Last week was volunteer appreciation week, and I was honoured to attend the volunteer service awards in my riding. Volunteers are the backbone of Ontario communities, and I was honoured to recognize more than 40 outstanding volunteers in Burlington. These volunteers have committed from five years of service to 45 years of volunteer time to our community. That is truly amazing. Together, they have accumulated over 700 years and thousands of hours of their time volunteering for various organizations.

The work volunteers do allows children and youth to participate in recreational and community activities, and helps people to experience culture and the arts. Volunteers also support seniors in our community as they participate in activities, and provide supports to various religious and service organizations. Their selfless dedication and commitment make a significant and positive impact on society.

Congratulations to everyone who received an award at this week’s ceremony, and thank you for the many hours of volunteer service in our community. Your dedication, kindness and support embody the very best of the Ontario spirit and help to bring communities together, inspire others and foster a sense of inclusion and connection.

It was the previous Liberal government, propped up by the NDP, that cut half a billion dollars in education funding while calling it savings. This included special education funding.

For the 2023-24 school year, we’ve invested over $3.4 billion for special education, the highest investment ever in Ontario history. This represents $125 million more compared to the 2022-23 school year and nearly $541 million more than the 2017-18 school year.

We are the government that is ensuring equal access to top-quality education in Ontario. Under this Premier, our government continues to make record investments to support the next generation of Ontario leaders, including those with special needs.

Our government continues to make record investments to support the next generation of Ontario students, including those with special needs. We’ve announced a three-year program backed by $6.2 million and targeted supports for students with disabilities to pursue co-operative education opportunities. It’s a pilot program designed to connect students with special needs to good-paying jobs.

We’ve also increased funding for the behaviour expertise amount to $39 million for the 2023-24 school year.

And we are providing $10 million in investment for the summer of 2024, to provide transition programs and additional staffing for students with special education needs over the summer months.

Our government is providing historic investments into education to ensure that students get back to basics; learn the foundations of reading, writing, math; and prepare for the jobs of tomorrow.

Our government has increased base funding by $700 million just this school year alone, investing over $26.7 billion—the largest ever in Ontario’s education history.

TDSB student enrolment decreased by about 4% from 2019 to 2020 while, at the same time, their per pupil funding has increased by 8.7%. After running a series of deficits over the last 20 years and increasing school board staffing on the sunshine list, the TDSB should focus on prioritizing students and stop subsidizing services for non-public-school students.

Under our plan, schools are being built. They’re being built faster, efficiently and effectively so that students have increased access to a place to learn and prepare for the jobs of tomorrow.

The francophone community remains an integral part of Ontario’s socio-economic fabric.

Our government is taking action to tackle a decade-long French teacher shortage inherited from the previous Liberal government, propped up by the NDP. We’re working with French-language education partners to implement our four-year, $12.5-million French teacher recruitment and retention strategy. We’re funding an additional 110 language teacher education spaces for the 2023-24 year.

Our government remains unwavering in its commitment to support the francophone community while continuing to invest in our plan to further recruit and retain highly qualified French-language educators in Ontario.

Over 10 years, our government is investing $15 billion in capital grants, which will support new schools for students in high-growth areas, improve the conditions of existing schools, and implement our new plan for child care in schools. This includes approximately $1.4 billion for the 2023-24 school year to support the repair and renewal of schools.

Our government remains committed to the francophone community to ensure that they continue to prosper in Ontario.