I’m very proud to be here to represent the very green riding of Beaches–East York.

My question is to the Premier, whom I know well from our days at Toronto city hall together. Last week, the federal government put out a climate adaptation report. Guess what, Mr. Speaker? Ontario is falling behind on mitigating the worst impacts of climate change, and that is because of “limited political will,” as the report states. Ontario’s infrastructure is especially vulnerable to climate change and will result in cascading economic and social impacts. The cost of inaction for climate change is too much.

So far, I have not seen the government propose anything to protect and create resilient infrastructure. What good is building highways if they flood over and have to get repaired every single year? We could be creating the strongest, most resilient province in this country. Instead, we cannot even say the word “climate” in the throne speech.

Mr. Speaker, why won’t this government take climate change seriously? When can Ontarians expect this government to stand up and take a leadership role to safeguard the future of Ontarians?

I appreciate the minister’s response, but quite frankly, this government seems to still be stuck on step one. We need to stop only doing assessments and really begin to implement measures. “Get it done,” as you say.

The report says, “There is little evidence of adaptation being mainstreamed into decision-making.” Last week, at AMO, I attended session after session after session that highlighted the need for climate action to be tied to infrastructure. Municipalities are asking for this government to step up and actually start implementing climate strategies to create resilient communities.

Mr. Speaker, instead of forcing cities, municipalities, Indigenous communities and climate leaders to take action themselves in an attempt to safeguard their towns and homes, Queen’s Park needs to step up and create a climate framework for this province.

Will this government finally agree to add the lens of climate adaptation to their policies and decisions in order to help our municipal counterparts thrive and create truly resilient communities, and allow Ontario to adapt to the climate consequences that we have created?

Thank you, member for Don Valley West, for your fascinating story.

I’m going to ask you a lighter question than that. You met Gordon Lightfoot, an iconic Canadian legend. I’m sure we all can start with, I don’t know, Sundown, the railway trilogy, Edmund Fitzgerald—so fantastic and such a fascinating Canadian. Can you tell us about that experience, meeting him?

I have a question.

Amazing speech. It’s always great to hear everyone’s stories. And congratulations on your win.

I’m really interested in the agriculture component of your riding and of your beliefs. I’m very worried about food security, and in my former life I helped start a few farmers’ markets in my riding. I’m a big supporter of Ontario farmers and reminding people to support them—because otherwise, where’s our food coming from?—and the supply chain, as well. Actually, one of my markets ran over dinnertime, and we were worried about our farmers coming in from some three hours away, from Markdale and whatnot. So we fed the farmers who fed us, which was great.

I’m just wondering about what you would like to do to support farmers further, and what we can do at Queen’s Park for that.