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 Transportation.

So far, the federal Liberal government has increased the carbon tax on gasoline five times, and they plan on doing it seven more times over the next seven years. The carbon tax is making life more expensive for everybody, especially the trucking industry, who we rely on to transport our goods.

That’s why it was shocking to hear last week when the member from Kanata–Carleton actually stood up and defended the carbon tax. That Liberal member might think the carbon tax is a good thing, but our government knows that it’s a regressive tax and it only makes life more expensive for millions of people in Ontario.

Can the minister please explain the impact of the federal Liberal carbon tax on the trucking industry?

The people of Ontario are certainly indebted to the hard-working men and women in the trucking industry who deliver the essential goods that we count on every day.

But, Speaker, the reality is that the impact of the carbon tax is having a bad impact on the trucking industry, and it ultimately affects every consumer. The cost to fuel the trucks to transport goods is passed on to the consumer who purchases those goods. This is a critical issue, and it impacts all Ontarians, including those who live in Kanata–Carleton, where over 1,500 people are employed in the trucking and warehousing industry. Unfortunately, the member for that riding is ignoring their concerns about the negative impact of this carbon tax.

Speaker, can the parliamentary assistant please elaborate on how the carbon tax impacts the trucking industry and all Ontarians?

I think that we were clear that we would not be supporting it on second reading. Having said that, there were a number of significant legislations that were brought in by the former Minister of Transportation with respect to road safety across the province of Ontario, and we’ll continue to build on that.