Perhaps, Speaker, you could give me—I know it’s usually a minute to respond. I’d like about 10 minutes, because there’s so much I could talk about in terms of what we’ve done for affordability that the opposition Liberals and New Democrats have voted against.

In the fall economic statement, which we’ll be voting on today, we’ve extended the gas tax for another six months to lower costs for consumers and to lower costs for businesses. Will the opposition support us? Will you support us in lobbying the federal government to stop the punitive carbon tax? Have you done it in the past?

Our government has been focused on affordability, whether it’s the carbon tax, whether it’s cutting tuition for students who are in an affordability crisis themselves or whether it’s the LIFT tax credit, which lowers the tax rate for the lowest-income individuals in this province. We have stood on the side of families and individuals in this province. Where is the opposition?

Let me just go through some of the other things that we’ve done as a province. We’ve removed the licence plate stickers for all drivers across the province, helping businesses and consumers. As the Minister of Economic Development has referred to, we’ve taken away $8 billion in costs for businesses in this province. Where are those cost savings going to go? They’re going to go to the people of Ontario. We’ve also lowered the cost of transportation in this province. Whether you’re taking the GO train or public buses in the GTA, we’ve lowered that. Did the opposition support us on that front? Absolutely not.

So, again, we continue to move ahead, get investments in this province, bring affordability to the extent that we can, and we’ll continue doing that. I hope the opposition will support us with the fall economic statement.

Speaker, we’re in an affordability crisis, yet the fall economic statement doesn’t use the word “affordability” once.

During the 2018 election, Conservatives promised to cut income tax by 20% for the middle class. That promise was never kept. The Minister of Energy even claimed last month on affordability that “our province has done everything we can.” He’s forgotten past promises. It seems the promise they have remembered is the one donors reminded them about: opening the greenbelt and gifting $8.3 billion of public value.

Tax form ON428 still has the 9.15% tax rate—promise not kept. How can Ontarians trust this government to tackle affordability when they can’t even keep or remember a basic election promise?

Can this government be trusted to tackle affordability when they wouldn’t take the opportunities to provide families with immediate pocketbook relief in their fall economic statement?

We have an affordability crisis in Ontario.

Interjections.

Interjections.

We have an affordability crisis here in Ontario. When this government was elected, they promised a 20% tax cut for the middle class. This government has been dragging its feet for six years. So what’s their priority? It’s certainly not the middle class. It’s not our most vulnerable. It’s not Ontarians on ODSP or at food banks, or those on surgical or autism services wait-lists.

But what do we have? We have an $8.3-billion greenbelt giveaway, now subject to an RCMP criminal investigation. We have a $650-million Therme spa parking lot, now under Auditor General investigation. Somehow there’s always enough for handouts to developer friends, but for Ontario families, the cupboards are bare. We have grocery chains and the fossil fuel industry gouging Ontarians.

Speaker, a question for the Premier: Will he keep his campaign promise and cut middle-class taxes?

The provincial government does have the most applicable tools to help the people of Ontario. If they wanted to, they could bring back rent control; they could raise ODSP; they could raise the Ontario Child Benefit. It’s not good enough to write letters if one has the power to actually ease people’s distress. Mr. Speaker, Ontarians are still waiting. They’re lining up at food banks. They’re struggling.

Apparently, the voters were wrong to take this government at its word; we know it, the RCMP knows it, and now Ontario knows it.

Will the Premier and his provincial government actually use some of the tools that they have available to them to help the people of Ontario and cut middle-class taxes?