My question to the member is around the proposed Ontario Infrastructure Bank. There was an interesting article from the CBC entitled, “Why Is Doug Ford’s Government Creating a Bank to Finance Public Projects?” It goes on to say, “Questions swirl over Ontario’s plan for luring private investment....” One of the people who was quoted in the article—a former chief economist for the province—said, “The current [financing] system seems to be working pretty well”—the problem has always been around timelines to get projects completed on schedule.

Why has the government decided to move forward with this significant change, and why have so few details been provided about what this is going to mean for the province of Ontario?

My question to the member for Guelph is around that over $5-billion contingency fund that’s been set aside in this budget.

The CCPA did an analysis looking at program spending over the last five years with the numbers adjusted for inflation. They found that real per capita spending on post-secondary education has dropped 11% since 2018 when this government was elected; in children and social services, down 12%; in education, down 11%. What does the member think about a government that allows program spending to decline to that extent and also puts aside over $5 billion in an unallocated contingency fund?

Thank you to my colleague the member for Ottawa West–Nepean for her remarks. I want to focus on what she’s talked about with regard to the education system. My colleagues and I in London had the opportunity to meet with the Thames Valley District School Board trustees and senior administration last week. One of the things they told us is that the special incidence portion of the education funding that flows to school boards has not increased in 10 years. This is funding that is used to support the highest-need kids in our classrooms. The lack of that funding has meant that school boards can’t hire the EAs they need, and they can’t offer the wages that EAs need, to support kids in classes.

What does the member think this budget should have done to deal with those high-needs students in our schools?

My question to either of the members, from Don Valley East or West, is around the unprecedented size of the contingency budget that is included in the fall economic statement. It’s now at $5 billion. Typically a government would put aside about a billion in contingency.

Is the member concerned about the size of the contingency, and why do they think the government is going in this direction?

My question to the minister is around the provisions in this bill for student loan repayment.

The minister will be familiar with Tim Hudak, the former Conservative leader, who is now the CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association. That association, OREA, recently issued a report identifying student debt as the biggest barrier to young people’s ability to afford a new home in this province.

So I’m curious to know, why did the government not implement new measures to reduce the burden of student debt that young people are graduating with and instead make changes to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act that would eliminate the practice of notifying OSAP students that their loan is due?

I appreciated the comments from my colleague the member for Timiskaming–Cochrane. I wanted to ask if he had a chance to look at a very interesting analysis of the budget from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. They raise concerns about the size of this government’s contingency fund. It is now over $5 billion—very much a departure from the traditional practice in Ontario of allowing a contingency of about $1 billion.

Does the member have any thoughts as to how that $5 billion that’s socked away into contingency that may or may not be spent—often, it’s not spent, as we have seen from previous budgets. But what does he think the government should be doing with those funds?