While the Liberal government has been busy raising taxes and raising the burden on businesses, we’ve been busy—Premier Ford’s government—cutting red tape. In fact, we’ve cut over 500 pieces of red tape that save over $900 million of burden on businesses each and every year. We have lowered the workers’ compensation by 50% without touching the workers’ benefits. This is a savings of $2.5 billion each and every year. We allow companies now to write off their new equipment in year. It saves them $1 billion a year. This has all put a package together of saving $8 billion a year—put 700,000 people to work. While they’re busy with the carbon tax that penalizes business, we are continuing to lower costs and putting people to work.

The member for Waterloo will come to order. The member for Brantford–Brant will come to order.

Supplementary question?

The Premier can respond.

The next question.

And to reply, the Minister of Colleges and Universities.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Just last week, a Liberal member in this House said that the federal carbon tax was making life better for the people of Ontario. That could not be further from the truth. I want to encourage that member to stop parroting talking points from the Prime Minister’s office and Ontario Liberal leadership candidates and start talking to her constituents and businesses who are struggling because of this terrible tax.

Our government understands that businesses have had a lot to deal with over the last few years, which is why we have been so steadfast in our commitment to lowering cost, and persistent in our opposition to the federal government’s carbon tax.

Can the minister please highlight what our government has done to lower costs for businesses across the province of Ontario?

Our government understands the challenges that businesses are facing with high inflation and high interest rates. That’s why we have taken concrete actions to lower costs, as the minister outlined.

At the same time, we recognize the importance of tackling climate change, but you don’t address climate change by penalizing businesses and the hard-working people of this province with a carbon tax.

Can the minister please outline how, unlike the federal government, we have been able to lower costs for our businesses while treating climate change seriously?

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. Just last week, the Liberal member for Kanata–Carleton said that the vast majority of Ontario households are better off with a carbon price. However, a report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, or PBO, provides further evidence that calls her statements into question. The PBO concludes that most households will experience a net loss of income from the disastrous federal carbon tax when accounting for both direct and indirect costs. Specifically, the PBO report finds that 60% of households in Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba will pay more in carbon taxes than they receive in rebates.

Speaker, through you: Can the Minister of Finance please provide his views regarding the impact of the disastrous carbon tax on Ontario families?

It’s concerning that while you were answering your question, I was hearing the Liberal members in the back corner disagreeing with you and saying that people are still going to be better off with the carbon tax.

Overall, on average, Ontarians will pay $478 more per household because of the federal carbon tax, and in the year 2030, the average financial loss for Ontarians will be close to $2,000 per household. Increasing the carbon tax will only negatively impact Ontario families and our economy, not improve it, despite what the Liberals might think.

The carbon tax adversely affects our businesses and negatively impacts our economy and Ontario workers.

Speaker, through you: Can the minister please set the record straight about how the carbon tax hurts all sectors of Ontario’s economy?

In September, the Premier claimed that teachers and school boards were indoctrinating children about gender identity. Words matter, especially those spoken by the Premier.

Today is the Trans Day of Remembrance, and this House held a moment of silence to remember those who died or were killed because of transphobic hatred and violence.

Since the Premier made that damaging claim, incidents of hate directed at trans and queer people, and especially students, have been rising dramatically.

My question is, does the Premier regret his claim, when he knows that the only curriculum being taught in Ontario is the one posted on the Ministry of Education’s own website?

To answer the opposition’s question, she said, “We need to hear from the public.” Do you know why you aren’t hearing from the public? They don’t give two hoots about that.

I’ll tell you what they care about. They care about their interest rates going up. They care about affordable homes—that they block every single vote we have that makes things easier—and more affordable homes. They worry about the next year or two when their interest rates get jacked up, and all of a sudden, they’re paying $3,000, $4,000 or $5,000 more a month. That’s what they care about. The number one issue on every poll—independent, other polls—is number one, bar none, is making sure their gas is affordable, hoping that the federal government will take the 14 cents of the carbon tax off a litre of gas. They care about having affordable groceries. They care about having affordable homes.

Second, in any poll, it’s the economy, making sure that they have a stable job to ensure that they have an income to buy that house, to pay—

I don’t know, Speaker; I think I’m a pretty entertaining guy when I get up there. I think I add value to the hearings. I think that the members opposite would want to hear from cabinet ministers. In fact, it was this government that made it mandatory for cabinet ministers to actually appear before committees to defend their bills. I want to thank the Premier for insisting that we do that.

When it comes to the Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, we’ve made it clear. We made a public policy decision that wasn’t supported by the people of the province of Ontario. The opposition, I assume, was going to vote in favour of that repeal. At the same time, it is still on the Environmental Registry for a 30-day consultation from people, from Indigenous communities. There is ample opportunity for the public to participate and to have their say. That will all be framed as part of the committee hearings before this House votes on third reading.

Thank you to the great member from Carleton.

Mr. Speaker, I want to be crystal clear to the people of Ontario, to the federal government, and especially to the Liberal member from Kanata–Carleton: The federal carbon tax is making life tougher and making all areas of life more expensive for the people of Ontario and their families. It makes the commute to the grocery store pricier—

Mr. Speaker, this isn’t a tax that just affects some Ontarians; this is driving up costs for every person in the province—and across the country. That is why we will not stop putting pressure on the Liberal government to do the right thing—and perhaps the provincial party will join—and eliminate this regressive carbon tax.

The Liberal member from Kanata–Carleton might think that more taxes and higher prices are good for the people of Ontario, but this government is taking action to put money back into the pockets of many Ontarians. While we wait for the federal government to end the carbon tax, our new measures are giving relief to families right across the province. That’s why, only a few weeks ago, we extended the gas tax cut to June 2024, ensuring that drivers continue to have the relief they need at the pumps. We ended the licence plate stickers, making it more affordable to drive your car—reducing electricity bills; cutting tolls on the 412 and the 418.

This government will continue to lead the way, making life more affordable for the people of Ontario, and perhaps the members opposite would join us in doing just the same.

This government is planning to allow only one hour of committee hearings to discuss Bill 136, Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing intends to use up that entire hour.

Ontarians are rightfully outraged by this government’s actions on the greenbelt, so why are you blocking the public from being heard?

The second biggest parcel of land removed from the greenbelt was located in Hamilton. The Integrity Commissioner reported details about how favoured greenbelt developers in Hamilton received preferential treatment from this government. The Premier repeatedly called one of these speculators, and the PC Party fundraising chair sold this speculator tickets to the Premier’s daughter’s stag and doe.

Why is the government blocking the public from participating in the Bill 136 hearings? Is it possibly to avoid accountability for preferential treatment of the Premier’s special greenbelt friends?

Mr. Speaker, we have lowered the cost of business by $8 billion a year. That has attracted $27 billion of electric vehicle investments, 120,000 men and women working in that sector and that is going to produce, here in Ontario. We saw General Motors have the first electric vehicles in Canadian history come off their assembly line.

In Ingersoll, we’re producing clean and emission-free vehicles here in Ontario. These are built with Ontario workers right here in our province. Our batteries will be a 100% clean energy. You get a battery in Kentucky made with 6% clean energy or go to Indiana and get a battery with 7% clean energy.

Here in Ontario, we’re making green steel, which will produce zero-emission vehicles. That’s what we’re doing in the province of Ontario.

It’s not going to help them with their groceries.

My good friend the member for Kiiwetinoong over there often discusses the price differences between groceries and other commodities between more populated communities in the north—Sioux Lookout to Sandy Lake First Nation was an example he gave. He noted that the price of chicken is sometimes six times higher in Sandy Lake First Nation than it is in Sioux Lookout. I would argue it’s already more expensive in Sioux Lookout than it is in other big towns and cities.

The Auditor General chimed in on this in 2022 and said Indigenous groups are “disproportionately burdened” by carbon pricing. This is before you factor in the harsh impacts of inflation disproportionately felt in remote communities and only being made worse by the carbon tax.

I know he was in Sachigo Lake this weekend, I think it was. I wondered if he noticed that gas was well above $2 a litre and bread was more than $4 a loaf. Is he going to stand with us to vote to scrap this tax?

The supplementary question.

Speaker, empty words that don’t actually keep trans communities safe. Hate crimes are on the rise in Ontario and in Toronto; we have seen this tripled in the 2SLGBT community. In fact, according to Toronto police, queer and trans people are the ones most frequently victimized by physical assault.

In April, I introduced an NDP bill to address this violence by creating the first-ever Ontario-wide strategy to address 2SLGBTQI safety. Every day that goes by without a provincial plan to stop transphobic violence, the community grows more afraid and is losing hope.

Can the Premier—can anyone in government—assure trans and queer families like mine that they will keep us safe? How will he commit to working with us to pass this legislation as soon as possible?

I would like to thank the member for that important question.

Mr. Speaker, there is no question that Ontario is home to a strong and vibrant 2SLGBTQIA+ community that calls Ontario home. We recognize the unique challenges and barriers faced by many within the community. That is why we are making critical investments to build safer and more secure communities in all aspects. This includes over $60 million in anti-hate initiatives just from my ministry alone, including a $25.5-million investment in the Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant.

Mr. Speaker, as we observe the Transgender Day of Remembrance, we remember the historical and ongoing challenges faced by the community and commit to building a stronger, more inclusive province where all Ontarians can safely and freely express their identity, practise their faith and observe their traditions.

Lastly, I want to say, in light of today being Transgender Day of Remembrance, to anyone who has experienced discrimination or harassment or is struggling; Please know that you are valued and that you are not alone. We are here for you, and our government will continue building a stronger and more inclusive Ontario where all people feel safe and accepted.

That’s a very, very interesting question coming from a Liberal member from Scarborough. The member will, of course, remember that the previous Liberal government absolutely did nothing when it came to supporting transit and transportation in Scarborough.

Not only are we building a subway in Scarborough, the Ontario Line, but we’re also doing more on GO services, not only into that area but across the GTA. In my own riding, two-way, all-day GO trains, something we could have only dreamed of before, are now a reality in many parts of the province.

We’re putting historic levels of funding to support our transit and transportation, including our public transportation system. There is no government that has put more money into public transportation than this government and we continue on that because we understand how important it is to building a bigger, better, stronger province of Ontario. We’ll continue to do the work that the Liberals refused to do when they had that opportunity.

The member is right on one thing: It is time to make investments. But you know when it was time to start making investments? Ten, 12 years ago, when the people of Scarborough, when the people of Toronto were desperate for more subways and the Liberals did absolutely nothing. Now, as in every single thing that this government has to do, it is about catching up, because after 15 years of disastrous Liberal and NDP-supported rule we are faced with crises, whether it’s in transit and transportation or our health care system, so we’ve had to build hospitals, renew our hospitals and build long-term care, build more roads and improve our transit system. We’re building subways.

And do you know why we have to do all of that? Because under 15 years of Liberals, they did absolutely nothing. They spent, but we have no idea what they spent on. They have nothing to show for it other than high taxes, high regulations and being one of the most indebted sub-sovereign governments in the world. We’re getting it done and we’ll continue to get it done for all of the people of Toronto and Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Transportation.

This government loves to talk about investing in transit, but under their watch, transit agencies are more underfunded than ever. What good is a new subway line if the other subway lines and bus routes are getting cut because the TTC is starved for funding and this government wouldn’t pay up? Our economy relies on public transit getting our workers to work on time. Transit agencies are cutting routes while increasing fares. Reduced service is a major obstacle to bringing people back on the TTC, where we are only at 78% of pre-pandemic usage. The TTC does not have the money to restore service, and we need the province to step up. The provincial subsidy for transit agencies is not tied to inflation.

Will the minister commit to funding the transit service that Ontarians rely on, or will they continue treating bus riders as an afterthought?

Having witnessed one LRT line derail because of poor maintenance, I would hope that this government would see it as a warning that they need to invest in the system. Instead, the TTC has to cancel buying new trains for Line 2 because of their provincially supported funding crisis. The trains on Line 2 are not built to last past 2026, and thousands of commuters and I are worried that a serious accident might occur once again. We need to buy new trains, and this government needs to step up because the TTC cannot afford it alone.

Will the minister commit to helping Toronto replace the trains, or is he content to watch another subway derail under his government’s watch?

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development.

We’ve heard in this House and we’ve certainly heard from our constituents that the carbon tax is making everything more expensive for all Ontarians. The people of northern Ontario and the northern Indigenous communities are even more impacted by the high cost of goods and travel because of this regressive tax. That’s why it’s so shocking to hear the Liberal and NDP opposition members continuing to defend the tax. The reality is that the cost of transporting goods is already much higher in northern Ontario, and these costs are being passed on to the consumers.

Will the minister please elaborate on his views regarding the carbon tax’s negative impact on northern Ontario and northern Indigenous communities?

Thank you to the member opposite for the question.

I haven’t seen the study that you referred to—I’ll look at it—but I don’t understand how completing 14,000 extra cataract surgeries in the last year will not reduce wait times. It seems to me that that reduced wait times for, actually, 14,000 people who had those cataract surgeries, who can now read to their grandchildren, who can now drive to the store, who can now get about their daily lives. And thank goodness we did that, because people need to get back to their lives.

That is what this government is doing—making sure we have the right care, in the right place, at the right time, paid for with your OHIP card.