The supplementary question.

The next question.

Restart the clock. Supplementary question.

And to reply, the Associate Minister of Transportation.

It’s just the opposite, Mr. Speaker. Not only did we accept the 15 recommendations of the Auditor General; we are going even further by ensuring that the boundaries of the greenbelt are codified in law, something that has never happened before.

He talks about integrity in government. Look, we are building a bigger, better, stronger province of Ontario. But when he says about the oath that they signed, I wonder if the former member from Brampton would feel the same way. You remember Kevin Yarde, right? You remember Kevin Yarde. I wonder what the former member from York South–Weston might think about your integrity pledge over there, Mr. Speaker.

I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. We’re going to continue to focus on what matters for the people of the province of Ontario, and that’s building a bigger, better, stronger economy that brings everybody into that prosperity, Mr. Speaker, because you know what? We want kids out of their basements. We want them in a home of their own. We want them to help build a better Ontario for future generations. If that’s not what our job is, then what else is it to do here, Mr. Speaker?

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. The previous Liberal government, with support from the NDP, watched as life sciences companies in Ontario backed up their operations and went to innovate in other jurisdictions. Thankfully, our government took immediate action to fix this, and our province’s life sciences sector is now recognized as a global leader. However, in view of ongoing and emerging needs for life-saving medications and interventions, it is crucial that our government continue to prioritize investments in this critical sector.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what our government is doing to support the life science sector?

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on some of the investments our government has been able to secure in the life sciences sector?

Speaker, Ontario is the largest life sciences jurisdiction in Canada. It’s home to 19,000 firms and 70,000 workers. In just three years, we have attracted $3 billion in new investments in the life sciences sector. That is why our government launched a new life sciences strategy. This is the very first strategy in over a decade, and it will help us grow the number of jobs in the life sciences sector to 85,000 by 2030. It includes $15 million in a Life Sciences Innovation Fund, which will help entrepreneurs take their innovative ideas to market. And it includes a Life Sciences Council, which we’re working with right now to find opportunities to increase our companies’ competitiveness and encourage the adoption of Ontario-made innovations.

Speaker, these investments are a vote of confidence in Ontario’s thriving sector—

My question is to the Premier. Six years ago, the Scottish people found out Phil Verster, then CEO of ScotRail, was receiving a salary of $430,000, a $28,000 rent supplement, a $16,000 car allowance and full private health care for himself and his family. Mr. Verster got these perks, Speaker, despite months of delays, malfunctions and fare hikes in Scotland’s rail system. He resigned in disgrace in 2017, but the Liberals then hired him to run Metrolinx in 2017 and he has failed to deliver transit on-budget and on time ever since. But the government just renewed Mr. Verster’s contract. Reports are suggesting he could earn up to $1 million a year with God knows how many perks.

My question to the Premier: Why are you rewarding failure?

Speaker, a simple question to the government and to the Premier: Will he stand up for transit riders and transit workers, demand accountability at Metrolinx and fire Phil Verster today?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, our government is investing $70.5 billion in the next 10 years into the largest transit expansion in the history of Canada. We have multi-billion-dollar projects like the GO rail expansion program and four priority subway programs.

Since 2018, the scope of Metrolinx has significantly expanded. We are focusing on building the Ontario Line and have more shovels in the ground for the Scarborough subway. After 30 years of inaction from the former Liberal government, supported by the NDP, we are getting shovels in the ground. Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we are making the largest investment across Ontario. We are making life more affordable.

Interjections.

They voted more than once against that. We are making life more affordable.

Interjections.

Speaker, through you to the Premier: The Premier has constantly claimed that there is no government spending on the greenbelt scandal. Yet just two days after the Auditor General released a damning report about the greenbelt grab, this government started flooding the airwaves with an ad campaign attempting to salvage their image.

So first, this government takes greenbelt lands to enrich their friends. Next, they take tax dollars to try to change the channel. Will the Premier tell us how much this vanity project is costing the people of Ontario?

My question is for the Premier. Last year, the former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing overrode Ottawa’s urban boundary expansion and added an additional 654 hectares for development after city council had already evaluated and added other lands. The former minister added lands that were so unsuitable for development because of their agricultural designation that they weren’t even evaluated by experts. This includes a 37-hectare parcel on Watters Road in Orléans that was designated an agricultural resource and is an active farm.

After the city confirmed this designation, the farm was purchased by a group that has donated significantly to the Conservative Party and stood to make millions from the development. After holding up the city’s official plan for two years and after receiving tens of thousands of dollars in donations from the landowners, the former minister added these lands to Ottawa’s urban boundary.

Mr. Speaker, can the Premier share with us the process used to evaluate the suitability of these lands for inclusion in the boundary, who was involved in that determination, and what influence, if any, did political contributions and personal relationships have on the decision?

Well, we know, the public knows and this government knows that the greenbelt grab was never about housing. Instead of building affordable and sustainable housing, this government is spending taxpayers’ dollars on a PR campaign to distract from their scandal.

The people of Ontario deserve clear, decisive answers on how public dollars are being used. Will this government tell Ontarians how much this ad campaign is costing them?

Stop the clock.

The House will come to order.

Interjection.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Start the clock. Next question.

I’m not sure how I can follow up that answer.

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and the Minister of Northern Development. The previous Liberal government, propped up by the NDP, drove jobs out of Ontario and failed to unlock our province’s full economic potential. In contrast to the failed leadership of the previous Liberal government, we must recognize and respect that Indigenous businesses are valuable in supporting critical supply chains across many sectors. Our government must appreciate their unique perspectives and contributions in the business sector, which are essential in building a stronger Ontario. While our government has implemented positive measures to ensure that all Ontarians have the opportunity to participate in our growing economy, more needs to be done to support Indigenous communities.

Speaker, can the Minister please explain how our government is increasing economic prosperity for Indigenous people across Ontario?

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is supporting Indigenous communities in ways that will strengthen their economic prosperity?

I thank the member for his question. This is about engaging First Nations leadership and First Nations business leaders in their own forums, Mr. Speaker, talking about opportunities in legacy infrastructure projects, major energy corridor projects. Not less than a couple of weeks ago, we talked with a number of chiefs about some exciting hydroelectricity projects that won’t just supply their communities but will also host anchor tenants in the resource sector. In southwestern Ontario, we’ve established table-specific, project-specific opportunities where First Nations business leaders and business leaders have an opportunity to get in the same room and talk about real opportunities and take action.

We are a participant at those tables. We’re seeing real progress being made with Ontario’s First Nations’ economic development businesses.

These are all examples of communities that are moving forward on key business projects that support their community and the surrounding area for a greater, more fulsome sense of prosperity that includes First Nations people, their communities and their businesses.

My question is to the Minister of Education.

TVO workers have entered their seventh week on strike, fighting for fair wage increases, after a decade of watching inflation erode their salaries. Now they’re being asked to accept another three years of below-inflation increases while TVO management have set aside $17 million for mysterious and unspecified “long-term investments.” A small fraction of that $17 million could end this strike tomorrow.

Will the minister direct TVO management to make a fair bargain with CMG workers?

These are education workers, they’re journalists, they’re producers, and they’re buckling under the affordability crisis—whether it’s rent, whether it’s food.

So I will ask again: Will the minister, will the government of Ontario direct TVO to make a fair deal with its workers or agree to binding arbitration to end this strike promptly? Again, to the Minister of Education.

My question is for the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery. No jurisdiction wants to fall behind in implementing technological advancements that can make it more convenient and efficient for people and businesses to interact with government services. However, with new emerging technological advancements, the protection of personal information is rightfully a key concern for many individuals.

Ontarians need reassurance that our government is protecting the safety and security of their personal information in an ever-evolving digital world. Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is approaching the integration of digital solutions that will help to improve the delivery of public services?

It’s reasonable to say that confidence in the security of the digital world is critical to our province’s success in the digital economy.

Ontarians are looking to our government for answers, and they expect our government to protect them and their personal information.

Can the minister please explain how our government is ensuring that Ontario is protected from any potential or perceived digital threats?

Speaker, I’m disappointed, of course, to see that the two parties have not been able to resolve the negotiations to date.

Our goal is, and has always been, to negotiate collective agreements that are fair and equitable to Ontario’s dedicated public servants but at the same time support the long-term fiscal sustainability for the people of Ontario.

There’s no question that labour negotiations require some give-and-take and it’s a lot of hard work, but the goal for both sides remains the same: a fair and equitable agreement.

So we encourage the two parties to continue working to find a resolution that supports the goal of protecting the sustainability and high quality of Ontario’s public services while respecting the taxpayers who pay for them.

Supplementary question.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Next question.

As I just said, look, the city of Ottawa remains in control of when or if those lands will be developed or serviced, for that matter. But here again is another question from the opposition, from the Liberals, who for 15 years put obstacle after obstacle after obstacle in the way and led us into a housing crisis.

But I know why they’re having such trouble, right? Because this Minister of Finance cut taxes for purpose-built rentals. Do you remember when he did that? And what did we say? We said to the federal government, “You have to come on board. You have to help us by matching that with a GST cut.” But we know Liberals hate to cut taxes, but thanks to one person in the Liberal government, Minister Fraser, they finally had to admit that cutting taxes means improving an economy. Now, they did it only once, and that’s because of the leadership of this Minister of Finance.

We’re going to work with Alberta and every other province to cut taxes for all Canadians to unleash the economy so that everybody can participate in the Canadian dream that they took away.

My supplementary is also for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, the mayor is so convinced of the government’s process that he voted unanimously with city council to ask the minister to review that process from last year. Following the purchase of these ag lands but before their designation by the minister, it appears that the directors of the corporation collectively donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Conservative Party. Since that re-designation, the former minister unilaterally added these lands without the city having undertaken any scientific or consultative review of the quality of the lands for farming or their suitability for urbanization. The company who purchased the lands is referenced in the Integrity Commissioner’s report about Minister Clark’s behaviour as having lands on the infamous USB key.

Lands on the USB key, donations to the Conservative Party, connections to Conservative insiders: It’s sounding awful familiar, Mr. Speaker. Maybe there’s a Mr. X in Ottawa as well.

To the Premier: Was the delay in approving Ottawa’s official plan designed—

I thank the excellent member for Burlington for her question. The falling-behind that the member described is a very real concern for governments around the world. That is why our Ontario government is taking decisive action by making strategic investments to ensure that we remain a leader when it comes to technological security.

Recently, Ontario had the privilege of hosting members and deputy ministers from federal, provincial and territorial governments across Canada for the third ever Symposium on Digital Trust and Cybersecurity. That symposium was held in beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake. This symposium focused on increasing people’s confidence and participation in our ever-evolving digital world, because only by working as one united team can we further succeed in our work to build innovative digital solutions and highlight new possibilities to streamline and improve the delivery of public services for all the people, businesses, organizations and institutions that call Ontario home.

Cyber security is a top priority for the Premier and our Ontario government. We know that the cyber security landscape is changing exponentially, with cyber attacks growing in frequency and sophistication, while the public sector remains a top target.

Ontarians can rest assured that our government is working hard to develop the next iteration of the Cyber Security Strategy by leveraging the recent OPS cyber security maturity assessment and the BPS expert panel report.

This is October, and it’s a great month for Blue Jays baseball—and today is the first day of the playoffs—but it’s also Cyber Security Awareness Month. It’s an important time for Ontarians not just to watch our Blue Jays but to learn about how they can continue to keep themselves safe online, while also learning about the work our government does to protect them and their personal information. So I encourage all members and viewers watching at home to stay tuned in the coming weeks—