Thank you to the parliamentary assistant for his very passionate response.

Speaker, too many people in Ontario are struggling with the rising cost of living. They can’t pay their mortgage. They can’t pay their rent. They’re struggling to buy groceries, to heat their homes.

But the Liberal members in the Legislature—under the leadership of a woman who loves the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie—fail to acknowledge the devastating impact that this tax is having on so many people in Ontario. They would be happy to raise your taxes each and every year, just like Bonnie Crombie did.

Our government is making life more affordable. Our government is the only group in this House that are fighting the federal government’s unjust and unfair tax hikes.

Can the parliamentary assistant please tell this House why it is time to scrap the carbon tax once and for all?

My question is to the Premier.

Caregivers are holding our health care system together through their tireless and selfless efforts to serve the most vulnerable people in our community. The work is largely done by women. They are doing this at great personal and financial cost, and their workload only goes up as this government continues to underfund and privatize our health care system. The least we can do is provide a caregiver benefit, which will allow these heroes to get a bit of respite care, pay for the equipment they need, and provide some compensation for their time.

The Ontario NDP has long fought for a caregiver benefit and will be keeping this government’s feet to the fire until we get caregivers what they deserve.

Will the government commit today to a caregiver benefit, or will I have to continue to stand up in this place to convince this government to do the right thing?

Back to the Premier: We know the incredibly important role unpaid caregivers play in supporting our mums, our dads, our grandparents, our aunts, our uncles, and those living with significant mental and physical disabilities in the province of Ontario. We know that more than half of the women in Canada—close to nine million women—perform caregiving work. But under this government, there are zero protections or benefits for unpaid caregivers, who make enormous personal and professional sacrifices to care for those in need and the ones we love.

When is this government going to do something to support unpaid caregivers in the province of Ontario? Please answer about caregivers.

My question is to the Minister of Health.

The government’s budget last month came as a big disappointment to people across my riding and the 11 hospitals in northern Ontario and across Algoma–Manitoulin. There was hope that after months of advocacy by hospitals in northern Ontario, the government would come to the table with an increase to hospital budgets that reflects the realities they face. The increase that this government offered does not come close to meeting the financial needs of hospitals in small, rural and remote northern communities.

My question to the minister: Why does her government refuse to properly fund northern hospitals to meet their needs?

The Auditor General’s report on northern health care recommended that the government implement a dedicated health care strategy for northern Ontario, but it’s nowhere in this budget.

At a time when wait times are getting longer, emergency rooms are closing and more northerners are losing access to primary care, the government cannot sit on their hands and do nothing.

Minister, when will your government commit to a dedicated northern Ontario health care strategy and end inequitable access to health care in Ontario?

I’m happy to continuously stand up in this place and talk about the investments that we have made in health care in the province of Ontario.

Just last month with our budget—some quick facts that I’m not sure the member opposite was paying attention to—$2 billion over three years to assist in home care and community care. Why? Because we need a health care system that protects the entire system. We’re making those investments in capital infrastructure—over 50 capital builds in hospitals across Ontario, $50 billion of capital.

Building the capital and the hospitals and the infrastructure is one piece. We also need to ensure that we have health human resources, which is why, of course, also in the announcement was York medical school in the province of Ontario, where 60% of those students will actually be studying to be primary care or family physicians.

Those are the types of system investments we are making after years of neglect under the NDP and the Liberal governments.

The finance minister made an investment in home care that was actually expedited in the fall economic statement and again, of course, in last month’s budget—an additional $2 billion. Where is that going to go? Those are investments that are going into community, that are assisting family members who want to care for their loved ones in their home. But they need that little bit of extra help. That’s where those investments of home and community care are going to make an impact—in our communities across Ontario.

But that’s not the only piece that we need to do. We have actually encouraged hospitals, through things like an innovation fund—to ensure that when they have ideas that are going to impact and improve quality of care in their communities, they have access to additional funds. We have hospitals that have been able to utilize these particular programs to ensure that wait times for surgeries, wait times for diagnostics in their communities decrease.

We’re going to make those investments, after years of neglect.

I would hope that the member opposite would look specifically at the investments that we are making in his community in primary care, in multidisciplinary teams, and see that there is change coming—

We have had increases in internationally educated trained nurses. Thanks to our reforms, we’ve already seen results.

The Learn and Stay grant program has now almost 5,000 students agreeing to work in underserviced communities such as the north. A Learn and Stay program means that students who train in the north are far more likely to live and continue as clinicians in northern Ontario.

When we make expansions in the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, it means that, again, as you train in northern Ontario, as you do your residency in northern Ontario, you are far more likely to continue to serve northern Ontario.

Those are the concrete, specific examples that our government has been able to do, under the leadership of Premier Ford, to make sure that, after years of neglect, we finally get it done in northern Ontario.

Thank you. The supplementary question.

Thank you to the great member from Thornhill for such an important question facing our small businesses in Ontario.

Speaker, from the start, this Premier and our government have never been fooled by this carbon tax cash grab. This carbon tax is not only punishing consumers, but it’s also punishing businesses that still haven’t seen a penny in rebates. It’s punishing our economy, as well. According to the Fraser Institute, this tax could shrink our economy by almost 2% and cause significant job losses.

I know the Ontario Liberals and NDP are fine with job losses. In fact, they sat back as 300,000 jobs fled this province.

But this Premier and our government have rebuilt our economy from the ground up so that small businesses, which make up 98% of all businesses, could see roaring growth and investment.

Unlike the opposition Liberals and NDP, we won’t stand by as the carbon tax constantly—

Our government will never stop standing up for Ontario’s job creators and small businesses that are being crushed by this job-killing carbon tax.

The anti-business realities of the Liberals’ carbon tax scheme are becoming clearer every single day.

We’ve learned three things that completely shatter the Liberals’ hollow claims about their carbon tax:

(1) It has never actually been revenue-neutral for business.

(2) There is no mechanism to return carbon tax money to small businesses.

(3) As things stand, the vast majority of small businesses would still be excluded from rebates.

So much for them being better off, as the opposition Liberals constantly claim.

The hard truth is, the federal carbon tax has been an anti-small business nightmare from the very start.

While carbon tax Crombie and the Liberals arrogantly refuse to tell the federal government how to do their job while—

My question is to the Premier.

Speaker, we all know that access to affordable child care is a huge determinant of women’s labour participation. Affordable child care in this province could add nearly 100,000 more women to Ontario’s labour force. And yet, at every turn, this government has neglected and underfunded the rollout of affordable child care in this province. Every space that is unopened due to the government’s lack of a funding formula or staff shortages due to low wage impacts a family, a mother looking to earn an equitable wage.

Will the Premier commit to properly funding child care so that women who can work will be able to access equal pay in the child care workforce?

My question is also to the Premier.

In Ontario, caregiver jobs are predominantly filled by women in crucial sectors like health care, long-term care, education, developmental services and child care. Those women are often primary caregivers for their own families too. And yet, we see a disheartening lack of progress in closing the gender pay gap. In fact, the government brings in legislation like Bill 124 to suppress the wages of those workers. Frankly, women are tired of waiting.

This government’s failure on affordable child care has resulted in limited spaces and long wait-lists, which we know further disproportionately impacts women in the workforce.

Speaker, when will this government get serious about closing the gender pay gap and begin building a child care system where workers are paid fairly and the system is accessible and affordable for all women?

My question is for the Associate Minister of Small Business.

The federal Liberal government has been collecting billions of dollars in carbon tax from small businesses and has promised those same small businesses that they would receive rebates. With $1.3 billion owed in rebates, we have yet to hear the carbon tax queen, Bonnie Crombie, and her Liberal Party call on their federal buddies for a plan to pay Ontario businesses back. But it’s not surprising, considering her inaction during the recent carbon tax hike.

While the Prime Minister and the Ontario Liberals bizarrely claim this damaging tax hike will benefit future generations, our government knows what Ontarians really need is an end to this disastrous tax.

Can the associate minister explain how the carbon tax hike provides no environmental benefit but risks harming our economy? Will she tell us how it hurts future generations of Canadians?

Speaker, the Liberals in this Legislature could not be more out of touch with the struggles of everyday Ontario business owners. Despite estimates showing that every Ontario business is owed between $2,600 and nearly $7,000, the Liberals in this Legislature think they’re “better off” with this carbon tax. And when their leader was asked if she would stand up for Ontario businesses to her federal counterparts, she said she was not going to “tell the federal government how to do their job.” That’s not what Ontarians expect from their elected officials.

It’s clear that the Ontario Liberals won’t stand up for Ontarians.

So, through you, Mr. Speaker, to the associate minister: How is our government standing up for the job creators and the small businesses affected by this regressive carbon tax?

More women are working today as a consequence of our government’s commitment to reduce child care fees, after they exploded by 500% under the former Liberals—$50 a day; today, under our Progressive Conservative government, it’s at $23, on the way down to $10 a day. That is an achievement that makes a difference to supporting women and mothers and supporting more of them in the economy. And we’re going to keep doing this. We’re going to keep reducing fees, even if New Democrats oppose our historic reduction. We’re going to keep increasing spaces, even if Liberals oppose our budgets, which commit to 86,000 more spaces for the people of Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, we’re going to keep increasing wages—a 19% increase in year one; $1 per hour per year, every year thereafter. That’s a commitment to support our workers, our families, our economy.

Let’s do this. Let’s keep cutting fees for the people of this province.

We cut fees, saving families $10,000 to $12,000 in Windsor, and the member opposite from the New Democrats had the gall to vote against a 50% reduction. This is a member who opposed a 19% increase in ECEs; this is a member who opposed 86,000 spaces, with thousands of net new spaces for Windsor-Essex families—taking one position in the House and another position in Windsor.

Why doesn’t she stand up in her place and stand with affordable, accessible child care for the people of Ontario?

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Across the world, governments have taken a more active role in trying to secure investments that will strengthen their economy for decades to come. Since we took office, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’ve restored Ontario’s competitiveness so that, once again, we can compete on that global stage.

But with the federal government’s carbon tax, they’re putting all of our progress at risk. Their tax is driving up costs across the board, at a time when workers and businesses are already grappling with inflationary pressures and higher interest rates. We’ve seen businesses and workers come into our province in massive numbers, and now the federal Liberals want to push them out.

Can the minister explain how the federal Liberal carbon tax is putting the economic progress we’ve made as a government at risk?

I’m proud to introduce legislation that protects consumers from corporate gouging when it comes to maintenance and repairs on heavy farming equipment, wheelchairs, motor vehicles, electronic products and household appliances. This legislation is better known as Right to Repair. This bill is co-sponsored by the MPPs from Timiskaming–Cochrane as well as Parkdale–High Park.

This legislation would require manufacturers of electronic products, household appliances, wheelchairs, motor vehicles and heavy farming equipment to make the following available to consumers and repair businesses: the most recent version of the repair manual; replacement parts; software and tools used for diagnosing, maintaining or repairing their products; and tools for resetting an electronic security function if it is disabled during diagnosis, maintenance or repair.

The bill would enable our farmers to have access to repair manuals and parts for equipment that they have purchased. Furthermore, the manufacturer must also provide the repair manual at no charge or, if a paper version is requested, at a reasonable cost. It would require the manufacturer to provide the replacement parts, software and tools at a fair cost.

There’s too much heckling in here.

On a point of order, I would also like to welcome Brian Crews from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

Order. Order.

The opposition will come to order.

Interjection: They get all excited when we talk about raising taxes.

Interjections.

Please start the clock.

Minister of Economic Development.

The member for Thunder Bay–Superior North, on a point of order.

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 3 p.m.

The House recessed from 1145 to 1500.

Report adopted.

Mr. Rakocevic moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 187, An Act to amend the Consumer Protection Act, 2023 with respect to the right for consumers to repair consumer electronic products, household appliances, wheelchairs, motor vehicles and farming heavy equipment / Projet de loi 187, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2023 sur la protection du consommateur en ce qui concerne le droit des consommateurs de réparer les produits électroniques, appareils ménagers, fauteuils roulants, véhicules automobiles et équipements agricoles lourds grand public.

First reading agreed to.

I’m pleased to have the opportunity to speak to a petition being tabled today, titled “Vulnerable Persons Alert.” This petition is calling on the government to push Bill 74 through the justice policy committee and back to the Legislature, which would ensure that people who are vulnerable and have gone missing in their communities make their way home safely to their families.

This bill is also hand in hand with the over 100,000 people who have signed online petitions, one calling for a “Draven Alert,” which was due to the death of a young boy with autism; secondly, for a senior in my community of Hamilton. Her name was Shirley Love and she went missing, had dementia and was found days later, unfortunately, deceased. This bill would absolutely ensure that the community was aware that someone was missing in their local geographic area and hopefully bring them home safely.

I wholeheartedly support this petition, will affix my name to it and give it to page Simon to bring to the Clerk.

The petition is to raise social assistance rates. We know that people who are on social assistance in the province of Ontario are living in legislated poverty. The lack of funds does not even cover the rent, and we are seeing so many people end up in food banks.

There were 230 organizations that signed a letter to the minister and to the Premier asking them to double social assistance rates. People on Ontario Works have not seen an increase in over a decade—$733 a month, as we all know, is impossible to be able to rent safe, affordable housing, and people on ODSP are truly not much better at $1,308 with minimal increases.

I wholeheartedly support this petition, will affix my name to it and give it to page Audrey to bring to the Clerk.

I’ve received many requests over the years, and in particular one group called Parent Finders of Canada. They reached out to me because they wanted to express how important it is that adoptees who have biological parents who have deceased are able to access their heritage and their family lineage. Right now, the legislation doesn’t allow for people to find that out, but our petition proposes that we give post-adoption birth information. That separates the immediate family members and prohibits the children of deceased adopted people from gaining access and knowledge of their identity and possibly their Indigenous heritage. So this petition allows them to do that when their biological parents or next of kin is deceased.

I fully support this petition. I will give it to page Shylah to deliver to the table.

I beg leave to present a report from the Standing Committee on the Interior and move its adoption.

Your committee begs to report the following bill without amendment:

Bill 165, An Act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 respecting certain Board proceedings and related matters / Projet de loi 165, Loi modifiant la Loi de 1998 sur la Commission de l’énergie de l’Ontario en ce qui concerne certaines instances dont la Commission est saisie et des questions connexes.

I would like to introduce Judy and Rick from my great riding of Perth–Wellington, and Aunt Marilyn, as well, who is here from Toronto—it’s an okay place.

I’d also like to recognize Judy. She has worked in the member for Wellington–Halton Hills’s constituency office for 33 years, and I believe she is most likely the longest-serving staff to an MPP currently in Ontario.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Applause.