Thank you to the member. I was listening intently. Your uncle—so if he’s watching, I want to assure him, yes, there is an Ontario gas tax which has been reduced by this government. However, can you tell your uncle there is another tax, the carbon tax, which is 14 cents, from the federal government? Can he help us to shave that off so that all Ontarians can get the same benefit of—having to live under this affordability crisis—a little more savings so they can spend more on their family?

I find it really rich when someone from Ottawa Centre starts giving advice on transit. That’s special. Then the member from Ottawa Centre is trying to give the NDP credit for this deal. What Olivia Chow did is that she decided to sit down with the Premier, with mutual respect, and come up with this deal. It is so many good things for Toronto, but it’s also good things for Ontarians. The Premier is known for deals for the benefit of Ontarians. The Minister of Economic Development speaks about it almost every day.

My question to the member is, does the member not know or believe that deals require two people, two parties with a focus—and the focus is for the benefit of Ontario—and is he going to support this bill?

My question is for the Associate Minister of Small Business. The federal government has already raised the carbon tax on gasoline five times, and they intend to raise prices another seven times in the coming years. The carbon tax adversely affects our businesses and negatively impacts our economy and Ontario workers. That is why it was truly shocking to hear that the Liberal member for Kanata–Carleton actually stood up in the Legislature and praised the carbon tax as beneficial for Ontarians.

While the opposition NDP and independent Liberals continue to believe that increasing taxes is the best solution, our government realizes that’s wrong and unfair to hard-working Ontarians. Speaker, can the associate minister please explain the negative impact of the carbon tax on the province’s businesses?

According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, by 2030, Ontario households will experience a decline in their quality of life due to the additional costs resulting from the carbon tax. A financial loss of $2,000 per household will bring even further hardship to individuals and families who are already struggling to make ends meet.

Speaker, increasing the carbon tax will negatively impact the people of Ontario and, yes, our economy. Contrary to claims made by the Liberal Party, the carbon tax adversely affects our businesses and negatively impacts our economy and Ontario workers. Can the associate minister please elaborate on the impact of the carbon tax on small businesses and communities across our province?

My question is for the Minister of Energy. An increasing number of constituents from my riding have voiced their concerns about the carbon tax and its harmful impact on their lives. We are already in a cost-of-living crisis here in Ontario, and people are especially fearful about how the carbon tax will make things more expensive. Most Ontarians are already feeling the negative impact the carbon tax is having on their lives, and sadly, the federal government does not care.

The carbon tax adversely affects our businesses and negatively impacts our economy and Ontario workers. Can the minister please explain how further increases to the carbon tax will hurt Ontarians?

For people living in rural, remote and northern Ontario communities, the negative impacts of the carbon tax are truly devastating. For many individuals, the carbon tax is creating additional hardships and challenges for all sectors of the economy. The carbon tax harms hard-working individuals, businesses and farmers by taking away money from them. The delivery of every single consumer good in our province, particularly fresh and processed food, is being affected by one of the most economically harmful taxes.

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