I represent the great city of Mississauga, and I am privileged to stand here in this chamber as their elected representative to speak to the third reading of our government’s budget bill, Building a Strong Ontario Act. Mississauga is a large and rapidly growing city that exemplifies the best of what Ontario has to offer. From its thriving economy, beautiful skyline, and diverse and inclusive communities, there are many reasons why Mississauga is truly a great place to live, work, worship and play. I was honored to be elected by the people of this great city, and that is why I am proud to be speaking today about Bill 85 and how our government is investing in the future of our constituents.

As representatives entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding the interests and welfare of our constituents, it is our duty to examine and discuss the financial plan that will shape the future of our beloved province.

Let me begin by reminding Ontarians of the great progress we have achieved by being fiscally prudent and evaluating the return on every taxpayer dollar invested. After all, budgets do not balance themselves.

We are on a prudent path to shrink the deficit to $2.2 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, then down to $1.3 billion in 2023, and we are projecting a modest surplus of $200 million in 2024.

Through challenging times, our government was tasked to deliver a sustained balanced budget, and well-established global integrated risk assessment firms like Moody’s have assessed that our government succeeded in a quicker return to and the maintenance of balanced budgets than Moody’s previously forecasted. The lower debt burden—we are currently at 37.8% net debt-to-GDP ratio, which is down 3.6 percentage points—and a nearly balanced budget also provide for greater shock absorption abilities than the province previously possessed, should Ontario be required to implement policies to address a markedly slowing economic environment.

I commend our government for our diligent efforts in formulating this budget as it represents a comprehensive blueprint for Ontario’s progress and prosperity. Crafted during challenging times, this budget addresses the complex issues facing our province with a resolute focus on economic growth, social well-being and fiscal sustainability for future generations.

So let me be clear and repeat: Budgets do not balance themselves. It takes vision, discipline and hard work to balance budgets, and only Conservative governments with great leaders like the one we have in Premier Ford know how to get it done.

Le fondement de ce budget consiste à favoriser la croissance économique et la création d’emplois. Il décrit un plan pour revitaliser notre économie, soutenir les entreprises locales et fournir une aide indispensable aux personnes les plus durement touchées par la pandémie. J’applaudis l’engagement de notre gouvernement à investir dans des projets d’infrastructure qui non seulement stimuleront l’activité économique, mais amélioreront également nos réseaux de transport, nos établissements de soins de santé et nos établissements d’enseignement.

Madam Speaker, we are also unlocking the potential of northern Ontario by committing $1 billion to build the road to the Ring of Fire and other crucial infrastructure that will connect the rich critical mineral deposits in the north with Ontario’s world-class manufacturing sector.

We want Mississaugans to get to work as fast and conveniently as possible, reducing gridlock traffic. We want to build accessible public transit so less people are in cars and more people are riding LRTs and GO trains. We want to invest in local employers so Mississaugans don’t have to travel to a neighbouring city for work. We want Mississaugans to have a world-class health care system where wait times are low and beds are readily available. Our budget has a well-detailed plan for all of these demands.

I would like to bring up the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit. Our government is working to lower the cost of doing business, attracting investment, reducing red tape, and getting key infrastructure built. This tax credit also allows companies to hire more workers and stay competitive by saving them an estimated $8 billion this year.

A local example in my riding is Microbix, one of many life sciences manufacturers and exporters, which received support from our government through its $840,000 grant through the Ontario Together Fund. This funding will expand the manufacturing capabilities of a made-in-Ontario business which will be expanding its capabilities and capacity for manufacturing specialized products related to diagnostic testing for infectious disease. The project will create and support dozens of new life sciences well-paid manufacturing and product development jobs in Mississauga.

Further pharmaceutical investments in Mississauga occurred earlier this year as we invested to support pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca, which will bring 500 new jobs to Mississauga. This major expansion of their research and development hub focuses on clinic studies in areas such as breast, lung, prostate cancer, as well as chronic kidney disease. These investments are saving lives.

One can take a further look at the vibrant manufacturing industry that Mississauga is home to—such as the Bombardier jet manufacturing plant opening up at Pearson airport later this summer. It is expected to provide jobs to 2,000 people and is one of many businesses that will benefit from our government’s budget.

Just last year, our government supported a $21.4-million investment by Cyclone Manufacturing, a leading supplier of aerospace components and subassemblies with manufacturing facilities in Mississauga. I want to congratulate CEO Andrew Sochaj, who truly embodies the success story of a Polish immigrant coming to Canada—an engineer with vision, with drive. And many years later, he is one of the leading employers in Mississauga. When he graduated from college with his technology degree, my brother was actually employed at Cyclone Manufacturing, as his very first job. So this is truly a success story and exemplifies what Canada and Ontario can do when we have governments that support the job creation space. This is one of many examples of our government supporting the growth of Mississauga and helping strengthen Ontario’s advanced manufacturing sector and further growing the province’s economy.

Our government is also advancing our Critical Minerals Strategy by expanding mineral exploration and development as well as strengthening our supply chains from workers in northern Ontario to manufacturers in southern Ontario. Our province’s rich endowment of valuable minerals should be leveraged and used to support our made-in-Ontario supply chain of growing industries like electric vehicles and batteries.

As our finance minister said, in 10 years, people will be choosing between an electric vehicle and an electric vehicle. And it is our job to ensure that that electric vehicle is made—where?

Interjection.

We have a competitive advantage of minerals in this province, and our government will be utilizing them to the best of our ability.

If you are one of many residents in my riding who commutes with GO Transit, you may have recently ridden a new electric GO bus that was manufactured right here in Ontario. Three days ago, our government rolled out electric vehicle GO buses to our existing fleet for the first time, as part of our plan to reduce emissions and expand clean and green transit options across our province.

The future is electric, and we are leading the charge. Of course, the recent announcement by Volkswagen of its planned EV plant in St. Thomas is yet another example of this.

These cars of the future are creating the jobs of the future. And our government understands that the potential of these investments relies heavily on Ontario’s ability to produce electricity.

With that, Madam Speaker, I move that this question now be put.