I will reiterate that Ontario does have the safest roads in North America, and our government intends to keep it that way, Mr. Speaker. In fact, any time we have brought any measures in this House—through the budget, through the fall economic statement—to invest in road safety, to invest in highways like Highway 11, Highway 17, expanding highways, that member has voted against those measures every single time. We are opening up new rest areas on these highways, and that member voted against increasing safety and building more rest areas across the north.

We will continue to work with law enforcement and advocates in road safety to ensure that we continue to have the safest roads in North America.

We will continue to work with law enforcement and police officers across this province, as we have been, as we continue to have the safest roads in North America, and we will continue to invest in road safety.

I ask the member opposite, when we are making these investments in Highway 11 and Highway 17, when we increase investments for road safety in this province, that he support this government in those measures every single time.

When we are investing in the north, when we are investing in making those highways safer, increasing capacity on those highways, the NDP and the Liberals have voted no to each and every one of those investments.

We are going to continue to keep Ontario’s roads and highways safe.

Au premier ministre: Yesterday, the Minister of Transportation said Ontario has the safest highways in Canada. Speaker, it’s hard to grasp the meaning of that sentence when a Facebook group called “Hwy 11/17 kills people” exists. Just visit that page: hundreds of daily photos of drifted trucks and accidents, and videos of drivers passing on double solid yellow lines—both commercial and personal vehicles.

My question to the Premier: Will the government bring forward Chad’s Law and make passing double yellow lines illegal and penalized in Ontario?

Speaker, Mark Andrews, a retired OPP traffic inspector, said himself that the current legislation related to unsafe passing is a reactionary offence.

If my proposal becomes law, the OPP’s ability to educate drivers and enforce unsafe passing will be greatly enhanced. Again, to the Premier: Can you commit to passing Chad’s Law now?

Thank you to the associate minister for that response. The previous Liberal government, with the support of the NDP, not only failed to support the north, but they also resorted to insults and name-calling it, referring to it as “no man’s land,” which is probably why they have no one represented in northern Ontario now.

Unfortunately, that attitude of disrespect has not changed. Since then, they’ve supported the federal carbon tax that impacts every aspect of daily life, including groceries, gas and home heating fuel. And I find it rather ironic members of the NDP have asked for a way to reduce the cost of gasoline in northern Ontario. Remove the carbon tax. This regressive tax has severe and negative consequences for businesses and families, particularly those residing in northern communities.

Speaker, can the associate minister please elaborate on the impacts of the carbon tax on small businesses across the north?

I really do appreciate the member from Peterborough–Kawartha for raising such an important question.

Speaker, businesses in the north are burdened with increased costs for transporting their products, which ultimately leads to higher prices for all consumers. Moreover, the carbon tax affects various sectors, including manufacturing, mining and forestry, which are critical to the economic growth of northern Ontario. These industries often rely on energy-intensive operations, and the carbon tax adds an additional financial strain on their businesses. These small, northern businesses provide meaningful employment to their communities and put food on the table for many families.

Speaker, you would think that the NDP and Liberals would all be for reducing the cost of doing business and unleashing local economies close to their ridings. But, instead, they would rather sit on their hands and on the sidelines while a costly coalition puts more strain on northern Ontario.

Thanks to this Premier, the Minister of Mines, this Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry and the Minister of Northern Development, northern Ontario businesses have been given the support they need to thrive. This is despite Ottawa’s best efforts to increase the price of doing business in the north.

Speaker, the carbon tax is being felt in small businesses in the manufacturing and mining sector, where businesses rely on energy-intensive processes to produce goods. And for forestry and logging businesses, the carbon tax adds to their operational costs, making it even more challenging for these businesses to sustain their operations and contribute to the regional economy.

Speaker, this government has been clear from day one: We call on the federal government to do what’s right for our businesses, our economy and our communities. Scrap the tax now.

Thank you to the member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington for the question. It’s an important question, as the members opposite have continued to throw rural communities under the bus.

The previous Ontario Liberals refused to keep hydro bills down and instead allowed hydro bills to consistently rise, to the point where rural Ontarians were having to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families.

I want to address the people of rural Ontario. To them I say, don’t worry. Our government is saying yes to rural Ontario. We are keeping energy costs down. We are cutting the gas tax. We are supporting our manufacturing industry. And, yes, we are fighting the carbon tax with everything we have. Our government will continue to build and support rural communities across Ontario.

But Speaker, we are doing something about that. We’ve lowered the gas tax by 10 cents on every litre, and we are ensuring that resources can move across the province so that houses, roads and transit lines will be built. We are building Ontario at a rate that the Liberals simply could never have imagined.