Thank you very much to that member for that important question. We’re taking the challenge of unlocking the lost potential under the previous Liberal-NDP coalition of actually getting people into the trades, supporting—

Interjections.

Getting people into the skilled trades, the 300,000 jobs that go unfilled every year—that’s why we created Skilled Trades Ontario, a new crown agency which has a mandate to streamline registration and certification in Ontario’s 144 skilled trades, breaking down the stigma and getting more people in. That’s just one of the many changes we’ve taken on as a government.

The stats speak for themselves: We’ve seen a 25% increase in apprenticeship registration this year over last and a 30% increase in women in the skilled trades—and wait till we get into the specifics in the supplementary, Speaker.

It’s working to build a stronger Ontario. We need the men and women in the trades to get the job done, and we’re doing just that.

We’re also investing $224 million to help through the Skills Development Fund Capital Stream. That’s helping build training centres for apprentices and tradespeople through that fund. This is just one part of our $1.5-billion commitment to the skilled trades to addressing the backlog, the neglect from the previous Liberal government, so that people can find a job in the skilled trades. Because we know that when you have a job in the trades, you’ve got a career for life.

Speaker, there you have it. For the first time since I was elected in 2018, I heard it. The NDP finally recognize what we’ve known since 2018: We need men and women in the skilled trades in Ontario. I thank that member for the question and I will be happy to connect with that member off-line on specific challenges.

But I’m happy to say that skilled trades registration has been up 30% this year over last. Our Skills Development Fund, under the leadership of this Premier, is getting men and women into the trades like Phil, who I met up in Thunder Bay. It’s changed his life. And we’re not just doing it at union halls, we’re doing it through the youth apprenticeship training. Skilled trades for men and women in OYAP programs and skilled tradespeople of tomorrow is up. Indigenous youth is up, but it’s up against a sobering stat. The NDP and the opposition did nothing for youth through OYAP. The fund didn’t even exist—

But, Speaker, those young people who want a better future in the skilled trades know that this government will keep making those investments, supporting men and women in the trades, whether it be in a union hall, whether it be in a college, or whether it be in one of the new training centres we’re building thanks to this Premier. We’ve got their backs, Speaker. That member is all talk and no action.

Interjections.