It gives me great pleasure to introduce to this House the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Elders of the Robinson-Huron Treaty territory: Mrs. Jo Boyer, Mrs. Jodi Koberinski and Mrs. Caroline Recollet from Wahnapitae in my riding. Welcome to Queen’s Park, ladies.

I’m happy to say that Kitchener is getting it done when it comes to building housing. Premier Ford recently joined me at Kitchener city hall to congratulate them on a job well done. For meeting their housing goals, Kitchener received $14 million from our government as part of the Building Faster Fund. The fund is a three-year, $1.2-billion program that encourages municipalities to address the housing supply crisis here in the province. The plan allows municipalities to receive funding for making significant progress against their targets by providing money for infrastructure to build more homes.

Kitchener broke ground on a total of 3,579 new housing units in 2023. That’s 139% of their targeted goal. They knocked it out of the park. Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and the rest of his council have done a phenomenal job. Berry knows that addressing the housing crisis is a team effort.

The mayor went on to say, “Tackling this challenge will take an all-of-community approach with all orders of government and the private and not-for-profit sectors working together to ensure every Ontario resident has both a roof over their head, and any supports they may need, in order to live a great life.” I can wholeheartedly support that sentiment.

Thank you very much to Kitchener for getting it done.

On behalf of myself as well as the member from Parkdale–High Park, who was the host of this morning’s press conference, and New Democrats of course, I would like to welcome a group who are here for the Basic Income Pilot program. We have Jessie Golem, who was a participant of universal basic income in Hamilton; Sheila Regehr, who is the founding member of the Basic Income Canada Network; Stephen Moreau, a partner at Cavalluzzo LLP and lead counsel for the 4,001 class action lawsuits for the early cancellation of basic income; Kaley Duff; Henry Goddard Rebstein; Christina Shiwsankar; Leandra Louis; Angela Waz; and Braman Thillainathan. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I also would like to introduce Mr. Patrick Porzuczek from Save the Minden ER. He is here with his family, that is, himself, Patrick, Laura, Jozef, Ewelina and Kinsley Porzuczek. Welcome to Queen’s Park. Welcome to your House.

This question is for the Premier. Today, the Moonias, Belesky, and Ostberg families are with us. They’re here because they have been left without credible investigations into the deaths of their loved ones by the Thunder Bay Police Service.

Ontario and the Thunder Bay police administration have failed these families again and again and again. Despite studies and reviews, inquests, documentaries, panels, podcasts and far too many promises, people have not seen change. So my question to the Premier is, what does this government have to say to those families who are here today, looking for accountability in the deaths of their loved ones?

They’ve asked me to come to the House and ask the government directly: Will the Premier provide some answers for the people of Wilmot today about why they are losing their land and not being given a choice about their livelihood?

When I went to Wilmot on Friday, I’ve got to tell you, Speaker, we were expecting about 100 people to show up at the community town hall; over 400 people came to raise their voices. Here’s what I heard from them: I heard they’re feeling left behind. They feel like they’ve been taken for granted by this government, undervalued, sidelined. They know that something doesn’t smell right here, and it isn’t just the manure. Everyone is worried that it can happen to farmers in Wilmot and farmers on the greenbelt. If it can happen there, then it can happen to them too.

So my question to the Premier is, we’ve seen this government hide information from Ontarians with the greenbelt grab. What are they trying to hide from farmers this time?

Nothing has changed for First Nations people that live in Thunder Bay. There is an ongoing failure to investigate the deaths of First Nations people in Thunder Bay. The Ontario government has let Thunder Bay Police Service become a cold case factory for Indigenous deaths. There are now more than 20 cold cases due to incompetent death investigations. Why hasn’t Ontario put resources into making sure these investigations don’t become cold cases?

Interjections.

Today, I spent some time with the families and the leaders in the north. Families and leaders are asking again to disband the Thunder Bay Police Service. When will Ontario do this?

Any loss of a family member is a tragedy. The loss to a family is absolutely something that we can’t measure.

We take this very seriously. We’ve listened carefully to the survivors. We’ve listened to the Indigenous leaders. We’ve listened to community organizations, and the loved ones of the families themselves have participated in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Any loss is one too many. We will always do everything we can to support them and to keep Ontario safe.

But, Mr. Speaker, there’s a new chief and there’s a new police service board in Thunder Bay with good intentions to keep their community safe. We have to give the new police service board and command leadership an opportunity to work with all community stakeholders so that members of the community feel served and protected.

We will continue to take the concerns of Indigenous communities very seriously.

I have seen the front-line officers that work hard, with passion and commitment. These are people that love their community.

I’ll repeat it again: There is a new police service board. There is a new chief with good intentions to serve their community and to make sure that everyone has that right of accountability in their communities to feel safe.

Mr. Speaker, I will continue to do whatever I can to make sure our message of public safety is upheld all across Ontario.

The members opposite have opposed economic development in our province at virtually every opportunity they get. We have tens of billions of prospects, new job-creating investments in our pipeline. In fact, we now have more prospects than we have land readily available. That is why the Premier put out a call. He put out a call to municipalities all across the province to get shovel-ready sites assembled so these companies can set up shop and create those good-paying jobs in their own communities.

Speaker, we are decades behind our biggest competitor, south of the border, when it comes to having shovel-ready sites. For that reason, we have now a dedicated team at our ministry and at Invest Ontario who are vetting lands sent by our municipal partners. Companies from across the globe know there is no better place to do business than right here in Ontario.

The last thing we’re going to do is to now listen to the NDP and Liberals, whose high-tax policy saw business and workers flee our province in droves—300,000 manufacturing and other workers left our province under the Liberals. We are creating the conditions for job growth in every industry and in every region.

Interjections.

To reply for the government, the Solicitor General.

The Solicitor General.

Thanks to the great member from Niagara for the question this morning on the federal carbon tax, supported by Ontario’s Liberal leader, the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, which is driving up the price of everything.

We know very well, because we’ve been talking about it for months, Mr. Speaker—and we have a plan here in Ontario. Just last week, as part of our Powering Ontario’s Growth plan, I was down in Niagara Falls, the member’s own riding, at the Sir Adam Beck facility, where we announced the refurbishment of 1.7 gigawatts of hydroelectric power at the Niagara facilities. Just this morning, I was at a great conference down at the Sheraton, where they are having the First Nations Major Projects conference. It was a huge conference where First Nations from right across the province are powering Ontario’s growth by partnering with us on our power projects like battery storage projects and other non-emitting generators.

Mr. Speaker, we’re proving that you don’t need a punitive carbon tax. It’s time to scrap that tax.

Now we have the Powering Ontario’s Growth plan, which we released last summer, and the proof is in the pudding. Last week, I was at a great announcement in Cambridge at BWXT—I know Premier Ford was there, as well, later in the day—an $80-million expansion at the BWXT plant, creating over 200 jobs.

It’s all part of our clean, non-emitting nuclear investments that we’re making in the small modular reactors at Darlington and the refurbishment of the large reactors at Bruce and at Pickering and at Darlington, and don’t forget about the new 4.8 gigawatts that we’re investing in large nuclear at Bruce. That’s a huge announcement that is going to ensure we have clean, non-emitting, reliable and affordable energy for decades to come.

We don’t need this punitive carbon tax in Ontario—

Thank you to the member for that question, and I want to thank all members of this House for unanimously passing second reading of Bill 166.

I assume we all agree on ensuring that students are safe on campus, and we stand committed to ensuring that students are safe and supported on campuses across Ontario—free from intimidation, from discrimination.

Unfortunately, we have seen horrific instances of hate on campuses across Ontario, which is why our government is taking the necessary steps to support students and their education from the time they walk on a campus until the time they graduate, which means delivering a safe and supportive environment that is conducive to learning. It is my expectation that schools step up for students. And when it comes to the safety and well-being of students, providing anything but the best falls short.

I’d like to read a quote from Michael Levitt, the president and CEO from Friends of Simon Wiesenthal: “Given the surge in hatred and discriminatory behaviour on campus in recent months, particularly against Jewish students and faculty, it’s essential all colleges in Ontario and universities have specific policies in place to combat all forms of bigotry. We welcome the Strengthening Accountability and Student Supports Act and applaud this timely action by the Ontario government.”

I want to thank all members for unanimously passing second reading and I would appreciate your support on third reading and ensuring that students in this province have a safe learning environment, which they have the right to.

I have a question for the Minister of Energy. Families in Ontario and in Niagara West are struggling to keep up with the soaring cost for essentials like fuel, food and heating, directly linked to the 23% increase in the carbon tax that came into effect under the Liberal government from Ottawa.

We know that when I go door-knocking in Niagara West, I hear from these hard-working families and job creators in my riding about the increased cost directly linked to the carbon tax. I know that the Liberal and NDP members in this chamber, when they knock on doors in their communities, hear the exact same stories from people who are having to choose about the essentials because of the cost that is driven by the federal Liberal carbon tax.

To this date, though, we see that the other parties in this chamber refuse to join our government in condemning the Trudeau Liberal carbon tax increases, which is shameful when we look at the hard-working families of our province.

I’m wondering, could this minister tell this House why it’s so important that we scrap the carbon tax and put more money back into the pockets of hard-working Ontarians?

I know that this government, under the leadership of our Premier Ford, will continue to hold the federal Liberals accountable when it comes to this terrible tax, but we are the only ones in this Legislature, it seems, who are willing to stand up for the hard-working folks in our ridings and demand accountability from the federal Liberals.

Speaker, could the minister please explain once again to this chamber what our government is doing to fight this job-killing tax and support the people of our province?

Speaker, I will remind the minister that the farming sector contributes $48 billion to our economy.

Earlier this month, the Premier confirmed it was him who gave the directive to expropriate Wilmot farmland, but he provided no further information about what’s going to happen to the property or the farmers. More than 30,000 people have signed the petition to stop the expropriation of Wilmot farmland. Let me tell you, they are sick of this government’s lack of transparency. The federation of agriculture agrees there must be more transparency, more fairness for these farmers.

Maybe the next answer to this question come could from the Premier, who is sitting right here, and they could actually mention farmers for a change. Is the Premier ignoring farmers so he can make another backroom deal with developers to carve up our farmland?

Interjections.

My question is to the Premier. The committee reviewing Bill 166 has heard repeated concerns about the alarming overreach of the bill in empowering the minister to unilaterally dictate the contents of post-secondary policies on student mental health and racism and hate on campus. So it was quite a relief last week to hear the Premier say that he agreed Bill 166 went too far, because universities are legislated to govern themselves.

Unfortunately, the Premier issued a statement a few hours later announcing his support for the bill after all. Speaker, can the Premier tell us what happened to make him change his mind?

Not only does Bill 166 permit unprecedented political interference in the autonomy of universities, putting the government in conflict with each of Ontario’s universities acts, but it could also conflict with the Ontario Human Rights Code. This government already lost in court once over its attempt to use ministerial directives to dictate university policies on student fees.

Instead of spending public dollars on a lost-cause court challenge, why won’t this government invest in the mental health and anti-racism support that post-secondary students need?

Interjections.

In order for all of these communities in Ontario to get in on the pipeline of tens of billions of dollars, the Premier’s instructions to municipalities were, “Get your shovel-ready sites assembled.”

Look at what happened in St. Thomas: 1,500 acres, no expropriation. Let’s go down to Windsor and look at the NextStar plant. Here we have a community of Windsor that assembled their land: 2,500 direct jobs, tens of thousands of indirect jobs all happening in the Windsor area. We’ve already been back down in Windsor twice now to announce other companies who are part of that NextStar. DS, Bobaek: These are companies who are now hiring hundreds and thousands of people because they assembled their land in Windsor, because they assembled their lands at Volkswagen in St. Thomas, with no expropriation.

This is what’s happening. This is what’s happening all across Ontario. We have tens of billions of dollars of investment that want to come here to create jobs.

Member for Hamilton Mountain and the member for Waterloo will please come to order.

Supplementary.

Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Minister of Colleges and Universities.

We will continue to rely on clinical advice, clinical feedback to ensure we have the best cancer screening in the province of Ontario.

And I have to say that while it is very disturbing when we hear examples of individuals who are dealing with a colon cancer treatment and diagnosis early in their stages, we have some of the most exceptional clinicians in the province of Ontario.

Yes, we will continue to monitor, using the experts at Colon Cancer Ontario and Cancer Care Ontario, to ensure that, as emerging evidence comes forward, it is the most appropriate pathway for diagnosis and treatment. We will be there, as we were when we announced last year a decrease in when access for breast cancer was announced and will start in September of this year.

Actually, just the opposite: What we’re doing, of course—the parliamentary assistant is leading a regional governance review across our fastest-growing regions. The goal of not only the Peel transition but the regional governance review is to ensure that we can build the infrastructure that is needed to get shovels in the ground. That is what we’re hearing from our partners across municipalities, not only in Peel and in the fastest-growing regions of the province but all over the province.

That is precisely why the Minister of Infrastructure, supported by this caucus and the Minister of Finance, brought forward a groundbreaking, frankly—no pun intended—$1.8 billion program to build infrastructure. The work of the transition committee is to help us unleash that even further not only in Peel but in other areas of the province.

I look forward to the work they’re doing, but, more importantly, we look forward to the opportunities to continue to build infrastructure so that we get more homes built across the province of Ontario.

We’ve heard that everywhere that we have gone. We have heard the exact same message: that this government is finally listening. After 15 long, dark years under the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, this government understands that the best way to support our municipalities is to let them do the jobs that they were elected to do. What they have said to us overwhelmingly, and I’m sure the Premier understood this message, as did the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Infrastructure: Get more shovels in the ground by building sewer and water capacity; build communities by bringing them schools, transit and transportation. That is what we are doing across the province of Ontario.

That is why there are more Conservatives representing more municipalities across the province of Ontario than at any other time in the province’s history and why that party continues to shrink to irrelevance.

Bishop Brigante, a local hip-hop artist and actor, is fighting stage 4 colorectal cancer. He’s 45 years old and was diagnosed last fall. Bishop had symptoms earlier, yet they were dismissed. He has started a petition with 30,000 signatures from people who, like him, are demanding this government lower the current colonoscopy colorectal screening age criteria of 50.

The Minister of Health has indicated that their ColonCancerCheck program is “actively monitoring” colorectal cancer and will evaluate program recommendations—such as screening age criteria—based on new and emerging data.

My question is to the Premier. Can the government explain to Bishop and other late-stage metastasized colon cancer patients in their twenties, thirties and forties what new and emerging data this government is waiting for?

This question is for the Premier. When the government takes one step forward and two steps back, it’s the rest of us who have to bear the consequences. This government has wasted hours in this House pushing through unfair and undemocratic legislation only to spend hours reversing those decisions because of public pressure. Now we’re learning, despite the reversal of the decision to break up Peel region, the provincially appointed board is costing taxpayers $1.5 million.

Why are Peel taxpayers stuck with a bill for $1.5 million over this government’s flip-flops?

The board charged taxpayers $858,000 for six months’ work between July and December of last year, and then they charged $635,000 for work for three months between January and March 5. This is good work, I guess, if you can get it. It is unclear who is getting paid, for what, and how much.

Can the Premier clarify what the people are paying $1.5 million for?

Interjections.