Good morning, everyone. It’s beautiful to see you all again. I’m here to introduce some amazing residents from beautiful Beaches–East York: Carolina Reis and son, Adam, here to support page Clara.

It’s my honour to welcome two residents from my riding of Thunder Bay–Atikokan. From Thunder Bay, we have Kati Tuomi, and from the beautiful Kakabeka Falls, my good friend and neighbour, Erin Arps. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to acknowledge that it’s World Fertility Day. I want to welcome guests we have here from Conceivable Dreams. We have Zane Colt and Baden Colt here with their baby, Scottie, up in the gallery. Congratulations.

We also have Tara Wood, Cassandra Johnston, Heather Douglas as well as clinician adviser Dr. Kimberly Liu. Welcome.

I’d like to welcome Kimberely Fernandes to the House today. Kimberely is a wonderful resident of Ajax and a part of my family. Thank you for coming out, Kimberely.

I would like to welcome representatives from the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario, the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association and the Ontario Association of Pathologists and the professionals who work in medical laboratories across Ontario. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

On behalf of the Minister of Health, I wanted to welcome three groups today: the Ontario Association of Medical Radiation Sciences, the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario and the Ontario Association of Pathologists, and the group from Conceivable Dreams, who had a breakfast this morning. I didn’t get to meet many when I was there because I had to go quickly, but I met the most important people, which were the babies.

They’re on their way up, but I do want to welcome Keith Fleming, Saroj Gandhi and Kam Sandhu, my constituency staff. I just wanted to say—on behalf of all members of this House, I’d like to thank all of our constituency staff who serve our constituents with kindness, compassion and very often having to deal with very difficult situations. Thank you to all of our staff for everything you do to support MPPs. Thank you.

I’m going to ask for the attention of the House.

As provided for by the Remembrance Week Act, 2016, the assembly will now pause and observe two minutes of silence in honour of those who died serving their country in wars and peacekeeping efforts.

This will be followed by an opportunity for members to make speeches, with five minutes allotted to the official opposition, five minutes allotted to the government, and five minutes allotted to the independent members as a group.

I will ask members to please rise.

The House observed two minutes’ silence.

I recognize the member for Ottawa South.

I’m honoured to rise today to pay tribute to veterans and first responders who have sacrificed so much to defend democracy and to keep us safe. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we gather to remember and honour those who selflessly serve our country.

The memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice continues to remind us of the stark reality of defending freedom and democracy. It is difficult to fathom the degree of courage demonstrated by those young Canadians who served in the World Wars, Korea, Afghanistan, peacekeeping and other missions.

Today, I recall the words of Guelph’s Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae that remind us that we must not break faith with those who fought and died for our freedoms. That is why we must not only pay tribute to veterans and their families, but we also must take the steps and the actions to provide them with the care and support they need and deserve.

So I say to veterans, first responders and their families, thank you, thank you, thank you for your service. We will continue to honour your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your comrades who did not come home. Speaker, on this day and every day, lest we forget.

I want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to speak ahead of Remembrance Day.

There are now a few communities across my riding of Haldimand–Norfolk who have raised banners in memory of those who have served. This is to ensure year-long remembrance—a commitment we should all make.

Recently, I attended the unveiling of 94 banners for the town of Hagersville. It was a moving ceremony, with a slideshow of the 94 bright-eyed young men in uniform, sporting beautiful smiles—faces lit with hopes, prayers and aspirations.

As a mom, my mind wandered to my own young man, Carter, who is now 18, much the same age as many of those sent overseas. As a mother—as a parent—that is not a young man; that is your boy. The heaviness that must have been felt in the hearts of families as they kissed their boys goodbye must have been immense, especially given the fact that that kiss may be the last.

Even the wildest imaginations could not have conceived what those young men saw and endured. Our freedoms were given to us by heartbroken families, nurses and doctors who tended to the wounded and by those young boys and men, many who were denied the chance to carry out their dreams. And here we sit, having personally done nothing for the freedoms we enjoy.

The very least we can do is make it our responsibility to never forget the service and sacrifices of more than one and a half million Canadian soldiers, sailors, air crew and merchant seamen. We can all begin our year-long commitment starting next week by lending a hand to our local Legions and army, navy and air force units as they continue the annual poppy campaign. We will remember them.

It is my great pleasure today to introduce and welcome the parents of our page captain today. Our page is Ananya Joshi from Kitchener South–Hespeler, and we’re joined today by her mother, Prerana Joshi, and her father, Bakulesh Joshi. I’ll also bring greetings to her brother Arnav who couldn’t be here, as he’s in his studies at the Royal Canadian Military Institute. Thank you so much for coming.

Good morning, Speaker. Thank you for acknowledging me. I’d like to welcome to the chamber today the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario, as well as the Ontario Association of Medical Radiation Sciences, and thank them all for their incredible services to patients and health care in our province

The member from St. Catharines.

Before I begin, to my member from St. Catharines: I hear the passion every single year when you speak. We all want to thank you from the House here—everyone. Please thank your son for his service, and thank you for your passion and dedication to our service members who are serving overseas.

Applause.

And it makes me so glad to see MPPs from our party and from all sides of the House wearing a poppy this morning. Wearing a poppy may not seem like a big thing for some people, but Mr. Speaker, it’s a massive thing, showing respect for people who sacrificed their lives to give us freedom and democracy. But it’s also a reminder to each of us every time we see it again, the sacrifices our veterans have made and continue to make every single day, like our member from St. Catharines’s son. It’s a sign to our men and women in uniform that we see their sacrifice and honour them for it.

We know the hardship service members and their families go through, especially those men and women who are currently deployed overseas or away from home. We know that their service requires them to spend time away from their loved ones, face danger and difficulties every single day, and make sacrifices so many of us will never have to, and we thank them for it. We also honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for Canada, defending our freedoms on the front lines. For that, we owe them a debt that we can never repay.

Let me wrap up by saying this one more time: To my friends here on both sides of the House and to everyone across Ontario, on November 11, please take part in your local Remembrance Day ceremonies, no matter if it’s at the Legion or down at your town hall or city hall, and please, wear a poppy.

Speaker, I encourage everyone here to remember and reflect throughout the year—not just on Remembrance Day, but every day. Thank you, and may God bless our women and men in uniform, and may God bless the people of Ontario.

Each year, it’s a privilege to stand to participate in representing my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in this Legislature as we collectively lead an important moment of reflection and commemoration during Veterans’ Week and leading up to Remembrance Day.

As November 11 draws near, it is by walking through the rich historical halls of this Legislature that we are reminded, together, what we all represent. Canadians across our country will join with our province; they will stand in silence, united, honouring the names on our community war memorials, our cenotaphs—the names of the brave men and women who sacrificed so that we could stand together today. These brave souls were our nation’s sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. They were the best of us, who packed up to traverse far from home to fields and cities across the world, to safeguard the Canadian way of life and to ensure that the liberties we cherish remain intact.

In each of our own ways, we honour those who have defended our freedoms and made the ultimate sacrifice.

Just this year, my colleague from Ottawa Centre visited Juno Beach. He visited a stretch of the coastline where his grandfather had fought and where many Canadians fought. He sent me a postcard illustrating the stark coastline of Juno Beach, from Gold to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. It was a reminder to me that I, too, had relatives who left for Juno Beach and never returned home; one of these was my grandfather’s brother John Griffin from Prince Edward Island. He was not alone—340 of the soldiers who left for Juno Beach did not return home. The picture on the postcard was also a reminder to me that while Remembrance Day means something different to each and every one of us, it is a uniting force and an opportunity for personal reflection. I want to thank the member from Ottawa Centre for sharing his experience with me.

As I look across and around this chamber, I am heartened to see the sea of poppies on all of our lapels. The poppies are not coloured to denote any political party, but instead they denote a common force that unites us all: a force of freedom.

Speaker, Remembrance Day carries a special meaning for myself and my family. I not only wear my poppy over my heart, but I wear my pride on my sleeve, as a proud mother of an active service member: my son, Jonathan Lindal, petty officer first class, a serving member of our Royal Canadian Navy. Jonathan follows in the footsteps of his grandfather and his great-grandfathers, who both served our country. Jonathan has successfully completed three six-month tours of duty. Each tour took him and his fellow sailors away from their families, away from their wives, away from their children—which would be my two grandchildren.

This underscores an often understated reality for our military men and women. The reality is that freedom comes at a cost. That cost is too often a loss of a limb, PTSD, loss of life, and, of course, the difficulties of the families left behind to manage without them. When we honour those who served, it should be with full recognition of those costs.

In our respective communities, I know each of us in this chamber will attend ceremonies that lay witness to veterans and members of the public adorned with medals—each medal a symbol of courage, leadership and sacrifice. These symbols serve as powerful reminders of our debt of gratitude, not only to those immortalized on cenotaphs and memorial walls, but also to the men and women in uniform today, who continue to defend all of us for our freedom.

In this moment of reflection, we are reminded of the profound sacrifices made by the Canadian Armed Forces throughout our history—we must ensure we recognize the sacrifices of those made by the soldiers, sailors and airmen who guarded and continue to guard our freedom through peacemaking missions, through NATO and the UN against terrorism and piracy. Speaker, we are reminded of those men and women who served during the First and Second World Wars, but also the 158 men and women who gave their lives for us in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was a military commitment I’m sure each and every one of us here can recall.

In my own community, we lost a hero and a dedicated community member in Afghanistan: Warrant Officer Denis Brown. He is deeply missed by his three boys, Zach, Owen and Ben. He is deeply missed by his community, and I deeply miss him. Denis was my good friend.

Just as we must remember the fallen from the World Wars, Korean War and Afghanistan, we must also remember the decisive role played by the Haudenosaunee, the Six Nations Confederacy and their Indigenous allies during the War of 1812, particularly at the pivotal Battle of Queenston Heights which is honoured in the Niagara area each and every year. While not often acknowledged sufficiently, the military service of our First Nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada has deep roots. It is so important that we recognize, commemorate and remember their sacrifices.

I’m proud to represent a community with such a rich diverse military heritage, one that has given real representative form to our collective memory and gratitude. St. Catharines, like many of our communities across Ontario, is home to Royal Canadian Legions and veterans’ clubs that serve as a bastion of remembrance and support for our veterans and their families. These organizations play a crucial role in perpetuating the legacy of remembrance through ceremonies and initiatives aimed at bettering the lives of local veterans.

While symbols are vital, as we remember, let us also act, ensuring that the values and sacrifices of our veterans and service members are honoured not in words, but in deed. Speaker, I know each and every member in this chamber supports the intention. As we go about our business of our busy lives, as we debate motions, as we deal with realities in our own lives, forgetting that our freedoms were hard-fought can happen. We often may take them for granted, but we must never forget how we got them. We must all commit, like I myself commit, to honour the sacrifices, not only with words and ceremonies, however; reflect on what those sacrifices have meant to each and every one of us.

Their actions in the pursuit of freedom spoke for us. Now we must honour and appreciate their sacrifices. Lest we forget. We will remember them.

I am seeking unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 40(e), five minutes be allotted to the independent members as a group to respond during statements by the ministry and responses today.

Actually, I think it was the member for Kitchener who was actually singled out as having used government resources to raise funds. But, having said that, Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue—

Interjection: Member for Waterloo.

I think, Mr. Speaker, what matters is exactly what the Premier said, that we continue to double down on ensuring that we build 1.5 million homes across the province of Ontario.

The Leader of the Opposition, of course, talks about fundraising. I guess I could ask her the same thing: When Silvio De Gasperis gave you $1,000, to the NDP, what did you promise him?

Interjections.

I wonder if she thinks that Carlo De Gasperis, who also made a $1,000 donation to the NDP, is sketchy as well, Mr. Speaker. I wonder what the Leader of the Opposition promised both Silvio De Gasperis and Carlo De Gasperis for the now $2,000 donations that we have found that went to that party.

What we’re going to continue to do is ensure that we continue to build 1.5 million homes, working with people like the De Gasperis family, who are building homes across Ontario, and other home builders who want to do so, Mr. Speaker.

But then, again, I asked the Leader of the Opposition—the NDP has accepted $2,000 in donations from the very same people she now calls sketchy, and if she has a third question, I might highlight some of the additional donations.

I want to thank the members for their eloquent tributes. We will remember them.

Point of order, the member for Ottawa–Vanier.

It is now time for oral questions.

The supplementary question.

I believe the standing orders indicate that questions go to the government, not the reverse. But at the same time, I would encourage all members to make their comments through the Chair.

Start the clock. The Leader of the Opposition.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Interjection.

Interjection.

If you ignore my requests to come to order, I will warn you.

Start the clock. The Leader of the Opposition.

Like any party, including the NDP over there and the Liberals and the Greens and ourselves for decades, you go to fundraisers. You meet hundreds of people. They chat with you.

But you know, Mr. Speaker, I’ll tell you what the people of Ontario are concerned about right now. They aren’t concerned about what the leader of the NDP is saying. They’re concerned about the carbon tax. They’re concerned about their mortgage when they’re about to lose their house next year or the year after, when they have to renew. They’re concerned about groceries and gas bills.

I just went to an opening over at Costco, met hundreds and hundreds of people, and every single one of them said, “Just keep going. Make sure you protect our backs. Make sure you lower the costs and the burden on the backs of the taxpayers.” And that’s what we’re doing. We’re making sure that we’re lowering the gas tax by 10 cents. We got rid of those tolls on the 412 and 418. We’re making sure that we’re giving 1.1 million low-income folks in Ontario a tax break. We’re going to continue doing that.

We’re going to focus on making sure we’re fiscally prudent with taxpayers’ money, and we’re going to be cutting taxes, not worrying about—