 It is now time for oral questions and I recognize the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you. Good morning, Speaker. Yesterday we learned that the federal government is going to heed the call of our party, of environmental groups, and of so many concerned Ontarians and intervened to protect the Green Belt. The federal minister cited the danger posed to species at risk and to our country's only national urban park as they announced a new study on the impacts of paving over the Green Belt. Speaker, there is growing public opposition to this land grab. There's an ongoing ethics inquiry and there are new federal interventions, so will the Premier finally stop his attack on our Green Belt? To reply, the government host leader. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Look, I can say this. The provincial government, this government is steadfast in its commitment to continue to build houses for the people of the province of Ontario. The federal government can either assist us in this motion or they can simply get out of the way. We have made it very clear since 2018 that we needed to build more houses in the province of Ontario. It has also been very clear that the opposition is against this. What we're seeing in Ontario is hope and optimism returning to this province for the first time in a long time. Why? Because we're bringing more jobs back to the province of Ontario. We have more jobs than people to fill those jobs and we're asking for over 300,000 people to come to Ontario to help us build a prosperous Ontario. And you know what they need? They want to have a home, Mr. Speaker. So we will continue to do that and I can't say it more clearly. The federal government, the opposition can either work with us or they can get out of the way so that we can continue to build a better home. That's your question. Mr. Speaker, the government house leader was there when Rouge Park was created. Now he's willing to put it all at risk so a few friends of the Premier can make a quick buck. That is so disappointing. Back to the Premier, Parks Canada said the government's green belt carve-up is going to cause irreversible harm to wildlife. The federal government says the risks are real. This government muzzled the Green Belt Council. It's becoming increasingly clear that consultation did not happen, not at all. And so my question to the Premier is beyond the guests at his family function, who did he consult on the impacts of his green belt carve-up? Yes, Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is quite correct. I was there when the Rouge National Urban Park was being created because the Rouge National Urban Park for the most part is in my riding. And what we did at the time, Mr. Speaker, is we took 5,000 acres of land that was scheduled to be part of the Toronto Airport, took it out, and we returned it to farmers and gave them long-term 100-year leases. You know who was against that, colleagues? You know who voted against the Rouge National Urban Park? It was the federal NDP. It was the federal Green Party. And it was the federal Liberals, including this Prime Minister, Mr. Speaker. Because you know why? We wanted to kick farmers off of that land and reforest that land, Mr. Speaker. But it was a Stephen Harper conservative government that said no. No, Mr. Speaker. You know what? It was a progressive conservative government under Mike Harris that protected that area in the first place. And they voted against it. So I say very clearly to the Leader of His Majesty's Opposition, either work with us to build new housing or get out of the way. The House will come to order. Start the clock. Final supplementary. Well, I can tell you, Speaker, we're not going to get out of the way. We're going to stand up for this, by any of this. It has everything to do with a handful of very well-connected insiders making a lot of money. Speaker, the reality is this government's plan won't build a single new unit of affordable housing. If this government truly cared about making sure that Ontarians had good places to call home, they'd be ending exclusionary zoning, investing to build non-profit co-op in support of housing. Speaker, my question to the Premier is, instead of bulldozing the green belt, will you invest in truly affordable housing on the land we already have? Once again, Peter. I think it's any surprise to anybody on this side of the House, Mr. Speaker, that the Leader of the Opposition has suggested that they will continue to be in the way of building more houses for the people of the province of Ontario, because that is at the core of who the NDP are now, Mr. Speaker. They get in the way of everything, get in the way of building more homes, get in the way of building a better, stronger Ontario, getting in the way of opening up the ring of fire so that we can have more jobs in the north. They get in the way of building more electric vehicle plants. They get in the way of transit and transportation, including the biggest investment in subways in the history of the province. They get in the way of building more roads so that we can get enough products to market. They get in the way of the Minister of Energy who wants to bring the cleanest grid to the world. The SMR, the small modular reactor, they get in the way of that. They get in the way of everything the Minister of Education is doing to make our students the best students in the world. Everything that the Minister of Colleges Training and University has done. Everything that the Minister of Labor has done. But you know what? We clear all of that with the Minister of Red Tape and we build a better Ontario. The next question, Leader of the Opposition. Speaker, I think it's fair to say that this government and this premier have been under a cloud of suspicion. Lucrative patronage appointments doled out to conservative donors. Cozy relationships with developers who stand to gain from carving the green belt. A revolving door of lobbyists from Minister's offices. And while ordinary Ontarians are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table or get the health care they deserve, this government is doling out gifts to everyone that they know. My question is to the premier. Are the interests of regular people in this province taking a back seat to the interests of their friends and donors? Listen to the question of the Leader of the Opposition. She just stated that she wants to get in the way of having new homes for the people of the province of Ontario. There are generations, the next generation of Ontarians, who just want the same thing that all of us have, right? They want to have the opportunity to have their first home. That is why people have come to this province for so many generations. But the NDP, they want to stand in the way of that. They want to stand in the way of the incredible work that the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade has done to bring thousands of jobs back to the province of Ontario. We are building a bigger, better, stronger province of Ontario and we are doing it by working together across government to make sure that that happens for the people of the province of Ontario and they are seeing the results, Mr. Speaker. They are seeing the results. Paychecks are getting better. It is getting easier to do business in the province of Ontario. You are also seeing the results? That billions of dollars of companies that are flocking to the province of Ontario to join with us in building a better, stronger province. That's your question. Speaker, that's all very interesting because just yesterday it was revealed that insiders with connections to private health care companies have donated at least $35,000 to the Conservatives since the 2018 election. Donations from private clinic owners, from developers looking to build private hospitals. Curious, curious, Speaker, given this government's recent choice to start funneling public money towards private health facilities. So, Speaker, again to the Premier. I don't appreciate a real answer. Doesn't the government realize how this looks? How do you explain it? Members, make your comments to the chair. Government health leader. Speaker, I don't know who is writing these questions for the leader of the opposition. So what are we doing in health care, right? What are we doing in health care? We are spending billions of dollars in every part of this province to build a bigger, better, stronger health care system. Niagara, building massive amounts of investment in Niagara. Not only in new hospitals. We looked at the small hospitals and we decided, you know what, we have to do a better job of funding our small and medium hospitals. So we're doing that. The largest investment in hospitals in Ottawa. We're doing that in long-term care. We're doing it. We're working with the Minister of Colleges and University to make sure that we have the staff to support all of this massive investment. And hey, go figure. We want to do things differently so that the people of this province can have a better health care system going forward. But you know who's standing in the way of that? Is the leader of the opposition because they are stuck in 1940s, Mr. Speaker? They are stuck in the 1940s. I thought Dr. Horvath was bad enough, but now we have Dr. Stiles. Who knows everything? But you know what? Despite it, we'll get the job done. Members to refer to each other by their writing name or their ministerial title as applicable. Start the clock. The final supplementary. Speaker, the timing is curious too because some insiders were making donations to the Conservative Party at the same time they were lobbying this government to privatize health care. In fact, one donor made a very significant contribution to the Conservative Party just two days after their private company received a lucrative license to do 5,000 cataract surgeries. Another started donating to the Conservatives just last year, and now suddenly his company, guess what, stands to benefit and privatize health care imaging. Speaker to the Premier, Ontarians want to know, is this a return to cash for access in Ontario? Is this how we get it done in Ontario again under the Conservative government? The opposition under abusive language, but allow the minister to reply as the government has said. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know how we get it done in the province of Ontario? First, what we do is we make sure that we put policies forward and that the people of the province of Ontario and the progressive Conservative government to get the job done. And then we look and we say, how can we prove Ontario? And we say the first thing that we've got to do is get rid of the red tape of regulation that was killing, killing this province. We did it. We did it. Then we say we have to stabilize our energy sector. We did it. We have to reinvest in infrastructure. We are doing it, Mr. Speaker. We have to reinvest in our health care system to build better communities. We're doing it. And you know who votes against it all the time? Is the leader of the opposition, Mr. Speaker, and that party? Imagine a leader of the opposition, an NDP party, trying to suggest that they hold the high bar on ethics. I wonder how Kevin Yard feels about that high bar on ethics, who was drummed out of the party because of that. This is a party that elected a leader because nobody else wanted to get into the race. But now we're finding out that there was never going to be a race because the decks were clear. The next question, Member for Thunder Bay, Superior North. Thank you, Speaker. 21 days ago, the government received a report on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. The report states, and I quote, the Premier of Ontario and his cabinet have yet to meet even the basic needs of people with disabilities. Adding insult to injury, the AOD Alliance, a group concerned with implementing the act, has met with every Premier since the AODA was passed. In 2015, 2005, but not this Premier. Speaker, will, through you, will the Premier commit to meeting with the Alliance and immediately work to fully implement the AODA? Let's get in there. Thank you, Member Opposite. The important question, Mr. Speaker, nothing without us, our Accessibility community, because their voice heard. This is why people with disabilities are involved in the design, evolution of program and service delivery in Ontario. Their voice met us. We welcome the feedback from Richard Sullivan to improve accessibility across Ontario. Under the leadership of this Premier, we are the first provincial government to have a ministry and cabinet position dedicated to advancing accessibility in Ontario. We are building more accessibility in Ontario together. Thank you. Thank you. I hope that there will actually be a date then made with the AOD Alliance as soon as possible. Each five-year review has expressed grave concerns about the lack of progress implementing the AODA. The third review in 2019 by the late Honourable David Onley called the experience of Ontarians with disabilities soul-crushing. And the current review says that after 17 years of inaction, any excuse to delay is laughable and wildly insulting. Speaker, will the Premier tell the 3 million Ontarians with a disability what he is doing to ensure Ontario is fully accessible by the target year of 2025? Great question. Thank you to the Honourable Member for that question. When David Onley gave me his report on the OADA, he told me, Raymond, the number one thing you can do to create more accessible Ontario is to help people with disabilities get meaningful jobs. I want to thank my good friend, Minister of Labour for the investment into Skills Development Fund. We are making sure that the people with disabilities have the right programs, services and training to find meaningful jobs. When it comes to leadership here, there is no better advocate for accessibility than this Premier. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. I want to ask the Government Health Theatre a question after that clinic you put on this morning. My constituents want me to ask a question for the Minister of Finance. As global events, high interest rates and ongoing supply chain issues contribute to worldwide economic uncertainty, we are experiencing the effects here in Ontario. While Canada's inflation rate is easing, it's still stubbornly high and we know that people are struggling. We remain in a time of elevated inflation that is straining household budgets by driving up prices on everyday goods and services. People across Ontario are looking to our Government to put forward measures that will provide them with direct help and support. Can the Minister please explain how our Government is working on behalf of Ontarians during these uncertain economic times? Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the hardworking and amazing member from Brampton, Martin. We all know that these are challenging economic times. As we navigate this uncertainty, one thing I have absolute confidence in is the resilience of Ontario's workers, businesses, families and its people. Ontario is proven time and again that together we can overcome any obstacle that's in our way. And our Government has a responsible plan. Our plan to build Ontario is supporting families, workers and businesses while laying a strong fiscal foundation for the future. We are continuing to take a targeted approach after unprecedented investments in response to the pandemic. Now is the time for our Government to be prudent and responsible while investing in the priorities for today and planning for the future. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the Parliamentary Assistant for that excellent response. It was so good I got another question for him. It's reassuring that our Government's focusing on actions and investments that will support individuals, families, seniors and businesses. Because of the reckless policies of the previous Liberal Government supported by the NDP, Ontario's Government has decided to continue with forward-looking and solution-oriented approaches to successfully navigating our province through this period of economic uncertainty. With Ontario's growing population, diverse workforce and in abundance of natural resources we are well positioned in many areas for continued economic growth and prosperity. Can the Parliamentary Assistant please explain the priorities of our Government's economic vision for the future? Thank you for that fantastic question from a fantastic member. What I can say is over the past couple of years, Ontario and the rest of the world faced a once-in-a-generation challenge unlike any in our lifetimes. We have a strong plan for Ontario by being fiscally prudent and responsible we can overcome any challenge that comes our way. That's why I will be proud to be in this chamber tomorrow for the future of Ontario. Ontario's plan to build is a responsible, targeted approach to help people and businesses. This is a long-term economic vision. We are making the investments that we need today while laying a strong fiscal foundation for future generations. Thank you. The next question. The member for Key White Law. Today is World Water Day. Access to clean water is a basic human right. Children like 4-year-old Kate from North Caribbean Lake First Nation face serious medical issues and even have to be met backed out to a hospital to treat their skin conditions. Premier will Ontario commit to studying the long-term health effects of boil water advisories to help children like Kate. Mr. the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Thank you, Speaker and thank you to the member for that question, important question on World Water Day. Our government is proud of our record in keeping Ontario's drinking water safe for all Ontarians. We have comprehensive legislation and a regulatory framework including the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, the Health Protection and Promotion Act. We know water on reserves do not fall under that. It falls under federal legislation having said that. That's not good enough. It falls under federal government and with Indigenous communities. It was this government that for the first time ever in the mandate of Walkerton and the Ontario Clean Water Agency included a mandate to engage with Indigenous communities. I'm pleased to say members of the Ontario Clean Water Agency and Walkerton have been in a number of Indigenous communities on a 24-7 basis working with Indigenous water operators and the federal government supported by the NDP to just pass the buck. We're leaning in, working with Indigenous communities. Thank you, Speaker. Supplementary question. Not everyone has access to clean drinking water. Everyone here, all you do is snap your fingers if you want clean drinking water and you cannot use jurisdiction as an excuse not to do anything. Recently, Indigenous Health Researcher Jeffrey Anselos found a correlation between drinking water advisories and suicide in First Nations. Ontario has the highest rate of long-term drinking advisories long-term drinking water advisories and then one of the highest rates of suicide in First Nations in Canada. We live it in Kiwetno. What is Ontario doing to protect First Nations youth from the serious effects associated with lack of access to clean drinking water? Thank you, Speaker. Again, I appreciate the question from the member opposite. I don't think they heard when I said we're not passing the buck as previous governments have done supported by the NDP 99% of the time. The member asked what we're doing. If we're going to be intellectually honest with ourselves on the challenge, a lot of it stems from lack of water operation. And we know the federal government this was indigenous communities that said to the federal government pay us a fair wage. We supported them. What has Ontario done? Well as of June 2022 168 operators 116 managers, supervisors have been trained at no cost to indigenous communities. This was never done by the previous Liberal government. Our government standing up working at no cost with them. If the member opposite has any specific communities he feel are not benefiting from that training let me know and we'll make sure we have water operators there to work with them. Mr. Saga Aaron Mills Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Labor Immigration, Training and Skills Development. The commitment by Premier and this Minister to advance protection for workers continuously demonstrated with measures that support them and help to build Ontario for the next generation. Across our province thousands of brave men and women are military reservists with Canadian armed forces. These individuals go above and beyond their regular jobs a normal work day to selflessly answer the call of duty in service of our country both at home and abroad. Reservists should not face an uncertain future when they return to their civilian job after deployment. Speaker, can the Minister please explain what our government is doing to support our military reservists? The Minister of Labor Immigration, Training and Skills Development Great, thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the MPP from Mrs. Saga Aaron Mills for this really important question. The Government under the leadership of Premier Ford is standing with her military reservists and their families. On Monday I introduced our third Working for Workers Act. This bill creates a new job protected leave for military heroes who need time to recover from physical injuries or mental trauma. Anyone who is willing to drop everything to help their neighbours should be rewarded and not punished. They deserve the peace of mind that their civilian jobs will be given to them. Speaker, I'm proud that our reservist leave will be the most flexible and comprehensive in the country. Our government is going to continue working for the workers of Ontario and I look forward to answering more in the supplementary. Thanks. Thank you Thank you Speaker and thanks for the Minister for their response. Since day one our government has been working for workers and is continuing to lead the country with groundbreaking protections. It is a fact that the way people work has changed. The dynamic has shifted from in office work to another formats. In 2022 1.4 million people in Ontario were working remotely and 800,000 were working hybrid jobs. We need greater certainty when starting a new job that they have been giving information about the nature of their job before they start their first shift. It is vital that the regulations and employment standards keep up with the new reality. Can the Minister please explain how our government is ensuring that our labour laws reflect the changing world of work? Minister of Labour I want to thank the member for Mrs. Hogg-Erin Mills again for this question and his leadership standing up for workers in his riding. Thank you. Remote workers who don't have a desk in the office are just as valuable to our economy and they shouldn't be treated as second class workers. That is why our government is changing our employment standards laws to ensure they receive the same enhanced severance payments during mass layoffs as their in office work. We also know that asking your boss questions on day one of a new job can be daunting especially for young workers, newcomers and those in precarious roles. To protect their workers where requiring employers provide them basic information on their role and how much they'll be paid before they actually start their first shift. Under the leadership of our Premier and our government we are re-balancing the scales and putting workers in the driver's seat. Thank you. The next question is for Hamilton West and Pastor Dundas. Thank you, Speaker. My question this morning is for the Premier. Today is World Water Day and the UN just released a frightening warning that without urgent climate action we risk leaving our children with a world that faces extreme weather events and regular flooding. But instead of urgent action your government is making things much, much worse. Unilaterally steamrolling the green bell and destroying wetlands that prevent flooding. So my question, Premier we already know your government is working to protect developers but why won't you honour treaty obligations and future generations of Ontarians by protecting our water? Mr. the Environment, Conservation and Parks Thank you, Speaker. Again, I appreciate the question from the member opposite. It's important that Ontarians know that we're very blessed to live in this province that has such robust standards for water, the Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act Health Protection and Promotion Act. It's unfortunate member opposite is choosing to politicise water rather than working with this government to make investments that protect water. That's why as a government, as I mentioned in the previous answer, we've worked at no charge to train water operators dealing with systemic challenges in training for water operators and Indigenous communities. That's why we're working in rural municipalities, the Ontario Clean Water Agency dealing with staffing and retention challenges there and that's why Speaker we're investing in the modern and critical infrastructure. That member said urgent action. That's why we've required updated monitoring and reporting in her own community to ensure that we're protecting water for generations to come and investing in the infrastructure, modern infrastructure to support those growing communities. Thank you, Speaker. The supplementary question is whether it's really unfortunate to hear the Ministry of Environment call when we raise issues about boiled water advisories and the climate crisis calling that politicisation. That's just foolhardy. So I would like to say this government has no credible climate plan, none whatsoever and obviously no clear provincial water strategy. I mean this is the government that fired scientists, muzzled the Greenbell Council and kneecapped conservation authorities in their important role in our watersheds. Watersheds that clean our water, protect endangered species and allow bodies of water to remain in the earth and not in our basements. So in the spirit of World Water Day back to the Premier what will you do today to protect the Greenbell and its watershed for our future generations of young people? Mr. natural resources and forestry. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know this government is doing more around wetlands than any government has done previously. Mr. Speaker, the previous government backed up by the opposition resided over the loss of wetlands in Ontario. Tens of thousands of hectares gone. This government has a different approach. This government has an approach where we want to expand wetlands in Ontario, expand natural features in Ontario. We are going to do that Mr. Speaker. The other previous government could not do it would not do it. The opposition continues to talk a game that they can't back up. We're doing it. We're getting it done. We're protecting wetlands in Ontario. Question, the member for Ottawa Thank you Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Premier. I want to talk about the art industry that plays an important role in our everyday life. Whether we realize it or not all those moments we're not working we're somehow consuming our well-being and the economy. We know that the art industry has suffered incredibly during the pandemic but it's still struggling to recover. Just because we are in a post-pandemic economy doesn't mean our artists don't need our support anymore. The current high inflation makes it particularly difficult for artists to continue their work let alone expand. With the new budget coming out people have been reaching out to express their concerns about proposed cuts. They've been writing to the Minister of Finance and also to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports so they know about it. How is it reasonable to encourage youth to get educated to follow their dreams while cutting funding in venues they could earn a living with? Will this government ensure the survival of creative industries and support the artists who drives them? Mr. Tourism, Culture and Sport Thank you very much for the question and I appreciate it as timely and I will express a little, a couple thoughts afterwards but I'll get to the point and cut to the chase. The Ontario Arts Council funding is being maintained at the current levels for the upcoming year. So worrying about cuts at this point isn't what we are talking about. We're talking about and working with people to take advantage of what they have what they will continue to have in the impact they will have on our communities Mr. Speaker. The arts are cherished by this ministry and this government. It extends into tourism, certainly culture and makes a huge impact on all demographics from kids and schools to be able to go out and experience art to experience the artists that are delivering it and we understand from a cultural police it has played a huge role in Ontario's growth. Billions and billions of dollars are spent in tourism and because of the arts will get even stronger. Thank you Mr. Speaker. The funding in Ontario has stayed the same over the last few years while in BC in Quebec we've seen significant increase so maybe we should take note. The association of French writers in Ontario as well as the Arts Council are working relentlessly to make sure that we keep going with exhibitions and visual arts in Ontario. Their work is essential for growth and vitality of a sector that contributes to our to our economy cuts that are going to be put in place or the same budget that's going to be which is not enough is very concerning for Francophone communities in Ontario who depend on the funding of arts to promote and preserve our language and culture. We have progressed a lot on the Francophone file. We have to keep expanding our Francophone culture but without the necessary funding we won't be able to do it so will the government commit to ensure the vitality of Francophone culture in Ontario by maintaining the funding in Ontario? Mr. Tourism again thank you again for the question Mr. Speaker I'll go back a little bit in time since 2018 we have invested over 1.1 billion dollars in arts, culture through the ministry program this includes nearly 340 million for the OAC in the OAC we address all art we don't single things out specifically at Francophone Art and that world is very important to us and we've addressed it we talk in terms with respect to our government of supporting all not just defining one the impact within tourism as I said earlier the cultural piece what it does to communities and helps building communities that participate not only actually participate in the arts and the delivering of it but those that enjoy it and support it and drives the revenue and builds communities building communities is part of what we do and what we focus on and the culture and our response sector is very important and will continue to be important Mr. Speaker to this government the next question the member for St. Marie thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Northern Development under the previous liberal government workers in northern rural and remote communities to help abandon manufacturing plants closed jobs were destroyed and the local economy in many communities my own included was devastated year after year the Liberals and the NDP chose to focus on urban issues instead of listening to the needs and the concerns that are important to the people across northern Ontario communities across the north are counting on our government to promote economic and community development the north is right with opportunities Mr. Speaker for creating employment as well as promoting economic and community development and modernizing business operations it is not just a beautiful place with beautiful and amazing people Speaker can the Minister please explain how our government is investing in Ontario's northern communities to promote opportunities for good paying jobs Minister of Northern Development Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member from Sault Ste. Marie he does a fantastic job in that city making sure that industry in Sault Ste. Marie is on the cutting edge and that's exactly what these kinds of announcements are focused on Mr. Speaker the computer numerical control lathe is like no other it's accuracy and timing consumption factor sounds kind of technical but basically allows them to do more work at a larger scale projects Mr. Speaker including building much needed locomotive trains Mr. Speaker putting northern Ontario into a sector more actively than it's ever been this is the kind of technology Mr. Speaker that isn't just protecting jobs it's creating new high tech jobs in the manufacturing sector in northern Ontario that walked out the door under the previous government we're back Mr. Speaker a great member from Sault Ste. Marie who's protecting and creating jobs in his city and we couldn't be more pleased to support him thank you supplementary question Thank you again Mr. Speaker and thank you again Minister for that wonderful response it is welcome news to hear that our government is focused on supporting the north and investing in communities like mine of Sault Ste. Marie and Mr. Speaker let me say through you to this house our government has been so incredibly committed to supporting communities like mine across the north but just in my own community I can say Minister has been in my writing I can't even count how many times Premier has been to the right I can't even count how many times and it's just such a welcome thing for our community to see these investments and the real attention that this government is putting in our community and northern Ontario unlike the previous liberal government because our government is optimistic and our funding is very very critical to contribute to building our local and regional economies Speaker can the Minister please explain how investments by our government will continue to help businesses in my writing to prosper Thank you Mr. Speaker I just had a chance to speak about SIS manufacturing corporation and what a busy business quarter we had at the northern Ontario Heritage Fund targeting investments in Sault Ste. Marie Mr. Speaker because as it flows from things like a new electric art furnace new capacities to narrow us to build state of the art pipeline networks for our country and parts beyond Mr. Speaker we also supported a company called Apex Cranes now Apex Cranes was able to leverage our investment to purchase an alliance 38M concrete pumper truck now this will provide new vertical and horizontal reach for larger scale construction projects now that's twice I've said that about Sault Ste. Marie larger scale construction projects as it prepositioned itself to be a world-class steel manufacture Mr. Speaker and centre of mining processing Mr. Speaker we're making sure Sault Ste. Marie is in the best position possible to realize its optimal value Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Thank you Speaker my questions to the Premier while families across the province are waiting for $10 day child care this government's low wage policies threaten the program already child care centres across Ontario are having to close rooms and limit enrollment due to staffing challenges families are on waitlist that are growing experts have said Ontario needs to provide 1,000 ECEs and child care staff by 2026 the association of early childhood educators Ontario has urged this government to implement a province wide salary scale for registered ECEs and child care staff to address staffing issues why is the government refusing to do so Mr. Speaker we signed a deal with the federal government that is now delivering a 50% reduction in fees to the province $8,000 to $12,000 per child for every child they have in a child care centre that is a huge achievement and step forward we also committed to build 86,000 spaces in the province to meet the needs the growing needs of child care Mr. Speaker 46,000 spaces have been created to date we also agree we need more staff as we grow demand we reduce fees and increase access to a affordable child care system for parents in this province it's why we increased wages each and every year of this agreement by $1 per hour with a floor now imposed in the sector we know there's more to do it's why the government launched a workforce consultation with those stakeholders and many others and I will note the irony of the democrat speaker who advocate for affordability but who would have excluded 70,000 for profit families in this province we'll stand up for all of them Mr. Speaker we are losing more child care educators than we can train and this government has not done much beyond committing to expanding training opportunities the average ECE in Ontario spends just 3 years working in the sector Ontario will not be able to offer $10 a day child care without child care workers the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care says none of the strategies the government has put on the table will work until we deal with the low wages will the minister listen to experts and take action to address the staffing shortage by paying child care workers fair wages Mr. Speaker first of all for all ECEs working within our schools just in the QP deal alone they're eligible of over 4% increases for the next 4 years that's a huge advantage 31,000 spaces under our government were created within our publicly funded school system so significant amount of ECEs the member opposite speaks about are benefiting from wage enhancement the fair deal we signed with QP for the rest of the sector we launched a consultation with the aim of incentivising those workers to stay it's why in the deal with the feds we announced a $1 per hour increase each and every year a minimum a floor that didn't exist in the sector rising wages for those that were on the lower end of that scale we're going to continue to step up to support the workers but most especially the families who now can afford child care a 50% reduction a $8 to $12,000 reduction per child that's going to make a big difference as we save families money in this tough economy speaker next question the member for Ajax my question is for the associate minister of social and economic opportunity over the next six years Ontario's construction sector will need to hire 72,000 additional workers due to retirements and expected job growth however the reality is that women remain under represented in this growing sector unfortunately as in so many areas barriers are preventing women from achieving their full potential in the scale trades some of these obstacles include PPE and other equipment not tailored to women for women to safely and effectively perform their jobs they must be properly outfitted in such as uniforms boots and safety harnesses speaker can the associate minister please explain how our government is making workplace safer for women thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the PA of education especially for their work on seeing high school students take courses in technological classes but it's such an important advancement especially for the young girls who are going to be leaders in the steps Mr. Speaker I'm proud to be a part of a government that believes that women become economically empowered when they have the resources they need to be successful and part of women's safety and productivity in the workforce is ensuring that they have proper personal protective equipment currently the standard for PPE excludes women's bodies types which can compromise the effectiveness of the protective equipment and have unsafe consequences last week of Labor and Trades and I announced the systemic changes that will protect women in the trades and the working for workers legislation makes clear the requirement that PPE and clothing be properly fitted to workers with diverse body types workplaces that are safer and more equitable help increase women's participation in the workforce and these changes are going to thank you and the supplementary question Mr. Speaker and thank you to the Associate Minister for that response in Ontario there are 500,000 construction workers just a small percentage of those are women unfortunately for women who work in the skilled trades they are frequently exposed to lack of or poorly maintained washroom facilities at their work sites this is unacceptable and it isn't for women wanting to take up careers in the skilled trades it's very important that women are provided with the supports they need to work safely and comfortably in this instance it's ensuring that washrooms for female workers on job sites are adhering to equitable workplace health and safety standards Speaker can the Associate Minister please elaborate on what measures our government is implementing that will ensure safety and equity the Associate Minister Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you again to the member from AJAX for the question Mr. Speaker I've travelled across Ontario listening to women's stories and have learned of women's washrooms being inaccessible for female staff this is unacceptable especially because only 1 in 10 construction workers in Ontario are women if we want to attract more women to these well paying and rewarding careers we need to make sure that all sites are safer and equipped with appropriate resources Ontario is proposing to require women's only washrooms on construction sites and we're also improving washrooms by requiring them to be completely enclosed having adequate lighting hand sanitizer where water is running water is not accessible or possible and we're doubling the number of toilets on job sites to reduce the distance between washroom facilities these proposed regulatory amendments will meet labour demands and bring better jobs and better pig chats for women on these job sites in Ontario because when women succeed Ontario next question the member for London West Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Premier in the last year 50,000 more people left Ontario than have arrived at a level we have never seen before in this province most are young adults aged 25 to 35 who can't afford to save for home on the salaries they are making and that includes demoralized disrespected London West nurses Nicole Forster and Lindsay Smale Speaker instead of standing by as nurses like Nicole and Lindsay leave Ontario for good will the Premier stop fighting nurses in court over the unconstitutional Bill 124 wage cap and start actually fixing the housing affordability crisis Mr. Speaker there's a lot in that question so on the housing side we have a housing supply action plan which we brought in starting in 2008 and the opposition is of course not in favour of that but in the next few weeks talking about how we want to build more homes across the province of Ontario and then the NDP asked one question at the beginning of question period to suggest we should stop building homes and then towards the end of question period ask another one if we can build more homes so I'm not sure what it is that they actually want at this point but here's the thing that we are doing we are going to build more homes for all of the people in the province of Ontario and health care and health care resource now I can tell you that because of the extraordinary work of the Minister of Colleges and Universities we have more people entering the health care field than at any time in our province's history and it's so needed because of the massive amount of investments that we're doing in health care look in long-term care I need 27,000 additional health care workers and thanks to the work of the Minister of Colleges and Universities we're getting it done supplement your question the member for Niagara Centre through you to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing AMO representing Ontario's 444 municipalities recently released an op-ed stating the homelessness crisis in Ontario is not just an unfortunate situation it is the outcome of decades of policy decisions and poor choices made by successive Ontario governments the homelessness crisis that calls out for intelligent and coordinated action on the part of the province this Ontario government ranks dead last of all provinces in per capita spending on services will this government change course acknowledge Ontario's homelessness crisis and accept AMO's offer to work with the province and municipal governments to end homelessness the Associate Minister of Housing Thank you very much Speaker and I thank my honourable colleague for the very important question we brought three older programs legacy programs and combined it into a new programs the homelessness prevention program to streamline the process so that service managers spend less time on paperwork and more on helping the people of Ontario who need support we also increase the funding of this program for the province for the province on our side we have been very clear that we are in a housing supply crisis in our province and it hurts on our most vulnerable it hurts everyone across the board we are working towards solutions to make sure that we increase the supply across the province it is only the opposition that continuously opposes housing in this province depends on what time and question period there are four housing at some point during question period thank you Order next question the member for Renfrew, Nipissing Pembroke thank you Speaker my question is to the minister of mines Ontario is incredibly fortunate to be home to tremendous mineral wealth the mining industry in Ontario generates more than 10 billion dollars in annual mineral production and supports 75,000 direct and indirect jobs in our province we know how vital this industry is and how much more important it will become as the world transitions to electric vehicles and other clean technologies however in order to maintain and increase our competitive advantage in all phases of the mining processes regulatory requirements must keep pace with industry needs in order to secure minerals safely and effectively can the minister please explain what our government is doing to secure Ontario's position as a global leader of responsibly sourced critical minerals Minister of Mines thank you for the question Mr. Speaker from my colleague who works nonstop for his writing Mr. Speaker we are building a supply chain from critical minerals to manufacturing electric vehicles that will create jobs and economic opportunities across the province but it all starts with mining we launch the critical mineral strategy that attacks challenges in our sector through investing and cutting red tape our strategic investments in exploration and innovation help the brilliant people in our workforce find the mines in the future and solve mining challenges we won't stop there Mr. Speaker that's why I introduced the Building More Mines Act that if passed would reduce regulatory burden to save companies time and money this would create business certainty and draw in more investment to the sector we were happy to see the opposition support this bill at second reading and we encourage them to continue to do so what to do what to do what is right for this province by continuing thank you very much and the supplementary question thank you speaker and I want to thank the minister for his response it is great to know that our government is seeking to implement solutions that will lead to future growth and investment in the mining sector under the leadership of our premier and this minister the mining sector is strong and innovative in large part this success is due to our government's ability to collaborate with industry and local partners to promote economic development opportunities during the second reading debate of this bill we heard the opposition raise questions about the overall effectiveness of these amendments and how these would be received by the mining industry and its leaders speaker can the minister please provide information about how the mining industry is responding to the proposed amendments in our building more mines act Minister of mines thank you again Mr. Speaker for the question and with pleasure Mr. Speaker I recently visited Glencore's world-class kid creek mine with my colleagues the associate minister of transportation this critical minerals mine is a world-class operation that is over 10,000 feet deep and is the closest you can get to the years core anywhere in the world Rayden Timmons I spoke to management at Glencore and they told us how much they appreciated having a government that solves problems to keep this sector competitive listen to what Peter Xavier a vice president of Glencore had to say about our bill the improvement of processes within the ministry of mines will strengthen our Ontario operations to facilitate their expansion Mr. Speaker that means more jobs in ridings across the north including those being represented by the members opposite we encourage all members of this house to support our bill because it cannot take 15 years to build a mine if we are going to secure the supply chain for critical minerals next question the member for Toronto St. Paul's thank you speaker this question is to the premier renters are spending 30% 50% or more of their income on rent many of them in St. Paul's are juggling multiple jobs to scrape together 2,500 a month or more for one bedroom some cannot work and are relying on ODSP or ODS poverty I should say that more accurately you know it describes what this government has done to many folks on ODSP in my community seniors low income and young family renters like most at 55 Brownlow Young and at Gunton area a rent control building targeted to be demolished are terrified of being priced out of our St. Paul's neighbourhood especially if or when bill 23 threats to municipal rental replacement bylaws come to light my question to the premier will you commit today to protect tenants with real rent control and guaranteed rental replacement please and thank you the associate minister thank you very much speaker and thank you very much for the question let me be clear once again there has not been a government in this province for the past 7 years that has provided more protections for tenants than this government has speaker we protected tenants through bill 184 we put in various measures to protect tenants unfortunately the opposition voted against every single one of those measures when the red increased guideline currently that set at 2.5 we maxed it at 2.5 well below inflation it would have been over 5% if we hadn't taken action last year we capped it at 2.1% we have continuously said we are in a housing supply crisis in this province and it affects everyone the opposition doesn't seem to understand that we need to increase supply so that everyone in Ontario has a home that needs their needs and their budgets they may not care for it we will the supplementary question thank you speaker and to the folks of St. Paul's watching the 4th government has just denied us once again my question is to the premier 2500 a month for rent is unaffordable for vulnerable communities they are one demoviction notice away from being unhoused just ask the folks again at 55 Brownlow 121 units afraid that they'll be homeless in a matter of time ask the folks at 170 Roe Hampton 1233 Yonge Street 2157 2153 Vaughn Road and at least a dozen more on counting hundreds of rental purpose units are being lost they are being lost government with no guarantee they'll be replaced thanks to the threats in bill 23 my question is back to the premier will you guarantee guarantee the demovicted renters have the first right of return with guaranteed rent control on all buildings for goodness sakes very much speaker and again I thank you for the question Mr. Speaker last year in 2022 we had a record number of purpose built rentals in this province Mr. Speaker the year before then Mr. Speaker again once again record number of housing starts in not only just overall but also for purpose built rentals Mr. Speaker when it comes to protection for tenants let me be clear once again bill 184 the member was here when we introduced it it was this member Mr. Speaker that putting protection for tenants across the board in this province what did the opposition do vote against it Mr. Speaker that's the same thing for opposition they'll continue to talk about one thing but when it comes to voting they'll vote against it until we introduce it and they'll vote against it therefore protection they'll talk about it but when it comes to actually putting the name behind it they'll vote against it that's not on this side of the house Mr. Speaker next question thank you speaker my question is for the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery am I great writing of Thunder Bay Attic Colkin as in many communities across the north traveling to service Ontario centers can be challenging and inconvenient dealerships are negatively impacted by long wait times travel and overly all of these problems lead to loss of productivity delays and backlogs for users it is important that our government takes action to be proactive in finding innovative solutions that will cut red tape for businesses and make access to services faster and more efficient can the minister please explain how our government is expanding vehicle registration transactions Mr. Public Business Service Delivery thank you very much speaker and thank you to the good member for this question speaker it does not matter whether you live in downtown Timmins or downtown Toronto everyone has the right to expect the best service from this government that is why under the leadership of our premier this government is leveraging emerging technology and modernizing our provinces vehicle services with the automobile industry through the digital dealership registration since launching last March the digitization of the registration process became a monumental shift for the industry speaker I'm happy to inform the member that the second phase of this program 300 participating dealerships are already registering new passenger vehicle with new license plates including electric and used vehicles Ontarians can rest assure that this government will never stop working to make their life easier and our services more accessible thank you very much that concludes our question period for this morning