Revisionist history over there. ODSP maxes out at just $1,300 a month—just $1,300 to cover housing, utilities and food in the middle of a housing and affordability crisis. Food bank use is at an all-time high for working people. It’s up 40% from last year. The federal benefit was always supposed to be a top-up to the provincial program to help people make ends meet, yet the Conservatives want to use it as an excuse to make more cuts.

To the Premier: Why is your government taking away vulnerable people’s safety net at a time when things are more expensive than ever before?

To the Premier: Will you commit to doubling the ODSP today?

Interjections.

The Leader of the Opposition knows full well that we’re doing no such thing. In fact, we are making record investments, because what we know is this: We know that when we give people the tools to succeed, they will pick up those tools and they’ll do just that. That is why 700,000 people have the dignity of a job today that didn’t when the Liberals and the NDP were in office. We’ve increased ODSP rates. The Leader of the Opposition voted against that increase. We tied it to inflation. The Leader of the Opposition voted against that.

If the Leader of the Opposition wants to have a role, any role whatsoever, what she can do is pick up the phone, call the coalition partners in Ottawa—the NDP, who hold the balance of power—and make sure that they provide Ontario with the exact same resources that they provide every other province. The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services is standing up every single day for all Ontarians. I wish the NDP and their federal partners would—

Interjections.

Now, listen, this is a party that voted against increasing ODSP. They literally voted against it. They had the balance of power—this is what I love about the NDP, whether it’s here or in Ottawa. They actually held the balance of power. They could have brought any of these policies in place. They could have increased ODSP rates. Did they? No. They could have tied ODSP to inflation. Did they? No. Instead, they stuck with a stretch goal for insurance. Did insurance rates go down when they held the balance of power? No, they actually increased. Do you know the only party to bring insurance rates down was the Progressive Conservatives? That’s it, Mr. Speaker. They support a carbon tax, which hurts every single Ontarian. They didn’t support a child care deal which allowed hundreds thousands of people to get back to work. They vote against everything that puts more money back in the pockets of the people of Ontario, and we will always—

Interjections.

But Mr. Speaker, this is a party that, until recently, fought tooth and nail to put a carbon tax on everything.

Interjections.

So as opposed to standing up for taxes, stand up for the very same people that you’re asking a question about.

If the member opposite wants to have a real impact, then I suggest the member opposite call the federal Liberals’ coalition partner in Ottawa today, put in a motion of non-confidence and bring down the federal Liberal government so we can have a party that actually cares about the people of the province of Ontario in Canada.

To the Minister of Health: Your openness to work with me on contraception is very appreciated. Yet 250 days have passed since the public response to our motion for universal access. Rarely does a policy dramatically address gender equity while making such a significant health system savings.

Consider the research: It’s $76.9 million in projected annual health savings. It’s a substantial reduction in unintended pregnancy. It’s a gateway to economic participation and independence for many. It is about women’s health. It is about gender equity, and it’s about affordability.

Minister of Health: As this comes up for debate on Wednesday, will you commit to working with me to provide universal contraception access across the province?

Back to the minister: With fierce competition from across the globe, it’s great to hear that Ontario has been able to land billions of dollars in job-creating investments.

One of the reasons we’ve been able to secure record levels of investment is because we’ve kept costs low for businesses and workers. But as we do that, Liberal leadership candidates and opposition members in this House are going around talking about how great the federal carbon tax is. They think you can raise taxes on businesses and people, and still see job creation and growth. They had their chance to test that theory out and it failed miserably: 300,000 manufacturing jobs disappeared when the Liberals were in office.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government’s approach to job creation and business development is helping to turn Ontario’s economy around?

And the supplementary question.

To reply, the member for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke and parliamentary assistant.

The member for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, in reply.

Interjections.

The next question.

The next question.

My question is to the Premier. Throughout this past summer’s heat waves, unprecedented wildfires, deadly smoke and catastrophic flooding, your government has done virtually nothing to prepare Ontarians for the impact of the climate crisis. In fact, you have suppressed vital reports that could help Ontarians and local governments address these horrendous impacts of climate breakdown.

Will the Premier commit today to release all reports of the climate change impact assessment and the report of the Advisory Panel on Climate Change?

I’m going back to the Premier. Last week, the province’s Financial Accountability Officer released yet another report showing how Ontario will be paying a fortune for the impacts of climate change on public infrastructure. The burden of dealing with washed-out roads, disrupted municipal water supply and downed hydro lines will be huge for Ontarians. And yet, your government won’t even release the reports detailing what we need to do to protect the public.

When will you release the reports so communities can take steps to protect themselves from the climate disasters you are creating?

I want to thank the member for his question.

We’re very proud of our climate change record in this province. We are leading the country: 86% of the greenhouse gas reductions that have taken place in Canada—Ontario is responsible for that. We continue to make the proper changes that will not only reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but also continue to provide the jobs and the growth in the economy that Ontario needs so badly. We’re able to continue to build Ontario: 700,000 new jobs; at the same time, reducing our emissions; bringing electric arc furnaces to Sault Ste. Marie and Hamilton—taking two million cars off the road.

These are the kinds of things where we have one party that is focused on only one thing, and that is doing everything that will reduce the number of people working in Ontario, reduce the growth in our economy—while fixating only on one simple thing. We can do both here in the province of Ontario, because we are committed to Ontario of the future.

But at the same time, we’re ensuring that there will be an Ontario working. So I would ask the people on the other side to start to broaden their position as well, because what is hurting Ontario more than anything else is the carbon tax being inflicted by the federal government, which your party supports. In fact, you favour increasing it even more. The biggest enemy that Ontario has in fighting climate change and building is the carbon tax.

Speaker, a few minutes ago, you heard the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing say that 700,000 new jobs were created in Ontario in just the last five years. Let me give you a bit of a breakdown: 70,000 workers work at 1,900 life science sector firms in Ontario, 420,000 workers are at 25,000 tech firms in Ontario, and over 120,000 direct jobs and hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs are now in our auto sector all across Ontario. All of that, Speaker, is not by raising taxes; it’s by lowering taxes and lowering the cost of doing business by $8 billion a year. Record job numbers have hit Ontario by keeping taxes low.

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development. The carbon tax should be called the tax on everything as it hurts every aspect of daily life for Ontarians. The pain of the carbon tax is felt hardest by the residents of northern Ontario and Indigenous communities. These individuals feel the pressure at the gas pumps most severely, where fuel costs are already significantly higher than elsewhere.

The federal Liberal government has increased the carbon tax on gasoline five times, with plans for seven more increases by 2030. These continual price hikes on fuel contribute to the overall increase of the cost of goods throughout the supply chain, particularly in the north.

Can the minister please explain the negative impact of the carbon tax on northern Ontario and Indigenous communities?

Clearly, the federal government doesn’t understand or appreciate just how unaffordable daily living is in northern Ontario. It is just as disappointing to see that the opposition members consistently downplay the repercussions of the carbon tax on northern Ontario.

Can the minister please elaborate on how the carbon tax is negatively impacting residents, communities and businesses throughout the north?

From coast to coast to coast, Canadians have been clear: They want this tax scrapped. Let me point out that in Hearst, gas is $1.59; Sioux Lookout, $1.62; Terrace Bay; $1.54; Gogama, $1.51; Kirkland Lake, $1.54; Blind River, $1.53. This is a premium on gasoline that costs us more to fill up our pickup trucks, more for us to support the resource industries and drive larger distances than any other place in the province.

This is a premium on gasoline supported by the NDP. Now, that sounds like a New Democratic premium. What we call it is a carbon tax, and the carbon tax needs to go. Scrap the tax.

People who are running the district school boards in our vast region are now going to face cutting back on having children and high schools play against each other when they live 150 to 170 to 250 kilometres away. No more hockey or football for those schools, unless they want to play against themselves. This tax needs to go, and the NDP needs to stop supporting it.

Interjections.

I know this is something that is very close to that member’s heart, coming from an area with so many greenhouse growers.

The carbon tax is a perfect example of ideological devotion overriding basic common sense. Unfortunately, the cost of that devotion to ideology is ultimately being borne by hard-working Ontarians.

The holiday season is on us—Christmas, for many—and with it comes a lot more financial burdens for the average Ontarian and the average family. There’s travelling, there are family get-togethers, dinners, presents.

The carbon tax doesn’t just impact heating costs. Its insidious cost creeps into the final amount of virtually everything that we pay for.

Ultimately, if the federal government genuinely cared about affordability and about Canadians, about Ontarians, they would start with something really simple and axe the tax.

My question is to the Minister of Energy.

The people of Ontario are well aware that the carbon tax is making life more difficult. Winter is approaching. People across Ontario are worried about the impact the carbon tax will have on their home heating bills.

Speaker, the Premier has accurately stated that the carbon tax is making life more expensive for everyone. Further, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, business leaders and economists have all echoed our Premier’s statement.

The carbon tax hurts hard-working Ontarians. This ridiculous tax is raising the cost of energy and impacting the cost of everything we have to purchase.

Can the minister please explain how the carbon tax is negatively impacting the people of Ontario?

My question is to the Premier. Let’s just recap what’s happened so far in this session. First, the Premier got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, trying to give his rich friends an $8.3-billion payday. The Premier’s principal secretary, his director of housing, his former executive assistant and his handpicked chief of staff for the then Minister of Housing were all implicated. Three cabinet ministers resigned. And the RCMP has launched a criminal investigation. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

We also know that urban boundary changes and ministerial zoning orders were all used to pay off the Premier’s ultra-rich friends. So Speaker, will the Premier please explain just what he has accomplished—

Here’s what the Premier got done: legislation to protect the greenbelt from himself; legislation to undo the urban boundary; ministerial zoning orders frozen for review.

Speaker, this Ford is stuck in one gear: reverse.

Here’s the kicker: At a time when people are trying to pay the bills, trying to pay the rent—they’re just trying to take care of their families—what does the Premier do? He creates a bank—unbelievable—one that I know will mean more high-paying jobs for his friends.

When will the Premier do something other than taking care of his wealthy, well-connected friends?

The Premier and the Progressive Conservative caucus have managed to reduce the Liberals to a rump in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Firstly, they went from a majority to seven people.

And the other things that we’ve accomplished—700,000 people have a job who didn’t when he was in government. He will remember that 300,000 people lost their jobs.

In fact, the happiest people in the world, when the Liberals were in power—it was the state of Michigan, because all our jobs were going to the state of Michigan, because we couldn’t compete with them.

Thankfully, we’re going to work together with our friends in the state of Michigan so that both of us can be successful, and the only way that we can do that is to never again elect a Liberal government supported by the socialist NDP, who will drive jobs away not only from Ontario but from our good friends in Michigan.

You would think that the Liberals would have learned a lesson. The Liberals have been reduced to seven people in the Legislative Assembly. When they were in power, they didn’t build long-term care, they didn’t build hospitals—we all know that. They couldn’t decide on subways. They decimated our education system, brought our colleges and universities to the ground. And we literally lost thousands of jobs because the Liberals said that the north was a wasteland that we shouldn’t invest in, that the Ring of Fire was of no value, and that Ontario—the manufacturing hub of Canada, responsible for the success of this country—should transition to a service economy.

People had to decide between heating and eating under the Liberals, and this guy gets up and asks a question, “What have you done for me lately?”

Two majority governments, 700,000 people, the dignity of a job, and a booming economy—that’s what we’ve done this week.

Member for Eglinton–Lawrence and parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health.

Once again, the member for Eglinton–Lawrence.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

I find that response profoundly disappointing to the policy discourse directed at women’s health and gender equity. Six million Ontarians have access to public funding contraceptives? The vast, vast majority of those six million Ontarians are men, children and seniors.

While I recognize your numbers are provided by staff, let me be clear that only a fraction of the six million you mentioned are women and gender-diverse individuals that need these barriers removed. It’s not the time for coached language.

Speaker, through you, with two days until the debate, we need you to be crystal clear that you commit to universal contraception access—that means everyone who needs it can get it.

Interjections.

Thank you to the member from St. Catharines for the question. Our government is making great strides to support women’s health, including the recent announcement of breast cancer screening from 40 years of age, which has been welcomed by the community. We have six publicly funded drug programs for Ontarians who need help getting the medications they need to live a healthy life. Through the Ontario Drug Benefit Program, many commonly used birth control products are available to eligible Ontarians as part of nearly 5,000 medications, which are part of this program. With six million Ontarians eligible to receive the Ontario Drug Benefit Program, nearly half of all Ontarians are eligible. OHIP+ assistance is also available to Ontarians 25 years of age or younger that are not covered by a private insurance plan.

Ontario invested through the ODB roughly $16 million on contraception in the 2021-22 fiscal year. With almost half of people covered, we’re making sure that Ontarians get the health care that they need when they need it.

Our government is making it easier for Ontarians to get prescriptions they need, such as birth control. Thanks to changes that we announced recently—I think it was November 6—we’ve made qualified midwives and registered nurses now able to provide convenient access to birth control prescriptions.

Through the Ontario Drug Benefit Program many commonly used birth control products are available to eligible Ontarians as part of nearly 5,000 medications covered by the program. With six million Ontarians eligible to receive the Ontario Drug Benefit Program, nearly half of all Ontarians are eligible.

We are going to continue to work to make sure that Ontarians are connected to convenient care where and when they need it across the province.

Thank you to the parliamentary assistant for her response.

Lowering the cost of living is precisely what our government has fought for, and that’s precisely why we challenged the carbon tax all the way to the Supreme Court.

However, the worst part about the carbon tax is that it will only make life worse and more expensive for all of us. Worse, the federal government and opposition parties want to nearly triple this tax by 2030.

The carbon tax hurts our businesses, impacts our economy and hurts workers.

Can the parliamentary assistant please explain the impact of future tax increases on the people of Ontario?

I’m thinking back to my days in court, and one of my favourite objections was, “Your Honour, this question has been asked and answered.” I would say that some would say that’s happening here. But why? Because the carbon tax is still here. So we’re going to keep on asking and we’re going to keep on answering until the carbon tax is gone.

It’s driving up heating costs, it’s driving up food costs—but it’s not just that. I called the effect of this tax “insidious” and that’s what it is, and in every question and answer that we’ve had here about the carbon tax, we’ve seen examples of that over and over. You drive up the cost of gas. You drive up the cost to farmers who produce our food. You drive up the cost to truckers to ship our food. As the dominoes fall and the ripples spread, ultimately someone has to pay that price and, unfortunately, right now, it’s the taxpayer. It comes down to common sense and axing the tax.

Member for Eglinton–Lawrence.