Speaker, the member opposite was on local council; so was I; so were many of the individuals in this chamber. I never blamed anybody for my budgets. I sat at the budget table. I made decisions that were based on the best interests of my constituents when I was an elected official. I did the same thing when I was a CAO.

Municipalities control their own destiny in terms of what they decide—the service levels and the taxation levels for them. We work with municipalities. We’ve indicated that we want to better understand the impacts of More Homes Built Faster. That’s why we announced recently the appointment of auditors who will work with a select group of municipalities, and what we find will inform us on our decision moving forward.

But to sit there and try to draw a line from this government to a decision made in a local council—the member knows better than that.

Speaker, through you to the Premier: Ontario municipalities say they are facing financial disaster due to revenue losses caused by Bill 23.

A recent Peel region report said Bill 23 will cost the region $2 billion to $6 billion in lost revenues. To replace those lost revenues, Peel will need to raise property taxes by at least 25% and more than double the utility rate. And Brampton says it will need to raise property taxes by 80% because of Bill 23.

Last year, the minister promised to make municipalities “whole” for these revenue losses. So why doesn’t his budget include a single penny to do so?

If the minister is really holding off on compensating municipalities for Bill 23 because he wants to perform audits first and make sure municipalities are speeding up approvals, why is he cutting the very programs that fund these initiatives?

Interjections.

The parliamentary assistant and member for Oakville.

The Premier.

My question is for the Minister of Finance.

Our province, much like the rest of the world, is in a time of great economic uncertainty. Ongoing supply chain disruptions, inflation and increased interest rates have created pressures for people across Ontario. Individuals and families are looking to our government for leadership and help during these challenging times to provide support so that life can be more affordable. They need to see that our government is continuing to focus on initiatives and investments that will provide financial relief.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is continuing to work on behalf of all Ontarians during these challenging economic times?

That said, the people of our province expect that their government will continue to look for further ways to reduce costs and make life easier.

Unlike the previous Liberal government that was out of touch with the people of Ontario, our government remains committed to focusing on issues that will help individuals and families in their everyday lives.

Speaker, can the parliamentary assistant please explain how our government is making life more affordable for all Ontarians?

Thank you to the great member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington for that great question.

Speaker, our government has a responsible plan to ensure that our province remains on a strong and steady economic path forward. Our economic plan to build Ontario is grounded in our commitment to supporting families, empowering our workers and strengthening our business partners. We have laid a strong fiscal foundation on which our government will continue to build Ontario with a plan for recovery.

We eliminated licence plate renewal fees as well as licence plate stickers and refunded the past two years’ fees for eligible vehicles.

We extended the current gas tax and fuel tax cuts until December 31, 2023.

That puts real money back into the pockets of Ontarians. This is what the people of Ontario expect and deserve from their government.

We are making transit more affordable by eliminating double fares for most local transit services in the greater Toronto area for commuters and also those who use GO Transit services. Our government is also working to expand this initiative to support more people commuting into Toronto.

For low-income seniors in Ontario, these uncertain times are even more challenging. That is why we temporarily doubled the Guaranteed Annual Income System payments for eligible seniors until December 2023 to ensure more seniors who need financial help will get it. And we’ll be introducing legislation to expand the GAINS program, starting in July 2024, to see about 100,000 additional seniors be eligible for the program, for a 50% increase in recipients. We are also proposing to adjust this benefit annually so that it will increase with inflation.

Our government continues to support the people of Ontario.

Thank you very much. Next question.

The supplementary question.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The next question.

Speaker, through you to the honourable member: It was quite a day yesterday at committee, I have to say, and some of her questions were—I wasn’t sure where she was going.

But the government House leader has been pretty clear this morning about where we’re going. We’re going to continue to use those planning tools, minister’s zoning orders, Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerators, to get priority projects done.

We’ve got more active cranes in Toronto right now than most American cities put together—I gave you the list the other day: Chicago; Washington, DC; San Francisco and Seattle, combined.

Again, let the honourable member know what she’s actually voting against when she votes against the use of MZOs—4,420 long-term-care beds, a big step forward in our government’s mandate to provide 30,000—under her government’s watch, 600 beds.

We’re going to continue to use these tools to move forward—

The facts are clear: We’re supporting the building of long-term-care homes through some of our planning tools. We’re supporting 117,000 housing units, 650 supportive housing units, 152,000 new jobs, because of the minister’s zoning orders that we’re using.

I was in your city last night with the Toronto Rotary Club and the Homes for Heroes Foundation, whom we partnered with in Kingston. The executive director of the foundation was pretty clear to Rotarians in this city that our MZO in Kingston saved him half a million dollars and got shovels in the ground faster to help 20 homeless vets who didn’t have a place to call home. Those are the partnerships that we’re creating.

Under the Liberals, they’re going to continue to vote against all of our measures that create housing, create jobs—

I think that member spoke a little too soon. I might get cheeky in my response, so I’m sure I will get heckled.

This Premier made a historic commitment to expand capital and announced not one but two new provincial parks. And we announced just recently—by our incredible member, PA Yakabuski—over $3.3 million in vital infrastructure upgrades to Algonquin Provincial Park.

Speaker, when we make these historic investments in the budget for new provincial parks—it’s regrettable that the NDP and members opposite voted no. They voted no to expanded recreational opportunities for Ontarians; it’s just shocking. I’m not surprised they voted no to public transit. They voted no to tax cuts on low-income families. They voted no to record infrastructure spending in rural communities.

On this side of the House, we’re going to grow Ontario for all income brackets, for all Ontarians, regardless of your background, while also expanding—

My question is to the Premier.

My constituent Bill is an 87-year-old who reached out to my office in March. With failing vision, he urgently needed cataract surgery. But Bill was told he would have to wait 19 months for his surgery in a public clinic—over a year and a half wait. The underfunded public system forced Bill into a private clinic.

To the Premier: What is normal about this government making seniors go to private clinics for their vital health care?

Bill couldn’t wait. He’s a lifeline for his partner because he drives. In Conservative Ontario, an 87-year-old senior was burdened with $4,510 to pay. It is unconscionable, and it’s on this government. I highly doubt this government has any clue what the private clinic is pulling from the public purse on top of this ridiculous amount. This clinic actually nickel-and-dimed Bill for COVID-19, adding a $10 charge on his invoice.

Again to the Premier: What is normal about an 87-year-old getting gouged for their essential health care?

You do understand that community clinics, including cataract clinics that we have expanded on the first of this year in Windsor, in Kitchener-Waterloo and in Ottawa, are now, today, performing more cataract surgeries so that your constituents, my constituents, the people of Ontario who have been languishing on wait-lists do not have to have that experience?

The suggestion that when you go into a community surgical centre you are paying with anything but your OHIP card is categorically false.

I think the member opposite should be spending more time explaining to Bill how Bill 60 is actually going to improve that access and continue to decrease wait times in the province of Ontario—which, by the way, in Canada, we actually lead.

Interjections.

By expanding our community’s surgical access through Bill 60, we are actually ensuring that people get those shortened wait times to make sure they can be back with their family, back in their jobs, back with community.

Bill 60 has some additional parameters that will ensure people know exactly what the OHIP-funded services are in that clinic. But more importantly, what we are doing is ensuring we are expanding access so that individuals do not have to travel as far and get access faster. What part of that process is the member opposite concerned about? Because what I see is a win, where people get shorter wait times, back in community, faster service.

While the housing crisis worsens every single day in every single city across the province, my constituent is staying in a shelter. His name is Fred. He’s facing transphobic violence. He’s living with bedbugs. Fred desperately wants out of the shelter. He wants to find affordable and safe housing, he wants work, and he wants to complete his master’s degree, but the stress of shelter life is really eroding his mental health.

When will the Premier finally answer the call from cities begging for help and produce a real plan to build real affordable housing for constituents like Fred?

The supplementary question?

I’ve given this matter serious consideration, and even though the standing orders are silent on this matter, I would strongly advise the Minister of Natural Resources, the next time he’s home, to visit his mother.

Laughter.

The next question.

Thank you to the member for Chatham-Kent–Leamington. The member so nicely gets to ask questions twice today.

Speaker, Ontario is one of the most biodiverse provinces in Canada. That rich biodiversity includes more than 30,000 species, over a million hectares of forest, and more than 250,000 lakes, representing over one fifth of the world’s fresh water.

Last week, I joined the Invasive Species Centre in Port Sydney, my hometown, to learn about their boat-cleaning unit used to protect our lakes and rivers—Speaker, don’t tell my mother I was in town; I didn’t get by for a visit. The unit is equipped with a series of tools designed to help boaters quickly and easily clean their boat of any invasive plants or small invasive like zebra or quagga mussels.

At the start of the boating season, we’re encouraging boaters to do three simple things: clean, drain, and dry their boat to prevent invasive species from travelling from one lake to another.

Working together, we’re protecting our natural resources, mitigating damage to our economy and keeping Ontario’s natural resources safe for future generations.

We work collaboratively with organizations and experts dedicated to protecting our province from harmful invaders. That’s why Ontario is investing an additional $1 million this year with the Invasive Species Centre and the Nature Conservancy of Canada to help combat the threat of invasive species. Half of that funding will support the implementation of a comprehensive plan to fight phragmites in Ontario. That plan, developed by the Green Shovels Collaborative, will enable stakeholder and partner engagement, multi-year planning and site assessment as well as Indigenous and public engagement in preparation for the broader management of phragmites in the province. The rest of the funding will be used to support projects led by community partners that will respond and reduce the current harm caused by invasive species.

Our long-term partnership with ISC has been central to the ministry’s efforts to prevent and reduce the harm caused by invasives in Ontario affecting our environment and impacting our economy.

Speaker, it’s hard to comprehend the New Democrats and some of the questions.

Over the last two weeks, we have had municipal councils from all across the province celebrate our Homelessness Prevention Program and the fact that our government recognizes the fact that we are adding an additional $202 million to make our commitment almost $700 million; the fact that under the leadership of Premier Ford, we negotiated a historic agreement with the federal government during the pandemic and provided $4 billion to our municipal partners for a variety of measures, but most importantly, the $1.2 billion we provided them under the social services relief fund. Literally, our municipal partners saved lives in the middle of the pandemic because of their quick action with the dollars that we provided them.

Do we have additional work to do with municipalities? Absolutely. All of our service managers now have a by-name list in effect, and we want to continue to work with them so that we can move people—

My question is for the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry.

Aquatic invasive species can have a devastating impact on Ontario’s lakes, rivers and fisheries. We must protect Ontario’s biodiversity and maintain our ability for recreational activities in the water, like fishing, swimming and boating.

Unfortunately, when watercraft move between lakes and rivers, they can spread invasive species. Without taking proper steps, these invasive species can introduce and spread disease into our waterways, costing us millions to repair the damage. It’s vital that our government takes the necessary action to help stop the spread of invasive species and protect our environment.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is protecting Ontario’s waterways?

In my beautiful community of Chatham-Kent–Leamington, we’re literally surrounded by the Great Lakes. We also enjoy fishing, one of our most important recreational summer activities.

We know that even bait for fishing can pose significant risks and lead to the spread of invasive species and fish diseases. For this reason, it’s critical that our government partners with agencies like the Invasive Species Centre to address major areas of concern. Our government must do all we can do to help reduce the harm caused by invasive species to Ontario’s environment and our economy.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how the ministry works with the Invasive Species Centre and other organizations to protect Ontario’s natural resources and our precious environment?

My question is for the Premier.

The homelessness crisis is escalating across Ontario, with municipalities now declaring a state of emergency on homelessness—Niagara, Hamilton—and with over 10,000 people who are unhoused right now in Toronto, city council is poised to declare a state of emergency of homelessness this week. Cities across the province are in crisis, and the Ford Conservative government is abandoning them.

Will this government enact a homelessness strategy and work with municipalities to improve the lives of unhoused people in Ontario?

My question is for the great Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. We should all be proud of the robust agri-food sector that Ontario has worked so hard to create. Because of the hard work and dedication of so many farmers, the production of chickens, turkeys and eggs contributes over $1.8 billion to our province’s economy. Ontario’s poultry industry is integral to our agri-food sector and provides food products to our province’s growing population.

However, in order to remain prosperous and competitive, it is vital that our government continues to prioritize investments into industries that are part of our province’s agri-food and rural sectors.

Speaker, can the minister explain how our government is continuing to support the expansion of Ontario’s poultry sector?

I appreciate the question from the member from Brantford–Brant, because it’s very important to recognize the amazing work that our feather boards are doing on behalf of Ontarians and Canadians and people around the world.

When you take a look at what Ontario chicken, Ontario egg, Ontario turkey and Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg and Chick Commission are doing collectively—they’re growing the demand for good, safe, quality chicken around the world. I’m so very pleased to stand with them to further research that will enable them to continue to increase production to satisfy the demand not only in Canada but around the world. We’re partnering with the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario, the four poultry organizations, as well as the University of Guelph to create and stand up and build a state-of-the-art research facility near Elora that will prove to set best practices around the world.

I do want to thank the member for her question.

Speaker, it is this Premier and it’s this government that recognized the desperate need for more housing supply. The previous Liberals, supported by the NDP, never, ever made housing a priority—on the contrary, they were closing schools, they fired nurses, and they let our hospitals crumble. Well, no more. It’s this PC government that will get housing built for everyone.

Our plan is working. Record purpose-built rentals in the past two years; record housing starts; record funding for the Homelessness Prevention Program, the highest going to the city of Toronto; protection for tenants and landlords; providing those wraparound services for those in supportive housing; and doubling the adjudicators on the Landlord and Tenant Board—all while reducing red tape to get more housing built. It’s this Premier and this government that will get it done for everyone in Ontario.