SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
October 17, 2023 09:00AM
  • Oct/17/23 10:40:00 a.m.

As I said yesterday, we stand ready to assist the RCMP as they undertake a review. At this point, we have not been contacted by the RCMP.

The Leader of the Opposition, in her first question, talked about affordability. Imagine an NDP Leader of the Opposition talking about affordability when she and her party have voted against every single measure that would put more money back in the pockets of the people of the province of Ontario. They actually voted against—remember the LIFT tax credit. For those colleagues who were here in the last Parliament—they will know that we introduced the LIFT tax credit, which virtually eliminated the lowest income earners from having to pay taxes to the province of Ontario. They voted against it, because there’s a fundamental difference between them and us. They want people to rely on government and to be dependent on government. We want to give people the tools to succeed. And each and every day that is what we’re doing—working for the people of the province of Ontario to give them the tools to succeed. And that’s why 700,000 people have the dignity of a job—

Interjections.

Yesterday, this minister, along with the Premier, announced another over $2 billion in investment in the province of Ontario. Do you know who has confidence in the people of the province of Ontario? Investors around the world who have given over $27 billion of investment to this economy. Do you know who has confidence in this government? The over 700,000 people who have the dignity of a job—that they didn’t when they and they were in power. That is what we’re doing.

Do you know what the Leader of the Opposition can do to help us on affordability? She can call her leader in Ottawa and say, “Take the 14.3 cents a litre on gas off. Help us remove the carbon tax to put even more money back in the pockets of the people of Ontario.”

Will they do it? No, because they don’t care about the people of the province of Ontario—

Interjections.

As I’ve said on a number of occasions, we made a public policy decision that wasn’t supported by the people of the province of Ontario. That is why I introduced legislation yesterday to reverse that, Mr. Speaker.

But do you know what’s an insult to the people of the province of Ontario? Every time they go to the gas pump and they’re paying an extra 14.3 cents a litre because of the NDP and the Liberals; when they go to the grocery store and they see that the price of vegetables is higher—why? Because of the Liberals and the NDP and a carbon tax. When they open their gas bills over the winter season and they see the carbon tax on each of those bills, that’s an insult to the people of the province of Ontario.

If the Leader of the Opposition really wants to respect the people of the province of Ontario, she’ll call her federal leader in Ottawa and say, “Work with us. Let’s remove the carbon tax on the things that matter to the people of the province of Ontario. Let’s make this country more affordable, because we can do it.”

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  • Oct/17/23 10:50:00 a.m.

Speaker, I understand that the Premier and the government House leader don’t want to address the questions about the RCMP criminal investigation of their government.

I bet the RCMP won’t accept that the Premier can’t recall—I know that the people of Ontario and I don’t buy it.

It’s not just September 15—there were a number of meetings between the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, the Premier’s office, the Cabinet Office and the Premier’s chief of staff. The Cabinet Office booked a meeting on September 7. On September 21, there was a meeting to discuss site-specific removals. An hour-long conversation between the Premier’s chief of staff and Mr. Amato on September 23—I could go on.

Does the Premier really expect people to believe he had nothing to do with this?

Two senior members of the Premier’s staff and a minister of his went down to Vegas with a greenbelt speculator and may have “misled” the Integrity Commissioner about it.

Will the Premier use the ability his cabinet has to ask for a full inquiry from the Integrity Commissioner into the Vegas affair?

This boys’ trip to Vegas, with its massage tables and its good luck rituals and its manis and pedis, made international headlines. How embarrassing.

This government wasted no time asking the Integrity Commissioner to look into the actions of a staff member, Mr. Amato. They promised that they would look to the Integrity Commissioner to investigate the actions of someone else who was on that trip—the member for Mississauga East−Cooksville, a former Conservative minister—but they don’t seem to have taken any action.

Back to the Premier: Is his government dragging its heels because the Premier himself has something to hide?

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