Good morning. It’s wonderful to be back with all of my colleagues.

As the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Long-Term Care and the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, I would like to welcome Ontario Long Term Care Clinicians to Queen’s Park. In the members’ gallery, we have Dr. Rhonda Collins, Dr. Benoît Robert, Dr. Janice Legère, Dr. Abhishek Narayan, Ellen Maracle Benton, Krista Hook, Karin Podolyak and finally, former MPP, Jennifer Mossop. Welcome to the House.

I’m very proud to rise in this chamber to speak to how our government’s budget, Building a Better Ontario, continues to help seniors, families, caregivers and our communities.

This past month, I was truly humbled and honoured to be appointed to two portfolios very near and dear to my heart. I now serve as parliamentary assistant to both the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility and the Minister of Long-Term Care a privilege I couldn’t be more thankful for.

I can’t emphasize enough how happy I am to join the Minister for Seniors—a super senior himself—to be an advocate for our incredible seniors in Ontario. The minister himself is an incredibly accomplished man who not only has many years of experience as a public servant, but also three decades of political experience, and on top of that has four university degrees. I think me and the minister have something in common: a love for lifelong learning.

His six years in charge of the seniors file have been remarkable, to say the least. When I visit seniors in my riding, I hear how thankful they are for his initiative, devotion, humour and energy that he brings to this file, one of them being our incredible seniors dental program bringing care to seniors who need it the most.

Madam Speaker, seniors didn’t just raise us; they built Ontario. They built our roads, our homes and started businesses that flourish to this day. It is up to us to return the favour and take care of them. It is our duty, and it is one that we take very seriously.

Another super senior I want to highlight is Hazel McCallion, our former mayor of Mississauga, who worked well into her senior years building our great city. Her hard work and dedication resulted in many investments and local landmarks we appreciate to this day: not only our famous Celebration Square, but also Sheridan College, one of the most esteemed schools in Canada. She was also a champion for women’s hockey and saw the transformation of our city from farmland into a thriving and vibrant urban centre.

Another senior I cannot forget to mention is Father Angelos from the Virgin Mary Coptic church in Mississauga, who I had the honour of joining this past weekend with the Premier and my colleagues. Father—or Abuna, as we like to call him—Angelos’s work in the community is a testament of the man of God he is, living out his faith and taking care of our community. Because of his great work, he is not only providing spiritual care to parishioners, but he’s also helping to build long-term-care homes, schools, career colleges and day cares in Mississauga. He also helped to build Aghabi Place, an affordable-rate apartment building that is home to many accessible units for residents with disabilities.

It is on the shoulders of these senior giants that I am so fortunate to stand as I embark on this new journey in my political career. Since being elected, I travelled not just in my riding, but across the province, meeting seniors and learning about each person’s unique culture and experiences. Many times a year, I visited two local co-op buildings in my riding, Camille’s Place and Aghabi Place, home to a vibrant population of seniors, where I enjoyed holding round tables and consultations, celebrating Christmas, Easter and the many different diverse holidays that we are fortunate to have in Mississauga.

Camille’s Place is also home to my adoptive grandmother, Shirley—and she might be watching today; hi, Shirley—whom I’ve shared many memorable moments with, attending picnics and celebrations, as well as our famous Lobsterfest. Madam Speaker, she is the number one seller for I don’t know how many years in a row. She sells out the house, so if anyone wants to come to the Mississauga Lobsterfest, call Grandma Shirley. She’ll hook you up.

Madam Speaker, my past portfolio with the Ministry of Francophone Affairs also had me travelling across Ontario, meeting Franco-Ontarian seniors who are living in long-term-care homes that cater to their linguistic needs, respecting our country’s two official languages. It further cemented that no two seniors in Ontario are the same. They are a diverse community, each with their own unique needs, and it is up to us to do our part in serving them to the best of our ability.

As the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility just explained, when it comes to fighting social isolation, our government is investing in the kinds of programs and services that help keep seniors fit, active, healthy, socially connected and close to their homes and communities. We have living proof: the more than 300 active living centres across Ontario that recently benefited from our government’s efforts to expand programs and services. There are now 17 new seniors’ active living centres across the province, but our government is also increasing the funding for all 316 SALCs, so they can provide more programs and services to the hundreds of thousands of seniors who participate in everything from tai chi to Zumba classes to cooking classes to health and well-being seminars, to a better understanding of money matters and tax tips, to being with old friends and meeting new ones. This is permanent, stable and predictable funding that seniors across Ontario can rely on.

This is also why we are also stepping up supports for some of our most vulnerable by expanding the annual income eligibility threshold for the Ontario Guaranteed Annual Income System program for low-income seniors, and ensuring that the benefit is indexed to the rate of inflation. This one move will result in about 100,000 more Ontario seniors receiving support, while increasing the support that eligible seniors receive.

Madam Speaker, one thing is clear: Our government will always be in the corner with our seniors. They are the backbone of our province, and I draw inspiration from their experiences each and every day. The seniors in Mississauga Centre and in every riding across this province deserve everything and more.

That is why our government continues to invest in Seniors Community Grants. I was excited to share with Mississauga seniors when I let them know that applications have been opened just last month. We want to ensure that seniors have the means to live healthy and active lives, while staying socially connected to their communities, and the Seniors Community Grant Program provides senior groups funding to deliver a wide variety of activities to promote engagement, reduce social isolation and promote healthy living. This can include something like a seniors’ bingo night, a computer skills workshop, arts and crafts activities, trips and more.

Last year, we invested $6 million into over 280 groups and organizations for activities for seniors, and we will continue to do so this year. This is what we accomplished since 2018, and it is what we will continue to do as we build a better Ontario for our seniors. I’m also excited to share that this year we will see over 120 seniors’ fairs, bringing our seniors together at the local and community levels. These fairs showcase and promote local services, programs and activities, and bring our seniors together so they can plan for the year ahead with local and community-based programming and services, or simply meet up with each other and have some fun.

Another great line item in our budget is our further investment into home care. And, Madam Speaker, this one is a very important one. We’re increasing the funding from $1 billion; we’re adding an additional $2 billion. And what this will mean for seniors in my riding of Mississauga Centre and across the province is that they will be able to age at home. They will be able to have that PSW or that nurse come to their home, do the wound dressing change or help them in the activities of daily living. This is an incredible investment because we realize we need to stabilize the workforce when it comes to our home care. This $2 billion is to boost this acceleration and increase compensation for PSWs, nurses and other care providers; and this funding is not just for home care, but for community care, as well, going towards senior day programs, meal services and transportation.

Madam Speaker, there are many more exciting investments in this budget. One that I would mention quickly is that we are investing a significant amount of money to train about 3,000 more nurses. That includes registered nurses and registered practical nurses. So, we are doing everything we can—we’re leaving no stone unturned—to ensure that we are providing for our seniors. They deserve the care; they deserve our compassion. They deserve to know that they have a government that has their backs and will continue to do so.

You know what? I’m so proud to stand here on this side of the House to speak about our record in building long-term care. Let’s be very clear: While the previous Liberal government only built some 600-odd long-term-care beds in 15 years, our government has built more than does the city of Mississauga. That’s a very clear record. We’re also investing significant amounts of dollars to increase staffing ratios in our long-term-care facilities. Even in this particular budget, we’re investing $155.5 million to extend the construction funding subsidy top-up. This means that those 58,000 beds that are in the pipeline will get additional funding to make sure those projects come to completion.

So you know what, Madam Speaker? We have 70,000 seniors living in long-term care across the province and we need every single one of those providers to continue providing care for our seniors so they can receive compassionate care, especially at the end of their life.

Do you know what else I’m proud of? Our Ontario Learn and Stay program, which was another thing that member could have delivered but hasn’t. Currently, we have 3,800 students benefiting from the Ontario Learn and Stay program, and they will stay in those far and remote communities to provide the care that those seniors and patients need.

Dementia may not be a sexy topic to talk about in politics, but I think that when we all door-knock, it doesn’t matter which side of the House you were on in the last election, I think every single member in this House heard a story about a dementia patient, a loved one, a spouse, a mother, a brother or a sister, suffering from this debilitating cognitive disease.

So while dementia is not a natural part of aging, age is a risk factor for dementia. So what we do know, Madam Speaker, is that we have close to a 70%, or even more, dementia diagnosis within our long-term-care sector. This is a significant challenge that health care providers need to deal with.

That is why I was really proud to introduce my bill, Bill 121, Improving Dementia Care in Ontario Act, to ensure that our PSWs are trained on how to provide person-centred dementia care in Ontario.

Madam Speaker, what I will say is that the NDP wants to have it both ways. We do have a $9-billion deficit—but that’s not a deficit; it’s an investment. If we didn’t have it, you would say, “How come we’re cutting and we’re not investing?” So the NDP keeps on spinning things and speaking from both sides of their mouth.

This is a great investment, this budget of $215 billion that we’re investing into health care, into long-term care—

Withdraw.

I’m very, very proud of this budget because we are investing $965 million, on average, which is a 4% increase, to hospital base funding for a second year in a row. This is a great contrast to the previous Liberal government that did what? Froze hospital budgets for four years before they got booted out of power.

We are investing almost $1 billion to decrease wait times, and we’ll continue to do that.

See? You could use some notes.