There is huge support for Hamilton, and not just the $500 million towards ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s green steel projects or the $40 million in support for OmniaBio’s $580-million investment in gene therapy.

Our government is delivering on our plan to encourage entrepreneurship and grow small business. We have lowered their taxes, reduced red tape and made their hydro affordable again. And to further encourage entrepreneurs, we are funding their Small Business Enterprise Centre to make sure their dreams become a reality.

We fund special programs for young entrepreneurs and students to help them get started in business as well. Through our Digital Transformation Grant, we’re helping these businesses go online to sell their products worldwide.

The message is clear: We are building Ontario.

Our government has made the largest increase in ODSP in the history of this program. We raised the rates when we first came to government. We’ve raised them by a historic amount again. We’ve tied that to inflation. We’ve added in the increase to the earnings exemption threshold—an increase of 400%. We’ve created training programs to help people understand how they might be retrained and be able to enter into the job market, to provide meaningful jobs and a meaningful purpose for people who want to work who are on ODSP.

And for those who cannot work, we have made the measures to make sure that we have the proper supports for them, with ODSP, with discretionary benefits, with micro-credentialing strategies for those who can work, understanding the mental health supports that are available, working across ministries to provide improved lifestyle for them and provide the essential basics for them. The LIFT tax break, the CARE tax break—really making sure we look at this from a holistic point of view and provide the—

As I said, this is one program, and that’s why we need to take this program in the context of all the other supports that are being provided to improve peoples’ lives, to increase their ability to have a job and to be retrained. So these are all areas that we’re continuing to contribute to, whether it’s increasing the minimum wage, the job training tax credit, the $1 billion in social services relief funding that we’ve put through during COVID, the Ontario Trillium Foundation efforts, the Feed Ontario programs, the Student Nutrition Program—the list goes on and on. ODSP is one program in the context of many others, and we’ll continue to make the investments that we have promised.

Mining is the number one employer in the great riding of Timmins. I am proud of what mining means to my community and to the north. Our investments have been hailed by industry. But don’t just take my word for it; listen to how impactful $400,000 can be for a junior mining company.

Dr. Michael Gunning, president and CEO of VR Resources—and VR Resources has a remarkable rare earth discovery just north of Timmins—said, “For a small company like mine, doing the front-end R&D of exploration—funding matters. It takes courage and it takes money to make these discoveries.... OJEP has made a difference to my company and is making a difference to the industry.”

The importance of these investments cannot be overstated, and the industry agrees. With our investments, these companies will find mines in the future while helping us to secure Ontario’s future.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage the opposition to vote for us the next time we make vital investments in this in-demand sector of our economy.

I’d like to thank the member for Sarnia–Lambton for this very important question. Since 2019 we’ve invested over $130 million in mental health and addiction services for children and youth through the Roadmap to Wellness. Last year, we invested an additional $31 million in annual funding to reduce wait-lists and support the mental health and well-being of children and youth, with another $170 million set to be invested over the next three years through the road map.

More tangibly, something which we’re extremely proud to be supporting are our youth wellness hubs, one of which is slated to open in Sarnia just this spring. To date, we’ve provided funding for 22 youth wellness hubs, all of which provide mental health and addiction supports, primary care and early intervention to those aged 12 to 25 on a walk-in basis.

Mr. Speaker, we’re working every day to make sure that children and youth in the province of Ontario can get the care they need when and where they need it.

First, I would like to thank the Minister of Infrastructure for the ongoing commitment to the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, which is a fantastic fund which has provided over $12 million of infrastructure funding to the riding of Essex. That’s going to help towns in my riding, like LaSalle, Amherstburg, Essex, Harrow, Kingsville and Belle River, build infrastructure like sewer lines, which is good for our environment, keeping our environment clean.

I have a question about the environment: How is the government keeping the environment top of mind while reducing inefficiencies at the same time?