Opposition Day debates and want of confidence motions

Motion 2 MPP Watt (Nepean)

Whereas in 2020 this Government created the loophole to make online asynchronous learning OSAP eligible, claiming it would be temporary, only to make it permanent in 2023; and

Whereas the Ontario PC Party collected over $150,000 in donations from private career colleges since 2018; and

Whereas Career Colleges Ontario warned the Government in 2023, 2024, and 2025 of suspicious activity related to OSAP and a series of private career college operators, including a recommendation to refer the issue to the OPP; and

Whereas OSAP grants to career college students nearly doubled, from about $554 million in 2023-2024 to about $994 million in 2024-2025, accounting for 95 percent of the year-over-year increase, with just seven career colleges receiving about $385 million, and three Academy of Learning campuses alone receiving $219 million; and

Whereas in February 2026, this Government cut OSAP grants for every college and university student, calling OSAP costs "unsustainable," when the growth in those costs came overwhelmingly from private career colleges; and

Whereas the Minister delayed in-person inspections of Academy of Learning for 10 months, allowing another full year of OSAP funding to flow; and

Whereas in October 2026, this Government froze OSAP at every private post-secondary institution in Ontario, including schools under no suspicion, punishing students who did nothing wrong; and

Whereas the freeze has cut off the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant and paused the Better Jobs Ontario fund; and

Whereas the Minister used the taxpayer-funded KPMG audit to justify the freeze, yet has told reporters it will never be made public;

Therefore, in the opinion of this House, the Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security should:

1. Request, pursuant to Section 17 of the Auditor General Act, that the Auditor General undertake an audit of the Ministry's oversight on the OSAP and career colleges system;
2. Publicly release all interim and final reports prepared by KPMG regarding the OSAP scandal;
3. Disclose how much OSAP funding went to students of the Academy of Learning for the 2025-2026 academic year;
4. Immediately release previously approved OSAP loans to eligible students at private career colleges that have been inspected and cleared;
5. Immediately restore access to Better Jobs Ontario funding and Ontario Learn and Stay Grants for eligible students whose funding has been paused as a result of the OSAP suspension; and
6. Restore OSAP to its 2018 state by returning the proportion of OSAP aid to 85% grants.

Motion 1 Mr. Fraser (Ottawa South)

Whereas affordable, high-quality childcare gives children the best start in life, lets parents, especially mothers, go back to work, and strengthens Ontario's economy; and

Whereas before the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program Ontario families paid the highest childcare fees in the country and the fee reductions since have saved families thousands of dollars a year; and

Whereas Ontario families were promised an average fee of $10 a day by 2025, yet Ontario families still pay an average of $19 a day, with fees capped at $22, while about half of Canada's provinces already average around $10 a day; and

Whereas the agreement this government signed in September 2026 drops the $10-a-day goal and only guarantees current fees until June 30, 2027; and

Whereas the Auditor General of Ontario found that the Ministry of Education did not have effective systems in place to meet its childcare commitments; and

Whereas demand for childcare has tripled, yet Ontario has created just under 60,000 of the 86,000 affordable spaces it promised by the end of 2026 and the Financial Accountability Office estimates that meeting demand could require about 220,000 new spaces;and

Whereas Ontario needs about 10,000 more registered early childhood educators, yet many trained educators leave the sector within a few years because of low pay, and the government's new agreement includes no new wage increases for them; and

Whereas parents across Ontario face long waitlists, and the province's website to help families find a childcare space is not expected until 2029;

Therefore, in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should keep its promise to Ontario families by investing provincial dollars to fix the childcare sector, including by committing the provincial funding needed to close the childcare funding shortfall, build more non-profit childcare spaces, guarantee that parent fees will not rise after June 30, 2027, and by publishing a costed plan and timeline to provide access to every Ontario family and bring average fees down to $10 a day.

Motion 1 Ms. Stiles (Davenport)

Whereas the Ford government's cuts to OSAP while lifting the tuition freeze will leave students buried in long-term debt and unable to build a future after graduation, or force students to reconsider attending college or university; and

Whereas young people in Ontario are facing a dual crisis of sky-high unemployment and rising unaffordability as the cost of tuition, rent, groceries, and transportation is rising faster than students' incomes; and

Whereas the government justified cutting the grant share of OSAP from 85 to 25 percent and reduced eligibility for students attending private career colleges during this affordability crisis, citing unsustainability and misuse of OSAP by students; and

Whereas the government was warned about suspicious activity at Career Colleges but failed to take timely action, and their failures in oversight resulted in students being locked out of post-secondary education; 

Whereas Conservative members of the House have received over $150,000 in donations from private career college executives while in office; and

Whereas the government had the opportunity to listen to students, families, and educators and support the Official Opposition's motion to reverse cuts to OSAP;

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the Ford government to provide a plan, within 14 days, for immediate relief for students who have been left to bear the consequences of this government's failure of oversight of private career colleges.

Motion 5 Ms. Stiles (Davenport)

Whereas youth unemployment in Ontario has reached over 17 per cent this year, indicating that too many young people in Ontario face barriers to securing employment; and

Whereas early work experience is critical for youth to build skills, gain confidence, and establish pathways to long-term employment and economic stability; and

Whereas young people experiencing prolonged joblessness often face mental health challenges, delayed financial independence and difficulty establishing career trajectories; and

Whereas municipalities, non-profits, and small businesses have the capacity to create meaningful summer jobs that support local priorities including social services, cultural activities, and environmental conservation initiatives when provided with sufficient funding and support;

Therefore, in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should establish a comprehensive Youth Summer Jobs Program to ensure every young person under 30 who wants to work can access meaningful, paid employment or training opportunities in their community.

Motion 4 MPP Smyth (Toronto—St. Paul's)

Whereas the Government has taken steps to diminish the power of Freedom of Information requests, hiding information from the public, reducing scrutiny and the public accountability of the Ontario Government; and

Whereas Freedom of Information requests are fundamental to the accountability and democratic governance of Ontario, and the legal right to obtain information about state operations is a studied and recorded tenet in international freedom rankings; and

Whereas Freedom of Information requests were used to reveal this government's backroom deals with developers to sell off the Greenbelt, a matter under RCMP investigation; and

Whereas Freedom of Information requests have revealed how this government has used the Skills Development Fund to improperly enrich friends and donors, including sending $10 million to a strip club owner; and

Whereas the Premier is fighting in court to hide his phone records, on which he conducts government business, keeping the public in the dark about who is influencing his decision making; and

Whereas Freedom of Information requests were the only way that Ontarians became aware that the government has mistakenly released 150 prisoners, some of whom remained at large for over six months; and

Whereas the Premier and Ministers will be exempt retroactively to 1988, shrouding decades of government information from accountability and public scrutiny; and

Whereas the Government has passed a motion which exempts Bill 97 from committee, meaning that the public will have no opportunity to give input on changes which reduce their right to vital government information;

Therefore, in the opinion of this House, the Government should preserve the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, giving it jurisdiction over ministerial records and private devices, to ensure that the Ontario public can prevent backroom dealing with connected businesses and insiders.

Motion 3 MPP Smyth (Toronto—St. Paul's)

Whereas this government has taken steps to diminish the power of Freedom of Information requests, hiding information from the public, reducing scrutiny and public accountability of the Ontario Government; and

Whereas Freedom of Information requests are fundamental to the accountability and democratic governance of Ontario, and the legal right to obtain information about state operations is a studied and recorded tenet in international freedom rankings; and

Whereas Freedom of Information requests were used to reveal this government's backroom deals with developers to sell off the Greenbelt, a matter under RCMP investigation; and

Whereas Freedom of Information requests have revealed how this government has used the Skills Development Fund to improperly enrich friends and donors, including sending $10 million to a strip club owner; and

Whereas the Premier is fighting in court to hide his phone records, on which he conducts government business, keeping the public in the dark about who is influencing his decision making;

Therefore, in the opinion of this House, the Government should restore the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, giving it jurisdiction over ministerial records and private devices, to ensure that the Ontario public can prevent backroom dealing with connected businesses and insiders.

Motion 3 Ms. Stiles (Davenport)

Whereas the cost of basic groceries has increased by at least 30 per cent in the last five years under this government; and

Whereas surveillance pricing allows corporations to use secret algorithms to take personal data, browsing habits, purchase history, and location to charge different prices to different people for the same product or service; and

Whereas companies like Uber are already taking advantage of surveillance pricing to unfairly inflate fares, and companies like Walmart are lobbying governments to expand the use of surveillance pricing for groceries; and

Whereas the federal government is monitoring the rise of surveillance pricing because of its impact on anti-competitive behaviour, but has not taken any action; and

Whereas the NDP government of Manitoba is taking leadership on consumer protection as the first province in Canada to take action against misuse of personalized data by banning surveillance pricing; and

Whereas Canadians overwhelmingly agree that surveillance pricing should be banned to prevent corporations from gouging consumers at the check out;

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the Ford government to ban surveillance pricing practices that misuse personal data to unfairly inflate prices, and ensure a fair and affordable price for groceries and other goods and services.

Motion 2 Ms. Stiles (Davenport)

Whereas the cost of basic groceries has increased by at least 30 per cent in the last five years under this government; and

Whereas surveillance pricing allows corporations to use secret algorithms to take personal data, browsing habits, purchase history, and location to charge different prices to different people for the same product or service; and

Whereas companies like Uber are already taking advantage of surveillance pricing to unfairly inflate fares, and companies like Walmart are lobbying governments to expand the use of surveillance pricing for groceries; and

Whereas the federal government is monitoring the rise of surveillance pricing because of its impact on anti-competitive behaviour, but has not taken any action; and

Whereas the NDP government of Manitoba is leading on consumer protection as the first province in Canada to take action against misuse of personalized data by banning surveillance pricing; and

Whereas Canadians overwhelmingly agree that surveillance pricing should be banned to prevent corporations from gouging consumers at the check out; and

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the Ford government to ban surveillance pricing practices that misuse personal data to unfairly inflate prices to ensure a fair and affordable price for groceries and other goods and services.

Motion 2 MPP Watt (Nepean)

Whereas in 2025, 473,000 Ontario students relied on OSAP, leveling the playing field, providing equal opportunity, and rewarding hard work in Ontario, regardless of wealth; and

Whereas the Premier has slashed OSAP grants from 85% of aid to 25%, leaving students with up to an additional $14,000 debt after they graduate a four-year degree; and

Whereas, in 2019, this government eliminated free tuition for lower income families, reduced middle-income eligibility, and canceled the six-month interest grace period, making pursuing higher education a matter of wealth instead of merit; and

Whereas Ontario charges the second highest interest rate on student loans in Canada, with six provinces and the federal government providing interest free loans; and

Whereas burdening students and families with debt lowers graduates' ability to contribute to the economy, and OECD studies have found that public investment in education returns 3 times the cost back to the public; and

Whereas these changes create barriers to Ontarians seeking further education, at a time when Ontario is already facing critical workforce shortages in key sectors, including healthcare, skilled trades, and education; and

Whereas these changes will force some students to abandon their dreams of pursuing post-secondary education completely, and require some parents to tell their children they cannot afford training or a degree; and

Whereas the Government of Ontario has already rejected calls to return the proportion of OSAP aid to 85% grants and remove all interest;

Therefore, in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should fix OSAP ASAP by making tuition free for lower-income families, and giving graduates a 2-year grace period before repayment.

Motion 1 MPP Watt (Nepean)

Whereas in 2025, 473,000 Ontario students relied on OSAP, leveling the playing field, providing equal opportunity, and rewarding hard work in Ontario, regardless of wealth; and

Whereas the Premier has slashed OSAP grants from 85% of aid to 25%, leaving students with up to an additional $14,000 debt after they graduate a four-year degree; and

Whereas, in 2019, this government eliminated free tuition for lower income families, reduced middle-income eligibility, and canceled the six-month interest grace period, making pursuing higher education a matter of wealth instead of merit; and

Whereas Ontario charges the second highest interest rate on student loans in Canada, with six provinces and the federal government providing interest free loans; and

Whereas burdening students and families with debt lowers graduates' ability to contribute to the economy, and OECD studies have found that public investment in education returns 3 times the cost back to the public; and

Whereas these changes create barriers to Ontarians seeking further education, at a time when Ontario is already facing critical workforce shortages in key sectors, including healthcare, skilled trades, and education; and

Whereas these changes will force some students to abandon their dreams of pursuing post-secondary education completely, and require some parents to tell their children they cannot afford training or a degree;

Therefore, in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should fix OSAP ASAP by restoring OSAP to its 2018 state, returning the proportion of OSAP aid to 85% grants and making tuition free for lower-income families, and by enhancing the program by removing all interest and giving graduates a 2-year grace period before repayment.

Motion 1 Ms. Stiles (Davenport)

Whereas the Ford government has proposed reducing the proportion of grants available from the Ontario Student Assistance Program from 85% to 25%; and

Whereas previous McGuinty and Wynne Liberal governments allowed Ontario tuition fees to become the highest in the country, while providing colleges and universities with the lowest per-student funding in Canada; and

Whereas one of the Ford government's first actions in 2019 was to cut approximately $700 million from OSAP; and

Whereas shifting OSAP from grants to loans will leave students buried in long-term debt and unable to build a future after graduation, or force students to reconsider attending college or university; and

Whereas young people in Ontario are facing a dual crisis of sky-high unemployment and rising unaffordability; and

Whereas one out of three Ontario families with student debt are living pay cheque to pay cheque; and

Whereas interest has been removed from Canada Student Loans, as well as provincial student loans from Newfoundland and Labrador, British Columbia, Manitoba and New Brunswick;

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the Ford government to immediately restore the maximum proportion of Ontario Student Assistance Program grants to 85%, and remove interest from all new and existing Ontario Student Assistance Program loans.

Motion 1 Mr. Fraser (Ottawa South)

Whereas violence in Ontario schools has risen by 77% under the current government, putting the safety of students and staff at risk; and

Whereas the government has cut per student funding, leading to larger class sizes, unmet special education needs, and an unaddressed children's mental health crisis; and

Whereas recent EQAO results show that half of Grade 6 students and 42% of Grade 9 students are not meeting the provincial math standard, highlighting the urgent need for more classroom supports; and

Whereas every student deserves a safe classroom and every educator deserves a safe workplace, which cannot be achieved without sufficient qualified adults to provide safety and support; and

Whereas $1 billion, made available on an as needed basis to schools across Ontario, could start addressing current staff shortages by providing at least two additional staff per school;

Therefore, in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should immediately commit to increasing the Classroom Staffing Fund and the Learning Resources Fund, enabling school boards to hire at least 10,000 additional education workers, to restore safety for children and staff, and provide students with the mental health and learning supports they urgently need.

Motion 3 MPP McKenney (Ottawa Centre)

Whereas housing is a human right, and every Ontarian deserves a safe, secure and affordable place to call home; and

Whereas Ontario is losing thousands of affordable rentals every year due to acquisition by corporate landlords that displace tenants in order to raise rents; and

Whereas this unethical business model, and other unfair practices that threaten rental affordability and security of tenure for tenants, are incentivized by the lack of real rent control in Ontario; and

Whereas chronic delays and understaffing at the Landlord and Tenant Board have allowed bad-faith actors to exploit the system, undermine fairness and deny timely access to justice; and

Whereas the Ontario government refuses to invest in new, permanently affordable public, non-profit and co-op homes that provide a non-market alternative to private, for-profit housing; and

Whereas Bill 60 will increase rent gouging and unethical eviction in Ontario, worsening the housing and homelessness crisis;

Therefore, in the opinion of the House, the Government of Ontario must immediately protect rental affordability and security of tenure by reversing Bill 60, restoring real rent control, establishing vacancy control and ending bad-faith evictions.

Motion 2 Ms. Bowman (Don Valley West)

Whereas in September of 2025, youth unemployment was at 17.8%, the highest in Canada, and approached levels as high as during the COVID-19 pandemic, previously not seen for 33 years; and

Whereas the average wait for a young person to find a job has grown to three and a half months, the highest in 29 years; and

Whereas Ontario businesses, particularly small businesses, are struggling with the impact of U.S. tariffs, and need support to weather trade uncertainties; and

Whereas despite generationally low job opportunities, the Premier has recently made comments blaming over 220,000 young workers for not being able to find a job, telling them to look harder; and

Whereas wage subsidy programs like Canada Summer Jobs have resulted in hundreds of thousands of job opportunities, helping local businesses and opening careers to young Ontarians;

Therefore, in the opinion of the House, the Government of Ontario should establish a youth wage subsidy program to create jobs in Ontario, helping young Ontarians start their career, create networks, and develop lifelong skills while providing Ontario businesses with well-educated young workers.

Motion 1 Ms. Stiles (Davenport)

Whereas Ontario's unemployment is at its highest level in a decade; and

Whereas there is an ongoing trade war with the United States that continues to escalate; and

Whereas the Government of Ontario does not require the consideration of local job creation and local training opportunities when awarding public contracts; and

Whereas the Government of Ontario awarded a $140-million contract for supply and installation of glass and aluminum at the Trillium Health Partners Hospital project in Mississauga to a United States-owned company; and

Whereas the Government of Ontario continues to allow funding and contracts to go to foreign-owned companies for major publicly funded projects, including the Ottawa Hospital - Civic Campus Redevelopment, the E.C. Row Expressway and the Garden City Skyway;

Therefore, in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario must implement Ontario First procurement criteria that prioritizes contracts for Ontario and Canadian businesses that can offer local jobs for all public spending contracts issued by the Ontario government, ministries, agencies, municipalities, and other provincially funded institutions, as well as ban U.S. companies from receiving public contracts until the trade war is over.

Motion 1 Mr. Shamji (Don Valley East)

Whereas the Ontario Government has committed to building 1.5 million homes by 2031 and has repeatedly failed to meet its predetermined targets; and

Whereas Ontario is the only province in Canada where housing starts are declining, and drastic measures are needed to spur our housing market; and

Whereas 83% of new home sales are not first-time purchases, and an expanded rebate would help Ontario families grow, help seniors downsize, and help all Ontarians get closer to home ownership; and

Whereas Ontario construction jobs support thousands of Ontario families, and increasing housing construction will help those affected by tariff job losses, including in steel and softwood lumber;

Therefore, in the opinion of the House, the Government of Ontario should rebate the provincial portion of the HST to all homebuyers purchasing their primary residence, saving them up to $80,000 and stimulating an estimated 45,000 housing starts.

Motion 3 Ms. Stiles (Davenport)

Whereas hospital infrastructure is vital to protecting the health of the public and in strengthening Ontario in the face of economic uncertainty; and

Whereas the Government has identified priority nation-building infrastructure projects, but failed to include any healthcare infrastructure; and

Whereas there are significant hospital infrastructure projects which have experienced long delays and funding cuts under Liberal and Conservative governments; and

Whereas hospital infrastructure improvements create good union jobs for construction trades people; and

Whereas hospital expansions create good union jobs for health care workers;

Therefore, in the opinion of the House, the Government must designate critical hospital infrastructure as nation-building projects and fund them in the 2025 Budget, including specific commitments to new hospitals for Durham Region, Brantford, Kitchener-Waterloo and Brampton; re-opening the Minden Hospital; expanding the Windsor-Essex Regional Hospital, Queensway Carleton Hospital, Arnprior Regional Hospital and Hamilton Health Sciences; redeveloping the Weeneebayko General Hospital and Health Sciences North; renovating the Thessalon Hospital, Matthews Memorial Hospital, Manitoulin Health Centre and Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital; and restoring 24/7 emergency services and urgent care to Welland Hospital, Douglas Memorial and Port Colborne.

Motion 2 Mr. Fraser (Ottawa South)

Motion 1 Ms. Stiles (Davenport)

Whereas Ontarians have a right to make informed decisions about how they spend the money they've earned; and

Whereas price-gouging and price-fixing by large corporate retailers has been widely reported in recent years, particularly on essential goods and during times of economic uncertainty; and

Whereas Ontarians are increasingly choosing to support Ontario-made and Canadian-made goods over American products in response to Donald Trump's tariffs and threats to our sovereignty;

Therefore, in the opinion of the House, the Government must implement consumer protection measures including requiring big box stores to clearly identify when they raise prices by more than two per cent within a two-week period, when a product has been imported from the United States, and when products are made in Ontario and in Canada.