It’s an honour to rise in this place. I believe I’m one of the few members left, and it’s great to save, in my opinion, the best member for last. But it’s an honour to rise here today.

I want to begin by congratulating Speaker Arnott on his recent election to the position—a historic position in our parliamentary tradition. I also want to thank the member for Mississauga–Streetsville for also standing for Speaker of the House. It takes courage to put one’s name forward, and even more courage to put one’s name forward in front of a bunch of politicians. I would like to thank my predecessor, Randy Pettapiece. He represented the riding of Perth–Wellington for a little over a decade. He was actually the last member to win three consecutive elections since the late Hugh Edighoffer—a big feat in our riding of Perth–Wellington.

Perth–Wellington is a relatively new riding. Many members have represented both Perth and Wellington county in this House. I also want to recognize the still-living former members John Wilkinson, Bert Johnson and Karen Haslam. All of these people have represented Perth county in this Legislature at some point during my lifetime. Of course, I have the distinct honour of representing the three northern municipalities of Wellington county in this place, as well. I grew up in Harriston, which is in the town of Minto in Wellington county. The member that represented the town of Minto, Wellington North and Mapleton for many years—and, in fact, became my MPP when I was four months old—is the current honourable member for Wellington–Halton Hills. Life has some full circle, it seems, for both of us.

I had the pleasure of working with Randy Pettapiece from 2018 to January 2020. I learned a lot about what it means to be a good representative. I now also know how truly time-consuming it can be. I want to congratulate him on his retirement, and I hope he and Jane are enjoying their time with their grandchildren.

It’s an honour and a pleasure to serve the people of Perth–Wellington in Queen’s Park. I want to thank you for your trust, and for those who did not vote for me, I will continue to work to earn your trust over the next four years. As I said on the evening of June 2, I accept this position not only with excitement, but also with solemn anticipation of the weight of elected office.

Perth–Wellington is home to many vibrant and growing communities, but the land was cared for by many Indigenous peoples before Wellington or Perth county even existed. The Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Chippewa people all resided within what is currently Perth and northern Wellington county.

It’s home to the highest number of chicken farmers in all of Canada. We are also home to over 5,026 grain, oil-seed, dairy, pork, beef, poultry and egg farms. If you can grow it, most likely you can grow it in Perth–Wellington. We’re also home to the Butter Tart Trail, and I encourage all members to take part in that. It’s a very delicious trail. We’re also home to many manufacturing companies across the auto sector, and many different trades and logistics companies are important industries in our area. They employ just under one-quarter of the workforce.

It’s also a hub for the arts, boasting the Stratford Festival, Drayton Entertainment and also the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, among many other cultural organizations that generate and contribute millions of dollars to the local economy. It’s also home, obviously, of Justin Bieber, Corey Conners, Lloyd Robertson, and it’s also home to Letterkenny, which is based on Listowel, Ontario.

Perth–Wellington also has the distinct honour of being the home of Canada’s most patriotic village. The Toronto Star ran a front-page headline during World War II that read, “Arthur Village Gives Sons and Money to Aid the War.” One in seven Arthur residents fought in the Second World War. This village is still just over 1,000 people—one in seven. We owe a great debt of gratitude to this generation.

I would be not be standing in this historic place were it not for my volunteers and my campaign team. I want to thank some of them. Specifically, I want to thank Allyson Cardiff, George Geottler—who many on the government side know—Jacob Shuker, Avery Miller, Matthew Steward, Tate Driscoll, Ron Faulkner, Walter Traschel, Dave Turton, Mayor Bridge, Rose Van Sickle, Irene Blight, Tim Sparks, Bob Archer, Bill Andrus, Jim Hutton, Mike Pacheco, Amanda Brodhagen, David Southam, Ralph Robinson, MP John Nater, Justine Nater, and Ainsley, Bennett and Caroline Nater. I could go on, but I will dispense to keep my remarks brief.

Whether it’s putting up signs, knocking on doors and making phone calls or simply being there to provide advice and guidance, I owe a great deal to these people and many others. If it were not for these volunteers and many other people, I would not have the privilege to stand in this place.

I also want to thank my constituency staff—Patti, Jake and Avery—for helping me serve the people and communities of Perth–Wellington. I was in the office on June 3 taking phone calls, and we opened our doors to the public on Monday, June 13. I committed to being ready on day one during the election, and my staff helped me keep that promise.

I would also be remiss if I did not mention some of my longest supporters: my parents. My dad, Mervyn Rae, was, until recently, a dairy farmer for his entire life. He’s one of the hardest-working people I know. Even though he has now sold the dairy herd, he still gets up before the sun rises to feed his remaining cattle. My mother, Mary Winger Rae, in addition to helping with the farm, is the amateur artist in the family, whether it’s photography, painting or drawing.

My mother and father sacrificed a lot for my sister and I. They always encouraged me and my sister to pursue our passions and goals in life, and I am blessed to have grown up in such a supportive household. Without their love and support, I would not be standing here in this place today.

As I was writing this speech, my thoughts were drawn to those in my family who are no longer with us. Earlier this year, my last living grandparent, Trudy Winger, passed on. None of my grandparents lived to see me take my seat in this House, but I know they are looking down with pride.

Finally, I would like to recognize my partner, Meghan Thomson. She has willingly agreed to support me in this crazy—and it is crazy—lifestyle of elected office.

Applause.

We’re both community-minded individuals and have chosen to sacrifice some of our privacy and time to serve the good people of Perth–Wellington. I can never thank her enough for the love and support she shows me every day.

As some of my colleagues will know in this place, I was fortunate enough to go abroad for my graduate studies and had the privilege of attending the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna in Austria.

Similar to many post-secondary students, I also completed a couple of internships while completing my studies. One such internship was with the Maltese embassy in Vienna. One of my colleagues was an older gentleman who had worked with the embassy for over 20 years. He was a soft-spoken man. He worked with the ambassador on many different multinational files at the United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

One day, he shared a piece of advice with me from his many years of experience working in international diplomacy. He said: “As an individual you cannot change the world in one sweeping moment, but you can change a small aspect of it in your own way.” These words have stayed with me, and I hope all members take them to heart as I have.

Only 1,968 Ontarians have ever sat in this place. Fewer still have been a minister of the crown, and even fewer have been Premier. However, we can all effect a small amount of change in our ridings and our communities.

One of my favourite quotes is from a former politician, the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. He made this speech before women held elected office, so bear that in mind—but it’s great that obviously women and other genders can hold elected office, now that we’ve progressed. But the quote goes, “It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph”—I really need to organize my sheets—“of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

I encourage all members to dare greatly.

The throne speech and our budget are calls to action for Ontarians to dare greatly and help build Ontario. It was an honour to be here to listen to the Lieutenant Governor enumerate our government’s policies in the coming Legislative session. The throne speech and budget addressed the importance of our health care system and our plan to stay open.

I want to take this chance to thank all my local hospitals, their staff and their boards and CEOs, the family health teams, long-term-care staff and the various other health care providers that work day and night to provide the best care possible. I commend them and their staff for working tirelessly throughout this entire pandemic.

The importance of a well-functioning, quality health care system is not lost on me. That is why I have been in constant contact with my local hospital CEOs, local family health teams, long-term-care homes and other health care providers.

It is clear the importance of a well-functioning, quality health care system is important to this government. That is why we have made important investments in our health care sector.

Starting in the 2021-22 fiscal year, our government started investing $342 million over five years to strengthen our health care workforce through upskilling, retention and recruitment initiatives. We have already added over 10,500 new health care professionals and will continue to work with health care providers to encourage more people to join this honourable profession.

We’ve also committed to investing $4.9 billion to hire more than 27,000 new personal support workers, registered nurses and registered practical nurses by 2025 for our long-term-care facilities. This is to ensure residents receive on average four hours of direct care per day.

In budget 2022, we did commit to expanding the Community Commitment Program for Nurses and the Learn and Stay grant, as we’re calling it, with a $142-million investment. This program allows nurses and graduates to receive a full tuition reimbursement in exchange for committing to a practice in a rural or northern community—a direct benefit to Perth–Wellington.

We are also investing $41 million annually to support the clinical education component in our nursing education program, something my hospital CEOs and boards and nurses have said is important.

Prior to the election, our government passed legislation that prohibits regulatory colleges from requiring Canadian work experience as a qualification for registration in the nursing or personal support programs. It also requires regulatory colleges to certify potential applicants in a timely manner so that internationally trained health care workers can start as soon as possible. So far, well over 760 internationally educated nurses have been deployed through this program. In addition to these changes, the Minister of Health has written to the College of Nurses and the College of Physicians and Surgeons to quickly approve credentials of internationally educated health care workers.

This is not an exhaustive list, and our government has undergone and will continue to be undertaking significant, concrete, important steps supporting our health care sector moving forward.

A healthy and thriving Ontario is one that can attract lucrative investments from businesses across the globe, bringing with them good-paying jobs and added tax revenue. In the automotive sector alone, Ontario has attracted investments of $16 billion, $5 billion of which is for Canada’s first large-scale electric battery plant. Many of these positions will require employees trained in the skilled trades. That’s why our government is making important investments in the skilled trades. In my riding alone, our government has invested over $1.8 million to create a new skilled trades training hub in the community of North Perth.

More recently, I had the pleasure of joining Premier Ford and Minister McNaughton at Dyna-Mig, an auto manufacturing plant in Stratford, to announce $5 million in funding to train 500 people from under-represented groups in our thriving automotive sector. The project will provide participants with the necessary skills for rewarding careers in machine operation, assembly, quality control and logistics.

Investments in training are important, but so are investments in infrastructure to get people to and from work. Our government is investing a historic $86 billion over 10 years to build and expand Ontario’s roads, highways and transit infrastructure across Ontario. This includes expansion of GO train services to London, which shares a line with the city of Stratford and the town of St. Marys in my riding. This will directly benefit my constituents in various ways, including by giving them more transit options. After years of talk by previous governments about expanding GO train service to Stratford, St. Marys and London, our government has got it done, and I was very pleased to see that in our budget we committed to continuing to make track improvements to increase the frequency of trips between my riding and Union Station in Toronto.

As some members will know, prior to being elected to this place, I worked for a non-profit education company, Shad Canada. Shad runs a month-long STEM and entrepreneurship program for grade 10 and 11 students at university campuses across Canada. Coming from an educational background, and as a co-parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Education, I cannot understate the importance of investing in our children and preparing them for the jobs of the 21st century.

We recognize that the past two years of hybrid and virtual learning have been difficult for our children, parents and teachers. That’s why our government launched a $175-million investment to provide tutoring supports to students across Ontario. This has benefited people in my riding of Perth–Wellington as well.

We also know that parents know what’s best for their children. That’s why our government, in its reintroduced budget of 2022, will include an additional $225 million over the next two years to provide direct payments to help their kids catch up. This will help students catch up on lost learning, while reducing the burden on parents and future educators, allowing them to focus on new material.

Our government has modernized the elementary science and technology curriculum, along with the de-streamed grade 9 science course and the new learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills; hands-on experiential learning; the skilled trades and coding. As was alluded to in the throne speech, with close to one in five jobs in the coming years being in the skilled trades, it’s imperative that our children not only appreciate the importance of these jobs, but are prepared to learn the skills they need for these rewarding careers.

As a first-time homeowner, I am keenly aware of the challenges our young people are facing when purchasing their first home. While previous governments have neglected building more homes, our government has made it a priority. In 2020, a year after our housing supply action plan was implemented, Ontario had over 81,000 housing starts, the highest level in a decade, and over 100,000 rental starts, the highest level since 1992. It is critical that our government continues to work with our municipal partners to build more affordable and attainable housing.

Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of making a Rural Economic Development funding announcement on behalf of our great Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in the city of Stratford. InvestStratford, the economic development corporation of the city, will be using the $80,000 in funding to develop a community tool box to support the development of attainable housing.

Our government is committed to working with our municipal partners to deliver a housing supply action plan every year of the next four years. It’s great to be part of a government that works with our municipal partners, because what works in downtown Toronto will not work in downtown Listowel. I’ve already had some great discussions with my local mayors and councillors about how we can build more attainable and affordable housing. Our government is committed to working with our municipalities to leverage surplus provincial lands and add new incentives to building attainable housing, which will lower the cost for potential buyers and make home ownership a reality for more families.

In conclusion, Ontario requires an ambitious plan and a government that understands and is willing to tackle the province’s most pressing issues. Ontario deserves a caucus that is made up of representatives from every corner of Ontario and who come from many different walks of life. Ontario, now more than ever, needs experienced leadership. Madam Speaker, this government is ready to build Ontario.

I know my colleagues from the NDP and the independent members will not always agree with our policies, but I look forward to working with everyone in this place to build a brighter tomorrow for all Ontarians. Together, let’s build Ontario.