Thank you to the minister for her response. The carbon tax is harming the hard-working individuals, businesses and farmers of Simcoe–Grey and areas across our province.

We know Ontario has one of the cleanest electrical grids in Canada. We also know that Ontario has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 27% as compared to 2005 levels. That is 90% of the way to our target, Mr. Speaker. We are leading Canada.

The fact is that the tax is taking money from families for no good reason. On top of that, the federal government is selectively exempting home heating oil from the carbon tax. They are sending the message that not everyone is treated equally across this country. Again, this is unfair and it’s unacceptable.

As we continue to face an affordability crisis, our government must continue to fight the carbon tax and provide Ontario families with the financial relief they need. Can the minister please explain why the federal carbon tax is costly and unfair to the people of Ontario?

I appreciate the opportunity to point out the fact that it’s our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, with the support of our finance minister—we have done so much to reduce the cost of living. For instance, one of the single largest tax cuts in Ontario history is what we did with gas. We reduced the cost of gas by 10.7 cents a litre.

But guess what, Speaker? As of April 1, carbon tax is going to make the cost of everything go up 23%. That’s what’s unfair. We have to fight against it every step of the way. The federal Liberals and the provincial Liberals need to stand up, take responsibility and actually do what we’re telling them to do: Scrap the tax. Because guess what? I would project, as of April 1, we’re going to see Bonnie Crombie go on another fundraising spree because she needs to raise money to—

I’m glad you finally had an opportunity to tour the centre. We actually did that many months ago and have had subsequent conversations with the leadership within that centre. It is a model of care that was funded through our innovative program that allowed and ensured that hospitals had access to infrastructure to make sure that they could provide additional surgeries and deal with the backlog that we were dealing with post-COVID.

It is a wonderful model and they’ve been doing exceptional work in London with the hospital and with the community. I am happy to continue to have those conversations, as we have been doing for many months, to see what parts of those programs we can duplicate in other centres across Ontario.

But I hope that the member opposite remembers that question when we vote on expansion of independent integrated surgical and diagnostic centres in Ontario.

Good morning. My question is to the Premier. The official opposition leader and London MPPs recently toured the Nazem Kadri Surgical Centre, a brilliant, first-of-its-kind outpatient clinic which deals with low-intensity, low-risk procedures in a high-quality interdisciplinary environment. It’s an ingenious, cost-effective way to help patients quickly while alleviating the burden on our precious health care system. Public funding and public delivery: the best bang for your buck.

To our surprise, we learned that the Premier and Minister of Health also visited the centre and said this was a model to replicate. We agree. So why aren’t they?

The surgical centre operates at half the cost of hospital ORs. They literally double the output, meaning twice as many happy, healthy patients, yet this government is prioritizing spending on for-profit surgery clinics and agency nursing companies which bleed the government dry. Why?

My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. The federal carbon tax is making life more challenging for Ontario families. When I was door-knocking last week in my great riding of Newmarket–Aurora, the top issue I heard from residents was how the carbon tax was adding further strain on their household budgets. They know that this coming hike will drive these costs even higher, and they are concerned about the impact it will have on them and their loved ones.

We know that the cost of building long-term-care homes remains high, but the carbon tax is making it even higher. Our government must continue to uphold our commitment to support seniors in Ontario. Speaker, can the minister explain what our government is doing to ensure that our seniors get the care they deserve, while fighting this carbon tax every step of the way?

You know, this may be the first time I’m sitting closer to the floor than the superfan up there. But whether you’re here, in his seat or in one of the long-term-care homes across the province, there is one fact that remains: The Liberal tax is making everything more expensive, and it’s going to get higher—that’s no joke—on April 1.

It’s a tax on the very operation of our long-term-care homes. Just like how it costs more to heat our homes, it costs more to heat their homes. That’s one reason our government is continuing to make historic investments into long-term care.

Unlike the Liberals, we understand that rising costs hurt everyone, especially our most vulnerable. And unlike the previous Liberal government, which drove up the price of hydro, and unlike the federal Liberals that keep driving up the cost of heating, we’re fighting to keep costs low. That includes our great seniors in long-term care.

It’s an absolute pleasure to introduce my good friend Raj Thanna, Rinku Ghai and a person who needs no introduction—we are all fans of him—superfan Nav Bhatia.

I wanted to welcome the family of page Sarah Penner, who are here in the gallery: Garth Penner, Bridget Haugh, Meagan Haugh, Teagan Haugh and Harrison Haugh. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I just wanted to wish a happy 56th birthday to my big brother, Jeff Smith.

“Whereas in 2015 the Liberal Party of Ontario with their leader Kathleen Wynne who was the Premier of Ontario at the time announced that Ontario would implement a cap-and-trade carbon tax scheme; and

“Whereas the Liberal government of Ontario began their cap-and-trade carbon tax scheme on January 1, 2017; and

“Whereas this cap-and-trade carbon tax scheme immediately raised the price of every consumable product in Ontario; and

“Whereas during the provincial election in 2018 the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario campaigned against this unfair tax on the people of Ontario; and

“Whereas the newly elected Doug Ford Progressive Conservative government of Ontario repealed this unfair tax on the people of Ontario; and

“Whereas in 2018, the federal Liberal government passed the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act; and

“Whereas on January 1, 2019, the federal government’s output-based pricing system for large emitters came into force; and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax forced on the people of Ontario on fuels came into effect on April 1, 2019; and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax forced on the people of Ontario will rise by an additional 23% on April 1, 2024; and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax forced on the people of Ontario is a tax on the factors of production (i.e., labour, capital, and intermediate inputs). Intermediate inputs are goods and services (such as energy) used in producing goods and services; and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax forced on the people of Ontario will raise the intermediate input cost and thereby increase production or business costs. Intermediate input costs play an essential role in most businesses, affecting the final price at which goods and services will be sold to customers, which in turn influences the business’ profitability; and

“Whereas when the federal carbon tax forced” upon “the people of Ontario is applied to refineries, utility companies, and other intermediaries that supply electricity, fuel, and other energy that industries use. The tax then translates into higher fuel prices, which in turn increases input costs for other industries; and

“Whereas the production of goods and services necessitates business input costs which include capital, goods, services, energy, wages, and salaries, production costs will increase by more than 10% in the utilities industry” alone; and

“Whereas in 2023 Ontario’s agriculture sector” saw a “6.7%” increase in production costs for the use of “energy; and

“Whereas in 2023 Ontario’s forestry sector” saw a “7.7%” increase in production costs in the cost of “energy; and

“Whereas Ontario’s electric power generation, transmission, and distribution sector will see a cost increase of almost 11.8% due to the federal carbon tax forced onto the people of Ontario. (Electric power generation uses natural gas in the generation mix, which accounts for 5.8% of the industry’s inputs.) At 62%, iron and steel manufacturing will see the highest cost increase of all industries from the carbon tax; and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax is costing Ontarians, on average almost $500 per year, increasing annually until 2030, when the average cost for an Ontario household will be faced with an annual federal carbon tax bill” greater than their rebate by more than “$1,416 annually; and

“Whereas there is a federal fuel charge that applies to all purchases of different fuels such as gasoline, propane, and diesel,” and “this hurts the daily aspect of life” of people in Ontario, “especially those residents of northern Ontario and Indigenous communities where prices are significantly higher than elsewhere across the province; and

“Whereas the Chiefs of Ontario have been calling on the federal government to consult with them on the impact that this harmful tax is having on all of their communities; and

“Whereas due to the federal government’s failure to address the First Nations’ concerns, the Chiefs of Ontario have filed for judicial review into the application of the carbon tax in Indigenous communities; and

“Whereas the Chiefs of Ontario have called this federal carbon tax anti-reconciliatory and discriminatory; and

“Whereas those in northern Ontario do not have a choice when it comes to how they heat their homes, they are using home heating fuels such as natural gas or propane; and

“Whereas increasing the federal carbon tax by 23%” on April 1 “will see an increase of almost $400 per year for a family in northern Ontario to heat their home; and

“Whereas home heating is not a luxury and Ontarians should not be unfairly forced to pay additional costs to stay warm during the winter months; and

“Whereas the federal Parliamentary Budget Officer just concluded that the federal government finances will increase the deficit by $5.2 billion in 2030-31; and

“Whereas a higher federal carbon tax will have a negative impact by shrinking the economy by” an estimated “1.8%; and

“Whereas a higher federal carbon tax will have a negative impact on approximately 185,000 jobs across” Canada; “and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax has contributed to inflation, high taxes and big spending, which is leading to higher interest rates and is forcing thousands of people out of the housing market; and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax has shown to have a significant impact on inflation, which accounts for a 16% rise in inflation last year alone; and

“Whereas truckers in the province of Ontario are facing an additional cost of about 17.5 cents per litre; and

“Whereas this increase in fuel costs will translate to an annual cost of $15,000 to $20,000” per truck; “and

“Whereas small businesses across the province of Ontario, especially those with fleets of trucks, the federal carbon tax could add up to an additional $100,000 annually; and

“Whereas this increase in cost will lead to layoffs or forcing those small businesses to close their doors permanently; and

“Whereas 60% of households in Ontario pay more in carbon taxes than they receive in rebates. This figure could increase by 80% by 2026; and

“Whereas farmers are the experts on improving climate impact on their farms, and the federal carbon tax penalizes those farmers who are working hard to create greener farming” opportunities; “and

“Whereas since its introduction, the production costs for farmers, greenhouse growers and food processors have increased significantly. The delivery of every single consumer good in our province, particularly fresh and processed food, is being impacted by this punitive tax; and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax is driving up the cost of transporting agricultural inputs such as seed, fertilizer and packaging; and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax is driving up the cost of transporting fruits and vegetables to market; and

“Whereas rural Ontario is home to more than 2.5 million people and as the federal carbon price rises so will the cost of food and energy; and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax is not working to reduce emissions. Instead, it is simply driving up the costs of goods, services, and other essential items for the people of Ontario; and”—

Thank you.

Supplementary?

The next question.

Deferred vote on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 163, An Act to amend the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 / Projet de loi 163, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2006 sur la location à usage d’habitation.

The division bells rang from 1141 to 1146.

Second reading negatived.

The House recessed from 1150 to 1300.

Report deemed adopted.

Thank you to our colleagues for a very productive week for the people of Ontario.

On Monday, March 25, we will have opposition day number 3 in the afternoon, followed by third reading of Bill 31, the Murray Whetung Community Service Award Act, in the name of the member for Peterborough–Kawartha.

In the morning of March 26, depending on how business unfolds on Monday, March 25, we will either continue on that or we will not be sitting, but we’ll have more information on that on Monday afternoon.

As you know, the budget will be presented on Tuesday afternoon by the Minister of Finance, but before that, colleagues, before question period, the House will pay tribute to our departed former member Mr. Daryl Kramp.

On Wednesday, March 27, both the morning and afternoon sessions are yet to be determined, and we will follow up with House leaders. In the evening, private member’s motion number 82, standing in the member for Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

On Thursday, March 28, in the morning and in the afternoon, government notice of motion number 22 will be debated, and in the evening there will be no private members’ business.

I have a petition here titled “End the Public Funding of Partisan Government Advertising.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas since 2006 the Auditor General of Ontario had been responsible for reviewing all government advertising to ensure it was not partisan; and

“Whereas in 2015 the Liberal government watered down the legislation, removing the ability of the Auditor General to reject partisan ads; and

“Whereas Conservatives have since run ads such as those for the Ministry of Health that were extremely partisan in nature, which cost more than $20 million; and

“Whereas the Conservative government is currently using taxpayers’ money to run partisan ads during the Super Bowl and the Oscars; and

“Whereas history shows that the Conservative government is increasing their spending on partisan ads, totalling nearly $25 million in 2023 compared to $17 million under the Liberal government in 2017;

“Whereas the Conservatives advocate for the reversal of the 2015 amendments when they were in opposition under the Liberals;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To immediately restore the Auditor General’s authority to review all government advertising for partisan messages before the ads run;

“To pass the NDP’s Bill 176, End the Public Funding of Partisan Government Advertising Act, 2024.”

I wholly endorse this petition and give it to page Bhavna.

Point of order, Mr. Speaker.

I recognize the member for Kingston and the Islands on a point of order.

I go back to the member for Peterborough–Kawartha.

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 20, 2024, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 171, An Act to enact the Veterinarian Professionals Act, 2024 and amend or repeal various acts / Projet de loi 171, Loi visant à édicter la Loi de 2024 sur les professionnels vétérinaires et à modifier ou à abroger diverses lois.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

“Whereas in the natural resources sector, the federally imposed carbon tax has an impact on the cost of products such as sand, stone, lumber, and other building materials” needed to build homes, hospitals and schools in Ontario; “and

“Whereas not only does the federal carbon tax make raw materials more expensive, but it also increases costs across the entire supply chain...; and

“Whereas the federal government has decided to cut the carbon tax rebate for small businesses from 9% to 5%; and

“Whereas the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says that $8 billion will be collected from small businesses and only $35 million will be returned” in that rebate; “and

“Whereas for most businesses—56% of them in fact—will have no choice but to pass on those increased prices to the consumer because of the federal carbon tax and the HST to the consumers of the province of Ontario; and

“Whereas the federal carbon tax” imposed on the people of Ontario also affects “public safety; and

“Whereas the Ontario Provincial Police alone have spent almost $4 million on carbon tax; and

“Whereas the $4 million spent on carbon tax” by the OPP “could have put 40 new officers directly onto the front line; and

“Whereas that is only the cost borne by the OPP and is not” also borne by “first responders such as ambulance paramedics and firefighters that are on the roads multiple times a day requiring them to fill up their vehicles” as well; “and

“Whereas the federal government’s carbon tax has impacted Ontario’s public hospitals by increasing annual heating cost by $27.2 million for the year of 2022 alone; and

“Whereas that $27.2 million would be better spent on front-line services and improving the health care for the people of Ontario; and

“Whereas without the carbon tax hospitals would have been able to offer an additional 104,615 MRI operating hours, providing scans for an additional” 150,000 “patients;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:”

To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to “urge the federal Liberal government to repeal the unnecessary increase in the federal carbon tax scheduled for April 1, 2024, imposed on the people of the province of Ontario.”

I fully endorse this petition, will gladly—

Meegwetch, Speaker. Just saying that I liked the member from Timiskaming–Cochrane’s—what’s it called again?—petition better than the long one there. Otherwise, we should bring popcorn out.

Speaker, it’s always an honour to speak on behalf of the people of Kiiwetinoong. Kiiwetinoong, as you know, is a very, very unique riding, which represents 31 First Nations—24 of them are fly-in First Nations—and then four small townships.

I know this topic, when we talk about Bill 171, An Act to enact the Veterinarian Professionals Act, 2024 and amend or repeal various acts, is important because, as we know—right off the hop, I will say that, for me, I will be supporting this bill, alongside with my colleagues, because it is very reasonable. It is a reasonable framework to improve the standards of veterinary care in Ontario. And not only that; it will lead to greater accountability to the public. But also, we have seen a positive start in a consultation process, with years of open and transparent public consultations that included veterinary professionals themselves.

Engagement and consultation is important. That’s the same work that should happen exactly when you deal with First Nations when you’re trying to do work on their traditional territories. That’s the same engagement process that we should follow when you try to extract minerals from our territories.

There was one time an elder spoke about consultation to me. He did it by a story, by a legend. He started talking about moose to me. He was telling me about what consultation meant. There was one summer; moose were gathering. Bull moose were gathering in the summertime. They were trying to decide, these bull moose, on how they can gather on an annual basis. So they decided on the summer; bull moose will come together in the summertime.

Then, the cow moose showed up and said, “What are you guys doing?” They said, “We’re trying to determine when we’re going to meet as moose.” The cow moose says to the bull moose, “No, we cannot meet in the summertime. There are too many flies, too many bugs in the summertime. Because there are so many horseflies in the summertime, there are so many mosquitoes and it’s too warm, we should meet in the fall when there’s less bugs.” That’s why the moose rut happens every fall. That elder told me, “Now that’s consultation.” This is what you should do for First Nations people.

But going back to the bill, though I cannot say the same about many of this government’s bills, this process has been followed for the bill. That should be an example for future drafting of legislation. Rather than doing it by yourselves secretively, rather than doing lobbyist-driven politics with backroom deal-making, there should be an open concept of proper consultation, proper engagement.

But even with my support, I also want to acknowledge the history that we live in here in Canada. It may be not your history, but it’s our history as well. But it’s a colonial history of how our animals have been treated and the continued lack of access to veterinary care in the north.

I say this because veterinary care holds a very different significance for communities living in far northern Ontario, for communities living in the rural places. What I mean by that is not enough people know about the history of how animals, First Nations, sled dogs have been treated in this country. What we see today is very far different from what we know of how governments treated animals.

I say that because in First Nations, even in the Inuit communities, sled dogs were not pets. Sled dogs are not pets but working animals necessary to assume our ways of life, helping to transport hunting supplies, helping to move camp. But I talk about this because I think it’s just another example of the difference of how far we’ve come along in how we treat animals—when we talk about how colonization uses violence to aim, of taking First Nations, aim at the Inuit ways of life.

For decades, in the 20th century, as early as the 1920s and 1950s, there were government officials who came to our lands; there were the RCMP officers who came to our lands; there were the—I don’t know what the term was, but there were the MNRF officials who came to our lands. And what did they do? They killed our dogs. Do you know why they killed our dogs? So we had no means of travel, no way to continue our ways of life.

That’s the reality that I know. That’s the real history that I’m aware of. That’s why I say this is a very—fast-forward to 2024, this government, all levels of government, have come a long way of being colonial.

It was very clear, where my elders, my parents, tell these stories—where these government officials, RCMP, shot and killed our people’s dogs. The intent, again, was to disempower and take away our ways, take away our independence, take away our ability to hunt for food.

I’m just sharing this story because, again, it is part of our shared history; it’s part of that untold history that you never learned about in your history class, but it is our known history here, as First Nations people.

It is also very clear, this is one of the many, many violent tactics used by government to try to force us to assimilate, and we continue to see this in Kiiwetinoong, with the people I represent.

I think it’s also important—I started off with the number of First Nations that I represent in the riding of Kiiwetinoong. The riding of Kiiwetinoong is very unique, where there are a number of First Nations that are represented—I’ll say “First Nations,” but they’re also reserves. Because we are on-reserve, we are treated differently. We do not have access to veterinary services in Kiiwetinoong. There are animals that we have to send out by plane to send to a vet.

I spoke about the history, how we came about, and on how government treated our sled dogs, even though it really interfered on our ways of life relating to animals, relating to the land. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, back then, the officials—I can’t remember the name of the department back then—went further, where the government officials, bureaucrats and RCMP came and ripped out our traps. They came and ripped out the gillnets that we need to get our food, to be able to sustain ourselves and to have fish.

I speak about that because recently, one of the things—I put a motion forward recently for our government to recognize colonialism and Indigeneity as Indigenous determinants of health, which would help acknowledge that colonialism still impacts the lives and the health of First Nations people every day and to address the structural violence. Of course, this did not pass.

I want to do a shout-out to this dog; he’s got his own Instagram account, @mr_black.213. The .213 is the reserve number in Muskrat Dam. We are all numbered people, First Nations, but this dog has his number as well. So a shout-out to Mr. Black. They call him Blackie.

I think when we talk about northern Ontario, northwestern Ontario, Kiiwetinoong, there is so much more that needs to be done for veterinary services in Ontario. You know, when we talk about access to veterinary care, it is a major problem for livestock producers, and it is even worse in northern Ontario.

I just want to talk about—her name is Sara Epp. She’s a researcher who did surveys and interviews with many stakeholders and learned about their challenges and talks about how some of the producers have been asked by veterinarians to sign a waiver because in an emergency, they would not have veterinary care.

I think it marks that there’s a shortage. It’s very bad, and even today, I think some of the farmers are considering leaving livestock farming. And one of the things, too, is she heard that long-distance travel, distances between farms, was a major challenge for vets, and it’s even harder in the north, especially in the winter season.

One of the things that she found as well was that veterinarians told her that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work in the north and that northern Ontario needs solutions that are specific to its challenges. I am hopeful that the upcoming budget next week will announce more such initiatives to help communities in the north access veterinary care for our animals in the north.

I guess one question I would ask is, how are we supporting students from the north who want to become veterinarians? How can we make existing streams of funding for veterinarians in the north more effective? I ask those questions because life is already expensive for people living in northern Ontario and especially within the fly-in First Nations, and we need to remove any barrier any way we can.

When we talk about fly-in First Nations in Kiiwetinoong, even with the north, access to veterinary care is not equal. The first time that Sandy Lake First Nation, which is also a fly-in reserve, a fly-in community in Kiiwetinoong, ever had veterinary services was 2015. It actually made the news. It was news to get a veterinarian on-reserve in Sandy Lake. Community members lined up for five days so that their pets could be spayed, vaccinated or neutered. At that time, they had 238 dogs receive veterinary care at the clinic, which was open 14 hours a day.

They were even able to spay and neuter the stray dogs. Those are the ones that we call “rez dogs.” There’s a show called Reservation Dogs; everybody should watch it. I can’t remember which service it’s on, or which stream. But yes, that’s what we call stray dogs: rez dogs.

But going back to those 238 dogs that got vet services: That clinic took a year of work just to organize. I think it recognizes the difficulty for fly-in First Nations to keep their dog populations under control without adequate access to veterinary services.

The role and the relationship with the dogs has changed over the years. Where they used to be means of transportation and companionship, some dogs roam freely as strays and some are pets. I think when we talk about vet services on-reserve in far northern Ontario, it is a source of stress for communities that if their pet got injured or sick, they could not get immediate care for their pets, the way you can have this access in cities or in places like this.

My time is up. Meegwetch.

Further debate? Oh, sorry—questions. I apologize. Questions?

Our government knows that receiving veterinary services can be challenging for many farmers and for pet owners. That’s why we’re investing $14.7 million to add 20 new seats to the doctor of veterinary medicine program at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. We’re also providing grants of up to $50,000 over five years to new veterinary graduates, to encourage veterinarians to practise in underserviced communities.

I’d like to ask the member opposite if he agrees that the proposed changes will help assist in addressing some of the veterinary service gaps that he mentioned during his remarks.

Thank you for the question. To have 20 seats in the north, such as Thunder Bay, would be very helpful. What would be more helpful, as well: There are so many First Nations, so many of us, in the north. I think if you had specific seats for Indigenous people to become vets, it would be so awesome. I think that’s the best way, because we want to be the ones servicing our dogs. Our people, the First Nations people, want to be the ones to help their pets.

There’s always room for improvement in anything, I think—such as this bill; such as your question. The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. Let’s do it for the pets. Meegwetch.