Last month, during Small Business Week and Manufacturing Month, I had the pleasure of visiting Rapid Dose Therapeutics and Rootree, two stellar examples of made-in-Ontario innovation in my community of Oakville North–Burlington.

Rapid Dose Therapeutics has developed a game-changing drug delivery system. Its patented oral thin film platform offers a unique delivery with a rapid absorption when placed in the mouth, eliminating the need for needles or swallowing pills. It also saves transportation costs and eliminates the need for deep-freeze storage.

Rootree is spearheading a global movement to achieve a greener packaging identity that addresses all parts of the eco-friendly packaging life cycle. Already recognized as an industry leader for its sustainable packaging and product co-packing, the company is a shining example, unafraid to dream big and keep innovating. Rootree is also conducting research into how to use waste cooking oil as an alternative feedstock, further building on its innovative solutions for reducing waste.

Please join me in celebrating these two made-in-Ontario, made-in-Burlington success stories.

Here’s a massive innovation that has never obviously occurred to the NDP: It’s called looking at somebody across the table and saying, “What is the advice that you have for me?” It’s about bringing people in and talking to them, right?

Now, I know they don’t like to do that over there. They don’t want to do that over there because when they talk to each other, they divide. So the less they talk, the better it is for the NDP. But in this caucus, Progressive Conservatives enjoy each other. We enjoy the public, and that is why the public has put their confidence in us. That’s why businesses are coming back and investment has increased.

I know the Minister of Finance and the parliamentary assistants are criss-crossing the province, doing—do you know what? Not talking to people on the phone; they’re meeting face to face, getting ideas on what we should have in the next budget. That is what this caucus is doing. We do it all the time.

My gosh, I know the Minister of Agriculture and a number of caucus members were at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. You know what they were doing? Talking to people about the great things that are coming. We’re in a chamber that does what? Talks to each other, Mr. Speaker.

I would suggest to the Leader of the Opposition—I know that their party is based on the principles of 1933, but the modern age has many other ways of communicating, not just the old technology that is a phone.

But, make no mistake, Mr. Speaker: We will not be sidetracked from what our mission is, and the mission is to build 1.5 million homes for the people of the province of Ontario.

Our mission is to get people out of their parents’ basements and into their first home. Our mission is to ensure that people who graduate from college or university, who are going into the trades or having their first job, can enjoy the same dreams that almost every single one of us in this chamber had: the value and the dream of a home of their own.

That is what we are focused on. We will not be sidetracked on that mission, despite the fact that the NDP and the Liberals worked so hard for 15 years, put obstacles in the way that the largest land mass in the country has a housing crisis. We’ll disentangle that, we’ll get the homes built, we’ll get people out of their parents’ basements and into the homes that they deserve.

Now, listen, the NDP have a candidate in their current by-election. Do you know what she’s known as? She’s known as the queen of NIMBY. Do you know why? Because she’s turned down a 1,174-unit development downtown; another 10-storey, 132 units in downtown; 532 residential units, which also was in downtown, which contained thousands of extra dollars for affordable housing. Do you know why she turned that down, the NDP candidate? Because it was too close to a pickleball court.

Now, I think I’m too young to play pickleball, Mr. Speaker, but I’ll tell you what, this is a culture of the NDP: Turn down everything and then find an excuse. Blame it on the pickleballers. That’s—

The only party that is having trouble in this place, outside of the van party, is the opposition leader’s party. They can’t even caucus together, because every time they caucus together, they fight. I mean, this is a Leader of the Opposition who ran unopposed for the leadership of the party. Do you know why? Because nobody wanted to lead the party.

Interjections.