I want to thank both government members for their presentation. As we’ve already indicated, the official opposition NDP will be supporting this bill. But I have a question around inspection, because we know that good policies can only work if they are resourced and if there is appropriate funding that goes hand in hand with it. So when it comes to inspection, what resources have been given for inspections and enforcement? Will it mean that there will be proactive inspections? How many inspectors are there now and how many do you expect to have once this bill comes into force?

Before I ask my question, I just want to acknowledge that we have young people in the House here—students—who are watching the debate. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Okay. So, the member from Thunder Bay–Superior North—thank you so much for your presentation. You’ve talked about some really difficult topics, but it is something that needs to be brought to the attention of the House so that we can right these wrongs in our communities.

I know that in the member’s riding there are many Indigenous communities, First Nations groups. As we heard earlier from the member from Kiiwetinoong, the Indigenous people, First Nations people have the right to be able to determine for their own communities, especially when it comes to children, to be able to raise them in their communities and in their culture. But there are many, many challenges that they’re experiencing, particularly when dealing with children in foster care.

Could you please share your insights, based on what you see happening in your riding?

As the affordable housing crisis worsens, more and more Ontarians are falling into homelessness. The approach so far has failed. We need a coordinated, resourced provincial strategy to tackle the homelessness crisis.

My bill requires the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to establish a homelessness task force to support the government of Ontario in creating and maintaining a provincial homelessness strategy. In a province as rich as ours, no one should be unhoused.

My question is to the Minister of Education. Humberside Collegiate in my riding is in desperate need of major repairs. When it rains, the roof leaks, the basement gets flooded, entire sections of the building must be closed off. A classroom ceiling has caved in. These are the conditions that students and teachers are learning and teaching in. It’s also a serious health and safety issue.

Minister, you know the problem very well. You have underfunded school repairs for years. Now, we’ve reached rock bottom. It doesn’t get any worse than this when it comes to building maintenance.

If the images and videos I’ve shared don’t lead the minister to fix the schools, I don’t know what will.

I want the minister to fix the schools. Are you going to fix it?

Interjections.

What I want the minister to do is take the time, go to the school and fix it. You are the Minister of Education; the buck stops with you. Fix it.

I recognize the member from Mushkegowuk–James Bay on a point of order.

Ms. Thompson has moved third reading of Bill 171, An Act to enact the Veterinary Professionals Act, 2024 and amend or repeal various acts. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I declare the motion carried.

Be it resolved that the bill do now pass and be entitled as in the motion.

Third reading agreed to.

The House adjourned at 1550.

Questions?

Next question?

Further debate? I recognize the member from London–Fanshawe on a point of order.

Further debate?

Questions?

I recognize the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore.

Next question.

I recognize the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on a point of order.

Thank you. Please be seated.

Mr. Zee Hamid has moved the adjournment of the debate. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I declare the motion carried.

Debate adjourned.

Resuming the debate adjourned on May 16, 2024, on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 171, An Act to enact the Veterinary Professionals Act, 2024 and amend or repeal various acts / Projet de loi 171, Loi visant à édicter la Loi de 2024 sur les professionnels vétérinaires et à modifier ou à abroger diverses lois.

Further debate?

I thank the member for her presentation. There’s been quite a bit of discussion this afternoon around working for workers, particularly women, and so I think that one of the things, when you look at what the Conservative government says versus what they do, you see that a lot of times the actions actually hurt women. When you look at Bill 124 and the attack on health care workers, when you look at the child care sector, these are sectors that are predominantly women—actually predominantly low-wage, racialized, immigrant women.

So my question to the member is, particularly when you look at child care, the wage enhancement that was promised by this government back in January has still not arrived. Workers still are not receiving that wage enhancement, and that wage enhancement only applies to a very small percentage of workers, not all child care workers. Do you think that this is the right way forward, and does that help all women who are in the child care sector?

I want to thank the minister for her presentation. In this bill, despite eliminating employer requirements for sick notes, there are no more paid sick days. That’s one thing that is really, really important for all workers and, I would say, even mostly women workers, because oftentimes when children are sick, it’s women who are at home taking care of them. Similarly, when it’s our elderly parents, it’s women who need those paid sick days from their job.

But my question really is around clarification. Right now, the elimination of the sick note—is that covered for just the three-day period which currently exists under legislation, or are the sick notes eliminated for any sick day?

I have a petition here entitled “Raise Social Assistance Rates.”

Currently, recipients of Ontario Works receive $733 and Ontario Disability Support Program receive $1,227. Both of these amounts are well below the poverty line. There have been some modest increases to the Ontario Disability Support Program. However, those receiving the Ontario Works program—their rates have been frozen for decades.

We know that during the pandemic, through the CERB program, it was determined that people needed a minimum of $2,000 per month in order to be able to survive, and so this petition is calling on the government to immediately double social assistance rates for both OW and ODSP.

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature to it and give it to page Anika to take it to the table.

Speaker, just in 2022 alone, 1,326 cases of sexual assault were either withdrawn or stayed before trial, and we already know that 80% of sexual assault cases go unreported. The criminal justice system is very hostile to survivors, and it is very, very difficult to get justice. So in 2019, the Auditor General put forward recommendations in order to reform the system, and Bill 189 aims to do just that. The bill adopts recommendations 1 and 3 from the Auditor General’s report, which would ensure that survivors get the supports that are needed and help them be able to go through the system and get justice at the end of the day.

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature to it and give it to page Diya to take to the table.

I thank the member from London North Centre for his question and also for speaking very passionately yesterday about how we can address some of the challenges that the public education system is experiencing, particularly around violence, and try to make sure that everybody—students and staff alike—is in safe learning environments and safe teaching environments.

With regards to questions, this is one of the things that the Conservative government continues to claim, that they’re making historic investments, but in fact, they have been cutting education funding every year since they’ve come into office.

I thank the member from Thornhill. First, I want to say if we truly all agreed on wanting the best outcomes, then it would be reflected in this budget. The Conservatives say that they want the best outcome. Then how come we are cutting education funding and we are continuing down the path of privatization of health care—among the many, many examples that are contained in this budget?

Yes, with regard to, very specifically, the family doctor shortage, we need to create more spaces. We need to train more medical doctors. We need to encourage family medicine as a practice. There are a number of measures that can be taken. A lot of this is down the road, but this problem is urgent and there needs to be an immediate solution, as well.

One of the things that we have proposed in the NDP is to reduce the administrative burden that family doctors are experiencing so that they can spend more of their time seeing patients—a recommendation that has been put forward by family physicians themselves. And yet this government voted it down.

It’s my honour to rise on behalf of my constituents in Parkdale–High Park to speak to budget 2024, as presented in Bill 180.

Speaker, the Conservative government is out of touch and out of ideas. With budget 2024, they had the opportunity to provide real solutions for Ontarians, solutions that Ontarians are seeking: solutions to skyrocketing costs of living, the affordable housing crisis, the family doctor shortage, the massive funding shortfalls that are damaging our public schools, universities and hospitals. Instead, the Ford Conservatives are doubling down on policies that have failed people.

An NDP budget would deliver the homes, health care and hope that people are looking for. It would help families get child care by fully funding the $10-a-day child care program. It would secure faster and better health care, without leaving patients with a bill. It would build affordable housing in the communities that people want to live in, and so much more.

Speaker, a budget is more than just numbers and percentages; it’s a statement of values and priorities. If the Ontario government, the Conservative government, is working for the people, then the budget should reflect the values and priorities of Ontarians. It’s that simple.

As Ontario geared up for budget 2024, I listened to my constituents about the needs and priorities of Parkdale–High Park. I held multiple pre-budget consultations with local stakeholders to gather insights on spending priorities, policy directions and investment needs. I met and heard from residents, service providers, small business owners, parent councils, local community members and advocacy groups to learn what a budget for them would look like. My constituents spoke passionately about the need to address issues related to housing, health care, education, the environment, small businesses, affordability and reconciliation. I compiled that in a report summarizing their insights and shared it with the Minister of Finance, in the hopes that my constituents’ priorities and perspectives would help inform budget 2024.

Speaker, the report was not very different from what we heard from communities across Ontario. But after reviewing this Conservative government’s budget, I’m disappointed, Speaker. It’s not for the people. What would have been for them? Speaker, here are some main priorities and perspectives shared with me by Parkdale–High Park residents that are not reflected in budget 2024.

My constituents want increased funding for child care. Too many times in this past year, families in my riding have been left scrambling as lack of investments have led to program closures, facing higher fees, and have put them at risk of losing the child care they rely on. Families at Ola Day Care faced an $800-to-$900 per-child increase when the operator had to withdraw from the $10-a-day child care program due to the Conservative government’s poor implementation.

Then there was the High Park YMCA, which was forced to suspend its infant care program in January due to the shortage of early childhood educators. Despite being warned for years about the staffing crisis in the child care sector, this Conservative government still does not take the issue seriously, even as it is leading to the closure of desperately needed child care spaces.

In April, I received an email from a registered ECE in the High Park area who was distressed that the minimum wage increase that she and other ECEs were promised in January wasn’t coming until June, nearly half a year after the Ford government said it would kick in. At a time when many child care workers are struggling to buy groceries and pay rent, this delay was incredibly hard to deal with. The lack of investments also means that the $10-a-day child care program is under threat.

My constituents want proper investments into our public schools, our education system. Despite the Conservative government’s claims about historic spending, the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association confirmed in a report that this year’s funding is the lowest level of per-student funding in more than a decade. This budget continues the trend of education cuts in every year since the Conservatives have been in government. Education funding is down by over $1,500 per child since 2018.

The only historic thing about education is the number of families who are putting their children into private school. Speaker, people are not stupid. They can see right through the government’s actions. They are starving the public education system so that they can replace it with a privatized system. It’s happening in health care and it’s also happening in the education system.

School boards are getting less money year over year. The Conservative government is simply ignoring the struggles that our kids, parents, teachers and other education staff are dealing with. There is an extreme teacher shortage across all schools in this province: 24% of elementary schools and 35% of secondary schools are reporting teaching staff shortages every single day. There are students who require additional support who are being sent home from school because there are not enough staff available to help them. Parents are having to find and pay out of pocket for supplemental educational support that their children need.

These were the things that we used to be able to count on our schools to provide. It’s all boards: big school boards; small rural district school boards. They’re all facing deficits. They’re all having to make cuts and find the money somehow. The TDSB is facing a $26.5-million budget deficit this year, and this is after $17 million in cuts already. Outdoor education programs, language programs etc. have been cut.

In other programs, like the IB program, fees are being introduced now. Parkdale Collegiate in my riding is one of the few schools in Toronto that offer the IB program, and I want to read to this House a letter from a constituent of mine. She writes:

“My son is graduating from Parkdale this year, having participated in the IB program. He chose to participate in this program himself, and from what I have seen has been able to broaden his mind and perspective in a way that would not have happened if he was not part of it. I have seen how his view of the world has been challenged and how he and his fellow students have been enabled to think ‘differently’ and do more with what they have. I am proud of him for participating and grateful to his school, PCI, for making it available to him. I would hate to see this taken away from future students.

“The fact that the concept of charging for a special program in the public system goes against the entire idea of public and barrier-free education. The best part of the TDSB’s free IB program currently is that it creates an equal opportunity for all students to receive a university preparatory education and has a lack of barriers to access, to apply and attend, no matter family income. To charge for the IB program would remove the IB program’s most important feature.”

And as you hear from this parent, she continues, finally, to say, “I write to you in the hope that you can help put pressure on our government to fund education, as this is the most meaningful way that our province can progress and grow.”

Speaker, the Conservative government is denying equal learning opportunities for kids everywhere.

I only have about a minute and a half left, but I want to also share very quickly that obviously when it comes to health care, the residents of Parkdale–High Park also want to see a budget that is prioritizing increased investments into our publicly funded and publicly delivered health care system. Constituents have shared stories about their experiences in emergency departments, in accessing family doctors, and just the number of challenges that they are experiencing in terms of access to care.

Housing is another very important issue. The residents of Parkdale–High Park want the government to address the crisis head-on and to make safe, affordable homes accessible to all.

In the last few seconds that I have, I want to close by calling attention to Parkdale–High Park residents’ steadfast commitment to reconciliation. Constituents in my riding want to see meaningful reconciliation that goes beyond land acknowledgements. We need to make sure that First Nations are given the decision-making powers over their own lands.

Speaker, among the many things, they want to see an enforcement of the moratorium on the province’s staking of mining claims and requiring free, prior and informed consent from Ontario’s Indigenous people before mining in the Ring of Fire region, something that this budget does not do.

My question is to the Premier. Groceries are getting too expensive. People cannot afford to feed themselves and their families. Over the past year, almost a million Ontarians accessed food banks. It’s evident that big grocers are jacking up prices under the cover of inflation and posting excess profits outside the historical norm.

The Premier has a choice to make: Are you going to stand with the big grocers like Loblaws and Walmart or are you going to do your duty and protect the public from greed?