Thank you, Minister.

Speaker, for 42 years under a Progressive Conservative government, Ontario became a manufacturing powerhouse, able to compete with any jurisdiction. Yet, under the previous Liberal government, jobs began to leave when high taxes, red tape and out-of-control electricity prices made Ontario one of the least competitive jurisdictions in North America. The result: 300,000 people lost their jobs when Liberal policies forced manufacturing right out of Ontario.

With growing instability in Asia as China attempts to destabilize the region, businesses now more than ever are seeking strong, stable partners when it comes to manufacturing operations. Now is the opportunity for Ontario to regain our rightful spot as a manufacturing powerhouse. We must be taking every and all necessary actions to get this done.

What is the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade doing to bring back manufacturing jobs to Ontario and to my riding?

Our government listened to businesses, like those in that riding, and we learned about the support that they needed and all those regional challenges that they had after a decade of Liberal neglect. That’s why we launched the $100-million Regional Development Program to attract investments to southwestern Ontario, southeastern Ontario and rural Ontario. We knew that this would benefit those many communities who could expect to see growth, job creation and economic opportunities for years to come.

To date, those very businesses have invested $716 million into Ontario and created 1,200 jobs in their own communities. We are demonstrating that small towns in Ontario can sustain and attract those businesses. We’re bringing back that lifeblood to these rural communities, all after the Liberals chased those businesses out of the country.

Our province is supporting Greenlid’s project with a $500,000 investment through our Regional Development Program. This is a made-in-Ontario success story. Greenlid produces compostable products like cups and lids and bowls. Their products are found in 14,000 stores across the continent, and they’re made here in Ontario. This is just one of the thousands of examples of products that are made in Ontario, and manufacturing that’s coming back to rural Ontario.

But we won’t stop there. We’re going to continue to fix that Liberal mess and bring the jobs back to where we need them most.