I thank the member for his speech. Aside from all the things the member spoke of that were part of the budget speech, I don’t think there was really a true focus or an understanding of the fact that we are truly in the midst of an affordability crisis. I think we all agree on the need to create more jobs, that’s for sure. But there are countless thousands of people unable to work for a number of different reasons—people on OW and ODSP—and the government’s response was a below-inflation increase. In Toronto and other places, the cost of rent is at $3,000 a month. Do you truly believe that with a 5% increase to ODSP, to the most vulnerable among us, that this is enough? They are barely treading water, and they’re sinking. Don’t you think more needs to be done?

Earlier today, I asked a question of the Minister of Finance—actually, the Premier, but it was answered by the Minister of Finance—around auto insurance and the fact that rates in Brampton had gone up by 37% in the last two years. When I was looking at that report, I had noticed that, actually, number three in all of Ontario, the third city in terms of the highest rate of increase, at almost 20%, was Mississauga.

So my question is for my friend the member of Mississauga–Lakeshore. I know he cares deeply about his constituents. How does he feel about the fact that auto insurance companies have jacked up their rate almost 20% in his area, and do you believe that the government could be doing more to bring this under control?

I thank the member for his very passionate speech outlining what we should be focusing on. I heard a government member, during their line of questioning, proudly proclaim that this government was looking to increase ODSP by 5%. In the midst of an affordability crisis, do you believe that this is enough money—below inflation—for some of the most vulnerable among us?

I’m going to be splitting my time with the MPP from University–Rosedale.

Last Thursday, the government dropped the budget. I was there. The delivery of this finance minister was powerful. It was incredible salesmanship. I’ve heard him speak like that. When I’ve heard him speak like that, it was usually about auto insurance companies and the PR he does for them. Because usually, when I ask questions about it, he still had that level of love and salesmanship when he sold that budget.

I was so inspired that on Friday of last week, I flew all the way up to Thunder Bay, and I thought I would take a trip of my Ontario, our Ontario, and experience that Ontario myself.

I visited my good friend in Thunder Bay, and the first thing that I saw—and this is not something that I can speak happily or brag about, but I saw a 60% increase in food bank usage. And it was very difficult.

From there, I went and visited my friend in Mushkegowuk–James Bay. I took Highway 11. I had to wait; there was a 48-hour road closure. I wanted an EV car, actually. I forgot to mention that, because the first thing I did when I arrived was try to purchase an EV car. But I couldn’t, because you know the credit the government got rid of was for EV vehicles some years back. I couldn’t afford it. There was no talk about increased charging stations. I’m not sure how I would have got there in the first place. But I went along. It was dangerous. I was white-knuckling as I drove two-lane highways.

And then, I went to visit my good friend in Sudbury, where the first-ever tent city is happening since the establishment and the founding of Sudbury itself. That’s what happened.

From there, I got on the 400, eventually made my way through Toronto and went all the way out to Hamilton, where services for people facing mental health challenges—multiple service providers were cut, doors closed because they didn’t have the funding that they needed.

From Hamilton, I came all the way back to downtown Toronto. I visited people living in a condominium where this new family had just got the keys for their brand new condominium unit. As the critic for consumer protection, this is something of big interest to myself and all of us here on the NDP side. After making that first purchase of a home and a condominium, they faced a 50% increase in condominium fees. In this time and age, they’re struggling.

Meanwhile, their neighbour, a friend in another building actually, is fighting down their condominium board over an issue, and they can’t afford it. The court costs are through the roof. They’re hoping that this government will actually expand the Condominium Authority Tribunal, so that they can get fair and quick justice, but they’re still waiting.

In fact, the Auditor General has a series of recommendations going back from a bill tabled in 2015 that could fix condominiums here in this province and what some of the condominium owners are facing. We’re still waiting for those to be proclaimed.

From downtown Toronto, we came up to my community, Humber River–Black Creek. I spoke to an ODSP recipient—and at this point I do want to pause and I want to recognize and congratulate the new minister for children and social services. I know that he speaks powerfully and I know that he has got a very tough role to fill. But I want to tell the minister and I want to tell everybody here about an ODSP recipient in my community. Imagine he’s listening to the budget. He wasn’t inspired like I was, because he heard he was getting maybe a 5% increase—5% in this difficult time; imagine that.

As I mentioned earlier, and this is very terrible to hear, there are people facing disabilities and challenges who are considering medically assisted suicide. That is how difficult it is. That is how terrible it is right now, and so it is a tough file, and I hope that he will be able to talk to the Premier and to all the people on his side about the fact that 5% doesn’t go far enough. It really doesn’t go far enough. We need to double those rates, so I’m hoping that he will be able to work through and make that happen.

From my community, I decide I’m going to go visit my good friend over there in Brampton. To get there, I would consider taking the 407, but I can’t afford it—the 407, maybe not just the most expensive highway in Ontario, maybe not just the most expensive highway in Canada, maybe not even in North America or the world, but in the entire visible universe. That’s what we’re dealing with. And it’s a highway, may I remind this government, that last year owed this government a billion dollars, and the government said, “Do you know what, 407?”—because it was part of the contract, and we should respect those contracts—“We don’t need your money. We don’t need that money. Keep the money. A billion dollars? Don’t worry about it.” Did they actually say, “Hey, do you know what? We won’t ask for that billion—maybe let’s go revisit and modify some of those contracts, because drivers are getting gouged”? They didn’t do that. They said, “Keep the money.” I get it; it’s their friends.

And so, where did I end up? I came to visit my dear friend in Brampton, where, under this government we are seeing in this province of Ontario, with some of the safest drivers in all of Canada—literally, when you look at the drivers, they are the safest; our roads, relative to all of Canada, some of the safest—that we are paying the highest rates. And so I go to visit my friend in Brampton, under this government, that is absolutely refusing to stand up to these auto insurance companies that, during the end of the pandemic, made 27% in profits.

And yet, imagine: It’s always the same story when they reach out to the government. They sit around, probably in boardrooms, and they work backwards: “What are we going to charge people? Come up with ideas. What are we going to say?” It’s happening. It’s literally happening: 27%. And then, when they go to their shareholders, they say, “Invest with us. We’re making so much money, hand over fist.” But when they talk to FSRA and they talk to the government, they say, “Oh, no, do you know what? We can’t afford this. It is really tough for us.” It is the same story.

In the little bit of time that I have left: This budget, delivered with the gusto that this finance minister delivered it with, seems to be completely out of touch. It is not understanding a moment in time where each and every one of us—on a serious note, the members of our community, everyday regular families—are struggling under this affordability crisis. And what we saw in that budget, whether by design or perhaps simply forgotten, was that the people in our communities—

I want to thank both presenters. I know they work hard, and they speak passionately here in the House.

There has been conversation about increases to ODSP in both of these presentations. The ODSP that’s being increased, that’s being looked at, is in fact less than the cost of inflation. I think we’re all struggling and shocked when we hear people reach out to our communities, to our offices, to us and tell us that people on ODSP are contemplating medically assisted suicide because of the challenges they’re facing with health and with the expenses that they’re facing. Considering that the government is considering a 5%, below-inflation increase, do you believe that in this time this is simply enough for people like them and others to get by?

I thank the member for his presentation. He always is very well rehearsed and speaks so well here in the House.

My question is—you speak to everyday Ontarians, families and individuals in your community. We are now in the midst of an unprecedented affordability crisis and this is a very, very, very tough time, coming out of an even tougher time as well, from the pandemic. Do everyday residents in your community express hope with this budget? What are they saying to you?