That concludes our members’ statements this morning.

I beg to inform the House that pursuant to standing order 9(g), the Clerk has received written notice from the government House leader indicating that a temporary change in the weekly meeting schedule of the House is required, and therefore, the afternoon routine on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, shall commence at 1 p.m.

We also have with us a former member of the Legislature who served the riding of Kitchener Centre in the 38th, 39th and 40th Parliament, John Milloy. Welcome back to the Legislature, John. Good to see you.

Members will know that traditionally, British Speakers have had a dangerous job as messenger to the monarch, and some of them actually lost their heads in the course of their duties. In Ontario—

Interjections.

I’d like to introduce some very special people in my life: my wife Ria, my daughter Vicky and her partner, Joe Mascaro.

Government House leader and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Supplementary question?

The Premier.

Interjections.

The final supplementary.

Speaker, this government’s greenbelt grab, their MZOs, their urban boundary changes: They’re not about building housing at all. One of the task force’s recommendations was to allow four-storey multiplex housing in every neighbourhood. The NDP tried to add this into the government’s most recent housing bill and the government said no. In fact, the member for Perth–Wellington said the government was doing just enough—enough. Doing enough to address the housing crisis? Doing enough while housing starts across the province are going down and not up?

Back to the Premier: When will he start putting people’s needs ahead of his own backroom deals?

The Premier has wasted over a year enriching his friends, throwing the planning system into chaos and making it harder to build the homes that Ontarians actually need, in the neighbourhoods where they want to live. Back to the Premier: How many homes would have been built by now if he hadn’t put shady backroom deals first?

Speaker, expert after expert has shown that we need to build at least 1.5 million new homes. The Ontario NDP supports this goal, but so far the government has relied entirely on half measures. Their whole housing plan is predicated on backroom deals, and now they’re under an RCMP criminal investigation. According to the government’s own figures, housing starts in Ontario—as I said—are projected to go down, not up. Clearly this government’s plan is not working, so back to the Premier: Will he get his government out of the backrooms and off the massage tables and start building the homes our province actually needs?

So back to the Premier: Will he support the NDP’s solution to build the non-market housing that our province so desperately needs?

Interjections.

Interjections.

Housing is a human right, just like health care and education and retirement security. If the private sector won’t build enough homes that are affordable for everyone who needs one, then the public sector must step up. It is clear this government’s plan isn’t working, Speaker. Those of us on this side of the House, we want to make sure every Ontarian has a good home they can actually afford.

Interjections.

Interjections.

As I’ve said on a number of occasions, we have been guided since 2018 by the principle that we had to build more homes across the province of Ontario. We had to undo the obstacles that had been put in the way by the previous Liberal and NDP coalition in this province for over 15 years.

Having said that, we made a public policy decision with respect to the greenbelt that was not supported by the people of the province of Ontario. That is why we have taken steps to put that land back and codify it in law.

Again, make no mistake about it: We will meet our housing targets. We will ensure that the next generation of Ontarians can have the exact same dream that previous generations have had, and that’s the dream of home ownership. We will not be moved from that goal, and we will get it done.

The Leader of the Opposition talks about MZOs. There are MZOs that we have done at the request of the city of Toronto to build social housing in her own community that she voted against.

So let me be very clear to the Leader of the Opposition: There is one party in this House that stands for the next generation of this province, who wants the exact same dream that everybody else has had for generations—why people have come here, why my parents came here, and that was the dream of home ownership. We will untangle the mess that they left behind and we will get it done for them.

But we didn’t stop just at housing. We knew that we had to do more on purpose-built rentals as well. They know nothing about this because at the time that they had with the Liberals, nobody was building rental housing across the province of Ontario. We have the highest starts in over 15 years. And you know what, Mr. Speaker? That is continuing to grow in Ontario.

We are going to continue on this path to ensure that we build more homes across the province of Ontario. Ostensibly, what we have to do is continue to remove the obstacles that they love and that they’ve put in place. We’ll continue to get that job done.

We have removed over $8 billion of obstacles, obstacles that stood in the way of small, medium and large job creators—including home builders—from doing what they do best: building homes. That is why, in the province of Ontario, we have a housing crisis. Do you know why we have a housing crisis? Because they supported the Liberals to put obstacle after obstacle after obstacle in the way, Mr. Speaker. We’re removing those obstacles. We’re seeing the trend on new home starts in the province of Ontario this year has continued to move forward. Equally exciting, colleagues, is the fact that purpose-built rentals are at their highest level in over 15 years. Do you know why? Because we’ve been creative about how we’re doing it.

This is a member who votes against housing in her own riding. She voted against MZOs for social housing that were requested by the city of Toronto. She voted against long-term-care homes, she voted against purpose-built rentals, and she votes against individuals who have—

The Leader of the Opposition has voted against every initiative we’ve done to speed up housing. They’ve voted against building 1.5 million homes, even though we set a record on building homes: The 30-year record in 2021 is 99,000 homes we put forward and they’re building; 2022, 96,000 homes that we’re building; and since the start of this year there have been 57,000 housing starts.

But, Mr. Speaker, they’re against building. They’re against building purpose-built rentals—

Interjection.

They say one thing in front of the media, and then when they’re in here, they vote against everything, especially—

Interjections.

Speaker, through you to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: This government’s greenbelt grab exposed a deeply troubling pattern of shady deals and preferential treatment for well-connected land speculators. Now we see evidence of the same activity around urban boundaries and MZO land deals.

Just last week, the Auditor General confirmed an investigation into this government’s questionable use of MZOs. Yesterday, after the flip-flop announcement on urban boundary expansions, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing said he was still reviewing previous MZOs and emphasized, “The vast majority ... I am not concerned with.”

My question, Speaker: Which ones is he concerned about?

Order. Members will please take their seats.

I recognize the Premier.

Start the clock. The supplementary question.

Start the clock. The next question.

The supplementary question.

This is really rich, Mr. Speaker. You know something? We’ve implemented 21 of the housing affordability task force recommendations as we’re moving forward. We led the country in getting the federal government to knock off the HST. We’re knocking off the PST for purpose-built rentals. We have eliminated skyrocketing municipal fees on affordable and non-profit housing—and, by the way, they voted against that. They voted against the previous. We introduced a Building Faster Fund: $1.2 billion in new funding for municipalities, large municipalities, and another $500 million—and guess what, Mr. Speaker? They voted against that. All the parties voted against it, by the way. They’re anti-development; they’re anti-housing, anti-infrastructure, anti-everything.

If they were in charge, this province would be a disaster, like they were for 15 years, Mr. Speaker.

And I am proud to say my father was part of that government. They created 700,000 jobs when they were in power. I know Mike Harris Jr. is proud of what his dad did too. They’re the ones who accelerated the economy, accelerated the boom on housing. I’ll go to toe any day about Bob Rae versus Mike Harris. The Bob Rae days—don’t forget the Bob Rae days.

Interjections.

I wrote a letter to the Governor of the Bank of Canada insisting that he does not raise interest rates. Do you know what the difference is? The Governor of the Bank of Canada is sitting in his ivory tower not talking to the common folks.

I took a call this morning about a married couple with kids that are going to have to sell their home. They’re going to have to sell their home because their mortgage has tripled. It has absolutely tripled and went up thousands of dollars. They won’t be able to afford it.

See, the Bank of Canada is way out to lunch, in my opinion, Mr. Speaker, way out to lunch. They’re creating inflation. They’re creating inflation on groceries. Then we have the carbon tax that the federal government implemented; it created inflation on building homes. They’re doing nothing but creating inflation. They’re living back in the 1970s. They need to get their act together. If anything—

What we’re all against is making sure we get rid of the carbon tax. Folks, let me tell you what we have done. We’ve cut the gas tax by 10.7 cents per litre. We scrapped the licence plate stickers for eight million people. We cut the tolls for 412 and 418. We increased ODSP by 5% tied to inflation. We cut income tax to 1.1 million low-income workers. We increased minimum wage. We extended the 10% tuition fees to take the burden off the students going to colleges and universities. We’re doubling the payments for low-income seniors, which will provide a maximum increase of almost $1,000. And what we’re asking the federal government: Knock off the 14.5 cents of carbon tax.

I don’t even know what to say about that, Mr. Speaker. I don’t even know what to say about it. So let me be very clear: We’re not voting for a program that was taken out of the playbook of Communist Russia. It’s just not happening, all right? So let me just put that.

I would suggest to the member opposite, don’t listen to the NDP socialist caucus. Listen to what is happening and what is working; vote with us to remove obstacles because, when you do, housing starts go up. Vote with us to remove taxes because, when you do, housing starts increase, Mr. Speaker.

And you know what else you can do? Call your friend in Ottawa, Mr. Singh—Jagmeet; 1-800-Jagmeet—and say, “Remove carbon taxes,” because that will put more money back in people’s pockets. Don’t do what you did here: support a Liberal government that brought the province to its knees, Mr. Speaker. That is what they do.

Very clearly, we’re not voting for government building homes. We’re going to let the private sector do what they’re doing in record numbers, under this government, and that’s build—

Interjections.

Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Tomorrow, the Bank of Canada will announce their decision on whether they will implement another interest rate hike. Sadly, for many Ontarians, this decision could lead to devastating economic consequences. If another painful interest rate hike is announced, many individuals and families might not be able to pay their bills, pay their rent, mortgage or be able to keep their home. It is hard-working, ordinary people across this province who are being hit hardest and are having to pay a heavy price at the checkout and at the pumps.

The people of our province need to know that our government hears their concerns and understands their fears. Speaker, can the Premier please continue to advocate on behalf of the people of Ontario about the damaging impact that another interest rate hike would have on them?

Premiers of all political stripes agree that further increases are counterproductive and will do more harm than good. Now is the time for the federal government to work with the provinces to address the long-standing root causes that have led to inflation and to high interest rates.

Speaker, can the Premier please share what priorities should be addressed with the federal government that will help to provide real relief to struggling families and businesses.

My question is to the Premier.

Environmental Defence and Ecojustice filed a freedom-of-information request late last year. They say the purpose of the request was to find out what kind of influence developers had on the Ontario cabinet and Premier in its greenbelt decision. This government unlawfully ignored their request. So the Information and Privacy Commissioner ordered the government to comply with the law. The government then unlawfully ignored the order. Now Environmental Defence and Ecojustice are suing to enforce the order.

Why is your government breaking the law to avoid disclosing these records?

The Premier can’t keep ignoring freedom-of-information laws and IPC orders. Do I need to remind the Premier and the minister that the Liberal government’s gas plant scandal cover-up sent the Premier’s chief of staff to prison?

Supplementary question?

Restart the clock. The member for Niagara Centre.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Speaker, this government has issued more MZOs since coming to office than the previous 25 years combined. Just last week—

Interjections.

Since this minister is now so busy throwing the former minister under the bus, why won’t he just tell us what he’s concerned about?

Interjections.

A very good question from the member opposite. What I’m concerned with are those MZOs that have led to no action being taken. The MZOs that I’m pleased with, of course, are the ones that the Minister of Long-Term Care has asked for, the ones that the Minister of Education has asked for, the ones that the Minister of Health has asked for. Across the province of Ontario, we have received requests from municipal leaders, but there are a couple of MZOs where they were issued and no work has been done to advance the goal of building homes or building long-term care or building hospitals. So I’m reviewing those, and if we’re not seeing the action to do what the MZO was issued for, I’ll revoke them.

But let’s look at some of the things that we’ve done. Social housing in the city of Toronto: 44 additional social housing units in the city of Toronto; hospital expansions; in Ajax, a 320-bed long-term-care home; a long-term-care home in Oakville; a long-term-care home in Toronto; a medical park in Oro-Medonte. Do you want me to go on? I can go on if you like—modular housing; 252 supportive housing units in Toronto. The Leader of the Opposition doesn’t want that, right? I can go on, Mr. Speaker. If you give me extra time, I’ll go on.

At the same time, as I have been saying constantly and as this government has been showing, we will not stray from our desire to build 1.5 million homes for the people of the province of Ontario. That is our goal. It is the overriding goal of everything that we’ve been doing since 2018. It includes why—the reason why we’re building transit across the province of Ontario. It’s to support the over 700,000 jobs that have been created in the province of Ontario, not by government, but by the private sector. They’re coming back to Ontario, and the province is booming as a result. We want to build more homes, so we will not stray from that.

I know they’re going to try to put obstacle after obstacle after obstacle in the way. They’re good at that. We’ll untangle the mess that they left behind, and we’ll get the job done.

It really is an awkward question, coming from the member opposite. What it is an attempt to distract from the challenges that the opposition has. They’re offside with the people of the province of Ontario. They support a carbon tax; nobody else in the country does. They hold the balance of power in Ottawa. Tomorrow, they could have their federal leader insist that the carbon tax be removed and millions of dollars be put back into the pockets of the people of Ontario. Will they do it? No.

But what we will continue to do is focus on the priorities of the people of the province of Ontario, building strong communities, building the environment where we can continue to create jobs. We’re seeing jobs come back, housing starts are at their highest level—

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. The previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, put up mountains of red tape that hurt every sector of our economy, but it especially hurt our tech sector, making it impossible for tech companies to innovate, grow and create good-paying jobs.

Thankfully, when our government took office, we immediately took action to reverse the disastrous Liberals’ anti-growth agenda. As a result, we have seen investments and job creation in our tech sector.

Speaker, through you, can the minister please provide an update on the state of Ontario’s tech sector?

Our government knows that Ontario is competing in the global tech race. We’ve created the conditions for businesses to succeed, but there is heightened competition when it comes to attracting skilled tech workers. Tech companies from across the world are ramping up their efforts to attract and retain talent.

Speaker, through you: Can the minister please share how Ontario is dealing with the increased competition for tech talent?

With more than 420,000 tech workers at more than 25,000 firms, Ontario is the global tech leader. By cutting red tape and reducing the cost of doing business by $8 billion annually, we’ve created the conditions for the tech sector to prosper. That’s why we’ve seen the creation of more than 100,000 good-paying tech jobs since we took office.

In just this last year, cutting-edge tech companies like Snowflake, DNEG and USEReady invested $142 million to expand their operations and have created 950 good-paying jobs. As a result, Ontario is now one of the largest IT clusters in North America. Our message is clear, Speaker: If you’re a tech worker, researcher or firm, there’s no better place to be than right here in Ontario.

The brightest tech workers and leading tech firms are packing their bags and coming to Ontario, reaffirming their confidence in the thriving tech ecosystem that we have built.

Our government will continue to do absolutely everything to ensure Ontario remains a global tech powerhouse.

Last night—I usually don’t watch the news—I was flicking the channels, and Mister Green was on the show saying we need more housing. In Guelph, they have the lowest—

Anyway, I’m glad that you’ve agreed to vote for our infrastructure and housing plan, Highway 7, Highway 413. It’s going to benefit the people from Guelph.

Thank you very much.

The next question.

Supplementary question?