I’d like to welcome doctors from the OMA from my riding of Waterloo: Drs. Jessie Tu, Rebecca Lubitz, Scott Elliot, Scott Elliot, and Gurjovan Sahi and Marium Kiwan. I look forward to meeting with you later on today.

This week is Local Government Week, which aims to increase youth and public awareness about the important role of local government plays in our communities. I want to recognize school boards across the province for the work they do and their dedication to public education.

I’m also very happy to welcome Dr. Andrew Park, president of the Ontario Medical Association, and his team. Welcome to Parliament.

I’d like to welcome the medical officer of health for the city of Toronto, Dr. Eileen de Villa. I look forward to speaking with you and the OMA colleagues this afternoon.

I see Kim Moran over in the box. It’s wonderful to welcome her back to Queen’s Park in her new capacity. As you know, Kim was the former children’s mental health—that’s where I’ve had the opportunity to meet her. It’s lovely to see you.

Speaker, I would also like to welcome the hundreds of autism advocates who are going to be on the front lawn today, talking to this government—

I’d like to introduce Kaushik Patel, Smitaben Patel and Riya Patel, business owners from Huron–Bruce, actually, but great community advocates in my riding as well. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’m also looking forward to my meeting with folks from the OMA this afternoon: Linda Petersen and Aileen Thomas, but, specifically from the Durham region, Natalie Chen, Victoria Young, Maryam Mahjoob—I’m looking forward to those conversations. Thank you for joining us at Queen’s Park.

I would also like to welcome one of the OMA physicians, who is here from Scarborough Southwest, my riding, Dr. Kamruz Zaman, who’s actually practising in Scarborough Southwest. Welcome.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome a constituent of mine, Alex Tinker, who’s here to see her daughter, wonderful Katherine, who’s a new page with us this week. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I saw in the front row up there my friend Dr. Alykhan Abdulla. Thank you for coming here, my friend, and for all the work you do in our city, and thanks to friends from OMA for being here. Nice to see you too.

I’d like to welcome a bunch of members from the Association of Major Power Consumers in Ontario to the Legislature today: Victor Stranges, from ArcelorMittal Dofasco; Francois Abdelnour, from Ivaco Rolling Mills; André Ouimette, from GreenFirst Forest Products; Jeff Pagnutti, from Vale; Wayne McChristie from Agnico Eagle; and Colin Anderson, who heads up AMPCO. They are hosting a reception this evening as well in rooms 228 and 230, and I invite all members to stop by.

I seek unanimous consent of the House for a moment of silence for the victims of the violence in Israel and Palestine.

Can the Premier confirm that his government is currently under criminal investigation by the RCMP?

This Premier told voters he was different. He said his party wouldn’t put insiders first, like the Liberals did. He promised to end cronyism, and that was the cronyism that brought that government down. Well, the Premier broke that promise. And five years later, this Premier and his government are under criminal investigation by the RCMP.

Speaker, to the Premier: How can the people of this province trust their government when it’s under active criminal investigation?

Interjections.

I’m very pleased and honoured to welcome Dr. Charlotte Yates, president of the University of Guelph, to the House today.

Look, Mr. Speaker, we of course will be working with the RCMP as they undertake a review of the greenbelt.

At the same time, it is very rich hearing the Leader of the Opposition talk about affordability when on every single instance that she and her party have had to help put more money back in the pockets of the people of Ontario, they have voted against it. When we cut taxes for the lowest-income earners in the province, with the LIFT tax credit, they voted against it. When we were working to bring down hydro rates and to stabilize out-of-control hydro rates—the partnership between the Liberals and the NDP had to put people in the position of choosing between heating or eating—they were voting against that, Mr. Speaker. When we fought tooth and nail to stop the carbon tax, which we said would impact every single Ontarian, every single Canadian, they stood in the way.

They have a good opportunity. They can tell their friends in Ottawa—Mr. Singh in Ottawa—force the federal government to remove the carbon tax to put more money back—

Members will please take their seats.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

I’m going to allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs to respond.

Once again, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Start the clock. The final supplementary.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

As I said, we will work with the RCMP, but by the same token, we are going to move forward with the priorities of the people of the province of Ontario.

The member in her previous question talked about the affordability issues that we’re facing across the province. Now, we have worked hard to bring back 700,000 jobs for the people of the province of Ontario. That’s 700,000 people who have the dignity of a job who did not before. But let’s be very clear: What threatens the prosperity of the province of Ontario is the policies of the Liberals and NDP, the same policies which are seeing high interest rates across the province of Ontario.

We said that when you have out-of-control deficits, out-of-control spending, red tape and regulation, it will bring an economy down. We reversed all of that. We’re seeing jobs come back, and now we need the NDP to do the right thing and tell their friends in Ottawa not to do what they did. Don’t prop up a Liberal government that is putting billions of dollars of taxes on the people who make food, billions of dollars of taxes on the people who deliver food, and billions of dollars of taxes on the people who go to buy food. That’s—

We are going down a different path, a path that is putting more money back in the pockets of the people of Ontario, a path that is seeing 700,000 people have the dignity of a job that they didn’t before. But we need help. We need the NDP here in Ontario to stand in their place, call their friends in Ottawa who hold the balance of power and say, “Help us put more money back in the pockets of the people of the province of Ontario. Force the Liberal government to remove the carbon tax on the staples that are so important to the people of the province of Ontario.” Will she do it? I doubt it, because she won’t take lessons in affordability—

But let there be no doubt, despite what we’re hearing from the opposition. I will continue, as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to work with my colleagues to remove obstacles that stand in the way of building homes for the next generation of the people of this province. I will do whatever it takes to hit our target of 1.5 million homes for the people of the province of Ontario, and let me put on notice all of our municipal partners that they, indeed, will be doing their part to help us build those 1.5 million homes.

But let there be no doubt: When it comes to leadership, it is this government and this Premier who are showing leadership every single day on the files that matter most to the people of the province of Ontario. Building more homes: We’re getting it done. Building long-term care: We’re getting it done. Putting more money back into people’s pockets: We’re getting it done. Fighting taxes that harm people: We’re getting it done.

This is a leader who had the opportunity to show leadership, to stand up to the anti-Semitic hard left of her party—the first test of leadership that she had. And what did she choose to do? Nothing. She has failed on leadership on her very first test, showing that she’s not fit to hold the office of Premier, ever, and I’m sure the people of the province of Ontario will agree with me on that.

Interjections.

Listen, what we are doing is focusing on the priorities of the people of the province of Ontario. We made a public policy decision that was not supported by the people of the province of Ontario, and that is why we’re returning those lands to the greenbelt. We have co-operated and worked with the Auditor General, we have worked with the Integrity Commissioner, and we will assist the RCMP as they undertake a review of the entire plan.

But let there be no doubt that we will stand firm in our commitment to build 1.5 million homes for the people of the province of Ontario. Let there be no doubt that we will continue to fight against carbon taxes, which are decimating this economy across Canada—not only Ontario.

And let there be no doubt that the Leader of the Opposition could show true leadership by standing up against the anti-Semitic hard left of her party. That is also leadership, Mr. Speaker. She could do that today and ask that that member from Hamilton Centre leave this place.

At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we will stand up for all Ontarians because we know it is the right thing to do.

We won’t be taking any lessons from a government under criminal investigation. The special unit at the RCMP is called the sensitive and international investigations unit. That’s who is investigating this Premier and this government’s actions in relation to the greenbelt. They investigate elected officials on “allegations of fraud, financial crimes, corruption and breach of trust”—fraud, financial crimes, breach of trust, corruption.

Back to the Premier: How can the Premier maintain the confidence of the people when he and his government are being investigated by the RCMP for corruption?

So back to the Premier: This government used to say that it’s for the people. Well, they’ve lost the people’s trust. How do they carry on when they are under an RCMP criminal investigation?

Speaker, weeks ago, the Premier stood in front of the remaining members of his cabinet and claimed he was sorry for their greenbelt grab. But now, in the same breath, he and his minister deny anything untoward happened. This is a scheme—

Interjections.

This is a scheme—I’m going to remind the members opposite—that favoured land speculators and people with Conservative connections who got preferential treatment from this government. It’s a scheme that saw provincial land use policy being decided on the casino floor in Sin City.

Returning the land is not enough to repair the absolutely colossal damage to the people’s trust. When will the Premier confirm that his personal phone records—

Interjections.

Interjections.

I get that that this minister has a job to do—he has to protect his embattled Premier—but these responses show nothing but disdain for the people of this province who have serious questions.

Even after being found to have breached the Members’ Integrity Act, the government voted against an NDP bill to strengthen it; they have refused to produce documents; they voted down a NDP call for a Speaker’s warrant because it was going to protect their friends; and they even voted against NDP legislation, weeks ago, that would have returned land to the greenbelt.

Speaker, back, again, to the Premier: Is he truly sorry, or is he just sorry that he got caught?

Interjections.

Members will please take their seats.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Start the clock. The next question.

Let’s just be clear: not sorry, just sorry they got caught.

This question is, again, for the Premier. Speaker, one of the reasons why this government is under RCMP investigation is because they put their friends and insiders ahead of the needs of everyone else. Since 2018, this government has given countless patronage appointments and even seven-figure contracts to their friends and donors.

Exhibit A: They tried to appoint the Premier’s friend—remember that?— Ron Taverner to head up the OPP.

Exhibit B: They appointed the Premier’s friend Mark Saunders as a special adviser to Ontario Place. Our FOI found no proof he did any work.

Exhibit C: Another friend and honoured wedding guest, Carmine Nigro, made LCBO chair and Ontario Place chair.

More to come, I’m sure.

Speaker, back, to the Premier: Why is the government stacking the deck with their unqualified insiders?

Interjections.

But it doesn’t stop there, because a majority of senior members on Ontario’s major tribunals have connections back to this Conservative Party. Massage tables, “boys’ trips” to Vegas, luxury spas—this government and their friends are living it up while people in this province suffer.

My question to the Premier is, how many times must your government get caught before there’s a moral reckoning in this province?

Interjections.