You know, budgets are about choices. The member from Oakville and the member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound travelled around the province with us hearing from Ontarians. What we heard was that cost-of-living pressures are top of mind for people; people are in crisis across this province. High rents—we have record evictions, but the government still has not done anything about rent control, and so people are being evicted—more and more senior women. Minimum wage—one fellow said to us, “I can’t survive. I’m losing hope.” They were looking for medical assistance in dying because there was no dignity in their lives. And the nurses—Bill 124, still on the books—told us how demoralizing it is.

So my question for either member: Did you even try to get these issues in this agenda, in this budget? Because the finance minister and the President of the Treasury Board clearly did not hear these voices, but you did.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to you and to the House Sarah Jama, member-elect for the electoral district of Hamilton Centre, who has taken the oath and signed the roll and now claims the right to take her seat.

My question is to the Premier. Not every Ontarian has an OHIP card—migrant workers who help keep our agriculture sector going through back-breaking labour, out-of-status workers in the construction sector who face risks on the job, and refugees fleeing violence in conflicts around the world. Through you, Speaker: Does the Premier think the uninsured should be eligible for urgent medical care?

That this government is making these cuts while redirecting public money out of public care and into the private pockets of a few connected people makes this even more shocking.

Speaker, my question is to the Premier: Why did his government choose to eliminate this simple, yet compassionate, program?

I want to try this out on you: “Devastatingly cruel”; “A big mistake”; “A regressive decision”; “Harmful and cruel”; “Unconscionable”—not my words, Speaker, but those of physicians across this province who are talking about this government’s decision to eliminate this program.

Speaker, the Premier seems to have no problem finding ways to help out people that he knows, his friends, but when it comes to helping Ontarians who are in need, he’s willing to turn his back.

So my question to the Premier again is: Will he reverse his decision to end this program and finally put those in need ahead of his insider friends?

Interjections.

Interjections.

The NDP has proposed many ideas to achieve this, such as updating zoning rules to allow more affordable missing-middle housing and investing in hundreds of thousands of new affordable and non-market homes.

The government has said no to every single solution we present. Instead, they focus their attention on carving up the greenbelt, a decision that will only help a few insiders while everybody else is being left behind.

Speaker, the government’s own budget shows that new housing starts are going down in Ontario instead of up. Does the Premier really think that his plan is working?

I want to thank the hard-working member for Brampton North for the important question. We know that under the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, the province was drowning under red tape. Of course, we know that businesses were fleeing our province and families were having a hard time making ends meet.

Since 2018, reducing red tape has been one of the top priorities for this government, and we have been working hard. We’ve introduced nine different bills to help Ontarians when it comes to unnecessary red tape burden. What all of that means, Mr. Speaker: It means saving businesses and individuals over half a billion dollars in annual costs. Of course, our most recent bill, Bill 46, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act, again includes a number of meaningful, impactful legislative and regulatory changes to boost our economic growth and modernize our government processes. And we will continue that hard work, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank my colleague for that question. Again, one of my priorities as the Minister of Red Tape Reduction—and I know our government, under the leadership of our Premier—is to hear from as many businesses and individuals as possible and to hear their first-hand experience and learn from that. Last week, I had an opportunity to meet with another consultation group from the retail council sector, which was very productive. I can tell you that their insight and recommendations are what help inform our red tape bill. I am proud to say that my team and I are already working on our next red tape bill.

We will continue to engage with all Ontarians to generate new ideas on how we can continue to remove unnecessary red tape and continue to build on the tremendous success we’ve had so far. The people of this province deserve nothing less.