It is quite obvious from that answer that if there’s anybody this government loves more than the greenbelt developers, it’s the auto insurance companies.

Last term, your Conservative government rejected an NDP bill aimed at lowering insurance rates, pledging to take independent action. However, recent reports reveal a 12% surge in Ontario car insurance rates, with some areas in Niagara witnessing 18% hikes. Regular families already grappling with the cost-of-living increases have not seen the promised action from this Conservative government. Billion-dollar car insurance companies, under this government’s watch, are permitted to exploit Ontarians.

Through you, Speaker: Premier, why will you not utilize your power to mandate lower rates across Ontario?

This is a member who sat in the government that opened up the greenbelt 17 different times. He talks about farmers, but in this place, his party was the only party that evicted farmers from their land. His federal cousins right now have a program to reforest farmland.

He talks about sprawl. Well, the problem that we have is that people have no homes to buy. We have one of the largest land masses in the world, and we have a housing crisis. Why? Because they put obstacles in the way. Year after year after year, they put obstacles in the way, and now families can’t afford to buy homes. Young Ontarians who want to buy their first home can’t afford to do it. People who are looking for rentals can’t find a rental. But finally, we’ve taken the obstacles out of the way, and we’re getting the job done.

Thank you. The supplementary question.

My question is for the Premier.

It’s abundantly clear that the Premier is intent on destroying the people’s greenbelt. Last week, the Premier said, “The greenbelt is just a big scam.” What is it the Premier has a problem with? Is it protecting farmland and ensuring food security? Is it that the greenbelt is widely supported by people across party lines? Is it the fact that we are protecting our natural spaces and heritage, that we’re protecting our aquifers and drinking water? Is it the fact that, in 2015, we added 20,000 acres at 21 river basins? Or is it that we’re fighting sprawl and climate change?

Speaker, through you: Just exactly what is the Premier’s problem with the greenbelt?

My question is for the Minister of Mines.

Speaker, the electric vehicle revolution is here. That’s why we must act with urgency to ensure that Ontario capitalizes on this opportunity to transform the auto sector and create good jobs. While the NDP as the official opposition are still stubbornly saying no, our government is busy taking action to build the supply chain and secure game-changing investments. We know that mining companies, much like automotive companies, will seek out the best places to invest. We also know that these companies create jobs and economic prosperity wherever they set up shop.

Can the minister please explain how our government is creating the conditions to attract investments that will maintain Ontario’s competitive economic edge?

While the opposition continues to neglect the needs of northern Ontario, our government must be focused on creating opportunities that will bring jobs and prosperity to northern and Indigenous communities.

There is no supply chain without mining, but it all starts with exploration.

Speaker, can the minister please expand on how our government is saying yes to supporting mining exploration?

Thank you to the member for the question.

Bill 71 was passed last week to increase the efficiency of the mining industry in Ontario. This is imperative if we want to remain a globally competitive jurisdiction. The opposition voted no to this bill even though they know that the minerals in EVs are getting sourced from China, Russia and the Congo—places that do not share our world-class social, environmental and governance standards.

Speaker, instead of supporting a made-in-Ontario supply chain for critical minerals that will create jobs, reduce the reliance on nations like these, and strengthen our economy, the opposition said no. I guess they are satisfied with things the way they are right now; on this side of the House, we are not. That is why we are doing everything in our power to seize the generational opportunity that is the global need for critical minerals.

Our government—

Speaker, in my riding of Timmins, after 33 years of the party of no, the people had enough. They had enough of the lack of action and the neglect to the mining sector, which is essential to northern communities like Timmins.

Thankfully, our government, under Premier Ford’s leadership, is prioritizing sectors that are important to the north by investing through our Critical Minerals Strategy. We invested $35 million in our Ontario Junior Exploration Program to find the mines of the future, but of course, the NDP voted no. The NDP voted against incentives that helped Ontario regain the top spot in Canada for exploration investments in 2022, totalling $989 million.

It is irresponsible that NDP members from northern ridings and mining hubs are voting against exploration investments and against Bill 71, but we have come to expect that from the party of no. They are neglecting the livelihoods of their constituents—

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Merci, monsieur le Président. Through you: Thank you to the member opposite for that question.

We understand and share the concerns that drivers have regarding the cost of auto insurance. No question, costs are up. That’s why we’ve been getting things done. In fact, in the 2023 budget we continue to build on that work. We’ve helped consumers save $1.8 billion on their auto insurance over the last couple of years.

I’m not sure the member opposite and his team over there have ever met a driver they like. When we took the tolls off the 412 and the 418 in Durham, they voted against it. When we cut the gas tax, which way did they vote? Did they vote yes or no? When we reduced the validation stickers and actually rebated two years of fees, which way did they vote? What does the opposition have against drivers?

In fact, the Solicitor General just announced over $50 million to attack auto theft, which is a component of rising insurance costs in Ontario.

Through the Ministry of Finance, we’ve asked FSRA for data so we can attack fraud and abuse.

In fact, we’ve also spoken with the Insurance Bureau of Canada to make sure that auto insurance companies in Ontario treat customers fairly, and we continue having a dialogue with them.

This government is acting. We’ve been able to get some things done. There’s more to do, and we’re going to continue working on behalf of Ontarians.

My question is for the Minister of Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs.

Our government must recognize the tremendous potential of Indigenous businesses in helping to build a stronger Ontario. Sadly, for many years, under the previous Liberal government—they chose to ignore the potential economic development opportunities that many Indigenous businesses had to offer.

That is why it is crucial that our government supports the vital work that Indigenous communities and businesses provide to our province. For example, at a time when our province is leading the way in mineral exploration, critical infrastructure projects and clean energy initiatives, it is essential that our government continues to collaborate with Indigenous communities as partners in these sectors.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is promoting economic development and improving employment opportunities for Indigenous people in the province of Ontario?

However, there are many more economic development opportunities that are already present in Indigenous communities across our province—particularly for Indigenous communities in rural, remote and northern regions in Ontario. Their needs are unique when considering opportunities that will create employment, reach markets and provide services.

Speaker, can the minister please expand on programs that will support prosperity in Indigenous communities?

Supplementary question?

Interjections.

Start the clock.

The next question.

I want to thank the member from Brantford–Brant. This is an important question.

As we stare down the opportunities as Ontarians, we want to make sure that Indigenous communities and Indigenous businesses are in play. That’s why, whether it’s through our Ministry of Indigenous Affairs’s focus on economic diversification, business and community funds and regional partnership grants, we’ve paired with the Chiefs of Ontario to support Indigenous businesses through a grant and loan program, e-commerce, supply chain mapping, training and economic development and—one of my favourites—an opportunity for apprenticeship reconciliation. This is where Indigenous peoples have, for a long time, worked on major projects in their communities and never received the hours that they ought to have if they were to apply to a Red Seal certificate. This is an opportunity to reconcile their skill set and contribute to local large-scale energy and infrastructure projects for their communities and regional economic development.

But up north, in addition to the two programs I just mentioned, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund has sharpened its focus on the opportunity to support Indigenous businesses and young people in Indigenous skilled trades job development. This has manifested itself in the Pikangikum youth sawmill, an incredible opportunity as that community opens up the Whitefeather Forest; Garden River First Nation, to increase ecotourism, working with Grand Council Treaty 3 Gamikaan Bimaadiziwin; the Turtle Lodge project to be used for year-round healing and event space; and providing Black Diamond Drilling—a company we met at PDAC and have already started to encourage the expansion of their business in the mining sector.

We’re proud of those—

My question is to the Premier.

Kara Petrunick lives in St. Catharines, Ontario. Her landlord just hiked her rent by $350 a month; it’s a 17% rent hike. If Kara had known she was going to receive a rent hike like this, she would never have moved in.

But even the government’s own brochure for tenants and landlords fails to explain that rentals first occupied after November 2018 are exempt from rent control.

Premier, do you think it is acceptable for renters living in new rental homes to receive 17% rent hikes?

Added 20,000 acres, took out 340; added 21 river basins. There’s a big difference.

Here’s the crux of it: We all know that the Premier had a problem with the greenbelt even before he got to Queen’s Park. In 2018, a video surfaced of the Premier in a backroom, promising his friends that he’d crack open the greenbelt. After that video became public, the Premier promised Ontarians again and again and again, “Don’t worry, folks, I’m not going to touch the greenbelt”—and in 2022, he did.

If you get caught doing something and then promise again and again that you’re not going to do it, and you continue to do that for years and years, knowing full well that you’re going to do it anyway, how would you describe that, folks?

Would the Premier and members opposite agree with me that, actually, what I just described is the real scam here?

Speaker, through you to the member: I thought that perhaps the member would celebrate the fact that we’ve got politicians from Niagara region here—and our historic investment in our Homelessness Prevention Program, something that Niagara politicians have been advocating for for years.

I appreciate the reception we had last night.

The issue that the member brings forward is at the fundamental core to our housing supply action plan. We made a decision, as a government, in 2018 that was going to benefit opportunities for more housing stock. What has happened? Two record years in terms of purpose-built rental.

Now our housing supply action plan is turning on other measures. The bill before the House, Bill 97, the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, will provide a number of protections for tenants in the province.

The member opposite still hasn’t tipped her hand. Is she going to stand up for tenants and support Bill 97? That’s the question.

Mr. Speaker, do you know what the real scam is? It’s that for 15 years, that member and his party systematically destroyed the province of Ontario with the co-operation of the NDP. They made it absolutely unaffordable to heat your home. Imagine, in the province of Ontario, you had to choose between heating or eating—Liberal legacy. They closed hospitals. They didn’t build long-term-care homes. They said that the north was a wasteland that nobody should invest in. That is the record of the Liberal Party. They brought this province to its knees. The highest-tax jurisdiction, the most indebted jurisdiction—that is the legacy of the Liberal Party, and that is why they continue to be punished. That is the scam that they perpetrated on the people for 15 years.

And what are we doing? We returned hope and opportunity to the province. Thousands of jobs are coming back—

Interjections.

Speaker, as the Premier said many times, it’s supply and demand. We have a severe housing supply shortage in the province, and we’re going to do whatever it takes, as a government, to solve that problem. We’ve committed to building 1.5 million homes by 2031.

Her assertions are incorrect. This year, because of our intervention and because we invoked the cap when inflation was over 5%, the vast majority of renters had their rents capped at 2.5%.

We were one of the only provinces or territories in Canada that had a rent freeze during the pandemic and ensured that evictions would not take place when our most vulnerable needed us.

What were the policies we put forward? Pro-rental housing policies.

Again, when it came time for her to cut the fees and charges on new family-sized rental accommodations, the member voted against that.

Supplementary?

My question is for the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Litter negatively impacts our environment, our wildlife, our economy, and it destroys the natural beauty of our province. That’s why our government must take action to ensure that we properly address this issue.

The people of my riding, as well as individuals and families across Ontario, value our province’s natural environment, are eager to contribute to its preservation. Ontarians are doing their part to keep our land and water clean, and they expect that our government will continue to take action to help protect our environment.

Speaker, could the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to effectively address the problem of litter in Ontario?

It’s encouraging to see that our government is taking decisive action and is working to reduce, prevent and divert waste and litter. The goal is to keep our litter out of landfills and away from our natural spaces.

I hear that many residents, community groups and schools in my riding want to be involved in actions that protect our environment by taking part in a litter cleanup.

Each of us has a responsibility to do all we can to help keep our province clean and maintain its natural beauty.

Speaker, can the minister please provide information and resources that will help Ontarians preserve and protect our natural environment?

My questions are to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, for fair compensation for ministry employees.

Speaker, summer is just around the corner, and across the province, people are getting geared up to head outdoors. Most people in northern Ontario head out onto treaty land to enjoy the beautiful natural resources that we are so lucky to have. To ensure that everyone can access these lands safely and responsibly, we rely on the hard work of conservation officers.

Despite the demands placed on conservation officers to carry out duties ranging from inspections, investigations and enforcement, they are being grossly underpaid when compared with other provincial employees doing similar work.

In 2022, conservation officers came to Queen’s Park demanding a wage that reflects their work. The minister said that he would support their efforts and ensure they are treated fairly.

My question: Will the minister commit to resolving the classification issue the conservation officers raised in October and pay them a wage that reflects their duties?

This isn’t just happening with conservation officers. Last fall, I wrote to the Minister of Natural Resources about staffing issues in the aviation, forest fire and emergency services after receiving complaints about the high turnover rate among wildland firefighters in Chapleau due to low wages. The minister assured me in his response that the MNRF was exploring recruitment and retention strategies to overcome these staffing shortages. Last week, I was informed by Chapleau Cree Chief Corston that Chapleau will only have four operating crews this season, down from 10 last season.

Speaker, with forest fire season starting earlier and lasting longer, communities in the north are put at risk if we are not ready to respond quickly and effectively.

Will the minister immediately raise wages for wildland firefighters and maintain adequate staffing levels in the AFFES across northern Ontario?

Minister, renters are not being helped by the Conservatives; they’re being harmed by them. It’s not just Kara.

A new report by Urbanation shows that rental prices are skyrocketing at alarming rates, well beyond what people can afford. Rent in Toronto for an available one-bedroom went up 20.5% last year; in Markham, rent went up 30%; in Brampton, 31%; in Scarborough, 32%. No one can afford rent hikes like this, Minister.

How high does rent have to get for the Conservatives to realize their housing plan is not working?