My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. In recent years, the Southeast Asian region has become increasingly important to the global economy, with rapid economic expansion, massive infrastructure projects and a growing middle class. There are significant economic opportunities for Ontario in this region.

I understand the minister has just returned from a trade mission in that part of the world. Can the minister please share how our government is ensuring Ontario is able to capitalize on the massive economic opportunities emerging in Southeast Asia?

Speaker, our trade and investment offices allow us to let the world know about the wealth of opportunities Ontario has to offer. Can the minister please elaborate on the importance of our network of international trade and investment offices?

Let me tell you, Speaker, under the leadership of this Premier and this government, we’re responsible for 86% of Canada’s total emission reductions, all while working with industry. We can both balance the economy and the environment. We can work with industry instead of working against industry, instead of taxing poor consumers and raising the price of groceries and the cost at the pumps, with the very expensive carbon tax that raises the price on everything.

I ask the member opposite: Talk to your Liberal counterparts. Please plead with them that Canadians cannot afford a carbon tax. But yes, we can fight the environment—we can treat climate change seriously, we can work with industry, but we’ll not pass the cost down to the consumer.

And Speaker, if that’s not enough, I’ll tell you how we’re working with industry partners and not against them—such as our government’s investment in green steel at AM Dofasco in Hamilton, for example. This will see the equivalent emissions of one million cars taken off the road. And that’s not it—our transit strategy, as well, is taking billions of cars off the road.

When that government had a chance to reduce the cost of living for many Canadians who need it now while still treating climate change as a serious impact on the environment, that government did nothing about it. Instead, this government is acting with industry, reducing our greenhouse emissions.

And we set a historic record: We were the first province in all of Canada that actually put out the climate impact assessment—the very impact assessment that member spoke about in her question. We are the leaders in this, and we expect, based on the outcomes of that report—we have a lot of plans working with industry, not against it, to create jobs, to create economic opportunity, all while protecting the environment.