Like the member from Essex, I can’t understand why the federal government is leaving Ontario out in the cold. It just doesn’t make sense, especially when half of the federal Liberal caucus comes from the province of Ontario. It’s quite shocking.

The Prime Minister, though, this time last week, did finally admit what everybody in this House should know: that the carbon tax is making life more unaffordable for the people of Ontario and more unaffordable for people from coast to coast to coast across this country. As the Premier said in the House on Monday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has indicated that it’s costing significantly more for the people of Ontario and the people of Canada, and it’s only going to get worse as the carbon tax goes up and up and up.

So despite having all of this information and that knowledge that the carbon tax is making life more unaffordable, why does the current Ontario Liberal caucus of nine continue to vote against motions calling on the removal of carbon tax from grocery—

Fortunately for them, the Liberals have a cherished history of saying one thing and doing another. The Prime Minister once told us that families would get more back from the carbon tax than they would pay. We now know, thanks to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, that that’s not true. Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault once said it wouldn’t be fair for the rest of the federation if we started carving out exceptions for provinces, but that’s the direction that the federal Liberals have gone.

My question for the members of the Ontario Liberal caucus and the federal Liberal government is, why are they so opposed to making life more affordable for the people of Ontario?

Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé.

On Monday, Toronto’s paramedic union issued a code red to indicate that no ambulance was available to respond to emergency calls. That was their second code red in October. During that period, a 98-year-old woman waited unconscious for over 28 minutes for an ambulance to end up being dispatched from Peel.

Can the minister tell us if an elderly woman, unconscious, waiting for 28 minutes for an ambulance is quality care?

Minister, is this the level of care that the good people of Waterloo can expect from Doug Ford’s Ontario?

Interjections.

Ever since this government was elected, we’ve been working to make life more affordable for people in Ontario. To this end, we even fought the carbon tax all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Now, the federal government has finally admitted that the carbon tax, which we knew all along, hurts people in the province of Ontario. Unfortunately, the federal government has only taken steps to exempt a small number of people in Atlantic Canada from the carbon tax. However, what about us in Ontario? What are we, second-class citizens?

I want to ask the Minister of Energy: Would he share his views on the federal government’s decision to exempt only a small number of people from the carbon tax, and not the province of Ontario?

Speaker, please, I’m asking the minister to share his views on the harmful impacts that the carbon tax has on hard-working people here in the province of Ontario.

A number of members have repeatedly ignored my requests to come to order. I’m going to start warning them if it persists.

Start the clock. The next question.

The supplementary question.

Once again, I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair—and questions normally go to the provincial government from other members.

Start the clock. The member for Nickel Belt.

I’ll once again remind members to refer to each other by their riding name or their ministerial title, as applicable.

I recognize the Minister of Health to reply.

My question is for the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. The independent Liberals and the opposition NDP members in this House support increasing the federally imposed carbon tax. They know that increasing the carbon tax will result in a significant spike in fuel prices, setting off a chain reaction of increased costs across our economy. For instance, the cost of manufacturing raw materials will increase dramatically. Businesses, particularly those in rural, remote and northern communities, are already struggling to keep prices affordable for their customers. We must do everything we can to reduce taxes for all Ontarians during this period of economic uncertainty.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how the carbon tax is negatively impacting Ontario’s natural resources sector?

Of course, the member opposite knows I cannot speak to specific cases. I was not in the dispatch centre, nor was she, and she was not there on the scene. What I will say, and she knows it full well, is that ambulance dispatch in the province of Ontario is a seamless system, which means wherever you are in the province of Ontario, the closest ambulance to you will assist you.

Now, having said that, we have ensured, through working directly with our ambulance and paramedic experts, to make sure that we have put in additional programs and supports, always there as a 50-50 partner with municipalities as they expand their ambulance services, whether that is personnel or vehicles.

Look, I know that the NDP have categorically stated that they don’t want to see any change in our health care system, but the truth is, we are making changes that are impacting people’s lives and making sure that services are available closer to home.

Order.

The minister will take his seat. I’ll remind the members that when the Speaker stands, you sit.

Supplementary question?

The next question.

Interjections.

The member for Ottawa Centre: supplementary.

I’ll remind members to make their comments through the Chair.

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

The supplementary question?

Back to the minister: It’s nice to hear good news in this House, I have to admit, because Sam Ludmer, a veteran, who is watching—hi, Sam—back home in Ottawa Centre was the first person who raised this matter with me. He’s frustrated that as he has made the shift to an electric vehicle, he can’t display his pride in being a veteran on its licence plate. So, Minister, it’s good to hear that we’ve got an opportunity to work together on this.

And Sam, I want to thank you for taking the time to push politicians to do the right thing, because look what you just did: You’ve created unanimity in this place.

Can we get once more for the record, Minister, a commitment in this House as Remembrance Week approaches to work with the opposition, to do the right thing and make all vehicle licence plates available to be proudly displayed with veterans’ licence plates today?

Interjections.

Absolutely, I’ll work with the member.

The member from Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill has had this conversation with me earlier, a couple of weeks ago, as well.

I’m committed to working with all members of this House to ensure that that is something that we can work towards. It is of utmost importance to myself, and thank you for raising it, but also to my colleague who has been working with me on this for the past couple of weeks as well.

My question is to the minister. Raised by veteran organizations and residents alike, there’s a gap in how the Ministry of Transportation honours our veterans: the exclusion of RVs and green electric vehicles from the Veterans’ Licence Plate program. Today, I will be tabling a clear solution: expand the program to all vehicles.

Our veterans’ service is invaluable, and our gratitude shouldn’t be limited by their choice of vehicle. Minister, let’s close this gap together. Will you work with me to ensure all veterans can display the veterans’ poppy licence plate, guaranteeing equal recognition for their service to our nation and our country?

Yesterday, I had a chance to talk about how negative the carbon tax was on the forestry sector and how the cost of the carbon tax is now getting built into every home in Ontario. That means every bolt, screw, two-by-four, fence board—it’s got carbon tax in it. It doesn’t need to be that way. It can be a lot simpler than this. Our Premier and our finance minister showed the way again this week of how easy it is to reduce taxes and reduce that burden, so the federal government needs to step up and do the same thing.

We heard yesterday from the OFIA, our forestry industry association, how damaging the carbon tax was for them. Here’s what they had to say about the fuel cut: “This has a significant impact on small businesses and their employees operating in northern, rural and Indigenous communities in Ontario.” It’s easy to do it, and our friends across the way here, they can pick up the phone, they can send an email, even pick up some carrier pigeons—

Interjections.

Let’s think about how many loads of aggregates go into projects: for one kilometre of subway-building, 4,500 loads; to build a hospital, 3,700 loads of aggregates. I left off the great Minister of Education and the schools that he wants to build in Ontario yesterday. What’s in those now? Carbon tax.

We could do more if we had more here in Ontario, but the federal Liberal government insists on charging a carbon tax on every single thing we do. It’s insidious, but it has to stop. We are doing such a great job in building Ontario. Municipalities are impacted as well, by the way, in the work that they do. This tax is easy to stop; it just takes a phone call from our friends here in Ontario. Let’s scrap the tax, get it done, help Ontarians—

This question is for the Minister of Health. A good portion of the most vulnerable residents in Ottawa live in my riding, especially in the Vanier and Overbrook neighbourhoods, but access to primary health care is cruelly lacking.

The good news is that there are solutions. A group of nurse practitioners has submitted an efficient plan for a nurse practitioner-led clinic that would provide primary care to 10,000 residents. In order to make this a reality, however, they need this government to do their part and provide the necessary funding.

If the government is willing to pay $8.3 billion of taxpayer money to pave over the greenbelt that led to a criminal investigation, can the government find enough money to provide primary care to those in need? Unless this is not a priority for the government.

I’ll give the minister a chance to explain where the ministry is in the process of approving these critical projects so that Ontarians can have access to primary health care.

When the Ministry of Health put out a call for proposals, people started to hope. Several groups submitted proposals to create clinics to provide much-needed access to care. However, it’s been months and months of waiting, and none of them have yet been approved. In the meantime, this situation keeps getting worse. When will the minister start approving the proposals for primary care practitioners so that residents can get access to the primary care that they need now?

I thank my colleagues from Ottawa Centre as well as St. Catharines for their question and for bringing this important point and question to the Minister of Transportation.

I want to thank the Minister of Transportation for meeting with me earlier to hear my suggestion on this.

To the member for St. Catharines, as the Premier said, I want to thank you very much, to you and Jonathan. Please convey our gratitude for the service that he’s providing to us.

Mr. Speaker, every man and woman in uniform to date, past and present, has sacrificed and continues to sacrifice for us. We will not forget them, which is why we expanded the Soldiers’ Aid Commission by 600% to put $1.55 million to include, past and present, those who served and continue to serve our country, which is why we removed the property tax for all Legion halls. Those who have served us, under the leadership of Premier Ford and our government will not be forgotten, and we will continue to have their back today and in the future.

The carbon tax raises the price of everything. I simply cannot understand why the opposition would support such a regressive carbon tax that makes building anything so much more expensive. It causes prices to rise across the board, which puts a heavy burden on our businesses. Because of the carbon tax, businesses are left with a tough choice: either absorb the extra costs themselves or pass them on to their customers.

While the independent Liberals and the opposition NDP have no problem with a regressive carbon tax, it is not fair or right that Ontario families, workers and seniors are being punished.

Can the minister please explain what impact the carbon tax has on our economy and our businesses?

In the member’s own question, she talks about how we have in fact made an investment. We have asked for expression of interest. We have had literally hundreds of applications come in. We are making those assessments. So, on one hand, she acknowledges that through our Your Health plan we’ve made an investment and a commitment to expand primary care across Ontario. Yet now she is suggesting that we are not doing that. Which is it? Because we’ve made the investment. We are assessing those applications as we speak—as I said, the largest expansion in multidisciplinary primary care teams in the province’s history. We’re doing that work.

Were you there? Were you supporting it when we put that in our Your Health plan in the budget? The short answer is no.

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Energy.

The carbon tax is hurting our farmers, hurting our families and hurting our businesses. Unlike the independent Liberal members and opposition NDP, our government has always known that the carbon tax drives up energy prices across the province. That is why it is unfair that the federal government is choosing to exempt certain parts of the country from the carbon tax, while punishing others. During this time of economic uncertainty, Ontarians deserve respect and fairness when it comes to affordability.

Speaker, can the minister please explain why the federal government is only taking action to help a small number of Canadians regarding the carbon tax exemption and ignoring Ontario?

The carbon tax makes life more expensive for everyone in every part of Ontario, especially in the north. Speaker, through you: Can the minister please share his views on how devastating this regressive tax is for the people of Ontario?

The supplementary question.

The expression of interest came in mid-June. We are making those assessments with literally hundreds of applications. A member who is representing a party that, for 15 years, did nothing to expand primary care in the province of Ontario and, in fact, Speaker, actually cut the number of residency positions that were available for new docs and new physicians who were wanting to practise and train in the province of Ontario—I will take no lessons from that member on how to improve health care in the province of Ontario.

Speaker, to the member from Carleton: It’s pretty obvious the federal Liberals have looked at the polls and they didn’t like what they saw, and that’s why they acted. After years of saying that it would return more in benefit to those across the country, they’re now realizing that that’s simply not the case; that the carbon tax is driving up the price of everything, as the member mentioned.

But to exclude only home-heating oil, which affects a vast majority of residents in Atlantic Canada and only 2.5% of those who use home-heating fuel in Ontario, while ignoring the 70% who use natural gas or propane, is just unforgivable. It’s an open admission, first of all, that the federal government wasn’t telling us the whole cold truth for years.

And for all those years, our government’s been standing up, time and time again, fighting the federal carbon tax all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. We’ve been making life more affordable for the people of Ontario by driving down heating costs, by driving down the price of gasoline, by making electricity more affordable. When will the opposition parties stand with us?

We’re not done fighting for the people of Ontario. The good member from Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston is going to be presenting a motion a little bit later on this month to give the opposition parties another chance to stand up for the people of Ontario. He’s bringing forward a motion to eliminate the carbon tax on fuels and inputs for home heating for people across Ontario. I want to know—they’ve got time to think about it: Will they be supporting the member of the PC caucus’s motion to eliminate the federal carbon tax?

My question is for the Premier.

Speaker, MELT stands for mandatory entry-level training. It’s Ontario’s standard for transport truck driver schools. The goal is to replace licence mills with excellent training for drivers.

Unfortunately, there are still some dodgy companies not meeting the MELT standards. And how do they get away with it? Well, the ministry only has eight inspectors monitoring 582 vocational schools, and 260 of these schools provide transport truck driver training. Basically, these eight inspectors are set up to fail.

Speaker, we all know that putting untrained drivers on the road is dangerous.

My question is, will the Conservative government commit to hiring enough inspectors to ensure full compliance with transport truck driver training schools?