You know what we are doing? Training more PSWs, more nurses, initiatives like the Ontario Learn and Stay program. We have 3,500 graduates coming through the program that are nurses, lab techs and paramedics in underserved regions of the province. These students have their educational costs covered by the government in order to fill those spaces. In fact, there are actually six students for every nursing space in Ontario. This is a growing profession, and we have students across the province who are looking to become nurses.

We are going to continue to work with our post-secondary partners to ensure that we have nurses, paramedics, lab techs and PSWs across Ontario.

I wanted just to ask one more question, kind of building off what the opposition member had mentioned. He said that he thought that we were the highest tuition in Canada. We’re actually fourth now because of the tuition cuts this government has made. But I wanted to ask the member about the tuition freeze and what the impact is going to be on students to be able to access post-secondary education.

Thank you to my colleague for supporting this bill and the great work that it is intended to do. I know when we first met in 2018, you were also a faculty member, at the same time as I was at Georgian College at that time, and you have post-secondary-age sons as well. So I wanted to hear from you, as a faculty member and as a parent of students: What do you hear from those students about the needs for mental health supports on campus?

I have serious concerns about what’s happening on our campuses across Ontario. I have heard from students and from staff alike. Our committee members heard from students.

Let me read you some of the Hansard from committee. This is an independent member—mandating mental health policies is “red tape.” At committee, we heard from a member who called the anti-hate provisions of this bill “red tape.” That member heard the testimonies of students who were made to feel so unwelcome and unsafe that they stopped going back to campus. The member is more concerned about burdening university staff than the well-being of our students.

We also heard the need for centralizing reporting of incidents. Again, committee members heard from the National Council of Canadian Muslims, which expressed a need for centralized reporting of hate crimes to the ministry—according to these, incidents of hate are far often not reported to institutions and aren’t addressed in a timely manner.

We heard from a lot of students who were saying, “I understand that government froze tuition, but how come my tuition keeps going up every year?” That was because of the extra costs. So the legislation will require universities and colleges to, up front, explain the costs for programs.

I mentioned in my speech, when I went, I remember my microbiology class—you pay for these expensive textbooks, but then you find out once you start class that you also had a lab coat and you had your little microbiology kit. I remember going to the library—and, of course, they ranged from all expenses.

We want students to know up front what the expense is going to be for all their programs, as well as a tuition breakdown.

So, working with our colleges and universities—and I also want to thank MPP Smith for her motion as well, working with the anti-hate policy.

We’re going to work together with the institutions, and we want to ensure that these policies are the same across all campuses. Whether you’re at Georgian College or at Lakehead, the same expectation is going to be there for all students.

And he would know—because you were a PA back in 2018, when our party came into government and Ontario had the highest tuition in all of Canada. And under the leadership of Premier Ford, we decreased that tuition by 10% and have continued to freeze it every year since.

Life is expensive—expensive for all families. We have a cost-of-living crisis, and the thought of increasing tuition for students was absolutely ridiculous. This was not something that we were going to do, and the Premier was quite clear about that.

We’ve heard from the leader of the Liberal Party. She’s interested in increasing tuition. I’m not quite sure where the NDP stand on it, but we’ve made an investment in our institutions, and we’re going to work with our institutions to ensure that they’re running as efficiently as possible. We’re already doing some great work and some great collaboration that’s happening with our institutions, and I look forward to continuing that work moving forward.

These are the students that I’m concerned about, the stories that I’ve heard about, but we’re going to work with our colleges and universities to ensure that we have an anti-hate policy in place to protect all of our students across this province.

It sounds like the member is in favour of increasing tuition. Under the leadership of this Premier, we are going to ensure that students have affordable and accessible education in the province. That’s why we’re investing a historic $1.3 billion in post-secondary education. That’s an additional $100 million for the 65,000 STEM graduates out there and the 30,000 nursing students in our system.

We have an incredible, world-class post-secondary education system in Ontario, and we are going to ensure that with $1.3 billion, we are giving schools the affordability and the predictability that they need to ensure that we have and continue to have world-class education here in this province.

Under the leadership of this Premier, we just invested $1.3 billion in post-secondary education, the largest investment in over a decade in post-secondary education. We are giving schools the stability and the predictability that they need, and we are not doing it on the backs of Ontario students.

Mr. Speaker, we are continuing to freeze tuition for an additional three years. Looking back under the Liberal leadership, Ontario had the highest post-secondary education tuition in all of Canada. Under the leadership of this Premier, we decreased tuition by 10% and we have continued to freeze it. We are going to ensure that every student in this province has accessibility and affordability when it comes to post-secondary education.

Thank you to the member. You have some great institutions in your area. I appreciate visiting and meeting with not only administration but also with the students. I love the student experience on campus when I get to chat directly with them about how they ended up at that institution and the program they were in.

I know, for myself, I was interested in STEM when I went to university. But then, when I got there—I thought I wanted to be an engineer—I realized that physics in university was much harder than physics was in high school, and my STEM career suddenly changed.

But the number of engineers, for example, that we’re going to need in this province alone—Minister Fedeli is bringing these companies. They are needing thousands and thousands of STEM workers. We wanted to ensure that government wasn’t going to be a barrier to training more STEM workers. We were hearing from institutions that the interest in STEM programming at their schools is very high. That’s because it’s very high in in-demand jobs for those students. We wanted to ensure that we were providing the funding for those students in those labour demand programs.

We’re going to work closely with Colleges Ontario and Council of Ontario Universities in ensuring that there is a standardized approach to reporting incidents of hate or racism on campus. Whether you are at U of T or a George Brown campus, it’s the same policy in place. We want to ensure that—because I was hearing from students that they weren’t reporting incidents because they said, “There’s never any follow-up. Nothing happens.” We want to—

They haven’t arrived yet, but we had a great discussion this morning: grade 10 students from Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School from my riding in Simcoe North. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to talk about the international students and the chaos that the federal government has caused in the post-secondary sector across Canada—absolutely no consultation with the provinces or the institutions themselves.

I am hearing from ministers on this side about the impact that this is going to have in their ministries. In fact, the Premier and the Prime Minister just signed a historic health care deal. Where do you think the PSWs and the nurses are going to come from that the Minister of Long-Term Care and the Minister of Health are going to need? Where are we going to find the skilled trade workers that the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Infrastructure are going to need to build the houses, the roads, the schools, the hospitals in this province?

Mr. Speaker, absolutely no consultations with the provinces or these institutions themselves—absolutely disgusting from the federal government.

Thank you to the member for that question. Actually, after question period, I’m heading down to the college fair, and I’ll be meeting with students, faculty and colleges but also with our team from OSAP and hearing directly from those folks who are working on the ground, dealing directly with students.

What’s interesting is, under the former Liberal government, this province had the highest tuition in Canada, but it was our Premier who said, “No more.” In 2018, we decreased tuition by 10%. We want tuition to be affordable for all students across the province, and that’s why we continued to freeze that tuition. And we’ve kept OSAP as a needs-based assessment, so that students in 10, 15, 20 years will have access to the OSAP system. In 2021 alone, we invested $4.2 billion in direct aid to 385,000 full-time students, with 80% of Ontario’s funding provided as grants, opposed to the 54% of federal student support.

Thank you to the member for that question. Students, their families and the taxpayers of Ontario deserve to know that when their hard-earned dollars are invested in Ontario’s post-secondary system, that investment pays off.

Our decision to not fund the Université de Sudbury’s proposal to become a stand-alone French-language university was one that was not made lightly. The university’s proposal did not reflect current demand and enrolment trends or the existing capacity of post-secondary institutions to offer French-language programs in the Greater Sudbury area and across Ontario.

I must remind the member that we have 10 francophone and bilingual institutions across Ontario, and students have the choice to make. I would remind you: Collège Boréal, collège La Cité, University of Ottawa, Laurentian University, Université de Hearst, Dominican University, Glendon College, Université de l’Ontario français. We have options for students across Ontario. As the minister, it is my duty to respect the taxpayers’ dollars.

We are also taking meaningful action to address the shortage of French-language teachers in Ontario. In fact, just last month, I was with the Minister of Education and the Treasury Board president and Minister of Francophone Affairs, where we announced an additional—

Interjections.

Interjections.

Thank you to the great member for that question.

Yes, I would love to provide an update on the Learn and Stay program. I’ve had the opportunity to speak about this exciting grant on several occasions in the House and how it will directly address the health care challenges Ontario is facing.

On May 16, at Georgian College in Owen Sound, alongside Minister Jones and MPP Byers, we announced the launch of applications for the new Ontario Learn and Stay Grant. Incentivizing students to study and work in the sector will not only alleviate the health care strain and bring stability to underserved communities, but it will also steer students in the direction of meaningful careers.

Speaker, I am pleased to report that to date, as of 9 a.m. this morning, we have had 4,135 students start or complete the application to the Learn and Stay program. This outstanding number proves that students are eager to begin lifelong careers in the health care sector.

Unlike previous governments, this government is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to supporting students in every way possible, to support our—

Thank you to the member for the great question. Yesterday, alongside the Minister of Health, we announced that applications are now open for the much-anticipated Ontario Learn and Stay Grant. Months of hard work and dedication led up to what was a very successful launch of the program, with over 700 students applying to the Learn and Stay website within the first 24 hours. This is a win-win for both post-secondary students and underserved communities across the province. Not only does it offer a sizable financial contribution for students, it also has the power to make a significant impact in the local communities that need it most.

Speaker, it’s clear that students are eager to begin their careers in nursing, and I’m confident our government’s approach of offering financial support will make all the difference between someone considering a career in health care and someone who actually pursues it. This grant clearly demonstrates that, unlike previous governments, this government is taking concrete—

I would like to introduce two guests from my riding today: Jenna Craig and Anniston Deleary. They are grade 12 students from Chippewas of Rama First Nation and youth council members. Thank you for being here today and joining me.

Thank you to the member for that question.

I would like to wish all nurses a happy Nursing Week.

I was actually at Centennial College yesterday and met with a class. It was their first day of nursing, so congratulations to all those new students who are entering the profession.

We’re seeing a record number of students entering into the nursing field because of some of the incentives that we’re offering, like the new Learn and Stay program, which the Minister of Health was acknowledging early on. This is 2,500 students who will have the opportunity for free tuition, to enter into the nursing profession, paramedic, lab tech—all their education covered, with a commitment to stay in their communities for two years.

Another interesting incentive we’re offering is the Community Commitment Program for Nurses, which was launched in June 2022 at selected hospitals in Ontario to address nursing shortages. In fact, in about 10 months, Windsor Regional Hospital has signed up over 200 nurses in this program. This program offers qualified nursing staff $25,000 to sign up and then serve at least two years in a designated community.

I have a quote from the CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital: “It has been hugely successful.”

“‘These government programs have really benefited us with recruiting,’ said Karen Riddell, Windsor Regional Hospital’s chief operating officer and chief nursing executive.

“‘We have another 111 graduates starting this summer. That’s a significant number.

“‘As the province expands these HR strategies, these are really important to maintaining our workforce.’”

That was from Karen Riddell of Windsor Regional Hospital in your riding.

Thank you to the great member from Scarborough Centre for raising this important issue.

As minister and as a mother of three university-aged daughters, I personally understand how important it is to support post-secondary students’ mental health and create the right conditions to help young people succeed in their post-secondary journey.

I’m proud to say that since day one, our government has taken action to support a healthy Ontario—and that includes in our 2023 budget, where we outlined our continued investment of $26.5 million in mental health supports for post-secondary students across the province. That ensures more social workers, psychologists and support staff on our campuses and virtually to support our students when they need it most. Because we know that the post-secondary education journey can sometimes be tough, our students deserve to have the resources they need to navigate those challenges and ultimately thrive and excel.

Speaker, our government understands that improving mental health supports for our post-secondary students to succeed will create a stronger and healthier Ontario.

We have been investing in programs that support students wherever and whenever they need help, because we want them to know that they are not alone and that no one should ever suffer in silence. This includes supporting initiatives like Good2Talk, a mental health helpline solely for post-secondary students, that is available 24/7/365, through phone, text or even live chat.

We also support a new virtual mental health app called Get A-Head, which is available to students at all publicly assisted institutions across Ontario and that they can access whenever they feel like they need help or someone to talk to.

And these supports are on top of those offered on campuses at our colleges, universities and Indigenous institutes.

Speaker, through these investments, we will continue to bolster mental health supports at institutions to support students throughout their post-secondary journey and set them up for success.

To all the students out there, including my own daughters, with exams coming up and beyond: Always prioritize your physical and emotional well-being.

I send all students best wishes on their upcoming exams.

Thank you to the member from Eglinton–Lawrence for this important question.

Our government recognizes that in order to build up our health care system, we need to ensure that students pursuing medical studies have access to world-class post-secondary education. As part of that effort, we need to ensure that we have the capacity to train doctors locally—and this government is delivering. In 2022 alone, we added 160 undergraduate spaces and 295 postgraduate medical seats to be implemented over the next five years—the largest expansion of Ontario’s medical school system in over a decade. As outlined in budget 2023, we are building on that expansion by investing $33 million over three years to add another 100 undergraduate seats and 154 postgraduate seats, beginning in 2024, prioritizing Ontario students. This means that by 2028, Ontario will have the capacity to train 1,212 undergraduate medical students and 1,637 postgraduate students annually.

I can assure you that the future of medical education in Ontario is bright.

Thank you to the member from Brampton West for raising this important issue and for your advocacy on the new TMU medical school.

I am proud to say that, in 2022, we added 160 undergraduate spaces and 295 postgrad spaces over the next five years to train doctors, which is more than Ontario has seen in over a decade. In budget 2023, we were able to build on our government’s unprecedented medical seat expansion by adding an additional 100 undergraduate and 154 postgraduate seats. That is 709 new medical seats announced in just one year.

Unlike the previous Liberal government and the official opposition, our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford and the Minister of Health, have rolled up our sleeves and got it done. We didn’t just talk about needing more doctors; we are ensuring that we will have more doctors. Our government is building Ontario’s health care system to be stronger, more resilient and better than before.

We have taken a pragmatic approach to ensure that every medical seat expansion increases medical seats in all regions of Ontario. By training more students in key communities, we will keep up with providing quality health care to the growing population and improving distribution and retention of physicians across the province.

To the member from Brampton, I share your excitement about the new Toronto Metropolitan University medical school in Brampton, and I cannot wait for the first cohort to be welcomed. Speaker, it’s worth repeating that Brampton isn’t the only medical school announced by this government. Because of the work done by Premier Ford, we were able to transform the northern Ontario medical school to a stand-alone institution and create the Scarborough Academy of Medicine under the University of Toronto.

We aren’t just training doctors for humans. We’re also training more vets, thanks to the collaboration between Guelph and Lakehead University.

Speaker, our government continues to make record investments to build up our health care infrastructure. We’re ensuring that we have the trained professionals needed to care for all Ontarians, including the furry and feathered ones.

I think instead of the fearmongering that the member is bringing to the floor, we need to celebrate the opportunities that we’re seeing—a record number of students entering into the nursing profession; as I mentioned, building on the 14,000 nursing registrants in the province last year alone. There are currently over 5,000 internationally educated nurses residing in Ontario whose applications are at various stages, who are able to enter the workforce sooner as a result of the changes that this government is making. We are breaking down registration barriers so that more health care professionals trained in Ontario and other provinces or internationally can practise here in Ontario.

We have a real opportunity here. We are seeing more and more nursing students entering into the profession—the work that our universities are doing, our stand-alone bachelor of science in nursing program now offered at colleges here in Ontario. We’re seeing it across the province—a record number of students who are able to work in our rural and our underserved areas and stay close to home, in the hospitals and long-term-care centres that need those nurses.

Thank you to the member for that question.

Building on the 14,000 nursing registrations in the province last year alone, our government is investing in a range of initiatives to track, train and retain even more nurses. As I mentioned earlier, this year alone in universities—this doesn’t even include colleges—over 109,000 registrations in September 2022.

We are seeing an increase year over year of students entering into the nursing profession.

Look at the investments that are being made in long-term care alone—60,000 new and upgraded beds, and the beds that the parliamentary assistant to health mentioned earlier in hospitals. The investments being made into the health care system are encouraging new and current nurses in the system. They want to be in nursing.

We expanded the new Learn and Stay program to include nurses, paramedics and lab technicians.

This is an exciting field that students are wanting to get into—health human resources—and this government is making the investments to ensure that they are successful.