I think the member from Markham–Unionville brings a very interesting perspective to this. Correct me if I’m wrong: You were a school board trustee, I think, at one point, prior to getting elected here to the provincial government. Maybe you could talk a little bit about some of your experience and what it was like having to work with, maybe, some challenging colleagues who didn’t necessarily want to hear the views of parents being brought before the board and the other trustees.

To the member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington, you really touched on something that I think a lot of parents can appreciate. With a career spanning many years in law enforcement, I wonder if maybe you could touch on some of the things that you have seen in regard to sexual harassment and different things like that that we have seen and that still continue, unfortunately, to happen within our school boards and within our public education system.

It’s a great question. I know many of us, obviously, are parents here. I think there’s some room for improvement. Certainly, our educators do a fantastic job, but there’s always room to improve.

When I look at the breakdown of my children, I have two in high school, one who’s going into middle school next year and then two more in primary grades. It’s very interesting to see the level of engagement with their teachers and educators but more so with the way that the boards administer each of the schools.

I know I talked a lot about it in my remarks, but I’m really starting to see some streamlining and making the boards accountable for what they’re doing and how they’re planning things out within the different schools, certainly within our school board at Waterloo Region District School Board. I’m very excited to see that the accountability piece is going to be there, because I think that’s the piece that’s really lacking. A lot of parents want to see the board being accountable and want it to be transparent so they can see what their children are being taught and where that money that we are investing is being spent.

Thank you very much. Listen, that’s what is actually enshrined in this bill. We’re upping Grants for Student Needs by $700 million. We’re putting $15 billion into capital projects. And we’re hiring more teachers with specializations to be able to teach these classes.

We look at the ideology that was perpetrated by the previous Liberal government that closed these programs, and, quite frankly, in a minority government, it was support by the NDP. I do find it a little bit strange that they would stand up and pontificate on those types of things when it is this Conservative government that is actually making the necessary investments, that is working with our schools and our school boards to make sure that we are hiring qualified teachers to teach these programs and to make sure that we have the ability to have the spaces for these in our schools.

Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I recognize you as well. I’ve seen you around this place for many years, and I’m glad you’re here and still presiding over today’s, shall we say, festivities. Let’s maybe liven it up a little bit this afternoon here. I know the member from Timiskaming–Cochrane is certainly looking forward to some lively debate in the House.

I was just finishing off this morning talking about my private member’s bill that had passed and just talking about safety for students. I think it’s a good segue into what we’re debating here today, the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act which, if passed, will clearly establish a zero-tolerance approach for any educator convicted of a sexual offence. I think that’s something that’s very important about this bill, Mr. Speaker, and of course, to our government, student safety is very critical.

But I do want to shift gears a little bit and I want to talk about where we were back in April 2020. As our world’s economy continues to change, we need to keep up with the times, and this is why the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, if passed, will implement a mandatory curriculum review process no fewer than every three years. I think this has been a critical theme, where we’ve heard from parents, where we’ve heard from students to and what we’ve heard from industry—really trying to focus back on to STEM programs and getting people prepared for the jobs of the future.

One thing we’ve seen certainly around Waterloo region is a willingness to get trades back into our high schools, and shop classes—automotive shop classes, which my son is actually taking part in and is loving it and is working on a career path to become a mechanic, which is phenomenal—but maybe a politician, too. He has taken part in Fed-Prov recently and of course was a page here. Pages, for your edification, I’ve had two sons who have been a page here in the Legislature.

It’s really important that we continue to focus on those STEM programs, to modernize and have the curriculum evaluated so that we’re able to keep up with what the jobs of the future look like. This is why Bill 98 seeks to streamline certification timelines for those with in-demand expertise who have valuable skills as well to teach our students, Speaker.

Another priority of our government is ensuring that the quality of education is consistent across Ontario. I think we have about 72 school boards—colleagues, correct me if I’m wrong. So making sure that we have the same rules, the same way of thinking, the same ideology across the 72 school boards, to make sure that if someone’s transitioning—I’ll use myself as an example. Ten years ago, I moved to Waterloo region. We had two children at the time going to school in North Bay. They were taking French immersion. I know there’s been a lot of talk about French-language education here in the House over the last couple of days. I think it’s very important. It was very interesting to see—from full-day kindergarten and also into grade 1, full-day French immersion in grade 1—when we moved down to southern Ontario, to Waterloo region, French immersion didn’t start until grade 1, so you lost out on it in kindergarten. Not only that, but it’s only done in half days, where it’s full days in northern Ontario, which I thought was very interesting.

Looking at the ways to be able to streamline the way that boards do business I think is extremely important and certainly something, as a parent—my wife is actually a member of the parent councils where our kids go to school, and it’s very important to be involved and to make sure you know what’s going on. But, also, part of what I alluded to earlier in my comments was that it can be very hard for parents to navigate the education system and to truly understand what boards are doing and what’s happening at their schools. For a lot of us here, it’s a little bit easier, because we see the inner workings and the nuts and bolts; we’re interacting with those educational stakeholders on a regular basis. But most parents don’t have the opportunity to do that. So, to be able to see school boards become more accountable is something we can all agree on. Certainly, we want every student to have the same opportunity here in the province. Again, making sure we’re being concurrent and congruent across all of the 72 school boards is extremely important.

As I had mentioned earlier, I want to share my time with the member from Newmarket–Aurora so I think now would be the time to do that, Mr. Speaker.

I was pleased to join the Premier last week as we announced a $7.5-million investment to help build a state-of-the-art Innovation Arena at the University of Waterloo in downtown Kitchener. It has been an honour to work with the fine folks at the University of Waterloo and the city of Kitchener to see this project come to fruition. The new $35-million facility will be a hub for innovation in Ontario’s life sciences sector. Why is this important? First, breakthroughs in health care will enhance the quality of life for our residents here in Ontario. Second, it will attract additional investment to create great jobs and see start-ups grow.

But it goes beyond this single facility. The region of Waterloo is home to an innovation ecosystem.

Dr. Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo, said that the Innovation Arena will play a crucial role in expanding the impact and scope of the University of Waterloo’s flagship incubator, Velocity.

Our government is committed to supporting incubators across the province. These investments will fast-track the discovery, development and commercialization of made-in-Ontario research.

Our message to innovators is clear: From start to scale, we are here with you every step of the way.

I know we’ve only got about five minutes to get things kick-started here, but I did want to mention that I will be sharing my time, once we resume debate later this afternoon, with the member from Newmarket–Aurora.

Of course, it is a pleasure to join debate today. It has been a good morning here in the House. I know that any member who has heard me stand up in here before will know—and I’m going to say it again for those who haven’t heard—that I have five children, all in public school. That’s why I’m very, very excited to see this bill, hopefully, come to fruition and become law in the province of Ontario. All of us here who are parents—or maybe even, dare I say, there could be some grandparents here in the House. They’re also, I think, very excited to see a lot more transparency, a lot more accountability, and historic investments being made by the Minister of Education to move education forward in the province of Ontario.

Another thing that may come as a shock to some of the people here is that I’m the son of a former Premier. In my case—

But I digress, Madam Speaker. I guess what I’m really getting at is, we’ve got a little bit of an inside track to try to figure out how to navigate the school system, and it can be a challenge for a lot of people.

The key goal for Bill 98 is simple: You should not need to be the son of a former Premier to know who to call about your child’s education. You shouldn’t need to be a former school board trustee to know how to navigate the education system. You shouldn’t need to be a member of provincial Parliament to know the local priorities of your school board. It’s time to make the education system more accessible for the average family. For too long, information on local priorities has been too difficult to access for many families across this province. This bill, if passed, will make outcomes for families of all backgrounds—and I think that’s key. We’re not just selecting a few; this is for all the people across Ontario, to make education more equitable, and I hope members on all sides of the House can support that.

Bill 98, for the first time in Ontario history, would require school boards to make their plans to improve student achievement public. It would also require them to give every single parent the opportunity to view and review these plans at the start of the year and at the end to measure progress.

The Minister of Education has said this—and I agree: “Our government has no higher purpose than to protect the children of this province.”

I do want to say that one thing that I’ve been able to take part in was the Safer School Buses Act. Most of you who have seen a school bus here in the province of Ontario over the last year have now noticed that they have a yellow or an amber lens and a red lens. We were the last jurisdiction in North America to adopt this. I know this was something that you were very interested in. We’ve had many—

I’m looking forward to getting a chance to take part in debate a little bit later this afternoon.

I did hear during the member from Ottawa West–Nepean’s dissertation here this morning that she said a lack of capital funding has been something that has plagued the province over the last few years.

I’m just curious to know why $15 billion in capital funding, which is the most the province has ever seen, would be such a plague on the province?

My question is for the Premier.

Waterloo region is home to some of the best and brightest health care and technology researchers in the world, making this an ideal location for innovative companies that are looking to start up and expand. It should come as no surprise that there is such extensive knowledge, skills and expertise found here, as our region is also home to a number of highly respected post-secondary institutions.

Ontario’s life sciences sector is essential to advancing innovative health care solutions, and it is also vital to building our competitive economy. Our government must continue to demonstrate support for this sector in order to ensure that Ontario remains a leading force in new, innovative health technologies and job creation.

Can the Premier please explain what our government is doing to foster innovation in the health technology sector?

However, it is essential that our government continues to be forward-thinking and continues to adopt Ontario-made innovations that will improve our health care sector.

Can the Premier please elaborate on how this investment in Waterloo region is part of our government’s broader strategy to develop innovative solutions to improve the lives of all Ontarians?

I caught about the last maybe seven or eight minutes of the member from Waterloo’s debate. I didn’t really hear her talk much about what was in the bill. I heard her talk about a lot of things that she wishes she maybe saw in the bill, but I’m just curious if there’s anything in here that she can actually stand up and support.

It was great to listen to the member from Timiskaming–Cochrane for the last hour. He’s always very thoughtful in the way he frames his arguments and his thoughts.

I wanted to just touch a little bit—there are some changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act in regard to mining that are contained within this that will actually allow drones to be used to verify underground hazards, which will alleviate a lot of diesel emissions and different emissions underground. Obviously the member from Nickel Belt was speaking about this just the other day. I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to have a look at those yet. I know we’re running out of time, but maybe some comments on it.

Which one?

Tell us about the stuff you don’t like.

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Animals and animal-related agriculture are crucial to the economic stability of Ontario’s rural and remote communities. However, many regions across the province are experiencing a shortage of veterinarians who care for livestock, and this shortage puts a strain on the entire agricultural system. Unfortunately, there are service gaps in rural, remote and northern Ontario that put farmers and their operators at a disadvantage. These gaps create risks to farmers and their livestock, as well as jeopardizing the security of our food supply chains.

Can the minister please explain how our government is supporting veterinary care to underserviced regions of this province?

I also want to thank my uncle Chuck Lockton, who has been a large animal vet not just here in Ontario, but also in Alberta. He was also a member of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and he has done so much great work for our farmers across this great country.

It is encouraging to see our government’s commitment to funding investments that will increase enrolment in veterinary medicine programs to support Ontario’s livestock farmers. The need for large animal veterinarians is pressing for many communities across our province. Therefore, it is essential that our government steps up to implement measures to recruit and retain veterinarians across Ontario.

As a government, we must do all that we can to support our farmers.

Can the minister please elaborate more on how this veterinary medicine incentive program will assist rural, remote and northern communities?

I’d like to rephrase my question to the member opposite. I would be interested to know whether or not she would support regulation changes that are going to be contained within this bill that will help firefighters—and I think the provision is backdated till 1960, if I’m not mistaken—whether she would support that, whether she would support the Canadian Cancer Society and whether she would support the Ontario chiefs of police in calling for that. Hopefully, maybe this time we’ll get an answer.

The member opposite just made reference to symbolism and symbolic references in the bill and that this doesn’t go far enough. I would ask her—there’s a very, I think, important schedule of this bill that refers to cancer coverage for firefighters. This is something that other jurisdictions do. It’s something that Ontario was lagging behind in. I’m just wondering if she agrees with the Canadian Cancer Society and with the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs that this is a very, very good piece of this bill, and if she’ll be supporting it.

Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad you’re sitting down, because this is big—it’s even Guinness World Records big. After three long years, the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival is back. It is the single largest maple syrup festival in the world, and I’m very glad to see it return on Saturday, April 1, this weekend.

I want to talk about a few changes that are being made this year.

Historically, the pancake tent has been downtown. It is moving indoors this year, to Lion’s Hall, right beside the Woolwich Memorial Centre at South Street and Snyder Avenue. Come meet mascot Flapjack when I try my hand at our world-famous pancake flipping contest, Mr. Speaker—and I think you may have done that once or twice over your years representing a great part of Woolwich township.

Again, this year, we’re hoping to break a record and see 60,000 to 70,000 people returning to the streets of Elmira.

I want to talk about what benefit we see to the community. A lot of the funds raised from this fantastic event go to Community Living Elmira, the Elmira Theatre Company, the Woolwich sledge hockey team, Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, the local schools, and more.

Our deep thank you to the new chair, Matt Jessop, and the planning committee.

I’m looking forward to this weekend.

While I do have a great deal of respect for the member opposite, when he talks about Bill 124 and people not supporting it, colleagues—I believe we brought Bill 124 in before the last election. On June 2 of last year, the people elected the Ontario PC government to a massive, 83-seat majority.

I propose a question to the member opposite: If people didn’t like Bill 124, as he claims, why did they return us to government and them, again, back to opposition?

The NDP want to sit here and talk about affordability, but I just don’t understand how that word can even be in their vocabulary sometimes. They have sat here time and time again and have voted against every single affordability measure that this Progressive Conservative government has put in place. They want the highest carbon tax in all of Canada.

How can you sit there and talk about affordability when everything that you stand for, the ideology that you perpetrate across Ontario, will literally take money out of people’s pockets, will take food off of people’s tables? We’re going to see the carbon tax increase in, what, a week, colleagues—I think, about 6%. And you guys sit here and say, “Oh, the PCs don’t want to put money back in your pocket,” and we’re going to ruin everything. What say you?

Mr. Speaker, if you will indulge me, I have a couple of introductions today. I want to say a big congratulations to page Felicity, from my riding, who is page captain today. Her mother, Leslie Toews, is here as well.

I also wanted to give a warm welcome: Former member of Parliament for Nipissing, Jay Aspin, is here as well.