Roads, highways and other critical infrastructure are vital to ensuring our economy remains strong and productive. Unfortunately, under the previous Liberal government, Ontario’s transportation networks were neglected, especially in growing regions like my riding of Mississauga–Streetsville.

Highway 401 is North America’s busiest and most congested highway. In fact, approximately 180,000 vehicles use this highway daily just from Mississauga to Milton alone. Our government needs to take action today to make sure highways are less congested and more convenient to keep Ontario moving. This will ensure that we’re helping individuals and families get to where they need to go. Together, let’s build the transportation infrastructure needed to keep Ontario strong and prosperous.

Can the Associate Minister of Transportation please share with our government what we are doing to improve our highway network?

Building highways for the people of Mississauga–Streetsville and all Ontarians needs to be a priority of our government. Roads, highways and other critical infrastructure help get goods and services to market faster. Clogged roads and gridlocked highways impact families and their quality of life by preventing busy moms and dads from getting home to their children on time. Road congestion traps transportation trucks from getting goods to business, costing more than $11 billion annually across Ontario’s economy.

Speaker, can the Associate Minister of Transportation elaborate on how our government will deliver on our promised plan for highway improvement?

Sadly, gender-based violence, domestic violence and human trafficking have been more present during and since the pandemic, and it is crucial to ensure that those affected by violence and exploitation receive the supports that they need while offenders are held accountable through the justice system. That’s why we’re investing in violence prevention and community services that support women and their dependants. It’s why we’ve launched programs and past legislation to support our efforts to end violence against women. No woman should be subjected to violence, and our government is working to prevent violence against women and supporting women to escape it and investing in the programs that are necessary to stop gender-based violence.

Our government understands the importance of ending gender-based violence, and we have programs. We’ve passed legislation. We’re making investments, and this is continuous. This is an ongoing effort.

The pandemic certainly had an effect on Ontario’s most vulnerable, and that’s why we’re working to increase access to safe and affordable housing and providing supports to people who experienced homelessness during COVID-19. We’re investing $18.5 million over three years in the Transitional and Housing Support Program to support victims of domestic violence and survivors of human trafficking, maintain housing and help transition to independence.

It’s our government that’s investing in helping survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking find and maintain housing, and it’s helping them transition to independence. We are connecting them to socially and culturally responsive wraparound services like safety planning, counselling, health and wellness, education, legal and immigration services, financial services—

This is to the Premier: Advocates for survivors of intimate partner violence have echoed at this year’s pre-budget hearings the same recommendations following the Renfrew county inquest. Ontario needs a plan for housing survivors of intimate partner violence. Shelters are overflowing. Women have to stay in shelters longer and longer because of the challenges in finding their own safe and real affordable housing, and this Conservative government does not have a plan. This is a priority for Ontarians. Is housing survivors of gender-based violence a priority for this government?

Will the Conservative government provide adequate, stable, long-term funding for women’s shelters, for real affordable housing, for transitional housing in this year’s budget? I don’t want to hear about five years from now—in this budget.

At the pre-budget consultation hearings in Timmins, we heard from the Cochrane Public Library about some of the services they provide to build a stronger, more caring community: services like Internet access for people who can’t afford it or don’t have a home to link it to. Did you know that in the district of Cochrane, the rate of homelessness per 1,000 people is higher than anywhere else in the province? Services like printing and faxing documents to help apply for jobs are all services that people need—people from all walks of life.

Libraries are often the great social equalizers. They have been through history, and they will be in the future. But they’re also the first thing on the chopping block for municipalities, who are also having a tough time balancing their budgets—but they’re incredibly important. Will this government ensure that Ontario’s libraries receive the direct, stable funding they need in this budget?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for the question. I also want to thank my colleagues who have been involved in one of the most exciting energy sector projects that have come along in a long time, and most notably involved the participation of an Indigenous community’s economic development corporation. We see this, Mr. Speaker, as the future in our energy sector, working with Indigenous communities. We’re going to continue down that path, supporting not just that project but other opportunities, for example in northern Ontario, where they have and where they will continue to exist.

With respect to the duty to consult with the people of Six Nations of the Grand River, we’ve made tremendous strides in meeting with mayors from the Haldimand tract, including the mayor who you’re referencing. We see clarity and certainty as our top priorities moving forward so that any and all projects can be done on a consensus basis and focus on the priorities of those respective communities.

If this member really understood the dynamics and the responsibilities of different levels of government, it would be perfectly clear to her that the most important thing that the province can do is work with the elected council of Six Nations of the Grand and, as the chief has explicitly requested, to have many of these issues and many of these opportunities settled at the community level.

To that end, we’ve made significant progress. We’re meeting regularly with the mayors of the Haldimand tract, including the mayor who you spoke of. Other big-city mayors in Brantford and Hamilton and such were very encouraged that in the not-too-distant future, a policy position will respect consensus, co-operation and a desire to move on the important projects—

All across our region of northern Ontario, there are many examples of the need to continue to invest in businesses, invest in communities and invest in Indigenous communities, as well, through community enhancements, cultural support programs, investing in innovation and research and investing in businesses. Their launches, their growth and expansion, relocation into northern Ontario as we build out capacity for supply chains in forestry, mining, filming and other examples: We’re ready, and we’re going to continue to respond to the northern opportunity—

Greenstone itself is under tremendous growth, with a base-metal gold mine, and there’s an incredible need there to support economic development in that community. That’s why I visited there, spoke with Mayor James McPherson and made announcements on upgrading the waste water system, so the services can be extended for industrial and commercial capacity.

Supporting the rehabilitation of the local rink at the Longlac Sportsplex; refurbishing their boat launch and their golf course, including the clubhouse, which hosts many business events and such: Mr. Speaker, we’re responding to the opportunity in—

Supplementary question?

The next question.

Supplementary question?

The next question.

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development. The opportunities in northern Ontario are endless and we are hearing accounts of northern Ontario ingenuity daily. Our government recognizes and appreciates and values northern Ontario. Investments made by our government continue to provide support to improve the quality of life and promote economic development in our communities.

But there’s more that needs to be done in order to further advance the successes we have achieved. Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is increasing economic prosperity for people across northern Ontario?

Numerous success stories have emerged as a result of the excellent creative and professional work by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. Northern communities are unique, and not just geographically. These communities have specific needs when it comes to infrastructure, supply chains and supporting businesses. Our government must continue to invest in initiatives that bring practical and resourceful solutions to enhance the lives of individuals, families and communities in rural and remote areas of our province.

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on how our government’s investment in the NOHFC is supporting communities across the north?

My question is to the Minister of Indigenous Affairs. Today is the 17th anniversary of the land occupation at Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia. Seventeen years later, two governments later, not much has changed other than a second occupied site, and no leadership or clarity in terms of how to have productive Indigenous relations on development matters.

On February 10, members of this government were at Six Nations to announce an energy project, a project on lands in Haldimand county. Not one member addressed the mayor who was present that day, nor was any member of Haldimand county invited by this government to attend.

Speaker, the minister was part of that entourage, and he was asked by a reporter who the government consulted with on this project. Was it the elected council, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute or both? The minister didn’t answer the question, so—Speaker, through you—I’m asking the minister to answer the question today.

As the minister should know, Six Nations Chief Mark Hill has made it very clear he believes his elected government is with whom consultations must occur. Would-be investors and developers are scared away from Haldimand county because they aren’t sure what the rules are, and this minister, as we hear again today, refuses to state clear and consistent policy in terms of who represents Six Nations. Haldimand county asked the minister for clarification at ROMA, and no answer was given.

The crown has a duty to consult, and the province has handed that duty down to the county in the absence of a framework. Municipalities are told by this province to engage Indigenous communities but are attempting to meet a non-defined standard. Through you again, Speaker: Will the minister please indicate who is to be consulted with at Six Nations?

I would like to thank my colleague from Hastings–Lennox and Addington for the question, and all the great work he’s doing in his riding.

Speaker, first I would like to thank the amazing ServiceOntario staff across the province for their hard work, many of whom I’ve had the privilege to meet in person since taking over this role. I have seen first-hand the incredible work they are doing across the province, providing services to Ontarians as our front-line individuals. A big thank you to our team members, the ServiceOntario staff.

This government has been able to launch new options and improve our services for all Ontarians, both in person and online. I’m happy to inform the members in this House that Ontarians can now use an improved appointment booking system, available at many of ServiceOntario’s busiest—

Furthermore, those who wish are now able to identify accessibility needs ahead of their appointments as part of our mandate to ensure that our services are available and accessible to all Ontarians. And we are just getting started, with new services being added online regularly. Led by our Premier, we are building ServiceOntario for tomorrow.

As I always say, every transaction online is one less person in line. This means that Ontarians can now book multiple services in a single appointment or conveniently book a single—

During pre-budget consultations, we heard from the Ontario Community Support Association about the difficult decisions this government is forcing them to make. They are looking at a 36% reduction in transportation services, which is a reduction of 200,000 rides to medical appointments and other critical services. They’re also looking at a 35% reduction in Meals on Wheels, which will result in 640,000 meals not being delivered.

These vital services are important to Ontarians, but they don’t seem important to this government. Will the government ensure these programs are fully funded in this budget?

The supplementary question: the member for Spadina–Fort York.

The next question.

Supplementary question.

The next question.

The supplementary question: the member for Ottawa Centre.

Interjection: It’s not even worth responding to that.

That concludes our question period for this morning. This House stands in recess until 3 p.m.

The House recessed from 1139 to 1500.

I am happy to table this petition once again and to thank Dr. Sally Palmer from the social action committee.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and soon $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent budget increase of 5% for ODSP, with nothing for OW, could be experienced as an insult to recipients, who have been living since 2018 with frozen social assistance rates and a Canadian inflation rate that reached 12%;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a basic income of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I wholeheartedly agree with this. Thanks again to all the folks who have been signing this right across the province. I’m going to affix my signature to it and give it to page Lindsay to bring to the Clerk.

Resuming the debate adjourned on February 27, 2023, on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 63, An Act respecting the adjustment of the boundary between the City of St. Thomas and the Municipality of Central Elgin / Projet de loi 63, Loi concernant la modification des limites territoriales entre la cité de St. Thomas et la municipalité de Central Elgin.

It’s a pleasure to stand and speak to Bill 63—and we often say that, but we don’t always mean it, I don’t think. But in this case, I think this is a bill that everyone in the Legislature would support. It’s a very simple bill that essentially takes land from one municipality and puts it into another to create a mega site of about 1,500 acres, to attract the kind of manufacturing jobs that I think many folks are excited for us to get.

We know that the Canadian government has been really pushing in the EV industry. We know the federal minister has been to Germany pushing Volkswagen and other investment.

Certainly, on all sides of the House, good-paying manufacturing jobs are something that we all want to see come to Canada and come to Ontario, as well.

I’m going to make my remarks fairly brief for a lead.

I want to talk a little bit about the land itself. After announcing in June that St. Thomas had bought 800 acres to attract manufacturing investment, with an eye to a possible electric vehicle battery plant, the city took another 700 acres of adjacent land under contract, which was expected to close soon. I can understand the urgency. We want potential investors to look at Ontario and look at Canada—and these municipalities who are working out this assembly of land to attract investment in a positive light. So that’s what this investment is all about. The change will mean the site can be developed faster, with permits and site assessments done by just one local government—and any of us who have been in municipal government understand what that means, with what we sometimes call red tape or permits. It’s much easier to deal with one municipality. This is something that governments have been doing for a long, long time. I’m not sure it has happened quite on the scale that we see it happening with the assembly of these mega sites across Canada.

I can remember, as a councillor, I had the privilege of attending the auto city mayors’ meetings. When the mayor of my municipality couldn’t make it, I kind of subbed in for him. We’d meet at the Ford plant in Oakville. All of the mayors from cities where their auto manufacturing sector was active in their cities would meet. There were two things at the time that they were discussing, and one was assembling land; the other was, of course, an auto strategy, which I’m not sure we ever fully got, but we’re far enough down the road now.

We are making what they used to call turnkey plots. What that means is that the land is assembled, all the permits are already done. As in this case, perhaps they’ve assembled the land under one municipality to make it attractive to investors. So that’s what’s happening here. It has been happening for a long time. It’s great to see all levels of government co-operating to try to cash in on electric vehicle battery manufacturing jobs and other manufacturing jobs.

A lot of the credit, I think—it’s natural for the government to want to talk about its accomplishments and even to blame some of the bad things on past governments. That’s fair game. But I think what we really need to do is congratulate these municipalities and their economic development officers. I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of economic development officers in different municipalities in Niagara and elsewhere. They’re very important jobs. They’re the people who kind of work behind the scenes and get a lot of this done in advance of approaching levels of government, like provincial or municipal or even federal governments. Clearly, they’ve done a good job and they’re in the hunt, as many newspaper articles have reported, for the what has been suggested is up to 2,500 jobs.

A lot of us have personal stories about this. Mine is, my dad worked at General Motors in St. Catharines, so I’m the product of a family that was supported with good, unionized manufacturing jobs. I can remember, back when I was about five years old, when my dad got the job at General Motors, and it was a big change for our family. I wasn’t all that happy about it, at the age of five, because my dad was working as a milkman, so I got to go around on his milk truck, which was a lot of fun. So I was a little bit upset about it, but I learned to like it later when we got good family vacations and a nicer house and all the benefits that come along with good-paying manufacturing jobs. So that’s something that I think we obviously need more of.

St. Thomas was one of those areas in Ontario that was devastated when we lost manufacturing jobs, especially in the 1990s. Most of us can remember those times. I know in St. Catharines, GM, at one time, was up to 11,000 or 12,000 manufacturing jobs; now we’re just down to a couple of thousand. Places like St. Thomas lost their share of jobs too, and there was a lot of suffering at the time. We can talk all we want about the causes for that. I could stand up here and talk about free trade forever and probably disagree with a lot of folks on the other side about what the NAFTA agreement did back at that time. But the fact is, we lost hundreds and hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs. It’s great to see the possibility of getting some of that back across Canada and the prosperity that hopefully will bring to many folks.

There are times when we’re going to disagree on things in this House, and there are other times when it’s incumbent on us to put the partisanship aside and recognize that—folks are going to take credit from all levels of government, and a lot of that credit is due, but we all want to see these jobs coming to Ontario. Certainly, on this side of the House, we’re right there supporting the promotion of good-paying, unionized manufacturing employment.

I should say that—my friend from Niagara Falls brought it up the other day—we have to give some of the credit not only to the municipal, provincial and federal governments, but to the unions as well, who went through very difficult times with thousands of their members losing jobs. They went to the bargaining table—and there are times for confrontation, but there are also times to work together, between industry and the unions, because everyone benefits when these jobs come to Canada and come to Ontario. So I think we have to give some credit where credit is due to unions like Unifor and the Steelworkers and others who have gone to the bargaining table and worked with the government and with the industry to try to create the conditions to bring some of these jobs back.

I just want to wrap up by saying that, on this side of the House, we want to work to get this through as quickly as possible. We understand the urgency. By the way, this is something the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing already had the power to do under the Municipal Act, but this expedites that process. We want investors who are looking at coming to Canada and coming to Ontario to see us working together, between levels of government, to be a place where those jobs can come.

I’m happy to stand here and support this bill. We will be voting in favour of it.

I look forward to any questions that the government has.

My question is to the Premier. Access to information is essential for the success of Ontario businesses, students and residents, yet there is an incredible inequity in access to information that libraries across the province raised during the pre-budget hearings. Library systems in big cities can afford to buy licences for online resources, but towns, villages and remote communities cannot afford these licences. This means that Ontarians in rural communities cannot access up-to-date research, videos and other online resources that are available to residents in bigger cities.

In this budget, will your government be investing in the Ontario Digital Library so that Ontarians in every part of the province have equitable access to these licensed online resources?

I’m actually quite excited; the NDP want to make investments. Now, here’s the thing. We know that they’ve talked a lot about investments they want to make, right? We know that when we make these investments, historically, since 2018, they’ve voted against every single one of those investments. When we’ve put more money into arts and culture, they have voted against it. When we put $4 billion into infrastructure, they have voted against it.

Now, of course we need to do more to ensure that all parts of this province are connected, that all parts of this province have access to information, so that we can continue to grow the economy. It’s not just the hard work of the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, who has seen $18 billion worth of investment come back to the province of Ontario. It is why we’re making so many investments in small communities across the province, so that our small business partners, as you referenced, can ensure that they participate in the amazing growth that we are seeing across the province of Ontario. That is why thousands of jobs are being created. Welcome to the—

We know that the economic effects of the pandemic are still affecting people, and we must get people out of poverty now more than ever. That’s why we have numerous parts—and we’re working across ministries, across governments, across layers of government to make life better for people.

With the impacts of COVID-19 still having an effect, we’ve launched the micro-credential strategy. We’re improving mental health with the Roadmap to Wellness: $3.8 billion over 10 years for mental health supports. We’ve committed $1 billion to build thousands of new child care spaces. We launched $1.2 billion last year for the Ontario Child Benefit. We’re investing $90 million to provide dental care to low-income seniors. We’ve got the CARE tax credit, which will provide about 300,000 families with up to 75% of their eligible child care expenses. We’ve got the low-income individuals and families tax credit, the Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit.

We’ve got the minimum wage increase. We’ve raised ODSP rates. I could go on—

My question is for the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery. As we all know, under the previous Liberal government, access to vital services for drivers’ licences, health cards and birth certificates was not provided in an easy and convenient manner. This process made wait lines at ServiceOntario access longer and more burdensome.

In my riding, as in many others across this province, it can require many miles of travel to get to ServiceOntario. It should have been more efficient and respectful to our individuals, families and our front-line employees. More needs to be done to create a system that better serves and effectively supports individual needs. Accessing government services online is preferred by many and should not be complicated.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what our government is doing to make improvements to ServiceOntario?

My constituents in Hastings-Lennox and Addington increasingly expect access to services online from the comfort of their own homes. As I noted, in rural areas, this is vitally important. We must keep pace with technology so that individuals can access information and book appointments at ServiceOntario from a digital device of their own choosing. We can’t afford to be an off-line government in an online world.

We’ve heard the minister say that our government supports modernization and innovation to improve the services that we offer. Will the minister please elaborate on how this recent announcement will make life easier for the people of Ontario?

My question is for the Premier. It would be nice if the Premier answered instead of enrolling in the minister protection program, but I won’t hold my breath—

Interjections.

The Centretown Community Health Centre is integral to a caring and strong community in Ottawa Centre. Will this government ensure that their budget is not cut?

I’ll be sharing my time today with the honourable member in front of me, from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke.

I spoke last week to Bill 63, the St. Thomas-Central Elgin Boundary Adjustment Act. My hope is to share with the House today the amazing potential this mega site opportunity really does bring to southwestern Ontario.

To remain competitive, Ontario has to position itself as the most attractive place to grow. To accomplish this, we must work with our municipal partners to create the best possible environment for new investment to come our way.

Before us today is a game-changer opportunity—game-changing in the sense that we can create shovel-ready mega sites that are the envy of North America.

This legislation would allow the city of St. Thomas and the province to proceed with speed and efficiency with respect to permitting and preparing the site to meet potential investors’ timelines. Speed is of the essence.

As I think everybody knows, there is a shortage of mega sites available in Ontario. With the introduction of the Job Site Challenge in 2019, this government cast a wide net throughout Ontario municipalities to assemble mega site opportunities from 500 to 1,500 acres. The challenge has been met, and Elgin county will have the most advantageous site in North America if this legislation is passed and passed quickly. It’s advantageous in these ways: First of all, it’s a large industrial site. It’s got close proximity to major transit routes, highway and air; serviceability of infrastructure, with electricity, gas, water and waste water; access to the largest market in the world, the United States of America; clean energy—and let’s not forget this important point: Clean energy is key, I believe, going forward, to our future success. But most importantly, it’s advantageous because of people—and that’s what this project is ultimately about. It’s about jobs. It’s about innovation. It’s about innovative, hard-working Ontarians ready to enjoy and take on good-paying jobs with benefits and pensions.

As I said last week, Ontario is in fierce competition with close to 40 jurisdictions in the United States—competing for these major investors. All of them are shovel-ready. In fact, as Minister Fedeli said earlier this week, they have 19 to 51 certified sites in inventory in the US competing against each other and Ontario, and they are aggressively targeting the potential investors we are targeting as well. We need to be ready, and that is why, again, I say speed is of the essence. We will be ready to act, and we will be ready to win.

Minister Fedeli has spoken in this House about discussions currently taking place in this province and with various investors—with close to $20 billion in projects that require large-scale sites. Will we get every one of these deals? Likely not. But if we get our fair share, I think we will benefit. The people of Ontario will benefit, indeed. Having the ability to assemble industrial sites, shovel-ready and investor-ready, is obviously key to closing our fair share of these economy-building opportunities throughout the province—not just in Elgin–Middlesex–London, but throughout the province, as we have already announced and already displayed and already closed.

Allow me, Speaker, to move to a key part of this legislation and why it’s important that fairness prevails if and when Bill 63 is passed. The city of St. Thomas, the municipality of Central Elgin and the entire county of Elgin will all share in the economic prosperity and success of any future investment, if and when it comes. I am confident, at the end of the day, that with this project, we will be the envy of Ontario.

Throughout my nearly 40 years of living in my region, which includes Elgin county, Middlesex county and the city of London, I have witnessed the demise of good-paying jobs in the manufacturing sector. Company after company after company closed or moved elsewhere because it was too expensive to survive in Ontario. Simply put, we were not competitive. We are now competitive. We were not competitive, for sure, and we paid the price with the loss of jobs and the loss of these employees—and remember, you have good companies, and there’s tertiary spinoff to go with it. We lost it all.

In the last number of decades—and we all have heard this: that the service sector, while important, is the future of work in Ontario. Under the previous government—their long-term report on the economy stated: “The structure of the Ontario economy will continue to shift from goods-producing to service-producing sectors,” and this will result in “shifting employment from goods-producing industries, in particular manufacturing, to service-sector industries.” While that’s important, it just simply was not good enough.

I can state that this Premier, his cabinet and caucus have said loud and clear that an attitude of failure was not good enough. It was not good enough for Ontario workers now, nor a number of years ago, and it was not good enough for the long-term success of this province.

That is why Minister Fedeli, Minister Clark and the entire government here have worked so hard throughout this province to attract investment—“Come back home to Ontario. Think about how Ontario used to be.”

Post-, or throughout the industrial revolution—we were part of a major automotive industry sector. In fact, I believe—the minister said this earlier—that we closed $17 billion of deals in the last number of years, which is simply amazing, when you think about it. For so many years, I believe, so many people gave up on the manufacturing sector, which is so important to southwestern Ontario.

Also, I’d like to say that we’re here to cut some red tape. It’s important to cut red tape. It’s important to cut costs in government. It’s important to be efficient. In business, if you’re not competitive, you’re not in business. You have to be competitive. But cutting your way to prosperity is never the total answer. If you’re going to grow, you have to do it by growing the economy. And how are we going to do that? We create jobs. When we create jobs, we can create economic wealth—people come, people invest. That’s how you grow an economy. When we grow the economy, we’re going to generate provincial revenues, and the treasury will be filled with dollars that we can invest back into hospitals, into our schools, into our health care providers, into our teachers and ultimately get the services we need funded well and into the future.

As we’ve said before in this House, there are two million to three million more people coming to this province in the next 10 years. We need to find a home for them to work. We also need to make sure that those workers are trained and skilled up so that they can meet the available opportunities that exist. I believe that will happen, ultimately, on this project.

On this project, I also want to point out that, yes, there’s a potential for a mega site or a mega industry to invest, but think of the tertiary spinoff we’re going to get—the sub-manufacturing jobs, the supply chain that comes into these businesses and these industries. That really is the magic of what these big investments do. It’s what happened in the auto industry for years in southwestern Ontario—many of which are still in business and many of which, unfortunately, have got out of business.

Speaker, I will conclude by saying that I thoroughly support this bill. I’m excited about the opportunity that it presents. I’m excited for the people in southwestern Ontario. I think this is going to be a great example of what we can accomplish not only as a region—but set an example for the entire province and, in fact, all of Canada. The challenge of change is before us. The challenge of the Job Site Challenge was met and has succeeded. The opportunity for changing municipal boundaries is before us here in Elgin county, and the challenge of closing a deal—which I’m sure, at some point in time, will happen and bring economic growth to southwestern Ontario—is at our doorstep. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to make Ontario much more prosperous.

Thank you for your time.