4 billion resulting from lost productivity alone.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about Kaitlyn Roth from my community, who called out for help, had the courage to ask for help. That help was never there for her, and we lost her. You can’t quantify the loss of that life. We will never know her potential, because the services were not there. At the end, though, we know that because she was in such distress, she had come into contact with 27 police officers. Four of those police officers were there when she died by suicide, and they are off work.

So there’s a trickle-out effect in our community by not taking action, by not showing leadership.

Speaker, $24 million is literally a drop in the bucket.

I implore this government: Please, do the right thing. Let’s stabilize, let’s support, and let’s work together on this issue.

My question is for the Premier. In the last few days, I have heard from education workers who have expressed disappointment and they’ve expressed fear over the government’s attack on their rights with the introduction of Bill 28. I heard from one constituent, Angela; she’s an educational assistant. She’s 60 years old. She works three jobs and she can barely make ends meet. I want the Premier to know that parents support Angela and they also are shocked at how little money she actually makes in her job. This Premier thinks that Angela and her colleagues should lose their right to collective bargaining and continue struggling to support themselves and their families. This Premier also feels they should be content with a minimal increase that doesn’t recognize historic inequities. This Premier also gave 88% of his caucus a 13%-plus pay increase with a stipend increase.

Will the government just admit that instead of being for the people, they’re really just here for themselves?

In the 2021 economic outlook and fiscal review, the Minister of Finance said, “For too long, the workers of our province have been taken for granted.... Take-home pay for many workers has not kept up with rising costs.” He said this, and continued by saying, “During the pandemic, the workers of Ontario had our back. And our government has theirs.” Well, these statements clearly need to be called into question, especially given Bill 28.

The government also—and this is worth noting—this government has the money to respect workers in the education system by paying them fairly. You have the money. So why is it that the government said all the right things to workers just ahead of the election, but post-election, they have forgotten all of their principles, all of their morals and all of your promises?