Thank you to the member for that question. As I said before, we can always do more. I am meeting with the Indigenous institutes coming up shortly, where we’ll be consulting on what more we can be doing. The blue-ribbon panel did address some of the issues that Indigenous institutions are facing, and that’s why we have decided to specifically consult with all the institutions together on what more we can be doing on campus.

Indigenous institutes are very important in the communities, important for accessible education for First Nations learners, but also, they’re an economic driver for communities. Ensuring that they do offer the program that is needed for local labour market needs—so addressing the needs of learners being close to home, but also the needs of the local labour market, ensuring that those students are rolling right into jobs.

I look forward to consulting with the First Nation institutes to ensure that we can be doing more to support those institutions.

We have had the chance to visit. Actually, I had mentioned earlier about the welding program. I remember that programming was funded specifically through the associate minister of women’s economic empowerment, a specific fund that was set up for students as well as the institution that provided all the wraparound supports for those students. That included things like associated costs of transportation and daycare. It was really setting these women up for success. They were working with mentors as well. In the welding situation, they were entering into programs that are highly male-dominated and setting those women up for success.

I appreciate the work that Six Nations is doing, as well as all of our institutes in Ontario, setting students up for success.

To your comment about the blue-ribbon panel: The panel also stated that it was a shared responsibility of students, of institutions and of the government. The government stepped up. We did our part. We provided $1.3 billion in new funding for the sector. But to help institutions, we also provided the efficiency fund of $15 million so that they can apply directly to the fund to be able to do those audits. The shared responsibility for the students—we didn’t see a tuition increase as the panel had suggested as being something that we were interested in doing. We want to ensure affordability for students and—

Thank you to the member for Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock for raising this important question. This government understands that investments in college and university hospital research not only strengthen Ontario’s existing innovation and commercialization capacity but also grow our province’s skilled workforce and positions us as a global leader. That is why our government is committed to supporting research and innovation that leads to the discoveries and advancements that make a real impact on people’s lives. Whether our researchers are developing new techniques to detect illnesses faster, finding new ways to understand the human brain or working on the latest AI technology, Ontario’s colleges and universities and research institutes are at the forefront.

To help further the great work being done in this sector, our government has invested more than $198 million in 2022 into research projects at colleges, universities and research hospitals across the province. This funding supports 241 research projects across the province and will be integral in building, renovating and equipping research facilities with updated technology as well as attracting new research talent. We will continue to work hard to strengthen Ontario’s college and university hospital research initiatives and thus provide them with the ability to adopt advanced technologies to remain competitive and continue moving Ontario forward.

Ontario has always been a leader in research and cultivation of life-changing and enhancing products. From the latest in technology to life-saving medication, our researchers are at the forefront. With Peter and IPON, Ontario will take the next step and ensure the benefits of this research go on to support future Ontario-based research and that Ontario is the first to benefit. When tax dollars help fund research, taxpayers deserve to see the benefits from it.