My question is to the Premier. Markham’s mayor and councillors began their new term at council in a special meeting to unanimously reject Bill 23. This is the government House leader’s riding. City staff presented a report showing that the changes in Bill 23 could cost the city $136 million in annual revenue, requiring an increase of 50% to 80% on property taxes to maintain service levels, equalling an estimated $600 to $1,000 a year to the average taxpayer.

Speaker, why does the Premier choose to subsidize developer profits by increasing the taxes of the people of Markham?

Interjection.

Thank you.

The member for Niagara Falls.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to reply.

The next question.

I want to correct my record. On the debate on Bill 36, I said that 41 construction workers had died in Ontario. In fact, the total of worker deaths and fatalities in Ontario, according to WSIB, is 144. Nine were COVID-19 fatalities, 75 were occupational disease and 60 were traumatic fatalities.

You know what? It’s no surprise that the members opposite don’t support the people who build homes, because they don’t want people to actually own homes, Mr. Speaker. They talk about affordable housing, but they vote against the fact that we brought in a bill that brought the highest affordable housing, rental housing, in the province in over 30 years. They voted against that.

They talk about affordable housing, but they voted against 60,000 seniors having new and upgraded long-term-care beds. Those are—what are those, colleagues? Those are homes for seniors. They voted against it, Mr. Speaker.

So, they talk out of both sides of their mouth—

Interjection.

So, listen, Mr. Speaker: It should be no surprise to anybody that the members opposite don’t support people who build homes, don’t support the people who want to buy homes, don’t support the new Canadians who want to live in the province and have the dream of home ownership. This has been the NDP since their inception and why they always form a small sliver in this—

My question is to the Premier. On Friday, massive demonstrations at Western University will call on the government to stop auctioning off the greenbelt.

My constituent Brendon writes, Bill 23 threatens “raising our taxes, worsening the housing crisis, privately trading our biodiversity and farmland for industry donations and favours.”

Mainstreet Research CEO Quito Maggi said, “There’s a perception that someone is unfairly lining their pockets. The perception is that the Ford government is unfairly giving a benefit to a small sliver of their supporters.”

Will the Premier listen and again admit: “I’ve heard it loud and clear, people don’t want me touching the greenbelt”?

To the minister, I actually paid my way through a lot of my life doing carpentry work, and I can tell you what every carpenter, every construction worker I worked with, wanted above everything else: the democratic rights of Ontarians to be respected.

York regional councillors asked the government not to give a billion-dollar taxpayer gift to developers because it will mean that the taxes will go up in King–Vaughan.

My question is to the Minister of Education. These councillors were elected by the people in York region, but soon their power to represent their constituents will be overridden by Bill 39, which imposes minority rule in York region. Will the Minister of Education be undermining the democratic rights of York region by voting on the undemocratic Bill 39 today?

Supplementary question.

Conclude your answer.

Call in the members. This will be a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1150 to 1155.

Ms. Khanjin has moved government notice of motion number 10 relating to the allocation of time on Bill 51, An Act to amend the Legislative Assembly Act.

All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Motion agreed to.

Deferred vote on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 29, An Act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 with respect to municipal conditions on residential natural gas connections / Projet de loi 29, Loi modifiant la Loi de 1998 sur la Commission de l’énergie de l’Ontario à l’égard des conditions municipales sur les raccordements résidentiels au réseau d’alimentation en gaz naturel.

The division bells rang from 1159 to 1200.

All those in favour of the motion will please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

Second reading negatived.

This House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1204 until 1300.

Afternoon meeting reported in volume B.

My question is for the Solicitor General a gas station in Mississauga. At the same time, Hamilton endures its fourth shooting in a week, and the 40th for the entire year.

Increasing violent gun crime is a serious matter that impacts the safety and security of all Ontarians.

Speaker, can the Solicitor General explain what our government, working in partnership with police services across Ontario, is doing to keep us safe from smuggled-gun crime?

Toronto police Chief Ramer said it best that, “Gun violence continues to be the most significant public safety concern, as shootings devastate families and erode our sense of security.”

During his press conference, police Chief Ramer further stated that the majority of the guns seized as part of this operation originated from the United States, and that additional measures at our borders are required.

Speaker, through you to the Solicitor General: How is our government addressing this issue as we move forward?

Again, Speaker, another Toronto member speaking against John Tory and the tools that John Tory needs to get shovels in the ground faster. We support Mayor Tory. He’s a great mayor, and he wants to do his share to get shovels in the ground faster. That’s why we listened to His Worship and put in those measures to add those tools to ensure the strong-mayor powers get those shovels in the ground, make those important investments in our communities.

Again, despite even their own advisers, even their own adviser to their new leader, the NDP continue to block the dream of home ownership. We had young people in the galleries earlier today. Those young people, we’re fighting for them. We want to ensure that they have a dream, to ensure that they have a home that meets their needs and their budget. We’re fighting for seniors to ensure that they have the opportunity to downsize, and we’re fighting for new Canadians, who we welcome to our community. We want to make sure that we have a home that fits them as they come to live in the best place to live, work and raise a family: Ontario.

Monsieur le Président, je remercie mon collègue pour cette question excellente.

Je prends mon rôle sérieusement. C’est un honneur d’assurer la sécurité de notre province.

And we’ve heard the calls from Toronto Police Service about tightening the screenings at our borders to stop the flow of illegal guns coming on to our streets, and we agree with them. I’ve seen it for myself in Niagara, in Sault Ste. Marie and in Sarnia–Lambton.

We know the only way to tackle gun violence is to crack down on illegal guns that are being smuggled through our borders every day. That’s why I raise this issue with Minister Mendicino in every one of our calls, and I will not stop.

Nous travaillons avec tous les organismes d’application de la loi pour assurer la sécurité des Ontariens.