Thank you to my colleague for her comments on Bill 97. Speaker, through our consultations on the newly proposed provincial planning document, the provincial planning statement, we’re proposing to allow more residential lot creation on farms, as the member opposite alluded to. This does not mean that we’ll have widespread loss of agricultural land. I hear this often from farmers in my communities. They’ve heard the news, as well, and they’re actually supportive of these changes because it means a farmer would be able to sever a lot for his son or daughter or someone else to come on board, to help take over the farm eventually. It also means that they could create more housing for any farm workers they employ.

Does the opposition oppose this, Speaker?

I really enjoyed my colleague from Kitchener South–Hespeler’s comments.

She alluded to some of it already in her remarks, but I was wondering if she could, through you, Speaker, talk about some of—being next door to Waterloo region, I’m well aware of the growth there and the official plan that came out, and we’re protecting the countryside line. I know the mayor of Kitchener has supported this move in maintaining our farmland but also still growing. I was wondering if my colleague could talk a little bit about how this bill and our proposed provincial planning statement help continue those houses all across Ontario while maintaining our agricultural farmland.

My question is to the member from Orléans.

He was referring to non-profit, and I know on this side of the House and in the middle over there we support our non-profit sector. Habitat for Humanity does great work in building affordable rentals and houses for people in need in Ontario. Obviously, in Bill 23, we removed development charges from non-profit housing, but unfortunately, the members opposite voted against that.

My hope is that they will choose to support this bill, which freezes 74 provincial fees related to building permits and other fees to get purpose-built rentals built.

Again, for the record, we are at the highest number of purpose-built rentals in the province of Ontario—the highest number, ever, building right now.

So will the member opposite support these cost-cutting measures in our bill?

Thank you to my Liberal colleagues for their comments.

My question is to the member from Orléans. It was very interesting listening to his comments.

I’d just like to highlight they had 15 years to address housing in this province and did nothing, Speaker.

We’re listening to municipalities. That’s why we’re tabling a fourth housing supply action bill, and we’re going to table more. We were very clear with the electors in Ontario during the election that we would table a housing supply action bill every year of our four-year mandate, if we got one. Guess what? We got one. So there will be more, because we’re listening to municipalities.

He was talking about non-profit housing and rentals. I was wondering if the member from Orléans would be willing to call his friend Justin Trudeau and tell him to take an ask that they remove HST from large purpose-built rentals, as this government under Premier Ford is asking the federal government to do.

My question to the member opposite is—I’ll quote from one of his colleagues, from Toronto Centre: “We are seeing many people struggling as they’re waiting for their hearing date, and of course, while they’re waiting, that means everything is in limbo.... It benefits no one when the tribunal system doesn’t work.” As my colleagues have alluded to earlier today, we invested an additional $6.5 million in the Landlord and Tenant Board to clear the backlog and provide timely service, both for the landlords and the tenants.

So my question to the opposition is, will they not walk their talk and support this common-sense move?

Thank you to my colleague from Ottawa Centre for his remarks. As he is very well aware, Speaker, our government has proposed many pieces of legislation to protect tenants and increase fines for bad landlords.

My question is simple: Will the NDP choose, this time maybe, to vote with us and help us enhance those protections under the RTA?

I thank my honourable colleague from Whitby for his remarks.

Just reflecting on my remarks that I gave in this House a few minutes ago—I stated that Ontario would maintain all of the greenbelt protections, including the policies of our environmental and agricultural lands.

My question to the great colleague from Whitby is, how do you see this bill and our proposed changes with the provincial policy statement and A Place to Grow help construct a mix of housing in your riding, whether that’s single-detached, apartments, townhomes? How do you see this helping your constituents?

Thank you to my colleague across the way for her remarks. I appreciate listening to them. As she alluded to—she was commenting on some of the protections we’re providing tenants, and on renovictions, as they’re commonly known—we’ve taken some action already, Speaker. We increased fines for bad landlords and have taken action to prevent evictions.

I want to provide a quote, just for the record, of just one sentence: “We will stop unfair ‘renovictions’ and bad faith ‘landlord’s own use’ evictions.” Speaker, that quote is from the members opposite’s campaign platform from 2022. So my question is simple, to the member opposite: Will she support our government in strengthening the Residential Tenancies Act to prevent these renovictions and support tenants?

You’re bananas.

It’s my honour, obviously, to share my time, as we’ve already heard from the great Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the associate minister in this place. It’s an honour to speak on our government’s proposed legislation that would support a much-needed fourth housing supply action plan. Our proposals are crucial to our government’s work to get housing built that Ontarians desperately need.

Speaker, my riding of Perth–Wellington is home to over 4,000 farm operations and many predominantly rural municipalities. These communities, like others across Ontario, are feeling pressure and demand for housing that is greater than the supply currently is. Whether it’s for farm workers, rental housing for young people and new immigrants, or the missing middle, there is a need for housing in every single community in my riding. That’s why I’m pleased to be part of a government that is acting so strongly to support more homes across all areas of Ontario and delivering on our commitment to see 1.5 million new homes built by 2031.

I’m also pleased to speak on behalf of a generation of Ontarians—my generation—which has faced historic difficulties when it comes to finding a home they can actually afford. I’m proud to be part of a government that understands the difficulties that my generation and future generations will face if we do not address this housing crisis.

We’re taking historic action to tackle the housing supply crisis and build the homes Ontarians need. Our housing supply action plans have made great progress, as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing alluded to earlier, but more work needs to be done. This proposed legislation and corresponding changes to the provincial policy statement would see that more is done, not only in our urban centres, but also in our rural areas.

Ce projet de loi ferait avancer les choses tant dans nos centres urbains que dans nos régions rurales.

Speaker, our province is layered with planning rules and land use plans. All of Ontario is subject to a set of planning rules called the provincial policy statement, also often referred to as PPS. Where the PPS is the sole set of land use planning rules, it’s fairly clear what rules a developer or a builder must follow to get a proposed residential project approved. However, in the greater Golden Horseshoe, there is an additional set of planning rules called A Place to Grow. If we want to get the homes built that we desperately need now, let alone in the future for the sizable population growth we’re going to see, it is critical that builders and developers have a clear and streamlined set of rules to follow in this and all areas of our province.

Ontario is projected to grow by 5.6 million people by 2046, and the greater Toronto area alone is expected to be home to 2.9 million of those people. Not only that, but the greater Golden Horseshoe generates more than 25% of Canada’s gross domestic product. So I think all members of this House will agree that, as I said, it’s critical we get land use planning right in this region and across all regions of Ontario.

There are several challenges brought on by the magnitude of growth that is forecasted.

There will be increased demand for major infrastructure investments—this includes renewing aging infrastructure and addressing infrastructure deficits associated with growth.

There will be increased traffic congestion, with resulting delays in the movement of people and goods. Already we are seeing those delays in the greater Golden Horseshoe, and they are costing billions of dollars in lost GDP every year.

The impacts of globalization are transforming the regional economy at a rapid pace. This makes long-term planning or employment more uncertain.

Speaker, people over the age of 60 are expected to represent more than a quarter of the population by 2041, especially in communities such as mine in Perth–Wellington. That means we will need more age-friendly development that can address unique needs and circumstances. This includes a more appropriate range and mix of housing options, easier access to health care and other amenities, walkable built environments, and an age-friendly approach to community design to meet the needs of all people.

But all these planning rules on top of planning rules result in massive delays in getting land use approvals and enormous costs to the builders or developers and municipalities to get these approvals through. We need to streamline Ontario’s planning rules and encourage more housing.

That’s why, on April 6, our government launched its 60-day consultation on the Environmental Registry of Ontario, seeking input on the proposed combining of the PPS and A Place to Grow into a new province-wide land use planning policy instrument. We propose to integrate these two planning instruments into one streamlined housing-focused policy, which will be called the provincial planning statement. This would increase housing supply and speed up planning approvals by simplifying existing policy and refocusing on achieving housing outcomes. Our proposed provincial planning statement would do this by giving direction for all of Ontario, as well as direction tailored to the unique needs of large, fast-growing municipalities. As the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing already noted, all of Ontario—not just the GTA—should be a place to grow. In our new proposed planning statement, this direction is organized across five key pillars. Those pillars are: generating an appropriate housing supply; making land available for development; providing infrastructure to support development; balancing housing with resources; and, obviously, implementation.

For the first of those pillars, generating an appropriate housing supply, our proposed new land use document would give specific direction to Ontario’s largest and fastest-growing municipalities in planning for major transit station areas and other strategic growth areas and in greenfield lands to ensure an appropriate supply of housing. However, simpler and more flexible policies would be given to all other municipalities to reflect local conditions while encouraging growth. For those large and fast-growing municipalities—we’ve identified 29 in Ontario.

Our proposed new planning policies would also enable more rural housing by allowing greater flexibility in smaller communities such as mine in Perth–Wellington. This could, for example, create more housing for on-farm workers or for farm operators’ children, if they choose to do so. It could also be done through engagement with the private sector in small and rural municipalities to provide infrastructure needed for new housing.

Our proposed policies would also require more housing near transit. This means Ontario’s 29 large and fastest-growing municipalities would need to plan for growth around transit in urban centres and other strategic growth areas such as downtowns, and for undeveloped land, as well. For transit-related growth in what are called the major transit station areas, we provide minimum density targets that municipalities have to meet in their land use planning. Those same municipalities would have the right to see maximums for density and height. As well, municipalities would be encouraged to meet provincial density targets for undeveloped land.

Our next pillar in our proposed provincial policy planning statement is more land for development. This is part of our plan to build all sorts of homes for Ontarians, in urban and suburban areas as well as rural parts our province, while still maintaining our strong environmental protections across Ontario.

Speaker, it’s essential that municipalities plan for future growth with regard to population and employment. Our proposal would therefore require municipalities to ensure that enough land with water and waste water pipe access is ready to meet their communities’ anticipated housing needs over the next three years. We would also require municipalities to adhere to a 25-year planning horizon.

Our government has said this time and time again, but it bears repeating: We will continue to encourage municipalities to build where it makes sense. That means major office and institutional developments should be near transit, and areas of retail and commercial activity that provide jobs should also permit and encourage housing, schools and other community uses to create a complete community. Municipalities would need to consider increasing density on employment lands as well as locations near transit corridors.

Of course, municipalities would need to balance housing needs against other necessities. That means large parcels of land must be preserved for agriculture and heavy industry that will require separation from residential areas and other sensitive uses. This would help mitigate the potential effects of their operation, such as noise and odours.

We also recognize that residential development cannot happen in a vacuum.

Being one of the former parliamentary assistants to the Minister of Education, I was very pleased to see that we’re encouraging school boards and municipalities to work together to encourage them to innovate and integrate schools into housing developments.

Infrastructure corridors must also be considered and protected. Communities need electricity; they need transit; they need transportation. And our government recognizes the growth demands being placed on large and fast-growing municipalities such as those in the greater Golden Horseshoe. So our proposed land use policies in our provincial planning statement would have special direction for them while giving them flexibility. However, all planning authorities would still be required to integrate storm, sewage and water into development planning so that they can minimize risks and accommodate growth.

Our province is blessed with many resources, and we need to protect them. That’s why our proposal would require municipalities to map and designate prime agricultural areas to support our province’s productive and valuable agri-food network.

I want to state that Ontario would maintain all greenbelt protections, including policies on environmental and agricultural lands.

Just as valuable, Ontario’s water resources need protection. Municipalities would be encouraged to adopt a watershed planning approach rather than requiring watershed plans.

Aggregates, too, are a resource that must be protected. To make it easier to build housing, we must allow access to aggregates—and that is sand and gravel used in making cement. If we’re to work to lower housing costs, we must allow access to these deposits in more cost-efficient locations, as well as streamline the approvals process needed to extract these necessary resources.

Speaker, our proposed policies would also encourage municipalities to focus on improving air quality and addressing the impacts of a changing climate.

Of course, we’re also proposing some further legislative measures to support our actions to streamline land use planning rules to build more housing.

Our proposed changes would allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to require landowners to enter into agreements for projects assigned to the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator. This would help ensure commitments made by property owners are fulfilled; for example, in a case where a ministerial zoning order may be contemplated.

Speaker, as you can see, our proposed policies for land use planning in Ontario are extensive. They are just what our province needs to address our housing supply crisis and meet future demand.

As I mentioned earlier, our 60-day public consultation on these proposed policies and our proposed provincial planning statement began on April 6. I encourage those who wish to comment to go to the Environmental Registry of Ontario.

As you’ve heard from my colleagues who spoke before me, our government is committed to our goal of helping build 1.5 million new homes by 2031.

Our Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants plan and its supporting proposed legislation is the package that Ontarians need now and for the projected demand in the future.

Now I’d like to turn it over to the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery.

It’s my pleasure to rise here today to recognize the Arthur Vipers hockey team on their WOAA U18LL Elite Division championship victory. It was a hard-fought, best-out-of-three series against the Mount Forest Rams.

The first game saw Arthur taking it with a 4-3 win in overtime, with goals from Parker Coffey, Adam Krul, and Conner Schmidt who scored the game winner. Mount Forest bounced back in the second game, winning 2-0 and forcing a game 3. Arthur came out strong and fast in the final game, making for a hard-fought but resounding 5-0 victory to close out the series. Goals were scored by Simon Livingston, Parker Coffey and Aidan Hope. Conner Schimdt, Nate Howse, Wyatt Schill and Owen McDougall all provided assists. Wyatt Smith and Braeden van Dongen stood their grounds as goalies, keeping the puck out of the net. This capped off a fantastic season for the Vipers, winning 27 games with one loss and bringing them to a record 50 wins, one loss, 248 goals and only 76 goals against in their last two seasons.

I want to personally congratulate the entire team on winning the Elite Division championship in the past two years. As their coaches said, all three lines focused on doing the small things, fast and with intention. Congratulations, Arthur Vipers.

Questions?

The member from Thunder Bay–Superior North.

I am proud to be part of a government under a Premier that is fighting for my generation and the generations to come, and home ownership. The members opposite had an opportunity to address the housing crisis in Bill 23 and they voted against it. They voted against cutting fees on non-profit housing, on affordable housing and making it more affordable. In the GTA, in Mississauga, development charges add $160,000 on the average house.

On this side of the House and in the middle over there, we will continue to fight for home ownership, for renters and for affordability in this province. Yes, people have left, but we’re going to fight to bring them back because I know this government will continue to fight, again, for my generation and the future generations in this province.

Speaker, through you to the member opposite, I thank her for her advocacy on this and the health care file, and I know we’ll continue to work to support our volunteer firefighters and professional firefighters across Ontario.

Thank you to my colleague across the way for the question. As the minister mentioned earlier today, our government always favours getting an agreement at the negotiating table. I know those negotiations are ongoing.

Speaker, that includes workers across all sectors, that includes our educational workers, that includes our teachers remaining at the table to get an agreement, which is what our government always is focused on. We’ll continue to work with workers to ensure that they have safe working environments and they are supported.

I’ve talked to foreign-trained engineers, for example, and manufacturers and small businesses. They’re very supportive of these changes—many of those employers are very supportive of them as well—to get new Canadians, new Ontarians, into the workforce, helping meet some of the growing demand that I have in my riding—as well as the member from Brampton—and ensuring that those with the skills can enter the workforce as soon as possible, obviously meeting all the requirements there but working with our regulated professions. I know many are supportive of this as well, because they know we have a growing need. As I mentioned in my remarks, one in five jobs by 2026 will be in the skilled trades, so unless we all start having many children—I would be guilty of that—we will need immigration, obviously, to help meet that demand.

During COVID, yes, as the member highlighted, there were some bad actors in Ontario, and I know the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Health and the Minister of Labour worked together to rectify those issues and support those temporary foreign workers.

I actually have a few temporary foreign workers in my riding as well. I’ve met with them. Those employers are very supportive of them and welcome even more coming to our riding, working in agriculture, working in manufacturing. So I know that we’ll continue to ensure that all occupational health standards, as I alluded to in my speech, are observed and we will continue to ensure there are sanitary work environments and safe working environments for all Ontarians, no matter how long they’ve been in this province.

It’s my pleasure to rise to speak on Bill 79. Yesterday, as some who are currently in this place will know, I spoke in this House about our government’s comprehensive plan to build a strong Ontario for generations to come. Today, I’m pleased to be able to rise to speak on Bill 79—Working for Workers 3—that reemphasizes some of the pledges we outlined in our budget as well.

Let’s talk a little bit about what it means to work for workers, something this Premier and our Progressive Conservative Party are focused on day in and day out. Unfortunately, for too long under the previous Liberal government, backed by the NDP, the workers of Ontario were forgotten and neglected and left behind. We saw under that government a deliberate policy to deindustrialize our province, sacrificing good, high-paying jobs in every corner of our province.

However, since 2018, because of this government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, Ontario has attracted historic investments in the auto manufacturing sector, with a particular emphasis on electric vehicle production. Obviously, earlier this month, we heard the great news that Volkswagen announced that St. Thomas, Ontario, is the new location for their first overseas battery cell plant, demonstrating a massive level of confidence in our province and this government.

It wasn’t too long ago that the previous Liberal government drove manufacturing jobs out of Ontario, hurting ridings such as mine. The truth is, Speaker, it was everybody’s business—jobs that were driven out of the province—to ensure that we need to build a strong Ontario, to come back from those dark days. That’s why, through this bill, our government is taking real action to protect the jobs we’ve so carefully been able to attract back to our communities in Ontario, to make sure we have a plan to build a reliable and supported skilled trades workforce that’s so important to the growth and prosperity of our province.

Speaker, we’ve brought back jobs. In fact, we have more jobs than we have people who are able to fill them. Ontario employers continue to face historic labour shortages with nearly 300,000 jobs going unfilled in December 2022. Speaker, in my own riding of Perth–Wellington, we have the claim to fame of having one of the lowest unemployment rates—I believe the last numbers from Statistics Canada—second-lowest in the province. I know we’re looking for workers and inviting new Canadians to come to our communities to help us fill those available jobs.

In this bill, our government outlines our plan for training and attracting the workers we need in the skilled trades to help us build Ontario. For far too long, under previous governments, this was neglected and there was a negative stigma that surrounded these important careers. We in this government are giving the credits and showing the strength that these careers provide individuals. Our government is investing a historic $1.5 billion over four years into the skilled trades, supporting people of all ages but especially young people to pursue meaningful careers in the trades.

Our government is also preparing young people for in-demand and well-paying careers by allowing students in grade 11 to transition to a full-time skilled trades apprenticeship program, and upon receiving their certificate of apprenticeship, these young workers can apply for their Ontario secondary school diploma as a mature student.

Speaker, these initiatives, such as the ones I’ve highlighted so far, are so important in removing the stigma around the skilled trades in a way that truly demonstrates just how financially rewarding and fulfilling these jobs can be, as we look towards building a strong Ontario together. I can tell you personally, as someone who obviously comes from a rural riding in Ontario, that people in the communities that I represent are looking forward to welcoming new Canadians, new businesses and new jobs that our government is working so hard to bring back to Ontario.

Having said that, Speaker, I hear it day in and day out. When I speak to constituents, stakeholders and industry leaders, communities in rural Ontario are desperate for more workers and to keep the pace of growth as we look to ensure a brighter future for generations to come. That means boosting protections and enhancing work environments. To that end, this bill, if passed, will require basic information to be provided to new employees by their employer, including their work location, salary or wage, and the hours of work. This provision will be an important part of our commitment to eliminating underground hiring practices that some employers and bad actors in our province have taken advantage of.

Also relating to employees, under the proposed changes, employees who work remotely, which has become such a staple in our society, would be eligible for the same enhanced notices as in-office employees. For situations of mass terminations—I actually know individuals who worked at Twitter who have recently gone through that unfortunate experience with Twitter—I know these changes will help Ontario workers who remotely work receive the same eight-week minimum notice of termination, pay in lieu and preventing companies from taking advantage of them.

Our government is taking important steps to attract and train more workers to help fulfill our plan to build a strong Ontario, but at the same time we have also taken the necessary steps to ensure that workers will be well served by the jobs and industries they will work in, free from discrimination, manipulation or any other form of mistreatment.

Speaker, part of the reason a career in the skilled trades can be so fulfilling is the hands-on nature of the job that allows someone to see their work progress from start to finish. Part of the commitment means ensuring a safe and clean and comfortable working environment.

As many of us know in this place and have seen on social media, the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, Minister McNaughton, recently engaged in a social media campaign, letting a variety of construction workers and other skilled tradespeople raise awareness of their experience with washrooms on work sites. Needless to say, Speaker, we can do better to ensure a safe and comfortable working environment for these workers, and that represents a central focal point of this proposed legislation.

Our government is proposing amendments—again, if passed—to the Occupational Health and Safety Act that would clarify and enhance existing regulations around hygiene on the work site. Speaker, these changes would ensure workers have the convenient and comfortable access to clean washrooms on the work site that meet their needs.

In the coming years, we’ll be relying more and more on skilled tradespeople to meet the demands in our communities across Ontario. By 2026, it’s estimated that one in five jobs will be in the skilled trades in Ontario. And it’s across Canada we are experiencing these demands, so Ontario needs to be prepared to attract these workers. It’s important that our government supports these workers in whatever ways possible to ensure that they can work in comfortable and safe environments.

More than just that, Speaker: Currently one in 10 construction workers in Ontario are women, and as our government looks to support getting more women into the skilled trades to well-paying, rewarding careers, we need to make job sites safe and welcoming. To that end, Ontario is proposing to require women’s-only washrooms on construction sites that are fully enclosed, well-lit and adequately supplied with hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies. These initiatives directly reflect our government’s message that when women succeed, Ontario succeeds.

In the next few years, our province will be welcoming hundreds of thousands of new immigrants into our communities who will be going to work for our local employers and will start their own businesses potentially, eventually, in Ontario. We’re strengthening the protections for temporary foreign workers by establishing the highest maximum fines in Canada—in Canada, Speaker—for employers and people who are convicted of possessing or retaining a foreign national’s passport or work permit. They will grow into the beautiful fabric that makes Ontario as diverse and successful as it is.

But before we get there, we need to take proactive steps, exactly like the ones outlined in this bill, that help ensure we create a supportive working environment for everyone—women, new Ontarians to our province—to make sure that we are ready and prepared to accommodate the next generation of Ontarians in each and every community across the province of Ontario.

Speaker, the Premier often says that when you have a job in the trades, you have a job for life. Working for workers means that we are making that job as rewarding and fulfilling and comfortable as possible. Through this bill, Speaker, we are doing just that, and we will continue to work for workers on this side of the House and in the middle over there.

Thank you to my colleague for her comments. I listened intently.

I’d like to read a quote and I’ll obviously lead into my question. From the mayor of London, who tweeted this on budget day:

“Lots of positive news for #LdnOnt in today’s Ontario budget, especially significant investments in mental health and addictions, supportive housing and homelessness prevention.

“This is exactly what’s needed in #LdnOnt, especially as we build out our whole of community Health and Homelessness system....

“I thank them, along with Health Minister @SylviaJonesMPP, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions @MichaelTibollo,” the labour minister and “MPP @RobFlackPC, for not only listening but prioritizing these types of investments.”

Question to the member from London West: Does she support her mayor?

Thank you to my colleague across the aisle for the question. What I can speak about, Speaker, is the investments we are making in this budget and in this bill. The $425 million extra, as I mentioned, is in addition to the $3.8 billion. I know in my riding, I actually just recently had an opportunity to tour a youth wellness hub. It’s called Grove. It brings youth supports, capital and programming supports, so the wraparound supports, to rural communities in my riding that traditionally never had it.

When I went to school in Palmerston, they didn’t exist there, and now they have a Grove Hub there. They’re very appreciative of the investments we’ve made to bring these supports to communities that traditionally may not have had these supports and had to travel to Guelph or Kitchener in my area or larger urban centres.

Over the weekend, I heard from car salespeople, car manufacturers and people in the manufacturing sector that this was great news for our region and area and all of southwestern Ontario.

To respond to the question the member opposite posed to me, I’d like to highlight it’s $202 million additional dollars that we’re proposing. And I’d also like to point out that the members opposite had the opportunity to help facilitate more non-profit, affordable and attainable housing, but they chose to vote against Bill 23 and those decisions, which is shameful. But this side of the government and the middle over there, Speaker, will continue to fight for my generation that’s looking to get in the market and the future generations in this province to build more homes—all types of homes across the housing continuum—and this budget is one key step in that platform.

It’s an honour to rise here today and take some time to recognize the many important investments and changes that our government is making to build Ontario. I’d also like to say, Speaker, that I’ll be sharing my time with my great colleague from Markham–Thornhill as well.

All of us here today and all Ontarians can be proud that Ontario is seen as a leader and as a role model not only by other Canadian provinces but jurisdictions around the world. This reality reflects just how hard our government is working to make sure Ontario is a world-class place to live, work and play. Having said that, Speaker, our work is far from finished, and indeed we are just getting started.

With the federal government announcing a plan that would see half a million new immigrants to Canada each year by 2025, it’s imperative that we create an environment here in Ontario that is welcoming to new Canadians and provides opportunity to prosper. Just a few weeks ago, Speaker, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, alongside the federal Minister of Immigration, announced Ontario will be doubling the number of economic immigrants it accepts to 18,000 people by the year 2025. In this budget, Speaker, we’re also investing an additional $25 million over three years to ensure that as we welcome more people to our province, especially skilled workers, we provide the supports they need. All of this is to say that, while our government has taken important steps already to promote new jobs and promote innovation in a variety of sectors, there’s much more to be done to build an Ontario that can fill the dreams of hundreds of thousands of new Canadians that will call Ontario home in the years to come.

It’s not easy to pick up your life and move across the world to a different country, but our government has taken action every step of the way to ensure every new Canadian who looks to call Ontario home is supported and has opportunities to succeed. We’re building a strong Ontario in order to welcome new Ontarians who will help us build an even stronger Ontario in the years to come.

So let’s take a trip and look at exactly how our plan put forward in the Building a Strong Ontario Act will address current priorities and support the dreams of all those who will come to call our province home. While many newcomers to our province will likely fly into Toronto Pearson International Airport, they might soon decide they want a quieter lifestyle outside of the big city of Toronto or the GTA—no offence to my GTA colleagues in the place today. They might look to places like St. Marys or Palmerston, each unique in their own ways but with a growing immigrant population. They may even decide to call these rural communities their new home.

Well, that’s good news, because, as our government has outlined in our plan to build a strong Ontario, this plan benefits all communities across the province of Ontario. This budget highlights supports for all Ontarians looking to start a family, grow in their chosen trade or profession and play an active role in their community. In communities like mine, our government’s investments in the Dual Credit Program to expand the veterinary training and rural infrastructure will help build a strong Ontario.

Speaker, our government has overseen the licensing of over 13,000 internationally trained nurses, with over 3,100 soon to receive their licence to practise in Ontario. Beyond that, we have taken significant steps to expand training and employment opportunities for health care workers right across the province. The Ontario Learn and Stay Grant: Our government is targeting up to 2,500 post-secondary students in nursing, medical laboratory technologists and paramedic programs aimed at reinforcing our health care capacity in under-served communities in rural and northern Ontario, benefiting Perth–Wellington directly as well.

To ease the pressures faced by nurses and other health care workers on the front lines, our government is more than doubling our previous investment by allocating an additional $100.8 million over the next three years to expand and accelerate the rollout of undergraduate and post-graduate seats at Ontario medical schools. We’re also investing an additional $33 million over three years to add 100 undergrad seats beginning in 2023—this year, Speaker—as well as 154 post-graduate medical training seats to prioritize Ontario residents trained at home and abroad beginning in 2024 and going forward.

We’re taking steps to further alleviate pressures on our health care system by investing an additional $3.3 million over the next three years to expand access to the Dual Credit Program and health-care-related courses. Our government is investing in supporting an additional 1,400 secondary school students across Ontario to get their career started in health care. So not only does our government have a plan to license and integrate internationally trained health care workers into our hospitals and long-term-care spaces in Perth–Wellington and right across the province, but our plan protects and expands the capacity of our health care system now and well into the future.

Connectivity is an important part of ensuring high-quality care for all those who need it. We all know too well the devastating impact that mental health crises are having in our communities across Ontario, and I’m sure that every one of us in this place today knows someone in their life who has struggled with mental health issues. It’s not an issue that is exclusive to one group of people. The unfortunate reality is that mental health struggles have taken root in each and every one of our communities. That’s why our government is providing an additional $425 million over three years—in addition to our $3.8-billion commitment in previous budgets—to address mental health and addiction supports.

Community-based mental health and addiction services provide crucial supports, ensuring a swift delivery of care to those who need it and where they need it most. To that end, Speaker, our government recognizes that those who struggle with mental health and addictions are often some of the most vulnerable in our communities. That’s why we’re also investing an additional $202 million each year in the Homelessness Prevention Program and the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program.

More than just a roof over their head, the supportive housing initiatives our government is establishing are directly integrated with mental health and addiction supports, job training and providing a springboard for vulnerable Ontarians to recover. This approach is supported by experts, municipalities and other stakeholders. In addition to reducing costs in other sectors, supportive housing provides people in Ontario with an opportunity to live happier, healthier and fulfilling lives.

In rural Ontario, part of what makes us a healthy, happy and fulfilling place to live is our agricultural roots in our communities. For generations, we have taken pride in the fact that many of us make a living growing our crops and raising livestock, not only for our own communities, our cities in the province of Ontario, but across the world.

The people of Perth–Wellington and across rural Ontario know just how complex and integrated our agri-food sector is, and while our farmers themselves play a central role, they also rely on food scientists, transport workers, engineers and veterinarians, to just name a few.

With that in mind, this budget is addressing the pressing issues faced by our agriculture sector, including improving access to veterinary care for our livestock farmers. Speaker, our government is investing $14.7 million over two years to launch a collaborative doctor of veterinary medicine program at the University of Guelph, of which I am a proud alum, and Lakehead University—a crucial step in the right direction to protecting and expanding our agriculture sector in southwestern Ontario and right across the province.

Veterinarians play an important role in our agricultural sector. Speaker, at the most basic level, vets are there to make sure farmers can be confident in raising healthy livestock by diagnosing and treating diseases and disorders and advising farmers on hygiene and general strategies for their animals. At a broad level, vets are stewards of the food safety and security standards we have here in Ontario and that we expect and are so proud of.

To this point, I was encouraged to hear some of our agriculture stakeholders’ comments surrounding these important investments. For example, Peggy, president of the OFA—many in this place know her—and these are her comments: “Limited veterinary capacity leaves people, animals and ultimately our food system at risk and this multi-faceted approach will help maintain healthy, safe and sustainable food protection.”

Speaker, another quote which I found encouraging: Jack Chaffe, Beef Farmers of Ontario, president and also a constituent of mine, “The commitments included in the 2023 Ontario budget to improve access to veterinarian education and service capacity come as welcomed news to BFO and Ontario beef farmers, particularly those in underserviced regions of the province.”

Speaker, by engaging the University of Guelph with this initiative, our government is expanding our partnerships with an institution already well recognized around the world. In my community and communities across Ontario, the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph is a recognized and trusted source of capable workers for the agricultural sector, and I can tell you our communities are so happy to see further investment in this industry.

At the same time, Speaker, our government is looking out for our farmers and farm families that work on the front lines, feeding our communities and protecting our food safety and security. We’re especially aware of the evolving role advanced technologies play in large- and small-scale agricultural operations.

We owe it to our family operators, those who choose to invest in Ontario’s agriculture sector to ensure we have reliable, high-speed Internet across the province, including in rural communities such as mine in southwestern Ontario. That’s why our government is taking concrete action through an investment of nearly $4 billion to ensure every community—urban, rural and remote—has access to high-speed Internet by the end of 2025. Just to frame this closer to my home in my riding: The residents of southwestern Ontario can expect to see more than $63 million invested through our government going directly to support more homes, businesses and farms across our region through the Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology, or SWIFT, initiative.

Speaker, for those who already live here and for those who dream of starting a life here, our plan is to build a strong Ontario that shows our government is taking the right actions at the right time.

Having said that, let’s pass this budget. Let’s build a brighter future for a strong Ontario for our grandparents, parents, my generation and for generations to come in Ontario. Let’s get it done.

I rise today to recognize a great man who passed away on March 12, in his 99th year.

Arthur Boon was a skilled hockey and baseball player. He was invited to the Detroit Red Wings camp, and for many years he played senior A hockey in New Hamburg. He continued to play hockey every Sunday night until the age of 84. He was also a member of the Stratford Nationals in the Intercounty Baseball League, until a broken ankle ended his career. However, that did not stop him from playing slo-pitch until he was 71. He also coached minor baseball and was there to watch his sons, Art Jr. and Rick, play their games, and eventually his grandchildren.

Speaker, in addition to these sports accomplishments, and being a loving husband and father, he was also a World War II veteran. At the age of 15, Art signed up and eventually joined the 19th Canadian Army Field Regiment. His first action in the war was the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. He would fight in many battles up the coast of France, through Belgium, Holland and eventually Germany.

After returning home, Art proudly served with the Perth Regiment, eventually retiring as chief warrant officer.

Art was given the Order of Military Merit, the Order of St. John and the French Legion of Honour.

For over 75 years, Art organized and played a major role in the Remembrance Day service in Stratford.

We owe a great debt to Art, his family, and his fellow veterans. We will remember them.

I would like to ask a question to our great Minister of Health—to share with this House what we are doing for the great people of Niagara and the historic investments we are making in Niagara.