The residents of Windsor–Tecumseh—and truly all Ontarians—saw it on their hydro bills every month: The previous Liberal government ignored the needs of Ontarians when it came to providing reliable and cost-effective clean, green energy. As Premier Wynne stated about her Liberal government’s record, “‘Electricity prices are going to have to go up. How are we going to pay for this?’ I heard it. But ... I don’t think I took it seriously enough.”

As the Auditor General pointed out in her 2015 report, we spent $9.2 billion more than we needed to for green energy programs because of reckless policies.

The Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks recently attended the 15th International Conference on Candu Fuel in Ajax. Could the minister share what lessons he learned from this conference and what actions we are taking as a government to avoid the mistakes made by the previous Liberal government on green technology innovation?

We’ve seen how other parties played politics and stood on the sidelines, criticizing innovations and new technology without offering viable solutions. Could the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks elaborate on how we are tackling climate change by supporting electricity-generating technology and innovative solutions like SMRs?

Mr. Speaker, we know that increasing the number of electric vehicles on our roads and highways is good news not only for the environment, but for our economy as well.

My question is for the Minister of Energy. We know that we have a long way to go before electric vehicles replace gas-powered cars. We have seen that other provinces have a head start when it comes to EV policies and infrastructure. What, then, is the Minister of Energy doing to ensure that electric vehicle ownership becomes more accessible and attractive in Ontario, so we can get more electric vehicles on our roads and highways?