Alstom's Thunder Bay plant
Thunder Bay was the hot topic of Wednesday's question period after <a href="https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/prolonged-layoffs-start-next-month-at-thunder-bays-alstom-plant-5089875" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news broke Tuesday</a> that Alstom's streetcar and rail coach plant will be laying off 300 workers for four to 12 months. New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath targeted Premier Doug Ford, who attended his first question period of the new legislative session, with her first question.
Ford responded, in his only answer of the day, by emphasizing his government's transit funding, including money given to Alstom to refurbish streetcars and railcars, and mentioned he met with Alstom's CEO last year when he visited its plant last August.
"There's no government in the history of this province that's invested more into infrastructure, (and) more into transit than this government has," Ford claimed.
Associate Transportation Minister Stan Cho also defended moving hastily on the layoffs, calling them "temporary," saying that he had optimism for "days of prosperity" in Thunder Bay coming "shortly."
"We are going to get on the path to prosperity in the province of Ontario, and it is no thanks to the opposition and the leader of the NDP," Cho said, pointing at Horwath.
A health-care 'human resource crisis'
Horwath pushed Health Minister Christine Elliott on surgery backlogs and the shortage of nurses and health-care workers plaguing hospitals throughout the province.
Elliott touted the government's investment to create 3,100 new hospital beds while also taking a shot at the previous Liberal government for the condition of the health-care system, which "was left lacking."
Adding that the government was in talks with the Ontario Hospital Association and working to enact a "multi-phase plan" that would address the surgery backlog, Elliott said the government was still in the process of calculating the exact number of surgeries on hold.
Horwath shot back again, asking the premier if he would address the current crisis or "step aside so that New Democrats can fix the hospital system that we need," which was met with guffaws from PC members.
Baber's barrage
Independent MPP Roman Baber called into question Ford's position on vaccine mandates, quoting the premier's differing language on vaccination as the province begins to lift public health measures, including the proof-of-vaccination system.
In response, House Leader Paul Calandra pointed out that Baber, who was canned from the PC caucus after criticizing Ford in January of 2021 for the government's public health measures, voted for policies as a PC MPP that he now attacks.
Baber quickly retorted, out of turn, "There were no vaccines when I was sitting there."
"I don't know which member for York Centre we have here," Calandra said, mimicking Baber's criticisms of Ford, "Is this the member for York Centre who ... voted in favour of every single measure that he now, today, says he didn’t support at the time?"
Child-care deal, ad infinitum
NDP MPP Doly Begum, building off of a question on Tuesday, asked the government on when a $10-a-day child-care deal would be reached, pushing the PCs to reach and announce an agreement with the federal government before the end of the fiscal year at the end of March.
Calandra repeated that they would be holding out until the best possible deal is reached.
"We will not sign a deal that disadvantages the parents of this province who want a good deal, who want more money back in their pocket, and who want options for child care. We won’t sign a bad deal," said Calandra.
Protests (also ad infinitum)
Liberal MPP Stephen Blais and Jones got into a heated exchange after Blais questioned the government's lack of support to the OPP during the protests in Ottawa.
Jones responded by saying that the OPP had been working with federal and municipal counterparts even before the occupation in Ottawa began to "make sure that there was a plan in place that could be executed using multiple police services."
Blais pushed further, saying the government had "failed and flubbed" in their response to the protests, to which Jones replied that her ministry had kept the appropriate amount of distance between police operations and support for the OPP.
"Is the member opposite suggesting that we should have controlled the Ottawa police and told them what to do? How would you have felt if we’d started doing that? It is important that there is a separation between what the police do to protect our communities and what we, as government leaders, do to protect our communities," said Jones.
This story was updated at 5:24 p.m.

Your question period briefing: Pointing fingers

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