I seek unanimous consent for members to wear their purple scarves in recognition of Dress Purple Day, to show our support for children in care and the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies.

It’s my pleasure to introduce a friend of mine, my campaign manager, and a former staff member here in the House who many of you may recognize: Mr. Jeremy Wittet, who is also a school board trustee in the city of Ottawa.

Thank you for being here.

I’d like to warmly welcome the ward 4 councillor from the city of Windsor, Mark McKenzie, who is in the east lobby today.

I’d like to welcome the Association of Ontario Midwives, including Rebecca Farnum; Anna Ianovskaia; Leila Monib; Diane Simon, a Mi’kmaq midwife; Ashley Lickers, a midwife for the Six Nations; Manavi Handa, who is a dear friend of mine and a member of the second cohort of midwives when they were being re-established in Ontario; Thenusha Ratnasapapapathy; Ifra Zahid; and Althea Jones, president-elect of the Association of Ontario Midwives. Welcome to your House.

He’s making his way to Queen’s Park this morning, obviously running a little late, but I’d like to welcome my son, Jonathan Lindal, to his House. He’s a first-class petty officer for the Royal Canadian Navy.

The Leader of the Opposition will know that we had brought the motion forward for unanimous consent and it was turned down by the opposition at that time. In subsequent conversations with members on all sides, I think there has been some agreement that the former minister has accepted responsibility, and that is why he has resigned, so I have no intention of moving forward beyond that.

At the same time, there have been ample opportunities for the opposition to continue to debate on this—not only through the forum of question period, but through opposition day motions as well.

We are very committed to continuing to move forward, and not in any way, shape or form looking to avoid accountability; just the opposite. That is why the Premier asked me to ensure that we restore public trust in some of the decisions that we had made. That is why I moved to put the greenbelt back under protection and codify the boundaries under legislation, and that is why we made some reversals on 12 official plans.

We have accepted accountability for the mistakes that we made and for those decisions that did not meet the public’s faith in them.

At the same time, I was unhappy and the Premier was unhappy with the process that saw some of the changes in 12 official plans. That is why I reversed those plans.

It is about working better with our municipal partners, but it’s also about ensuring that we move forward on building 1.5 million homes across the province of Ontario. We’re not going to be distracted by that mission. We’ll continue to get the job done on behalf of the people of the province of Ontario.

To reply, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

The Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity.

The final supplementary.

Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Government House leader.

Every act of intimate partner violence is heinous. It has an insidious impact that tears through multiple generations of family and can hurt communities deeply. We know that when you hurt a woman, you’re not just hurting her; you’re hurting her, her children, her family and communities.

That’s why we have invested significantly in community supports and organizations so that women can access them to get the support and help they need. And we’ll continue to fund these organizations, like the Investing in Women’s Futures Program that provides wraparound supports and housing, employment, counselling and safety planning for vulnerable women, and the Assaulted Women’s Helpline, for example.

What happened in the Soo is devastating and triggering.

If you are vulnerable or experiencing violence, please call the Assaulted Women’s Helpline at 1-866-863-0511. You do not need to suffer in silence.

Interjections.

Speaker, we don’t have time to waste. We should be doing everything we can to prevent even one more death from intimate partner violence.

Advocates have been sounding the alarm, calling for a clear and urgent strategy.

Last year, you’ll recall that a coroner’s inquest on the murders in Renfrew gave the province 86 recommendations, 68 of those under provincial jurisdiction. But this government rejected many of those recommendations, including choosing not to declare gender-based violence an epidemic.

To the Premier: Will the Premier stand with advocates and survivors and declare intimate partner violence an epidemic?

Interjections.

And the rates, the demand—under the pandemic, it skyrocketed. It hasn’t gone back down yet, and your government has not kept up.

Back to the Premier: Will his government commit today to call this an epidemic and adequately fund survivor services?

Interjections.

Anyway, my question is to the Premier: On September 25, the government House leader tabled a motion to accept the report of the Integrity Commissioner into the former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and to approve the recommendation to reprimand that former minister. The motion is still sitting there on the order paper.

To the Premier: When will this motion be debated?

Speaker, this government is under criminal investigation by the RCMP. The RCMP has now even appointed a special prosecutor to investigate this case, including talking to witnesses this government muzzled by confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements.

But the Premier is just ignoring the commissioner’s recommendations to officially reprimand that minister for his well-documented misconduct. They are doing whatever it takes to avoid having this conversation in the public realm and in this House.

To the Premier: Why has this government refused to hold the former minister accountable for his misconduct?

Back to the Premier: Will the Premier allow a full debate on that reprimand motion so he’ll finally understand why giving his friends preferential treatment is wrong?

Interjections.

Actually, he wasn’t listening, because what I said was, the program that he put forward was out of the playbook of Communist Russia. We’ve gone down this road before. Bob Rae did the exact same plan that the members are proposing, and that program cost us many, many billions of dollars more than they’re promising to spend right now. They’re promising to spend—I think it’s $60,000 a unit. That is what they think that they will pay to bring this type of housing on board.

Yet we are actually building social housing across the province of Ontario, working with our partners. The member opposite voted against our successful attempts to remove development charges from those types of homes. In York region, that equates to removing $180,000, on average, from the cost of social housing. At the same time, throughout Toronto, for instance, I’ve used MZOs to build social housing, and they are opposed to that.

What are we doing? We’re building affordable homes across the province of Ontario. We’re doing it. We’re building higher and more along our transit corridors. We’ve removed development charges from our social housing. We have updated the definition of affordable housing in the province of Ontario to include income and so that it can be reflected across all of the province of Ontario, because we know it’s unique from Toronto; it’s different in the northern parts of the province. We’ve done all that. I’ve used MZOs to ensure that we build social housing with our partners across the province. We are getting the job done in a way that actually makes sense and delivers that type of housing for the people of the province of Ontario.

My question is for the Minister of Energy.

Ontarians need access to affordable electricity. They never want to return to the days of out-of-control costs like they experienced under the previous Liberal government. Never again should the people of Ontario have to choose between eating and heating because of high electricity costs. People want our energy grid to be efficient, effective, clean and reliable. At the same time, they also want to know that our government is ensuring that their energy bills remain affordable.

Can the minister explain what actions our government is taking to ensure that Ontarians continue to have access to electricity that is affordable, reliable and emissions-free?

The refurbishments described by the minister in his response are a massive undertaking. By completing these ahead of schedule and, yes, on budget, our government is demonstrating our commitment to building energy infrastructure projects for the future.

That’s why it’s so disappointing to see the opposition, once again, saying no, and once again, opposing Ontario’s nuclear industry. The people of Ontario deserve far better from their elected representatives who, unfortunately, are more interested in playing politics instead of finding solutions for our energy system.

Can the minister share his views on what impact the NDP’s and Liberals’ opposition to our vital nuclear sector will mean to hard-working families, individuals and the skilled workforce who rely on this source of power?

Interjection.

My question is to the Premier.

The Ford government recently announced its intention to seek judicial review of the federal Impact Assessment Act in light of a recent opinion by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Interjections.

Will the Attorney General stop wasting public money re-litigating a Supreme Court opinion that would deliver more transparency for Ontarians?

I’d like to thank the member from Ontario’s clean energy capital, Durham region, for the question this morning.

Mr. Speaker, Ontario’s electricity grid is one of the cleanest in the entire world, at over 90% clean. How we accomplish that is largely because of the nuclear fleet that we have in Ontario, providing anywhere from 50% to 60% of our electricity every day in a clean, emissions-free, reliable and affordable way. It employs 76,000 people across Canada, almost all of them here in Ontario. And it’s those same people, those skilled trades, those nuclear operators, who are doing incredible work.

I was with my good friend from Huron–Bruce, the Minister of Agriculture, a couple of weeks ago at Bruce Power, where they brought back unit 6, one of the nuclear refurbishment projects, on time and on budget.

Our government is standing firmly with those skilled tradespeople in support of our energy sector, which is world-class.

It is sad, actually, that the opposition is not working with us. They’re working against us, and they’re saying no to clean, reliable and affordable electricity in our province. They’re saying no to new, good-paying jobs across our province. They’re saying no to the economic growth that we’re experiencing largely because we have a world-class nuclear fleet.

Perhaps most disappointing, though, is those same members from the NDP and the opposition are saying no to the skilled tradespeople, those boilermakers, those electricians, and those nuclear engineers who are working so hard every day to power our province to ensure that we are an economic powerhouse here in Ontario, one that has created 700,000 jobs—not lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs, when we had an NDP-Liberal coalition in this province.

The Ontario PC Party and this government are going to stand up every day for those power workers across Ontario.

The supplementary question.

The Minister of Energy.

Interjection.

Interjections.

Start the clock.

Member for Parkdale–High Park.

My question is to the Premier.

Earlier this year, Scotiabank put out a report calling for a massive expansion of non-market housing to meet the needs of low- and moderate-income families who can’t afford what the private sector is willing to build. Scotiabank said the existing stock of social housing needs to be at least doubled. The NDP just released a non-market housing strategy whose goal is to do exactly that. But two days ago, the Minister of Housing said that investing in non-market housing was “out of the playbook of Communist Russia.”

Is the minister really so opposed to public investments and non-market housing that Scotiabank is too communist for him?

What hope do low- and moderate-income families have when this government is so ideologically opposed to public investment in housing?

Supplementary question. The member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas.

The next question.

The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

Government House Leader.

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Farmers, food processors and the agri-food industry provide high-quality food products for Ontario families and for our growing export market. Measures outlined in our Grow Ontario Strategy are innovative, and we are seeing positive results. Because of investments made by our government, we are witnessing an increase in more homegrown food, greater manufacturing opportunities, and improved technology for our farmers.

Unfortunately, our farmers are facing additional pressures and challenges that are making it more difficult for them to deliver a food supply chain that is safe, strong and stable.

Can the minister please explain how our government is supporting Ontario’s agricultural industries to overcome barriers to their productivity?

From the minister’s response, it’s clear that the carbon tax is placing a heavy burden on farmers and food producers. Ultimately, the carbon tax will negatively impact the people of Ontario. Individuals and families are already feeling the pressure of high food costs and are struggling to make ends meet. The people of Ontario are looking to our government for solutions that will reduce environmental impacts while also supporting Ontario’s food processors and producers. That’s why our government must act with urgency to address these serious matters.

Can the minister please explain what actions our government is taking to ensure that Ontario’s agri-food sector remains stable and sustainable?

Speaker, the very premise of the question doesn’t actually line up with the facts. How can the proposed regulation be secret if it’s publicly available and it has been publicly available for weeks? I don’t know, but I’m sure the member would—I suggest you go on the listing, as it’s very transparent, and it’s why so many Ontarians can comment on these regulations right now if they want to provide their feedback.

And that’s the point of the system, Speaker: We consult Ontarians with changes, always. Ontario will be regulating these activities, the licences that we speak about. But this is misinformation that’s being spread. All activities will be safe—

Actually, the Supreme Court confirmed that the legislation brought forward by the Trudeau Liberal government was, in fact, beyond its jurisdiction to do so. The Attorney General, of course, is using that ruling to allow us to move forward on projects like the 413, like Ontario Place. We’ve made no secret of the fact that we have wanted to move on important public infrastructure across the province of Ontario, and we’re going to continue to do that.

We’ve reflected, of course, on the Supreme Court’s decision and are encouraged by that decision. We have always argued, as have other provinces, that the federal government had gone well beyond its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court validated that, and we are taking the next steps to ensure that we can move on with these very, very important public infrastructure programs.

But I can confirm for the member that we will not be supporting this motion today. We will continue to double down on our efforts to improve health care for all Ontarians, including Indigenous partners.

We are also continuing our efforts with the federal government to address some of the very important issues that we’re seeing on reserves, and we will continue that work.