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[ { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I look to the minister to lead off the debate." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Graydon Smith", "text": [ "Good morning to everyone here in the chamber this morning. I’m pleased to lead second reading debate on Bill 228, the Resource Management and Safety Act.", "I’ll be sharing my time today with my parliamentary assistant, the member for Newmarket–Aurora, to speak to this bill.", "But before I do that, a few personal words, as I introduce my first bill in this chamber, and those words are simply for my parents: my mom, who’s watching today—good morning, Mom—and my dad, who’s watching from above, thank you. Thank you for teaching me how important it is to be a person who helps others, works hard and tries to make a difference. Mom, you still continue to remind me of that every day. And, Dad, as someone who enjoyed the great outdoors, as a fisherman of great skill in both summer and winter, I hope you’re enjoying your son’s latest gig. It’s because of you and because of my wife, Melissa, and my children, Gabby and Max, that I strive to create an even better Ontario that is full of opportunities and that recognizes that our natural resources and how we use them, manage them and respect them play a huge role in that betterment.", "I also want to thank my staff, both in my office and at the ministry, for the great amount of work they’ve done, not only on this proposed legislation, but every day. And to those back in the office, they are the best at what they do. When I come into the office, I am buoyed by your efforts every day, so keep it up, you’re amazing. I extend the same words to my parliamentary assistant, who you’ll hear from later.", "Since day one, our government’s demonstrated a determination to build Ontario’s economy for today and tomorrow. This bill exemplifies that commitment and, if passed, would:", "—fortify our shared capacity to prevent, mitigate and manage wildland fires, protecting families, communities, forests and industries across Ontario’s fire region from an escalating threat;", "—enable the permanent storage of carbon dioxide in deep underground geologic formations, helping industry to reduce their carbon emissions and meet climate goals;", "—attract new surveyors to support Ontario’s rapidly expanding infrastructure and housing needs; and", "—improve my ministry’s ability to take direct and timely remedial action to repair certain oil and gas wells that pose a public safety risk.", "With another fire season concluded, I’d like to thank the staff in my ministry’s aviation forest fire and emergency services branch, and all those who support them, for the incredibly important work that they do to reduce and manage the impacts that wildland fires can have on the people, communities, infrastructure and economic activity of this province. This past fire season—which was not as challenging as last year, thankfully—we managed about 475 wildland fires in Ontario. The number of hectares burned was 43% of the 10-year average and 20% of what we saw in 2023.", "Meanwhile, in other parts of Canada, they experienced a devastating wildland fire season, expressed no more fully than what we saw happen in Jasper. Ontario was able to deploy our amazing rangers and support staff to Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories to help. It is what we do and we do it well. Again, thank you to all those who serve in these challenging roles.", "Despite the fire season being softer than the previous one, we know one thing is certain: That on the whole, fires are becoming more severe, larger and more frequent across Canada—and Ontario is not immune. In pursuit of our vision of an Ontario that works together through all sectors to reduce the risk and minimize the devastating impacts of wildland fires, creating safer and more resilient communities, our government is modernizing our wildland fire management program and making significant investments in our resources to position us well for the challenges that lie ahead.", "As minister, I’m signatory to the Canadian Wildland Fire Prevention and Mitigation Strategy with my fellow ministers from coast-to-coast. This strategy is a call to action, meant to mobilize all in society at reducing wildland fire risk. I’m pleased to note that the legislative changes proposed in this bill will support my ministry in leading this work in Ontario and position Ontario as a leader in Canada.", "The Forest Fires Prevention Act is the primary provincial legislation that sets out rules and regulations for managing wildland fires in this province. It sets obligations for fire prevention measures, authorizes enforcement and defines offences and penalties. Bill 228, the Resource Management and Safety Act, if passed, would amend this act. First, the Forest Fires Prevention Act would be renamed the Wildland Fire Management Act and a purpose clause would be included to reflect a stronger focus on all aspects of wildland fire management necessary to combat the growing risk and impact of these fires. That means: greater focus on prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, and ensuring that people and companies are aware of and comply with rules that are designed to prevent human-caused fires and prepare for fires when and where they occur.", "The amendments we are proposing to the act, if passed, would help our ministry to manage the expected increase in wildland fire activity, while also reducing the risk that wildland fires pose to people, communities, infrastructure and economic prosperity. Reducing that risk is a shared responsibility. The amendments in this bill, if passed, would strengthen the collective responsibility for wildland fire management; enhance all aspects of wildland fire management, including prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery; and strengthen compliance and enforcement.", "My ministry’s long-term goal is an Ontario that works together to minimize the impact of wildland fires to create safer, more resilient communities. The act, as it stands, enables my ministry to enter into agreements for the prevention, control or extinguishment of grass, brush or forest fires.", "0910", "In keeping with our vision of an Ontario that works together to reduce wildland fire risk, this bill, if passed, would enable the ministry to enter into agreements on all aspects of wildland fire management. This could include agreements on wildlife fire management training with a municipality or a First Nations community, or an agreement to permit activities otherwise prohibited by the act such as a prescribed burn. In sum, this amendment, if passed, would enable increased collaboration among all involved in wildland fire management.", "My ministry also aims to step up its work with municipalities and industries in the fire region to enhance wildland fire management. It’s why we are proposing an amendment to the act that, if passed, would require these partners to maintain wildland fire management plans. These plans would need to meet prescribed standards that would be set out in regulation under the act, should this bill be passed. Prescribed standards for these plans would include prevention, mitigation and preparedness activities. Meeting requirements for wildland fire management plans could mean updating an existing plan or creating a new plan.", "The amendment, if passed, would allow the minister to deem a plan prepared for a different purpose other than a wildfire management plan if it meets the prescribed standards, such as a municipal plan prepared under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. My ministry will continue consultation with municipalities and industry to scope the proposals and identify potential resource needs, and we have the support of the president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario—my former role—Robin Jones, the mayor of Westport. She says, “AMO applauds provincial action to modernize wildfire management. More frequent and intense wildfires due to climate change create significant risks for people and resources. Provincial-municipal partnership to prevent, prepare for, mitigate and respond to wildfires is needed to protect our forests and keep our communities safe.”", "My ministry staff will provide technical support to ensure adequate plans are in place to address the escalating risk of wildland fires. During a wildland fire emergency, my ministry draws on resources from the private sector, including equipment and sometimes equipment operators, to quickly respond using the resources at hand. We have 41 arrangements with companies in the forest industry that set out the terms of use for their equipment, each with its own terms, conditions and remuneration rates. Our personnel will often rely on forest companies in emergencies, even if those in other industries have similar equipment closer at hand.", "That’s why we’re proposing to amend the act to enable my ministry to set out, in regulation, standard rates, terms and conditions when privately owned equipment is used in wildland fire suppression. The standardization of these agreements would reduce the administrative burden they now impose while making it easier to mobilize the closest equipment at hand. This amendment would also add to the circumstances under which my ministry could summon industry assistance, adding other related wildland fire emergency events such as evacuations. Industry strongly supports the clarity that standard terms and conditions would provide.", "Let me turn now to the amendments we are proposing that are related to the enforcement measures within the Forest Fires Prevention Act. This bill, if passed, would bring the enforcement and penalty provisions of the act in line with other statutes of my ministry, including the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and the Invasive Species Act. Strengthening these provisions would provide my ministry with the tools and powers it requires to hold bad actors responsible for failing to comply with or contravening the act to account.", "Two of the amendments we’re proposing to the enforcement and penalties provisions in the act, if passed, would enable my ministry to exercise judgment in determining how best to proceed, depending on the circumstances of the case—in short, whether to resort to the court system, as the act currently requires, or, instead, to consider alternative measures.", "Almost half of the wildland fires in our province are caused by people. Under the act as it stands, charges are laid when this occurs.", "We recognize that alternative solutions may be preferable in some circumstances. Let me outline the first of these. This bill, if passed, would enable my ministry to issue administrative monetary penalties for non-compliance with the act, without initiating a prosecution. This option could be used to penalize activities that could start a fire or impede its suppression, such as operating equipment without the required spark arresters or failing to have a fire extinguisher on a work site. Forest industry companies are already subject to administrative penalties under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act. This proposed measure would, if passed, apply to all industries and persons subject to the newly named Wildland Fire Management Act. It’s an approach that is fair, equitable and that follows modern regulatory principles, including progressive compliance.", "The second of these amendments deals with remediation orders. We’re proposing a measure that, if passed, would enable my ministry to issue a remediation order without initiating a prosecution. Such an order could require a person to plant trees or take part in a wildland fire education program. This could resolve issues more quickly than through the court system. Should this proposal be approved, the circumstances in which remediation will not be considered could be specified in a regulation under the act.", "My ministry also deals with the question of costs. Under the act as it stands, for human-caused fires, the costs of suppressing or extinguishing a fire are automatically a debt to the crown. This obliges my ministry to seek recovery from individuals or companies that have caused the fire. An invoice is issued, and if it’s not paid, my ministry considers civil action. This bill, if passed, would give my ministry discretion in determining whether to seek recovery of these costs in cases where recovery may not be possible, would impose hardship, or is not in the public interest.", "Imagine this scenario: A driver pulls over after her car catches fire, and the fire spreads to the brush next to the road shoulder, igniting a wildland fire. Without the amendment proposed in this bill, this driver would be issued an invoice for the costs of suppressing or extinguishing that fire.", "This bill, if passed, would also clarify my power to prohibit activities during wildland fire emergencies while also providing me with the authority to exempt persons from such orders in certain circumstances.", "In addition to these legislative changes, my ministry is also undertaking policy and program initiatives to modernize the wildland fire program. These policy and program initiatives would increase our collaboration with municipalities, Indigenous communities and industry. I’d like to tell you about several of these.", "Our ministry aims to establish a wildland fire advisory committee to bring together all partners in the essential and life-saving work of fire risk reduction that is so crucial to protecting people, homes, communities, industries and our natural resources.", "My ministry also aims to step up its wildland fire awareness campaigns to better inform Ontarians of wildland fire risks and hazards. We need to educate the public and promote their awareness of the prevention and mitigation actions they can take to reduce fire risk. We rely on the efforts of the public and our partners at the local level to take the steps needed to break that link between a spark and a flame. It will take all Ontarians, working together across the fire region, to reduce the risk of wildland fires, and the collective efforts of all partners to fulfill this vision of safer and more resilient communities in Ontario.", "My ministry also aims to enhance its collaboration with Indigenous communities in natural hazard management to enhance support for the traditional use of fire, including cultural burning, and to enable wildland fire management led by Indigenous communities. We are proposing to work with Indigenous communities in a partnership that would consider their unique needs, values, cultures and voices to better manage wildland fires and develop fire-resilient communities.", "0920", "While wildland fires are too often caused by people, they also occur naturally. These natural fires, often ignited by lightning strikes, play an important role in renewing the boreal forest. Each wildland fire is assessed. My ministry then responds based on the situation and condition of the fire. When fires threaten communities, properties, our timber supply and the infrastructure that we all rely on, our fire crews are at the ready, acting as quickly as they can to contain the threat. Other fires are managed to limit their negative effects and, when it’s safe to do so, some fires are only monitored. This enables us to use these fires to regenerate the forest. We also occasionally use prescribed burns to decrease fire risk in certain vegetated areas since vegetation can fuel wildland fires.", "That brings me to another policy and program measure my ministry is consulting on that is complementary to this proposed bill. We are updating our guidance on managing vegetation since it does serve as a fuel source for wildland fires, recognizing that doing so could help us avoid fire losses. This could become an important asset in wildland fire resiliency planning and we see potential to integrate its use into natural resource-related practices such as timber harvesting, land use planning and development.", "Speaker, to build the economy of today and tomorrow, our government must ensure Ontario has the skills and capabilities essential to getting the job done. That’s why this bill, if passed, would help to support Ontario’s rapidly expanding infrastructure and housing development needs by also amending the Surveyors Act. This act grants authority to the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors. This is the self-governing body that oversees the licensing and governance of professional land surveyors in our province.", "Surveying is at the foundation of all development—there’s a pun in there somewhere. We rely on the information surveyors provide to build infrastructure, homes and communities. We also rely on surveyors to help communities recover from emergencies such as flooding in urban areas and wildland fires. Since boundary markers can be lost during these catastrophic types of events, many of the dedicated professionals who carry out this essential work are progressing towards the later stages of their careers. This suggests to my ministry and to their association that our province could one day face a barrier to growth owing to a lack of survey services. Already surveyors are in short supply across northern Ontario.", "The measures proposed in this bill, if passed, would help to increase the availability of surveying services when and where they are needed. Our goal is to avoid delays in infrastructure and housing projects, as well as delays in property transactions and to increase the availability of survey services in northern Ontario, which as I noted, is underserved today. These amendments, if passed, would also enable survey firms to incorporate modern new technologies into their practices while enhancing the governance structure and professional oversight provided by their association. My ministry worked closely with the association in developing these proposals, which the association supports.", "Al Jeraj, the executive director of the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors says, “The Association of Land Surveyors of Ontario is pleased to see the Ministry of Natural Resources’ proposed changes to the Surveyors Act. These changes will modernize ... and allow our association to continue to advance our mandate of protecting the public. As the demand for safe, affordable housing and infrastructure continues to rise, land surveyors will remain essential in building the future of our province. I thank the province for their efforts in supporting our profession, and helping us meet the demands of a growing economy.”", "To become a licensed Ontario land surveyor, a candidate must complete a four-year degree and have up to three years of experience. Given the aging demographic within the profession and the increasing demand for survey services, Ontario needs to increase their supply.", "In addition to increasing the supply of survey services, this amendment, if passed, would provide another very significant benefit: It would allow surveyors with less Canadian experience to undertake certain survey work under the supervision of a fully licensed surveyor. The Association of Ontario Land Surveyors is committed to bringing on internationally trained surveyors faster than it can today. This proposal would, if passed, help the association meet that commitment.", "This bill, if passed, would also allow the association to issue a temporary licence to a person holding the equivalent of a full Ontario licence from another jurisdiction. As it stands today, the association has a labour mobility agreement with other Canadian jurisdictions that allows a surveyor from one jurisdiction to obtain membership in another by demonstrating knowledge of local law. This means a surveyor coming into Ontario from another jurisdiction must pass an exam on Ontario law as it applies to surveying in our province. This can take a significant amount of time.", "While in other professions, such as engineering, qualified practitioners can be brought into Ontario from other jurisdictions for emergency projects, the Surveyors Act, as currently written, does not permit this. As I’ve noted, during emergencies such as wildland fires and flooding in urban areas, property boundaries may be lost. Surveyors are needed on an urgent basis to assess the damage and re-survey boundaries. This is critically important to affected communities, as it allows them to rebuild and recover. A temporary licensing program would enable Ontario to respond more promptly to emergencies. Surveyors with a temporary licence would also be required to work under the supervision of a licensed Ontario surveyor.", "A third amendment to the Surveyors Act is proposed in this bill, and it would, if passed, enable survey firms to use new and innovative technologies to deliver survey services. Firms would no longer be required to operate a physical consultation office or to maintain a schedule of posted hours. These amendments, if passed, would allow firms to enjoy the efficiencies provided by modern business practices.", "Finally, this bill, if passed, would enable the association to provide increased oversight of the surveying profession. The proposed amendments would support the timely resolution of issues involving surveyor conduct by streamlining the complaints process. These changes would strengthen the profession, and build greater trust and confidence in the surveying industry.", "Speaker, let me turn now to the proposed amendment to the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act that is included in the bill. The history of oil and gas extraction in Ontario dates from 1858, and over the 166 years since then, tens of thousands of petroleum-related wells have been drilled in our province, mostly in southwestern Ontario. When a well is not properly maintained, it can deteriorate over time, and this makes it more disposed to leak. Gas from a leaking well can contaminate drinking water or result in other hazards that can affect people and the environment. We need to prevent such types of events from occurring.", "This legislation enables ministry inspectors to order well operators to take steps to address hazards related to a well or its associated equipment in these types of situations. In some cases, an operator may be unable to respond to an order for compliance, and this can happen in cases of insolvency or if a well operator is deceased. My ministry does not want to stand by while a hazard that needs to be promptly addressed persists unabated.", "This bill, if passed, would enable my ministry to take action to address a hazard without the consent of an operator in limited circumstances where there is a non-compliance with a ministry order and when a non-compliant operator is bankrupt, insolvent or deceased. My ministry would seek the consent of the landowner to gain access to the land where the hazardous well is situated. When that is not possible, we would seek a judicial warrant to enter the premises without the landowner’s consent. This would enable us to remediate the hazard in a timely fashion. This measure, if passed, would help protect the public, property, the landowner and the natural environment nearby a hazardous well in these limited circumstances of non-compliance. It would allow my ministry to pursue a non-compliant well operator for the costs of the remediation.", "0930", "In the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, they already have similar powers. We need this capability in Ontario, Speaker, and we have the support of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs president, Rob Grimwood, who says the association “applauds the Ontario government and Minister Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources, for their proposed legislation that will protect communities from hazardous gas wells and provide tools to recover costs for actions taken on the wells.", "“This government’s commitment to fire and life safety is very much demonstrated in its proposals to the FFPA and Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act, respectively.”", "My ministry has in place a Legacy Well Action Plan to address the challenges arising from historical oil and gas wells. As it happens, my ministry staff are in the midst of conducting gas-detection surveys in Haldimand county this fall under this plan. But by implementing this plan, we aim to increase our understanding of the risks, develop strategies to manage these risks and support emergency planning and preparedness measures. This bill, if passed, would assist my ministry in meeting these aims, and this measure would be welcomed, as I said, by the fire chiefs and our municipal partners as well.", "Speaker, I want to wrap up my time now speaking a bit about the new legislation that I’m really excited about, which is the Geologic Carbon Storage Act. My great parliamentary assistant will get into more detail on the environmental benefits of the act, if passed, but I just want to quickly touch on its economic potential. This bill, if passed, will allow the initial development of commercial-scale carbon storage projects in southwestern Ontario and could sustain as many as 2,400 existing jobs in Ontario’s manufacturing, oil and gas, and utility sectors, and create up to 4,000 short-term jobs associated with the development of carbon capture and storage projects. It could help Ontario industries remain competitive by reducing the federal price they pay on carbon by as much as $1.2 billion per year. These initial benefits may increase if carbon storage technology continues to advance and the development of carbon storage facilities in other parts of the province becomes commercially viable.", "Enabling geologic carbon storage in Ontario could also enable industries investing in carbon projects to qualify for federal investment tax credits. The economic impact of these projects will be substantial. According to Natural Resources Canada, the economic benefit of three large-scale carbon capture and storage projects could lead to a $2.7-billion increase in GDP, based on a four-year construction time frame. Should this technology continue to advance and expand across the province, these benefits would only grow.", "Speaker, the economic potential is great, and it’s not just us saying it. Brian Johnson, the general manager and senior vice-president in Ontario at Enbridge, says they “commend the government for taking another significant step towards enabling carbon capture and storage ... on a commercial scale, supporting Ontario’s energy-intensive, hard-to-abate industries—the backbone of our economy.”", "He goes on to say, “This effort not only ensures that ... jobs and investments stay within the province but also unlocks a new industry poised to attract billions of dollars in new investments and create tens of thousands of jobs, driving economic growth and sustainability across Ontario.”", "Well, Speaker, my time is pretty much up for now. Members of the House, I look forward to hearing your perspectives on the measures proposed in this bill, and now I’ll pass things over to my parliamentary assistant." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "MmeDawn Gallagher Murphy", "text": [ "Thank you to the minister. I’d like to thank him for his leadership on this file. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank him and the Premier for this opportunity to serve as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources. I have learned so much about our province’s natural resources—the opportunities, as well as the awesome responsibility for caring and protecting its biodiversity for this great province. It is truly a privilege to serve Ontarians on this great file.", "Of course, a shout-out to the great residents of Newmarket–Aurora, who entrusted me with the honour to be their voice, to serve them and our province: Thank you, Newmarket–Aurora.", "And most importantly, to my husband and our son: Thank you for being my rock. Your support means everything to me.", "The measures our government is proposing in this bill reflect our steadfast commitment to building strong, resilient communities—communities that are prospering today, better prepared for natural resource hazards, able to grow, with access to the survey services they need and able to build on our new foundations—in short, positioned for prosperity today and tomorrow. This commitment is especially important in Ontario’s resource-dependent communities, such as those reliant on the forestry sector.", "Some may think of resource-based industries as merely traditional. And some may fail to recognize the importance of resource-based industries to the future prosperity of this province. I’m proud to say this government doesn’t see things that way. And we’re completely focused on opportunities for growth.", "Let me start with the new legislation that is proposed in this bill: the Geologic Carbon Storage Act. As the minister said in his remarks, the economic impact of this legislation is significant. And I want to re-emphasize how geologic carbon storage offers Ontario a unique opportunity to preserve and create thousands of high-value jobs, attract significant investment and help our industries remain globally competitive. By enabling industries to reduce their carbon costs, this technology could protect vital sectors like manufacturing, oil and gas, and utilities, which are essential to our province’s economic prosperity. It also positions Ontario to take advantage of federal tax incentives and the growing global demand for carbon management technologies, ensuring we stay ahead in the transition to a low-carbon economy.", "Nous avons maintenant abordé la question de la prospérité économique. Qu’en est-il du développement durable et de la prospérité environnementale? Les richesses naturelles de l’Ontario recèlent un potentiel incroyable dans ce domaine également. Seul un travail en collaboration entre elles pourra permettre de libérer tout leur potentiel.", "So we touched on economic prosperity. But what about sustainable and environmental prosperity? Well, Ontario’s natural resources hold incredible and unbelievable potential in just that and must work together to unleash their full potential.", "Pour cette raison précise, nous prenons actuellement des mesures pour introduire et réglementer le stockage géologique du carbone en Ontario. À l’heure actuelle, environ 30 % des émissions de gaz à effet de serre de l’Ontario proviennent chaque année d’industries essentielles, telles que l’industrie de la fabrication et les services publics. Ces mêmes industries produisent les matériaux nécessaires à la construction des hôpitaux, des routes et de foyers, en plus de fournir l’énergie nécessaire à l’éclairage des hôpitaux et des foyers de soins de longue durée. Ces industries sont essentielles au fonctionnement de notre province.", "S’il est adopté, ce projet de loi permettra à ces industries essentielles à forte émission de stocker de manière permanente le dioxyde de carbone qu’elles émettent dans des formations géologiques souterraines adéquates.", "0940", "That is exactly why we’re taking steps to introduce and regulate geologic carbon storage in Ontario. As it stands, about 30% of Ontario’s greenhouse gas emissions each year come from essential industries like manufacturing and utilities. These industries produce the materials needed to build hospitals, roads and homes, and supply the energy that keeps the lights on in hospitals and long-term-care homes. They are vital to our province’s functioning.", "This bill, if passed, would enable these hard-to-abate industries to permanently store the carbon dioxide they emit in suitable underground geologic formations. In just the initial phase of development, commercial-scale carbon storage projects in Ontario could lower annual industrial carbon emissions by 11% to 15%—the equivalent of removing as many as two million cars from the road—reducing Ontario’s total annual emissions by approximately 3% to 4%.", "Rien que dans leurs phases initiales de développement, les projets de stockage de carbone à des fins commerciales en Ontario pourraient réduire les émissions industrielles annuelles de carbone de 11 % à 15 %, ce qui équivaut à retirer de la circulation jusqu’à deux millions de voitures et à réduire les émissions annuelles totales de l’Ontario d’environ 3 % à 4 %.", "This technology has the potential to significantly reduce the social costs of greenhouse gas emissions by as much as $2 billion per year. The most suitable underground geologic formations for carbon storage in Ontario are saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas reservoirs found in southwestern Ontario, right where many of these industries are clustered. The proximity between industries and potential storage sites offers a significant advantage for the future development of carbon management in our province.", "While geologic carbon storage is a new concept in Ontario, it has already been successfully implemented elsewhere. In fact, more than 40 carbon capture, utilization and storage projects are currently operational worldwide, including in Western Canada, Australia, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. According to the International Energy Agency, there are approximately 700 carbon capture projects in various stages of development across 50 countries. The technology has a track record of more than 50 years and it is eliciting broad support and growing levels of investment globally. This bill would help Ontario safely and responsibly engage proponents to implement carbon storage projects, following best practices from other jurisdictions.", "Le Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat et l’Agence internationale de l’énergie ont affirmé que sans le déploiement à grande échelle de technologies de gestion du carbone, y compris le stockage géologique du carbone, il n’y a pas de voie réaliste permettant d’atteindre des émissions nettes nulles d’ici à 2050.", "The International Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency have stated that there is no credible path to net-zero emissions by 2050 without the widespread deployment of carbon management technologies, including geologic carbon storage. This technology is particularly suited for energy-intensive industries with large, fixed assets, such as steel, lime, cement, and oil and gas refineries—industries that cannot easily eliminate their carbon emissions through process changes. Permanently storing carbon dioxide underground is a viable way for the industries to achieve their climate goals.", "Ontario’s industrial base is a key part of the province’s economy, and many communities, particularly in southwestern Ontario, depend on the jobs and economic activity generated by these industries. However, we are at a crossroads. Without carbon management strategies such as geologic carbon storage, there is a risk that industries may relocate to jurisdictions where carbon management technologies are available or to those where industrial carbon emissions are not yet subject to a price. This would have serious consequences for Ontario’s industrial heartland and could result in the deindustrialization of entire regions.", "Cependant, nous sommes à la croisée des chemins. En l’absence de stratégies de gestion du carbone telles que le stockage géologique du carbone, les industries risquent de s’établir dans ces territoires où les technologies de gestion du carbone sont disponibles, ou vers celles où les émissions industrielles de carbone ne sont pas encore soumises à ces frais. Cette situation pourrait avoir de graves conséquences pour le coeur industriel de l’Ontario et pourrait entraîner la désindustrialisation de régions entières.", "That is why we are proposing the Geologic Carbon Storage Act. This bill would help secure the future of several industry-reliant communities and ensure the reliance of Ontario’s industrial base, all while achieving our climate goals.", "Ontario’s long history of regulating oil and gas industries in southwestern Ontario gives us valuable experience in managing underground resources safely and responsibly. Our ministry has already overseen the storage of natural gas and hydrocarbons underground in salt caverns, as well as compressed air for electricity generation in Goderich. This expertise will help guide the development of geologic carbon storage projects in this province.", "The Geologic Carbon Storage Act, if passed, would provide the necessary regulatory framework to enable the responsible design, construction, operation and closure of carbon storage facilities. It would also specify the requirements for post-closure management and ensure the long-term safety of these projects. The act would also clarify the ownership of pore space in Ontario and facilitate access to suitable underground formations for carbon storage. This is a critical step in advancing carbon storage technologies and ensuring that Ontario remains a leader in responsible environmental stewardship.", "By supporting the Geologic Carbon Storage Act, Ontario will be better positioned to transition to a low-carbon economy. This technology will play a key role in helping industries meet their climate targets while ensuring that essential sectors can continue to operate and grow.", "Speaker, this bill is not just about regulation, it is about supporting our environment, helping industries reduce their carbon footprint and creating a sustainable future for all Ontarians. By embracing innovative technologies like geologic carbon storage we can ensure that Ontario’s industrial base remains a key contributor to a cleaner, more sustainable world.", "Now I would like to turn your attention to Ontario’s forest sector, which has a proud heritage and a promising future. Our government is going to help the sector realize that promise. Wood may be almost as old as the hills, but it’s being made into new products that are used in new ways. These novel wood-based products and new applications are poised to increase the use of Ontario wood in construction projects, growing the market for our sawmills, feeding into new manufacturing plants and building community assets right across our province.", "0950", "This new building method is called advanced wood construction. It’s a technology that uses engineered wood in place of more carbon-intensive products and factory-based manufacturing methods to prefabricate modular components off-site. These new materials can be used in larger and taller buildings than those that can be built using conventional wood, including taller multi-family residential and office buildings, as well as institutional, commercial, educational and industrial buildings. And this technology can be used to build infrastructure, including bridges, wind turbines, towers and sound barriers. Imagine applying assembly line efficiency in the construction industry, using prefabricated components and just-in-time delivery.", "Advanced wood materials are engineered out of wood fibre, including sawn lumber, wood chips and strands. Two products produced using this method are cross-laminated timber and laminated strand lumber. These materials are precision-machined and assembled in factories to create sustainable and highly efficient building components. Today, 11% of global energy-related carbon emissions come from the building materials used in construction and the way they are used.", "Aujourd’hui, 11 % des émissions mondiales de carbone liées à l’énergie s’expliquent par le choix des matériaux de construction et la manière dont ils sont utilisés. Des matériaux à faible teneur en carbone, tels que ceux utilisés dans les techniques avancées de construction en bois, ainsi que de meilleures méthodes de construction pourraient réduire ce pourcentage en Ontario.", "Notre gouvernement investit actuellement dans cette nouvelle technologie passionnante afin d’ouvrir un marché entièrement nouveau pour les producteurs de bois. Cette technologie pourrait également permettre d’introduire une innovation majeure dans l’industrie de la construction.", "In July, we announced a significant investment of $3.46 million in Element5, a manufacturer of cross-laminated timber. Element5 holds Forest Stewardship Council certification and uses wood from Ontario forests. The cross-laminated timber it produces is used in advanced wood construction. Element5 is using this new technology in ways expected to transform the building industry—prefabricating buildings inside factories.", "Cette méthode permettrait d’accélérer la construction des bâtiments, de diminuer les coûts, de réduire l’empreinte carbone des projets de construction, de produire moins de déchets et d’atténuer les perturbations pour la communauté.", "Element5 a élaboré un concept de logement résidentiel multiunités en bois massif. La société a également réalisé plusieurs projets de logements abordables et supervisés. Puisque nous reconnaissons le fort potentiel de cette technologie ainsi que de ses produits durables et de haute qualité, dans notre province richement boisée, au coeur de l’Amérique du Nord, mon ministère considère cette technologie comme l’avenir de l’industrie.", "That’s why we’ve drafted an Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan. This plan positions Ontario to lead in this fast-growing sector, by using more wood in the construction of multi-family residential buildings, both mid-rise and tall, and in commercial and industrial buildings, creating new opportunity in the forest sector.", "Speaker, our government’s plans to grow our natural resource sector to support job creators, to create new jobs and to build critical infrastructure is all outlined in this bill.", "Pour bâtir des infrastructures essentielles, madame la Présidente, l’Ontario continuera à avoir besoin d’agrégats. C’est pourquoi le ministère modernise également le programme des ressources en agrégats. Les ressources d’agrégats comptent habituellement le sable, le gravier, l’argile, la terre et le substrat rocheux. Ils sont utilisés pour construire des routes, des tunnels de métro, des maisons et d’autres infrastructures.", "The aggregates industry is a powerful job creator, supporting more than 26,000 jobs in aggregate-related sectors, and it fuels economic growth with an annual production revenue surpassing $1.6 billion. We know that Ontario’s population is growing at a rapid pace. That’s creating new challenges and new opportunities. We need the resources to accommodate that growth. That’s why our government has been making significant investments into infrastructure, to position Ontario for the future.", "Des projets tels que l’autoroute 413, le contournement de Bradford et le prolongement du métro dans la région du grand Toronto contribueront à relier nos communautés en pleine croissance et à ouvrir la voie à une plus grande prospérité dans toute la province. Lorsque je pense à la quantité de ressources nécessaires pour chacun de ces projets, je suis d’autant plus à même de reconnaître l’importance de notre secteur des agrégats.", "Selon les calculs de l’Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, au cours des 20 dernières années, l’Ontario a consommé 3,4 milliards de tonnes d’agrégats, soit 170 millions de tonnes par an. Un seul kilomètre de ligne de métro nécessite plus de 90 000 tonnes d’agrégats. Ces chiffres peuvent être difficiles à comprendre, mais pour moi, ils montrent à quel point il est important pour l’Ontario d’avoir une industrie des agrégats solide, souple et fiable.", "Projects like Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass and subway extensions across the GTA are all going to help connect our growing communities and pave the way for more prosperity across our province. When I think about the amount of resources required for each of these projects, I get an even deeper appreciation for our aggregates sector. Over the past 20 years, Ontario has consumed 3.4-billion tonnes of aggregate, which works out to 170-million tonnes annually, based on the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association’s own calculations. Just a single kilometre of a subway line needs more than 90,000 tonnes of aggregate. Those numbers can be hard to comprehend, but to me, it just shows how important it is for Ontario to have a robust, adaptable and reliable aggregates industry.", "Speaker, this is why our government has been working hard to support job growth and economic development in the aggregates sector by cutting red tape, driving reform and modernizing regulations. These measures are important to help us strike a balance between promoting innovation and sustainability while safeguarding environmental protections and minimizing the impact to our communities.", "1000", "All of this infrastructure—every road, every bridge, every subway line—needs a steady and sustainable supply of stone, sand and gravel produced right here in Ontario. When our government thinks about the future of Ontario, we see a prosperous province filled with opportunity for our growing population. Our plan to make that vision a reality can’t be done alone. That’s exactly why we will keep working hand in hand with our aggregates partners to ensure that the industry is well equipped to lay the foundation for a brighter tomorrow.", "The government will be consulting on and updating key operational policies for new pit and quarry applications. By clarifying application requirements, the government aims to make the application process more efficient and transparent.", "Notre gouvernement appuie le rôle primordial de l’industrie des agrégats dans le développement des collectivités de l’Ontario. Les consultations publiques sur les politiques proposées auront lieu à l’hiver 2025. Le gouvernement est à la fois à l’écoute de la population et des entreprises qui créent les matériaux et les produits essentiels à la construction de l’avenir de notre province.", "Tout comme nous le faisons dans notre programme des agrégats en rationalisant le processus de demande et en favorisant des pratiques durables, nous assurons un approvisionnement fiable en matériaux essentiels pour nos projets d’infrastructure.", "But this bill is not just about the future of our economy. It’s also about the future of our communities. By investing in our natural resources, we are creating jobs, stimulating economic growth and strengthening the social fabric of our province.", "In conclusion, this bill is a critical step, a step forward in the journey toward a sustainable and prosperous future, un futur où je pense que je vais voir mon fils avoir du succès dans tout ce que notre province peut ouvrir.", "By embracing innovation, investing in our natural resources and working collaboratively with industry, Indigenous communities and all stakeholders, we can build a stronger Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "M. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "Il y a une petite communauté de mon comté qui a une taille et une population de 600 concitoyens. Très peu de ressources humaines : ils sont cinq employés en plein temps, avec un petit budget. Cependant, le territoire couvre un immense deux cantons, la majorité couverte de forêt. La chance qu’il y ait un feu de forêt est immense dans leur territoire, puis aussi, les régions habitées par la municipalité sont grandes. Mais cela ne leur donne pas autant les moyens—les moyens humains et financiers pour gérer de façon adéquate.", "Ma question pour le ministre : comment votre projet-là va adresser ces petites municipalités qui gèrent des grandes régions, des grands territoires? Puis financièrement aussi, sur le côté des ressources humaines, parce qu’ils n’ont pas le moyen de le faire selon ce que vous allez demander. Ma question est : comment allez-vous faire pour aider ces municipalités-là financièrement et aussi avec les ressources humaines?" ] }, { "speaker": "MmeDawn Gallagher Murphy", "text": [ "Merci au député de ses questions. La Loi sur la prévention des incendies de forêt est la loi provinciale principale qui stipule la régulation pour gérer les feux de forêt en Ontario. Aucune modification importante n’a été apportée à cette loi depuis 1999. Nous devons toutefois la mettre à jour pour gérer la menace grandissante des feux de végétation.", "C’est pourquoi la Loi sur la gestion des ressources et la sécurité propose de la modifier. Les modifications législatives proposées permettraient de faire ce qui suit : renforcer la responsabilité collective à l’égard de la gestion des feux de végétation—il y’a plein d’autres choses—resserrer les règles et les conséquences en cas de non-conformité aux lois sur la gestion de faune et végétation—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Further questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Robert Bailey", "text": [ "My question is to the Minister of Natural Resources.", "I listened closely to the parliamentary assistant’s remarks this morning.", "My question is kind of parochial. In one case, it’s about the energy-intensive industry in Sarnia–Lambton and, of course, for the province as a whole.", "Could you elaborate a little more on this new industry that could be developed and the impact it could have on my community?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Graydon Smith", "text": [ "Thank you for the question.", "In the member’s area, and all throughout southwest Ontario, what we see is opportunity—opportunity for Sarnia and other communities to continue to see investment in industries that have supported those communities for generations. And without taking this step, without enabling the Geologic Carbon Storage Act, we’re going to lose those opportunities. Businesses are looking actively at where they are going to make investments, not only in Ontario, but I mean globally and in our country. They want to have access to this technology. We have been very clear over the last couple of years, as we’ve gone through this, that as much as there is a massive environmental benefit to this, there is a massive economic benefit to this as well." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "M. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "Je dois revenir à ma question précédente. J’apprécie que la sous-ministre puis le ministre m’ont répondu, mais ils n’ont pas répondu à la question.", "C’est correct de moderniser. Je pense que les municipalités n’ont pas de problème de moderniser. Mais ma question était : qu’est-ce que vous allez faire avec les petites municipalités, même les moyennes aussi, qui n’ont pas le financement mais aussi les ressources humaines pour être capables de répondre aux obligations que le ministère va imposer. Elles sont correctes avec la modernisation, mais elles ont besoin de solutions.", "Je veux vous entendre, c’est quoi ce que vous allez faire pour aider ces petites municipalités-là? Je n’ai pas besoin de savoir que ça n’a pas été modernisé—on était dû pour une modernisation. Ça, ce n’est pas le problème. Ils reconnaissent qu’il faut moderniser. On sait que la planète se réchauffe. Mais comment allez-vous aider ces petites municipalités financièrement puis aussi avec les ressources humaines? C’est ça qui est ma question. C’est ça qu’elles veulent savoir, puisqu’elles veulent être capables de répondre à vos—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Response." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Graydon Smith", "text": [ "Thanks to the member for the question.", "As the member may know, I was in the municipal sector for a long time, and I certainly appreciate that a number of smaller communities sometimes face unique financial challenges. The point of the updates in this bill is not to create a burden for them. In fact, we’ve done a lot of consultation in advance of this, and we have the support of not only AMO, but of FONOM and Danny Whalen, their president, and Wendy Landry and NOMA. We want to consult more with municipalities and get the ground rules set for what these plans look like. We know certain communities already have plans; we can grow and use those as a base. And we’re definitely going to work with municipalities, not against municipalities, to make sure that they have the safety in their communities, and all throughout the north, that they deserve.", "1010" ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Andrew Dowie", "text": [ "Resiliency is truly an important quality for all communities.", "In southwestern Ontario, communities like Wheatley, not too far from my hometown, were rocked by an explosion caused by an abandoned gas well under a building in downtown Wheatley. The province—and the Ministry of Natural Resources, particularly—has made a commitment and is supporting Wheatley and southwestern Ontario by providing financial assistance and making changes to ensure communities are safe and prepared for oil and gas well emergencies.", "I saw the government, during the summer, announce a $7.5-million investment to help communities enhance emergency preparedness, as part of the government’s $23.6-million action plan to tackle the challenges related to legacy oil and gas wells.", "I know the ministry also administers the Abandoned Works Program, which provides financial assistance to eligible landowners to support the plugging of oil and gas wells.", "What does this bill do to reduce the risk of these particular wells?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Graydon Smith", "text": [ "Thank you for the question.", "I’m glad you highlighted Wheatley—and a shout-out to the great folks of Wheatley, who have been through a lot. Since that tragic day, we have supported them every step of the way. I made a promise to the fire chief, the first time I met him, that when we said that we were going to take lessons learned from that event, it was not a hollow promise.", "We have taken action on numerous fronts around abandoned oil and gas wells in southwestern Ontario, not only to plug more wells, but to give municipalities the funding to incent them to have local plans that work for their municipalities.", "And through this bill, if passed, we’re going to continue that path, to make sure that safety is a priority for not only us but for these communities, and make sure that we can get access to those wells that pose a risk, even if there are unusual circumstances." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Further questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Sandy Shaw", "text": [ "The explosion in Wheatley is a hard lesson that we must learn from.", "What we know is that the abandoned oil and gas well problem is massive. It’s huge. There are estimates that there are still up to 40,000 abandoned oil and gas wells in the province. The government is committing $23.6 million. I can’t imagine that’s going to even come close to remediating these wells.", "What I also see in this bill—two things: One is that you are starting to address the legacy of an industry that went wrong, and now you’re introducing, effectively, a new industry.", "Given the lessons from Wheatley, will you be doing extensive safety and public consultations when it comes to this new industry that you’re proposing when it comes to carbon capture?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Graydon Smith", "text": [ "Thank you very much for the question.", "As I mentioned earlier, those lessons learned continue to be implemented around oil and gas wells.", "When we look to carbon capture, safety, of course, is paramount. We’ve been clear with industry, we’ve been clear with municipalities, as we have moved forward with carbon capture very methodically in Ontario through a number of steps, that safety is number one. We are not going to allow a project to go forward if there is a safety concern. We are going to make sure that any of these projects that occur in Ontario respect the fact that Ontarians need to remain safe, while at the same time we’re opening up opportunities for environmental benefit and fiscal investment in our communities in Ontario.", "Second reading debate deemed adjourned." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Pursuant to standing order 93(a), I beg to inform the House that the Clerk has received a notice related to Bill Pr55, An Act respecting Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Billy Pang", "text": [ "On November 8, I had the honour of joining a vital community safety meeting hosted by Markham Community Alliance. The meeting gathered community members, government representatives and York Regional Police to address urgent safety concerns, including car thefts, home invasions and robberies.", "As a guest speaker, I provided updates on provincial actions to improve public safety and informed attendees about my private member’s motion to proclaim November as Community Safety Month in Ontario. This initiative aims to boost public awareness around safety, support effective crime prevention and strengthen community policing across Ontario. Fostering safety through education and collaboration is key to building stronger, safer communities.", "Additionally, the Ontario government has committed over $1 billion to community safety initiatives, which include hiring additional police officers and judges, purchasing new helicopters, reducing court backlogs, combatting auto theft and more to enhance safety across Ontario.", "As we all know, community safety isn’t just about law enforcement. It’s about empowering citizens to be proactive in protecting their homes and neighbourhoods. I thank our many engaged community leaders for partnering with us to make Ontario a better and safer place to live and raise their families." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Wayne Gates", "text": [ "In Niagara and across the province of Ontario, we are facing a severe shortage of family doctors. More than 2.5 million Ontarians do not currently have a family doctor and in less than two years that number will double. Some 40% of the doctors currently practising are considering retirement in the next few years and small, rural and northern communities are suffering terribly.", "While we have made progress in Niagara thanks to the hard-working team of recruitment specialists, we know that this crisis has only worsened since the Premier and this government have been in power. They have had more than six years to address this problem and yet things are worse than ever before. This government will have underfunded our hospital system by $21 billion by 2028. They spent years fighting nurses in court over the unconstitutional law Bill 124 while they spent $1 billion on private staffing agencies, worsening the staffing crisis in health care. There have been a record number of emergency room and urgent care closures like Fort Erie.", "What we need to do is reduce the administrative burden on doctors, increase funding for primary care, allow primary care teams to work together and make it easier for doctors who have trained internationally to practise in our community.", "Let me be clear, Ontario deserves better than this government’s record of failure on the health care file." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Steve Pinsonneault", "text": [ "I rise today to celebrate a milestone in my riding of Lambton–Kent–Middlesex, the launch of a state-of-the-art, $75-million plant propagation greenhouse in Glencoe. This cutting-edge facility is set to revolutionize our local agricultural sector by producing over 100 million plants annually, including vegetables, flowers and herbs.", "Beyond its impressive production capacity, this greenhouse is a boost of economic growth and job creation in Lambton–Kent–Middlesex. It has already created employment opportunities, and it is expected to attract future investment in the region. The development of this facility highlights our community’s commitment to innovation and sustainability in agriculture. We are not only growing our local economy but contributing to Ontario’s leadership in the agri-food sector.", "I want to congratulate all those involved in bringing this visionary project to life. Their dedication and hard work have laid the foundation for a more prosperous future in our riding." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Jamie West", "text": [ "This Friday, Mell retires. For those of you who aren’t from Sudbury, Mell is Q92’s Mellaney Dahl. Q92 is Sudbury’s first FM rock station and since 1990, they’ve been moving more rock than Vale.", "Mell has been there since the beginning and Sudbury loves listening to Mell. She’s quick with a laugh. She’s got a caring heart. She’s known for her dedication to helping our community. Mell is regularly involved with the chamber of commerce’s International Women’s Day. She mentors many young female announcers and she’s an advocate for various charities—too many to list.", "Closest to her heart, however, would be the Sudbury Food Bank. Mell is the president of the food bank and volunteers like Mell help ensure that the Edgar Burton Christmas Food Drive continues to be the largest per capita food drive in Ontario and one of the biggest in Canada. Knowing Mell, she’d ask all of us to celebrate her retirement with donations to the food bank.", "1020", "Nick Liard and her team at Q92 had this to say about Mell: “Every community would be lucky to have a champion and voice like Mell. She is a bright light for so many people through tough times in their life and a consistently amazing human being. I know she is going to miss all the people that she has connected with in the community, worked with at the radio station and charity work across Greater Sudbury but she deserves this, and her career is a benchmark for those getting into media.”", "Speaker, after 35 years as a Q92 announcer and content director, Mell will be greatly missed. I believe I speak for all of Sudbury when I say, thank you for everything, Mell. Congratulations. We hope you rock your retirement." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Sheref Sabawy", "text": [ "Last week, we were at Roche Canada in Mississauga to announce a $130-million investment with 250 new good-paying jobs. We know that life sciences are an important sector in Ontario, with more than 72,000 people, and we are continuing to see the industry grow.", "Just like how Silicon Valley is a large hub for technology in North America, Mississauga is quickly becoming a large hub for pharmaceuticals and life sciences. In our city, we have many of the top industry players—$2.7 billion of GDP from life sciences in Mississauga alone. Post-secondary institutions like the University of Toronto Mississauga continue to partner with these organizations to build the next generation of life sciences pioneers. UTM recently opened a new science building, allowing even more students to succeed.", "By creating more access to biomedical labs, pharmaceutical companies can continue to innovate. For example, HDAX Therapeutics is working with UTM on therapeutic solutions for diseases. I recently attended a celebration where Amgen Biotech Experience and UTM had provided educational experiences to over 8,000 students in Ontario.", "The pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors in Mississauga and Ontario continue to thrive. Our government is fostering the conditions for this growth, and we’ll continue to get it done." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Chris Glover", "text": [ "There’s been a number of coyote attacks on pet dogs in Liberty Village. I spoke last week with some of the residents there.", "Bianca was walking her dog when she was chased by a coyote. She picked up her dog and the coyote continued to chase her with the dog in her hands. She thanks the people in Liberty Village who actually came to her rescue and, as a group, was able to scare the coyote away.", "Patrick, who is very familiar with hazing, said that he was walking his dog at 7:30 in the morning. A coyote came and started to attack his dog, and he had to fight off that coyote.", "Yesterday, there was an attack posted on the Facebook group in Liberty Village.", "The question is, why are these attacks becoming so much more common now? The relationship may be that this government destroyed the wildlife habitat on the west island without an environment assessment. They also have exempted the Ontario Line construction from an environmental assessment. Environmental assessments are designed to protect wildlife, they’re designed to protect the environment and they’re designed to protect people.", "So, what we believe is that the dens of these coyotes have been destroyed and now they’ve been pushed into the city and they’re becoming much more desperate and aggressive. That may be leading them to the dogs.", "It’s not just me saying this. I talked to David Lewis, who does environmental assessments, and he said that a key component of environmental assessments is to assess how much wildlife is there, how much wildlife will be displaced and to make a plan for that. Without this plan, this government’s actions destroying the west island at Ontario Place has put residents in Liberty Village at risk." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. David Smith", "text": [ "I rise today to commend our government for its steadfast commitment to addressing Ontario’s housing crisis. I had the opportunity to participate in the affordable housing and land development bus tour in Scarborough, focusing on transit-oriented development sites within Scarborough Centre. This initiative highlights a powerful approach to integrating affordable housing with accessible transit, helping to create vibrant, connected communities.", "Affordable housing is not just about building homes, it’s about ensuring these homes are within reach of essential services, jobs and opportunities. TOD sites make this possible by linking housing with accessible transit options, which reduces transportation costs for families, supports sustainable urban growth and enhances quality of life for residents.", "Our government has committed over $1.8 billion to housing-enabling infrastructure, supporting the construction of at least 1.5 million homes by 2031. This bold investment addresses our growing housing needs and fosters sustainable, inclusive communities across Ontario.", "I’d like to extend my gratitude to Mark Richardson and his team, the technical lead for our tour, for his insight and dedication in showcasing how these developments are transforming our community for the better." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Vincent Ke", "text": [ "Last week, the Ontario government introduced the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act, 2024. This legislation includes provisions for supervised consumption sites, including five in Toronto.", "Speaker, I’ve heard growing concerns from families and businesses about the unintended consequences of these sites, including safety issues near schools and playgrounds and reports of vandalism, drug use and crime in surrounding areas.", "This bill has received overwhelming support from constituents, with many sharing feedback such as, “Applause for Ford for standing strong under pressure and taking real action.” Another said, “This is fantastic; it is the decision a rational person would make.”", "Community leaders agree that prioritizing prevention and rehabilitation over enabling drug use is the true solution to the addiction crisis. Research supports that a balanced approach with investments in prevention, treatment and recovery is more effective and sustainable.", "This bill marks a significant step forward in safeguarding public spaces while addressing the complex issues around addiction." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Laura Smith", "text": [ "Last Saturday, Thornhill kicked off the holiday spirit at the historic Holy Trinity Church with an afternoon of festivities at their Christmas market and lunch. Along with the handmade Christmas decor, delicious butter tarts and the fudge—which, by the way, I bought the last of—this year was particularly special, as I was introduced to the new minister, Rev. Maria Ling. I want to welcome her to her role and thank her for her hospitality, as well as all of the members of the ACW, the Anglican Church Women. They help with the sale and the preparation of the delicious meals. I had just a great time.", "Their festival of Christmas is an annual event that has been serving the Thornhill community for so many years, with the proceeds going to help charities that help women and children, something dear to everyone in this room’s heart.", "Recognizing that the holidays can also be a really difficult time for some, on the evening of December 6, they actually host a special Advent service for those grieving a loss. It’s known as blue Christmas. I think that’s really incredible, and I want that thank Nancy Cutler for her dedication in bridging those gaps for the community. Not everyone has a great Christmas experience, but she makes sure that it involves everyone.", "I also want to thank sisters Hillary and Miriam for being such compassionate volunteers through their weekly Out of the Cold program.", "Holy Trinity Church has such an amazing and a special group of people who truly embody the spirit of the holidays 365 days a year. I want to thank them for their incredible job in the community.", "1030" ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Logan Kanapathi", "text": [ "November is a deeply emotional month. Intimate partner violence is not just a problem, it is a growing crisis across the province. Women and girls are subject to unimaginable physical, emotional and psychological harm. This vile form of control robs them of their fundamental right to live freely and safely. Our government remains committed to fostering an environment where every woman can live with dignity and safety, free from fear. Ending intimate partner violence is a daunting challenge, but we must confront it with resilience and eradication.", "Mr. Speaker, this week is Maaveerar Naal. It holds significance for Tamils around the world and the Tamil community, especially Tamil residents in Markham–Thornhill, as we reflect on the many lives lost during the Sri Lankan Civil War. To mark this, actor Karunaas Sethu travelled from Tamil Nadu, India, to release a film called Salliyargal here in Markham and York region. This film highlights the extraordinary service of medical workers during the final stages of the war.", "Salliyargal is more than a film, it is a cultural testament to the resilience, ultimate sacrifices and stories of a generation, ensuring their voices are preserved for the generations of the future. Let us draw strength from these stories as we continue to build a safer, more compassionate world where every human race can live peacefully, without fear and persecution." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "I’d like to introduce members of the University of Toronto NDP who are here at Queen’s Park today: Kate Martens, Samuel Sarjeant, Mathis Cleuziou, Kabeer Haider, Ash Donachie, Raymond Bhushan, Luca Rampersad, Jake Barton and Anika Dhaliwal. Thank you so much for being here. It’s a pleasure working with you." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Ted Hsu", "text": [ "I would like to welcome a couple of visitors here who are with Good Roads: Cathy Burghardt-Jesson, the mayor of Lucan-Biddulph; and Cheryl Fort, the first vice-president of Good Roads, who is the mayor of Hornepayne. Welcome to your House." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Mike Harris", "text": [ "We have many paramedic chiefs from across the province who are here today, and I want to give a special shout-out to John Riches, who is the chief of the region of Waterloo paramedics. Thank you very much for being here. I look forward to meeting with everybody later." ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "I have two groups I would like to welcome today. From Good Roads, Guy Godmaire, director of Good Roads; Kristin Murray, director; and Rayna Gillis, CFO. We’ve already met. Welcome to your House. Thank you so much for being here.", "I would also like to welcome the—I believe there are as many as 18—members of the association of paramedic chiefs here. In particular, I’d like to welcome Shane Muir, who is the chief of the Superior North EMS; Andrea Joyce, director of paramedic services, Naotkamegwanning EMS; Steve Turner, manager, Lambton county EMS; Melissa Roney, deputy chief, Greater Sudbury. Thank you so much for meeting with me this morning, and welcome to Queen’s Park." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "As has been mentioned, I would also like to welcome the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs. In particular, I know that President Greg Sage and the paramedic chiefs from across Ontario are having productive meetings. Welcome to the Legislature of Ontario.", "I would also like to welcome Life Sciences Ontario to the Legislature. I encourage everyone to take a few minutes to drop in after 5 at the legislative dining room to learn more about how Ontario is on the cutting edge in the life sciences." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Sol Mamakwa", "text": [ "Remarks in Anishininiimowin.", "Good morning. I would like to introduce Jessie Clelland and Camerra Yuill Robar, who are here with the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario—but also Nancy Liu, the president of the Ontario Association of Pathologists. It was great to meet with them this morning. Meegwetch for the important work that they do." ] }, { "speaker": "Mrs. Karen McCrimmon", "text": [ "It’s a pleasure to introduce some guests today. I’d like to welcome Nancy Peckford, Justin Towndale and Andrew Blackburn, from Good Roads.", "I’d also like to welcome, from the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association, Jeffrey Dale and Dana Vajcovec.", "Finally, from Life Sciences Ontario, I’d like to welcome Eric Tse, Trisha Hutzul and Alex Muggah.", "I look forward to meeting with you all. Welcome to your House." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Andrew Dowie", "text": [ "I want to wish a warm welcome to everyone from the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs, and particularly, from our neck of the woods down in the deep southwest, Justin Lammers from Essex-Windsor EMS and Jeff Brooks from Chatham-Kent EMS. Welcome to Queen’s Park." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Catherine Fife", "text": [ "I’d also like to welcome Chief John Riches, from the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs. I look forward to our meeting.", "Also, Life Sciences Ontario’s president, Jason Field, and manager of government relations, Charlini Nicholapillai, I look forward to speaking to later on at the reception." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. John Fraser", "text": [ "I’d like to welcome Megan Harrison, who is the mom of page Alina Doja, from Ottawa South, who is the page captain today. Welcome to Queen’s Park." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Graydon Smith", "text": [ "I want to welcome Jeff McWilliam, who is the chief of the Muskoka Paramedic Services, here with the OAPC today and a fellow Miami Dolphins fan, so a double hello." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Logan Kanapathi", "text": [ "I am honoured to rise today to introduce Mr. Karunaas Sethu, a former MLA of Tamil Nadu, renowned actor, producer, composer and singer. With his impactful career in both the arts and politics, Karunaas is a true advocate for creativity and advocate for marginalized communities through his films and songs. Please welcome him to the Legislature of Ontario, Canada." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Assuming there are no objections, I’d like to continue with the introduction of visitors." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Bobbi Ann Brady", "text": [ "I’d like to welcome to the House Clare Loftus, who is with me from the great riding of Haldimand–Norfolk. Clare is currently studying criminology at Laurier university and will move on to law school in England in just a few years. Welcome to the House, Clare." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Nolan Quinn", "text": [ "I’d like to welcome the mayor of Cornwall, Justin Towndale, who is here for the Good Roads advocacy day." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Joel Harden", "text": [ "A very special person back home is watching the live feed. I want to shout out my beloved, Clare Roscoe. Happy birthday, honey, and thank you for everything you do for CHEO and you do for our family. We love you." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Laura Smith", "text": [ "I would very much like to welcome members from my team in my office, Ms. Delia Marquez; Flora Khani, who is with the ministry; OLIP intern Annie Dowd; and, third day on the job, new to politics, new to this room, Ms. Taia Samuel." ] }, { "speaker": "Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens", "text": [ "Good morning, Speaker, and thank you for allowing me to rise and welcome to our House Joseph Falzata as well as Julie Kwiecinski, from CFIB. Welcome to your House, and thank you for that lovely meeting this morning." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Mary-Margaret McMahon", "text": [ "Good morning, everyone. It is my pleasure to welcome clever Craig Meerkamper, who is curious about political life, and so, hopefully, he doesn’t get turned off politics today with us.", "I’d also like to welcome the good people from Good Roads—my former colleague city councillor passionate Paul Ainslie and awesome Andrew Blackburn—and the talented Toronto Paramedic Services, all of you who are here and brave Bikram Chawla.", "I’ll see you later this afternoon. Welcome to your House." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. John Jordan", "text": [ "I want to welcome Mike Nolan, chief, Renfrew county paramedics, founder of the VTAC program.", "1040" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "I’d like to acknowledge here today with us the former MPP for Hamilton East–Stoney Creek, Paul Miller. Welcome to the House. It’s nice to see you." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I, too, would like to welcome the former member, who served in the 39th, 40th, 41st and 42nd Parliaments. Welcome back, Paul. It’s great to see you here." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Amarjot Sandhu", "text": [ "I would like to make an introduction on behalf of my colleague from Brampton East: a page captain from Brampton East, Maadhav Saini, a resident of Brampton East and student from Williams Parkway Senior Public School. Thank you for your hard work and for being passionate about learning more about the Ontario Parliament.", "Also, in attendance are Maadhav’s father, Gulshan Saini; mother, Bhawana Sharma; and younger brother Paarth Saini. Welcome to Queen’s Park." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Joel Harden", "text": [ "I also just want to acknowledge our friends from the Salvation Army who are here in the chamber today. Thank you for all you do to keep people well and safe. I look forward to your reception at noon.", "And yes, to the good people at Good Roads: Scott Butler, thank you for all you do. Thomas Barakat and the whole team that is talking about road safety, I look forward to your reception at 5 p.m. Thanks for being here." ] }, { "speaker": "Mrs. Daisy Wai", "text": [ "I would like to introduce Nancy Liu, pathologist and president of the Ontario Association of Pathologists; John Tzountzouris, registrar and CEO of the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario; and John Soltys, district 5 representative for the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario. I look forward to our meeting this afternoon." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Michael Parsa", "text": [ "A great guy." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Stan Cho", "text": [ "Thank you to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.", "Two introductions this morning: The first is my BFF from Timmins, a friend of the Minister of Mines and I, Councillor Kristin Murray. Welcome to the Legislature.", "Second is—well, listen, this guy served some time with me at the Ministry of Finance. You can take the man out of the ministry, but you can’t take the ministry out of the man. Kyle Jacobs is here with his parents. Thank you, though, for leaving your younger, more handsome brother here with us at Queen’s Park." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Anthony Leardi", "text": [ "I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce and welcome the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario, including their CEO Michelle Hoad, as well as representatives from the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario, the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association and the Ontario Association of Pathologists. Thank you for your significant contributions and welcome to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "And the very patient Minister of Children, Community and Social Services." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Michael Parsa", "text": [ "I appreciate it. Thank you very much, Speaker.", "I’d like to welcome divisional commander, Lieutenant Colonel Brian Armstrong, and divisional officer personnel secretary, Lieutenant Colonel Lynn Armstrong, from the Salvation Army, who are joined by front-line leaders from across the province. To the entire Salvation Army team who are here at Queen’s Park, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for everything that you do.", "Members, please join them in room 228 for their lunch reception right after question period." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Terence Kernaghan", "text": [ "It gives me great pleasure to welcome individuals from the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario, Wes Morrison, Catherine Streutker, Jeffrey Fuller; as well as Life Sciences Ontario individuals, RJ Kayser, Russell Williams, Peter Brenders, Mark Smithyes and Michael Di Tomasso; as well as individuals from Good Roads, Chris Traini and Will Wuehr. I look forward to our meetings.", "I also want to give a warm welcome to paramedic chief Stephen Turner, who is here in the House today." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. David Piccini", "text": [ "I’d like to just single out two folks from the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario: Natalie Goodman and Dr. Katie O’Reilly, who I see are here today. Welcome to Queen’s Park. I’m looking forward to having lunch." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "That concludes our introduction of visitors for this morning." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. According to the Financial Accountability Officer, housing costs were responsible for 70% of the inflation that Ontarians experienced in just the last quarter—skyrocketing home prices, skyrocketing rent, and there’s no relief in sight. Housing starts are actually down 18% so far this year.", "So I want to ask, on behalf of young families, on behalf of tenants facing rent hikes and eviction and on behalf of seniors who are considering tents: Has the Premier simply given up the fight on the housing crisis?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "To respond, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Paul Calandra", "text": [ "I’m not sure where the Leader of the Opposition has been, because we have been asked by them and they don’t seem to be listening. I agree with her: Housing prices have gone up over the last year. Why? Because interest rates went up faster than at any point in time in the country’s history. It was this Premier who got to the microphone and asked, begged, the Bank of Canada and the federal government to do something about bringing interest rates down. It priced out of the market those who wanted to buy their first home. It priced out of the market those who were building homes. It priced out of the market those who were building purpose-built rentals.", "I absolutely agree, and this is why I have asked the Leader of the Opposition to work with her federal counterparts to bring down a federal government that has caused interest rates to increase at the level at which they have, that caused inflation to skyrocket out of control. Now, more than ever, when we are faced with a crisis south of the border that threatens the financial health of the entire country, I beg the Leader of the Opposition: Call the federal government, tell her federal counterparts to hold them accountable so that we can keep things moving properly in the proper direction here in the province of Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "The evidence of their failure is very plain to see, because housing starts are collapsing here in Ontario, while they are rising in most other provinces in Canada—interesting.", "Ontario ranked eighth in per-capita housing starts last month, behind British Columbia, behind Manitoba, behind Quebec and behind Alberta. Under this government, Ontario is building at less than half the rate necessary to achieve our goal of 1.5 million new homes. So has the Premier given up on this housing goal?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Paul Calandra", "text": [ "Again, an ironic question coming from the Leader of the Opposition that has voted against every single proposal that we have brought forward to help unlock housing starts in the province of Ontario.", "As I’ve said on a number of occasions, prior to the rapid increase in interest rates, we were building more homes, more starts than at any other time in the history of the province. And that’s not just single, detached homes; that’s also purpose-built rentals.", "We knew, as the Premier highlighted, that when interest rates increased at the speed at which they were going to, we had to put in place other things so that when those interest rates started to come down, we could unlock a persistent housing boom in the province of Ontario. That is why we brought forward over $3 billion worth of housing-enabling infrastructure that the Minister of Infrastructure has highlighted across the province of Ontario, tying infrastructure to home building. We’ve also tied that to strong-mayor powers, because we expect our municipal partners to work with us to get shovels in the ground so that we can meet our goal of 1.5 million homes." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The final supplementary?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "This Premier ignored the recommendations of their own Housing Affordability Task Force. They refused to legalize fourplexes and they refused to legalize mid-rises near transit as of right. They cut funding for community housing by 70%. They don’t want public investment in new housing, but they don’t seem to want private investment either.", "Since the legislative session started, the Premier has been obsessed with spas and bike lanes and tunnel fantasies. Is this because he so badly needs to distract people from his total failure on housing?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will please take their seats. Order.", "I’ll remind the members that we refer to each other by our ministerial title or our riding name, as applicable.", "Premier." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Ford", "text": [ "I just want to remind the Leader of the Opposition: We led the charge across the country on removing HST on purpose-built rentals. We introduced over $3 billion in new funding for municipalities, for funding the housing-enabling infrastructure fund, and the opposition voted against it. We included $1.2 billion in funding for those who meet or exceed housing targets. The opposition voted against it.", "1050", "Mr. Speaker, let me quote a friend of mine named Mayor Steven Del Duca: “Frankly, this housing affordability crisis began when I was still sitting at the provincial cabinet table.” Mayor Steven Del Duca, January 17, 2024.", "So maybe when you were propping up the Liberals, destroying the province, chasing 300,000 jobs out of this province, hiking electricity rates, making sure it wasn’t affordable for companies to stay here—maybe we’d have more housing. We led the country in housing until your counterparts decided to keep the federal Liberals—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The Premier will take his seat.", "I remind the members to make their comments through the Chair, not directly across the floor of the House.", "The next question." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "I mean, maybe the Premier should go talk to folks in BC and Manitoba who know how to build housing in the country, you know? They know how to get things done.", "Interjection." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Order." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "They’ve got bigger shovels than yours, my friend.", "Let’s talk about why this matters: Last week, I was in Ottawa listening to people who feel like they have been completely left behind by this government.", "I met Lynn. She is 64 years old. She’s worked her whole life. She was looking forward to retirement. She had a bit of bad luck, and you know what? She lost her home. She ended up homeless. She lived in her car for eight weeks before she could even find a place to sleep in a shelter. She told me over and over again that she never imagined being homeless.", "People are on the brink of losing their homes and this government is doing nothing about it. Why is this Premier leaving people like Lynn behind?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will take their seats.", "For the second time today, I’m going to remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.", "The Premier can reply." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Ford", "text": [ "Again, let’s just go back a little bit here—we set records: More housing built, more rentals, more than any time over the last 30 years. In 2021, there were 99,566 homes; in 2022, 96,000 homes; in 2023, 89,000 homes.", "All we’re asking is when we put these motions together to make sure we support the municipalities that you support us. Unlike the Liberals, that ended up electing as a leader the most NIMBY mayor that we’ve ever seen in Ontario that built nothing—actually, Mississauga shrunk under her leadership; sky-high taxes; DCs that we’ve never seen before.", "We’re doing everything we can to work with the 444 municipalities to make sure they get rid of the fees—the 38% fees before you even get a shovel in the ground. You’re paying $150,000 before you even get a shovel in the ground to build the condos, to build—", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Ottawa Centre will come to order. The member for Sudbury will come to order. The member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas will come to order. The member for Hamilton Mountain will come to order. Over here, the government House leader will come to order. And who else was it?" ] }, { "speaker": "Interjection", "text": [ "Pick one. Pick one." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The Minister of Red Tape Reduction will come to order.", "The supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "Cars are not homes. Tents are not homes, right? Most other provinces are building more homes faster than here in the province of Ontario under this Premier’s watch. Housing starts haven’t been seen this low since the 1950s, Speaker.", "When I speak to industry, let me tell you that a few years back, they were trying to find workers; today, they’re laying people off because Ontario’s residential construction sector is shrinking. Homes are not being built. Jobs are disappearing from the province. So I want to know if this Premier is okay with young, skilled workers moving out of this province to build homes that are simply not being built here in Ontario.", "Interjection." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Eglinton–Lawrence will come to order.", "The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Paul Calandra", "text": [ "Speaker, let’s unpack what she said there. Housing starts are at their lowest in many decades, and I’ll agree with her: Single, detached housing starts are at their lowest that we’ve seen in a long time, primarily because of the interest rate increases. But that’s single, detached homes.", "So I ask the Leader of the Opposition: If I bring forward proposals that will unlock single, detached housing construction across the province of Ontario to get it to the highest levels in the history of the province, will the member opposite support that? I’m willing to guess that she won’t. It’s a convenient thing that she’s left out, that although single, detached are at their lowest level—and that’s an absolute fact—purpose-built rentals are remaining at some of their highest levels ever.", "Do you know why that is? I’ll tell you why that is: because this Premier and this Minister of Finance worked to eliminate the HST on the construction of those projects. When I was in Ottawa last week, they said the only reason they’re getting purpose-built rentals in the ground and affordable housing in the ground is because we removed DCs on that. When you lower—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Thank you.", "Interjection." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Waterloo will come to order.", "The final supplementary?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "Housing is not being built here in the province of Ontario the way it is being built in BC, in Manitoba, in Alberta and most of the rest of this country. You cannot blame the interest rates for your constant failures. We’ve proposed Homes Ontario, but the Premier opposes public sector solutions. The NDP proposed making it easier to build housing of all kinds, as recommended by their own task force, but the Premier opposes private sector solutions too. It seems like donating to cabinet ministers is the only way to get anything done with this government.", "My question is, what’s the going rate to get you back to building in the province of Ontario?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will take their seats.", "I think, for the third time today. I will remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.", "The Premier." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Ford", "text": [ "Mr. Speaker, I don’t even know where to begin here. We’re against the private sector to build homes, that she shouts and screams non-stop if we do anything to support the private sector. She’s against public housing, because she’s against building anything, and she’s against building infrastructure that helps homes get built. She’s against the 413, the Bradford Bypass—you’re against building $50 billion in new hospitals. She’s against putting money back into people’s pockets, because the NDP and Liberals believe it’s their money. It’s not the taxpayers’ money, it’s their money.", "We’ve never ever seen an influx of employment that we’ve seen here in Ontario. Over 850,000 people are working today that weren’t working six and a half years ago. We’ve seen $70 billion of investment in our province, no matter if it’s $45 billion in EV that they voted against or life sciences—$5 billion that they voted—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Thank you.", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas will come to order. The member for Hamilton Mountain will come to order. The Leader of the Opposition will come to order.", "The next question." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Jamie West", "text": [ "My question is for the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Suzanne’s eight-year-old child has been on the autism wait-list and her family is in crisis. Suzanne has been trying to provide 24/7 care for her daughter. She had to quit her job. She’s facing bankruptcy and she’s completely burnt out. After exhausting every possible avenue, Suzanne made the heartbreaking decision to give guardianship of her daughter to children’s aid so she can get the care she needs. Today, Suzanne’s eight-year-old daughter lives five hours away from Sudbury in a foster facility in Mississauga.", "Question: How has the Conservative government allowed such a heartbreaking failure to happen to this family?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will please take their seats.", "The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Michael Parsa", "text": [ "I thank my honourable colleague for the question. I just want to share some facts with my colleagues in this House today. Six years ago, the program wasn’t up to the realities of then, let alone the realities of today. When we formed government, 8,500 families had access to one stream of support under the previous government, which the NDP supported. Fast-forward to today and the member is talking about the number of families that are enrolled in the program. I will tell you why: It’s because we increased the funding to $600 million. Then we increased the funding by $120 million again to more than $720 million.", "The previous government—8,500 families in total had access to one stream of service. Today, tens of thousands of families are accessing all kinds of supports thanks to this Premier, thanks to—", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "If you repeatedly ignore the Speaker’s request to call you to order, you’ll be warned.", "1100", "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Jamie West", "text": [ "Back to the minister: There is some hope, Speaker. Children’s aid told Suzanne that Imagine Therapeutic Services has a place for Suzanne’s daughter in Sudbury, but they need the minister to sign some paperwork. I asked Suzanne if she wanted to say anything to the minister. She said, “We really want her home for Christmas. I’m not sure if I can afford to visit her, and that would break my heart again.”", "Speaker, there has been an application on the minister’s desk for over a year. My question, Minister, is: Will you sign this paperwork?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "For the fourth time, I would ask the members to make their comments through the Chair.", "The response?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Michael Parsa", "text": [ "The honourable member will know that the government doesn’t actually direct our providers when it comes to placements, but what I can tell you is what our government is doing to support families across the province.", "We know that some children and youth require more specialized supports—those with complex special needs. That’s why we increased the complex special needs funding to $105 million, the highest in the province. We went a step above that. We introduced the integrated pathways to make sure that more than 11,000 families with children and youth with complex needs have access to specialized supports, those wraparound supports through multi-disciplinary teams across the province.", "On this side of the House, we will not give up on any family. We’ll continue to make the investments to make sure every family, every child, every youth in this entire province has the supports they need, when they need it.", "Interjection." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Hamilton Mountain is warned.", "The next question." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Andrew Dowie", "text": [ "My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Under the previous Liberal government, Ontario was openly seen as a high-tax, anti-business jurisdiction. The former CEO of Fiat Chrysler mentioned to Premier Wynne at the time, “I think you need to create the conditions to be competitive.” Businesses fled the province, taking tens of thousands of jobs with them, and under their watch, companies rarely considered Ontario as a place to expand and grow their operations.", "Our government has changed that. We’ve restored Ontario’s global reputation and promoted our province as the best place to do business. As a result, global companies are investing and expanding in Ontario at record levels. One example is NextStar’s $5-billion EV battery plant in my riding of Windsor–Tecumseh, creating 2,500 good-paying jobs.", "Speaker, can the minister please highlight how our government ensures Ontario remains a top destination for businesses to invest and to grow?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Victor Fedeli", "text": [ "We just returned from Singapore, where Ontario opened our very first trade and investment office in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Singapore is one of the world’s strongest and most diversified economies, making it the perfect location for Ontario’s new office. With our new ASEAN office, Ontario will have a gateway to a union of 10 states in southeast Asia with a combined population of 600 million people. This will allow our province to forge new partnerships, bolster trade opportunities and land even more job-creating investments right here in Ontario.", "We now have a total of 14 offices worldwide that have attracted $9.5 billion in new investment and facilitated market access for 1,500 Ontario companies. Ontario is open for business." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Andrew Dowie", "text": [ "By promoting Ontario on the world stage, we’re ensuring that the province can land more job-creating investments. In my riding, I mentioned NextStar’s historic $5-billion investment, which is creating 2,500 jobs directly and thousands more indirectly. Recently, NextStar hit a pivotal landmark as they began the production of battery modules. This investment is truly a game-changer for the hard-working families of my riding and the entire surrounding region. They could have set up shop anywhere, but they chose Ontario. Right across the province, in my colleagues’ ridings and ridings across the province, including members opposite, we are seeing companies invest in Ontario and create good-paying jobs.", "Can the minister highlight how, by letting the world know Ontario is open for business, we’re seeing job-creating investments land in our province?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Victor Fedeli", "text": [ "As a result of our extensive travels last year, 137 companies from around the world landed in Ontario, invested $11 billion and created 12,200 new jobs right here in Ontario. Companies from around the world look at Ontario, and they see a beacon of hope that is amidst this global turmoil that’s going on. They look at Ontario and they know we’re reliable, we’re credible, we’re safe. They continue to choose Ontario because we have everything here that they need to succeed.", "We’ve lowered the cost of doing business by $8 billion since we were elected, and that has resulted in, as the Premier said earlier today, 850,000 new jobs created in the province of Ontario. Companies from all around the world know that Ontario is open for business." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "To the Premier: Ontario loses 400 to 500 paramedics each year because the pay does not match the responsibilities or scope of practice of these health professionals. Graduates of a three-year nursing degree earn $64 a hour, while graduates of a three-year paramedics degree only earn $44 an hour. Paramedics used to carry six medications; now they are responsible for over 22 and will soon be carrying four restricted narcotics.", "The demanding work schedule, exposure to trauma and low pay are the reasons paramedics leave the profession. What is the Ministry of Health doing to correct the pay gap for these health care professionals so that we can retain paramedics in Ontario?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "To reply, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "Of course, I am thrilled to have the paramedic chiefs here today.", "I think back to all of the work that paramedics have been doing for so many years in our communities, whether it is expansions of community paramedic services; whether it is 911 models of care—that, actually, the paramedic chiefs and the paramedics themselves brought forward and we adopted to ensure that we could deal with decreasing the emergency ED wait times. It is this incredible work that just speaks to the professionalism and the innovative, creative, outside-the-box thinking that our chiefs and our paramedics across Ontario do.", "I also think of the investments that we’re making to ensure that we have sufficient paramedics being trained in the province of Ontario—a Learn and Stay program that actually increases the access to paramedics, particularly in northern Ontario, where we have seen a bigger need." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "Northern Ontario has a critical shortage of paramedics. In the district of Thunder Bay, we are currently short 21 paramedics—" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "You don’t listen. You’ve got to listen to the answers." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Order." ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "Thank you, I’ll sit down. Go ahead.", "The reality is, perhaps the minister should—through you, Speaker, the minister needs to listen to reality. In the district of Thunder Bay alone, we are currently short 21 paramedics. Whatever they’re doing is not working.", "The northern Ontario municipal association recommends that the province introduce targeted funding for rural, remote and northern paramedic services so that regions can offer competitive salaries and benefits, and upgrade equipment and bases in order to attract and retain paramedics. Will the government be accepting the recommendation of the northern Ontario municipal association to fully fund regional paramedic services?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will take their seats.", "Before I call upon the minister to answer, I’ll ask her to come to order and then answer the question." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "I’ll do my best.", "What we have is we have 300 new paramedic seats available in the province of Ontario. Those are paramedic expansions that, under Premier Ford, we have been able to do since 2018.", "In Thunder Bay—because I think, I hope you would be interested in what’s happening in your own community—98% of those seats are filled in the city of Thunder Bay.", "1110", "I do not understand why the member is not celebrating all of the excellent work that the paramedics and the chiefs and the leadership have been doing since 2018. They bring forward suggestions, ideas, proposals; we act on those, whether it is community paramedicine, whether it is 911 models of care. Those innovations are making a difference in each and every one of our communities, and the member opposite should be celebrating that." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Stop the clock for one second. I think that’s the fourth or fifth time that I’m going to remind the members to make their comments through the Chair. If members continue to do that, I’m going to interrupt you in the middle of your question or the middle of your response and remind you in the middle of your question or response.", "Start the clock. Next question." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MmeDawn Gallagher Murphy", "text": [ "My question is for the Minister of Energy and Electrification. Families across Ontario are feeling the financial pressure from inflation; the costs of living keep going up; groceries, gas and home heating are all more expensive; and now the Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax is making things even worse.", "Every day, Ontarians are struggling to get by, yet the federal government keeps adding costs. The Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax is driving up the price of everything, including electricity. It’s unfair for hard-working families and it hurts our economy. Ontario has been a leader in clean energy, we’ve already done the heavy lifting; our nuclear power and clean technology are proof that we don’t need this harmful tax.", "Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government opposes this regressive tax?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The parliamentary assistant and member for Mississauga–Lakeshore." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto", "text": [ "I want to thank the member from Newmarket–Aurora for that question. She’s right: Ontario doesn’t need a Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax. It’s regressive and counterproductive in the fight against climate change. Our government will always choose technology over taxation to reduce emissions and provide affordable, reliable and clean energy.", "We’re already a leader in clean energy. Almost 90% of our energy is emissions-free. We’re already on track to hit our Paris accord targets. Ontario is responsible for 86% of Canada’s emission reduction. From our trade mission to Europe, to Boston last week, everywhere I go, I hear our energy is top of mind and is reliable.", "The federal government needs to scrap this tax and support the work that our Premier and our minister is doing for affordable energy in this province." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "MmeDawn Gallagher Murphy", "text": [ "The cost of living for families is soaring, and they are feeling the financial strain. Because of the Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax, life is now harder and more expensive. It drives up the cost of groceries, gas and goods, but it doesn’t stop there—oh, no. It’s also putting pressure on Ontarians’ electricity system.", "Thanks to our government’s investments, Ontario is already a leader in clean energy, driven by our support for nuclear power and innovative technologies. Ontario has shown the world that we do not need punishing taxes to cut emissions. Instead, we’re helping our global partners adopt clean solutions while keeping energy affordable at home.", "Speaker, can the minister please tell us how Ontario is sharing its clean energy expertise while protecting families from this harmful tax?", "Interjection." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Ottawa South will come to order." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto", "text": [ "I want to thank the member again for that question, and she’s right: Ontario is leading in clean energy, not just in Canada, but around the world. Former Progressive Conservative minister Elizabeth Witmer’s plan 21 years ago to phase out our coal in Ontario achieved the single-largest emissions reduction in North America.", "In our trade mission to Europe, we signed an agreement to help develop small modular reactors in Poland so they can phase out their 60 coal plants. Ontario’s families will benefit from the investments and the jobs we create. We also shared that Ontario will donate almost $5 million in energy infrastructure to Ukraine.", "Speaker, we now have the expertise and the Canadian-made technology to reduce emissions at home, while also helping our allies to decouple from Russian oil. Together, we’ll make Ontario a global energy superpower." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Miss Monique Taylor", "text": [ "My question is for the Premier. Post-secondary institutions across the province have been chronically underfunded for years. With skyrocketing deficits, thousands of layoffs are imminent, and the impact to our education and social service workforces is unimaginable. Programs are being cancelled at alarming rates, and schools are left in a tailspin to react. We are already short educational assistants. We are already short developmental service workers.", "Premier, our systems are in crisis. Will you provide the necessary funding today?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.", "The Minister of Colleges and Universities will respond." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Nolan Quinn", "text": [ "Funding for the sector is the highest it has ever been. Earlier this year, we invested an extra $1.3 billion, which is the highest amount in almost 15 years. That’s on top of the more than $5 billion we give annually to the sector.", "We’re currently actively collaborating with our post-secondary partners, and we’ve had a number of them working with us. Since the unilateral decision by the federal government to reduce the amount of international students, we’ve been squarely focused on ensuring we have programs that get students into rewarding careers that address our labour market needs right across the province.", "Speaker, staffing decisions and human resource decisions lie solely with the institutions." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Miss Monique Taylor", "text": [ "Back to the Premier: Families who have been desperately stuck and languishing on wait-lists are now left to find therapists or supports in their child’s school or in the community that do not exist. Supports are not being replenished because of this Premier’s poor decisions. Educational assistants and developmental service workers are in high demand. And yet, these programs have been cut on so many campuses.", "When will the Premier get back to basics and ensure we have a post-secondary system that supports the needs of our communities?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Nolan Quinn", "text": [ "Again, since the federal government’s unilateral decisions without any stakeholder engagement or consultation, including all of the institutions—you mentioned early childhood education. That was actually missing from the list that is approved—through our international students. So they are making the situation even more challenging for all of Canada.", "Speaker, we’ll continue to work with our institutions to ensure that we have a world-class education system, which we have had for decades and we will continue to have for decades. We will continue with our $5-billion annual investment into the post-secondary education sector, on top of the $1.3 billion we invested earlier this year—the largest in 15 years.", "We will continue to collaborate with all of our institutions and our stakeholders to make sure that we are squarely focused on labour market needs." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Mary-Margaret McMahon", "text": [ "Families across Ontario are struggling to make ends meet. Their children are in overcrowded classrooms. They cannot find an affordable place to live. And they can’t find the primary care they need.", "What is the provincial government doing to help them? Ripping out bike lanes in downtown Toronto. Talk about skewed priorities. Enough of the municipal meddling.", "News flash to the member from Etobicoke North: You are not the mayor. You are the Premier, so start acting like one." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I’ll remind the member to make her comments through the Chair." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Mary-Margaret McMahon", "text": [ "The government has failed to address the health care crisis in Ontario, and I see the effects in my community. Speaker, 23,000 people in beautiful Beaches–East York are living without a family doctor.", "My question to the Premier is, when will the one in four people in Ontario without a family doctor finally get access to one?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Order. Government House leader, come to order.", "The Minister of Health." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "Where to begin, Speaker? Okay, let’s start at the beginning.", "The beginning was, in 2015, the Liberal Party chose to cut 50 medical seats across Ontario. What does that equate to? That equates to 450 young people who either had to leave Ontario or choose a different profession because the Liberals of the day decided that they could get away with cutting 50 medical seats.", "1120", "Now, fast-forward to what we have done. Every single medical school in the province of Ontario has expanded the number of medical seats available to young people to train and practise in the province of Ontario. In fact, in Scarborough, in York region and, of course, in Brampton, we are opening new medical schools in the province of Ontario.", "We are making investments as a government, that, for decades to come, are going to make an impact in every single community, and we will continue to make those investments regardless of what the Liberals did previously." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Mary-Margaret McMahon", "text": [ "I’ve had countless constituents reach out to me in search of a family doctor, frantic because their current family doctor is retiring. This government’s own figures suggest that three million Ontarians are at risk of losing their family doctor in the next five years due to retirement. That’s over 2,300 doctors in Ontario who are 60 years of age are older—2,300.", "What is this government doing about it? Where are the logical, preventative measures to help the people of Ontario because, news flash, we are not on track to replace them, thanks to this government’s lack of focus and complete lack of foresight, like wasting 48 million taxpayer dollars smashing up Toronto bike lanes.", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Government side, come to order." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Mary-Margaret McMahon", "text": [ "Speaker, to the Premier: What are you doing to fill the gap of family doctors set to retire in Ontario, and when will you retire as Premier?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Minister of Long-Term Care, come to order. The government House leader is warned.", "The Minister of Health can reply." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "Far be it from me to give advice, but I think you’d better stick to bike lanes.", "When I was appointed Minister of Health, one of the first things we did was to direct the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the province of Ontario to quickly assess, review and, ultimately, license internationally educated and trained physicians. What has that equated to? It means that over 60% of our new licensed physicians in the province of Ontario are actually internationally trained. We are repatriating. We are welcoming people to the province of Ontario. If you want to live, work and practise in the province of Ontario, we have your back. We will continue to make these investments.", "And, Speaker, I want to remind the member opposite that, actually, according to true data, CIHI, the Canadian Institute for Health Information—something that everyone can actually look up—Ontario leads Canada in the number of physicians attached to patients." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Logan Kanapathi", "text": [ "My question to the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. Life is more expensive for everyone. Workers are trying to get by. Businesses are doing their best to keep their doors open. In Ontario, we need to make sure people can keep more of their hard-earned money. Speaker, at the same time, we need to help businesses grow, compete and create jobs. The old approach of raising taxes and fees only makes things harder for everyone. That’s what the Liberals and NDP did when they were in power.", "Our government promised to take a different path. Please, can the minister tell us what we are doing to lower costs for workers and employers in Ontario?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. David Piccini", "text": [ "Thanks to the excellent member for that question. I know he’s been such a strong advocate for young people in his community, getting them into rewarding careers in the trades.", "Speaker, it’s exciting times. We’ve got the Ontario Line. We’ve got Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass, the largest investment in public transit in Ontario’s history and the largest infrastructure spend. Homes, hospitals, schools—you name it. But we often don’t talk about the people who are going to build these buildings, and that’s young men and women in the trades.", "Unfortunately, previous governments taxed the trades to death while, under the leadership of this Premier, we’ve waived the exam fee—$150 back in their pockets. Through other fee removals, we saved over $330 annually. That’s $3.6 million for over 11,000 tradespeople every year back in their pockets so we can build a stronger Ontario together." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Logan Kanapathi", "text": [ "Thank you to the minister for that answer and for his strong leadership. Every worker should feel safe at work. No one should worry about getting hurt on the job.", "Workplace injuries can change a life forever. They can also impact and hurt the workers’ families. Mental health is just as important as physical health.", "For years, the previous Liberal government did nothing to help. They put more taxes on workers, making it harder for employers to focus on their safety. Our government knows this was wrong. That’s why our government needs to keep taking action to support workers and their businesses.", "Can the minister please explain how we are helping workers to stay safe and businesses to stay strong in Ontario?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. David Piccini", "text": [ "Thanks to the member for that question. In my first answer, I talked about all of the savings we’re passing on to young men and women entering a rewarding career in the trades, but you also have to create a competitive business climate. That’s what this Premier has done through lowering taxes for small businesses.", "I’m visiting businesses in my riding like Jebco. Thanks to lowering the class A industrial electricity rate, thanks to lowering the payroll tax, the plant manager there told me they’re hiring. That means more rewarding careers in the trades.", "We’re also supporting workers in staying safe. I announced over $400 million, unlocking those funds through the WSIB to support smaller employers, especially keeping workers safe on the job site. We’re lowering the payroll tax. We’re unlocking funds to keep workers safe. We’re creating the climate for a better workplace environment for Ontario not just today but for years to come as we build a stronger Ontario." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "My question is to the Premier. There are over 53,000 people waiting for a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board. Tenants and landlords are waiting months, sometimes years, for their issues to be resolved. The LTB is a broken and dysfunctional tribunal that has been fundamentally failing to deliver on its mandate for years.", "My question is to the Premier. You’ve had six years to fix the LTB. Why is it still broken?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.", "The Attorney General." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Downey", "text": [ "I appreciate the opportunity to update the member opposite on actual numbers and actual facts, but let’s start with the fact that we have invested a total of 53 million additional dollars across the system. We have doubled the number of adjudicators. We have taken hearings from eight to 10 months to three months and dropping for nonpayment of rent. We are getting the job done. We have no backlog in 11 of our 13 tribunals, and that is proof positive that we are on the job, and we are getting the job done." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "I hope that 53,000 people who are waiting for a hearing at the LTB are listening very carefully to that answer because they have a different understanding of how the LTB is operating.", "The government is proposing changes to the LTB that will discriminate against renters and make the LTB more dysfunctional, not less.", "Organizations from the Toronto real estate board to Tribunal Watch have been calling for practical solutions to resolve the backlog at the LTB. Those recommendations include returning to in-person hearings when requested; reopening in-person regional centres; and selecting and training adjudicators that are impartial and fair.", "My question is to the Premier. Can this government bring in these recommendations so that everyone, tenants and landlords alike, can have access to justice?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Downey", "text": [ "On behalf of the 80 full-time adjudicators—we doubled it from 40 to 80—I take offence to the categorization that they are anything but fair and impartial. It is an independent tribunal, and it operates that way.", "That $53 million that we’ve invested in the last three years has been voted against by that party at every single turn. We have reduced the backlog in the Landlord and Tenant Board by over 30% since January. We are on the job. We are getting the job done and we will continue to do it with whatever misinformation they continue to throw out—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member will withdraw the unparliamentary comment.", "1130" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Downey", "text": [ "Withdraw.", "Mr. Speaker, we will continue to operate on the facts of the situation and not the innuendo that we’re hearing from others.", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Waterloo will come to order, and I’ll remind the Attorney General to be careful with his choice of words.", "The next question." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Bobbi Ann Brady", "text": [ "My question is for the Premier. Last month a story unfolded about four trustees with the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board who travelled to Italy in July to purchase $100,000 in artwork. The majority of the artwork was purchased for a new flagship school under construction on Powerline Road in Brantford. I am certain a number of local artists would have been thrilled to provide artwork for St. Padre Pio. These four also spent $50,000 in travel and hotels, and enjoyed a $1,600 dinner at a gourmet hotel and spa according to an FOI request.", "The Minister of Education announced in October that ministry officials had been asked to conduct a governance review of the trip. Could the Premier please detail what that governance review process looks like, how it’s unfolding and when taxpayers may be able to find out the findings of the review?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The parliamentary assistant and the member for Markham–Unionville." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Billy Pang", "text": [ "Thank you for the question. Transparency is very important to our school boards, and they need to be responsible and accountable for how they spend money. That’s why we started the investigation, understanding and looking into these types of expenses. School board trustees are responsible for these types of expenses.", "Thank you again for the question." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Bobbi Ann Brady", "text": [ "Thank you to the member opposite. But taxpayers deserve a review that is far more than a toothless tiger. It’s unacceptable and it’s unconscionable that while parents are donating school supplies to their kids’ schools, four trustees are running around Italy spending money like drunken sailors.", "Rick Petrella, chair of the board, said the trip was an error in judgment. That might be believable had the trip not come a month after the school board approved changes to its trustee expense policy: changes like a bump from economy class to business class for travel outside North America, allowance of charges above the standard hotel room rate and the elimination of maximum rates for meals.", "A petition has been launched calling for the immediate resignation of Petrella, Dan Dignard, Bill Chopp and Mark Watson. My office has been inundated with calls asking why these four trustees continue to sit around the board table and make decisions with taxpayer dollars.", "Speaker, through you to the Premier: Will this government pick up the phone, call the school board and tell these four trustees their service is no longer needed?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Billy Pang", "text": [ "Thank you again for the question. This year, we are continuing to increase our investment in education with a total budget of $39.3 billion, an increased investment of almost $2 billion compared to last year. That includes a $28.6-billion investment in core education funding that is ensuring we continue to have a successful school year.", "While we will continue to invest in support for students, we need to understand that school boards have their own responsibility and accountability to look into how their trustees are spending, and this one is under continued investigation. We will keep you updated for the results of the investigation." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Stéphane Sarrazin", "text": [ "My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness. The carbon tax raises home heating costs, it makes commutes more expensive and it’s a drag on the nation’s wealth and competitiveness. But it’s also making it harder for working families to put food on their tables. What’s worse is that the two carbon tax coalitions in Ottawa and across the aisle here both don’t care. They’re radicals committed to this tax. They’re not listening and they’re not budging.", "This is incredibly sad as we approach a holiday season that should be a time for plenty. Many working families will not be able to afford a quality Christmas meal. Will the minister please outline the impacts of the carbon tax on food and grocery costs?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Rob Flack", "text": [ "Thank you to the member for Glengarry–Prescott–Russell and a great MPP indeed.", "Food prices rose over 10% in 2022, 6% last year, and are projected to rise 4.5% this year. A 2018 study by McGill researchers confirmed that the carbon tax raised food prices and lowered food consumption. That was before six compounding rounds of carbon tax increases.", "Dalhousie University estimates that the average family of four are now spending over $16,000 a year on food, up $700 from last year. The food price reports consistently cite higher input costs and higher federal inflation as contributing factors. All of these rising costs and inflation are fuelled by the weight of a compounding carbon tax.", "Let’s give families a break this Christmas. Let’s get rid of this punitive carbon tax." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Stéphane Sarrazin", "text": [ "Thank you, Minister.", "The impact of the carbon tax on food prices must be highlighted and focused on. You cannot have a tax that raises input costs, energy costs, transportation costs and production costs without impacting the price of food on shelves.", "Since 2019, this tax has taken $32 billion out of the pockets of working families nationwide, and we can’t forget that the tax will continue to compound. It will increase from $80 a tonne this year to $170 a tonne by 2030. The impact on food prices will only continue to grow.", "Speaker, can the minister share what stakeholders are saying on the impact of the carbon tax on food prices?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Rob Flack", "text": [ "I want to thank the member as well for his great advocacy for farm families in his riding.", "Speaker, I want to share a quote from the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association: “The carbon tax increases the cost of transporting inputs like seed and fertilizer, and transporting vegetables to market ... These costs ultimately increase the cost of food.”", "Here, Stephen Heckbert, executive director of the Canadian Pork Council: “Adding a carbon tax onto farm inputs means that the price of food goes up.”", "We have been rightly fighting this disastrous compounding carbon tax from day one. It’s punitive. It’s unfair to farm families. I ask everyone to join together to ask the end, the scrapping, of this punitive carbon tax." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Bhutila Karpoche", "text": [ "My question is to the Premier. Ontario marked a shameful new record: 3.5 million people relied on a food bank in the past year. Hard-working people with full-time jobs are lining up at food banks. This government is failing to deliver the basics.", "Premier, you say you will always listen. Food banks are telling you that the—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I’ll remind members to make their comments through the Chair." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Bhutila Karpoche", "text": [ "Thank you.", "Food banks are saying that the main reason so many are relying on them is because nearly all of people’s paycheques go toward housing costs. It goes toward paying the rent.", "Premier, will you pass the NDP’s Rent Stabilization Act so people have money to feed themselves?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Once again, I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.", "To reply for the government, the Minister of Finance." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy", "text": [ "Thank you to the member. Thank you for that important question.", "Mr. Speaker, there is no question that many people are struggling in Ontario, across the country and in many parts of the world. That’s why we acted early to help people out, that we help them with their day-to-day costs, and not the least of which is through providing supports like the gas tax cut. For many people who have to drive to take their kids to school or to get to a job, we cut the gas tax. Contrast that to the federal NDP and Liberal Party that support a carbon tax which takes money out of people’s pockets.", "But we didn’t stop there. For those who take transit, particularly here in the GTA, we moved to one integrated fare, saving $1,600 for the daily commuter. That’s real money in their pockets. We’ll continue to support the hard-working people right across this province.", "1140" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The supplementary question? The member for Ottawa West–Nepean." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Chandra Pasma", "text": [ "This government has been in power for six years, and things have only gotten worse. Food banks in Ottawa have seen an increase of 90% since 2019. That has been entirely on this government’s watch.", "This year, the Ottawa Food Bank served 2.4 million meals, a 43% increase compared to last year. Every month, the food bank is setting new records.", "How many people in Ottawa need to be using a food bank before the Premier will finally take serious, concrete action to help people pay for housing and buy food?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will please take their seats.", "The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Michael Parsa", "text": [ "Thanks to my colleague for the question. In fact, it’s only this party and this government that’s fighting for Ontarians to lower the cost of living and make life more affordable since we formed government.", "The Minister of Finance alluded to some of the measures that we’ve put in place to make sure life becomes more affordable for Ontarians. I could talk about the LIFT tax credit that reduces or removes 1.7 million low-income earners from the Ontario income tax portion of the province; or One Fare that the Minister of Finance alluded to: a $1,600 reduction for individuals who take public transit in our province.", "We can talk about the Student Nutrition Program that our government supported, increased the funding by $6.15 million last year and partnered with other partners within the Student Nutrition Program to increase that, and through the Healthy Students Brighter Ontario campaign, increased that support by an additional $5 million.", "Mr. Speaker, when it comes to making life more affordable for Ontarians, we’ll continue fighting for them. I just wish that the NDP and Liberals would start supporting us—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Thank you.", "The next question." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mrs. Daisy Wai", "text": [ "My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. Every Ontarian deserves to age with dignity and comfort, but many in our diverse communities are asking that our long-term-care homes better reflect their needs.", "We’ve heard stories about seniors struggling because their care doesn’t match their cultural, religious and language preferences. Imagine being in your final years, unable to eat familiar food, speak your own language or practise your faith.", "Ontario’s diversity is our strength, and it should be reflected in our long-term-care homes. Families worry their loved ones won’t receive culturally appropriate care, leaving our seniors feeling isolated. Building more homes is important, but those homes must meet cultural needs too.", "Can the minister please tell us how our government is addressing this issue in long-term care?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Natalia Kusendova-Bashta", "text": [ "I thank the member for her important question. Cultural homes are the crown jewel in our long-term-care crown. We in Ontario are so fortunate and so uniquely positioned to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care.", "Since I became the Minister of Long-Term Care, I had the privilege to visit many cultural homes, including Polish, Ukrainian, Jewish, Mennonite, Italian and francophone, of course. As a result of my visits and following extensive conversations with the sector, we proposed a cultural care home pilot to study changes to Ontario’s long-term-care admissions. This pilot gives greater flexibility to care coordinators to better match new residents with their diverse cultural, religious and linguistic needs.", "Ontario’s diversity is our greatest strength. As an immigrant myself, I know the importance of culturally and linguistically appropriate care. When I visit residents and I can speak to them in Polish or in French, for example, I see the light in their eyes. So we will do everything it takes so that we can cater to all the needs of our residents, including their cultural and linguistic needs." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mrs. Daisy Wai", "text": [ "Thank you very much, Minister.", "Speaker, we know that Ontario’s population is diverse, and every resident in long-term care deserves to feel at home. For many seniors, this means living in a home that reflects their language, traditions and culture.", "Under the previous Liberal government, Ontario’s long-term-care system lacked culturally specific care options. This left our seniors feeling isolated and disconnected from the world that they have known all their lives. It also impacts the families who want their loved ones to be cared for in an environment that respects their values and their beliefs. I’ve heard from many families in my community in Richmond Hill who are asking for cultural care homes and more options for their loved ones.", "Speaker, how is our government ensuring that the new cultural care pilot truly reflects the needs of Ontario’s diverse communities?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Natalia Kusendova-Bashta", "text": [ "Once again, I thank the member for her question. As a representative of an ethnic community herself, I thank her for her advocacy, because she understands first-hand the importance of linguistic and cultural care. That is exactly why we are piloting these changes first.", "We know that when it comes to our beloved long-term-care residents, we can’t have a one-size-fits-all approach. Our government has worked with the long-term-care sector every step of the way, and that will not change today. We are ensuring no resident who needs long-term care is denied long-term care, and this pilot grants care coordinators flexibility to allow residents of equal clinical need to be better matched to homes that also service their cultural needs. We have engaged in historic capital builds of cultural homes, including Ivan Franko Ukrainian homes, Arabic homes through the Church of Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius, and Muslim homes by the Muslim Welfare Centre, to name just a few.", "We are building more cultural care homes today, working with community groups around the province to build a long-term-care sector as diverse as Ontario itself." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Sault Ste. Marie has informed me he has a point of order he wishes to raise." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Ross Romano", "text": [ "I’d be remiss not to have this opportunity to welcome some guests in the members’ gallery. I have from my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie and from my Algoma University alma mater—also the best university there is—director Brian Leahy, vice-president Craig Fowler, and president and vice-chancellor Asima Vezina. Welcome to the House." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I gather the member from Don Valley North may have a point of order." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Vincent Ke", "text": [ "I would like to introduce the board members of SOLO, Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario Inc., sitting upstairs in the public gallery. Welcome to Queen’s Park." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 3 p.m.", "The House recessed from 1147 to 1500." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Stephanie Bowman", "text": [ "I have a few guests I’d like to introduce today. First of all, I would like to welcome the folks from Good Roads who I met, including my good friend Cathy Burghardt-Jesson.", "I’d also like to welcome folks from the Life Sciences Ontario lobby day, including two constituents, Alison and James, as well as Diana and Amy.", "I’d also like to welcome two of my staff members, Kamrana and Rob, and last but not least, Jason Ash from my constituency, who is the co-chair of the Leaside Towers Tenants Association." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Andrew Dowie", "text": [ "I want to wish a truly warm welcome to Dave Cassidy, who is a local legend in Windsor-Essex—former president of Unifor Local 444 and doing great work even now. Welcome to Queen’s Park, Dave." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Chris Glover", "text": [ "I’d like to welcome to the House a number of people from Life Sciences Ontario: Jill Archibald and Monica Soos, as well as Christine Lennon and Nicole DeKort. I really enjoyed our conversation, and I hope you have a wonderful day here at Queen’s Park." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. David Piccini", "text": [ "It’s too many to get in in the allotted time, but I’d like to just give a warm welcome to the incredible team I get to work with every day at the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development who are all here to see the fruits of their labour with a bill introduction, and a number of stakeholders who are here today to support us. It’s through their voice that we’re putting words into action in our sixth Working for Workers bill. I just want to thank you all for being here today. Welcome to Queen’s Park." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Aris Babikian", "text": [ "Speaker, I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on the Interior and move its adoption." ] }, { "speaker": "The Clerk-at-the-Table (Ms. Meghan Stenson)", "text": [ "Your committee begs to report the following bill without amendment:", "Bill 186, An Act to limit the liability in respect of agritourism / Loi limitant la responsabilité à l’égard de l’agrotourisme." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Shall the report be received and adopted? Agreed? Agreed.", "Report adopted." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The bill is therefore ordered for third reading." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.", "First reading agreed to." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I’ll invite the minister to briefly explain his bill if he wishes to do so." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. David Piccini", "text": [ "I would. Thank you, Speaker.", "Our government is introducing the Working for Workers Six Act, 2024. Again, I want to draw attention to everybody sitting up in the gallery who have had a pen and a profound voice in the legislation that I bring before the House today. It is through them that we’re doing this, and I’m very grateful for all of them and the impact that they’ve had on this legislation.", "Its package of regulatory changes and other actions would, if passed, help protect the safety and well-being of workers and their families, keep costs down for workers and businesses, honour workers and grow Ontario’s workforce.", "Our proposed changes would expand on the groundbreaking actions across five previous Working for Workers Acts since 2021 and build a brighter future for all Ontarians to ensure our province remains the best place to live, work and raise a family.", "Again, I’d like to thank them all, Speaker. Thank you." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.", "First reading agreed to." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Would the member for Don Valley West like to briefly explain her bill?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Stephanie Bowman", "text": [ "Yes, I would. Thank you, Speaker. First of all, I would like to thank my staff, including Michael Fontein, for their work on this bill, as well as tenants, including Jason Ash, who is here today, who provided input.", "I’m pleased to rise to describe my bill today, the Housing Equity and Rental Transparency Act, 2024, which would, if passed, require remote monitoring of an elevator’s operating availability and require reporting of elevator outages that last more than 24 hours within seven days and within seven days after the elevator is returned to service.", "It would require reporting of maintenance requests and deem them part of the record when a landlord applies for an AGI.", "It would require implementation of a system to access visitor parking for buildings of 100 units or more.", "It would provide for rent abatement of 20% if a vital service like heat and water is withheld.", "It would require video surveillance and security guards in complexes with 100 or more units.", "It would remove authorization for the landlord to give a notice of eviction for late rent if the tenant’s rent is paid directly by ODSP or Ontario Works, or for late payment of one rental period.", "And it would require, if passed, that landlords cool common areas between May 15 and September 15 to a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius or less." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "This is a petition that is calling for rent control to be applied to all homes, including homes that were first occupied after 2018. We have many tenants in our riding who live in new purpose-built rentals. Some of them come in—they’re students, they’re new to Toronto or Ontario—and they don’t know their rights. They move into an apartment and then suddenly, after a year, they find that their rent is going up by $500, $1,000 or more a month. It’s very concerning.", "I fully support this petition, and I will be giving it to page Juliet." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Jill Andrew", "text": [ "This petition is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and it’s calling for the government to understand the emotional and financial implications of demolition evictions and the way in which they negatively impact the livelihood, the supports, the sense of community and the mental health and protection of housing of tenants who are essentially told that their home of decades in some cases, especially seniors who are on a fixed income, will be gone—poof—just like that.", "1510", "This petition is calling for the Ontario government to stop the needless demolition of rent-controlled buildings across Ontario, especially during a housing crisis and an affordability crisis. This petition is calling for the Ontario government to reinstate universal rent control, ensure rental housing replacement protections for all tenants, ensure that people are housed in the middle of an affordability crisis and to beg this government, the Conservative government, to actually create real, affordable housing that keeps people housed and off the streets of St. Paul’s and across the province.", "I couldn’t support the petition more. I’m going to affix my signature and hand it over to Ryan. Thank you, Ryan." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "This petition is entitled “Safe Roads for All.” It’s a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and it really takes up the concerns of people in northern Ontario about the lack of enforcement, with training, the lack of fines, the lack of monitoring of training, the lack of staffing of inspection stations.", "Ultimately, it asks that all testing and licensing of commercial drivers be returned to the Ministry of Transportation to be done by public servants within the Ministry of Transportation.", "I fully support this petition and will give it to Maadhav with my signature. Thank you." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Terence Kernaghan", "text": [ "It’s my honour to present the following petitions on behalf of Dr. Sally Palmer, professor emerita at the school of social work in the faculty of social sciences at McMaster University, and I want to thank Dr. Palmer for her tireless advocacy on this issue.", "The petition is “To Raise Social Assistance Rates.” As this petition points out, the government is actively keeping people below the poverty line. This is what’s known as legislated poverty. People cannot afford rent, people cannot afford food, people cannot afford the basics of life. People are struggling to live across Ontario, and that is on this government’s watch.", "It is within this government’s power to fix all of that. They could double social assistance rates, as this petition calls for.", "It’s something we fully support, I fully support. I will affix my signature and deliver it with page Jonah to the Clerks. Thank you." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Catherine Fife", "text": [ "This petition is entitled “Protect Farmland and Sustainable Growth in Waterloo Region.”", "I want to thank the Fight for Farmland folks, including Kevin Thomason and Hal Jaeger, for collecting hundreds, if not thousands, of signatures.", "To summarize: There are 770 acres of prime agricultural land in Wilmot township which has now been threatened with expropriation at the urging of this government and at the funding of this government.", "At the end of the day, Speaker, I just want to let the people in this Legislature know that the people in Wilmot are not willing hosts for an undisclosed EV battery plant or some other large manufacturing organization. This is prime agricultural land. It’s meant to be farmed, and the people in Wilmot township in Kitchener–Conestoga have our full support in this." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Jennifer K. French", "text": [ "I’m glad to be able to share a petition that I received from about 120 folks as part of the Ontario Confederation of Clubs, motorcycle riders from across the province based in Windsor but from Oshawa, Whitby and Caledon, Welland. They are very concerned about serious injuries and deaths that are happening to motorcycle operators on our roads. They are concerned that in order to save lives of motorcycle riders, they need legislative help. The majority of these incidents aren’t the fault of the rider and are a result of another operator, usually a full-sized vehicle.", "They have written this petition in support of Bill 15, Fairness for Road Users Act, and they’re calling on the government to support and pass that act to amend the Highway Traffic Act and create an offensive contravention causing death or serious bodily harm to not only keep them safe but ensure that with injury there is not further insult and to increase the penalties.", "This initiative has been before the Legislature a long time. I support it. I will affix my signature and send it to the table with page Ryan." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Doly Begum", "text": [ "I have a petition here from Ontario families fighting for better support for children with autism. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege to meet a lot of these families, who go above and beyond to support one another and support those who are on the spectrum. They need the support and they need the funding that this province can provide.", "What these families go through has been traumatizing. We hear from a lot of moms and dads who put themselves on the wait-list, and then when they finally get that call, there is no funding, or sometimes they get the funding and they don’t have that spot, and they’re in this limbo. So a lot of these families come to my office in tears. And I know a lot of our colleagues have those conversations, in tears, because it is something that we can change.", "The Ontario Autism Program was broadly broken by the Liberals, and we know that the changes this Conservative government made it really worse.", "So this petition I fully support—it is making sure that the funding caps are not based on age and income, and making sure that the children who need the support and who need the funding get that funding as soon as possible.", "I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature to it and give it to page Macarius to give to the Clerks." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "This is a petition entitled “Urgent Family Doctor Shortage in Chinatown and Ontario.”", "In response to many concerns and emails and calls we have had from our community, we have been gathering petitions to call on the Ontario government to increase the number of family doctors in the Chinatown area, including doctors who are fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, so that people in our area can receive medical care in a language that they are proficient in.", "I support this petition, and I will be giving it to page William." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Jill Andrew", "text": [ "This petition is titled “Petition for Continued Operation of Supervised Consumption Services and Associated Harm Reduction Programs.” This petition expresses to the Legislature that a person dies every two and a half hours from the toxic drug supply in our province. This petition is calling for a humanitarian response to what is an overdose crisis.", "This petition responds to the government and says that they need the government to reverse their decision to close CTS sites and ensure all established CTS sites remain operational and adequately funded.", "This petition recognizes that doctors, nurses, front-line health workers, experts, scholars—there’s evidence-based research documenting the success of CTS sites, whereas the government’s decision to close these has no research backing it whatsoever.", "I absolutely support this petition. I’m affixing my signature to it, and I am handing it over to Maadhav." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "This petition is entitled “Support Bill 21, the Till Death Do Us Part Act.” It recommends that the Minister of Long-Term Care pass Bill 21 so that seniors have the right to live together as they age. It actually surprises me that this has not been passed already.", "I fully support this. I would like to see seniors be able to stay together. I will give it to Mahee, with my signature." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Terence Kernaghan", "text": [ "The petition I have to read into the record is to bring back real rent control and to support the Rent Stabilization Act, on which I am a co-sponsor.", "1520", "This petition points out how the average rent has risen by over 50% in the last 10 years and how people are struggling during this cost-of-living crisis. They are spending more than a third of their income on rent.", "It also points out how the last Liberal government opened up huge holes in renters’ rights while allowing for vacancy decontrol.", "This would stabilize the rent prices in between tenancies to make sure that people have a safe place to call home.", "It also calls for more supports for the Landlord and Tenant Board and tougher penalties for landlords that do not properly maintain a renter’s home.", "It’s something that I fully support. I will affix my signature and deliver it to page Elissa for the Clerks." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Jennifer K. French", "text": [ "I have a petition here for continued operation of supervised consumption services and associated harm reduction programs. These sites, known as consumption and treatment services sites, have been instrumental in preventing thousands of deaths from the toxic drug supply. Folks are very concerned that the closure of these sites will increase the number of preventable deaths, injuries, hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and the incidence of HIV and hepatitis.", "The closure of these sites is making people very nervous across communities, because they offer access to other health and social services, including addiction treatment—well-utilized services. The closure of these sites is a withdrawal of important health services for people who use drugs, and consequently, this will be a denial of their right to health care. We will, unfortunately, inevitably see an increase in drug use in public spaces.", "I would say that, based on what people have shared with us here, they would like to see a reversal of the decision to close these safe consumption and treatment sites, ensure that all of the sites remain operational and adequately funded—to increase funding for these sites, and also to ensure access to voluntary, publicly funded and not-for-profit, evidence-based treatment.", "Of course, I support this. I will affix my signature and send it with Anuva." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Jill Andrew", "text": [ "This petition is titled “To Raise Social Assistance Rates,” and it’s addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.", "This petition expresses concern that the Ontario Works rates have been frozen since 2018 and small increases to ODSP—or ODS poverty, as community members refer to it—have left recipients struggling below the poverty line.", "This petition recognizes that at the height of the pandemic, during the CERB program, folks were receiving $2,000 a month—which, in my community of St. Paul’s, would barely get you a one-bedroom.", "People who are on ODS poverty and OW are asking for this province to at least double—at least double—ODSP and OW rates so they can live above the poverty line.", "I absolutely agree with this petition. I have affixed my signature. And I want to thank Professor Palmer for collecting." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Terence Kernaghan", "text": [ "It’s my great honour to present the following petitions on behalf of RNAO, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, who are calling upon this government to continue the operation of supervised consumption services and associated harm reduction programs.", "First and foremost, I think it’s important that we listen to the front line on this issue.", "As they point out, a person dies every 2.5 hours from toxic drug supply.", "They’re pointing out how these supervised sites prevent thousands of deaths. They prevent hospitalizations. They prevent emergency room visits. They prevent greater increases in HIV as well as hepatitis. To take away these is to take away essential health care services—and it’s a denial of their right to health care.", "If these places are closed, it will lead to an increase in drug use in public spaces.", "I hope that the government will listen to the experts at RNAO and reverse their decision to close these sites.", "I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and deliver it to page Autumn for the Clerks." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Point of order?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Stephanie Bowman", "text": [ "On a point of order: I’d like to correct my record of October 31. While debating the fall economic statement, I had a question from the member from Parkdale–High Park related to this government’s handing out of rebate checks prior to election, as well as rebate cheques provided by the McGuinty government prior to an election.", "Those cheques were announced in 2009. I said there was a key difference from the cheques being issued under this government. I said there was a surplus when in fact there was a modest deficit in 2009. The surplus was in 2008. I should have said that the key difference was that those cheques were issued to help households and offset the introduction of the HST." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "I just would like to remind the member that that is not correcting the record. You are essentially asking to restate it, and that is not a legitimate point of order. You’re not correcting your record." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Point of order? I recognize the member for Sault Ste. Marie." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Ross Romano", "text": [ "I’m remiss to provide this news but also want to have this opportunity to thank a member of my office, in the chief government whip’s office, the government of Ontario.", "I’m not going to be here tomorrow. Tomorrow is effectively the last day of Victor Soler, and I want to say thank you, sir, for all the work in the office, and congratulations as you move on to new and bigger things. Thank you." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "My understanding is that the opposition, the member for London North Centre, has some time left on the clock." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Terence Kernaghan", "text": [ "As I conclude my remarks, I want to remind this government that time allocation shuts down consultation, it removes the ability of people to participate meaningfully within the legislative process, and I urge this government to actively engage with stakeholders across the community to ensure that legislation is as well informed as possible." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Further debate? Further debate? Further debate?", "Mr. Jones has moved government order 110 relating to allocation of time on Bill 223, An Act to enact two Acts and to amend various Acts with respect to public safety and the justice system, and Bill 227, An Act to amend various Acts.", "Is it the pleasure of House that the motion carry? I heard a no.", "All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”", "All those opposed to the motion will please say “nay.”", "In my opinion, the ayes have it.", "A recorded vote being required, it will be deferred to the next instance of deferred votes.", "Vote deferred." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "M. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "C’est tout le temps un plaisir de me lever et représenter les bons concitoyens de Mushkegowuk–James Bay.", "On this Bill 228, An Act to enact the Geologic Carbon Storage Act, 2024 and to amend various Acts with respect to wildfires, resource safety and surveyors, I will be sharing my time with my great colleague of Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas.", "1530", "There are a few things I will outline in my 30-minute speech. I will touch on: that this bill receives due process—I’m really concerned about that; consultation with First Nations; the municipalities and the wildfire management plan; the firefighters labour shortage; insurance and cost to owner-operators, because we’ll be asking—in this bill it talks about owner-operators; and the carbon capture.", "The first one I want to touch about, definitely, is concern about governments following due process. Now, how fast would this bill go through? We’re talking about a 111-page bill to be passed, and we were just briefed this morning. Now, this government had months to work on this—months—and we were given this yesterday. And then this morning, we had a 20-minute briefing on these 111 pages, and we’re here to debate here today. If we want to have great debate—and we all want to make better bills. I think this is a disrespect to this process and this House.", "Je trouve que c’est un gros manque de respect. Comme étant à l’opposition officielle, c’est notre devoir de faire sûr que les projets de loi que le gouvernement—puis le gouvernement est majoritaire, en plus. Je ne sais pas de quoi ils ont peur, mais c’est une façon qu’on pourrait avoir des bonnes discussions, puis avoir un peu—qu’on puisse être préparé et aussi de parler à nos commettants ou les personnes qui vont être affectées par ce projet, les municipalités, les Premières Nations. On parle des « firefighters ». On parle de tout qui peut être impacté—on parle des géologues, on parle des ingénieurs. Écoute, c’est un projet de loi qui est important. Il va y avoir une nouvelle industrie qui va être toute attachée avec ça. On n’est pas contre l’industrie, mais il reste que—je pense que la population doit être informée, doit avoir une chance d’être informée. Puis aussi, que nous, comme députés—on a été élu pour représenter une grosse partie de la province—puissions poser des questions et être préparés pour avoir un bon débat. C’est pour ça qu’on a été élu.", "We’re elected for that, to have good debates in this House. To have a bill—we got it yesterday. We get the briefing this morning at 8:30, you know, and be prepared to have a great debate? We are ready to have debates, but it could be so much better to have more time to prepare so that we can have these discussions and make sure that we are on the right path. Just because you have a majority doesn’t mean that you should plow through everything.", "We’re talking about one new part where there’s 69 parts to an act, Geologic Carbon Storage Act, 2024—to 69. My colleague will probably touch more than me on that because it’s mostly environmental. But the fact is, we’re talking 69 parts in this act. I think it’s worth the time to have a great discussion.", "What we’ve seen in this House right now—time allocation and a six-hour debate. This is what’s probably going to happen to this bill.", "Probablement, avec toute l’allocation de temps pour discuter, ce qu’on voit depuis la dernière semaine, c’est qu’on discute pour six heures—six heures de temps sur un projet de loi. Puis, après ça, on l’envoie en comité pour une journée. Puis, après ça, c’est fini. Six heures de débat pour un projet de loi qui a 111 pages? On parle de 69 nouveaux articles, pour une nouvelle industrie. Je pense que ça mérite bien plus que ça. Puis on l’envoie en comité pour une journée. Avez-vous oublié comment loin, comment grand que l’Ontario est? On demande à des commettants ou à des « stakeholders », comme on les appelle, des partenaires, de venir parler sur ce projet de loi. C’est neuf heures—moi, je demeure à neuf heures de Toronto.", "I live nine hours away from Toronto. If somebody wants to come here and speak in the committee one day, how do you get there? How do we get here? Isn’t that disrespecting the people of Ontario, stakeholders of Ontario? People that would love to speak on this bill, they have to drop everything and come here because probably it’s six hours and then it will be the next day. Because as we’ve seen, the next day—pow. We’re in committee, and that’s done. Move on to the next.", "C’est ça qu’on vit, comme c’est là. C’est ça qui se passe dans la province de l’Ontario. Si ça, ce n’est pas un manque de respect à la démocratie, bien tabarnouche, vous avez une leçon à apprendre en démocratie.", "Je ne dis pas ça pour être sarcastique ou être ignorant, parce que je crois en le processus de la démocratie. Je crois en comment on est structuré. Je crois en comment ce Parlement ici fonctionne. Queen’s Park, c’est important. Puis qu’est-ce qu’on fait et comment vous agissez envers l’opposition officielle et le reste de la population de l’Ontario, c’est un gros manque de respect à la démocratie et non seulement aux personnes qui vous ont élus et les personnes qui m’ont élu pour représenter leurs concernes et les concernes de tous les députés qui sont ici, qui veulent faire sûr qu’ils sont capables de débattre.", "On est prêt à débattre. On est prêt. Même si vous nous manquez de respect, nous, on—si peu de temps. Ça fait des mois que vous travaillez sur un projet de loi—et paf! Envoie, demain matin on pogne ça, puis go, on passe. Le bulldozer embarque, et ici, on se fout de la démocratie. Je trouve tellement un manque de respect—", "Une voix." ] }, { "speaker": "M. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "Des millions d’Ontariens, absolument. C’est ridicule qu’on fasse ça puis qu’on pense qu’on fait un bon travail. Je trouve que c’est un travail qu’on pourrait faire tellement mieux.", "Il y a une raison pourquoi qu’il y a l’aigle en haut, qui est le gouvernement, et il y a le hibou en arrière, ici. Il y a de l’historique derrière ça. C’est pour essayer de conseiller au gouvernement ce qui se passe dans les projets de loi, pour essayer de travailler ensemble pour faire certain que la législation est bonne.", "C’est vrai qu’on ne s’entendra pas sur tout, et je suis le premier à reconnaître qu’il y a des bonnes choses dans ce projet de loi-là.", "There is good stuff in this bill. We recognize that. But there are some we are concerned about. And that’s our job, and so is yours.", "Mais de jouer les jeux qu’on jouait, comme c’est là—six heures de « time allocation ». Je vous dis, c’est ça qui va arriver. Puis après ça, on va être une journée en comité et on dit qu’on fait notre travail comme législateurs. Madame la Présidente, je pense qu’on a failli, que le gouvernement a failli à son devoir. Mais en même temps, ils nous font faillir à notre devoir à cause de leurs réglementations, puis ça, ce n’est pas correct. Je ne crois pas que tout le monde est d’accord avec ça, et si vous l’êtes, vous avez une leçon à apprendre quand ça vient à la démocratie.", "There are a lot of moving parts in this bill. When we think about the consultations that I just talked about in French, here we have environmental groups that would love to be able to talk on this. I’m sure there are engineers who would love to speak on this. Industry experts would love to speak on this. First Nations would love to speak on this. But see, if we give only one day to come down and speak on this, are we getting their expert advice on this bill? No, we’re not. We’re failing; your government is failing at that miserably.", "I don’t think this bill is receiving the treatment and consideration that it should have—that it should have had, I should say. It will get done in one day at committee, especially considering the geographic impact of this bill. In this bill, we’re talking about wildfire management plans. This is important. I live up north. Guess what? We’re surrounded by forests. I think this morning an MPP across the aisle was speaking about that, that it has to be reformed. Yes, it has to. I don’t think the municipalities are disputing that it has to be reformed, but at least municipalities have to have a say in it.", "And then, of course, the geo-carbon storage, there are some concerns with that also and how it’s going to be done. Because I can tell you, when it comes to First Nations, what happens on their traditional territories, they’re really concerned. They feel they’ve not been listened to, or they’re not being at least consulted. And the consent part of it—it’s not being respected.", "The bill is going to have a significant impact on constituents and folks all across the north, and they deserve an opportunity to weigh in on it. People can’t just drop everything, like I said, to come to downtown Toronto and speak on a bill. They need the time to come here and be able to express—this is their House. It’s not our House, it’s their House. Have we forgotten that? Have we forgotten about that when we’re dealing with this type of expedited bill?", "1540", "So this is definitely the first thing that I wanted to speak on, because I feel that passing bills this fast and thinking that we’re doing the right thing in the process—I think we’re failing miserably. This government is failing miserably by silencing voices that should be heard.", "J’aimerais parler des Premières Nations. Je pense que c’est important que je mentionne les Premières Nations.", "I need to speak of the schedule that talks about First Nations—schedule 2, section 12. In the bill, it states: “The minister shall only issue a research and evaluation permit or a storage permit if the minister is satisfied that...", "“(e) adequate consultation with Indigenous communities has been carried out, if the activities for which the permit is sought have the potential to adversely affect established or credibly asserted Aboriginal or treaty rights....” It goes on.", "This is what I’m concerned about. This is where my concern comes from: “adequate.” Why don’t we just say what the government is saying—well, it should be what the treaties are saying—“free and informed consent”? First Nations have been saying this. You heard my colleague from Kiiwetinoong express that many times. Adequate consultation means different meanings to any individual in this place. My adequate consultation, I can tell you, is different than maybe from somebody on the government side. To put a term like “adequate”—“Well, we did consult; it was adequate.” But I can tell you, the “adequate” for First Nations won’t be the same as on the government side.", "I say that because First Nations have lived some difficult, difficult times, and we’ve seen government abuse their power when it comes to First Nations.", "The language is way too—and it’s intentionally. C’est intentionnel. Le mot « adequate » is intentionally vague, and it’s very subjective language. It wasn’t put there just because it was a mistake. No, no; it was purposely put there. What does “adequate consultation” mean? Who prescribes or decides this?", "First Nations are fed up. We have, what, seven or eight First Nations suing the government because they do not have the prior and informed consent of what’s happening on their traditional territories, and now we see language like this? Haven’t you listened to them? Vous ne les écoutez pas? Le consentement des Premières Nations—il y a sept communautés autochtones qui actionnent le gouvernement, comme c’est là, pour ces mêmes raisons-là. Puis on vient jouer avec des mots comme « adequate »?", "Puis, quand ça vient à leur territoire—when it comes to their territory, this is unacceptable. It’s unacceptable when storing geo carbon requires intense intervention of the natural areas and will likely occur on treaty territories, and free, prior and informed consent is constitutionally required. First Nations are requiring it.", "What do you think is going to happen if you don’t do this? I can tell you, you will be seeing it more and more because First Nations are organizing. They are trying to speak to you. They are trying to tell you, the government, to please sit down with them. You heard my colleague from Kiiwetinoong again this week talk about it.", "The First Nations are fed up. They’re suing this government. There will come a time that they will say, “Enough is enough,” and I think the time is very close, if not here already, because you cannot continue operating this way with First Nations.", "When I look at Attawapiskat—they’ve learned their lessons, I can tell you, Attawapiskat, with the De Beers company. Right now, this community is landlocked. They can’t even expand on their traditional—they live on their traditional territories. They want to build homes. They want to expand their communities, because they don’t have anywhere to go. And they’re landlocked because of a road. De Beers is putting in the bump-up already. The term is “bump-up,” but there’s a dispute for the road, and the government is not doing anything to side with them.", "There’s an agreement done. The federal is on board to pay for the land for the province. The community is on board. The province has agreed in principle, but yet, they don’t want to sign on the dotted line to finalize it, and the federal say, “Well, until the province is on there, we can’t do anything. We want to make sure that it’s secure.” And it’s all based on liability.", "But this community has been held hostage on their traditional territories. You can guarantee, when it comes to things happening on their traditional territories, they’ve learned. They’ve seen what happened at Attawapiskat. You cannot say words like “adequate consultation” anymore and get away with it. You need to respect First Nations.", "Vous avez une obligation de respecter les Premières Nations. Je peux vous dire que la communauté d’Attawapiskat, ils ont appris leur leçon. Pourtant, on a une entente sur papier. Le fédéral est là. La province a dit : « On a une entente de principe. » Mais ils ne veulent pas signer. Ce n’est rien qu’une question d’environnement ou—comment je dirais ça—de « liabilities ». Mais c’est une communauté qui est là et, comme c’est là, qui ne peut pas grandir, qui ne peut même pas s’épanouir puis être capable de répondre aux besoins de leur communauté à cause qu’on a un gouvernement qui joue le jeu, qui est irresponsable.", "There are intentionally no protections for them, so the fact that the government is basically opening the floodgates to create a whole new industry with this bill—don’t get me wrong; we’re not against this new industry. Au contraire, we just want to make sure that people have a chance to speak on these 69 new changes—that First Nations have a chance—and this is why we’re concerned, and Indigenous people are concerned. We need to do this right.", "I want to talk on municipalities, and I want to start with—I had a chance to reach out, and I’m lucky that some of these municipalities have great working relations, but they did send me something to express some of their concerns. We’re talking small communities—one small community—and this is what she wrote:", "« Voici ce que j’en pense ...", "« (1) Je ne connais pas les exigences prescrites que doit rencontrer un tel plan. »", "On parle du « wildfire management plan ». C’est un plan pour gérer les feux de forêt qu’il va y avoir. J’aurais dû donner un petit peu de [inaudible]. Les municipalités, maintenant, vont être obligées de faire un plan pour être capable de gérer les feux de forêt potentiels. On le sait, avec la température ou le climat qui se réchauffe, on va être sujet—puis, le gouvernement semble le reconnaître, parce que s’ils sont là pour demander un plan des municipalités, je pense qu’ils reconnaissent que ça va juste s’empirer. La situation des feux de forêt va encore s’empirer.", "Je reviens à la lettre :", "« (1) Je ne connais pas les exigences prescrites que doit rencontrer un tel plan. Je présume qu’elles seront » prescrites « par après, dans un règlement. Inquiétant de ne pas savoir ce que doit contenir ce plan et difficile de savoir si une petite municipalité comme la nôtre sera en mesure de répondre à ces exigences. »", "Je n’ai pas oublié : j’avais envoyé le projet de loi pour essayer d’avoir un peu d’information, pour essayer d’avoir des points qu’on puisse discuter. Le temps est très court.", "« (2) Notre municipalité est de toute petite taille »—population de 600—« avec peu de ressources humaines (cinq employés à temps plein) et un tout petit budget. Cependant, le territoire que l’on couvre est immense (deux cantons) et majoritairement recouvert de forêt. Les chances qu’un feu de forêt survienne sur notre territoire et à proximité des régions habitées de la municipalité sont grandes mais cela ne nous donne pas autant les moyens, humains et financiers, de le gérer de façon adéquate.", "1550", "« (3) En vertu de la Loi sur la protection civile et la gestion des situations d’urgence (EMCPA : Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act), la municipalité est déjà tenue d’avoir en place un plan d’urgence, un comité de gestion des urgences, un coordonnateur des situations d’urgence, etc. Ce programme nous oblige à nous pencher sur les risques les plus importants ... les feux de forêt figurent déjà en tête de liste. Au lieu d’avoir un plan “à part”, on pourrait peut-être ajouter une section à notre plan d’urgence existant pour adresser uniquement les mesures d’urgence additionnelles requises (selon les exigences) advenant un feu de forêt. Si cela n’est pas possible, on risque de dédoubler les efforts à ce titre : autre plan, autre comité de révision, etc. Dans les petites municipalités, il n’y a personne de dédié uniquement à la gestion des urgences. C’est tout simplement un autre chapeau qui doit être porté par le personnel en place.", "« (4) Si les exigences prescrites sont de nature technique/scientifique, relativement au particularités/comportement des feux de forêts, nous n’avons pas les connaissances nécessaires pour préparer un tel plan et nous devrons avoir recours à des experts dans le domaine. Ces experts se trouvent au sein du ministère des Richesses naturelles qui, ironiquement, est celui qui nous ordonne de préparer un tel plan. Il doit sûrement déjà exister un “template” au sein du ministère de ce en quoi consiste un plan approprié dans les circonstances ... »", "Comme on peut voir, c’est que ces municipalités-là sont très concernées. Elles se demandent aussi, financièrement, si ça veut dire des coûts additionnels?", "Does that mean additional costs? Because when you have 600 people living in your municipality and they’re already taxed to the max, and they are paying heavy taxes—and if this happens, then what will the municipality do? These are the questions that need to be answered. And when you have public consultations, municipalities, small municipalities could come and ask these questions and try to get some answers. But this is what’s happening, and these municipalities are extremely concerned. They’re asking, “How is this going to apply to us? We don’t have the manpower”—human resources. “We don’t have the human resources.” Because like I said, five of these people are the same people and they’re already doing the best they can—experts dans le domaine des feux de forêt.", "So some of these questions—“quels soutiens ou ressources”—these are the types of questions she was asking me. « Quels soutiens ou ressources ou aide financière vont être fourni par le ministère pour que les municipalités puissent créer ces plans d’urgences? ». So, tu sais, in English, what resources or what financial resources are we going to get so that these municipalities or these small municipalities will be able to create this plan? It’s a great question, but that needs to be answered because it makes a huge difference to them.", "In the 2022 Auditor General Value-for-Money Audit: Management of Hazards and Emergencies in the Environment, it’s reported that Ontario only had one FireSmart community, while British Columbia had 150. At this time, Ontario had only budgeted $1 million into the FireSmart program over the three years leading up to the audit. The ministry does not employ expert staff to assist municipalities with the FireSmart program or create fire management plans, unlike other provinces like BC.", "Again, we’re going to ask this: Are they going to get the experts? Maybe they will. Maybe they will, but we don’t have that answer. Municipalities don’t have that answer. And we don’t know how these new requirements to set our wildlife management plans affect First Nations. If these obligations are imposed on First Nations, what support will they receive from the province to implement them? Will they receive financial or technical assistance from the government to the same extent as municipalities—great question—or will the province pass the buck to the federal government and say it’s their responsibility to support First Nations in wildland fire management, like they do with everything else? We’ve seen this government always say, “Oh, it’s not provincial. It’s federal”—the famous Ping-Pong game they keep playing between federal and provincial. I just talked about Attawapiskat, about this famous Ping-Pong game. It’s the community of Attawapiskat that’s paying a heavy, heavy price.", "So what’s going to happen with this new fire plan? How is that going to affect these communities? Again, if you think the municipalities lack services—well, go up north. Some of the fire equipment—they did receive new trucks, but some are still fighting to try to get a fire station to put the truck inside. Some of their trucks are older. The equipment is older. The training is not as adequate as it should be. Are they also going to be imposed—they need all the training that surrounds it. That could be impacted.", "I went to Fort Albany, and the deputy chief brought me in the helicopter, and I saw where the fires stopped. They were evacuated a couple of years ago in Attawapiskat. The fires stopped maybe a kilometre away from the community. They were lucky. So how’s that going to affect them?", "Because these communities are small, they don’t have all the resources. We’ve seen, too many times, federal and provincial playing the game—“Oh, it’s not our responsibility. It’s federal.” “Oh, no, it’s not federal. It’s provincial.” That is wrong. First Nations deserve the same services as any municipality, and the help they need, and the finances to be able to help protect their communities. And yet, no, if this is time-allocated, we may not see that—they may not be able to come here and talk about this bill.", "I want to talk about the firefighter labour shortage. There’s a shortage of firefighters here in Ontario. In 2005, we had 214 wildfire crews; last year, we had 144—we had 71 fewer crews less. How are we going to protect our communities with less boots on the ground? One good thing is, the government recognizes that there are going to be more wildfires, so we’ve got to do better. And the reason why there are less, people are leaving the field—because it’s all about reclassification and protecting these wildland firefighters.", "We hope, in the new bill that’s coming, that the minister just announced, that the forest firefighters will be the same as the firefighters in the municipalities—that they’ll be covered for presumptive. Right now, it takes them double the time. So for 10 years or 15 years—wildland firefighters, it will take 30 years. They’re seasonal firefighters, so they have to work double—30 years—and yet, we recognize that firefighters in municipalities will have it after 15. The wildland firefighters are exposed to more carcinogens because they’re sleeping in the bush, near the fire. They don’t change their clothes as often. They don’t have air pack systems. They only have bandanas. They don’t have the equipment. This is what’s happening. Yet we have a bill that we may not have time enough to discuss. People cannot come. They will time allocate it, and in six hours this discussion will be done. One day in committee—salut, bonjour, on continue. Merci, madame la Présidente.", "1600" ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "MmeSandy Shaw", "text": [ "Pour commencer, je suis complètement d’accord avec mon collègue le député de Mushkegowuk–Baie James que c’est un grand manque de respect de cette institution des députés qui essayent de faire leur travail quand le gouvernement ne nous donne même pas, à nous et à nos « constituents », l’occasion de comprendre ce qui est devant nous. C’est vraiment, vraiment un grand manque de respect, et ça continue, mais qu’est-ce qu’on peut faire? Ça dit plus au gouvernement que nous, parce que nous travaillons fort chaque fois que nous sommes présentés avec un projet de loi comme ça.", "As we have said: This bill, Bill 228, is a very substantial, very large bill that, in essence, is creating an entirely new industry. Schedule 2 of this bill, which comprises the largest chunk of this very massive bill—I think if people could see the scale and scope of this bill—is what I’m going to focus my attention on today. Because I find it completely ironic that we have a government here that is rushing headlong to create an entirely new industry that poses economic benefits, no doubt, but also poses significant potential risks, both economic and when it comes to the health of individuals and the health of our planet. It’s also ironic that in the same bill where they are creating, essentially, a new industry, we have a bill that’s tidying up, trying to clean up the legacy of an industry that has caused so much damage here in the province of Ontario—actually, across Canada—and that is the abandoned oil and gas problem that we have here in Ontario.", "I just want to spend a little bit of time talking about what happened in the small town of Wheatley, which really is a cautionary tale that we all need to be learning from. If people don’t know or aren’t aware, in August 2021, there was a small town in southwest Ontario called Wheatley, and essentially, the downtown of Wheatley was levelled. Many people were hospitalized, buildings were flattened, and many believed that this must have come from an abandoned and forgotten well that was underneath the town. Even though they didn’t know that this one well was there, they have since found out that there are more former wells that officials were previously unaware of. I want to say that the damage in Wheatley was so severe that the fire marshal couldn’t really determine the cause, but residents in the area reported smelling gas and continued to fear that there could have been other wells posing a danger to the community.", "It’s important to know that we don’t have good facts on how many abandoned oil and gas wells there are in Ontario. In fact, as the member from Mushkegowuk–James Bay said this morning, this bill was dumped on us yesterday afternoon. We had a 20-minute briefing with the ministry. I asked, “How many abandoned oil and gas wells are in the province?” They are going to get back to me. I asked, “What is the cost to remediate one of these wells?” Hard to say; they’re going to get back to me. These are the kinds of facts that we should have before us when we’re talking about the scale and scope of the problem of abandoned oil and gas wells. Industry estimates that the number of abandoned oil and gas wells—some say 27,000; some say as many as 40,000. Industry estimates put the number of potentially dangerous wells at 4,400, along with several thousand more that may not have even been identified.", "One of the things that I think is really difficult about this problem when it comes to abandoned oil and gas wells is that, in many instances, these are on private property. The way the legislation works now is that, if you are a private property owner and you end up with an abandoned oil and gas well on your property that you weren’t aware of, it is your responsibility to cover the cost. What I’m saying here is that this is an industry that has caused significant financial damage and financial cost to people, but it doesn’t even come close to identifying the human cost.", "Again, estimates are hard to come by, but in Wheatley alone, we’re talking about—maybe $50 million, maybe $100 million was the cost to mitigate the damages in Wheatley, but the folks in Wheatley continue to suffer from the impact of that.", "A gentleman by the name of Doug Lamb, who lived a block away from the blast, can’t shake the events that changed his life forever. He said, “I can’t sleep, and I keep on thinking what’s going to happen. And I worked all my life to get where I’m at now I lost everything. Everything is gone.” He was unable to get back to his Wheatley home. Lamb and his wife have moved five times since. His nerves are shot as he suffers daily with the unknown. And Lamb is not alone.", "Another woman said, “I believe that I suffer from self-diagnosed PTSD, I hear sirens where there aren’t any. I stop and catch my breath when I hear sirens. I still have difficulty driving” downtown.", "This goes on and on, to identify the human cost, the impact it has on people’s sense of safety and well-being in their own community.", "It’s especially troubling when we don’t know where these abandoned oil and gas wells are. It used to be that they were mostly out in rural areas, out in the country, on farms. Many agricultural sectors still use these as a form of energy. But in many instances, because these wells have been orphaned, left behind by industry because there are no records to track where they are, they are now closer and closer to urban centres.", "In fact, part of Hamilton is called Waterdown. It’s an area of the region of Hamilton. and it is now a burgeoning community with lots of new families moving in there. There is an abandoned oil and gas well in downtown Waterdown, which is a fully urban centre, and it’s there because, when they were expanding, when they were building these suburbs in this expanded development, no one knew that the thing was there in the first place. So that is the risk we face.", "I would like to also say that the Auditor General, after the explosion in Wheatley, in her report in 2022, highlighted several issues with gas wells in Ontario—and they included wells that are not plugged or are poorly maintained. At least 36% of wells in Ontario could be dangerous because they are poorly maintained, improperly plugged, or have not been plugged at all. We have wells that are leaking—high-risk wells that have been leaking since at least 2018, wells that are plugged with materials that can lose their integrity. Speaker, 30% of wells were plugged before 1970 using materials like logs, gravel and lead, which can lose their integrity, clearly, over time. She also identified the province’s failure to identify and inspect high-risk wells. She said that, clearly, the province is failing to identify and inspect high-risk wells. She concluded by saying, “The lack of so much basic information about natural hazards across the province is surprising and troubling.” I can’t help but agree with the Auditor General, and I can’t imagine that anybody hearing these stats would feel otherwise.", "This government opened up the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act in May 2023. That’s the act under the Ministry of Natural Resources that oversees this problem. And at the time, they opened up the resource act through one of their red tape reduction bills, but at the same time failed to actually—opened up the act but failed to, at that time, put the funding and the energy in place to work on identifying this huge problem. When we’re talking about an unknown number of mines, we’re talking about maybe 4,000, 5,000 mines that pose an imminent risk, we’re just lucky that Wheatley was the only town where we’ve had an explosion. We’re also lucky, in Wheatley, that we didn’t suffer loss of life. It was a busy downtown area that exploded. If you see pictures of it, the place is completely flattened. We want to make sure that we’re looking at this in a very proactive, serious way, but the costs to address this problem are absolutely astronomical.", "The point I’m trying to make here is, here we are left holding the bag. Taxpayers and property owners are left with this cost. Property owners are required to remediate. Taxpayers are required to remediate. The industry that created this is long gone. And we still haven’t fixed this problem, but now we are rushing headlong into creating an entirely new industry and not learning the lessons from an industry that continues to plague us, continues to pose significant risks to health and our economy.", "1610", "I would say to the government—and I asked the minister this morning—given the lessons of Wheatley, given the scale and scope of orphaned gas wells across Ontario, will you be having extensive public consultations on this bill? He really didn’t answer my question. He didn’t say, “Yes, we will.”", "He did say that the safety of Ontarians is utmost. That is what is the basic that can be expected of a government, but I’m going to continue to insist that the government makes sure that, given the implications for this new industry that they’re opening up, the people are informed." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Catherine Fife", "text": [ "That’s not too much to ask." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Sandy Shaw", "text": [ "Not too much to ask, absolutely. I think it’s really important to know—I talk about the cost. Again, numbers are hard to get, but the median cost to plug an oil and gas well is $76,000. Depending on how deep the well is, that can increase by 20% for every 1,000 feet. Clearly, the older the wells, the more costly they are. These are significant costs.", "These costs are just to plug the well. These are not the costs to reclaim and to remediate the area around it. Because decommissioning involves plugging the well and removing surface equipment. Then the land around the well also needs to be restored to its predevelopment state because there are significant contaminant issues when it comes to these wells, which is quite clearly common sense.", "One of the problems here is that there was never a fund. These oil and gas companies were never required to pay a security deposit to cover these costs. They just created the damage, took their profits and left town. As I said before, taxpayers are left holding the bag for this cost, and if you happen to be unlucky enough to end up with a leaking abandoned oil and gas well on your property, you have to cover the cost.", "I had a constituent who called me to say that he had a water well on his property and that an abandoned oil and gas well on a neighbouring property was leaking through the strata and contaminated his water. He was completely on the hook to build a new well, so again, huge problem.", "I think what we need to understand is that these contaminants enter the groundwater, as I’ve just described, because these wells are orphan wells and so they do release hazardous substances into the groundwater. This can happen even when a well is plugged or sealed, because maybe the cap is missing or maybe it was sealed with concrete. Over time, concrete degrades. Maybe it was poorly sealed in the first place. They pose a significant risk to the environment and public health. For example, some of the things that these wells can release is hydrogen sulphide and methane.", "That hydrogen sulphide is what the people of Wheatley smelled, because they reported smelling the smell of rotten gas. I’m honestly saying, if you were at your cottage, if you were at your trailer, if you were somewhere that you smell rotten gas—pardon me, rotten eggs—and you’re not anywhere near where you would actually smell natural gas, you need to make sure that is not an unidentified subterranean gas well that you were not aware of.", "And when it comes to—that’s our groundwater and our soil that is contaminated, but it is a significant source of methane emissions—as I said, hydrogen sulphide and methane. That’s a major contributor to greenhouse gases and I would just like to say that methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. So in Ontario, emissions from abandoned wells are underestimated by a factor of 920, compared to inventory estimates. So a significant contributor to greenhouse gases, to climate change. Hydrogen sulfide also emits a toxic gas.", "I would just say that, again, the number of wells is really unknown. There is no map. There’s no clear identification. The government is not proactively going out and trying to identify these wells. A lot of people think that this is a problem that exists in Alberta only. But I think what is not well-known—which I didn’t know until this came to my attention when Wheatley blew up—is that Ontario actually has an oil and gas industry that is older than Alberta. We have more wells abandoned here than in Alberta. People identify this as a problem with Alberta because we identify Alberta with oil and gas, but in Ontario, this is a significant factor here.", "When we’re talking to about the industry that we are creating—right? We’re talking about creating an industry, the Geologic Carbon Storage Act, there’s a lot of questions that need to be asked, and they need to be asked in light of the mess that we are left with, the mess that has been left behind. Nobody, really, from the government side wants to talk about it and I can’t blame them, because the costs are astronomical. I mean, when it comes to—again, hard-to-get numbers, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates the cost of orphaned wells in Canada will reach $1.1 billion by 2025.", "As I said, Ontario owns the lion’s share of those abandoned wells, so that’s a significant, significant liability hanging over our heads. And it’s industry; it was a profitable industry that came to Ontario, benefited from our natural resources, and skedaddled and left us with a mess. Do we want to do this again with a new industry? I don’t think so.", "Again, back to my colleague from Mushkegowuk–James Bay, who said, “The government may think they’re being clever by using time allocation, by not going to committee. The government may think that they have all the answers.” But I just can’t imagine the bureaucrats this morning that had no answers for me on this, on the abandoned-oil-and-gas-well issue.", "So how does this government anticipate all of the hazards that a significant industry, a significant change when it comes to geologic carbon storage, will create? We’re talking about drilling into the strata, which is essentially what we did with oil and gas wells, and it didn’t turn out well. I’m not saying that this won’t. I’m just saying, maybe, as a government, you might want to clean up the mess of a previous industry before you open wide the doors to a new industry that may burden future taxpayers with the same kind of legacy.", "I want to focus a little bit on—we’re talking a lot about wildfires here and wildland firefighters, and I think that’s important. Again, the questions are so many. I mean, the fact that we have seen, you know, when it comes to conservation officers that address some of these, they are underpaid, they’re underfunded, they’re understaffed. The Auditor General’s report also identified that there are the full-time equivalent needed to address invasive species and to do all of the things that conservation officers take care of.", "They don’t have enough resources, staff resources. We heard clearly that when it comes to wildland firefighters, they are under-resourced, they’re underpaid, they’re part-time. Sometimes they’re volunteers, which is kind of crazy if you think about the fact that we now have a bill that is essentially saying that our forest fire season is going to be year-long. It’s going to be year-long.", "So I don’t disagree that, given the impact of climate change that’s fuelling more and more of these intense fires, we need to be prepared—absolutely. But how? Wanting to be prepared and not putting the human capital to do that makes no sense.", "1620", "I listened to the Minister of Natural Resources present his bill this morning, and honestly, he did not use the word “climate” or “climate change” one single time. But I can only take it to mean the fact that—again, acknowledging that wildfire season is going to be year-round really is like a tacit acknowledgement that climate change is the cause of these unprecedented wildfire seasons that we’re seeing and that, hand in hand with fighting fires, we should be putting in place things to address what fuels that in the first place. As we know, we have a government here that has no climate plan and that seems to just want to turn their back on the obvious evidence that this is getting worse and worse.", "We’ve talked about flooding: these unprecedented flooding events that are happening in our communities, the insurance costs, the cost to people whose homes get flooded. The climate emergency is real and it is here. Your acknowledgement that wildland fires in our province are continuing to escalate is one half of the argument. The other half of the argument is—can we just actually acknowledge it and be real? Climate change is the biggest problem, and this government is doing nothing to address that.", "We know in this House how bad it is. I remember sitting here last summer during one of the unprecedented wildfire seasons that we experienced. We sat in this House, all of us, and we could smell the smoke. We could smell the smoke in this chamber. And I just want to talk about how toxic wildfire smoke is. For some of us, our lungs were burning, our eyes were burning. There were special air quality alerts, no doubt, issued.", "Let’s just talk about what is in wildfire smoke. When wildfires burn, they burn through forests and grasslands and, clearly, they produce smoke. Smoke can be a major source of air pollution for people in Canada—I mean, that’s kind of obvious. Wildfire smoke can be carried thousands of kilometres from the fire zone. We also know that because don’t you remember the people in New York City? The late-night talk shows were complaining about the smoke coming from Canada. They were smelling this in New York City, so it travels. The smoke can impact air quality in areas close to and far away from the actual fire.", "So, wildfire smoke is toxic. It is a mix of gases, of particulates that contain ozone, methane, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matters. So fine particulate matters—it’s PM2.5. When a particulate matter, which is a component of smoke, is small enough, it becomes called a “fine particulate,” and it’s measured by parts per million. So PM2.5 is what represents the main health risk when it comes to smoke from wildfires.", "The small particulates that result from wildfires are a source of concern for health experts, and they measure the amount of fine particulate matter with a diameter of 10 microns or less. Basically, for us to understand that, that’s roughly 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. So these obviously can’t be seen, but because they’re so small, they penetrate deeply into our lungs and into our body. They’re really dangerous, and there’s absolutely no known safe level of exposure for some of these pollutants, particularly when it comes to fine particulate matter.", "So what that means is that even at low levels, this can impact your health. As smoke levels increase, obviously your health risk increases, and air quality—we can smell the smoke, so we all can say, “Yes, it must be bad air quality.” It could affect your health even if you can’t see or smell the smoke because these particulate matters penetrate deep into our body.", "Ontario has an Air Quality Health Index, but this quality doesn’t track that ultra-fine particulate matter. Almost all other provinces do so. They track this. But not Ontario.", "I asked many times of this government why they don’t update their air quality index to include that fine particulate matter. I even moved a motion in the House “that, in the opinion of this House, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario should immediately update our Air Quality Health Index to incorporate the AQHI-Plus, which has increased sensitivity to PM2.5”—that’s the particulate matter—“to reflect the risks associated with wildfire smoke and match the conditions experienced in our environment.”", "The federal government uses this measure, but Ontario isn’t using it. The federal government recently updated its air quality index to better reflect the threat posed by wildfire smoke, but Ontario isn’t using the improved system, leaving gaps between the information available and the true health risk. I also moved a motion because of that, because of the very fact that people don’t really understand the true health risks, that the government also clearly update and clearly communicate clean air guidelines that correspond to activity levels, tailored for various age groups and conditions, while educating the public on how to interpret and respond to air quality health data so that people can make informed decisions.", "Because the fine particulate matter isn’t tracked and isn’t reported on, it’s hard for people to know. They go out, it doesn’t smell bad, they don’t smell the smoke, they think it’s okay. But it’s not being measured, and it’s not being reported. Kids, people with asthma, older folks—this is information that they absolutely could use.", "The other thing that I moved a motion on when it comes to air quality in the province that is certainly impacted by forest fires is that we look at establishing cooling and clean air centres in communities across the province during the summer months and gather data on how these centres could be used by vulnerable groups during extreme heat waves, wildfires and special air quality alerts.", "Winnipeg has a clear air centre. They actually did a trial of this to get ahead of the smoky wildfire season. There are many communities that are doing this. I think it’s really important that if we’re going to look at fighting fires, we also have to look at what this government can do to make sure that people are protected, vulnerable people, people that may not be able to shut their windows and their doors, which is the advice that we get in these air quality alerts. We need to look at ways so we can keep these people safe.", "We need look no further than the heat dome event that happened in BC. I think people don’t understand the scale and scope of that. I have it here in my pile of information that I wasn’t able to get to in the short term. During that heat dome event in BC in the summer of 2021, 619 people died. It’s shocking. This government needs to get ahead of these to keep people safe.", "I want to also just say Hamilton has particularly struggled, because of its industrial sector, with air quality, and I think that one of the things that I did ask the minister about is that we don’t look at the cumulative impact of emissions. Each industry can get a licence to emit, but we don’t look at the cumulative impact. So if I’m emitting 10 parts per million, which is within the guideline, and someone else is doing that, we are not looking at the full scale and scope of how it’s impacting particularly people in Hamilton and in other communities where they have a lot of industry.", "Again, I asked the minister this morning, given that we have this legacy of abandoned oil and gas wells and industry that has left us with a significant financial and emotional burden and that we are embarking on an entire new industry that also will pose significant risks, will he make sure of two things: that this new industry creates a fund so that they can pay for the damage that they create, and that they will commit to extensive consultations. Because we never again want to see a Wheatley in any of our communities in Ontario.", "With that, Madam Speaker, thank you." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (Ms. Patrice Barnes)", "text": [ "Questions?", "1630" ] }, { "speaker": "MmeDawn Gallagher Murphy", "text": [ "Ma question est pour le député de Mushkegowuk–James Bay.", "Alors, nous avons un programme de croissance solide. L’Ontario investit des milliards de dollars sans précédent dans les infrastructures, notamment les écoles, les hôpitaux, les transports en commun, les routes, les ponts et, bien sûr, les habitations.", "Madame la Présidente, les arpenteurs-géomètres professionnels de l’Ontario sont essentiels à l’accomplissement de ce travail. L’annexe 4 de la loi 228 parle des diverses modifications essentielles pour attirer davantage de géomètres vers la profession.", "Donc, ma question au député : est-ce que vous pouvez supporter ces modifications?" ] }, { "speaker": "M. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "Merci pour la question, et merci pour la question en français, en passant. Tu sais, ça me donne l’opportunité de parler français en Chambre.", "Écoute, je l’ai dit : il n’y a pas juste du mauvais dans le projet de loi. Mais pour répondre à votre question, vu que c’est « time-allocaté » puis que ça va être—quoi? On va débattre de ça pour six heures, puis après ça, une journée? Je trouve qu’on manque l’opportunité d’entendre, comme vous avez dit, les géologues ou les techniciens ou des architectes et tout le reste qui est attaché. Il y a des communautés qui vont être peut-être affectées par ça.", "On n’est pas contre l’industrie—je l’ai mentionné dans mon discours—mais on a une obligation de faire sûr qu’on peut répondre aux questions puis qu’on ait les réponses nécessaires attachées avec ça, qu’au moins, le projet de loi va-t-il couvrir, puis qu’est-ce que le gouvernement va mettre dans le projet de loi, les réglementations qui vont toutes entourer le projet de loi.", "Mais, y a-t-il du bon dans le projet de loi? Je suis le premier à le reconnaître. Mais je crois qu’on manque d’opportunités d’avoir des experts qui vont venir témoigner et donner du temps nécessaire pour être capable d’avoir de bons arguments et aussi de faire certain qu’on couvre tous les angles de ce projet de loi-là." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (Ms. Patrice Barnes)", "text": [ "Further questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Catherine Fife", "text": [ "I think both members, from Mushkegowuk–James Bay and Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas, highlighted some of our concerns with Bill 228, Resource Management and Safety Act. In particular, though, the member from Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas talked about the safety issue. Schedule 2 is very problematic. We should all be very concerned about this part of the legislation. It’s a very significant piece of this new law that effectively sets up a new industry. Since the gas companies want to use storage as a way for them to make hydrogen out of fossil gas, we are potentially talking a lot of money and a lot of risk.", "The act does reference safety, which is critical because carbon dioxide tends to stay close to the ground when released, so smothering issues are substantial. So this alone needs extensive public consultation and study.", "Do you think the consultation process has been flawed? Do you think that this is ultimately a flawed piece of legislation?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Sandy Shaw", "text": [ "Well, we have seen time and time again the government having to retract entire pieces of legislation because they rushed it. So I would say that this is flawed in its lack of consultation, and I would say it’s flawed in its underemphasizing the significant risks that this industry can present. We’re talking about drilling into the ground when we—none of us here are geologists. We need to be able to ask experts what they think about this, because it cannot be that this government and their industry folks are the only people that have an opinion on this. My guess is this legislation is flawed because those are the only people they have talked to. And if they rush this through time allocation and we get six and a half hours of debate and no committee, absolutely it’s flawed if for no other reason than it was created behind closed doors for industry purposes and doesn’t take into consideration the needs of the people of the province of Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (Ms. Patrice Barnes)", "text": [ "Further questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Laura Smith", "text": [ "This legislation would help protect communities by reducing wildland fire risk and highlighting the importance of proactive prevention efforts. And this bill, if passed, will modernize and update the enforcement provisions of the act and will clarify the minister’s order powers to prohibit activities in areas that have been declared wildland fire emergencies.", "I’m glad that the member from James Bay talked about this bill as being a good effort. Will the member opposite support the changes proposed in the bill that, if passed, will help build safe, resilient and innovative communities that are prepared for the challenges of the wildland fire season that will come upon us?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "You know, like I said, we got this yesterday, we had the briefing notes this morning, and now we’re debating this for the first time on this bill. Will I support it? Well, I just heard an answer, and I was looking to what a colleague had said: “Well, we did talk to the geologists.” Well, you know what? Maybe I would love to speak also to geologists—I would have liked to have the opportunity to do that. But you’ve been time-allocating six hours, and then it’s done and then back to committee. Don’t you believe we deserve the same respect—that you had the time to create this bill, ask the experts, so that you can present a bill? I think we deserve the same respect, and so do my constituents because I’m here to represent them, and I will.", "This is why I told you about this small community who has concerns; they would love the same respect that you had, at least—a couple of months to write this bill." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (Ms. Patrice Barnes)", "text": [ "Further questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "I would like to thank the member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas and the member for Mushkegowuk–James Bay for your presentations.", "I have a question for the member for Mushkegowuk–James Bay. I read the bill, I listened to your presentation. You talked a lot about how this bill is pretty significant—has a lot of schedules to it, a lot of changes—yet we’re not getting a lot of time to debate the bill and think about it and also to reach out to stakeholders.", "Your initial assessment: How does this bill affect the people of your riding?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "You know, I had a chance to speak with municipalities, First Nations, but there was one I really wanted to touch on—it’s about owner-operators. In this bill, now, owner-operators will be asked to go firefight. “Well, we’re surrounded.” “Well, these people own a piece of equipment.” But we don’t realize some of these pieces of equipment are worth a lot more than $1 million. Companies used to own this piece of equipment; they shed their responsibilities, and now workers own this piece of equipment.", "So, if I’m asked to use my bulldozer or my feller buncher to cut a line to break the fire, what happens if my machine burns? Will the government pay my insurance? Will they replace my machine? Because if my machine burns, insurance will say, “Well, you’re at risk now, Guy. It’s going to cost you more money.” How is this going to affect—what about maintenance? Because if I’m in front of the fire, guess what? All the filters are intaking the smoke and all the other debris; who’s going to cover my cost for all this?", "These are the type of questions, these are the type of issues, and people will be affected. Owner-operators will be affected by this; will they be compensated accordingly? The answers should be coming from the rep, but we don’t have time to find out." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (Ms. Patrice Barnes)", "text": [ "Quick question, quick response." ] }, { "speaker": "MmeDawn Gallagher Murphy", "text": [ "My question is to the member from Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas. Before I go into the question, I do want to note that public consultations—there was an open portal for consultations. As the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources, we were conducting consultations throughout the summer. I just wanted to throw that in, and obviously, there’s more consultations to go.", "My question, because you’ve talked about the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act: What that is asking for in schedule 3 is so that the Minister of Natural Resources can take prompt and direct remedial action to address certain hazardous oil and gas situations.", "So, to the member opposite: Do you support that type of amendment?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Sandy Shaw", "text": [ "Well, I have to say, our invitation to your consultation must have gotten lost in the mail because we and our constituents did not participate in that—we weren’t invited.", "What I will say is that the Ontario Petroleum Institute, I imagine, were one of your big consulters because, in fact, they were clearly in favour of this. We’re talking about people that are injecting—the process that is going to inject carbon into the ground, and it’s not actually clear whether or not this is, on balance, going to have less or more impact on the environment. We don’t know—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (Ms. Patrice Barnes)", "text": [ "Thank you.", "Further debate?", "1640" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sam Oosterhoff", "text": [ "I greatly appreciate the opportunity to rise today to speak to second reading of the Resource Management and Safety Act, 2024. I’m looking forward to sharing a bit more about a number of different aspects of this legislation. I promise to be a little more structured than I was the other day speaking to different legislation because it’s very, very important that every single aspect of this legislation is carefully considered and, of course, also reflects all of the feedback that we’ve heard from industry and from so many job creators and from those in our province over the last number of years.", "Speaker, this is a truly transformative step in this legislation. It’s a transformative step in Ontario’s approach to resource management and economic innovation. And this legislation reflects Ontario’s leadership in achieving a balance between environmental sustainability and economic growth, ensuring that our industries remain competitive, our communities remain resilient and our province is positioned for long-term success.", "The bill addresses several critical areas such as modernizing wildland fire management, updating the Surveyors Act and ensuring public safety around hazardous oil and gas wells. But today, I’m going to be focusing on what I believe to be one of the most important and exciting aspects of this legislation: the forward-looking actions that are being taken to enable geologic carbon storage. This initiative has the potential to be a game-changer for many energy-intensive industries in the province, for our environment and for the communities that we all serve.", "Ontario’s energy-intensive industries—such as steel, cement, and concrete chemicals, our manufacturers and our agricultural sector, along with our energy producers—fuel our economy. We know that they provide thousands of well-paying jobs. They support countless families putting food on the table and they drive economic growth across the province. They are in many cases the start of our robust supply chains that we have here in Canada.", "In my role as Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many of the leaders of these industries across Ontario. I look to my left and I see the member for Sarnia–Lambton; I had the privilege of visiting a number of facilities in his riding. These are industries that are committed to our province, and they’re committed to the amazing talent that we have here. They’re investing in reducing emissions and they’re doing so while protecting jobs and maintaining Ontario’s competitiveness with our neighbours. But these industries face high costs and real challenges, from managing high emissions to navigating the rising cost of a punitive carbon tax.", "This is where our government really stands apart from so many others. We are unapologetic in backing our industries by investing in innovative technologies, like geologic carbon storage, to help job creators reduce emissions, stay competitive and grow. We are offering real, practical solutions, not heavy-handed and, frankly, lazy taxation schemes like the federal Liberal carbon tax. Our approach puts opportunity and innovation over taxation. By supporting technologies that actually reduce emissions while creating clean, high-paying jobs, we’re proving that there is a better way to protect the environment. It’s one that strengthens the economy and builds a brighter future for youth and families.", "Speaker, we’re also working hard to ensure that Ontario’s businesses have access to competitively priced and reliable energy to meet future demand while keeping costs low for consumers. I’m going to speak a bit more about this in a few minutes. It’s about ensuring that Ontario remains a place that industries choose to invest in, to create jobs and lead on environmental innovation as I have seen from so many of the people I’ve had the opportunity to visit with and tour. This bill is an example of our government’s relentless focus on growth and our unwavering commitment to building a sustainable future for the people and businesses who call this province home.", "When we talk about geologic carbon storage, it’s not just about tackling a single problem. Instead, it’s about addressing a necessity for both our economy and our environment. First off, carbon capture and storage is an economic necessity. This provides a viable solution for reducing emissions from energy-intensive and hard-to-abate industries. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many of these industries, from steel, cement and chemicals. It allows these industries to maintain their global competitiveness. CCS offers a direct and innovative way to address their emissions and ensure that these industries are able to meet their climate obligations without undermining their growth or their ability to create more jobs.", "Speaker, it’s also about environmental impact. This technology has the potential to cut emissions here in the province of Ontario by five million to six million tonnes annually. That’s the equivalent to taking two million cars off the road. This isn’t just a small step forward; this is really a leap forward towards achieving Ontario’s ambitious climate goals.", "Now the International Energy Agency provides the world’s most authoritative and comprehensive source of global energy data. I know all members in this chamber will be excited to hear that “under IEA Sustainable Development Scenario, carbon capture technologies will play an important role in supporting modern and flexible power systems.” It would be impossible to meet “long-term climate goals without applying carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies at scale in the power sector” without “the virtual” overnight “elimination” of “gas-fired generation as well” as “significant early retirements and potential for existing stranded assets.”", "Without the widespread adaptation of technologies like carbon capture and sequestration, there’s no credible path to meeting these ambitious climate targets while maintaining reliability and affordability for the people of this province.", "The potential of geologic carbon storage goes far beyond emissions reductions. It’s also a transformative opportunity for Ontario’s economy, one that’s creating jobs, reduces costs for businesses and attracts significant investment into our province. We know that just the initial development of commercial-scale CCS facilities in Ontario alone can sustain up to 2,400 jobs in manufacturing, oil and gas and utilities. On top of that, the construction and implementation of these projects would create 4,000 short-term, high-paying jobs in project development, benefiting workers, families and communities across this province.", "We also know that this technology could help reduce the carbon price burden for Ontario’s industries by up to $1.2 billion, keeping more money in the hands of job creators to reinvest in innovation and growth.", "Speaker, this will also enable cost savings. By enabling industries to store their carbon emissions instead of paying for them, CCS provides a real and immediate alternative to the federal carbon tax, which burdens businesses and job creators. This technology will reduce the carbon price burden for Ontario’s industries by up to $1.2 billion annually, keeping more money in the hands of businesses to reinvest in innovation, growth and job creation.", "We also want to talk about investment attraction. With the federal government offering investment tax credits for CCS projects, Ontario is positioned to become a hub for clean technology development and global companies coming to this province. By enabling CCS, we can attract significant capital investment into our province and reinforce Ontario’s position as a leader in environmental innovation and economic growth. It’s not just about keeping existing companies here; it’s also about making sure that Ontario is the first choice for companies looking to invest in the future of clean technologies.", "Speaker, this is how you lead in a competitive global economy. By embracing technologies like CCS, Ontario can achieve meaningful emissions reductions, foster job creation and attract the investments that will power our economy for decades to come. It’s about building a future where families, youth and job creators can thrive in a province that’s not only cleaner but also more prosperous.", "Now, one of the greatest advantages Ontario has in advancing geologic carbonstorage is our province’s natural and strategic positioning, which makes us uniquely suited to lead in this technology.", "First, Ontario’s southwestern region is home to the ideal geology for CCS. With saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas reservoirs, this region provides the deep underground formations needed to safely and permanently store carbon dioxide. These natural features are critical for the development of CCS projects and position Ontario as a prime location for this emerging sector.", "Second, the proximity to major industrial hubs here in southwestern Ontario gives us a competitive edge. Many of the energy-intensive industries that I’ve had the opportunity to visit with and tour over the last few months had many conversations about the importance of the locations of these sites here in this region. We have manufacturing and chemical production, heavy industry that’s supporting global growth and growth in our country, but the proximity that we have to southwestern Ontario’s geologic formations will help significantly reduce transportation costs and logistical challenges, making CCS projects not only more viable but also more efficient. It’s a win-win for businesses and the environment.", "1650", "Finally, Ontario does have a long history of managing underground storage safely and effectively. For decades, we’ve seen the storage of natural gas, compressed air and other resources in underground formations. This expertise that we’ve developed in this province ensures that we are fully equipped to regulate CCS projects with the highest standards for safety, reliability and environmental stewardship.", "Leveraging these natural and strategic advantages allows Ontario to lead the way in carbon management while also ensuring that our industries remain globally competitive. By building on our strengths—our geology, our industrial base and our regulatory expertise—we can make CCS a cornerstone of Ontario’s clean energy future while driving environmental progress and economic prosperity.", "While geologic carbon storage is new to Ontario, it is far from an untested concept. This technology has been successfully deployed for over 50 years around the world, including in Norway, Australia and the United States, with over 700 projects currently in development globally. These projects have demonstrated the safety, the efficacy and the transformative potential of CCS to reduce emissions while also responsibly supporting industrial growth.", "Here in Canada, Alberta and Saskatchewan have already taken the lead. They have shown how CCS can be successfully implemented to drive economic benefits while also advancing climate goals. Ontario now has the opportunity to join these provinces in establishing CCS, carbon capture and sequestration, as a cornerstone of our clean energy future. By doing so, we ensure that our industries remain globally competitive and that Ontario continues to attract investment and innovation.", "It’s not just the International Energy Agency. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, have both stated that CCS is essential to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Without the widespread adoption of technologies like CCS, there is simply no credible path to meeting these ambitious climate targets without potential brownouts or other scenarios across the globe. We need CCS to reach net zero.", "Ontario has the expertise, the natural resources, and now, with this legislation, also the regulatory framework to make CCS a reality. By embracing this proven technology, we are taking a bold step towards ensuring that Ontario leads in lowering emissions, as we have already done.", "Now, Speaker, the changes outlined in this bill are critical to ensuring that we’re securing Ontario’s economic expansion but also continuing to build out our clean, reliable, and affordable energy advantage. It’s an advantage that we’ve cultivated over the past six years. We know that Ontario is uniquely positioned. We have over 90% of our electricity currently coming from non-emitting sources such as nuclear and hydro. The clean energy system, supported by our highly skilled workforce, a competitive business advantage and abundant natural resources, is what we proudly call our clean energy advantage. But we want to do more than have an advantage. We want to be a clean energy superpower.", "This advantage is a source of pride. It’s a cornerstone of the economic growth that we’ve seen in this province. Companies are choosing Ontario because of our clean grid and our commitment to fostering an investment-friendly climate. Major players like Stellantis, Volkswagen and Algoma Steel are demonstrating their confidence in this province. They’re bringing investments in electric vehicle production, grain, steel and more. These investments don’t just fuel our economy; they provide good, well-paying jobs and new opportunities for families across this province.", "The demand for electricity in Ontario is growing at a pace we haven’t seen in over 20 years. According to the IESO, the Independent Electricity System Operator, we’re going to need 75% more power in this province over the next 25 years. That’s like building four and a half cities the size of Toronto and adding that to the grid. Investments like Volkswagen’s battery manufacturing plant or Algoma’s green steel production alone add the equivalent of the annual electricity of Ottawa.", "Meeting this demand isn’t about just keeping the lights on. It’s also a generational challenge, one that demands foresight, innovation and action. That’s why to meet this growing demand, we’ve tabled the integrated energy plan here in this chamber. The Affordable Energy Act will ensure that Ontario continues to receive clean, reliable and affordable power for families, businesses and industries alike. It’s a demonstration of a collaborative approach that our government has taken. It means we’re working together with one vision, and this bill builds on that strategy, proactively supporting energy-intensive industries while also ensuring sustainable growth. It underscores the commitment to delivering here in Ontario, a province that is the best place to work, to live and to invest.", "Speaker, we’ve already delivered significant energy savings for businesses and families. Programs like the comprehensive electricity price, the industrial conservation initiative and the electricity rebate have collectively reduced the cost of doing business in this province by $8 billion a year. These measures are creating a climate that allows families to thrive and industries to grow. In fact, over the last six years, we’ve seen record investments as a result of our clean energy advantage and pro-business policies.", "Let’s contrast this for a second. We saw what happened under the former Liberal government, propped up by the NDP. Short-sighted energy policies drove out 300,000 good-paying jobs and placed unnecessary burdens on job creators. Now, under Premier Ford’s leadership, Ontario has not only reversed this trend but actually added 800,000 new jobs since 2018. And industries that I have met with, like industrial electric vehicle manufacturing, greenhouses, data centres and mining have all flourished, thanks to our commitment to clean, reliable and affordable energy. It’s no coincidence that companies are choosing Ontario. It’s because we continue to advance an agenda of growth and prosperity, sending the message very clearly that Ontario is open for business. And this legislation will ensure that we continue to capitalize on those strengths, making Ontario a leader in clean energy and economic growth.", "Speaker, this bill is not only about our energy security. It’s also about the people and the businesses who depend on it and need to know that we have a clear plan to reduce emissions while supporting economic growth. It’s about building sustainability for all of our industries, including in the hard-to-abate sectors. We aren’t giving up on the workers in those jobs, and we’re not giving up on those industries. We’ve seen ideologies coming across from the aisle that say, “No. They can shut up; they can go home. They don’t need to continue to work here in Ontario.” But the reality is there is no path to net zero without this legislation and without this technology for many of those industries.", "While the focus of my remarks this afternoon has been on the transformative potential of geologic carbon storage, I do want to also briefly acknowledge the other critical parts of this legislation that will also help the people of Ontario. This bill seeks to modernize the Surveyors Act, which is a vital step to accelerate housing and more infrastructure development, especially in underserved areas like northern Ontario. We know that this modernization will help in those areas. We also know, through the Wildland Fire Management Act, that this is a significant enhancement to how we safeguard our communities and industries from escalating fire risks. With fires becoming larger and more frequent, these updates will strengthen prevention and mitigation and response efforts while protecting families, businesses and our natural resources. We also know the importance of cracking down on hazardous wells while ensuring the safety of our communities through the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act.", "Together, these measures create a more cohesive and forward-looking framework for a stronger Ontario. This bill isn’t just about solving today’s challenges; it’s also about building a foundation for future growth and for future safety and sustainability. It addresses critical needs across a range of sectors, and it’s a continued demonstration of our work to get it done for the people of Ontario.", "I want to acknowledge especially a few different individuals with this. Graydon Smith, the Minister of Natural Resources and his parliamentary assistant, the member for Newmarket–Aurora, have done fantastic work to reach out to so many stakeholders in this, and I want to acknowledge and thank them for that work. I also want to extend my gratitude to Minister Lecce for working with me to bring more energy-intensive industries around the table here in Ontario and participating in feedback on this kind of a piece of legislation. We had a great discussion paper that was out to industry and to many people in the province of Ontario who participated in their feedback over the course of an extended period of time to make sure that we got it right.", "This legislation demonstrates our commitment to continuing that work; to continuing to go beyond the ivory towers of downtown Toronto; to go beyond this chamber, as beautiful and illustrious as it is; to go out into regular people’s lives and ask them about what they need to see and to speak in a way that’s not speaking down to but rather asking for solutions from actual industries, actual job creators, the people who take the risks—not pontificate about what they should do, but rather ask them what the supports are. They need to be able to reduce emissions and continue to provide those jobs.", "1700", "I’m thankful that we have legislation that’s responsive and reactive to the needs of job creators, that continues to build a cleaner, more vibrant economy. I hope all members in this House will be willing to join me in supporting it. I know many on this side will; I invite you to as well." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Catherine Fife", "text": [ "It is so interesting to hear the member from Niagara West. This is a direct quote: that this legislation is absolutely key to getting to net zero. In fact, he said that there is no getting to net zero without this piece of legislation. In what world is that actually the path to getting to net zero?", "I just want to point out that this is a piece of a legislation that the government is ramming through this House: six and a half hours of debate; no public consultation; no extensive stakeholder outreach, especially to those people who are most affected, the sectors that are most affected. How in the world is this the way to craft a piece of legislation?", "In fact, basically, you’re delivering for the Ontario Petroleum Institute. Now, if you check the lobbying registry, they are there. If you check the fundraisers, they are there. This is basically a gift to the Ontario Petroleum Institute.", "This is supposed to be a democracy, where we come into this place and we do the best for people. How do you reconcile—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Response? I recognize the Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sam Oosterhoff", "text": [ "I want to thank the member opposite.", "These are some of the organizations that she’s saying, “You know what? Shut down your business in Ontario. You don’t need to do any work here in Ontario. You can fire all those people who work in those industries.” We have the steel producers of Canada, the Cement Association of Canada, Hydrogen Ontario, Fertilizer Canada, Cabot, Stelco, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, Canadian Fuels Association, the chemistry association of Canada, Association of Major Power Consumers in Ontario, and Ontario Mining Association.", "She’s telling all of the hundreds of thousands of people who work in these sectors—these are sectors where you cannot completely cut out every single emission. You need to have carbon capture to get rid of those carbon costs and to get rid of the associated carbon release. They’re saying, “We don’t care. Get out of this province. You don’t need to do business here.”" ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "MmeDawn Gallagher Murphy", "text": [ "I’d like to thank the associate minister for his words today on this important debate.", "Since this bill will enable the development of a commercial-scale carbon storage project in our province, through the proposed Geologic Carbon Storage Act, it could lead to the establishment of new industrial activity in our great province.", "You’ve already noted great expansion of the carbon management sector around the globe, with 700 projects in development in 50 countries. So my question to the associate minister: Could you tell this House how commercial-scale geologic carbon storage projects, if established in our province, could benefit the people of Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sam Oosterhoff", "text": [ "Fantastic question. I want to thank the member for her question because this is foundational to the ability of many of these hard-to-abate industries to continue to exist in Ontario.", "If we don’t have a particular format in place to allow them to get down to net zero, they’re not going to be able to hit net zero because they’re not going to have a place to put some of that carbon. There’s only so much you can change your processes to make them carbon-free. There are certain things—I’m thinking of the creation of fertilizer, for example, using a number of different industrial processes. You look at the chemical sector that is foundational to many of the things that we take for granted in everyday life. Some of those processes have extremely high heat requirements, and you can’t necessarily achieve that without some carbon by-product. The reality is, if you’re able to take that carbon, sequester it deep into the ground, you’re able to continue to run a business here in Ontario.", "It’s not just the businesses who are relying on it; it’s also the thousands of construction jobs that are going to be associated with the deployment of commercial-scale carbon capture.", "It’s good for the economy, it’s good for the environment, it’s good for Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Aislinn Clancy", "text": [ "A 2021 study done in the US showed that 80% of carbon capture projects failed. Over the decades that this technology has been in practice, tens of billions of dollars being spent, and only the emissions used to refine and produce the petroleum—it captures 0.1% of their emissions and considers zero of the 80% of the emissions of the product.", "We have reached 1.5 degrees, and we are surpassing that. For all of us who have kids who are worried about the next step, we should be concerned.", "This year alone, Canada’s insurance billings doubled—doubled—from over $3 billion to $8 billion.", "This has been proven, in Australia and so many countries, to be another subsidy to oil and gas companies.", "Tell me, what can you do to make a just transition—because oil and gas are not the future forever." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sam Oosterhoff", "text": [ "Speaker, I’m not sure what world the members of the Green Party live in, because the reality is, I’m assuming they drove here on roads that had some level of tar that was being used in building the roads. I’m sure that they use phones or have other pieces of equipment that have plastic within them. So I’m assuming that their goal is to essentially shut everything down; don’t put in place any innovative ways to actually reduce the emissions.", "CCS is a tool that allows us to take out the harmful carbon particles that are obviously impacting climate change and to actually be able to put those away, while continuing to enjoy a standard of living that I’d say almost everyone in the province of Ontario wants to see continue to improve. And one of the reasons the quality of life continues to improve is because of being able to have access to energy. We need to have CCS to be able to allow us to continue to build out those industries that provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in every corner of this province. I’m not saying goodbye to those jobs, and I hope you won’t either." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Further questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "M. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "Je sais que son français est bon, fait que je vais lui demander une question en français.", "Les feux de forêt : les compagnies, avant, avaient des pièces d’équipement. Ils les ont vendues à leurs travailleurs. Ce sont maintenant aux « owner-operators » qu’appartiennent les pièces d’équipement. J’en ai parlé dans mon allocution. Il y en a de ces pièces d’équipement qui valent des millions. Fait que là, maintenant, le ministère va dire à cet « owner-operator »: « Bien, on a besoin de ta pièce d’équipement pour faire une passe pour être capable d’empêcher le feu de passer. »", "Ceci dit, qu’est ce qui arrive à cet « owner-operator » si sa pièce d’équipement passe au feu? Ça, ça veut dire qu’il va perdre—parce qu’une pièce d’équipement lui appartient, ça veut dire qu’il va perdre des salaires pendant des années. Peut-être pas des années, mais quelques mois, peut-être un an. Ça, ça veut dire que ses assurances vont probablement augmenter. Aussi, son équipement doit être entretenu, les filtreurs et tout.", "Qui va payer pour ça? Parce que ce n’est pas l’employeur, parce que l’employeur, c’est une compagnie, puis lui, il est une compagnie. Je vous demande qui va compenser cet individu?" ] }, { "speaker": "L’hon. Sam Oosterhoff", "text": [ "Oui. Je vous remercie pour votre question cet après-midi. Je n’ai pas une réponse pour l’exemple spécifique que tu décris, mais je comprends que cette législation augmente les supports et aussi les soutiens pour les personnes qui combattent les feux au Nord.", "L’importance d’une force de travailleurs très « responsive » au nord de l’Ontario pour combattre les différents feux de forêt est absolument une « centrepiece » de cette législation particulière. Je comprends que le ministre, il essaie d’assurer que chaque personne qui travaille au Nord, qui combat les feux différents, que notre gouvernement soutient les personnes qui font leur service au Nord contre les feux différents. Et nous avons beaucoup d’intentions de continuer à améliorer nos supports pour les communautés et aussi pour les différents individus qui combattent les feux au Nord." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Further questions?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Robert Bailey", "text": [ "I listened to all of the debate today—very interesting.", "I just wanted to say that, along with the member from Lambton–Kent–Middlesex—he and I share the Dawn Hub. I know you visited there with Enbridge. We’re used to this carbon capture and other underground storage.", "Many years ago—I won’t go into how many—I worked at a major company in the Chemical Valley. We had underground storage there, deep wells—3,000 feet deep or more—where we’ve stored these types of products safely for many years.", "I know there’s all kinds of storage that takes place out in Alberta at this time. The technology is there. We’re doing this all over.", "Can you elaborate a little more on the safety that you know of from your travels and your studies?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sam Oosterhoff", "text": [ "It’s really remarkable. I have to say, having gone to a number of different nuclear power plants, actually, in the province, which are incredible, the security around those bases, first of all, is taken very, very seriously.", "1710", "But secondly, the technologies that—they walk you through how the actual injection happens, how they analyze the soil, and the quantity of soil and what the sequestration impacts are going to be. These are multi-year processes. It’s not like they grab a pipe, they throw it in the ground, they start shooting carbon down there and hope it all turns out well. This is a very, very practical solution.", "But the reason it’s practical is because it’s safe and because it’s been done for over 50 years on 700 projects where we’ve been able to examine the consequences of this action. We know that it is safe, that it can be done responsibly and done in a way that reduces emissions and, again, protects economic growth. Those two aren’t necessarily in conflict with each other. We’re marrying them, and we’re getting the job done here in Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Donna Skelly)", "text": [ "Before we move on to further debate, I just wanted to clarify, if you are rising on a point of order, you may correct your record, but you may not expand on an argument or any commentary that you made previously.", "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "We have a complex bill before us. There are 69 parts to the bill. Apparently, the member opposite, who was just speaking, considers himself an expert in the area, but, unfortunately, the rest of us—when we’re elected as MPPs, we’re not elected because we’re experts in everything. We are elected to be responsible, to look carefully at whatever legislation is brought before us, to listen to experts and to bring that information back to our constituents so that our constituents can also feel confident that the government is working appropriately. But what we keep seeing here is the use of closure to shut down debate, to limit public consultation, and that, to me, does not do justice to what we have been elected to do here in this Legislature.", "There are specific issues in the bill. I think there are some good things in the bill. I would like to believe that carbon capture is fantastic—who knows? Maybe it is. But when are we going to study it? When are we going to study it as members of the opposition? When are we going to study it in a way that can be shared with our constituents? Apparently, never.", "In the bill, there are questions about how First Nations consultation is represented; it’s not. One word is there, and it says “adequate.” Why not say “free, prior and informed consent,” which is the standard? “Adequate” looks to me like a get-out-of-jail card for not respecting the rights of First Nations to be consulted and, frankly, to have their lands protected.", "One thing that is apparent in the bill is that there is an unacknowledged but tacit admission that climate change is real. That appears on page 6. Accepts the reality, really, because when you talk about changing the firefighting scenarios, trying to really plan ahead for a more extensive fire season, then that is an acknowledgement of climate change.", "But I have to say, I am deeply, deeply disappointed in the way that this government has handled its relationship with wildland firefighters. We had a commitment from the Minister of Labour in this House and in a private meeting, along with the MPP for Thunder Bay–Atikokan, committing to changing the classification of wildland firefighters to be the equivalent of urban firefighters or structural firefighters, and we had a commitment that they would get the WSIB coverage they need.", "In spite of an amendment that was proposed by the NDP to fix what could have possibly been an oversight in how that WSIB coverage is expressed in the previous bill, Working for Workers Five, that amendment was rejected. So what we know, in fact, is that both of those commitments have not been fulfilled, and that is extremely disappointing.", "We want to understand how the government plans to fight wildfires in November or March with an unemployed workforce—a workforce that is hemorrhaging staff because the government refuses to reclassify them as firefighters. We know that the number of fire crews is down despite the increased fire season. With the changes that are in this bill, will the government increase the resources of its fire crews and finally reclassify these first responders? That is the question. So, I really ask myself: Well, there are these plans, but who is going to actually do the firefighting?", "Let’s go on. Schedule 1 increases the powers and scope of wildfire inspectors and will permit designated conservation officers as wildfire inspectors for the purposes of the act. What is the plan to actually enforce these measures when they have a retention crisis in both wildfire firefighters and conservation officers due to a lack of recognition and corresponding low pay compared to comparable sectors?", "We’ve got other areas where the government has toughened penalties but starved enforcement resources. We have presented this a number of times in this House. Conservation officers have been promised for 12 years that their classification would be changed. They’re in the bush, they are dealing with people who are armed, they’re often on their own, they’re miles and miles from any kind of backup, and yet they are classified as resource technicians and paid not very well, which is why there is a retention crisis with conservation officers similar to the crisis with wildland firefighters.", "Who’s training the conservation officers to be wildfire inspectors? That’s not part of their job training right now. So, I ask myself: Well, okay, who’s going to do the work, considering they’re only hired for a short season? Is the work season going to be extended? What about the WSIB coverage? You’re going to see more and more wildland firefighters and conservation officers leaving, which is happening consistently across the province because the work is not respected. The workers themselves are not respected. We know they’re needed—absolutely needed.", "We also know that this idea of wildfire inspectors—again, you’re talking about using conservation officers not trained to do it. And then amongst the wildland firefighters, there are hardly any experienced firefighters left because they won’t stay, they’re not staying, because the pay and working conditions are abysmal. This government can’t even keep its promise to provide the WSIB coverage to protect those workers who are exposed to an incredible amount of carcinogens over the five- or six-month periods that they’re working. They don’t have PPE. They’re sleeping on the ground where the smoke settles. They’re wearing a bandana. They’re stuck in the same clothing for weeks at a time. There’s nowhere for showers—all of those things, and yet they’re disrespected.", "Frankly, again, it’s the government breaking its promises. That was a pretty public commitment, I must say, that the Minister of Labour made and has betrayed with every single Working for Workers bill.", "Toughened penalties: I’m going to talk a bit about inspections and the whole scene with inspectors because we’ve got traffic enforcement officers—well, we’ve got half of what the province needs, and they’re in the same bind. You can’t retain them because they’re not being paid adequately, particularly given the danger of that job. Traffic enforcement officers are often dealing with angry drivers who don’t want to be pulled over and they’re also dealing with car thieves. That sounds pretty scary to me, to be confronting a car thief either on the road or at an inspection station. But their work is not respected. They are not paid adequately.", "It’s a pattern across this government that public servants are consistently underpaid. You cannot then retain them, and guess what? The inspections don’t happen. So we have this $31-million inspection station for vehicles in Thunder Bay and no staff. I guess it’s good for contractors, but the government is not willing to actually staff these places. I can tell you, people in northwestern Ontario are very, very angry about the fact that that station is not inspected. We had four deaths just this week involving three tractor-trailers, two of them head-on collisions. Both of those drivers died, and another two drivers died. One was a tractor-trailer, one was an SUV.", "There is no reason to trust that this government actually is interested in enforcement. Fines get raised: Sure, raise the fines, but the fines are never applied.", "1720" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "“We have the safest roads.”" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "Yes, and we get this line about having the safest roads in North America. That is so embarrassing and really shameful.", "I bring that up because it’s a consistent pattern and, with firefighters, they don’t have the tools, they don’t have the resources, they don’t have the person power to do their jobs safely. They’re not staying, and because they won’t stay, that expertise is not there.", "So I don’t know what the government plan is when they say it’s going to be a much longer fire season. That’s an important acknowledgement because that’s true. We are at risk of much greater and longer fire seasons and hotter fires as well, particularly with the spruce budworm now infecting trees across the north because they go up like tinder, unfortunately.", "Then, another question is, will this government increase resources to the FireSmart program? In the three years leading into the pandemic, the FireSmart program was only funded to the tune of $1 million. The FireSmart program is where municipalities would receive support and resources toward wildfire management plans as is now a requirement under schedule 1. Okay, but so far, we only have one community that has got a FireSmart plan even though it was introduced before the pandemic. When and how is this going to happen? Who is providing the expertise? Are they going to be paid? Is the burden going to be on municipalities? We don’t know.", "I think the member from Waterloo pointed out that there are certainly some conflicts of interest behind the lobbying behind this particular bill, and that is certainly a very significant cause for concern. We’re talking about geologic carbon storage. What’s interesting to me—so, out of this debate, I have learned about the situation in Wheatley, where an abandoned well exploded and flattened the community. I had no idea, actually, until I was part of this Legislature, that we had an oil and gas industry in Ontario, and I would guess that probably a great deal of Ontarians don’t know that and certainly don’t know that there are abandoned wells throughout the province that pose a risk.", "Now, in the briefing this morning, one of the questions was, how many inspectors are there? We hope to get that answer back from the ministry, but given how few inspectors there are and how few inspections are taking place in all other places—I’m thinking again in particular of highway safety but also labour, occupational health and safety. Those inspections are way down. So it’s difficult to have confidence that the work will be done to make sure that—first of all, we’ve already got how many? It’s hundreds, thousands—I have no idea—of abandoned oil and gas wells throughout the province that do pose a significant safety risk.", "The member from Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas was mentioning that there’s actually one in Waterdown. Now, I’ve actually lived in Waterdown. My mom lived there for quite a few years, and we had a sinkhole in the backyard." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Sandy Shaw", "text": [ "Right. I remember that." ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "Right? They pop up all the time, which tells you there’s a lot that’s actually quite unstable about the geology in the region’s limestone. There are holes here, there are holes there.", "Again, it could be good; maybe this is good; maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s a total sellout to the petroleum and gas industry." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Aislinn Clancy", "text": [ "Maybe?" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "Yes, I suspect that it is because, really, it just allows them to produce and produce and produce. But for me, the bottom line is that all of us here need to have the ability to bring ourselves fully up to speed, listen to people who bring different perspectives to the question so that we are making a really considered, solid decision, but instead, what keeps happening again and again is that we get closure. In the last two bills that we had, we got closure and, frankly, complete disinterest in facts, in evidence; and somehow some pride in ignoring evidence in terms of the effect of removing bicycle lanes and really destroying safety, not doing a thing about congestion by putting a lot of people at risk; and then the refusal to consider any evidence about the safe consumption sites.", "Again, lots and lots of evidence that contradicted the government’s aims, and yet we have closure. The public consultation on the bike lanes was unanimously opposed to what the government is doing.", "We need the time to understand the implications, to understand the science as best as we can and to be bringing in experts from a range of perspectives on these problems, and I don’t trust that that’s going to happen. I think that, again, we’re pumping stuff in the ground.", "There are other things. We’re talking about bringing the surveyors law up to date so that people from out of province can come and people from out of country can come. It’s probably a good thing. But for me, the first question I asked myself was, “Does it make a difference where a surveyor comes from? Do they need local knowledge?” I don’t know, so that’s a question I would like to bring to committee: “Please explain to me how this works. What difference does it make? Why is it in here? Why is it considered a good idea?” As I said, I’d be happy to say, “Yeah, okay. That’s a good idea now that I understand,” but I’m not going to have that opportunity.", "There are things that I certainly worry about when it talks about potential leakage from carbon capture and what the significance of that is. We know that carbon, when it’s released, stays very low to the ground. So what is the risk? I’d like to know. I’d like to have the opportunity again to look very, very closely at every aspect of this bill in order to have an informed decision about it.", "Again, it would be a rare thing indeed that any bill comes forward, written by any party, that’s perfect in its first form. We know that the idea of having debate and having committee is to be able to make amendments, to learn, to read, to bring in outside perspectives so that we can make the bill better, but we keep seeing actions to move things forward very quickly.", "The only reason that we’re under pressure to move things quickly is because we started five weeks late. You’re cancelling sessions anyway. We could be having night sessions. We often cancel the session from 1 to 3 now, so what’s the problem? Why can’t we take the time that’s necessary?", "It raises really, very serious concerns, I think, for all of us on the opposition side when bills are rammed through, and that raises the question of why. Why is it being rammed through? What is it we’re not supposed to be seeing? What is it we’re not supposed to be discussing?", "We’ve heard that many, many issues have been raised on this side of the House today with concerns. We’ve heard from someone from the other side who could definitely be a salesman for carbon capture. I’m glad he’s so confident in it, but I’m not sure that we should be that confident in it. Again, we know that the government has been informed by lobbyists, by their primary donors, as we’ve seen in many other cases. It’s very difficult to have the confidence that we need.", "I have to say I wonder about liability, of where the liabilities are going to lie. If this is on private property and there’s a leak, who’s paying? There’s a problem when there’s a gas and oil leak on a property. If it’s on private property, who pays? It looks like it’s the person—" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Sandy Shaw", "text": [ "The taxpayer." ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "—or the taxpayer. It looks to me, the way I read this, that it would be the taxpayer’s responsibility, in many cases, if a company has gone bankrupt or they’ve left.", "So it just seems to me that there are enough questions about the content of the bill—and the fact that we are not going to have time to really take this bill apart. We just received a briefing this morning, only 20 minutes long. The bill came out yesterday. I ask again, what’s the hurry? Why undermine the democratic process that we are elected here to uphold? We are elected to take the time to very, very seriously consider any legislation, because what we do here impacts people’s lives profoundly.", "I will stop there. Thank you for the opportunity to speak.", "Report continues in volume B.", "", "", "" ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Hon. Trevor Jones", "text": [ "I move that, pursuant to standing order 50 and notwithstanding any other standing order or special order of the House relating to Bill 223, An Act to enact two Acts and to amend various Acts with respect to public safety and the justice system, and Bill 227, An Act to amend various Acts;", "That when Bill 223 is next called as a government order, the Speaker shall put every question necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill without further debate or amendment; and", "That, upon receiving second reading, the bill shall be ordered for third reading, which order may be called the same day; and", "That when the order for third reading of Bill 223 is called, one hour shall be allotted to debate, with 25 minutes for members of His Majesty’s government, 25 minutes for members of His Majesty’s loyal opposition, and 10 minutes for the independent members as a group; and", "That, at the end of this time, the Speaker shall interrupt the proceedings and shall put every question necessary to dispose of the third reading stage of Bill 223 without further debate or amendment; and", "That when Bill 227 is next called as a government order, the Speaker shall put every question necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill without further debate or amendment; and", "That, upon receiving second reading, the bill shall be ordered for third reading, which order may be called the same day; and", "That when the order for third reading of Bill 227 is called, one hour shall be allotted to debate, with 25 minutes for members of His Majesty’s Government, 25 minutes for members of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, and 10 minutes for the independent members as a group; and", "That, at the end of this time, the Speaker shall interrupt the proceedings and shall put every question necessary to dispose of the third reading stage of Bill 227 without further debate or amendment." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "The associate minister has moved government notice of motion number 27.", "Going to back to the minister to start debate." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Trevor Jones", "text": [ "Good morning, and thank you, Speaker. Lovely to see you in the chair this morning.", "There are a few words, a few guiding principles I’ve lived by. From an early age, I was called to serve in service above self. The hallmarks and the guiding principles I’m talking about are simple words: safe communities in a secure Ontario. Safe communities in a secure Ontario are the building block, the foundation for communities to build businesses, to attract investment, industry, farming, agribusiness—all the things that drive our economy, all the things that guide this government to do good and advance the lives of communities across Ontario.", "My friends from across the aisle will know that I’ve shared some stories in this place many times, that I’ve served in communities, small and remote, in the northwest like Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, all the way south to my riding of Pelee Island. And everywhere I’ve been, I’m inspired by people because communities are built on that same guiding principle: safe communities in a secure Ontario.", "That’s some of the hallmarks found in the legislation that has been brought forward by this government for this House: to secure our communities, for safe communities, a secure Ontario for all, in every part of this province, so we can build businesses, we can build our families up, we can attract investment and do the great things that this government aspires to do.", "With that, Speaker, I’ll return the podium to you and to the opposition." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "Wow, that was a short speech.", "This is a pretty significant bill. It affects my riding. It affects a lot of downtown ridings. It affects Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie—many, many areas that have pretty significant opioid addiction issues. And now we hear that the government wants to fast-track this piece of legislation—not have it go to committee, not have people speak to it—and then truncate debate to, what is it, an hour? An hour for third reading?", "Interjection." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "Two hours, okay. Two hours for a bill that affects so many people. Wow. Yes, it’s hard to stand up.", "I want to talk a little bit about the bill. I was recently sent a photo of a man called Jonah. It was sent to me by his mother, Katherine McCloskey. Jonah is holding his two-year-old son, Hendrix, on a TTC train; Hendrix loves trains. The reason why I was sent this photo is because Jonah died of an overdose on June 2, 2024. Hendrix lost his dad, at a time in his life when he will probably never hold memories of him, and Katherine McCloskey lost her son.", "We hosted a press conference at Queen’s Park shortly after this government introduced this bill to close 10 consumption sites. Katherine spoke and she said, “I could not protect my adult son Jonah from being killed by Toronto’s toxic drug supply, but the Conservative government can choose to protect some of this province’s most vulnerable sons and daughters.” This government has the power to do that.", "Fast-tracking this bill, Bill 223, sends a very clear message that the government is not serious about taking a harm reduction approach to addressing the opioid crisis that we have. This bill—I mean, it’s a big bill, but what I’m going to focus on is the consumption sites piece. This bill will close 10 consumption and treatment sites by March 2025 and ban new sites from opening anywhere in Ontario. The government likes to say, “Oh, well, we’re just going to close these sites because they’re near schools and daycare centres.” Well, that argument doesn’t ring true, because if it was serious, then the government would allow new consumption sites to be opened up that weren’t near daycares and schools, but the government isn’t allowing that. They’re not allowing that.", "We have a consumption and treatment site in Kensington; it’s on Augusta Avenue. It’s one of the 10 sites that is slated to close. Consumption and treatment sites are rooms; this is what they are. They’re rooms where individuals can inject their own drugs under the watchful eye of a nurse or a health care worker who can revive them if they overdose. That’s what consumption and treatment sites are. These sites can also help people get access to health care and care, such as a doctor’s appointment to helping someone get on a wait list for affordable housing. They offer a lifeline to people who are struggling to survive. Many people who access consumption and treatment sites don’t trust the health care system, don’t have a lot of trust for public institutions. This is a place where people can reach out to them and say, “Look, if you’re ready for help, we’re here.”", "0910", "The statistics are horrific. According to Public Health Ontario, in 2022, 2,531 people died of an overdose in communities all across Ontario—not just downtown Toronto, all across Ontario. It’s particularly acute in the north. There were 2,044 hospitalizations and over 12,000 emergency room visits as well. What that means is that our emergency rooms, which are overcrowded, hallway medicine, are seeing people who don’t necessarily need to go there. And, unfortunately, many people who go to an emergency room if they’re experiencing an overdose don’t come out of it okay. They come out of it sometimes with brain damage, with extensive health issues.", "What I find very frustrating, and I’ve heard many government members say this, is that they say, “Well, if we close the consumption and treatment sites, then all the problems of addiction are just going to go away. All the needles are going to go away.” That’s simply not true. When consumption and treatment sites close, the problem of addiction goes elsewhere in the neighbourhood. It means that people are using in washrooms, in front of businesses, in schoolyards. The entire neighbourhood becomes a consumption site. Many of you might have seen those ads that have popped at bus stops saying, “Consumption and treatment site coming here soon.” Because that’s where people will use.", "What is also frustrating is that it will mean that more people will die. The Minister of Health, Sylvia Jones, was asked by a reporter, Jack Hauen from The Trillium, if research had been done about how many people will die as a result of this decision. The Minister of Health said, “Jack, people are not going to die; they’re going to get access to service.” That is an absurd statement from a Minister of Health. It flies in the face of all the evidence that has been presented to this government: what nurses are saying, what CAMH is saying, what health care workers are saying, what the OMA and the medical establishment is saying. The Minister of Health is like, “No, people are not going to die.” That is just simply not true. This is a very dangerous approach to addressing addiction because it’s not going to work, and it means loved ones like Jonah are going to die.", "What I find very frustrating is that I fear that this government is using the issue of consumption and treatment sites to take attention away from themselves and their failure to show leadership on these issue around addiction and mental health. They’re identifying wedge issues and targeting vulnerable people and poor people instead of saying, “What can we do as a government to address the issues that they face and that we face?” It’s called showing leadership.", "What we know is that municipalities, hospitals, nurses, public health experts and even two of your own government-commissioned reports have recommended keeping consumption sites open. The truth is that the Ontario government can and must meet people where they’re at by keeping then alive and protecting them from dying from an overdose, while also providing comprehensive support to help people who are wanting to recover and need to recover from addiction. It’s not one or the other; it’s both.", "I find it hard to believe that this government thinks that their HART treatment hubs that they’re looking at starting up sometime in the future are going to meet the moment and address the addiction crisis to the extent of how serious it is, and I have a lot of concerns about that.", "I’m also urging this government to get serious about addressing some of the root, core reasons why people become addicted in the first place. Let’s talk about addressing poverty. Let’s talk about increasing the number of affordable housing options available to people. Let’s invest more in mental health. I wish that we were debating these issues today instead of taking a very divisive approach that will result in too many people who don’t need to die dying.", "That’s all the time that I have to speak to this bill today. I wish this bill went to committee. I wish people could speak to this bill and share their expertise and their testimony, but they won’t be able to, and I think that’s a shame." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Chris Glover", "text": [ "It’s always an honour to rise in this House, but I’ve got to say that it feels kind of futile, because this House is not functioning the way it’s supposed to happen. This parliamentary democracy’s democratic system was developed over hundreds of years. It’s been spread across the Commonwealth and into other countries as well. It’s used as a model of how democracy is supposed to function. Part of the way that this is supposed to function is that the government is supposed to listen to the opposition, and we are supposed to watch you guys like hawks, because there’s actually a statue of a hawk to remind us of our role.", "This bill here is a time allocation bill. Almost every bill that this government introduces in this House, they use time allocation, so they limit the amount of time that you can speak. People ask me, “When the government is bringing in some egregious bill, why don’t you filibuster?” The reason we don’t filibuster is because the government has found a way to prevent filibusters, so that we cannot stand up here and cause a debate to go on to draw attention to some of the more egregious attacks on our democratic rights that this government is making.", "The question is: Are we a democracy? Six years ago, I would have said, of course, we’re a democracy. But I don’t know that we are a democracy anymore. I fear for the future of our democracy, and I fear for the future of our children and our grandchildren. I see the government is not even listening, and that’s fine. I’m not speaking to you anyway, because you’re not listening and you’re not willing to listen. But the actions that you have taken, the bills that you have voted on, are attacks on our democratic rights in this province.", "Right now, we are debating in this House a bill that would strip Ontarians of the rights to sue the government in the case of injury or death of a cyclist who dies because of the removal of the bike lanes. The government also stripped Ontarians of the right to sue the government for any abuse of government power that a minister or government agent made in this horrific deal with Ontario Place.", "This government has used three different bills in this House that use the “notwithstanding” clause to strip us of our fundamental rights and freedoms under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The hallmark of a democracy is that we have the right to free speech. In Ontario, do we have the right to free speech? Well, we only do at the whim of the government, because when they use the “notwithstanding” clause, they are stripping us of our right to free speech, as well as our rights to life, liberty and security of the person.", "The Premier has just said, recently, that he wants to use the “notwithstanding” clause to strip people in encampments of their charter rights. There are 234,000 people that are homeless in this province. There are 1,400 encampments in this province. That’s the legacy of this government’s policies on housing. They’ve removed rent control. They’re not building affordable housing. They’re giving billions of dollars to developers who are not building any housing, so the supply crisis keeps growing. So now there are 234,000 people who are homeless, and the government’s only response is to say, “Oh, we’re going to strip them of their charter rights.”", "It’s really difficult to express to people just how dangerous this is, because we are in a moment globally where democracies are under attack. We look to the south of us, and we’ve got a president who has said that this will be the last presidential election. That’s frightening, because the United States is the oldest modern democracy. And in Canada, we’ve got the “notwithstanding” clause, which is an escape valve, so any provincial or federal government can override our fundamental rights and freedoms under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by invoking the “notwithstanding” clause. This government has done it several different times.", "They even gave themselves, with Bill 28, the right to discriminate against education workers, who are disproportionately women and people of colour. In that bill, it actually states, and I’ll read the quote from it—this is Bill 28, that this government passed and that every Conservative member stood up and applauded as they were voting for it: “The act is declared to operate notwithstanding sections 2, 7 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the act will apply despite the Human Rights Code.”", "The Ontario Human Rights Code makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on their gender, their race, their religion, their cultural background, their disability. They stripped Ontarians—education workers—of those rights.", "0920", "The other hallmark of a democracy is that we have democratic elections. But in Ontario, one of the things this government did is that when they got into power in 2018, they changed the rules of the municipal election in the middle of the campaign period, and they cancelled four regional chair elections. This was fought all the way to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court ruled that, in Canada, we do not have the right to democratic municipal elections. The charter only guarantees us the right to federal and provincial democratic elections, not municipal.", "So the next thing this government did—they didn’t think of this as a cautionary tale, that, “No, we should respect the right of the people of Ontario to democratic municipal elections.” They brought in strong mayor bills. And these strong mayor bills—it’s a euphemism, because what those bills did is they stripped us of the right to majority-vote democracy. In the regions of Peel, York, Niagara—there’s one other—this government now appoints the regional council chair. That chair can govern with the votes of one third of the elected council members. So two thirds of elected council members can be overridden by an appointed regional chair and one third of council members. That’s not democracy. In fact, under this government and their strong mayor bills, most of us who live in municipalities across the province no longer have the right to majority-vote democracy in our municipalities. That is an attack on our democratic rights.", "So the hallmarks of democracy—the right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association; the legal right that if you are arrested, you will be brought before a judge within 24 hours and charged with a crime, otherwise you’re released; that you have the right to a lawyer without delay; that you have the right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. This government has overridden all of those rights with three separate bills, and now they’re threatening to do that to the people who are homeless because of this government’s own housing policies.", "I’ve written op-eds about this. I’ve tried to get the message out. But what we are seeing under this government is a steady erosion of our democratic rights in the province, and if we don’t start paying attention, we are going to be in incredible danger of not having our democratic rights.", "The other thing that I just want to conclude on is, the charter only guarantees us the right to democratic federal and provincial elections. This government used the “notwithstanding clause” with Bill 307 just a year before the last election. That bill suspended the right or took away the right of people to pay for advertising that would be critical of the government. They did that a year before the election. The courts have found that the government, in doing this, not only took away our charter rights but took away our right to a democratic provincial election in the 2022 election. The government has appealed that decision. But right now, this government is under investigation—is being sued—because they may have taken away our right to a democratic election in 2022.", "So I’m asking the individual members of the Conservative Party: Pay attention to what you are doing, because your legacy, when the history books are written, when people are looking back, they may look at this government as the government that started to bring about the end of our democracy here in Ontario and then across Canada. I hope that isn’t your legacy, so I’m asking the government to reconsider the actions that you are taking." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Sol Mamakwa", "text": [ "Meegwetch, Speaker.", "Remarks in Anishininiimowin.", "This report will be republished to add the transcribed remarks once available.", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "It’s always an honour to be able to get up for the people in Kiiwetinoong. It’s not every day that I’m allowed to be able to speak my language. It’s not every day that this Legislature provides me with the translation services that are required to be able to speak my language. One of the things I know about this Legislature, this place—I’ve been here over six years, Speaker, and I know I’m slowly losing my language because of not being able to provide those translation services from this Legislature. That’s how oppression works. That’s how colonialism works. So I just wanted to start off with that.", "I know this is speaking about the time allocation motion that was presented this morning. We know these are important bills. We know that. But one of the things that I disagree about is that, again, they’re time allocated. That’s the most important thing.", "I know on Bill 223, An Act to enact two Acts and to amend various Acts with respect to public safety and the justice system, one of the schedules in there is Christopher’s Law. It talks about the Sex Offender Registry, where sex offenders cannot change their names.", "In northern Ontario, in Kiiwetinoong, in First Nations communities in northern Ontario, even in northern Manitoba, we have this gentleman who was there—I don’t know if I should say “gentleman”—a monster. His name is Ralph Rowe. I know him. I know who he is. I saw him in the 1970s and 1980s. He is one of the most prolific pedophiles in northern Ontario, where he abused over 500 boys in northern Ontario. How come Ontario does not know about it? How come Canada does not know about it? Is it because he was an Anglican minister? Is it because he was an OPP officer? Is it because he was a Boy Scout leader who had a float plane or a ski plane to travel to all the fly-in First Nations that I represent? I talk about that because—where is Ontario? Because right now, today, he is free. He’s not in jail.", "I know one of the other things is about the status of a service called Path 525. Path 525 is a consumption and treatment service site in Thunder Bay. It is one of the consumption and treatment services that will be closed due to Bill 223. It will be closing in March. Path 525 is the only safe consumption site in Thunder Bay and in the northwest. The service, again, safe consumption, education, harm reduction, supplies and overdose response. Consumption is supervised by a registered nurse.", "0930", "I know where I come from, in the north, the northwest, the riding of Kiiwetinoong and even in Thunder Bay, a lot of members from the north go to Thunder Bay to access service, whether it’s a hospital—but I know one of the things that we’re faced with is issues of trauma that is intergenerational, but also which leads to mental health and addictions. We see a lot of unnecessary suffering, Speaker. We see a lot of needless deaths through addictions. What happens in Thunder Bay is a lot of communities do have—I’ve been to where young people are dying because of these issues.", "But I’ll tell you this much: The staff at Path 525 in Thunder Bay have reversed 465 overdoses since the opening, until the first half of 2024. In July 2024, this one month, there were 1,266 visits by people accessing food, showers, housing support and supplies. The site works with policing organizations, health care support providers, librarians, mayors, and there is consensus that we need more support, not less, to address the addictions crisis.", "Speaker, for me, the clients are more than just numbers. They are people who are often from the north. They are our friends; they are our relatives. They deserve culturally sensitive, culturally safe Indigenous-led medical care available to them now and in the future. These are the issues this government should be working on. Meegwetch." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Peter Tabuns", "text": [ "I want to thank those who have spoken before me, because I think they have set out the case very strongly, but I want to add to their voices.", "This is a pretty extraordinary motion that we have before us. We are dealing with a very substantial bill that deals with a variety of issues. But I will probably spend most of my time talking about consumption and treatment sites, because I think that more than anything else this bill is here because the government doesn’t actually want a window on the impact of this bill on the people of Ontario. Shutting down committee, shutting down the ability of people to come and actually speak about the problems they’re going to face and the problems that the larger communities are going to face is a draconian act.", "You should be well aware, Speaker, that just because you don’t have a consumption and treatment site, you don’t eliminate the whole problem of drug use and drug abuse. The reality is that we have a drug problem across Ontario, and it is not consumption and treatment sites that have caused it. It is not consumption and treatment sites that have exacerbated it. But this government is using problems that have arisen around those sites as a way of shutting down treatment that actually saves lives.", "I should point out to the government that in February of this year, in Belleville, they had an emergency. They had their emergency rooms overflowing, they had their ambulance service overwhelmed by the number of people who were overdosing and found on the street. There was no consumption and treatment site in the area where these problems were occurring. This was not caused by an attempt to actually solve the problem, to actually avoid death; this was caused because we have a toxic drug supply, and we have the conditions of societal trauma that drive people to addiction. I think my colleague from Kiiwetinoong has spoken to that very clearly.", "In my riding, when I talk to people at the consumption and treatment site, about 30% of their clients are First Nations. I’ll tell you right now, 30% of the population in my riding is not First Nations, more like—possibly—1%. But through intergenerational trauma, we have a situation where people find it extraordinarily difficult to deal with life and seek some sort of comfort in using these drugs. It’s bad for them; it’s bad for all of us. But the reality is, actually providing them with some health care support increases the chances that they will live and, at some point, be able to seek and make use of therapeutic treatment. When you shut down that opportunity, then in many ways you’re saying that these people’s lives will mean nothing, that they will be gone and that all of the neglect and abuse that led to their being consumed with drug use, something that we never address, is something that they’re going to pay for.", "I have to say to you, Speaker, that for many people who do not consume drugs, who do not have relatives who consume drugs, they think that this problem is someone else’s problem; it will not touch them if it goes forward. I just want to point out a few things, noting the case in Belleville: If you have a population of people who are using these drugs—fentanyl and others—and they are not provided with any health care support, they will fall through all our systems until they wind up in the last safety net, which is the emergency department. In Belleville, the ambulances could not keep up. The emergency department could not keep up. Belleville declared an emergency. I have to say, when I talk to health care providers in my riding, they are well aware that the local hospital, Michael Garron Hospital, is going to have an awful lot more people in that emergency room. I can tell you today that people who go to that emergency room can’t get treatment on a timely basis. They are profoundly frustrated that they’re in there for eight, 10, 12 hours. Well, this decision is going to mean that that wait is going to be a lot longer. It’s going to mean that when they call for an ambulance it’s going to be hard to get one because, in fact, those ambulances are full or those ambulances are at the hospital waiting to discharge people that they can’t discharge because the emergency room is full. That alone should be a concern for those who think that this is not a problem for them.", "Prior to the set-up of the consumption and treatment site on Queen Street in my riding, back before 2017, there was a problem of people dying or being found unconscious in the washrooms of local restaurants, which is why at the time the small businesses supported having a consumption and treatment site: because they didn’t like carrying out the bodies.", "The summer of the horrible, horrible tragedy, the shooting of one of my constituents on Queen Street—a few months later, a man’s body was found in a laneway near Leslie Street and Queen. He had been living in a stairwell of an abandoned factory and had overdosed.", "Now, there are not that many people who are found dead on the streets in my riding in that area, but I have to say to you the chances of that being a far more common occurrence is going to go up dramatically. That’s the kind of information that should have been put before committee so that when you make life-and-death decisions, you’re considering both sides of the balance sheet.", "Speaker, I can’t predict with any certainty that there will be more bodies on the street. But when I’ve been asked how was it that that area was chosen for a consumption and treatment site, and I’ve been told it’s because of the very high number of drug users, people say to me, “Well, where do you get the statistics?” What you need to know—and what everyone needs to know—is that statistics come from two places. They come from emergency services: how many ambulances were directed to pick people up. You can get those services and you can see what they were picking them up for. This was a hot spot. The coroner’s office also reporting on deaths could say, “This is where those deaths were occurring.”", "0940", "In the time the consumption treatment site was set up, the number of deaths from overdose was cut in half in that community—cut in half. My expectation is that with the closure and with the failure of this government to give people the opportunity to speak about the issue, that we will again see coroners’ reports and paramedic reports about the number of deaths and emergency cases that they have to deal with.", "I know that I’m running out of time and I’ll just speak very quickly. Having a system to reduce exposure to needle-born diseases makes a real difference in people’s lives and whether they get to live them or not. I chaired the public health board in Toronto in the 1990s when the HIV epidemic was running high and I had to deal with people in their twenties and thirties—some in their forties and fifties—who came to me as the chair and said, “I got HIV through tainted blood. I got hep C through tainted blood.” I had to deal with people and their families in their last few years. To bring forward an approach that will guarantee more infectious diseases is far worse than irresponsibility, it is something I can’t say in this Legislature because it will be seen as unparliamentary. But, Speaker, I’ll say that, at the very least, it’s reckless and irresponsible. Thank you." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Miss Monique Taylor", "text": [ "Unfortunately, I have to add my voice to this subject once again in this Legislature. I had a very fulsome 20 minutes the other day for second reading of this bill and I was hopeful that the government would have heard our pleas to do better when it comes to safe consumption sites in our communities. But unfortunately, they decided to do worse by completely prohibiting our communities, our advocates, our people who work day-to-day on the ground in our communities trying to save lives and make life better for people with addictions—they’ve completely excluded their voices from this legislation. They’ve put forward a time allocation motion—which is what we’re debating right now—that stifles the voices of Ontarians.", "I’m just going to read a little bit because I think the viewers at home need to know and understand how this government behaves when it comes to vulnerable people in our communities who are desperate for our help and yet this legislation is going to harm them even further. It says, “when Bill 223 is next called ... the Speaker shall put every question necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill without further debate or amendment; and", "“That, upon receiving second reading, the bill shall be ordered for third reading”—that means no committee process. People in our communities who need to ensure that the government hears them, that they understand what happens in our communities, that they understand how these consumption sites work in our community, that are open to change of safe consumption sites, no doubt—if it’s location, change the location. That’s fine. But the legislation that we see before us completely cancels safe consumption in our communities. In communities where it’s not cancelled, it just takes away the funding so it will just starve them out anyways.", "Then, it will give us 25 minutes to debate in third reading.", "Taking away the committee process is so anti-democratic. It goes against everything that we should be doing as legislators. The process of a bill should be that a bill comes before the House, of course—it’s a majority government, it’s a government bill—we go through seconds reading, we debate. And I know there was some really fantastic comments brought through debate, on both Bill 223 and Bill 227, that we would have hoped that the government would hear those voices. New Democrats don’t just come here making stuff up. We listen to our communities. We listen to our stakeholders. We listen to nurses. We listen to health professionals. This is where I get my information from, and the government just completely excluded it all. So now there is no opportunity for our community members to be able to come here, to talk to the government, to explain how safe consumption sites really save lives. Obviously, the minister and the Premier didn’t care to listen to those voices before they allowed this legislation to come before us.", "Safe consumption sites save lives. It’s fact. It’s proven. It saves lives inside the consumption site and around the consumption site. What this bill is going to do is take away that safe space for someone to use and is going to put them on the sidewalk. It’s going to put them in the alleyway. I’m reading articles that talk about how many people who have died on top of malls in my community. They’re hiding in doorways. We have families who are hiding in their bathroom, so that their children don’t see them. These safe consumption sites gave them the ability to go somewhere else. It gave them the ability to take it out of their home, to take it out of their car so they could go home to their kids at the end of the day. That’s gone. You are taking it away without even listening to the community and the people who provide these services. It is so absent-minded, so neglectful of the need of our communities, of the desperation of our families who are burying their kids, their brothers, their sisters, their siblings. On a regular basis, people are dying of overdose in our community. We need detox. We need rehabs. Instead of giving us more for our communities, you’re taking away the only safe spot that somebody possibly could have had the opportunity to use.", "If you think that this is right, you shouldn’t even be here. Because our jobs, when we get elected, is to represent our communities and that means all members of our communities. It even means the ones who have fallen through the cracks and have found their way to drug addiction. And nobody, nobody ever in life grows up saying, “I’m going to be drug addict.” I mean, that’s not what happens. They fall into addiction through prescription medication. They fall into addiction through a party. That could happen. They fall into addiction because they found themselves homeless and they’re desperate, because they can’t function. They found themselves in addiction because they have PTSD, because they have mental health issues. For whatever reason, they have found themselves into the darkest place of their lives and they have addictions. We should be doing everything we can to help our community, not wiping them out and making sure that the very people who are so wonderful and do that hard work on the street don’t even have the opportunity to explain to you the job they do, why they do it and how we can do it better. You’ve ripped it up. Shame on you. Shame on the government. Unfortunately, I’m out of time—and probably so will be many people in our communities due to the loss of this legislation. Thank you." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "It is an honour to rise, but it is also a tremendous responsibility to speak in this House. What we do here matters. Decisions have profound effects on people’s lives. I’ve been an MPP for two and a half years now and have learned quite a bit about how a government can play procedural games to protect themselves from scrutiny, like the moving of Lydia’s Law directly to committee instead of going through with the planned public debate. If they don’t want a lot of scrutiny, limit the time available for debate and public commentary—tricks that reinforce the hold on power of the government and are a reminder that their interests are not to serve the public but to serve their partisan supporters.", "0950", "It’s certainly been striking that this government decided that the Legislature would not sit for 19 weeks, a full five weeks more than originally scheduled. Now of course the government side is boasting about all the meetings that took place over the five-month break from the Legislature, but that is undoubtedly true of every single MPP in this House.", "How many meetings were held is not the point. It’s irrelevant. The reason this matters that we’ve been away from the Legislature for so long is because it is time calculated to be away from scrutiny: from the media, from the public and of course from the opposition. Unfortunately, what I have learned is that most strategies deployed by this particular government have nothing to do with public service or making laws that might make life better for Ontarians. Rather, it’s like the ads promoting the Conservative government—partisan ads that the public is paying for. These long breaks from doing the work of the Legislature are a move to control their own narrative, much of which is built on fantasies, without having to face any scrutiny.", "I have to say I was a bit naive when I was elected as an MPP on June 2, 2022, because I actually thought the government was about maintaining standards of democracy and taking the time for serious consideration of any legislation brought before the House. However, that’s not happening. We’ve got time allocation. The government has complete control over how much time we have, and they are choosing to limit debate. As we have heard from other speakers on this side of the House about what is going through in this bill, what I see is that this is a government that doesn’t want facts to get in the way of political opportunism.", "The consumption treatment sites are being shut down without any consideration of the realities on the ground. As we heard already, 465 lives were saved in Thunder Bay alone. Those are overdoses that were reversed. So where would those people be if those overdoses had not been reversed? On the streets somewhere, in a playground, in a back alley—but dead. Those people would not be alive today.", "People who have gone through that safe consumption site are able to access treatment when it’s available. They’re able to find out what is available; they’re able to access supports and the information that they need. Some of those people have recovered and become community leaders, actually, and are advocating with all of their hearts to keep those sites open because they know they save lives. But unfortunately, facts, research, knowledge, studies are irrelevant to this government because there’s a political goal, and it’s a partisan goal. It’s about political opportunism of the moment.", "We also know that in terms of when there is public consultation, as there was with the removing-the-bike-lanes bill—and not a single deputation supports the bill—we know the bill’s not about serving the public interest; it’s not about respecting democracy. It’s clearly not about protecting lives or even moving Ontario into the 20th century like European countries. It’s about having a hate on for Toronto and promoting a narrative—a false narrative in the GTA—that somehow removing these bike lanes in Toronto is going to make life better for people in the GTA when in fact the evidence is so much to the contrary. And I just want to mention University Avenue; apparently nobody has driven down University Avenue from the government side since the construction is over. It’s fantastic. I’m in a cab there every time I have to go back to Thunder Bay. There is no traffic; there is no hold-up. We drive straight down right from top to bottom. Bikes are on the side, there’s a place for people to pull off to off-load into hospitals. It’s brilliant, it’s fantastic, but apparently that’s irrelevant to the government because facts are irrelevant.", "So we are moving closure, we’re shutting down all opportunities to actually hear from our communities, and there is no rationale. There are no arguments, there are no facts from the government side, just a lot of opinion. There is a lot of grandstanding—no opportunity for the communities to speak.", "I’m appalled by the shutting down of debate in this House. It is not what we were elected to do; we were elected to be here to listen—to listen to our constituents—to be making life better, not just for the specific people who paid for our elections, but to represent everyone, every aspect of our society, and frankly, this government has failed again and again and again. We’ve never seen homeless like we are seeing now. We’ve never seen people using food banks like we are seeing now. Now, this government wants to take away one of the core services this is helping to keep people alive in our communities.", "As other members have said, people who fall into addiction come from so many different walks of life: some are dealing with intergenerational trauma; some may have gone to a party and wound up with something that has actually really turned their lives upside down; some are dealing with trauma of the moment; some are trafficked women who have been forced into addictions and kept addicted by their traffickers—those women, by the way, have no safe place to go. I’ve met with many of those women as well. When they get free of their addictions, there’s no safe housing—there’s nowhere to go other than where they were living before where they were trafficked.", "Then you’ve got workers. We’ve got workers coming in—trades workers, workers coming in from the mine—regularly using that safe space, Path 525, because they are living in camps at these work sites. Why did they become addicted at the camps? It could be because of boredom: two weeks on, two weeks off—it’s no way to live a life, you’re away from your family. It could also be masking injuries. Why would workers want to mask their injuries? Because they can’t afford not to be working, they can’t afford to give up their salaries and they certainly can’t afford to go through the process of dealing with the WSIB and being turned down and certainly not having the income that they have been relying on.", "There are many, many reasons that people fall into addiction. I think this government will see a rude awakening—certainly, our communities will—as emergency services are overwhelmed, as paramedics are overwhelmed.", "I’m going to stop there. As I’ve said: I’m appalled by the bill, I’m appalled by the use of closure. This is not what we were elected to do. Thank you." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Terence Kernaghan", "text": [ "It’s my honour to rise here today to add the voices of the wonderful people of London North Centre. Today, we’re talking about time allocation of Bill 223. We are talking about peoples’ lives, and we’re talking about this government playing with peoples’ lives.", "If this government were truly serious about tackling the addiction crisis that is all across our province, then we would be talking about enhancing harm reduction, we would talk about enhancing treatment and we would talk about building truly affordable non-market housing—those three things: harm reduction, treatment, affordable housing. Without those three things, we will not tackle the opioid crisis which is destroying our communities, which is destroying families and which is destroying peoples’ lives.", "This Premier had the audacity to say that supervised consumption sites were the worst things to happen to communities, and he says that he doesn’t believe in the sites; he betrayed his partisan, ridiculous ideology with this point.", "He said, “This was supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread.” What a reduction, what an oversimplification of the fact that people are on our streets and losing their lives as a result of poisoned drug supply, and he’s talking about this as if someone was trying to sell it. This is a necessary step in the vital health care continuum.", "He also stated, “We need to put money into treatment. Detox beds. That’s what we need to do.” So why isn’t he? Why isn’t the Premier putting money where it will save lives? Harm reduction, treatment, housing—those three things. We see stigma, we see ignorance and we see ideology guiding this government and their decisions. If these sites in their proximity are so objectionable, Speaker, why did the government approve them in the first place? Now that this government is removing them, it’s a refusal to admit their first mistake, because if they admitted their mistake then they would be paying for them to move; they wouldn’t be closing them outright. But it just merely shows that this government wants to penalize those suffering with addiction.", "1000", "What’s missing here is accountability from this government. What I find with this government though is that they’re not focusing on helping people. They’re not focusing on ensuring people have a safe place to call home and that they can rebuild their lives. Instead, this government is solidly focused on monetizing and profitizing our health care system. They’re trying to carve up the greenbelt for their wealthy donor friends. They’re trying to get ministers of the crown to go and enrich the PC Party coffers by having people who are dependant upon them and their decisions donate at private fundraisers.", "I would imagine, Speaker, that if there was a way to squeeze a few dollars out of people who are losing their lives as a result of addiction, this government would finally have some more attention for people suffering opioid addiction. And yet this government, with this decision, will be yet again in front of the courts with another loser legal battle—but this government has never seen a loser legal battle that it didn’t love and wanted to shove thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars at.", "I want to shout-out while I have a moment here the wonderful people who are working on the front lines in my community of London, the folks at Carepoint and the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection, because they’re doing wonderful, tremendous work for people in our community. They’re meeting people where they are. They’re building relationships. They’re treating them like human beings. These are not statistics. These are our neighbours, these are family members, these are valued people in our community who, for whatever reason, have found themselves struggling. It should be within us as human beings, in our ethical responsibility to our neighbours, to help them when they are struggling instead of marginalizing them yet further.", "Right now, with supervised consumption, people are behind closed doors. So I have to ask the question, what will happen when these places close? All of those people inside of that facility will be further out onto the streets. You are taking a situation where, yes, there are problems within our communities because there is not enough housing, there are not enough supportive housing units, there are not enough mental health supports. But you’re taking people within a facility and you’re going to spread them out yet further.", "The RNAO, the people who are on the front line, the experts on this, have panned this government’s decision to close these sites. They state it’s “misguided and represents failed policy.” They call for a “comprehensive response to substance use and the overdose crisis.” They have pointed out peer-reviewed research whereby it has been shown that there is no evidence linking safe consumption sites to increased crime.", "Another peer-reviewed scientific study—I know the government’s ears probably closed when they heard that because they’re not fond of evidence or facts—documented criminal activity decreased in the area around a safe consumption site in the five years following it opening. So they followed this for five years and they found that crime went down. Supervised consumption sites actually reduce public drug use and related litter, and they do not contribute to increases in crime. So at a basic, physical level—just think of this for a moment—people who are going to these health care access points, these safe consumption sites, are disposing of trash and needles and litter there. When these close, where will all of that physical trash go? You are pushing it out into the community, and it is on this government.", "What is core to this issue is housing. This government would like to insult and further marginalize people who are struggling as a result of being unhoused, but they’re unhoused because of this government. Our housing starts are the same as 1955. Let’s get that through our heads: 1955. And with the increased revenue that we have, this government has an ideological opposition to actually supporting people, to actually provide people the care that they deserve and that they require.", "Speaker, this time allocation motion is playing politics with people’s lives. More people will die as a result of this government’s failure in policy.", "With that, I move adjournment of the debate." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Mr. Kernaghan has moved adjournment of the debate.", "Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard a no.", "Interruption." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "I’ll go back to the question at hand.", "I heard a no.", "I will ask all those in favour of the motion to adjourn to say aye.", "All those opposed to the motion to adjourn will say nay.", "In my opinion, the nays have it.", "Call in the members. This is a 30-minute bell.", "The division bells rang from 1006 to 1015." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Pursuant to standing order 49(a), I deem the debate to be adjourned.", "Debate deemed adjourned." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Jess Dixon", "text": [ "On Sunday, the CKPC Holiday Train rolled into Cambridge with KT Tunstall playing, and we also had Jessie T, a local artist, playing earlier. The food bank was collecting donations, as is common with the holiday train, a long-standing tradition. Myself and my best friend, Cambridge city councillor Corey Kimpson, actually visited and ended up helping the food bank collect donations that day.", "I have to say, I was really impressed with how well the community turned out to bring food to the food bank van, but I also remain so incredibly impressed by the work of the Cambridge Food Bank. The director, Dianne, was there as well as Sarah and their very energetic van driver, Steve, who has more energy, I think, than three people combined.", "The food bank in Cambridge isn’t just about food security; they also offer an incredibly impressive array of wellness and community programs as well—particularly impressed by the ones on heart health and diabetes.", "It was a great Christmas event. Corey and I did our best to entertain from the back of the food van, and we had a lovely time.", "Thank you so much to the community for being so generous and, again, to the Cambridge Food Bank for their continually wonderful and much-needed service to Cambridge." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Jeff Burch", "text": [ "My riding of Niagara Centre runs almost the entire length of the Welland Canal. This Saturday, November 30, I will be attending the turning-of-the-sod ceremony in my hometown of Thorold near the Allanburg lift bridge to mark the 200th anniversary of the canal. During the event, a commemorative plaque will be unveiled acknowledging the economic impact, hard work and sacrifice of hundreds of immigrants who worked on the canal until its completion in 1829 and contribute to Niagara’s rich cultural history to this day.", "On November 30, 1824, nearly 200 people came out to witness the first shovels being turned to break ground. For the past 200 years, the canal has shaped the region, driving economic development and opening the heart of North America to trade and commerce. Thorold and the Niagara region are once again seeing a resurgence of industrial growth with new industries establishing themselves along the canal, as its proximity to shipping routes and multimodal transportation hubs remains a valuable asset.", "I want to give a special thanks to the city of Thorold, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. and the Thorold heritage committee, including chair Anna O’Hare, vice-chair Winsome Stec and city councillor Tim O’Hare for their tireless work celebrating and nurturing the history of the Welland Canal, Thorold and the entire Niagara region.", "I’m looking forward to attending this historic event." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Lorne Coe", "text": [ "This past Friday, I was joined by the Honourable David Piccini, the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, and we announced approximately $600,000 for Melly’s. The funding will enable Melly’s market and café to empower adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Whitby and other parts of the region of Durham by providing comprehensive training, work experience, mentorship and advocacy. This will be accomplished through three main phases: practical learning, development and coaching; paid work experience and job advocacy; and sustainable employment in the community.", "What’s clear is that through this money that has been allocated, Melly’s café will be able empower individuals of all abilities to build confidence, gain valuable skills and reach their aspirations." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Catherine Fife", "text": [ "CBC reported that most criminal cases in Ontario are now ending before charges are tested at trial. In 2022-23, 56% of criminal cases ended that way, without closure. Ontario’s courtrooms are severely understaffed and chronically underfunded by this government, and I’ve stood in this House and repeated that in 2022 alone, 1,326 sexual assault cases were disposed of before their trial date; 1,326 sexual assault survivors did not get their day in court. Still, this government chooses to do nothing.", "When I introduced Lydia’s Law, which would increase transparency in the handling of sexual assault cases so we could ensure funding is going to the right places, this government chose to silence the debate on the bill. It now languishes at justice committee, even though the House leader said that they would expedite this bill. Survivors like Cait Alexander and Emily Quint were denied justice in this province.", "1020", "But, Speaker, if that’s not enough for this supposedly tough-on-crime government to take action, maybe this next story will help. Last week, former MPP Randy Hillier had his charges stayed due to court delays. His charges included assaulting a peace officer. Hillier had been waiting 31 months and 13 days for his day in court, but now walks free because his right to be tried within a reasonable time had been violated.", "This is the Conservative government’s justice system, which is failing the people of this province. Ontarians deserve so much better, as do survivors of sexual assault." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Ross Romano", "text": [ "Today I rise with great pride to recognize the outstanding achievements of the Korah Colts from my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. The Korah Colts have long been a pillar of our community, representing not just athletic excellence but also teamwork, resilience and school spirit. Whether it’s on the football field, the basketball court or in any other competition, these young athletes exemplify the values that make Sault Ste. Marie so special: resilience, dedication and a sense of community.", "This year, the Colts football team has once again made us extremely proud, locking in the Northern Ontario Secondary Schools Athletics championship in their belts with a flawless 10-0 record while heading straight into the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations National Capital Bowl. Their victories are not just about the scores on the board but about the lessons they’ve learned along the way: lessons in leadership, sportsmanship and, of course, overcoming challenges.", "To the players: Your hard work has not gone unnoticed. Congratulations on your accomplishments. You have set an example and a standard of excellence for many years to come not only within your school but throughout all of our city.", "The Korah Colts are a huge part of the Sault Ste. Marie family, and I’m so proud to celebrate their success. I want to thank them for being great ambassadors for our community. Go, Colts, go!" ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Jennifer K. French", "text": [ "Victim Services of Durham Region is a charitable organization that provides crisis intervention services to victims of crime and sudden tragedy and delivers extensive violence prevention programming. This small but mighty team of only 14 staff are working miracles and changing lives every day.", "On November 19, the international Anthem Awards announced Victim Services of Durham Region as the first inaugural winner of the Small Nonprofit of the Year award. They were chosen from more than 2,300 entries across 34 countries and were recognized for their social impact and commitment to accessibility, diversity, and equity and inclusion. Victims Services collected seven Anthem Award wins, two community voice awards and Small Nonprofit of the Year.", "The groundbreaking virtual reality game In Your Shoes took seven of the awards and is part of a larger TeenIRL program aimed at educating youth on the dangers of human trafficking, gang recruitment, exploitation, dating violence and cyber security.", "Executive director Krista MacNeil expressed that “while awards provide humbling recognition for our hard work, the real reward for us is knowing that our efforts are saving lives. We are seeing alarming rates of online exploitation and increased victimization of our youth.”", "As a charity, they rely on donations. I wish that more government money would go where it is needed to support victims of crime and to prevent violence and victimization.", "I want to thank Krista and all of the team at Victim Services of Durham Region. I see them doing unbelievable heavy lifting across our community. Congratulations on these awards and thank you so much for everything you do." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Amarjot Sandhu", "text": [ "I rise today to recognize the Cancer Warrior Canada Foundation and their remarkable efforts in hosting the Seventh Annual Cancer Awareness and Fundraiser Gala. This event brought together community members in support of cancer patients and their families, raising funds to assist those most in need.", "Cancer is a battle that affects us all, directly or indirectly. It knows no boundaries, touching families and individuals from all walks of life. But events like this remind us that we are not alone in this fight. The gala served as a beacon of hope, celebrating resilience and the strength of those fighting this disease. The foundation has consistently gone above and beyond, not only raising awareness but also providing critical support to vulnerable individuals.", "Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the organizer, Navneet Sharma, volunteers and everyone who contributed to making this evening a success. Your dedication and compassion are truly making a difference in the lives of so many across our community.", "Let us continue to stand united in the fight against cancer and support organizations like the Cancer Warrior Canada Foundation, whose commitment inspires us all." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Andrea Hazell", "text": [ "As I stand here today, I reflect on the 16 months since I became the elected representative for Scarborough–Guildwood. During my campaign, I knocked on thousands of doors where I heard deep concerns about health care, education and affordability.", "Fast-forward to this summer, my experience while knocking on hundreds of doors has taken a more sombre turn. The fear in their eyes is evident. What began as a concern 12 month ago has now transformed into anxiety about their future and basic quality of life. Seniors want to age in their homes, yet many don’t have a family doctor. Those on fixed incomes are forced to choose between medication and food, often ending up at food banks. Young families are struggling with 70% of their income going towards rent, while graduates find themselves living with their parents due to a lack of job opportunities. Many are just one paycheque away from homelessness.", "With 19,000 people in Scarborough–Guildwood without a family doctor, an average salary of just $48,000 and a child poverty rate of 34.1%, it’s clear that my constituents deserve better. This is why I am here, fighting for their basic human rights and advocating for a better quality of life for all who call Scarborough–Guildwood their home." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Laurie Scott", "text": [ "I’m pleased to rise in the House to share updates about the newest investments and business development in Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock.", "Last week, I welcomed our Minister of Rural Affairs to the city of Kawartha Lakes to showcase how the Rural Economic Development Program, known as RED, has made such a difference in my communities. We visited the Coboconk Norland and Area Chamber of Commerce, who received up to $250,000 through the RED Program to renovate the historic Coboconk train station into a community hub and business incubator.", "We travelled to Fenelon Falls to see how the Fenelon Falls and District Chamber of Commerce has been working with the RED investments to enhance their downtown revitalization action plan. These investments generate new partnerships and develop enhanced training for employees. These announcements build on the $833,000 in previous funds from the RED Program. Since 2018, there have been 17 RED projects in towns and communities all across Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock.", "Thank you to the Minister of Rural Affairs and our government for prioritizing economic development in rural Ontario. I also want to thank our local chambers of commerce, BIAs and municipalities for their strong vision in facilitating innovation and prosperity.", "Mr. Speaker, we all know that small businesses are the backbone of our economies in rural Ontario." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Donna Skelly", "text": [ "It’s my pleasure to rise this morning to recognize the dedication of a wonderful teacher in my riding of Flamborough–Glanbrook. Rob Flosman, a history teacher at Waterdown District High School, will be retiring at the end of this school year after a very, very impactful career.", "Ten years ago, Mr. Flosman encouraged students to connect with history as well as their community. What began as a high school history project—creating projects, curating artifacts and acting as museum guides—has now turned into a year-round museum on the First and Second World Wars.", "The museum had always been housed at the high school. However, due to the increasing number of artifacts, Mr. Flosman and his students began looking for a permanent location for the collection. Well, as of November 11, 2023, the Waterdown Museum of Hope is now open year-round at the Waterdown Legion for all of our community to enjoy.", "1030", "I’d like to thank Mr. Flosman and the faculty and students at Waterdown District High School for all their hard work on this project. Mr. Flosman and the students of Waterdown District High School invite everyone in the Legislature to come to the next opening, May 5 to 11, 2025. That is where they will honour the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands as well as the end of World War II." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Aris Babikian", "text": [ "I would like to welcome Greg Bostajian, the honorary consul of Lebanon in Toronto. He is here today to celebrate the 81st anniversary of the national day of Lebanon. Around 12 o’clock, there will be a flag-raising outside, and everyone is welcome to join." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong", "text": [ "I had a wonderful meeting this morning with president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph’s health care, Roy Butler; director of forensic mental health care program at St. Joseph’s health centre, Kent Lewis; and Gary Chaimowitz, head of forensic psychiatry program, professor, department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences, faculty of health sciences, McMaster University. I want to thank them so much for coming to Queen’s Park and talking about the importance of forensic mental health care in our province." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Jill Dunlop", "text": [ "I have a few guests to introduced today. I want to thank the Retired Teachers of Ontario, who I met with this morning, and their board members John Cappelletti, who’s the chair; Claudia Mang; and Muriel Howden.", "I would also like to introduce Karim Mamdani, the president and CEO of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences and chair of Mental Health Partners; Sarah Downey, the president and CEO of CAMH and vice-chair of Mental Health Partners; Dr. Nadiya Sunderji, the president and CEO of Waypoint; Rob Desroches, the chair of Forensic Directors Group of Ontario; Dr. Sumeeta Chatterjee, vice-chair, Forensic Directors Group of Ontario; and Dr. Gary Chaimowitz, member of the Forensic Directors Group of Ontario.", "Welcome, everyone, to Queen’s Park today." ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "I’d like to warmly welcome the members of the RTOERO retired teachers’ organization, and specifically Lorraine Knowles, Stephen Harvey, David Kendall and Alyssa Buttarazzi, who I will be meeting with later today. Welcome to your House. It’s good to see you again." ] }, { "speaker": "Mrs. Karen McCrimmon", "text": [ "I’d like to offer a warm welcome to the University of Toronto Young Liberals here today: Reza Rashidi, Soobin Sung, Xavier Baldwin, George Thordarson, Siyar Habibi, Richelle Furtado and Shaun Ganzeveld. Welcome to your House." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "It’s my pleasure to welcome students from the Orangeville District Secondary School and their teachers, Mr. Kirk-Elleker and Mr. Barber. Welcome to Queen’s Park." ] }, { "speaker": "Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens", "text": [ "I’d like to thank the members from Mental Health Partners group today for their meeting this morning. I’d like to welcome Karim Mamdani, president and CEO of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences and chair of Mental Health Partners; Sarah Downey, president and CEO, CAMH, and vice-chair, Mental Health Partners; Mike Heenan, president of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton; John Chen, vice-president of clinical services and chief operating officer of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences; Cathy—sorry for the pronunciation before I say it—Duivesteyn, Forensic Directors Group of Ontario; and Dr. Treena Wilkie, Forensic Directors Group of Ontario as well.", "Thank you for putting a spotlight on people who are in the forensic mental health system and the unique population. I want to thank you for your meeting this morning. It was a lovely meeting." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sam Oosterhoff", "text": [ "I have a number of lovely folks who are here today from Niagara Falls. We have Jake Sinke, Michael Alexander, Beverly Alexander, Stephen Magnacca, Sonia Craig, David Eke, Jamie Jones, Michael Paralovos, Mark Taylor, Patrick Harris, Carole Jamestee, Victor Packard, Barbara Cole, Barbara Demney, Gwayne Johnston, Jyoti Desai and Permod Goyal. Welcome to Queen’s Park." ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Wayne Gates", "text": [ "I see Sam beat me to introducing a lot of people, but I would like to welcome the Retired Teachers of Ontario here. My wife is a retired teacher, and I know she enjoys her meetings at Betty’s Restaurant in Chippawa once a month. That ad was paid for by the government of Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Mike Schreiner", "text": [ "I’d really like to warmly welcome Melissa Kwiatkowski, the head of the Guelph Community Health Centre, who’s here today as part of the Alliance for Healthier Communities, which I know are having a reception over the noon hour. Welcome, Melissa." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Stephen Crawford", "text": [ "Speaker, I’d like to welcome Wieslawa Stepkowska and Mr. Jozef Bednarczyk. Welcome to Queen’s Park." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "If there’s agreement in the House, I’d like to continue with the introduction of visitors." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho", "text": [ "I’m very happy to welcome to Queen’s Park my close friend Mr. Liben Gebremikael, who is an excellent CEO of TAIBU Afro-Canadian health care centre in Scarborough, and Racquel Hamlet, director of wellness and crisis support of the same organization.", "Also, I’d like to welcome all the retired teachers to your House." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Terence Kernaghan", "text": [ "It gives me great pleasure to welcome retired educators from RTOERO. Welcome to Ontario’s most poorly behaved classroom." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Vijay Thanigasalam", "text": [ "I would like to welcome Graham Brown, managing director of Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, who is sitting in the members’ gallery today. Welcome to the Ontario Legislature." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Stan Cho", "text": [ "Straight from the centre of the universe, today’s page captain is Kamila Mofrad. I want to welcome her mother, Alina, who is visiting today at Queen’s Park. I’m looking forward to lunch today." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mrs. Robin Martin", "text": [ "Speaker, a point of order." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "There’s a member who has a point of order? The member for Eglinton–Lawrence." ] }, { "speaker": "Mrs. Robin Martin", "text": [ "I just wanted to rise on a point of order to wish a very happy birthday to the Minister of Energy and Electrification." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "This question is for the Premier. Highway 407 has some of the highest tolls in North America. This week, we learned that those tolls are going up. It’s going to cost drivers even more and it’s going to further pad the profits of the private corporation that runs it.", "My question to the Premier is: He said he would take tolls off all the highways, so why are these tolls going up?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "To reply, the Minister of Transportation." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria", "text": [ "Here are the facts: Highway 412 and 418 tolls were removed. That’s a fact. And do you know what, Mr. Speaker? The NDP opposed removing those tolls. They actually supported the previous Liberal government, who put those tolls against the residents of Durham.", "1040", "We’ve removed $125 sticker fees off vehicles and trucks as well, because we know that that money is better with the people of this province and not with the government. It’s about putting more money back into your pocket.", "When we talked about reducing the gas tax by almost 10 cents, guess what? The members opposite have voted against it. In fact, there was a piece of legislation in this House that we put forward saying, “No new tolls, ever again, in this province,” and guess what? The NDP and Liberals voted against that.", "Interruption.", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Waterloo will come to order. The government House leader will come to order." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Steve Clark", "text": [ "I will." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Yes, you will.", "You can start the clock. Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "Speaker, here’s a fact for you: The tolls on the 407 are going up. And we gave this government real and, frankly, immediate solutions: Let’s clear the congestion on the 401 and move trucks onto the 407 for free. But what did the Premier and this Conservative government say to that? They said no. The Premier then said that his government had seriously considered taking the tolls off the 407, so we looked into it. Our research shows no record of this government ever exploring removing the tolls.", "My question to the Premier is: He said he would remove tolls from all the highways, so why won’t he remove them on the one highway that still has them?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will please take their seats.", "The Minister of Transportation." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria", "text": [ "We have a plan to keep putting money back into the pockets of hard-working families. Like I said, tolls on 412, 418—the members of that caucus over there, who represent those ridings, voted against removing those tolls for residents in Durham region. That’s a shame. Putting $125 back into the pockets of people when we removed the validation sticker fees; those members over there voted against that. When we put forward measures to decrease the gas tax by over 10 cents, those members, the NDP and Liberals, opposed that every step of the way.", "We have a plan to build. We have a plan to relieve congestion across this province, building the tunnel, building 413, the Bradford Bypass and investing in public transit—$70 billion over the next 10 years.", "And guess what? One Fare: $1,600 saved for each resident in this province. It’s a shame that the NDP and Liberals voted against that, because we’re increasing accessibility for transit across this province." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Final supplementary?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "Every day, life under this government gets more and more expensive. That’s the truth. People are stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and when they need to get home to their loved ones safely and faster, they need it now, not decades from now. My goodness, think of the mom trying to get home to her toddler at daycare; she needs to get there now, not in 30 years, not when her kid is 30. My goodness.", "Instead of real, immediate solutions, the Premier and his government are so distracted by his fantasy tunnel—while the 407 is sitting empty. They’re looking to dig a tunnel under the 401 when the 407 is sitting empty.", "Why won’t the government stand up to this private company and save Ontarians time and money on our roads right now?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will take their seats. The government side will come to order. The member for Spadina–Fort York will come to order. The Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries will come to order.", "Minister of Transportation." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria", "text": [ "Why are we in record gridlock today? It’s because the Liberals did absolutely nothing to build for 15 years. And guess what? The NDP have opposed every single one of our actions that we have put forward. They refer to public transit projects as “fantasy.” Check their record, Mr. Speaker.", "Ontario Line, they doubted every step of the way—which is going to move 400,000 people every single day, take 28,000 cars off the road.", "The Liberals lack the vision; the NDP don’t want anything built.", "The Scarborough subway extension: The people of Scarborough for decades have been talking about and calling for relief. And guess what? The NDP voted against that, and the Liberals did absolutely nothing—just talk.", "Our government is about having a bold vision for this province to build: to build transit, to build highways and to build for the future generations. They’ve opposed the Highway 413. They’ve opposed the Bradford Bypass. They have no vision. They want people stuck in gridlock. They want people stuck—", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Ottawa Centre will come to order. The Associate Minister of Small Business will come to order.", "The next question." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "I’m going to go back to the Premier. The only thing this government is building up are their election coffers, off the backs of the people.", "The Attorney General insisted this week that the email from the Conservative Party’s bagman, their fundraising chair, Tony Miele, assigning fundraising quotas to ministers was just a simple “mistake,” I think is what he called it. But a number of Conservative Party fundraisers featuring prominent ministers were planned, curiously, just after that infamous email.", "This government has already established a reputation for backroom deals and preferential treatment. So I want to know: Is it standard practice for Conservative ministers of the crown to take donations from lobbyists and individuals with business before their own ministry?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The Attorney General." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Downey", "text": [ "As I’ve said before, there are regulations, there are rules, Mr. Speaker. All the parties follow them. We have an open and transparent system. We all raise money. That’s what political parties do. It’s not a surprise—for those that want to be in the House, those that are in the House. It’s part of our democratic system. There are rules in place that are overseen and transparent, they’re accountable.", "I’m watching the clock, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the member of the opposition, but I will ask it through you when I get the chance in a moment." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Catherine Fife", "text": [ "That’s not how question period works." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Waterloo will come to order.", "The supplementary question." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "Well, you know what? He’s welcome to come to the other side in just a few months, and then he can ask us the questions.", "Speaker, they changed the rules, right? We know they did. They changed the rules so they could open up their coffers to those donations.", "This week, the Conservative Party is hosting fundraisers with the Minister of Infrastructure, the Minister of Transportation, the Minister of Health. In each of these ministries, we’ve seen major policy decisions that seem to benefit a few private interests, whether it’s the Therme luxury spa company or the private health care corporations.", "Are lobbyists with business before these ministries attending fundraisers for those same cabinet ministers? I’m going back to the Premier on this: What are they getting in return?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. John Yakabuski", "text": [ "Good government—you don’t understand that." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Order. Member for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, come to order.", "The Attorney General." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Downey", "text": [ "I, in fact, have news for the Leader of the Opposition: We will be sending more members over to sit on that side of the House, Mr. Speaker, with a bigger majority next time.", "Now, here’s a press release headline: “Marit Stiles’ Ontario NDP Smashed Yet Another Fundraising Record”—$1,214,589, with 26,000 contributors. Now, in the September 3 issue of that, they said that there were 1,246 new donors. Well, that means that there are over 20,000 repeat donors, but they don’t report most of them, because it’s under the $200 limit. So I would challenge the Leader of the Opposition to release the names of all donors, regardless of amount, if she’s so intent on transparency.", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Stop the clock.", "For what I think is the umpteenth time, I’m going to ask the members to refer to each other by their riding name or their ministerial title, as applicable, not by their personal names.", "1050", "Start the clock. Final supplementary?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "I’ll tell you what we’re not doing: We’re not making insider deals with brown envelopes, and we’re not being investigated by the RCMP.", "The thing is, Speaker, Ontarians have lost trust in their government. The Premier makes deals, insiders cash in, and it is Ontarians who are left paying the price every single time. The 407 tolls are up. People can’t get a family doctor. Moms who can’t get support for their kids. Families who are trying desperately to find a home they can afford. They can’t afford $1,500 tickets to the Minister of Housing’s fundraisers; that’s the thing.", "Will the Premier finally put an end to the cash-for-access culture and close the loophole so ministers don’t take donations from folks who have business before their ministry?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Stop the clock. The Minister of Red Tape Reduction will come to order. The Minister of Energy and Electrification will come to order. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing will come to order.", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "If I have to continue to remind members to come to order—if they ignore the Speaker’s request to come to order—I’ll warn them and then, eventually, name them if necessary. We’re going to have order this morning.", "Start the clock. The Attorney General." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Downey", "text": [ "You know, it’s instructive: I know we speak through you, Speaker, and that’s the way that it should be, but you’ll notice I’m looking at you and not the camera, because this is not performative. There are rules and regulations in place. We all follow them. Whether you’re in the House, whether you’re wanting to be in the House, there’s accountability; there’s transparency.", "The opposition knows this full well: They say there are different rules for cabinet ministers than there are for themselves, but that is simply an admission they will never be cabinet ministers. I would hope that they would stand with us and uphold the very strong system that we have, instead of giving the impression that somehow the rules and regulations aren’t being followed." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Sol Mamakwa", "text": [ "Meegwetch, Speaker.", "Remarks in Anishininiimowin.", "This report will be republished to add the transcribed remarks once available.", "", "", "Good morning. Last week, the chief and council from Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg were here to meet with the government about their public safety state of emergency. They are in a public safety crisis and the government failed to make time to listen to them. If the First Nation had donated to a fundraiser hosted by the Solicitor General, could they have had that meeting they needed?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will take their seats.", "Solicitor General." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Michael S. Kerzner", "text": [ "In fact, last week—and the member from Kiiwetinoong knows—I immediately called Chief Jeff Skye to speak to him about what was going on in the community that the Nishnawbe Aski police protect. This member knows that I have regular discussions with all First Nations police chiefs on a regular basis.", "The member also knows how hard our government, under Premier Ford, has been working to secure extra spaces at the Ontario Police College that are allocated to First Nations police services, and that we will do everything that we can to accommodate their needs. When they have recruits, those spaces must be available. We’re going to continue to make sure public safety across our province and in First Nations communities is of the highest priority." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Sol Mamakwa", "text": [ "We’re not talking about the police chief, Jeff Skye. We’re talking about the leadership of Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg. When we talk about the integrity of government ministers and the integrity of the crown, the only way people can have guaranteed access to ministers is to make a donation. I’m talking about donations of thousands of dollars to attend events that most people can’t afford.", "Can the government confirm that they are fundraising from groups who have business in their ministries?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will please take their seats.", "The Premier." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Ford", "text": [ "Through you, Mr. Speaker, and with all due respect to the member for Kiiwetinoong: You know, I know and I’ve been told from the grand chief that there’s never been closer contact, more accessibility with our government, with this Premier than any other Premier.", "Mr. Speaker, I take 400 calls a day on my personal cellphone for messages that people need help. They know what they need to do. They need to dial my phone number. It’s never happened in the history of Canada; it’s never happened in North America. I talk to my friends in the US. They say, “I’ve never seen someone so accessible.”", "As I’m having meetings, Jane and Joe and Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith are calling my cellphone that may need help. But they aren’t concerned about it, because never have they ever returned calls when they get a phone call. I take the personal calls, and there’s no one in the history of this country that has taken more calls from constituents than I have—simple.", "Interjection." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas will come to order.", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Stop the clock. Members will please take their seats. The member for Sudbury will come to order. The Leader of the Opposition will come to order. The member for Hamilton Mountain will come to order.", "Start the clock." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Laura Smith", "text": [ "Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.", "When the Liberals were in office, Ontario’s economy was getting crushed. The Liberals hiked taxes at every opportunity and put up red tape that was designed to prevent businesses from getting ahead. As a result, businesses fled our province in droves, taking good-paying jobs with them.", "Our government knew that we had to reverse course immediately if we wanted to rebuild Ontario’s economy after more than a decade of Liberal mismanagement. We have cut over 550 pieces of unnecessary red tape that the Liberals put in, and we are ensuring that the conditions are there for businesses to succeed. Companies across the world know that Ontario is open for businesses.", "Can the minister please share details on any job-creating investments that have landed in Ontario recently?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I’ll once again remind the members to make their comments through the chair.", "The Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Victor Fedeli", "text": [ "Yes, I can, as a matter of fact. Yesterday, we welcomed a $100-million investment from Hitachi Rail into North York. Hitachi Rail is a leading partner to the world’s best transportation companies. Their investment will allow them to advance the engineering and design of their own Ontario-created train control system. This is using cutting-edge technology: AI, 5G. This creates a hundred new jobs at Hitachi. Those 100 new people will join the existing 1,000 employees at Hitachi. This is yet another vote of confidence in Ontario’s thriving business ecosystem.", "Speaker, our government has created the conditions for businesses to succeed and, as a result, we are seeing businesses invest, expand and create good-paying jobs at an unprecedented rate." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Laura Smith", "text": [ "Thank you for the minister’s hard work in his portfolio. Our government understands that the competition needs to land important investments, and they’re ramping up from countries across the world. That’s why we’re working to lower the cost of doing business in the province: to ensure that the conditions are there for businesses to invest, expand and create good-paying jobs.", "As a result, companies from across the world are investing in our province at record levels. I know this personally, because Thornhill has several expanding companies and they’re also investing in Ontario. These companies could go anywhere in the world, but they chose Ontario. They know they have everything they need here to succeed, from clean and reliable energy to world-class talent. In every region of the province, we see companies scaling up and creating good-paying jobs.", "Speaker, can the minister please provide us with details on any other investments that have landed in the province recently?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Victor Fedeli", "text": [ "Last week, we welcomed a $130-million investment from Roche Canada. Roche is expanding their global informatics division at their existing Mississauga headquarters, and this will create 250 brand new, good-paying jobs in fields such as AI and research and development. This builds on Roche’s $500-million investment they announced recently, which set up a new operations hub in Mississauga, adding 500 engineers.", "1100", "Roche’s investment is yet another testament to Ontario’s growing reputation as a global leader in the life sciences sector, with over $5 billion in new life science businesses that we’ve landed here in Ontario. Ontario has become the prime location for global biomanufacturers looking to invest and expand." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Wayne Gates", "text": [ "My question is to the Premier. We’ve learned that the government has failed to meet its own targets of providing four hours of hands-on care per day for every resident in long-term care in Ontario. We know the cause of the issue: the staffing crisis that the Premier has created in long-term care. According to government documents, we need over 13,000 additional nurses and 38,000 PSWs to provide the proper care for long-term-care residents. Seniors in long-term care deserve better.", "When will this government stop breaking its own promises and deliver the care seniors need and, quite frankly, deserve?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "To reply, the Minister of Long-Term Care." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Natalia Kusendova-Bashta", "text": [ "I welcome the question from the member for Niagara Falls because it gives me the opportunity to celebrate the incredible progress we have made on the direct hours of care delivered by our exceptional and committed staff.", "Since 2021, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we have increased our direct hours of care by 33%. That is over one extra hour of care for every single calendar day for every single one of our 80,000 residents. In total, this results in 15 extra days of care—15 extra days—due to our government’s policies and investments: $1.8 billion into staffing this year alone.", "But that’s not all. We have also increased the level-of-care envelope by 6.6%, and these investments are being felt by both our staff and residents.", "My question back to the member: Was he listening during our estimates?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The supplementary question." ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Wayne Gates", "text": [ "Back to the Premier: This government spent $1 billion in 2022-23 on private staffing agencies in health care and long-term care. Private temp staffing agencies cost more than paying permanent staff, which means homes must spend more to achieve the same level of care. Staff turnover in long-term-care homes is high and it won’t be fixed until this government commits to paying nurses and PSWs good wages with full-time hours, benefits and pensions.", "Will the Premier commit today to stop spending $1 billion of taxpayers’ money on private staffing agency profits, and instead pay nurses, PSWs and front-line staff, who deserve it?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will please take their seats.", "To reply, the Minister of Long-Term Care." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Natalia Kusendova-Bashta", "text": [ "I do find it strange that the member for Niagara Falls admits to being unaware of our government’s achievements when it comes to direct hours of care. I say this because in our estimates just a few months ago, I told him and all the members of the committee the exact same thing that I’m telling you now.", "But to refresh his memory, I will quote directly from the estimates meeting: “In terms of our year-three targets, I’m happy to report that we have hit them by the first quarter of year four, so that’s significant progress. We’ve added many minutes into the system of direct care per resident, per day, and we’ll continue building on that success. I’m very, very proud of the progress we’ve made.”", "When I visited his riding and I visited the Lawson Eventide Home and Oakwood Park Lodge, I spoke to the residents and the staff, and they told me that our investments are working. The PSWs are seeing a reduction in the amount of residents that they have to take care of each and every day, which allows them to spend more time with each resident.", "So we’ll continue investing in our residents, we’ll continue investing in our staff. Our long-term-care sector is in good shape." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Steve Pinsonneault", "text": [ "My question is for the Minister of Natural Resources. Ontario is home to industries that make things we need. For example, steel is used in schools and hospitals, and cement is used for subways and bridges. These products are called hard to abate because it’s tough to cut their emissions, but they’re essential for building our province. The truth is the Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax is making it more expensive to produce these vital materials. Cement, for example, is already expensive enough; this regressive tax is only making the situation worse. This hurts Ontario workers, hurts Ontario jobs and hurts Ontario’s economy.", "Speaker, can the minister please tell the House what actions our government is taking to reduce emissions while supporting businesses and workers?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Graydon Smith", "text": [ "Thanks to the great member for the question. There are many hard-to-abate industries that produce essential products right here in Ontario: the steel that we need to build our hospitals and schools, the cement to build subways, bridges, roads. Our natural resource sector is being pummeled by the Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax. It raises the price of all these essential building blocks that we need to use to build Ontario.", "That’s why yesterday I tabled legislation to enable carbon capture and storage right here in Ontario—right here—technology that captures emissions which can be stored away safely. Ontario is on the cutting edge of innovation and technology that will increase investment, attract jobs and support existing industries, communities and families.", "The Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax has got to go. It’s driving away innovation and driving away jobs. It’s time to cut the carbon tax, get out of the way and let—", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Kitchener Centre will come to order.", "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Steve Pinsonneault", "text": [ "Thank you for the minister’s response. Ontario’s industries are leaders in making products which we depend on, like cement, steel and glass. These industries are the backbone of our economy, but they are also energy-intensive, and cutting their emissions is a big challenge. The Trudeau-Crombie carbon tax isn’t helping. It punishes these industries by raising costs, making it harder for them to compete and grow. Families feel these costs, especially when prices go up on everyday goods. Carbon capture technology could be the solution to this problem. It’s a smart way to cut emissions without hurting jobs or raising costs.", "Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government’s plan for carbon capture could help our industries to reduce emissions and create jobs?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Graydon Smith", "text": [ "Again, thanks to the member for that question. Moving forward with carbon capture technology here in Ontario is essential to support growth in our province, creating highly skilled, good-paying jobs in communities. It’s advanced technology that will, again, capture carbon at the site, at the source, and store it and reduce emissions. Everyone supports this technology. It is in use globally, and it will help energy-intensive industries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by roughly five million to seven million tonnes per year—that’s the equivalent of taking up to two million cars off the road—while creating 4,000 jobs and reducing the price that industry pays: close to $1 billion a year on carbon.", "Carbon storage will revolutionize how we manage emissions in this province and around the world, and, once again, Ontario is leading the way; once again, we are bringing technology to bear that will help our communities, help our environment, help Ontario continue to grow—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Thank you.", "The next question." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam", "text": [ "My question is to the Premier. Last week, the Smart Prosperity Institute reported that this province is falling behind on building affordable housing, and because of the affordability crisis, Ontario is bleeding young, talented people—100,000 young people are fleeing every single year, mostly to Alberta—while Liberal and Conservative governments have ruled this province for over 29 years and they have waited for the market to solve the housing crisis.", "1110", "Speaker, all we know is that their failed housing policies have shown us these results. We now have unfathomably expensive home prices, skyrocketing rents, growing encampments and an Airbnb takeover. Ontarians need this government to get back into the business of building affordable housing. It’s the only way forward.", "Will the Premier reverse the brain drain by admitting that his housing plan is the slowest do-it-yourself project in Ontario history? Or does he think that a policy that’s failed for decade after decade will magically start working now?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Paul Calandra", "text": [ "I don’t know where the member has been, because when we started eliminating red tape and making it easier to get shovels in the ground, when we continued on the process of reducing costs, our housing starts were increasing to the highest level ever. Our purpose-built rentals: highest level ever.", "It wasn’t until interest rates started to increase—thanks to the policies of the federal government, Mr. Speaker, supported by a federal NDP, that caused high inflation and the highest interest rate increase in the shortest amount of time in the history of this country—that we started to see housing starts declining across the province of Ontario.", "We’re going to double down on what we’ve been doing, Mr. Speaker. We’re going to double down on reducing red tape and making it easier and faster to get shovels in the ground. We’ve told our municipalities the exact same thing and they are coming on board.", "When it comes to affordable housing, we have a National Housing Strategy that is going to be building thousands of homes across the province of Ontario. We’re getting the job done, despite the obstacles—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question? The member for London North Centre." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Terence Kernaghan", "text": [ "Speaker, back to the Premier: Ontario’s experiencing a brain drain because the Ford government is utterly incapable of building housing. Housing starts are the lowest since 1955 and are only going to decrease further, according to the fall economic statement. Economists point out that Ontario’s ideological opposition to building housing has led to record low vacancy rates, soaring rents, record food bank use and an estimated 234,000 people experiencing homelessness.", "When people can’t find housing, like young graduates, they move. Over the last four years, 100,000 more people have moved out of Ontario than from other provinces into Ontario.", "Speaker, my question is to the Premier: When will this Conservative government finally build housing so that our province doesn’t face brain drain?", "Interjection." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Member for Ottawa Centre, come to order.", "The Premier." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Ford", "text": [ "Mr. Speaker, let me respond to the member from London North Centre, as he votes against every housing bill we have, against building houses. The NIMBYism in their ridings is unprecedented. Mr. Speaker, if we put out a bill to support housing, they vote against it.", "We saw the largest influx of immigration in the history of this country, with over 800,000 people showing up to our province. Let me remind the member, as they voted with the Liberals to chase 300,000 jobs out of our province, there’s 850,000 people working today that weren’t working last year.", "When we talk about the threat that we just received from the Americans—they voted against our nuclear fleet, our clean, green energy. They voted against the critical minerals that we’re selling to the US. They voted against the infrastructure, building highways, and they voted against building more homes. That—", "Interjection." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Ottawa Centre is warned.", "The next question." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Adil Shamji", "text": [ "For the Minister of Health, Mr. Speaker: Everyone in Ontario should have their own family doctor. What does it mean to have your own family doctor? What is it that millions of people in Ontario have been deprived of by the inaction of this government? It’s that special relationship that’s created when one patient is rostered to one family doctor.", "In sports, if you’re on the team, you’re on the roster. Coaches, staff and management will support you and take care of you. In family medicine, if you’re on a family doctor’s roster, you’re their patient, through and through. You can call and get an appointment any time you like. You can remain their patient for years, decades or until they retire. They know your file, meaning you don’t have to explain your medical history over and over again. They can refer you to specialists the moment that you need one.", "Mr. Speaker, for the Minister of Health: How many people in Ontario are not rostered to a family doctor and how many more are at risk of being de-rostered in the next five years?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "Right back at you: How many doctors did not get the opportunity to train and practise in the province of Ontario because the Liberal government actually cut the number of physician seats in the province of Ontario?", "In 2015, we saw the then Liberal government of the day cut by 50 every single year the number of physicians who had the opportunity to train in the province of Ontario. What does that mean? Today, that means over 350 young people did not get the opportunity to train in the province of Ontario and, ultimately, to serve in the province of Ontario. They chose different professions. They went out of our country.", "What are we doing, in contrast? We are making investments in our education system, in our primary care practices, multidisciplinary teams. We are getting it done when you walked away.", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Stop the clock for a second.", "I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair, not directly across the floor of the House. Secondly, I’m going to warn the member for Ottawa South. Thirdly, I’m going to warn the Minister for Red Tape Reduction.", "Are we keeping track of all the warnings? Good. I hope there aren’t anymore but, if necessary, they’ll be issued.", "Start the clock. Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Adil Shamji", "text": [ "Mr. Speaker, I asked a basic question that should have a factual answer. The Minister of Health won’t answer it because she knows it’s a big number that she’s embarrassed to admit.", "Now, there’s no doubt this government has failed to secure family doctors for patients in Toronto, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Scarborough and Brampton. But let’s look at how this problem affects the northern and rural ridings that the Premier is so quick to neglect: 39,000 people in Bay of Quinte without a family doctor, 31,000 in Chatham-Kent–Leamington, 29,000 in Kenora–Rainy River and on and on and on.", "It’s no coincidence that in these northern and rural ridings, with so many people not having a family doctor, people are forced to rely more and more on emergency rooms, which are becoming harder to staff and harder to keep open. Ontario suffered 1,300 ER closures in the last year alone, most of them in northern and rural ridings. And so, Mr. Speaker, for the Minister of Health, another simple factual question: How many municipalities in Ontario don’t have even a single family doctor?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "You know, it is interesting that the member opposite conveniently forgets the fact that, earlier this year—in February, in fact—we expanded the number of primary care practitioner teams in the province of Ontario to 78, the largest expansion we have seen in primary care in the province of Ontario. Those are multidisciplinary teams. Those are nurse practitioners working with family physicians, working with mental health workers, with dietitians, to make sure that those patients are served.", "We have the Periwinkle model in Kingston that has, because of that investment this year, meant 10,000 additional patients are being seen. I was in Innisfil two weeks ago, opening a nurse practitioner-led clinic where 10 nurse practitioners are now taking on and rostering patients. Those are the investments that we are making, whether it is working with our colleges and university partners—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Thank you.", "The next question." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Amarjot Sandhu", "text": [ "My question is to the Minister of Transportation. Gridlock is a problem that every Ontarian knows all too well. At this time, it adds stress and it hurts our economy. Families are stuck in traffic instead of spending time together. Workers face long, frustrating commutes every single day.", "For years, nothing was done to fix this. The previous Liberal government talked, but they didn’t act. The promises were made, but the projects never happened. Now everyone is paying the price for their inaction. Ontarians deserve better. They deserve roads and transit that work. They deserve solutions that will cut commute times and help businesses thrive.", "Speaker, can the minister tell us what our government is doing to end gridlock and build the infrastructure Ontarians need?", "1120" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The member for Hastings–Lennox and Addington and the parliamentary assistant." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Ric Bresee", "text": [ "My thanks to the member from Brampton West for the question.", "Unlike the Liberals and the NDP, we know that doing nothing is not an option. Ontario is one of the best places in the world to live, to work and to raise a family, but to maintain that position we need a strong transportation network. That’s why we’re building historic projects such as Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass.", "My colleague is completely correct: We need to keep building our future. We need to cut red tape to get the shovels in the ground sooner. That’s why we’ve brought forward the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act. This legislation will speed the construction of Highway 413, of the Bradford Bypass, the Garden City Skyway bridge and other future priority highway projects.", "Speaker, these projects should have been built years ago. We’re in this gridlock crisis because of the previous government. We are the only party with a—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Thank you.", "Supplementary question?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Amarjot Sandhu", "text": [ "The people of Ontario are tired of sitting in traffic. They’re tired of losing hours of their day just trying to get where they need to go. Workers are losing time at home with their families. Businesses are losing money because deliveries are delayed. For too long under the previous Liberal government nothing was done to fix these problems. Gridlock isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a major drag on our economy and quality of life.", "The costs keep piling up and the delays hurt everyone. Ontarians deserve better. Speaker, can the parliamentary assistant please share more about what measures our government is taking to help get these critical projects built faster and to reduce gridlock for all Ontarians?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Ric Bresee", "text": [ "Thank you again to the member from Brampton West.", "Unlike the previous Liberals and the NDP, our government is taking steps to address and tackle gridlock. Gridlock costs our economy $11 billion every year. We simply can’t afford to do nothing and let the problems get worse, like they had done. We’re taking action to build new highways in our growing communities, such as Peel and York region.", "The Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act will allow around-the-clock 24/7 construction on priority highway projects. Speaker, we’re already seeing the results, the benefits of 24-hour construction on the Gardiner Expressway, where construction is four months ahead of schedule.", "We won’t stick to the status quo. We won’t do nothing. We are focused on building for our future." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Catherine Fife", "text": [ "My question is for the Premier. Last year in Ontario, every six days, on average, a woman or child lost their lives due to men’s violence. Last year, 62 women were murdered in Ontario. This is an epidemic.", "Preventing intimate partner violence is also about holding those responsible accountable and ensuring justice is served. We cannot do that when 56% of criminal cases are being withdrawn, stayed or dismissed simply because our courtrooms are understaffed and underfunded. In fact, in 2023, 1,171 sexual assault cases were dismissed because of delays.", "The government needs to be tracking how many of these cases are being dismissed, but the government refuses to do so. They are scared for the public to learn how badly you are failing on the justice system. Survivor Emily Quint describes her court experience as “horrific.” Her rapist walks free today.", "When will this government live up to your tough-on-crime rhetoric?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Again, I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.", "The Attorney General." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Downey", "text": [ "Our prosecutors are actively engaged in case management and getting resolutions as quickly as possible. This is a very important area. The opposition—I’d have to check the record to be 100% positive, but I’m pretty sure that they voted against even Keira’s Law.", "They talk a good game, but we’re in the trenches doing the work, Mr. Speaker. We’re adding capacity, whether it’s the 25 net new judges, the largest increase in the history of the province. We’re adding logistics, we’re adding prosecutors, we’re adding victim support services. We’re adding across the board to make sure the capacity is there. And we are tracking cases. We track anything that’s in danger of an 11(b) challenge, and supervisors, the crown managers, can access that data.", "So we are, in fact, making sure that we’re holding people to account. It would be great to have the NDP support us at any point in time." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Catherine Fife", "text": [ "Well, I’m quoting the stats, Speaker, and someone with a King’s Counsel designation surely should know what’s actually going on in the justice system in Ontario.", "Why is this government so afraid of transparency in justice funding? We need transparency and accountability into where the money is going. This hits close to home for many of us. Just last week, your former member Randy Hillier had his charges stayed due to court delays. His charges included assaulting a peace officer, police officer. Why are you okay with this? This is not okay. Mr. Hillier waited 31 months and 13 days for his day in court but now walks free because his right to be tried within a reasonable time had been violated. This is your court system, as the Attorney General in Ontario. We must—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I’ll remind the member to make the comments through the Chair." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Catherine Fife", "text": [ "Thank you.", "We must adequately fund and staff our courts. My Bill 189, Lydia’s Law, would hold the Attorney General and this entire Legislature accountable for failing survivors of sexual assault.", "So I have one question: When will this Premier hold the Attorney General accountable for a failing justice system?", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will please take their seats.", "Attorney General." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Downey", "text": [ "Mr. Speaker, we are fixing a system that was left in disrepair. For the first time in over a decade, we are clearing more cases than we are bringing in.", "This is what the Liberals were up to, supported by the NDP: They were letting cases stack up; we have reduced the backlog through COVID by 48%. So we’ll take no lessons from the performative NDP, who are doing nothing to support the investments we are making in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars.", "The $166-million case management filing system that is cutting edge: They voted against it. The 25 net new judges: They voted against it. The 190 new crown attorneys and victim support workers: They voted against it. I’ll take no lessons from them." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Michael Mantha", "text": [ "My question is to the Minister of Health. Almost seven months ago, the minister announced that the government would be enhancing the Northern Health Travel Grant after years of advocacy by residents in northern Ontario.", "My question is simple: Why are northerners still waiting?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "I’m happy to follow up with individual examples, but in fact, we had made the changes, as were announced in the budget. I’m proud of the investments that we’re making to enhance the Northern Ontario Travel Grant. But I’m also proud that we are making investments so that people don’t have to travel as far to get service. When we make announcements that have MRIs in communities and in hospitals that didn’t have them previously, when we make announcements in places like Thunder Bay, where we’re ensuring that there is access in their community, we’re actually working to ensure that fewer people have to access the Northern Ontario Travel Grant." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Michael Mantha", "text": [ "Again to the Minister of Health: All the funding promises in the world don’t matter if the money isn’t getting to the people who need it.", "Over a year ago, I introduced legislation to improve the Northern Health Travel Grant under Bill 13. We heard from hundreds of northerners who want equal access to health care and who were pushing this government to address the shortfalls in the program. Finally, this government made a funding announcement in April. But now that it has come time to deliver, they are nowhere to be seen. My office has sent multiple requests to the ministry on behalf of constituents who need to know when they can access the funding that they were promised. The ministry has yet to even acknowledge those requests from myself and other MPPs in the Legislature. People in northern Ontario deserve equitable access to health care. They shouldn’t be deciding between getting the treatment they need or the bills they are paying.", "Minister, will you answer my constituents’ questions and tell them when the $45 million you promised will be delivered?", "1130" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Again, I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.", "The Minister of Health to reply." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "It’s actually $48 million, if you want to be specific, which I do, because they are investments that we are making in northern Ontario.", "Not only have we made it easier through the work of red tape reduction to make sure that people can easily process online applications, but, in fact, we’ve also enhanced it. Starting on December 1, we have an additional enhancement that says 200 kilometres is going to 100 kilometres, $75 per night for accommodation and expanding eligibility to include medical travel companions accompanying a patient. This, of course, is separate and apart from an enhanced investment that we have made jointly with the Ministry of Finance to actually ensure IVF is also covered through a tax credit and additional access, including in northern Ontario." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Ross Romano", "text": [ "My question is for the Minister of Northern Development.", "Northern Ontario is home to hard-working people and strong communities, but we all know that the north faces unique challenges. Small businesses often need help to grow and to stay open, municipalities need help keeping local facilities in good shape and Indigenous communities deserve better access to opportunities and to support. Individuals and families want to know that our government is listening and that we are making real investments that will improve their lives.", "The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. has a proven track record in strengthening the north. It creates jobs, fosters economic growth and supports vital community infrastructure. Speaker, can the minister please tell the House how the NOHFC fund is supporting northern and Indigenous communities and businesses throughout all of northern Ontario?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "To reply, the parliamentary assistant and member for Brantford–Brant." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Will Bouma", "text": [ "Thank you to the member from Sault Ste. Marie for the question, and I appreciate his tireless advocacy for the north. Last week, the minister had the opportunity to travel to northeastern Ontario to announce dozens of investments our government is making to increase economic opportunity in the north.", "In Iroquois Falls, we announced that our government is providing more than $580,000 through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. to four economic development projects in the region. This investment will improve municipal infrastructure and support physical activity for locals and visitors in northeastern Ontario. This investment will provide $429,000 for the town of Iroquois Falls to install a new roof membrane on the Jus Jordan Arena and sports complex to ensure the facility is safe and structurally sound, and it includes $67,000 for the Abitibi Golf Club to renovate the clubhouse, purchase equipment to improve and extend the life of the clubhouse and course, and make the facility more suitable for hosting events for club members and for the broader community. We’re getting it done for northern Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Supplementary question." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Ross Romano", "text": [ "We all know how vital northern Ontario is to our province. Its communities are absolutely filled with potential, but they do need support in order to be able to thrive. Small businesses have to be able to grow. They have to be able to expand. Muncipalities need strong infrastructure to serve their residents. Indigenous communities need investments that are going to create lasting opportunities.", "The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp., the NOHFC, is one way that our government is helping. The NOHFC funds projects that make life better for people in the north. But northerners want to know that our government is serious about its commitment to the region. We’ve heard about support for Iroquois Falls, but the needs of the north go beyond one single community.", "Can the minister please explain how our government is working with the NOHFC to support other northern Ontario communities in order to create good jobs?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Will Bouma", "text": [ "Thank you to the member for the question. Our support for northern Ontario didn’t stop at Iroquois Falls. Last week, the minister had the pleasure of announcing that our government is investing more than $2.5 million through the NOHFC to 12 economic development projects in the Hearst region. This investment will expand company operations, improve municipal infrastructure and create good jobs in northeastern Ontario.", "For example, there is $500,000 for Moose Cree First Nation to upgrade the community heating infrastructure by replacing its fossil fuel-based heating system with a renewable biomass-powered heating system, which will lower heating costs for that First Nation. Also, Speaker, $435,000 for the town of Smooth Rock Falls to repair the Reg Lamy Cultural Centre, helping maintain a vital facility to support local sports such as curling, golf and hockey, and also $271,000 for diversified forestry products.", "These investments in Hearst and Ontario’s northeast will pay dividends in communities and key industries, and we will continue to work with partners to bring jobs, infrastructure and services to the north." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "My constituents are still waiting for a long-overdue update to the Northern Health Travel Grant. It is unacceptable that northerners are forced to pay out-of-pockets for health care that every Ontarian is entitled to.", "My question is to the minister. Minister, do you find it is okay that people pay $300, $400, $500 for rooms? And when can they expect that? We’ve sent letters. We’ve sent you communications. We tried to get answers for these people, for our constituents. No answers. When can they expect this travel grant to come into effect?" ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The Minister of Health." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "It fascinates me that we talk about specifics, and they don’t actually highlight that we are enhancing the northern Ontario travel grant. So, as we said in the budget, we are announcing and we are expanding access in the fall. We are doing that as of December 1. But even prior to December 1, we have already improved access to ensure that people can do much more of their filing online so it’s more convenient. We are not relying on the mail to make sure that people submit their information.", "I have to say that it was actually the Minister of Red Tape Reduction that brought forward that suggestion. We were able to act very quickly on it. So that is an example of when we hear and learn about good ideas, we are happy to enhance and present them. The other enhancements, as I’ve said, December 1." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "The supplementary question." ] }, { "speaker": "M. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "J’apprécie la réponse de Mmela ministre, mais le 1erdécembre—on a du monde qui attend depuis belle lurette pour être capable de recevoir leur argent. Il y a des commettants qui sont obligés de payer du monde pour les conduire pour aller à Sudbury, aller à Timmins. Puis on attend toujours le 1erdécembre, la date que vous venez d’annoncer, mais il y a du monde qui a de vrais besoins dans le Nord. On n’a pas de spécialistes, on n’a pas les soins que le Sud a.", "Le « travel grant » est une solution pour nous, madame la Ministre, puis d’attendre et de garder ce monde-là sous tutelle ou sous pression—on apprécie les changements qui étaient de belle lurette. Ça fait longtemps qu’on attend, qu’on avait besoin de ces changements-là.", "Même encore, le monde demande si c’est assez, parce que je peux vous dire que les chambres d’hôtel à 175 piastres, on s’entend, ce n’est pas cher. Puis on le sait, c’est dur à trouver. Même, on ne les trouve pas. Mais on a une situation qui se passe, comme c’est là, dans le Nord qui est inacceptable.", "Le 1erdécembre va-t-elle être la date finale ou allez-vous encore faire attendre ce monde-là que vous continuez de faire attendre? Parce que c’était dans le « fall economic statement », on l’avait dans le budget de l’automne, et le monde attend encore. Pourtant, c’était supposé de venir à l’automne. Il y a du monde qui a besoin du « travel grant ». C’est un grand besoin pour le Nord. Madame la Ministre, respectez vos engagements et donnez le « travel grant »—" ] }, { "speaker": "Le Président (L’hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Merci.", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Members will please take their seats.", "Minister of Health." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Sylvia Jones", "text": [ "As I said, Speaker, December 1 is when the enhancement will happen. But I also want to highlight some of the things that we’ve been able to do to ensure that people don’t have to continuously rely on the northern Ontario travel grant, and that is, of course, 49 new MRI machines in the province of Ontario in our publicly funded hospitals, where people will not have to travel great distances. We have seen enhancements in the number of MRIs, in the number of CTs, in the number of accesses to programs that are happening in our northern communities.", "Why are we doing that? Because we understand that it can be very stressful for a patient and their family to travel great distances to access these services. That is why our government will continue to enhance access for diabetes care, for cancer care, for diagnostic services, so that people don’t solely and exclusively have to rely on the northern Ontario travel grant. December is when you will see those enhancements come into play." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Andrew Dowie", "text": [ "My question is to the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. We all know how important it is for seniors to stay healthy and connected. When seniors feel isolated, it impacts not just their mental health but also their physical well-being. We’ve heard from families and communities who are concerned about loved ones feeling alone. In many cases, simple solutions like staying active or having a place to meet could make a big difference. We need to make sure that seniors in Ontario have the resources they need to live healthy, happy lives.", "Can the minister please explain what our government is doing to help seniors stay active, healthy and connected to their communities?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho", "text": [ "I’d like to thank the member for Windsor–Tecumseh for that very important question. It has been my number one mission to help seniors avoid social isolation so they can have the best quality of life. That is why, thanks to Minister of Finance Bethlenfalvy, we increased funding for senior active living centres from $42,000 last year to $50,000 this year and $55,000 next year. This includes over $51,000 for the Tecumseh Senior Active Living Centre so seniors in the member’s riding can stay fit, healthy and socially connected." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Thank you very much. That concludes our question period for this morning.", "There being no further business, this House stands in recess until 3 p.m.", "The House recessed from 1142 to 1500." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Stephanie Bowman", "text": [ "I’d like to welcome Flemingdon Health Centre, here for the allied health luncheon today, including their CEO, Jen Quinlan, and her team." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Steve Clark", "text": [ "Point of order, Speaker." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Point of order. The government House leader." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Steve Clark", "text": [ "Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to move a motion without notice regarding the appointment of the new Poet Laureate." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Mr. Clark is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion without notice regarding the appointment of the new Poet Laureate. Agreed? Agreed.", "I recognize, again, the government House leader." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Steve Clark", "text": [ "I move that, in accordance with subsection 1(2) and section 2 of the Poet Laureate of Ontario Act (In Memory of Gord Downie), 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 16, Matthew-Ray Jones be appointed Poet Laureate of Ontario for a term of two years, commencing on November 26, 2024." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Mr. Clark has moved that, in accordance with subsection 1(2) and section 2 of the Poet Laureate of Ontario Act (In Memory of Gord Downie), 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 16, Matthew-Ray Jones be appointed Poet Laureate of Ontario for a term of two years, commencing on November 26, 2024.", "Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.", "Motion agreed to." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "This is a petition from the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. It expresses their considerable concern about the government’s plan to close supervised consumption sites.", "They are asking the government to reverse its decision to close safe consumption sites, to ensure that they are adequately funded, and to take a harm reduction approach to addressing the addictions crisis in Ontario." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Stephanie Bowman", "text": [ "I have another stack of petitions from people in my riding who are wanting to save the Ontario Science Centre. They believe that the current building is an iconic structure, and they want it to stay there. They don’t want a smaller facility at Ontario Place. They don’t want the public funds of $500 million to be spent on a parking lot. They don’t think that there was sufficient consultation, environmental impact or a sound business case, so they would like it to remain where it is. They want it to remain a pioneering science museum, where it was designed to be, in the Don Valley, by the late architect Raymond Moriyama, because moving it risks the livelihoods of local residents from priority neighbourhoods. That location has been a vital access and resource to people in my community of Thorncliffe Park, including children who walk to school visits there.", "I had a school visit last week who said it’s the first time in their 70-year history that they’ve not been able to visit the science centre.", "These people are petitioning the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to reconsider the decision to undermine the science centre and relocate it, to prioritize renewing it at its current location and to conduct comprehensive public consultations and environmental impact assessments for any proposed changes.", "I support this petition. I’ll affix my signature and deliver it to page William." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Laurie Scott", "text": [ "To summarize to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario about the federal carbon tax that has led to significant increases in the cost of living—it really has been a tipping point for poverty. I have petitions signed here, but I hear it daily from my constituents—the hardships that they’re enduring, and the fact that the carbon tax is the leading cause of their impoverished state, can I say, and that we already know many Ontarians are facing struggling times. I can go on to my farmers, leading to the cost of groceries, to the cost of just doing everything in daily life.", "This petition is signed by many people.", "I want to make sure to emphasize that the carbon tax is actually just cruel punishment for the people of Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "I’ll remind the members to summarize their petition briefly and not make additional political commentary relating to the contents of the petition.", "Petitions?" ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Chandra Pasma", "text": [ "I’m pleased to rise today to table a petition on air quality for our children in schools and child care centres.", "We know that good-quality air has an important impact on our children’s health, both reducing the spread of infectious diseases and reducing the incidence of chronic infections, like asthma. It reduces absenteeism and boosts worker morale. Also, it boosts test scores in math and reading.", "So the quality of air in our schools and child care centres is very important, but, currently, we don’t know what the air quality is. Other jurisdictions, like Quebec, actually monitor the air quality and regularly report on it. This petition signed by people from across Ontario is saying that children and workers in Ontario deserve no less, and they are calling on the Legislative Assembly to support and adopt the Improving Air Quality for Our Children Act, 2023.", "I wholeheartedly endorse this petition. I will add my name to it and send it to the table with page Maadhav." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Terence Kernaghan", "text": [ "For the petition that I have to read today, I’d like to thank the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. This petition is entitled “Petition for Continued Operation of Supervised Consumption Services and Associated Harm Reduction Programs.” This petition is about listening to the front line.", "They indicate in this petition that every 2.5 hours, someone dies in Ontario, and that’s with the current amount of supervised consumption services open in Ontario.", "This petition calls upon the government to not only ensure that people have a right to health care—which is what these sites provide. They also help alleviate injuries, hospitalizations, HIV and hepatitis infections. This petition calls upon the government to reverse its decision to arbitrarily close these places, make sure that they’re adequately funded, and recognize and respect the importance of harm reduction as part of the continuum of care for treating opioid addiction.", "I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and deliver it with page Jack to the Clerks." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Anthony Leardi", "text": [ "I have a petition here that is about the federal carbon tax. It is speaking about the Parliamentary Budget Officer indicating that the federal carbon tax is a net financial loss to households in Ontario. It talks about inflation, and it talks about rising costs on households. It talks about the carbon tax having a disproportionately negative affect on low-income households. It also talks about the fact that the carbon tax reduces the purchasing power of low-income households and worsens economic inequality.", "In summary, it calls upon the Legislature to oppose the federal carbon tax because of its negative effects on Ontario farmers—families. I might as well add farmers, as well.", "I will endorse this petition because I support it. I’ll give it to this excellent page, Laura, and ask her to bring it to the centre table, where the Clerks sit." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Again, I’ll remind members to briefly summarize the petition but not add additional political commentary to the petition summary.", "1510", "Petitions?" ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Joel Harden", "text": [ "I’m very honoured to rise in the House and table this petition entitled “To Raise Social Assistance Rates,” given to me by the redoubtable Professor Sally Palmer at McMaster University—I think, emeritus professor—who I want to thank for her friendship over the last number of years. She has raised with me, as have other advocates, the important cost-of-living issues and difficulties that people on social assistance go through every single day.", "The petition signees are asking for a doubling of social assistance incomes, which is the standard we had for the CERB when we were in the middle of the pandemic and people were unemployed because of the worst viral infectious disease we had ever seen. Dr. Palmer and the advocates behind this petition are asking us to apply that same standard to people who, because of their chronic health conditions, are unemployed.", "I salute the folks—Teresa Lovato, Charlene Smith, Jeff Cass, and others—who have given this to me. I’m going to sign this and send it with page Juliet to the Clerks’ table." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens", "text": [ "I, along with Jim and Pat, agree that supervised consumption services and associated harm reduction programs should continue. It’s noted, through them, that a person dies every two and a half hours from the toxic drug supply here in Ontario, which is really a shame. Supervised consumption sites, also known as consumption and treatment services, have been instrumental in preventing thousands and thousands of deaths across Ontario from toxic drug supply.", "Speaker, closures of the SCS sites will increase the number of preventable deaths, injuries, hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and HIV and hepatitis.", "The provincially commissioned review of South Riverdale CHC found it desirable to maintain and enhance funding for the SCS sites.", "Closing of SCS sites will lead to increased drug use in public places.", "Lo and behold, it’s noted in this House that they are making up, I feel, their own opinions—and it will increase drug use in public spaces, if you close these sites.", "Jim and Pat are with us. They want to let the government know that we have to reverse the decision to close SCS sites and ensure all established SCS sites remain operational and adequately funded. That’s the key. It definitely has to be adequately funded—and increasing funding for the SCS sites.", "I fully support this. I think it’s common sense. I’ll affix my name to it and send it down with Alina to the Clerks’ table." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Aislinn Clancy", "text": [ "I want to thank Dr. Sally Palmer. I’m here to present a petition that calls for the doubling of ODSP and OW and a basic income related to CERB. We know that the amounts that people receive from the government aren’t enough for a roof and food, so we ask that the government take this into consideration and lift people out of legislated poverty.", "I support this petition. I’ll pass it to Aida and affix my signature." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "This petition is entitled “Stop the Cuts to Student Transportation!” I would like to thank all the parent councils living and working in Thunder Bay who organized getting this petition circulated and signed.", "The issue is about the cuts to student transportation services and the risk that this is putting students at, particularly in the north, where we don’t have the infrastructure. Lots of places have no sidewalks. Kids have to walk along the highway. It can be extremely cold.", "The petition requests that the Ontario government and Ministry of Education grant a northern and rural exemption to the busing eligibility requirements so that students can get to school safely.", "I full endorse this, and I will give it to Mahee to present." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Jill Andrew", "text": [ "This petition is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and it is on behalf of people in Ontario, including local community members like Liza, who are suffering from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.", "I’m not a pro on EDS, but EDS victims suffer severe dislocations, chronic pain, blackouts, nausea, migraines, lost vision, heart problems, mobility issues, digestive disorders. Frankly, many people with EDS have considered not continuing to live because of how painful and how destabling EDS is.", "Apparently, people with EDS have been advocating for quite a while to the Ontario Ministry of Health—even former Conservative MPPs who are parents of people with EDS.", "The community is urging the Minister of Health to provide funding to hire at least one neurosurgeon in Canada who specializes in EDS, so that EDS sufferers and survivors don’t have to travel to the States and pay thousands of dollars out of pocket.", "I support this petition. I’m signing it on behalf of Liza and many others across this province who are trying to live and get by with EDS. We need to help them." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Aislinn Clancy", "text": [ "I’m here to present a petition to save our safe consumption sites. Every two and a half hours, somebody dies because of toxic drugs. We know, in my community especially, that they prevent deaths, they protect people from infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis, and they reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits.", "We’re worried. I share RNAO’s worries that there will be lives lost, there will be more public drug use, there will be more spread of infectious disease because of the closure of these sites, which protect our overall well-being in our communities and are fiscally responsible. Preventing disease is better and cheaper and more humane.", "I support this petition. I will put on my signature and pass it to page Elyse." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "This is a petition entitled “Protect Public Health Care.” It draws attention to the fact that there has been an increase in the number of for-profit medical clinics that are providing primary care operating in Ontario, even though that’s a violation of Ontario law and federal law.", "There has also been a situation where a lot of people do not have access to a family doctor. Speaker, 500,000 people in Toronto do not have a family doctor.", "This petition is calling for an investigation and a ban on clinics that charge exorbitant annual fees for medically necessary services, as is the law, and also to call on the government to invest in primary care." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "We have with us in the lower gallery, the Speaker’s gallery, this afternoon a very special guest who is the new Poet Laureate for the province of Ontario: Matthew-Ray Jones.", "Welcome, and congratulations on your appointment.", "Joining Matthew in the gallery are family members Lorna Patrick, Elijah Linton-Jones, Shiloh-Zion Marincic-Jones, Anaiah Marincic-Jones and Sariah Marincic-Jones.", "Once again, welcome to the Legislative Assembly. We’re delighted to have you here.", "1520" ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "I move that, whereas cabinet ministers are responsible for billions of taxpayer dollars and make important decisions that impact people’s everyday lives; and", "Whereas Ontarians have watched this government consistently make policy and funding decisions that benefit their donors at the public’s expense; and", "Whereas the fundraising activities of this government’s ministers, and their apparent coordination with their party, is a continuation of the cash-for-access culture from the former Liberal government; and", "Whereas this has led Ontarians to believe that they must make political donations to ministers in order to be heard and to get things done; and", "Whereas it is not acceptable for ministers of the crown to raise large sums of money from stakeholders with active files within their ministries;", "Therefore, in the opinion of the House, the government must close loopholes and strengthen the rules in the Members’ Integrity Act, 1994, to prohibit ministers from accepting personal benefits connected directly or indirectly to their duties and to end cash-for-access in Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott)", "text": [ "Ms. Stiles has moved opposition day number 4.", "Would the Leader of the Opposition care to lead off the debate?", "I recognize the leader of His Majesty’s loyal opposition." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "Good afternoon. I want to start by saying that everywhere I go in this beautiful province of Ontario, whether it’s Thunder Bay or London or Peterborough or Windsor or Tweed, I hear the same thing from people. They feel like they’re falling further and further behind, no matter how hard they work. They’re struggling with skyrocketing housing costs that make saving for a home feel absolutely impossible. Grocery bills keep climbing. Families wait hours, days or even weeks to see a doctor or a nurse, if they can find one at all. Imagine saving for a holiday. That just seems completely impossible for most Ontarians right now.", "Ontarians are working harder to build better lives for their families—but this government? It’s clear their priorities lie elsewhere. Instead of tackling the real issues that people are facing, like the housing crisis, the family doctor shortage, the crumbling schools and the rising cost of living, this government is focused again and again on helping their friends, their donors, their insiders get ahead.", "Today we are here to talk about one of the clearest examples we’ve had of this: the Conservative government’s cash-for-access culture.", "I want to start with the facts. Under this government, pay-to-play politics has become the norm. Cabinet ministers are being handed fundraising quotas, explicit targets that they’re expected to meet. Stakeholders, many of whom are actively lobbying the government for changes on all kinds of files, are told to buy tickets to exclusive fundraisers. Some organizations even keep detailed donation tallies, like a score card, to present to the ministers. The thing about this is that it’s not just unethical; it’s why life keeps getting harder for Ontarians. The Premier cuts deals, insiders cash in, and Ontarians are left footing the bill every single time.", "I want to take for a moment the greenbelt scandal. The Conservative government tried to carve up one of Ontario’s most cherished public assets, the greenbelt, and they tried to hand it over to a small group of developers. Those weren’t just any developers; they were party donors, they were insiders, and in some cases, they were guests at the Premier’s daughter’s wedding. What was the result of all that? A windfall for those folks: $8.3 billion in land value, to help a handful of the Premier’s friends. That wasn’t just a betrayal of the public trust. It is now the subject of an RCMP criminal investigation, with a trail of evidence that has been uncovered by the Auditor General. The Auditor General’s report showed very clearly that developers with direct access to the Premier’s office saw their lands added to the greenbelt carve-out while others who didn’t have the same connections were left out. This wasn’t ever about planning or about the public interest. It certainly wasn’t about housing." ] }, { "speaker": "Interjections", "text": [ "No." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "No. It was about power, and it was about profit.", "Speaker, it doesn’t stop there. Last week, we learned about a shocking memo that the Ontario Trucking Association sent to their members. The message was clear: If you want to be heard by this government, you’re going to have to pay up. The memo urged their members to buy at least 50 tickets to a fundraiser with the Premier and the Minister of Transportation, and it was called “the only way to win this battle.” They even promised to tally up the donations and then present that total to the Minister of Transportation. It is absolutely terrible—I just want to be very clear—that this association that just wants to talk about making our roads safer feels that this is the only way to get the attention of the minister responsible for that file. That is shameful. But it is no accident. It’s not an accident—because the Conservative Party’s own bagman, their fundraising head, sent an email directly to cabinet ministers, ministers of the crown, laying out what was expected of them. It doesn’t get more blatant than this, and it sends a very dangerous message that democracy is up for sale in Ontario.", "No one in this province should feel like they need to pay thousands of dollars just to have their voices heard, but under this government that is exactly what is happening.", "I want to talk about some other examples of this.", "Let’s talk about the private colleges scandal. The former Minister of Colleges and Universities, who’s now the Minister of Education, hosted a fundraiser where a third of the attendees were executives from private career colleges—what many people have called “diploma mills.” That event raised $24,000 in donations for that minister’s re-election. And what happened next? The Ford government, the Conservative government, changed the rules, making it easier for those very colleges that had just donated all that money to that minister to exploit international students, treating them as total cash cows. These students were promised an education and a future in Ontario. Many of their families gave up everything to send them here. And when we asked this government whether those donations influenced their decisions, what did we get? No answers.", "I want to point out as well that many of those students—as I am travelling around the province, and particularly when I’m in Brampton. Let me tell you what happens to those students. They are being trafficked because of decisions that this government made.", "What about the Ontario Science Centre? This summer, the government announced out of the blue that the science centre would be closing. They cited the aging roof panels—the same ones, by the way, which are in one in 12 Ontario schools. But while schools were not given a budget to fix their roofs, the Ontario Science Centre was just closed.", "Speaker, this government closed the science centre to pad the at least $650-million Therme spa deal in downtown Toronto that nobody asked for. Everyone knows that’s what this was about. It was confirmed when we were able to obtain internal government emails that showed that the Premier’s office and the Infrastructure Ontario offices were shaping the narrative around this closure long before the engineering report was even completed. The decision wasn’t based on facts. It wasn’t based on public need. It wasn’t even about the safety of those kids. It was about pushing through yet another vanity project that benefits insiders, the friends of this Premier, not Ontarians.", "1530", "Speaker, this is not governing. This is a grift, and it’s Ontarians who are paying the price every single day. While this government is busy helping their friends, it’s the families across Ontario who are struggling. We’re in the midst of a housing crisis. Young people can’t afford to move out of their parents’ homes. Families are stuck in apartments that are too small because they can’t save for a down payment. Seniors are wondering how they’re going to make it through the month.", "I meet seniors all the time who have lost their homes. I met a senior just the other day, 64 years old—Lynn in Ottawa, in Nepean—who lived out of her car for seven weeks before she could finally get into an emergency shelter. That’s what it means to be a senior in Ontario right now—just a little bit of bad luck, you’re out of there.", "While people are dealing with those kinds of challenges, this government is prioritizing the wealthiest and the most well-connected.", "Speaker, democracy should not have a price tag.", "I want to talk for another moment here about another shocking example of this: the misuse of MZOs. This government issued as many MZOs benefiting guests at the Premier’s daughter’s wedding as the Liberals issued during their entire 15 years in office." ] }, { "speaker": "Miss Monique Taylor", "text": [ "Overachievers." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "You could call that overachievers, yes.", "Let me repeat that: More MZOs were handed out at one wedding than the Liberals issued in over a decade.", "This is a pattern that has plagued Ontario for decades, though. Both Liberal and Conservative governments have allowed this culture of cash for access, this kind of pay-to-play politics, to just fester in our province.", "When the Liberals were in power, we saw that same playbook. Companies seeking lucrative government contracts paid thousands of dollars to attend exclusive fundraisers with key ministers. The Integrity Commissioner at the time warned that those events undermined the public trust. They called for stronger rules to prevent the appearance of conflict of interest.", "In fact, the now Minister of Health, the Deputy Premier, actually introduced a bill asking the government to specifically outlaw things that were—the appearance of conflict of interest; I’m going to get to that again in a minute.", "In fact, when this government was elected back in 2018—my gosh, six and a half long, painful years ago—their government promised to end that culture. They said they’d be different. But what did they do instead? They doubled down.", "That’s why New Democrats are putting forward a motion today. We’re calling on this government to close the loopholes that allow ministers to accept benefits tied to their roles, and we’re also asking to strengthen the Members’ Integrity Act to end cash-for-access politics once and for all.", "Speaker, Ontarians deserve a government that works for them—not donors, not insiders, and certainly not the highest bidder.", "While this government has been busy out there helping their friends, New Democrats have been fighting for the people of the province of Ontario. We have tabled bills to clean up corruption, to strengthen accountability. We stood up to the backroom deals, and we’ve called out the government’s failures at every single turn, and we will continue to do that. We will keep fighting because Ontarians deserve better than this.", "I want to say very clearly: Today, this government has a choice. They can support our motion and they can show that they’re willing to clean up their act, or they can triple down on the culture of cash for access that has brought us to this very point. I want to be clear here too: If they won’t act, New Democrats will. We will do it. I am not going to let government be run anymore by the grifters. I want a government that works for the regular people, for the folks who work so hard to make our province such a wonderful place.", "Folks like the Premier take advantage of their position and their power and that privilege to make people’s lives better.", "I want to say to the people of Ontario, let’s be really clear: This money we’re talking about is your money. This is money you invested in this province. This is your investment. Public health care—you built that. Public education—that’s yours. Don’t let them sell it off to the highest bidder.", "I’m going to end by saying the people of Ontario are watching. They’re watching you, and they’re counting on all of us to do the right thing. It’s time to end this kind of cash-for-access culture. It’s time to change things. It’s time to put people first." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Jennifer K. French", "text": [ "I’m glad to be able to stand here as a member of the official opposition on an opposition day motion day. For the folks at home, that’s an opportunity that the opposition has to share a priority with the people of Ontario, that when we’re government—something that we are going to prioritize. Here we are saying that we want to end cash for access in this province.", "Speaker, we’re debating a motion, and the gist of it is that the government must close loopholes and strengthen the rules in the Members’ Integrity Act to prohibit ministers from accepting personal benefits connected directly or indirectly to their duties and to end cash for access in Ontario. Well, that seems like that a goal that I think everyone across the province would expect the government to fulfill, right? People put their trust, they put their dollars in the government of the day, I will add, and this government is taking full advantage.", "Here we are wanting them to improve integrity in the province, but we’re standing here the day after the Minister of Transportation had a fundraiser with the Premier. His fundraiser and the others that ministers of the crown are hosting are examples of the ministers cashing in on their connections while the people of Ontario have to fight to be heard, to have their issues be understood and be prioritized by this government. We’re in a pay-to-play scenario, and that is shocking and problematic.", "Global reported, “The Ford government has been on the defensive after it was revealed that cabinet ministers were given fundraising targets for the remainder of 2024—a request that came directly from the PC Party’s chief fundraiser.”", "The Ontario Trucking Association recently posted an online appeal to all of its members to purchase tickets to an upcoming fundraiser featuring the Premier and transportation minister. Why this matters: This is an organization that I would expect and Ontarians would expect would already have the ear of the minister, would already have that relationship, because they’re bringing forward issues of safety and transportation and everything to do with the trucking industry.", "The trucking association, from their website—I’m pulling their words here. They said, “We face stiff headwinds in these politically charged times: and it is clear staff and the OTA executive can’t bring an end to this growing problem” that they’ve identified.", "They said, “Our adversaries and those who seek to gain an illicit advantage … are emboldened and extremely politically and financially active.”", "So they’ve identified that they’re in a fight against the almighty dollar to meet with the minister.", "They said, “I am calling on every board member and every member to also get involved politically. Please join me on November 25 when” the Premier and transportation minister “will be hosting a small, relatively exclusive fundraiser. I am imploring all of you to attend and raise our concerns with the minister directly.", "“Our goal is to sell at least 50-60 tickets to our industry for this upcoming event.”", "They went on to say that members should see this as “an investment in our industry and for our own businesses.”", "They went on to say, “We can tally up what our association has raised and present” it “to the minister.", "“This is the only way to win this battle—and that’s exactly what it is. Everyone must engage,” says the president of the Ontario Trucking Association.", "1540", "This is what Ontarians understand to be the path to access, to accessing decision-makers. Here’s the thing: One day, Speaker, I look forward to being a cabinet minister in a government that is going to put the people first, but here we have ministers of the crown who are held to a higher standard and should behave as such. They are ministers of the crown, not ministers of the clown, and they absolutely need to be held accountable. So, if people have to pay to talk to them to bring their issues forward, that is not acceptable; nor is it appropriate, and for the people who don’t have that kind of coin, does that mean they don’t get their ear?", "If I had more time, Speaker, I’d tell you a story about the 413, but for the folks at home, you can read the article: “Friends with Benefits? An inside Look at the Money, Power and Influence behind the Ford Government’s Push to Build Highway 413.” There are a lot of folks. The developers in that group “are also prolific PC donors, contributing at least $813,000 to support the party since 2014.”", "Speaker, this is their story, this is their legacy, and this is our fight. We’re in it to win it and remove this cash-for-access government." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Joel Harden", "text": [ "What an honour it is to rise particularly for this debate because, unbeknownst to most people in the province of Ontario, there’s a secret gravy train making rounds.", "I’m going to miss this place, Speaker. People probably know I’m on my way out. I love this place. I’ve loved serving this caucus and this leader, but I must admit it has been disturbing for me to learn, as the critic for public transit, that there is a gravy train making its rounds around the province of Ontario, stopping at fundraisers: “Next stop, Minister of Transportation. Next stop, Minister of Finance.”", "Look, it would be funny if it weren’t true. What makes it not funny, Speaker, is that when the cameras are off and ministers are out in the community, they are literally taking max donations from people who work in the same sector that they’re overseeing to regulate—the Minister of Transportation; the revelations about the trucking association; brown bags at developer conferences. I mean, I had a resident call me up once, Speaker, and say to me, “Joel, do you ever feel like you woke up on a Canadian episode of the Sopranos?” That is what it feels like around here sometimes.", "Do you know what I find disappointing for the Conservatives in particular, Speaker? They used to work with us around this. Before I got here, they were helping us hold the Liberal government to account on cash-for-access scandals.", "I will point to evidence from August 24, 2016, when then-Premier Wynne said publicly she would not bring in a ban for cash-for-access fundraisers on cabinet ministers. I will quote her House leader, someone I know very well, Yasir Naqvi, who was then the House leader, who said this would be overly restrictive and it would inhibit cabinet ministers from being able to meet fundraising targets for their local riding associations, asking cabinet ministers to avoid being in rooms with people they’re in charge to regulate. That is what Mr. Naqvi said. The voters of Ottawa Centre didn’t forget about that. They sent him a clear message in June 2018, and we intend to send another clear message to him at the next federal election.", "It was interesting that, August 24, Premier Wynne said, “No, I can’t go there, too restrictive; try a code of conduct,” but five days later, thanks to intense NDP and Conservative pressure, they turned around and said, “Actually, we’ve now changed our minds. We’re going to ban cash-for-access fundraising.”", "That was the Conservative-NDP victory when we were in opposition and you were over here. But something happened. There was a metamorphosis that happened—like, reverse metamorphosis, from a butterfly to a slug—where one moment you were a shining light of integrity and you said, “Darn it, you can’t do that with the people’s money, and that smells wrong,” and now, all of a sudden, the joke we say in Ottawa Centre—and I’ll end on this, Speaker. The Premier is no longer overseeing cash for access; the Premier is looking at the public services of this province as an ATM to give to his friends. That’s what’s happening in the province of Ontario. And there’s a lineup to cash out at that ATM, but we are going to stop it. I want to thank the Leader of the Opposition for her clear message today. We are going to stop him cashing out on hard-working Ontarians who want to get ahead, who want their services, who don’t want special deals for the Premier’s friends." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Chandra Pasma", "text": [ "I’m pleased to rise today on behalf of the people of Ottawa West–Nepean to speak on the motion put forward by the leader of the official opposition to end cash for access in Ontario.", "People in Ontario are struggling. They don’t have a family doctor. They’re waiting too long at the hospital. They can’t pay rent or buy a house. They can’t afford groceries and pay the bills. Their kids are in schools that need repairs, in overcrowded classrooms, without a permanent teacher. But instead of focusing on making people’s lives better, this government is focused on their own self-interest. You shouldn’t need to pay money to a government in order to get a hearing, let alone policy change. But this Conservative government has doubled down on the Liberal policy of cash for access, charging people big bucks to get a hearing with a cabinet minister.", "Just last night, the Minister of Transportation held a fundraiser with tickets costing $1,000. This government’s attention to donors and contempt for everyone else is so transparent that the Ontario Trucking Association felt like they needed to donate $60,000 through the event just in order to get the ear of the government. They asked their members to buy tickets, telling them that they were going to “tally up what our association has raised and present that to the Minister. This is the only way to win this battle.”", "When the leader of the official opposition raised this situation in the House, the Attorney General kept saying, “It’s a level playing field. Anyone can participate.” It makes me think of the quote by Anatole France: “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.” Only, in this case, it’s the Conservative government in all its majestic equality, offering equal cash-for-access opportunity to rich and poor alike, all for the price of $1,000 a person.", "I want to share a story about someone that I met on the weekend at the Cornerstone shelter on Carling Avenue in Ottawa West–Nepean. The leader of the official opposition was there with me and we sat down with a woman named Lyn. Lyn is 64 years old. She was employed all her life—two kids, a home. And then, as happens in life, Lyn had some bad luck. She had some mental health challenges. Lyn ended up losing her housing. She lived in her car for seven weeks, sleeping in Ottawa parking lots, using gas station bathrooms, trying to find free meal programs during the day. Lyn already had mental health struggles. What do you think living in her car did for her mental health?", "After seven weeks, the Salvation Army outreach team connected with Lyn and brought her into a temporary shelter. Now she had a bed to sleep in at night and a place to shower, but no daytime services. So every day, Lyn took the bus downtown to find free meal programs for breakfast and lunch. Supper was crackers, as she travelled back to the temporary shelter to have a bed for the night.", "Finally, Cornerstone’s emergency shelter for women was able to offer Lyn a space, a space where she is able to stay during the day, where she has access to three meals and where there are services on site. But Lyn still has no idea when she will be able to move on to more permanent housing. Lyn wants supportive housing, but there is no space available in Ottawa right now. In our conversation, Lyn told us repeatedly, “I could never have imagined ending up here. I would never have thought that I would be homeless.” Lyn says she hears the same thing from other residents all the time, each one of whom has a similar story of bad luck with no safety net.", "Lyn and those residents do not have $1,000 to donate to the Premier or a Conservative cabinet minister to get their ear. They shouldn’t have to have $1,000 to donate to the Conservative government in order to get their ear. Lyn and those women deserve housing. They deserve social supports. They deserve a compassionate government that understands the importance of a strong safety net. They deserve—we all deserve—a government that is willing to tackle the immense challenges that people are facing day after day without demanding donations in return.", "1550", "It is time to end the cash-for-access culture and to have a government that is focused on making life better for you, instead of government insiders." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Terence Kernaghan", "text": [ "It’s an honour for me to rise today and to add my remarks to the official opposition’s motion to bring integrity back to this government, because it’s clearly something that they’ve lost along the way. Despite being shown in the media that their actions are eerily similar to the Liberals’ cash-for-access scandal, they can’t even admit that they’ve done something wrong. It’s shocking that they won’t even recognize this grift.", "Now, if we can’t fix the members themselves, the very least we can do is put guardrails in place. This motion would strengthen the Members’ Integrity Act, and it would end this cash-for-access culture that was started with the last Liberal government. It’s awfully ironic that this Conservative government was so vehemently opposed to the Liberals’ cash-for-access culture, and yet, here we are. The bar was set so incredibly low under Kathleen Wynne, and yet this government has found a way to slither underneath that low bar—Liberal, Tory, same old story.", "Recently, an email from the chair of the Ontario PC Party fund was sent to ministers of the crown. It was even addressed to the ministers. It set minimum fundraising targets and directed them to organize two to five fundraisers, each by the end of the year. What’s particularly concerning is that these fundraisers are being held by ministers of the crown—the ministers of the crown who are responsible for making decisions in a multi-billion-dollar budget with folks who are actively lobbying them, people who have files with them, who are seeking support and recognition from this government.", "Now, Tom Parkin of Data Shows indicates that the Liberals actually aren’t even all that concerned about today’s motion. Like the Conservatives, Liberals love cash for access. I’d like to quote Tom: “Marit Stiles pushes Doug Ford to end his cash-for-access fundraising program, but Liberals say NDP’s focus on corruption of public policy by lobby group money isn’t a real issue.” That should say it all. It’s like the Liberals and Conservatives have not learned a thing about cash for access.", "Last week’s story about the Ontario Trucking Association telling its members to buy tickets for a fundraiser with Premier Ford and Transportation Minister Sarkaria—to say that they are trying to buy as many tickets as possible, to be able to show that to the government, speaks volumes. The association believes that the only way they can possibly advocate for their members is to pony up cash, because that is the culture that has been created by this government.", "Last week during question period, I asked the Premier the exact same question that the Conservatives asked the Liberals during their cash-for-access scandal: “Does the Premier acknowledge that setting fundraising targets for cabinet ministers forces them to fundraise from stakeholders with active files within their respective ministries?” The response I got from the Attorney General was incredibly contradictory. I mean, it was all over the place. First, he stated that there were no targets; that the email doesn’t exist. Then he admitted that there was an email—oh, “an alleged email”—but the alleged email was mistakenly sent out, but it was only sent out to some people.", "I mean, how many sides of this issue could you possibly be on? Which is it? I mean, “The targets don’t exist. The email doesn’t exist.” Oh no, “The email was a mistake,” or—wait a minute; let’s just go with the simplest answer: The email shouldn’t have been seen by the public.", "The Conservatives in 2016 asked the Liberals if they “believe that it is appropriate for a minister of the crown to raise large sums of money from stakeholders bidding on projects that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, where he has the power to give a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down?” Well, that’s exactly what this Conservative government is doing right now. The Ford government is constantly making policy decisions that benefit their donors and insiders, and hurt Ontarians.", "I think about the people who don’t have cash and who therefore won’t get access with this government. I think about students in the education system who are struggling right now. I think about children who are living with disabilities. I think about seniors who are looking after their adult children who have disabilities, who have no housing, whose health is failing, and they don’t know what they’re going to do with their adult children because there’s no place for them to go. I think about people living with autism who are constantly ignored by this government.", "To this government: Stop filling your pockets and fattening your wallets. Stop cash for access. Focus on the things that Ontarians need. Build affordable housing, fix the health care crisis and make life truly affordable for Ontarians. Stop filling your pockets." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Wayne Gates", "text": [ "I want to talk about something that might be a little different than what we’ve already talked about with this cash for access. I want to talk about the advertising that’s going on in the province of Ontario. If you go to a radio, every 10 minutes there’s an ad on there from the Conservative government telling how great they are. You watch a sporting event—I love my sports. It didn’t matter whether it was the Super Bowl. It didn’t matter if it was the all-star game. It didn’t matter if it was the Oscars. That buy ad cost the government $8 million.", "Do you know who paid for that? Was it out of the Conservatives’ fundraising funds? No. Speaker, who paid for it? Help me out." ] }, { "speaker": "Interjections", "text": [ "Taxpayers." ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Wayne Gates", "text": [ "Taxpayers.", "I’m struggling with my throat here, but I’ve got to get this out.", "I go and watch on normal television. What’s on there? How wonderful the province is. They show housing that must be in Markham where it’s a four-car garage. How many people have a four-car garage? I can tell you I don’t, and I’m an MPP. So it’s probably the donors that are putting thousands of dollars into their pockets.", "Did they talk about Ontario in those ads? Did they talk about the crisis that we’re having in health care? Did they talk about education in those ads? Help me out, colleagues. I want to make sure they’re listening. They’re all on their computers, looking away. Do you know why they’re doing that? They’re ashamed. They’re ashamed that they’re using taxpayers’ dollars when Premier Ford said, when the Liberals were doing it, that he would never do it, and yet they’re doing it every single day.", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Wayne Gates", "text": [ "The good news is, because my colleagues have joined in on this, we woke them up on that side." ] }, { "speaker": "Interjection", "text": [ "You must have touched a nerve." ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Wayne Gates", "text": [ "I must have touched a nerve.", "But do you know what we should be talking about, about those ads? We should be talking about people that are homeless, people that are living in encampments. This is your Ontario, not my Ontario, because I’ve been here for a lot longer than most of the people who have been here. When I got here, do you know how many encampments we had in the province of Ontario? Anybody know? Zero.", "Do you know when I got here 11 years ago, were people using food banks? Not like today. There are record levels of food banks right here in the province of Ontario. And what’s the important part? What’s the most important thing today? Bike lanes. Not people for housing.", "You know my daughter; I love my daughter. I have three daughters. My daughter is living with me right now. Do you know what she wants to do? She wants to live in a house, wants to own her house. But do you know what? She can’t afford it. Young people can’t afford housing in the province of Ontario. It wasn’t like that 11 years ago. It wasn’t like that 30 years ago. It’s only been under this government.", "And what have you guys done? You go on the radio, you go on TV, you go on the Super Bowl and you’re paying with taxpayers’ dollars. To me, that’s disgraceful that you’re using taxpayers’ dollars instead of putting it into health care, instead of putting it into education, instead of putting it into our kids and our grandkids, putting it in long-term-care facilities. You sit over there, and you do it every time.", "1600", "Put your hands up, colleagues: How many have seen those ads? Put your hand up. How many hear them on the radio? Steady. You see it on Facebook. You see it everywhere. Most people in the province of Ontario, you know what they think? That Conservatives are paying for it, so it’s okay. It’s the taxpayers that are paying for those ads. It should stop.", "Do you know how much you spend on those ads now? Yell it out, Conservatives, you guys are doing it—$48 million of taxpayer dollars is spent on those ads. It’s disgraceful.", "Take that money, put it into health care, put it into education, put it into our seniors. That’s what we should be doing. Thank you very much, I’m done—I can’t talk any more." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Jill Andrew", "text": [ "It’s my honour to rise as well and to talk about the NDP official opposition motion put forward by the leader. Essentially what we’re calling for is a return of integrity to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. What we’re calling for is an end for the cash-for-access, pay-to-play system that, as I understand, began with the Liberals and has only gotten worse under the Conservative government. My colleagues have spoken about the $1,000 tickets for stakeholders to speak with Conservative ministers, the ministers who are literally creating the policies that can make it or break it for said stakeholder. I don’t have to speak too much on that.", "Really, what this cash-for-access, pay-to-play system is about is about the haves and the have-nots. The haves get a chance; they get a seat at the table; they get the ear of a minister. The have-nots, the folks who are struggling in homes that are under disrepair, that have landlords who won’t answer their emails or their phone calls, they don’t have cash for access. They can’t speak to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, for instance. The folks who are homeless—I understand we have about 234,000 homeless people in Ontario; 59,000 of those are receiving Ontario Works and ODSP, or ODS-poverty, as I’ve said in this building. I can assure you that those 234,000 Ontarians who are homeless and the million Ontarians, and growing, that are touching down in our food banks—I assure you, they can’t afford the luxury spa, they weren’t called up to see if they wanted to get in on the greenbelt scandal, they probably didn’t get to see Taylor Swift when she was in town, and I can assure you that they do not have the ear of the ministers.", "If they had the ear of the ministers, we would have a food insecurity strategy in Ontario. We would have an affordable housing strategy, like Homes Ontario, which the Ontario NDP put forth—and this government said no to supportive and transitional homes, essentially saying yes to increasing homelessness, essentially saying yes to increasing people’s property tax.", "Right now, we’re at a crossroads. There very well may be an early election, and people at home need to know that their voice does matter. You might not be able to afford the $1,000 ticket, you might never get an invite to the backroom reception, but your voice still matters.", "I want to read out a poem that one of my constituents, Richard, wrote. It’s called Where Has All the Money Gone? He refers to the Premier as Doug, but I understand that’s unparliamentary, so I will just slip it in—Richard, I’m going to have to call him “Premier.” Sorry about that.", "Why can’t we help our sick and dying?", "Please tell us Premier", "Why can’t we help our sick and dying?", "Please tell us now", "Coz the Bradford Bypass bill is really flying.", "Oh, when will we ever learn?", "When will we ever learn?", "Why can’t we house our working poor?", "Please tell us Premier", "Why can’t we help our working poor?", "Please tell us now", "Coz a luxury spa will cost a whole lot more.", "Oh, when will we ever learn?", "When will we ever learn?", "Where has all the money gone?", "Please tell us Premier", "Where has all the money gone?", "Please tell us now", "Your friends have got it….", "Oh, when will we ever learn?", "When will we ever learn?", "Brendan, another community member, wrote:", "How will we be remembered,", "When our term here has passed?", "Perhaps the truth differs from what we think,", "When we return through the looking glass.", "Did we let the wicked problems best us,", "Because our parties are so diverse?", "We agreed on the moral compass,", "Just disagreed on how it works.", "Did we advance each other’s perspectives,", "In order to right the ship?", "A ship that has slipped its moorings,", "Unsettlingly adrift.", "Did we make Ontario better,", "With all we left undone?", "Perhaps too much time was spent posturing,", "And lest time acting as one.", "Did we make Ontario better,", "With all we left undone?", "Perhaps too much time was spent posturing,", "And lest time acting as one.", "To everyone who’s watching, I just want to say: It has been an honour to serve as the MPP for Toronto–St. Paul’s.", "To every MPP in this House: I’d like to think that we come here to make things better. And by making things better, we must put people over profit. This government has consistently failed on it. And dear goodness, we need a government that’s going to get it right." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Sol Mamakwa", "text": [ "It’s always an honour for me to get up each day and speak—especially today, to speak on this opposition day motion on behalf of the people in Kiiwetinoong. This motion is important because it seeks to close loopholes but also strengthen the rules of the Members’ Integrity Act to prohibit ministers from accepting personal benefits connected directly or indirectly to their duties and to end cash for access in Ontario.", "Speaker, when the previous government changed the riding boundaries in the north, they did so to improve representation for the people in the north. The ridings of Kiiwetinoong and Mushkegowuk–James Bay were created to improve representation and to ensure that the voices of people living in Ontario’s north would be heard in this Legislature. That is how the member from Mushkegowuk–James Bay and I find ourselves here, representing our ridings, but also francophones and First Nations people. We are here because the communities we represent have unique concerns that aren't always met by governments—by this government.", "No people in Canada interact with as many complex layers of government and politics as First Nations people. Furthermore, no other people have their relationship with the state defined as much as we do. Historically, we have not seen ourselves in these places where decisions are made about our lives, so it is extra troubling when we see how the government treats not just First Nations people, but regular Ontarians. People who aren’t big donors and government insiders.", "1610", "This motion seeks to close the loopholes that are allowing cabinet ministers to raise money and accept benefits from those with business before their ministries. Speaker, in a democracy, no one should feel that they must donate to a cabinet minister in order for that cabinet minister to be willing to hear their concerns. Real leaders listen to everyone, but I don’t see this happening.", "Kiiwetinoong is so full of real life, but also real death issues are happening every day. The health care system is in crisis. In northern communities, there are currently 350 unfilled physician vacancies that include over 200 family doctors. The health care crisis in Kiiwetinoong has been getting worse under this government. In 2020, the small town of Sioux Lookout where I live, where I was born, which had a total population of 5,994 in 2022, had 2,844 patients without a family doctor. By 2022, the number had risen to 3,100.", "Today when I asked a question to the government about integrity, the Premier said that he would take a call from anyone. He said that again this morning in question period. But words are not enough. He actually said “grand chief,” which means he meant Ontario regional chief. He just demoted the regional chief to grand chief.", "So today I’m supporting this motion for these people of Kiiwetinoong who aren’t able to access the health care that they need. Meegwetch." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "I am rising to support our opposition day motion really to end the practice of cash for access.", "Often, I think the goings-on in the Legislature would make great Saturday Night Live sketches—except that the absurdities are real and the consequences to people’s lives are real. I think about what we heard about the original email that went to ministers, telling them they had to do so many fundraisers. First, “No, no, there was no email.” Then it was, “Oh, the email was sent by mistake,” and then after that it was, “Oh, it’s okay, we’re allowed to do it anyway.” So it’s very, very entertaining, but disturbing.", "Vote buying and the lack of integrity in fundraising: Partisan ads paid for by the public—$48 million worth of ads. And what did the Conservatives say when the Liberals did it? They said, “No, no, no; that’s not right. You shouldn’t be using public money to advertise in a partisan way for your own party.” But once they were in power—well, we’ve seen what’s happened: $48 million to promote themselves in a way that people actually think is being paid for by the Conservative Party, but it is not. It’s being paid for by the public.", "And then fundraising with clients of ministers—is it a problem maybe that everybody over there is already a minister? So everybody has to do the fundraising, right? But in 2017, the Liberals had a very, very bad reputation for cash for access, and so the NDP and the Conservatives worked together to end that. And I remember that, because when I was first running, we had to really puzzle over if I was allowed to go to the spaghetti fundraising dinner or not, because there were rules about when a person could attend a fundraising session.", "Well, once the Conservatives were in power, that went out the window, and now there seems to be no limitations whatsoever. So I really ask myself then—I’m thinking a lot about this fundraising event with the transportation minister, and I’m also thinking about who gets to influence what’s going on in that ministry. Because four people died this weekend on the highways in northwestern Ontario. Three of them were driving transport trucks; the other one was driving an SUV. Many, many trucks were in the ditches this weekend. It is happening every week, and people are dying.", "Where is the minister supporting those drivers to make sure they get the training they need, that the trucks are inspected and they’re driving safe trucks? He’s nowhere. Where is the minister in terms of the staffing for the inspection stations? They’ll spend $31 million to build it, so contractors get lots of money. But the workers? They won’t pay the workers. They won’t provide them with adequate wages and benefits, so they can’t staff the stations, so nobody’s there. Guess what? The trucks aren’t being inspected.", "So on we go. We all know how serious it is, and we know that this minister has no intention of doing anything about it, because, frankly, it’s not where his money is coming from. The young workers, the new immigrants don’t have the money to buy access to a meeting with the minister.", "And then I think about what it means when the government undoes something intended to protect the integrity of government. It promotes the exact opposite, changes the rules so that integrity is not part of the game. The game is all about quid pro quo, just like the billions the government wants to give back to employers from the so-called WSIB surplus. Guess what? They did exactly the same thing before the last election: $1.2 billion of WSIB money back to employers. Why throw injured workers under the bus again? Because they’re doing the same thing right now, because there’s so much room for quid pro quo. The employers will fund you guys; you give the money back to them later—quid pro quo.", "In the meantime, what we see, actually, is that politics is a numbers game. Injured workers could never donate the kind of money that corporations can donate, so where’s the money going to go? They’re going to give the money back to employers, and in the meantime—" ] }, { "speaker": "Interjection", "text": [ "And who’s there for the injured workers?" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "Yes. And in the meantime, injured workers: What’s happened to them? So many—thousands—are living in poverty, are having to get ODSP just to survive. In 1998, the Conservative Harris government cut benefit rates from 90% of net to 85% of net and cut the contributions for loss of retirement income from 10% to 5% because they claimed that WSIB was in a financial crisis. The workers are in a financial crisis. Enough is enough. We need integrity in government. We don’t have it. Let’s get it." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Sandy Shaw", "text": [ "I’m proud to stand with our leader and with this caucus, with these MPPs who stand up every single day for transparency and integrity for the people of the province of Ontario. We’re all here as MPPs because we earned that trust, the trust of our constituents, and we in the official opposition NDP work every single day to continue to earn that trust. It’s not given; we earn it.", "The real mark of any government is how they conduct themselves once they are given power, and sadly, what Ontarians see is a government that’s only in it for themselves and their insiders, a government that’s all about power and profit, a government that consistently makes policy and funding decisions which benefit their donors. Nowhere is this more blatant that with the $8.5-billion greenbelt scandal, a scandal that will long be remembered not just because of the government’s blatant disregard for our farmland and for our wetlands, but because it made crystal clear that these dealings were a thank-you gift to wealthy donors and friends of the Premier—preferential treatment.", "In fact, your government continues to be under a cloud of suspicion and RCMP investigation. The branch of the RCMP that is investigating this is the sensitive and international investigations unit, which looks into cases involving corruption and politics. Need I say more? This is a reputation that no government, no elected member, should want to be part of.", "Now Ontarians believe, because of these $1,000-a-plate fundraisers, that they must make political donations to cabinet ministers to be heard. Cabinet ministers, it must be underscored, are responsible for spending billions of taxpayer dollars, and they make important decisions on behalf of the people of the province of Ontario.", "1620", "I’m confident that government members on this side will vote to support this motion, because when you were in opposition, you had strong words for the Liberals and their cash-for-access culture. From Hansard: Your former leader Patrick Brown said, “There are big loopholes in this cash-for-access reform. Ministers can fundraise off stakeholders,” and “news broke last” week “that ministers had fundraising targets to raise off their stakeholders.” Sound familiar?", "To be blunt, from the greenbelt to Ontario Place, your government is earning the exact same reputation as the Liberals. The Liberals’ cash-for-access scandal? It seems to me that when the Premier said that, he just said, “Hold my beer, Ontario. Let’s see what I can do.” Imagine a place where the Premier cuts deals, friends and insiders get rich, and the public pays. It’s all happening here, folks. That place is Ontario. The grift is real.", "Do you know what else is happening in Ontario? Children are going to school hungry, and food banks can’t keep up. In Ontario, 7.6 million times, people visited food banks in Ontario, and that number is growing in staggering amounts. It’s terrible.", "In Hamilton, Ancaster Community Services said that almost 50% of people they serve are children, and they have seen an increase of 200% since 2019. Hamilton Jewish Family Services said that the list of families who need our help continues to grow. Salvation Army Dundas community and family services said that they had the highest number of clients they’ve ever served since they’ve been open. This continues to be happening in a province where—this is the only government, the only place in Ontario where the government refuses to provide funding to food banks.", "And make no mistake, this government is spending big; they’re just not spending it on you. They’re spending $50 million on ads to convince us how great they’re doing, while the reality is, kids are going to school hungry.", "That $50 million that you’re spending to pat yourself on the back and to brag—that would fill a lot of hungry bellies in this province. These are families, these are people who can’t afford $1,000 a plate—$1,000 for a plate of food. Think about what that would mean to these working-poor families. That has got to be close to a year’s worth of food for these families, and you are spending it raising money, which is, essentially—you are currying favour. You’re looking—to this government to do your bidding. You have the money. The people of the province of Ontario are struggling.", "So I say to the big money in Ontario that is now fully in the backrooms of this province, that is fully setting policy trends in this province: If you can afford $1,000 a plate, you can afford to donate to the food banks in your community. They need the money more than the cabinet ministers need it in this province. They’re going hungry while these people are having a complete feast on behalf of the taxpayers of the province of Ontario." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Chris Glover", "text": [ "Madam Speaker, what if I told you I know a place where you can invest money and get a 2,667% return on that? Wow, wouldn’t that be a great investment? Wouldn’t you think, “Man, I would do a lot to—that would be worth the investment. I might even attend a dinner or maybe go to a wedding or something.”", "Do you know what? In the United States, they actually have a return on investment for lobbyists. They do the calculation. Yes, they do. According to Forbes, the top 10 Fortune 100 companies that spent the most on lobbying had a return on investment of 1,000 to 1. That means for every dollar they spent on lobbying, the companies received $1,000 in federal contracts and grants. This is, of course, the United States.", "The American Jobs Creation Act: They did a calculation that companies that invested in lobbyists for that had their tax rate reduced from 35% to 5%. The research showed that the return on lobbying for these multinational corporations was 22,000%. That is a heck of a good return on investment. That means for every dollar spent on lobbying, the company got $220 in tax benefits.", "I hate to say it, but we had a similar scandal here in Ontario. Under the former Liberal government, we had a cash-for-access scandal where you were also talking about return on investment. They were hiring lobbyists—if you wanted to meet with a minister, you just had to cough up $1,000 a plate and attend dinner, and you could rub elbows with the minister, and you could talk about land that you might be buying or an investment that you might want or maybe a tax cut that you might need. At the time, on August 24, when this broke, the Liberals were defensive. The minister at the time, one of the Liberal ministers, said, “You don’t want to craft rules by way of legislation ... that will prohibit every MPP who is also a minister to engage in even local ... fundraising.”", "Then, the Conservatives and the Liberals—we were all on this side of the House at the time, all in opposition. We said, “This is a scandal. This is abuse of the minister’s power, and it’s a waste of our tax dollars, because it means that we’re not getting the best investment for our tax dollars. It’s actually going to somebody who’s paying $1,000 a plate to rub shoulders with the minister.”", "The Conservative leader at the time was adamant—he said, “I will end the Wynne Liberal practice of cash for access.” In order to restore public confidence and end cash-for-access loopholes, the Conservative leader announced that a PC government would introduce new measures to ban political parties from setting fundraising targets for ministers and ban ministers from fundraising off of those they do business with. Thank goodness.", "Then, the Conservatives were elected, and they’re now on that side of the House.", "And, what do you know, last week, Global News reported that Ontario—this is the headline: “Ontario Cabinet Ministers”—these are Conservative Ontario cabinet ministers—“Given Fundraising Targets Ahead of Potential Early Election.” Isn’t that shocking? But do you know what? When our leader, the NDP leader, asked about this, the Attorney General got up and said, “There was an email that was sent by mistake.” We thought, “Oh, well, that’s good. So they’re going to retract that email, and they’re going to cancel all those cash-for-access scandals”—I mean, cash-for-access dinners, not scandals. They’re scandalous dinners is what they are. Anyway, that didn’t quite happen, because over the last five days—in fact, in coming days—so, on November 25, you want to meet with the Solicitor General? That’s a $1,500 plate. On November 26, an evening to support the Ontario PC Party—Trillium news says, usually, if there’s not a minister mentioned, then that means that the Premier will show up. That’s $1,000. You want to meet with the Minister of Economic Development? That’s $1,000. You want to meet with the Minister of Health? That’s a $1,000 breakfast. You want to meet with the Premier? That’s a $1,000 lunch, on November 29. This is just four days of fundraising where you can rub shoulders.", "So what happened to the Conservatives’ concern about cash for access?", "I’ve got to say, it’s really, really shameful that the Conservatives, when they were on this side of the House, said, “Oh, cash for access is really bad,” but now they’re on that side of the House, and they are selling off our public assets, our public services, the government contracts, tax cuts, and all for the benefit of their friends and to the detriment of the taxpayers and the people of this province. And they’re talking about an election coming up. With all these cash-for-access dinners and lunches and breakfasts, it’s not an election; it’s an auction. It’s an auction of our public assets and services.", "So I am asking the Conservative government to please do what you said and cancel all these cash-for-access scandals, because if you do not, hopefully the people of Ontario will do the same thing to you, to this party, that they did to the Liberals with their cash-for-access scandal, and you will be decimated in this next election, and you will end up sitting back over here. And then the NDP will get a chance, and we’ll actually bring in a government with integrity that serves the people of this province, first and foremost." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. John Vanthof", "text": [ "It’s always an honour to stand in the House.", "Today we’re talking about cash for access, and I’d like to quote three experts on cash for access. The first is The Wizard of Id, a political comic strip from 1972. The king in that comic strip was promising the peasants that he was going to change election fundraising rules, but he turned to the wizard and said, “Right after the next election.” And one of the peasants said, “And by then, it will be too late.”", "1630", "It must be an interesting discussion in the cabinet on the other side—because the next expert in cash for access I’d like to quote is the minister of economic trade and development. In 2016, during the Liberals’ cash for access, he asked a question to the government. He said—and this is a direct quote from Hansard—“Thank you. I’ll try again, Speaker. I can appreciate why, because they know what we’re going to talk about here. They know they got caught yet again. They know I’m going to talk about the Liberal cash-for-access fundraisers that they have. They know that. They know that’s coming, so why don’t we just spend the time right now talking about the fact that the government has held, over the last two years, 90 of these cash-for-access fundraisers. That’s why they’ve scrambled this bill together, to have us debating this bill, as a distraction from the fact of why we’re doing this: the fact that they got caught yet again with these cash-for-access fundraisers. We’ll talk about a couple of them, because they really do affect the economies in Ontario, and the burden that this has placed on families….", "“There were 90 pay-to-access fundraisers over two years. It only increases the perception that the Wynne Liberals have turned the government into a money-making machine for the Liberal Party, and that is just beyond the pale. That tells you where their focus is….", "“If we have this government write the rules, there’s none of the restrictions for the cash for access to these ministers. That doesn’t get fixed. So the real problem that started all of this is allowed to continue. Instead, they’ve glossed over and papered over, with big announcements—written on a napkin at the kitchen table—all the stories and how wonderful it is.”", "And do you know what, Speaker? Nothing has changed. That was the member from Nipissing." ] }, { "speaker": "Interjection", "text": [ "The member changed." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. John Vanthof", "text": [ "Yes.", "The other one I would like to quote is the government House leader. From November 30, 2017: “My question is for the Deputy Premier. For 14 years this government has played fast and loose with the rules, bending and breaking many of them. The fact of the matter is that this Liberal government is untrustworthy. The Wynne Liberals gave access to cabinet ministers and strong-armed companies that do business with Ontario for the benefit of the Liberal Party. They reward those donors by granting them expensive contracts and corporate handouts.”", "The Liberals changed the rules and left loopholes. The current government won, and they made the loopholes bigger. They are doing exactly the same thing. They’re angry because they got caught doing exactly the same thing that the previous Liberal government did.", "I hope that the two cabinet ministers who made the case so strongly vote with this motion." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "I want to, first of all, thank my colleagues, all of them here who spoke so eloquently.", "I was disappointed that the government members couldn’t bring themselves to speak about issues like integrity and accountability.", "As our House leader here just mentioned, I want to remind people that when this government was in opposition on this side of the House, they called out the previous Liberals for their cash-for-access scandals. They said they were going to do things differently, and when they were given an opportunity, not only did they loosen up the rules further, but they actually raised the maximum donation so they can rake in more cash.", "Speaker, we’re not talking about $25-a-head spaghetti dinners here, right? We—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "I apologize to the Leader of the Opposition.", "I was just notified that I broke a rule, and I need to fix that mistake. I needed to call three times further debate to make sure that the other side got their chance, and I didn’t do that.", "I do apologize, and I will call: Further debate? Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Doug Downey", "text": [ "I think the Leader of the Opposition thought that she was in her closing two minutes when there were still two minutes in their main part, so I don’t think it was your mistake, Speaker.", "I was going to start off by saying that I sat here and I listened to everybody, notwithstanding the member from Niagara saying that we weren’t listening. I listened to every single word. I took notes. It was really a master class in the breach of the rules of procedure.", "Madam Speaker, you must be so patient to listen to them use unparliamentary language and have us not call them on it. It was really a diatribe of allegations and false, unavowed motives, as per 25(h) and (i). It was littered with unparliamentary language.", "Nonetheless, as they self-congratulate each other about their cleverness, I just want to be clear that fundraising is a part of a healthy democracy—it’s where all the parties can ensure the resources to run and participate in successful campaigns. We’re keeping our system open. We’re keeping it transparent. We’re keeping it fair. It’s a level playing field for all parties. It’s not only legal; it’s transparent, and people can follow who donates to what. Political fundraising ensures that all the parties, from the major ones to the smaller ones, the ones in here and the ones that want to be in here, all have a chance to thrive in our democratic system.", "I’m proud of our democratic institutions that have been part of our history. We have laws in Canada dating back to 1974 that encourage transparency across all political parties. We have laws that govern how parties and candidates are funded. These laws require disclosure of donor identities and, in some cases, even pose limits on how much they can donate.", "Like all political parties across Ontario and the country, we fundraise. It’s an important part of the job. We need to acknowledge that it isn’t free or cheap to do politics. Whether it’s renting a campaign office, getting signs, polling, food for volunteers, and so much more, the funds need to be obtained to keep the campaigns going. Ontario’s regulations level that playing field. All political parties, whether in power or opposition, or whether they aspire to be in power, or whether they stay in opposition and don’t aspire to be in power, must adhere to the same rules. This ensures that the fundraising process is open and fair. Every donation is recorded, every donation is publicly available—above $200, but I’ll get back to that—so voters can scrutinize the money behind political campaigns.", "We are committed to upholding the democratic principles that govern Ontario, and that extends to election finances. After receiving unanimous support from all parties just recently, the per-vote subsidy introduced 10 years ago will remain in place. This measure will continue to ensure fairness and a level playing field for all participants. With the support of all parties in the Legislature, the Ontario government extended the payment of quarterly allowances to registered political parties and their constituency associations for another two years. This bill was a recommendation by Ontario’s Chief Electoral Officer, which was made after the 2022 provincial election. We’ll continue the current per-vote subsidy program through to 2026 to ensure a balance of public and private financing in the province’s elections. The amount of the allowance is set for the next two years, as it was in 2024. The amendments reassert the role of individual voters.", "With the bill, our government is ensuring that Ontarians’ voices continue to be heard with every vote they cast and that individuals remain at the centre of the electoral process. Again, we want to make sure that Ontarians’ voices are heard.", "We congratulate the NDP and the Liberals on their fundraising efforts recently and to come, because it’s a part of what keeps the spirit of democracy alive in Ontario. It’s important for us to have a healthy and strong opposition for our democratic institutions to function on a high level.", "The NDP, as I’ve said earlier in the House, had a successful fundraiser this past summer, bringing together supporters to raise $1.2 million in the third quarter—their highest ever in a non-election year. The Liberals have a $1,500 fundraiser tonight and another $3,300 fundraiser in December. Fundraisers like this are crucial for any political party to operate and make it possible to achieve their goals.", "I want to correct the image being painted by the NDP here that fundraising, by definition, is a bad act. Donating to political parties is a way for people to choose to contribute to our democracy, and fundraisers are a way to bring politics outside of Queen’s Park into our communities." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate? Further debate?", "I’m going to go back to the leader of His Majesty’s loyal opposition." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "As I was saying earlier, the Conservatives talked a good game, when they were in opposition, about the cash-for-access culture of the previous Liberal government. When given the opportunity, though, they loosened up the rules even further. Not only that, they raised the maximum donation so they could cash in even further.", "Interjection." ] }, { "speaker": "Ms. Marit Stiles", "text": [ "That’s right.", "What Conservatives are doing is saying to organizations, to municipalities, to anyone who wants anything done by this government, “If you want to get that done, you need to pay up.” That’s what’s happening here in the province of Ontario. Ministers of the crown are charging people big bucks to sit down with a cabinet minister. My members here today spoke very eloquently about some examples of that, of what that means for real people—for folks like families with children of autism; families with kids who need additional supports in schools; or First Nations leaders who come here, fighting for their communities, and can’t get the minister’s ear. We talked about students. We talked about seniors. We talked about injured workers. We talked about people who are struggling every single day. They deserve so much better than this, but they can’t get this government to work for them because they can’t afford to pony up $1,500 for a muffin and a glass of orange juice. My goodness.", "None of this is going to change unless we make real change here in the province of Ontario and elect a government with real integrity, with real accountability. That’s what we’re going to do. That’s our offer to Ontarians." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "MPP Stiles has moved opposition day motion number 4. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard a no.", "All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”", "All those opposed will please say “nay.”", "In my opinion, the nays have it.", "Call in the members. There will be a 10-minute bell.", "The division bells rang from 1643 to 1653." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Members will please take their seats.", "MPP Stiles has moved opposition day motion number 4. All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "All those opposed to the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk." ] }, { "speaker": "The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Trevor Day)", "text": [ "The ayes are 29; the nays are 63." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "I declare the motion lost.", "Motion negatived." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "I recognize the member of Essex on a point of order." ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Anthony Leardi", "text": [ "Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to see the clock at 6." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Do we have unanimous consent to see the clock at 6? Agreed." ] } ]

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[ { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Pursuant to standing order 100, the member has 12 minutes for her presentation." ] }, { "speaker": "Mrs. Daisy Wai", "text": [ "Thank you to my colleagues for the opportunity to speak on an issue that is deeply important to me: recognizing the invaluable experiences of retirees and how they can support our future by passing their experience on to the next generation.", "I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues the esteemed Minister Raymond Cho, MPP Lorne Coe and MPP Anthony Leardi for speaking on this bill today and for their support on this important initiative.", "Today, we stand together to acknowledge that retirees are not just individuals who have stopped working, but are in many ways the backbone of the communities, our economy and our future. Their life experiences, skills and knowledge remain crucial assets that help shape the present and will continue to shape the future of Ontario.", "Retiree Experience Awareness Day will be held annually on June 15, the midpoint of Seniors’ Month. This day is not merely about reflection on the past; it is about celebrating retirees for who they are today. They are active, engaged and deeply committed to making Ontario a better place for everyone.", "1700", "Through this day, we hope to foster a culture of respect, engagement and collaboration across generations, but most importantly passing their valuable experiences, skills, insights—the shortcuts and the lessons that they have learned—on to the next generation. After a lifetime of hard work, dedication and service, retirees deserve our respect, recognition and support.", "This bill, the Retiree Experience Awareness Day Act, is one that I am incredibly proud to present. I would like to achieve three things through this bill:", "(1) Give our retirees the recognition and appreciation they deserve.", "(2) Draw awareness on challenges of labour shortages as our retiree population grows.", "(3) Strategic planning and careful handling will create a healthy and vibrant retiree community, one that will save expenses on health care and bring forth economic growth.", "It goes without saying that our seniors deserve our respect and recognition for what they have done in building our province and their family. We should show our love and appreciation to them.", "It is only now that people start to realize the challenge of the labour shortage. This will be more serious as the years go by. Ontario, like many provinces across Canada, is facing a democratic shift. Our population is aging and the workforce is shrinking. This presents serious challenges, particularly in key sectors like health care, education and skilled trades.", "Based on 65 as the age of retirement, there were over 800,000 retirements in the last five years. The record wave of retirements created challenges of labour shortages for companies and businesses. More than one in five people, which is 21.8%, are close to retirement age; they are between 55 and 64 years. This is an all-time high. It created challenges of knowledge transfer, retaining experienced employees and workforce renewal. The wave of retirements is hastening a mass exodus of skilled workers, leaving businesses scrambling and making wages higher.", "Recognizing the experience that our seniors accumulated over the years not only gives them a sense of pride and satisfaction on what they have accomplished in their life, it is most important for the future development of our next generation. Now is the time to direct them to continue being active in the labour market and to help mentor the younger generation. When digital technology from the next generation meets with experience from the retirees, it will build an even stronger economy for Ontario.", "We have a wealth of experienced, knowledgeable and skilled individuals in our retirees who have already given so much to our province. They represent an untapped resource that can help us address the labour shortages that we are seeing now.", "During my visit with a group called Probus in Richmond Hill and some other senior groups meeting at various community activities and churches, they shared with me that they want to be valued, they want to be respected, and they are proud of their professions and contributions. They want to continue to contribute, not just for money but rather for the recognition that they can have. They want to use their time wisely in a meaningful way. At the same time, they still want to treasure the freedom that they can enjoy using their retirement years in a good way.", "I’ve given it a lot of thought with this, and that motivates me to create this bill, the Retiree Experience Awareness Day Act. I would therefore encourage corporations to employ retirees to work for maybe two half days a week. This can deliver the best of both worlds. Through the establishment of the Retiree Experience Awareness Day Act, we are encouraging corporations to support seniors to share their knowledge and experience with the younger generation. This day serves as an opportunity to not only recognize retirees but to learn from them. By encouraging them to share their experiences, we bridge the generation gap and foster a greater understanding and mutual respect between our seniors and younger Ontarians.", "Retirees bring unmatched experience to the workforce. They have the skills, the wisdom and the understanding that comes from decades of hard work. Many are highly trained professionals with a wealth of knowledge and insights to share. By allowing retirees to continue working even in a limited capacity, we not only benefit from their expertise but also help strengthen the local economy. When retirees remain engaged in the workforce, they help stimulate local economies by spending in their communities, supporting small businesses, and then they can use the extra revenue that they receive through this special time that they dedicate to, and they can use that and enjoy their life in a free way. Often, these are the ones that are most important clients for cruises, I suppose.", "As the parliamentary assistant to the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility, I’m deeply committed to ensure that seniors remain active in society. Our government recognizes that seniors are not only just recipients of care but active contributors to their communities. We have made great strides in creating programs that allow seniors to remain engaged. Through mentorship programs, volunteer opportunities and partnerships with local businesses, retirees continue to encourage lives of Ontarians.", "One of the most compelling reasons to encourage retirees to remain engaged is the direct impact it can have on their health. Numerous studies have shown that seniors who stay active—whether through part-time work, volunteerism or simply staying connected with others—tend to have better physical and mental health outcomes. Seniors who are engaged in their communities experience lower rates of depression and anxiety. They are less likely to suffer from chronic diseases and more likely to maintain a positive outlook in life. In fact, staying active in retirement has been shown to increase life expectancy and improve overall quality of life. By creating opportunities for retirees to remain involved in the workforce or volunteer roles, we help them stay healthier and more connected to their communities. This not only benefits the retirees but also the communities they serve. Healthy, engaged seniors are better able to contribute to society in meaningful ways, enriching the lives of everyone around them.", "Additionally, staying active can help retirees feel a sense of purpose. After years of working, raising families, retirement can sometimes leave individuals feeling disconnected. By providing opportunities to continue involvement, we give retirees the chance to continue making a difference and to live a fulfilling and purposeful life.", "In closing, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this important initiative, Retiree Experience Awareness Day. This bill is about more than just recognizing the past contributions of retirees; it is about celebrating their continued role in building a stronger and more vibrant Ontario. Help our seniors turn a new page in their life.", "By honouring our retirees, we send a message that we value their hard work and ongoing involvement in our communities. Let us use this day to recognize the past, celebrate the present and encourage their future contributions. Together, we can build a province that not only cares for its seniors, but actively seeks to involve them in every aspect of our society.", "Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I welcome any questions.", "1710" ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "MPP Lise Vaugeois", "text": [ "I think it’s grand to declare a day to honour seniors, but I really have a lot of concerns about what we are not doing for seniors. Many, many seniors are working well past the age of 65, carrying two jobs, having trouble putting food on the table, having trouble finding an affordable place to live.", "The retired teachers’ organization were here today, and they were telling me that 12% of seniors’ families and 28% of single seniors are living in poverty. So they’re not going to be suddenly getting to the age of 65 and saying “Gee, I hope I can volunteer somewhere.” At best, they’re saying “Oh, I can’t work at my one job anymore, I don’t have the capacity. Maybe I’m going to have to be a greeter at Walmart for minimum wage.” And 60% of the workforce do not have pension plans. So that’s what I learned from the retired teachers’ organization this morning.", "That’s very serious. There’s a certain class of people who reach the age of 65 who have retirement pensions available, and actually, most of them are from the unionized workforce. We have, for example, Unifor 222. They are able to be retired and they have a comfortable living, so they’re actually using their time to fight against this government and try and support other workers who can’t afford to retire because they didn’t have that union protection. Another group of retirees, the Ontario Health Coalition, is also spending their time volunteering and fighting the health care decisions of this government because they see that money keeps being poured into for-profit health care and removed from public health care.", "So those are very, very active seniors, but there are some pretty awful things that happened this year to seniors, and one of those things is the renoviction of 200 seniors from Heritage Glen in Mississauga. And the government was nowhere—nowhere—to help them. What was particularly upsetting was that two or three months after they’d been forcibly evicted—some had been there for 25 years and were under rent control, so how on earth were they going to find another place to live for $1,500 a month? It’s extremely traumatic for those seniors. But several months later, they got a letter from the Minister of Housing saying, “You’re protected by the Landlord and Tenant Board. You don’t actually have to move until you’ve had a hearing,” definitely long after the train had left the station on that one.", "In the meantime, there’s another group of seniors who’ve been evicted from a place in Norwich. This is in Minister Rickford’s riding, Trillium Care Norwich, a small retirement home. There were corruption charges. There was something going on in the home. Apparently, as much as $50,000 was lost in fraud. Now, that’s ongoing, but for whatever reason the home decided that—and, by the way, they were trying to increase rent. Maybe I can’t find that bit, but they were basically—oh, yes: from $1,500 to $3,920 a month.", "Can you imagine, having planned for your retirement on whatever resources you had and suddenly being told that your rent is more than doubled, two and a half times your rent? And to top it off, they got two weeks’ notice to move out. Now, that’s not legal, but again, who was there to help them?", "Both of these places were privately owned, and that is part of the problem, is that seniors’ residences are for-profit operations. They’re land trusts. Basically, they can do whatever they want, and they are harming seniors either by overcharging or by renovicting people out of their homes. A very, very serious thing that took place is continuing to take place. People are very, very worried about it.", "Then there’s Bill 7 and what has happened with people being forced out of hospitals into long-term care not of their choosing. I have a story from somebody from Kenora. His family wrote and said, “You promised that seniors would not be harmed by Bill 7, but they are.” This 95-year-old man from Fort Frances is being sent 90 kilometres away from his friends and his only relative, his disabled son. He can’t hear the phone, and his son, who has a disability, has been told to take a taxi to visit him. Who’s got the money for that? His disabled son certainly doesn’t.", "We know that there are over 400—in fact, 424 people have been moved into nursing homes that they didn’t choose, and many have been forced into locations so far from their families that social isolation is, in fact, being forced onto those seniors and onto those families who aren’t able to visit them—again, a very, very serious issue.", "I want to take a minute to talk about Voula’s Law, motion 129, that was unanimously supported by the House. The idea was to really affirm to anybody living in long-term care or a seniors’ residence that management could not use the Trespass to Property Act to prevent people from coming to visit.", "So what’s happening is that somebody may be going to visit their parent in a home, and they might be making a fuss. They might not be happy about the care that their parent is given, and what happens in too many cases is that the home calls the police and says, “We’re going to use the Trespass to Property Act to prevent you from visiting your parent in the home.”", "Now, it’s actually not legal to do that. The Residents’ Bill of Rights, which is supposedly—the Minister of Housing has said repeatedly, “Problem solved. We’ve fixed the problem. It says in the Residents’ Bill of Rights that nobody has the right to determine who can come and visit you.” But until police are trained to actually know how that law works—so, the only person with the right to say, “No, you can’t come and visit,” is the resident themselves in their unit. Their unit is their castle. It’s their home; it’s meant to be their home. They have the right to say, “Yes, you can come and visit,” or “No, I don’t want you to come.”", "But management staff do not have that right. It’s not legal. So why is this happening? I can tell you, apart from the highways, I have more mail and cases on this than anything since I became elected: dozens, unfortunately. Why does it keep happening? Because there are no consequences to the homes. Nothing happens. All the burden falls on the family members. If they want to get rid of that illegal trespass, they’ve got to hire a lawyer and go to court. So that’s why it’s still going on.", "I have written to every single ministry about this. I’ve written to the Solicitor General about this, and we’ve made the case again, and again and again. In fact, that’s what was supposed to be resolved in 2021, but it’s still going on. I desperately would like to work together with members on the other side of the House to figure out how to stop that practice so that families are able to see people in care and they are able to choose.", "If somebody is causing a problem, there are other legal remedies. If I’m abusing my parent, for example, there are ways of dealing with that, but the Trespass to Property Act is not appropriate. It’s not legal, and we need to work together to end that.", "I’d like to talk a little bit, in the couple of minutes I have left, about the problems with home care, nursing home care and the difference in wages in those settings.", "1720", "We know that there’s an enormous gap in the number of PSWs available to help people, to provide care. We know that they get paid about $18 an hour for home care. They’re not paid for their travel time. They’re not paid for their parking. They lose money, actually, every time they go to look after somebody. So it’s no surprise that it’s a revolving door and that you never see the same person twice. In long-term care, wages are slightly better, and people stay a little longer. But the best pay is in hospitals. What we need is a pay scale that is equitable—that you get paid the same amount for the same work.", "The problem is the same with nurses. It’s the same with nurse practitioners.", "There’s a profound inequality in how people are paid, and that is the reason we cannot retain people as PSWs, as nurses, as physios, as occupational therapists—people the elderly, our parents and ourselves, need as we age.", "I think it’s wonderful that we can honour retirees and respect what they’ve contributed and respect the knowledge that they still have, which I think is really behind the motion. The bill that you have presented today is to remind people that because you’ve reached the age of 65, 75, 85, whatever—you may still be very able to make a contribution.", "Many want to make those contributions, but we need to recognize that those who are in a position to volunteer their time have the money to do it, and they probably had union jobs. There are many, many people who are not in that position, who are really struggling to keep food on the table.", "I can tell you, because my mom is turning 97 in a week—she’s also a super senior, but she has needed care, and it has been very, very hard to get it. She needed PSW support after an injury. It just didn’t work—because you’ve got a rotation, and people don’t stay in those positions because they’re not paid respectfully.", "I hope that we can work together on solving Voula’s Law, that problem.", "I hope that we can also recognize that not all seniors are in a position—they’re not living easily, they’re—" ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Thank you.", "I’ll just remind members to make their comments through the Chair, not across the floor. Thank you very much.", "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho", "text": [ "I stand today in support of one of the very best MPPs and her private member’s bill. Daisy Wai, MPP for Richmond Hill, is bringing forth an incredible bill that I call on the entire Legislature and all of our members to unanimously support. Her Retiree Experience Awareness Day Act captures all the great things about being a senior and celebrating our stage in life. As a super senior myself, I know first-hand that this private member’s bill will give seniors and those who choose to retire an extra way of showcasing their talents, passion and skills.", "That is why June 15 is the right day and the right time of year to celebrate MPP Wai’s great gift to retirees. It is truly a great gift to retirees. It is in the middle of Seniors’ Month. What better day than one right in the middle of celebrating an entire month devoted to seniors?", "Just because you are retired does not mean that you go away; in fact, it means the exact opposite.", "Look at me. I retired as a social worker from the city of Toronto and am now in my 34th year representing the people of Scarborough—", "Interjections." ] }, { "speaker": "Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho", "text": [ "Thank you—as a city councillor and MPP and Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, and I’m only an 88-years-young man. I’m just getting started. Is this what retirement looks like? I don’t know.", "What I do know is that this private member’s bill will give communities and organizations across the province the opportunity to recognize those who are making contributions to our society. It will acknowledge and celebrate the experience that they have and bring to whatever they’re going to do in the next chapter in their lives.", "That is why I applaud MPP Daisy Wai for not only being a great MPP for Richmond Hill, not only being the best parliamentary assistant in our government, but for being so thoughtful and considerate with her private member’s bill.", "I will support June 15 next year, and every year hereafter, as Retiree Experience Awareness Day.", "I hope that MPP Daisy Wai will get unanimous support from every member in this Legislature." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Anthony Leardi", "text": [ "It’s my pleasure to stand and support the bill that’s before us tonight, An Act to proclaim Retiree Experience Awareness Day. It’s put forward by my colleague the member from Richmond Hill, who is an inspiration to all of us and a super senior. Maybe if I work hard enough and I have the proper attitude, I might be a super senior—with her proper attitude—one day myself.", "I often say that we don’t spend enough time in this House praising the accomplishments of our colleagues. So as I speak to the bill proclaiming Retiree Experience Awareness Day, I’d like to take this opportunity to spend a little time praising my colleague from Richmond Hill for her accomplishments.", "She has been in service to the community for over 25 years now, and she is a former business owner herself. She has sat on various boards, including the York Regional Police Service Board, the Mackenzie Health board, Central Community Care Access Centre, the Easter Seals society, and the Self-Employment Development Initiative.", "That, in and of itself, would be a fine record of achievement and of giving back to the community, but she has actually done even more than that. She was also the chair of the board of the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce, the vice-chair of the Markham Board of Trade, and past president of the Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan Chinese Business Association.", "That’s a remarkable record of community involvement and giving back to a community.", "As I said, this is an act which is supposed to recognize the experience of our retirees. So I wanted to take that opportunity to praise the member from Richmond Hill, because she’s a fine example of what we’re trying to accomplish with this bill.", "Let me tell you a little bit more about her. She served on the board of the Light House and the Character Council of York Region. She is actively involved in her church community. She’s a recipient of the civic leadership award from York Regional Police, a Women of Distinction Award from the city of Markham, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Memorial Medal, as well as the Diamond Jubilee Medal.", "You don’t have to be all of those things in order to be respectable and to give back to your community. But what a remarkable series of accomplishments from the member from Richmond Hill. I wanted to take that opportunity to give her praise for all of the stuff that she has done.", "Let’s look at this act as an opportunity for us to draw on the experiences of our retirees and apply them to everyday life. June 15 is the day selected for this particular recognition. I think June 15 is a wonderful day. It’s a very special day for me, and now I have a second special reason to celebrate that day. June 15 is probably one of the best days of the year in my life, and now I have a second special reason to celebrate it, because my wonderful colleague has given us another opportunity to celebrate.", "1730", "I want to congratulate her as a super senior and encourage everyone to vote for this bill." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mr. Lorne Coe", "text": [ "Tonight I’m pleased to be able to speak to Bill 217.", "I believe that the proposed Retiree Experience Awareness Day provides us with an opportunity to prospect, in collaboration with local municipalities, senior-youth mentorship programs to help build relationships and encourage shared knowledge between generations. Any adult can be a mentor, but seniors are particularly positioned to make unique contributions. Not only do they have plenty of wisdom and experience to share, but their potential is often undervalued and underutilized. Mentorship puts these untapped resources to good use. Factor in that seniors are living longer, are healthier than ever before and growing in number, and they’ve become the perfect candidates for filling key mentorship roles within their own communities, like Whitby. And it works. The attention, guidance, and support of seniors has been proven to help young men and women become more aware, self-confident and, yes, capable people. The benefits hardly go one way, though. Older adults can also derive fulfillment as well as a sense of value and purpose. Not only do young men and women gain access to the support they need, but seniors also thrive when given a chance to make a difference.", "Community involvement through mentoring and the transfer of retiree experience is a powerful tool for young people, providing them with valuable opportunities to explore their interests, develop lifelong skills and build meaningful relationships as they take control of their own learning journey.", "As a government, we’re committed to helping all Ontario seniors live their best lives. Our goal is to ensure that seniors today and all of those who will one day join their ranks are able to age with respect and dignity and remain healthy, independent and as active as they wish—for example, through retiree knowledge-sharing. I’ve seen the evidence and effect of this sharing in my own riding, as I visit the retirement homes and long-term-care homes in the town of Whitby.", "My thanks to MPP Wai and our Minister for Seniors and Accessibility for what they’ve done for the seniors’ community—not only for the town of Whitby, but other parts of the region of Durham and other parts of the province of Ontario.", "Thank you for the opportunity to speak to this great bill. With this bill and its adoption here tonight, you’ll make a substantial difference in the lives of seniors in our great province." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Further debate?", "I’ll go back to the member for Richmond Hill for a two-minute reply." ] }, { "speaker": "Mrs. Daisy Wai", "text": [ "I want to once again express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues Minister Raymond Cho, MPP Lorne Coe and MPP Anthony Leardi. I’d also like to say thank you to the member opposite from Thunder Bay–Superior North.", "Thank you for sharing your point of view and your speeches on the different aspects of keeping seniors active, healthier and engaged, as well as addressing the challenges in the labour market, in support of this bill.", "This bill—when I first think of it, it is really an awareness day to help the retirees, to make sure that we get their experience being appreciated and valued. I appreciate the member from Thunder Bay giving us the challenges of seniors, but perhaps my bill here is focusing more on really giving them the awareness, being on a positive side—exactly what I was told by people in my community. They want to be valued. They want to be respected. They are proud of their professions and contributions. We’re just giving ways for them to achieve that, and I hope this awareness day will make that difference.", "This bill is about more than just a day of recognition. It is a call to action and a step forward in creating a culture where retirees are celebrated not only for their past contributions but for the ongoing value they bring to our communities. I hope I will get the support from everyone in this House. Our seniors, as well—especially our retirees—will be encouraged by this bill." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "The time provided for private members’ public business has expired.", "MPP Wai has moved second reading of Bill 217, An Act to proclaim Retiree Experience Awareness Day.", "Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry?", "I declare the motion carried.", "Second reading agreed to." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Pursuant to standing order 108, the bill is referred to the Committee of the Whole House, unless the member—the MPP for Richmond Hill, do you want the bill to be sent to the Committee of the Whole House or another committee?" ] }, { "speaker": "Mrs. Daisy Wai", "text": [ "Social policy." ] }, { "speaker": "The Acting Speaker (MmeLucille Collard)", "text": [ "Is the majority in favour of the bill being referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy? Agreed.", "The bill is referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy.", "All matters related to private members’ public business having been completed, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 9 a.m.", "The House adjourned at 1737.", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "" ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Hardeep Singh Grewal", "text": [ "It’s great to rise this morning to talk about some of the great work that our government is doing.", "Under Premier Ford’s leadership, with the support of the great Minister of Transportation, our government is committed to addressing congestion and improving travel times across Ontario through Bill 212, Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act. This legislation focuses on managing the impact of bike lanes in high-traffic areas to enhance efficiency on our roadways.", "In Toronto, bike lanes on major streets like Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue have contributed to significant delays. While cycling infrastructure remains vital, our primary responsibility is to ensure the efficient traffic flow in our busiest corridors. With gridlock costing the Ontario economy $11 billion each year, it’s time to take meaningful steps to address congestion and improve commute times for all Ontarians.", "Speaker, we understand the importance of safe cycling infrastructure and are committed to redirecting bike lanes to less congested routes. This approach ensures all road users can travel safely and efficiently. This is part of our broader plan to reduce congestion, which also includes Highway 413, a critical project that will ease traffic and reduce commute times for those in Peel region.", "Speaker, with Bill 212, we’re building a stronger, more efficient Ontario—a province where people spend less time in traffic and more time with their families, at work or in their communities.", "We’re getting it done. We’re reducing gridlock and we’re improving drive times across the province of Ontario." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Joel Harden", "text": [ "Liberty, to cite a famous expression, is the soul’s right to breathe. But if that soul can’t take a deep breath, our laws are too restrictive. Sadly, Speaker, I fear that’s what’s happening right now in my beloved city of Ottawa.", "For the last 13 months, Palestinian human rights events in our downtown have been peaceful without an incident. They involve families, including seniors and children.", "But six people have been arrested in the last week—some, unfortunately, violently arrested. The portable sound system folks have used was just confiscated. The release conditions of those who’ve been arrested, in my opinion, are an affront to charter rights. They are ordered to abstain from social media activity on issues of the Middle East and to avoid human rights assemblies. Speaker, I believe this is wrong, and I will be raising this with my colleagues in government, the Solicitor General and the Attorney General.", "1020", "Politicians do not direct the police—I want to be clear—but we are responsible for shaping policy on public safety and ensuring our civil liberties are protected. The rules for protest in any community in Ontario cannot simply change overnight. We have to set realistic expectations for our safety and our civil liberties. I am filing a formal complaint with the civilian members of our local Ottawa Police Service Board, and I invite members of Ottawa who share my concerns to do the same." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "MPP Zee Hamid", "text": [ "I rise today to highlight the incredible work done by an amazing foundation in my riding of Milton. The Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation is an incredible Milton-based charity started by wrestling legends, humanitarians and philanthropists Tiger Jeet Singh and his son Tiger Ali Singh. Their foundation, in partnership with Halton regional police and the Downtown Milton BIA, is excitedly preparing for their 16th annual Miracle on Main Street festival on December 7.", "Miracle on Main Street is an engaging, fun-filled and inclusive holiday festival with amusement rides, vendors, stage performances, concerts, pony rides and more. But even more heartwarming is that our community gathers in the spirit of generosity and kindness. Last year, the Miracle on Main Street drive raised over $1.1 million in combined donations and sponsorships. That meant that thousands of children in Ontario received Christmas gifts who otherwise might have gone without.", "As a resident of Milton, it is my honour and privilege to have attended the Miracle on Main event for many years. Each year, I have been deeply moved by the generosity, compassion and sense of community. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation, all of the sponsors, donors, business partners, volunteers and attendees." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Ms. Jessica Bell", "text": [ "Today is the international day to end violence against women. Violence against women is a worldwide issue and it affects us here in Ontario where, on average, a woman or a child loses their lives every six days because of men’s violence.", "I want to recognize the organization, Wrapped in Courage, who is here today in the Legislature. I want to recognize the countless women who have survived abuse and violence. I want to recognize the survivors and advocates who are demanding action.", "Last April, we made history. We convinced the Ontario government to support a bill declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic. But since then, progress has stalled. On the first day of the fall session this year, a simple motion to pass the bill was struck down. Every day of inaction puts lives at risk. Nearly 100 municipalities have declared intimate partner violence an epidemic, and provinces like Nova Scotia and BC are leading the charge. Ontario needs to catch up.", "This November 25, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we are calling on the Conservative government to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic. Lives are depending upon it.", "I invite you to a vigil tonight, in support of our cause and this cause. It will be hosted at 6 p.m. at Queen’s Park." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Ernie Hardeman", "text": [ "I always enjoy attending the royal winter fair and this year was no different. Held annually in Toronto, it’s when the country comes to the city for just a few days of celebration of everything agriculture. In fact, it’s become the largest indoor agriculture and equestrian event in the world, and it’s a place where Canadians can exhibit our world-class agriculture products and livestock.", "It also recognizes and celebrates those Canadians who have raised the bar in the agriculture and agri-food sector and demonstrated outstanding leadership in their local communities. One of the most prestigious honours at the fair is the Woman of Excellence in Agriculture Award, and I’m proud to say that this year’s winner is Oxford’s own Sue Hilborn.", "Sue has been involved in agriculture for over 50 years, attended the Royal Agricultural College and recently completed her 33rd season at RedBarn berries and veggies in Woodstock with her husband Don. She is a long-time vendor at our local farmers’ markets, as well as a big supporter of shopping and buying local. It’s always great to see her and Don when I visit the Woodstock Farmers’ Market; their fruits and veggies are some of the best around. She’s also involved in many local agricultural and charitable organizations, such as 4-H and VON Sakura House, our residential hospice.", "Congratulations, Sue, on being this year’s winner. Thank you for your dedication to agriculture and making Oxford a better place." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Guy Bourgouin", "text": [ "Every week, my constituents come to my offices and ask when the Northern Health Travel Grant will finally be updated. Last April, the government promised to bring coverage up to date with the cost associated with travelling for health care, but we’re still waiting for these changes to take effect. These updates are long overdue and people in my community are relying on them.", "There are families in my riding who have postponed medical appointments because they cannot afford the travel. One family had to travel to Ottawa four times this year, spending thousands of dollars of their own money because the travel grant doesn’t even come close to covering their costs. I wish I could tell these families that the update is in force and that they can book their flights to take their kids to surgery in Ottawa or plan to drive their parents to an appointment in Timmins, but the truth is the government is not following through on their promises.", "Speaker, how many more will be forced to dip into their savings or go into debt just to access health care? It is unacceptable for someone in this province to pay to access health care that every Ontarian is entitled to. We deserve a health care system that works for us, not one that makes us pay the price for living up north. My constituents need more than empty promises; they need action, and they need it now." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Anthony Leardi", "text": [ "Speaker, today I want to tell you about a great place called McGregor, Ontario. McGregor is the home of Wolfhead Distillery, where you can taste and purchase fine distilled products such as premium whisky, apple caramel whisky, coffee whisky liqueur and banana caramel vodka.", "McGregor is also the home of the region’s newest grain elevator, established by South Essex Grain. This state-of-the-art grain elevator will be able to process 30,000 bushels of wheat or other grains per hour and contributes to Ontario’s fantastic agricultural output.", "Also in McGregor is Walker Aggregates, which is expanding its quarry operations to continue supplying our builders with important aggregate to build Ontario’s highway and other key infrastructure.", "Finally, in McGregor, you can buy a vast variety of Ontario-grown and Ontario-made products, including meat, dairy, baked goods, fresh produce and more at the Farm House Market. It’s local food grown for locals at the Farm House Market.", "McGregor is a vibrant town making important contributions to Ontario’s economy and it is located in the beautiful county of Essex." ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Ted Hsu", "text": [ "Saturday, I spoke to a Queen’s University student who has started paying income tax and feels a new perspective on tax cuts—or paying billions to build Highway 413 that will be sheltered from an environmental assessment by Ontario’s current government.", "How do you get political parties to listen? Make a promise to vote. Students, you’re getting an Ontario stuck with unaffordable housing while other provinces are building faster. You’re hit with inflation, but you’ll pay a lot more into the Canada Pension Plan than you’ll get out. There are less of you to support retirees. Your government has to help you be more productive to make up the difference. Make a promise to vote.", "Students, your education was damaged by the pandemic. There’s a shortage of child care and educational assistants, and you feel the cuts from the underfunding of universities and colleges by the current government. Promise to vote.", "People aren’t working together because they’re angry. Leaders have given us social licence to be uncivil, and, to top it off, you’ve been handed a long-term threat to civilization: an earth that’s heating up and the enormous cost in damages and breakdowns that come with climate change.", "Ontario can do things to help fix all of these. Make all political parties adjust when you promise to vote.", "1030" ] } ]

[ { "speaker": "Mr. Brian Riddell", "text": [ "I’m honoured to stand before you today to share a few highlights from the Cambridge Santa Claus Parade. The Christmas parade is always a reminder of the incredible sense of community in our region. This year was no exception. It was heartwarming to see the citizens of Cambridge come together to celebrate the spirit of the holiday season.", "The smiles on the children’s faces and the energy that lit up the streets showed just how important these events are in bringing our community together. In fact, I only saw one unhappy face. He was dressed in all green and was calling himself the Grinch.", "The Cambridge Santa Claus parade had an astonishing turnout. Thousands gathered along the streets, making it one of the largest crowds I’ve ever seen for a Santa Claus parade.", "Many thanks to all the volunteers and people that participated. Their energy was contagious, and I’m looking forward to doing it all over again in the Ayr Santa Claus Parade.", "Reflecting on these events, I’m reminded of the incredible community we have in my riding.These festive parades are another example of the support that the people of Cambridge provide each year at this time of season." ] } ]