I have a question today for the Minister of Energy. It’s a question that I’ve been hearing a lot from workers and families in Niagara West. It’s about this, Speaker: On April 1 we know that the federal Liberals, supported by the NDP, are going to be raising the carbon tax by 23%. We know that this hike is going to hit virtually every aspect of our economy. It’s going to hit home heating costs. It’s going to hit the cost of gasoline. And it’s going to hit food prices, impacting some of the most vulnerable in our communities.

Speaker, what I’ve heard from my constituents is that the high cost of living is already hurting families across Ontario. We see that households are worried about whether or not they’re going to be paying their heating bills or putting food on the table. And yet we see a federal carbon tax, under the Trudeau Liberals, that is going up and up and up and up. It doesn’t seem to end.

So, my question, on behalf of my constituents, to the Minister of Energy, is why is it important that our government continue to take action to fight this job-killing, expensive tax?

I know most members in this Legislature oppose that job-killing tax, but unfortunately, it appears that not all members of the Legislature do. We see that Bonnie Crombie and the Liberals continue to crusade in favour of a job-killing carbon tax. They want to saddle families with more money-grubbing policies every opportunity they get.

I think it’s important that all of us continue to stand against this, and I’m wondering if the minister could speak more about what our government is doing to ensure that we have affordability and more money in the pockets of the hard-working families in my riding. If he could explain what actions we’re taking to fight the Justin Trudeau Liberals on this job-killing carbon tax and stand up for the families in my riding and across Ontario.

Absolutely.

My thanks to the member for Ottawa South for his participation today in debate.

I’m glad to hear that the member is going to be supporting this legislation. He’s correct that this is an iterative process. I for one have no doubt that we will see a Working for Workers Act 5 come at some point in this chamber, and I think that does speak to our commitment to that iterative process of getting ideas. I know, under the leadership of the minister and the Premier—they’ve shown a willingness to listen to those ideas.

I know that the member opposite, as we are now in government, has served in government as well. I’m wondering if he ever brought forward the idea of super-indexing WSIB benefits when he was serving in government. I know it’s something that we’ve heard a lot of support for. It’s something that I know, hearing from those who are living with the—

I appreciate the member opposite.

I want to go back a little bit to my question earlier and perhaps change to another subject.

Part of the regulatory changes that came under the Working for Workers Four package included the addition of a number of different poisonings, actually, to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act; namely, chlorine, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide poisonings. This is now part of the presumed work-related occupational diseases that are under this part of the legislation. I think it’s important. I have no doubt at all that the member opposite has support for this particular part of the legislation—to add some of these areas for presumptive coverage.

My question is—he’s saying, “You’re starting, but you’re not going very far. It’s a step in the right direction, but that’s about it.” How come they never brought forward any of these changes? They were there for 15 years.

Why couldn’t you make all these changes that you think are so wonderful and need to happen today?

I think back to my time door-knocking in the last provincial election. I had the opportunity, when I was in Beamsville, a very beautiful town in my riding, in Lincoln—I was going up to a door that I remembered distinctly from my by-election. I try to knock on every door in my riding at least once between elections, and then also I go out during the election—between elections, more to get a sense of people when they’re not as engaged in what’s happening and just to kind of feel where they’re at. I remembered that that had been a bit of a negative door, but I thought, “Do you know what? Here we are. It’s six years later. I’m going to give it another shot and see. Perhaps this fellow”—and it was a vague memory that it hadn’t been the most positive interaction. I had come forward and said, “Will you be supporting me?” “No, I’m not a PC.” Okay. That’s all right. “That’s the beauty of a democracy” is usually my response to people who say that they’re not going to be voting for us.

I walked up to the door and there was a fellow—I could see him coming out of his work truck. He looked over at me. He had a lot of paint on his outfit, and he had just come home from work. I think it was about quarter to 5, if my memory is correct, on a Thursday. He said, “Sam, I remember you. You came here four years ago.” I said, “Well, it was six years ago.” He said, “Do you know what? I’m going to vote for you guys this time.” I said, “Oh, are you?” And he said, “Yes, I’m a member of the painters’ union, and painters know that Doug Ford is building things in Ontario, and Doug Ford supports painters and workers in Niagara.” And I said, “Well, thank you very much. Can I put up a lawn sign?” He paused and said, “Well, I don’t know if I’m there yet.” So I walked away, and we door-knocked for a little more. There were about seven or eight of us, I think, in that subdivision. About 45 minutes later, I heard someone—“Sam, never mind. You can put up the lawn sign.”

So it’s just a little story, but I think it speaks to the understanding that the people of Ontario and the people in my riding of Niagara West, the hard-working men and women who go out every day in so many different aspects of our economy, who work hard to put food on their table—not just to put food on their table, but to put something away for a rainy day, to put something away for their children’s university education or perhaps skilled trades school. They believe in our government because they see that we are taking action and that we’re not just using words.

I think that today’s legislation is a part of that legacy that we are building here as Progressive Conservatives, as the government of Ontario that has now brought forward not one, not two, not three, but four pieces of omnibus legislation—really quite substantial and weighty pieces of legislation—that are adding protections for the working men, the working women of Ontario, to ensure that they are getting the respect that they deserve; that bad actors, bad employers, those who will not respect the rights of workers, those who will not step forward to ensure that they are being treated with dignity and respect in the workplace and outside of it, won’t get away with that in the province of Ontario.

So I’m very grateful to be able to speak to this legislation and share a little bit about some of the benefits that this legislation is going to be bringing forward. There are a number of different pieces to it, and I think the key take-away is that we want to ensure that workers have better jobs with bigger paycheques, closer to home, and to do so in a way that is safe and that is supported by the government of Ontario and by their employers—that they are supported by those who should be there to ensure their best interest.

Speaker, one of my friends who worked for a number of years in the service industry—we were speaking a little bit about this legislation and also some legislation that came out in 2016. In 2016—credit where credit is due—we saw the former Liberal government bring forward legislation that banned the retention of tips by employers; that they were not allowed to be retaining tips and claiming that they were for employees. In some cases, you would actually pay a tip to someone who had done a really good job, assuming that it would go to that person. And my friend told me, “No, it was very common practice”—and I won’t name the employer, because I know that they have changed that practice, thankfully. But they had a practice of retaining a portion of the tips, and I was shocked. The time we had this conversation about this was not that long ago. I said, “Well, how recently was this?” And this was in 2016, actually, that this had happened, before this introduction. I think that when I spoke with her, someone who worked very, very hard in the service sector, who took great pride in her work, who is now working in forensic pathology, who is doing incredible work in that field and working with various agencies to ensure that that work is happening—she said, “Yes, and the problem is, even though, now, it is illegal, there are still bad actors who will do this because workers don’t always necessarily understand that it is illegal.”

It’s very important, then, that as a Legislature, as a government, as members of provincial Parliament in our communities, we take a piece of legislation like this piece of legislation, Working for Workers Act 4, and use it to, again, reiterate the message that you deserve better wages, you deserve fair pay for hard work, and we are going to ensure that you are not being taken advantage of by bosses. So this legislation builds on the legacy that we’ve now seen some successive governments take some action on to say that workers deserve that respect. They deserve to have measures in place that will respect them and ensure that their tips are being shared in a way that is transparent, in a way that is focused on workers, and that is not creating a situation where people are being penalized for something that’s not their fault.

Earlier, we heard the member for Kitchener South–Hespeler speak about when she worked in the service industry and would have an employer who told her that, well, if there was a loss, if there was a dine-and-dash, that was on her. In the province of Ontario, we know that’s not right.

So this legislation now builds on those moves to say that we also need to have transparency around what that tip-sharing practice is, to give more tools to those employees when they are in that sector, so that they don’t have to wonder about whether or not something is legal or not, but they actually have it in front of them and they can read it easily; it’s apparent, it’s transparent, and it’s something that they’re able to go to in reference, perhaps in those conversations with someone who is trying to sneak around the rules or someone who doesn’t even know the rules themselves. It provides a better level of support for those workers in our communities.

That’s just one little piece of this legislation; there are a number of aspects to it.

I think of all of the new Canadians who have come to Niagara.

Over the past decade, we’ve had a massive influx of new Canadians, people who are hard-working, who believe in a better future for them and their children, but are unable to get some of the jobs that they should be able to get due to Canadian work experience requirements. So what we’re seeing under this legislation are changes to that so that we don’t have people using the Canadian work experience requirement as a crutch to avoid hiring people who are qualified for that position, but rather saying that no, we believe that if you have the skill set, you have the merits and you’re able to do that work and do it well, all other things being equal, you shouldn’t have that prevent you from being able to work in the province of Ontario.

We believe that we need to have a work-life balance in Ontario. I can’t believe, actually, that here in 2024, it took us—and this is no disrespect to any of the ministers or any of those who have brought forward other pieces of legislation on this. But to have a right to disconnect, I think, is such a foundational, important aspect of so many people’s lives. For ourselves as MPPs, of course, it’s a little different; we are elected with the amazing responsibility and gift of being able to stay connected to people 24/7 when we’re out and about, when we’re in the community and also just at home. It’s an expectation, and I understand that. But for most people, they go to their work, and they put in their time, and they work hard. They should be able to go home and enjoy time with family and friends—or, if they aren’t able to do so, if there’s an expectation that they’re going to be on call, to have that clarified, to have that transparently laid out. This legislation helps ensure that we have that as well.

It’s about increasing services for those who are under WSIB, ensuring that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is able to provide them with super-indexing, with more than just the cost-of-living increases that they already receive, to really provide them with additional supports.

There are a number of different measures in this legislation, Speaker. I only had a chance to touch on a few of them, but I wanted to add my voice in support of working for workers, because we know it’s important that every member in this chamber recognize the contributions the hard-working men and women of not just Niagara, but every corner of this province, make to our culture, to our society and to our economy, and show them with legislation like this that we have their back. So I proudly stand in support of it, and I thank you for your time this afternoon.

Well, I’m glad that the member opposite spoke about the importance of the WSIB, because this is a government that has shown through this legislation once again the benefit that we understand the workers of Ontario have as individuals, as people who are deserving of value and of worth and of human dignity.

That’s why, in this legislation, we’re bringing forward changes to allow proposed super-indexing. It’s going to allow additional indexing increases beyond the regular annual adjustment, which will empower the government to make regular or additional payments to those injured workers: those who have, through no fault of their own, gone into a setting or had an experience that caused them to now rely on this service. So it represents a significant step in delivering on our government’s commitment to supporting injured workers, and it could mean up to an additional $900 on top of cost-of-living adjustments this year alone. That’s substantial funding. That’s substantial money, real money, in the pockets of hard-working Ontarians, and I’m proud to support that.

I’m reminded of a recent visit I made with the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, David Piccini, when we visited Local 837, the LIUNA local in Grimsby, and saw their new, state-of-the-art training facility that they have there. They spoke about the incredible amount of Ukrainians, actually, whom they’ve been able to help with the grants that they’ve received from this government. They’ve been able to provide them with workplace training. They’ve been able to provide them with opportunities. They’re building the Ontario Line. They’re helping to build the housing of tomorrow. They’re helping to build the long-term-care homes that our seniors and those who are more vulnerable are living in, and they’re so proud of those contributions that they’re able to make so quickly after coming to this, their new home.

I think that’s a testament to the multifaceted approach that we’re taking as a government to addressing the skilled trades shortages. It’s not just the Canadian work experience on its own; it’s also promoting more skilled trades in elementary school, providing more training opportunities through our labour partners, providing more opportunities through a number of different avenues, also working with the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program and recognizing that there are many steps to this. Again, it’s an iterative approach that any government has to take. It’s never one-and-done, and we’re going to keep getting it done.

I’m glad to provide an update to the member, and I know that the member opposite will be happy to hear that there are improvements in enforcement that are coming through. There have been a number of inspectors hired. There has been a substantial increase in the compliance officers, I believe, through the Ministry of Labour, as well, to ensure that there’s not just awareness of the existing provisions and not just an enforcement of those existing provisions, but also a strengthening of those provisions.

That’s something that I believe the member opposite, who has served in this House for a number of years—many years now—has experience with, where there’s perhaps a piece of legislation that technically already has something included, but it’s not strengthened, it’s not strong enough, it’s not proactive enough, it’s not responsive enough to the needs of workers, or it’s not responsive enough to the changes in the economy.

And so, through this piece of legislation, we’re not saying, “Well, you know, it’s there. It’s good enough. Off we go. It’s already there. No need to touch this one. All hunky-dory over here.” No, that’s not what we’re doing. We don’t believe in good enough. We believe better is always possible, and that’s what this legislation is doing, by strengthening those existing provisions, ensuring that we have properly resourced compliance and enforcement, and ensuring that workers are respected in Ontario.

When I go and I have a good meal or my wife and I maybe go on a date—which isn’t too often anymore; with a couple of little ones at home, it becomes a little harder—we always want to leave a good tip to our server. We want to show respect for the hard work that they put in and the way that they made our evening special. When we do that, we want to ensure that they are receiving that tip. I know I’ve heard from those who in the past said, “Well, it’s not always clear what’s happening with that tip,” and it’s not even clear always for the consumer, it’s not clear for the employee, and it’s important that it is, for the sake of transparency, across the board.

This is going to be laying out not just a flexible direct deposit option for those employees, so that they know where it’s going, but also it’s going to be requiring disclosure of tip-sharing policies, to enhance transparency for everyone.

I’d be happy if the member opposite had some information he wanted to send along. I’ll gladly give it a read, see what needs to be included and speak with the minister. I know he has been a strong champion for that iterative approach that says we’re not going to say that this is the end, that this is the conclusion of our work to protect workers and work for them. There’s always more that we can do, so I’m sure we’ll have more ideas in the coming days and have more packages coming as well.

Report continues in volume B.