The ayes are 75; the nays are 23.

Thanks to the member for the question. It was great to be at ecobee on Toronto’s waterfront last week to announce the Peak Perks program and to talk about it here in the House as well. This is a program, Mr. Speaker, that’s going to save residents even more money by saving more energy, and it’s also going to save the equivalent of $650 million to our Ontario electricity grid.

But that’s not the only program we announced last week, Mr. Speaker. As part of the government’s $342-million expansion to energy efficiency programming in Ontario, we’re launching three new and enhanced energy efficiency programs for businesses and municipalities that are also going to help them save energy and drive down their costs and save the grid some dollars as well.

You’ll remember, Speaker, the Liberals drove a lot of jobs out of the province, and they raised electricity prices considerably during their time in office. We’re saving businesses and families money.

These programs are going to mean annual electricity savings equivalent to powering approximately 130,000 homes every year and reduce costs for consumers, as I mentioned, by $650 million by 2025. These programs are very important, Mr. Speaker. They’re a win for the people of Ontario. They are a win for the climate—

My question is for a fellow member of the Smitty committee, the Minister of Energy.

Last week, the minister announced the Peak Perks program, an energy-efficiency initiative brought forward by our government. This innovative program provides families with the opportunity to lower their energy bills while also receiving a cash incentive. However, beyond households looking for relief on energy costs, affordable energy remains a serious concern for businesses and municipalities across our province. In order to support the continued economic growth of businesses, it’s vital that our government continues to provide measures that will help them to conserve energy, reduce costs and improve productivity.

Can the minister please explain how our government is supporting businesses in Ontario to save money on energy costs?

Speaker, back in 2003 when the previous Liberal government came to power, Ontario had one of the lowest electricity rates in North America. By the time they were kicked out of government, their legacy was Ontario having one of the highest electricity rates in North America, and that destroyed Ontario’s energy advantage.

I know our government has been working hard to rebuild our energy sector and is committed to bringing jobs back to our province and to making life more affordable. That’s why our government must deliver results. Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on the benefits and advantages of these energy efficiency programs provided by our government for businesses—

I thank the member from Hastings–Lennox and Addington for the question. It is also National Indigenous History Month, and yesterday we were reminded of that by the member from Kiiwetinoong in his member’s statement, and I appreciate his reflections. There’s always more work to do.

But over the course of this month, we’ll have an opportunity to reflect on some of the painful legacies in this country’s history with respect to Indigenous people, but also focus on the opportunities. Those are the things this government has been focused on over the past five years. We’ve made progress, and that was reflected in our discussions yesterday with the Premier, a number of my cabinet colleagues and my parliamentary assistant.

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of events across this province for us all to participate in. I’ve sent out a caucus package. Anybody from the other parties who is interested in events that are in their area, feel free to reach out to me, and we’ll be happy to provide those to you.

Sitting down with the Chiefs of Ontario and setting up a prosperity table led by Indigenous political and business leaders; matching the funding through the Indigenous Economic Development Fund for them to do things like supply chain mapping, to encourage access to capital for Indigenous-owned and -operated businesses: In the past business quarter, we saw a 19% increase in the resources going to Indigenous communities in northern Ontario, to ensure they have the tools moving forward for a prosperous Indigenous community.

But I might say to the member opposite a couple of important points. It was his party that decided to support a carbon tax and fuel surcharges that are driving up those costs. It’s that member opposite who voted against our initiative to reduce the cost of fuel for planes flying into the remote communities. And, so far, we have not been encouraged by the member opposite or his party to build the kinds of corridors that would provide reliable road access into many of our northern communities.

Now, if that member opposite wants to rally around that, planes cannot take in the kind of infrastructure that would put those communities in a better position from a perspective of health, social and economic development—

I think the member opposite knows that the government is always looking at ways of improving conditions for the people that work for us.

Remarks in Anishininiimowin. Good morning. My question is to the Minister of Transportation.

Speaker, you know we have a transportation network as well in Kiiwetinoong. There are 24 airports in Kiiwetinoong, and these airports are owned and operated by the Ministry of Transportation. Airports are critical in the north, critical infrastructure, especially during medical, police and evacuation emergencies—they’re actually lifelines. But if you ask air carriers they say that flying in the north is like flying in the 1950s, because we still have gravel runways, and that’s not acceptable. They’re only 3,500 feet. When is this government going to improve the safety standards of northern airports in Kiiwetinoong?

We need better runways to improve delivery of goods. When is this government going to make the runway improvements needed for better delivery of goods?