A week ago, the Leader of the Opposition wasn’t going to force the member for Hamilton Centre out of the party, and in the same week, she flip-flopped three or four times.

Do you know what changed, Mr. Speaker—very sincerely. I had a long discussion with Mayor Sutcliffe in Ottawa. He explained to me what Ottawa would like to accomplish with respect to their housing targets. I did the same with other mayors. I had a very good conversation with the former leader of the NDP, who is now the mayor in Hamilton. They’re all on the same page with wanting to ensure that we build 1.5 million homes for the people of the province of Ontario and to work with us to get that happening. So I made the decision to better work with our municipal partners and to build on the successes that we’ve already had in bringing housing supply action plans to this House. That’s what the change was.

What I am reviewing are those MZOs that were given for the purpose of building housing that at this point has not started. As I said in my first press conference, I want to move to a system of “use it or lose it.” There is no benefit for the people of province of Ontario for our home-building partners to be sitting on allocations if they’re not going to use them. That’s what I am reviewing, Mr. Speaker, because the primary goal of the MZOs has been to move development ahead, whether it’s for schools, long-term care, hospitals and supportive housing to the tune of thousands of homes in the member’s own community.

In advance of official plans, I can say that in my office I had community leaders tell me what they wanted to see happen. I had mayors call me saying what they wanted to see happen. I even had home builders making suggestions to me.

But ultimately, Mr. Speaker, what we should be guided by is the provincial planning statement. The reason I made the decisions to reverse some of those changes to official plans is because I didn’t feel that they met the spirit that is important to bring public trust with you—

Interjections.

To the Premier: This morning, CBC Hamilton—

Interjections.

Premier, are ministers in your cabinet taking direction from speculators?

The people of Hamilton wish you would just stop taking direction from speculators. That’s what we wish in Hamilton.

These are not just any speculators that the Premier took direction from, but the exact people who were at his daughter’s stag and doe. They’re the same people interviewed by office of the Legislature because of preferential treatment in the greenbelt grab. Ancaster councillor Craig Cassar said it best: “It is entirely undemocratic for the province to accommodate for-profit interest that are in complete contradiction to the public interest.”

So how many changes to official plans came directly, work for word, from speculators?

Interjections.