I do have a number of people I’d like to welcome to the Legislature today: Mark Abbott, Doug Bagley, David Kroft, Daniel Cozzi, Katelyn Lockridge, Josh Clayton, Matthew Peck, Caitlyn Frost, Melonie Williams, Brayden Bagley, Kendall Garry, Lee Murdoch, Rick Koczka, Andreea Nicoara, Andrew Bull, Kelly Sander, Curtis Lockridge, Bart Adams, Mudasar Nawaz and Jess Maga. All of these people are Hydro One employees. They worked extremely hard throughout the spring and summer—when we’ve had violent storms that have made their way through the province—in restoring our power, our reliable supply of electricity.

I’d like to welcome them all to the Legislature here today and give them a big thanks, big gratitude, for their work.

Thanks to the member opposite for the question. That’s exactly why our government is committed to a reliable, affordable, sustainable and clean energy sector. That’s why we’re leveraging small modular reactors and our first-mover status that we have so that we can untap the benefits to our economy in Ontario, in Canada and, indeed, around the world.

This past spring we announced our vision to partner with other provinces—New Brunswick, Alberta, Saskatchewan—for the deployment of small modular reactors across the country. We’re also creating new opportunities to export Ontario’s goods, technology and expertise to North America and around the world, especially in Eastern Europe.

Last week I joined OPG and one of the largest electrical utilities in the United States, the Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA, to announce a collaboration that’s going to allow TVA to replicate what we’re doing with small modular reactors here in Ontario: a first grid-scale SMR. That’s why we’re going to continue to unlock the potential of SMR for our environment and our economy.

We also need to be ready for an increased demand for clean, reliable and affordable electricity here in Ontario. Whether it’s the electrification of our transportation sector, powering new electric vehicles, or EVs, or making green steel with electric arc furnaces, our economy is growing and it’s electrifying. Nuclear power is going to continue to be a key part of Ontario’s clean electricity grid.

As we move towards a clean energy future, it’s clear that there is no path forward without nuclear energy to get us to net zero.