My question is to the Premier.

Speaker, this government’s scandals didn’t start with the greenbelt. A few years ago, the government was embroiled in controversy when they attempted to get accreditation for a private evangelical school led by the Premier’s close friend Charles McVety, who was well known for his anti-LGBTQ and Islamophobic statements. The government even put forward legislation to allow the school to be able to hand out bachelor degrees. Today, that same school is one of the very few private colleges that will get international students under the new cap.

Can the Premier tell us whether McVety’s insider connections played a role in his allocation of international study permits?

Speaker, a lawsuit on the matter of McVety’s school revealed a recorded call with a Conservative minister who said that he would guide McVety through the process of accreditation and ensure that McVety got where he wanted to go.

We now learn that McVety’s school is the beneficiary of another favourable decision by this government.

Again, to the Premier: Was preferential treatment involved in the government’s decision about which private colleges would receive international study permits?

My question is to the Premier. Gloria moved to London West in 2021 and has an autoimmune disease. For the last three years, she has been registered with Health Care Connect, all while desperately searching for a doctor to help her manage her condition. She told me, “It shocks everyone I know when I tell them I don’t have a doctor.”

What advice does the Premier have for the more than 65,000 Londoners like Gloria who feel hopeless about ever being able to access primary care?

Susan also has a rare autoimmune disease. She lives in London West, and she was informed three months ago that her family doctor was closing his practice at the end of March. Without another doctor to take over, he advised his patients to contact Health Care Connect. When Susan called to register, she was told she must first de-roster with her current doctor, even though he was still practising for three months. Forcing Susan to leave her doctor early, then go potentially years without another doctor, has Susan feeling angry, helpless and very, very worried about her health.

What advice does the Premier have for Londoners like Susan?

My question is to the Premier.

Speaker, last week, the federal immigration minister said that comments about the international student cap made by the Minister of Colleges and Universities were “complete garbage.” Now, we may never know what really happened between those two ministers, but we do know that the cap was announced on January 22, and it’s now March 6.

Meanwhile, the application process for international students in this province is at a complete standstill until the government makes a decision on how the cap will be allocated and how attestation letters will be issued.

Speaker, how much longer do Ontario colleges and universities have to wait?

Can the minister at least tell this House how the cap will be allocated? Will the government take into account the track record of individual institutions in their approval rates for international study visas and in the supports they provide to international students?

Interjections.

My question is to the Premier.

The crisis in our post-secondary system provides yet another example of a public service that is crumbling under this government’s erratic and irresponsible fiscal approach. Last week’s blue-ribbon panel found that Ontario’s funding for post-secondary education is just half that of the rest of Canada. Eight Ontario universities have run deficits for two years in a row.

Speaker, what is the Premier’s plan to address the fragile and financially unsustainable situation of Ontario’s colleges and universities?

Will the Premier commit today to ensuring that colleges and universities in Ontario will get the increased funding that they, and more importantly, students need to keep the sector afloat?

Interjections.

My question is to the Premier. From the greenbelt grab to MZOs to private evangelical colleges, this government has shown that if you are a friend of the Premier, you will get their special attention.

A phone transcript has revealed that the previous Minister of Colleges and Universities, who is the current chief government whip, had assured the Premier’s friend Charles McVety that McVety’s private evangelical college would get university status regardless of the independent application review process. At the same time, that minister was telling this House that they “don’t meddle with procedural fairness” and that there was “no way to stand in the way of an independent process.”

Speaker, did the Premier know what his minister was promising to Charles McVety?