My question is for the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. It’s always an education to hear from this minister, and I appreciate his environmental knowledge and expertise.

Under the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, the people of Ontario heard lots of talk and promises about protecting ecologically sensitive lands. In contrast, our government has demonstrated our commitment to environmental conservation by making significant investments and getting it done.

There is never a more important time than the present to continue to invest in initiatives that will conserve, restore and manage natural resources, including forests, wetlands and grasslands.

Can the minister please explain how our government is preserving Ontario’s natural environmental heritage?

Our natural areas support our local communities and provide habitat for species. Therefore, continued investment and support by our government is critically important. The people of Ontario expect that our government will continue to protect Ontario’s rich biodiversity.

Can the minister please confirm how these investments will help build Ontario for all of us?

Thank you to the member from Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston. He’s such a strong advocate for the outdoors and our environment.

The member is right; you’ll hear a lot from members opposite—they will oppose a couple of trees that would take 28,000 cars off the road, with the largest public transit expansion in Canada’s history that this government, under this Premier, is making. They’ll be against building more homes, but they have no solutions.

That’s why I’m pleased to say that thanks to this finance minister and this Premier, in the budget, we’re investing more than $14 million more in the Greenlands Conservation Partnership program. This is a solution to protecting more in the province of Ontario and represents a 40% increase in funding, which will be used to secure ecologically important land and conserve Ontario’s natural beauty.

Speaker, you can’t spell “Conservative” without the word “conserve.” And I’m pleased to stand here today to tell you that we’re getting it done for the people—

Interjections.

I heard a member opposite say “cringey,” and it’s that member who said that who has presided over sewage spills in her own community and proposed no solutions to that. But this government is getting it done.

We hear a lot about pointing fingers at problems, with no solutions from the members opposite.

Well, a solution to conserve more land is to invest in the Greenlands Conservation Partnership program. It has protected over 400,000 acres of land and is the single largest provincial fund in this province’s history to support private land security. That’s the equivalent of over 300,000 football fields of protection under this Premier and this government. That’s real action. That’s real results.

Mr. Speaker, the previous government talked a lot about it, but we never saw these sorts of funds, these envelopes to conserve and protect more.

It’s under the leadership of this Premier and this government that they’re going to work with—