I heard a thank you.

As well, we are proposing amendments to the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit. The proposed amendments to the Taxation Act, 2007, would expand eligible expenditures for the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit. We are proposing that eligible expenditures include location fees to help attract domestic and foreign film and television production to Ontario to help incentivize more on-location filming in communities across this great province.

In relation to the Securities Act, we are introducing rule-making authority to the access equals delivery initiative. This proposal shows how Ontario is moving ahead with modernizing the way public companies communicate with investors and the market to reduce regulatory burden and support the digitization of the economy.

We are also proposing amendments related to the framework for target-benefit pension plans. These proposed amendments are intended to clarify that written funding and governance policy would be required for target-benefit plans upon proclamation of the permanent framework, while also maintaining this requirement for other types of pension plans in the future.

One area where we are determined to advance progress is in attracting investment and bringing good manufacturing jobs back to Ontario. Our government is using the strength of Ontario’s supply chains to support globally competitive homegrown manufacturing, and we are helping to see things built right here in Ontario, such as the next generation of hybrid and electric vehicles and batteries. Those batteries and those cars will be sold right across North America. Manufacturing, as many know, is Ontario’s legacy and it is its future. Pour les vendre partout en Amérique du Nord—le secteur manufacturier est à la fois l’héritage et l’avenir de l’Ontario.

This is why we are proposing the creation of a provincial clean energy credit registry. This new proposal would see the launch of a voluntary clean energy credit registry in 2023. A voluntary clean energy credit registry would help boost Ontario’s competitiveness and attract jobs. It will also provide businesses with more options in how they pursue their environmental and sustainability goals. The voluntary clean energy credit registry is among the number of new things we are exploring as we make the province the destination of choice for global investors.

We are also focused on cutting red tape to help clear up supply chain delays, as well as supporting Ontario’s agri-food system so we can get goods and services to customers faster and help create more jobs.

Madam Speaker, we understand that main street Ontario matters, and that is why we’re proposing to increase the number of small businesses that could benefit from the small business tax rate. This change will lower costs for small businesses, providing $185 million in income tax relief over the next three years.

Madam Speaker, our government is building Ontario’s economy, building Ontario’s workforce, building Ontario’s infrastructure and keeping costs down for Ontario families and businesses. Each and every day, in every corner of our immense province, we are getting it done.

Et maintenir les coûts bas pour les familles et les entreprises—chaque jour, aux quatre coins de notre immense province, nous y parvenons.

But, Madam Speaker, we find ourselves in uncertain economic times. All around us, we are seeing emerging economic and fiscal challenges. Ontario is not an island; it is not immune to these pressures. In 2022, Ontario’s consumer price index reached highs not seen since the early 1980s. We are seeing these 40-year price spikes because of the consequences of the worldwide pandemic and because of Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine that is causing supply disruptions across various industries. And while inflation may have eased slightly, the Bank of Canada remains steadfast on the need for further interest rate increases.

Madam Speaker, the cost of groceries and everyday goods that we all rely on continues to remain stubbornly high. Economic turbulence, economic uncertainty and challenges are surely going to continue in the months ahead. Understandably, Ontario seniors, families, workers and businesses are feeling financial pressure and are worried about their budgets. We know this reality is stressful for many. This is why we have built a flexible and responsible fiscal plan, one that takes a targeted approach as we navigate together these uncertain times. It’s the right plan, because no matter what lies ahead, I am confident in our resiliency. Ontario’s economy, its workers, its businesses and people are tough and resilient, and I have confidence in our plan.

Ontario is proud of its central place in Canada and the federation. Maintaining a close relationship with our federal and provincial partners remains critical as we continue to build Ontario’s economy during this difficult time. Ontario expects the federal government to be a full partner for the Ring of Fire, to respect provincial jurisdiction and, at minimum, to match Ontario’s investments to support critical infrastructure in seizing this generational opportunity. It will happen. It can happen. It should happen.

Effective federal-provincial fiscal transfers are a key factor in Ontario’s long-term fiscal sustainability. Canada and Ontario worked well together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring federal funding was timely and responsive to provincial needs. Over the next year, Ontario will be engaging with the federal government on a number of significant federal-provincial transfer agreements, from health to training to infrastructure. As Canada emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is opportunity and time to focus on long-term arrangements to create a principle-based transfer system, with agreements that are flexible, adequate and fair, and that respect provincial jurisdiction.

Notably, this includes the Canada Health Transfer. Ontario is looking forward to working with the provinces and territories and the federal government to secure an enhanced partnership that helps address the pressures facing the health care system now and provides a foundation for adequate long-term funding.

Awareness of these challenges and the need for resiliency informed our work preparing the 2022 fall economic statement and the fall bill. We are resolved to our task. To conclude, the policies and the measures I have discussed today, which are key in the fall bill and the 2022 fall economic statement, present a clear picture. We have a responsible, flexible plan that is helping businesses, helping workers, helping families and helping seniors across this province as we navigate this period of uncertainty together. Whatever the economic uncertainty may bring, our government has a plan.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would now like to pass it over to the member for Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound to share more details on our government’s plan.

Thank you.

It is one of the largest rural ridings in southwestern Ontario and includes the beautiful and iconic Bruce Peninsula. Rural and northern communities are the backbone of this great province. Our government understands the unique way of life and unique challenges that come with living in municipalities outside the big urban centres.

Maintaining a close relationship with our municipal partners remains critical as we continue to build Ontario’s economy during this time of economic uncertainty. We are working in partnership with them to build and strengthen our province. Our government has been increasing ongoing support to municipalities; for example, through doubling the annual investment in the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund program to $400 million—that’s an additional $1 billion over five years—and investing up to $15 million annually over five years in northern municipalities to support infrastructure projects through the Northern Ontario Resource Development Support Fund.

Ontario is also working closely with the federal government to ensure municipalities continue to receive financial support for the critical infrastructure they need to accommodate growth such as new roads, waterworks and transit, including through the new Housing Accelerator Fund. This is in addition to the support provided via the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, or OMPF. The OMPF targets funding to municipalities facing challenging fiscal circumstances and supports areas with limited property assessment.

Incentivizing more on-location filming in communities across Ontario by expanding the list of eligible expenditures for the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit is another way our government is working to support rural and northern communities. We are also proposing amendments to the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit, under the Taxation Act, 2007. If this is approved, eligible expenditures would include location fees to help attract domestic and foreign film and television production to the province. It would also help incentivize more on-location filming in communities across Ontario, providing new business and opportunities for growth in rural communities.

Madam Speaker, now I’ll pivot to Bay Street. In relation to the Securities Act, we are introducing rule-making authority in respect of the access equals delivery initiative. This proposal reflects the way we are modernizing how public companies communicate with investors and the market. This will both reduce the regulatory burden in the sector and further support the ongoing digitization of the Ontario economy.

Another proposal in the fall bill is creating a provincial clean energy credit registry. This proposed change would see the launch of a voluntary clean energy credit registry Ontario in 2023. The registry would help boost Ontario’s competitiveness, attract jobs to the province and provide businesses with more choice in how they pursue their environmental and sustainability goals.

In the 2022 fall economic statement, the government announced that it intends to launch, this winter, a stakeholder consultation on proposed regulations necessary for implementing a permanent target benefit pension framework in Ontario. Target benefit pension plans are intended to provide a person with a monthly stream of income in retirement with predictable contributions for employers. These kinds of pension plans are especially good for workers in sectors with a high number of small businesses, where workers may work for a number of companies over their careers, often in the trades. If passed, we look forward to these consultations so the government can learn what tools can be implemented to help these industries better support their members and employees with good pensions.

As for business in the fall bill related to Queen’s Park in the Legislature, we are also proposing to extend the freeze on salaries of members of provincial Parliament. You see, Madam Speaker, our government understands, everywhere they look, the people of Ontario see reasons to be concerned about the state of the world and their place in it. Our plan is flexible, responsible and focused on positioning the province to confront today’s realities. We continue to offer many meaningful solutions to support workers and families.

We have introduced targeted measures allowing us to maintain our flexibility as we navigate the uncertainty that lies ahead. We understand that a core area of uncertainty is in the realm of personal budgeting and spending. That is why, to help keep costs down for families, in March, we eliminated the licence plate stickers and refunded drivers who had already paid the cost. This created savings to vehicle owners of an average of $120 in southern Ontario and $60 in northern Ontario each year. That is why we helped families and businesses by temporarily cutting the gas tax rate by 5.7 cents per litre and the fuel tax rate by 5.3 cents per litre, and we’re proposing to extend this relief by another 12 months, until December 2023.

Interjections.

Statistics Canada reported that these tax cuts contributed to the drop in gas prices in Ontario, which we saw in July, and it helped lower the rate of the overall consumer price index this summer as well.

Another one of our measures, the Ontario Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses tax credit, is supporting eligible families with up to 75% of their eligible child care expenses. This credit is providing, on average, $1,250 in child care support for this year. These targeted measures are helping to keep costs down for families and businesses.

Ontario is no exception when it comes to the ongoing labour shortages and supply chain disruptions. The challenge is getting goods and services across our province or around the world. It’s a contributing factor to the higher-than-usual inflation. That is why we are seizing opportunities every day.

We are helping to develop the Ring of Fire and capitalize on Ontario’s critical minerals, which remain a strategic necessity for all of Canada. A key part of our Critical Minerals Strategy is the corridor of prosperity, the roads to the Ring of Fire. These roads will help bring critical minerals to the manufacturing hubs in southern Ontario, which will help bring prosperity to northern Ontario and help unlock economic potential.

We are building roads, bridges, subways and highways to make sure people, goods and services can move freely and boost our economy.

We’ve invested in the province’s automotive and manufacturing supply chains, making Ontario a North American leader in building electric and hybrid vehicles and battery manufacturing. Through strong and prudent economic management, we can attract investment and remain a leader in steel manufacturing and other industries.

Attracting more Ontario investment means we need more skilled Ontario workers. Our government has provided support so that thousands of workers can train for the skilled trades and rewarding careers, workers who can help build the critical infrastructure we are investing in all across Ontario. As you can see, this measured and sensible approach is supporting workers and businesses in a targeted way. This leaves government room to build as Ontario navigates emerging challenges.

Madam Speaker, I will close by saying this: Our government has a plan that is ready for whatever uncertain economic times may come Ontario’s way. We are rebuilding the economy and bringing good-paying manufacturing jobs back to the province. We are getting shovels in the ground to build highways, hospitals, transit and other key projects that will give a boost to our economy and bring improvements to the day-to-day lives of the people of Ontario. By investing in skills training and helping recent immigrants and newcomers put their skills and talents to use, we are working for the workers of Ontario. Together we have been getting it done. We have more work to do. Let’s get it done. Let’s build Ontario.

I realize we’re running out of time, so I’ll be very quick with my question.

This province is facing an infrastructure deficit. My question to the PAs is if they could they advise us, please, how the proposed measures in this legislation fit into this government’s larger plan to build Ontario and invest in the priorities that matter to the people of this province, from infrastructure, roads and schools to hospitals.

I want to thank the member for Carleton for that question and for an amazing day that we had in her riding on Friday.

We need all hands on deck to get more people in the skilled trades and to build those 1.5 million homes by 2031, to welcome all of those new Canadians that are going to be coming to Ontario. That’s why we are investing a record $1.5 billion over the next four years to teach anyone who is eager to work in the trades the skills they need for these life-changing careers.

The Ironworkers Local 765 in Ottawa and right across Ontario are constructing, installing and erecting the iron that our major infrastructure projects depend on. Simply put, we depend on them to keep Ontario standing tall. They are everyday heroes and we need more people like them to continue building Ontario.

To tackle the shortage in the skilled trades, we must promote these amazing careers to our young people. They are the next generation and we need them to build a stronger Ontario for all of us.

It really is my pleasure to rise in the House today to speak to the third reading of Bill 36, our economic outlook. This is our government’s progress report on our plan to build Ontario. Also, I will be sharing my time today with the member from Brampton East.

Speaker, the people of Ontario re-elected this government because of our plan, returning a PC government to Queen’s Park with an even larger majority than the last Parliament. Ontarians were tired of government inaction. They wanted things to get done—and that’s exactly what this plan proposes.

Building on the 2022 budget, the minister’s plan recognizes that Ontario, like the rest of the world, will continue to face economic challenges in the months ahead. It includes measures to build our economy, address the province’s labour shortage, and keep costs down for families and businesses in my community of Mississauga–Streetsville and right across this province.

Speaker, Ontarians expect their government to invest in infrastructure like highways, bridges, roads and hospitals. Our plan is one of the most ambitious in the province’s history, with $158.8 billion in investments over the next 10 years, including over $20 billion this year alone. Members of my community will benefit from the single largest hospital infrastructure investment that this province is making—building a brand new, state-of-the-art Mississauga Hospital and expanding the Queensway Health Centre. As former vice-chair of the board of directors of the Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga, I know how urgently the community needs additional capacity. The new hospital will be almost triple the size of the existing facility—totalling 2.8 million square feet—and will include over 950 beds with 23 operating rooms, an almost 65% increase in OR space compared to the facility today. That is desperately needed by our community, and this government will deliver.

We’re also building highways. By investing $25.1 billion in highway expansion and rehabilitation over the next 10 years, we’re connecting communities, fighting gridlock, and keeping goods and people moving across this province.

By building Highway 413, we’re supporting the people of Halton, Peel, York and Toronto by relieving the most congested corridor in North America and saving drivers up to 30 minutes on their commute.

We’re also investing in transit. A strong transit system is critical to the economic success of our province. That’s why we’re building projects like the Ontario Line, a 15-stop, 16-kilometre subway line connecting more than 40 other transit lines between the Ontario Science Centre and Ontario Place. And it’s why we’re investing in GO commuter rail, like the London GO service or the Bowmanville extension—part of our transformation of the GO network into a modern, reliable and fully integrated transit network. Cutting down commute times by increasing service with faster trains, more stations and seamless connections will support communities across the greater Golden Horseshoe and beyond.

Speaker, these investments and projects wouldn’t be possible without the hard-working men and women across the province who build them. By investing in skills training and helping businesses attract and retain the best and brightest, Ontario is working for workers to support better jobs and bigger paycheques—a huge thank you to the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development for the amazing, immense work he has done, together with this government, to make these initiatives.

In 2021, we expanded access to the Second Career program to people with limited or non-traditional work experience, including gig workers, newcomers and the self-employed, who need training to get a job. To build on these improvements, we’re relaunching the program as Better Jobs Ontario, to support a much larger, more diverse range of Ontario workers in a rapidly changing workforce. Building on the nearly $200 million invested into the program in the last three years, we’re providing $5 million more in new funding to support the expansion of the program and improve access for even more workers.

Today, employment in Ontario hasn’t just returned to pre-pandemic levels; it has surpassed it, with 207,000 new jobs being created. Even still, there are 350,000 jobs right across this province currently waiting to be filled. With one in five job openings across the province projecting to be in the skilled trades by 2025, the time to invest in the sector is now. Building the sector means encouraging students to pursue careers in the trades, cutting red tape in the system, and encouraging employer participation.

Last year alone, we eliminated the Ontario College of Trades and established Skilled Trades Ontario, a crown agency created to improve trades training and simplify services. While this was a step in the right direction, we know there’s more that needs to be done. That’s why we’re investing an additional $114.4 million over the next three years in our skilled trades strategy. Building the province of tomorrow starts today.

We need to ensure we have the health care staff needed to keep up with the massive capital investments our government is making in the health care system, which is why we’re also building our health care workforce. We’re investing $142 million, starting this fiscal year, to recruit and retain health care workers in underserved communities. This will start with $81 million to expand the Community Commitment Program for Nurses—and it has been such a success. Starting in the spring, we’re launching the new $61-million Ontario Learn and Stay Grant. Up to 2,500 eligible post-secondary students who enrol in priority programs such as nursing will receive upfront funding for tuition, books and other direct educational costs to work in underserved communities in the region where they studied. These programs build on commitments we made during last year’s FES to invest $342 million, adding over 13,000 workers to Ontario’s health care system.

We’re also investing directly in education. A new investment of $42.5 million over the next two years will result in an increase of 160 undergrad seats and 295 postgraduate positions over the next five years. Medical schools across Ontario will benefit from this expansion, including the new University of Toronto Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health, and the Ryerson school of medicine in Brampton—much needed. These investments will help recruit future health care workers and support improved care across our province.

Our government recognizes that families and businesses are facing financial pressures. A higher-cost province is a less competitive province. Workers may choose to leave Ontario if the cost of living is too high.

By extending the reduced rates of the gas and fuel tax, the government is helping all Ontarians save money by putting an extra 5.7 cents per litre for gas and 5.3 cents per litre for fuel into their pockets.

In April, we eliminated road tolls on Highways 412 and 418, saving up to $7.50 per trip on Highway 418 and $3.74 per trip on Highway 412.

By eliminating licence plate renewal fees and stickers, the government is helping save vehicle owners between $60 and $120 a year for each passenger and light commercial vehicle.

We’re helping Ontarians save money on their everyday expenses.

By lowering fuel taxes, it helps with logistics; it helps getting goods to markets much more efficiently.

All families in Canada should have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care. As part of our plan to build Ontario, we will achieve an average of $10-a-day child care by September 2025, supporting working parents and making life more affordable for families, while also creating more jobs. We also plan to combat increasing demand for child care by creating 86,000 new, high-quality spaces. Licensed child care spaces will include a mix of not-for-profit and for-profit settings to provide families with choice and flexibility.

There’s so much more to talk about, but I’ll wrap up my comments now.

With ongoing economic uncertainty, we’re preserving flexibility to respond to unforeseen events and global economic risks while implementing our plan to build Ontario. We’re supporting future generations by making investments now to build infrastructure, train workers, and keep life more affordable.

Our government is committed to implementing our plan to build our province and our communities, and I hope we can count on the support from all members across this House.

I’ll now turn it over to my colleague for the riding of Brampton East.

I’m honoured to have this chance to rise before this House to discuss the significant progress on our plan to build Ontario. The targeted and responsible measures contained within this bill, the Progress on the Plan to Build Act, will support this progress by helping to build the economy, address the province’s labour shortage, and keep costs down for families and businesses. These are the core principles guiding this government—taking action that will directly benefit this province’s families, students, seniors, workers and business owners.

In my time today, I want to talk about what we’re doing to help the people of Ontario navigate these uncertain times.

Speaker, our government understands that these last few difficult years have brought many new challenges. Everyday goods like groceries and gas now cost more, putting more strain on people’s budgets. Businesses of all sizes struggle to find the supplies or the workforce they need to grow, and these shortages can potentially increase the cost of goods sold to consumers. That is why we’re remaining steadfast in our commitment to chart a path that is focused on economic growth and prosperity.

We have put forward our plan to help grow the economy by getting shovels in the ground to build critical infrastructure projects and investing in skills training for Ontario workers and newcomers. Our plan also ensures the province is in a position to be ready to manage risk and uncertainty.

Despite these challenges, our government is now projecting a $12.9-billion deficit in 2022-23, nearly $7 billion lower than the outlook published in the 2022 budget.

Under this Premier’s leadership, we’ve put forward the right plan to maintain fiscal flexibility so we can support people and businesses today while building for our future.

As I mentioned earlier, this government understands that costs are rising for the people and businesses of Ontario. That’s why keeping costs down is one of the key pillars of our plan.

As parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Transportation, I have seen first-hand the integral role of the province’s transportation network in helping people achieve their goals.

Throughout 2022, our government has implemented changes or new initiatives to give people and businesses more travel options while putting their hard-earned money back into their pockets. In March, we eliminated licence plate sticker renewal fees for eligible vehicles and eliminated double fares for riders connecting to and from GO Transit on most municipal transit systems. And we nearly doubled Presto discounts for youth and post-secondary students. In April, we removed road tolls on Highways 412 and 418. And last July, we cut gas and diesel fuel tax rates for six months.

The measures within this bill take further action to keep costs down and promote economic growth and prosperity across every corner of our great province.

The last thing the people of Ontario need right now is a tax increase at the pumps. That’s why we proposed extending the gas and fuel rates cuts through this bill. This means the tax rate on gasoline and diesel fuel would remain at nine cents per litre until December 21, 2023. Extending these cuts would mean the households of this province would save an average of $195 between July 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023.

Speaker, as the finance minister said when he introduced our 2021 fall economic statement, tomorrow’s prosperity begins with shovels in the ground today—and that’s precisely what we’ve done. Over this last year, we’ve made real progress in building the infrastructure that best serves the needs of Ontario’s growing population. As I speak, early construction work has started on the Bradford Bypass. We have completed construction at the Union and Rutherford GO stations. And we’ve broken ground and announced the preferred proponent teams for two key contracts on the Ontario Line.

We’ve come so far over the past four and a half years despite a decade of underfunding by the previous government. Their inaction left Ontario’s roads and highways clogged with gridlock, leaving less time for busy families to spend with their loved ones.

With the population expected to grow about 30% over the next 20 years, the need to address Ontario’s massive infrastructure deficit becomes even greater, but today I want to reassure you that our government will not repeat the same mistakes as the one that came before us.

Our government also recognizes that we must address the current labour shortages if we are to build a better future for the people of Ontario. That is why we are focused on supporting job creation and economic growth. Everyone should have a chance to pursue a job that helps them reach their goals, and we want them to know that their government has their back.

That is why one of our key areas of investment is in skills training. Through our Skills Development Fund, we have supported groundbreaking programs that connect job seekers. This funding will help give people the skills and training they need to pursue a new opportunity. As the Minister of Finance announced when he introduced the 2022 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review, we’re investing an additional $40 million for the latest round of this program. Speaker, this brings total funding for the next round to $145 million.

We know that skilled trades present an opportunity for a successful career for thousands of people. High school students need to know that in Ontario today, they can have a great life in the skilled trades or working with children. That is why I’m pleased to share that our government is expanding the Dual Credit Program. This program creates direct pathways for high school students and learners seeking a career in the trades or early childhood education. It allows students to complete credits towards an Ontario Secondary School Diploma and college credential or a Certificate of Apprenticeship, giving them a new opportunity to begin to work earlier. Speaker, there’s a future for young people in the trades, and their success is connected to our collective success in building Ontario.

We know the economic road ahead will not be easy, but I am proud to be part of a government that has put forward a plan to maintain fiscal flexibility so we can support people and businesses today while building for the future. The measures I’ve mentioned, and others within this bill, make clear that our government has created a responsible, flexible plan that Ontario needs to help the people and businesses successfully navigate this period of uncertainty together.

I am confident in the resilience of Ontario’s economy, its workers and its people. Together, we will unlock our full economic potential while laying a solid foundation for our future generations to come.

I thank the speakers for their remarks. A question, perhaps, to the member from Brampton East: One of the things governments often do is have a short-term horizon—you know, just up to the next election or even the next few years. One thing that I think is very important about this government is we have a long-term horizon, particularly with the investment in infrastructure, and whether it’s $25 billion for roads, $40 billion for health care, $60 billion for transit, long-term care—the list goes on and on and on.

From a transportation perspective, perhaps you can give your thoughts on the impact that these investments, particularly in infrastructure, are having on your community and a little broader.

I’d like to thank the member for that amazing question. Like I just said in my statement, our government is making unprecedented investments across the board, whether it be health care, whether it be transit. Some of the amazing work that we’ve been doing, is—if we take a look at Scarborough, we’re finally getting a subway system that, for years, has been neglected over the previous government, and it is this government that is getting it done. When we look at our transit systems across the province, we’re investing in our GO trains, we’re investing in municipal transit systems and we’re supporting our municipalities through various programs so that their effects during COVID will be offset with our province’s support.

We’re looking at growing and investing in our transit systems across the province in unprecedented means and taking us to the next level. The infrastructure that the previous government failed to invest in, we’re investing in, and we’re building Ontario and we’re building a stronger future for the residents to come.

I’ll give you a primary example, Speaker. When delivery drivers during the pandemic were faced with challenges, it was our government that stood beside them and made sure that their rights were protected. So when it comes to bringing in new workers and protecting their rights, that’s our government’s top priority.

And when it comes to labour skills and training, these corporations who are now asked to bring labour from overseas into this province are faced with numerous amounts of red tape with the federal government. But what this government did was to create a healthy partnership with the federal government, and now we’ll be bringing over thousands of people to Ontario through the OINP program on an express process, with support from the Ontario ministry, with the immigration ministry at the federal level. So not only are we bringing—

I certainly enjoyed the member from Niagara West’s comments because I think our ridings share—and Perth—

Interjection: Wellington.

So my question to the member is simply, what priorities in this legislation tackle the cost of government while investing in infrastructure, roads, hospitals, education etc. to make this province a better place?

Thank you to my colleague for his wonderful presentation. Speaker, in their remarks, they have mentioned that the government continues to have grown the economy by getting shovels in the ground to build key infrastructure projects, such as subways, hospitals, GO trains, roads and bridges etc. and investing in skills training for Ontario’s workers and newcomers. We know that Ontario is facing labour shortage challenges now. Could the member from Niagara West or Perth–Wellington tell us about how this legislation will support the government’s efforts to address the labour shortage in Ontario?